Learning Style Preferences Among Undergraduate Medical Students of Lahore, Pakistan and Factors Related to it

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess the learning styles of medical students using the VARK Questionnaire and to study factors related to their learning style preferences. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study, using the validated 16-point VARK Questionnaire Version 8.01, was conducted among medical students in Lahore, Pakistan, from May to October 2023. Through non-probability virtual snowball sampling, 360 students from various medical colleges responded to online Google forms distributed via emails and WhatsApp groups. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. The Chi-square test determined associations between variables, with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Results: The respondents had a mean age of 21.56±1.608. The study revealed that 68.9% preferred a unimodal learning style, with Visual (25%) being the most favored, followed by Read/Write (15.2%), Aural (14%), and Kinesthetic (13.5%).About 65% of respondents were unaware of their learning styles. No statistically significant relationships were found between learning style and gender, clinical year, schooling background, or institute type. However, significant relationships were found with age, academic performance, and preferred teaching methodology (p=0.05, p=0.04, and p=0.007, respectively). Conclusion: The present study highlighted the independence of learning styles from demographics. The identified relationship between learning styles, preferred teaching methodologies, and academic performance emphasizes the significance of this knowledge for medical educators and students in fostering lifelong learning. It's noteworthy that majority of students demonstrated unimodal sensory preferences, reinforcing the importance of tailored teaching strategies to maximize learning potential.  Keywords: Learning, style, VARK, Medical Education, Teaching Methods, Medical Students