Learning Styles Compared Across Health Science Courses

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Honey and Mumford Learning Style questionnaire was applied to undergraduate students at the first and third year level courses in Nursing, Optometry and Podiatryin the Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Health Science, and to students in the post‐graduate courses in Nursing and Nutrition and Dietetics. With one exception, there were no significant differences between first and third year student results for any learning style or course. The mean scores from all courses fell within the normal range defined by Honey and Mumford, but some differences were identified in the preferred learning styles across the different disciplines. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the use of different teaching techniques such as structured lectures, practical exercises, case discussions and role‐play, as the findings may be used to predict the type of instructional techniques which would be most effective. Recommendations are made on the most appropriate of these techn...