Preferred learning styles of medical students in an Indian medical school: Implications for learner-centered pedagogy in competency-based medical education

Abstract

Background: One of the crucial elements in any medical science teaching–learning is identification of students’ learning styles to meet the learner needs. This knowledge can help in reinforcing learning and foster self-directed learning. On the other hand, this information can be utilized by medical teachers to incorporate various instructional modes so as to enhance the learning process and outcomes of students within the given curriculum. Aim and Objective: Identification of learning styles in 2nd-year medical students. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey to assess learning styles utilized by medical students using visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) inventory 7.1. Descriptive analysis was performed to determine the percentage of students in each category. Results: About 75% of students participated in the study, with age ranging between 18 and 22 years and a gender predominance of 51% females. VARK analysis showed 64.0% multi-modal (VARK) learners consisting of 38.7% quadri-modal, 17.3% bimodal, and 8% trimodal. In the bimodal category, 9.3% preferred auditory and reading component, 4% favored reading and kinesthetic, and 2.7% preferred visual and auditory component while only 1.3% chose visual and reading component. In the tri-modal category, 5.3% favored visual, auditory, and reading style while 1.3% chose auditory, reading, and kinesthetic components, and the remaining 1.3% opted for visual, reading, and kinesthetic style of learning. The highest unimodal learning modality was auditory 25.3%, then Read/Write 9.3%, followed by kinesthetic and visual (both 2.7%). Conclusions: Considering that most of the participants were multimodal learners, designing educational activities that cater to various learning styles can support the learning process. In addition, in long-term it will encourage competency-based medical education.