Preferred Learning Styles of Professional Undergraduate and Graduate Athletic Training Students

Abstract

Context Recognizing the preferred learning style of professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students will equip educators to more effectively improve their teaching methods and optimize student learning. Objective To determine the preferred learning style of professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students using Marshall and Merritt's Student Learning Style Questionnaire based on Kolb's theory of experiential learning. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Colleges with Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education accredited professional undergraduate and/or graduate athletic training programs. Patients or Other Participants Four hundred twenty-nine students (men = 125, women = 303, not available = 1) from 88 professional undergraduate programs and 69 students (men = 27, women = 42) from 21 professional graduate programs. Intervention(s) A 40-item Student Learning Style Questionnaire (LSQ) was administered. Participants chose between words that were characteristic of how they learn. After scoring the LSQ, the learning style preferences were determined. The styles were Diverger, Assimilator, Converger, or Accommodator. Main Outcome Measure(s) Learning Style Questionnaire survey scores were used to determine the preferred learning style of male and female professional undergraduate athletic training students, male and female professional graduate athletic training students, and any significant differences between learning styles. The χ2 goodness of fit test and χ2 test of independence were used to compare differences between the groups. Results A significant difference (P ≤ .0001) was observed between learning styles. The Diverger style was preferred by both professional undergraduate and graduate athletic training students. We found no significant difference in preferred learning style between the undergraduate and graduate student groups or between men and women. Conclusions Although undergraduate and graduate athletic training students have a variety of learning styles, the Diverger style of learning, which relies on concrete experience and reflective observation, was preferred in our study. Educators should provide learning opportunities in a variety of ways to reach all preferred learning styles.