Relationship between Learning Approaches and Students’ Preferences for Online Learning

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study is to enhance the quality of medical education by exploring the learning approaches of students and their relationship with the student’s preference for online learning in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Program. Subjects and Methods: The study was a descriptive, cross-sectional one; the target population included a random sample of students in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years (n = 300). The study was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University in Ismailia, Egypt during the academic year 2021-2022. The instrument used for data collection is named “a Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F)” (Arabic Version). Results: In this study, the students mostly adopt deep learning strategies (72.3%) compared to superficial learning strategies (27.7%). The current study shows that females mostly adopt deep learning strategies (75.8%) compared to males who adopted deep learning strategies (68.7%). The results of the correlation test in the current study show that learning approaches significantly correlated with gender and skills, also only computer skills and year were significantly correlated with the preferences of the students of distance learning. We conducted a correlation analysis with the subscales of the questionnaire with the preference of the students of distance learning. The only significant one is the first item of the questionnaire. Conclusion: In conclusion, the results of this research show that students in a PBL school adopt a deep learning approach. Older students with good computer skills prefer online learning to face-to-face learning more than younger ones do. In addition, students prefer online learning to increase their satisfaction in their time of studying, and there is a significant relationship between their computer skills and the learning approach.