UNDERSTANDING LEARNING STYLES AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS AT GOVERNMENT MEDICAL COLLEGE, VISAKHAPATNAM: A CROSSSECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Background: Understanding a student's degree of motivation and learning performance requires detection of learning styles. To accommodate these distinct student learning styles, teachers should also create a variety of learning resources in a variety of mediums. Hence this study was conducted with an objective to understand the learning styles among Medical students. Methodology: The study was conducted in October 2022 among 2nd and 3rd year M.B.B.S students at a medical college in Visakhapatnam. 286 out of 400 students gave their consent and responded. A Felder and Silverman Learning Style Model (FSLSM) Index of Learning Styles (ILS) questionnaire was used to identify student's learning preferences. The mean (SD) age of the partici Results: pants was 20.3± (0.91) years. The majority of the medical students was moderate-strong visual learners (76.3%) and fairly well balanced in the sequential/global dimension (71.7%), active/reective dimension (61.5%) and sensory/intuitive dimension (61.2%) of the Index of Learning Styles (ILS). Conclusion: The ndings of this study can be utilized to advise teachers to all dimensions in a balanced approach while teaching. This further helps in the improvement of the academic performance of the students.