Multimodal Learning Style Research Articles

Learning Style and Academic Performance of First Year Agricultural Undergraduates: A Case in Rajarata University of Sri Lanka

In Sri Lankan universities, lecturers are trained and requested to conduct learning style assessments to design strategies for better educational environments. Even though, limited attention has been acquired in the area of learning styles and academic performances, less literature is found related to agricultural undergraduates. This study has attempted to investigate the learning styles of first year agricultural undergraduates in one of the Sri Lankan universities. The objective was thereby, to examine any association between learning styles and academic performances. A Cross sectional survey was administered using a structured questionnaire consisting of the VARK learning style tool. Results illustrated that most of the students have multimodal learning styles and, those styles were independent from gender or their high school academic discipline pertaining to agriculture or biology. Among these learning styles, kinesthetic style has gained a reasonable attention. The study concluded no substantial association between learning styles and academic performances. Availability of multimodal learning styles are suitable to use blended teaching aids such as lectures, video and illustrations as well as to encourage students to take self-notes etc. Moreover, facilitating each student to gain hand on experience can be used to enhance the learning. Finally, this study can also be performed using some other available methods to avoid the biased errors and to understand the learning styles in different angles.

A Preference for Hands-on Learning: A Cross Sectional Study Assessing Dental Students' Preferred Style for Receiving Curricula

Background: Dentistry education requires a great deal of hands-on learning as well as content-based learning. Although each individual has a unique learning style, our group of educators sought to understand the predominant learning style preferences of a cohort of 84 dental students. The aim of this study was to investigate the learning style preferences of first, second and third year Saudi female dental students in the College of Dentistry. Materials and method: The research team invited all students at a large, allfemale university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to engage in a cross sectional study. This project assessed learning styles using the Visual, Aural, Read-write, and Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. Results: A total of 84 female dental students (more than 3/4 of the entire dental college cohort) returned the completed the questionnaire. The majority (91.5%) were between the ages of 19-22 years old. Just over half of students (54.7%) preferred multimodal learning style preference, meaning that they had no specific strong preference for a single learning style. Of those who had a strong preference for a specific, Kinesthetic (learning by doing) was the most commonly chosen (20.2%). Conclusion: The majority of the female dental students in this cohort preferred a mixed learning method. For those who had a single, strong preference, learning by doing ranked highest. The results of this study can provide useful information for educators of the learning style preferences of students and facilitate student learning by developing appropriate teaching strategies. Relying less on demonstration and more on hands-on and mixed method teaching may be the most pleasurable and productive strategy for this cohort.

A Study of Learning Style Preferences among First Year Undergraduate Medical Students Using VARK Model

Introduction: Medical students have a wide range of diversity in their learning preferences. This has been always a challenge for the teachers to meet the demands of all the medical students. VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinaesthetic way of learning styles) is a learning inventory grouped under “instructional preference” model. Methods: This study analysed the learning style and approaches to learning among the first year undergraduate students in a tertiary care teaching hospital using VARK questionnaire version. Results: Our study revealed that, unimodal learning preference was among 48% of the students and multimodal learning styles being with 52% of students. Among the unimodal learning preferences, kinaesthetic and auditory learning styles were predominant (35% and 34% respectively). Among multimodal learning style preferences Kinaesthetic, Aural (KA) and Visual, Aural, Kinaesthetic (VAK) styles were predominant. There was no difference in the learning preferences among the sexes (p = 0.208). Conclusion: Since the most preferred learning styles were kinaesthetic and auditory, the strategies employed by students could be recordings of lectures, audio recordings of power point presentations, increased frequency of early clinical exposure to patients in wards and use of models and problem solving questionnaires. This will also help the teachers to act in accordance with students need and guide them in achieving their academic goals.

La relación entre los estilos de aprendizaje y el uso de las tecnologías de información y comunicación en educación de personas adultas

This research aimed to identify the learning styles and the strategies used by adult students to involve ICTs in their knowledge. To achieve this, a qualitative research approach was carried out. The participants were members of the community who participated in a project called “Literacy in the Information Management of a University Corporation”. The group consisted of 100 persons; their ages ranged between 40 and 59 years. The instruments used were the VARK inventory for learning styles, Observation and a field journal. The VARK inventory identified the learning styles used by adults. The Observation allowed the understanding of the environment or the context of these students, their relations with peers and with their teachers, and also to analyze the strategies used to develop topics through TICs integration. One of the main findings obtained was that 70% of the adult students have a multimodal learning style; for instance, they process knowledge in more than one way.

Relationship between Learning Style and Academic Status of Babol Dental Students.

IntroductionIdentifying and employing students’ learning styles could play an important role in selecting appropriate teaching methods in order to improve education. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the students’ final exam scores and the learning style preferences of dental students at Babol University of Medical Sciences.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on 88 dental students studying in their fourth, fifth, and sixth years using the visual–aural–reading/writing–kinesthetic (VARK) learning styles’ questionnaire. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS, version 21, using the chi-squared test and the t-test.ResultsOf the 88 participants who responded to the questionnaire, 87 preferred multimodal learning styles. There was no significant difference between the mean of the final exam scores in students who did and did not prefer the aural learning style (p = 0.86), the reading/writing learning style (p = 0.20), and the kinesthetic learning style (p = 0.32). In addition, there was no significant difference between the scores on the final clinical course among the students who had different preferences for learning style. However, there was a significant difference between the mean of the final exam scores in students with and without visual learning style preference (p = 0.03), with the former having higher mean scores. There was no significant relationship between preferred learning styles and gender (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe majority of dental students preferred multimodal learning styles, and there was a significant difference between the mean of the final exam scores for students with and without a preference for the visual learning style. In addition, there were no differences in the preferred learning styles between male and female students.

Clinical Anesthesia Fundamentals

Clinical Anesthesia Fundamentals

An interactive, multi-modal Anatomy workshop improves academic performance in the health sciences: a cohort study.

BackgroundStudents often strategically adopt surface approaches to learning anatomy in order to pass this necessarily content-heavy subject. The consequence of this approach, without understanding and contextualisation, limits transfer of anatomical knowledge to clinical applications. Encouraging deep approaches to learning is challenging in the current environment of lectures and laboratory-based practica. A novel interactive anatomy workshop was proposed in an attempt to address this issue.MethodsThis workshop comprised of body painting, clay modelling, white-boarding and quizzes, and was undertaken by 66 health science students utilising their preferred learning styles. Performance was measured prior to the workshop at the mid-semester examination and after the workshop at the end-semester examination. Differences between mid- and end-semester performances were calculated and compared between workshop attendees and non-attendees. Baseline, post-workshop and follow-up surveys were administered to identify learning styles, goals for attendance, useful aspects of the workshop and self-confidence ratings.ResultsWorkshop attendees significantly improved their performance compared to non-attendees (p = 0.001) despite a difference at baseline (p = 0.05). Increased self-confidence was reported by the attendees (p < 0.001). To optimise their learning, 97 % of attendees reported utilising multi-modal learning styles. Five main goals for participating in the workshop included: understanding, strategic engagement, examination preparation, memorisation and increasing self-confidence. All attendees reported achieving these goals. The most useful components of the workshop were body painting and clay modelling.ConclusionsThis interactive workshop improved attendees’ examination performance and promoted engaged-enquiry and deeper learning. This tool accommodates varied learning styles and improves self-confidence, which may be a valuable supplement to traditional anatomy teaching.

A comparative study of the learning styles among 1st, 2nd and final year MBBS students

Background: Learning style is the way students begin to focus, internalize and remember new and difficult information. Identifying the learning styles of medical students will enable the faculty to use appropriate T/L method to increase the grasping ability of their subject/ learning. Purpose of the study was to assess and compare the learning styles of 1 st , 2 nd and final MBBS students by using VARK questionnaire. Methods: This was an observational, cross-sectional study based on the questionnaire, conducted by the department of Pharmacology at Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital, Chitradurga. The VARK learning styles assessment questionnaire was administered to 1st (96 students), 2nd (60 students) and Final year (49 students). The students were categorized as auditory, kinaesthetic, visual learner or read/write depending on the predominant option they chose. Independent sample 't' test was used to compare the mean scores between the two groups using the software SPSS v22. Results: 40% of students had unimodal and 60% had multimodal learning style. Final year MBBS students had higher percentage of multimodal learning style (73%). The most preferred style of learning among all the medical students was kinesthetic (6.6), followed by aural (5.5), visual (4.0) and read/write (3.5). There was significant difference between the learning styles of 1st and Final year MBBS students in Visual (p=0.01) and Read /Write (p= 0.008). Conclusions: Knowing that students have different learning styles and kinesthetic being the most preferred mode of learning will help medical faculty to develop teaching/learning strategies for better outcomes.

Learning styles among nursing students, the implications for higher education institutions: A systematic review

Understanding learning styles of nursing students has been highlighted as an area in the scholarship of teaching that needs attention. The aim of this review was to determine the common learning styles of nursing students and determine the appropriate teaching styles needed. A search was conducted using various databases and journals for the periods from 2000 to 2013. Two reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of the studies reviewed. The results are presented in a narrative. The 11 articles included in the review. represented four continents and were primarily descriptive studies. The review highlighted that nursing students preferred the kineasthetic and multi-modal learning styles. Kinesthetic learners prefer live examples and lots of interaction. Interactive and real life experiences as teaching methodologies are preferred methods by nursing students and is seen as a holistic approach that incorporated all of their senses of seeing, feeling, smelling, hearing and sometimes tasting.

Which mode of learning do dental students prefer? A cross-sectional study in Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the learning preferences of dental students and to compare it between preclinical and clinical dental students in Chennai. Introduction: Educators of health-care profession are responsible for the quality of future health-care providers, but they may face a greater challenge in transmission of their knowledge to the students. This study was conducted to match the teaching and learning methods to make the learning easier. Materials and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2016 among 310 dental students in Chennai to determine their preferences of learning styles using Visual, Aural, Read-write, and Kinesthetic questionnaire. Results: Majority of the students (86%) preferred multimodal learning style. Auditory and kinesthetic methods were most preferred unimodal learning style among preclinical and clinical students, respectively. Auditory and kinesthetic methods were dominant even in bimodal and trimodal preference of learning style. Conclusion: As the majority of the dental students preferred multimodal learning style, a variety of teaching methods should be included in the curriculum according to the students' preferences.

Presentation Mining: An Overview of Information Extraction Systems

In education, scanning through endless slides in PowerPoint presentation is highly ineffective especially for the Digital Natives due to their multi-modal learning style. In order to cater for the high volume of information emerging from printed alphabets to digital images, this study proposes a text mining approach to extract keywords from a collection of presentation slides in a similar topic. This approach is to support the existing architecture of presentation mapping, whereby the keywords extracted would then be reconstructed visually in the form of visual knowledge display. In achieving this, this study provides a general discussion of text mining technologies available and later focuses on different keyword extraction systems. Finally, this study introduces the frontier method of this field, which is presentation mining.

Students' Learning Preferences

Higher education institutions strive to alleviate the predicament of high failure and dropout rates by improving the quality of teaching and learning. Awareness of learning styles could help students understand how they learn and empower them to take ownership of their learning so that they persevere and succeed in the institutions of higher education. Research has indicated that knowledge of learning styles increase academic success. The purpose of this study was to identify student’s individual learning styles. A sample of 130 first year students in six faculties was used in this study. The instrument used for data collection is the Innovative Learning Experience (ILE) (Mkonto, 2010). The ILE was adapted from Centre for Innovative Teaching Experiences (C.I.T.E.) by Mkonto (2010) and consists of a writing activity and a questionnaire. The results revealed that although students have dominant learning styles that they use in preference to other learning styles, there are some students who make use of multimodal learning styles preferences and also there are learning styles prevalent in faculties. Knowledge of students’ learning styles, recognizing their strengths and weaknesses in learning ad provides the lecturer with valuable information.

Learning style preferences of surgical residency applicants

BackgroundThe learning style preferences of general surgery residents have been previously reported; there is evidence that residents who prefer read/write learning styles perform better on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE). However, little is known regarding the learning style preferences of applicants to general surgery residency and their impact on educational outcomes. In this study, the preferred learning styles of surgical residency applicants were determined. We hypothesized that applicant rank data are associated with specific learning style preferences. Materials and methodsThe Fleming VARK learning styles inventory was offered to all general surgery residency applicants that were interviewed at a university hospital-based program. The VARK model categorizes learners as visual (V), aural (A), read/write (R), kinesthetic (K), or multimodal (MM). Responses on the inventory were scored to determine the preferred learning style for each applicant. Applicant data, including United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, class rank, interview score, and overall final applicant ranking, were examined for association with preferred learning styles. ResultsSixty-seven applicants were interviewed. Five applicants were excluded due to not completing the VARK inventory or having incomplete applicant data. The remaining 62 applicants (92%) were included for analysis. Most applicants (57%) had a multimodal preference. Sixty-nine percent of all applicants had some degree of preference for kinesthetic learning. There were statistically significant differences between applicants of different learning styles in terms of USMLE step 1 scores (P = 0.001) and USMLE step 2 clinical knowledge scores (P = 0.01), but not for class ranks (P = 0.27), interview scores (P = 0.20), or final ranks (P = 0.14). Multiple comparison analysis demonstrated that applicants with aural preferences had higher USMLE 1 scores (233.2) than those with kinesthetic (211.8, P = 0.005) or multimodal (214.5, P = 0.008) preferences, whereas applicants with visual preferences had higher USMLE 1 scores (230.0) than those with kinesthetic preferences (P = 0.047). Applicants with aural preferences also had higher USMLE 2 scores (249.6) than those with kinesthetic (227.6, P = 0.006) or multimodal (230.1, P = 0.008) preferences. ConclusionsMost applicants to general surgery residency have a multimodal learning style preference. Learning style preferences are associated with higher USMLE step 1 and step 2 scores, in particular for applicants with aural preferences. Students who performed well in lecture-dominated medical school environments because of their aural preferences could be at a disadvantage in the more independent, reading-focused learning environments of surgical residency.

The relationship between learning preferences (styles and approaches) and learning outcomes among pre-clinical undergraduate medical students.

BackgroundLearning styles and approaches of individual undergraduate medical students vary considerably and as a consequence, their learning needs also differ from one student to another. This study was conducted to identify different learning styles and approaches of pre-clinical, undergraduate medical students and also to determine the relationships of learning preferences with performances in the summative examinations.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 419 pre-clinical, undergraduate medical students of the International Medical University (IMU) in Kuala Lumpur. The number of students from Year 2 was 217 while that from Year 3 was 202. The Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) and the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST) questionnaires were used for data collection.ResultsThis study revealed that 343 students (81.9%) had unimodal learning style, while the remaining 76 (18.1%) used a multimodal learning style. Among the unimodal learners, a majority (30.1%) were of Kinesthetic (K) type. Among the middle and high achievers in summative examinations, a majority had unimodal (Kinaesthetic) learning style (30.5%) and were also strategic/deep learners (79.4%). However, the learning styles and approaches did not contribute significantly towards the learning outcomes in summative examinations.ConclusionsA majority of the students in this study had Unimodal (Kinesthetic) learning style. The learning preferences (styles and approaches) did not contribute significantly to the learning outcomes. Future work to re-assess the viability of these learning preferences (styles and approaches) after the incorporation of teaching-learning instructions tailored specifically to the students will be beneficial to help medical teachers in facilitating students to become more capable learners.

Learning styles of dental students

Abstract Aims This study was conducted to determine the learning styles of dental students at King Saud University. Methods and material The Arabic version of the VARK questionnaire was administered to undergraduate dental male students in first, second, third, fourth and fifth years to determine their learning style preferences. Descriptive statistics were used to identify the learning styles of students. Results There were more students who preferred a multimodal learning style (58.4%) than those who preferred a unimodal learning style (41.6%). The quadmodal learning style was the preferred style among multimodal learners in total sample and in each year separately. Of the unimodal learners, 35.1%, 35.1%, 18.1%, and 11.7% of the students were Kinesthetic (K), Aural (A), Visual (V), and Reading/Writing (R) learners, respectively. Conclusions 58.4% and 41.6% of the students were found to have multimodal learning preferences and unimodal learning styles, respectively. The distribution of students’ learning styles reflects strong kinesthetic and aural preferences. The learning preference does not differ between undergraduate male students from first to final years at College of Dentistry, King Saud University.

Age and Gender as Determinants of Learning Style among Medical Students

Background: An awareness of learning styles may help teachers modify their teaching methods to improve the educational outcomes of their students. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the learning styles of medical students during their basic science training at Mashhad University Medical School (MUMS). Methods: The VARK (Visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic learning styles) questionnaire was used to gather information on learning styles in 245 medical students during their basic science Original Research Article Mohammadi et al.; BJMMR, 7(4): 292-298, 2015; Article no.BJMMR.2015.335 293 training at MUMS in 2014. The questionnaire was previously assessed for its validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Overall, 245 students (115 male/130 female) with a mean age of 22.17 2 ± .27 years completed the questionnaire. Of these students 91.84% preferred a singlemodal learning style and 8.16% of students preferred a multi-modal learning style. Of the students with a preference for a single modal learning style, 20% (45 students) had a preference for visual, and 53.33% (100 students) for auditory learning styles respectively; 22.22% (50 students) of students were categorized as single read-write and 4.44% (10 students) were classified as having a kinesthetic learning style preference respectively. Among the multi-modal group, 25% (5 students) of students preferred a bimodal and 75% (15 students) preferred a quad-modal learning style. There was a significant association between learning styles with age and gender (P 0.05). Conclusions: The key finding of our study was that learning style is age and gender dependent. Different teaching methods may be appropriate for men and women.

Association of academic performance with learning style preference of medical students: Multi-center study from Pakistan

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess preferred learning styles and determine their association with the academic performance of undergraduate medical students in various medical colleges in Pakistan. Participants and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 597 medical students from six medical colleges (~100 from each college) was performed. The validated VARK questionnaire version 7.0 was used to categorize the learning styles of students. The questionnaire consists of 16 items which identify four different learning styles: Visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic (VARK). Descriptive statistics were used to identify the learning styles of students. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the academic performance (marks obtained in last professional examination) between students having different learning styles. Results: The response rate was 82.9%. The results showed that mean scores for VARK styles were 4.28 ± 0.09, 4.91 ± 0.08, 4.54 ± 0.07, and 4.75 ± 0.09, respectively. Only 164 (27.6%) students preferred a unimodal learning style, i.e., 38 (6.4%), 56 (9.4%), 20 (3.4%), and 50 (8.4%) preferred the VARK modes, respectively, whereas 72.4% of students preferred multiple learning styles. ANOVA showed there was no significant difference of academic performance among the students having different learning styles. Conclusions: Majority of students prefers multimodal learning styles and learning style preference is not associated with academic performance in medical students across Pakistan. The results of this study provide useful information for improving the quality of the medical teaching and learning experiences of medical students. However, further research is needed to explore the association among learning style preferences, learning strategies, and academic performance.

Assessing learning preferences of dental students using visual, auditory, reading-writing, and kinesthetic questionnaire

Introduction: Educators of the health care profession (teachers) are committed in preparing future health care providers, but are facing many challenges in transmitting their ever expanding knowledge to the students. This study was done to focus on different learning styles among dental students. Aim: To assess different learning preferences among dental students. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire study using visual, auditory, reading-writing, and kinesthetic questionnaire among dental students. Results: Majority 75.8% of the students preferred multimodal learning style. Multimodal learning was common among clinical students. No statistical significant difference of learning styles in relation to gender (P > 0.05). Conclusion: In the present study, majority of students preferred multimodal learning preference. Knowledge about the learning style preference of different profession can help to enhance the teaching method for the students.

The relationship between learning style preferences and gender, educational major and status in first year medical students: a survey study from iran.

Background:Identifying and employing appropriate learning styles could play an important role in selecting teaching styles in order to improve education.Objectives:This study aimed to determine the relationship between learning styles preferences and gender, educational major and status in first year students at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.Patients and Methods:A cross-sectional study employing the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) learning style’s questionnaire was done on 184 first year students of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing and health services management at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed through experts’ views and reliability was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients (α = 0.86). Data were analyzed using the SPSS ver.18 software and x2 test.Results:Out of 184 participants who responded to and returned the questionnaire, 122 (66.3%) were female; more than two-thirds (68.5%) of the enrolled students were at the professional doctorate level (medicine, pharmacy, dentistry) and 31.5% at the undergraduate level (nursing and health services management). Eighty-nine (48.4%) students preferred a single-modal learning style. In contrast, the remaining 95 students (51.6%) preferred multi-modal learning styles. A significant relationship between gender and single modal learning styles (P = 0.009) and between status and learning styles (P = 0.04) was observed.Conclusions:According to the results, male students preferred to use the kinesthetic learning style more than females, while, female students preferred the aural learning style. Knowledge about the learning styles of students at educational institutes is valuable and helps solve learning problems among students, and allows students to become better learners.

Exploration of preferred learning styles in medical education using VARK modal

Learning styles is a term used to refer to the methods of gathering, processing, interpreting, organizing and thinking about information. Students have different learning styles, which is the reason for the diversity seen in classrooms in regards to how students acquire information. Claxton and Murrell had divided the learning styles into the following four categories: personality models, information-processing models, social-interaction models, and instructional preferences models. VARK (an acronym for Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinesthetic, different way of learning styles) is a learning inventory categorized into the ‘instructional preference’ modal. Many studies were done using the VARK inventory among the medical education but the preferred mode of learning was variable in different parts of the world. The relationship of age, gender and academic performance with the mode of learning was also not consistent. So this article tried to conclude the preferred mode of learning and relationship of mode of learning with gender and other factors by analyzing the previous studies done using VARK questionnaire among the medical students in daily teaching and learning environment. Pub Med and Google Scholar were used as a search engine to find the article. Altogether 20 full text research papers were retrieved and reviewed. In the most of part of the world the studies showed that multimodal learning style was the predominant one over unimodal. Further in multimodal quadmodal was the most preferred one followed by other presentation. In the unimodal presentation most preferred one is kinesthetic type of learning along with visual, aural and read write in less extent. Age factors had no lucid relationship with the learning style though some variations were observed with age.This review was expected to be useful as scientific evidence in the field of medical education and also as a reference for further research.