Visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic Research Articles

Learning styles, academic performance and mental health among medical students in King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: This study was designed to assess the prevalence of various learning styles among medical students and their correlations with academic performances and mental health issues in these students in KSA.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 315 (Male =179, Females =136) students studying in college of medicine, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia between January and June 2019. VARK (Visual Aural Read/write Kinesthetic) questionnaire was used to explore the learning styles of students. Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) was used to assess the mental health. The participants’ demographic data, grade point average, and scores of all measures were presented using descriptive statistics. Correlation test were used to explore the relationship between learning styles, academic performance and mental health of students. Result: The results indicated that approximately half of the students (51.7%) had preferred unimodal learning style and 48.3% students preferred multimodal. Among the unimodal learning styles, the most common learning style was aural (29%), followed by visual (16.8%), read/write (3.5%) and kinesthetic (1.9%), while 28.3% participants preferred bimodal mode of learning. There were significant differences between male and female participants. Male students preferred visual and quardimodal style of learning while female students preferred only aural type of learning. Academic achievement was associated with learning style. However, no relationship was observed between DASS-21 scores and different learning styles. Conclusion: The most preferred learning styles among medical students were aural and bimodal. Learning styles were significantly related to grade point average and no relation exit between mental health and learning styles.

Preferred Learning Styles and Teaching Methods Among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction Knowingthe learning styles of medical students is an important factor as it can help in making learning more effective. Research has shown that medical students in various years of studies have selective learning styles and liking to a particular teaching strategy. The aim of the present study was to identify the preferred learning styles and teaching methods of medical students through all the years of study using the VARK (for Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic) questionnaire. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted among the medical students of year 1 (MD1) to year 6 (MD6), except MD5, at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sohar, Oman. The VARK questionnaire was used to record the learning stylepreference of the students, and an additional question was asked to know the teaching method that the students preferred to be used. Results A total of 292 students responded to the questionnaire. The majority of the students had preference for the multimodal style of teaching (54%), mostly bimodal (30%). This was followed by the kinesthetic mode of learning (30%) in the unimodal style. The MD1 and MD6 students had preference for the unimodal style whereas the other years (MD2, MD3, MD4) had preference for the bimodal style. The teaching method preferred by most of the students included clinical skills lab (64%) followed by interactive lecture (59%) and lab work (57%). Conclusion The study showed that most of the students had preference for more than one (bimodal) learning style. The research findings can help the teachers recognize the learning problems among students and execute the needed teaching strategies.

AI-based adaptive personalized content presentation and exercises navigation for an effective and engaging E-learning platform

Effective and engaging E-learning becomes necessary in unusual conditions such as COVID-19 pandemic, especially for the early stages of K-12 education. This paper proposes an adaptive personalized E-learning platform with a novel combination of Visual/Aural/Read, Write/Kinesthetic (VARK) presentation or gamification and exercises difficulty scaffolding through skipping/hiding/ reattempting. Cognitive, behavior and affective adaptation means are included in developing a dynamic learner model, which detects and corrects each student’s learning style and cognitive level. As adaptation targets, the platform provides adaptive content presentation in two groups (VARK and gamification), adaptive exercises navigation and adaptive feedback. To achieve its goal, the platform utilizes a Deep Q-Network Reinforcement Learning (DQN-RL) and an online rule-based decision making implementation. The platform interfaces front-end dedicated website and back-end adaptation algorithms. An improvement in learning effectiveness is achieved comparing the post-test to the pre-test in a pilot experiment for grade 3 mathematics curriculum. Both groups witnessed academic performance and satisfaction level improvements, most importantly, for the students who started the experiment with a relatively low performance. VARK group witnessed a slightly more improvement and higher satisfaction level, since interactive activities and games in the kinesthetic presentation can provide engagement, while keeping other presentation styles available, when needed.

Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap.

PurposeCurrently, the dental education system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated. It is important to find out whether teaching methods must be altered to improve the learning experience for both genders throughout their years of study. This study aims to investigate the preferred learning styles for males and females studying dentistry at Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia and the effect of academic level on the learning style preference.Materials and MethodsA cross-sectional survey composed of the visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire was distributed to 228 undergraduate dental students at Taibah University through emails during September/October 2020. Student learning styles were presented using descriptive statistics. Learning preferences between genders and academic years were compared using independent proportional t-test and Chi-square test.ResultsA total of 168 dental students completed the questionnaire. Both genders displayed a higher percentage of a unimodal learning preference (60% males, 50% females) with 41% of males preferring the kinesthetic learning style, followed by the aural (26%) then the visual (20%), and lastly read/write learning style (12.6%). Female students preferred the kinesthetic learning style (42%), followed by the visual (27%) then the aural (20%), and lastly read/write learning style (11%). All students throughout the 6 academic years preferred the unimodal learning approach with the kinesthetic style favored. The quadmodal was preferred mostly by interns.ConclusionBoth male and female students studying dentistry at Taibah University had a unimodal learning preference. Quadmodal learning was popular among interns. Both genders preferred the kinesthetic learning style, followed by the aural for males and visual for females. Teaching methods must be tailored to suit the learning style of each gender to promote motivation and thriving for a successful outcome.

Enhancing Students Learning in an Undergraduate Engineering Economics Course During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the Covid 19 Pandemic greatly impacted teaching and learning, academic institutions switched from in-person to online classes. This shift prompted an examination of students’ learning styles to accommodate their learning in virtual environment. The VARK (Visual-Aural-Read/Write-Kinesthetic) instrument was used to assess effectiveness of teaching and students’ learning in U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CGA) undergraduate engineering course. The VARK instrument was used to facilitate effective virtual classroom activities to engineering students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper argues that students have different learning strengths and styles. Some students may learn best by watching and listening, others by thinking, and others by doing or by doing, touching, and feeling. Our results indicate that engineering students demonstrate a strong preference for at least two learning styles and the learning styles differ between male and female students. Females are not kinesthetic learners, but their preferable mode of learning is verbal or reading. Male students preferred aural style and African Americans kinesthetic learning style. This research was conducted to improve our teaching and provide students with safe learning environment during challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper finds that learning styles are important across all majors during virtual learning and teaching. The VARK instrument can be used to indicate cadets’ learning styles to facilitate effective learning and teaching in virtual environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A study of the different learning styles of the present first professional MBBS students at United Institute of Medical Sciences, United Medicity, Prayagraj, India

Background: The study is designed to evaluate the different learning styles of the present first professional MBBS students. Students were requested to complete the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire at VARK-LEARN.COM. Results of the questionnaire were collected by email and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. We found that 68.2% had multimodal learning preferences and 31.7% had single learning preference. Aims and Objectives: The objective of this study is to analyze the different learning styles of MBBS 1st year students of United Institute of Medical Sciences, Prayagraj, using the VARK questionnaire. Materials and Methods: This study includes the informed consent taken from each student before participating. The Institutional Ethics Committee approved the study. Copyright permission was taken from the website vark-learn.com, from VARK Learn Limited, New Zealand. One hundred and two students had consented, and out of them, 85 students participated in the study. The students were asked to complete the questionnaire on the website. The data on their learning styles were collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Results: Out of 85 Students, 58 (68.2%) had multimodal learning preferences. Of these, 28.2% of students had four-part VARK or quadrimodal preferences, 28.2% of students had bimodal, and 11.7% had trimodal learning preferences. Twenty-seven (31.7%) had single learning preferences, and, out of these 27 students, 17 (20%) had kinesthetic, 6 (7.05%) had visual learning preferences, and 4 (4.7%) students had aural learning preferences. Conclusion: With the help of this study, we concluded that most of the students who participated in our study are multimodal learners, and out of the students who had a single learning preference, most had kinesthetic learning preferences.

Comparison between conventional teaching and blended learning in preclinical fixed prosthodontic training: A cross-sectional study.

Blended learning utilizes technology with reduced face-to-face time and promotes a student-centred learning environment that excites the learning process. However, studies on blended learning in fixed prosthodontics is still lacking. This study aimed to compare students' performance in easy and difficult level of fixed prosthodontic preclinical projects given by either blended learning or conventional teaching. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 72s-year dental students, who attended preclinical fixed prosthodontic training. Participants were randomly segregated into conventional teaching (n=36) and blended learning (n=36). All participants were evaluated for learning preferences using Visual-Aural-Read/Write-Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire and performed a project as their baseline skill assessment. They performed another two preclinical projects (easy and difficult level) after the allocated teaching approach. Learning preferences were analysed using Fisher's exact test and performance in preclinical projects were analysed with an independent t test (significant at p<.05). The highest prevalence of learning preferences was the quad-modal preferences (50.7%), which were visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic. There were no significant differences in baseline skills and learning preferences (p>.05) between groups. No significant differences found between both teaching approaches for easy (p=.319) and difficult projects (p=.339). In the blended learning group, no significant difference was found in both difficulty level of projects (p=.064). The participants performed equally on both teaching approaches. However, blended learning for preclinical fixed prosthodontics is anticipated as the new norm of learning, especially in the current pandemic with reduced face-to-face time.

A Health eLearning Ontology and Procedural Reasoning Approach for Developing Personalized Courses to Teach Patients about Their Medical Condition and Treatment.

We propose a methodological framework to support the development of personalized courses that improve patients’ understanding of their condition and prescribed treatment. Inspired by Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), the framework uses an eLearning ontology to express domain and learner models and to create a course. We combine the ontology with a procedural reasoning approach and precompiled plans to operationalize a design across disease conditions. The resulting courses generated by the framework are personalized across four patient axes—condition and treatment, comprehension level, learning style based on the VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/write, Kinesthetic) presentation model, and the level of understanding of specific course content according to Bloom’s taxonomy. Customizing educational materials along these learning axes stimulates and sustains patients’ attention when learning about their conditions or treatment options. Our proposed framework creates a personalized course that prepares patients for their meetings with specialists and educates them about their prescribed treatment. We posit that the improvement in patients’ understanding of prescribed care will result in better outcomes and we validate that the constructs of our framework are appropriate for representing content and deriving personalized courses for two use cases: anticoagulation treatment of an atrial fibrillation patient and lower back pain management to treat a lumbar degenerative disc condition. We conduct a mostly qualitative study supported by a quantitative questionnaire to investigate the acceptability of the framework among the target patient population and medical practitioners.

Assessment of pharmacy technician learning preferences and implications for training.

PurposeTo assess pharmacy technician learning preferences using the VARK tool and through self-identification.MethodsThe VARK (visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic) questionnaire was incorporated into a larger survey, which was distributed during live staff meetings and a continuing education session held by the Ohio Pharmacists Association attended by 204 pharmacy technicians across various practice settings.ResultsA 90% response rate was achieved. Most respondents (78.8%) self-identified a single predominant learning preference, with 60.3% indicating a preference for kinesthetic learning methods. In contrast, after assessment with the VARK questionnaire 37.9% of survey participants were categorized as having a quadmodal learning style incorporating all VARK modalities. With regard to the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam, a large majority of participants (96.2% of those providing a response) indicated that they had taken the exam in the past, with 17 participants (9.3% of those providing a response) indicating more than 1 attempt to pass the exam. Furthermore, experiential (on-the-job) training was identified by a large majority of survey respondents (79.3%) as the preferred way to learn new information.ConclusionLearning preferences of pharmacy technicians vary amongst individuals, with many found to have multiple learning preferences through VARK questionnaire assessment. Incorporating experiential training and establishing learning preferences of pharmacy technicians may aid in development of accredited training programs that cater to the needs of pharmacy technicians.

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

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.

Learning style preferences of physiology undergraduate students of rural medical college of Maharashtra

Background: A learning style is the process by which a learner takes in, focuses on, understands, and retains information. This concept of learning style has got great interest among educators to recognize learning abilities of their student. It is essential to have knowledge of learning method preferred by students and identify them as, visual learner, kinesthetic learner, or aural or read-write type learner. If the information is delivered to student according to their preferred learning style, their learning would be much enhanced. Thus, as a medical educator, it is our task to assess and teach knowledge, attitudes, and skills considering the student interests. Aim and Objective: The purpose of our study was to determine preferred learning styles of physiology undergraduate students of a rural medical college of Maharashtra, India. Materials and Methods: Visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire was given to 100 undergraduate medical students. The distributions of VARK preferences were calculated, and the learning style of each student was determined. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the variables. Results: About 76% of students showed multiple learning styles. Among multimodal learners, bimodal learners 56% were highest, trimodal 19%, and then quadmodal learners. The most preferred combination of learning style among bimodal students were auditory kinesthetic (33%). Conclusion: Physiology undergraduate student prefers multimodal learning styles.

Learning styles of first year medical students studying physiology in Tamil Nadu

Background: Understanding the diversity of learning style preferences of first year medical students will help teachers of Physiology design teaching-learning activities that while catering to their preferences also challenge them to grow in categories that are against their preferences. Most research using the VARK (Visual, Aural, Read-write, Kinesthetic) questionnaire that assesses sensory modality preference alone showed that medical students studying Physiology were multimodal. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the learning styles of first year medical students studying Physiology in India using the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) and to compare the learning styles of males and females. Methods and Material: The Index of Learning Styles (ILS) questionnaire was administered to 150 first year medical students studying Physiology in a private medical college in India as it assesses learning style preferences on four dimensions - active/reflective, sensing/intuitive, visual/verbal and sequential/global. Results: The majority of first year medical students were fairly well balanced in the sequential/global dimension (80.66%), active/reflective dimension (68%) and sensory/intuitive dimension (62%) of the ILS. However, in the visual/verbal dimension, the majority of students were visual learners (72.66%). There were no significant differences in the learning style preferences of males and females. Conclusion: The majority of our students were visual learners and were well balanced in the other dimensions, with there being no significant gender wise difference in learning styles. With this knowledge and findings about different dimensions of learning styles, other than sensory modality preference alone, effective teaching-learning activities can be developed.

Do different learning styles make a difference when it comes to creativity? An empirical study

This study investigates the effectiveness of different types of Remote Associates Test (RAT) materials and examines whether the pairing of learning style and creative learning materials influence the outcome. This study developed an online RAT training system (ORTS) that can present RAT questions via text and images. Participants' creativity and learning styles were assessed using the Problem Solving Creativity Test and the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) learning style scale, respectively. The four-group experiment design was conducted with 117 college students. Firstly, the study developed a universally accessible training system and creativity instruction model. Secondly, all participant groups' creativity performance and RAT scores improved significantly after 10 days of intensive RAT training. Thirdly, the results partly agree with the viewpoint of the “learning styles myth,” as the learning-style-material matching group did not perform differently than the learning-style-alternated group. This study suggests several interesting possibilities and implications for cultivating creativity among college students.

Teaching Note—Developing an Online Blended Learning Course on Psychiatric Diagnosis

ABSTRACTIt has been suggested that the task of teaching and learning social work practice in an online environment can greatly be facilitated if thoughtful attention is paid to course design. This article details the design of a blended-learning online course to teach MSW students the process of psychiatric diagnosis. First, the development of the course philosophy is discussed. Second, the choice of the VARK (visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic) learning model is explained. Finally, the design of the course consistent with the philosophy and learning model is presented.

Learning styles, academic achievement, and mental health problems among medical students in Thailand.

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the prevalence of various learning styles among medical students and their correlations with academic achievement and mental health problems in these students.MethodsThis study was conducted among 140 first-year medical students of Chiang Mai University, Thailand in 2014. The participants completed the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire, the results of which can be categorized into 4 modes, corresponding to how many of the 4 types are preferred by a respondent. The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and the 21-item Outcome Inventory (OI-21) were also used. The participants’ demographic data, grade point average (GPA), and scores of all measurements are presented using simple statistics. Correlation and regression analysis were employed to analyze differences in the scores and to determine the associations among them.ResultsSixty percent of the participants were female. The mean age was 18.86±0.74 years old. Quadmodal was found to be the most preferred VARK mode (43.6%). Unimodal, bimodal, and trimodal modes were preferred by 35%, 12.9%, and 18.6% of the participants, respectively. Among the strong unimodal learners, visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic preferences were reported by 4.3%, 7.1%, 11.4%, and 12.1% of participants, respectively. No difference was observed in the PSS-10, OI-anxiety, OI-depression, and OI-somatization scores according to the VARK modes, although a significant effect was found for OI-interpersonal (F=2.788, P=0.043). Moreover, neither VARK modes nor VARK types were correlated with GPA.ConclusionThe most preferred VARK learning style among medical students was quadmodal. Learning styles were not associated with GPA or mental health problems, except for interpersonal problems.

An Examination of Learning Preferences of U.S. and International Students

Learning styles and preferences are often discussed topics in educational psychology, but are less prevalent in business education. International students are another understudied segment of business education. This article reviews literature regarding learning styles and preferences and examines whether U.S. and international students have different learning preferences using the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) model. The findings indicate a large percentage of both populations have multimodal learning preferences. For the students who have one preferred learning mode, differences do exist between international and U.S. students.

Assessment of learning preferences among dental students using Visual, Aural, Read-Write, Kinesthetic questionnaire: An institutional experience

Background and Objectives: Every individual has different learning style. As dental educators, it is necessary to recognize the fact that each dental student may have a preference of acquiring information and skill in one style over another. The objective of this study was to determine the learning style preferences of dental students using the Visual, Aural, Read-Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire. Materials and Methods: The VARK questionnaire was administered to 20 1 st year and 40 2 nd year dental students of Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal University to determine their preferred mode of learning. Completed questionnaires were scored and tabulated to determine the distribution of VARK preferences. Results: Nearly 50% of 1 st year students were quadmodal whereas 55% of 2 nd year students were unimodal in which kinesthetic preference was dominant. Mean V and A scores were significantly higher for 1 st year than 2 nd year students. No significant gender difference was seen. Conclusion: The dental students in this study had varied learning preferences. As dental educators, we need to adopt different methods of teaching in order to reach most of the students and make the educational experience more productive.

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.

Assessment of learning styles of undergraduate medical students using the VARK questionnaire and the influence of sex and academic performance.

While there are several tools to study learning styles of students, the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is a simple, freely available, easy to administer tool that encourages students to describe their behavior in a manner they can identify with and accept. The aim is to understand the preferred sensory modality (or modalities) of students for learning. Teachers can use this knowledge to facilitate student learning. Moreover, students themselves can use this knowledge to change their learning habits. Five hundred undergraduate students belonging to two consecutive batches in their second year of undergraduate medical training were invited to participate in the exercise. Consenting students (415 students, 83%) were administered a printed form of version 7.0 of the VARK questionnaire. Besides the questionnaire, we also collected demographic data, academic performance data (marks obtained in 10th and 12th grades and last university examination), and self-perceived learning style preferences. The majority of students in our study had multiple learning preferences (68.7%). The predominant sensory modality of learning was aural (45.5%) and kinesthetic (33.1%). The learning style preference was not influenced by either sex or previous academic performance. Although we use a combination of teaching methods, there has not been an active effort to determine whether these adequately address the different types of learners. We hope these data will help us better our course contents and make learning a more fruitful experience.

The learning style preferences of chiropractic students: A cross-sectional study

Objective : The aims of our study were to measure the learning style preferences of chiropractic students and to assess whether they differ across the 5 years of chiropractic study. Methods : A total of 407 (41.4% females) full-degree, undergraduate, and postgraduate students enrolled in an Australian chiropractic program agreed to participate in a cross-sectional survey comprised of basic demographic information and the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire, which identifies learning preferences on four different subscales: visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Multivariate analysis of variance and the χ(2) test were used to check for differences in continuous (VARK scores) and categorical (VARK category preference) outcome variables. Results : The majority of chiropractic students (56.0%) were found to be multimodal learners. Compared to the other learning styles preferences, kinesthetic learning was preferred by a significantly greater proportion of students (65.4%, p < .001) and received a significantly greater mean VARK score (5.66 ± 2.47, p < .001). Conclusions : To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time chiropractic students have been shown to be largely multimodal learners with a preference for kinesthetic learning. While this knowledge may be beneficial in the structuring of future curricula, more thorough research must be conducted to show any beneficial relationship between learning style preferences and teaching methods.