Preferred Learning Method of Undergraduate Medical 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 Teaching and Learning method to increase the grasping ability of students. Purpose of the study was to assess the preferred learning styles of medical students by using VARK questionnaire.

Method: This was a cross-sectional study based on the VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read & write and Kinesthetic)questionnaire done among 414 medical students of Subharti Medical College Meerut UP. The VARK questionnaire was administered to 1^st year 86(20.7%), 2^nd year 91 (22%), 3^rd year 116 (28%), and final year 121 (29.3%) students. The students were categorized as visual learner, auditory, read/write or kinesthetic, depending on the predominant option they chose.

Results: Of the total 414 medical students participated in the study. 24.1%,25.8%,14.2% and 5.70% were unimodal, bimodal, trimodal and quarimodal modality as their preferred modality of learning. Among the unimodallearners the percentages of students who preferred visual(20%), auditory (35%), reading/writing (12%), kinesthetic (33%). AV(29.9%) followed by AK(26.1%) were most preferred bimodal modalities of learning. AVK(44.1%) was most preferred trimodal modality of learning. There was no significant difference among different year of medical students for preferredunimodal modalities of learning (p=0.55), different bimodal modalities of learning (p=0.9) and different trimodal modalities of learning.

Conclusions: Audio visuals which includes short movies, video clips and animated versions are most preferred modalities for exciting and interesting learning. Kinesthetic learning which includes ECE (early clinical exposures) role plays, case presentation, simulations etc works more on affective and psychomotor component of learning and gives a better understanding, adds meaningfulness to the topic and renders a long lasting memory. A teaching session which includes all the modalities makes a strong, positive and permanent impression on a students mind about the subject.