Using VARK to assess Saudi nursing students' learning style preferences: Do they differ from other health professionals?

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to develop knowledge about the preferred learning styles of Saudi nursing students that can lead students to understand course content and, in turn, offer improved patient care. Methods A cross-sectional survey design was administered to 125 female nursing students who volunteered to participate in this research. Results The majority of participants (80.5%) had some preference for kinaesthetic learning. Of those with a dominant preference, 38.2% had a strong preference for kinaesthetic learning, while 10.6%, 4.9%, and 2.4% preferred aural, reading/writing, and visual learning, respectively. The learning styles of Saudi nursing students were not significantly different in their kinaesthetic preference from one group of Australian nursing students (p = 0.85) but were significantly different in their kinaesthetic preference (p < 0.0001) from Saudi medical students. The kinaesthetic learning style was the highest ranked preference for all groups of nursing students. Conclusions The reported learning styles of Saudi nursing students were more similar to other groups of nurses than they were to other Saudi healthcare students in key areas of learning preference.