Assessment of Ideal Learning Style among Medical Students using VARK Learning Approach

Abstract

Objective: Learning styles are important in the learning process so that students can learn in shorter time according to their preferred style. The objective of this study is to observe ideal preferred learning style among medical students and the association of the academic year with the preferred learning style. Study Design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Central Park Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan from September 2021 to December 2021. Methodology: VARK learning approach was used to identify the ideal learning style. The data was collected using systematic sampling from 148 medical students. The frequency distribution of various preferences of the students was given. Distribution of gender and academic year across their ideal learning style was observed. The association of categorical factors with preferred style was tested using Chi-square test with a level of significance of 5%. SPSS version 26 was used for data analysis. Results: About 64.8% of the students who participated in the study were female. Nearly 44.6% of the students liked the single modal learning style. Approximately 58% of students prefer K-learning style. Reading was seen as least popular single modal. About 7.4%% of the students liked quad/ multi-modal learning styles. Conclusion: The most preferred learning style among students was the single learning style. Among single learning styles most of the students preferred kinesthetic followed by aural. The least preferred learning style was found to be quad-modal. Gender and academic year were significant associated factors for preferred learning style.