Relationship between Learning Approaches and Academic Performance of Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Kermanshah, Iran

Abstract

Background. Learning approaches are a set of skills and strategies used by learners to organize and recall the content. Teachers can adopt appropriate teaching methods if they know the students' learning approaches. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between learning approaches and academic performance of dental student. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, 128 dental students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences were recruited by the stratified random sampling method. The data collection tools were a demographic information form and Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST). To determine academic performance, the grade point average (GPA) of the previous semester was used, and students with GPA scores ≤14.99 and ≥ 15 were divided into weak and strong groups, respectively. Data were analyzed by SPSS 17 software using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results. The most common learning approach in most strong (n = 49, 45.4%) and weak (n = 12, 60%) students was the superficial approach. The results of the chi-square test did not show a statistically significant difference between strong and weak students in terms of the learning approach. Conclusion. The results did not show a statistically significant relationship between students' learning approach and their academic performance. However, since the superficial approach can lead to a decline in academic performance, the professors need to take the necessary intervention measures to improve students' learning approaches. Further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to shed more light on this research domain.