RESUMEN
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.
RESUMEN
Background: The learning habit of a learner is the way he handles new information and experiences, and determines its outcomes. Various types of learning habits are adopted by students, including visual (V; learning from graphs, charts, and flow diagrams), auditory (A; learning from speech), read-write(R; learning from reading and writing), and kinesthetic (K; learning from touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight).Understanding their preferred learning habits as visual, auditory, read-write or kinesthetic learners will help to improve the teaching methods adopted. Facilitators and supporters themselves may need guidance and training in how to identify feedback and adapt learning to individual's habits. Objective: To assess different learning habits of medical students and hence provide student oriented education, producing efficient doctors. Materials and Methods: This study was performed at Department of physiology in Govt. Medical College, Bhavnagar in March 2011.Eighty four (84) medical students of first MBBS were participated in the study. By using the English version of the visual, auditory, reading or writing, kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire, we measured the difference in learning habits of First year medical students. Results: In Unimodal learning habit highest preference was given to auditory mode (48.57%), then to Kinesthetic (28.57%) & then to read (14.29%) & visual (8.57%). Among Multimodal learning habit students (n=44), 64.29% students preferred bimodal, 2.38% students preferred trimodal and 33.33% students preferred quadrimodal learning habit. Conclusion: Knowing that students have different preferred learning modes, will help medical instructors in our faculty develop appropriate learning approaches and explore opportunities so that they will be able to make the educational experience more productive. The results will help faculty to develop appropriate learning approaches and explore opportunities, so that they will able to make the educational experience more productive.