LEARNING STYLE OF MEDICAL STUDENTS AND ITS CORRELATION WITH PREFERRED TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Learning styles are diverse, with models by Kolb, Honey and Mumford, and Fleming's VARK.
• This study focused on the Honey and Mumford model for medical students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the frequency of learning styles among medical students using the Honey and Mumford model.
• To correlate learning styles with preferred teaching methodologies and academic achievements.

Main Methods:

• 77 fourth-year MBBS students participated.
• Honey and Mumford's learning style questionnaire and a teaching methodology preference questionnaire were used.
• Chi-square test was employed for correlation analysis.

Main Results:

• Reflector (46.8%) and pragmatist (27.3%) were the most common learning styles.
• Students preferred interactive lectures (28.57%) and problem-based learning (25.98%).
• No significant correlation was found between learning styles and teaching preferences or academic scores.

Conclusions:

• The majority of medical students exhibit reflector and pragmatist learning styles.
• Interactive lectures and problem-based learning are favored teaching methods.
• Tailoring instructional strategies to student learning styles is recommended for improved outcomes.