The relationship between learning styles and academic performance in TURKISH physiotherapy students

Area of Science:

• Physiotherapy Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Learning styles describe individual differences in information processing and skill acquisition.
• Understanding these styles is crucial for optimizing educational outcomes in health professions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the prevalent learning styles among Turkish physiotherapy students.
• To examine the correlation between specific learning styles and academic performance.

Main Methods:

• The Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales were administered to 184 physiotherapy students.
• Academic performance was quantified using cumulative grade point average (GPA).
• Kruskal-Wallis test analyzed performance differences across six learning style groups.

Main Results:

• The Collaborative learning style was most common (34.8%).
• Avoidant learning style showed a negative correlation with GPA (r=-0.317, p<0.001).
• Participant learning style demonstrated a positive correlation with GPA (r=0.400, p<0.001) and significantly outperformed other groups (p<0.003).

Conclusions:

• While Collaborative is common, Participant learning style is linked to superior academic achievement in this cohort.
• Educational interventions promoting participant-style engagement may enhance physiotherapy students' academic success.
• Findings suggest tailoring teaching methods to foster active learning strategies.