Education Research: Evaluating Medical Student Learning Preference and Its Relationship to Clerkship Satisfaction

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Neurology Clerkship
• Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME)

Background:

• The shift towards Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) necessitates understanding learner needs for personalized curricula.
• The Learning Preference Inventory (LPI) assesses preferences in content delivery, instruction, and learning structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the learning preferences of medical students during their Neurology clerkship.
• To evaluate the correlation between learning preferences and satisfaction with curricular elements.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 530 medical students in their Neurology clerkship completed the LPI and a satisfaction survey.
• The LPI assessed preferences for concrete vs. abstract content, teacher-centered vs. student-centered instruction, and individual vs. interpersonal learning.

Main Results:

• Most students (83%) preferred concrete content delivery.
• Learning preferences varied by medical school year, with a trend towards individual learning structure in later years.
• Abstract learners reported higher satisfaction with virtual simulations compared to concrete learners.

Conclusions:

• Neurology clerkship students exhibit clear learning preferences that influence their satisfaction with specific educational content.
• Learning preferences appear to evolve during medical training, potentially influenced by clinical experiences.
• The LPI is a valuable tool for informing curriculum development and advancing personalized medical education.