The learning style of medical students

Recent research indicates that students' learning styles and approaches to study may have a significant bearing on their academic success. A study was undertaken on first-, third- and final-year medical students to analyse their preferred learning styles and approaches to study, using the Lancaster Approaches to Learning Inventory. The results showed that students entering the medical school had preferences which were more similar to science students' than arts students'. The medical students had high scores on reproducing orientation (surface approach) in all years tested. The first-year students had low scores on meaning orientation (deep approach) but the scores from students in later years showed a progressive rise. The implications of these results with regard to selection, teaching and assessment are explored. However, this preliminary study does not allow us to differentiate between the effect of student preference and that of the context and the environment in which they study.