Learning style preferences of allied health practitioners in a teacher education program

This article reports findings of a three-year study of learning style preferences of allied health practitioners in a university teacher education program. The Learning Preference Inventory (LPI) designed by Rezler and French was used as the survey instrument. Ten health fields were represented in the total population of 309 students who participated in the study. Analysis of variance was used to test the significance of the differences of the six LPI mean scores on abstract/concrete, teacher-centered/student-centered, and individual/interpersonal categories across the variables of age, sex, teaching experience, class location, class standing, and health field. Results of this study paralleled the findings of the 1975 Rezler and French study regarding medical technologists and physical therapists in that these two groups indicated they preferred concrete and teacher centered learning styles. Several other significant differences between health fields and other variables are discussed.