Cognitive style and instructional materials for medical students

The study assessed the effects of matching, or mismatching, third-year medical students by cognitive style and instructional mode. At the beginning of each of four rotations of the third-year surgery clerkship, all students (n = 245) were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test and then classified as either field-independent or field-dependent. The students in rotations one to three (n = 180) were randomly assigned to either a highly structured sequence or to an unstructured sequence on colorectal cancer, and in the fourth rotation all students (n = 65) took the colorectal cancer self-instructional sequence currently in use. Following the instructional period, the students were administered an inventory of instruction, a simulation game, and a multiple-choice posttest of the content. Results showed few effects favoring matching cognitive style with instructional materials. Implications for highly motivated, high-achieving students were discussed.