Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Nursing, Saveh University of Medical Sciences, Saveh, Iran
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIM: There is a growing interest in learning styles of undergraduate health‑care
professional students; however, the evidences about learning styles over time during undergraduate
programs are rare. In this study, the learning styles of undergraduate health‑care professional
students from the beginning to the completion of the program were examined to determine changes
in learning style over time.
METHODOLOGY: This is a longitudinal descriptive study from 2015 to 2018. A total of 101 health‑care
professional students were selected by census method. Learning styles were evaluated using the
Perceptual Learning‑Style Preference Questionnaire three times in the study at the beginning (T1),
the middle (T2), and the end of the educational course (T3). The data were analyzed using repeated
measures ANOVA.
RESULTS: In T1, auditory (mean = 13.99) and visual (mean = 13.54) styles were preferred as major
learning styles, whereas at T2, visual style (mean = 13.6) was the only preferred major learning
style. At T3, the major learning styles were kinesthetic (mean = 14.32), tactile (mean = 13.98), and
visual (mean = 13.58). There were statistically significant differences in auditory, kinesthetic, tactile
and group scale scores between the three time points (P < 0.05). Group learning style was in the
negative type at all three time points.
CONCLUSIONS: Learning styles can change depending on the context, environment, teaching
method, and the subject of learning material and are probably a flexible changing feature rather than
a fixed inherent feature a student possesses.
Keywords
orthopedic surgical residents at 1 accredited institution. J Surg
Educ 2012;69:196‑200.
2. Günes MH. Learning styles of the students of biology
department and prospective biology teachers in Turkey and Their
Relationship with Some Demographic Variables. Univer J Educ
Res 2018;6:366‑77.
3. Vizeshfar F, Torabizadeh C. The effect of teaching based
on dominant learning style on nursing students’ academic
achievement. Nurse Educ Pract 2018;28:103‑8.
4. Huang F, Hoi CKW, Teo T. The Influence of Learning Style
on English Learning Achievement Among Undergraduates in
Mainland China. J Psycholinguist Res 2018;47:1069‑84.
5. Mangold K, Kunze KL, Quinonez MM, Taylor LM, Tenison AJ.
Learning style preferences of practicing nurses. J Nurses Prof Dev
2018;34:212‑8.
6. Nejat N, Kouhestani H, Rezaei K. Effect of concept mapping
on approach to learning among nursing students. Hayat 2011;17:22‑31.
7. Romanelli F, Bird E, Ryan M. Learning styles: A review of theory,
application, and best practices. Am J Pharm Educ 2009;73:9.
8. Aldosari MA, Aljabaa AH, Al‑Sehaibany FS, Albarakati SF.
Learning style preferences of dental students at a single
institution in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, evaluated using the VARK
questionnaire. Adv Med Educ Pract 2018;9:179‑86.
9. Rezaei K, Kouhestani HR, Ganjeh F, Anbari Z. Learning styles of
first semester students in Arak University of Medical Sciences,
2008. J Arak Uni Med Sci 2010;12:44‑51.
10. Collins CS, Nanda S, Palmer BA, Mohabbat AB, Schleck CD,
Mandrekar JN, et al. A cross‑sectional study of learning styles
among continuing medical education participants. Med Teach
2019;41:318‑24.
11. Şener S, Çokçalışkan A. An investigation between multiple
intelligences and learning styles. J Educ Train Stud 2018;6:125‑32.
12. Koohestani HR, Arabshahi SK, Ahmadi F, Baghcheghi N.
The experiences of healthcare professional students about the
educational impacts of mobile learning. Qualitative Report
2019;24:1593‑609.
13. Kirschner PA. Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Comput
Educ 2017;106:166‑71.
14. Koohestani HR, Arabshahi SK, Ahmadi F. The paradox
of acceptance and rejection: The perception of healthcare
professional students about mobile learning acceptance in Iran
University of Medical Sciences. Q Res Educ 2018;7:144‑69.
15. Dickerson P. Core curriculum for Nursing Professional
Development. 5th ed. Chicago: Association for Nursing
Professional Development; 2017.
16. Dunn RS, Dunn KJ. Teaching Secondary Students through Their
Individual Learning Styles: Practical Approaches for Grades 7‑12.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon; 1993.
17. Riechmann SW, Grasha AF. A rational approach to developing
and assessing the construct validity of a student learning style
scales instrument. J Psychol 1974;87:213‑23.
18. Gregorc AF. Learning‑teaching styles‑potent forces behind them.
Educ Leadership 1979;36:234‑7.
19. Kolb D. Experiential Learning as the Science of Learning and
Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1984.
20. McCarthy B, White C, McNamara MC. The 4MAT system:
Teaching to learning styles with right/left mode techniques.
Barrington, IL: Excel, Inc. 1987.
21. Reid JM. The learning style preferences of ESL students. TESOL
quarterly. 1987;21:87‑111.
22. Saif AA. Educational Psychology: Psychology of Learning and
Instruction. 13th ed. Tehran: Doran Publisher; 2018.
23. Negahban T, Ansari A. Does student’s preferred studying
environment related with their perceptual learning style
preference? Community Health J 2013;6:9‑16.
24. Ahmadi M, Allami A. Comparison of health workers learning
styles based on Vark and Kolbs’questionnaires and their
relationship with educational achievement. Res Med Educ
2014;6:19‑28.
25. Darvishzade M, Sabzevari S, Garrosi B, Hassanzade A. Reviewing
learning styles regarding medical students of kerman university
of medical sciences and providing a teaching method appropriate
based on their views. Strides Dev Med Educ 2013;10:376‑84.
26. Rasouli D, Soheili A, Mohammadpour Y, Zareiee F, Ebrahimi M.
Nursing and midwifery students’ preferred learning styles in
Urmia university of medical sciences. J Nurs Midwifery Urmia
Univer Med Sci 2015;13:84‑9.
27. NuzhatA, SalemRO, Al Hamdan N, Ashour N. Gender differences
in learning styles and academic performance of medical students
in Saudi Arabia. Med Teach 2013;35 Suppl 1:S78‑82.
28. Prajapati B, Dunne M, Bartlett H, Cubbidge R. The influence
of learning styles, enrolment status and gender on academic
performance of optometry undergraduates. Ophthalmic Physiol
Optics 2011;31:69‑78.
29. Enrera JA. Perceptual learning style preferences of clinical
laboratory science students. J Nurs Health Sci 2018;7:34‑6.
30. Parandeh A, Hage Amini Z. Practice‑based learning and its
outcomes in nursing students’ education. Educ Ethics Nurs
2013;2:1‑8.
31. Peacock M. Match or mismatch? Learning styles and teaching
styles in EFL. Int J Applied Linguistics 2001;11:1‑20.
32. Riazi A, Mansoorian MA. Learning style preferences among
Iranian male and female EFL students. Iran EFL J 2008;2:88‑100.
33. Baghcheghi N, Koohestani HR, Rezaei K. A comparison of the
cooperative learning and traditional learning methods in theory
classes on nursing students’ communication skill with patients
at clinical settings. Nurse Educ Today 2011;31:877‑82.
34. Sohrabi Z, Koohestani HR, Baghcheghi N, Delavari S,
Rezaei Shahsavarloo Z. The effects of group blogging on the
attitude towards virtual education in nursing students. Med J
Islam Repub Iran 2017;31:132.
35. Koohestani HR, Baghcheghi N. The effects of team‑based learning
techniques on nursing students’ perception of the psycho‑social
climate of the classroom. Med J Islam Repub Iran 2016;30:437.
36. Pazargadi M, Tahmasebi S. Learning styles and their application
in nursing. Educ Strateg Med Sci 2010;3:73‑6.