Background/aim: The learning styles and teaching implications for nursing and health science students have been well researched in other countries. Less research has considered the learning styles and implications for occupational therapy students. The current study examines the learning styles of occupational therapy students at one Australian university. Methods: The learning style preferences of first year undergraduate occupational therapy students (n = 120) were investigated. The students completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) and Fleming's VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinaesthetic) Questionnaire in the first weeks of their course. Results: The response rate was 97% (n = 116). Learning style preferences as determined by the Kolb LSI were spread over all four Kolb LSI learning styles with 'diverging ' (30.2%) and 'converging' (28.4%) being the most preferred. Instructional preference as measured by the VARK Questionnaire was kinaesthetic learning (33%), followed by the multimodal preference VARK (18.1%). Visual and aural categories were these students' least preferred methods of learning. Conclusions:The results of the current study support previous research indicating a range of teaching methods should be utilised to accommodate for the variability of students' learning styles within educational programs. To accommodate the range of learning experiences encountered in fieldwork and later in professional practice, students need to strengthen their capacities to use a variety of learning styles. This paper proposes that student learning for evidencedbased practice be facilitated by a range of learning opportunities including practical experiences.
Purpose: Educating future health care practitioners is an important role of universities. Optimal learning environments consider how students learn and utilise various teaching methods to tailor curriculum delivery to match specified student learning preferences. Method: This paper presents a comparative study examining the learning style preferences of first-year undergraduate occupational therapy (n = 116), physiotherapy (n = 60) and speech pathology students (n = 42) at one Australian university. Each student group completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) and the VARK Questionnaire during the first semester of year one of their courses. Results: Minimal significant differences were identified between the learning style preferences of the occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech pathology students using one-way ANOVA and t-tests. All three student groups reported a greater preference for kinesthetic learning, supporting case study and practical experience components of allied health education. As well, all four of Kolb’s information processing styles were represented within each student group. Conclusion: The study findings support prior research, suggesting that a range of teaching methods are required to accommodate the variability of student learning styles enrolled in health science courses as well as to strengthen student learning modes in preparation for the complex demands of professional practice.
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