Exploration of preferred learning styles in medical education using VARK modal

Abstract

Learning styles is a term used to refer to the methods of gathering, processing, interpreting, organizing and thinking about information. Students have different learning styles, which is the reason for the diversity seen in classrooms in regards to how students acquire information. Claxton and Murrell had divided the learning styles into the following four categories: personality models, information-processing models, social-interaction models, and instructional preferences models. VARK (an acronym for Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinesthetic, different way of learning styles) is a learning inventory categorized into the 'instructional preference' modal. Many studies were done using the VARK inventory among the medical education but the preferred mode of learning was variable in different parts of the world. The relationship of age, gender and academic performance with the mode of learning was also not consistent. So this article tried to conclude the preferred mode of learning and relationship of mode of learning with gender and other factors by analyzing the previous studies done using VARK questionnaire among the medical students in daily teaching and learning environment. Pub Med and Google Scholar were used as a search engine to find the article. Altogether 20 full text research papers were retrieved and reviewed. In the most of part of the world the studies showed that multimodal learning style was the predominant one over unimodal. Further in multimodal quadmodal was the most preferred one followed by other presentation. In the unimodal presentation most preferred one is kinesthetic type of learning along with visual, aural and read write in less extent. Age factors had no lucid relationship with the learning style though some variations were observed with age.This review was expected to be useful as scientific evidence in the field of medical education and also as a reference for further research.

Assessment of learning style preferences of pharmacy students: Findings from public university of Malaysia

“…18 These results are supported by a literature which suggests that preferred mode of learning is variable in different parts of the world. 19 However, it is worth discussing the low preference of auditory mode in this study. A traditional lecture is a typical example of auditory mode of learning which supports passive learning and encourages rote memorization.…”

Understanding Engineering Students’ Learning Styles

“…(Kumar et al, 2012:9) Although in the current day, the investigation of gender might seem to be an overemphasis on the biological differences and their possible impact on ones" behavior and habits, these biological differences may have led to different social roles that consequently led to the creation of "two separate subcultures". (Almazroui, 2010:13) According to research, there are a number of differences between the two genders when it comes to learning styles (Oxford 1995, Cheng et al 2010, Khanal et al 2014.Male students are found to be "…more field-independent, implemented tactile learning, had superiority in spatial learning tasks, liked to read individually or in pairs… usually moved during the "reading time" and acquired or learned information more easily through left-hemispheric, analytic modes, generally had better achievement in logic and mathematical content" (Hou, 2015: 3). On the other hand, the "female students preferred visual styles; auditory and kinaesthetic styles, worked in groups , acquired language or learned through an integration of left-and-right-hemispheric modes, and (are) good at linguistic tasks."…”

“…On the other hand, the "female students preferred visual styles; auditory and kinaesthetic styles, worked in groups , acquired language or learned through an integration of left-and-right-hemispheric modes, and (are) good at linguistic tasks." (Hou 2015:3)According to Khanal et al(2014), males preferred to use rational and logical evaluation, and they also seemed to be achievement oriented whereas females use "elaborative processing" and establish personal connections with the subject matter and are "socially and performance oriented". (5) When both genders were tested using VARK, the results indicated that the female subjects were multi modal, having a diverse combinations of multimodal leanings styles.…”

“…On the other hand, in several studies the male subjects appeared to be unimodal. However, according to a study conducted at Michigan state University, "…a majority of the male students preferred multimodal instruction, specifically, four modes (VARK), whereas a majority of female students preferred single-mode instruction with a preference towards K." (Khanal et al, 2014:5) It might be worth noting that multi-modal learners may have better learning outcomes in comparison to the unimodal learners. (Kumar et al, 2012:13) This also raises questions about how different studies and questionnaires may have seemingly opposite results and which study, if any, best reflects student opinions or preferences.…”

Visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic: An assessment of learning styles among undergraduate medical students of M R Medical College, Kalaburagi

“…VARK (an acronym for visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic, different way of learning styles) is a learning inventory belongs to the "instructional preference" modal which differentiates students by the way in which they best acquire information. [3] The VARK inventory is a tool which is easy to use and can give students information on how to maximize their learning. It is designed to be a starting place for a conversation among teachers and learners which is a useful step toward understanding, and hence, improving learning.…”