Factors Affecting Postgraduate Dental Students’ Performance in a Biostatistics and Research Design Course

Abstract

Comprehension of biostatistics and principles of research design is important for literature evaluation and evidencebased practice in dentistry as well as for researchers wishing to have their publications accepted by international journals. This study investigated the contribution of several factors to postgraduate dental student performance in a biostatistics and research design course. All of the subjects in this study were dental school graduates currently enrolled in postgraduate programs leading to master's or doctoral degrees. The seven factors selected for study were 1) learning style preferences assessed by the VARK questionnaire, 2) past academic performance at the bachelor's degree level, 3) age, 4) gender, 5) current postgraduate program (master's or Ph.D.), 6) lecture attendance, and 7) performance on a quiz conducted early in the course. Response rate was 64 percent. Using bivariate analysis, a statistically significant relationship was observed between final exam score and the following factors: bachelor's degree grade; having single or multiple learning preferences; having visual, aural, read-write, or kinesthetic learning style preference; percent of lectures attended; and quiz score (P<0.0001, 0.01, 0.02, 0.006, 0.04, 0.03, 0.03, and <0.0001 respectively). In regression analysis, significant predictors of final exam score were bachelor's degree grade, having aural learning preference, and quiz score. The findings suggest that dental educators should direct their attention to students who have difficulties at the beginning of the course and should match the learning preferences of as many students as possible by presenting information in different ways rather than focusing on a single method of delivering the course.

<p>The Relationship Between the VARK Learning Styles and Academic Achievement in Dental Students</p>

“…The result was similar to those of the study by Zamani and Kaboodi (2017) on Iranian students, and Siddiqi et al (2012) and Haq et al (2012) in Pakistan. 3 But in studies by Moshabab (2016) and Al-Saud (2013) in Saudi Arabia, Murphy et al (2004) in the USA, and Tantawi (2009) in Egypt, the predominant learning style of most dental students was multimodal, 6,[20][21][22] which is not in line with the result of the current study. The reasons for inconsistency between the results of the current study and the aforementioned studies may be differences in personal characteristics of the studied subjects and the teaching method of lecturers in the colleges.…”

Learning style versus time spent studying and career choice: Which is associated with success in a combined undergraduate anatomy and physiology course?

“…Academic performance, regardless of type of examination (lecture or laboratory) was similar among students grouped by learning styles in this study, and was not influenced by the amount of time of materials were available. Academic performance has been shown by some to be significantly better for students whose learning style matches the dominant course component (El Tantawi, ; Dobson, ; Koch et al, ). The kinesthetic learning preference has been positively associated with academic success in courses where the bulk of the students' time is spent in kinesthetic activities (Koch et al, ) and negatively associated with performance when kinesthetic activities are de‐emphasized (Good et al, ).…”

“…Students' academic progression, or possibly assessment techniques, might also explain the differences between findings in the aforementioned studies and these data. The significant associations between VARK learning styles and academic performance have been reported primarily among cohorts of professional students such as nursing and dentistry (Alkhasawneh et al, ; El Tantawi, ; Koch et al, ) who are engaged in higher level coursework. Indeed, relationships between VARK learning styles and performance were found only among advanced students enrolled in higher level courses, but not among those enrolled in general biology courses (Good, et al, ).…”

“…In physiology courses, kinesthetic learners performed the poorest (Dobson, ) and aural learners performed the best, particularly when the courses had a heavy lecture component (Dobson, ). Aural learners performed the best in a dental biostatistics/research design course, where lecture attendance was required in order to take the final exam (El Tantawi, ). In a problem‐based nursing course that utilized multiple learning modalities, multimodal learners (those preferring two or more preferences) scored the highest in the course (Alkhasawneh et al, ).…”

Learning preferences of students studying Physiology in South India.

“…They advise that teachers should recognize that their dental students have different learning styles, reflect on their teaching methods and then contemplate incorporating other preferences [13]. A study to determine the factors that affected post-graduate dental students" performance in a Biostatistics course concluded that teachers of dental students should match the learning preferences of as many of their students as possible by using multiple ways of presentation instead of restricting themselves to using only a single method [14]. Felder cautions that while there is no point in tailoring teaching to each student, a teacher who assumes that a "single one-size-fits-all approach" will satisfy the requirements of every student is also wrong [2].…”