Learning Styles of Undergraduate Medical Students

Abstract

<strong>Introduction: </strong>According to the experiential learning theory, each person develops a learning style that characterizes his/her preferred way to acquire and transform experiences to create knowledge. The objective of this study was to identify the learning styles of undergraduate medical students. <strong>Methods: </strong>The Kolb Learning Style Inventory was applied to first-year medical students at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Bogotá, Colombia) during the second period of 2009. <strong>Results: </strong>204 students completed the questionnaire (the average age was 18.5 years; 55% were women). Students preferred the abstract styles of learning, including assimilating (47%) and converging (27%) styles. <strong>Conclusions: </strong>Having information about medical students learning style preferences can help educators to design teaching strategies that promote a more effective learning. Teachers should provide a variety of learning contexts to stimulate the strengthening of their abilities.