Using Online Instruments to Assess Learning Styles of Health Professions Students: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Understanding their own learning styles can assist students as they relate to one another and ultimately to their future clients. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the preferred learning and personality styles of a convenience sample of Central Michigan University students enrolled in the following health-related professions: Athletic Training, Communication Disorders, Social Work, and Physician Assistant. Method: Students completed two self-administered online instruments used to measure learning styles, the VARK and the online version of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II (KTS-II). Associations between VARK learning style scores and the online Keirsey Temperament Sorter II results were also examined. Results: Seventy-four percent of the students scored as Guardians (Sensing-Judging) based on the online KTS-II report and 62% were multimodal learners on the online version of the VARK. Conclusion: This study confirmed previous findings that Guardian is the preferred temperament type on the MBTI/KTS-II for health professions students. Average scores on the VARK and the Keirsey did not differ between the various health-related disciplines; however, students scoring as Idealists (Intuition/Feeling) on the Keirsey had significantly higher Aural scores on the VARK when compared to those with Guardian temperaments. There was no significant difference found between Keirsey groups and how they scored on Vark-V (Visual), R/W (Read/Write), or K (Kinesthetic) learning style dimensions.