Abstract

HOW DO MEDICAL STUDENTS LEARN? A STUDY FROM TWO MEDICAL COLLEGES IN SOUTH INDIA Ã?¢Ã?â?¬Ã?â?? A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Introduction: "Learning style" is defined as an individual's preferred method for approaching learning and gaining knowledge. As a teacher, it is important to understand the different learning styles of the students in acquiring the information, and hence one can make the necessary changes that best match the learning style of the students. Assessment of learning styles can be done in various ways but Visual Auditory Reading Kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is the most accepted one among them. The present study was undertaken to determine the learning preferences of first year medical students in South India. The study was also aimed at determining whether males and females have similar pattern of learning styles. Materials and Methods: This study was jointly conducted in Mamata Medical College, Khammam, Telangana and Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Science and Research Center, Bangalore, Karnataka. VARK-questionnaire Version 7.8 was used after obtaining permission. The VARK–questionnaire along with information about age and sex was distributed among 200 first year students of both colleges on the same day and response rate was 80%( Males49% and Females 51%) Results: VARK questionnaire results revealed that none of our respondents preferred unimodal method. 3% were bimodal, 32% were trimodal and 63% were quad modal. There was no statistical difference between the individual scores between male and female respondents. Implication: The implication of this study is applicable to teachers to understand his/her student’s pattern of learning. Although none of the students learn only by one method, all the multimodal learners will have a predominance of a particular learning style either it be visual/auditory/read/kinesthetic.

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