An analysis of learning style preferences among second-year medical undergraduates using the VARK model

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the preferred learning styles of undergraduate medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Medical students have a wide range of diversity in their learning preferences. Proper identification of the preferred learning style is important to design and deliver the instructional contents to gain the maximum outcome of the teaching. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on second-year medical students using a locally validated (Cronbach Alpha >0.7) VARK Questionnaire in October 2021. The questionnaire consisted of 16 items that identified four different learning styles: visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. The questionnaire was distributed online as a google form to the study population (n=205). The questionnaire was kept available online for two weeks. Responses were collected into the default google sheet. Inferential statistics were used to identify the associations. Pearson’s Chi-squared test was used in the analysis