Volume 16, Issue 1 (April 2022)
Qom Univ Med Sci J 2022, 16(1): 18-29 |
Back to browse issues page
Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:
Gaeeni M, Khalajinia Z, Hamta A, Seddighia T. Investigating the Learning Styles in Clinical Training Among Students of Qom University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Qom Univ Med Sci J 2022; 16 (1) :18-29
URL: http://journal.muq.ac.ir/article-1-3304-en.html
URL: http://journal.muq.ac.ir/article-1-3304-en.html
1- Department of Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
2- Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences. Qom, Iran. ,z.khalaji@muq.ac.ir
3- Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine Arak University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
4- Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences. Qom, Iran.
2- Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences. Qom, Iran. ,
3- Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine Arak University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
4- Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences. Qom, Iran.
Full-Text [PDF 4028 kb]
(486 Downloads)
| Abstract (HTML) (1818 Views)
Full-Text: (232 Views)
Introduction
Clinical training is the most important part of medical education. Any weakness in the field of clinical training can cause decline in the efficiency of students. People use different learning styles according to their individual differences. It is necessary to pay attention to their learning styles to make learning more effective. Learning styles help students understand that everyone can learn, but their methods and preferences are different. Learning styles can change the way a person perceives and interacts with the environment, especially in the clinical setting. In medical education, almost half of the educational programs are dedicated to clinical training. On the other hand, clinical teaching and learning styles play an important role in the development of clinical skills and comprehensive care. Considering the increasing importance of improving the quality of medical education and choosing various teaching methods based on the students’ learning style, the present study aims to determine the learning styles of medical students in Qom University of Medical Sciences (QUMS) for clinical training.
Methods
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, which was conducted in 2020 on 308 students of QUMS from the faculties of Medicine (n=111), Nursing & Midwifery (n=121), and Paramedical Sciences (n=76) who were selected by stratified random sampling method. For sampling, each faculty was first considered as a cluster. Then from each faculty, the samples were selected in two groups (Apprenticeship and internship).
The data collection tool had two parts. The first part surveys demographic characteristics including gender, marital status, field of study, educational level and academic year. The second part was the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory with 12 items assessing four learning styles: concrete experience (feeling), reflective observation (watching), abstract conceptualization (thinking) and active experimentation (doing). By summing up of the scores of each learning style, four scores are obtained. The higher score show the dominant learning style. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 21 software using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. P<0.05 was statistically significant.
Results
The mean age of students was 23.7±4.3 years; 54.9% were female and 45.1% were male; 64% were undergraduate students and 36% were PhD students; 47.7% were first-year students (internship group) and 52.3% were final-year students (Apprenticeship group). Moreover, 48.1% had assimilating learning style, 24.7% had diverging learning style, 17.5% had converging learning style and 9.7% had an accommodating learning style. There was a significant difference between learning styles in terms of the field of study (P=0.03), but not in terms of gender, educational level, marital status, and academic year (first-year and final-year students).
Discussion
The assimilating learning style was the dominant style of the students in QUMS. People with absorbing learning style are interested in summarizing, reading, lecturing and discovering analytical models which can be one of the advantages of students in learning. On the other hand, people with assimilating learning style are less interested in subjects that require working with people, which can be one of the weaknesses of students in learning. The development of educational programs and teaching methods focusing on the learning style of students and their individual characteristics can cause deeper and richer learning in higher education, especially medical education. It is important to provide learning environments suitable to the learning styles of students for better their learning and acquiring the necessary abilities in future educational and occupational environments.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The Ethics Committee of Qom University of Medical Sciences (QUMS) has approved this manuscript (IR.MUQ.REC.1398.016)
Funding
Vice Chancellor of Research and Technology of Qom University of Medical Sciences sponsored this article.
Authors contributions
All authors contributed equally in preparing all parts of the research.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank and appreciate the officials and participants in this research.
Clinical training is the most important part of medical education. Any weakness in the field of clinical training can cause decline in the efficiency of students. People use different learning styles according to their individual differences. It is necessary to pay attention to their learning styles to make learning more effective. Learning styles help students understand that everyone can learn, but their methods and preferences are different. Learning styles can change the way a person perceives and interacts with the environment, especially in the clinical setting. In medical education, almost half of the educational programs are dedicated to clinical training. On the other hand, clinical teaching and learning styles play an important role in the development of clinical skills and comprehensive care. Considering the increasing importance of improving the quality of medical education and choosing various teaching methods based on the students’ learning style, the present study aims to determine the learning styles of medical students in Qom University of Medical Sciences (QUMS) for clinical training.
Methods
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, which was conducted in 2020 on 308 students of QUMS from the faculties of Medicine (n=111), Nursing & Midwifery (n=121), and Paramedical Sciences (n=76) who were selected by stratified random sampling method. For sampling, each faculty was first considered as a cluster. Then from each faculty, the samples were selected in two groups (Apprenticeship and internship).
The data collection tool had two parts. The first part surveys demographic characteristics including gender, marital status, field of study, educational level and academic year. The second part was the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory with 12 items assessing four learning styles: concrete experience (feeling), reflective observation (watching), abstract conceptualization (thinking) and active experimentation (doing). By summing up of the scores of each learning style, four scores are obtained. The higher score show the dominant learning style. Data were analyzed in SPSS v. 21 software using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. P<0.05 was statistically significant.
Results
The mean age of students was 23.7±4.3 years; 54.9% were female and 45.1% were male; 64% were undergraduate students and 36% were PhD students; 47.7% were first-year students (internship group) and 52.3% were final-year students (Apprenticeship group). Moreover, 48.1% had assimilating learning style, 24.7% had diverging learning style, 17.5% had converging learning style and 9.7% had an accommodating learning style. There was a significant difference between learning styles in terms of the field of study (P=0.03), but not in terms of gender, educational level, marital status, and academic year (first-year and final-year students).
Discussion
The assimilating learning style was the dominant style of the students in QUMS. People with absorbing learning style are interested in summarizing, reading, lecturing and discovering analytical models which can be one of the advantages of students in learning. On the other hand, people with assimilating learning style are less interested in subjects that require working with people, which can be one of the weaknesses of students in learning. The development of educational programs and teaching methods focusing on the learning style of students and their individual characteristics can cause deeper and richer learning in higher education, especially medical education. It is important to provide learning environments suitable to the learning styles of students for better their learning and acquiring the necessary abilities in future educational and occupational environments.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The Ethics Committee of Qom University of Medical Sciences (QUMS) has approved this manuscript (IR.MUQ.REC.1398.016)
Funding
Vice Chancellor of Research and Technology of Qom University of Medical Sciences sponsored this article.
Authors contributions
All authors contributed equally in preparing all parts of the research.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank and appreciate the officials and participants in this research.
Type of Study: Original Article |
Subject:
آموزش پزشکی
Received: 2021/11/6 | Accepted: 2022/01/2 | Published: 2022/01/30
Received: 2021/11/6 | Accepted: 2022/01/2 | Published: 2022/01/30
References
1. Pazargadi M, Ashktorab T, Khosravi S. [Nursing students' experiences and perspectives on the clinical characteristics of instructors' in clinical evaluation (Persian)]. J Nurs Educ. 2012; 1(1):1-13. [Link]
2. Heidarzadeh M, Izadi A, Rahmani A, Zamanzadeh V. [Characteristics of efficient clinical teachers: nursing educators' and students' perspectives (Persian)]. Iran J Med Educ. 2012; 11(7):704-17. [Link]
3. Faizi M, Dezhpasand S. [Analysis of learning styles to improve architectural education (case study: Architecture students of Urmia university) (Persian)]. J Iran Arch Stud. 2022; 7(14):149-69. [DOI:10.22052/1.14.149]
4. Shaughnessy MF. An interview with Anita Woolfolk: The educational psychology of teacher efficacy. Educ Psychol Rev. 2004; 16:153-76. [DOI:10.1023/B:EDPR.0000026711.15152.1f] [DOI:10.1023/B:EDPR.0000026711.15152.1f]
5. Rudd R, Baker M, Hoover T. Undergraduate agriculture student learning style and critical thinking abilities: Is there a relationship? J Agric Educ. 2000; 41(3):2-12. [Link]
6. Gappi LL. Relationships between learning style preferences and academic performance of students. Int J Educ Res Technol. 2013; 4(2):70-6. [Link]
7. Poorkazemi R, Asadi M. Relationship between students' learning styles and their preferred method of teaching and the teaching methods of faculty members in clinical teaching. Health Educ Health Promot. 2018; 6(1):39-45. [DOI:10.29252/HEHP.6.1.39] [DOI:10.29252/HEHP.6.1.39]
8. Amira R, Jelas ZM. Teaching and learning styles in higher education institutions: Do they match?. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2010; 7:680-4. [DOI:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.092] [DOI:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.092]
9. Sternberg Rj, Sternberg K. Cognitive psychology. Boston: Cengage Learning; 2016. [Link]
10. El-Farargy N. The views, attitudes and learning style preferences of Higher National Chemical Engineering students. Educ Chem Eng. 2010; 5(4):e55-71. [DOI:10.1016/j.ece.2010.07.001] [DOI:10.1016/j.ece.2010.07.001]
11. Karimi Moonaghi H, Dabaghi F, Oskouei SF, Bionghi T, Vehvilainen Julkunen K. Teaching styles in clinical nursing education: A qualitative approach. J Sabzevar Univ Med Sci. 2008-2009; 15(4):182-91. [Link]
12. Cox L, Clutter J, Sergakis G, Harris L. Learning style of undergraduate allied health students: clinical versus classroom. J Allied Health; 2013; 42(4):223-8. [PMID]
13. Soltani N, Pashm Foroosh B, Khalili M. [Comparative study of medical students learning styles in JAJ University of Medical Sciences (Persian)]. Paramed Sci Mil Health. 2017; 11(4):30-34. [Link]
14. Pazargadi M, Tahmasebi S. [Learning styles and their application in nursing (Persian)]. Educ Strategy Med Sci. 2010; 3(2):73-6. [Link]
15. Kolb AY, Kolb DA. The Kolb Learning style inventory - version 3.1: technical specifications. Boston: Hay Group, Hay Resources Direct; 2005. [Link]
16. Seif AA. [Modern Educational Psychology: Psychology of Learning and Instruction (Persian)].Tehran: Dowran Publications; 2012. [Link]
17. Wetzig SM. Learning style preferences & learning strategies in intensive care nurse education. Citeseer. 2004; 1-12. [Link]
18. Imani E, Sayadi Mang Halati M. [Review of learning styles in Iranian nursing students (Persian)]. Dev Strateg Med Educ. 2015; 2(2):1-12. [Link]
19. Koob JJ, Funk J. Kolb's learning style inventory: Issues of reliability and validity. Res Soc Work Pract. 2002; 12(2):293-308. [DOI:10.1177/104973150201200206] [DOI:10.1177/104973150201200206]
20. Platsidou M, Metallidou P. Validity and reliability issues of two learning style inventories in a Greek sample: Kolb's learning style inventory and felder and Soloman's index of learning styles. Int J Teach Learn High Educ. 2009; 20(3): 324-335. [Link]
21. Ghasemi N, Rabi'ei M, Kalantari N, Abdi H. Psychometric propertics (factor structure, reliability and validity) of the modified kolb learning styles inventory (KLSI-V3. 1-2005) in Iranian students. Educ Strateg Med Sci. 2015; 7(6):361-7. [Link]
22. Papzan A, Yaghoby J, Fekry Mahin SH, Sepah Panah M. [Analyze the steps and style of learning agricultural students' and natural resources based on the theory of experiential learning cycle (Persian)]. J Iran High Educ. 2012; 3(4):170-194. [Link]
23. Meyari A, sabiuri Kashani A, Gharib M, Beyglarkhani M. Comparison between the Learning Style of Medical Freshmen and Fifth-year Students and its Relationship with their Educational Achievement. Strides Dev Med Educ. 2009; 6(2):110-8. [Link]
24. Ghahremani Z, Kamali K, Bageri P. Relationship learning styles with self-directed learning readiness among nursing students of nursing and midwifery Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in 2014. J Med Educ Dev. 2015; 8(18):61-72. [Link]
25. Rezaei K, Kohestani H, Ganjeh F, Anbari Z. [Learning styles of first semester students in Arak University of Medical Sciences, 2008 (Persian)]. J Arak Uni Med Sci. 2010; 12(4):44-51. [Link]
26. Sarchami R, Hossaini SM. [Relationship of learning styles with educational progress of nursing students in Qazvin (Persian)]. J Inflamm Dis. 2004; 8(1):64-7. [Link]
27. Chung EK, Oh SA, Yoon TY, Lee SJ, Woo YJ, Rhee JA, et al. Comparison of learning styles between medical college students and professional graduate medical school students. Korean J Med Educ. 2009;2 1(2):125-31. [PMID] [DOI:10.3946/kjme.2009.21.2.125]
28. Burger PH, Scholz M. The learning type makes the difference - the interrelation of Kolb's learning styles and psychological status of preclinical medical students at the University of Erlangen. GMS Z Med Ausbild. 2014; 31(4):Doc42. [PMID]
29. Aalaa M, Mirzazadeh A, Gharib M, Baradaran HR, Khashayar P. Assessing learning styles of the medical students and faculty in pre-clinical stage of medical education at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. J Med Educ Dev. 2013; 6(10):1-2. [Link]
30. Hosseini LL, Seif AA. [Learning styles students according to sex, educational level and disciplinary (Persian)]. Res and Plann High Educ. 2001; 1(1):93-114. [Link]
31. Hoseini M, Azizi F, Khanzadeh A. [Learning styles of medical students based on Kolb Theory in Qazvin Medical Sciences in 2008 (Persian)]. Iran J Med Educ. 2002; 2(4):87-8. [Link]
32. Hosseini SM, Amery H, Emadzadeh A, Babazadeh S. Dental students' educational achievement in relation to their learning styles: A cross-sectional study in Iran. Glob J Health Sci. 2015; 7(5):152-8. [PMID] [DOI:10.5539/gjhs.v7n5p152]
33. Hooshmandan Moghddam Fard Z, Shams A . Relationship between creativity learning styles and educational achievement of agricultural undergraduate students in the university of Zanjan. J Agric Educ Admin Res. 2016; 8(36):30-43. [Link]
34. Ebrahimi Fakhar A, Adhami Moghadam F, Merati F, Sahebalzamani M. The relationship of Learning Styles with Basic Sciences and Pre-internships Comprehensive Examination Scores and Students' Results of the Clinical Competency Test at the end of the General practitioner course. Q Educ Dev Judishapur. 2019; 10(3):219-29. [Link]
35. AlQahtani N, AlMoammar K, Taher S, AlBarakati S, AlKofide E. Learning preferences among dental students using the VARK questionnaire: A comparison between different academic levels and gender. J Pak Med Assoc. 2018; 68(1):59-64. [PMID]
36. Gurpinar E, Bati H, Tetik C. Learning styles of medical students change in relation to time. Adv Physiol Educ. 2011; 35(3):307-11 [PMID] [DOI:10.1152/advan.00047.2011]
37. Ghaffari R, Ranjbarzadeh FS, Azar EF, Hassanzadeh S, Safaei N, Golanbar P, et al. The analysis of learning styles and their relationship to academic achievement in medical students of basic sciences program. Res Dev Med Educ. 2013; 2(2):73-6. [Link]
38. Javadinia SA, Sharifzadeh G, Abedini M, Khalesi M, Erfanian M. [Learning styles of medical students in Birjand University of Medical Sciences according to VARK model (Persian)]. Iran J Med Educ. 2011; 11(6):584-9. [Link]
39. Amini N, Zamani B, Abedini Y. [Medical students' learning styles (Persian)]. Iran J Med Educ. 2010; 10(2):141-7. [Link]
40. Ahadi F, Abedsaidi J, Arshadi F, Ghorbani R. [Learning styles of nursing and allied health students in Semnan University of Medical Sciences (Persian)]. Koomesh 2010; 11(2):141-6. [Link]
41. Buali WH, Balaha MH, Muhaidab NS. Assessment of learning style in a sample of Saudi Medical Students. Acta Inform Med. 2013; 21(2):83-8. [PMID] [DOI:10.5455/aim.2013.21.83-88]
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
Owned by Qom University of Medical Sciences
Published by Qom University of Medical Sciences Press
eISSN: 2008-1375
pISSN: 1735-7799
Email: journal[at]muq.ac.ir
j.mua.ac[at]gmail.com
