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Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:The present study aimed to identify the learning preferences of dental students and to characterize their relationship with academic performance at a dental school in Isfahan, Iran. METHODS:This cross-sectional descriptive study included 200 undergraduate dental students from October to November 2016. Data were collected using a 2-part questionnaire. The first part included demographic data, and the second part was a Persian-language version of the visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted with the chi-square test, 1-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression. RESULTS:The response rate was 86.6%. Approximately half of the students (51.5%) had multimodal learning preferences. Among the unimodal group (48.5%), the most common mode was aural (24.0%), followed by kinesthetic (15.5%), reading-writing (8.0%), and visual (1.0%). There was a significant association between academic performance and the reading/writing learning style preference (P< 0.01). CONCLUSION:Multimodal learning styles were the most preferred. Among single-mode learning styles, the aural style was most common, followed by the kinesthetic style. Students with a reading/writing preference had better academic performance. The results of this study provide useful information for preparing a more problem-based curriculum with active learning strategies.

SUBMITTER: Akhlaghi N

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5968221 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

Akhlaghi Najmeh N Mirkazemi Hosein H Jafarzade Mehdi M Akhlaghi Narjes N

Journal of educational evaluation for health professions 20180324

<h4>Purpose</h4>The present study aimed to identify the learning preferences of dental students and to characterize their relationship with academic performance at a dental school in Isfahan, Iran.<h4>Methods</h4>This cross-sectional descriptive study included 200 undergraduate dental students from October to November 2016. Data were collected using a 2-part questionnaire. The first part included demographic data, and the second part was a Persian-language version of the visual, aural, read/writ ...[more]

PMID: 29575848

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Project description:Students commencing their medical training arrive with different educational backgrounds and a diverse range of learning experiences. Consequently, students would have developed preferred approaches to acquiring and processing information or learning style preferences. Understanding first-year students' learning style preferences is important to success in learning. However, little is understood about how learning styles impact learning and performance across different subjects within the medical curriculum. Greater understanding of the relationship between students' learning style preferences and academic performance in specific medical subjects would be valuable.This cross-sectional study examined the learning style preferences of first-year medical students and how they differ across gender. This research also analyzed the effect of learning styles on academic performance across different subjects within a medical education program in a Central Asian university. A total of 52 students (57.7% females) from two batches of first-year medical school completed the Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire, which measures four dimensions of learning styles: sensing-intuitive; visual-verbal; active-reflective; sequential-global.First-year medical students reported preferences for visual (80.8%) and sequential (60.5%) learning styles, suggesting that these students preferred to learn through demonstrations and diagrams and in a linear and sequential way. Our results indicate that male medical students have higher preference for visual learning style over verbal, while females seemed to have a higher preference for sequential learning style over global. Significant associations were found between sensing-intuitive learning styles and performance in Genetics [β = -0.46, B = -0.44, p < 0.01] and Anatomy [β = -0.41, B = -0.61, p < 0.05] and between sequential-global styles and performance in Genetics [β = 0.36, B = 0.43, p < 0.05]. More specifically, sensing learners were more likely to perform better than intuitive learners in the two subjects and global learners were more likely to perform better than sequential learners in Genetics.This knowledge will be helpful to individual students to improve their performance in these subjects by adopting new sensing learning techniques. Instructors can also benefit by modifying and adapting more appropriate teaching approaches in these subjects. Future studies to validate this observation will be valuable.

Project description:IntroductionThe social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have changed students' learning environment and limited their social interactions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the social distancing restrictions on students' social networks, wellbeing, and academic performance.MethodsWe performed a questionnaire study in which 102 students participated before and 167 students during the pandemic. They completed an online questionnaire about how they formed their five peer social networks (study-related support, collaboration, friendship, share information, and learn-from) out-of-class. We performed social network analysis to compare the sizes, structures, and compositions of students' five social networks before and during the pandemic, between first- and second-year students, and between international and domestic students. Additionally, we performed Kruskal-Wallis H test to compare students' academic performance before and during the pandemic. We performed thematic analysis to answers for two open-end questions in the online questionnaire to explore what difficulties students encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic and what support they needed.ResultsThe results showed that the size of students' social networks during the pandemic was significantly smaller than before the pandemic. Besides, the formation of social networks differed between first- and second-year students, and between domestic and international students. However, academic performance did not decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we identified three key areas in which students experienced difficulties and needed support by thematic analysis: social connections and interactions, learning and studying, and physical and mental wellbeing.ConclusionWhen institutions implement learning with social distancing, such as online learning, they need to consider changes in students' social networks and provide appropriate support.

Project description:BackgroundDespite the great development of smart phone programs and applications, and the wide-spread of these devices among students, their use for the educational purposes remains weak. The study aimed to investigate to what extent utilizing mobile learning as an adjunct to classic classroom lectures affect students' academic achievement and, to assess their attitude toward using mobile application as an instructional method in dental education.MethodsA quasi-experimental study was conducted among undergraduate dental students from two Sudanese universities. A total of 67 students who voluntarily agreed to participate were randomly allocated into a control group of 33 and an intervention group of 34 students. Initially, the two groups undertook a pre-test to ensure the standardization of a scale regarding their existing academic knowledge of dental surgery forceps used for tooth extraction. Then the intervention group was provided with a mobile application (Dental Surgical Forceps application version 2.1.0.0), and 3 weeks later a post-test was given for both groups. The attitude of the students toward the effectiveness of mobile learning was as assessed by five-point Likert scale questionnaire. For comparison of the numerical parametric data, a T. test was used, while for non-parametric categorical data a Chi-Squire test was used, with level of statistical significant difference set at P-value of ≤0.05.ResultsThe response rate was 91% for the intervention group (31 out of 34 students completed the study), and 78% for the control group (26 out of 33 students completed the study). Statistical significant difference was observed between the pretest and post-test mean scores of the intervention group (P < 0.005), while the differences were not significant among the control group (P > 0.05). Regarding the attitude of the dental students, the mean scores of the sample indicate that the vast majority of the participants (93.5%) showed positive attitude regarding the effectiveness of mobile learning.ConclusionsThere is a marked difference in the students' scores regarding their knowledge of dental surgical forceps. The students showed positive attitude toward using the mobile application.

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Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

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Does learning style preferences influence academic performance among dental students in Isfahan, Iran?

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