Abstract

BORRACCI, Raúl A. et al. Learning styles preferences from elementary school to medical postgraduate. FEM (Ed. impresa) [online]. 2015, vol.18, n.2, pp.123-129. ISSN 2014-9840.  https://dx.doi.org/10.4321/S2014-98322015000200008.

Aims. To describe learning styles observed in first-year medical students and in postgraduates, regarding sensory preferences to use information, and to compare the results with the learning styles of last-year elementary school pupils, in order to find out generational differences. Subjects and methods. The VARK questionnaire was administered to 73 last-year elementary school pupils, 113 first-year medical students and 141 residents of cardiology (postgraduate). The questionnaire consists of 16 questions and each answer was associated to a particular learning style, corresponding to visual, aural, reading/writing or kinaesthetic. Results. Most common styles were kinaesthetic (27.5%) and bimodal (37.3%) in the three groups, with some differences in reading/writing profile that increased from elementary school up to postgraduate (1.4% to 10.7%; p = 0.037), and a slight tendency to decrease aural style from that educational level to the university and the postgraduate (19.2% to 12.2%; p = 0.269). Within bimodal styles, the most common combination was aural-kinaesthetic, that decreased from the elementary school to the postgraduate (65% to 31%; p = 0.002). Conclusions. Correspondence analysis showed last-year elementary school pupils preferred aural style, medical students were nearer to kinaesthetic mode, and postgraduates had an intermediate preference between visual and reading/writing styles. The last profile significantly increased from elementary school to postgraduate, with an inverse tendency of aural and aural-kinaesthetic bimodal styles among the two same levels.

Keywords : Medical education; Medical students; Questionnaire; Research methods.

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