To evaluate the Gender Differences in Learning Style Modalities among the Undergraduate Students and their Preferred Mode of Learning

ABSTRACT Background Academic demands of medical students are quite high. Learning styles may be classified into four major sensory modalities—visual, auditory, read-write and kinesthetic, that one most prefers to use when internalizing information. Objectives The purpose of the study was to evaluate the gender differences in learning style modalities among the First Year Undergraduate Students and their Preferred Mode of Learning. Methodology Total 243 first year students of various medical courses (135 MBBS, 56 BDS, and 52 BPT) attending lectures in the Department of Physiology, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan were included for the project. Learning style preference was identified using the visual, auditory, read-write and kinesthetic (VARK) online inventory developed by Fleming, 1992. A questionnaire was filled by the students which included their demographic profile, medical science stream and preferred sensory modality of instruction. Findings Learning style of the students of various medical courses showed a statistically significant difference according to VARK questionnaire (p < 0.0001). Within the group, based on VARK, the preferred Sensory Modality was kinesthetic in MBBS, BDS and BPT students. On the basis Preferred Sensory Mode, kinesthetic was the preferred mode in MBBS, BDS and visual mode amongst BPT students. The most common pattern of learning was bimodal in male and female students of the various medical courses. Conclusion Present findings suggest that kinesthetic was the preferred learning style by both individual preferred sensory modality and VARK inventory tool, and was found to be statistically significant among the students of medical and allied sciences. The gender differences when evaluated for both the individual preferred sensory modality and VARK inventory tool, it was found to have a predilection for the kinesthetic mode in both the male as well as female students. How to cite this article Garg A, Sankhla M, Gupta RC. To evaluate the Gender Differences in Learning Style Modalities among the Undergraduate Students and their Preferred Mode of Learning. J Mahatma Gandhi Univ Med Sci Tech 2016;1(2):58-63.