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Title: Learning Preferences among Medical and Physical Therapy Students: A Systematic Review
Authors: Sarwat Ali, Ashfaq Ahmad, Arooj Munawar, Muhammad Waqas
Journal: Journal of Bahria University Medical and Dental College (JBUMDC)
Publisher: Bahria University, Islamabad
Country: Pakistan
Year: 2022
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Language: English
Keywords: Allied healthLearning styleLearning styleMedical studentsPhysiotherapyQuestioner
Learning style is known as affective, cognitive, physiological, or combined characteristics which indicate the ways throughwhich students interact, respond and understand the learning environment. A systematic review was conducted with relevantliterature from 2012 to 2021 by hand searching and from electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, ProQuest, and Eric)with proper search strategy as Boolean operator. They were searched using the keywords ‘allied health students’ ‘learningstyle’, ‘medical students’, ‘MBBS students’ and ‘physical therapy students OR physiotherapists’. Out of 1027 studies, only16 potentially relevant articles were included in this review. This study reflected undergraduate physical therapy and MBBSstudents from various countries and their most preferred learning style is kinaesthetic and activist which states learning isbased on experiments, hands-on practice, audio-visual lectures, teaching sessions in a new environment allowing studentsto analyze and synthesize theories. However, students require adaptable, educative, and assessment strategies as they havedifferent learning styles.
To systematically review and appraise the existing literature on the learning style preferences of undergraduate medical and physiotherapy students.
A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Literature published between 2012 and 2021 was searched in PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC, and ProQuest using specific keywords and Boolean operators. Inclusion criteria focused on observational, cross-sectional studies of undergraduate medical and allied health students using standardized questionnaires. Studies were excluded if they did not meet these criteria. The AXIS tool was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies.
graph TD
A["Literature Search 2012-2021"] --> B["Database Search"PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC, ProQuest""];
B --> C["Apply Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria"];
C --> D["Retrieve Full-Text Articles"];
D --> E["Assess Methodological Quality"AXIS Tool""];
E --> F["Data Extraction and Synthesis"];
F --> G["Identify Key Findings and Conclusions"];
The review highlights the heterogeneity in learning preferences among medical and physiotherapy students. While kinesthetic and activist styles are prevalent, the findings suggest a need for diverse pedagogical approaches. The VARK questionnaire is widely used due to its accessibility and validity. The study also notes mixed results regarding unimodal versus multimodal learning preferences in previous research.
Out of 1027 initial studies, 16 were included in the review. The most commonly used questionnaire was VARK (Visual, Aural, Reading/writing, Kinesthetic). The most preferred learning styles identified were kinesthetic and activist, indicating a preference for hands-on practice, experiments, and learning in new environments. However, students require adaptable teaching and assessment strategies due to diverse learning styles.
Learning style preferences among medical and physiotherapy students are diverse, with kinesthetic and activist styles being most common. The findings underscore the importance of adaptable and educative teaching and assessment strategies. Further research is needed to establish industry-standard definitions and outcome measures for learning styles in health disciplines.
1. Date Range: The review searched for literature published between 2012 and 2021.
2. Number of Studies: 1027 studies were initially identified, and 16 were included in the final analysis.
3. Preferred Learning Styles: The most preferred learning styles identified were kinesthetic and activist.
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