Exploring Learning Preferences of 2nd Year Medical Graduates: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Using a Modified VARK Questionnaire in the Context of a New Curriculum

Background: Medical education is a lifelong learning process that necessitates ongoing professional development for both educators and students. Learning preferences or enduring inclinations are referred to as learning styles. In order to meet the diverse learning demands of pupils, it is critical to evaluate their learning styles. Research has demonstrated that learners have four basic perceptual learning modalities, that are Visual (V), Auditory (A), Tactile (R), and Kinaesthetic (K). It is essential for an educator to recognise the most preferred learning style preference of students and they should tailor instructions to which they prefer to learn.

Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyse the learning preference among 2nd-year Medical graduates using a modified validated VARK questionnaire based on a new curriculum.

Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 101 medical graduates. A validated VARK questionnaire was used to categorise the learning preferences. Students were instructed to tick or circle the most preferred learning style. The completed questionnaires were collected and statistically evaluated.

Results: Most of them preferred multimodal (64.35%) learning style as compared to unimodal (35.6%). In multimodal, the majority of the students preferred a bimodal (47.5%) learning style. In unimodal, the majority of the students preferred aural (14.8%) followed by visual (11.8%) mode of learning style. Active learning strategies are superior compared to the traditional didactic lecture format to exhibit analytical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Student’s academic achievement is likely to improve if teaching is done in all the sensory modalities.

Conclusion: Students now participate in more and more learning activities thanks to the revised curriculum. Teaching-learning can be more successful if it considers the learning styles of the students. Determining the learning preferences of pupils is an important teaching skill. Knowledge of learning styles may help educators identify and solve learning problems among students, thus helping the students to become more effective learners. Further studies are needed from different institutions that provide insight into the design of an efficient learning environment that would encourage students to achieve academic success.