Preferred Learning Styles and Perception Regarding Present Curriculum among MBBS Students of a Peripheral Medical College in West Bengal, India

Background: Learning style of an individual refers to the method through which one learns the best. There has been a paradigm shift in medical education in recent years. Objectives: To identify preferred learning styles among MBBS students of a tertiary Medical College in West Bengal, India and to assess their perception regarding present curriculum. Methodology: An observational, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate medical students of Bankura Sammilani Medical College using VARK questionnaire (version 8.01) to identify preferred learning styles of the students. The questionnaire also included a set of 11 items to assess the perception of students about the present curriculum system using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: Majority (83.5%) of the students preferred a single mode of learning (unimodal) style. The most preferred unimodal style of learning was Kinesthetic (44.7%). Most of the students agreed that the current method of teaching was satisfactory. Conclusions: Exploring different learning styles could potentially be used in the curriculum so that instructors could plan appropriate teaching learning method according to their learning needs. New medical curriculum was reported as satisfactory by the students.