Preferred learning styles among students of physiotherapy – A survey

INTRODUCTION: Learning styles refer to the ways an individual processes and retain new information and skills. Knowledge about preferred learning styles can assist in developing effective pedagogies and enhance classroom–learning experiences. Optimal learning environments consider how students learn and utilize various teaching methods for curriculum delivery to match specified student learning preferences. METHODS: This cross-sectional study presents the findings of the preferred learning style of 97 physiotherapy students studying in JSS College of Physiotherapy, Mysuru, using a self-administered questionnaire developed by Victoria Chislett and Alan Chapman, 2005. Data were collected using the survey method through Google Forms. RESULTS: We found equal distribution of unimodal and multimodal learning style. Among the unimodal style of learning, 20.6% of participants had predominantly auditory learning style. 15.46% of participants had predominantly visual learning style. 10.3% of participants had predominantly kinesthetic learning style. In multimodal style of learning, 21.6% of participants had predominantly visual and auditory learning styles. 15.46% of participants had predominantly visual and kinesthetic learning style. 12.37% of participants had predominantly auditory and kinesthetic learning style and only 1% of participants had visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning style. CONCLUSION: The most preferred unimodal learning style among physiotherapy students was auditory followed by visual and kinesthetic. The most preferred multimodal style of learning was visual and auditory, followed by visual and kinesthetic.