Learning Style Preferences of Undergraduate Dental Students in Northern Ireland

Understanding how students approach learning is of interest in health professional education, though there is limited evidence that identifying learning styles improves educational outcomes. This study investigated learning style preferences of clinical dental students at Queen’s University, Belfast, using the VARK questionnaire, and explored whether preferences were associated with gender or academic achievement. Of 86 respondents (72% response rate), 69% preferred multimodal learning styles, with quad-modal (all four VARK modes) being the most common at 41%. Multimodal refers to a preference for more than one learning style. No relationship was found between learning style, gender, or academic distinction. Notably, a higher proportion of females achieved distinctions, a finding warranting further exploration. These results suggest that while multimodal learning is common, learning style preferences do not explain gender differences in academic performance. Given the lack of evidence for the efficacy of adapting teaching to learning styles, caution is warranted in using this information to inform curriculum design.