Evaluation of Learning Preferences of Medical Faculty Students with VARK Questionnaire

AbstractAim: This study aims to evaluate the learning styles of Medical Faculty students using the VARK model. Material and Method: The population of this cross-sectional quantitative study consists of volunteer students from years II, III, IV, and V who are currently studying. Without selecting a sample, the study attempted to reach the entire population, and 210 students were included. The questionnaire used as a data collection tool consists of three sections. The first section of the form comprises five questions inquiring about students' sociodemographic characteristics, the second section consists of six questions related to study habits during the distance education period, and the third section is composed of the VARK Learning Preferences Inventory. Statistical analysis of the research was conducted using the SPSS 22.0 package program. The normality of numerical data distribution was evaluated by analyzing skewness and kurtosis coefficients. Results: This study reveals that medical students' learning styles vary and that demographic characteristics can influence learning preferences. The fact that the majority of students prefer kinesthetic learning methods and unimodal learning styles indicates that individual differences should be considered in the educational process. Conclusion: The fact that male students had a higher frequency of auditory and kinesthetic learning and female students had higher scores in reading-writing preference indicates that learning styles may differ according to gender. In addition, pre-clinical students' higher scores in all learning preferences indicate that diversity is more prominent in early learning processes.