The Relationship Between the Learning Styles and Academic Performance of Medical Faculty Students

Abstract

Objective: Medical students have with different learning styles and different educational backgrounds. While the curriculum is being prepared, the success of students this situation should be considered. This study is designed to reveal the learning styles of the second-year medical students and to compare their academic performance with their learning style. Methods: One hundred and four students of 2nd-year Bezmialem Vakif University Medical School are included in the study. To reveal the learning styles, Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory applied to all students. Also, the academic performance of each student was listed. We compared the statistical relationship between gender and academic performance with students' learning styles. Results: Of the 104 students' there was 59 female, 45 male in gender. According to the questionnaire, most of the female and male students were assimilators (abstract-passive learners) (%58.5) and divergers (concrete-passive) (%28.8). Students' academic performance results were between 75-80. We did not find a statistically significant difference between gender and students'learning styles and academic performance results (p>0.05). Conclusion: Identifiying and monitoring of students' learning styles in the universities especially in medical schools is neglected. However, we should know students' learning style in order to recognize their learning habits shaped by previous learning experiences and to improve their success. Moreover, it is important to improve students' performance by using learning strategies and methods suitable for different learning styles.