Different and dominant preferences of learning styles among undergraduate medical students from islamabad and gujranwala cities, pakistan

Background: Across institutions, cultures, and pedagogical settings, researchers and psychologists have shown that students' preferred learning styles are distinct. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the dominant learning style among students. The objective of this study was to determine the different and dominant preferences of learning styles among undergraduate medical students from Islamabad and Gujranwala cities in Pakistan. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Medical Education, Shifa Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan from February 2020 to January 2021. A total of 363 students were selected from Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, and Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala, Pakistan. The Honey and Mumford 80-item LSQ tool was used, based on learning style inventory of Kolb. It has four major learning styles; Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist. It is considered an effective tool for identifying students learning styles. Participants were explained the questionnaire. The data was analyzed as counts and percentages with 95% CI. Results: A total of 363 students participated in this study. The dominant/ preferred learning style was Reflectors in 206 (56.75%, 95% CI: 51.65-61.85) students, followed by Theorists in 176 (48.48%, 95%CI: 43.34-53.63), Activists in 156 (42.97%, 95%CI: 37.88-48.07) and Pragmatists in 140 (38.57%, 95%CI: 33.56-43.57) students. Conclusion: In our study, most of the medical students showed Reflector as dominant learning style, followed by Theorists, Activists and Pragmatists. It is important for faculty to understand the varied learning styles of students in a class for effective learning.