FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS' LEARNING STYLES IN NEYSHABUR UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES IN2019:A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

One way to improve the quality of education is to gain knowledge and insight on how to learn. There are various factors involved in effective learning that identifying them can play a vital role in resolving the problems and deficiencies of the education system and improving its quality. Learners' learning styles are one of the factors that influence learning. Studies emphasize that it is necessary to examine students' learning styles in each discipline  educational course. This study was conducted to determine the first-year students' learning styles in Neyshabur University of Medical Sciences.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on 197 first-year students of the 2018-2019 academic year in all available disciplines by census sampling method. The data collection tool was a demographic questionnaire and the Kolb Learning Style Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS version 16 software.
The students' dominant learning style was assimilator (40.1%). The dominant students’ learning styles in nursing, anesthesiology, public health, environmental health, occupational health, food science & technology, health information technology, and midwifery disciplines were assimilator, in the medical emergency and food science & technology were divergent, and the operating room was convergent.

Since students' learning styles in different disciplines can be different, therefore, attention to the dominant learning styles of each discipline and using appropriate teaching methods can be effective in improving students ' learning.