Journal of Advanced Clinical & Research Insights (2015), 2, 135–139
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Assessment of preferred learning modalities of
undergraduate medical students using the visual-auralread/write-kinesthetic questionnaire and the impact of
gender
Vaibhav Nayak Jansale1, Indudhara Pyati Balappa1, Girish Huchhakklla Odappa2, Yenni Veerabhadrappa Veerappa1
Department of Pathology, Subbaiah Medical College, Shimoga, Karnataka, India, 2Department of Community Medicine, Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences,
Karwar, Karnataka, India
1
Keywords
Gender, learning style, visual-aural-read/
write-kinesthetic
Correspondence
Vaibhav Nayak Jansale,
3638/1, 9th Main, 7th Cross, MCC B Block,
Davangere - 577 004, Karnataka, India.
Email: [email protected]
Received 02 March 2015;
Accepted 10 May 2015
doi: 10.15713/ins.jcri.62
Abstract
Background: Among the several tools available to assess learning styles of students,
the visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire is a simple, easy to
administer, freely available tool that facilitates students to understand their learning
behavior in a way that they can relate with and accept.
Aims and Objectives: The objective was to understand the preferred learning modality
(or modalities) of medical students and assess the impact of gender on learning
preferences.
Materials and Methods: Three hundred and twenty-eight undergraduate students
undergoing medical training at our medical college were approached to participate
in the exercise. 273 (83.2%) students consented and were provided version 7.8 of the
VARK questionnaire in printed format. Along with the questionnaire, we also collected
demographic data.
Results: The majority of students in our study preferred more than one learning
modality (64.3%). The predominant modalities of learning were visual (65.6%) and
aural (63%). The learning modality preference was not influenced by gender.
Conclusions: Despite the fact that we use a multitude of teaching methodologies, there
has not been an ardent effort to ascertain whether these sufficiently address the needs
of different types of learners. While teachers can utilize this information to facilitate and
improve student learning, students can use the knowledge of their learning preferences
to change their learning habits. We hope these results will help us better our teachinglearning activities.
Introduction
The trend in medical teaching is to tutor all students in the
same manner. Educators prefer traditional lecture format
over others considering the need to cover the content, the
relative ease of information passing, a long history of didactic
lecturing and possibly due to their own preferences in learning.
Adult learning is more self-directed than a dependent form
of teaching-learning. In order to encourage student’s active
involvement in their own education, tools can be provided to
help them become better learners. One tool that can be used to
encourage active participation is a learning style inventory.[1]
Learning style is a term that refers to the methods of gathering,
processing, interpreting, organizing and thinking about
information. Every student has differing learning styles, and
that is the reason why classrooms are a diverse mix with regards
to how students acquire knowledge.[2] The utilization of this
insight in a formal manner to enhance the teaching methods
and learning environment has been almost absent until in
recent past. A literature review identified 71 different theories
of learning styles.[3] Visual, aural, and kinesthetic model,
Kolb’s Learning Inventory, Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence
Theory and various other models were developed to explain
different learning styles. Every model has faced one criticism
Journal of Advanced Clinical & Research Insights ● Vol. 2:3 ● May-Jun 2015135
Nayak, et al.
or the other, The Kolb model has been criticized for paying
inadequate attention to the process of reflection, for not
applying to all situations and the interconnection of learning
processes to knowledge.[4,5]
The visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic (VARK)
questionnaire is a freely available, simple tool, which is easy
to administer and encourages students to characterize their
learning behavior in a way they can relate with and accept.[6]
The aim was to understand the preferred learning modality (or
modalities) of students. The VARK questionnaire is designed to
identify the four sensory modalities namely VARK.[7] Teachers
can use this knowledge to further student learning. Besides,
students themselves can use this awareness to change their
learning patterns.
Newer teaching-learning methods are being tried with a
progressive shift of priority towards active rather than passive
learning. Hence, a systematic attempt was made to study the
learning style preferences of undergraduate medical students in
our college. Other studies have suggested a possible influence
of gender on learning modalities. However, some studies have
shown a gender difference in learning style preference while
others failed to demonstrate any difference.[8-11]
The study of learning style preferences among our students
employing the VARK questionnaire and ascertaining the impact
of gender is will possibly add to our knowledge of this element’s
potential influence on learning preferences.
Materials and Methods
This study was undertaken after obtaining the assent of the
Institutional Ethics Committee. It was carried out by the
Department of Pathology at Subbaiah Medical College. Three
hundred and twenty-eight undergraduate students undergoing
medical training at our medical college were invited to
participate in the exercise. Students were not given any incentive
for participation.
The students were explained the purpose of this study,
and informed consent in writing was obtained before the
VARK questionnaire could be administered. Along with the
questionnaire, demographic data were also collected. The
VARK questionnaire (version 7.8) in a printed format was
provided to students.[7] It consists of 16 questions with 4
choices, each of which corresponds to a particular sensory
modality preference. Students were free to select one or
more than one option, thus varying combinations of multiple
sensory modalities could be obtained. The preferred sensory
modality was the one that received the highest marks. The
questions describe circumstances of everyday occurrence;
thereby connecting to a person’s learning experience. Students
were instructed to circle the letter next to the option that best
explained their preference. They could opt for more than one
choice or leave vacant any question if they perceived it as being
not applicable to them. Questionnaires were assessed based
on previously validated scoring instructions and a chart.[7] as
136
Learning modalities in medical students
each of the options exemplifies a sensory modality preference;
the same was calculated for every individual by summing
up the responses for all 16 questions. The entire exercise
was completed in less than 30 min, after which the students
returned the questionnaire with demographic data.
Statistical analyses
Learning modality preferences of students are expressed as
percentages for each category. Scores for each of the VARK
components is expressed as means ± standard deviation.
Comparison of VARK scores based on gender was done
using chi square test. Statistical analysis was done using SPPS
(version19.2) software. P < 0.05 is considered to be significant.
Results
Of the three hundred and twenty-eight undergraduate students
invited to take part in the exercise, 273 students (83.2%)
agreed to provide demographic details and answer the VARK
questionnaire. Among the respondents, 172 (63%) were women.
One hundred students (36.6%) showed a unimodal learning
preference. Within the unimodal group, 34% of the students
were visual learners and 26% were auditory learners. Preferred
sensory modalities among unimodal learners are presented in
Figure 1. The majority of students (63.4%) preferred more than
one modality for learning. The percentages of bimodal, trimodal
and quadmodal learners are shown in Figure 2. The VARK
mode distribution among students was unimodal (36.6%),
followed by quadmodal (33%), bimodal (18%), and trimodal
(13%). Mean VARK scores for individual sensory modalities of
learning are shown in Table 1. The mean score was highest for
visual learning (6.33 ± 2.70) and lowest for read/write learning
(5.29 ± 2.59).
Figure 1: Sensory modality preferences among students with a
unimodal learning style, as assessed by the visual-aural-read/writekinesthetic questionnaire. Values are expressed as percentages
Journal of Advanced Clinical & Research Insights ● Vol. 2:3 ● May-Jun 2015
Nayak, et al.
Learning modalities in medical students
Gender and VARK
No significant difference was noted among sexes with respect to
unimodal or multimodal learning preferences [Table 2]. Even
among unimodal learners, no significant difference in VARK
modality preference was evident [Table 3] as regards to gender.
Mean VARK scores for each of the sensory modalities were also
not significantly different [Table 4].
Discussion
Our study used the VARK questionnaire to ascertain the learning
modality preferences of undergraduate medical students and
the impact of gender on learning styles. Bulk of the students
in our study had multimodal learning preferences (64.3%).
Similar results have been obtained by researchers from different
geographic areas.[10,12,13] The dominant sensory modalities
of learning among unimodal learners were visual (34%) and
aural (26%). The same was reflected in mean scores for the
individual VARK components. The VARK Questionnaire helps
the students to understand their own learning preferences.
It stimulates students to engage actively in their learning
environment, which was otherwise perceived as being unsuited
to their needs.
Health professionals require several simultaneous skills
involving visual (interpreting graphs and charts from patient
records), auditory (i.e., listening to patients), reading and
writing as well as kinesthetic (i.e., physical examination and
procedures) skills. Developing learning modalities may help
students improve not just their academic performance, but also
develop lifelong professional skills.[14]
Teaching in Pathology in our institution mainly consists of
didactic lecture sessions using PowerPoint slide presentations
and, to a small extent, blackboard teaching. Practical classes
are a mix of small-group teaching/demonstrations and clinical
pathology exercises. Power point presentations tend to be
text-heavy, while students have shown an inclination towards
visual learning. Moreover, mere presentation of a text-heavy
PowerPoint slide might not interest the visual learner unless
Table 3: Sensory modality preference among students with
unimodal learning style based on gender
Figure 2: Visual-aural-read/write-kinesthetic mode distribution among
undergraduate medical students. Values are expressed as percentages
Table 1: Mean scores of individual VARK components
VARK component
V
Mean score
6.33
SD
2.71
A
5.9
2.49
R
5.29
2.59
K
5.39
2.29
SD: Standard deviation, VARK: Visual‑aural‑read/write‑kinesthetic
Table 2: VARK mode distribution among undergraduate medical
students based on gender
Modals
Unimodal
Males
36
Females
64
Total
100
Bimodal
23
26
49
Trimodal
9
26
35
Quadmodal
33
56
89
Total
101
172
273
Chi‑square value=4.03
P>0.05
df=3
Non‑significant
To be significant Chi‑square value should have been >7.82.
VARK: Visual‑aural‑read/write‑kinesthetic
Sensory modality
Visual
Males
11
Females
23
Total
34
Aural
6
20
26
Read/write
8
12
20
Kinesthetic
11
9
20
Total
36
64
100
Chi‑square value=5.35
df=3
P>0.05
Non‑significant
To be significant Chi‑square value should have been >7.82
Table 4: Mean scores of individual VARK components based on
gender
VARK component
V
A
R
K
Gender
Males
Mean
5.80
SD
2.79
Females
6.63
2.62
Males
5.65
2.57
Females
6.03
2.46
Males
5.22
2.32
Females
5.35
2.72
Males
5.43
2.37
Females
5.38
2.25
SD: Standard deviation, VARK: Visual‑aural‑read/write‑kinesthetic
Journal of Advanced Clinical & Research Insights ● Vol. 2:3 ● May-Jun 2015137
Nayak, et al.
the slide content is organized in a manner that appeals to
him/her. The same applies to other sensory modalities as well.
Multimodal learning might help to some extent to better some
of the deficiencies in teaching.[15]
There is a gamut of literature available on differences among
sexes as regards to learning. While males have been reported
to have a preference for logic and rational evaluation, females
prefer “elaborative” processing in which they lean on seeking
personal relevance/connection with the material being learnt.[16]
further, males value achievement while females tend to value
performance.[17] The influence of gender on learning preferences
is an area of active research. Some studies have found no
significant differences among learning styles of students based
on gender.[8-11] However, there are many authors who have found
that there is indeed a difference in learning preferences among
sexes.[13,15,18-20] In our study, most of the female undergraduates
(62.8%) showed multimodal learning preference. Amongst
those with unimodal learning preference, female students were
mainly visual learners (35.9%), while an equal number of male
students preferred visual and kinesthetic sensory modalities
(30.5%). As regards to our study sample, there was no significant
relationship between gender and sensory modalities of learning.
In light of the differing results from multiple studies, no sweeping
statements can be made regarding the influence of gender on
learning.
A multitude of elements, such as psychological, social,
physical, and environmental aspects affect learning.[21] The
VARK questionnaire was not intended for complete assessment
of learning style. It only points to preferred learning modality
(modalities). The lack of a comprehensive definition for
learning and methods to quantify it has meant that it is difficult
to demonstrate the effects of an improved teaching method or
methods that is claimed to better student learning.[1]
Limitations of our study are that it does not address whether
enhancing the teaching- learning methods according to student
learning preferences improves learning. Our study showed no
significant relationship between gender and learning modality
preferences. However the fact that there were more kinesthetic
learners among men than women, even though not statistically
significant (30.5% vs. 14.1% for males vs. females, respectively),
points to the possibility of a larger study sample yielding
significant results.
In conclusion, this was an attempt to explore the learning
preferences of undergraduate medical students in our college.
Most of the students preferred multimodal learning, which is
good from both a teaching and learning perspective. Visual and
aural were the most preferred sensory modalities of learning.
In the light of queries raised by other studies, we studied the
impact of gender on learning style preference and found that
gender has no relation to learning style preference. There
has not been an ardent effort to ascertain whether teaching
methodologies adequately address all types of learners. We
hope these results will help us better our teaching learning
activities and make learning a more beneficial experience for
learners and teachers.
138
Learning modalities in medical students
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Neil D. Fleming for permission
to use the VARK questionnaire (© Copyright Version 7.8 (2014)
held by VARK Learn Limited, Christchurch, New Zealand).
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Yenni VV. Assessment of preferred learning modalities of
undergraduate medical students using the visual-aural-read/
write-kinesthetic questionnaire and the impact of gender. J Adv
Clin Res Insights 2015;2:135-139.
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