Abstract
Understanding the learning styles of medical students is essential for effective education. The VARK questionnaire categorizes preferences into visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic modalities. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Dr SS Tantia Medical College, Rajasthan, in 2024. The VARK questionnaire was administered to 450 MBBS students, with 398 complete responses analyzed for learning style preferences, gender, and academic year. Visual learning was the most common style (35.18%), followed by auditory (27.64%), read/write (26.13%), and kinesthetic (11.06%). Learning preferences varied significantly across academic years, with a higher visual preference in later years. Gender differences were noted but not statistically significant. Medical students exhibit diverse learning styles, with significant variations by academic year. These findings highlight the need for adaptive teaching strategies to cater to different learning preferences and improve educational outcomes. Future research should examine the effectiveness of tailored instructional methods.
Keywords
Introduction
Understanding the diverse learning styles of medical students is crucial in fostering effective educational strategies that cater to individual needs and promote academic success. 1 The VARK questionnaire, developed by Neil Fleming, is a widely used tool for identifying individual learning preferences across four sensory modalities: Visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic. This classification helps educators tailor their teaching strategies to better suit the learning styles of their students, potentially enhancing educational outcomes. 2
In medical education, understanding diverse learning preferences is crucial due to the intensive and complex curriculum. Research indicates that accommodating different learning styles enhances student engagement and performance. For example, visual learners benefit from diagrams, auditory learners from lectures, read/write learners from notes, and kinesthetic learners from hands-on activities. Previous studies have examined the relationship between learning styles and demographics such as sex and academic performance, revealing potential gender differences and underscoring the importance of personalized education strategies to support diverse learners effectively. 3
By integrating these insights into curriculum design and instructional methods, medical educators can create a more inclusive and effective learning environment that addresses the needs of all students, ultimately fostering better educational outcomes and preparing future healthcare professionals more effectively. 4
This study assesses the learning styles of undergraduate medical students using the VARK questionnaire, offering insights into their predominant preferences. It also examines the impact of sex and academic performance on these styles. Understanding the relationship between learning styles, gender, and performance can help develop tailored educational strategies to optimize outcomes. This research contributes to the literature on personalized medical education, highlighting the need for adaptive teaching approaches that address diverse student needs.
Methodology
The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive study design, which aimed to know the learning styles of undergraduate medical students using the VARK questionnaire. It was conducted at Dr SS Tantia Medical College, Hospital and Research Center, Sriganganagar, Rajasthan, over a period of 3 months, from January to March 2024. The study targeted all undergraduate medical students at Dr. SS Tantia Medical College, Hospital and Research Center, Sriganganagar, Rajasthan. A total of 450 MBBS students were approached to participate in the study, out of which 398 responded to the questionnaire, representing a diverse sample from first to final year.
Inclusion Criteria comprised of all students enrolled as an undergraduate medical student at the study place, who showed willingness to participate voluntarily in the study and completed the informed consent.
Postgraduate or non-medical students, and the responses from medical students with incomplete questionnaires were excluded from the study.
Study Tool
The VARK questionnaire, a validated tool designed by Neil Fleming, was used to assess learning preferences. The questionnaire consists of 16 multiple-choice questions, each with four options corresponding to the four learning styles: Visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Each option reflects a different mode of information processing. 2
Data Collection
The VARK questionnaire was distributed online via a secure platform. Participants were given 2 weeks to complete the questionnaire, with reminders sent weekly to maximize response rates.
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics: Basic demographic data (age, gender, year of study) were collected and summarized using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages). Learning style distribution: The distribution of VARK learning styles was calculated for the entire sample and broken down by year of study. The predominant learning style for each participant was identified based on the highest score. Comparative analysis: Chi-square tests were used to compare the distribution of learning styles across different year levels. This helped identify any significant differences in learning preferences as students progress through their medical education. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0. A significance level of p < .05 was used to determine statistical significance. A pilot test was conducted with a small group of students to identify any potential issues with the questionnaire or data collection process. Data entry and analysis were cross-checked by two independent researchers to prevent errors.
Scoring Details for the VARK Questionnaire
The VARK questionnaire categorizes learning preferences based on how individuals prefer to receive and process information. The questionnaire consists of 16 multiple-choice questions, each offering four options corresponding to the four learning styles. Participants can choose one or more options per question, depending on their preferences.
Scoring Process
Questionnaire administration: Each participant completes the 16-question VARK questionnaire, either selecting one or more options for each question.
Response coding: Each option in the VARK questionnaire corresponds to a specific learning style:
Visual (V)
Auditory (A)
Reading/writing (R)
Kinesthetic (K)
Tabulation of scores:
For each question, tally the responses for each learning style.
If a participant selects more than one option for a question, each selected option is counted toward its respective learning style.
Summing scores:
Sum the scores for each learning style (V, A, R, K) across all 16 questions for each participant.
This results in four separate scores, one for each learning style.
Determining predominant learning style:
The learning style with the highest score is considered the participant’s predominant learning style.
If two or more styles have the highest score, the participant is categorized as multimodal, indicating they have multiple strong preferences.
Results
Baseline Characteristics of Study Participants
Table 1 provides a demographic breakdown of study participants based on gender and year of study. Among the participants, 207 individuals are male, representing 51.01% of the total, while 191 individuals are female, accounting for 48.99%. In terms of academic progression, 139 participants are in their first and second years of study each, constituting 34.92% of the total, while 120 participants are in their third year, making up 30.15%. These findings underscore a relatively balanced representation of gender across the study population, with a slightly higher proportion of male participants. Additionally, the distribution of participants across different years of study indicates a relatively even distribution, with a slightly smaller percentage in the third year compared to the earlier years.
Distribution of Learning Styles Among the Study Participants.
Table 2 presents the distribution of learning styles among study participants, indicating the frequency and corresponding percentage for each learning style. Visual (V) learning style emerges as the most prevalent among the participants, with 140 individuals (35.18%) indicating a preference for this mode of learning. Following closely is the auditory (A) learning style, favored by 110 participants (27.64%), while reading/Writing (R) and kinesthetic (K) learning styles are represented by 104 individuals (26.13%) and 44 individuals (11.06%), respectively. These findings highlight a diverse range of learning preferences within the study population, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple teaching modalities to accommodate varying learning styles effectively.
Predominant Learning Styles by Year of Study.
Comparison of Predominant Learning Styles Across Gender.
Association Between Gender, Year of Study, and Learning Style Preference Among the Study Participants.
Regarding gender, the p value of approximately .123 indicates that there is no statistically significant association between gender and learning style preference at the conventional significance level of .05 (Table 5). This suggests that gender may not be a significant determinant of learning style preference among the participants. However, concerning the year of study, the highly significant p value of less than .001 suggests a strong association between academic progression and learning style preference. The chi-square value of 60.51 indicates that the distribution of learning style preferences varies significantly across different years of study. These findings imply that as students progress through their academic journey, their learning style preferences may evolve or become more pronounced, highlighting the importance of considering the stage of academic progression when designing educational interventions tailored to accommodate diverse learning styles effectively.
Discussion
The study unveils a nuanced tapestry of learning styles among medical students, with visual preferences emerging as the most prevalent, closely followed by auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic modalities. Notably, the distribution of learning styles exhibits intriguing variations across different academic years, suggesting an evolution or intensification of learning preferences as students progress through their medical journey. Gender dynamics also surface as influential factors, albeit to a lesser extent, with discernible differences in learning preferences between male and female participants. While gender may not be a decisive determinant of learning style preferences, the stage of academic progression appears to wield significant influence.
From research conducted by Ayub et al. (2023), we learn that the majority of fourth-year medical students at Lahore Medical & Dental College prefer multimodal learning approaches, with kinesthetic being the most favored learning style, followed by auditory, visual, and read/write. The study also revealed that only a small percentage of students were unimodal learners, while a significant portion were quadra-modal and tri-modal learners, indicating that they benefit from multiple learning modalities. 5
Contrary to these studies, Rawat et al. and Mani et al. reported that unimodal style of leaning was the commonest similar to the results of the present study, where almost two-thirds of students exhibited a preference for unimodal learning styles.6, 7 Also aligning closely with findings reported by Peyman et al. 8
In a study conducted by Kamal I et al., a significant number of participants indicated a preference for a single mode of learning over multiple modes. Among these, visual learning emerged as the most favored style, as evidenced by the data in Table 2, where 32.1% of respondents chose it as their primary method. Reading and writing followed closely behind, preferred by 25.5% of participants. The trend was consistent across genders, with both males and females showing a stronger inclination toward unimodal learning styles rather than multimodal ones. 9
In another study conducted among the first and final year MBBS students using VARK Inventory at Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, by Inam & Haq, 2022, found a similar trend where kinesthetic learning was the most common style reported among the students, followed by auditory, visual, and read/write, with a majority having a quad modal preference. This study also identified significant differences in visual and auditory learning styles between first and final-year medical students, suggesting possible changes or evolution in learning styles as students progress in their medical education. 10
Another research by Teli et al., in 2021, and Singh et al. on learning style preferences of first-year MBBS girl students also contributes to the understanding of learning preferences with the VARK model by assessing these among different cohorts, where the score for the visual component was the highest. 11
In this study, we tried to determine the preferred VARK component among female and male students. Interestingly, we found no significant difference between genders, similar to Mani et al. and Soundariya et al.7, 12 This contrasts with the findings of Kharb et al. 13
In the present study, it was noted that there was a significant association between year of study and learning style preference, which was also the finding of Mohamed SF et al., where the results indicated a statistically significant distinction (p = .022) in the learning styles of students between pre-clinical and clinical years, despite both groups predominantly favoring unimodal learning styles. 14
Recent literature further supports the importance of adopting student-centered and interactive teaching strategies in medical education. Pathak et al. (2016) demonstrated that implementation of case-based learning (CBL) in Forensic Medicine resulted in significantly higher academic performance compared to conventional teaching methods, with students reporting enhanced analytical, reasoning, and independent learning skills. 15 Similarly, Ninave et al. (2025) observed that modified problem-based learning (PBL) improved student engagement, communication skills, understanding of course material, and collaborative interaction, with a substantial proportion of students perceiving it as superior to traditional approaches. 16 Earlier, Prakash et al. (2010) reported that a majority of students favored clinically oriented teaching, PBL, integrated curriculum models, and the use of audiovisual aids, emphasizing the need to move beyond purely didactic formats. 17 Furthermore, Das et al. (2020), using the VARK questionnaire, found that most students exhibited a unimodal learning preference, with kinesthetic mode being the most predominant, followed by reading/writing and auditory styles, highlighting the need to incorporate active and practical learning components in undergraduate teaching. 18 Collectively, these findings reinforce the present study’s implications that diverse learning preferences and positive responses to interactive methodologies warrant flexible, multimodal, and competency-based teaching strategies in medical education.
These studies collectively emphasize the diversity of learning preferences among medical students and underscore the need for educational strategies that cater to a range of learning styles. Integrating teaching approaches that address visual, auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic preferences could potentially enhance educational outcomes and ensure that students retain and comprehend information more effectively. Furthermore, the results suggest that as medical students advance in their studies, their learning style preferences might evolve, which highlights the importance of adaptable teaching strategies throughout their education.
These findings also raise interesting questions for future research, particularly in assessing how well current educational strategies in medical schools align with these diverse learning styles and how modifications in teaching methods can be made to better accommodate students’ learning needs.
Educational Implications and Future Directions
These findings hold profound implications for medical education, underscoring the imperative of tailored pedagogical approaches that accommodate diverse learning styles effectively. Educators must harness this understanding to craft inclusive learning environments that resonate with the multifaceted needs of students. Moreover, future research endeavors could delve deeper into the intricate interplay between learning styles, demographic factors, and academic performance, unraveling additional layers of complexity and nuance. By embracing a holistic understanding of learning diversity, medical educators can pave the way for enhanced educational outcomes and better-prepared healthcare professionals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the study’s demographic breakdown reveals balanced gender representation, slightly favoring males, and an even distribution across study years, with a slightly smaller third-year cohort. Diverse learning preferences underscore the need for varied teaching methods. Analysis shows varying learning styles across years and gender, suggesting that tailored educational approaches are crucial. Academic progression seems linked to evolving or more pronounced learning preferences. Recognizing and accommodating diverse learning styles in medical education is vital. Insights can guide targeted interventions to meet evolving student needs.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflict of Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Ethical Approval and Informed Consent
Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Tantia University via letter number IEC/2023/12/04. Consent forms and study protocols were reviewed and approved by the same. Participants were recruited through email invitations and announcements during lectures. The study objectives and importance were explained to encourage participation. Participants were provided with detailed information about the study, including its purpose, procedures, potential risks, and benefits. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. Participant information and responses were kept confidential. Data were anonymized before analysis. Participation was voluntary, and students could withdraw at any time without any academic penalty.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.