A Comparative Questionnaire-based Study on Learning Styles and Studying Resources among Undergraduate Medical Students in Public and Private Universities
Abstract
Background: Learning styles are circumstances beneath which learners most
expeditiously and successfully understand, process, store, and recall what they are
attempting to learn. The main goal of the current study was to compare different
methods of study and learning style predilections amongst undergraduate MBBS
students who attend public and private universities.
Methods: The current study was a descriptive cross-sectional research. Data collected
were obtained through a questionnaire filled by second- and third-year students in
Omdurman Islamic University - OIU (public) and University of Medical Sciences and
Technology – UMST (private) using systematic random sampling. Using the SPSS
version 23 software, the data were analyzed and Chi-square test was used to test the
significance considering the α (alpha) level of significance as 0.05.
Results: The application of the Chi-square test showed that there is no relation between
the a method of study used and the students’ grades (P = 0.333). The most preferred
learning style in OIU was found to be Aural (60.0%), while in UMST it was read/write
(57.9%). The most preferred source of studying used in OIU was found to be extracourses (private courses given outside the university), whereas in UMST it was found
to be the teachers’ slides.
Conclusion: The most preferred learning style for public university was found to be
aural while for private university it was found to read/write. This factor must be taken
into consideration while teaching sessions are being conducted. Interestingly, there
was no statistical association between the study methodology and students’ grades.
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