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Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap

PURPOSE: Currently, the dental education system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated. It is important to find out whether teaching methods must be altered to improve the learning experience for both genders throughout their years of study. This study aims to investigate the preferred learning styles...

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Autor principal: Hashem, Danya
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8957398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35345497
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S358671
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author Hashem, Danya
author_facet Hashem, Danya
author_sort Hashem, Danya
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description PURPOSE: Currently, the dental education system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated. It is important to find out whether teaching methods must be altered to improve the learning experience for both genders throughout their years of study. This study aims to investigate the preferred learning styles for males and females studying dentistry at Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia and the effect of academic level on the learning style preference. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey composed of the visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire was distributed to 228 undergraduate dental students at Taibah University through emails during September/October 2020. Student learning styles were presented using descriptive statistics. Learning preferences between genders and academic years were compared using independent proportional t-test and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 168 dental students completed the questionnaire. Both genders displayed a higher percentage of a unimodal learning preference (60% males, 50% females) with 41% of males preferring the kinesthetic learning style, followed by the aural (26%) then the visual (20%), and lastly read/write learning style (12.6%). Female students preferred the kinesthetic learning style (42%), followed by the visual (27%) then the aural (20%), and lastly read/write learning style (11%). All students throughout the 6 academic years preferred the unimodal learning approach with the kinesthetic style favored. The quadmodal was preferred mostly by interns. CONCLUSION: Both male and female students studying dentistry at Taibah University had a unimodal learning preference. Quadmodal learning was popular among interns. Both genders preferred the kinesthetic learning style, followed by the aural for males and visual for females. Teaching methods must be tailored to suit the learning style of each gender to promote motivation and thriving for a successful outcome.
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spelling pubmed-89573982022-03-27 Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap Hashem, Danya Adv Med Educ Pract Original Research PURPOSE: Currently, the dental education system in Saudi Arabia is gender segregated. It is important to find out whether teaching methods must be altered to improve the learning experience for both genders throughout their years of study. This study aims to investigate the preferred learning styles for males and females studying dentistry at Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia and the effect of academic level on the learning style preference. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey composed of the visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic (VARK) questionnaire was distributed to 228 undergraduate dental students at Taibah University through emails during September/October 2020. Student learning styles were presented using descriptive statistics. Learning preferences between genders and academic years were compared using independent proportional t-test and Chi-square test. RESULTS: A total of 168 dental students completed the questionnaire. Both genders displayed a higher percentage of a unimodal learning preference (60% males, 50% females) with 41% of males preferring the kinesthetic learning style, followed by the aural (26%) then the visual (20%), and lastly read/write learning style (12.6%). Female students preferred the kinesthetic learning style (42%), followed by the visual (27%) then the aural (20%), and lastly read/write learning style (11%). All students throughout the 6 academic years preferred the unimodal learning approach with the kinesthetic style favored. The quadmodal was preferred mostly by interns. CONCLUSION: Both male and female students studying dentistry at Taibah University had a unimodal learning preference. Quadmodal learning was popular among interns. Both genders preferred the kinesthetic learning style, followed by the aural for males and visual for females. Teaching methods must be tailored to suit the learning style of each gender to promote motivation and thriving for a successful outcome. Dove 2022-03-22 /pmc/articles/PMC8957398/ /pubmed/35345497 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S358671 Text en © 2022 Hashem. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) ). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).
spellingShingle Original Research
Hashem, Danya
Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap
title Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap
title_full Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap
title_fullStr Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap
title_full_unstemmed Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap
title_short Preferred Learning Styles of Dental Students in Madinah, Saudi Arabia: Bridging the Gender Gap
title_sort preferred learning styles of dental students in madinah, saudi arabia: bridging the gender gap
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8957398/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35345497
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S358671
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