doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1630.2007.00723.x
Research Article
Blackwell Publishing Asia
of Occupational Therapy, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, 2Caulfield General Medical Centre, Caulfield,
Victoria and 3School of Primary Health Care, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia
Background/aim: The learning styles and teaching implications for nursing and health science students have been well
researched in other countries. Less research has considered
the learning styles and implications for occupational therapy
students. The current study examines the learning styles of
occupational therapy students at one Australian university.
Methods: The learning style preferences of first year undergraduate occupational therapy students (n = 120) were investigated. The students completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory
(LSI) and Flemings VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and
Kinaesthetic) Questionnaire in the first weeks of their course.
Results: The response rate was 97% (n = 116). Learning
style preferences as determined by the Kolb LSI were spread
over all four Kolb LSI learning styles with diverging (30.2%)
and converging (28.4%) being the most preferred. Instructional
preference as measured by the VARK Questionnaire was
kinaesthetic learning (33%), followed by the multimodal
preference VARK (18.1%). Visual and aural categories
were these students least preferred methods of learning.
Conclusions: The results of the current study support
previous research indicating a range of teaching methods
should be utilised to accommodate for the variability of
students learning styles within educational programs. To
accommodate the range of learning experiences encountered
in fieldwork and later in professional practice, students need
to strengthen their capacities to use a variety of learning
styles. This paper proposes that student learning for evidencedbased practice be facilitated by a range of learning opportunities
including practical experiences.
KEY WORDS learning styles, occupational therapy, students.
Glenys French DOrgDyn, MBA, BBehavSc, DipOT; Senior
Lecturer. Tessa Cosgriff BOccther(Hons); Occupational
Therapist (G1) and Ted Brown PhD, MPA, MSc,
BScOT(Hons); Senior Lecturer.
Correspondence: Glenys French, Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora,
Vic. 3086, Australia. Email: g.french@latrobe.edu.au
Accepted for publication 16 August 2007.
2007 The Authors
Journal compilation 2007 Australian Association of
Occupational Therapists
Introduction
There is an extensive body of literature on learning styles
but only limited research on the learning style preferences
of occupational therapy students and no available Australian
data. Given the costs associated with occupational
therapy education, the shift towards technology-based
educational curricula and the pressure on resources, it is
imperative to optimise relevant learning opportunities in
professional curricula for efficiency and effectiveness. To
optimise the learning opportunities, the learning styles
and learning requirements of students need to be
identified (Sims & Sims, 2006). This study investigated
the learning style preferences of a group of occupational
therapy students at an Australian university.
Literature review
Learning theories
Individuals use learning to adapt to and manage everyday
situations. The concept of learning styles has received
considerable attention in the empirical literature including some in the allied health literature (Barris, Kielhofner
& Bauer, 1985; Contessa, Ciardiello & Perlman, 2005;
Cook, 2005; Curry, 1983; Hauer, Straub & Wolf, 2005;
Linares, 1999; Mitchell & Nyland, 2005; Sandmire, Vroman
& Sanders, 2000; Stratton, Witzke, Elam & Cheever, 2005;
Vittetoe & Hooker, 1983; Ware & ODonoughue, 2005).
Some of the studies are based on small cohorts and the early
investigations may be based on educational experiences
very different to the current Australian student experience.
Many theories have been proposed to better understand
the process and dynamics of learning and are often
associated with the characteristics of professional groups
(Sims & Sims, 2006). Learning styles are viewed from
various perspectives including models of personality traits,
information processing, social interaction, and instructional
preference (Fleming, 2001; Katz, 1990). From the baseline
of personality traits, the different theoretical perspectives
can be viewed as layers to an individuals learning style,
with each having influence on subordinate layers.
Personality trait theories view learning styles as
relatively fixed personality characteristics, compared with
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Purpose
In the current study, the learning style preferences of a
group of first year occupational therapy, physiotherapy
and speech pathology students were investigated. The
results of the occupational therapy cohort are reported
in this paper. University programs and supervision of
students during fieldwork placements may benefit from
these findings as a deeper understanding of how students
learn will lead to more appropriate presentations of
information or provide knowledge of what areas students
may have difficulty in learning. Gaining knowledge of
and insight into the learning style preferences among
occupational therapy students may result in the provision
of more effective and efficient learning experiences for
students. Katz and Heimann (1991) have already identified
that occupational therapy students whose learning styles
matched the teaching methods had better performance
on problem-solving exams. The results may be useful for
continued professional development and clinical reasoning for which individuals in allied health professions
must be prepared (Wessel et al., 1999). There is also the
potential for interdisciplinary comparison to facilitate
interdisciplinary communication, education, client care,
and team performance associated with current educational
goals (Sandmire et al., 2000). The aim of this paper is
to report learning style preferences of undergraduate
occupational therapy students and identify implications
for education.
Methods
Design
The study design was a prospective cross-sectional survey.
Participants
The sample consisted of 120 first year occupational
therapy students enrolled at La Trobe University in
Bundoora, Victoria. Of these, 116 students (97.7% of the
sample) completed the surveys correctly and were
included in the analysis.
Instrumentation
The Kolb LSI (version 3) (Kolb, 1999) and the VARK
Questionnaire (Fleming, 2001) were used to measure
individual learning styles. The students also completed a
demographic information sheet describing their age, sex,
past educational experience, and whether occupational
therapy was their first preference when applying for a
university place. These data assisted in identifying factors
other than career choice that may influence their learning
style, and whether their enrolment was in a career of choice.
The Kolb LSI is based on Kolbs theory of experiential
learning (Kolb, 1984). It involves participants completing
12 questions that describe various learning contexts.
Each question has four responses and participants rank
which response best describes their learning style (4) to
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Procedures
The study was approved by the La Trobe University,
Faculty of Health Science Faculty Human Ethics Committee
(2004), and informed consent was assumed for students
through completion of the surveys. Occupational therapy
students were invited to complete the Kolb LSI (1999), the
VARK Questionnaire (Fleming, 2001), and a demographic
questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed and
collected by a fourth year student not connected with the
study at the end of a lecture in the first 2 weeks of the
academic year with the support of the lecturer.
The data collection was performed at the beginning of
the academic year for a number of reasons. First, as the
authors were interested in the learning styles of the
individuals and the impact of this on the profession and
education, surveying students at the beginning of their
academic course meant that they had not already been
TABLE 1:
Age
Sex
First preference
1721 years
2226 years
2731 years
Male
Female
Yes
No
109
5
2
9
107
82
34
Results
Demographic characteristics of the sample
The sample included 116 occupational therapy students
representing a response rate of 97%. The majority of
students (87.1%) had previously completed only secondary
schooling and no other undergraduate education.
Students were more likely to be female (92.2%). When
applying for positions in university courses, students are
required to list a number of courses in preference order
so that if they are unsuccessful in obtaining a position at
their first preference, they can be considered for their
following choice. The majority of occupational therapy
students (70.7%) reported selecting occupational therapy
as their first preference (see Table 1).
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Discussion
Results in context of previous literature
Kolb Learning Style Inventory results
Previous studies acknowledged a range of learning style
preferences in health science professional student groups
(Katz & Heimann, 1991; Linares, 1999; McLeod et al.,
1995; Titiloye & Scott, 2001; Wessel et al., 1999; Wessel &
Williams, 2004). The Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI)
(Kolb, 1999) results of the current study revealed that all
four information processing learning styles are represented
in first year undergraduate occupational therapy students.
The results indicated that the two learning style types:
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Instrument findings
Analyses of the Kolb LSI and VARK Questionnaire
reported weak correlations between the two instruments.
None of the correlations between Kolb LSI subscales
(CE, AC, AE and RO) and VARK Questionnaire subscales
(V, A, R and K) reached statistical significance. This is
not a surprise as the Kolb LSI and VARK Questionnaire
claim to measure two different sets of theoretical constructs. As described in the literature review, the Kolb
LSI measures learning style preference at the information
processing level, and the VARK Questionnaire measures
learning style preference at the level of instructional
preference. No correlation between these levels is indicative of these levels being separate, measuring different
aspects of learning styles. The hypothetical link between
levels (or layers) of learning style could still exist for
the three more stable layers of personality, information
processing and social interaction. The example of an
extravert (personality) preferring AE (information processing) and talking to others about ideas (social interaction)
makes sense at a theoretical and conceptual level, for
example, all involve an aspect of doing, or involving others.
It could be hypothesised that a person with these
characteristics would prefer kinaesthetic learning because
of their preference for learning through doing, but
results of this study do not indicate a correlation
between kinaesthetic and AE subscales. Results indicate
an overall preference for kinaesthetic learning, including
multimodal VARK preferences that included kinaesthetic
learning (e.g. RKread/write and kinaesthetic; VAK
visual, aural and kinaesthetic). A kinaesthetic learning
preference is not correlated specifically with AE, but
may be a preference common to most occupational
therapy students no matter what information processing
style preference, or even to an overall student group.
Correlations were also performed between the subscales
within both inventories. Negative correlations were found
between Kolb LSI subscales in a number of combinations. Noteworthy for Kolbs polarity theory are the
statistically significant negative correlations between AC
and CE representing the concreteabstract continuum,
and AE and RO representing the activereflective
continuum (Kolb, 1999).
Implications
A focus on kinaesthetic learning complemented by visual
(images or text) and aural instruction would cater for
the learning style preferences of occupational therapy
students in this study, and the preference groups within
them. The issue that remains is whether teaching should be
presented to match students learning styles, or facilitate
students to develop alternative learning methods. Given the
range of learning styles found, it seems that a range of
teaching methods is required to enable students learning.
It is postulated that presenting material in a range of
styles requires adaptive learning strategies by students,
assisting them to develop preferred and non-preferred
learning styles (Cavanagh & Coffin, 1993; Linares, 1999;
Thompson & Crutchlow, 1993). Strengthening nonpreferred learning styles is important to meet the demands
of professional practice in health care that require
adaptive learning strategies from individuals. This is
demonstrated in evidence-based practice where practice
methods change as knowledge and skills become
redundant and are replaced. A key component of students
education must be to learn how to learn, through both
preferred and non-preferred methods.
Future recommendations
This paper considers only occupational therapy students
in the first year of their undergraduate course. To assist
in identifying effects of the educational process on learning
styles, a longitudinal study that follows students learning
styles throughout their academic careers could be performed. The current study showed no correlation between
learning style preferences at the information processing
and instructional preference levels. Future studies involving larger sample sizes and multiple inventories measuring
learning style at the personality and social interaction
levels would provide evidence or absence of links between
theoretical models. To assess the usefulness of knowing
students learning styles, the most valuable research
would involve studies that investigate the impact of
different methods of teaching when considering students
learning styles. These studies would require a more
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consistent or well-defined measure of academic performance than that which already exists in the literature.
Further research of student learning style preferences
using the VARK Questionnaire would provide more useful
information for an instrument with little reliability data
currently available specifically designed for the Australian
and New Zealand population.
The impact of students learning styles in education is only
one influencing factor in students learning experiences.
Other factors that may also be influential are students
values and environmental influences. For example, a student
is less likely to perform well, or effectively learn about a topic
that is not perceived as relevant nor is of interest to them,
and the general atmosphere in a classroom may influence
a students attention (Thompson & Crutchlow, 1993).
Knowledge of how to best motivate and engage students
may be more beneficial for optimal learning than tailoring
the instructional mode to the learning styles of students.
Acknowledgments
The occupational therapy students from La Trobe
University who volunteered their input by completing
the two learning style instruments are thanked for their
valuable contribution to the study.
References
Atherton, J. S. (2002). Learning and teaching: Learning from
experience. Retrieved 13 September 2004, from http://
www.dmu.ac.uk/~jamesa/learning/experien.htm.
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