Learning preferences among dental students using the VARK questionnaire: A comparison between different academic levels and gender.

OBJECTIVE To examine the learning style preferences of undergraduate dental students and determine the influence of gender on their selection. METHODS This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from September 2016 to January 2017.The Arabic version of visual, audio, read/write, and kinaesthetic questionnaire was administered to students from the first to the fifth academic year. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. P<0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS Of the 491 students, 368(75.1%) completed the questionnaire. Of them, 269(73.1%) were males and 99(26.9%) were females. Significant differences were found when learning styles were compared (p<0.05). No significant differences could be found when the models were assessed as in the unimodal, bimodal, trimodal or quadmodal methods (p>0.05). A significant difference was found between genders when learning styles were compared (p=0.05). Males preferred the unimodal style, while females preferred the bimodal and quadmodal styles almost equally (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Most dental undergraduate students preferred multi-modal learning.