Learning style preferences of public health students

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Abstract
The learning style preferences of public health students are investigated. Learning styles, as defined by Kolb,(3) refer to the four distinct manners of processing information. Students' learning styles are analyzed for associations by gender, occupation, and public health program. The value of learning styles to predict students' preference for oral presentation versus written exams, performance on different types of exams, and course grade are studied. Learning styles of the students sampled were neither predominantly of one learning style nor evenly distributed. Learning style preferences did not vary significantly according to gender, occupation, or public health program. Learning styles also did not predict the students' choice of oral presentation or written exam. Assimilators, however, scored significantly higher than the other three learning styles on the theoretical exam and in their course grade. The authors suggest that public health instructors employ a variety of teaching methods and evaluative opportunities when class composition is initially assessed as having diverse learning styles. This ‘instructional pluralism’ is necessary to facilitate learning, maximize participation, and permit multiple pathways for students to demonstrate educational performance.

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