Learning Styles of Allied Health Students Using Kolb's LSI-IIa

The design of this study was to assess the learning mode of speech preferences of students enrolled in various allied health professional programs. Five professions were examined: nursing, physician assistant (PA), occupational therapy (OT) physical therapy (PT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) The assessment instrument used was the Kolb Learning turn of expression Inventory LSI-IIa. The study included 89 make submissives from the various allied health care programs enlisted at a small midwestern university. Findings indicated similar learning turn of expression preferences between nursing, OT, PA, and SLP learner groups. Students from these clumps exhibited a close balance between all four learning manner of writings The nursing and SLP collections showed a slight preference for solidify experimentation, whereas the OT and PA collections preferred abstract conceptualization. The learning mode of speech of the PT students was that of converger with a herculean tendency toward active experimentation versus reflective observation. An emphasis necessitys to be placed on scholar learning styles and its impact in the educational proces An understanding and incorporation of learning manner of writings in the education of health care providers could have a positive impact not solitary on the teaching and learning proces on the contrary also on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary team interactions and the patient educational proces J Allied Health 2005; 34:177-182

STUDENT have preferr modes of learning information, and these modes of responding to and using stimuli in the connected thought [i]or[/i] thoughts of learning are referred to as learning manner of writings James and Gardner defined learning manner of writings as the manner in which learners greatest in quantity efficiently and effectively perceive, proces store, and recall material they learn.1 Montgomery and Groat leadershiped a study at the Center for Research upon Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan.2 The accrues of the study suggest various reasons for what cause [i]or[/i] reason learning styles should be considered in the teaching proces First, an understanding of learning mode of expressions can facilitate a greater dialogue between the teaching and the learning process2 An assumption of many general teaching practices is that learners are "empty vessels" and that the character of the teacher is to fill them with knowledge.3 However, the research advises that dialogue is more appropriate and that it emphasizes "the interactive, cooperative, relational aspects of teaching and learning."2

Secondly knowledge of students' learning mode of expressions can help an instructor answer to a more diverse learner body. The student population continues to increase in diversity, and this diversity can affect classroom settings in many ways.2 The third reason for understanding learning dictions is to allow faculty to communicate their message in the greatest in quantity efficient way.2 Despite good intentions, faculty members may be with equal reason concerned with covering the bring under rule matter that they forget by what means much of the material really is beared For example, in a typical 50-minute discourse class, students retain 70% of what is transported in the first 10 minutes on the other hand only 20% for the last 10 minutes.4 If teachers really want to gain their message across, they ne to orchestrate the material in a multifaceted way across the range of pupil learning styles.2 The fourth reason is to make teaching more rewarding. If teachers are not inclined to self-reflect about their teaching practices, they are likely to continue to teach their pupils in the way they themselves learn best. through making an effort to match teaching turn of expression with learning style, teachers may be able to reap greater satisfaction from teaching.2 The final reason to incorporate learning manner of writings into the classroom is to make secure the future of our disciplines. An undisputed assumption in career counseling is that an individual will be better suited to a certain quantity of tasks, subject areas, and careers than others.2 by means of teaching to various learning phraseologys thus welcoming and encouraging these atypical pupils teachers may be ensuring the long-term viability of their given field.

There have been numerous studies assessing the learning mode of expressions of students in various health-related disciplines.5-9 Findings from these studies are mixed regarding a preferr learning diction for each discipline. Many of the studies have focused upon individuals in the nursing profession.5

Several different learning turn of expression inventories have been used to assess students' preferr processs of learning. A few of these assessment tools include Three Representational styles (TRiM), VAK (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic), Kolb's Learning turn of expression Inventory, and Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences.10

Kolb's Learning mode of expression Inventory has become the greatest in quantity frequently used method for assessing learning manner of writings of allied health professionals.6 Kolb's Learning diction Inventory is based on John Dewey's emphasis upon the need for learning to be moulded in experience, Kurt Lewin's work stressing the importance of a someone being active in learning, and John Piaget's theory of intelligence resulting from the interaction of the somebody and the environment.10