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Introduction: Learning style (LS) frameworks have been implemented by educators to promote participatory learning in order to strengthen learner engagement and to enhance learning outcomes. Self-efficacy has been shown to have an association with learning style and is a predictor of clinical performance and other qualities in medical students. This study examined the perspectives of second and final year medical students in a Caribbean-based medical school, relative to their learning approaches, teaching exposures and preparation for assessments. Methods: An interpretivist qualitative approach was used to analyze data from two focus groups, conducted as part of a sequential mixed-methods study (November 2018-February 2019) with medical students in the second and final year of study. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and inductively coded with in-depth thematic analysis assisted by NVivo software. Results: Six Year 2 (Female: Male = 5:1) and seven Year 5 (Female: Male = 5:2) participants, ranging between 18 and 34 years and with a range of LS were recruited into the study. Analysis and data reduction produced three organizing themes: "Dynamics of information delivery and acquisition", "Pivoting", and "LS identification, awareness and mutability", and the global construct "Individual and environmental factors modulate the influence of LS preference in triggering self-efficacy". In managing information received in class, students used textbooks, YouTube videos, and collaborative learning to augment perceived gaps in lectures and their personal notes. Learning style self-awareness is useful for facilitating self-efficacy throughout medical school, especially at points of transition within the programme of study. Conclusion: LS theory and testing appear to be useful for student and teacher awareness. In practice, honing students' adaptability to varying learning settings may be more relevant in helping students achieve self-efficacy.

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Introducción: En las últimas tres décadas, la proposición de que los estudiantes aprenden siguiendo diferentes estilos se ha convertido en un prominente tema en pedagogía a nivel mundial. En La Gambia no se conoce cuáles son los estilos de aprendizaje en estudiantes de Medicina. Objetivo: Caracterizar los estilos de aprendizaje de preferencia en estudiantes de la Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias Afines de la Salud en La Gambia. Métodos: Se aplicó un diseño transversal mediante el cuestionario estandarizado VARK para la recolección de datos, cuyo análisis se realizó con el uso del software SPSS. Resultados: La mayoría de los estudiantes prefirieron variantes multimodales de aprendizaje; la variante bimodal se escogió con más frecuencia. No se obtuvieron asociaciones significativas entre las puntuaciones VARK y el sexo o la edad de los estudiantes (p > 0,05). Se alcanzaron diferencias significativas para las puntuaciones kinestésicas entre estudiantes de preclínica y clínica (p = 0,031). Además, se logró una asociación significativa con relación a las variantes unimodales preferidas entre los estudiantes de preclínica y clínica. No fueron encontradas diferencias significativas en cuanto al rendimiento académico entre estudiantes con preferencias unimodales o multimodales (p > 0,05). Conclusiones: La aplicación del cuestionario VARK permitió la identificación de los estilos preferidos de aprendizaje para modos particulares de presentación de la información en estudiantes de Medicina en La Gambia. Los estilos de aprendizaje difirieron entre los estudiantes, la mayoría de los cuales tuvieron preferencia por los estilos multimodales, que incluían la variante kinestésica. Estos hallazgos pudieran emplearse para mejorar la calidad de la enseñanza(AU)

Introduction: In the last three decades, the proposition that students learn by following different styles has become a prominent topic in pedagogy worldwide. In The Gambia, learning styles in medical students are not known. Objective: To characterize the learning styles preferred by the students of the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences of The Gambia. Methods: A cross-sectional design was applied using the standardized VARK questionnaire for data collection, the analysis of which was performed using the SPSS software. Results: Most students preferred multimodal variants of learning; the bimodal variant was chosen more frequently. No significant associations were obtained between VARK scores and the sex or age of the students (p>0.05). Significant differences were reached for kinesthetic scores between preclinical and clinical students (p=0.031). In addition, a significant association was achieved in relation to the preferred unimodal variants among preclinical and clinical students. No significant differences were found regarding academic performance among students with unimodal or multimodal preferences (p>0.05). Conclusions: The application of the VARK questionnaire allowed the identification of preferred learning styles for particular ways of presenting information among medical students in The Gambia. Learning styles differed among students, most of whom had a preference for multimodal styles, which included the kinesthetic variant. These findings could be used to improve the quality of teaching(AU)

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Los estudiantes se diferencian en sus preferencias de los estilos (modalidades) para aprender. Los estilos de aprendizaje han ganado un lugar de importancia entre los docentes en los diferentes niveles de educación. Conocerlas puede mejorar no sólo el enfoque del estudiante en particular, de la producción de cursos de capacitación, escritura de libros o materiales de enseñanza, sino, también, del ambiente y los procesos educativos. Realizamos este estudio para conocer las preferencias de estilos de aprendizaje de nuestros estudiantes en el Departamento de Salud Colectiva de la Carrera de Medicina de la Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Se realizó un estudio de diseño transversal. Participaron 95 estudiantes de la cátedra de Fisiopatología del año 2014. Fue utilizado el cuestionario VARK. Fueron 69% mujeres y 31% hombres. Cuando se realizó la comparación de las modalidades de acuerdo con el sexo, se observó mayor proporción de hombres con modalidad unimodal (48%) que de mujeres (27%). Del total, el 33.7% presentó un modalidad unimodal; al realizar la agrupación de modalidades, el 40% fue bimodal, el 20% trimodal y el 6.3% cuatrimodal. Del 40% que presentó preferencia bimodal, el 36% fue la combinación de auditivo/lectoescritura, seguido por el 26% que fue auditivo/cinestésico. Los resultados nos muestran que la mayoría de nuestros estudiantes tuvieron un modo multimodal de aprendizaje. Se destacan dos preferencias sensoriales, la auditiva y la cinestésica, seguida por la lectoescritura y, por último, la modalidad visual. No todos aprendemos de la misma manera, esto lo debemos tener en cuenta para diseñar las estrategias de enseñanza a nuestros estudiantes. El conocimiento de las modalidades de aprendizaje en nuestros estudiantes nos muestra que el diseño propuesto de técnicas de enseñanza aprendizaje que estamos utilizando sería adecuado a ellas

Students differ in their preferences for learning styles (modalities). Knowledge about learning styles among students has become a relevant issue for teachers from all educational levels. Therefore, knowing those preferences would allow teachers not only to focus on development of training programs, textbooks and educational materials but also on the teaching-learning process. We conducted this study to determine the preferences of learning styles of our students from the Collective Health Department at the School of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional del Comahue. It was a cross-sectional study involving ninety-five students from the 2014 Pathophysiology course. The VARK questionnaire was used. 69% of students were women and 31% were men. When comparing the styles according to gender a greater proportion of men showed unimodal modality (48%), while 33.7% of students presented a unimodal mode of learning. On the other hand, of those who presented more than one modality of learning, 40% preferred bimodal style, 20% trimodal and 6.3% cuatrimodal. Of the 40% presenting a bimodal modality, 36% were a combination between auditory/reading-writing and 26% were auditory/kinesthetic. The results showed that most of our students used a multimodal form of learning. The most common sensory preferences were auditory and kinesthetic, secondly reading-writing, and lastly the visual mode. We do not all learn in the same way, and this must be borne in mind when designing teaching strategies for our students. Knowledge of their styles of learning shows us that the teaching and learning techniques we are using appear to be adequate

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