Learning Styles of Students and Faculty in Selected Health Care Professions

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine if students and faculty in nursing and allied health demonstrate a predominant learning style, if there is an association between a specific learning style (converger, diverger, accommodator, or assimilator) and self-directed learning readiness for these groups, if these learning characteristics can predict academic success, and if a discipline-specific learning style can be identified. Marshall and Merritt's (1986) Learning Style Questionnaire and Guglielmino's (1978) Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) were administered to 301 generic BSN students, 188 RN-BSN students, 110 allied health students, and 30 nursing faculty from one southwestern university. There were no significant differences in learning style between students and faculty; the converger style was the predominant learning style for all subjects. Faculty were more self-directed than students; although, overall, students scored high on the SDLRS. Self-directed learning readiness appears to affect learning style. Convergers were significantly more self-directed than either the accommodators, assimilators, or divergers. Academic success, as determined by program completion, could not be predicted on the basis of learning style or self-direction.

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