Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students

Background: Medical education in India has adopted Competency-Based Medical Education, which focuses on learner-centered approaches to develop competent healthcare professionals. The knowledge of students’ learning styles helps develop pedagogical strategies. This study aims to find out the preferre...

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Main Authors: Mutyalapati Venkata Ramulu, Amit Kumar Pal, Dyutimoy Datta, Ashish Pundhir
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-04-01
Series:National Journal of Clinical Anatomy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/NJCA.NJCA_2_25
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author Mutyalapati Venkata Ramulu
Amit Kumar Pal
Dyutimoy Datta
Ashish Pundhir
author_facet Mutyalapati Venkata Ramulu
Amit Kumar Pal
Dyutimoy Datta
Ashish Pundhir
author_sort Mutyalapati Venkata Ramulu
collection DOAJ
description Background: Medical education in India has adopted Competency-Based Medical Education, which focuses on learner-centered approaches to develop competent healthcare professionals. The knowledge of students’ learning styles helps develop pedagogical strategies. This study aims to find out the preferred learning style of second-year MBBS students using the VARK model. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2024 among 68 second-year MBBS students at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani. After obtaining ethical approval, the validated VARK Questionnaire (Version 8.01) was administered physically. Students anonymously responded to the questionnaire, which allowed multiple responses. Data were entered into MS Office 2021, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, United States and analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine learning style distributions and modal preferences. Results: All respondents filled out the questionnaire. Kinesthetic was the unimodal technique with the highest preference rate (37.71%), followed by auditory (29.24%), then visual (22.69%), and finally read/write (10.33%). Bimodal preferences prevailed with 51%, such as auditory-kinesthetic (38%) and visual-kinesthetic (26%). Trimodal preferences had 9.4%, especially Visual-auditory-kinesthetic (45%). Quad Model preference was observed in only 1.1%. Conclusion: Kinesthetic learning is the most dominant among medical students, whereas multimodal preferences indicate the need for dynamic, experience-based teaching methods. Curriculum designers must incorporate interactive and practice-based strategies to improve academic engagement and performance. Combining diverse teaching approaches could better realize positive outcomes. Such an adaptive and inclusive learning environment helps them prepare as future healthcare professionals.
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spelling doaj-art-e3405fcc82bb4068b40e757686c2a9e12025-08-20T02:43:32ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsNational Journal of Clinical Anatomy2277-40252321-27802025-04-01142818910.4103/NJCA.NJCA_2_25Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical StudentsMutyalapati Venkata RamuluAmit Kumar PalDyutimoy DattaAshish PundhirBackground: Medical education in India has adopted Competency-Based Medical Education, which focuses on learner-centered approaches to develop competent healthcare professionals. The knowledge of students’ learning styles helps develop pedagogical strategies. This study aims to find out the preferred learning style of second-year MBBS students using the VARK model. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2024 among 68 second-year MBBS students at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani. After obtaining ethical approval, the validated VARK Questionnaire (Version 8.01) was administered physically. Students anonymously responded to the questionnaire, which allowed multiple responses. Data were entered into MS Office 2021, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington, United States and analyzed using descriptive statistics to determine learning style distributions and modal preferences. Results: All respondents filled out the questionnaire. Kinesthetic was the unimodal technique with the highest preference rate (37.71%), followed by auditory (29.24%), then visual (22.69%), and finally read/write (10.33%). Bimodal preferences prevailed with 51%, such as auditory-kinesthetic (38%) and visual-kinesthetic (26%). Trimodal preferences had 9.4%, especially Visual-auditory-kinesthetic (45%). Quad Model preference was observed in only 1.1%. Conclusion: Kinesthetic learning is the most dominant among medical students, whereas multimodal preferences indicate the need for dynamic, experience-based teaching methods. Curriculum designers must incorporate interactive and practice-based strategies to improve academic engagement and performance. Combining diverse teaching approaches could better realize positive outcomes. Such an adaptive and inclusive learning environment helps them prepare as future healthcare professionals.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/NJCA.NJCA_2_25learning stylesmedical educationmultimodal learningvark model
spellingShingle Mutyalapati Venkata Ramulu
Amit Kumar Pal
Dyutimoy Datta
Ashish Pundhir
Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students
National Journal of Clinical Anatomy
learning styles
medical education
multimodal learning
vark model
title Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students
title_full Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students
title_fullStr Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students
title_short Exploring Learning Approaches of Generation Z Medical Students
title_sort exploring learning approaches of generation z medical students
topic learning styles
medical education
multimodal learning
vark model
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/NJCA.NJCA_2_25
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AT amitkumarpal exploringlearningapproachesofgenerationzmedicalstudents
AT dyutimoydatta exploringlearningapproachesofgenerationzmedicalstudents
AT ashishpundhir exploringlearningapproachesofgenerationzmedicalstudents