Learning Styles and Perceptions of the Value of Various Learning Modalities Before and After a 2nd-Year Course in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

BACKGROUND: The authors' 4-week course in microbiology and infectious diseases consists of lectures, small-group sessions, interactive computer-assisted learning (CAL), and textbook readings. PURPOSE: To determine how individual learning style influenced learners' value assessment of these teaching modalities. METHODS: A Kolb Learning Style Inventory and questionnaire to assess enthusiasm for each teaching modality were administered before the course. At course end, a 2nd questionnaire assessed the perceived usefulness of each teaching modality. RESULTS: Learners with a relative preference for experiential learning rather than abstraction initially favored small groups (R2 = .06, p = .004) and CAL (R2 = .06, p = .005). Similarly, learners with a preference for reflective observation rather than active experimentation favored lectures (R2 = .05, p = .01). However, at course end, Kolb learning style did not predict the value assessment of any modality. CONCLUSIONS: Kolb learning style influenced the initial attractiveness but not the retrospective assessment of learning modalities; hence, quality and content superseded learning style as determinants of value after course completion.