Different Learning Styles and Nursing Essay Example

was obtained from the participants for voluntary participation (Mitchell & Santhamma James, 2015)

For a total of 285 participants who did complete the pre-questionnaire, 96 students were through with post-questionnaire as those with incorrect or incomplete were excluded. Most of the respondents were females. The VARK questionnaire revealed that 23 percent were categorized as unimodal learners before the survey while 18 percent were categorized as unimodal after the survey. The results showed a change of learning style and preferences to many students. A positive change was also revealed while using Kolb LSI questionnaire (Mitchell & Santhamma James, 2015). The number of divergers increased and is noted due to their improved learning ability. The result showed a shift towards multimodal learning and a significant percentage of the students changed their preferences. An increase in the number of divergers encouraged educators and the students to apply reflective practices in both nursing and midwifery classes. The research study supports previous research that encourages the use of information processing styles to enhance learning.

The research in the main article used survey questionnaire for the nursing and midwifery students to fill at the start of the first semester (Mitchell & Santhamma James, 2015). The approval to carry out the research was granted by the Committee on Human Research Ethics, and the students submitted the informed consent to participate in the study. In the study, the participants who completed questionnaires at the start of the second semester received the application to complete the same questionnaires when the semester ended. The surveys were coded to match the data of the individuals. The survey comprised of three parts. The first section contained demographic questionnaire; the

second part involved version 7 of the VARK questionnaire. In this part, the students chose the statement that reflected the preference of their learning style at the best. The last part required the students to rank the preference according to four options which include thinking, watching, feeling as well as doing to be categorized as assimilators, accommodators, convergers or divergers and the was then analyzed.

Analysis

In the main article, statistical analysis was conducted using a paired sample test and SPSS was used to analyze the data. The researchers considered the results that showed p values less than 0.05 as statistically significant.

Results

In the main article, the results showed a shift towards multimodal learning in the VARK questionnaire. The Kolb LSI questionnaire depicted a more significant change in the preferred learning modality (Mitchell & Santhamma James, 2015).

The second article aimed at determining the effect of simulation activities on decision making among the nursing students in the third year. A randomized control trial was used, and the results showed that simulation activities did not have any effect on cognitive abilities of nursing students.

The second article attempts to determine the effectiveness of activities of simulation on the cognitive abilities of nursing students at an undergraduate level. The higher cognitive abilities cause the health care professionals to improve the delivery of care to the patients (Secomb, Mckenna, & Smith, 2012). As the article outlines, high cognitive ability improves the ability of the nursing students to make informed decisions in their clinical practice. To test the student's cognitive abilities, learning environment preferences (LEP) was used. After the analysis, the results showed that simulation activities do not have an effect on the student’s

cognitive abilities. Hence, the use of simulation in nursing and midwifery students cannot help in making critical decisions. The article further states that more research is required to determine whether simulation activities have an effect on comparative and traditional clinical practice.

Methodology

In article two, after ethical approval of conducting the research, fifty-eight undergraduate students participated in the study. The randomized group-parallel controlled trial was used in a test-post-test (Secomb, Mckenna, & Smith, 2012). The cognitive abilities of the students were tested using learning environment preferences (LEP). The research design was chosen to quantify case and effect of the simulation activities on the cognitive growth of undergraduate students in nursing programs. The objective behind choosing LEP inventory was to ascertain validity and reliability of the data. The validity and reliability of the instrument is essential for the accuracy of the data collected as well as the outcome.

Analysis

In the second article, inferential statistics were applied to make conclusions from the tested population (Secomb, Mckenna, & Smith, 2012). SPSS was used in coding and tabulating the scores collected before and after the test. Mean and variance were calculated. ANOVA was used to identify the strength of the relationship between variables.

Results

The results of the second article showed that the simulation activities do not have a significant effect on the cognitive abilities of the nursing students.

The third article focuses on how learning styles affect student’s academic performance in nursing programs. Similar to the first article, the third article revealed that preferences of learning style could enhance the learning of underperforming students which would then improve the academic performance.
Just like article one, article three attempts to identify the relationship between styles used

in learning and the student’s performance in various nursing programs. It explores different learning styles since they are directly linked to the student’s academic performance not only in nursing but also in other fields. Before the research was conducted, ethic committee approved that no one would be subjected to any form of violence. The participants also obtained a free consent that the participation is voluntary. The research study used descriptive and explanatory design to collect the information from the participants. Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI) is the instrument employed in the study. Some of the information was acquired from the office of the registrar and academic affairs. Two learning styles were identified which include introversion, feeling, judging and sensing and introversion, thinking, judging and sensing (Li et al., 2014).

Methodology

The research study in the third article used a descriptive as well as the explanatory design of data collection. The instrument used was MBTI, which stands for Myers-Briggs type indicator (Li et al., 2014). The sampling method was employed, and the participants were required to complete a demographic sheet for one page. Other data were obtained from the computerized records in the office of the registrar and academic affairs. The participants signed an informed consent form that participation was voluntary, and the authority had approved carrying out of the research study as free from violation of rights of the individuals.

Analysis

In the third article, data was analyzed SPSS was used in the data analysis. ANOVA was used to determine the relationship between learning style and academic performance among nursing students.

Results

In the third article, ANOVA showed a positive relationship between the learning style and the academic performance. The nursing students

with preferences of the introvert, thinking, sensing and judging showed an improved academic performance (Li et al., 2014).

Discussion

As revealed in the first article, the VARK results shifted towards multimodal learning. The rise in multimodality was anticipated due to a wide range of academics through the use of multiple teaching modalities. Interestingly, Kolb LSI revealed a positive change in multimodal learning. The research study showed a 40% rise for the divergers and 57% changed their style of teaching (Mitchell & Santhamma, 2015). A rise in the number of dirvergers was as a result of use of concrete experiences as well as encouragement of the effective use of reflective practices in midwifery and nursing. The results showed similarity in change of learning style tools and modalities of learning preferences and style of information processing. This shows that learning style of nursing students is subject to change and the students require the appropriate learning style for an improved academic performance.
As article two explains, nursing practice requires making of clinical decisions which is a complex process. Nurses are expected to make responses to cues, ensure evidence is synthesized, make resource evaluation, implement practices of care and assess whether their actions are effective. The research required the students to use cognitive processes of higher order in simulation activities (Secomb, Mckenna, & Smith, 2012). Their development was evaluated before and after the intervention. It was revealed that simulation cannot be used to improve learning of the students. The different simulated environment for learning did not contribute to any significant gains in cognitive abilities among the nursing students. This article supports the main article since it shows that learning style is more

important than simulation activities in enhancing academic performance for nursing students.
From the third article, individuals with judging personality types tend to have a higher academic performance compared with those with perceiving types (Li et al., 2014). The results show that nursing programs are attractive to the students who have judging and thinking types of personalities. Most of the students in nursing programs have sensing preference. The article supports the main article since it has shown that students prefer different learning styles. A variety of mode of learning enhances academic performance in nursing programs.

Conclusion

The main article and the third article reveal that understanding of various learning styles can benefit both the students and the educators. The individuals ought to apply new styles of learning as they help the learners to process the information in different ways. Some styles enhance understanding which results in better academic performance. In the second article, simulation activities did not show improvement in cognitive abilities of the nursing students, and this calls for further research.

References

• Li, Y., Yu, W., Liu, C., Shieh, S., & Yang, B. (2014). An exploratory study of the relationship between learning styles and academic performance among students in different nursing programs. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal For The Australian Nursing Profession, 48(2), 229-239 11p. doi:10.5172/conu.2014.48.2.229
• Mitchell, E., & Santhamma James, A. A. (2015). How Learning Styles and Preferences Affect of First-Year Nursing and Midwifery Students Change. Australian Journal of Education , 158-168.
• Secomb, J., Mckenna, L., & Smith, C. (2012). The effectiveness of simulation activities on the cognitive abilities of undergraduate third-year nursing students: a randomised control trial. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 21(23/24), 3475-3484. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2012.04257.x