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| Research article summary (published 30 Aug 2002): |
Research report: learning styles of biomedical engineering students.
Full Abstract
Examining students' learning styles can yield information useful to the design of learning activities, courses, and curricula. A variety of measures have been used to characterize learning styles, but the literature contains little information specific to biomedical engineering (BMEN) students. We, therefore, utilized Felder's Index of Learning Styles to investigate the learning style preferences of BMEN students at Tulane University. Tulane BMEN students preferred to receive information visually (preferred by 88% of the student sample) rather than verbally, focus on sensory information (55%) instead of intuitive information, process information actively (66%) instead of reflectively, and understand information globally (59%) rather than sequentially. These preferences varied between cohorts (freshman, sophomore, etc.) and a significantly higher percentage of female students preferred active and sensing learning styles. Compared to other engineering student populations, our sample of Tulane BMEN students contained the highest percentage of students preferring the global learning style. Whether this is a general trend for all BMEN students or a trait specific to Tulane engineers requires further investigation. Regardless, this study confirms the existence of a range of learning styles within biomedical engineering students, and provides motivation for instructors to consider how well their teaching style engages multiple learning styles.
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Author information
Author/s: Dee, Kay C (KC); Nauman, Eric A (EA); Livesay, Glen A (GA); Rice, Janet (J);
Affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA. kcdee@tulane.edu
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Journal: Annals of biomedical engineering (Ann Biomed Eng), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-Sep; vol 30 (issue 8) : pp 1100-6
Dates: Created 2002/11/26; Completed 2003/05/07; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12449770, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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