title: Using VARK to assess changes in learning preferences of nursing students at a public university in Jordan: implications for teaching.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to describe learning styles of nursing students at a public University in Jordan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive research design was used, a purposive sample of 197 nursing students who were enrolled in nursing summer courses. These students were at different academic levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost 55% of students have a multimodal preference, about 60% of multimodal students have the kinesthetic learning preference (K) associated with visual or read write preference. The rest have one dominant learning preference. Of the 45% students who have one dominant preference: 60% had the kinesthetic preference as the dominant preference, and 40% had the auditory preference accompanied with another preference. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed significant difference between students based on their academic level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nursing students have varied learning styles; teachers should accommodate their classes to meet the learning needs and styles of students. Multimodal learners can be more flexible about how they exchange information than those with a single preference. However, multimodal learners need to have at least two, three or four modes involved in learning before they are satisfied. Teachers at nursing program should use more than one teaching modality to be able to make their students satisfied with their learning experience.
authors: Maternal, Child and Family Health Department, Sultan Qaboos University, Faculty of Nursing, P.O. Box 60, Muscat 123, Oman; Department of Maternal, Child and Family Health, School of Nursing-Hashemite University, Jordan. Electronic address: emanursing@yahoo.com.
authors: Esraa
authors: E
authors: Alkhasawneh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D011588:Psychology, Educational; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Jordan; Learning preferences; Nursing students; VARK; teaching