Evaluation of the Relationship between Learning Style and Academic Achievement of Dental Students at Alborz University of Medical Sciences.

learning style is a method preferred by learners over other styles in learning lessons. Therefore, knowledge of students’ learning styles is crucial for educational programs. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between learning style and academic achievement of dental students at Alborz University of Medical Sciences.

This cross-sectional research was performed on all dental students in the second semester of 2019-2020. Data were collected using Kolb’s Learning Style Questionnaire. In addition, students’ GPA was an indicator of their academic achievement. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 24 using descriptive and inferential statistics such as Chi-square and one-way ANOVA.

In this research, 205 out of 360 dental students completed the questionnaire. Most participants used a converging learning style (32.7%), and the rest of the subjects applied an assimilating (31.7%), diverging (31.7%) and accommodating (9.3%) learning style. There was no significant difference in students’ learning styles based on gender, year of admission, age and place of residence (P>0.05). However, a significant correlation was reported between learning style and academic achievement (P=0.04), in a way that convergers achieved higher GPAs, compared to divergers.

According to the results of the present study, most students applied converging and assimilating learning styles. Therefore, it is recommended that educational methods that match these styles (e.g., visual content presentation, diagrams, teacher’s handouts, lectures and self-study) be applied in this regard. It is notable that students with a converging learning style obtained higher GPAs, compared to those with a diverging learning style.