Abstract:
The present study assessed the learning styles of students’ nurses (diverger, assimilator, converger and accommodator) as identified through Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory and some demographic variables. A total of 310 students nurses who met the inclusion criteria were involved in this study and completed the LSI and demographic questionnaire. Descriptive statistics using frequency, percentages mean and standard deviation were computed for the demographic variable while inferential statistics – chi- square analysis was used for testing the hypothesis at 0,05 level of significance. Statistical analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SSPS) version 16. The result showed that 29.0% of the respondents were identified as Divergers, 27.4% as Assimilators, 25.8% as Convergers and 17.7% as Accommodators. Thus suggesting an even spread of learning style preferences among the nursing respondents. There was statistically significant correlation between identified learning style and mode of admission as well as year of study, while there was no statistically significant correlation between learning styles and gender and age. It is therefore recommend that Educators should attempt to introduce a variety of different teaching approaches and methods strategies in order to enable learning for all nursing students regardless of their learning style. Educators are not expected to completely re-do each course, however, making small modifications to the curriculum to incorporate learning style information may provide a more effective learning environment for students.
