Face-to-Face and Distance Learning and Teaching Styles as Perceived by Tanta University First Year Medical Students

Background :Learning style is the way by which learners understand and process information in different learning circumstances. After COVID-19 era, medical education has been shifted to distance learning, besides conventional face-to-face learning. The students’ learning styles are key factors during this shift in the educational process to achieve students’ satisfaction and ensure efficacy of the teaching and learning process. The aim of this research is to explore the first-year medical students' learning style patterns and  the association with their preferences towards face-to-face or distance learning.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among a sample of 328 first-year medical students at Tanta University, using an online questionnaire that included socio-demographic data, VARK questionnaire, and the students' preference towards face-to-face or distance learning. Statistical analysis was performed to assess the association between different study variables.
Results: The quadrimodal pattern of learning styles was significantly prevalent among the participant students (66%), followed by the unimodal pattern (19%). The significantly dominant unimodal style was the kinesthetic pattern (56%). About (67.7%) of students significantly preferred face-to-face learning. There was a strong statistical significance between students’ preferences of face-to-face or distance learning and individual learning style patterns where the quadrimodal and the unimodal patterns showed significant favour towards face-to-face learning.
Conclusion: Regarding first-year medical students’ learning styles, the quadrimodal pattern of learning was significantly prevalent among the participants. They significantly preferred the face-to-face learning approach. An integrated learning model seems more likely to be useful and approved by first-year medical students as it will suit their different learning styles and will improve students' performance.