Transformative learning between the student and the teacher? Concerning the learning styles of medical residents

Verónica A. Gaona-Flores¹*, Luz Arcelia Campos-Navarro², Enrique Alcalá Martinez¹ and Oscar Ovalle-Luna³

¹Infectology Hospital, Infectology Department and Epidemiology department

²Hospital General, National  Medical Center “La Raza”.

³Coordination of Epidemiologycal Surveillance, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México, D.F., México

*Corresponding Author E-mail: vgaona2@yahoo.com.mx; Tel: 55 56337337; FAX: 55 56337337

Accepted 22 December, 2014

Abstract

Several factors are involved in the educational process. One of these factors is learning style, defined as the cognitive, affective, and physiological traits that suggest how students perceive, interact and respond to their learning environments. All persons use various learning styles, although there is always one predominant style that may not be permanent. To determine the learning styles of medical residents at the beginning of their medical specialty in a tertiary care hospital. The Honey-Alonso Questionnaire of learning styles of resident who entered medical specialties was applied. Questionnaire results were reported to teachers and students in order to determine the learning style and to find the teaching-learning strategies that may help facilitate the process. We applied the questionnaire to 95 resident of medical and surgical specialties, we used the combinations that had the highest percentage among the four styles for each medical resident; 53.6% of 95 students are pragmatic reflexive. The usefulness of knowing learning style so far is controversial, differentiated instruction in adults is difficult. Learning styles can change throughout a person’s academic and professional life, transformative learning, can be influenced by various factors. True instruction begins when instructors understand their students.

Keyword: learning styles, Education, transformative learning, health care.