Learning Styles of Nursing Students

Not all students learn the same way. Some learn best by seeing and hearing, others by reasoning and acting; still others analyze and visualize concepts as part of their learning process. Nursing students are no exception. Understanding the multiple learning styles that individual students bring to the classroom helps nurse educators adapt their teaching techniques to meet students' needs and also assist students in developing new learning styles they will require in their professional careers.

Active/Reflective Learners

• Nursing students can be described as either active learners, those who enjoy a hands-on approach to learning, or reflective learners, who prefer to watch and reflect or think about new concepts. According to a study by Lynne C. Borucky at Widener University, 79 percent of nursing students who completed a Solomon/Felder index of learning styles test scored as active learners.

Sensing/Intuitive Learners

• Sensing learners enjoy learning facts and principles, while intuitive learners prefer to study the relationship between concepts and the new possibilities they afford. Sensors tend to enjoy solving problems by using well-established procedures, while intuitors like to use innovation and creativity to tackle questions and problems. According to Borucky's research, 84 percent of the nurses in her study were sensing learners.

Visual/Verbal Learners

• Visual students are better at remembering and understanding things they see. They enjoy the use of diagrams, pictures, flow charts and demonstrations. Verbal learners learn best by reading or listening to explanations. However, both visual and verbal learners learn best when they are taught using both verbal and visual methods. Seventy-eight percent of the nurses tested in Borucky's survey were active learners.

Sequential/Global Learners

• Sequential learners prefer a gradual, logical and linear path to learning new ideas. They also tend to prefer step-by-step methods of solving problems. Global learners, however, learn in large jumps, learning concepts somewhat randomly without making many links until suddenly all the pieces fall together and they get it. Global learners sometimes arrive at answers faster when solving complex problems or may be particularly good at designing new ways to tackle them, but often have trouble explaining how they got there. Sixty-four percent of nurses in Burlocky's survey were sequential learners.