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A Comparison of Learning Styles among Seven Health Professions:
Implications for Optometric Education
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Patrick C. Hardigan, PhD Associate Dean & Professor
Stanley R. Cohen, EdD
Department of Educational Development Nova Southeastern University - Health Professions Division
United States
CITATION:
Hardigan PC, Cohen SR: A Comparison of Learning Styles Among Seven Health
Professions: Implication for Optometric Education.
The Internet Journal
of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 2003. Volume 1 Number 1.
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ABSTRACT
Educational research and development efforts are most often directed
at the improvement of teaching while neglecting students’ learning styles.
Besides being marginally effective, an exclusive focus on improving teaching
methods may lead to reinforcement of inappropriate and nontransferable
learning strategies. As such, this study is being undertaken to determine
if differences in personality style exist among health profession students.
This retrospective-descriptive study tested the null hypothesis “there
is no difference in personality traits between osteopathic medicine, pharmacy,
physical therapy, physician assistant, dental medicine, optometry and occupational
therapy students.” Differences as well as similarities were discovered
across all seven professions. Implications for instruction, student
retention and practice are provided.
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Keywords
and terms: earning styles,
personality testing, optometry, health professions |
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