The Effect of Surgical Resident Learning Style Preferences on American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination Scores

BACKGROUND: There is a growing body of literature that suggests that learners assimilate information differently, depending on their preferred learning style. The VARK model categorizes learners as visual (V), aural (A), read/write (R), kinesthetic (K), or multimodal (MM). We hypothesized that resident VARK learning style preferences and American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) performance are associated. METHODS: The Fleming VARK learning styles inventory was administered to all general surgery residents at a university hospital based program each year to determine their preferred learning style. Resident scores from the 2012 and 2013 ABSITE were examined to identify any correlation with learning style preferences. RESULTS: Over a 2-year period, residents completed 53 VARK inventory assessments. Most (51%) had a multimodal preference. Dominant aural and read/write learners had the lowest and highest mean ABSITE scores, respectively (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Residents with dominant read/write learning preferences perform better on the ABSITE than their peers did, whereas residents with dominant aural learning preferences underperform on the ABSITE. This may reflect an inherent and inadvertent bias of the examination against residents who prefer to learn via aural modalities. (J Surg 72:726-731. (C) 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)