Relationship between learning styles, and educational outcomes in nursing and occupational therapy students: a systematic review

Background: Learning styles and approaches have long been discussed in health professional education, with varying views on their relevance to academic performance. Understanding these relationships may support effective teaching strategies in pre-service programs. Purpose: To synthesise quantitative evidence exploring relationships between learning styles and/or approaches and educational outcomes in pre-service nursing/midwifery and occupational therapy students. Methods: A systematic review with narrative synthesis was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute systematic review methodology. Studies were identified through searches of six electronic databases and five grey literature sources. Inclusion criteria were based on population (nursing/midwifery/occupational therapy students), phenomenon of interest (learning approaches and/or styles), and outcomes (educational outcomes). Results: Twenty-nine quantitative studies were included. Heterogeneity existed in learning style/approach, study design, educational outcomes, and risk of bias. Among included studies, 23 investigated learning styles, 5 explored learning approaches, and 1 examined both. Four studies (n = 4/6) found deep and strategic learning was associated with better academic outcomes in students compared to surface learning. For included studies which focused on learning styles, close to two thirds (n = 15/24, 62.5%) found no relationship with educational outcomes in students. Conclusion: The systematic review provides some evidence that deep approaches to learning were associated with better academic outcomes. Nursing students should be encouraged to take deeper approaches to learning for greater academic success. While mixed evidence exists regarding any relationships between learning styles and educational outcomes in nursing and occupational therapy students, more studies refute a relationship than confirm. It is, however, agreed through research that students learn in different ways, therefore, educators should strive to incorporate innovative and differentiated instructional strategies across multiple modalities to cater for differences in individual learning.