The pedagogical development of the work placement tutor

Abstract

Education is the fundamental axis for achieving the proper training of students. Therefore, our research focuses on implementing learning styles that allow us to analyze and diagnose the methods and procedures students use to acquire new knowledge, taking into account their zone of proximal development and the context in which they learn. Based on the foregoing, this article presents the results obtained by the authors regarding the identification of learning styles in medical students in The Gambia. These styles have not been sufficiently diagnosed, which limits the acquisition of new knowledge in the subject of Biochemistry. The research aims to identify the learning styles of first-year medical students at the University of Medical Sciences of The Gambia, Africa. A descriptive, cross-sectional, simple random study was conducted from November 2023 to April 2024. Historical-logical, inductive-deductive, analytical, and synthetic theoretical methods were employed, along with empirical methods. The Honey-Alonso questionnaire was used to identify learning styles, and mathematical-statistical methods were used to calculate the absolute and percentage frequency of each style, as well as the mean and standard deviation. The study population consisted of 58 students, and the sample comprised 39 students. The predominant learning style among the students was the active style (29, or 74.35%), followed by the theoretical style (17.9%). The reflective style followed (5.12%), and finally the pragmatic style (2.56%). Students showed a strong preference for the active style at the beginning of their studies. This research will facilitate the strengthening of different learning styles through an intervention strategy based on effective methodologies.