Educational Resources and Learning Styles
Success Type & Learning Style: How They Can Help You Be Successful at KSUCPM
Welcome Class of 2029!
Why is knowing your learning style important?
You are a unique learner. No one else learns exactly the same way you do. There are many benefits to discovering how you process information best on an academic, personal, and professional level. Knowing your learning style is not meant to limit you, but to expand you by helping you to learn more efficiently! Please take some time to utilize the below resources to learn more about your Success Type and Learning Style Type to ensure that you hit the ground running once the fall semester begins:
Learn your Success Type and Learning Style:
- Success Types Learning Style Type Indicator developed by Dr. John Pelley at the Texas Tech School of Medicine
- To understand how to become an effective medical learner and how your 'success type' interfaces with your medical studies, please read Success Types for Medical Students: A Program for Improving Academic Performance.
- Want even more information on how to learn effectively? Please watch these 5 short YouTube videos by Dr. Stephen Chew. Although originally developed for an undergraduate population, the techniques are extremely relevant to how to tackle our curriculum.
- VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire. Being mindful of different learning styles, especially when working in groups, will improve communication and effectiveness. Although we have the capacity to use all learning modalities, we tend to rely most heavily on our preferred or 'default' style. Knowing your style and understanding the strengths of your colleagues' style will improve group performance.
Professional School is different from college and graduate school. Some major differences are as follows:
- The rapid pace at which material is delivered
- The sheer volume of material
- The level of detail we expect mastery at
- The need to move quickly into integrating and applying new knowledge and skills.
- Another major difference is that the curriculum is cumulative, quickly moving towards clinical application and problem-solving in the patient care setting, mandatory national board examinations, clerkship selection, and the Residency selection process.
Both your Time Management Skills and Study Techniques will be your most useful tools for success in med school. I look forward to discussing how I can help you with both during orientation!
Gina Ralston, M.Ed.
Director, Educational Resources
Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine