Li, "Assessment of nursing college students' learning styles in Taiwan using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator," 2003

Yuh-Shoiw Li, Ed.D.

Abstract (Summary)
The purpose of this study was to assess the learning style of students in a two-year and five-year associate degree of nursing program, and a two-year baccalaureate degree of nursing program in Taiwan. The Chinese version of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) form G is an instrument measuring individual preferences in four dichotomous dimensions of Jungian theory: extraversion/introversion; sensing/intuition; thinking/feeling; and judging/perceiving.

The study sample included 331 nursing students: 94 students in a two-year associate degree of nursing (ADN) program, 189 students in a five-year ADN program, and 48 students in a two-year baccalaureate degree of nursing (BSN) program. The participation rate for completed MBTI questionnaires was 98% (n = 326). All subjects were female nursing students. Analyses of data revealed that the most common learning styles were introversion, sensing, thinking, and judging (ISTJ) and introversion, sensing, feeling, and judging (ISFJ) among Taiwanese nursing students.

The findings of the study indicates that the SJs comprised 43.0% of the participating nursing students. The SJ is a popular preference in nursing. No significant differences in the learning style were found among the two-year and five-year ADN programs, and the two-year BSN program. No significant relationships were found between learning style and such variables as age, previous nursing education, and length of previous nursing work experience. In this study, academic performance was significantly related to learning style ( p = .001, df = 15). The findings suggested that nursing students with introvert, sensing, thinking and judging preferences had better grades than those with extrovert, intuitive, feeling, and perceiving preferences. A large sample is recommended for further research.

The findings of this study can guide nursing educators in the design of classroom and clinical instructional strategies to respond to individual needs in learning. Clearly, nursing faculty needs to apply multiple teaching strategies to match different types of learners. Awareness and understanding of individual differences will be enhanced, so that the strengths of each type will be applied to benefit educators and learners in order to achieve the highest level of learning.

Advisor: Sundt, Melora Ann