The RITE of Passage: Learning Styles and Residency In-Service Training Examination (RITE) Scores

Brenda G Fahy; Jean E Cibula; Lou Ann Cooper; Samsun Lampotang; Nikolaus Gravenstein; Terrie Vasilopoulos

doi:10.7759/cureus.12442

The RITE of Passage: Learning Styles and Residency In-Service Training Examination (RITE) Scores

Cureus. 2021 Jan 3;13(1):e12442. doi: 10.7759/cureus.12442.

Authors

Brenda G Fahy¹, Jean E Cibula², Lou Ann Cooper³, Samsun Lampotang¹, Nikolaus Gravenstein¹, Terrie Vasilopoulos⁴

Affiliations

¹ Anesthesiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.
² Neurology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.
³ Office for Educational Affairs, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.
⁴ Anesthesiology/Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.

Abstract

Introduction The objective of the pilot study was to determine the association between learning preferences and improvement in the American Academy of Neurology Residency In-Service Training Examination (RITE) scores from postgraduate year 2 (PGY-2) to postgraduate year 3 (PGY-3) in neurology residents. Methods Neurology residents at the University of Florida were approached to participate, and their consent was obtained. VARK inventory, representing four modalities (visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic) of learning preferences, was completed by participants. Participants could pick more than one modality. The number of responses in each sensory domain was recorded, with higher numbers indicating stronger preference. Residents' performance on the RITE was recorded for PGY-2 and PGY-3. Results Seventeen residents completed the VARK inventory and 16 had data for RITE. Residents demonstrated overall positive change in RITE from PGY-2 to PGY-3 (mean change = 6%; 95%CI: 4%, 9%). The median number of responses was highest for the kinesthetic domain (median = 7, range = 1-12), followed by visual (median = 6, range = 2-12), aural (median = 4, range = 1-10), and read/write (median = 4, range = 1-10). Among VARK domains, the number of responses in read/write had the strongest correlation with mean change in RITE performance from PGY-2 to PGY-3 (r = 0.45; 95%CI: -0.08, 0.78); residents in the high read/write group (number of response above median) had greater mean change in RITE performance (9%; 95%CI: 6%, 12%) while those in the low read/write group showed little to no increase in RITE from PGY-2 to PGY-3 (2%; 95%CI: -1%, 6%). Conclusions Higher VARK survey responses in the read/write domain were related to greater change in RITE scores from PGY-2 to PGY-3. These findings seem intuitively obvious considering the format of the RITE. These pilot data permit further investigation of individual resident learning preference and how it relates to test performance. By understanding a resident's learning style, both educators and the resident will have an awareness of areas that need to be improved to be successful, which may be via remedial curricula and self-study activities.

Keywords: curriculum; educational models; graduate medical education; learning; learning styles.

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research for Make it Stick: An Educational Model to Improve Long-Term Retention. Also supported by the Joachim S. Gravenstein Endowed Professorship (S.L.) and the Jerome H. Modell Endowed Professorship (N.G.).