A Multi Dimensional Assessment  System for Identifying Causes of  Underachievement in Pre Clinical Medical  Students

Suresh Kumar. M; Latha Ravichandran; Dilara. K

Volume : II, Issue : IV, April - 2013

A Multi Dimensional Assessment System for Identifying Causes of Underachievement in Pre Clinical Medical Students

Suresh Kumar. M, Latha Ravichandran, Dilara. K

Abstract :

Objectives: To determine causes for underachievement using a multi dimensional assessment battery. Method: The students who consented to participate in study were segregated as achievers and underachievers based on scores in University�s assessment and both the groups were subjected to a battery of assessments which included Memletics learning styles inventory, Depression anxiety stress scale (DASS), and Study habits questionnaire to determine learning styles, emotional factors and study habits respectively. Results: A total of 103 out of 150 students participated in the study. Among these 50 were (48.5 %) classified as underachievers. The comparison of learning styles between achieving and underachieving group shows that the predominant learning style in the achieving group is multimodal learning style (32 %) while that among the underachievers is single modality learning style, (40 % had visual learning style). Though the difference is not significant, low frequency of multi modal learners in the underachieving group emphasizes the importance of including domain specific learning strategies. The achieving group scored lower than underachieving group on depression (6.42+5.25 and 8.19+5.87 respectively), anxiety (6.78+5.16 and 7.83+5.22) and stress (7.19+5.47 and 8.06+5.28) with female gender being more vulnerable. Assessment of study habits showed that items like being up to date on assignments and participation in group discussions positively correlated with achievement. Conclusion: The need for understanding the learning styles and adopting a multimodal teaching strategies to match these styles and the necessity for a professional team to help the students to handle emotions were implicated from this study