Relationship between Gerontological Nursing Students' Self Directed Learning Readiness and Learning Styles, Teaching Modes, and Academic Performance

Self directed learning is a process in which students take the scheme to prepare learning goals,
discover their learning needs, recognize resources for learning, choose and fulfill learning strategies,
and appraise learning outcomes. Objective: Determine the relationship between gerontological
nursing students' self directed learning readiness and learning styles, teaching modes, and academic
performance. Setting: This study was carried out in the gerontological Nursing Department, Faculty
of Nursing, Mansoura University. Subjects: A total number of 272 fourth year nursing students were
enclosed within the study. Tools: Four tools were used for data collection; Nursing students'
demographic data and academic performance structured questionnaire, Self-directed learning
readiness scale (SDLR), VARK questionnaire, and teaching modes efficiency questionnaire. Results:
Total mean score of self directed learning readiness was high among gerontological nursing students
and self-control subscale mean score was high compared to other SDLR subscales. Kinesthetic and
read –write styles were the most reported learning style by students. There were significant relations
between gender, teaching modes efficiency and SDLR. Conclusion: The majority of gerontological
nursing students prefer to learn using unimodal of VARK modalities and the dominant learning style
was kinesthetic and read - write modal. No significant association between the students' marital
status, residence, academic performance, learning styles, modal of learning and level of SDLR.
Recommendations: Nursing educators should provide assistance and outlets for critical thinking,
Problem based learning, brainstorming, self- direction and various types of creative thinking and
move the students from traditional educational approaches to more active and autonomous
approaches.