Learning And Study Strategies Of Medical Students In Mashhad University Of Medical Sciences & Health Services

Purpose:  This  study  explores  the  use  of and the role of learning strategies in the educational  success  of  Iranian undergraduate medical students using an inventory of learning and study strategiesMaterials  and  method: 412 students  in the first to third year of study were selected randomly. A questionnaire  based on the LASSI  questionnaire  (developed  by Weinstein et.al which included ten areas of attitude, motivation, time management, anxiety control, concentration, data processing,  selecting the main idea, study guide line, self-testing  and test strategies) was  distributed   to  the  students.  In all, there were 77 questions with a five scale resonse. The educational success of the students was determined on the basis of semester  scores  from the final report card and the personal characteristics of the students were  collected from their educational dossier.motivation had a significant and strong relationship  with  the educational  progress of students. There is also a positive correlation between test strategies and educational progress.Conclusion: The present study confirms other  studies  that  motivation  had  a clear and independent effect on the educational success.  It  is therefore  necessary  to increase the  students'  motivation  if  they are to succeed educationally.The students were classified on the basis of the educational progress in three groups (strong, average, weak) and the score percentiles for each area of studying and learning strategies were calculated and compared  with  a  normal  sample  of American students. The role of different areas  of studying  and  learning  strategies on the educational progress of  students was  determined  with  multiple  trend analysis.Findings: This study showed a significant correlation  between  the  educational progress of students with studying and learning  strategies  (motivation,  attitude, time management, anxiety control, concentration,  data  processing,   selecting the  main  idea,  self-testing  and  test strategies).  Only  the  study  guideline strategy  didn't  correlate  with  the educational success of the students.Seven areas of studying and learning strategies related with the educational progress  in  multiple  trend  analysis.