Opening the Black Box of Virtual Education: Medical Students’ Learning and Study Strategies

Background: This study explains learning and study strategies in virtual education among medical students during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and analyzes its relationship with their academic performance. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 298 medical students in preclinical disciplines in the medical curriculum at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), Mashhad, Iran. The data were collected from students who completed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) within 2 weeks, from the 10th of June 2021 to the 24th of June 2021. This questionnaire measures three variables related to skill, self-regulation, and will. The data were analyzed using independent t-test, correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Tukey post hoc tests by SPSS software (version 23). Results: The highest and lowest mean scores of the LASSI questionnaire were related to information processing (28.54 ± 4.10) and study aids (22.41 ± 4.07), respectively. Each scale’s possible score range was from 8 to 40 points. The results indicated significant statistical differences between different genders of students in anxiety, attitude, motivation, time management, and self-testing (P < 0.05). In all areas of the LASSI, except self-testing and study aids, the students’ mean scores with a grade point average (GPA) - range of 0 to 20 - higher than 17.5 were significantly higher than those with GPAs lower than 14.85 and those with GPAs between 14.86 to 17.50 (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Since learning and studying strategies contribute to student’s academic success and facilitate the learning process, they can be improved using educational involvement. Embedding learning and study strategies interventions in curriculum design and learning content could help promote academic performance.