Learning style analysis of traditional Chinese medicine residents in Taiwan: validation of the traditional Chinese version of the index of learning styles

The study examined learning styles in 217 residents of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Taiwan using the Traditional Chinese version of the Index of Learning Styles (TC-ILS). The research found that the studied group shows strong preference for visual learning style (87.56%), sensing style (77.42%), reflective style (62.21%), and global style (59.45%). Psychometric validation using confirmatory factor analysis showed partial support for the four-factor structure. Internal consistency was acceptable for the sensing/intuitive dimension (0.639) and visual/verbal dimension (0.625), but lower for active/reflective (0.461) and sequential/global dimension (0.485). The identified preferences differ from styles typical for Western medicine students, which may reflect specific characteristics of this professional educational context.