| The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personality type and preference for instructional methodologies (lecture, online and simulation). The sample consisted of 94 practicing gerontology nurses (RNs and LPNs) who attended a continuing education workshop on the care of the acutely ill elder at a public university in the Southeast. The dependent variable, preference for instructional delivery methods (lecture, online, simulation) was measured using Learner's Evaluation of Instructional Methods modified from the Student Evaluation of Education Quality (SEEQ) instrument. Independent variables were: personality type measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving and demographics of education, ethnicity, and age. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed no overall statistical significant difference in the nurses' preference for lecture, online and simulation according to MBTI, education, ethnicity, or age. Analysis of variance revealed some significant relationships, so the data was further analyzed using independent-samples t tests. The t test analysis showed a significant difference between Sensing and Intuition for the instructional modality of simulation (t (82) = -2.26; p<.05). Sensing nurses were significantly higher than Intuitive nurses on their preference for the instructional modality of simulation. The independent-samples t test also revealed a significant difference between Judging nurses and Perceiving nurses for lecture as the preferred instructional modality (t (83) = 2.29; p<.05), and between Judging nurses and Perceiving nurses for online as the preferred instructional modality (t (82) = 2.26; p<.05). Judging nurses preferred lecture more than Perceiving nurses. Judging nurses were higher on their preference for online learning than Perceiving nurses. This study supports that educators do not have to tailor learning experiences for a particular personality type but rather, they can develop learning experience incorporating many instructional modalities including lecture, online and simulation. Additionally, working within the time limited nature of continuing education and with groups of experienced, practicing nurses, simulation is a preferred instructional modality and should be included when developing educational opportunities. |
