Abstract

Introduction: The study program of Nutrition and Dietetics has implemented a problem-based learning methodology in response to the need to promote the development of different skills that are transcendental for health professionals. So far, the perception of this methodology has not been fully evaluated and there are not any research records of the program students’ learning styles either, considering that these are factors that may significantly affect on their performance. Objectives: To establish the relationship between perceptions of problem-based learning methodology and learning styles in students of Nutrition and Dietetics at UCSC, Concepción. Material and Method: A questionnaire of learning styles from Honey and Alonso and perception of PBL methodology was applied to 40 students from the Nutrition and Dietetics program. Data were tabulated in MS Excel 2007 spreadsheet and were analyzed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 20.0.0 through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The predominant learning style corresponds to the reflective type. The perception towards PBL methodology was positive in all the analyzed aspects. Significant positive relationship was observed between the theoretical learning style and the perceived satisfaction of PBL. Conclusions: Not enough evidence of the relationship between the variables studied was found. It identifies the need for further and profound analysis of the factors that could affect the success of the implementation of the PBL methodology.