Learning styles and their effect on the efficacy of education is an important topic in educational research. Consequently, there have been numerous attempts to adjust lecture styles and course offerings in a fashion that is equally compatible with students who prefer the writing/reading style and students who prefer visual learning. However, the question on how to fit examination to the preferred learning styles of students has rarely been addressed.
Here I report the learning outcomes of students who prefer a presentation assignment versus students who prefer a writing assignment. Both groups have been students in a 4th year molecular genetics course. The performance of these two cohorts has been measured by their marks in the midterm and final exams and by their engagement in class discussions. Statistical analysis of the data indicates that the writers have slightly but consistently outperformed the presenters. Considerations of teaching style variations could not explain the higher marks of the writers. These observations suggest that strong writing skills can provide a sizeable gain to the overall success at university level. However, the possibility that the writers outperform the readers because of the predominant writing exams is not excluded.
Some recent data on this issue will be provided to initiate discussion on this intriguing topic.