ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS DURING THE INTRODUCTORY CYCLE OF THE DENTAL CAREER (UNRN).

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To establish the association between the learning preferences identified by students prior to the introductory cycle (IC) of the career and the academic performance achieved at the end of the same. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 127 students enrolled (2019) were divided into two groups: GA with academic requirements fulfilled and GR, incorporated due to availability of vacancies. The ACRAr scale was selected to survey the preferred strategies. As a category of academic performance, the IC approval was established. Data analysis was performed according to the Statistical Analysis Implicative (SAI) method. RESULTS: In the GA, 71.42% of students passed all IC subjects. Four selected strategies belonged to the Acquisition and Control of Learning Domain (D1) and one strategy to D2 (Learning Support). The implied rules with 0.85 similarity belonged to three D1 items. In the GR, 25.88% of students passed all IC subjects. The preferred strategies belonged to D1 (2 strategies) and D3 (one strategy). With 0.85 similarity, more strategies were involved than in the GA: three belonged to D1, three to D2 and one strategy to D3 (study habits). CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that, with a significance of 0.85: (a) more strategies were involved in the GR students than in the AG, and (b) the strategies selected prior to the IC were predictors of established academic performance.