scholarly journals Explaining medical students' learning outcomes in blended course designs: Combining self-reported and observational learning experiences

Author(s):  
Feifei Han ◽  
Robert A. Ellis

Blended course designs have been increasingly adopted in medical education. However, research on the relations between the key aspects of students' learning experience and their learning outcomes often only measure students' self-reported experience, neglecting what they actually do in learning. This study combined both self-reported and observational measures of students' learning experiences and examined the relations between the two sets of measures and their contributions to learning outcomes. Australian medical students were asked to report their approaches to, and perceptions of, learning. Their frequency and duration of their interactions with both online formative and summative tasks were observed and recorded. Correlation analyses showed that the learning outcomes was positively related to deep approaches to using online technologies and duration of interactions with online summative tasks. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis found that the self-reported approaches and duration of interactions jointed explained the learning outcomes, accounting for 6% of the variance. The study demonstrated the complementary nature of using both self-reported and observational measures of students' learning experiences to explain the learning outcomes in blended course designs.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Slimings ◽  
Emily Sisson ◽  
Connor Larson ◽  
Devin Bowles ◽  
Rafat Hussain

Background: The future health workforce needs to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to deliver sustainable healthcare and promote planetary health. The aim of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a new suite of planetary health learning activities piloted by medical students for a range of medical professionals. Methods: The study consisted of three components: curriculum mapping, development of learning activities and evaluation. Curriculum mapping involved searching program learning outcomes using relevant search terms. Two learning activities were co-developed with medical students comprising of an e-learning component and an inquiry-based small group workshop presented to 99 2nd year students. Evaluation consisted of pre- and post-learning knowledge quizzes and a student feedback survey. Results: A total of 30 learning outcomes were identified with the majority located in the first two years of the four-year program. The overall evaluation response rate was 49.5%, and 19% completed the feedback survey. The mean pre- and post-lesson scores, respectively, were 7.09 (SD=1.84) and 9.53 (SD=1.69) out of a possible score of 12, increasing by 2.37 points on average (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66-3.09). Overall, the new activities were rated as excellent/good by 84.2% of respondents. The e-learning module rated more highly as a meaningful learning experience than the workshop (89% v. 63.2%). The most common criticism was the length of time it took to complete the e-learning. Conclusion: Students already had a good understanding of planetary health facts and the e-learning lesson served to confirm, review and update their knowledge. Students embraced the opportunity to engage in interactive learning through the problem-solving group work activity. There is very little vertical alignment of environmental and climate issues across all four years of the medical program in our institution and a variety of learning approaches should be considered when revising the curriculum.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 334-343
Author(s):  
David M. Hunt ◽  
Kirk Smith

Classroom methods that facilitate student learning from iteration have received little attention from scholars. Iterative learning requires students to repeat a problem-solving task in new contexts each time applying lessons from previous applications. Iterative learning formats improve students’ learning outcomes and help instructors ensure that knowledge and skills learned in the classroom transfer to other contexts. This article describes the sequential use of three live case projects as a method to deliver an iterative learning experience. Providing students both formative and summative feedback from multiple sources and designing assignments and classroom activities to accommodate 4-week project cycles are key aspects of implementing iterative projects. Instructors in a broad range of managerial courses can adapt this course design to achieve similar significant learning outcomes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. PCRT.S9383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukanya Srisawat ◽  
Temsak Phungrassami

Objective To evaluate the final-year medical students’ perception of their competencies related to palliative care. Materials and Methods Two consecutive anonymous surveys at 6 and 12 months among 6th-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University. Results One hundred and ten (66%) and 103 (62%) students completed the questionnaires at 6 and 12 months, respectively. With the criteria that at least 80% of them should be confident to manage the cases independently or under supervision, they perceived themselves to be good at holistic care and communication skills, but lacking in common symptoms management and ethical aspects. The common promoting factors and barriers for their learning experiences were reported. Conclusion This study identified many aspects necessary to improve the students’ learning experience in our compulsory longitudinal integrated palliative care curriculum.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaw-Wen Chang ◽  
Wen-Hui Fang ◽  
Wen-Chii Tzeng ◽  
Pauling Chu ◽  
Senyeong Kao

Abstract Background An increasing number of medical schools worldwide are implementing longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs), but few schools in East Asia have done the same. The study explored and compared learning experiences and academic performances of LIC and traditional block rotation (TBR) students at a metropolitan tertiary teaching hospital in Taiwan.Methods This study employed qualitative and quantitative methods. We used semi-structured interviews to explore the learning experience of the medical students in their fifth-year clerkship and analyzed the data with a general inductive approach. We also compared the students’ academic performance, including the scores of their clinical performance, medical record writing, written tests, and the objective structured clinical exam.Results There were 12 LIC and 14 TBR students who participated in interviews. We identified four major themes in their learning experiences. (1) Clinical learning: the importance of active learning, the difference between textbook knowledge and clinical practice, and opportunistic (TBR) versus contextual (LIC) learning. (2) With patients: companionship with patients (TBR and LIC) and bridging the gap between physicians and patients (LIC). (3) With preceptors: apprenticeship (for LIC) and difficulty communicating with preceptors (for TBR). (4) Doctor-patient relationship: interaction and communication. Comparing the learning outcomes, the LIC students scored higher on preceptor-rated assessments, and both groups exhibited comparable performance on written tests and the objective structured clinical examination.Conclusion Although students’ learning experience differed in some respects according to their curricula, they had a comparable academic performance.


Author(s):  
Kenneth C. C. Yang ◽  
Yowei Kang

Gamification has been widely used in the higher education to enhance users' learning experiences through the integration of game-like elements into the course materials. This study explores whether and how different levels of gamification in the instructional methods will influence student engagement with the course, overall learning experiences with the course, and learning outcomes with the course materials. The findings suggest that, among four indices to measure the success of gamification, three out of four show the positive gamification effects with a highly gamified class leads to higher level of student engagement than no or lowly gamified classes. The same positive gamification effects can be found in students' overall learning experience. Highly gamified classes result in better student learning outcomes as measured by their grades at different data collection points. Limitations of this study include small class sizes and no statistically significant results and only two gamified elements used. Implications and discussions were presented.


Author(s):  
Ade Febriyanto Wigar

<pre><em><span lang="EN">In developing students' potential, the learning process must provide learning experiences for students. In its development the way students learn there are changes according to the times. In the era of the 21st century, all activities in learning involve technology. There needs to be an implementation that is able to provide a learning experience for students as well as provide space for technology in the learning process. This Classroom Action Research consists of two cycles. As subjects in this study were students of class VB SDN Petompon 02 with a total of 37 students. In collecting data on learning outcomes using test and non-test techniques. The instruments used include evaluation questions, assessment rubrics and assessment instruments. The results of the achievement in the first cycle of students completed reaching 24 students with a percentage of 65% and an increase in the second cycle where there were 28 students who completed with a presentation of 78%. The results showed that the use of the Discovery Learning model based on video learning was able to improve learning outcomes in Theme 5 Ecosystems in class VB SDN Petompon 02 Semarang</span></em><em><span lang="EN">.</span></em></pre>


Author(s):  
Steve Joordens ◽  
Aakriti Kapoor ◽  
Bob Hofman

Online learning allows one to escape traditional constraints and to create learning experiences that allow interactions, and support learning, that would be difficult or impossible in brick and mortar contexts. In this chapter, the authors present a new RIFS taxonomy (Relevance, Interestingness, Fun, and Sociality) to highlight the factors that can make a learning experience especially engaging. They then discuss what they want students to learn when they are engaged in support of 21st century learning. With this context, they describe an initiative called The Global Teenager Project as a concrete example of how, with heavy support from online technologies, these factors can be combined to produce deep learning that students truly find meaningful.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1599-1618
Author(s):  
Kenneth C. C. Yang ◽  
Yowei Kang

Gamification has been widely used in the higher education to enhance users' learning experiences through the integration of game-like elements into the course materials. This study explores whether and how different levels of gamification in the instructional methods will influence student engagement with the course, overall learning experiences with the course, and learning outcomes with the course materials. The findings suggest that, among four indices to measure the success of gamification, three out of four show the positive gamification effects with a highly gamified class leads to higher level of student engagement than no or lowly gamified classes. The same positive gamification effects can be found in students' overall learning experience. Highly gamified classes result in better student learning outcomes as measured by their grades at different data collection points. Limitations of this study include small class sizes and no statistically significant results and only two gamified elements used. Implications and discussions were presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Feifei Han ◽  
Robert Ellis

This study combined the methods from student approaches to learning and learning analytics research by using both self-reported and observational measures to examine the student learning experience. It investigated the extent to which reported approaches and perceptions and observed online interactions are related to each other and how they contribute to variation in academic performance in a blended course design. Correlation analyses showed significant pairwise associations between approaches and frequency of the online interaction. A cluster analysis identified two groupings of students with different reported learning orientations. Based on the reported learning orientations, one-way ANOVAs showed that students with understanding orientation reported deep approaches to and positive perceptions of learning. The students with understanding orientation also interacted more frequently with the online learning tasks and had higher marks than those with reproducing orientation, who reported surface approaches and negative perceptions. Regression analyses found that adding the observational measures increased 36% of the variance in the academic performance in comparison with using self-reported measures alone (6%). The findings suggest using the combined methods to explain students’ academic performance in blended course designs not only triangulates the results but also strengthens the acuity of the analysis. Implications for practice or policy: Using combined methods of measuring learning experience offers a relatively more comprehensive understanding of learning. Combining self-reported and observational measures to explain students’ academic performance not only enables the results to be triangulated but also strengthens the acuity of the analysis. To improve student learning in blended course design, teachers should use some strategies to move students from a reproducing learning orientation towards an understanding orientation and encourage active online participation by highlighting the importance of learning online.


Author(s):  
Beth Pontari ◽  
Erik Ching ◽  
Suzanne Klonis ◽  
Diane Boyd

This case study delineates the process that a small, private liberal arts university employed to amplify its high-impact practices in an already award-winning undergraduate research (UR) program. The process was catalyzed by combined institutional factors: the start of a new accreditation cycle and the launch of our university’s strategic vision, The Furman Advantage (TFA). Established in 2016–2017, TFA ensures all students have access to a high-impact engaged learning experience—UR, study away, and/or an internship. This institutional imperative provided an opportunity to assess the degree to which Furman’s UR program was meeting high-impact criteria. We compared Furman’s summer UR program against the emerging research on high-impact practices and made changes to enhance learning and to close equity gaps in access. We reoriented our UR program to focus on the characteristics of high-impact practices, particularly the mentoring relationship between faculty and students and the importance of student self-reflection. We reviewed improvements to our summer fellowship program, namely, changes in the application and review process, professional development for faculty, pre-experience training for summer research fellows, and modifications to our survey and self-analysis instruments. Broader programmatic changes included articulating common learning outcomes for engaged learning experiences and creating an evidence-driven assessment mechanism to help us meet learning outcomes and institutional objectives. Implementation of these changes required sustained collaboration at the institutional level between the Offices of Undergraduate Research, the Center for Engaged Learning, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, and the Faculty Development Center. In addition to measuring changes within UR over time, we have also been able to make comparisons across different engaged learning experiences, principally study away and internships, and then use this data to continue TFA improvements. Preliminary findings indicate that we have successfully enhanced our implementation of high-impact practices.


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