Multilevel factor analysis of flipped classroom in dental education: A 3-year randomized controlled trial

Purpose Previous studies have rarely attempted to test the confounding factors that may affect learning outcomes of the flipped classroom. The purpose of this study was to assess how flipped classrooms affect the acquisition of knowledge in clinical dental education based on multilevel factor analysis. Method The authors conducted a 3-year (2017, 2018, and 2019) randomized controlled trial in a series of introductory prosthodontics courses in dental education. A total of 137 participants were randomly assigned to flipped classroom (n = 70, 51%) or lecture (n = 67, 49%) formats. The flipped group was instructed to self-learn knowledge-based content through online preparation materials, including videos and text, while the lecture group was given text only. Both groups were provided with the same study content and opportunities for different styles of learning. The session attendance rate and number of times the materials were accessed were monitored. Individual and team readiness assurance tests (IRAT/TRAT) were conducted to evaluate knowledge acquisition. A multilevel linear regression analysis was conducted on both instructional styles (flipped vs. lecture) as an intervention factor, and confounding factors that could affect the outcomes were implemented. Results The average number of online accesses was 2.5 times per session in the flipped group and 1.2 in the lecture group, with a significant difference (p < .05). The average IRAT score was significantly higher in the flipped than in the lecture group (effect size [ES] 0.58, p < .001). The number of online accesses was significantly and positively correlated with IRAT scores (0.6 [0.4, 0.8]). The instructional style was significantly and positively correlated with TRAT scores (coefficient [95% confidence interval]: 4.6 [2.0, 7.3]), but it was not correlated with IRAT (4.3 [-0.45, 9.0]). Conclusions The flipped classroom was more effective than the lecture format regarding knowledge acquisition; however, the decisive factor was not the instructional style but the number of individual learning occasions. The employment of the flipped classroom was the decisive factor for team-based learning outcomes.

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Scale development and an educational program to reduce the stigma of schizophrenia among community pharmacists: a randomized controlled trial

BMC Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s12888-021-03208-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Tomoo Fujii ◽

Manako Hanya ◽

Kenta Murotani ◽

Hiroyuki Kamei

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Social Distance ◽

Educational Program ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Community Pharmacists ◽

Factor I ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Factor Ii

Abstract Background Stigma associated with mental disorders is rooted among many pharmacists, and represents a major barrier to patient support in community-based psychiatry. We developed an assessment scale that is specifically designed to assess the level of stigma that pharmacists may have toward schizophrenia, and then examined the effects of reducing stigma with an educational program that focuses on communication with patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (PDS) using the newly developed Stigma Scale towards Schizophrenia for Community Pharmacists (SSCP). Methods SSCP was developed by exploratory factor analysis with promax rotation based on responses from 822 randomly selected community pharmacists. Furthermore, a randomized controlled trial was conducted for 115 community pharmacists to clarify the effects of reducing the stigma of schizophrenia using an educational program for them with a focus on communication with PDS. Participants were individually allocated to two groups: educational lecture group (56; only attending a lecture on schizophrenia) or contact-based intervention group (59; communicating with PDS and attending the lecture). The stigma assessment using SSCP was conducted immediately before and after the educational intervention. Results A total of 4 factors and 27 items were extracted from the exploratory factor analysis to comprise the SSCP. Cronbach’s α of SSCP, social distance at professional pharmacy service (factor I), attitudes towards PDS (factor II), self-disclosure (factor III), and social distance in personal (factor IV) were 0.89, 0.88, 0.76, 0.62, and 0.62, respectively. Educational program-related changes of the median (interquartile range) total SSCP score from baseline were − 9.0 (− 16.0 – − 5.0) in the contact-based intervention group and − 3.0 (− 7.0–1.0) in the educational lecture group, reflecting a significant reduction of stigma levels in the contact-based intervention group. On examining the SSCP subscales, scores for factor I and factor II significantly improved. The educational program was more effective for pharmacists aged 20–39 years or with negligible experience of communicating with PDS at work and/or in private life. Conclusions SSCP and the educational program for community pharmacists that focuses on communication with PDS were useful for assessing and reducing, respectively, the stigma attached by these pharmacists to schizophrenia. Trial registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000043189, registered on January 30, 2021), Retrospectively registered.

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Dissecting the Flipped Classroom: Using a Randomized Controlled Trial Experiment to Determine When Student Learning Occurs

Journal of Chemical Education ◽

10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00767 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (1) ◽

pp. 27-35 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Matthew D. Casselman ◽

Kinnari Atit ◽

Grace Henbest ◽

Cybill Guregyan ◽

Kiana Mortezaei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Student Learning ◽

Flipped Classroom ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Randomized Controlled

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Taxman's Dilemma: Coercion or Persuasion? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment in Ethiopia

The American Economic Review ◽

10.1257/aer.p20171141 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 107 (5) ◽

pp. 420-424 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Abebe Shimeles ◽

Daniel Zerfu Gurara ◽

Firew Woldeyes

Keyword(s):

Randomized Controlled Trial ◽

Field Experiment ◽

Tax Evasion ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Confounding Factors ◽

Tax Morale ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Randomized Field Experiment ◽

Analyze Data

We analyze data from a randomized controlled trial of two innovative anti-tax evasion schemes in Ethiopia that signal threats of audit and complimentary messages that encourage tax morale. Our results indicate that the threat of audit reduces tax evasion significantly, and its effect is higher in businesses commonly suspected of high tax evasion rates. We also find that appealing to the tax morale promotes compliance but slightly less than that of audit threat. Our results are robust to different estimation strategies and less sensitive to potential confounding factors.

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