A study skills course for First-Year Medical Students: Experience of a Private Medical School in Pakistan

Objectives: To share the experience of study skill module development and implementation for first year MBBS students at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College (LNH&MC). To compare the change in students’ self- assessment of their knowledge of study skills before and after the course. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted from November 2019 to April 2020. A structured study skills course was offered to 100 first year MBBS students of Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College, Karachi. Steps involved in the development included identification of outcomes, instructional objectives, content and instructional strategies. Students were given two questionnaires. In the first questionnaire, students rated their interest in implementing the learning techniques learnt. In the second questionnaire, students rated their level of knowledge of effective study skills before and after the course. Analysis included computing percentages for students’ preferred study skill technique. Change in knowledge was assessed by comparing retrospective pre-post self-rating using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test (two-tailed). Results: Analysis of survey forms showed that more than 50% of the students were willing to implement active listening techniques, metacognitive note taking and writing reflections in their future study practice.There was also a statistically significant change in students’ self-rating of their knowledge about study skills (pre-test median 3, post-test median 4, p0.00). Conclusion: This study provides an insight of structured study skills course development and implementation in early medical college studies that could help them in combating academic stress. In addition, students’ response about their preferred technique and their feedback comparison concluded their positive attitude towards the course. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2772 How to cite this:Ali S, Tabassum A, Hashmi MSS, Huda N. A study skills course for First-Year Medical Students: Experience of a Private Medical School in Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(1):65-70. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.1.2772 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Handwriting to Learn

Handwriting is a multisensory process known to enhance memory, focus, engagement, and cognition in the learner, thereby making it a valuable study skill. In an attempt to embed handwriting as a study skill in a gateway science course, I used a combination of scaffolding and individual student consultations. Scaffolding emphasized the use of desirable difficulties and retrieval practice through the implementation of techniques such as the flipped learning approach and take home-in class hybrid essay exams. While the former helped to increase overall student success the latter technique was aimed at enhancing written fluency in the subject, curbing procrastination, and providing opportunities for high impact retrieval practice during the in-class essay exams. One-on-one student consultations that emphasized rewriting and maintaining good notes were used as interventions throughout the semester to promote positive study behavior and also as a crucial stage in preparing for each unit exam. Level of student engagement in using handwriting as a study skill was traced within the context of a typical threshold experience. Handwriting as a study skill was successfully embedded in this course and showed positive results in terms of student retention, engagement, and overall success.

Prevalence of Adjustment Problem and Its Predictors among First-Year Undergraduate Students in Ethiopian University: A Cross-Sectional Institution Based Study

Background. Being in a university for the first time is an unpleasant event and time of heavy pressure relating to social things and dissatisfaction for several new faculty students. Adjustment difficulties are the foremost common issues among freshman students; World Health Organization area unit researched a full-of-life adjustment innovation in universities. Despite this reality, there is a few literature that identifies prevalence and factors related to the adjustment downside among university/college students. Methods. Institutional based quantitative cross-sectional study style was conducted from May to June 2016. A total of 537 haphazardly elite students concerned within the study. The result adjustment downside was explained with Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ). Data was described using descriptive analysis; logistic regression was used to assess the relation between adjustment downside and associated factors. An odds quantitative relation 95% confidence interval was used to point out the strength of association. Applied mathematics significance was declared as a p value less than 0.05. Result. A total of 537 respondents participate with a response rate of eighty-five percent. the prevalence of adjustment downside among the respondents was 228 ( 42.5%). Of the respondents, 327 (60.9%) were male and therefore the mean (sd) age was 19 (+- 1) years. Being away from home and homesickness (AOR=4.15,95% CI: 2.46,2,99 and AOR=5. 9,95% CI: 2.35,14.76) and difficulties in socializing or making friends (AOR=3.99,95% CI:2.29,6.98) and difficulties in managing time and study skill (AOR=3.02,95% CI: 1.3,7.02) were abundant associated factors with adjustment downside. Conclusion. The study confirms that freshman students joining university do face problems in adjusting themselves at the university. Homesickness, difficulties in socializing or making friends, and difficulties in managing time and study skill were found to be significant factors in adjustment downside.

Identifikasi Keterampilan Belajar (Study Skills) dan Gaya Belajar (Learning Style) Mahasiswa Jurusan Biologi

Keterampilan belajar (study skills) dan gaya belajar (learning style) mahasiswa selama ini menjadi faktor yang kurang diperhatikan karena faktor dosen dan lingkungan belajar cenderung mendapatkan perhatian yang lebih banyak. Penelitian ini termasuk dalam penelitian deskriptif yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan keterampilan belajar (learning skills) dan gaya belajar (learning style )mahasiswa jurusan Biologi. Subjek penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa Jurusan Biologi FMIPA Universitas Negeri Makassar angkatan 2014 . Variabel yang diungkap dalam penelitian ini adalah keterampilan belajar (study skills) adalah cara mahasiswa Jurusan Biologi FMIPA Universitas Negeri Makassar dalam mempelajari suatu informasi tertentu serta gaya belajar (learning style) yaitu kecenderungan cara belajar mahasiswa Jurusan Biologi FMIPA Universitas Negeri Makassar. Data dalam penelitian ini diperoleh dari lembar inventori yang diberikan kepada subjek penelitian. Lembar tersebut terdiri atas dua jenis yaitu Study Skill Inventory yang sebelumnya diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Indonesia oleh peneliti dan Learning Style Inventory yang sudah dipergunakan oleh Direktorat Jenderal Peningkatan Mutu Pendidik dan Tenaga Kependidikan Departemen Pendidikan Nasional. Data yang diperoleh selanjutnya dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis deskriptif kualitatif. Data untuk keterampilan belajar (Study Skills) kemudian disesuaikan dengan format yang telah dikembangkan oleh Dennis H. Congos. Data untuk gaya belajar (learning style) selanjuntnya dikelompokkan ke dalam empat gaya belajar yaitu gaya belajar diverger (diverging-CE/RO), assimilator (assimilating-AC/RO), konverger (converging-AC/AE) dan akomodator (accommodating-CE/AC).Hasil penelitian menunjukkan komponen keterampilan belajar mahasiswa jurusan biologi FMIPA UNM angkatan 2014 yang paling tinggi adalah yang terkait dengan memori dan yang paling rendah dan butuh untuk ditingkatkan adalah yang terkait dengan kemampuan membaca buku teks. Gaya belajar belajar mahasiswa jurusan biologi FMIPA UNM angkatan 2014 yang memiliki proporsi paling tinggi adalah gaya belajar diverger dan preferensi paling rendah adalah gaya belajar akomodator. Terdapat pula gaya belajar kombinasi dalam artian memiliki preferensi lebih dari satu jenis.Dokumen ini merupakan bagian dari Prosiding Simposium Nasional MIPA 2017 (Makassar, 24 Februari 2017), diunggah oleh Ansari Saleh Ahmarhttp://mipa.unm.ac.id/mipaopen/