Readiness for self-directed learning: validation of a new scale with medical students.

BACKGROUND: Students in higher education are expected to make decisions about the depth and breadth of their study, and so self-direct their learning. Students vary in their willingness or readiness to engage in self-directed learning (SDL). AIM: This study examines the factorial validity of a new instrument, the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) to measure readiness for SDL in medical students. METHOD: Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the factor structure of the SDLRS for a sample of 232 first-year students in a hybrid problem-based learning (PBL) medical programme. RESULTS: Estimates of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) were obtained for extracted factors that were compared with the three-factor structure obtained in a previous study of nursing students. Four factors 'Critical self-evaluation', 'Learning self-efficacy', 'Self-determination' and 'Effective organization for learning' all showed suitable levels of reliability. CONCLUSIONS: A revised 38 item SDLRS is a valid measure of medical students' readiness to direct their own learning in a hybrid PBL programme.

Problem-based learning tutors' conceptions of their development as tutors.

BACKGROUND: The quality of student learning in hybrid problem-based learning (PBL) programs depends on PBL tutors' being effective in their role. AIMS: To explore PBL tutors' conceptions of their role and how they grow and develop as tutors, and map tutors' views to an emergent hierarchy of conceptions. METHOD: Participants were 29 tutors who had tutored in at least one 'block' of study in academic years 1-2 in the first half of 2007 in a 4-year, graduate-entry hybrid PBL medical program. Qualitative phenomenographic analysis was used to categorize tutors' written responses. RESULTS: Four qualitatively different categories of conception of the PBL tutor role emerged. Categories increased in complexity and more complex conceptions included the preceding view. Analysis of tutors' conceptions of how they grow and develop as tutors also revealed four categories of increasing complexity. There was homogeneity in the relations between levels of sophistication in conceptions of the tutor role and developing as a tutor. CONCLUSIONS: To help tutors become more effective in their role, development programs may need to engage tutors in thinking about how they develop as teachers, and in particular encourage them to solicit their own face-to-face student feedback.

Learning to learn and learning to teach - introduction to studies in higher education.

BACKGROUND: How students are introduced to their studies will affect the quality of learning. This project deals with tools for lifelong learning to increase students' awareness of learning how to learn. In parallel to an introductory course for students, a course for teachers was given with a focus on tutoring students. AIMS: To evaluate an interprofessional transition course for first-year health science students, the LearnAble project, and a teachers' course aiming to support students to be successful in their learning. METHOD: The project was followed up by a computer-based course evaluation, reflective journals, the Learning Process Questionnaire and the Approaches to Teaching Inventory. The questionnaires were distributed before and after the courses. Teachers (n = 31) and students (n = 270) in two courses from different health educations participated. RESULTS: Students' approaches to the course and to learning could be described as technical/reproductive, seeking for an identity or as reflective/transformative. The evaluation indicates that a deep approach to the studies among the students was related to higher age and female gender. Teachers with earlier pedagogical education supported students more in the attempts to question their own understanding. CONCLUSION: The most obvious result was the positive impact of being a tutor for a group of students in parallel to studying pedagogy.

Interprofessional learning for pre-qualification health care students: an outcomes-based evaluation.

Within health, it is widely acknowledged that a collaborative, team-oriented approach to care is required to ensure patient safety and quality of service delivery. A pre-qualification interprofessional learning experience should provide an ideal opportunity for students to gain the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to work as part of a patient-centred interprofessional team. In this article we report a multidimensional evaluation of a pre-qualification interprofessional learning (IPL) program. The program brings together senior year students from various health care professions on clinical placement in the same service area of a hospital to take part in shared, structured learning experiences centred on interprofessional teamwork. We used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate the IPL program. Results indicate that students' understanding of the roles of other team members was enhanced, and students and supervisors perceived the program to be of value for student learning. Measured changes in attitude were limited. Unexpected findings emerged in relation to role responsibilities within teams and attitudes towards doctors. We conclude that such programs have the potential to expand students' understanding of the contributions made by other professionals/colleagues to effective patient care, although challenges persist in overcoming pre-existing role stereotypes.

Conceptions of problem-based learning: the perspectives of students entering a problem-based medical program.

Effective learning in higher education is associated with students' perceptions of clear goals and standards of an educational program. In programs using problem-based learning (PBL), students' conceptions of what PBL is about could determine how well they perceive the clarity of goals and standards of their program. In this study the authors aim to investigate the relationship between the nature of first-year students' conceptions of PBL and their perceptions of the clarity of goals and standards of a graduate-entry, problem-based medical program. Results are that most students conceive of PBL as mainly working collaboratively to solve and understand a problem, and place less emphasis on PBL as learning independently. There is no relationship between students' conceptions and perceived clarity of course goals and standards. It is suggested that teachers not only need to help students develop their understanding of what PBL is about but also need to help students learn how to self-regulate their learning in PBL programs.

Independent student study groups.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Teachers and students regulate learning to varying degrees in educational programmes in higher education. We present evidence that students in a student-centred medical programme self- and co-regulate their learning in independently formed study groups. We describe the perceived benefits of study groups and the effect of study group membership on student achievement. SETTING: Years 1-2 of a 4-year, graduate-entry problem-based medical programme. METHODS: We surveyed 233 year 2 students about features of their study groups and their study group membership in years 1-2. We compared study group membership with students' scores on a written summative assessment held at the end of their second year. RESULTS: For students who joined 1 study group, the length of time their group stayed together was positively related to achievement in the written summative assessment. There were no differences in summative assessment results between students who had been in a study group and students who had not been in a study group. CONCLUSION: Effective study groups are supportive, socially cohesive groups who generate mutual trust and loyalty, and self- and co-regulate their learning by giving and receiving explanations and summaries and motivating individual study. Teachers can support the formation of study groups by using small-group teaching/learning activities, providing clear learning outcomes and assessment criteria, minimising competition for grades and allocating room space.

Preparedness for hospital practice among graduates of a problem-based, graduate-entry medical program.

OBJECTIVE: To compare preparedness for hospital practice between graduates from a problem-based, graduate-entry medical program and those from other programs (undergraduate problem-based and traditional). DESIGN: Survey of graduates (by mailed questionnaire) and organisers of clinical training (by semistructured interview); results were compared with published results of surveys of graduates from other programs. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: All graduates of the first intake of the University of Sydney graduate-entry medical program were surveyed at the end of their first intern year (2001), along with the director of clinical training or intern manager at each of the New South Wales hospitals that employed the graduates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Graduates' self-reported level of preparedness in the eight domains of the Preparation for Hospital Practice Questionnaire; and organisers' opinions of their strengths and weaknesses. RESULTS: 76 of 108 graduates from the graduate-entry program (70%) and organisers of clinical training at all 17 hospitals participated. Graduates from the program felt more prepared than did those from other programs in five of the eight domains assessed (interpersonal skills, confidence, collaboration, holistic care, and self-directed learning) and no less prepared in any domain. Organisers rated the graduates highly, especially in clinical competence, confidence, communication and professional skills. Opinions of interns' knowledge of basic sciences conflicted, with strengths and weaknesses mentioned with equal frequency. CONCLUSION: Graduates from the graduate-entry, problem-based program are at least as well prepared for their intern year as graduates from traditional and undergraduate problem-based programs.

Group problems in problem-based learning.

Successful small-group learning in problem-based learning (PBL) educational programmes relies on functional group processes. However, there has been limited research on PBL group problems, and no studies have been conducted on problems as perceived by both students and tutors in the same educational context. The authors investigated PBL group problems in a graduate-entry medical programme, and report the most common group problems, and those that hinder students' learning the most. The possible causes of individual quietness and dominant behaviour, and potential influences that group problems may have on the tutorial process are summarized in an exploratory model of PBL group dysfunction that could be used to guide further research. Specifically, there is a need for further evidence on which to base guidelines for tutors and students to effectively manage group problems.