Effectiveness of various innovative learning methods in health science classrooms: a meta-analysis.

This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of the available literature on the effectiveness of various forms of innovative small-group learning methods on student achievement in undergraduate college health science classrooms. The results of the analysis revealed that most of the primary studies supported the effectiveness of the small-group learning methods in improving students' academic achievement with an overall weighted average effect-size of 0.59 in standard deviation units favoring small-group learning methods. The subgroup analysis showed that the various forms of innovative and reform-based small-group learning interventions appeared to be significantly more effective for students in higher levels of college classes (sophomore, junior, and senior levels), students in other countries (non-U.S.) worldwide, students in groups of four or less, and students who choose their own group. The random-effects meta-regression results revealed that the effect sizes were influenced significantly by the instructional duration of the primary studies. This means that studies with longer hours of instruction yielded higher effect sizes and on average every 1 h increase in instruction, the predicted increase in effect size was 0.009 standard deviation units, which is considered as a small effect. These results may help health science and nursing educators by providing guidance in identifying the conditions under which various forms of innovative small-group learning pedagogies are collectively more effective than the traditional lecture-based teaching instruction.

Understanding prevention effectiveness in real-world settings: the National Cross-Site Evaluation of high risk youth programs.

The National Cross-Site Evaluation is a large multisite evaluation (MSE) of 48 substance abuse prevention programs, 5,934 youth participating in programs, and 4,539 comparison youth programs. Data included a self-report questionnaire administered at 4 points in time, detailed dosage data on over 217,000 program contacts, and detailed site visit information. In a pooled analysis, the programs did not demonstrate significant positive effects on a composite outcome measure of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use in the previous 30 days. However, disaggregated analyses indicated that 1) sites in which comparison groups had strong opportunity to participate in prevention programs suppressed observed effects; 2) youth who had already started using before they entered programs reduced use significantly more than comparison youth who had started using; and 3) both males and females who participated in programs significantly reduced use relative to comparisons, but in very different patterns. Combining these patterns produced an apparent null effect. Finally, programs that incorporated at least 4 out of 5 effective intervention characteristics identified in the study significantly reduced use for both males and females relative to comparison youth. The lessons produced by this study attest to the value of MSE designs as a source of applicable knowledge about prevention interventions.

Family protection and prevention of alcohol use among Hispanic youth at high risk.

Research regarding prevention strategies for Hispanic youth stress the importance of family interventions because of the particular importance of family as a protective factor within the Hispanic community. Starting in 1995, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention conducted the National Cross-Site Evaluation of High Risk Youth Programs, a 5-year drug and alcohol prevention study with a sample of approximately 10,500 youth, including nearly 3,000 Hispanic youth. Youth were surveyed regarding their alcohol use patterns and risk and protective factors, with several measures of family relationships, including family connectedness, family supervision, and parental attitudes toward their child's alcohol use. Analyses indicate that family factors are highly linked to alcohol use among Hispanics, particularly among Hispanic females. Longitudinal growth curve analyses indicate that improving the connections that young Hispanic females have to their parents can have positive long-term effects on delaying or reducing their alcohol use.

What Can Studies of Problem-Based Learning Tell Us? Synthesizing and Modeling PBL Effects on National Board of Medical Examination Performance: Hierarchical Linear Modeling Meta-Analytic Approach.

This meta-analytic study 1) examines outcomes from primary research comparing the impact of problem-based learning (PBL) and traditional curricula on medical students' National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) I and II performance and 2) explores the use of Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) in identifying study and PBL implementation characteristics that predict these outcomes. NBME I and II overall scores were used as dependent variables, with study design (randomized/non-randomized), publication year, and PBL experience (number of years since the adoption of PBL as an instructional method at the time of the reported NBME results) as explanatory variables. Initial unconditional HLM (i.e., without inclusion of potential explanatory variables) results indicated PBL curricula had: 1) a positive, albeit not statistically significant, effect on NBME II, with an average effect size of 0.16; and 2) a negative effect on NBME I, with an average effect size of -0.15. Including explanatory variables in HLM analyses explained additional variability in NBME I effect sizes, and identified study design (gamma^1 = 0.82, p = 0.01) and PBL experience (gamma^3 = 0.07, p = 0.02) as significant predictors of positive PBL effects. Publication year, in contrast, had significant negative effects (gamma^2 = -0.06, p = 0.02). This study explained variability in NBME I effect sizes and clarified the impact of PBL discerned in previous reviews. Implications for future research include the need to examine curriculum features that operationally define PBL, as well as extend the consideration of outcomes on which PBL's impact can be examined.