Abstract
BackgroundWriting is a useful learning activity that promotes higher-order thinking, but there are limited studies that prove its effectiveness. In previous research, researchers tested the effect of summary writing on students’ comprehension and found no significant difference from that of re-studying texts. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to expand previous findings and investigate the effect of two types of writing tasks on medical students’ academic performance, specifically in the transfer of knowledge.MethodsAn experiment was conducted with 139 medical students from Seoul National University College of Medicine. They were randomly assigned to three study conditions: self-study (SS), expository writing (EW), and argumentative writing (AW) group. Each group studied the given material by the method they were assigned, and they were tested on their comprehension and transfer of knowledge using rote-memory type items and transfer type items respectively.ResultsThe results showed that the two writing groups displayed better performance than the SS group in transfer type items, while there was no difference in scores between the EW and AW group. However, the three groups showed no significant difference in their scores for rote-memory type items. Also, there was a positive correlation between the writing scores and transfer type item scores in the AW group.ConclusionsThis study provides empirical evidence for writing to be adopted in medical education for greater educational benefits. Our findings indicate that writing can enhance learning and higher-order thinking, which are critical for medical students.
Highlights
Writing is a useful learning activity that promotes higher-order thinking, but there are limited studies that prove its effectiveness
We developed the following study design: medical students were first divided into three studying conditions, those who study by themselves, those who study by writing a summary text, and those who study by writing an argumentative essay
To begin with, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to compare the academic performance of the students in the three groups
Summary
Participants Participants were recruited at the Seoul National University College of Medicine. Participants were instructed to write a half-page long essay on the given material for 25 min. The task required the participants to pretend they were elementary school music teachers and propose a music class based on the cognitive development theories introduced in the material. Participants were asked to solve the Remote Associates Test, which served as a filler task, for 15 min They were given 20 min to complete a final test on the learning material. There were four transfer type items, which required the students to think a step further and apply what they learned to new situations These items required an overall comprehension of the given material and an application of it to different situations, which were worth 16 points. The statistical significance for all tests was set as α < 0.05
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
