Computer-based Tutorial Research Articles

Improving diagnostic capabilities of medical students via application of cognitive sciences-derived learning principles

There is limited experimental evidence concerning how best to train students to perform differential diagnosis. We compared 2 different methods for training 2nd-year medical students to perform differential diagnosis (DDX) of heart failure: a traditional classroom-based lecture (control group) versus a cognitive sciences-based approach to DDX instruction implemented through a computer-based tutor (treatment group). Following random assignment to either group, students were trained for 75 minutes, and then given a 40-item examination comprised of cases that varied along a typicality gradient from prototypical (easy) to less typical (hard). The treatment group diagnosed correctly significantly more test cases than the control group (74% versus 60%, respectively). The treatment group also diagnosed correctly significantly more cases at the extremes of the typicality gradient: 81% versus 65%, respectively, for the prototypical cases; 65% versus 48%, respectively, for the most difficult cases. The ability to perform differential diagnosis is enhanced by training based upon principles of cognitive sciences.

Influence of an Interactive Computer-Based Inhaler Technique Tutorial on Patient Knowledge and Inhaler Technique

Patient knowledge of correct inhaler technique is essential in the treatment of pulmonary disease. Computer delivery of educational content may augment existing teaching efforts. To determine whether a computer-based tutorial on inhaler technique could improve patients' knowledge and ability to correctly demonstrate inhaler technique. A total of 34 adults with pulmonary disease and experience using inhalers were randomized into the control or intervention groups. The intervention group viewed the tutorial, after which they demonstrated their inhaler technique and completed an Inhaler Technique Knowledge Test. Control group patients, who did not view the tutorial, were also evaluated on their demonstrated inhaler technique and technique knowledge. Additional information obtained included demographics, illness and treatment history, and patients' use of computers. Lastly, all patients who viewed the tutorial completed a brief questionnaire eliciting tutorial feedback. Control group patients were invited to view the tutorial after other data collection was complete. The 2 principal outcomes were the observed inhaler technique score and the inhaler technique knowledge test score. Comparisons between groups were conducted using Student's t-test and chi(2) test, with a p value less than 0.05 considered statistically significant. Eighteen subjects were enrolled in the computer group; 16 were in the control group. The intervention group demonstrated significantly better inhaler technique, with a mean Observed Inhaler Technique Score of 88.3 +/- 12.3 compared with 67.4 +/- 19.2 for the control group (p = 0.001). The intervention group also scored significantly higher on the Inhaler Technique Knowledge Test, with a score of 80.9 +/- 17.0 versus 67.4 +/- 11.8 for the control group (p = 0.01). Overall, the program appeared acceptable to patients. Patients in the tutorial group demonstrated better inhaler technique and scored higher on the Inhaler Technique Knowledge Test compared with those in a control group. This tutorial may be a useful educational tool to enhance patient education regarding inhaler technique.

Effects of a Computer-Based Reading Tutor on the Attitudes and Views of Multilingual Young Readers

Effects of a Computer-Based Reading Tutor on the Attitudes and Views of Multilingual Young Readers

Intelligent Interactive Entertainment Grand Challenges

Webster's defines entertainment as something diverting or engaging or performance. IT occurs in a broad range of domains including games and toys, the fine arts, movies and radio, sports, travel, and education. Some examples from the digital world includes virtual games, interactive arts such as audience guided movies, augmented sports, virtual and nonvirtual travel guides, and computer-based tutors. Advances in AI and human-computer interaction offer seemingly endless opportunity to enhance traditional forms of entertainment and support the creation of new ones. However, several fundamental scientific and technical impediments must be overcome to achieve these promises

Metacognition through Group Practice in the New Media Classroom

Metacognition through Group Practice in the New Media Classroom

Comparing the Effectiveness of a Supplemental Computer-Based Food Safety Tutorial to Traditional Education in an Introductory Food Science Course

: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether a Web-based computer tutorial for food safety is an effective tool in the education of food science and nutrition students. Students completing the Web-based tutorial had a greater improvement in pre-test scores compared with post-test scores and compared with students who attended lecture only. Students completing the tutorial indicated a favorable attitude toward computer-supplemented instruction.

The Potential of Training to Increase Acceptance and Use of Computerized Decision Support Systems for Medical Diagnosis

The goals of this study were to understand the reasons underlying the limited use of medical decision-support tools and to explore the potential of a computer-based tutorial to mitigate barriers to use. Medical decision-support tools such the Acute Cardiac Ischemia Time-Insensitive Predictive Instrument (ACI-TIPI) have demonstrated statistical validity and clinical impact for patient safety but have seen limited adoption and use. The study developed a brief Web-based "demystifying" ACI-TIPI tutorial employing case-based training and evaluated the effectiveness of that tutorial in changing self-reported attitudes and behaviors. Clinicians using the tutorial reported greater understanding of how to use the ACI-TIPI score appropriately and increased confidence in the score. Case studies in the tutorial that provided examples of how to use the score for actual cases were rated as especially helpful. This study suggests that a primary barrier to the use of statistical decision support tools for patient diagnosis is lack of training or experience in combining a population-based numerical risk score with other diagnostic information about the individual patient's case that is not considered in that score. The results of this study indicate that there is a potential for a relatively brief tutorial to increase acceptance and use of decision support tools for medical diagnosis. These findings have the potential for the identification of methods to help clinicians learn how to use statistical and probabilistic information to better assess risk and to promote integration of decision support tools into medical decision making for improvement of patient safety.

The Educational Impact of a Computer-Based Training Tutorial on Dementia in Long-Term Care for Licensed Practice Nursing Students

The purpose of this study was to examine whether training with a multimedia tutorial would have an impact on LPN students' knowledge of dementia care, attitudes toward dementia care, and self-efficacy ratings. A total of 38 nursing students participated. Pre-post comparisons of outcome measures revealed significant improvements in knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy ratings. Results of post-training satisfaction and usability questionnaires indicate that participants found the tutorials easy to understand and easy to use. These data support the effectiveness of the dementia tutorial and the use of computer-based training in educating our long-term care workforce.

Using Computer-Based Tutorials as an Intervention in the Teaching of Accounting: A South African Tale

Using Computer-Based Tutorials as an Intervention in the Teaching of Accounting: A South African Tale

A web-based smoking cessation and prevention curriculum for medical students: why, how, what, and what next

This paper summarises some major developments in medical education relating to the health risks of tobacco and to training in tobacco cessation and prevention strategies, and discusses some of the barriers to training. We also describe a project whose purpose was to design, implement and evaluate a web-based self-study tobacco curriculum for medical students to teach medical students to assist smokers to quit and to counsel non-smoking adolescents not to start smoking. This curriculum addresses some of the barriers, namely lack of curriculum time, lack of access to materials and experts, and relevance of the materials. The project was designed and evaluated at two medical schools in Georgia: Morehouse School of Medicine and Mercer University School of Medicine. A curriculum on tobacco control strategies and techniques designed for use in clinical settings was made available to first-year medical students as interactive computer-based tutorials. The curriculum, based on the US Public Health Service Clinical Guideline for Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, was divided into two parts: the tutorial and practicum sections. Pre- and post-exposure measures were collected for the evaluation. The mean differences for correctly answered knowledge items in the two schools were similar: mean for Morehouse was +2.07 and for Mercer +1.67, indicating improvements in knowledge for both schools. There were statistically significant improvements in all categories of self-rated ability to perform six counselling skills, except for Mercer students for the 'Ask' skill category (p=0.069). The amount of exposure (measured only at Morehouse) was not related to overall change in scores but was associated with self-reported improvement in skill in assisting patients to quit smoking, confidence in counselling patients not interested in quitting, and confidence in counselling teens. The web-based curriculum successfully improved the students' self-rated counselling skills. Given the need and desire on the part of practitioners for training, the curriculum may be found useful by practising physicians and other health-care professionals who wish to improve their skills in smoking prevention and cessation.

Constructing computer-based tutors that are socially sensitive: Politeness in educational software

Students rated 16 tutorial statements on negative politeness (i.e., how much the tutor “allows me freedom to make my own decisions”) and positive politeness (i.e., how much the tutor was “working with me”). Consistent with an adaptation of Brown and Levinson's [1987. Politeness: Some Universals in Language Use. Cambridge University Press, New York] politeness theory, (a) students rated direct commands and commands attributed to machines as lowest in negative and positive politeness, (b) students rated guarded suggestions and guarded questions as highest in negative politeness, and guarded suggestions and statements expressing a common goal as highest in positive politeness, and (c) the pattern of results was stronger for students with low rather than high computing experience. Results have implications for designing polite conversational agents in educational software.

Genomics Analogy Model for Educators (GAME): from jumping genes to alternative splicing

Studies have shown that there is usually a lack of understanding concerning the fields of genetics and genomics among high school students (Lewis and Wood-Robinson, 2000). A recent article (Kirkpatrick et al, 2002) introduced the GAME (Genomics Analogy Model for Educators) model and two of its components: (1)explaining sequencing technology with Lego, blocks, and (2) using a small town analogy to explain cellular biology. GAME is a computer-based tutorial that uses simple analogies to convey scientific information. STAM (Small Town Analogy Model) is a unique way of explaining many aspects of molecular biology and genomics, such as transcription and translation. In this article, STAM has been expanded to include a more in-depth lookat genomes, by covering the topics of jumping genes, the C-value paradox, and alternative splicing.

Effectiveness of Computer Game Instructions

One important issue facing the military training community for incorporating computer games into training programs is that training time is at a premium and trainees need to learn the game as quickly as possible so they can start using the game to train the skills of interest. This study examined various game-related performance measures and concluded that different instructional techniques (i.e., computer-based tutorials and game playing tips) appeared to be effective in different ways, and players with access to both learned the game most effectively. Specifically, computer-based tutorials were more beneficial for enhancing overall game scores; on the other hand, those who had access to game tips performed better in cognitive segments of the game such as setting up game plans and familiarity with the game interface.

A tutorial for sandstone petrology: architecture and development of an interactive program for teaching highly visual material

We have developed an interactive computer-based tutorial in sandstone petrology for undergraduate-level students. The goal of this tutorial is to provide students exposure to the highly visual subject matter of petrography outside the confines of organized laboratory exercises. This paper describes the architecture and development procedures of the current version of the sandstone petrography tutorial, and offers a possible model for similar development approaches in other fields of petrography or in any other field that utilizes large quantities of visual material such as remote sensing image interpretation or seismic interpretation. The tutorial is an interactive photomicrograph archive with sufficient content and flexible architecture that functions as a virtual laboratory instructor as well as a stand-alone reference. The current tutorial was programmed using Macromedia Authorware v.6.0 and supports both Windows-based and MacOS personal computers. The tutorial is constructed around the Folk sandstone classification scheme (quartzarenite, arkose, and litharenite), and an additional section addresses grains other than quartz, feldspar, and lithic fragments and sandstones dominated by these grains. The user interface is designed to take minimal portion of the screen area so that the screen can closely mimic the type of view seen by a student peering down a microscope. Each photomicrograph in the tutorial is basically unadorned until the user actively calls up information that is temporarily displayed over the image, inducing the user to search for information and actively “ask” to be informed with a mouse click. The structure of the tutorial permits multiple strategies of program use, as a linear tutorial, tutorial driven by thumbnail browser, and as a searchable reference.

Using Technology to Support Pedagogy in an OR/MS Course

We tried several methods to improve pedagogy in a graduate introductory OR/MS course. We developed digital video instruction modules, animations, computer-based tutorials, and a course Web site and used Web-based feedback, virtual classrooms, and collaborative learning methods to support students' learning. We learned that the course Web site, Web-based feedback, virtual classrooms, and some collaborative learning methods are easy to develop and implement and provide immediate returns. Others, such as digital video instructions, animations, and real-time collaborative computing, need more time but may provide better pedagogic benefits in the long run. The benefits from all the efforts accumulate over time. Individual instructors will have to decide whether the potential benefits provide enough payback, depending upon the reward structure of their institutions.

Presenting Movement in a Computer-Based Dance Tutor

This article addresses how to present movement information to learners as part of a larger project on developing a nonconventional computational system that teaches ballet. The requirements of such a system are first described, and then discoveries regarding the first requirement, presenting movement to a user, are discussed. Background research regarding how people learn movement, hypotheses concerning presenting movement with computer animation versus videotape, and an experiment testing those hypotheses are presented. The experiment required individuals to perform movements after viewing them in one of the formats. Each participant viewed a movement sequence multiple times and then was evaluated on his or her performance of that movement by two expert judges. Animations resulted in higher performance ratings for individuals with some previous dance experience. Format did not affect performance for other learners. This result implies that domain knowledge interacts with presentation format in learning ballet. These results will influence the design and implementation of a computer-based dance tutor under development, and they point to several interesting research directions, including exploring the effects of multimodal sensory presentations and prior knowledge in learning movement.

Teaching Brief Interventions for Smoking Cessation via an Interactive Computer-based Tutorial

Many current smokers do not plan on quitting any time soon. For these smokers, the immediate treatment goal is not a quit attempt, but an increase in readiness to stop smoking. In the present study we developed an interactive multimedia simulation and tutoring environment that teaches healthcare professionals to provide brief motivational interviewing-based smoking cessation interventions tailored to the patient's current readiness to change. This tutorial utilizes a cognitive science-derived learning approach that provides tailored feedback and lessons based on learners' pre-existing knowledge, is highly interactive and allows learners to practice skills in simulated clinical situations. Results from two pilot studies indicate that healthcare professionals and students found the software easy and enjoyable to use and successfully learned MI-based strategies for smoking cessation.

Improving Students' Ability to Identify and Use Source Information

Sourcing, contextualization, and corroboration are document-level literacy skills that experts routinely use when working with history documents. These are also skills that educators and curricula planners expect students to acquire. We examine high school and college students' current degree of proficiency with these skills and describe our development and evaluation of a computer-based tutoring system designed to teach these skills. We observed that high school and college students who were asked to read multiple documents did not spontaneously attend to source information. Based on analyses of expert and intermediate behavior, we developed the Sourcer's Apprentice, a computer-based tutorial and practice environment for teaching students to source and corroborate while reading history texts. In 3 evaluation studies we found that students who used the Sourcer's Apprentice in place of regular classroom activity or a textbook-centered version of the same content improved at sourcing, contextualization, and corroboration on a transfer test. The Sourcer's Apprentice group also wrote essays on the topic that were more integrated, cited more sources, and referenced more information from primary and secondary sources than the comparison group.

The effects of persistence and small group interaction during computer-based instruction

This study compared the effects of grouping students with different levels of persistence on their ability to learn in cooperative learning groups while working at the computer. A total of 138 sixth grade students were classified as high, average, or low in terms of persistence and assigned to dyads. Students completed a workshop on small-group interaction methods, a computer-based tutorial, a posttest, and a survey. Results indicated that average persisters interacted more than either high or low persisters. Promotive verbal interaction correlated positively with achievement, and grouping increased partner liking. The implications for forming effective cooperative learning groups is discussed.

Development of an interactive CDROM-based tutorial for teaching MATLAB

This paper describes the development of an interactive computer-based tutorial for MATLAB. This tutorial has been developed for undergraduate or graduate students who have had little or no exposure to MATLAB. Students are guided through new concepts and syntax with useful aids such as audio, video and interactive exercises. The exercises, implemented in a specially designed exercise window, give the students an opportunity to use MATLAB to solve problems immediately after covering new concepts. The exercise window has a background interface to MATLAB and thus all commands entered in the window are executed by MATLAB. Hints, example solutions, multiple choice quizzes and test problems, requiring the use of proper MATLAB structure and syntax, add to the learning experience. This project was initially undertaken to investigate student response to alternate computer-based teaching methods. Thus student input has played an important part in the development of this tutorial. Subjective feedback from students, which is presented in the paper, indicate great promise for this alternate approach to teaching MATLAB.