Self-guided Learning Research Articles

Assessment of factors impacting success for incoming college engineering students in a summer bridge program

A summer bridge program for incoming engineering and computer science freshmen has been used at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2007 to 2010. The primary purpose of this program has been to improve the mathematics course placement for incoming students who initially place into a course below Calculus I on the math placement examination. The students retake the university's math placement examination after completing the bridge program to determine if they then place into a higher-level mathematics course. If the students improve their math placement, the program is considered successful for that student. The math portion of the bridge program is designed around using the ALEKS software package for targeted, self-guided learning. In the 2007 and 2008 versions of the program, both an on-line version and an on-campus version with additional instruction were offered. In 2009 and 2010, the program was exclusively in an on-campus format, and also featured a required residential component and additional engineering activities for the students. From the results of these four programs, we are able to evaluate the success of the program in its different formats. In addition, data has been collected and analysed regarding the impact of other factors on the program's success. The factors include student preparation before the beginning of the program (as measured by math ACT scores) and the amount of time the student spent working on the material during the program. Better math preparation and the amount of time spent on the program were found to be good indicators of success. Furthermore, the on-campus version of the program is more effective than the on-line version.

Academic Learning and the Competence Development of the Cognitive Self-Management

Starting from the various theoretical aspects which remain unclarified in the specialized literature, from the problems announced in the previous research practice and from the personal observations regarding the necessity and opportunity of a theoretical-methodological foundation of the academic learning problems, we have defined the following objectives of the paper: the outline of the conceptual framework of the self-guided academic learning problems; the achievement of an experimental demarche which should mediate the student's transition from guided to self-guided learning (the self-management of learning).

A Case Based Learning Model in Therapeutics

Nowadays, learning a Pharmaceutical Profession is an increasing challenge. Apart from traditional texts, lectures and self-guided individual learning, pharmaceutical educators are encouraged to find and implement ways to promote higher order thinking, collaborative learning and to increase students' motivation. One way of achieving these objectives is to complement traditional learning methods with the development and implementation of Case Based Learning (CBL), supported in real life situations. Methods regarding real problems stand in contrast to a more traditional approach to learning and instruction. They promote learner-centered, small group, interactive learning experiences, instead of large group, didactic, teacher-centered instruction. Developing such a learning approach can be a challenge. In this sense, it becomes relevant to promote and share experiences already underway and by doing so, disseminate knowledge in this field. It is our goal with this text to share our experience in the design and implementation of a Case Based Approach to Therapeutics.
 
 Type: Idea Paper

Motivating Students to Learn Biology Vocabulary with Wikipedia

Timely learning of specialized science vocabulary is critical for building a solid knowledge base in any scientific discipline. To motivate students to dedicate time and effort mastering biology vocabulary, I have designed a vocabulary exercise utilizing the popular web encyclopedia Wikipedia. The exercise creates an opportunity for students to connect the challenge of vocabulary learning to a prior positive experience of self-guided learning using a content source they are familiar and comfortable with.

A New Concept of Unsupervised Learning: Directed Self-Guided Learning in the Health Professions

Among the advantages in using educational technologies in health professions education is the opportunity for trainees to learn on their own time. This flexibility in learning opportunities, however, comes with possible dangers associated with unsupervised learning, such as the potential for developing bad habits and misunderstandings, and for overestimating one's preparedness for practice. This nonsystematic review reflects on the literatures that speak to the advantages of self-guided learning, explores the metacognition literature to understand what trainees do spontaneously when self-guiding their learning, and reexamines the advantages of supervised learning. Those literatures are combined in an effort to reorient our questions when considering the concept of self-guided learning. The authors propose that future research should ask questions that focus on our understanding of trainees' natural propensities while learning in the unsupervised context and on exploring conditions that will maximize the educational benefit of self-guided learning.

Identifying and Classifying Problem Areas in Laparoscopic Skills Acquisition: Can Simulators Help?

Independent learning with simulators might be improved if simulators could "diagnose the learner" by identifying common novice problems, thereby directing self-guided learning. Our goal was to determine if data collected by a virtual reality simulator could be used to predict the problem areas in novice trainees' laparoscopic performance. Fourteen expert laparoscopists were interviewed to identify common problem areas experienced by novices as they learn laparoscopy. Two expert laparoscopists rated 20 novices' simulator performances regarding the extent of each problem area. Moderate interrater reliability and high "interproblem" correlations suggest that experts did not reliably distinguish between the five identified problem areas as expected. The process by which expert teachers "diagnose" student difficulties did not reduce well to numeric assessments using linear independent scales in the simulated context. This finding raises challenges for our ability to identify such difficulties using the data collected by simulators.

Comparing self‐guided learning and educator‐guided learning formats for simulation‐based clinical training

In this paper, we tested the over-arching hypothesis that progressive self-guided learning offers equivalent learning benefit vs. proficiency-based training while limiting the need to set proficiency standards. We have shown that self-guided learning is enhanced when students learn on simulators that progressively increase in fidelity during practice. Proficiency-based training, a current gold-standard training approach, requires achievement of a criterion score before students advance to the next learning level. Baccalaureate nursing students (n = 15/group) practised intravenous catheterization using simulators that differed in fidelity (i.e. students' perceived realism). Data were collected in 2008. Proficiency-based students advanced from low- to mid- to high-fidelity after achieving a proficiency criterion at each level. Progressive students self-guided their progression from low- to mid- to high-fidelity. Yoked control students followed an experimenter-defined progressive practice schedule. Open-ended students moved freely between the simulators. One week after practice, blinded experts evaluated students' skill transfer on a standardized patient simulation. Group differences were examined using analyses of variance. Proficiency-based students scored highest on the high-fidelity post-test (effect size = 1.22). An interaction effect showed that the Progressive and Open-ended groups maintained their performance from post-test to transfer test, whereas the Proficiency-based and Yoked control groups experienced a significant decrease (P < 0.05). Surprisingly, most Open-ended students (73%) chose the progressive practice schedule. Progressive training and proficiency-based training resulted in equivalent transfer test performance, suggesting that progressive students effectively self-guided when to transition between simulators. Students' preference for the progressive practice schedule indicates that educators should consider this sequence for simulation-based training.

Enhancing Algebraic Conceptual Knowledge with Aid of Module Using Mastery Learning Approach

This paper discusses the effect of Algebraic Mastery Learning Module (AMaLM) usage on mathematics achievement of low achievers with high anxiety in mathematics. In this quasi-experimental study, 50 low achievers in Form Four from a secondary school located in a rural area were involved. Target participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group with AMaLM and conventional instruction strategy group. The content of activities for two the groups was the same but differed in its structure of teaching. The activities were carried out for about three weeks of intervention period. The activity papers for conventional instruction (CI) strategy group were solved with the use of only paper-and pencil and compared with the solutions presented by the teachers. The experimental group solved algebra problems also as paper-and pencil activities but utilizing the AMaLM. AMaLM is a self guided book to ease the learning of mathematics for low achievers with mathematics anxiety. It was developed based on constructivist learning theory and mastery learning theory. The material to be learned is subdivided into small units, covering from one lesson to another. The two groups completed Algebraic Comprehension Test (ACT) before and after the intervention period. The mean scores of ACT 1 and ACT II for the AMaLM group and CI group after the intervention were 58.32, 36.88 and 25.8, 22.96 respectively. Results showed that the experimental group improved considerably better than control group. The preliminary findings of this pilot study provided evidence that the construction and mastery of the algebraic concepts assist students towards positive attitude in mathematics learning. AMaLM as self-guided learning tools has favoured the learning process specifically in reinforcing algebraic knowledge for low achiever with anxiety towards mathematics.

How effective is self-guided learning of clinical technical skills? It’s all about process

Mounting evidence suggests that trainees acquire psychomotor skills better when they are allowed self-guided access to instructional material and when they set goals that are related to performance processes rather than performance outcomes. The present study assessed whether self-guided access to instruction and the setting of process goals lead to better acquisition of clinical technical skills. To learn wound closure skills, 48 medical students were randomly assigned to one of four groups in a 2 x 2 study design. Self-guided participants were able to access the instructional video freely, whereas control participants were restricted to watching only those video segments accessed by their matched self-guided participant. Each group was further divided into two subgroups, comprising a process goal subgroup, where participants set goals focused on performance mechanisms, and an outcome goal subgroup, where participants set goals focused on performance products. Performance on pre-, post-, retention and transfer tests was assessed with hand motion measures and expert evaluations. Group differences were evaluated using one-way anovas. The self-guided group with process goals showed greater skill retention than its matched control group, whereas the self-guided group with outcome goals did not. Furthermore, the groups with process goals performed better on the transfer test than the outcome goal groups. Outcome goal participants accessed the instructional video most frequently. Our findings advance the study of independent learning in medical education. Trainees used interactive and structured instructional materials to effectively self-guide their learning of clinical technical skills. However, a self-guided benefit was demonstrated only when trainees set process goals.

Assessing suturing skills in a self-guided learning setting: absolute symmetry error

Directed self-guidance, whereby trainees independently practice a skill-set in a structured setting, may be an effective technique for novice training. Currently, however, most evaluation methods require an expert to be present during practice. The study aim was to determine if absolute symmetry error, a clinically important measure that can be assessed by the trainee, is a feasible assessment tool for self-guided learning of suturing skill. Forty-eight undergraduate medical trainees independently practiced suturing and knot tying skills using a benchtop model. Performance on a pretest, posttest, retention test and a transfer test was assessed using (1) the validated final product analysis (FPA), (2) the surgical efficiency score (SES), a combination of the FPA and hand motion analysis and (3) absolute symmetry error, a new measure that assesses the symmetry of the final product. Absolute symmetry error, along with the other objective assessment tools, detected improvements in performance from pretest to posttest (P < 0.05). A battery of correlation analyses indicated that absolute symmetry error correlates moderately with the FPA and SES. The development of valid, reliable and feasible technical skill assessments is needed to ensure all training centers evaluate trainee performance in a standardized fashion. Measures that do not require the use of experts or computers have potential for widespread use. We suggest that absolute symmetry error is a useful approximation of novices' suturing and knot tying performance. Future research should evaluate whether absolute symmetry error can enhance learning when used as a source of feedback during self-guided practice.

Learning at Workstations in the Zoo: A Controlled Evaluation of Cognitive and Affective Outcomes

ABSTRACT This study aimed to test the cognitive and affective benefits gained through the provision of educational materials at workstations in the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. Structured learning materials were developed for use with visiting school groups. The materials focused on the adaptations of 6 selected groups of bird species and were organized as a self-guided learning environment (workstations). The value of the materials was assessed in terms of cognitive (learning and retention) and emotional (interest, well-being, boredom, anxiety, contentedness) variables. The authors measured prior knowledge (1 week before the zoo visit), learning effect (1 week after the visit), and retention (8 to 9 weeks later). A total of 103 students (6th graders aged between 11–12 years) participated in the study, 77 receiving a treatment about adaptations in bird species and 26 receiving a treatment about reptiles which served as a control. Students had similar prior knowledge, but 1 week later students receiving the bird unit scored significantly better and this persisted into retention. Girls achieved higher scores than boys, both 1 week and 8 to 9 weeks after the visit. Surprisingly, students in the control group reported higher interest, well-being and contentedness, and lower boredom than those in the treatment group.

Primary care physicians, office-based practice, and the meaning of quality improvement

Primary care physicians, office-based practice, and the meaning of quality improvement

Logic, Self-awareness and Self-improvement: the Metacognitive Loop and the Problem of Brittleness

This essay describes a general approach to building perturbation-tolerant autonomous systems, based on the conviction that artificial agents should be able to notice when something is amiss, assess the anomaly, and guide a solution into place. This basic strategy of self-guided learning is termed the metacognitive loop; it involves system monitoring, reasoning about, and, when necessary, altering its own decision-making components. This paper (a) argues that equipping agents with a metacognitive loop can help to overcome the brittleness problem, (b) details the metacognitive loop and its relation to ongoing work on time-sensitive commonsense reasoning, (c) describes specific, implemented systems whose perturbation tolerance was improved by adding a metacognitive loop, and (d) outlines both short-term and long-term research agendas.

Learner Experiences and CALL-Tool Usability—Evaluating the Chemnitz InternetGrammar 1

The way people interact with knowledge has changed tremendously for today's society, in that the skills of information-management are required more than those for the retention of knowledge. This ‘knowledge society’ (Rüschoff, in Mißler & Multhaup, 1999, p. 80) thus greatly supports the implementation of technology in the education sector due to its capacities in storage, retrieval and communication of information. Yet this solution is not a straightforward one, since the merits of pedagogical tools need to be investigated first (Chapelle, 1998). The Chemnitz InternetGrammar (CING) is a web-based English grammar learning tool with an extensive body of authentic English language examples. To the researcher's knowledge no self-instruction tool with such a diversity of authentic English grammar material as that of the Chemnitz InternetGrammar exists. With its inductive-deductive presentation of content, various tools (CorpusSearch Engine, Learning-strategy Test, Placement Test) the CING offers more than most instructional programmes. “Researchers and teachers do not have a clear conception of a task unless they observe how the task actually turns out during instruction” (Chapelle, 1998, p. 28). The CING faces a similar dilemma as using it is a task in itself, which is why its usability needs to be evaluated, to ensure its future success with learners (Preece, 2000). This evaluation shall contribute to an understanding of learners' experience with the tool's tasks and how the CING's usability is supported or needs to be improved. It is hoped to be a contribution to questionnaire design and evaluation in current CALL research. The results of more than 60 evaluation questionnaires on usability and content difficulty were collected over a period of three months.2 They indicate the kinds of problems users have with the CING and their positive learning experience. The group of subjects consisted of more than 60 students between terms one and seven, studying at the University of Chemnitz, with an intermediate3 level of English grammar or higher. Questionnaires were filled in by CING users after self-guided learning sessions with the InternetGrammar.

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

SelMa - Self-guided Learning in Teaching Mathematics

In the project ``Self-guided Learning in Teaching Mathematics - SEC II'' (SelMa), five authoring schools are working out scenarios, media and materials for phases of self-guided learning, which will be tested systematically by 10 trial schools with regard to their everyday suitability. In this paper three approaches to such learning arrangements (independent learning centre, jigsaw classroom and learning at stations) are being outlined and relevant experiences are being made available. Learning diaries prove to be useful for the learners' reflection of their learning process. The development as well as the management of such learning arrangements does place new demands on the teachers.

Multiservice laparoscopic surgical training using the daVinci surgical system

Background The daVinci surgical system affords surgeons a magnified three-dimensional videoscopic view of the operative field and precise articulating laparoscopic instruments. The learning curve for this advanced surgical robotics system is poorly characterized. Methods Twenty-three surgeons representing seven surgical subspecialties participated in a surgical robotics training program consisting of standardized daVinci system training (phase 1) followed by self-guided learning in a porcine model (phase 2). Results The average number of recorded procedures performed per surgeon during phase 2 was 5.5. The mean daVinci system set-up time was 45 minutes and decreased by an average of 56.1% by the third successive set-up ( r = −0.702, P <0.005). Operative times decreased 39.0% by the third successive practice operation ( r = −0.860, P <0.0005). Conclusions New use of the daVinci robot is associated with a rapid learning curve and preclinical animal model training is effective in developing surgical robotics skills.

Impact of guided exploration and enactive exploration on self-regulatory mechanisms and information acquisition through electronic search.

Following instruction in basic skills for electronic search, participants who practiced in a guided exploration mode developed stronger self-efficacy and greater satisfaction than those who practiced in a self-guided exploratory mode. Intrinsic motivation was not affected by exploration mode. On 2 post-training tasks, guided exploration participants produced more effective search strategies. expended less effort, made fewer errors, rejected fewer lines of search, and achieved higher performance. Relative lack of support for self-regulatory factors as mediators of exploration mode impacts was attributed to the uninformative feedback from electronic search, which causes most people to remain at a novice level and to require external guidance for development of self-efficacy and skills. Self-guided learning will be more effective on structured tasks with more informative feedback and for individuals with greater expertise on dynamic tasks.

Haemochromatosis: a gene at last?

<h3>ABSTRACT</h3> <h3>Background</h3> Early surgical exposure and research fellowships have been independently shown to influence medical students’ specialty choice, increase academic productivity, and impact residency match. However, to our knowledge there...

On the range of cognitive plasticity in old age as a function of experience: 15 years of intervention research

Fifteen years of cognitive research conducted by the first author and his colleagues are summarized. This research has shown that many older adults have the reserve capacity to improve their performance on tests of intelligence and other indicators of cognitive efficacy. Improvement results both from self-guided learning and trainer-guided training in relevant cognitive skills. At the same time, there is increasing evidence that there are aging-related limits in the level of training-based performance attainable through practice and other strategies of cognitive engineering. Near maximum limits of capacity, aging loss seems less subject to reversibility. The nature of cognitive aging, thus, involves a Janus-like character: continued plasticity accompanied by increasing limits to plasticity. As programs for the redesigning of the aging process are considered, plasticity and limits to plasticity deserve equal attention in order to reflect the possible strengths and weaknesses of older persons. A model derived from such a dual perspective is presented in the form of selective optimization with compensation.