Self-reported Learning Outcomes Research Articles

"It's not a one-person show" E-learning course in neuropalliative care: A qualitative analysis of participants' educational gains and self-reported outcomes.

Patients with progressive neurologic illness still lack access to quality palliative care services. Barriers to the comprehensive provision of neuropalliative care include gaps in palliative care education. To address this barrier, a novel international model of neuropalliative care education e-learning program was launched in 2022. This is a qualitative study on the self-reported learning outcomes and educational gains of participants of a neuropalliative care e-learning course. Thematic analysis shows changes in the participants' perceptions of neuropalliative care and several specific educational gains. After attending the course, participants recognized neuropalliative care as a multiprofessional and interdisciplinary effort requiring more than medical knowledge and disease-specific treatment skills. They gained understanding of the complexity of prognosis in neurological diseases, as well as ethical concepts as the basis to approach difficult decisions. Valuing the needs of patients and caregivers, as well as honest and open communication were recognized as key components of the caring process. In particular, providing emotional support and building relationships to enhance the spiritual component of care were avidly discussed as essential nonmedical treatment options. E-learning courses are helping to close the gaps in healthcare professionals' knowledge and skills about neuropalliative care.

Effective affective EEG-based indicators in emotion-evoking VR environments: an evidence from machine learning

AbstractThis study investigates the use of electroencephalography (EEG) to characterize emotions and provides insights into the consistency between self-reported and machine learning outcomes. Thirty participants engaged in five virtual reality environments designed to elicit specific emotions, while their brain activity was recorded. The participants self-assessed their ground truth emotional state in terms of Arousal and Valence through a Self-Assessment Manikin. Gradient Boosted Decision Tree was adopted as a classification algorithm to test the EEG feasibility in the characterization of emotional states. Distinctive patterns of neural activation corresponding to different levels of Valence and Arousal emerged, and a noteworthy correspondence between the outcomes of the self-assessments and the classifier suggested that EEG-based affective indicators can be successfully applied in emotional characterization, shedding light on the possibility of using them as ground truth measurements. These findings provide compelling evidence for the validity of EEG as a tool for emotion characterization and its contribution to a better understanding of emotional activation.

One size doesn’t fit all: how different types of learning motivations influence engineering undergraduate students’ success outcomes

BackgroundMotivation is the inherent belief to guide students learning goals and behaviors to make continuous efforts and strengthen learning outcomes. Previous research reported the positive impacts of learning motivation on student success, but there have been limited efforts in systematically and structurally studying different types of motivations and their impacts on students’ success in engineering education. The current study contributes to the literature by systematically examining two important types of motivations and their influences on undergraduate engineering students in a theoretically grounded manner while using an advanced analytical approach.MethodsThe current study conducted a cross-sectional survey with undergraduate engineering students (n = 514) from 18 different schools across nine U.S. states. The survey assessed students’ self-report scores on six types of motivations to study developed based on formative research and the current literature and then collected students’ self-reported learning outcomes, current GPA, university satisfaction, engineering program satisfaction, and individual demographic factors. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling.ResultsThe results showed that motivations related to family, personality, and academic expectations were consistently positively associated with all measured students’ success outcomes; motivations related to educators were associated with all four outcomes but student GPA; motivations related to course contents were associated with learning outcomes and student GPA; and motivations related to peers did not predict any of the four measured students’ success outcomes.DiscussionWe explain some of the unexpected results with further literature that examines engineering culture and ecology. We also make recommendations related to cognitive training, tailored engineering education, peer culture interventions, and family orientation programs.

Predicting Satisfaction with Money Management and Life Satisfaction in Parents of Emerging Adult Students

AbstractMany parents cope with the prolonged financial dependence of their emerging adult children and problems arising from sharing a household, which may challenge parental satisfaction with money management (SMM) and life satisfaction (LS). We created and tested a conceptual model of potential pathways to parental SMM and LS. Data were collected in a sample of 482 student–parent pairs via an online survey that included adjusted questionnaires on financial functioning (Shim et al., Journal of Youth and Adolescence 39:1457–1470, 2010) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., Journal of Personality Assessment 49:71–75, 1985). Relying on the model of financial satisfaction from the student perspective (Sirsch et al., Emerging Adulthood 8:509–520, 2020), we proposed pathways of the family SES, financial parenting (explicit teaching and financial behavior; parent report; 22.8% fathers), and parent–child financial relationships (student report; Mage = 19.94; 45.2% males) to parental SMM and LS. We also anticipated intermediate relations of financial parenting with the students' self-reported financial learning outcomes (cognitive and behavioral/relational). The SES, proactive parental financial behavior, and favorable parent–child financial relationships predicted parental SMM and LS. Financial parenting was linked to the student's positive financial learning outcomes, but only financial knowledge further influenced the financial relationship with their parents. The findings suggest the benefits of successful parental financial socialization for both the offspring's finance-related outcomes and their parents' satisfaction.

Examining the Impact of Project-Based Learning on Students’ Self-Reported and Actual Learning Outcomes

Active, collaborative, and project-based learning strategies have become increasingly popular in college classrooms due to their effectiveness in cultivating student-centered learning. Compared to conventional teaching methods, active and project-based learning engages students in the learning process by fostering collaborative approaches to addressing real-world problems. To better prepare students for future careers in health promotion, we evaluated the effectiveness of a collaborative project-based health promotion assignment on self-perceived and actual learning among a sample of underrepresented students ( N = 33). In order to assess learning, students completed both a self-reported and actual learning assessment designed to assess competency of the core learning outcomes of the health promotion course. Results demonstrated approximately similar increases in self-reported and actual learning over the semester. Although the results were unexpectedly parallel, students consistently underestimated their knowledge on both the pre- and post-learning assessments. In all, survey results demonstrated the group-based project served as a valuable tool for undergraduate learning, with the majority of students evaluating the project positively across all measures.

Undergraduate research and students’ learning outcomes: digging into different disciplinary contexts

ABSTRACT Despite the importance of undergraduate research for student learning and development, not enough work has been done to clarify its effects in different disciplinary contexts. Using data from the China College Student Survey, this research adopts Becher and Trowler’s theory of discipline classification to understand the relationship between undergraduate research and students’ learning outcomes in different disciplines. It indicates that first, contributing to journals/conferences correlates with students’ self-reported learning outcomes in Physics, History, and Engineering, but these relationships can be explained by process-centered activities, except in Physics. Second, early-year undergraduates’ learning outcomes are relatively weakly related to conducting research with faculty in pure disciplines. By contrast, such relationships are distinct in applied disciplines. Third, in soft disciplines, participating in competitions significantly correlates with more types of students’ learning outcomes than conducting research with faculty, while in hard disciplines, they both play quite important roles. It makes recommendations for future research and practice, which enrich insight into how universities can best engage undergraduates in research.

The Descriptive Features and Quantitative Aspects of Students’ Observed Online Learning: How Are They Related to Self-Reported Perceptions and Learning Outcomes?

This study uses digital traces to help identify students online learning strategies by making a clear distinction between the descriptive features (the proportional distribution of students different online learning actions) and quantitative aspects (the total number of the online learning sessions), a distinction which has not been properly address in extant research. It also examines the extent to which the descriptive features and quantitative aspects of students observed online learning behaviors are related to students self-reported perceptions of the blended learning environment and the academic learning outcomes. A cohort of 317 Australian undergraduates enrolled in a compulsory engineering course participated in the study. A hierarchical cluster analysis, based on the different proportions of the types of online learning activities in which students were involved, identified two qualitatively different online learning strategies: content-oriented and practice-oriented. The content-oriented learners not only had significantly more online learning sessions, but also performed significantly better on both the formative and summative assessments, than their practice-oriented counterparts. Moreover, a higher proportion of students reporting more negative perceptions were observed to adopt practice-oriented strategies; whereas a higher proportion of students reporting better perceptions were observed to adopt content-oriented strategies. The study results serve as triangulated evidence for the previous self-reported research on the relations between students perceptions and strategies. The results of the study also offer a number of ideas for teaching and curriculum design in blended courses in order to improve the quality of students blended learning experiences.

A Qualitative Evaluation of a Simulation Training Initiative for Registrars Working in Acute Medicine.

We evaluated a simulation-based training day for medical registrars to define the hidden curriculum of the training. We interviewed participants to explore their reflections about the day, what they had learned and how it had influenced their practice. Interviews were conducted iteratively and analysed in accordance with content thematic analysis. We established four themes: sharing (collaborative learning), sensing (comparing one's practice against peers'), transforming (development or change in practice based on learning from the day), and endorsing (appreciating authenticity in the simulation and psychological safety in debriefing). This evaluation furthered our understanding of the self-reported learning outcomes of our participants. We encourage other institutions to perform similar evaluations to build a collaborative understanding of simulationbased education for medical registrars.

Global health classroom: mixed methods evaluation of an interinstitutional model for reciprocal global health learning among Samoan and New Zealand medical students

BackgroundGlobal health education partnerships should be collaborative and reciprocal to ensure mutual benefit. Utilisation of digital technologies can overcome geographic boundaries and facilitate collaborative global health learning.Global Health Classroom (GHCR) is a collaborative global health learning model involving medical students from different countries learning about each other’s health systems, cultures, and determinants of health via videoconference. Principles of reciprocity and interinstitutional partnership informed the development of the GHCR. This study explores learning outcomes and experiences in the GHCR between students from New Zealand and Samoa.MethodsThis study used a mixed methods approach employing post-GHCR questionnaires and semi-structured face-to-face interviews to explore self-reported learning and experiences among medical students in the GHCR. The GHCR collaboration studied was between the medical schools at the University of Otago, New Zealand and the National University of Samoa, Samoa.ResultsQuestionnaire response rate was 85% (74/87). Nineteen interviews were conducted among New Zealand and Samoan students. Students reported acquiring the intended learning outcomes relating to patient care, health systems, culture, and determinants of health with regards to their partner country. Interview data was indicative of attitudinal changes in relation to cultural humility and curiosity. Some reported a vision for progress regarding their own health system. Students in the GHCR reported that learning with their international peers in the virtual classroom made learning about global health more real and tangible. The benefits to students from both countries indicated reciprocity.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates GHCR to be a promising model for collaborative and reciprocal global health learning using a student-led format and employing digital technology to create a virtual classroom. The self-reported learning outcomes align favourably with those recommended in the literature. In view of our positive findings, we present GHCR as an adaptable model for equitable, collaborative global health learning between students in internationally partnered institutions.

Student Success Factors in a Nurse Practitioner Program

Student exit surveys are a unique means of extracting data for program evaluation. An exploratory study of 5 years of data (n = 440) from a 115-question Master of Science in Nursing student online exit survey examined whether race, sex, age, and prior work experience as a registered nurse predicted academic success. Findings indicated a statistically positive relationship between self-reported outcomes and prior registered nurse work experience. There were significant findings related to the effect of race and years of nursing experience on students’ self-reported learning outcomes. Ongoing evaluation can bring successful course redesign and curriculum transformation to students.

Simulating the Sustainable Development Goals: Scaffolding, Social Media and Self-Reported Learning Outcomes Amongst Entry-Level Students

This paper addresses two crucial gaps in the scholarship on the design and execution Simulation-Based Education (SBE) – the importance of scaffolding in constructing successful simulations for entry-level students and the associated value of social media tools. We examine these issues within three successive iterations of a role-play simulation employed in an introductory undergraduate course. We employ a mixed-methods approach that draws on self-reported learning outcomes from a total sample of 291 students across three years. We argue that running a successful simulated activity hinges upon careful design and scaffolding, and that incorporating social media tools can help to make the learning experience more immersive and more accessible for students.

HANDS-ON EDUCATION WITHOUT THE HANDS-ON? AN APPROACH TO ONLINE DELIVERY OF A SENIOR LAB COURSE IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WHILE MAINTAINING KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES

The senior chemical engineering lab course at UBC follows an open-ended problem-based lab (PBL) framework, which has been shown in previous work to improve self-reported learning outcomes in students. Given the hands-on experiential components of lab-based courses in general, their shift to remote delivery, such as the one required by the COVID-19 pandemic, is challenging. Shifting a PBL course to a virtual setting while maintaining its more open-ended learning outcomes is likely even more difficult. This paper outlines the design of an online senior PBL course in chemical and biological engineering, in which TAs, present in the lab, act as Operators and implement student-designed experimental plans over several weeks, while maintaining active virtual contact with their teams. Feedback from students on this experience, the particulars of the course design, and the perceived value of this approach, based on data collected from survey responses, is presented and compared to similar data collected for the latest in-person offering of the same course.

Teacher learning in the context of teacher collaboration: connecting teacher dialogue to teacher learning

ABSTRACT A multiple case study has been carried out of four teacher groups who engaged in collective lesson design, observation, and reflection to support their professional learning. The teacher groups were examined on what and how they learned from their collaboration over time. For each meeting, teachers’ learning logs and transcripts were analysed. The results show that the groups differed in the amount, consistency, and stability of self-reported learning outcomes throughout the meetings. Differences between groups also relate to the number and type of dialogic moves between the teachers within each group. A main conclusion includes that challenging each other in their dialogues supported teachers’ learning. Additional explanations of learning outcomes relate to teachers’ collective participation and facilitation in the group.Keywords: teacher professional learning; teacher collaboration; collaborative learning activities; teacher dialogue; secondary education

Theory of change models deepen online learning evaluation

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have gained traction as resources for professional development. This article presents the method that we used to evaluate a professional development MOOC for postdoctoral trainees that was created by a university consortium in the US. Most approaches to evaluating MOOCs focus on analysis of participation, outcomes from course assignments, self-reported learning outcomes, course completion and user pathways through the online content or clickstream data. Few published evaluations describe in detail how learning happens within online courses and the anticipated medium and longer term cognitive and behavioral outcomes on participants. This work aims to guide those who are designing, implementing and evaluating MOOCs through applying theories of change to focus evaluation on the process of learning. This approach can be used as a complement to traditional approaches for evaluating MOOCs. We described how we worked with the MOOC team building the content to develop a theory of change for each module (or lesson) within the MOOC and used the theory of change to guide evaluation of short and medium term participant cognitive, affective and attitudinal, and behavioral outcomes. Finally, we share lessons learned and suggestions for implementing theories of change in both the design and evaluation phases of MOOC development.

Undergraduates’ Self-reported Learning Outcomes of General Education Courses: A Case Study of a Chinese Elite University

Undergraduates’ Self-reported Learning Outcomes of General Education Courses: A Case Study of a Chinese Elite University

Short-term Service-Learning: Implications for Preparing Health Science Students for Practice

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine students’ self-reported learning outcomes following participation in collaborative interprofessional service-learning experiences through the qualitative analysis of participants’ written, guided critical reflections. Method: Participants responded to guided reflection questions pre and post trip. The four pre-trip open-ended reflection questions included: what the students expected or hoped to learn, how they expected to learn this, the importance of this learning for their career skill development and how this learning could be used in the future. Upon completion of the service-learning experience, students were asked the same questions with slight variation- What did they learn, how did they learn this, the importance of this learning for career skill development and how this learning could be used in their future practice. Open coding strategies were employed to guide the researchers’ analysis of the student participants’ written responses. Results: There were 145 participants in the study, including 86 students in a comparison group and 59 students who participated in service-learning trips during 2018 and 2019. Service-learning participants majored in nursing (47.4%, n=28) and occupational therapy (33.9%, n=20), with fewer participants in pharmacy (n=5), physical therapy (n=5) and social work (n=2). Comparing pre and post service-learning group responses, researchers noted that the post-trip reflections included more depth, breadth and insight compared to the pretest reflection responses for each theme. Post trip responses also included the additional theme of personal growth. Post-trip participants reported having a greater self-awareness of their own limitations and strengths, having a broadened perspective, experiencing spiritual growth, and developing attitudes of gratefulness, humility, flexibility, patience, and empathy after participating in the trip, reinforcing the idea that immersion created learning is exponential when it is experiential. Conclusions: Service learning coupled with guided critical reflection is an effective tool in enhancing interprofessional collaboration. Qualitative analysis of students’ self-reported learning through written reflections served as a valuable means for capturing learning outcomes related to interprofessional collaboration competencies.

Evidence-Based Education for Perianesthesia RNs to Increase Knowledge and Change Attitudes of Electroconvulsive Therapy

To increase perianesthesia registered nurses (RNs') knowledge and change attitudes of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). A pretest/post-test design was used. An interprofessional team collaborated in the development of a 1-hour teaching session, which included PowerPoint presentation, case studies, and online resources. The education was offered four times from December 2017 to April 2018. Data were collected on self-reported learning outcomes and the Questionnaire on Attitudes and Knowledge of ECT. After the education, increased knowledge was reported. RNs (n= 25) were more likely to recommend ECT as a treatment option (P= .013) and believed that psychiatrists take other health care providers' views into account (P= .023). They were also more likely to believe that ECT should not be used as a last resort (P= .022) and should not be banned (P= .025). Self-reported knowledge increased, and some of the RNs' attitudes toward ECT changed after education.

“Taphonomy: Dead and fossilized”: A new board game designed to teach college undergraduate students about the process of fossilization

Incorporating games in teaching can help students retain material and become innovative problem solvers through engagement and enjoyment. Here we describe a new board game, “Taphonomy: Dead and Fossilized,” and its use as an active learning tool (material available at doi: 10.18738/T8/NQV2CU). The educational objective is to teach the player about taphonomy and fossilization, while the gameplay objective is to preserve and recover the best fossil collection. Through competitive gameplay, students learn how chemical, physical, and environmental factors, as well as physiology and discovery biases can influence an organism’s preservation and collection potential. The game is modeled after an Early Jurassic fossil deposit for scientific accuracy and relevance. The game was incorporated in undergraduate classroom activities in 20 colleges and universities across the United States. Survey results show that students and teachers were overwhelmingly positive about the game, stating that it was fun and helped them learn or strengthen their knowledge of fossilization. When analyzed statistically, we find that students’ self-reported learning outcomes and opinions vary most significantly with college year, major, ethnicity, and race. White students and geoscience or STEM majors reported the highest levels of learning and enjoyment, with minorities and non-STEM majors responding less favorably. We suggest this game is most advantageous for use in upper-level paleontology classrooms, although it is still beneficial at lower levels. It is critical to use this game as part of a larger lesson plan and tailor it to fit the needs of an individual classroom. Modifications for time and class size, as well as follow-up discussion questions, are included.

Examining the Effectiveness of Using Role-Play Simulations with Chinese Students in China

Abstract A significant body of literature testifies to the effectiveness of role-play gaming and simulations as pedagogical methods in political science. Many of these studies involve students with a Western background. In contrast, little research exists on the teaching of political science in China and none on the effectiveness of simulations for teaching Chinese students. This study seeks to investigate the efficacy of role-play simulations as a method for teaching comparative politics to Chinese students. The study examined the levels of long-term knowledge retention, enthusiasm towards political science, and self-reported learning outcomes in two groups of students. A test group, students who had completed at least one political science course, participated in a politics-based role-playing simulation; the control group, students who had completed the same political science course, did not participate in a comparable game. The test group displayed significantly better self-reported learning outcomes and significantly better knowledge retention than the control group (albeit at the 90 percent level).

Addressing the AICPA core competencies through the usage of the monopoly™ board game

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the learning outcomes of students enrolled in an introductory financial accounting course through their experience of playing the Monopoly™ board game and map those outcomes to a selected number of individual competency types addressed in the AICPA Core Competency Framework. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal qualitative analysis was performed to analyze self-reported learning outcomes collected from undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory financial accounting course. Content analysis and participant observations were utilized to inform the analysis process and derive research findings. Findings The findings reveal a connection between the learning outcomes and a selected number of individual competency types addressed in the AICPA Framework. The findings also reemphasize the importance of utilizing some of the basic functions and features of Excel to augment foundational financial accounting knowledge and enhance professional skills. Originality/value Although the use of board games in accounting education was examined in prior research, this paper provides an empirical evidence on the alignment of self-reported learning outcomes of a popular board game to a notable profession-driven framework. In addition to bridging a potential gap between the accounting education and profession, this study informs academics as to the implications of engaging students in a class activity that applies basic financial accounting and computer knowledge.