Successful Learning Strategies Research Articles

How to create a successful mobile learning strategy for medical education during lockdowns?

Mobile learning has played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic and medical schools now consider it as an effective educational method in current and future crises. In this qualitative study, an attempt was made to demonstrate the principles of designing a mobile learning strategy in medical education from the perspective of experts. The study was conducted by the qualitative content analysis method. The data were collected from July 2022 to Feb 2023. Twelve participants were included in this study from Iran's medical universities, consisting of two members of the Higher Council of Virtual Education, three educational directors, three clinical faculty members, two faculty members specializing in e-learning and medical education, an educational vice, and a dean. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed by Granheim and Lundman's (2004) method. Out of twelve participants in the study, eight (66%) were males and four (44%) females. Data were classified into eight categories and one theme. Based on the participants' experiences, the main theme, that is, "the principles of medical education design in mobile learning," included pedagogical component, interactive design, effective and comprehensive analysis, achieving objectives with the mobile learning platform, generating micro- and interactive e-content, teaching-learning interactive methods, course implementation and interactive evaluation at both micro- and macro-levels. Data analysis revealed that in addition to the eight principles in the medical education design in mobile learning, the participants prioritized the two principles of pedagogical component and interactive design over other principles in educational design. Using a successful mobile learning strategy in situations of restrictions limiting physical presence may improve the quality of medical education.

Do Chosen Learning Strategies Predict Academic Performance in First-Year DPT Anatomy Students?

The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of anatomy final course grades from first-year physical therapist students' characteristics and chosen learning strategies, as indicated on the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Identifying factors that contribute to success in content intensive classes may aid in coaching successful learning strategies as students transition from undergraduate coursework to Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) programs. Previous studies show that first-year graduate students use ineffective learning strategies that are insufficient for graduate-level study. The MSLQ correlates with academic performance at several educational levels. To date, only one study has examined the correlation of MSLQ with physical therapist students' academic performance for an anatomy course. Thirty-nine first-year physical therapist students participated in the study (27 from a hybrid program, 12 from a traditional program). This study analyzed MSLQ scores for the total instrument, each domain, and each subscale using regression analyses to determine predictors of final anatomy grades. The subscales of Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety had significant predictive value for anatomy grades (R2 = 0.455, F = 5.203, P = .029). Test Anxiety had an inverse relationship to anatomy grades, meaning lower test anxiety scores correlated with higher anatomy grades. The combination of Self-Efficacy, Test Anxiety, and Critical Thinking subscales resulted in a significant prediction of anatomy grades (R2 = 0.603, F = 6.659, P = .014). This study found moderate correlations between MSLQ Motivation subscales and final grades in DPT anatomy classes. Self-Efficacy and Test Anxiety subscales had the strongest correlations and were significantly predictive of anatomy grades. Faculty may benefit from using inventories like the MSLQ for first-year physical therapist students to identify motivational characteristics associated with success and to remediate students' learning strategies to prevent academic failure.

Demotivating Online Formative Assessment Strategies at an Open Distance Learning University

Online formative assessment strategies are an important element in the level of engagement needed for motivating students learning online in open distance learning (ODL) because they are key in offering large-scale interactive participation. While many studies have looked at the advantages of online formative assessment strategies, they have neglected demotivating online formative assessment strategies that students struggle with. To ensure the quality of the online assessment, it is also important to understand the nature of assessment practices that demotivate students from persisting with their studies. This is because the type of online assessment that students struggle with should guide the choice and design of the online formative assessment strategies. Therefore, this article identifies online formative assessment strategies that demotivate students from participating persistently in online formative assessment in ODL in order to improve the design and development of online learning. This study used a developmental research approach to carry out a descriptive quantitative case study survey involving 112 purposefully sampled students, of which 58 responded, who were registered for a master’s in education in ODL course at an ODL university in South Africa. A thematic coding process was adopted during the analysis of students’ responses to an online Google form. Though students differed in their choices of the online formative assessment strategies that demotivated them in their studies, there was consensus on seven significant themes. The socio-technological perspective and the self-determination theory were used as the theoretical frameworks to drive the investigation since they encompassed all relevant aspects of the design of online learning and motivation to learn online. Information regarding demotivating online formative assessment strategies provide insight to course leaders and instructional designers attempting to build successful online learning strategies that motivate students to participate persistently in online learning environments.

Exploring and Reorienting the Challenges and Reinventing Revitalized Strategies in Teaching English for Certificate-Level Students at the SLITHM Colombo Campus

Acquiring proficiency in the English language poses various difficulties for students enrolled in Certificate Level batch no.334 at the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM). The objectives of this research study were to identify the obstacles encountered by the students in their English language learning journey and explore effective strategies to overcome these challenges. A survey questionnaire was employed as part of a quantitative research design to ascertain the specific challenges faced by the students during the process of learning English. A total of 100 students, randomly selected from all five disciplines, with 20 students from each, were interviewed as part of a qualitative research design to determine the most successful learning strategies for overcoming the existing obstacles. Purposeful sampling was utilized to select five participants from each discipline who had achieved the highest grades in English at the G.C.E. (O/L) examination, with the aim of identifying the most efficient learning strategies to conquer the current challenges. The research findings revealed that the majority of students considered the influence of their mother tongue to be the most significant hurdle, followed by limited exposure to fluent English, inadequate resources, and a lack of self-motivation in learning the language. In comparison, a small percentage of students expressed that a restricted vocabulary, outdated teaching methods, and a negative attitude towards the subject also impeded their progress in learning the English language. The findings further indicated that a student-centered approach to learning, incorporating innovative teaching methodologies and the utilization of technology, would yield positive results. Additionally, the introduction of e-learning facilities was found to effectively address almost all of the current challenges faced by the students.

Application and validation of internally cured concrete strength characteristics by machine learning

Water is a precious resource, and the demand for potable water is high in many regions globally. Potable water is being used in the construction of buildings, and a substantial amount of water is required for curing concrete elements, which can be saved with modern construction practices like internal or self-curing concrete. The properties of concrete are usually identified through physical testing. Experiments become time-consuming, laborious and costly if multiple parameters in small proportions are to be modified and the results are to be predicted. Predicting nominal mix proportions becomes difficult; alternatively, utilising computational and predicting any specific or multiple outputs by analysing multiple input parameters with randomised data is feasible through machine learning. Considering this, an attempt is made to develop self-curing concrete of M30 grade utilising fractional replacement of 30% coarse aggregates with fly-ash aggregate as an internal curing agent. Different algorithms those that are processed in machine learning deal with prediction and validation of concrete characteristic strength parameters; 1) decision tree regression; 2) random forest regression, and 3) multiple layer perception regression analysis. In this study, the comparison found that the utmost successful machine learning strategy for prediction of concrete strength properties is the decision tree regressor method, with the least error fitting the regression curve.

On Rapid Transitioning to Online Learning Under COVID-19: Challenges and Solutions at Al al-Bayt University

The aim of this research work is to study the issues and challenges that Al al-Bayt University faculty members faced in the transition from face-to-face learning to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to highlight successful online learning strategies adopted. These issues and challenges are identified using question and solution-based analysis covering several issues that include the procedures and mechanisms adopted for the rapid transition from face-to-face learning to online learning, the online learning environment used, the impact of the transition to online learning on faculty members, courses’ content and students, and the challenges of online learning and the impacts it had on teaching and scientific research. The successful strategies adopted provide many practical methods for faculty members and leaders to follow for future online learning. In addition, the results of this work are expected to provide faculty members with a clear and insightful view on how to successfully integrate online learning and traditional learning into a blended learning approach.

Strategies for Successful Blended Learning—A Bibliometric Analysis and Reviews

Recently, the term blended learning (BL) emerged as a new trend in teaching models and learning styles with the digital advantages support. This article presents a systematic review of literature that explores the strategies for successful BL in multi-sides to enhance student learning and development outcomes. To reach the objectives, the literature accessed of Scopus and web of science databases covering research published between 2011 and 2021 and 39 items were analysed. The bibliometric analysis identifies the cluster themes based on texting frequency. The vital steps of data classification follow thoughtfully and carefully in the platform of concept, findings, author's reputation, and years published. In the last conclusions of the study, reports explain the past literature and recent outbreak. The results cover three main themes: digital support for student engagement, personalisation learning, and instructors of management courses.
 These findings are expected to benefit stakeholders involved in employing BLin which instructors use integrated technology and online learning materials with traditional face-to-face classroom activities.

Book Review: How to Learn Spanish: A Guide to Powerful Principles and Strategies for Successful Learning and Self-Empowerment by Maria Blanco

This excellent, strategy-loaded little guidebook on learning Spanish is highly applicable for learning any language. It is equally suitable for students, teachers, and language advisors, as students will learn strategies, and teachers and advisors get pointers on how to support students’ autonomous learning.

The Use of SILL Oxford on Understanding the Speaking Learning Strategies

Language learning strategies are activities consciously chosen by learners for the purpose of regulating their own language learning, and it has a strong relationship with learning success. On the other hand, employing effective language learning will improve students' achievements. Effective learning strategies are not the preserve of highly capable individuals but could be learned by others who had not discovered them on their own. Speaking skills as one of the majors in learning a language is expected to be mastered by Indonesian students in the globalization era. SILL questionnaire has been used in many countries around the world to investigate strategy use among groups of students of English as a Second or Foreign language. Therefore, this paper showed the relation between the use of SILL Oxford and the speaking learning strategies. The mixed-method approach was employed, and 183 Indonesian students participated in this research. The SILL Oxford questionnaire was adapted in this research in order to find the speaking learning strategies employed by the students. The interviews were conducted to get the students’ reasons as well as confirm the students' strategies and SILL Oxford. The finding showed that most successful Indonesian students employed metacognitive strategies with percentage responses of 72.7% and the affective as the least with a percentage of 56.8%. It was also found that most of them used paying attention, using resources for receiving strategy sending messages, and self-monitoring strategy strategies. The interviews resulted showed that the SILL Oxford result was the same as the students learning strategies. And their reason for choosing the strategies was their awareness of learning asn the importance of English. Therefore, it can be the basis for the students improving their speaking proficiency by applying successful student learning strategies.

Effects of Concept Mapping and Cooperative Mastery Learning Strategies on Students’ Achievement in Photosynthesis and Attitudes towards Instructional Strategies

Students' low performance in biology perturbs many teachers and other stakeholders. This has sparked research into learning strategies that might be utilized to improve students’ performance in the subject. This study investigated the effects of Concept Mapping (CM) and Cooperative Mastery Learning (CML) on students' achievement in photosynthesis. A pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group, quasi-experimental design was used. A sample of 449 students was drawn from the population of 6,708 senior two secondary students (SS2) in Nyamagabe district, Rwanda. Photosynthesis Achievement Test (PAT) (KR-21 = .82), Attitude Towards Concept Mapping Questionnaire (ATCMQ), and Attitude Towards Cooperative Mastery Learning Questionnaire (ATCMLQ) were used for data collection. Data were analyzed mainly using mean and standard deviation, Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and t-test. Findings revealed that the students who were exposed to the CM and CML attained significantly higher mean achievement scores in the PAT than those exposed to Conventional Teaching Methods (CTM) (F (2, 445) = 385.242, p<0.05). The CM group students achieved significantly better than the CML group. Moreover, there was no significant interaction effect between instructional strategies and gender in achievement (F (2, 442) =. 344, p > .05). The students showed a significant and positive attitudes towards the use of CM over the use of CM (t=5.8, p<.05). Thus, the CM and CML are effective strategies for successful and meaningful photosynthesis learning. It was recommended among other things that the biology teachers should use the CM and CML to enhance students’ achievement in biology especially in difficult and abstract concepts like photosynthesis.

The relationship among motivation, self-monitoring, self-management, and learning strategies of MOOC learners

In massive open online learning courses (MOOCs) with a low instructor-student ratio, students are expected to have self-directed learning abilities. This study investigated the relationship among motivation, self-monitoring, self-management, and MOOC learners’ use of learning strategies. An online survey was embedded at the end of three MOOCs with large enrollments asking for learners’ voluntary participation in the study. The survey results from 470 participants indicated that motivation positively influenced self-monitoring, self-management, and learning strategies. In addition, self-monitoring and self-management did not affect the utilization of learning strategies. This underscores learners’ motivation and the need to encourage them to adopt appropriate learning strategies for successful learning. The results also revealed that self-monitoring positively affected self-management. The findings highlight the critical need to enhance self-monitoring skills to further promote self-management skills in MOOCs. In addition, self-monitoring and self-management did not encourage learners to use related learning strategies in this study. This study should be extended to investigate practical ways to encourage MOOC learners to adopt learning strategies.

Management of the metacognition and successful learning strategies in pre-university education. an analytical sociological study

The irreversible impact of the societal challenges and/or changes on individual and social behavior requires new ways of teaching, learning, and assessment. These methods involve metacognition and successful learning strategies in tandem with a teacher strategy and the students’ tactics. The difference between cognition (involves the cognitive mechanism of the mental activities and processes set based on predetermined goals) and metacognition (the control of the goal achievement) points to the research problem stabilized for the article: the study of the metacognition management and successful learning strategies in pre-university education. The research methodology is focused on analysis metasystemic delimitations with Google Books Ngram Viewer based on articles published online. Solving the goal allows to state the following assymptions a) metacognition is a dimension of cognition “developed” as a result of the permanent control of cognition, b) metacognitive abilities must be identified and developed starting with the preschool stage, and c) at the school stage it is important to observe and mitigate the formation of strategies. The conclusion of the research refers to the topicality and importance of studying metacognition at the preschool and school stages.

Space, time and concentration in online teaching and learning

The contemporary society framework is characterized by rapid changes and a continuous development. These conditions were accelerated by the diffusion of COVID-19. In these challenging times, the cultural digitalization increased at more sustained rhythms, and the role of online education has to be reconsidered. On one side, it was fundamental for schools and universities to continue to provide the regular teaching and training services. On the other, more people started to dedicate more time to their personal and professional development. To keep up with the times, it has therefore been essential to adapt and to integrate the traditional educational methods with all the technological opportunities offered by the digital world. Using two case studies, the paper investigates how this integration can be done efficiently. Space, time and attention/concentration are the three main dimensions that will be explored. The paper will also provide some best practices and recommendations on how to implement successful online training, teaching and learning strategies, tools and methodologies.

The Sudden Transition of a Health Policy Course to Virtual Learning During COVID-19: Identifying and Implementing Strategies for Successful Learning

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything, including the educational system, as faculty and students transitioned from face-to-face learning to the virtual format. The significance of this research is to document the successful sudden transition of a health policy course to remote learning as a result of the resilience of faculty and students, to demonstrate that course outcomes could be met despite the switch in teaching format, and to show that the transition in learning can be replicated by other nurse educators. Objective: To describe the successful utilization of a health policy assignment as a vehicle for supporting undergraduate nursing students’ learning, while transitioning from face-to-face instruction to the virtual setting. Methodology: A mixed methods case study research using an exemplar health policy assignment for 96 students was introduced to guide the development and organization of a well-constructed argument for a chosen public health issue. Online class time after the transition to the virtual setting included a weekly lecture, followed by an active working period for students and faculty. Follow-up meetings occurred between weekly sessions by phone or Zoom. Results: Despite the sudden transition from face-to-face learning to the virtual setting, this health policy course was successful in meeting course objectives and outcomes, with consistent faculty feedback and support in maintaining the learning process. Although there were unexpected challenges, faculty and students remained resilient, engaged, and committed to the importance of health policy during a period of a heightened sense of health awareness. The exemplar assignment prepared students to think, read, research, write critically, and offer and receive feedback in the midst of the pandemic. Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, students had an amplified sensitivity to learning more about health policy. In this health policy course, faculty aided student learning by focusing on quality teaching, student support, and resilience. The consistent faculty dialogue concerning compassion, resilience, and commitment to education was intentionally modeled in this course and recognized by the students.

Insights from training a blind student in biological sciences

Higher education institutions have a constitutional obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities. Although the teaching and learning of students with blindness and low vision in STEM disciplines are well documented abroad, to date, there are no published studies in South Africa on successful teaching and learning strategies for students with blindness and low vision in STEM fields, specifically in science disciplines. Therefore, in this paper, we report on how teaching, learning, and assessment were adapted to make science disciplines accessible to John, a blind student enrolled in a biological sciences degree at a research-intensive university in South Africa. Several factors contributed towards the successful completion of John’s bachelor’s degree. These factors include the availability of tutors who committed a large amount of time to help John understand content presented in lectures, tutorials, and practical sessions; a well-resourced and effective Disability Unit; lecturers who ensured that John was well accommodated in lectures, tutorials, and practical sessions; and, finally, John’s commitment and dedication towards learning.Significance:
 
 This is the first study to report on successful teaching and learning strategies for a blind student in the natural sciences in the South African context.
 The study provides a guide that scholars, educators, university managers and policymakers can use to ensure that mathematics and science subjects are accessible to blind students and that teaching strategies allow them to perform to their potential.

Strategies for Successful Learning with Geographical Comics: An Eye-Tracking Study with Young Learners

Many studies report that comics are useful as learning material. However, there is little known about how learning with comics works. Based on previously established theories about multimedia learning, we conducted an eye-tracking experiment to examine learning about geography with a specially designed combination of comic and map which we call geo-comic. In our experiment, we show that our geo-comic fulfills many prerequisites for promoting deep learning. Thus, we establish guidelines for an effective design of geo-comics and recommend deploying comics in combination with maps in geography classes.

Guía de enseñanza para el aprendizaje exitoso en educación a distancia universitaria

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar las estrategias exitosas de aprendizaje usadas por estudiantes universitarios para adquirir conocimiento en el Portal de la Plataforma Educativa (Seduca3) del nivel superior en educación a distancia, perteneciente a la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM). Para ello, se realizó un diseño no experimental de tipo documental y de campo con corte trasversal y método mixto (cuantitativo y cualitativo). El instrumento usado fue aplicado a 165 estudiantes con aprendizajes significativos de cinco carreras universitarias correspondientes a las áreas de ciencias económicas administrativas y ciencias biológicas. Con esto se procuró obtener estándares exitosos de enseñanza para ofrecer a los diseñadores de plataformas educativas guías para homologar y facilitar el aprendizaje. Los resultados demuestran que las estrategias que llevan al éxito académico son las siguientes: 1) conocimiento de objetivos y criterios de evaluación (qué y para qué se va a aprender); 2) control del contexto (con qué se va a aprender); 3) atribuciones externas para el aprendizaje (cómo se va a aprender), y 4) habilidades de interacción social y aprendizaje con compañeros (con quién se va a aprender). Esta guía facilita la recuperación de lo aprendido, expresado con la elaboración, y asociado con la retroalimentación positiva por logro, la cual genera la motivación intrínseca requerida para continuar aprendiendo. En pocas palabras, para promover un ciclo completo de aprendizaje significativo el estudiante debe tener claro “por qué, adónde, cómo, cuándo, cuánto, dónde y con quién” está aprendiendo. Por eso, se recomienda a los diseñadores de plataformas educativas que estos adverbios interrogativos aparezcan de forma explícita en los recursos brindados a los alumnos para facilitar y precisar la adquisición del conocimiento.

Deep learning-based cell identification and disease diagnosis using spatio-temporal cellular dynamics in compact digital holographic microscopy

We demonstrate a successful deep learning strategy for cell identification and disease diagnosis using spatio-temporal cell information recorded by a digital holographic microscopy system. Shearing digital holographic microscopy is employed using a low-cost, compact, field-portable and 3D-printed microscopy system to record video-rate data of live biological cells with nanometer sensitivity in terms of axial membrane fluctuations, then features are extracted from the reconstructed phase profiles of segmented cells at each time instance for classification. The time-varying data of each extracted feature is input into a recurrent bi-directional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) network which learns to classify cells based on their time-varying behavior. Our approach is presented for cell identification between the morphologically similar cases of cow and horse red blood cells. Furthermore, the proposed deep learning strategy is demonstrated as having improved performance over conventional machine learning approaches on a clinically relevant dataset of human red blood cells from healthy individuals and those with sickle cell disease. The results are presented at both the cell and patient levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of deep learning for spatio-temporal-based cell identification and disease detection using a digital holographic microscopy system.

A comprehensive teacher strategy for successful online learning process

Online learning is one of education methods that uses internet access and technological devices as a medium of communication between teachers and students. The teacher can use online learning during a pandemic that requires students and teachers to do physical distancing or during the industrial revolution 4.0 that implements technology in various fields of life. Online learning has several advantages and disadvantages, especially concerning the student conditions and learning effectiveness. This research was a literature review of the teacher’s strategy to achieve successful online learning. Teachers need to develop strategies for successful online learning. Teachers can use audio-visual show to attract students' interests, not give too many assignments, and provide contextual tasks that are relevant to students’ daily life. Guidance and counseling teachers can carry out preventive services in collaboration with school principals and teachers to collect data of students who do not have access to technology devices. The teacher also could conduct online group discussions to increase students’ interaction and reduce boredom learning. Furthermore, the teacher could implement curative services through online counseling services to overcome problems in online learning.

The Correlation between the Students’ Language Learning Strategies and Their English Proficiency

Abstract
 This research aimed at finding out the degree of the correlation between students’ learning strategies and their English Proficiency. It was based on the rationale that students still had problems with their English proficiency and did not know what to do to improve it. On the other hand, there are some successful language learning strategies that can be applied based on some experts to help them. To find out whether there was positive correlation between students’ language learning strategies, data were collected. To collect the data about language learning strategies, a questionnaire was used which had been tried out to know its validity and reliability. To find out the students English proficiency, TOEFL was used. To test the hypothesis, the results of questionnaire and TOFL were correlated by using Pearson Product Moment. The hypothesis was tested by comparing r computed with the Pearson table on the level of significance 0.05. The result of r computed was 0.523, and the critical value was between 0.325 and 0.304 with the degree of freedom 37 (n-2). It was found that the value of r computed was higher than the Pearson table r value. It can be concluded that there was a positive correlation between students’ language learning strategies and their English proficiency. In other words, the research hypothesis was accepted.