Use Of Academic Resources Research Articles

Strategic Learning Strategies of Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Introduction. The use of strategic learning strategies has been positively associated with academic performance in several graduate health profession programs. This finding suggests that it may be an important construct to explore in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) education. The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) summarizes a student's perception and use of 10 learning and study strategies. Review of Literature. Although the LASSI has limited reporting in DPT education, other health care education programs have shown correlation with academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine DPT students' early perceptions of strategic learning with descriptive summaries of LASSI data and examine correlations between demographic and admissions-related data. Subjects. Matriculated DPT students (n = 294) at a 2-year hybrid program who completed the LASSI at orientation in 2020 and 2021. Methods. This was a descriptive study that retrospectively analyzed LASSI scores in entry-level DPT students. LASSI score differences among demographic groups and Spearman's rho correlations between the LASSI, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, grade point averages, grit, and emotional intelligence (EI) were explored. Results. LASSI score means were in the 50th–75th percentile (moderate category) suggesting a need for further development in strategic learning. Group differences in LASSI scores were noted for gender identity (male higher Anxiety management, P < .001; female higher Attitude, P < .001, Time Management, P = .003, and Use of Academic Resources, P = .003), racial–ethnic minoritized group (higher Self-regulation, P = .013), first-generation college students (higher Attitude, P = .047), physical therapy assistants (higher Information Processing, P = .047), students with a primary language other than English (higher Time Management, P = .046), and older students (higher Anxiety management, P = .026). Weak but significant correlations were identified between LASSI scale and component scores and several admissions variables. Highest correlations were with grit (Will, ρ = 0.319, P < .001; Concentration, ρ = 0.312, P < .001), EI (Will, ρ = 0.328, P < .001; Attitude, ρ = 0.302, P < .001; Self-regulation, ρ = 0.382, P < .001; Use of Academic Resources ρ = 0.331, P < .001), and quantitative GRE scores (Anxiety management, ρ = 0.341, P < .001). Discussion/Conclusion. All LASSI scale scores and components were in the moderate category, potentially indicating a need to coach and develop strategic learning strategies. Group differences in LASSI scores may represent varied student needs. The weak relationship between LASSI scores and admissions variables could suggest that the constructs measured by LASSI are not currently captured through typical DPT admissions practices.

Exploring challenges in learning and study skills among first-year medical students: a case study

BackgroundDespite being high-achieving students, many medical students face academic challenges, particularly during their first year of study. Research indicates that self-regulated learning, involving metacognitive processes and adaptive strategies, can positively influence academic achievement. This study aimed to assess the early learning and study skills of first-year medical students in an international medical school with the goal of developing a learner-centered educational intervention to promote self-regulated learning.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective analysis of the Learning and Study Skills Inventory (LASSI) questionnaire that was administered annually each August to first-year medical students from 2019 to 2022. The distribution of students across different percentile ranges for each selected variable was determined for each year and all years collectively. Students were counted within distinct percentile brackets (50th and below, between 51st and 75th, and above 75th ) for each variable.ResultsA total of 147 students completed the LASSI questionnaire over the 4-year time period. Using academic resources was the greatest concern, with 67% of students in the 50th or below percentile, followed by selecting the main idea (56%), motivation (51%), and concentration (50%). Attitude scored highest across all cohorts, scoring between 21.55 ± 0.73 and 26.49 ± 0.34. In comparing mean scores of LASSI variables across all cohorts, attitude, motivation, test-taking strategies, time management, and the use of academic resources differed significantly (p < 0.05).ConclusionLASSI data can provide an early picture of students’ support needs. We posit that early identification of student learning and study skills and areas of struggle can inform personalized educational interventions and programs to support first-year medical students.

Fostering Social Connectedness in First Year Seminar Students: A Pilot Study

University First Year Seminar (FYS) programs are diverse in their content and pedagogy. Yet all seek to assist first-year students in the difficult college transition. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate if grouping similar academic majors into the existing First Year Seminar (FYS) courses would improve social connectedness, use of academic resources, and engagement on campus. A subset of first year students were assigned to either the control group (CON) of normal mixed major sections, or to the experimental course (EXP) with only related majors. Thirteen EXP and 36 CON students completed the data collection, including an 18-question social support survey administered at the beginning and end of the course. Additionally, two open-ended qualitative analysis questions were asked related to student expectations and perceived course outcomes. Lastly, the three instructors of the EXP and CON courses studied were interviewed using phenomenological methods approximately one week after the end of the semester. Between-groups analysis of the 18 quantitative survey questions identified that the CON group reported more personal conversations with peers and attendance of campus activities while the EXP group reported more faculty interactions. At the beginning of the course, 77% of the EXP group expected to create social connections as a primary course outcome, while only 19% of the CON group did. Academic skills were a higher expectation among the CON group than the EXP group. When asked more directly, both groups expected to make social connections in the class (86%). However, by the end of the study, the reported outcomes were equivocal. Interviews with FYS professors uncovered their own valuable perceptions of connectedness to the university and recommendations for instructor support were made.

Learning and studying during the pandemic: A comparison between students' learning and study strategy orientations before and during the COVID-19 period

This study compared first-year university students' learning and study strategy (LSS) orientations before COVID-19 and during COVID-19. We analysed data from 1 632 eligible frrst-year university students who completed the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI). Mean and proportion comparison data indicated a significant decrease in students' LSS orientations during the COVID-19 period compared to pre-COVID-19. During the pandemic, 45.29% of the students were in the at-risk range compared to 31.62% pre-pandemic, representing a 13.67% increase. The data indicate that students' at-risk LSS scores increased in terms of higher anxiety levels, reduced learning attitude disruption, lower motivation, less self-testing and information processing, lower use of academic resources, emotional distress, and disruption of familiar routines during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student development services should provide targeted support interventions addressing these LSS risks to students.

Service Quality of and User Satisfaction with Non-State-Owned Academic Libraries in China: Integrating the Fuzzy Delphi Method with the Kano Approach

Libraries are digitizing, and challenges are posed by digital technologies for institutions of higher education in China. This study aims to present the dimensionality of perceived service quality, its effect on customer satisfaction, and the case of a non-state-owned library’s academic service quality. A sample consisting of valid 453 respondents used online recruitment to retrieve answers to questionnaires. Ten experts were invited to review the questionnaire for content validity and question clarity. In this study, the Fuzzy Delphi method was used to establish questionnaire indices and the attributes of library academic service quality elements made available by the Kano model. Three dimensions, including emotional service, physical environment, and information control, which are correlated under the attribute classification of the Kano model, indicate support for the validity of using integrated models in measuring library service quality. The results, according to the improvements in the customer satisfaction matrix, provide nine elements to improve the quality of service and two major improvements to enhance the perception of service quality. In addition, users pay less attention to the use of academic resources and academic ethics, but these factors do not affect the quality of service.

Predictive factors of academic success in neuromusculoskeletal anatomy among doctor of physical therapy students.

Predictors of academic success in anatomy have been studied, but not in Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students. The objectives of this study were to (1) explore predictors of academic success in a DPT anatomy course, (2) evaluate sex-based differences in the predictors of academic success and their influence on anatomy course grade, and (3) investigate the influence of the DPT anatomy course on visual-spatial ability. Forty-nine DPT students completed a demographic questionnaire, Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and Mental Rotations Test (MRT) before the ten-week anatomy course (MRT-1) and repeated the MRT at the end of the course (MRT-2). Anatomy course grade was determined based on quizzes and written and practical examinations. Multiple regression analysis showed significant associations between the predictor variables age (p=0.010) and the LASSI anxiety subscale (p=0.017), which measures anxiety coping, with the anatomy course grade. On the MRT-1, male DPT students attempted and correctly answered more questions than females (both, p < 0.0001). Female students had higher LASSI self-regulation and use of academic resources subscale scores (both, p < 0.05). In the 44 DPT students that completed the MRT-2, the number of correct and attempted responses increased following the anatomy course (p < 0.0001). Age and anxiety coping, but not sex, are predictors of anatomy course grades in DPT students. Mental rotations test scores improved following the anatomy course. The LASSI should be used in other cohorts to identify students with low anxiety subscale scores in order to provide targeted support.

The Relationship between Gross Anatomy Performance and the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) Among Physician Assistant Students

BackgroundSelf‐regulated learning (SRL) is defined as the processes that one carries out to accomplish goals through self‐directed use of specific strategies. In essence, it involves how someone becomes the master of their own learning processes and comprises behaviors of skill, will, and self‐regulation. Evidence supports that high levels of SRL are correlated with better grades and higher academic achievement. Tools exist to measure SRL in higher education, with the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) being one such tool (Weinstein et al., 2016). It is a 60‐item inventory that measures 10 subscales including motivation, anxiety, test strategies, time management, and selecting main ideas.ObjectiveThis study aims to address whether there is a correlation between LASSI subscales and gross anatomy performance in a sample of physician assistant (PA) students. While growing numbers of medical and dental programs utilize the LASSI to examine SRL, its use in allied health student populations has not been explored extensively. I hypothesized that there is a positive relationship with anatomy performance and LASSI scales such as motivation, test taking skills, and use of academic resources and a negative relationship with anxiety.MethodsFirst year students enrolled in a physician assistant program were invited to participate in the study during the second semester of their first year, following the completion of a four‐credit gross anatomy course and other basic science coursework taken during the first semester of the first year. The timing of LASSI administration was chosen as it was thought to more accurately reflect their SRL as a PA student, as opposed to administration upon program entry when it would measure their SRL prior to graduate school. It was a programmatic requirement to complete the LASSI, however participation and use of educational records in the study was voluntary, with written consent given. Spearman correlation was used to evaluate the association between the LASSI subscales and the average grade of four sets of exams (written and practical), as well as final grade. Analyses were performed using SPSS Version 27 and significance level was set at p&lt;0.05.ResultsA total of 49 students completed the LASSI and 5 students opted out of the study, rendering an 89.8% response rate (n=44). Two LASSI subscales had significant positive correlations with anatomy performance 1) test strategies: exam 1 (r=.618, p&lt;0.01), exam 2 (r=.451, p&lt;0.01), exam 3 (r=.343, p&lt;0.05), exam 4 (r=.325, p&lt;0.01), and final anatomy grade (r=.502, p&lt;0.01) and 2) selecting main ideas: exam 1 (r=.374, p&lt;0.05).Conclusion and ImplicationsThe hypothesis that anatomy performance would be negatively correlated with anxiety and positively correlated with test strategies and other LASSI subscales was partially supported. This preliminary study reveals that only two LASSI subscales had significant positive correlations with anatomy performance: test strategies and selecting main ideas. Anxiety did not have a significant correlation with anatomy performance. It is unsurprising that a relationship exists between test‐taking strategies and anatomy grades, and the strength of this relationship decreased as students progressed through the semester. This research suggests that explicit instruction of test taking skills, SRL, and metacognitive awareness early in the curriculum may improve anatomy performance.

Expanding the Classroom: Local Government Practitioners’ Use of Academic Resources

Drawing on E. L. Boyer’s Scholarship Reconsidered (1990), we propose that public affairs education could be conceptualized to include the education of not just current students but also practitioners throughout their careers. To explore knowledge diffusion from academics to such practitioners, we conducted 40 phone interviews with county human resources (HR) directors in New York and North Carolina and examined the extent to which this population directly used academic resources. There was moderate use of academic resources from higher-education institutions across the sample; many North Carolina HR directors consulted publications and personnel from one university that offers tailored services for local government officials in that state. Several HR directors who do not use academic resources indicated that they would be willing to do so. At the same time, many respondents were unsure what academic resources were available or when they would be helpful.

Development of design expertise by architecture students

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;What constitutes design ability and design expertise in architecture? Which categories of&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; design expertise can be identified amongst architecture students? And, which factors predict the levels of expertise? These questions are answered in a survey of architecture students in Nigeria. Based on the results, students were classified into novices, advanced beginners, competent and proficient design students. Also identified are five areas of design ability or competency, which include innovation, and knowledge adaptation. The level of expertise of the students predicted their abilities to produce innovative designs and adapt design knowledge. The levels of expertise were determined by students’ use of academic resources, motivation and family support, among others. These areas can be leveraged by educations to enhance development of expertise.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

The Role of Athletic Identity in the Relationship Between Difficulty Thinking or Concentrating and Academic Service Use in NCAA Student-Athletes

The NCAA Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations and Learning of Students in College data were used to explore the relationship between self-reported high levels of difficulties thinking or concentrating and grade point average (GPA) in college student-athletes. We specifically investigated the mediators of the relationship between self-reported high levels of difficulties thinking or concentrating and GPA. Results revealed there was a significant indirect effect between self-reporting the highest level of difficulties thinking or concentrating and service use through GPA, moderated by identity, full model: F(4, 14738) = 184.28, p &lt; .001; R2 = .22. The athletic/academic identity variable acted as a moderator of the mediating effect of GPA on the relationship between self-reported high levels of difficulties thinking or concentrating and the use of academic resources on campus. If a student-athlete who is self-reporting high levels of difficulties thinking or concentrating identifies more as a student, GPA is likely to prompt academic service use. However, if the student-athlete identifies more as an athlete, GPA is less likely to lead to use of campus academic support resources.

Adaptation and innovation: a grounded theory study of procedural variation in the academic surgical workplace.

Surgical research struggles to describe the relationship between procedural variations in daily practice and traditional conceptualizations of evidence. The problem has resisted simple solutions, in part, because we lack a solid understanding of how surgeons conceptualize and interact around variation, adaptation, innovation, and evidence in daily practice. This grounded theory study aims to describe the social processes that influence how procedural variation is conceptualized in the surgical workplace. Using the constructivist grounded theory methodology, semi-structured interviews with surgeons (n = 19) from four North American academic centres were collected and analysed. Purposive sampling targeted surgeons with experiential knowledge of the role of variations in the workplace. Theoretical sampling was conducted until a theoretical framework representing key processes was conceptually saturated. Surgical procedural variation was influenced by three key processes. Seeking improvement was shaped by having unsolved procedural problems, adapting in the moment, and pursuing personal opportunities. Orienting self and others to variations consisted of sharing stories of variations with others, taking stock of how a variation promoted personal interests, and placing trust in peers. Acting under cultural and material conditions was characterized by being wary, positioning personal image, showing the logic of a variation, and making use of academic resources to do so. Our findings include social processes that influence how adaptations are incubated in surgical practice and mature into innovations. This study offers a language for conceptualizing the sociocultural influences on procedural variations in surgery. Interventions to change how surgeons interact with variations on a day-to-day basis should consider these social processes in their design.

Reflections on the teaching of drawing in the digital age: attitudes of senior academics in the United Kingdom to the place of drawing tuition on the design curriculum in higher education

A new study has recently been completed investigating current attitudes towards drawing and drawing tuition among senior academics in design education in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom. This study examines some of the main aspects of existing educational practice while also exploring academics' aspirations for ideal drawing tutors and drawing studios. It forms part of an extensive research programme conducted over twenty years on the role of drawing in design practice and its implications for design education, earlier findings being used here for comparison. Primarily based on interviews with deans and programme leaders from HEIs in England and Scotland, and supplemented by interviews with senior design researchers, views on the forms of drawing ability crucial to today's designers, the impact of computer-based technology on the role of drawing in design, the curriculum structure and content with regard to drawing studies, and the use of academic resources are discussed.

Change of Major and Use of Academic Resources

Change of Major and Use of Academic Resources