How and Why Do Students Use Learning Strategies? A Mixed Methods Study on Learning Strategies and Desirable Difficulties With Effective Strategy Users

Visuospatial ability and student approach to learning as predictors of academic performance on written versus laboratory-based assessments in human anatomy

As hours devoted to human anatomy curricula fall under threat and curricular delivery methods remain in flux, many new teaching innovations are emerging, which require comprehensive evaluation to ensure evidence-based teaching is maintained. Although grades are the predominant measure of 'learning', alternative metrics can assess more nuanced and meaningful outcomes. Two common predictors of students' three-dimensional understanding of the body and depth of learning are visuospatial abilities and approaches to learning, respectively. This study evaluated and compared the relative predictive power of these metrics on written and laboratory-based assessments in a human anatomy course. Deep approaches to learning and visuospatial abilities were expected to positively correlate with overall performance, with visuospatial abilities being the more salient predictor, especially on laboratory-based assessments. Additionally, visuospatial abilities were expected to positively correlate with deep learning approaches and negatively correlate with surface learning approaches. Multiple linear regression models controlling for covariates found that both visuospatial abilities (p = 0.049; p = 0.014) and deep learning approaches (p = 0.001; p = 0.001) were independent significant predictors of final and laboratory-based grades, while only deep learning approaches were significantly predictive of written grades (p = 0.007). There was no significant relationship between visuospatial abilities and approaches to learning. Given these findings and the increased reliance on visuospatially demanding digital learning activities in anatomy, both metrics should be considered when evaluating the impact of teaching innovations. Further, educators should design learning resources and environments that train visuospatial abilities and promote deeper learning approaches to maximize students' success.

Effectiveness of Life Goal Framing to Motivate Medical Students During Online Learning: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction

Educators need design strategies to support medical students' motivation in online environments. Prompting students to frame a learning activity as preparing them to attain their life goals (e.g., helping others) via their clinical practice, a strategy called 'life goal framing', may enhance their autonomous motivation, learning strategy use, and knowledge retention. However, for students with low perceived competence for learning (PCL), life goal framing may have an adverse effect. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the effectiveness of life goal framing and the moderating effect of students' PCL.

Methods

First- and second-year medical students across four Canadian universities (n = 128) were randomized to receive a version of an online module with an embedded prompt for life goal framing, or one without. Students' motivation, learning strategy use, and knowledge retention were assessed. Differences between conditions on each outcome were estimated using Bayesian regression.

Results

Students' PCL was a moderator for autonomous motivation but no other outcomes. The prompt did not have a statistically significant effect on any outcome, even for learners with high PCL, except for a small effect on link-clicking behaviour.

Discussion

The results of this study suggest that learners' autonomous motivation is influenced by how they make meaning of instruction in terms of their future life goals and their present confidence. We cannot recommend life goal framing as an effective design strategy at this point, but we point to future work to increase the benefit of life goal framing for learners with high confidence.

Research Education Program for Underrepresented Minority Students: Students' Perception of Academic Enrichment and Research Activities

The Research Education Program (REP) is an NIH R25-funded training grant designed to increase the pipeline of underrepresented minority (URM) students entering graduate programs and pursuing biomedical research and health care careers. Each week, students participated in different academic enrichment activities during morning sessions. Research activities were during afternoon sessions. URM students presented their research findings in a local poster session with their peers, graduate medical students, and faculty members. They also attended national conferences to gain experience and expand their professional networks. Our participants included 14.3% rural, 42.85% suburban, and 42.85% urban students. Of this, 83.33% were females, while 16.67% were males. In addition, 100% of students indicated exceptional satisfaction in 64.0% of the academic enrichment activities offered by the REP, and 100% indicated exceptional satisfaction in 63.0% of the research activities. Future research will investigate the long-term effects of REP and graduate enrollments.

Exploring the Role of English as a Foreign Language Receptive Skills and Learning Strategy Usage in the Ability to Acquire and Apply Knowledge at the Beginning of Higher Education

Foreign language learning plays a prominent role in the world today not only for communication across borders, but also for the potential benefits of other learning skills. The main objective of this research is to examine and explore the relationship between first-year full-time undergraduate students' (N = 1,257) English as a foreign language (EFL) reading and listening achievement and learning strategy preferences in relation to knowledge acquisition and knowledge application. Our results show that students achieved significantly better on listening tasks than on reading tasks and that their knowledge acquisition performance was higher than their knowledge application achievement. The majority of the participants reported that they usually or always employ learning strategies, with the most preferred strategy type being the control strategy. The structural model shows that language learning, and knowledge acquisition and application are strongly interrelated; moreover, the level of use of memorization and elaboration strategies directly affects both knowledge acquisition and application skills. This suggests that EFL learning significantly influences the development of knowledge acquisition and knowledge application, which are essential in a range of areas in education and society today.

Comparing the Learning Approaches of Transfer Students and Direct Entrants in an Asian Higher Education Context

Transfer students (TSs) transitioning from community college (CC) to university have been found to experience adjustment challenges different from those experienced by direct entrants (DEs) admitted straight from high school, which in turn influences their approaches to learning. Learning can enhance the transition towards sustainability, and it is influenced by various factors. However, there have been limited studies examining the factors associated with TSs’ and DEs’ learning approaches. To fill this research gap, this current study used a cross-sectional survey with both TSs (n = 841) and DEs (n = 978) to identify the factors. Our results indicated that the TSs had a higher rate of adoption of surface approaches (SA) to learning than DEs, while TSs and DEs shared some similar predictors of their learning approaches. The results suggest that the commitment of education stakeholders is essential for sustainable learning. They should improve the transfer system by providing adequate support and reduce disparities in the allocation of resources to TSs and DEs, as these affect learning approaches.

Putting self-regulated learning in context: Integrating self-, co-, and socially shared regulation of learning

Processes involved in the regulation of learning have been researched for decades, because of its impact on academic and workplace performance. In fact, self-regulated learning is the focus of countless studies in health professions education and higher education in general. While we will always need competent individuals who are able to regulate their own learning, developments in healthcare require a shift from a focus on the individual to the collective: collaboration within and between healthcare teams is at the heart of high-quality patient care. Concepts of collaborative learning and collective competence challenge commonly held conceptualisations of regulatory learning and call for a focus on the social embeddedness of regulatory learning and processes regulating the learning of the collective. Therefore, this article questions the alignment of current conceptualisations of regulation of learning with demands for collaboration in current healthcare. We explore different conceptualisations of regulation of learning (self-, co-, and socially shared regulation of learning), and elaborate on how the integration of these conceptualisations adds to our understanding of regulatory learning in healthcare settings. Building on these insights, we furthermore suggest ways forward for research and educational practice.

Supporting Undergraduate Biology Students' Academic Success: Comparing Two Workshop Interventions

College students' performance in introductory-level biology course work is an important predictor of ongoing persistence in the major. This study reports on a researcher-educator partnership that designed and compared two cocurricular workshops. Seventeen laboratory sections of an undergraduate biology course were randomly assigned to one of two educational interventions during the regularly scheduled lab class section after students had completed and received the results for the first exam. The baseline Metacognition intervention was an hourlong workshop focused on effective learning strategies and self-awareness in the learning process; the extended Metacognition plus Time Management (Metacognition+TM) intervention included the aforementioned workshop plus a second hourlong workshop on time management and procrastination. Based on three exams and self-report surveys administered before the intervention and at the end of the semester, students who participated in the Metacognition+TM intervention experienced greater increases in their exam scores and degree commitment than those in the baseline intervention. Additionally, group status moderated the effect of the intervention, as the Metacognition+TM intervention was especially effective in increasing use of time management tools by students from minoritized groups.

A Rapid Transition from Campus to Emergent Distant Education; Effects on Students’ Study Strategies in Higher Education

This article presents a literature review focusing on international research concerning distance education and students’ study strategies during the last 20 years. As distance education in higher education is a steadily growing trend and in particular because the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated the transition from campus education to different forms of distance education, knowledge about students’ study strategies and appropriate teaching strategies has become highly important. With this research review, we aimed to identify patterns and trends in research on distance education focusing students study strategies before and after the pandemic. The research synthesis identified and interpreted similarities and differences in the studies’ designs and findings, which we analyzed using integrative thematic analysis. Students’ study strategies seem to have changed to some extent during the pandemic, with more emphasis on their own responsibility and the need for a developed teaching strategy to align with the changing framework related to the emergency provision of distance education. We concluded that students have to develop metacognitive strategies, because self-regulated learning and a more flexible pedagogy seem to be important in teachers’ transitions and competence in digitalization. Therefore, more research targeting these aspects is needed.

Pharmacy Students' Perception of an Elective Course on Evidence-based Learning Strategies

Objective. To examine pharmacy students' perceptions of an elective course on evidence-based learning strategies.Methods. Pre- and post-course survey questionnaires were administered to students who enrolled in an elective course, to determine the learning strategies they used prior to course attendance, track their use of evidence-based learning strategies and observance of healthy lifestyle habits, and assess their perception of the course. A written assignment was given that required students to reflect on the learning outcomes that resulted from their application of evidence-based learning strategies. Mean scores on the pre- and post-course survey were analyzed using a general linear model repeated measures test.Results. The 59 students in this study predominantly used less-effective strategies (eg, re-reading and re-writing of notes) prior to taking the course. They reported increased use of evidence-based learning strategies, particularly retrieval practice and elaboration, and practice of healthy lifestyle habits (ie, enough sleep, exercise, good nutrition) after course completion. Students believed that using the above learning strategies improved their learning and memory and performance on graded assessments, among other benefits. Students had a positive perception of the course.Conclusion. The elective course was associated with increased use of effective learning strategies, adoption of healthy lifestyle practices that aid learning, and increased appreciation for evidence-based learning strategies by the students. Future studies are needed to examine actual learning outcomes and barriers to implementation of evidence-based learning techniques.