How dietetics students like to learn: Implications for curriculum planners

Aim:  To investigate the learning styles of nutrition and dietetics students to assist in informing nutrition and dietetics curriculum methods, design and review.
Methods:  A total of 129 students from years one to four of a nutrition and dietetics undergraduate curriculum completed the Index of Learning Styles and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory to reveal their learning style preferences.
Results:  The Index of Learning Styles identified the students as learners who were intuitive (innovative), verbal (preferring spoken/written explanations) and global (preferring holistic approaches) while the Kolb Learning Style Inventory found that the students had an inclination towards converging (practical) and assimilating (reasoning) learning styles.
Conclusions:  Analysis of learning styles can assist curriculum change towards teaching strategies that suit students. Teaching and learning activities for dietetics students should be developed to strengthen reflective and emotional learning and to develop students' ability to appreciate different points of view. The finding that learning styles changed with year level requires confirmation via cohort studies.     

Learning styles of allied health students using Kolb's LSI-IIa

The purpose of this study was to assess the learning style preferences of students enrolled in various allied health professional programs. Five professions were examined: nursing, physician assistant (PA), occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and speech-language pathology (SLP). The assessment instrument used was the Kolb Learning Style Inventory LSI-IIa. The study included 89 subjects from the various allied health care programs enrolled at a small midwestern university. Findings indicated similar learning style preferences between nursing, OT, PA, and SLP student groups. Students from these groups exhibited a close balance between all four learning styles. The nursing and SLP groups showed a slight preference for concrete experimentation, whereas the OT and PA groups preferred abstract conceptualization. The learning style of the PT students was that of converger, with a strong tendency toward active experimentation versus reflective observation. An emphasis needs to be placed on student learning styles and its impact in the educational process. An understanding and incorporation of learning styles in the education of health care providers could have a positive impact not only on the teaching and learning process but also on the effectiveness of interdisciplinary team interactions and the patient educational process.     

Use of learning styles to enhance graduate education

This study was carried out to help occupational therapy students utilize learning strategies necessary to be successful at the graduate level. Students completed The Kolb Learning Style Inventory and Motivation Strategies for Learning Questionnaire to identify their personal learning preferences. These preferences were used as the basis for a remediation program carried out during the second semester of the curriculum following less than adequate performance during the first semester in basic science content. At mid-term, all but one student was satisfied with her performance in neuroanatomy. Following a closer scrutiny of the dissatisfied student's approach to learning, the student and program developer devised a more comprehensive plan. By the end of the semester, all students successfully passed neuroanatomy while adequately balancing other courses within the semester. Given the initial positive results, the utilization of attention to learning styles as a means to direct student learning may be a promising model for struggling students in graduate education.     

Learning Styles of University Students in a Hispanic-Serving Institution

The purpose of this study was to examine the learning styles of university students in an occupational therapy program in a Hispanic-serving institution. Forty-four university students completed the Self-Directed Learning Style Check. This 80-item questionnaire identifies preferred self-directed learning styles and corresponding strategies to enhance learning. Analysis revealed a preference for the learning styles of organizing, personalizing, doing, and imagining in contrast to the styles of reflecting, collaborating, observing, and envisioning. Strategies to facilitate learning by building on preferred learning styles, while also encouraging flexibility of learning strategies, are presented.     

The influence of learning styles on collaborative performances of allied health students in a clinical exercise

With the increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary practice, there is a need to recognize factors that promote effective interdisciplinary teams. The influence of individual learning-style preference on collaborative performance was examined in 78 occupational and physical therapy students in a neuroscience course. They were randomly assigned in pairs to one of three subsets based upon their Kolb Learning Style Inventory scores (active experimenters vs reflective observers). The students viewed a videotape of a quadriplegic patient's physical examination and completed a collaborative exercise that required performance skills on all levels of Bloom's taxonomy of learning. Analysis of variance revealed no significant difference among learning-style subset pairs in performance (F2, 36 = 0.43, p > 0.05), but the exercise's overall grade correlated with the average of the pair's highest individual scores on two prior written exams (r = 0.631, p < 0.05), suggesting that background knowledge may predict performance better than learning styles do. It is suggested that differences in information-processing styles as measured by the Kolb inventory do not affect interdisciplinary team performance.     

The learning style of medical students

Recent research indicates that students' learning styles and approaches to study may have a significant bearing on their academic success. A study was undertaken on first-, third- and final-year medical students to analyse their preferred learning styles and approaches to study, using the Lancaster Approaches to Learning Inventory. The results showed that students entering the medical school had preferences which were more similar to science students' than arts students'. The medical students had high scores on reproducing orientation (surface approach) in all years tested. The first-year students had low scores on meaning orientation (deep approach) but the scores from students in later years showed a progressive rise. The implications of these results with regard to selection, teaching and assessment are explored. However, this preliminary study does not allow us to differentiate between the effect of student preference and that of the context and the environment in which they study.     

Occupational Therapy Students' Learning Styles and Application to Professional Academic Training

SUMMARY

Methods of optimizing students' learning have been a major concern of educators over time. If occupational therapy educators know the students' learning styles at the onset of their training, teaching can be designed to enhance students' optimal learning throughout their education. This study determined learning styles of 201 junior students (age range = 18–57, mean age = 30.9), enrolled in an urban occupational therapy program from 1990 to 1999. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, a 12-item questionnaire, was administered to the students in the spring of their junior years. Their learning styles were determined using Kolb's criteria. Results yielded: variations in students' preferred learning styles in each class from year to year; higher percentage of convergers (mean = 35%), fewer divergers (mean = 18%). Overall, students were mostly convergers (mean = 35%) and assimilators (mean = 25%). Applications of the findings to teaching students are discussed.     

Attitudes of entry level occupational therapy doctoral students towards inclusion for students with disabilities

Background/Aims:  The increasing popularity of inclusive education for students with disabilities and the attitudes towards it inevitably affect school-based occupational therapy practice. This survey study investigated the attitudes of entry-level occupational therapy doctoral (EOTD) students towards inclusive education and the effect of professional education on their perception.
Methods:  A total of 62 EOTD students responded to a self-developed questionnaire, Attitudes and Inclusive Education Survey , yielding a response rate of 91.2%.
Results:  Results of the study revealed that entry level occupational therapy doctoral students have positive attitudes towards inclusive education and believe that the inclusion movement has an inevitable impact on school-based occupational therapy practice. Professional education in occupational therapy might positively affect students' attitudes.
Conclusion:  Given the close association between one's attitude and behaviour, the findings of the study are particularly encouraging. Future research needs to further examine school-based occupational therapy practice in inclusive environments.     

Optimal sequencing of bedside teaching and computer-based learning: a randomised trial

Objectives  We aimed to establish the most effective order in which to deliver teaching to medical students when using both bedside teaching (BT) and computer-based learning (CBL) and to ascertain the students' preferred method and order of delivery.
Methods  A sample of 28 medical students were randomly divided into two equal groups during their orthopaedic knee examination teaching session. Group 1 received standard BT and group 2 undertook a CBL package. Each group then undertook an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The groups then received the other method of teaching followed by another OSCE. A questionnaire was administered to all students to assess their views on, and preferences for, the various teaching methods.
Results  Mean scores on the first OSCE were 12.19 for group 1 (BT then CBL) and 11.96 for group 2 (CBL then BT) ( P  = 0.692). Mean scores on the second OSCE were 11.81 for group 1 compared with 12.79 for group 2 ( P  = 0.038). Statistical analysis showed a significantly better score improvement for group 2 (CBL then BT) over group 1 (BT then CBL). Of the 26 students who returned questionnaires, 24 (92%) expressed their preference for traditional BT over CBL only, and 23 (88%) were in favour of undertaking CBL prior to traditional BT.
Conclusions  The CBL package is a useful tool and is most effective if used before BT. Students prefer BT alone over CBL alone, but, if offered both, prefer to undertake CBL first.     

Cultural awareness among Queensland undergraduate occupational therapy students

Aim:  Australia's cultural diversity generates substantial challenges and implications for students and health-care professionals. This study investigated the cultural perceptions and self-rated level of cultural competence of undergraduate occupational therapy students in Queensland, Australia.
Results:  Two hundred and ninety-three students completed the Cultural Awareness Questionnaire. The findings indicated that the majority of students have a positive attitude towards cultural differences and influences on occupational therapy services. Students also recognised the importance of cultural awareness and highlighted the need for increased incorporation of cultural information and experience throughout the undergraduate course.
Conclusion:  The implications of this study are discussed with reference to the future academic planning of culturally sensitive occupational therapy course and fieldwork experiences.     

Learning preferences, values, and student satisfaction

This study sought to determine the relative importance of values and learning preferences for educational satisfaction and to examine differences in value and learning preferences among undergraduate and graduate occupational therapy students and undergraduate physical therapy students. Although all three groups conformed to a profile of preferring teacher-structured, concrete, interpersonal learning, the graduate occupational therapy students appeared to give greater emphasis to universal social values and to have a stronger preference for abstract learning than both groups of undergraduates. The undergraduates expressed significantly greater satisfaction with their education than the graduate occupational therapy students; for each of the three groups educational satisfaction correlated with a different set of values or learning preferences.     

新冠肺炎疫情期间高中生抑郁及自学能力与父母教养方式的关系

  目的  探讨新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情控制期高中生抑郁症状与自学能力及父母教养方式的关系,为开展青少年心理健康和学习能力的家庭干预提供参考。  方法  2020年2月,采用分层整群抽样方法,选取皖中、皖南及皖北2 893名高中生为研究对象,通过问卷星对学生开展抑郁症状、自学能力及父母教养方式等内容的在线调查。  结果  新冠肺炎疫情居家隔离期间,高中生抑郁症状检出率为38.9%。有抑郁症状高中生的父母情感理解与温暖因子评分较低,其余各因子评分相对较高,除父母偏爱被试因子外,各因子比较差异均有统计学意义(P值均 < 0.01)。自学能力较低学生的父母情感理解与温暖、父母偏爱被试及父亲过度保护因子评分均较低,父母惩罚与严厉、拒绝与否认因子评分较高(P值均 < 0.05)。Ordinal回归分析显示,父母情感理解与温暖(OR_父亲=0.95,OR_母亲=0.95)和父亲过分干涉(OR=0.95)评分与高中生抑郁症状及自学能力低下呈负相关,父亲拒绝与否认(OR=1.07)与父亲过度保护(OR=1.06)评分与高中生抑郁症状及自学能力低下呈正相关(P值均 < 0.05)。  结论  高中生抑郁症状及学习能力与父母教养方式相关联,尤以与情感理解与温暖因子及父亲教养方式关联更为明显。     

Learning preferences of medical students

Summary. Learning styles and preferred learning approaches are believed to have an influence on student learning. This study investigated the learning preferences of first-, second- and fourth-year medical students as well as explored differences in learning preferences from first- to fourth-year students. In June 1992, 95 students were administered the learning preferences inventory (LPI) designed by Rezler at the United Arab Emirates University. Analysis of variance ( anova ) was used to test the significance of the differences of the six LPI mean scores on Abstract/Concrete, Teacher-structured/Student-structured, and Individual/Interpersonal categories across the academic year and sex. The two predominant preferences were concrete and teacher-centred. Results of this study showed students preferred teacher-structured learning experiences dealing with concrete and applied tasks, rather than abstract tasks.     

Do learning style and learning environment affect learning outcome?

This study compared learning outcomes of students with different learning styles, as identified by the Kolb Learning Style Inventory indicators, in a traditional in-class environment with those taking the same course via distance education. The above-average scores were evenly distributed, 47% of the in-class group and 43% of the distance group. For three of the four learning styles, there was no relationship to learning outcome or environment. The Diverger group did show a relationship with above-average scores in the distance group (83%). The findings support that the classroom or distance environment did not influence learning outcome. Learning style did not appear to affect learning outcome in either group, except that the Diverger learning style may have a positive relationship to learning in the distance environment.     

The impact of clerkships on students’ specialty preferences: what do undergraduates learn for their profession?

Objective  Clinical experiences and gender have been shown to influence medical students' specialty choices. It remains unclear, however, which aspects of experiences make students favour some specialties and reject others. This study aimed to clarify the effects of clerkships on specialty choice and to identify explanatory factors.
Methods  We carried out a longitudinal cohort study to collect data on career preferences and attitudes towards future careers among 3 cohorts of students before and after clerkships in surgery ( n  = 200), internal medicine ( n  = 277) and general practice ( n  = 184). Regression analyses were performed to identify the determinants of career choice and the role of gender.
Results  Exposure to clinical settings encourages students to opt for a career in the corresponding specialty. Men were more stimulated than women by the general practice clerkship. Gender had no clear role as a predictor of career preference. The major predictor of career choice in all 3 specialties was positive evaluation of work-intrinsic factors. A preference for working with acute patients and technology-oriented work, prestige orientation and insignificance of a controllable lifestyle were determinants of a preference for surgery. Students with a preference for general practice had almost opposite preferences. Those who chose internal medicine favoured a controllable lifestyle.
Discussion  Factors other than gender appear to drive specialty decisions. Work content, type of patients and lifestyle options play major roles. Consequently, along with teaching about the practice of medicine, the matching of specialty preferences with reality is an essential outcome of clerkships.     

Time spent on clerkship activities by students in relation to their perceptions of learning environment quality

Context  Students' perceptions of their learning environment are of great importance to their learning process. In this study we assessed the time allocated by students to clerkship activities and the relationship between students' allocations of time and their perceptions of the quality of their clinical learning environment.
Methods  Participants were 133 undergraduate students from eight hospitals taking part in four clerkship rotations. All students recorded the time they spent on eight clerkship activities over 2 weeks and completed the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM). Partial correlation analyses were undertaken to examine the relationship between the amount of time students spent on each activity and their PHEEM scores.
Results  Students spent nearly 8 hours a day on clerkship activities. Most time was spent on observing doctors (40%), followed by participating in consultations without direct supervision (12%). The time students spent on observing doctors ( r  = 0.206, P  < 0.05) and in consultations without direct supervision ( r  = 0.211, P  < 0.05) was significantly related to the students' PHEEM scores. There was a significant relationship at the P  < 0.10 level between the time spent on directly supervised activities and students' PHEEM scores ( r  = 0.165, P  < 0.10).
Conclusions  The results suggest that the time spent on activities involving direct patient contact is positively related to students' perceptions of the quality of their learning environment. None of the activities were significantly negatively related to the students' perceptions of their clinical learning environment. Future research should examine the optimal time allocations required to enhance the perceived quality of the clinical learning environment.     

Validity of index of learning styles scores: multitrait-multimethod comparison with three cognitive/learning style instruments

Cognitive and learning styles research is limited by the lack of evidence supporting valid interpretations of style assessment scores. We sought evidence to support the validity of scores from 4 instruments: the Index of Learning Styles (ILS); the Learning Style Inventory (LSI); the Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA), and the Learning Style Type Indicator (LSTI). The ILS assesses 4 domains: sensing-intuitive (SensInt), active-reflective (ActRefl), sequential-global (SeqGlob) and visual-verbal (VisVerb), each of which parallel a similar domain in at least 1 of the other instruments. We administered the ILS, LSI and CSA to family medicine and internal medicine residents and Year 1 and 3 medical students and applied the multitrait-multimethod matrix to evaluate convergence and discrimination. After 3 months participants repeated the ILS and completed the LSTI. A total of 89 residents and medical students participated. Multitrait-multimethod analysis showed evidence of both convergence and discrimination for ActRefl (ILS, LSI and LSTI) and SensInt (ILS and LSTI) scores. ILS SeqGlob and SensInt scores showed unanticipated correlation. No other domains met the criteria for convergence or discrimination. Test-retest reliabilities for ILS scores were 0.856 for SensInt, 0.809 for ActRefl, 0.703 for SeqGlob and 0.684 for VisVerb. Cronbach's alpha values were > or = 0.810 for LSI and 0.237-0.758 for LSTI. At least 9 participants misinterpreted the LSI instructions. These data support the validity of ILS active-reflective and sensing-intuitive scores, LSI active-reflective scores and LSTI sensing-intuitive scores for determining learning styles in this population. Cognitive style and learning style scores may not be interchangeable, even for constructs with similar definitions.     

The effect of testing on skills learning

Objectives  In addition to the extrinsic effects of assessment and examinations on students' study habits, testing can have an intrinsic effect on the memory of studied material. Whether this testing effect also applies to skills learning is not known. However, this is especially interesting in view of the need to maximise learning outcomes from costly simulation-based courses. This study was conducted to determine whether testing as the final activity in a skills course increases learning outcome compared with an equal amount of time spent practising the skill.
Methods  We carried out a prospective, controlled, randomised, single-blind, post-test-only intervention study, preceded by a similar pre- and post-test pilot study in order to make a power calculation. A total of 140 medical students participating in a mandatory 4-hour in-hospital resuscitation course in the seventh semester were randomised to either the intervention or control group and were invited to participate in an assessment of learning outcome. The intervention course included 3.5 hours of instruction and training followed by 30 minutes of testing. The control course included 4 hours of instruction and training. Participant learning outcomes were assessed 2 weeks after the course in a simulated scenario using a checklist. Total assessment scores were compared between the two groups.
Results  Overall, 81 of the 140 students volunteered to participate. Learning outcomes were significantly higher in the intervention group ( n  = 41; mean score 82.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 79.4–86.2) compared with the control group ( n  = 40; mean score 73.3%, 95% CI 70.5–76.1) ( P  < 0.001). Effect size was 0.93.
Conclusions  Testing as a final activity in a resuscitation skills course for medical students increases learning outcome compared with spending an equal amount of time practising the skills.     

Profile of paediatric occupational therapy practice in Australia

Background:  The purpose of the present study was to describe a profile of Australian paediatric occupational therapy practice in terms of theories, assessments and interventions used with the most frequently seen client groups.
Methods:  An ex post facto survey design was utilised. A purpose-designed survey was mailed to 600 occupational therapists identified by OT Australia as working in paediatrics.
Results:  The response rate was 55% ( n =  330). Respondents in the sample worked chiefly with children with developmental delays, learning disabilities, neurological impairments, and infants/toddlers. Theoretical models used by paediatric clinicians that were common to the most frequently seen client groups focused on sensory integration/multisensory approaches, occupational performance, and client-centred practice. Assessment tools most frequently used were the Test of Visual Motor Integration, Sensory Profile, Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Handwriting Speed Test, and Motor-Free Visual Perception Test. The most often used treatment methods across the four most frequently seen client groups were parent/caregiver education, sensory integration/stimulation techniques, and managing activities of daily living.
Conclusions:  Paediatric occupational therapists appeared to draw on a range of theoretical models. With the exception of the Sensory Profile, the assessment and treatment methods most frequently used are not congruent with the most commonly used theoretical models. It is critical that the assessment and treatment methods used are conceptually consistent with the theoretical models that guide practice. Occupational therapists need to examine the evidence and determine whether their clinical practice is grounded in the best contemporary theoretical models, assessments and interventions.