Education Commons^™

Occupational Therapy Educators’ Self-Efficacy To Teach In A Blended Curriculum, Inti A. Marazita, Amy Adcock, Mary Shotwell

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

Educational trends have influenced occupational therapy education as evidenced by the adoption of new teaching methods such as blended learning. Blended learning is a combination of both synchronous and asynchronous learning that occurs online as well as portions of the learning occurring in a brick-and-mortar. As more occupational therapy programs design their curriculum to include blended learning, it is essential to understand occupational therapy educators' self-efficacy related to their skills and capabilities to teach in such an innovative format. Little is known regarding occupational therapy educators' self-efficacy to teach in a blended curriculum. This qualitative study aimed to examine the …

Training And Instruction Of Learning And Study Strategies Improve Academic Performance In Rehabilitation Students, Evan M. Pucillo, Gabriela Perez

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Prior study has demonstrated that certain learning strategies can be improved with training and instruction. As a result, downstream academic success may be potentiated. However, it is unclear if instructional intervention can influence academic outcomes among rehabilitation students. The purpose of this study was to compare changes in grade point average (GPA) after exposure to a set of standardized self-paced training modules on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) in Physical therapy (PT) and Occupational therapy (OT) students. Methods: A causal-comparative design was used, and a multi-center convenience sample collected N=75 entry-level PT and OT students [PT: 41(55%); …

Metacognition And Self-Regulation Influence Academic Performance In Occupational And Physical Therapy Students, Evan M. Pucillo, Gabriela Perez

Journal of Occupational Therapy Education

An understanding of student learning strategies is an important component of supporting academic success and avoiding difficulty. Prior inquiry has demonstrated certain learning strategies are more closely related to academic performance than others. The purpose of this study was to describe predictive relationships between the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI), Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and grade point average (GPA) in occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) programs. A multi-center convenience sample of N=75(100%) entry-level students [OT: 34(45%); PT: 41(55%)] was included from Florida 32(42.7%), California 21(28%), and Texas 22(29.3%). A hierarchical linear regression analysis demonstrated the combination of …

Conditions In Which A Flipped Classroom Can Successfully Be Implemented: A Traditional Literature Review, Cassandra Young

Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse International Students in Open or Online Learning Environments: A Research Symposium

We live in a world where one size does not fit all. Educational settings and learning environments continue to change and educators need to adapt to these changes. A flipped classroom is one approach that can help support educators to adapt to these educational changes. The purpose of a flipped classroom is to maximize face-to-face time with teachers and students in class, so that when students are in the classroom, teachers and students spend their time applying higher-level thinking, learning, and application of knowledge. Through an extensive review of the literature, qualitative data was collected from peer-reviewed articles gathering patterns. …

A Case Study Comparing Student Experiences And Success In An Undergraduate Mathematics Course Offered Through Online, Blended, And Face-To-Face Instruction, Virginia L. Thompson, Yonghong L. Mcdowell

Publications and Research

A research study was conducted at an undergraduate college, comparing student experiences and successes in a mathematics course offered fully online, blended and face-to-face. In online courses, students enjoy the flexibility of learning at their own pace, not having to travel to school, as well as having consistent access to courses through a web browser. However, such conveniences do not automatically produce positive results. Some students lack the discipline, enthusiasm and sometimes feel socially isolated from their peers when learning online. Despite these challenges, online courses continue to be developed in response to the demand for online learning opportunities. However, …

Teaching Communication Skills To Medical And Pharmacy Students Through A Blended Learning Course, Rick Hess, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Reid Blackwelder, Daniel Rose, Nasar Ansari, Tandy Branham

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Objective. To evaluate the impact of an interprofessional blended learning course on medical and pharmacy students’ patient-centered interpersonal communication skills and to compare precourse and postcourse communication skills across first-year medical and second-year pharmacy student cohorts.

Methods. Students completed ten 1-hour online modules and participated in five 3-hour group sessions over one semester. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were administered before and after the course and were evaluated using the validated Common Ground Instrument. Nonparametric statistical tests were used to examine pre/postcourse domain scores within and across professions.

Results. Performance in all communication skill domains increased significantly for all students. …

Lessons Learned From A Faculty-Led Project: Using Learning Analytics For Course Design, Matt Farrell

Faculty & Staff Publications - Language & Liberal Studies

This showcase describes a project that used student activity data from the Learning Management System (LMS) to inform course design decisions in a blended learning context. Two blended courses were offered in the General Education curriculum at a community college, with each course employing a different design configuration. Student activity was tracked and compared across both classes to determine whether one design resulted in more engagement with the online course materials. The two courses shared similar subject matter, and were taught by the same instructor. Initial results indicated that student engagement and performance were higher in the frontloaded configuration compared …

Blended Learning - What Practitioners Can Learn From Moocs, Aine Whelan, Aimee Byrne, Keith Colton, Patrick Crean, Conor Mcgarrigle

Practitioner Research Projects

The rapid increase in the use of information technologies in third level education is changing the way courses are provided. Online multimedia have helped reduce the difficulties teachers face with a diversity of student profiles and a large number of students in a classroom. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) present an extreme with regard to student groups in relation to size and diversity and, therefore, many techniques and methods of overcoming the difficulties that this can present have been developed. Much of these methods can apply to online courses generally and to blended teaching environments. This study identifies four key …

Embedding A Blended Learning Approach From First Year, Suzanne Doyle, Michael Moore, Lesley Murphy, Gavin Sewell

Practitioner Research Projects

As DIT strives to enhance the transition of students into third level education, a number of priority areas were identified as part of the ongoing STEER (Student Transition, Expectations, Engagement, Retention) initiative. Ultimately the onus is on DIT to enable students to become self-directed learners. Blended learning is positioned as a solution to aid in this transition. It has been described as "the combination of traditional face-to-face teaching methods with authentic online learning activities" (Davies & Fill, 2007, p. 817). However, it is not without risk to assume that first year students have a natural affinity with blended approaches, as …

Teaching Communication Skills To Medical And Pharmacy Students Through A Blended Learning Course, Rick Hess, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Reid Blackwelder, Daniel Rose, Nasar Ansari, Tandy Branham

ETSU Faculty Works

Objective. To evaluate the impact of an interprofessional blended learning course on medical and pharmacy students’ patient-centered interpersonal communication skills and to compare precourse and postcourse communication skills across first-year medical and second-year pharmacy student cohorts.

Methods. Students completed ten 1-hour online modules and participated in five 3-hour group sessions over one semester. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were administered before and after the course and were evaluated using the validated Common Ground Instrument. Nonparametric statistical tests were used to examine pre/postcourse domain scores within and across professions.

Results. Performance in all communication skill domains increased significantly for all students. …

Promoting Online Students’ Engagement And Learning In Science And Sustainability Preservice Teacher Education, Louisa Tomas, Michelle Lasen, Ellen Field, Keith Skamp

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

At James Cook University, a core first-year subject within the Bachelor of Education, Foundations of Sustainability in Education (FSE), sees students investigate the underlying science and complexity of socioecological challenges through inquiry, place-based learning, experimentation and consideration of classroom practice. Given that this subject is delivered across modes, a blended learning approach that encompasses an innovative use of learning technologies and careful consideration of pedagogy provides opportunity for both on-campus and online students to engage in active, learner-centred, collaborative, experiential and praxis-oriented learning experiences (Wals & Jickling, 2002). In this paper, we draw upon Pittaway’s (2012) engagement framework and Herrington, …

Navigating Large Foundational Classes: Providing Scalable Infrastructure For Next Generation Blended Learning Classrooms To Enhance Student Learning Outcomes, Access And Choice, Nick Baker

Centre for Teaching and Learning Reports

Universities across the Province and around the world are struggling to meet the challenges of supporting a rapidly expanding, diverse, digitally literate, and time - poor student population who view education as a service for which they are paying (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004). As class sizes continue to grow and public funds available for expansion of physical campuses decline, there is an urgent need for universities to seek innovative and efficient approaches to utilisation of their existing spaces, leveraging technological and pedagogical advances to continue to provide high quality learning experiences for increasing numbers of students (Bates and Sangra, 2011; …

Shared Modular Course Development: A Feasibility Study, Alan W. Wright, Beverley Hamilton, Joy Mighty, Elaine Scharfe, Bill Muirhead, Susan Vail

Centre for Teaching and Learning Reports

This project evaluated the viability of shared course development (SCD) and identified the necessary baseline mechanisms, principles, policies, and procedures for future joint course development collaborations.

Although collaborative course design is still relatively new in Ontario, our institutionally-based project teams identified and researched a number of successful examples from Australia, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

These successful models demonstrated the transformative possibilities of blended learning, expanded course variety, maintained or enhanced the breadth of course offerings, and reduced institution-specific development costs while maintaining delivery autonomy. They also focused on enhancing student learning and produced …