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The role of environmental and individual characteristics in the development of student achievement: a comparison between a traditional and a problem-based-learning curriculum

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Abstract

In medical education, the effect of the educational environment on student achievement has primarily been investigated in comparisons between traditional and problem-based learning (PBL) curricula. As many of these studies have reached no clear conclusions on the superiority of the PBL approach, the effect of curricular reform on student performance remains an issue. We employed a theoretical framework that integrates antecedents of student achievement from various psychosocial domains to examine how students interact with their curricular environment. In a longitudinal study with N = 1,646 participants, we assessed students in a traditional and a PBL-centered curriculum. The measures administered included students’ perception of the learning environment, self-efficacy beliefs, positive study-related affect, social support, indicators of self-regulated learning, and academic achievement assessed through progress tests. We compared the relations between these characteristics in the two curricular environments. The results are two-fold. First, substantial relations of various psychosocial domains and their associations with achievement were identified. Second, our analyses indicated that there are no substantial differences between traditional and PBL-based curricula concerning the relational structure of psychosocial variables and achievement. Drawing definite conclusions on the role of curricular-level interventions in the development of student’s academic achievement is constrained by the quasi-experimental design as wells as the selection of variables included. However, in the specific context described here, our results may still support the view of student activity as the key ingredient in the acquisition of achievement and performance.

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Acknowledgments

The work of Stefan K. Schauber was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the project “Competence Acquisition and Learning Trajectories in Medical Training” (Grant 01JG1055).

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Appendix: Example Items

Appendix: Example Items

Example item from the clinical knowledge subset

Three hours after carrying a 130 kg washing machine, a 24-year old patient (180 cm, 60 kg) feels an intense pain in the right side of his chest. The initial pain abates after only a few minutes but a light feeling of pressure in the right half of the thorax develops, with pain associated with breathing that increases over time. Eventually an emergency doctor is notified. He finds slight shortness of breath, reduced breathing sounds and percussive response on the right side, a heart rate of 125/min, blood pressure of 120/80 mmHg and a blood oxygen saturation level of 95 % (under normal conditions).

What working diagnosis do you suggest?

  1. a)

    lung embolism

  2. b)

    heart attack

  3. c)

    pneumonia

  4. d)

    pleural effusion

  5. e)

    pneumothorax

Organ system: the respiratory tract

Medical discipline: anaesthesiology, emergency and intensive care medicine

Correct answer: e

Example item from the biomedical knowledge subset

Which of the following hormones is integral in compensating for a considerable drop in blood volume?

  1. a)

    adrenaline

  2. b)

    aldosterone

  3. c)

    thyroxine

  4. d)

    nitric oxide

Organ system: hormones, metabolism

Medical discipline: physiology, physics

Correct answer: b

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Schauber, S.K., Hecht, M., Nouns, Z.M. et al. The role of environmental and individual characteristics in the development of student achievement: a comparison between a traditional and a problem-based-learning curriculum. Adv in Health Sci Educ 20, 1033–1052 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-015-9584-2

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