Evaluation of Clinical Growth and Nursing Student Motivation in the Traditional Clinical Learning Environment

Evaluation of students in the traditional clinical learning environment is difficult. There remains a lack of standard guidelines to evaluate students using valid and reliable instruments as well as inconsistent processes with lack of interrater reliability standards between educators. A need exists for fair and consistent evaluation of nursing students. When the clinical educator uses a standard evaluation process and understands students’ motivation for learning, adaptations in teaching strategies and education on self-regulatory strategies can be implemented to enhance learning and measure clinical growth. This research study used a prospective, correlational, pre-test/post-test design to examine the relationship between student motivation and clinical growth and to measure the concept of clinical growth. Nonprobability sampling with multisite, convenience samples was used. Participants came from three schools of nursing in a large Midwestern city. The schools had similar, traditional 8-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree programs that included 7th and 8th semester students enrolled in a clinical course that included a minimum of 80 hours. Training occurred for clinical educators on the use of the Creighton Competency Evaluation Instrument (CCEI) before data collection occurred for each school. The findings from the study indicate a statistically significant difference in both educator assessment of the students using the CCEI scores from Time 1(M = .52, SD = .25) to Time 2 (M = .84, SD = .16), t(71) = -13.28, p \u3c .001 and student self-assessment CCEI scores from Time 1 (M = .72, SD = .21) to Time 2 (M = .90, SD = .12), t(71) = -7.90, p \u3c .001. The expectancy and value components of motivation were not significantly related to students\u27 clinical growth when assessed by educators or students. However, when specific components of motivation were examined, task value was negatively associated with both student and educator change scores and intrinsic goal orientation was significantly associated with educator change scores. The relationship between educator and student clinical growth scores was not statistically significant indicating a small, negative correlation, r = -.11, n = 72, p = .34. The findings from this study suggest that using a standard process for assessment in the traditional clinical learning environment with the CCEI is fair and objective for students. Further exploration of motivation relating to clinical growth is warranted

Undergraduates' interpretation on WhatsApp smiley emoji

Undergraduate students, who are digital native, are keen on using emoji (smileys and ideograms) frequently to express themselves emotionally in their digital communication such as WhatsApp Messenger. Nevertheless, sometimes, they got into misunderstanding due to the different emoji's interpretation between the sender and the recipient. Research investigating emoji is still relatively new and this study discusses the diverse interpretations of WhatsApp emoji specifically the smileys among Malaysian undergraduates in a public university. This study attempted to investigate 210 undergraduates' interpretations of 75 smiley (face-like) meanings in WhatsApp Messenger. The respondents were asked to give feedback in self-administrated survey questionnaire to gather information on their interpretation of the smileys used in WhatsApp. A descriptive analysis was conducted on the students' interpretations and the findings disclosed that although the students interpreted a few smileys correctly, they did not know the intended meaning of most of the smileys correctly. The results of this study suggested that the students should know the meaning of the smiley/ emoji used in their digital conversation to able to understand its intended use and to avoid miscommunication in their digital communication. For WhatsApp users, the findings will be beneficial to emphasize the need to understand the emoji's intended meaning for future tolerant and wiser use

The SLS-Berlin: Validation of a German Computer-Based Screening Test to Measure Reading Proficiency in Early and Late Adulthood

Reading proficiency, i.e., successfully integrating early word-based information and utilizing this information in later processes of sentence and text comprehension, and its assessment is subject to extensive research. However, screening tests for German adults across the life span are basically non-existent. Therefore, the present article introduces a standardized computerized sentence-based screening measure for German adult readers to assess reading proficiency including norm data from 2,148 participants covering an age range from 16 to 88 years. The test was developed in accordance with the children’s version of the Salzburger LeseScreening (SLS, Wimmer and Mayringer, 2014). The SLS-Berlin has a high reliability and can easily be implemented in any research setting using German language. We present a detailed description of the test and report the distribution of SLS-Berlin scores for the norm sample as well as for two subsamples of younger (below 60 years) and older adults (60 and older). For all three samples, we conducted regression analyses to investigate the relationship between sentence characteristics and SLS-Berlin scores. In a second validation study, SLS-Berlin scores were compared with two (pseudo)word reading tests, a test measuring attention and processing speed and eye-movements recorded during expository text reading. Our results confirm the SLS-Berlin’s sensitivity to capture early word decoding and later text related comprehension processes. The test distinguished very well between skilled and less skilled readers and also within less skilled readers and is therefore a powerful and efficient screening test for German adults to assess interindividual levels of reading proficiency

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThis dissertation examines the efficacy of peer tutor training in adapted physical education (APE). A peer tutor evaluation form was created to assess the skills of untrained peer tutors (n = 12). Once skills were assessed, a peer tutor training protocol was created. The protocol was implemented in a peer tutor training program. After peer tutors were trained, they participated in an APE peer tutor program for students with severe disabilities in elementary school (K-6). This study measured the effects of trained and untrained peer tutors on motor performance, number of steps. Peer tutor attitudes were also evaluated. The study employed a single-subject multiple baseline design with 24 participants (12 students with severe disabilities, 12 students from general population) in a public elementary school. The acquisition of motor skills was determined using the TGMD-2; exchange of verbal information was assessed using the peer tutor evaluation form, steps were counted for the entire class time using pedometers. Results of this study showed trained peer tutors had a positive effect on tutee motor skill acquisition as represented by statistically significant t-test results, and step counts as represented by level change in multiple baseline data. Peer tutor performance was also effected by training as illustrated by substantial level change and minimal overlap in multiple baseline data. Change in peer tutor attitude was also statistically significant as represented by a Wilcoxson signed rank test

The depression scale for severe disability: a diagnostic tool for the assessment of depression in adults with severe and profound intellectual disabilities

The Depression Scale for Severe Disability(DEPRESSED) is a clinically and empirically derived informant-report behavioral rating scale designed to measure depression in persons with severe and profound intellectual disabilities by assessing behavioral symptoms of depression. Behavioral symptoms of depression and item and factor analyses were used to construct the scale resulting in a 20-item four-factor solution producing factors that were labeled Sleep (F1), Mood (F2), Skills (F3), and Motor (F4). The DEPRESSED identified the core symptoms of depression including mood, anhedonia, sleep, appetite, fatigue, and psychomotor agitation and retardation. Internal consistency, interrater and test-retest reliability of the DEPRESSED scale were excellent. The DEPRESSED also demonstrated face and factorial validity and excellent construct and convergent validity with the DASH-II. Based on a preliminary psychometric evaluation, the DEPRESSED appears to be a reliable and valid measure for screening depression in individuals with severe and profound intellectual disabilities

Information Technology Enabled Persuasion: An Experimental Investigation of the Role of Communication Channel, Strategy and Affect

With advances in information and communication technologies (ICT), organizations of various forms now deploy an increasing number of ICT-enabled persuasive systems in several domains. Traditional computer-mediated communication (CMC) theories mainly focus on the effectiveness of media in the synchronous/asynchronous spectrum for effectively matching medium with communication task. The contemporary communication environment is rich with asynchronous channels such as email, Web, and text messaging, which makes it important to go beyond synchronicity and determine the nuances among various asynchronous channels. No rigorous research has compared the effectiveness of these channels in the persuasive systems domain where organizations use technology to persuade users to modify their behavior in a direction that they mutually agree to be desirable. In this paper, we study the effectiveness of CMC and the strategy used to frame the persuasive message. We explore persuasive strategies of praising, reminding, suggesting, and rewarding for health behavior and promotion. We model user experience as a mediator between channel strategy combinations and persuasive effectiveness. Through controlled user studies, we compared sixteen combinations of communication channel and persuasive strategy with or without emoticons. We found that channel/strategy combinations affect persuasive effectiveness (mediated by user experience) in varying degrees. Our findings contribute to the body of CMC and persuasive system knowledge and have practical implications for online advertising, health promotion, and persuasive technology design