Using Online Digital Tools and Video to Support International Problem-Based Learning

The goal of this study is to examine how to facilitate cross-cultural groups in problem-based learning (PBL) using online digital tools and videos. The PBL consisted of two video-based cases used to trigger student-learning issues about giving bad news to HIV-positive patients. Mixed groups of medical students from Canada and Hong Kong worked with facilitators from each country along with an expert facilitator. The study used AdobeConnect to support the international model through synchronous video interaction and shared applications. This study examines strategies and challenges in facilitating PBL across distance and cultures. Discourse was analyzed using both an inductive and deductive approach where the later used the Community of Inquiry coding scheme. The international context provides a way to facilitate multiple perspectives about how to communicate bad news to patients from different cultural backgrounds. In addition, we present the results of an exploratory analysis of pre and post tests using a standardized patient that demonstrate that the students’ pattern of communication showed qualitative change. Several conjectures were developed for future research

Individual differences in spatial ability: Developing technologies to increase strategy awareness and skills

Individual differences in spatial ability were explored among educational psychology and engineering students as they related to performance on a real-world spatial task known as the orthographic projection task. As expected, educators performed higher on verbal aptitude tests than engineers, and engineers performed higher on spatial aptitude tests than psychologists. A detailed cognitive task analysis revealed specific spatial strategies for solving the orthographic projection tasks. These detailed strategies were used to design a computerized learning environment called the orthographic projection tutor (OPT). Pre- and posttests of orthographic projections were administered to a treatment group and 2 control groups. The results indicated that spatial processes could be identified and taught to certain individuals. Aptitude process research can lead to prescriptive forms of adaptive technology. The connection between theory and the design of computer-based learning environments is discussed

The Frequency of Emotions and Emotion Variability in Self-regulated Learning: What Matters to Task Performance?

Emotion variability and its relationship to performance is an underexplored area of research both inside and outside the realm of medical education. We address this gap by examining the relative importance of the frequency of emotions and emotion variability that occurred in specific phases of self-regulated learning (SRL) in predicting students’ performance. Specifically, 23 medical students were recruited to complete the task of diagnosing a virtual patient in a hospital-simulated environment. Students’ facial expressions were video-recorded and were classified into basic emotions. We calculated the frequency of emotions and emotion variability at each SRL phase: forethought, performance, and self-reflection. Findings revealed that both the frequency of emotions and emotion variability influenced clinical reasoning performance, but they functioned differently in different SRL phases. Moreover, emotion variability negatively predicted performance regardless of which SRL phases it was tied to. This study helps shift the focus of research from the effect of emotions on performance to the joint effect of emotion and emotion variability, which has the potential to address the inconsistency in emotion-related research findings. Although we situate the study in the context of clinical reasoning, findings from this research inform the research of emotion in learning and instruction for other domains. Furthermore, this study lays the foundation for future advances in emotion-related study designs since the introduction of emotion variability leaves many questions unanswered and shows promise for new research directions

Reality testing for cognitive strategy research

Reviewed Works: Cognitive Strategy Research: From Basic Research to Educational Applications by Christine McCormick, Gloria Miller, Michael Pressley; Memory Development: Universal Changes and Individual Differences by Franz Weinert, Marion Perlmutter [...

Metacognition, Self Regulation, and Self-regulated Learning: A Rose by any other Name?

This commentary reviews the distinctions researchers make in defining metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning along with the methods used to explore these constructs. Bandura’s notion of reciprocal determinism (1977) is revisited in the context of situated learning, whereby interactions between the person, behavior, and environment take on new meaning when examining learning and affect in specific contexts where knowledge is constructed through interacting with all that the environment affords, be that material or human. The interaction between the mind and environment continues to be an interesting question with regard to these three constructs, and this interaction can be explored by using computers as cognitive tools. Technology-rich environments are described that provide opportunities for assessing and validating metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning with future directions for assessing co-regulation of teams of learners

Extending the Scaffolding Metaphor

A brief overview overview is provided of how the scaffolding metaphor has been defined in educational contexts. This includes a discussion of what theories guide decision-making regarding what to scaffold as well as considerations as to whom or what does the scaffolding (human teachers, peers and tutors or computer tutors or support tools designed for learning environments). The scaffolding construct intersects instruction and assessment in that instructors assess learners to determine what type or level of scaffold is sufficient to help learners reach their potential. Such assessments are dynamic and ongoing and can occur through dialogue and social interactions with or without the use of technology. Hence scaffolds are provided when and where necessary but they are also removed when evidence of learning exists. This article describes how the contributors to this issue have extended the scaffolding metaphor to open-ended technology based environments. Empirical studies are reviewed with regard to how they extend the scaffolding metaphor in terms of the theories that guide the design of scaffolds, the metrics designed to assess how scaffolding affects learning and in terms of teaching scaffolding techniques to others

Transitions and Trajectories for Studies of Expertise

The transition from student to expert professional can be accelerated when a trajectory for change is plotted and made visible to learners. Trajectories or paths toward expertise are domain specific and must first be documented and then used within instructional contexts to promote knowledge transitions. This article describes how models of expertise can serve to help students attain higher levels of competence