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

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.

Novice students navigating the clinical environment in an early medical clerkship

“…More broadly, the interaction of psychological and environmental factors must be studied in order to understand learning and student achievement. 15 Studies in this area of thinking include, for example, a recent interviewbased study showing that novice students require both junior doctors and their own student peers to actively help them navigate and understand their new learning environment. 16 This new approach to the dynamic interaction of students with the clinical environment is reflected in the experience-based learning model, particularly in the review and blueprint recently published by Dornan et al 8 This body of work extends the early securing of the patient in the learning triad, 17 and identifies the range of levels of student participation available in clerkships (as passive observer, active observer, active in rehearsal, and active in performance).…”

“…Others take a workplace learning perspective; for example, Sheehan et al captured how individual student learners interact with others in the workplace to fit in, get along and succeed. More broadly, the interaction of psychological and environmental factors must be studied in order to understand learning and student achievement . Studies in this area of thinking include, for example, a recent interview‐based study showing that novice students require both junior doctors and their own student peers to actively help them navigate and understand their new learning environment …”

Metacognição em Grupos de Problem-based Learning (PBL)

“…A equipe de Stefanou et al (2013) Schauber et al (2015) utilizaram uma amostra maior, 1.646 estudantes de uma tradicional Universidade de medicina de Berlim, os autores desenvolveram e aplicaram um questionário composto por dados demográficos básicos e auto relatos dos estudantes. As questões do questionário incluíram percepção do ambiente de aprendizagem, crenças de auto eficácia, efeito positivo de estudo, apoio social, indicadores de aprendizagem autorregulada, e desempenho acadêmico (avaliado por meio de testes de progresso).…”

Guest Editors’ Introduction: Special Issue on Problem-based Learning in Health Professions Education/Toward Advancement of Problem-Based Learning Research and Practice in Health Professions Education: Motivating Learners, Facilitating Processes, and Supporting with Technology

“…These constructs, on the other hand, have received much less attention in the literature on health professions education, particularly in PBL. In fact, in a recent study on PBL in medical education, Schauber, Hecht, Nouns, Kuhlmey, and Dettmer (2015) argued that the process of learning cannot be adequately understood unless environmental, social, and psychological antecedents are integrated.…”