Sofie M. M. Loyens

Problem-Based Learning is Compatible with Human Cognitive Architecture: Commentary on Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006)

Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) suggest that unguided or minimally guided instructional approaches are less effective and efficient for novices than guided instructional approaches because they ignore the structures that constitute human cognitive architecture. While we concur with the authors on this point, we do not agree to their equation of problem-based learning with minimally guided instruction. In this commentary, we argue that problem-based learning is an instructional approach that allows for flexible adaptation of guidance, and that, contrary to Kirschner et al.s conclusions, its underlying principles are very well compatible with the manner in which our cognitive structures are organized.

The role of encapsulated knowledge in clinical case representations of medical students and family doctors

Background  Previous studies on the development of medical expertise, predominantly using measures of free recall and pathophysiological explanations, have shown ambiguous results concerning the relationship between expertise level and encapsulated knowledge.

Students' Conceptions of Distinct Constructivist Assumptions.

The present studies were conducted to investigate students’ conceptions of distinct constructivist assumptions. To that end, a questionnaire was developed containing statements about four constructivist assumptions: The importance of knowledge construction, cooperative learning, self-regulation, and the use of authentic problems together with self-perceived inability to learn and motivation to learn. The studies demonstrate that the questionnaire was able to unearth students’ conceptions of the distinctiveness of constructivist assumptions. Students were able to identify the six factors underlying the questionnaire, as indicated by the fit of the hypothesized model. The test for measurement invariance showed that factor loadings were equivalent across groups and that the questionnaire’s underlying factor structure gave evidence of cross-validation. Testing alternative models with one and three latent factors resulted in poor model fits, supporting the questionnaire’s latent factor structure. The questionnaire developed appeared an adequate instrument to investigate students’ conceptions of constructivist assumptions of learning and students acknowledge the importance of these assumptions as distinct influences on their learning process.RésuméLes études en question ont été menées afin d’examiner les conceptions des étudiants quant aux principes constructivistes. Le questionnaire, mis au point a cette fin, contient quatre piliers de conceptions constructivistes: l’importance de la construction cognitive, l’apprentissage cooper-off, l’autorégulation, et l’emploi de problèmes authentiques conjointement avec l’incertitude de l’apprentissage et la motivation d’étudier. Ces études démontrent que le questionnaire était capable de mettre en évidence les conceptions que se faisaient les étudiants a propos du caractère distinctif des principes constructifs. Les étudiants étaient capables d’identifier les six facteurs sous-jacents au questionnaire, comme la forme du modèle d’hypothèses l’indique. Le test visant à mesurer la constance a révélé que les analyses factorielles (le poids des facteurs) étaient équivalentes entre les groupes et que la structure des facteurs implicite du questionnaire a mis en évidence la validation croisée. Le modèle a six facteurs a été mis a l’épreuve vis-à-vis des modèles d’un facteur versus trois facteurs. Les analyses factorielles confirment que le modèle a six facteurs révèle la solution la plus optimale et que les autres modèles révèlent des solutions sub-optimales.Apparentement, le question naire permet de développer un instrument utile pour étudier la conception qu’ont les étudiants a propos des principes constructivistes de l’apprentissage. De même, les étudiants comprennent l’importance de ces suppositions en les considérants comme des influences directes de leur processus d’apprentissage.

The Role of Biomedical Knowledge in Clinical Reasoning: A Lexical Decision Study

Purpose To investigate the role of biomedical and diagnostic inferences in clinical reasoning of advanced medical students and experienced family physicians using a lexical decision task. Method In 2002, 15 family physicians and 20 fourth-year medical students at Maastricht University medical school in The Netherlands were instructed to carefully study 60 short clinical texts consisting of signs and symptoms associated with a particular disease. Participants read the texts on a computer screen and responded using a computer keyboard. Each text was followed by a target item (i.e., biomedical item, diagnostic item, or a nonword). Participants had to decide as quickly and accurately as possible whether the presented target item was a word or a nonword. For both groups, mean response time and mean error rate for all levels of item type were analyzed. Results Findings indicate that both physicians and medical students judged diagnostic target items faster and more accurately than biomedical target items. However, physicians were considerably faster than were students on judging biomedical and diagnostic target items. Conclusions These findings are largely in line with knowledge encapsulation in that biomedical knowledge still plays a prominent role in the physician’s clinical reasoning.

Clinical case processing by medical experts and subexperts.

Abstract Medical specialists, diagnosing cases within their domain of expertise, do not rely on intentional causal reasoning, in which they use explicit principles or rules of their domain. Rather, their reasoning has become an automatic process using schema-based knowledge. However, the difference between diagnoses made by medical specialists and diagnoses made by nonspecialists (i.e., subexperts) is unclear. In the present study, cardiologists (the experts), pulmonologists (the subexperts), and advanced medical students evaluated two clinical cases within the domain of cardiology. The cases were divided into four components (i.e., patients history, physical examination, laboratory data, and additional findings) that were sequentially presented. The task was to study, diagnose, and recall the segmented clinical case description. It was expected that the subexperts and students, as a result of their lack of specific expertise, would focus on different case components than the experts would. However, results indicated that the main difference between experts and subexperts (and to a lesser extent, students) was not a difference in emphasis on case components, but the speed and accuracy of processing these case components.

Deep and surface learning in problem-based learning: a review of the literature

In problem-based learning (PBL), implemented worldwide, students learn by discussing professionally relevant problems enhancing application and integration of knowledge, which is assumed to encourage students towards a deep learning approach in which students are intrinsically interested and try to understand what is being studied. This review investigates: (1) the effects of PBL on students’ deep and surface approaches to learning, (2) whether and why these effects do differ across (a) the context of the learning environment (single vs. curriculum wide implementation), and (b) study quality. Studies were searched dealing with PBL and students’ approaches to learning. Twenty-one studies were included. The results indicate that PBL does enhance deep learning with a small positive average effect size of .11 and a positive effect in eleven of the 21 studies. Four studies show a decrease in deep learning and six studies show no effect. PBL does not seem to have an effect on surface learning as indicated by a very small average effect size (.08) and eleven studies showing no increase in the surface approach. Six studies demonstrate a decrease and four an increase in surface learning. It is concluded that PBL does seem to enhance deep learning and has little effect on surface learning, although more longitudinal research using high quality measurement instruments is needed to support this conclusion with stronger evidence. Differences cannot be explained by the study quality but a curriculum wide implementation of PBL has a more positive impact on the deep approach (effect size .18) compared to an implementation within a single course (effect size of −.05). PBL is assumed to enhance active learning and students’ intrinsic motivation, which enhances deep learning. A high perceived workload and assessment that is perceived as not rewarding deep learning are assumed to enhance surface learning.

Comparing the effects of worked examples and modeling examples on learning

Two experiments examined how the design of examples affects learning.Written text+picture, auditory text+picture, and demonstration examples were compared.Adolescents learned how to solve probability calculation problems from these examples.Results showed that all examples were equally effective and efficient for learning.Presence of human models did not influence self-efficacy or perceived competence. Example-based learning is an effective instructional strategy for students with low prior knowledge, and is increasingly being used in online learning environments. However, examples can take many different forms and little is known about whether and how form affects learning outcomes. Therefore, this study investigated whether worked examples and modeling examples with and without a visible model would be equally effective in fostering learning of a problem-solving task. In Experiment 1, secondary education students (N=78) learned how to solve a probability calculation problem by watching two videos that, depending on the assigned condition, provided worked examples (written text, pictures of problem states), modeling examples with a visible model (spoken text, a demonstration of the task), or modeling examples without a visible model (spoken text, pictures of problem states). Results showed that all three conditions were equally effective at fostering learning, near transfer, effort reduction, self-efficacy, and perceived competence. Experiment 2 (N=134) replicated these results with a younger student population that only studied one example. These findings suggest that the format of examples does not affect learning outcomes for this task; future research should investigate whether this would generalize to other problem-solving tasks.

ZAPs: Using Interactive Programs for Learning Psychology.

ZAPs are short, self-contained computer programs that encourage students to experience psychological phenomena in a vivid, self-explanatory way, and that are meant to evoke enthusiasm about psychological topics. ZAPs were designed according to principles that originate from experiential and discovery learning theories. The interactive approach that is offered invites students to engage in subject matter through exploration, experience, and discovery of psychology. In an empirical study the effectiveness of different ZAPs for teaching psychology was examined. A group of students who worked with complete ZAPs was compared to a control group who worked with a ZAP from which the “activity” component was removed. Posttest results showed that the control group outperformed the experiment group. However, on a retention test the differences between the groups disappeared. The results show that, in the long run, relatively good learning effects may be expected from working with ZAPs.

Effects of reviewing routine practices on learning outcomes in continuing education

Conventional continuing medical education (CME) has been shown to have modest effects on doctor performance. New educational approaches based on the review of routine practices have brought better results. Little is known about factors that affect the outcomes of these approaches, especially in middle‐income countries. This study aimed to investigate factors that influence the learning and quality of clinical performance in CME based on reflection upon experiences.

Testing the model-observer similarity hypothesis with text-based worked examples

abstract Example-based learning is a very effective and efficient instructional strategy for novices. It can be implemented using text-based worked examples that provide a written demonstration of how to perform a task, or (video) modelling examples in which an instructor (the ‘model’) provides a demonstration. The model-observer similarity (MOS) hypothesis predicts that the effectiveness of modelling examples partly depends on the degree to which learners perceive the models to be similar to them. It is an open question, however, whether perceived similarity with the person who created the example, would also affect learning from text-based worked examples. Therefore, two experiments were conducted to investigate whether MOS would also play a role in learning from worked examples. In Experiment 1 (N = 147), students were led to believe via pictures and a short story that the worked examples were created by a male or female peer student. Males showed higher performance and confidence, but no effects of MOS on learning were found. In Experiment 2 (N = 130), students were led to believe that a peer student or a teacher created the examples. Again, no effects of MOS were found. These findings suggest that the perceived origin of text-based worked examples is not important for learning.