EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES
Year:2016 | Volume:8 | Issue:5 |Papers Count:11

Aims: An important aspect of the student’s learning in academic performance is self-regulating.Students without required academic achievement skills need educational approaches to obtain the required insight in self-regulate learning. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of teaching academic skills on academic achievement in the advanced diploma medical emergency students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences.Materials & Methods: The intervening pretest-posttest study without any control group was a section of a greater action-research study to conduct and implement an educational process. The intervention included two 3-hour educational workshops for ten academic skills at one month interval for 23 advanced diploma medical emergency students of Ilam University of Medical Sciences during their second educational semester in 2014. The study tool was a 10-phrase self-made questionnaire, its validity and reliability was confirmed. Data was analyzed in SPSS 21 software using Paired-T test.Findings: There was an increase in the mean total score of academic skills after the intervention (p=0.009). From ten skills, the differences between the mean scores before and after the intervention were significant only in academic planning skills (p=0.025), the utilization of the memory strengthening methods (p=0.045), and correct study techniques (p=0.031). Academic intervention affected the students’ academic achievement (GPA) (p=0.001).Conclusion: Conducting academic skills educational workshops affects the utilization of the skills by the students and their academic achievements.

Aims: In order to preserve its own progress, nursing training has to be utilized new training methods, in such a case that the teaching methods used by the nursing instructors enhance significant learning via preventing superficial learning in the students. Conceptual Map Method is one of the new training strategies playing important roles in the field. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the designed software based on the mobile phone computer conceptual map on the learning level of the nursing students.Materials & Methods: In the semi-experimental study with pretest-posttest plan, 60 students, who were studying at the 5th semester, were studied at the 1st semester of 2015-16. Experimental group (n=30) from Meibod Nursing Faculty and control group (n=30) from Yazd Shahid Sadoughi Nursing Faculty were trained during the first 4 weeks of the semester, using computer conceptual map method and computer conceptual map method in mobile phone environment. Data was collected, using a researcher-made academic progress test including “knowledge” and “significant learning”. Data was analyzed in SPSS 21 software using Independent T, Paired T, and Fisher tests.Findings: There were significant increases in the mean scores of knowledge and significant learning in both groups before and after the intervention (p<0.05).The process of change of the scores of knowledge level was not significant between the groups (p>0.05).Nevertheless, the process of change of the scores of significant learning level between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusion: Presenting the course content as conceptual map in mobile phone environment positively affects the significant learning of the nursing students.

Aims: True learning needs the utilization of proper teaching methods leading to students’ interests in the learning activities to gain useful learning experiences. Therefore, it is needed to reform the traditional teaching methods and to use new student-focused methods by the educational systems. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of the student-focused group discussion method and lecture method on the learning level in the Midwifery students.Materials & Methods: In the semi-experimental study, 72 third-semester Midwifery bachelor students of Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch, were selected via census method to participate in the theoretical clinical pregnancy course presented as lecture and group discussion methods in 2014. The final test was done after the end of the training courses. And, material durability test was done 8 weeks after the end of the course sessions. Data was analyzed, using SPSS 16 software and Wilcoxon Non-parametric Test.Findings: There was a significant difference between the mean scores of all the sessions conducted through lecture method (45.00±8.00) and group discussion method (57.00±10.00; p=0.0001).There was a significant difference in the material durability after 8 weeks between the mean scores of lecture (24.50±13.90) and group discussion (35.10±13.10) methods (p=0.0001).Conclusion: Standard student-focused group discussion training affects the midwifery students ‘learning more than the lecture method does and there is higher information durability.

Aims: Unlike many other student groups, the nursing students, due to their educational field and profession, are facing with many stressful factors, while they should adapt themselves with such conditions. In addition, based on the psychological theories, the coping styles play an important role to reduce stress and therefore, they affect general health of persons. The aim of this study was to determine the stressful sources of clinical education and coping styles in the nursing students.Instrument & Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 309 nursing students of Urmia Nursing and Midwifery Faculty were studied via census method in 2014. Data was collected, using a demographic characteristic form, Perceived Stress Scale, and Coping Skills Questionnaire. Data was analyzed in SPSS 20 software using ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman Correlation tests.Findings: The highest and the lowest stressful factors were “teachers and nursing staff” and “patient care”, respectively. Problem-centered coping skills were used by the nursing students more than emotion-centered coping style. There were significant differences in general stress mean score and general score of coping styles between female and male students, as well as between students of different educational classes (p<0.05). In addition, there was a positive and significant correlation between perceived stress of clinical education and the emotion-centered coping style (p=0.0001; r=0.3).Conclusion: The highest stressful factor of clinical education in the nursing students is “teachers and nursing staff”. In addition, problem-based coping skills were used by the nursing students more than the emotion-based coping style.

Aims: As an important intervening factor to enhance educational and motivational performance of the students, understating the effective factors on behavioral enthusiasm plays a very important role. The aim of this study was to explain the role of motivational self-regulation and procrastination in predicting the students’ behavioral enthusiasm.Instrument & Methods: In the correlational descriptive cross-sectional study, 311 students of Arak University of Medical Sciences were selected via Available Sampling using Cochran’s Formula in 2014-15 academic year. Data was collected, using Students’ Educational Procrastination Scale, Motivational Self-regulating Scale, and Behavioral Enthusiasm Scale. Data was analyzed in SPSS 19 software using Pearson Correlation Coefficient, and Multiple Regression Analysis.Findings: The highest and the lowest correlations were between procrastination and behavioral enthusiasm and between environmental control and behavioral enthusiasm, respectively (p<0.05).There was a positive and significant correlation between self-regulation and behavioral enthusiasm.In addition, there was a negative and significant correlation between procrastination and behavioral enthusiasm (p<0.001). Totally, procrastination (b=-0.233) and motivational self-regulation (b=0.238) explained 10% of the students’ behavioral enthusiasm variance (p<0.001; R2=0.102).Conclusion: Any reduction in procrastination and any enhancement in motivational selfregulation can enhance the students’ behavioral enthusiasm.

Aims: Besides many problems during education courses, an increase in the level of stress, depression, or anxiety leads to interferences with the students’ professional roles.Mindfulness and cognitive strategies to regulate emotions positively affect human health in different human classes and different psychological symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the differentiation roles of mindfulness and cognitive strategies to regulate emotions in prediction of the psychological symptoms in the medical students.Instrument & Methods: As a descriptive-correlational study, 375 students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences were randomly studied in 2014-15. The study tools were 5-dimension Mindfulness Questionnaire, Cognitive Strategies to Regulate the Emotions Questionnaire, and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Questionnaire. Data was analyzed in SPSS 20 software using Pearson Correlation Coefficient, and Stepwise Regression test.Findings: There was a significant correlation between the emotion regulation strategies and mindfulness and depression, anxiety, and stress (p<0.01).25% of variance changes in depression were explained by the emotion regulation negative cognitive strategies (12%), the emotion regulation positive cognitive strategies (9%), and mindfulness (4%).17% of the variance changes in anxiety were explained by the emotion regulation negative (12%) and positive (5%) cognitive strategies. 19.3% of the variance changes in stress were explained by the emotion regulation negative (17%) and positive (2.3%) cognitive strategies (p<0.05).Conclusion: The effectiveness of cognitive strategies to regulate the emotions and especially, negative cognitive strategies to regulate the emotions is more considerable in explaining the psychological symptoms in the medical students than mindfulness.

Aims: Considering individual differences and different learning styles in the learners is necessary in more effective learning. If the used learning style may be fully correspond with the students’ preffered style, there is a better learning performance. The aim of this study was to assess the conformity of the students’ learning styles with educational media and technologies used by the teachers at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.Instrument & Methods: In the descriptive-correlational study, 90 medicine and dentistry students of Isfahan University were randomly selected via Stratified Sampling method in 2014-15 academic year. The study tool was a researcher-made questionnaire to investigate the learning styles and technologies used by the teachers. Data was analyzed in SPSS 22 software using Hotelling’s T test, and Somers’, Kendall’s, and Gamma Agreement Coefficients.Findings: From the students’ viewpoints, visual and auditory styles were the most and the least preffered styles, respectively. A combination of the technologies was used by the teachers. In addition, visual and kinesthetic/motion mediae were the most and the least used technologies by the teachers, respectively. There was no significant conformity between read/write, aural, and kinesthetic/motion styles of the students and the technologies used by the teachers (p>0.05). Neverheless, there was a significant conformity between the students ‘visual style and the visual technologies used by the teachers (p<0.05).Conclusion: There is conformity between the technologies used by the teachers of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and the students’ viual learning style. However, the technologies are not compatible with read/write, aural, and kinesthetic/motion styles of the students.

Aims: In the professional higher education system, one of the important health guarantee dimensions in the teaching-learning process is ethics and ethical component discourse.The university teachers need to be bounded by the ethical principles in their professions, including teaching professional ethics. The aim of this study was to compare between the current and the desired situations of the quality of teaching professional ethics in the faculty memebers of Sistan and Baluchestan University from the students’ viewpoints.Instrument & Methods: In the descriptive cross-sectional study, 318 graduate students of Sistan and Baluchestan University, who were studying at the second semester of 2014-15 academic year, were selected via Available Stratified Sampling Method in May 2015. The study tool was Teaching Professional Ethics Questionnaire. Data was analyzed in SPSS 21 software using Correlated Groups T test.Findings: There was a significant difference between mean scores of the current quality of teaching professional ethics and its components and the desired situation (p<0.01). There was no significant correlation between the students’ viewpoints on the quality of the components of teaching professional ethics in the teachers of Sistanand Baluchestan University based on gender, field of study, and educational level (p>0.05).Conclusion: In the teachers of Sistan and Baluchestan University, teaching professional ethics is assessed slightly more than the average level. However, there is a gap between the current situation of teaching professional ethics and its desired situation.

Aims: Academic achievement is one of the main assessment factors in the higher education system. Metacognitive learning strategy and locus of control are the main factors affecting the students’ academic achievement. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between metacognitive learning strategy and locus of control and the students’ academic achievement.Instrument & Methods: In the descriptive-analytic study, 335 students of Birjand University of Medical sciences were selected based on Krejcie-Morgan Table and via Stratified Random Sampling Method in 2014-15 academic year. The study tools were Self-regulating Learning Strategies Questionnaire, Locus of Control Survey, and students’ GPA as academic achievement component. Data was analyzed in SPSS 14 software using Pearson Correlation, Independent T, and One-way ANOVA tests.Findings: There was a positive and significant correlation between the dimensions of meta-cognitive learning strategy and internal locus of control and academic achievement.Nevertheless, there was a negative and significant correlation between meta-cognitive learning strategies and external locus of control (p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between mean items of meta-cognitive learning strategy and locus of control based on gender, faculty, and age (p>0.05). There was a significant correlation between the students’ academic achievements based on gender. However, based on age and faculty, it was not significant.Conclusion: Two important factors affecting learning enhancement and academic achievement in the students are meta-cognitive learning strategy and locus of control.

Aims: Investigating the situation of the utilization of the library sources indicates that the students are not familiar with the utilization of the sources and do not have enough skills in source searching. Based on the conducted studies, presenting training courses to make the students familiar with searching the library sources considerably enhance their abilities to utilize the sources. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of academic intervention on the freshmen students’ utilization of the library sources.Instrument & Methods: In the cross-sectional study, Medical, Midwifery, and Nursing students (n=200) of Babol University of Medical Sciences enrolled in 2013 were studied at the 1st semester of 2013-14 academic year. Based on the former presence at the library familiarity workshops at the university entrance, the students were divided into two groups including “case group” (n=136) and “control group” (n=64). Data was collected, using a researcher-made form. In addition, book loan number during a year and number of the delayed days in returning the books were considered as indices to investigate the students ‘performance. Data was analyzed in SPSS 18 software using Chi-square and Independent T tests.Findings: Of 4865 book loan cases, 26.0±22.2 and 17.9±18.8 books were averagely borrowed by the trained students (case group) and control group, respectively (p<0.05). Mean delayed time in “case group” (151.2±171.7 days) was more than the mean time in “control group” (122.0±136.5 days; p<0.05).Conclusion: Conducting library familiarity training courses at the university entrance for the students positively and significantly affects the utilization of the scientific sources.