Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D H Dolmans

Publications and source records attributed to D H Dolmans.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Testing a causal model for learning in a problem-based curriculum.

The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between elements that are important for the tutorial group process and the individual learning process in a problem-based curriculum. The variables under investigation were student-generated learning issues, individual learning process, reporting in the tutorial group, and achievement.A questionnaire containing 22 items was developed. Data were collected in the first year (N = 195) of the Medical School of the Maastricht University in the Netherlands during the academic year 1997-1998. The data were analysed using a structural modelling approach. The results indicate that the model fitted the data well. The path coefficients were moderately high, particular between the explanation-oriented approach and the depth of the reporting in the tutorial group. High path coefficients were also found between the depth of the reporting and achievement. In sum, the model gives insight into how important variables are related and it is recommended that data should be collected to test the model repeatedly.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2001

Solving problems with group work in problem-based learning: hold on to the philosophy.

INTRODUCTION: Problem-based learning (PBL) has gained a foothold within many schools in higher education as a response to the problems faced within traditional education. DISCUSSION: Working with PBL tutorial groups is assumed to have positive effects on student learning. Several studies provide empirical evidence that PBL stimulates cognitive effects and leads to restructuring of knowledge and enhanced intrinsic interest in the subject matter. However, staff members do not always experience the positive effects of group work which they had hoped for. When confronted with problems in group work, such as students who only maintain an appearance of being actively involved and students who let others do the work, teachers all too often implement solutions which can be characterized as teacher- directed rather than student-directed. Teachers tend to choose solutions which are familiar from their own experience during professional training, i.e. using the teacher-directed model. These solutions are not effective in improving group work and the negative experiences persist. CONCLUSION: It is argued that teachers should hold on to the underlying educational philosophy when solving problems arising from group work in PBL, by choosing actions which are consistent with the student-directed view of education in PBL.

Cognition↗
PubMed2001

Students' perceptions of time spent during clinical rotations.

Some rotations during clinical education are characterized by a high number of hours spent per week in the hospital because students panicipate in a hospital on-call system, i.e. hours beyond usual working hours, e.g. at night. However, students complain about spending too many hours in the hospital on non-instructive activities. This study was undertaken to investigate differences among rotations in time spent in hospital, in on-call hours, in self-study and in non-instructive activities and to investigate the relationship between time spent on the various activities and the overall effectiveness as perceived by students. A questionnaire was administered to students at the end of various clinical rotations. Rotations differ considerably in time spent in hospital, on call (i.e. beyond usual working hours), on self-study and on non-instructive activities. In some rotations students report spending on average 18-20% of their time in the hospital on non-instructive activities. Furthermore, the numbers of hours spent in hospital do not correlate with the overall effectiveness as perceived by students, unless the numbers of hours spent in non-instructive activities are taken into account. The effectiveness of a rotation does not automatically improve if students spend more hours in hospital. The number of hours spent on non-instructive activities should be reduced in some rotations and should be kept as low as possible. Further research is needed to find out which activities are perceived as non-instructive.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Relationship of tutors' group-dynamics skills to their performance ratings in problem-based learning.

PURPOSE: A tutor's performance is often investigated as a stable teacher characteristic, isolated from the context in which the tutor functions. This study investigated the influence of a tutor's group-dynamics skills in differently functioning tutorial groups on performance ratings. METHOD: Students' ratings of tutors' performances collected from 75 tutorial groups at one school over four different academic years were compared with the independent variables, groups' cohesion scores and sponging scores (the degree to which some students let others do the work), and the intervening variable, tutors' group-dynamics skills. RESULTS: Tutors with strong group-dynamics skills were assigned mean tutor's-performance scores of 7.4 (SD = 0.8) and 8.2 (SD = 0.5), respectively, by groups scoring low and high on cohesion. Tutors with low group-dynamics skills were rated 7.0 (SD = 1.1) and 7.4 (SD = 1.1) by the same groups. The same pattern held for sponging scores. Tutors who had strong group-dynamics skills received mean tutor's-performance scores of 8.1 (SD = 0.6) and 7.4 (SD = 0.8), respectively, from groups with low and high sponging scores. Tutors with weak group-dynamics skills were scored 7.6 (SD = 1.0) and 6.9 (SD = 1.1) by the same groups. CONCLUSIONS: Tutors possessing group-dynamics skills were rated higher by students than were tutors who lacked these skills, irrespective of the quality of a tutorial group's performance. A tutor who evaluates tutorial-group function on a regular basis and makes appointments with students based on these evaluations is seen as performing better than a tutor who does not.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

The impact of student-generated learning issues on individual study time and academic achievement.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was twofold. The first question concerns the way students make use of the learning issues they generate (as strict guidelines or as global guidelines) and whether this changes across years of training. The second question concerned the relationship between the way students make use of learning issues and the time spent on individual study and achievement on two tests of knowledge. DESIGN: A questionnaire was developed, containing seven items that measured to what extent students study strictly according to the student-generated learning issues and six items that measured to what extent students study beyond the student-generated learning issues. The questionnaire also contained one question in which students had to estimate the mean time spent on individual study. Achievement was measured by two forms of tests of knowledge, a block test assessing course content and a progress test assessing long-term functional knowledge. SETTING: Medical School of Maastricht University, the Netherlands. SUBJECTS: Medical students (response=69%) from the problem-based curriculum at the Maastricht University. RESULTS: During their first year students study strictly according to the content of the learning issues, whereas in later years students studied more according to their own learning needs and interests. In addition, students who tended to study beyond the generated learning issues spent more time on individual study and achieved better on both tests. CONCLUSIONS: Students in a problem-based curriculum seem to become better self-directed learners during the years of training.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed1999

Profiles of effective tutors in problem-based learning: scaffolding student learning.

OBJECTIVES: Research on tutoring in problem-based learning has not focused so far on the variation in tutoring and how this variation can be interpreted by conceptions about effective tutoring. DESIGN: This study focuses on the profiles of tutors generated by means of an instrument, the so-called Tutor Intervention Profile (TIP), and tries to determine which profiles are more or less effective. The TIP contains four dimensions of tutor behaviour: (1) elaboration; (2) directing the learning process; (3) integration of knowledge; and (4) stimulating interaction and individual accountability. SETTING: The medical school of the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. SUBJECTS: Sixty-seven tutors who run 67 tutorial groups across three units (courses) in the academic year 1996-97. RESULTS: It appeared that high, average and low performing tutors differ in their performance on each of the four dimensions of the TIP. Several different profiles of tutor performance could be distinguished, which were more or less effective. One group of tutors demonstrated a tutor intervention profile that was characterized as relying more on the use of expert knowledge, whereas another group of tutors was characterized as relying more on their abilities to stimulate the learning process in the tutorial group. The tutor intervention profile that was perceived by students as most effective showed high scores on each of the four dimensions, as expected. Notably, a tutor stressing the learning process in the tutorial group was perceived as more effective than a tutor stressing content (expert tutor). This is especially true for a relatively poor scoring tutor. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are consistent with research on human tutoring and research on tutoring in problem-based learning.

Educational Measurement↗
PubMed1998

Tutor intervention profile: reliability and validity.

An instrument has been developed to provide tutors with feedback about their performance in problem-based tutorial groups. This questionnaire consists of 33 statements reflecting the behaviour of the tutor in the tutorial group when students analyse the case and generate learning issues and the behaviour of the tutor when students report back to the tutorial group about their self-study. The statements are grouped on theoretical dimensions found in the literature about co-operative learning and problem-based learning. This study focuses on the validity and the reliability of this instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a four-factor model showed a weak fit, whereas each separate factor fitted the data reasonably well. The four factors are: (1) elaboration; (2) directing the learning process; (3) integration of knowledge and (4) stimulating interaction and individual accountability. These factors were strongly correlated with the overall judgement of the tutor at the end of the unit, so the concurrent validity of this instrument was high. Generalizability studies indicated that the rating scales provide reliable information with a sample size of student responses falling within the range of real tutorial group sizes. The results of this study show that the instrument for providing tutors with feedback is valid and reliable. This questionnaire can be used in staff development activities and also provides needs assessment for faculty development.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗
PubMed1996

Effects of tutor expertise on student performance in relation to prior knowledge and level of curricular structure.

PURPOSE: To test whether there are effects of tutor expertise on student performance under conditions of curricular materials that have low or high levels of structure and that are poorly or well matched to students' levels of prior knowledge. METHOD: The study was conducted in 1994-95 at the medical school of the University of Limburg. The data set used for analysis included 135 tutorial groups (with ten to 12 students per group), 119 tutors (each running only one group per unit), and 15 units in four curriculum years. The analysis was conducted at the level of tutorial groups since a tutor's level of expertise might differ for distinct units. Tutors were asked to judge their levels of expertise related to the cases discussed, based on which a distinction was made between expert and non-expert tutors. The degrees of structure of curricular materials and students' levels of prior knowledge were rated by the students. Using analyses of variance, students' scores on end-of-unit tests (each with about 150 true-false items) were compared for groups led by expert and non-expert tutors under conditions of low and high levels of structure and low and high levels of prior knowledge. RESULTS: No difference was found between the test scores of groups led by expert and non-expert tutors. The interaction effects between expertise and structure and expertise and prior knowledge also turned out to be not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that expert tutors do not compensate for lack of curricular structure or students' lack of prior knowledge. This finding is not consistent with that of a recent study that expert tutors do compensate for lack of structure and lack of prior knowledge. This discrepancy may be accounted for by a much smaller range within which the structuredness of the curriculum and students' levels of prior knowledge varied in the present study compared with the previous study. An implication might be that faculty should put their efforts into designing structured curricula that are well matched to students' levels of prior knowledge instead of selecting hyper-expert tutors.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1996

Long-term stability of tutor performance.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent ratings of tutor performance remain stable in the long term. At many schools, teaching performance is assessed and these evaluations are consulted as part of the decision-making process for promotion, tenure, and salary. Since this information may have summative value, it is crucial that the reliability of the data be assessed. A previous study had shown that a single evaluation of a tutor is reliable when the responses of six students are used (interrater reliability). The present study focused on the stability of tutor evaluations over repeated occasions of evaluation. METHOD: A generalizability study was conducted to estimate the number of occasions required to demonstrate stability. The study took place during three academic years (1992-93, 1993-94, and 1994-95) at the problem-based medical school of the University of Limburg (now Maastricht University). A total of 291 ratings were analyzed (97 tutors rated during three sequential tutoring occasions). Two types of scores were used: an aggregate score calculated from ratings of 13 items and an overall judgment. RESULTS: The results indicate that when the scores are used to interpret the precision of individual scores, two evaluation occasions should be available for the overall judgment and four occasions for the aggregate score. If the tutor scores are consulted only to determine whether performances are above or below a cutoff score, a reliable decision can be made after only a single occasion of evaluation. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that data collected over an extended period of time can be reliably used as part of the decision-making process for promotion, salary, and tenure.

Career Mobility↗
PubMed1994

What drives the student in problem-based learning?

In problem-based learning, the development of self-directed learning skills is encouraged through confronting students with (professional) problems. However, several other elements of a problem-based curriculum, such as general teaching objectives, lectures and tutors, may have an impact on students' actual learning activities. The present study focuses on the extent to which various elements of a problem-based curriculum influence students' decisions on what to study. First, interviews were conducted to obtain qualitative data about what actually takes place when students initiate learning activities during self-study. Based on the findings of these interviews, a questionnaire was developed, consisting of statements describing elements of the learning process and their influence on student learning. Elements included in the questionnaire were: the discussion in the tutorial group, content tested, course objectives, lectures, the tutor and reference literature. The students reported that all these elements may have an impact on decisions on what to study. Moreover, first-year students tend to rely more on the literature cited in the references list and content covered in lectures and tests than students in the other three curriculum years. In general, the influence of these elements showed a decrease over the four curriculum years. The influence of the discussion in the tutorial group, on the contrary, tended to increase over the four curriculum years. These findings suggest that students in a problem-based curriculum become more accomplished self-directed learners over the four curriculum years, even although they are provided with many clues which may play a role in their decisions on what to study.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1994

A rating scale for tutor evaluation in a problem-based curriculum: validity and reliability.

An instrument has been developed to assess tutor performance in problem-based tutorial groups. This tutor evaluation questionnaire consists of 13 statements reflecting the tutor's behaviour. The statements are based on a description of the tasks set for the tutor. This study reports results on the validity and reliability of the instrument. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a three-factor model fitted the data reasonably well. The three factors are: (1) guiding students through the learning process, (2) content knowledge input, and (3) commitment to the group's learning. Generalizability studies indicated that the rating scales provide reliable information with student responses of existing tutorial group sizes. It is concluded that the tutor evaluation questionnaire is a fairly valid and reliable instrument that can be used in staff development programmes.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1993

Problem effectiveness in a course using problem-based learning.

BACKGROUND: Problem-based learning (PBL) emphasizes active generation of learning issues by students. Both students and teachers, however, tend to worry that not all important knowledge will be acquired. To explore this question, problem effectiveness (i.e., for each problem, the degree of correspondence between student-generated learning issues and present faculty objectives) was examined in three interdependent studies. METHOD: The three studies used the same participants: about 120 second-year students and 12 faculty tutors in a six-week course on normal pregnancy, delivery, and child development at the medical school of the University of Limburg in The Netherlands, 1990-91. The participants were randomly assigned to 12 tutorial groups that were each given the same 12 problems; the problems were based on 51 faculty objectives; the tutors were asked to record all learning issues generated by their groups. Study 1 addressed this question: To what degree are faculty objectives reflected by student-generated learning issues? Study 2: To what extent do students miss certain objectives, and are these objectives classifiable? Study 3: Do students generate learning issues not expected by the faculty, and are these issues relevant to course content, and finally, why do students generate these issues? To help answer these questions, the studies employed expert raters and a teacher familiar with the course content. RESULTS: Study 1: For the set of 12 problems, the average overlap between learning issues and faculty objectives was 64.2% with the percentages for individual problems ranging from 27.7% to 100%. Study 2: Of the 51 objectives, 30 were not identified by at least one tutorial group; these objectives were grouped into three categories; on average, each group failed to identify 7.4 objectives (15%). Study 3: Of 520 learning issues, 32 (6%) were unexpected; 15 of these were judged to be at least fairly relevant to course content; they were grouped into four categories. CONCLUSIONS: The students' learning activities covered an average of 64% of the intended course content; in addition, the students generated learning issues not expected by the faculty, and half of these issues were judged relevant to the course content. Thus, PBL seems to permit students to adapt learning activities to their own needs and interests.

Clinical Competence↗