Study Skills and Student Performance free essay sample

Study skills and academic performance among second-year medical students in problem-based learning Med Educ Online [serial online] 2006;11:23 Available from http://www. med-ed-online. org Study Skills and Academic Performance among Second-Year Medical Students in Problem-Based Learning Deborah A. Sleight, PhD and Brian E. Mavis, PhD Office of Medical Education Research and Development College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI, USA Abstract Purpose: This research study highlights the relationship between study aid use and exam performance of second year medical students. It also discusses how students used study aids in preparing for PBL exams and whether students who used others’ study aids performed as well as students who created their own. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to second-year medical students after completion of their exam. The data from the questionnaire were linked to students’ examination scores and other academic indicators. Results: The study habits were more similar than different when compared by exam performance. A majority of students used study aids as a memory aid or for review, but students who performed in the top third of the class were less likely to use them at all. Pre-existing differences related to academic achievement and study strategies were found when students at the top, middle and bottom of exam performance were compared. Conclusions: A better understanding of the differences in study habits and study aid use in relation to examination performance can help in providing future students with appropriate academic support and advising. Students have always shared various study materials, but computers and networks have now made it easier than ever. We might think this is a good thing, right? But not necessarily. In February of 2004, one of our faculty members noticed that her PBL students were sharing study materials at a higher rate than in previous years. She also noticed that the students had a lower level of performance on the problem-based learning (PBL) exams as compared to previous students. She wondered if there might be some relationship between a perceived increase in students’ sharing study aids and performance on the exam. We looked for published research on the use of study aids and exam performance. Two studies by Gurung1, 2 that looked at undergraduates’ use of textbook aids, such as summary sections, found that use of such aids did not relate to exam performance. A further search led us to theories about time-on-task and concept mapping. Time-on-task is defined by Levin and Nolan as a measure of students’ time spent actively engaged in learning. In 1988, Jere Brophy demonstrated that increased time spent on learning activities yields increased learning, provided that the teacher was competent and that the learning activities were effectively designed and implemented. 4 Another theory that guided us was concept mapping. Concept mapping is a technique in which the learner links new knowledge to a framework of relevant concepts that the learner already knows. Ausubel5 maintained that this linking of new with existing knowledge was a key factor in successful learning and that it was the difference between meaningful learning and rote learning. Many researchers have studied the benefits of concept mapping and have determined some tangible outcomes: an improved ability to form conceptual relationships, improved clarity of reasoning and focus on key ideas, and an easier grasp of difficult or new concepts. 3, 6-9 Students who create their own study aids are spending time making them, whereas those who use others’ study aids are not. It may also be that the process of creating study aids helps the learner gain more meaningful knowledge through the process of synthesizing disparate pieces of information into new knowledge, as has been shown with notetaking. The related literature on notetaking and performance, as noted in the ERIC Digest on note taking,10 indicates a positive relationship between notetaking and retention. We wondered if students who used study aids made by others rather than making their own 1 Sleight DA, Mavis BE. Study skills and academic performance among second-year medical students in problem-based learning Med Educ Online [serial online] 2006;11:23 Available from http://www. med-ed-online. org might be missing out on the benefits of time-on-task and concept mapping. Three questions guided this exploratory study: (a) To what extent did students use study aids? (b) How did students use study aids to prepare for an exam? and (c) To what extent did study habits and study aid use relate to exam performance? Methods The context of our research was the MSU College of Human Medicine’s second-year PBL curriculum. The subjects were second-year medical students who had just completed their final examination in Metabolism, Endocrine and Reproductive (MER) content. The instrument we used was a written questionnaire that we created for this study. The questionnaire asked students about the following topics: (1) the information sources they used to study for their PBL exam in terms of time and usefulness, (2) attendance at lectures, (3) use of study aids that they created in terms of usefulness and how they were best used; (4) similar questions about students’ use of study aids made by others; and (5) students’ overall opinion about the efficacy of study aids. The survey included the following definition of â€Å"study aids† in order to provide a context for the questions. â€Å"Study aids are sets of organized, summarized information on a particular topic that help students learn by facilitating memorization and synthesis through organization and by reducing the amount of information to be learned. † Descriptions of specific types of study aids were provided: summaries of notes, concept maps, flash cards, practice test questions, and tables and charts. This study was approved by the university Internal Review Board. For analysis purposes, the sample was divided into thirds, based on the percentage total score for the content examination. This approach allowed for comparison of the use of study aids by the top, middle and bottom thirds of the class. Based on the distribution of final examination scores, the bottom third of the class had 29 students, the middle third 38 students and the top third 29 students. The study aid questionnaire data were linked to the results of a self-assessment of study skills that students completed during their orientation to medical school. The Learning and Study Skills Inventory11 (LASSI) is a 10-scale self-assessment of awareness about and use of learning and study strategies. The questionnaire focuses on thoughts, behaviors, attitudes and beliefs related to successful learning that can be altered through educational interventions. The results of our questionnaire on students’ use of study aids were also linked to the students’ MCAT scores to determine if examination performance was associated with pre-existing differences in problem-solving skills and knowledge. Results A total of 99 students (95%) completed the questionnaire. Three respondents did not include their student number on the questionnaire, so their responses could not be linked to the final examination scores or other data sources. Thus Table 1 summarizes the data for 99 students, and Tables 2 and 3 summarize the data for 96 students. Information Sources and Study Time Ninety percent of the top students reported attending all or most of the lectures, compared to 76% of students in the middle third and 80% of students in the bottom third; these differences were not statistically significant. Overall, students reported studying an average of 84 hours (median=60 hours) in preparation for their examination; total study hours were consistent across the bottom, middle and top thirds of the class. Total study time was unrelated to examination performance (r=-. 13, p=. 35). The course textbook (mean=36. 9 hours) and personal lecture notes (mean=32. 8 hours) were the most used information sources for studying. Other information sources used included other textbooks (mean=12. 3 hours), notes from classmates (mean=6. 8 hours), PBL group meeting notes (mean=1. hours) and hand-me-down notes from prior years (mean=0. 9 hours). The only information source to vary by examination performance was notes from classmates (F=3. 19, p=. 05): the mean for students in the top third of the class was 2. 9 hours compared to 9. 4 and 9. 1 hours for students in the middle and bottom thirds of the class. The hours of use of hand-me-down notes was significantly negatively correlated with examination p erformance (r=-. 51, p=. 003). Study Aid Use Students were asked about their use of study aids in preparing for their examination. The most frequently used study aids were charts and tables made by others (80%), self-made summaries of notes (77%), summaries of classmates’ notes (63%) and self-made concept maps/graphic overviews (55%). Only 66% of top students used their class note summaries to prepare for the examination compared to 89% of students in the middle third and 84% of students in the bottom third (? 2=5. 61, p=. 061). The use of charts and tables made by others was 2 Sleight DA, Mavis BE. Study skills and academic performance among second-year medical students in problem-based learning Med Educ Online [serial online] 2006;11:23 Available from http://www. med-ed-online. org Table 1: Self-Reported Study Aid Use for Examination Preparation The mean MCAT scores of Study Aids Made Study Aids Made the top cohort by Self by Others were greater than N % N % those of the botSummaries of Notes 75 77% 62 63% tom cohort; these differences were Concept Map or Other Graphic Overview 54 55% 36 37% statistically sigTables or Charts 48 49% 78 80% nificant for the Flash Cards 26 27% 14 15% physical science Practice Test Questions 12 13% 31 32% (F=3. 3, p=. 05) and biological scifound to vary by examination performance (? 2=10. 86, ence (F=3. 43, p=. 04) scores suggesting preexisting differp=. 004); 59% of top students reported their use compared ences in science knowledge and problem solving skills. to 86% of students in the middle third and 92% of stuThere were no significant correlations between MCAT dents in the bottom third. Students in the top third of the scores and the report ed study hours for each information class also were less likely to use self-made concept maps source. With regard to study aid use, MCAT Physical Sciand other graphic overviews (? 2=6. 83, p=. 033): 38% for ence was negatively associated with the use of flash cards top students compared to 61% of middle students and produced by others (r=-. 23, p=. 03); both MCAT Physical 72% of bottom students. Similarly, top students were Science (r=-. 21, p=. 05) and MCAT Biological Science less likely (18%) than middle (43%) and bottom (52%) (r=-. 26, p=. 01) were negatively associated with the use students to use concept maps made by others (? 2=7. 35, of practice test items made by others. Prior Performance To provide a context for the identified differences in study aid use by examination performance cohort, MCAT scores for each cohort were examined. mance, are shown in Table 3. Significant differences among the three cohorts were found for three LASSI scores. The bottom cohort scored lower than the middle and top cohorts in motivation and discipline.