Abstract
Background
Students require feedback on their self-regulated learning (SRL) processes to improve the performance of clinical examinations. The key SRL processes used by students can be identified by SRL-micro-analysis but this method has not been previously applied to physiotherapy students. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the potential usefulness of SRL-microanalysis for the identification of key SRL processes used by physiotherapy students during the performance of a clinical examination skill. The objectives of the pilot study were: 1) to evaluate whether SRL-microanalysis could identify differences in the use of key SRL processes between successful and unsuccessful students; 2) to evaluate the reliability of SRL microanalysis ratings produced by different assessors.
Methods
SRL-microanalysis was used with second year physiotherapy students of a Spanish university (n= 26) as they performed a goniometric task. The task required students to obtain a goniometric measurement of the shoulder joint of a peer. Two assessors evaluated student performance and conducted the SRL- microanalysis with all students. An analysis of inter-rater reliability was performed to evaluate the degree of agreement between assessors.
Results
The SRL-microanalysis revealed differences in the use of key SRL processes between successful (n= 15: 57.0%) and unsuccessful performers (n= 11: 43.0%): The differences were particularly evident in strategic planning and self-monitoring skills. There was good inter-rater reliability for scoring of strategic planning (k=0.792), self-monitoring (k=0.946) and self-evaluation (k=0.846).
Conclusion
The use of SRL microanalysis characterized the key SRL processes of physiotherapy students performing a clinical skill with reliability between the assessors. This pilot study supports the potential usefulness of SRL-microanalysis for the identification of key SRL processes in physiotherapy education. Therefore, this study paves the way to the development of a full study, with a larger number of students and more diverse clinical tasks, to evaluate the SRL processes in successful and unsuccessful students.
Students require feedback on their self-regulated learning (SRL) processes to improve the performance of clinical examinations. The key SRL processes used by students can be identified by SRL-micro-analysis but this method has not been previously applied to physiotherapy students. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the potential usefulness of SRL-microanalysis for the identification of key SRL processes used by physiotherapy students during the performance of a clinical examination skill. The objectives of the pilot study were: 1) to evaluate whether SRL-microanalysis could identify differences in the use of key SRL processes between successful and unsuccessful students; 2) to evaluate the reliability of SRL microanalysis ratings produced by different assessors.
Methods
SRL-microanalysis was used with second year physiotherapy students of a Spanish university (n= 26) as they performed a goniometric task. The task required students to obtain a goniometric measurement of the shoulder joint of a peer. Two assessors evaluated student performance and conducted the SRL- microanalysis with all students. An analysis of inter-rater reliability was performed to evaluate the degree of agreement between assessors.
Results
The SRL-microanalysis revealed differences in the use of key SRL processes between successful (n= 15: 57.0%) and unsuccessful performers (n= 11: 43.0%): The differences were particularly evident in strategic planning and self-monitoring skills. There was good inter-rater reliability for scoring of strategic planning (k=0.792), self-monitoring (k=0.946) and self-evaluation (k=0.846).
Conclusion
The use of SRL microanalysis characterized the key SRL processes of physiotherapy students performing a clinical skill with reliability between the assessors. This pilot study supports the potential usefulness of SRL-microanalysis for the identification of key SRL processes in physiotherapy education. Therefore, this study paves the way to the development of a full study, with a larger number of students and more diverse clinical tasks, to evaluate the SRL processes in successful and unsuccessful students.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | BMC Medical Education |
| Early online date | 22 Jul 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 22 Jul 2020 |
Keywords
- Self-regulated learning
- physical therapy techniques
- clinical skills
- assessment process
- health student