Development of a phenomenologically derived method to assess affective learning in student journals following impactive educational experiences
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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Rogers, Gary D
Mey, Amary
Chan, Pit Cheng
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2017
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Show full item recordAbstract
Background: Assessment of affective learning (AL) is difficult but important, particularly for health professional students, where it is intimately linked to the development of professional values. This study originally aimed to determine whether an emotionally impactive, extended, multimethod, interprofessional simulation experience enhanced the AL of senior medical students, compared to conventional seminars and workshops alone. This necessitated the development of a method to assess for the presence and quality of AL.
Methods: We developed a “double hermeneutic” method, derived from Smith’s Interpretative Phenomenological ...
View more >Background: Assessment of affective learning (AL) is difficult but important, particularly for health professional students, where it is intimately linked to the development of professional values. This study originally aimed to determine whether an emotionally impactive, extended, multimethod, interprofessional simulation experience enhanced the AL of senior medical students, compared to conventional seminars and workshops alone. This necessitated the development of a method to assess for the presence and quality of AL. Methods: We developed a “double hermeneutic” method, derived from Smith’s Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, to identify examples of AL, according to Krathwohl’s hierarchy (“receiving,” “responding,” “valuing,” “organization,” “characterization”), in the journals of students from each arm of a randomized educational trial. Three assessors rated the highest level of AL seen in each journal and then we compared ratings from the two study arms. Results: A total of 135 journals were available for assessment (81 Intervention, 54 Control). The method proved to be effective in identifying and characterizing examples of uniprofessional and interprofessional AL. The median level identified in Intervention journals (“valuing”) was significantly higher than Control journals (“responding,” p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The method described provides a means to assess affective learning among health professional students. An extended, immersive simulation experience appears to enhance affective learning.
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View more >Background: Assessment of affective learning (AL) is difficult but important, particularly for health professional students, where it is intimately linked to the development of professional values. This study originally aimed to determine whether an emotionally impactive, extended, multimethod, interprofessional simulation experience enhanced the AL of senior medical students, compared to conventional seminars and workshops alone. This necessitated the development of a method to assess for the presence and quality of AL. Methods: We developed a “double hermeneutic” method, derived from Smith’s Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, to identify examples of AL, according to Krathwohl’s hierarchy (“receiving,” “responding,” “valuing,” “organization,” “characterization”), in the journals of students from each arm of a randomized educational trial. Three assessors rated the highest level of AL seen in each journal and then we compared ratings from the two study arms. Results: A total of 135 journals were available for assessment (81 Intervention, 54 Control). The method proved to be effective in identifying and characterizing examples of uniprofessional and interprofessional AL. The median level identified in Intervention journals (“valuing”) was significantly higher than Control journals (“responding,” p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The method described provides a means to assess affective learning among health professional students. An extended, immersive simulation experience appears to enhance affective learning.
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Journal Title
Medical Teacher
Volume
39
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Taylor & Francis. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Medical Teacher on 21 Sep 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/0142159X.2017.1372566
Subject
Education systems
Curriculum and pedagogy
Specialist studies in education
Specialist studies in education not elsewhere classified