BackgroundStudents’ perception of the educational setting is an important source for improving and applying changes to the educational environment. In this study, we reassessed undergraduate students’ perception of the educational environment at two colleges of RUMS-Iran in the academic years of 2011 and 2016.MethodsIn the present prospective study, the DREEM inventory consisted of seven courses for undergraduate paramedical and nursing-midwifery students (n = 982). After the first stage, educational seminars and workshops were set up for academic members and faculty staff on deficiencies and the ideal climate for optimizing the educational environment. The results of students’ responses in 2011 were compared with those assessed in 2016. For the data analysis, the independent t-test and the one-way ANOVA were utilized.ResultsIn the academic year of 2010–2011, the DREEM inventory scored 115.33/200 (57.66%); it also scored 123.47/200 (60.7%) in the academic year of 2015–2016 (p ≤ 0.01). There was an interesting feeling about the first-year education, and female students felt a more positively perceived learning environment during all courses than male students at both stages of the study. There were significant positive differences (2 to 7%) in all domains of the components of DREEM in all courses between the academic year of 2010–2011 and the academic year of 2015–2016, showing that the DREEM score had changed and increased (p < 0.05), in the latter case.ConclusionsPositive differences were observed in DREEM scores between the two stages of the study. DREEM helped reduce the areas of deficiencies in students’ perception of many aspects of the educational environment. It also helped identify problematic areas in the improvement. In addition, DREEM could be used to optimize and make modifications to the educational environment.

Vocabulary learning strategies have dominated the subject of language learning for over two decades. This study aimed to investigate the use and preferences of these Strategies among the students at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. One hundred eighty five students with different majors participated in this study. The instrument utilized was a modified version of Gu and Johnson questionnaire which consisted of 45 items related to the students' approach to vocabulary learning. The data were analyzed using SPSS and ANOVA. Results indicated that 57.6% of the students used dictionary to learn vocabulary. Social strategies (2.15±0.66) and guessing (2.14±0.83) had the highest obtained scores while note taking (2.14±0.83) and autonomy (1.49± 0.89) were the least used strategies. Medical and dentistry students used selective attention, and study preference, while nursing and paramedical students used social strategies more. Also, female students used social strategies more, while male students preferred autonomy and note taking strategies. students use different strategies in learning vocabulary items, therefore identifying and teaching these strategies can help teachers and curriculum developers to develop better educational materials which not only teach the importance of VLS but motivate the students to use them more frequently.

No abstract

No abstract

BACKGROUND: Communication apprehension (CA) is the fear or anxiety about communicating. This study was designed to investigate the CA and its related factors in the medical students at Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences (RUMS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, personal report of CA (PRCA-24) was administered to 340 medical and paramedical students to measure anxiety in four domains of large groups, small groups, public speaking, and dyadic interaction. Pearson's correlation and linear regression analysis were used to investigate the relationship between CA and the variables of birth order, number of siblings, and university entrance score. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis Test). RESULTS: CA in the dimension of public speaking was higher than the other dimensions. Evaluation of the economic stability and its relationship to CA indicated a significant difference among all the domains of the PRCA-24. There was a significant relationship between the scores of CA and the number of siblings ( P = 0.001). Linear regression and Pearson's correlation tests indicated a significant correlation between the variables of birth order, number of siblings, and university entrance score. The correlation between the CA with dimensions of group discussion, interpersonal, speaking, and meeting was weak but significant ( P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Without communication, the materialization and development of the human community are not possible. This aspect is more evident and crucial in the healthcare industry. Based on the results of this study, the medical and paramedical students at RUMS have a medium-to-high level of CA. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to detect students with high CA to prevent further communication problems after graduation.