Characteristics of a cognitive tool that helps students learn diagnostic problem solving

Abstract

Three related studies replicated and extended previous work ( J.A. Danielson et al. (2003),Educational Technology Research and Development, 51(3), 63-81) involving the Diagnostic Pathfinder (dP) (previously Problem List Generator [PLG]), a cognitive tool for learning diagnostic problem solving. In studies 1 and 2, groups of 126 and 113 veterinary students, respectively, used the dP to complete case-based homework; groups of 120 and 199, respectively, used an alternative method. Students in the dP groups scored significantly higher (p = .000 and .003, respectively) on final exams than those in control groups. In the third study, 552 veterinary students responding to a questionnaire indicated that the dP's gating and data synthesis activities aided learning. The dP's feedback and requirement of completeness appear to aid learning most. AbstractThree related studies replicated and extended previous work (J.A. Danielson, et al, 2003)

A Novel Educational Tool for Teaching Diagnostic Reasoning and Laboratory Data Interpretation to Veterinary (and Medical) Students

“…Similarly, students using the Pathfinder as a supplemental instructional strategy also outscored their counterparts participating in otherwise identical instruction [7]. Students also indicated that using the Pathfinder made their homework more enjoyable and made learning clinical pathology easier [5,7]. These results have been consistent across thousands of students at seven veterinary colleges where evaluations have been performed one or more times (depending on the college) between 2002 and 2010.…”

“…We found that students who used the Pathfinder performed significantly better on case-based final exam questions than those who participated in curricular processes that used paper-based cases but were otherwise identical (Table 2) [5,7]. Similarly, students using the Pathfinder as a supplemental instructional strategy also outscored their counterparts participating in otherwise identical instruction [7]. Students also indicated that using the Pathfinder made their homework more enjoyable and made learning clinical pathology easier [5,7].…”

“…This strategy reduces the intrinsic cognitive load of the overall learning task, allowing students to master these skills and combine knowledge and skills into integrated conceptual units (chunks) for later use [20]. Our studies [5,7] showed that the learning benefits achieved while using the Pathfinder were demonstrated under circumstances in which the gating requirement was no longer present (ie, taking a final exam on paper). This suggested that the individual tasks were indeed chunked during learning, and the Pathfinder was not simply functioning as a "crutch" or aid.…”

“…We designed and conducted several studies to evaluate the software and the experience of students and faculty using the software [5][6][7].…”

Using Learning Analytics to Identify Medical Student Misconceptions in an Online Virtual Patient Environment

“…Feedback that addresses learner misconceptions can be provided when erroneous solution paths are identified. Examples of the use of novice-expert overlay models to promote expertise in clinical reasoning include the Diagnostic Pathfinder (Danielson et al, 2007), the NUDOV system (Wahlgren, Edelbring, Fors, Hindbeck, & Stahle, 2006), and BioWorld (Lajoie et al, 2013(Lajoie et al, , 2015. In this study, we extended the prior analytics methods we used with BioWorld to analyze learner actions in the more widely-used MedU online learning environment.…”