Impact of Individual Study on Tutorial Group Discussion

Abstract

Background: This research focuses on the relation between individual study and group discussion. In a problem-based curriculum, it is expected that the way students prepare themselves during individual study (i.e., search and prepare the literature) will influence the quality of the reporting phase. Purpose: To investigate whether searching for different literature resources and preparing the literature (by making summaries to explain the literature) affects the quality of the reporting phase. Method: A 23-item questionnaire was developed, reflecting 2 factors of the search phase and 1 factor of the preparing phase of the individual study. Two factors (breadth and depth of the discussion) reflected the reporting phase. Participants were 1st-year students (N = 195, 90%) at the Medical School of the Maastricht University in the Netherlands during the academic year 1997-1998. Results: Regression analyses show that the search phase and the preparing phase explained 29% of the variance of the breadth and 38% of the depth of the reporting phase.Conclusions: Searching different literature resources has a small and negative impact on the quality of the reporting phase. However, preparing extensively for the next tutorial meeting is very important, especially for the depth of the reporting phase. Therefore, when new knowledge must be integrated in the tutorial group, students must be taught to prepare themselves by making summaries that are useful and effective during the discussion.

Innovations in Problem-based Learning: What can we Learn from Recent Studies?

“…They are strictly related to tutorial group activities, which constitute the other phases of the cycle. Learning issues formulated when students discuss a problem in tutorial groups are expected to guide individual study (Van den Hurk et al, 1999). During this later phase, students search for diverse sources of information, select and study relevant learning resources and prepare themselves for the reporting group meeting.…”

“…An assumption of a PBL curriculum is that students should develop the skills for identifying, accessing and using learning resources in an effective way. The extent to which students engage in such activities is usually considered an indicator of self-directed learning ( Van den Hurk et al, 1999;Miflin et al, 2000). It would be reasonable to expect that it is influenced by availability of learning resources.…”

Student Perspectives on Learning-Oriented Interactions in the Tutorial Group

“…Lack of deep processing interaction occurs in several situations, for example, when students only read aloud literally what they have read in books to answer the learning issues in the reporting phase. This implies that they do not synthesize knowledge and do not apply it to the problem under discussion ( Van den Hurk et al, 1999). Such a situation inhibits the quality of group interaction to a certain extent and thus the learning process.…”

Student feedback on problem-based learning processes

“…5 Information about the participants' gender and semester of study was noted. Like the authors of a previous study conducted in Turkey, 15 we also collected information about the students' weekly average study time and about their use of various resources.…”

“…During phase 1, students are stimulated to discuss a clinical problem in their tutorial group. 5 Students try to explain what is occurring in the problem, but during the discussion process certain questions may remain unanswered, which serve as learning issues in phase 2. During phase 3, students actively search for literature relevant to the study objectives.…”