Characteristics of Dpt Students... Where Do Our Students Fit in the Master Adaptive Learner Framework?
Purpose
Self-directed life-long learners that possess adaptive expertise skills are essential in todayÕs healthcare environment. The purpose of this study was to 2-fold; 1) to explore individual master adaptive learner characteristics of first year DPT students specific to motivation, self-directedness as well as grit and resilience to assist in intentional educational interventions for enhancement of adaptability skills during didactic curriculum and 2) Determine if characteristics were different based on studentÕs Strength FinderÕs Strength Domainª.
Methods/Description:
60 first year DPT students completed the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and 12 item Grit Scale as part of a reflective assignment at the beginning of their 3rd didactic semester in year one. The MSLQ scale consists of the following subscales: Self-efficacy (SE), Intrinsic value (IV), Test anxiety (TA), Cognitive Strategy Use (CS) and Self-Regulation (SR) and not reported as a total score. The Grit Scale has 2 subscales; Perseverance of Effort (PE) and Consistency of Interest (CI). CliftonStrengths¨ assessment domains were reported as part of clinical education requirements in previous semester. The following statistical analysis were completed; Descriptive statistics, Shaprio Wilk, ANOVA with post-hoc analysis, and bivariate correlations with SPSS, Version 25.
Results/Outcomes:
Mean scores for characteristics were as follows; Total Grit 3.57 (SD .47), PE 4.0 (SD .52), CI 3.14 (SD .60), MSLQSE 5.03 (SD .70), MSLQIV 5.82 (SD .66), MSLQTA 3.70 (SD 1.57), MSLQCS 4.77 (SD .69), MSLQSR 4.89 (SD .77). One-way independent groups ANOVA revealed significant differences in Total Grit F (3,56) = 3.72, p =.016 and PE F (3,56) = 3.55, p =.02 among the 4 strength domains. Bonferroni post-hoc analysis revealed significant differences between Relationship Building and Executing domains for total Grit with a mean difference of .42, 95% CI of difference of .06 to .79 and PE with a mean difference of .48, 95% CI of difference .08 to.89. A moderate positive relationship was found between Perseverance of Effort and MSLQ Self-Efficacy, r = .581, p < .001 and MSLQ Intrinsic Value, r = .604, p <.001.
Conclusions/Relevance to the conference theme:
Differences in learning characteristics exist among various strength domains, specifically executers and relationship builders among this cohort of DPT students. There was also a relationship between perseverance of effort and studentÕs self-efficacy in learning as well as intrinsic value. Examining affective domain metacognitive characteristics of learners can assist an educatorÕs understanding of student characteristics. By utilizing self-report or attitudinal instruments specific of master adaptive learning educators can explicitly discuss quality traits associated with adaptive expertise and intentionally tailor educational interventions to enhance development of these characteristics utilizing the master adaptive learning framework.