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ItemThe role of students’ motivation and participation in predicting performance in a MOOC Motivation and participation in MOOCs(John Wiley & Sons, 2016)Over the last 5 years, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have increasingly provided learning opportunities across the world in a variety of domains. As with many emerging educational technologies, why and how people come to MOOCs needs to be better understood and importantly what factors contribute to learners’ MOOC performance. It is known that online learning environments require greater levels of self-regulation, and that high levels of motivation are crucial to activate these skills. However, motivation is a complex construct and research on how it functions inMOOCs is still in its early stages. Research presented in this article investigated how motivation and participation influence students’ performance in a MOOC, more specifically those students who persist to the end of the MOOC. Findings indicated that the strongest predictor of performance was participation, followed by motivation. Motivation influenced and was influenced by students’ participation during the course.Moreover, situational interest played a crucial role in mediating the impact of general intrinsic motivation and participation on performance. The results are discussed in relation to how educators and designers of MOOCs can use knowledge emerging from motivational assessments and participation measures gleaned from learning analytics to tailor the design and delivery of courses.
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ItemRegion-Specific Automated Feedback in Temporal Bone Surgery Simulation(IEEE, 2015)The use of virtual reality simulators for surgical training has gained popularity in recent years, with an ever increasing body of evidence supporting the benefits and validity of simulation-based training. However, a crucial component of effective skill acquisition has not been adequately addressed, namely the provision of timely performance feedback. The utility of a surgical simulator is limited if it still requires the presence of experts to guide trainees. Automated feedback that emulates the advise provided by experts is necessary to facilitate independent learning. We propose an automated system that provides region-specific feedback on surgical technique within a temporal bone surgery simulator. The design of this system allows easy transfer of feedback models to multiple temporal bone specimens in the simulator. The system was validated by an expert otologist and was found to provide highly accurate and timely feedback.
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ItemPresentation of automated procedural guidance in surgical simulation: results of two randomised controlled trials(Cambridge University Press, 2018-03)OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and usability of automated procedural guidance during virtual temporal bone surgery. METHODS: Two randomised controlled trials were performed to evaluate the effectiveness, for medical students, of two presentation modalities of automated real-time procedural guidance in virtual reality simulation: full and step-by-step visual presentation of drillable areas. Presentation modality effectiveness was determined through a comparison of participants' dissection quality, evaluated by a blinded otologist, using a validated assessment scale. RESULTS: While the provision of automated guidance on procedure improved performance (full presentation, p = 0.03; step-by-step presentation, p < 0.001), usage of the two different presentation modalities was vastly different (full presentation, 3.73 per cent; step-by-step presentation, 60.40 per cent). CONCLUSION: Automated procedural guidance in virtual temporal bone surgery is effective in improving trainee performance. Step-by-step presentation of procedural guidance was engaging, and therefore more likely to be used by the participants.
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ItemThe Construct Validity and Reliability of an Assessment Tool for Competency in Cochlear Implant Surgery(HINDAWI LTD, 2014)INTRODUCTION: We introduce a rating tool that objectively evaluates the skills of surgical trainees performing cochlear implant surgery. METHODS: Seven residents and seven experts performed cochlear implant surgery sessions from mastoidectomy to cochleostomy on a standardized virtual reality temporal bone. A total of twenty-eight assessment videos were recorded and two consultant otolaryngologists evaluated the performance of each participant using these videos. RESULTS: Interrater reliability was calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient for both the global and checklist components of the assessment instrument. The overall agreement was high. The construct validity of this instrument was strongly supported by the significantly higher scores in the expert group for both components. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the proposed assessment tool for cochlear implant surgery is reliable, accurate, and easy to use. This instrument can thus be used to provide objective feedback on overall and task-specific competency in cochlear implantation.
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ItemDo experts practice what they profess?(PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE, 2018-01-05)We investigated the variation of drilled regions of expert and trainee surgeons performing virtual temporal bone surgery to identify their compliance with standard drilling procedures. To this end, we recruited seven expert and six trainee ENT surgeons, who were asked to perform the surgical preparations for cochlear implantation on a virtual temporal bone. The temporal bone was divided into six regions using a semi-automated approach. The drilled area in each region was compared between groups using a sign test. Similarity within groups was calculated as a ratio of voxels (3D points) drilled by at least 75% of surgeons and at least 25% of surgeons. We observed a significant difference between groups when performing critical tasks such as exposing the facial nerve, opening the facial recess, and finding the round window. In these regions, experts' practice is more similar to each other than that between trainees. Consistent with models of skills development, expertise and expert-performance, the outcome of the analysis shows that experts perform similarly in critical parts of the procedure, and do indeed practice what they profess.
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ItemModels for understanding student engagement in digital learning environments(Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, 2016)Digital learning environments are increasingly prevalent in higher education. The flexible and less constrained nature of these environments, means students often need to be more autonomous in managing their own learning. This implies that students are sufficiently selfmotivated to successfully engage in autonomous learning. The concept of "student engagement" has shown promise in assisting researchers' and educators' understanding of how students' general involvement in study, and their more specific completion of learning tasks, can lead to beneficial outcomes in digital learning environments. However, student engagement has taken on multiple, diffuse definitions in higher education creating confusion about what engagement is and how best to promote it. In this paper we build on a model of engagement from organisational psychology that offers insight into task-level engagement. Established models in the area of student motivation are integrated to bring clarity to the construct at task-level in digital learning environments.
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ItemEditorial: Brain, mind and educational technology(ASCILITE, 2016)There has been substantial hype around the growing body of research investigating how learning occurs in the brain. Over the last century, in particular, we have learned more about how the brain functions than has been discovered throughout history (Albright, Jessell, Kandel & Posner, 2000). New imaging techniques, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), have been pivotal in driving this research agenda. The emergence of the field of cognitive neuroscience has further helped to align foundational work on uncovering how the brain works with what is known about learning from the psychological sciences. In combination with education, new fields such as ‘educational neuroscience’ have emerged with the aim of translating the findings from the laboratory to the classroom (e.g. Ansari, Coch & De Smedt, 2011).
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ItemAll roads lead to Rome: Tracking students’ affect as they overcome misconceptions(ASCILITE, 2016-11-28)Helping students to overcome misconceptions is a complex problem in digital learning environments in which students need to monitor their own progress and self-regulate their own learning. This is particularly so in flexible, discovery-based environments that have been criticised for the lack of support and structure provided to students. Emerging evidence suggests that discovery-based environments might be ineffective due to students becoming confused, frustrated or bored. In the study reported here, we examined the affective experience of students as they worked to overcome a common misconception in a discovery-based environment. While the results suggest that students experience a range of emotions, they all successfully overcame their initial misconception. Implications for the investigation of student affect in discovery-based environments and the design of these environments are also discussed.
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ItemPrior knowledge, confidence and understanding in interactive tutorials and simulations(ascilite, 2015)The balance between confidence and understanding can be difficult for students to manage, particularly in digital learning environments where they start with different levels of prior knowledge. The level of prior knowledge and perception of how well understood this prior knowledge is will drive the level of engagement and integration of new knowledge as students are exposed to it. Exploring the relationship between these factors is therefore important for the design of digital learning environments. In this paper we describe two studies examining the levels of confidence and understanding reported by students completing interactive and non-interactive exercises in a digital learning environment. The reported levels of confidence and understanding are then contrasted against pre- and post-test performance and self-reports of the experience completed at the conclusion of the session. The results suggest that students' prior knowledge influences their confidence and perceived difficulty of the material but does not necessarily influence performance.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableAdvancing the quality and status of teaching in Australian higher education(Office for Learning and Teaching, 2015)