Award Date

Spring 5-2014

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

Advisor 1

Daniel Young

First Committee Member

Merrill Landers

Second Committee Member

Kai-Yu Ho

Number of Pages

47

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Evidence supports the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) versus a traditional face-to-face teaching model, but little is known regarding the effectiveness of a blended pedagogy. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a blended learning format in a pathophysiology course for entry-level Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) students, to evaluate their level of satisfaction of a podcast formatted course, and to observe changes in cohort performance over time.

Subjects: Five University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) DPT cohorts (n = 139) participated in the study. Some cohorts were taught in a traditional classroom model, while others were taught in a blended format. Participation required consent, and no random assignment was used in the study.

Methods: Student performance was determined by averaging the grade for each of the 4 Quizzes and 2 Tests of each cohort. The mean examination and quiz percentages were compared using ANOVA for significant variance by cohort, and Bonferroni post-hoc testing was applied for cases with variance. Individual cohorts were combined into two groups based on method of teaching received (traditional and blended pedagogy) and compared using independent two tailed t-tests. Student preparation time for the blended format was assessed through the use of time logs analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficients to determine if time invested was related to student performance. Student satisfaction was determined through the use of a survey using the Likert scale.

Results: Post-hoc testing revealed some statistically significant differences between cohort performance. Independent t-tests determined that the traditional teaching method had a significantly higher grade percentage for quiz 4 (p < .001) only when compared to the blended pedagogy approach. There was a moderate, statistically significant correlation for the Midterm (r = .457, p = .033) and Cumulative grade (r = .493, p = .022) and student prep time invested. According to the survey, the majority of student responses were positive, however, many desired more time to interact with the professor and found that they were less motivated to listen to a podcast lecture independently.

Conclusion: This study was inconclusive in determining if student performance was better for a traditional teaching model versus blended pedagogy as determined by grades. Student satisfaction was mixed; however, the overall consensus was positive for the use of podcast lectures.

Keywords

Education; Educational Methods; Higher Education; Physical Therapy

Disciplines

Physical Therapy

File Format

pdf

File Size

995 Kb

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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