<p>Background: Practice knowledge exists as a complex relationship between questions and answers in a context of meaning that is often intuitive and hidden from the novice practitioner. Physiotherapy education, which aims to develop patterns of thinking, reflection and reasoning as part of practice knowledge, is often based on didactic teaching methods that emphasise the learning of facts without highlighting the relationships between them. In order to improve health outcomes for patients, clinical educators must&nbsp / consider redesigning the curriculum to take into account the changing and complex nature of physiotherapy education. There is some evidence that a blended approach to&nbsp / teaching and learning may facilitate the development of graduates who are more capable of reflection, reasoning and critical thinking, and who can adapt and respond to the&nbsp / complex clinical environment. The purpose of this study was to develop principles that could be used to guide the design of blended learning environments that aim to develop&nbsp / capability in undergraduate physiotherapy students. Method: The study took place in a university physiotherapy department in the Western Cape in South Africa, among&nbsp / undergraduate students. Design research was used as a framework to guide the study, and included a range of research methods as part of that process. The problem was&nbsp / identified using a systematic review of the literature and a survey of students. The design of the blended intervention that aimed to address the problem was informed by a&nbsp / narrative review of theoretical frameworks, two pilot studies that evaluated different aspects of blended learning, and a Delphi study. This process led to the development of a set&nbsp / of design principles which were used to inform the blended intervention, which was implemented and evaluated during 2012. Results: The final results showed that students had undergone a transformation in how they thought about the process and practice of learning as part of physiotherapy education, demonstrating critical approaches towards&nbsp / knowledge, the profession and authority. These changes were brought about by changing teaching and learning practices that were informed by the design principles in the&nbsp / preliminary phases of the project. These principles emphasised the use of technology to interact, articulate understanding, build relationships, embrace complexity, encourage&nbsp / creativity, stimulate reflection, acknowledge emotion, enhance flexibility and immerse students in the learning space. Discussion: While clinical education is a complex undertaking with many challenges, evidence presented in this study demonstrates that the development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection can be enhanced through the intentional use of technology as part of a blended approach to teaching and learning. The design principles offer clinical educators a framework upon which to construct learning environments where the affordances of technology can be mapped to the principles, which are based on a sound pedagogical foundation. In this way, the use of technology in the learning environment is constructed around principles that are informed by theory. However, clinical educators who are considering the integration of&nbsp / innovative strategies in the curriculum should be aware that students may initially be reluctant to engage in self-directed learning activities, and that resistance from colleagues&nbsp / may obstruct the process. Conclusion: The development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection in undergraduate physiotherapy students may be enhanced through&nbsp / the intentional use of appropriate technology that aims to fundamentally change teaching and learning practices. Design research offers a practical approach to conducting&nbsp / research in clinical education, leading to the development of principles of learning that are based on theory. <br /> iii</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX231196.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1968. / Title from title page screen, viewed Aug. 16, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Benjamin C. Hubbard (chair), Elmer Lemke, Alan Hickrod. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-108). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on March 3, 2010). School of Nursing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Judith Halstead, Anna McDaniel, Mary L. Fisher, Lillian Stokes. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-107).

Title from title page of PDF (University of Missouri--St. Louis, viewed March 8, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 436-484).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-119). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

<p>Background: Practice knowledge exists as a complex relationship between questions and answers in a context of meaning that is often intuitive and hidden from the novice practitioner. Physiotherapy education, which aims to develop patterns of thinking, reflection and reasoning as part of practice knowledge, is often based on didactic teaching methods that emphasise the learning of facts without highlighting the relationships between them. In order to improve health outcomes for patients, clinical educators must&nbsp / consider redesigning the curriculum to take into account the changing and complex nature of physiotherapy education. There is some evidence that a blended approach to&nbsp / teaching and learning may facilitate the development of graduates who are more capable of reflection, reasoning and critical thinking, and who can adapt and respond to the&nbsp / complex clinical environment. The purpose of this study was to develop principles that could be used to guide the design of blended learning environments that aim to develop&nbsp / capability in undergraduate physiotherapy students. Method: The study took place in a university physiotherapy department in the Western Cape in South Africa, among&nbsp / undergraduate students. Design research was used as a framework to guide the study, and included a range of research methods as part of that process. The problem was&nbsp / identified using a systematic review of the literature and a survey of students. The design of the blended intervention that aimed to address the problem was informed by a&nbsp / narrative review of theoretical frameworks, two pilot studies that evaluated different aspects of blended learning, and a Delphi study. This process led to the development of a set&nbsp / of design principles which were used to inform the blended intervention, which was implemented and evaluated during 2012. Results: The final results showed that students had undergone a transformation in how they thought about the process and practice of learning as part of physiotherapy education, demonstrating critical approaches towards&nbsp / knowledge, the profession and authority. These changes were brought about by changing teaching and learning practices that were informed by the design principles in the&nbsp / preliminary phases of the project. These principles emphasised the use of technology to interact, articulate understanding, build relationships, embrace complexity, encourage&nbsp / creativity, stimulate reflection, acknowledge emotion, enhance flexibility and immerse students in the learning space. Discussion: While clinical education is a complex undertaking with many challenges, evidence presented in this study demonstrates that the development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection can be enhanced through the intentional use of technology as part of a blended approach to teaching and learning. The design principles offer clinical educators a framework upon which to construct learning environments where the affordances of technology can be mapped to the principles, which are based on a sound pedagogical foundation. In this way, the use of technology in the learning environment is constructed around principles that are informed by theory. However, clinical educators who are considering the integration of&nbsp / innovative strategies in the curriculum should be aware that students may initially be reluctant to engage in self-directed learning activities, and that resistance from colleagues&nbsp / may obstruct the process. Conclusion: The development of clinical reasoning, critical thinking and reflection in undergraduate physiotherapy students may be enhanced through&nbsp / the intentional use of appropriate technology that aims to fundamentally change teaching and learning practices. Design research offers a practical approach to conducting&nbsp / research in clinical education, leading to the development of principles of learning that are based on theory. <br /> iii</p>

No description available.

This thesis reports the outcomes of an investigation into students’ experience of Problem-based learning (PBL) in virtual space. PBL is increasingly being used in many fields including engineering education. At the same time many engineering education providers are turning to online distance education. Unfortunately there is a dearth of research into what constitutes an effective learning experience for adult learners who undertake PBL instruction through online distance education. Research was therefore focussed on discovering the qualitatively different ways that students experience PBL in virtual space. Data was collected in an electronic environment from a course, which adopted the PBL strategy and was delivered entirely in virtual space. Students in this course were asked to respond to open-ended questions designed to elicit their learning experience in the course. Data was analysed using the phenomenographical approach. This interpretative research method concentrated on mapping the qualitative differences in students’ interpretations of their experience in the course. Five qualitatively different ways of experiencing were discovered: Conception 1: ‘A necessary evil for program progression’; Conception 2: ‘Developing skills to understand, evaluate, and solve technical Engineering and Surveying problems’; Conception 3: ‘Developing skills to work effectively in teams in virtual space’; Conception 4: ‘A unique approach to learning how to learn’; Conception 5: ‘Enhancing personal growth’. Each conception reveals variation in how students attend to learning by PBL in virtual space. Results indicate that the design of students’ online learning experience was responsible for making students aware of deeper ways of experiencing PBL in virtual space. Results also suggest that the quality and quantity of interaction with the team facilitator may have a significant impact on the student experience in virtual PBL courses. The outcomes imply pedagogical strategies can be devised for shifting students’ focus as they engage in the virtual PBL experience to effectively manage the student learning experience and thereby ensure that they gain maximum benefit. The results from this research hold important ramifications for graduates with respect to their ease of transition into professional work as well as their later professional competence in terms of problem solving, ability to transfer basic knowledge to real-life engineering scenarios, ability to adapt to changes and apply knowledge in unusual situations, ability to think critically and creatively, and a commitment to continuous life-long learning and self-improvement.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Barrie Bennett.