published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Background: Online courses in healthcare programs like Dietetics have increased in availability and popularity. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the connections between online learning environments and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) dimensions among Nutrition Professionals. This research will add to the knowledge base of educators responsible for the design and development of online nutrition courses and will enhance Nutrition Professionals’ academic and professional outcomes. Design: Semi-experimental study design. Subjects/Setting: Thirty-one Nutrition Professionals with mean age of 29 years old. All elements of the study were done online. Statistical Analysis: MBTI dimension summaries were done for descriptive statistics. Fisher’s Exact Test was used to compare frequency of MBTI dimensions in the learning modules (LM) and to analyze learning modality preference based on MBTI dimensions. Two-Sample T-Tests compared test scores for LM groups and test scores for extraverts and introverts. Paired T-Test assessed improvement in test scores related to LM preference. Chi-Square Test compared preferences for the second learning module for both LM groups. Results: The majority of participants’ MBTIs were ESFJ at 35% or ISFJ at 19%. There were more extraverts (71%) compared to introverts (29%). Both LM groups had similar MBTI dimensions. Extraverts and introverts had similar improvements in scores and LM preferences. LM groups performed similarly and in general participants preferred the second learning module they were assigned. Preference for the second LM could be because participants enjoyed the first LM and wanted to learn more information. Both LM groups significantly improved their scores (P=<.0001) in their first and second learning modules regardless of learning module design. Participants were highly motivated to learn as evidenced by their enrollment in this study and completion of 10 hours of learning modules. Motivation to learn may have been the strongest reason performance significantly improved. Conclusion: LM groups significantly improved their LM scores and learned similar amounts. MBTI dimensions extravert and introvert and preferred learning modality had limited impact on performance for this sample of Nutrition Professionals. These results indicate that motivation may be the key to increasing performance in online nutrition courses.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Background. Traditionally, departmental appointment type (basic science or clinical) and/or degree earned (PhD, MD, or MD-PhD) have served as proxies for how we conceptualize clinical and basic science faculty. However, the landscape in which faculty work has considerably changed and now challenges the meaning of these cohorts. Within this context I introduce a behavior-based role variable that is defined by how faculty spend their time in four academic activities: teaching, research, patient care, and administrative duties. Methods. Two approaches to role were compared to department type and degree earned in terms of their effects on how faculty report their perceptions and experiences of faculty vitality and its related constructs. One approach included the percent of time faculty spent engaged in each of the four academic activities. The second approach included role groups described by a time allocation rubric. This study included faculty from four U.S. medical schools (N = 1,497) and data from the 2011 Indiana University School of Medicine Faculty Vitality Survey. Observed variable path analysis evaluated models that included traditional demographic variables, the role variable, and faculty vitality constructs (e.g., productivity, professional engagement, and career satisfaction). Results. Role group effects on faculty vitality constructs were much stronger than those of percent time variables, suggesting that patterns of how faculty distribute their time are more important than exactly how much time they allocate to single activities. Role group effects were generally similar to, and sometimes stronger than, those of department type and degree earned. Further, the number of activities that faculty participate in is as important a predictor of how faculty experience vitality constructs as their role groups. Conclusions. How faculty spend their time is a valuable and significant addition to vitality models and offers several advantages over traditional cohort variables. Insights into faculty behavior can also show how institutional missions are (or are not) being served. These data can inform hiring practices, development of academic tracks, and faculty development interventions. As institutions continue to unbundle faculty roles and faculty become increasingly differentiated, the role variable can offer a simple way to study faculty, especially across multiple institutions.