<p> The study was designed to examine the predictive relationship between the variables of seat preference, learning style, and past profession, and student achievement. A convenience sample of N = 248 traditional manual osteopathic students of two Canadian and one Swiss accredited English speaking part-time colleges was recruited for the quasi experimental predictive study. The participants were adult learners ranging in age from 20 – 69 years with 71% of the sample being female in accordance to the population demographic. The data collection included grade score, learning style as measured by the Learning Style Inventory (LSI 3.1), and a researcher designed survey, Demographic and Seat Preference Survey (DSPS), which gathered information on age, past profession, education, sensory deficits, and seat preferences of three seat diagrams. A multiple regression analysis was used to create the predictive equation. The variables seat preference, learning style, and past profession statistically predicted student achievement <i>R</i><sup>2</sup> = .10, <i> F</i>(10, 217) = 2.33, <i>p</i> = .01, power .92. The specific variables action seat in the 10 X 5 seating plan <i>b</i><sub>1 </sub> <sub>10X5AS</sub> = 2.91, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.51, <i> p</i> = .01, 95%CI[0.63, 5.20]; the professions of athletic therapy <i> b</i><sub>2</sub> <sub>AT</sub> = 4.60, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.77, <i> p</i> = .01, 95%CI[1.33, 7.86], Nurse/kinesiologist/occupational therapist <i> b</i><sub>2</sub> <sub>NR/KIN/OT</sub> = 4.10, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.54, <i>p</i> = .01, 95%CI[0.92, 7.27], and Other profession <i> b</i><sub>2</sub> <sub>OTHER</sub> = 3.48, <i>t</i>(217) = 2.26, <i>p</i> = .03, 95%CI[0.45, 6.52]; and the diverging learning style <i>b</i><sub>5</sub><sub>diverging</sub> = -3.03, <i> t</i>(217) = -2.13, <i>p</i> = .03, [-5.83, -0.23] contributed significantly to the prediction. In pair-wise comparisons there were significant (<i>p</i> < .05) differences in mean achievement scores between the professions of athletic therapists, nurse/kinesiologists/occupational therapists, and other professions, and medical doctor/osteopathic physician/dentist, and massage therapists; between students preferring the assimilating learning style and students preferring the diverging learning style; and between the 10 X 5 action seats and non-action seats. The findings of the study support the predictive nature of past professions, learning style, and action seat preference in an English-speaking accredited part-time traditional manual osteopathic program. Recommendations for continued data collection and investigating the variables of first language and campus location are made.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3646840 |
| Date | 19 December 2014 |
| Creators | Drew, Tara M. |
| Publisher | Capella University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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