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Background & Objective: Identifying the learning process of surgical technologist students in the operating room environment can effectively reveal the factors and strategies they use to learn and enhance the quality of their education. This study aimed to elucidate the clinical learning process of surgical technologist students.
Materials & Methods: This qualitative study employed a grounded theory approach at Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in 2022. Data were gathered through six in-depth individual interviews and three focus groups. Purposeful and theoretical sampling persisted until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data analysis was conducted using MAXQDA10 software.
Results: Thirteen subcategories and four main categories were found. The core variable was self-protection. Students fear making mistakes in the uncertain learning environment and employ flexible strategies, utilizing relationship-oriented approaches to achieve success while avoiding performance that could hinder learning, thereby preventing issues that would protect themselves.
Conclusion: It is essential to enhance students' learning by employing strategies that boost their self-confidence and avoid adhering to the current approach solely for the satisfaction of the training team, thereby preventing numerous negative consequences. Clinical managers are also encouraged to foster an educational atmosphere in the operating room and to cultivate a positive attitude among employees to support student education in these settings. Establishing constructive communication between the clinical environment and the educational system and emphasizing the significance of student education can improve the educational atmosphere in clinical settings.
 

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Background & Objective: Teaching was primarily didactic and teacher-centered in ancient India. Medical educators have emphasized the need for active learning strategies to engage the students in large classroom teaching. An extensive literature search revealed only minimal publications on the large classroom jigsaw method. Hence, this study was done to introduce and incorporate the jigsaw method as a technique for large classroom teaching and learning in pathology. Further, it was done to assess its effectiveness in a large classroom setting and see how students perceived this method.
Material & Methods: A quasi-experimental study without control groups (One group pretest-posttest design) was conducted for 141 MBBS II phase students in a large classroom jigsaw activity from 2023-24. A didactic lecture was taken prior. A pre-test was taken, and the topics for subgroups, study material, and questions were intimated in advance. On the day of the jigsaw activity, students from each group were randomly selected to explain the subtopic to the whole class. Finally, two students were made to summarize. Post-test and feedback were taken, and their validity and reliability were approved. The data was analyzed using descriptive and analytical tests with SPSS Version 20 at a significance level of P<0.05.
Results: The mean marks scored in the post-test was 14.57 ± 3.20 compared to 11.1 ± 3.50 in the pre-test for 20 marks. 89.3% of students scored 50% and above in the post-test. There was a significant performance improvement (p < 0.001). In the feedback, 78.7% of students agreed they would like to participate in similar interactive sessions. The highest satisfaction index, 86.73, was for in-depth coverage of topics.
Conclusion: The jigsaw large classroom teaching strategy promotes extensive coverage of topics in a short period and can be used as a tool for revision and knowledge retention in collaborative learning.
 

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Background & Objective: In medical education, effective teaching/learning strategies are crucial, especially those that improve academic motivation and self-control. The aim of this study was to evaluate how the doughnut round teaching method versus the traditional lecture approach affected medical students’ motivation and self-regulation.
Materials & Methods: Forty medical students participated in this semi-experimental study. The participants were divided into two groups using the random allocation method through Excel software: The A group was doughnut (20 students), while the B group followed lecture methods (20 students). Both before and after the intervention, assessments were conducted using Hatter's academic motivation scale and Bouffard's self-regulation scale. ANCOVA, the independent t-test, the paired t-test, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were among the statistics we employed for data analysis. Software called SPSS version 16 was used for all of our analyses.
Results: The treatment group demonstrated significant improvements in academic motivation (p < 0.001) and self-regulation (p < 0.001) in the post-test, while the control group showed no significant changes. The experimental group's pre-test and post-test scores significantly differed, indicating the effectiveness of the doughnut round teaching method in enhancing self-control and motivation.
Conclusion: The round doughnut round teaching technique significantly outperformed the standard lecture style in terms of students' academic motivation and self-regulation. This approach promotes independent study and active participation, which may improve academic performance in medical school.

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  Background and objective: Online education is one of the fastest growing modes of teaching which afford great flexibility in terms of how, when and where students can learn. This is particularly relevant in higher education since students might often need to manipulate their own learning.

  A number of studies have compared learning outcomes across online courses with traditional ones
(e.g., Alavi, Yoo, and Vogel, 1997 Hiltz, 1993 Hiltz and Johnson, 1990 Leinder and Jarvenpaa, 1993 Piccoli, Ahmad and Ives, 2001).These and other research studies have shown that there are no significant differences between two modes of delivery.

  Material and Methods: English language instruction in general and ESP in particular have benefited from such developments around the world. This research was conducted in order to compare the achievement of the participants toward an online new course. This is the first online course in ESP in the Ministry of Health.

  Results: The course was developed according to the results of a needs analysis questionnaire. We conducted the study. The results correspond to some previous studies such as those of Russel (1999). The statistical analysis revealed that there was no significant difference in achievement of students who were learning English through the two modes of instruction.

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English is undoubtedly the most important language in the world. As one of the most important communicative tools, it is also one of the most fundamental skills for using references and research findings in the world today. However, the teaching and learning of this language in Iran needs greater attention since users are unable, in most cases, to practically use it in various fields. The present study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of English language teaching in Iranian medical universities from the perspective of nursing and midwifery graduates and students.

Methods and Materials: In this descriptive analytical study, 297 students and graduates of nursing and midwifery were selected through randomized cluster sampling, and completed a questionnaire. The results were analyzed with SPSS 11.5.

Results: Out of 297 participants, 56% were nurses and midwifes, and 44% were students. Mean score of English use in research was 2.054 (0-5), where 75% of the participants scored below 2.5. Mean score of general English use was 2.57, where 75% of the participants scored below 3.1. Also, mean score of medical English use was 2.34, where 75% of the participants scored below 2.7. Based on Mann Whitney test, there was a significant difference between the attitude of graduates (161.64) and students (129.96) regarding general English use (p=0.002).

Conclusion: Mean scores in various fields indicate that English language teaching has not been effective in medical universities.

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Background and Objective: Clinical learning is an important section of nursing education. In clinical learning, students put to use what they have learned theoretically. This can be an effective factor in nursing students' clinical learning. Nursing students spend a long time in clinical learning thus they are very well aware of the role of nurses in students learning and education.

Methods and Materials: This study is a descriptive survey. Sampling method was based on census.Samples were 104 nursing students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. Its content validity and reliability were estimated by Chronbach α (89%). Analysis was done by SPSS software.

Results: Findings indicated that majority of nursing students agreed with the nurses' important role in clinical education. Also, they agreed that students increase their efficiency with nurses' support.

Conclusion: Regarding the importance of nurses' role in nursing students’ clinical education and learning, education authorities should highlight this role for promoting student learning.

 

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Background and objective: Clinical learning environment plays an important role in clinical learning of nursing students. Students' perception of the clinical learning environment with what exists in reality is different and they look for the more desirable learning environment. Assessing nursing students' perception and exploring the effects of undergraduate curriculum is one of the most important steps in the continuing development of nursing education. The purpose of this study was to determine pre-registration student nurses perception of the clinical learning environment during clinical placements

Material and Methods: This study was descriptive cross-sectional. 217 baccalaureate nursing students from Tehran nursing & midwifery faculty participated in this study. For data collection, "clinical learning environment inventory" was used that contains 42 item in six areas, and completed by the students on the last day of the placement. Data was analyzed by SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistic.

Results: The T-test showed that there were differences between mean scores in the assessed areas according to the nursing students' perception of the clinical learning environment and this difference with demographic variables (years and clinical ward) were statistically significant (p˂0.05).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that nursing students do not have positive perception of the clinical learning environment. Therefore, the quality of clinical learning and student satisfaction should be improved by a more coherent planning.

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Background and Objective: Training in clinical centers provides the students with opportunities to experience nursing in the real world and put theoretical knowledge into practice. The clinical learning environment is an interactive network of contributing forces in learning outcome of the students. Although the clinical learning process is a basic concept in preparing the nursing students for clinical environment practice, there is only a limited knowledge of factors affecting it in Iranian clinical environment. This research aims at gaining in-depth understanding of the factors affecting the clinical learning of nursing students regarding their situation and the organization structure of Iranian clinical environment. Material and Methods: The participants in this qualitative study were 19 nursing students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (ZUMS). The data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The interviews were scripted verbatim and analyzed concurrently. Results: Three main themes were recognized through analyzing the data. The main themes affecting the clinical learning of nursing students included clinical learning environment, educational behavior of clinical instructors, and students' individual factors. Conclusion: The research results provide on in depth understanding of nursing students' clinical experiences in Iran. Deeper understanding of the factors affecting the clinical learning process of the students and its outcome, drawing the educational managers' attention, and clinical instructors and students to the facilitating factors, and reducing or controlling the inhibiting factors will result in improved learning in students, and put the educational managers and clinical teachers in a better situation for clinical training.

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Background and Objective: The purpose of this research was analysis and evalution of obstacles to effectiveness of Islamic lessons in Kashan Universities Medical sciences. Materials and Methods: Statistical population of this research included all students in Kashan Universities Medical sciences (N=2457)out of which a sample of 106 students participated in the study. Data was collected using a questionnaire developed by the researchers with a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.83. Results: Results indicated that although general attitude toward Islamic courses is relatively desirable, there are a series of internal and external factors which decreases efficiency and effectiveness of these lessons. Conclusion: Internal and external factors are the cause of decreased effectiveness of such lessons.

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Background and Objective: Learning is an important area of research in psychology. Learning is a difficult term to define. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between thinking styles and preference learning methods among students of management and medical information collage in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. 136 first and second year students of Management and Medical Information studying in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were selected. Data gathering tools were VARK and Robert J. Strasburg questionnaires. Data was analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics, T-test, and Pearson correlation formula. Results: Students thinking styles and preference learning methods were directly related. Results showed that there was a significant difference between responses to the questionnaires (p≤0.05). Judging style related to writing – reading method (p≤0.05). Conclusion: As the results between thinking styles and preference learning methods were directly related, teachers and administrators can use these results to increase educational quality. This may be a way to change learning system.

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Background and Objective: Learning style is one of the factors that affect learning and academic achievement of learners so that understanding it helps individuals adopt a more appropriate way of learning. Teachers' learning styles also affect selected teaching activities and learning environment. This study assesses the learning styles of students and faculty members in pre-clinical stage of medical education at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the 2011-12. 221 medical students and 106 faculty staff in preclinical stage at Tehran University of Medical Sciences participated in a census study. Kolb's Learning Style Inventory was used to conduct the research. Results: Much of the students’ learning style was converging (34.4%) and accommodating (30.8%) while the majority of the faculty learning style was respectively converging (41.5%) and absorbent (26.4%). There was a significant difference (p=0.000) between learning styles of the students and the faculty staff. Conclusion: Similarity between learning style of medical students and the faculty increases learning motivation and achievement. We recommend that the faculty, regardless of their learning preferences, use laboratory and problem solving method in their teaching. In addition, the communication skills of medical students should also be strengthened.

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Background and objective: A learning environment is all of the physical surroundings, psychological or emotional conditions, and social or cultural influences affecting the growth and development of a learner in an educational institution. Learning environment is an important determinant of high quality learning. Elements of the educational environment are related to academic achievement and course satisfaction. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the educational environment at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences based on students' point of view. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. A total of 374 students were selected randomly and the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 11.5 and descriptive and analytical statistics such as the mean, the independent samples t test and one-way ANOVA. A total of 340 students (90.9%) completed the DREEM. Results: The overall DREEM score was 100.26 out of a maximum 200. It represents an average educational environment. The highest DREEM score mean was 23.03 out of maximum 44 (52.35%) in students’ perceptions of the teachers (representing moving in the right direction) and the lowest DREEM score mean was 22.23 out of maximum 48 (46.5%) in students’ perceptions of the learning (representing negative attitude to learning). The difference of mean scores in faculties were statistically significant in all of the DREEM domains except teacher domain (p <0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between male and female students for the DREEM subscale scores. Conclusion: The finding of this study showed that students’ perceptions of the educational environment are average and there is a room for improvement in all domains of educational environment. But, improvements are needed more in learning and social self-perception domains.

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Background and Objective: Increasing access to hardware and software applications for e-learning has opened a new horizon facing educational institutions that can help to enhance the quality of education. This study was designed to compare the satisfaction and success rate of medical students for their endocrine pathophysiology course with two methods of education using e-learning vs lecture-based mode of instruction. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 57 medical students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in academic educational year of 2012. Topics related to pathophysiology of endocrine system were divided into two parts. Half of the instructional content delivered via lecture-based approach by two other instructors while the remaining divided in two parts and conveyed by the researcher via e-learning and lecture. At the end of the course the level of satisfaction of the students was evaluated by a valid questionnaire and their scores in lecture courses were compared with scores in courses taught using distance education Results: There were no significant differences between average test scores of students in e- learning courses (11.9± 2.7) and in lecture –based delivery of the course with the same teacher (12.25± 2.3) and also courses taught by lecture of other teachers (11.2± 3.4).The students were ranked based on their final scores in basic science courses. No difference was found between the scores of strong students in e-learning and lecture training contents. However, weak students got better scores in lecture training courses though their success rate to pass the courses were not different. Conclusion:E-learning is as effective as conventional lectures in training the pathophysiology of endocrine system course in medical students. Studies on comparing cost of the two methods are recommended

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  Background and Objective : Electronic learning is a pre-constructed and programmed use of electronic system and computer for supporting the process of learning. The goal of electronic training is to enable anyone to use machines for learning purpose. The aim of this study is to investigate the obstacles to the development of E-learning in educational system in Shahid Chamran University.

  Materials and Methods : This study has been done with a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Samples consist of 163 people at Shahid Chamran University. Stratified random sampling was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed for data analysis.

  Results : We found that administrative , technological , organizational , and individual factor s were significantly effective on challenges in the e-learning program at Shahid Chamran University. The mean values for the mentioned factors were 4.07, 4.03, 3.85, 3.83 respectively.

  Conclusion : A combination of the mentioned factors is effective on e-learning for higher education

 

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  Background and Objective : Learning Style is one of the most effective factors in academic achievement. Hence, attention to learning style is essential to success in any educational system . This study was conducted to investigate relationship between learning styles, and academic achievement among students of Zanjan School of Nursing and Midwifery in 2013.

  Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study 208 students who enrolled at least one semester in the School of Nursing and Midwifery were randomly selected. The instruments of collecting data were Kolb Learning Style Inventory (3.1-2005) and a demographic form. These questionnaires were given to subjects in accordance with established ethical codes. The collected data were entered SPSS ( 18 ) and analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics .

  Results: The results indicate d that the highest mean belonged to abstract conceptualization learning styles (76.5 ± 35.33) and the lowest to actual experience (22.6 ± 16.26) respectively. In other words, most of the students in this study could benefit from the assimilating and diverging learning styles in their learning. There is a significant relationship between active experimentation learning style and students' academic achievement (r= 0.136, p= 0.05).

  Conclusion: Since the majority of the student learning styles were assimilating and diverging, and there existed a significant relationship between the students’ learning styles and their academic achievement, teachers are advised to take practical steps to involve them in analytical and explanatory teaching.

 

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  Background and Objective : Experiences that the learners gain in the education system is not limited to the explicit curriculum other factors in the form of a hidden curriculum have a significant role in shaping students' learning. The purpose of this research was to study the hidden curriculum components in Kashan University of Medical Sciences based students' views.

  Materials and Methods : This was a descriptive- survey study. The statistical population included all students of Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2012- 2013 of which 111 students were selected by random stratified sampling method. To collect research data, we used the hidden curriculum questionnaire with 36 items, whose reliability coefficient was computed through Cronbach alpha (0.86). The questionnaire's content validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. Data analysis was carried out by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS statistical software.

  Results : Findings showed that hidden curriculum mean (3.26) was higher than average (3). Also, there was not a significant difference between the students' views about the hidden curriculum.

  Conclusion : Change and improvement of the hidden curriculum elements is necessary.

 

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Introduction: Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a key element in increasing the knowledge, skill, quality and effectiveness of health systems. Initially the CME programs were defined as face to face programs, but for many reasons distance learning by CME programs was also introduced. Aim: This study aimed to determine the viewpoints of faculty members of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences about distance learning by CME. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 74 faculty members participating in CME programs in 2011, were selected by convenience sampling method. The data was collected through a researcher-made questionnaire which was complete by self-report then the data were analyzed by SPSS (v.18). Results: 58.6% of subjects agreed with distance learning CME and preferred that over 40% of CME be performed as programs. Among these subjects, 53.7% of them expressed on-line CME as a first priority. Conclusion: the attitudes of faculty members toward distance learning programs were positive and according to these results, distance learning programs including on-line CME are suggested

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Background and Objective: Learning via mobile, as a new stage of electronic learning development, has been introduced to provide opportunities for transferring information and improving students learning that its role has not defined in medical education clearly. Present study was carried out to compare the effects of anatomy education through lecture and mobile learning on medicine students’ learning and knowledge retention. Material and Methods: This quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design, conducted on 62 medicine students at Busheher University of Medical Sciences on 2013. Students were selected through census method and randomly divided into control group (instructed by lecture) and experimental group (instructed by mobile) and after pretest, received education. To collect data, an achievement test was used which included 30 questions in three levels of knowledge, apprehension and application. The effects of training were measure immediately after training and 4 weeks later. Data were analyzed through repeated measure ANOVA and independent t-tests with SPSS19 software. Results: The mean and standard deviation of scores in all learning levels in the lecture group before, immediately after and 4 weeks after training were respectively 12.03±2.822, 21.10±3.294 and 19.30±4.01 (P<0.001) and were 14.3±3.706, 21.13±4.416 and 21.33±3.177 in the mobile learning group. No significant difference was observed between the groups in the post-test(P=0.1), but a significant difference (P=0.03) demonstrated the effectiveness of mobile learning in the recall stage. Conclusion: Both methods are effective ways to improve learning and retention scores of medicine students in anatomy course but education through mobile is more effective in retaining.

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  Introduction:

  The purpose of this study was to assess the amount of compatibility of organizational properties and principles in Zanjan Univsersity of Medical Sciences with the established standards from both the staff and managers’ point of view. Peter Senge Assessment Characteristics of Learning Organization (personal mastery, shared vision, mental models, team learning and system approach) was used for this goal.

  Methods:

  This descriptive-survey was carried out on 360 employees and managers out of 5693 persons. A questionnaire of 25 items was used to collect the data. Then, the data was analyzed using T- test, single group T- test and Anova. The underlying hypothesis was that from the perspective of managers and employees of Zanjan Medical University, this university has a good condition concerning standards of a learning organization. Testing this hypothesis revealed that there was a difference in the present and a favorable condition. Meanwhile, the obtained means for personal mastery, shared vision, mental models, team learning and system approach had a significant relationship with the predicted mean.

  Results:

  Our results indicated that some of the features of learning organization in Zanjan Medical University are not satisfactory or in accordance with the standard values. Moreover, the mean difference in managers and employees pointed out the relationship was significant as to mental models and system approach.

  Conclusion:
This finding puts that the managers’ status concerning" mental models” and “system approach” is better than the employees’. The means difference in the males and females in mental models were also statistically significant. The results showed that in mental models of Feature of Learning Organization in the males was higher than the females. Level of education did not have specific effect on the employees’ functioning or other aspects of learning organization. Also, duration of work history in terms of years did not have any effect on the employees’ functioning in different aspects of learning organization.

  

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Background and objective: Learning environment is an important determinant to motivating for learning. In the education environment, lecturers play a vital role at effective learning. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the educational environment at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences by Lecturer ' point of view. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out at Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. A total of 120 lecturers were selected randomly and the modified Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM) was used for data collection. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS 11.5 and descriptive and analytical statistics such as mean, independent samples t test and one way ANOVA. Results: The overall DREEM score was (85.2± 12.24). It represents a favorable educational environment. The lowest DREEM score mean was 24.82 out of maximum 44 (56.42%) in lecturers’ perceptions of the teachers (representing moving in the right direction) and the highest DREEM score mean was 30.55 out of maximum 48 (63.64%) in lecturers’ perceptions of the learning (representing positive attitude to learning ). The difference of mean scores in the learning domain were statistically significant on the basis of faculties (p <0.05) and educational group (p <0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between male and female lecturers for the DREEM subscale scores. Conclusion: the finding of this study showed that lecturers’ perceptions of the educational environment are fairly favorable and there is a room for improvement in the educational environment.