Project-Based Learning Guidelines for Health Sciences Students: An Analysis with Data Mining and Qualitative Techniques

Summary

Here, we present a protocol for the behavioral analysis of a project-based learning methodology for health sciences students (20-56 years old). The protocol facilitates the comparison of the participants' performance in e-Learning versus blended-Learning (b-Learning) through a monitoring tool. The results are analyzed using Educational Data Mining and qualitative techniques.

Abstract

Academic leaders all over the world are encouraging the use of active methodologies in teaching, especially in higher education. The reason for this is that social changes are happening at an ever-increasing rate, and they require students and teachers to develop digital skills. This is especially significant for health sciences degrees, in which future graduates must have effective problem-solving skills. To respond to this challenge, the use of a project-based learning (PBL) methodology, together with various monitoring techniques based on the use of Educational Data Mining (EDM) and mixed methods, will provide teachers with information about the effectiveness of the methodology and guide the implementation of personalized educational responses.

This study provides a protocol for the application of the PBL methodology in e-Learning and blended-Learning (b-Learning) teaching modalities for health sciences students studying occupational therapy in higher education. In addition, statistical techniques for the analysis of covariance and unsupervised learning allow differences to be detected between the two teaching modalities, thus specifying their effectiveness in terms of a range of variables related to behavioral patterns, performance, and satisfaction. Data visualization also helps in understanding the qualitative aspects of the learning process. These data will help teachers to produce more effective proposals for the implementation of the PBL methodology based on the based on the context of the teaching-learning process. Therefore, this protocol offers many resources and materials to help teachers implement the PBL methodology in e-Learning and b-Learning teaching methods.

Introduction

Characteristics of the project-based learning methodology
Nowadays, professionals in various sectors face numerous (technical, sociopolitical, and economic) challenges arising from globalization in a variety of spheres, such as the environment¹. These issues influence the global spread of diseases, thus diminishing resources, increasing poverty, and necessitating the responsibility to create sustainable societies¹. Health experts have the potential and the skills to ensure the viability of communities by advancing care strategies and techniques on a large scale while contributing to the improvement o....

Protocol

This protocol was executed in compliance with the procedural regulations of the Bioethics Committee of the University of Burgos (Spain) number IO 03/2022. Before participating, the respondents were made fully aware of the research objectives and provided their informed consent. They received no financial compensation for their participation.

1. Participant recruitment

1. Recruit adult participants aged between 20 years old and 56 years old from two groups (students and teachers) in higher education, specifically undergraduate students in occupational therapy.
   NOTE: Table 1 shows the list of st....

Results

The 98 participants recruited for the present study were undergraduate occupational therapy students aged between 21 years old and 56 years old (Table 1). The protocol was tested over 2 academic years at the University of Burgos. The delivery of the protocol is summarized in Table 4.

Table 4: Summary of the application of the protocol for project-based learning for university students. Abbreviation: LMS = Learning Management Systems.

Discussion

This study leads to the conclusion that the teaching modality (e-Learning vs. b-Learning) may affect the results in different elements of PBL^17,18. In future studies, this aspect will be explored in greater depth to see if the same pattern is found with students from other (particularly health sciences) courses, since this is the subject of this protocol. In contrast, no differences were found in the total learning outcomes or in student satisfaction with the tea.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Atlas.ti v.9	Atlas.ti
Orange v. 3.30	Orange
SPSS v.24	SPSS
UBUVirtual	UBU