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Problem-based learning (PBL) is an education model utilized by Maastricht University and many other universities worldwide. PBL occurs in small, collaborative tutorials, under the facilitation of a tutor. This study explores the effects of standing tutorials, compared against sitting tutorials, on PBL among undergraduate students. A quantitative approach will be taken to objectively measure students' learning, and a qualitative approach will be taken to obtain a deeper understanding of the processes of learning.
It is hypothesized that students in the standing tutorials will be able to recall more academic concepts and link the concepts better than students in the sitting tutorials (H1). Audio-recording of the tutorials will be used to measure the discussions within the tutorials. The transcriptions obtained from the recording will be studied through text analysis. It is hypothesized that students in the standing tutorials will produce more discussions, and therefore a higher word count (H2). It is also hypothesized that the students in the standing tutorials will use more word categories that are conducive to the discussion and learning process (H3).
Through the qualitative approach, the content of the transcriptions will be analysed through a thematic analysis. It is hypothesized that the students in the standing tutorials will produce more learning-oriented interactions (H4).
Two additional factors that would be measured are subsequent physical activity and academic achievement. ActivPAL accelerometers will be used to measure the students' daily activity, to find out if the students' daily activities are affected by the standing tutorials, for example, students may sit more as a result of fatigue from the standing tutorials, or conversely transfer the active behaviour from the standing tutorials to other activities outside the tutorial group.It is hypothesized that standing tutorials do not affect the students' subsequent physical activity, and therefore there will be no significant differences of daily activity between students in the sitting and standing tutorials (H5). With regards to academic achievement, it is hypothesized that the students in the standing tutorials will have higher academic achievements after the course compared to the students in the sitting tutorials (H6).
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| Label | Type | Description | Intervention Names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sit-Sit | No Intervention | The participants will sit during the tutorials, and sit during the concept tests given to measure their learning. | |
| Sit-Stand | Active Comparator | The participants will sit during the tutorials. Intervention: Behavioral: Standing during Concept Test will be administered |
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| Stand-Stand | Active Comparator | The participants will stand during the tutorials, and stand during the concept tests given to measure their learning. Intervention: Behavioral: Standing during Concept Test and regular tutorial session will be administered. |
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| Stand-Sit | Active Comparator | The participants will stand during the tutorials. Intervention: Behavioral: Standing during regular tutorial session will be administered. However, participants will sit during the concept tests given to measure their learning. |
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| Name | Type | Description | Arm Group Labels | Other Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standing during Concept Test | Behavioral | The participants will stand with a standing desk at an ergonomically correct height during the administration of the Concept Test. |
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| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Process of Learning | The discussions that are carried out during PBL will be audio-recorded and undergo text and thematic analysis | 1 hour |
| Outcome of Learning | Concept Tests will be administered where students list the number of concepts they can recall, and draw a concept map. Both the recalled concepts and the map will be scored independently and combined for a final score. | 10 minutes |
| Academic Achievement | Grades of Final Exam | 2 hours |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Change of Subsequent Physical Activity | Participants' subsequent physical activity will be measured for 10 days, using the ActivPAL accelerometer, to measure whether standing tutorials (compared against sitting tutorials) have an affect on the participants' daily life's physical activity. | 7 days |
| Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) |
| Measure | Description | Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance | Student attendance across the course are compared to see if attendance is affected by the intervention | Less than 5 minutes (recorded by tutor, as required by the course, even without this intervention study) |
| Tutor Rating |
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
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| Facility | Status | City | State | ZIP | Country | Contacts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maastricht University | Maastricht | Limburg | 6200MD | Netherlands |
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December 2019 - depending on the time when summary data are published or otherwise made available.
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Participants are assigned to either a sitting or a standing tutorial, where their learning will be measured.
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| Standing during regular tutorial session | Behavioral | The participants will stand with a standing desk at an ergonomically correct height during their regular tutorial sessions. |
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| Standing during Concept Test and regular tutorial session | Behavioral | The participants will stand with a standing desk at an ergonomically correct height during the administration of the Concept Test and during their regular tutorial sessions. |
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Participants' overall feelings and emotions are compared between groups in the standing tutorials and sitting tutorials. |
| 5 minutes |
Tutor rating by the students, that the students will give at the end of the course (even without this intervention study)
| Less than 5 minutes |
| Search, Preparing and Reporting Phase Questionnaire | The questionnaire contains 23 statements, each with a five-point Likert scale describing to what extent the students agreed or disagreed with each statement (1 = 'completely disagree' to 5 = 'completely agree'). Nine statements refer to the theme of "search phase", six statements refer to the theme of "preparing phase", and eight statements refer to the theme of "reporting phase". The aggregate score for each theme will be summed up from the scores on the Likert scale for each statement. Higher scores indicate more effort/preparation for each theme. | 5 minutes |
| Group Interaction Questionnaire | This questionnaire is given to tutors to assess the quality of learning-oriented group interactions in PBL. The questionnaire contains 11 statements, each with a five-point Likert scale describing to what extent the tutors agreed or disagreed with each statement (1 = 'completely disagree' to 5 = 'completely agree'). Four statements refer to the theme of "exploratory questions", four statements refer to the theme of "cumulative reasoning", and three statements refer to the theme of "handling conflicts". The aggregate score for each theme will be summed up from the scores on the Likert scale for each statement. Higher scores indicate better discussion quality for each theme. | 5 minutes |