Medical students’ motivation of using new digital learning resources to support self-regulatory learning

Abstract

Medical education has historically been dominated by traditional lectures, leaving students as passive receivers. Modern research in education, however, shows that we can further improve students’ learning outcome by increasing the share of interactive learning methods. The purpose of this masters’ thesis was to investigate medical students' motivation of using new digital learning resources to promote active learning. This was done by introducing second year medical students to a specific serious game, CranialGame. After four weeks of access to CranialGame, the students were asked to complete a survey containing, amongst others, a motivational instrument, statements about usage, and a knowledge test. Statistical analyses showed that the participants were motivated for use of both CranialGame and serious games in general, but only one third of the participants used CranialGame. The students’ knowledge of the benefits of the learning strategies testing and spaced repetition was high. The introductions and the students’ high knowledge of efficient learning strategies could have contributed to the high motivation. The validity of the motivational instrument was not ensured, making the measurement of motivation uncertain. The younger age group used CranialGame significantly more than the older age group. The accessibility of CranialGame was difficult for Mac users and could have contributed to the low use of CranialGame. Conclusively, there is a need for further research to better understand medical students’ motivation to use efficient learning strategies, serious games or other resources. Future studies should investigate medical students’ metacognitive self-regulation as well as its relation to students’ performance and knowledge of evidence-based learning strategies.