title: An observation tool for instructor and student behaviors to measure in-class learner engagement: a validation study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Efforts are made to enhance in-class learner engagement because it stimulates and enhances learning. However, it is not easy to quantify learner engagement. This study aimed to develop and validate an observation tool for instructor and student behaviors to determine and compare in-class learner engagement levels in four different class types delivered by the same instructor.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observer pairs observed instructor and student behaviors during lectures in large class (LLC, n=2) with third-year medical students, lectures in small class (LSC, n=6) and case-based teaching sessions (CBT, n=4) with fifth-year students, and problem-based learning (PBL) sessions (~7 hours) with second-year students. The observation tool was a revised form of STROBE, an instrument for recording behaviors of an instructor and four randomly selected students as snapshots for 5-min cycles. Instructor and student behaviors were scored 1-5 on this tool named 'in-class engagement measure (IEM)'. The IEM scores were parallel to the degree of behavior's contribution to active student engagement, so higher scores were associated with more in-class learner engagement. Additionally, the number of questions asked by the instructor and students were recorded. A total of 203 5-min observations were performed (LLC 20, LSC 85, CBT 50, and PBL 48).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interobserver agreement on instructor and student behaviors was 93.7% (κ=0.87) and 80.6% (κ=0.71), respectively. Higher median IEM scores were found in student-centered and problem-oriented methods such as CBT and PBL. A moderate correlation was found between instructor and student behaviors (r=0.689).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides some evidence for validity of the IEM scores as a measure of student engagement in different class types.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey; kalimoglu@akdeniz.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Mustafa K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Alimoglu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Didar B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Sarac
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Derya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alparslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ayse A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Karakas
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Altintas
mesh_terms: D001519:Behavior; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D019370:Observation / Q000379:methods*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D013663:Teaching
keywords: quantity; student involvement; teaching methods