title: Relationships between the quality of blended learning experience, self-regulated learning, and academic achievement of medical students: a path analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined the relationships between the different aspects of students' course experience, self-regulated learning, and academic achievement of medical students in a blended learning curriculum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Perceptions of medical students (n=171) from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain), on the blended learning experience were measured using the Student Course Experience Questionnaire (SCEQ), with an added e-Learning scale. In addition, self-regulated learning was measured using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Academic achievement was measured by the scores of the students at the end of the course. A path analysis was created to test the relationships between the different study variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Path analysis indicated that the perceived quality of the face-to-face component of the blended experience directly affected the motivation of students. The SCEQ scale "quality of teaching" directly affected two aspects of motivation: control of learning and intrinsic goal orientation. Furthermore, appropriate course workload directly affected the self-efficacy of students. Moreover, the e-Learning scale directly affected students' peer learning and critical thinking but indirectly affected metacognitive regulation. The resource management regulation strategies, time and study environment, and effort regulation directly affected students' examination scores (17% of the variance explained). However, there were no significant direct relationships between the SCEQ scales and cognitive learning strategies or examination scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study will have important implications for designing blended learning courses in medical schools.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt.
authors.forename: Salah Eldin
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kassab
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ahmad I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Al-Shafei
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain.
authors.forename: Abdel Halim
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.affiliation: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain), Busaiteen, Bahrain.
authors.forename: Sameer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otoom
keywords: examination scores; structural equation modeling; student course experience