title: The role of environmental and individual characteristics in the development of student achievement: a comparison between a traditional and a problem-based-learning curriculum.
abstract: In medical education, the effect of the educational environment on student achievement has primarily been investigated in comparisons between traditional and problem-based learning (PBL) curricula. As many of these studies have reached no clear conclusions on the superiority of the PBL approach, the effect of curricular reform on student performance remains an issue. We employed a theoretical framework that integrates antecedents of student achievement from various psychosocial domains to examine how students interact with their curricular environment. In a longitudinal study with N = 1,646 participants, we assessed students in a traditional and a PBL-centered curriculum. The measures administered included students' perception of the learning environment, self-efficacy beliefs, positive study-related affect, social support, indicators of self-regulated learning, and academic achievement assessed through progress tests. We compared the relations between these characteristics in the two curricular environments. The results are two-fold. First, substantial relations of various psychosocial domains and their associations with achievement were identified. Second, our analyses indicated that there are no substantial differences between traditional and PBL-based curricula concerning the relational structure of psychosocial variables and achievement. Drawing definite conclusions on the role of curricular-level interventions in the development of student's academic achievement is constrained by the quasi-experimental design as wells as the selection of variables included. However, in the specific context described here, our results may still support the view of student activity as the key ingredient in the acquisition of achievement and performance.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science and Department for Assessment, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraße 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany. stefan.schauber@charite.de.
authors.forename: Stefan K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Schauber
authors.affiliation: Institute for Educational Quality Improvement, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hecht
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Education, University of Bern, Konsumstrasse 13, 3010, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Zineb M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Nouns
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraße 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Adelheid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuhlmey
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Luisenstraße 57, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dettmer
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017145:Models, Educational; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D011594:Psychometrics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Achievement; Curricular comparison; Development; Emotion; Problem-based learning; Progress test; Structural equation modelling