Papers by Dieter Schonwetter
Canadian Journal of Higher Education
The following paper highlights research on effective lecturing in the college classroom. First, c... more The following paper highlights research on effective lecturing in the college classroom. First, critical issues concerning the operational definition of effective lecturing and the measurement criteria used to denote it are addressed. Next, major research findings are reported, beginning with correlational information reported by descriptive studies and ending with causal findings demonstrated by empirical studies. Current research literature identifies the following lecture attributes as important for student learning: expressiveness, clarity, and organization. These dimensions are defined by low-inference behaviours and supported by empirical studies. Furthermore, links between lecture attributes and certain student cognitive processing activities, explaining the facilitative qualities of effective lecturing on student learning, are hypothesized. Finally, implications for both practitioners and researchers are discussed.
Journal of dental education, 2018
Practice management has become an increasingly important aspect of dental education over the year... more Practice management has become an increasingly important aspect of dental education over the years in order to better prepare students for the reality of practice. The aim of this study was to quantify and describe practice management courses taught at the ten Canadian dental schools in order to identify common approaches, compare hours, determine types of instructors, and assess the relationship between courses' learning objectives and the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD) competencies and Bloom's cognitive levels. The academic deans at these ten schools were surveyed in 2016; all ten schools responded for a 100% response rate. The authors also gathered syllabi and descriptions of the courses and analyzed them for themes. The results showed a total of 22 practice management courses in the ten Canadian dental schools. The courses provided 27 to 109 hours of teaching and were mostly taught in the third and fourth years and by dentists on three main topics:...
The present study drew on existing theories and research to further uncover the mysteries of the ... more The present study drew on existing theories and research to further uncover the mysteries of the college teaching/learning paradigm, particularly the causal links between effective instruction and student learning of novel lecture material. The experimental design involved 380 introductory psychology students and consisted of a Lecture Expressiveness (low, high) by Lecture Organization (low, high) 2 x 2 design. Four teaching conditions were defined by the following manipulations: low expressiveness/low organization, low expressiveness/high organization, high expressiveness/low organization, high expressiveness/high organization. The dependent variables included student attention and achievement. The results extended previous correlational research. For instance, organization showed consistent differences in student attention and achievement: (1) organization influenced students' perceived and actual attention; (2) organized teaching impacted students' perceived and actual achievement outcomes; and (3) organ zed teaching influenced lower levels of information processing. These findings and their implications are discussed at length and suggestions are made for classroom instructors and college students to capitalize on organization as an effective teaching behavior.
Kuhl's (1985) theory of action control focuses on the processes that protPct a current intention ... more Kuhl's (1985) theory of action control focuses on the processes that protPct a current intention from competing action tendencies. Applied to the educational domain, the theory would predict that students who are action-oriented would be better equipped to deal with various challenges, such as failing a test, thereby increasing the likelihood of success in college. In the present study, college students' action orientation and motivational profile (success orientation and failure avoidance) was measured, and the effect of these individual differences on emotion control, task involvement, attributions, etc. was assessed. The results show that action orientation was associated with greater control over emotions, less cuncern about being interrupted while completing a task, and less physiological arousal and cognitive interference during test-taking. Indirectly, action orientation also contributed to better performance on an in-class test. (Author) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
The present study investigated the interaction between college student entry characteristics and ... more The present study investigated the interaction between college student entry characteristics and effective instruction. The experimental design involved 380 introductory psychology students and consisted of a Lecture Organization (low, high) by Test Anxiety (low, moderate, high) 2 x 3 design. The dependent variables included student attention, achievement, cognition, affect, and motivation observed during a lecture presentation. A set of hypotheses dealt with identifying which types of students, and under what teaching conditions, learning was enhanced or thwarted. First, test anxiety yielded differences in student learning outcomes. Second, analyses of Test Anxiety with Lecture Organization yielded relatively consistent patterns across a number of learning outcomes: lecture attention, student achievement, perceptions of control, affect, and motivation. High text-anxious students were unable to benefit directly from high-organized instruction though orgized instruction did increase these students' motivation to attend future classes. Specific explanations are postulated on how the differences in effective teaching behaviors and student differences may operate together to produce ideal and less than ideal learning environments. Finally, a number of new directions are provided for future research and suggestions are made for classroom instructors and college students. (Contains 82 references.)
Journal of Dental Education, Feb 1, 2015
An increasing number of institutions of higher education are clustering their health sciences sch... more An increasing number of institutions of higher education are clustering their health sciences schools into a common unit. Therefore, it is imperative that the individual faculty development units assume new mandates to meet faculty development needs for stakeholders across these disciplines. Critical to providing current and relevant professional development activities is an awareness of the needs of academicians, including common as well as discipline-specific needs. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the extent to which factors such as discipline, rank, gender, education, and years as an academician impact on perceived needs for faculty development. In February 2012, a cross-sectional survey of the perceived faculty development needs of academicians in the health sciences unit of a Canadian university was conducted using an online assessment tool. A total of 133 out of 1,409 potential participants completed the survey, for a response rate of 9.4%. The findings revealed more similarities than differences in terms of perceived faculty development needs. In addition, differences were found across all health professions schools and in factors such as discipline, academic rank, education, gender, and years as an academician. These findings suggest that faculty development and educational specialists should understand the shared as well as the unique needs of the individual health sciences schools in planning their professional development services.
This study investigated the effects of college students' actual, rather than manipulated, percept... more This study investigated the effects of college students' actual, rather than manipulated, perception of control along with expressive instruction, as they relate to cognitive and emotional aspects of academic achievement. In a simulated college classroom study, 228 male and female introductory psychology students at the University of Manitoba wrote an aptitude test and were classified into Percaived Control (low, high) categories based on perceptions of control over performance. Students also completed the Multidimensional Multiattributional Causality Scale, which assesses students' locus of control, and were classified into Internals and Externals, thereby forming a 2x2 factorial design. Students were then presented with either low or high expressive instruction, completed a post-lecture achievement test, and post-achievement questionnaire. Student perceptions had an effect on achievement outcomes and effects in both expressive instructional conditions. Incongruent perceptions of control, as demonstrated by externals with high perceptions of control, identified the at-risk students. High Perceptions of control for externals did not correspond to their attributions (low ability and high luck) responses indicating a lack of personal responsibility. Student affect, as defined by anger, was most prominent among low control internals and least among high control internal under low expressive instruction. Contains 15 references and 6 figures. (JB)
This study investigated the effects of college students' actual perceptions of success and contro... more This study investigated the effects of college students' actual perceptions of success and control as they relate to cognitive and emotional aspects of academic achievement in situations utilizing either high or low instructor expressiveness. Participants included 140 male and female undergraduate introductory psychology students. In a simulated college classroom study, students wrote an aptitude test and were classified into Perceived Success (low, high) and Perceived Control (low, high) categories based on perceptions of success and control over performance. Students were then presented with either low or high expressive instruction, and completed a post-lecture achievement test and questionnaire. Exposed to low expres.:ye instruction, high success/high control students' achievement scores and low success/low control students' affects supported initial hypotheses (that such instruction tends to compensate for students' maladaptive cognitions). However, low success/lbw control students' achievement scores and high success/high control students' affects were opposite to initial expectations. Conclusions generally supported the idea that expressive instruction fostered both student achievement and self-confidence whereas low expressiveness depressed students' performance and their self-regulatory learning processes. (Included are 27 references.) (a)
The Journal of Faculty Development, 2009
... Ironically, there is also evidence that mentoring may provide unintended, even undesirable co... more ... Ironically, there is also evidence that mentoring may provide unintended, even undesirable con-sequences ... a practical project, which usually takes three years to complete on a part-time basis. ... Three internal reports on the program's impact between 1984 and 1992 (in French ...
This paper examines the effects of gender and test anxiety on students' achievement, cognition, a... more This paper examines the effects of gender and test anxiety on students' achievement, cognition, and affects, with an interest in exploring why some students are less likely to benefit from classroom instruction than others. The data came from a western Canadian university study of 424 undergraduate students. Correlational ahd univat'ate statistics were used to examine the relationships among variubles. Results indicated that gender and test anxiety differentially i'lfluenced student learning and learning-related outcomes. Low test anxious males showed higher achievement outcomes, i.erceived more success over their performances, and felt more confident than high test-anxious males or females. The results extend previous research and are discussed in terms of their practical applications for college teaching. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables, and 43 references.) (Author/SLD)
The Journal of Faculty Development, Sep 1, 2008
ABSTRACT Objective: Longitudinal analysis of student-clinicians’ clinical communication during th... more ABSTRACT Objective: Longitudinal analysis of student-clinicians’ clinical communication during their education is limited. This research indicated the levels of performance of clinical communication of student-clinicians with longer periods of patient care experience (eg, 6-9 months) as assessed by trained observers, was no different to or at lower levels than student-clinicians with shorter periods of patient care experience. This study aimed to extend this research by investigating if patients’ ratings of student-clinicians’ communication varied depending on their length of patient care experience. Method: The University of Manitoba Patient Communication and Student Communication Assessment Instruments were completed by consenting Adelaide third- (2009) and fifth-year dental students (2011; n=28) and their patients (2009: n=105; 2011: n=134) (ethics approval: UA: H-071-2009). This study reports the results from likert scale items related to four factors specific to student-clinicians’ communication with their patients. These four factors were: ‘Being caring and respectful’, ‘Sharing information’, ‘Tending to your comfort’ and ‘Interacting with team members’. Differences between ratings of third- and fifth-year student-clinicians were analysed using paired t-tests of within factor item means (p<0.05). Result: Patients rated their student-clinicians highly across all four factors and their ratings were higher than the students’ self-ratings across these factors (p<0.05). Patients’ ratings for the ‘Being caring and respectful’ factor were higher for fifth-year student-clinicians (mean±standard deviation: 4.8±0.2) by comparison with the ratings for the same third-year student-clinicians (4.6±0.3) (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between patients’ ratings for the matched third- and fifth-year student-clinicians for the other three factors. Conclusion: High patient ratings of clinicians’ communication, including student-clinicians, are consistent with previous literature. These findings provide further evidence that longer periods of patient care experience alone is not necessarily associated with higher levels of clinical communication performance, as assessed by patients. Investigation of various factors is needed to explain these results.
Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Apr 30, 2000
Post-secondary institutions are faced with enormous opportunities and challenges to change. A num... more Post-secondary institutions are faced with enormous opportunities and challenges to change. A number of trends, including increasing expectations for accountability, technology integration, faculty renewal, and the continuing development of the scholarship of teaching have created a press for change that challenges the traditional values and practices of academic communities. Within this dynamic and uncertain context, faculty developers are often called
Bulletin Du Groupement International Pour La Recherche Scientifique En Stomatologie Et Odontologie, 2013
This study was the first stage in an analysis of academic and career administrators' perceptions ... more This study was the first stage in an analysis of academic and career administrators' perceptions of their functioning in management and leadership capacities and focused in particular on the perceptions of female faculty and administrators. Volunteer participants included 179 male and female university academic and career administrators. Of interest to the study were participants' self-reported job dissatisfaction, competitiveness, and time urgency as a function of age, educational background and gender. Participants were given a questionnaire that collected demographic information and contained the Survey of Work Styles, a scale developed using a Type A Behavior Pattern construct approach. Measures were taken to maintain confidentiality. The data were analyzed using dichotomous variables. Findings indicated that older men, and younger and middle-agee women indicateJ higher stressful work style scores than either older women or younger men. In addition women without doctoral degrees demonstrated higher dissatisfaction scores than women with doctoral degrees. Also, job dissatisfaction among the younger participants was greater compared to either middle or senior administrators. Overall, the study found that gender and age are related to an individual's work style and job satisfaction. (Contains 27 references.) (JB)
Journal of dental education, 2016
The traditional lecturing method is still one of the most common forms of delivering content to s... more The traditional lecturing method is still one of the most common forms of delivering content to students in dental education, but innovative learning technologies have the potential to improve the effectiveness and quality of teaching dental students. What challenges instructors is the extent to which these learning tools have a direct impact on student learning outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a voice-over screen-captured learning tool by identifying a positive, nil, or negative impact on student learning as well as student engagement (affective, behavioral, and cognitive) when compared to the traditional face-to-face lecture. Extraneous variables thought to impact student learning were controlled by the use of baseline measures as well as random assignment of second-year dental students to one of two teaching conditions: voice-over screen-captured presentation delivered online and the traditional classroom lecture. A total of 28 students enrolled in the ...
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Papers by Dieter Schonwetter