ERIC Number: EJ1267220
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1069-1898
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Teaching Introductory Statistical Classes in Medical Schools Using RStudio and R Statistical Language: Evaluating Technology Acceptance and Change in Attitude toward Statistics
Journal of Statistics Education, v28 n2 p212-219 2020
Biostatistics is a critical skill to physicians in an evidence-based medicine era, but teaching basic statistical concepts is challenging. Students often experience anxiety caused by the complexity of statistics and might express negative attitudes toward the subject. We aimed to analyze the effect of an introductory biostatistics course using RStudio on attitude toward statistics and assess its acceptance among medical students. Forty-three 1st-year medical students were included. Pre- and post-course attitudes toward statistics were assessed using the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS-28) scale and technology acceptance was assessed by a Technology Acceptance Model scale at the end of the course. There was a statistically discernible (significant) gain in the scores of three of the four SATS dimensions: affection (p = 0.006, Cohen's d = 0.442), cognitive competence (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.605), and difficulty (p = 0.008, Cohen's d = 0.421). Acceptance of RStudio was moderate to high in 93% of the participants, without statistical differences between genders. RStudio can be useful in the teaching of statistics to medical students, being well accepted and positively associated with students' attitude toward statistics. Supplementary files for this article are available online.
Descriptors: Introductory Courses, Medical Schools, Gender Differences, Statistics, Teaching Methods, Medical Students, Physicians, Evidence Based Practice, Student Attitudes, Outcomes of Education, Programming Languages, Attitude Change, Anxiety, Attitude Measures, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Brazil
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A