Exploration of the impact of the Brightspace learning management system on physical therapy students’ perception and performance within clinical sciences coursework

The integration of technology into higher education, particularly in the health professions, has become increasingly common over recent decades. In these programs, technology is used not only to enhance learning but also to prepare students for their future roles as members of health service teams. It is acknowledged, however, that the methods and approaches for integrating technology can differ significantly. The purpose of this study is to focus on the use of digital tools within a Doctor of Physical Therapy program at a United States university. It specifically examines the impact of asynchronous assignments introduced and required through the Brightspace learning management system. Additionally, this study aims to evaluate the impact of these asynchronous assignments as they pertain to student perceptions of the Brightspace learning management system and their course performance. The findings shed light on the advantages and constraints of the Brightspace platform for this specific physical therapy program. The present study underscores the importance of systematically selecting learning management system features to optimize student engagement and knowledge acquisition. A curriculum intervention, which included adding reflective and metacognitive asynchronous activities via the Brightspace platform, was implemented in the clinical sciences coursework, targeting the development of analytic skills crucial for clinical reasoning in physical therapy.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Len, Anna Y

Contributors dc:contributor

• Cope, William
• Kalantzis, Mary
• Ferguson, Duncan
• Montebello, Mathew

• Digital Education Tools
• Learning Management Systems
• Health Professions Education Technology
• Asynchronous Learning
• Student Engagement
• Doctor Of Physical Therapy Education
• Brightspace Lms
• Metacognitive Activities
• Reflective Learning
• Curriculum Intervention

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Anna Len

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124271

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124271