Measuring cognitive load during simulation-based psychomotor skills training: sensitivity of secondary-task performance and subjective ratings

Advances in Health Sciences Education : Theory and Practice
Faizal HajiAdam Dubrowski

Abstract

As interest in applying cognitive load theory (CLT) to the study and design of pedagogic and technological approaches in healthcare simulation grows, suitable measures of cognitive load (CL) are needed. Here, we report a two-phased study investigating the sensitivity of subjective ratings of mental effort (SRME) and secondary-task performance (signal detection rate, SDR and recognition reaction time, RRT) as measures of CL. In phase 1 of the study, novice learners and expert surgeons attempted a visual-monitoring task under two conditions: single-task (monitoring a virtual patient's heart-rate) and dual-task (tying surgical knots on a bench-top simulator while monitoring the virtual patient's heart-rate). Novices demonstrated higher mental effort and inferior secondary-task performance on the dual-task compared to experts (RRT 1.76 vs. 0.73, p = 0.012; SDR 0.27 vs. 0.97, p < 0.001; SRME 7.75 vs. 2.80, p < 0.001). Similarly, secondary task performance deteriorated from baseline to dual-task among novices (RRT 0.63 vs. 1.76 s, p < 0.006 and SDR 1.00 vs. 0.27, p < 0.001), but not experts (RRT 0.63 vs. 0.73 s, p = 0.124 and SDR 1.00 vs. 0.97, p = 0.178). In phase 2, novices practiced surgical knot-tying on the bench top simulator d...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jul 15, 2015·Medical Education·Faizal A HajiAdam Dubrowski
Aug 27, 2016·Medical Education·Faizal A HajiAdam Dubrowski
Feb 22, 2018·The British Journal of Surgery·R D DiasS J Yule
Jan 6, 2018·American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education·Adam M Persky, Jennifer D Robinson
May 23, 2020·Journal of Surgical Oncology·Jennifer Tseng
Oct 4, 2017·American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education·Adam M Persky, Jacqueline E McLaughlin
Nov 10, 2017·Medical Teacher·Claudia BehrensErik W Driessen
Aug 2, 2020·Scientific Reports·Zohreh ZakeriAhmet Omurtag
Sep 20, 2017·Academic Emergency Medicine : Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine·Emily M HaydenMark W Scerbo
Jun 8, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Shirin Esmaeili Bijarsari

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