Student-centered approach and alternative assessments to improve students’ learning domains during health education sessions

Study aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of astudent-centered approach and alternative assessments on students’ learning domains (i.e., cognitive, affective, psychomotor) during health education learning sessions.

Material and methods: Four groups totaling 65 mixed-gender undergraduate students (ages 20–25) of physical and health education participated in this study of alternative assessments’ effects on students’ learning once per week (3 hours) in their respective classrooms for seven weeks at a central Malaysia university. Students’ knowledge on the lesson contents was gathered using a series of quizzes. Students’ self-efficacy was assessed using the modified Traits Sport-Confidence Inventory (TSCI), and students’ levels of physical activity were assessed using a mobile pedometer. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests to evaluate pre/post differences.

Results: The students’ perception and knowledge on health education improve across interventions with greater efficacy (7.64± 0.97) at the post-test compared to the pre-test (7.30± 1.38). Students’ recorded improvement in step counts between week two and week five. A slight reduction during weeks six and seven may be due to the end of the semester and preparation for the final examinations.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that astudent-centered approach and alternative assessment of learning were effective to engage students with contents and developing whole learning domains within the classroom.