Does the use of annotated exemplars by nursing students predict academic performance? A cohort study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Academic Support Strategies
• Student Learning

Background:

• Annotated exemplars can provide scalable, targeted feedback to students before assessment.
• There is a need for effective learning support as nursing students increasingly come from diverse academic backgrounds.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of annotated exemplars as an academic support tool.
• To identify student characteristics associated with engagement with this tool.
• To determine if engagement influenced academic performance.

Main Methods:

• A cohort study design was employed.
• Data were collected from second-year undergraduate nursing students at a university in NSW, Australia.
• Quantitative data included academic grades and annotated exemplar usage from the learning management system.

Main Results:

• Nearly half (49.5%) of the 1120 students engaged with the annotated exemplar.
• Older, female, international students, and those with higher online activity were more likely to engage.
• Engagement with the annotated exemplar did not correlate with an increase in assessment marks.

Conclusions:

• Effective feedback is crucial for enhancing student performance.
• The study found no direct impact of annotated exemplar use on assessment marks.
• Further investigation is required to understand non-engagement and the lack of performance impact.