The investigation of the efficiency of basic life support education among high school students: Protocol, design and implementation of an interventional, prospective longitudinal, individually randomised, parallel 1:1 grouped trial.

Background: Basic life support (BLS) skills are crucial not only for healthcare workers but for all lay people as well. Timely recognition of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and the initiation of BLS by bystanders before the arrival of healthcare personnel may improve survival. There are several methods of spreading BLS skills and improve BLS skill retention among lay people. One of these methods can be the education of adolescent school children. The introduction of mandatory BLS education in schools was very effective in some European countries to increase the rate of bystander BLS. Methods/design: The current study aims to investigate the efficacy of a BLS training and BLS curriculum among high school children in Hungary. Moreover, the investigators would like to optimise factors influencing skill retention in this first responder group and aim to compare two types of teaching methods: feedback given by the instructor or software-based feedback on the efficacy of chest compressions during the course. This study will be an interventional, assessor blinded, individually randomised parallel group trial recruiting 360 students. BLS skill retention will be assessed at the end of the course, two months after the training and six months after training. Discussion: The current study will increase our knowledge on the methods educating BLS among high school children. The results will help us to create an effective BLS curriculum at schools.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06016153. Prospectively registered on 08/2023.

Achieving Independence and Mastery in School: A School-Based Executive Function Group Intervention for Autistic Middle Schoolers.

Executive functioning (EF) deficits, such as challenges with planning, organization, and materials management, negatively impact academic performance, particularly for middle-school students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) without intellectual disability (ID). The aim was to assess the initial efficacy of the school-based version of the Achieving Independence and Mastery in School (AIMS) intervention in a pilot randomized clinical trial. 47 autistic middle-schoolers without ID attending nine different schools were randomized to participate in AIMS or to wait to receive AIMS the following semester (waitlist control = WLC). Youth, caregivers, and teachers rated academic EFs and academic functioning, and youth completed an objective EF measure, at baseline and outcome (post). Effect sizes were computed comparing baseline and post measures within each group. Individuals randomized to AIMS improved from baseline to post on academic EF outcome measures with small to moderate effect sizes, compared to WLC, who made some improvements but with generally smaller effect sizes. Analyses with academic functioning measures showed a similar pattern of results. These promising results suggest that AIMS delivered in the school by school-based personnel to small groups of students with ASD without ID can improve academic EF skills.

Mental health, study skills, social support, and barriers to seeking psychological help among university students: a call for mental health support in higher education.

Introduction: Poor mental health among youths is a complex worldwide issue. Many countries with medium-to-low levels of development, particularly those in Southern Europe, have not introduced appropriate mental health and educational strategies to identify the key factors influencing wellbeing, promote psychological wellbeing, and prevent poor mental health among youths. In response to these trends, we sought to uncover insights for developing interventions for youth mental wellbeing. We assessed mental health, study skills, barriers to seeking psychological help, and perceived social support among Kosovar university students, and investigated their experiences with professional mental health services and their needs and perceptions regarding the importance of professional mental health services on campus. Methods: The study used a parallel mixed-methods design. Participants included 234 university students. Quantitative data were gathered through validated questionnaires, including the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Academic Anxiety Scale, Study Skills Assessment Questionnaire, and the Barriers to Seeking Psychological Help Scale. Qualitative data on the students' experiences with mental health services and their perceptions regarding the importance of professional university mental health services were explored through open-ended questions. Results: Most students experienced anxiety and depression, more than half were stressed, and most reported poor or moderate study skills. Lack of trust in mental health professionals was a major barrier to seeking psychological help, followed by difficulties in self-disclosure. Perceived social support and academic anxiety were significant predictors of barriers to seeking psychological help. The participants believed that mental health and academic support from the university would help improve their mental wellbeing, study skills, self-esteem, self-perception, and attitudes toward social support; raise awareness regarding mental health; and help them overcome personal and academic challenges. Discussion: Our findings highlight the need for more comprehensive and accessible mental health services on campuses. By providing adequate support and resources to address various personal and academic factors that contribute to mental health issues in university students, universities can enhance students' academic success and personal growth.

Assessing Study Skill Needs for Information Technology and Computer Science Students in Technical and Vocational Universities.

Not a great deal is known about what study skills are essential for success in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics' disciplines, particularly in information technology (IT) and computer science (CS) programs in the technical and vocational education (TVE) in Taiwanese higher education. Since TVE accounts for more than half of the post-secondary enrolments in the country, and with the increasing demand for IT and CS talents, we studied perceptions of the importance and competency of such skills to identify the students' needs and demographic factors influencing them. A survey was administered to 1398 students in IT and CS programs in Taiwanese TVE universities. General skills were seen as the most important one among the study skills examined, and students felt competent using them. The needs to manage time, perform quantitative/mathematical tasks, and delegate were identified and these needs were affected by institutional quality, gender, and academic achievement. The results might be useful for further investigation in this area and guiding future plan to improve student performance in TVE.

Quality of life, psychosocial characteristics, and study skills affecting recruits' intention to quit Basic Military Training.

Quitting Basic Military Training (BMT) is a problem in the Dutch Armed Forces. Previous research focused on physical factors. Yet, contemporary research focuses on psychosocial characteristics, study skills, and quality of life factors associated with recruits' intention to quit BMT. We combined several factors to identify the key factors affecting recruits' intentions to quit BMT. We also studied gender and rank position differences. Three hundred fifty-five recruits enrolled in BMT participated by completing a self-report questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis showed that being highly engaged with BMT, having a high sense of belonging, and being highly proactive resulted in lower intention to quit. Having a high sense of responsibility resulted in higher intention to quit BMT. For gender, significant differences were found in study skills and self-esteem. For rank positions, significant differences were found in several psychosocial characteristics, study skills, quality of life factors, and intention to quit; with officer rank recruits showing higher intentions to quit than noncommissioned officer rank recruits. These identified factors can be used to improve conditions for BMT recruits. It is further advised to investigate the origin of gender and rank position differences that affect associations between psychosocial characteristics, study skills, quality of life factors, and recruits' intention to quit, so that these differences can be minimized in the future.

Using instructor-developed study resources to increase evidence-based learning strategies among medical students: A mixed-methods study.

PURPOSE: Applying effective learning strategies to address knowledge gaps is a critical skill for lifelong learning, yet prior studies demonstrate that medical students use ineffective study habits. METHODS: To address this issue, the authors created and integrated study resources aligned with evidence-based learning strategies into a medical school course. Pre-/post-course surveys measured changes in students' knowledge and use of evidence-based learning strategies. Eleven in-depth interviews subsequently explored the impact of the learning resources on students' study habits. RESULTS: Of 139 students, 43 and 66 completed the pre- and post-course surveys, respectively. Students' knowledge of evidence-based learning strategies was unchanged; however, median time spent using flashcards (15% to 50%, p < .001) and questions (10% to 20%, p = .0067) increased while time spent creating lecture notes (20% to 0%, p = .003) and re-reading notes (10% to 0%, p = .009) decreased. In interviews, students described four ways their habits changed: increased use of active learning techniques, decreased time spent creating learning resources, reviewing content multiple times throughout the course, and increased use of study techniques synthesizing course content. CONCLUSION: Incorporating evidence-based study resources into the course increased students' use of effective learning techniques, suggesting this may be more effective than simply teaching about evidence-based learning.

Relationship Between Socio-Demographics, Study Skills and Distress Among Pakistani School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Purpose: The increasing prevalence of distress among students is of global concern. Several factors such as school and family environment and ineffective study skills could influence mental health. The study explored the rate of distress symptoms among school students' and its relationship with their study skills, stressors and demographic factors. Methods: In this cross-sectional analytical study, a sample of 215 students from a community school participated in the study. Three questionnaires, demographic questionnaire, Study Skills Inventory and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using Student's t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient and stepwise linear regression. Results: Response rate was 70% (n = 150). A high proportion of respondents (75%) was distressed (mean 27.28 ± 8.77). Correlation analysis showed that distress (K10 score) was negatively related to study skills (SSI total score) (r = -0.247, p = 0.002). The rate of distress symptoms was higher among female students (79%) compared to their male counterparts (72%). The factors associated with distress included negative association of teachers' level of help to develop competencies (p = 0.000, ß = -0.278, R2 = 0.249), unfavorable school environment (p = 0.000, ß = 0.285, R2 = 0.123), inability to cope with studies (p = 0.005, ß = 0.205, R2 = 0.038), family problems (p = 0.014, ß = 0.184, R2 = 0.173) and lower study skills (p = 0.031, ß = -0.164, R2 = 0.270). The overall regression analysis explained 33.6% of the variance (corrected R2 = 0.336). Conclusion: Higher than expected levels of distress (75%) was found in immigrant school students. Poor study skills have a significant relationship with distress. Learning environment and related stress factors were associated with distress among students. Based on the findings, it is recommended that stakeholders in education address the hidden curriculum, as it is usually unacknowledged and might affect students' wellbeing, and move from student centered to an interpersonal relation-centered education.

Relationships among students' reading habits, study skills, and academic achievement in English at the secondary level.

Introduction: Reading is an attempt to comprehend the writer's message for personal growth and success in the relevant fields. Thus, psychologists consider it a multifaceted cognitive process of constructing meanings from texts. The present study was conducted to determine the relationships among students' reading habits, study skills, and academic achievement in English at the secondary level in Punjab, Pakistan. Methods: The (n = 1614) students enrolled in the science section for the academic year 2019-2020 participated in this descriptive correlational survey, selected from 40 high schools in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, through a non-proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The Reading Habits Questionnaire (RHQ) and the Study Skills Scale (SSS) were used to collect data about students' reading habits and study skills. At the same time, academic achievement was the students' grades obtained in the ninth class in the subject of English that were determined by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore in 2019. Students' responses were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results indicated that students have competent reading habits and study skills. The correlational findings showed a strong positive relationship among reading habits, study skills, and academic achievement in English, while moderate positive relationships between reading habits and academic achievement in English. However, regression analysis results were significant, while reading habits and study skills moderately predicted academic achievement. Discussion: It is implicated that teachers should plan such assignments and tasks based on reflective thinking by considering the role of study skills in academic achievement. Moreover, teachers and school administrators could mutually create timetables for library lessons to build reading habits and study skills among learners.

Changes in Pharmacy Students' Self-Reported Learning Strategies Across a Four-Year Doctor of Pharmacy Program.

Objective. Few studies describe changes in students' class preparation, note-taking, and examination preparation over the course of professional school. This study aims to describe the use of these learning and study strategies by pharmacy students and to analyze changes during their education.Methods. We performed a prospective, observational cohort study of students at a single US pharmacy school from 2016-2019. Students completed an online survey on learning and study strategies at the beginning of each school year. Quantitative results were analyzed by level in pharmacy school during which the survey was completed as the primary predictor. Open-ended responses were thematically analyzed using an inductive approach.Results. We observed significant changes in strategies, including an increased use of audiovisual materials for course preparation, preference for electronic over manual notetaking, increasing use of lecture capture viewing, and increased use of peer materials in studying. Changes were generally largest between students' first (P1) and second (P2) years in pharmacy school, representing adjustments in student behaviors during the P1 year. In some cases, changes from the surveys in the P1 to P2 years were followed by a gradual return toward P1 survey levels. Three themes described students' comments: students' preferences shaped their learning strategies, their experiences guided changes in learning strategies, and they used additional strategies beyond those included in the survey items.Conclusions. Significant changes in pharmacy student study strategies occurred over the course of their education. This may represent an opportunity to promote use of more effective approaches for long-term learning.

Learning techniques that medical students use for long-term retention: A cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Reviews and meta-analysis conclude that distributed practice and practice testing are deemed the most effective learning techniques among undergraduate students, while rereading, underlining, and summarisation are the most known and less effective ones. However, this evidence is gathered from short-term retention studies prior to 2014, and there are other techniques with promising effect (metacognition, retrieval, concept mapping, setting learning goals) that were not included. Also, there is little real-settings evidence regarding what works best for long-term retention in medical students. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out in a sample of 155 of second and third-year students of the Degree in Medicine at Universidad de Navarra in September 2020. The aim was to evaluate the impact the use of different learning techniques had on academic performance of undergraduate medical students, assessing up to three months of retention. A subgroup analysis was performed based on learning approach, spacing of the learning sessions, and academic results. RESULTS: Rereading, highlighting, and summarisation were the most known and used techniques among medical students, with detrimental effects on academic outcomes. Metacognition was the most effective technique, but up to 92% of the students didn't know what it was. No single learning technique seemed to improve results in below-average students. CONCLUSIONS: University curricula should promote the use of more efficient techniques, particularly metacognition, to help students become lifelong learners. More studies are needed to confirm these findings. Below-average students remain a challenging population.

Study smart - impact of a learning strategy training on students' study behavior and academic performance.

Recent research shows the importance to teach students the self-regulated use of effective learning strategies at university. However, the effects of such training programs on students' metacognitive knowledge, use of learning strategies, and academic performance in the longer term are unknown. In the present study, all first-year pharmacology students from one university attended a learning strategy training program, i.e., the 'Study Smart program', in their first weeks. The 20% (n = 25) lowest scoring students on the first midterm received further support regarding their learning strategies. Results showed that all students gained accurate metacognitive knowledge about (in)effective learning strategies in the short- and long-term and reported to use less highlighting, less rereading, but more interleaving, elaboration, and distributed practice after the training program. Academic performance was compared to the prior cohort, which had not received the Study Smart program. While in the previous cohort, students in the top, middle, and bottom rank of midterm 1 stayed in these ranks and still differed significantly in the final exam, students in the Study Smart cohort that received the training program improved throughout the year and differences between ranks were significantly reduced. A learning strategy training program including a remediation track for lower performing students can thus support students to study more effectively and enhance equal chances for all students at university.

Finding and doing what matters most: Five productivity strategies for physicians in academic medicine.

While structural change is needed to address the burnout epidemic among healthcare workers, it is important for physicians to avail themselves of the many productivity strategies that can help them succeed in navigating the multiple responsibilities of academic medicine. We present here 5 key strategies within our control that can help increase productivity in the pursuit of work in academic medicine that is meaningful and sustainable: (1) Clarify Priorities, (2) Track Tasks Systematically, (3) Focus and Monotask, (4) Invest in Timesavers, and (5) Celebrate Successes. The specific tools listed under each strategy may help academic physicians feel grounded and maintain our focus on doing meaningful work. While system-wide culture change around expectations, and institutional support for physician wellbeing, is more critical than ever, individual physicians can still benefit from learning strategies to prioritize, track, focus on, delegate and celebrate the work that matters to us in our lives.

Beyond "study skills": a curriculum-embedded framework for metacognitive development in a college chemistry course.

Background: There is a critical need for evidence-based metacognition instruction models with an ease of implementation. Three issues involved in advancing the implementation and assessment of metacognitive interventions are: (i) the lack of an operational framework for the development of metacognition; (ii) metacognition instruction models that lack a focus on explicitly engaging students' self-perceptions; (iii) a lack of metacognitive interventions that are easy to implement and require minimal training. This study describes the development and implementation of a 10-week discussion-based module to promote metacognitive development as part of a general chemistry course at a community college. This curricular metacognition instruction model involved the explicit engagement of self-efficacy beliefs in addition to introducing metacognitive awareness and regulation through individual and group reflection. This approach involves a systematic framework which allowed students to confront their beliefs about their abilities, learn various task strategies, and practice these strategies along with their peers. This case study was designed to address the following: can explicit cognitive and metacognitive instruction and discussion serve as a catalyst for students to (1) build and adapt metacognitive knowledge about cognition, and (2) incorporate effective study strategies?. Results: Students' individual and collaborative reflections were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Written journal responses indicate that the module facilitated a shared discourse about cognition where metacognitive awareness was observed shifting from a tacit to explicit awareness. In addition, the framework facilitated the formation of support networks (cognitive and emotional) where students were observed exchanging cognitive strategies and encouraging one another to persevere through challenges. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the metacognitive instruction model described here can serve as a mechanism to encourage student reflection on their beliefs and behaviors. Instructors looking to include metacognition instruction could use the framework presented as a template. The discussion-based module is embedded in the curriculum, delivered through the course management system, and has a low barrier to implementation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40594-022-00376-6.

Ascertaining and promoting effective study skills and learning habits of first-year pharmacy students.

INTRODUCTION: Many pharmacy students struggle academically in their initial professional year. This research ascertained first-year pharmacy (P1) students' study skills and learning habits both before and after employing interventions about effective study strategies. METHODS: In 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, P1 students completed a study skills inventory at baseline in August and at endpoint in April. Interventions included instruction about the science of learning and effective study techniques as well as the use of a cognitive wrapper regarding their first assessment. RESULTS: Students' perceived habits that improved were those of organizing their ideas, studying at their peak time, and really wanting to learn the content. Perceived habits that declined included time spent doing their assigned readings, seeing the need to always attend class, and reviewing course material each day. Regarding the cognitive wrapper, 90% of students thought they were prepared for their assessment, yet 21% received a lower grade than expected and 10% did not work on practice problems at least 2 days before the quiz. CONCLUSIONS: This endeavor elucidated several important areas about the study skills and learning habits of P1 students. Some students' perceptions of their study skills and learning habits strengthened and others decreased during their first year. The cognitive wrapper provided a targeted way for students to reflect on their preparation and performance as well as consider their future study plans. Faculty can use this information to help students employ effective learning practices to promote students' metacognition throughout the first year of their program.

Investigating the feasibility of MePlusMe, an online intervention to support mental health, well-being, and study skills in higher education students.

INTRODUCTION: While there are several web-based mental health interventions, few target higher education (HE) students. Importantly, more research is needed to establish their effectiveness. Here, we provide a pragmatic evaluation of an online intervention (MePlusMe) specifically designed to improve the mental health, well-being, and study skills of HE students. METHODS: In accordance with the published protocol for a feasibility study, we recruited a convenience sample of 137 HE students to participate in an eight-week intervention, with 26 participants retained at week 8. Validated measures of mood (depression and anxiety), well-being, and self-efficacy were collected at baseline, 2, 4, and 8 weeks, alongside two feedback forms assessing design and functionality (baseline) and engagement (week 4 and 8). RESULTS: We observed significant reductions in levels of anxiety and depression as well as increases in well-being, but no changes in self-efficacy. Participants rated the system design and functionality positively and qualitative findings indicated high levels of satisfaction with MePlusMe. DISCUSSION: Findings support both the acceptability and the effectiveness of MePlusMe. Nonetheless, modest retention rates limit the precision and generalisability of these findings. Further investigation should ascertain optimal duration of engagement, most acceptable means of outcome assessment, and further detail about obstacles to utilisation.

Identifying factors influencing study skills engagement and participation for online learners in higher education during COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education across the world as campuses closed to restrict the spread of the virus. UK universities swiftly migrated to online delivery. The experiences of students and staff during this transition can inform our return to campus and our ability to deal with future disruption. This study draws on Moore's theory of transactional distance to understand factors influencing student study skills engagement and participation in online learning during this period. We surveyed students (n = 178) in a computing school at a UK university. A partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to explore the influence of transactional distance (between students/teachers and between students/students), access to e-learning capital, and perceived usefulness on two measures: study skills engagement and participation in online collaborative activity. Results show that transactional distance influences participation, and e-learning capital influences study skills engagement. Our findings suggest that if universities continue with aspects of online learning for previously on-campus students they should provide access to infrastructure and training on utilising the online ecosystem to avoid disadvantaging students. Further investment in students' e-learning capital, such as signposting and adapting existing resources, is also necessary to support this key influence in study skills engagement.

Benefits of implementing student-led review and mock examinations in the medical undergraduate gross anatomy curriculum.

Anatomy consists of material that continually defines a student's undergraduate medical curriculum, and thus attaining a solid understanding of it is critical for academic success. Student exposure to anatomy prior to matriculation to the United States (US) medical school is highly variable, with some first introduced to the material in medical school. As a result, students without foundation in anatomy can struggle with adapting to the self-directed learning style that is required to excel with a prosection-based (i.e. hands-off analysis of a cadaver previously dissected by a professional) approach. In this study, second-year US medical students who have previously excelled in the first-year courses at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine (in collaboration with faculty advisors) designed and offered a mock practical examination that mirrors the official practical exam specific to each course: a timed practical examination using dissected human cadavers and radiological imaging to assess anatomical knowledge, followed by a review session. Since the mock practical and review session was designed from a student's perspective, the material could be tailored to specifically address topics that students historically have struggled with. Students who participated in the mock practical and associated review sessions reported feeling more confident than their peers who did not participate. In addition, they significantly outperformed their peers on the official practical examination, independent of any demographic factors or educational background. This study demonstrates the benefits of incorporating peer-assisted learning (PAL) into the anatomical component of the medical school curriculum.

Enhancing healthcare students' clinical placement experiences.

Over the past few years, efforts to address a shortage of nurses in the UK has led to an increase in nursing student numbers. However, in one large UK healthcare trust, this increase in student numbers led to a need to improve the quality of the trust's clinical placements. To address this issue, the authors undertook a quality improvement project, in which focus groups were used to enable 53 nursing, allied health professional, midwifery and nursing associate students to have in-depth discussions about their clinical placement experiences in the trust. Three main themes emerged from the data: being part of a team; support; and being unprepared. Following the project, the trust introduced student-led clinical learning environments to provide an innovative practice-based experience for students.

The effectiveness of blended learning on students' academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes: A quasi-experiment study in teaching the conventions for coordinates in the plane.

Individuals attempting to study remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown will find that blended learning is a helpful solution and results in a significant increase in learning engagement. The best benefits for teachers and students are obtained by maximizing the advantages of each teaching method and by combining the advantages of online and face-to-face instruction. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the flex model of blended learning in teaching the mathematics subtopic of coordinates in the plane through the improvement of students' academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes. A quasi-experiment was conducted to compare the academic achievement, self-study skills and learning attitudes of 46 students in the control class who used traditional methods to those of 44 students in the experimental group who used the blended learning model. The pre-and post-test results, observations, and student opinion survey were used to compile data, which were then analyzed quantitatively (with SPSS) and qualitatively. The study confirmed that blended learning positively impacts students' academic achievement in the experimental class compared with the control class (Sig (2-tailed) = 0.001 and SMD = 0.6717), as demonstrated by the outcomes of the independent t-test analysis of the two groups in the post-test phase. In addition, observations and student opinion survey results also indicated that blended learning increased student interactions with teachers and improved students' academic achievement, self-study abilities and learning attitudes. Due to time constraints, not all the students who participated in the experiment could make progress. On the other hand, the study's relatively small sample size gave the impression that the results were only partially representative of the population. As a result, additional studies focusing on improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning within different blended learning models, broadening the scope of research on the influence of blended learning in other subjects, or increasing the sample size can all be considered.

Pre-Clinical Medical Students' Use of Motivational and Cognitive Study Strategies During Anatomy Learning: A Three-Year Cross-Sectional Survey.

Medical students' motivation and study strategies are crucial in determining academic performance. This study aimed to assess the motivation and learning strategies of medical students as well as their association with performance in anatomy examinations. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, two focus group discussions, and students' current anatomy cumulative grade point average (cGPA) were used. Generally, the medical students strongly felt that anatomy is fundamental to the practice of medicine and surgery. This result was consistent with high task value scores of 5.99 ± 1.25. They were also driven by extrinsic goal orientation (5.59 ± 1.42) and intrinsic goal orientation (5.08 ± 1.26). Most medical students typically relied on elaboration (5.35 ± 1.25) ahead of other cognitive strategies namely rehearsal (5.30 ± 1.11), organization (5.15 ± 1.34), and lowest-rated critical thinking (4.77 ± 1.19). The students also relied on resource management strategies, effort regulation (5.15 ± 1.20) and time and study environment regulation (5.03 ± 1.03) more than the moderately scored peer learning (4.95 ± 1.50) and help-seeking (4.95 ± 1.09). In the focus group discussions, students reported that they often narrate or explain to each other what they would have read and understood from anatomy lectures, tutorials, and textbooks. They also bemoaned the lack of institutional support for stress burdens. The motivation and learning strategies subscales were not correlated with anatomy cGPA. Males were driven by extrinsic goals and experienced significantly higher levels of test anxiety than females (P < 0.05). Knowing the motivation and learning strategies students employ early in the medical curriculum can be leveraged to promote self-directed learning and academic achievement.