@article{education2017562,
author={{Alyami, M and Alyami, H and Sundram, F and Haarhoff, B A},
title={Evaluation of a Visual Metaphor of Suicide Risk Factors: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial in Psychology Students},
journal={American Journal of Educational Research},
volume={5},
number={6},
pages={606--611},
year={2017},
url={http://pubs.sciepub.com/education/5/6/2},
issn={2327-6150},
abstract={<b>Background: </b>Although comprehensive knowledge of suicide risk assessment is fundamental, training programs for such an essential skill often include?passive and didactic?methods?that may not facilitate recall. <b>Objectives: </b>To examine the efficacy of a recently published novel visual metaphor (VM) for teaching suicide risk factors as an adjunct to traditional teaching methods in a group of novice learners. <b>Methods: </b>A pilot non-blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted. 22 first-year undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to either a control group, where they received traditional teaching (TT) or an intervention group, where they received traditional teaching and the visual metaphor (TT+VM). Participants then completed post-learning assessment including immediate free recall of suicide risk factors and knowledge application based on a clinical vignette. Cognitive load and participants¡¯ satisfaction were also assessed. Descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyse the data. <b>Results: </b>The TT+VM group demonstrated significantly better immediate free recall of suicide risk factors (mean= 14.56, SD= 3.2, <i>p=</i>.026), and superior application in the clinical vignette (mean= 14.33, SD= 1.00, <i>p=</i> .036). Furthermore, the TT+VM group also reported significantly less cognitive loading while learning suicide risk factors (mean= 3.44, SD= .88, <i>p=</i>.001) and significantly higher satisfaction levels (mean= 26.44, SD= 3.6, <i>p=</i>.001). The differences between the two groups on these domains ranged between medium and large effect sizes. <b>Conclusions: </b>Preliminary findings show that the use of TT+VM enhanced the learning of suicide risk factors. The VM could be a useful learning tool for novice learners but future large-scale studies are warranted to replicate this positive preliminary effect.},
doi={10.12691/education-5-6-2}
publisher={Science and Education Publishing}
}