Blog Post #1

Introduction

Hello everyone and welcome to my first blog post. My name is Lauren, and I am in my fourth year of Health Information Science at UVic. I am currently taking this course as one of my senior electives. I joined the HINF program because of my interest in the healthcare system. When I was searching for programs, I came across Health Information Science and the discussion on digitalization in healthcare resonated with me. Throughout my years at UVic I have gotten the opportunity to try out different learning techniques and see what works best for me. The following discussion will include my definition of learning, learning theories, and motivation in learning.

My Definition of Learning

My definition of learning doesn’t just include gaining knowledge or skills but being able to apply them in real life situations. For example one of the most valuable parts of my learning throughout my years at UVic were through my two completed workterms. Getting to apply the knowledge I learned in my HINF courses, to my roles within the health authorities, specifically in the Mobile Health department at Fraser Health and the Pharmacy Informatics team at Island Health. I got to apply the skills I developed in labs, such as my proficiency in Excel and my ability to understand health terminology learned throughout my courses. Seeing how I can apply my academic knowledge in real-life scenerios was both valuable and rewarding. Overall applying knowledge learned is essential for truly understanding concepts.

Example: During my Fraser Health co-op, I worked on a reporting project that required cleaning and organizing mobile health device data. The real learning came from:

• Using the Excel skills I first learned in class and adapting them to real healthcare data.
• Applying my understanding of health information workflows to make the reports meaningful to clinical users.
• Receiving feedback from my supervisor, to help improve the clarity of my work

This combination of coursework, hands-on practice, and feedback helped show the importance of applying knowledge beyond the classroom.

Learning Theories

I find that I learn best through constructivism because I like building on prior knowledge, applying concepts to healthcare systems, and actively working with material rather than just memorizing.

Learning Theory	Key Features	How It Relates to Me
Behaviourism	Learning through repetition and reinforcement	Was useful when memorizing networking protocols in HINF 345. Practice quizzes and flashcards helped me retain these basics.
Congnitivism	Focus on organization of information and problem-solving	Breaking down procurement stages in HINF 351 into smaller steps helped me understand the complex process of writing an RFP.
Contructivism	Building knowledge through experiences and connections	I learn best during group projects when I can connect database concepts to real EMR systems.

Motivation in Learning

Motivation plays a big role in how I approach learning. Keller’s ARCS Model highlights attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction as main drivers of motivation.

ARCS Elements	What the Theory Says	My Expierence
Attention	Capture curiosity with engaging activities	I learn better when case studies on hospital IT failures or EHR implementation challenges are used, because they feel more engaging than just reading long reports
Relevance	Connect learning to goals and real-world use	When assignments done in class linked to health authority digital strategies during co-op it motivated me to keep learning more
Confidence	Build belief in success through gradual progress	In SQL labs, starting with simple queries and moving to complex ones built my confidence, especially when I successfully retrieved datasets
Satisfaction	Provide meaningful outcomes and recognition	Presenting a dashboard project in HINF 335 was satisfying because I could demonstrate how data visualization supports decision-making in healthcare.

Example: In my pharmacy informatics co-op, my motivation increased when I could directly apply what I had learned in HINF courses to real systems. Seeing the connection between coursework and real workflows used at Royal Jubilee made the work feel meaningful.

Adult Learning Prior Knowledge

Adult Learning Theory emphasizes that adults bring prior experiences, self-direction, and internal motivation to the classroom. His five assumptions about adult learners apply directly to how I approach learning in Health Information Science.

Knowles Assumptions	How It Applies to Me
Self-Concept	I like having flexibility in how I plan out my study time, especially when working on group projects or long reports. Not making my plan too time constricting helps keep me stay on track without feeling overwhelmed.
Experience	My co-op experiences give me real-life examples, so I can connect course material to actual EMR systems.
Readiness to Learn	When course material clearly supports my career goals in healthcare IT, such as learning about health data governance, I am most engaged.
Orientation to Learning	I retain more when solving real-world problems, like designing network diagrams for a hospital rather than just reading about it.
Motivation	My motivation comes from wanting to grow my Health IT knowledge so that I can be ready to apply it to health authorities after graduation.

Sources

Avella, F. [Frank Avella]. (2018, November 20). Student motivation: The ARCS model [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYu90ZK2WUA Keller, J. M. (1987). Development and use of the ARCS model of instructional design. Journal of Instructional Development, 10(3), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02905780 Merriam, S. B. (2018). Adult learning theory. Contemporary theories of learning: Learning theorists… in their own words, 83-96. Contemporary Theories of Learning: Learning Theorists … In Their Own Words – Google Books