The Development of an Instructional Model Based on the Theory of Goal Attainment to Improve Communication Skills for Continuing Education

Abstract

This study investigates the factors influencing the development of communication skills among students at The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Recognizing the pivotal role of effective communication in healthcare, the research aims to identify key elements, such as the learning process, environment, teachers, and students, that significantly impact the acquisition of communication skills in a medical education context. The sample group was 30 students from The People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The research was conducted in three steps: studying the factors that affect the development of communication skills, developing the instructional model, and the experimental and improvement process. The research instruments were a questionnaire about factors that affect the development of communication skills, an interview form about factors that affect the development of students' communication skills, lesson plans, an observation form about student behavior, an interview form about opinions on teaching, and a communication skills scale. Findings revealed: 1) Principal factors influencing communication skills development include the learning process, environment, teachers, and students, respectively; 2) An instructional model grounded in the Theory of Goal Attainment materialized, comprising four core components: a) principles, b) objectives, c) learning process, and d) results; and 3) Post-implementation of the instructional model based on the Theory of Goal Attainment, students exhibited higher communication skill scores compared to pre-experimental levels, attaining statistical significance at the 0.05 level.