In small things remembered: Pinch pots and skill acquisition in burial evidence from pre-Roman northern Apulia

BackgroundThe quality of the learning environment significantly impacts student engagement and professional identity formation in health professions education. Despite global recognition of its importance, research on student perceptions of learning environments across different health education programs is scarce. This study aimed to explore how health professional students perceive their learning environment and its influence on their professional identity development.MethodsAn explanatory mixed-methods approach was employed. In the quantitative phase, the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure [Minimum–Maximum possible scores = 0–200] and Macleod Clark Professional Identity Scale [Minimum–Maximum possible scores = 1–45] were administered to Qatar University-Health students (N = 908), with a minimum required sample size of 271 students. Data were analyzed using SPSS, including descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. In the qualitative phase, seven focus groups (FGs) were conducted online via Microsoft Teams. FGs were guided by a topic guide developed from the quantitative results and the framework proposed by Gruppen et al. (Acad Med 94:969-74, 2019), transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed using NVIVO®.ResultsThe questionnaire response rate was 57.8% (525 responses out of 908), with a usability rate of 74.3% (390 responses out of 525) after excluding students who only completed the demographic section. The study indicated a “more positive than negative” perception of the learning environment (Median [IQR] = 132 [116–174], Minimum–Maximum obtained scores = 43–185), and a “good” perception of their professional identity (Median [IQR] = 24 [22–27], Minimum–Maximum obtained scores = 3–36). Qualitative data confirmed that the learning environment was supportive in developing competence, interpersonal skills, and professional identity, though opinions on emotional support adequacy were mixed. Key attributes of an ideal learning environment included mentorship programs, a reward system, and measures to address fatigue and boredom.ConclusionsThe learning environment at QU-Health was effective in developing competence and interpersonal skills. Students' perceptions of their learning environment positively correlated with their professional identity. Ideal environments should include mentorship programs, a reward system, and strategies to address fatigue and boredom, emphasizing the need for ongoing improvements in learning environments to enhance student satisfaction, professional identity development, and high-quality patient care.

This study aimed to replicate findings that neurocognitive capacity in schizophrenia is more predictive of acquisition of social skills than are symptoms. Thirty-two hospitalized patients with chronic psychotic disorders were randomly assigned to community reintegration skills training or supportive group therapy. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed before treatment, and symptoms and skill levels were measured before and after treatment. The skills training group showed significantly greater skill acquisition. In a regression model, skill acquisition was predicted by group membership and verbal memory capacity and not by symptoms. With methodological advances, the authors replicated findings regarding the importance of neurocognition in determining treatment outcome in schizophrenia.

How researchers identify and define levels of skill (e.g., what is an ‘expert’?) is surprisingly inconsistent across studies in expertise research. This lack of clarity regarding the definitions used in skill acquisition has obvious implications for scientists working in this area. More specifically, the accuracy and appropriateness of definitions for different levels of skill are central to the study of expert performance, from both a theoretical and methodological perspective. This presentation will summarize general approaches used in the past, highlight the need for clear delineations between groups of performers at different levels of skill and propose a taxonomy of sport-skill classification that could aid researchers in this area. This taxonomy is designed to provide a general system for categorizing skill across sport and delineates the various stages in skill acquisition. The taxonomy starts with early phases of skill development beginning with naive (no skill) and novices (limited skill) and moves to transitional phases of development (basic, intermediate and advanced levels of skill) before reaching peak levels of skill (i.e., expert and eminence). Although there are limitations to any taxonomy of skill, continued attention and discussion of these issues are necessary to ensure that emerging evidence can be optimally integrated into the knowledge base regarding acquisition of sport skill.

Culinary Arts is an area in Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) where students need to possess problem-solving skills besides having fundamental subject matter knowledge and hands-on skills required for the technical aspects of cooking. The key components for learning to solve problems are analogizing, modelling, reasoning causally, and arguing. The development of these strategies will assist students in completing numerous cognitive tasks. However, little research has been done which provide information on the level of these skills in the context of students at Community Colleges, particularly among Culinary Arts students. Drawing from a survey data, the paper examines problem-solving skills of 831 Culinary Arts students, most of whom were aged 18-24, from eleven Community Colleges offering Certificate in Culinary Arts Programme throughout Malaysia. The analysis results revealed that students had only medium level of problem-solving skills. The finding is of great significance as knowing the level of problem-solving skills of Culinary Arts students is essential before designing a suitable intervention for them. Specifically, the findings can be used to justify the design of new learning environments towards developing problem-solving skills more effectively.

Nursing interns play a crucial role in shaping the future nursing workforce, as their professional identity is closely linked to workplace retention rates and patient outcomes. Thus, investigating the factors that influence nursing interns' professional identity is important. To evaluate the relationship between psychological capital, stress, micro-learning environment, and professional identity among nursing interns. This was a cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 388 nursing interns from 8 comprehensive teaching hospitals across five cities in Hubei Province between March and April 2024. Data were collected using a Descriptive Information Questionnaire, the Psychological Capital Questionnaire, the Student Nurse Stress Index scale, the Healthcare Education Micro Learning Environment Measure, and the Professional Identity Scale. The structural equation model was applied to explore the influencing factors of nursing interns' professional identity. The mean total score for professional identity was 35.57 ± 7.47. Psychological capital positively influenced professional identity directly (β = 0.16, P < 0.01), while stress as measured using the student nurse stress index had a negative impact (β = -0.20, P < 0.01). High scores on the healthcare education micro-learning environment measure positively contributed to the development of professional identity (β = 0.69, P < 0.001). Furthermore, psychological capital was identified as a mediator in the association between the healthcare education micro learning environment and professional identity, as well as between the student nurse stress index scores and professional identity. The study suggests that a higher level of psychological capital, low stress levels, and a satisfied micro-learning environment are essential in fostering professional identity among nursing interns. It recommends collaboration between nursing schools and clinical departments to enhance nursing interns' psychological capital and stress management skills, creating a positive and safe working environment, thereby fostering professional identity among nursing interns.

Professional identities research in medical education has made significant contributions to the field. However, what comprises professional identities is rarely interrogated. This research tackles this relatively understudied component of professional identities research by understanding emergency medicine physicians’ perspectives on the important elements that comprise their professional identities. Q-methodology was used to identify different clusters of viewpoints on professional identities; by extension, the core components that comprise emergency medicine physicians’ professional identities are disclosed. Thirty-three emergency medicine physicians were recruited, through purposive sampling, from five hospitals across Taiwan. R software was used to analyse the Q-sorts, determine loadings on each viewpoint and formulate the viewpoint array. Analysis of interview data enhanced our understanding of these viewpoints. In total, twenty-five emergency medicine physicians loaded onto four distinct viewpoints, reflecting dominant perspectives of emergency medicine physicians’ understanding of their professional identities. These distinct viewpoints demonstrated what emergency medicine physicians deemed significant in how they understood themselves. The viewpoints comprised: skills acquisition, capabilities and practical wisdom; coping ability and resilience; professional recognition and self-esteem; and wellbeing and quality of life. All viewpoints stressed the importance of trust between colleagues. These findings demonstrate the multitude of ways in which seemingly unified professional identities diverge across groups of individuals. An enhanced understanding of speciality work culture is gained. By understanding facets of professional identities, the development of future educational interventions and departmental initiatives, which might support key components of professional identities, can be explored.

Introduction: This journal presents the outcomes of a meticulous systematic review investigating the interconnection among college students' professional values, professional identity, and learning engagement within the realm of higher education in China. The primary objective is to underscore the significance of instilling professional values and identity in students, delving into their impact on motivation, professional aspirations, and overall learning encounters. The study employs a rigorous methodology, entailing an exhaustive exploration across diverse academic databases to locate and scrutinize existing literature on the subject. To fortify the reliability and validity of the findings, the chosen studies undergo a meticulous data extraction process and quality evaluation. Theoretical Framework: The study accentuates the relevance of integrating academic pursuits with career aspirations, fostering professional values, and cultivating a robust professional identity to enhance learning engagement among college students. The findings suggest that students exhibit heightened motivation and engagement when they discern a clear correlation between their academic pursuits and prospective employment. Additionally, the study underscores the pivotal role of school administration and curriculum design in acknowledging and nurturing professional values and identities. Higher education institutions are urged to create a conducive learning environment by incorporating activities and experiences aligning with students' career objectives. Methodology: The research employs a stringent methodological approach, encompassing an extensive search across academic databases to identify and analyze pertinent literature. The selected studies undergo thorough data extraction and quality assessment procedures to uphold the credibility and validity of the findings. Results: The evaluation of the research spotlights the imperative nature of harmonizing professional values, professional identity, and learning engagement for higher education institutions. This synthesis contributes to enhanced educational quality and better prepares students for future employment. The results indicate practical implications for educational administration, emphasizing the importance of curriculum design that seamlessly integrates professional values and identity development. Conclusion: In conclusion, aligning professional values, identity, and learning engagement is crucial for enhancing educational quality and preparing students for future employment. Practical implications stress the pivotal role of curriculum design in integrating professional values and identity development, with the study advocating ongoing research into their intricate relationship and impact on student achievement.

The Nurse Leader’s Role:: A Conduit for Professional Identity Formation and Sustainability

Standard I: Terminology

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of historical thinking skills practice and acquisition among the students based on four dimensions of learning styles such as input (visual and verbal), processing (active and reflective), observation (sensing and intuitive) and understanding (sequential and global). The design of this study is a descriptive survey method involving a total of 865 forms two students from 30 secondary schools in a state of north Peninsular of Malaysia using simple random sampling technique. Two adapted questionnaires and a performance test which has been verified by the content expert and have a good reliability value, discrimination and difficulty index are used in this study. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics using IBM SPSS version 24. The findings of this study indicated that the historical thinking skills practice at a moderate level and the historical thinking skills acquisition at the lower level among the students. Therefore, historical thinking skills practice also at a moderate level and historical thinking skills acquisition at the lower level based on four dimensions of learning style among students. This study is also expected the history teacher will designing a more effective teaching and learning method in order to improve the level of historical thinking skills based on students learning the style in the ways they receive, understand and implement the knowledge and skills.

Background: Professional identity, or how a doctor thinks of himself or herself as a doctor, is considered to be as critical to medical education as the acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to patient care. Summary: This article examines contemporary literature on the development of professional identity within medicine. Relevant theories of identity construction are explored and their application to medical education and pedagogical approaches to enhancing students’ professional identity are proposed. The influence of communities of practice, role models, and narrative reflection within curricula are examined. Conclusions: Medical education needs to be responsive to changes in professional identity being generated from factors within medical student experiences and within contemporary society.

While there are many studies in the literature on out‐of‐school learning (OSL) environments, whose importance for learning is increasingly understood, studies involving parents and their views on these environments are rarely found. However, parents' contribution is extremely important and necessary for an efficient learning process. In this study, a survey was developed to determine parents' views on OSL environments. Thirty‐seven parents were face‐to‐face interviewed regarding to their views on OSL environments. An item pool was formed based on these interviews. Then this pre‐survey was administered to 702 voluntary parents. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses have performed and a survey with 21 items has been obtained. The survey has three dimensions: contribution of OSL environments to children's cognitive development; contribution of OSL environments to skill development; and parents' concerns about out‐of‐school learning environments. According to the findings, a significant number of parents are aware of the contribution of out‐of‐school learning environments in terms of both cognitive and skill acquisition. Also, it is seen that the gender of the parents and the gender of their child do not make any significant difference in their views. Parents with a bachelor's degree believe that out‐of‐school learning environments will contribute more to their children's skill and cognitive development than parents with a primary and secondary school degree.

In the higher education, the construction of students' professional identity faces significant challenges due to the development requirements. Inadequate or absence of professional identity can result in sluggish learning advancement, feeble professional objective orientation, and even psychological distress, including anxiety and mental health disorders. In light of this context, this study initially examines the conceptual and theoretical framework of professional identity, with a particular emphasis on students' precise professional self-positioning. Comprehending the impact of students' self-perception, learning environment, professional practice experience, and curriculum design on their learning process, and gradually comprehending the process by which professional identity is formed. Therefore, it is determined that the cultivation plan for college students' professional identity should prioritise their endeavours in three areas: self-orientation, family upbringing, and social assistance. Hence, the development and nurturing of college students' professional identity is an intricate and multi-faceted procedure that necessitates the collaborative endeavours of several stakeholders to ensure the robust advancement and holistic growth of college students.

In this article, the possibility of using wearable gyroscope sensors for skill assessment and skill acquisition was investigated. Marker‐based methods were used initially to capture the fast rotational motions and simulate the outputs of gyroscope sensors. Utilizing the marker‐based methods, the angular velocity of the upper arm internal rotation, wrist flexion, and shoulder rotation were calculated for a range of athletes using the trajectory of Vicon markers with respect to the Plug‐in Gait model during the first serve in tennis. Participants from amateur to elite participated in this study. Thirty successful serves from each participant were assessed. The results showed that the peak values of the upper arm internal rotation, wrist flexion, and shoulder rotation just before impact are indicative in classifying the participants’ skill level. It was shown that all the three parameters, as well as the racquet head speed, increased as the level of proficiency of the participants increased. A line (R2 = 0.89) was fitted to the scatter data containing the upper arm internal rotation, wrist flexion, and racquet head speed. The fit line is a function of upper arm rotation and wrist flexion. The fit line can be used as a potential skill acquisition tool to provide feedback on which variables (upper arm internal rotation, wrist flexion, or shoulder rotation) need to be improved. The positions of three gyroscope sensors to detect the same trends as those from the marker‐based methods were determined. Therefore, it is envisaged that gyroscope sensors could be used for skill assessment and skill acquisition for a first tennis serve.

Laparoscopic simulation training: Testing for skill acquisition and retention