Career-long Learning Research Articles

Case Conceptualization in Clinical Practice and Training.

Case conceptualization is central to the success of the therapeutic process. However, integrative case conceptualization research has lagged behind research on integrating therapeutic intervention techniques. A successful case conceptualization provides (a) a dynamic, context-sensitive, yet parsimonious model of the client's functioning; (b) relevant treatment targets and associated assessment procedures; and (c) a treatment plan including intervention phases and potential obstacles. Success in case conceptualization is a core clinical competency goal for trainees in clinical psychology and a career-long learning goal even for expert clinicians. Emerging technological trends and the formation of adversarial collaborative teams may assist research on the utility of well-constructed case conceptualizations.

Interdisciplinary fetal-neonatal neurology training improves brain health across the lifespan.

Integrated fetal, neonatal, and pediatric training constitute an interdisciplinary fetal-neonatal neurology (FNN) program. A dynamic neural exposome concept strengthens curriculum content. Trainees participate in mentoring committee selection for guidance during a proposed two-year program. Prenatal to postnatal clinical learning re-enforces early toxic stressor interplay that influences gene-environment interactions. Maternal-placental-fetal triad, neonatal, or childhood diseases require diagnostic and therapeutic decisions during the first 1,000 days when 80 % of neural connections contribute to life-course phenotypic expression. Pediatric follow-up through 3 years adjusts to gestational ages of preterm survivors. Cumulative reproductive, pregnancy, pediatric and adult exposome effects require educational experiences that emphasize a principle-to-practice approach to a brain capital strategy across the lifespan. More rigorous training during fetal, neonatal, and pediatric rotations will be offered to full time trainees. Adult neurology residents, medical students, and trainees from diverse disciplines will learn essential topics during time-limited rotations. Curriculum content will require periodic re-assessments using educational science standards that maintain competence while promoting creative and collaborative problem-solving. Continued career-long learning by FNN graduates will strengthen shared healthcare decisions by all stakeholders. Recognition of adaptive or maladaptive neuroplasticity mechanisms requires analytic skills that identify phenotypes associated with disease pathways. Developmental origins and life-course concepts emphasize brain health across the developmental-aging continuum, applicable to interdisciplinary research collaborations. Social determinants of health recognize diversity, equity, and inclusion priorities with each neurological intervention, particularly for those challenged with disparities. Diagnostic and therapeutic strategies must address resource challenges particularly throughout the Global South to effectively lower the worldwide burden of neurologic disease. Sustainable development goals proposed by the World Health Organization offer universally applicable guidelines in response to ongoing global and regional polycrises. Gender, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic equality promote effective preventive, rescue and reparative neuroprotective interventions. Global synergistic efforts can be enhanced by establishing leadership within academic teaching hubs in FNN training to assist with structure and guidance for smaller healthcare facilities in each community that will improve practice, education and research objectives. Reduced mortality with an improved quality of life must prioritize maternal-pediatric health and well-being to sustain brain health across each lifespan with transgenerational benefits.

Training Future Family Physicians to Become Master Adaptive Learners.

This article examines the use of a concept that teaches learners how to learn in the context of family medicine residency training. We describe the four phases of this master adaptive learning framework and its place in educational theory and adaptive expertise, its implications for graduate medical education training and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies, as well as its role in imprinting family medicine residents for career-long learning. We lay out pragmatic strategies supporting this concept with a proposed curricular format for training in family medicine, including small group teaching methods, didactics, the clinic visit, faculty development and an optimal learning environment.

Gen Z Perceptions and Expectations upon Entering the Workforce

Abstract This article focuses on examining Gen Z-ers’ opinions and expectations regarding their present or future jobs, as well as their views on their future careers. The exploratory study performed on members of this cohort revealed, among others, that Gen Z-ers appreciate a secure job, financial stability, and prefer working for big companies. They choose jobs which reflect their passions and look for informal and relaxed environments, where they can have their own well defined office space. This cohort wishes to be mentored at work and is brutally aware that success must come with career-long learning. Despite being said to be digital natives, they feel the need to bond with colleagues and to freely speak their mind.

Misconceptions in medicine, their origin and development in education and working life

This article reports on a theory-led narrative review regarding misconceptions and other weaknesses in medical knowledge, considering the development of the advanced knowledge structures that are required for the successful development, maintenance, and updating of medical professional cognitive skills. The identified studies were ordered according to different development phases of expertise, and research topics were categorised as biomedical and systems knowledge, assumptions about disease, patient types (especially the elderly), skills, attitudes, knowledge gaps, and learning. The following topic combinations were found: naïve or false beliefs and perceptions of disease (in primary and secondary schools); misconceptions regarding biomedical knowledge and complex systems (in secondary school and beyond); and beliefs about patients and how to deal with them (in medical school and beyond). Grounds for these misconceptions, beliefs, and other weaknesses were conjectured to be attributable to the students’ sociocultural backgrounds; the inherent difficulties of the domain, requiring systems thinking instead of simple causation; teaching materials that include simplifications and misconceptions, and do not highlight elements that contradict common misconceptions; or factors inherent in medical science and the profession itself (i.e., the biomedical model that dominates the profession, and methodological heuristics that favour error reduction at the cost of patient diversity). The article concludes by discussing the implications for medical practice, and educational measures that might extend their influence beyond medical school into career-long learning, which is often complicated by the regular changes in practice and science that occur during a medical career.

EMPOWERMENT AMONG FORMAL CAREGIVERS WORKING WITH PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA IN HOME CARE

There is significant literature on workplace empowerment that focuses on individuals in positions of power rather than those who lack it. However, there is limited research on empowerment of home care workers, such as personal support workers (PSW) who work in dementia care. Empowerment is an active process based on a multifaceted model consisting of four components: meaning, self-determination, impact and competence. This study explored the roles of education and employer support in empowering PSWs to care for persons with dementia who live at home. Empowerment was investigated using semi-structured interviews with PSWs (N=15). A phenomenological approach was to understand the lived experiences of home-care based PSWs who work with persons with dementia. Components of empowerment were reflected through five emerging themes: “providing best care”, “autonomy”, “employer support”, “career long learning”, and “experiential learning”. The theme “providing best care possible” support the component of meaning, which included the motivation for training among PSWs and their value of aging in place. The theme “autonomy” supported the component of self-determination, which focused on PSW workload and feelings regarding their control working in home care versus long term care. The theme “employer support” supported the component impact, which included both PSW compensation and their perceived lack of emotional support. Finally, the themes “career-long learning” and “experiential learning”, were linked with impact and competence components, respectively. Overall, these findings support relationships between education and employer support in empowering PSWs who care for persons with dementia who live at home.

All Animals Learn, but Only Humans Teach: The Professional Place of Teacher Educators

The profession that creates all other professions has been subject to much debate in recent years. Largely invisible at times, teacher educators have recently been visible mainly in the negative headlines which have surrounded attempts to disrupt this important, but often unsung, profession in order to introduce neoliberal reforms. This paper uses both Eliot Freidson’s three logics (adding artificial intelligence as a fourth logic) and Clarke’s Place Model to deconstruct and map the contested place of the teacher educator in respect of status and career-long learning journey. The question, ‘who is my teacher education professional’? is addressed, highlighting the complexity surrounding teacher educators’ roles and realms. In a world where many animals learn but only humans teach, teaching teachers is poorly recognised for the singularly inclusive profession it might be.

South European undergraduate and continuing professional development program reconceptualization for the New Information Professional: a synergistic innovation perspective

Purpose – As, under the new educational, communicational and technological paradigms, Library and Information Science curricula reconceptualization is gaining momentum, this opinion paper should be seen as a theoretical contribution to current thinking around South European formal education and Continuing Professional Development potential to effectively addressing the New Academic Library challenges.Design/methodology/findings - Building on context-specific case studies and previous international research focusing the investigation of the necessity to reshape official undergraduate programs and academic librarian career-long learning opportunities, our paper discusses whether and how an open flexible synergistic approach could be an ideal solution to current scenario pain points. Besides offering a brief but comprehensive review of the topic, it further proposes a set of future research studies that may result foundational to change within the librarian community by helping unpack the complexities of an ecosystem still in search of its identity.

Preparing Elementary School Teachers to Learn From Teaching: A Comparison of Two Approaches to Mathematics Methods Instruction

Teacher preparation programs face a significant challenge in determining how to design learning experiences that develop the combination of knowledge, practices, and dispositions needed for effective classroom teaching. Time constraints and the theory–practice divide are two well-documented concerns. We introduce the conceptual framework and design elements of a video-enhanced mathematics methods course that targets these concerns. The course centers on systematic reflection and analysis of practice intended to foster career-long learning. We then examine the impact of this course on several facets of learning-from-teaching competencies, including teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Sixty-two preservice teachers enrolled in a one-year post-bachelor elementary teacher preparation program were randomly assigned to attend this course or a more typical mathematics methods course. Findings suggest that teacher preparation experiences centered on systematic reflection and analysis create opportunities to develop certain aspects of learning-from-teaching competencies that remain otherwise underdeveloped. Implications for the design of teacher preparation include the integration in mathematics methods courses of cycles of analysis through video-enhanced discussions; collaborative planning, implementation, and reflection on teaching; and live observation and co-constructed interpretations and considerations of next steps.

Australasian forensic science summit 2016: education and training towards 2030

Currently, there is no broad overarching framework that allows for a holistic approach to education and training in forensic science. There is no agreed mechanism to consolidate, guide and evaluate the development and delivery of education products (i.e. qualifications, standards, curriculum), for use in organizations which deliver forensic services. There is a clear role for academia to improve the quality of forensic science through collaboration in the design and delivery of industry-focussed education and training. In the future, greater integration and partnership are sought between academia and industry, with industry able to identify and articulate its long-term direction, priorities and the skill sets required by future forensic scientists, and academia moving towards a form of quality assurance (accreditation) for their courses. Given the skill set required for forensics in rapidly evolving disciplines such as the digital space, one may need to be careful mandating a degree requirement. However, a greater industry-wide acceptance of the need for ongoing, career-long learning amongst forensic practitioners is required, as is the need to further explore professionalization, across the range of forensic science disciplines, so that we have a united voice and not competing voices from every discipline of forensic science or stakeholder, where the message risks being lost in the noise.

Competency Milestones

Advanced practice nurses with specialty-level skills in hospice and palliative care are urgently needed to optimize care delivery for Americans with advanced serious illness. Leaders in the healthcare and nursing communities encourage new nurses to pursue higher education pathways, to enroll in postgraduate training programs, and to pursue career-long learning. An integral part of the learning process is evaluating competence in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes defined for the discipline. However, there are currently no established methods to track achievement of clinical competence for either trainees or practicing palliative nurses. In this article, the authors present the Advanced Practice Palliative Nurse Competency Milestones, a tool to assess and document emerging competency of palliative nurses across the career trajectory from novice to specialist. It is derived from the evidence-based Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association competencies for advanced practice palliative nurses and mapped across a developmental continuum using Benner’s novice-to-expert framework. The authors describe the tool’s development and application over a 2-year period.

Medical laboratory professional's perceptions of continuous medical education

Background: Medical laboratory technologists (MLTs) are required to gain credit for continuous professional development for relicensing as well as for their own career-long learning. International studies have shown that MLTs who undertake continuing medical education (CME) have improved productivity, enhanced professional flexibility and high work fulfilment. The time spent on CME is associated with professional competency. Previous national research has shown that attendance at CME programmes in Saudi Arabia is likely affected by demographic factors. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions of MLTs towards CME activities and to predict factors that affect attendance. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was given to 103 medical laboratory professionals from the Security Forces Hospital as part of a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were analysed using SPSS version 21. Results: The overall mean score was 3.88 for the 103 questionnaires, indicating an affirmative perception of the CME programmes. Males in the age group 25-34 years accounted for 61.2% of responses. The preferred delivery modes for CME programmes were short courses and workshops (23%) and higher education relevant courses (20%). For those who had attended CME and those who had not, no significant difference was found in gender, age, field of specialty, education categories or working experience. Conclusion: Most laboratory technicians in our study reported favourable perceptions of CME programmes, feeling that they increased professional confidence and competency. We recommend that core competencies be integrated into credentialing using profession-specific CME in a workplace setting. In addition, MLTs should be involved in designing the programmes as well. Further studies in a multicentre institution are needed to analyse the difference in perception among those who have attended CME and those who have not.

Improving Continuing Professional Development opportunities for radiographers: A single centre evaluation

PurposeThis study aimed to identify current barriers to CPD and generate ideas for strategies to overcome these issues. Further aims were to gather an overview of respondents' understanding and opinions of CPD. MethodsAn online survey was used to acquire information from departmental band 5 and band 6 radiographers. Descriptive statistical analysis and thematic analysis were performed to understand demographics and individuals' behaviours and experiences. FindingsRadiographers (n = 33) were sent an invitation via email providing a response rate of 75.8% (n = 25), with 20 females (80%) and 5 males (20%). 52% (n = 13) dedicate less than three hours a month. Participants highlighted time restraint as their biggest barrier to CPD. They also indicated a reluctance to use their own time to undertake work-related learning, despite exhibiting positive attitudes towards CPD. Radiographers see CPD as a vital and necessary, career-long learning process and they recognise the impacts on service provision. The notion of dedicated study time was unanimously suggested as the best approach to increase commitment to CPD. ConclusionRadiographers demonstrated positive opinions of CPD, yet it was evident that many are not undertaking activities during their own time and it was acknowledged that opportunities during work time are limited. The provision of study time in work was suggested as an approach to improve radiographer's opportunities to complete CPD. Training sessions underlining the necessity of CPD in maintaining registration, what constitutes CPD and reinforcement of the benefits of systematic recording of CPD should be provided.

Understanding Preservice Teacher Skills to Construct Lesson Plans

This study examined preservice teachers’ (PSTs) capacity for lesson planning in a university-based teacher preparation program in the USA Participants (n = 126) wrote lesson plans in three approaches: synthesis, creation, and modification. Findings indicate that PSTs who modified preexisting lesson plans produced better lesson plans than their peers and reported higher efficacy in their use of the lesson plan in their field experiences. This study supports the notion that the efficacy of first-year teaching lies more appropriately in the area of enacting curriculum than in the area of designing curriculum. With respect to career-long learning, PSTs’ abilities to do curriculum work are likely to improve, as they grow more familiar with students and existing excellent curricula over years. Although the study presents a snapshot of U.S. preservice teachers’ capacity for curriculum design, the findings may serve to inform the literature on the developmental aspect of curriculum design for teacher education systems across the world.

Training in Fetal–Neonatal Neurology: Principles to Guide Practice for Career-Long Learning

Training in Fetal–Neonatal Neurology: Principles to Guide Practice for Career-Long Learning

Student teachers’ participation in learning activities and effective teaching behaviours

Teacher learning is essential to the teaching profession, because it has been strongly linked to improved teaching practices and teacher quality. The source for teacher learning is initial teacher education, a crucial phase in the learning-to-teach continuum. To gain insight into this influential period for student teachers’ long-term professional lives, this exploratory study investigates student teachers’ participation in learning activities and explores whether it is connected to their own effective teaching behaviours in a school-based teacher education setting for secondary education in the Netherlands. The results indicate that student teachers vary in their self-reported learning and that this learning relates positively to observations of their effective teaching behaviour. These findings have several implications for teacher education programmes that aim to enhance the likelihood that their student teachers will become career-long learning professionals.

Student teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching and their participation in career-long learning activities

Career-long teacher learning is essential to the teaching profession because it is strongly connected with teacher quality and practices. Student teachers in the first stage of their career-long learning continuum, however, vary in the extent to which they participate in learning activities. This study explores the relationship between beliefs about learning and teaching and participation in learning activities among student teachers, in a school-based teacher education setting for secondary education in the Netherlands. The results indicate that student teachers vary in their beliefs. Structural equation modelling analysis shows that pupil-oriented beliefs are positively related to self-reported participation in learning activities; no relationship emerges between subject matter-oriented beliefs and learning. A cluster analysis reveals two distinct belief profiles, and the findings confirm the relationship to participation in learning activities. Implications for teacher education programmes intended to enhance the chances that their student teachers will become pupil-oriented, career-long learning professionals are discussed.

Career-long learning: Relationship between cognitive and metacognitive skills

Objectives: Physicians need metacognitive skills including reflection and goal generation for effective lifelong learning (LLL). These skills are not readily assessed and may not correlate with cognitive skills. We examined early-career physicians’ metacognition and relationships between metacognitive skills, cognitive skills, and orientation toward LLL.Methods: Pediatric fellows at UCSF document career progress in annual Individual Development Plans (IDPs). To assess metacognitive skills, we scored narratives in IDPs with a Reflective Ability Rubric (RAR) and goal setting with a SMART Goal Rubric (SMART-GR: consists of global IDP score and four IDP domain subscores). To assess cognitive skills, we collected American Board of Pediatrics scores (ABP), and to measure orientation toward LLL, fellows completed the Jefferson Scale (JeffSPLL). We used Spearman’s correlation to examine relationships between scores.Results: About 57/66 (86%) fellows participated. Mean scores were: RAR 2.4 ± 1.3 (scale 0–6); SMART-GR global IDP 2.8 ± 1.0, (1–5); JeffSPLL 46.3 ± 3.9 (14–56); and ABP 559.4 ± 75.7. RAR scores correlated significantly with SMART-GR scores but metacognitive measures did not correlate with ABP scores.Conclusions: Our study suggests early-career physicians may have limited metacognitive skills; cognitive and metacognitive skills do not correlate; and orientation toward LLL does not predict metacognitive skills. Thus, we need improved methods to teach and assess metacognition.

Investigating the Role of Mobile Devices in a Blended Pre-Service Teacher Education Program

The purpose of this research study was to investigate if and how mobile devices could be used to support the required program outcomes in a blended pre-service teacher education degree. All students enrolled in an educational technology course during the fall 2011 semester were provided with ViewSonic tablets. Through faculty interviews, student online surveys, and a post-course focus group, the study participants indicated that mobile devices could be useful for supporting future professional responsibilities (e.g., career-long learning, collaboration) and facilitating student learning but less effective for planning, assessment, and managing the classroom environment.

Threshold Theory and Social Work Education

Critical reflection is a concept in social work education that holds a significant place—it provides both foundational theoretical ideas about the practice of social work, and is also a process used in career-long learning. Understanding critical reflection as a threshold theory concept—a higher education learning and teaching concept—providing a framework which assists educators in teaching critical reflection. Threshold theory identifies certain concepts as foundational within a discipline—these are transformative in profoundly altering the way students understand the subject. As with critical reflection, they are also integrative, conceptually difficult or ‘troublesome’ and difficult to forget. The intrinsic nature of critical reflection makes its use as a conceptual model in practice a complex task: it requires the integration of theoretical knowledge, in a multiple-step methodology. Students must fully engage with the process, in identifying the impact of their lived experience, values and beliefs on their practice, as well as power, social structures and influential discourses. This article argues that threshold theory assists educators in understanding the nature of learning that is required for students to master critical reflection in social work education