Collaborative Education Program Research Articles

COLLABORATIVE DESIGN PRACTICE INVOLVING PARTNERS FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLLABORATIVE ENGINEERING EDUCATION (PACE)

This paper describes efforts to develop a collaborative design project involving third year mechanical engineering students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Toronto (U of T). Selected students enrolled in a core kinematics and dynamics course at U of T were partnered with selected students enrolled in a core machine design course at UBC. These project groups were given the task of designing an automotive product specified by the industrial client, General Motors. The pilot project required students make full use of the advanced design resources provided under the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE) program. This pilot project was performed as a simulation of real world automotive design where design offices around the globe participate in concurrent design of new automobile components and systems.

Expanding Outreach of a Diabetes Self-management Education Program to Antigua

Objective: Take Charge of Your Diabetes (TCYD) is a collaborative diabetes self-management education program designed by Florida extension faculty. The Florida Department of Health funds training and provides technical support. The objective of this project was to expand TCYD outreach to Antigua. Use of Theory or Research: TCYD was designed with the health belief model. Target Audience: Persons with type 2 diabetes living in Antigua. Description: Working collaboratively with the Antigua Medical Benefits Scheme, we planned a January 2010 visit to the island nation, including 1 day of orientation to their health care system to learn their approaches to diabetes self-management education. We worked with 30 Antiguan health professionals, including dietitians, nurses, diabetes educators, and pharmacists, for 3 days, providing research updates and training on program planning, implementation, and evaluation, including ideas for adapting the program for their population. Evaluation: The health professionals were enthusiastic about the training and TCYD, and the program was implemented within 3 months. The Medical Benefits Scheme reported dramatic improvements in self-care practices among participants, and the average hemoglobin A1C level decreased by 2.2%, a significant change that can have profound effects on risk for health complications. A second program is currently being implemented and future expansion is planned. We continue to provide research and program updates. Conclusions and Implications: TCYD can be adapted for use in other cultures when local health professionals receive detailed training and local support for program implementation. Funding: Medical Benefits Scheme, Antigua.

Improving Collaborative Teacher Education Research

Although collaborative teacher education programs have grown in number over the past two decades, we still do not understand the ways in which these programs, or the practices in those programs, improve the preparation of inclusive teachers. At a time when teacher education’s viability is being questioned, it is problematic that little information exists about the validity and impact of collaborative programs. To justify collaborative teacher education programs and improve the science of teacher education more broadly, the authors propose a framework for conducting research on collaborative teacher education—one that can be used to analyze current research and inform future efforts. In this article, the authors build a framework for studying collaborative teacher education, emphasizing linkages among theory, innovation, and outcomes. The authors then analyze the collaborative teacher education literature according to this conceptual framework, drawing conclusions about the current state of collaborative teacher education research and making recommendations for the future.

European Romanies: A Collaborative Educational Program at the University of Florida Libraries

The article describes a collaborative library‐museum partnership that created an educational program about European Romanies for the University of Florida community in conjunction with International Roma Day. Partners in this endeavor were the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Library and the Museum of Romani Culture in the Czech Republic. The authors hope that this record will be helpful for others wishing to stage similar projects.

In the Name of Global Health: Trends in Academic Institutions

This paper describes accelerating development of programs in global health, particularly in North American academic institutions, and sets this phenomenon in the context of earlier programs in tropical medicine and international health that originated predominantly in Europe. Like these earlier programs, the major focus of the new global health programs is on the health needs of developing countries, and perhaps for this reason, few similar programs have emerged in academic institutions in the developing countries themselves. If global health is about the improvement of health worldwide, the reduction of disparities, and protection of societies against global threats that disregard national borders, it is essential that academic institutions reach across geographic, cultural, economic, gender, and linguistic boundaries to develop mutual understanding of the scope of global health and to create collaborative education and research programs. One indication of success would be emergence of a new generation of truly global leaders working on a shared and well-defined agenda--and doing so on equal footing.

Notes from the Field

Notes from the Field M. Gamal Sabet (bio) The article by Richard Woolley and colleagues, “Mobility Matters: Research Training and Network Building in Science,” contends that international research training (Ph.D.) and early career research positions (postdocs) are mobility mechanisms that enable the acquisition of globally competitive science and innovation capabilities and the building and integrating of distributed knowledge networks (DKNs). Although results differ among countries, data from a survey of published scientists from the Asia- Pacific region provide evidence of an international movement of scientists from six major knowledge-producing locations in the region, primarily to the United States. The authors’ analysis indicates that the mobility of scientific and technical human capital (STHC) for research training and early career research positions is particularly important, as other forms of knowledge- sharing do not substitute for geographic mobility when it comes to the distribution of the embodied innovative capabilities that are central to many forms of scientific knowledge-making. At the same time, the results of the survey show that these early career moves are strongly correlated to the DKNs through which innovative capabilities are both distributed and connected to global knowledge hubs. This conclusion may not apply to dictatorships, however. A dictatorship is most concerned about the welfare of the ruler. An oligarchy such as China safeguards the ruling elite in the Communist Party and it oversees the welfare of the country, hence it encourages its expatriates to transfer their technology and knowledge back to the mother country. In dictatorships, the dictator is more likely to view intellectuals as troublemakers; therefore a dictatorship may be more interested in allowing STHCs and DKNs to leave the country and stay abroad, because returning intellectuals would be more likely to become political dissidents if allowed to return home. As former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet once said: “We have nothing against new ideas; we are just against people spreading them.” Consequently, whatever they may say publicly against “brain drains,” dictators may actually [End Page 185] view them as “win-win” situations from the perspective of the regime, if not the country. The 1952 military coup d’état set the stage for the destruction of democracy and the emergence of new authoritarian oppressive regime. Egypt has been a dictatorship for the last five decades after the overthrown of King Farouk in July 1952. Nonetheless, the emergence of collaborative education programs between Egyptian universities and U.S. and European universities during the 1980s did initiate one-way knowledge transfers. However, Egyptian universities do not have exchange programs that would allow Egyptian professors to teach in either U.S. and/or European universities. This type of arrangement is vital for the transfer of technology between and from advanced to Third World countries. My postdoctoral study in the United States on assessment centers, for example, proved to be very beneficial. The successful application of such methodology in Egyptian agencies proves how postdoctoral studies can be used to transfer technology across countries. The Egyptian government encourages home visits by expatriate Egyptian intellectuals only for ritualistic and symbolic activities that showcase the country’s leader’s dedication to science and scientists. Most Egyptian scientists who work either in the United States or Europe are reluctant to return home because of the low salaries of university professors and/or the lack of research funding. In this case, the incentives and mechanisms that could encourage the repatriation of Egyptian emigrant scientists and technology professionals do not exist. [End Page 186] M. Gamal Sabet M. Gamal Sabet is a professor of management and human resources. He is also a consultant and trainer, having taught, worked, and conducted research at the University of Miami, Florida International University, San Diego State University Foundation, and many Egyptian universities. He has designed and implemented management, behavioral, and human-resources management-training programs for over a thousand businesses and public agencies in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Sabet has published scholarly articles in public-policy analysis, management, human-resources development, knowledge management, and learning organization, and has translated more than 20 books from English to Arabic. He can be reached at <sabet30@hotmail.com>. Copyright © 2008 The Johns Hopkins University Press

Predictors of Success for Saudi Arabian Students Enrolled in an Accelerated Baccalaureate Degree Program in Nursing in the United States

In the mid 1980s, a professional nursing education program was initiated between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States. Based on a perceived and documented need, a collaborative education and research program was established with George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, to begin building a community of new scholars to assist in the advancement of professional nursing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Four cohorts of Saudi citizens from three institutions (King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Saudi Arabia National Guard Hospital, and Ministry of Aviation and Defense Hospital), who held a degree in science or a related field, were enrolled in an accelerated baccalaureate program leading to a bachelor of science in nursing degree. This project was funded by Saudi Arabian sources. A descriptive research study was conducted to identify predictors of success in the program. Results indicated a rate of program completion that was higher than expected. Some of the first graduates went on for a doctor of philosophy degree, but not all enrolled completed the program. Many countries around the world are seeking ways to upgrade and increase the supply of qualified nurses within their own borders. This study identified those factors that were predictors of success for Saudi Arabian students who completed a baccalaureate degree in nursing program in the United States.

Bridging the Gap in Rural Special Education: Paraeducators to Teachers

Rural school districts have their own set of distinct challenges in providing special education services to children who qualify for them. Resources and resource personnel can be scarce, or in some cases, nonexistent. Additionally, although many paraeducators currently working in classrooms for children with disabilities have dream to become a certified special education teacher, many, especially those who live and work in rural areas, do not have opportunity to attend college or university to achieve their goals. These two challenges, scarcity of highly trained special education staff and lack of opportunity to go to college, can be answered in one solution: developing collaborative user friendly teacher education programs for rural special education paraeducators that originate in local community colleges. One program in Polk County, Florida (Epanchin & Wooley-Brown, 1993) recruited paraeducators and others from local, rural area and developed a collaborative teacher education program among school districts and University of South Florida. The project stakeholders reported many successes, but some problem areas were evident as well. Although project was delivered locally, making it user-friendly for students, faculty had to weather long commutes to teach in rural county. Another challenge of project was that several applicants did not qualify academically for admission to state university. Many of these students were highly recommended by their districts as potential candidates for project. A state university often has a strict admissions policy, where community colleges are visually more flexible. Distance learning technology has been cited as a practical way to meet needs of rural teacher training (Knapczyk & Rodes, 1994; Knapcyzk, 1993). One program, called Teach for Arkansas, used compressed video from University of Arkansas in Fayetteville beamed to a local community college to deliver teacher education courses to a rural county in Arkansas. The target population of program was community members with little or no college coursework who wished to become certified teachers (Savoye, 2001). The goals of program were to both recruit and train locally, and project has proved to be a success in training three cohorts of students for elementary teaching jobs. However, this program did not focus on developing a pool of special education teachers. An additional program in New Hampshire used independent study monitored by experienced mentors (Wei, Shapero, & Boggess, 1993) to support teacher education process in rural communities. According to authors, program consisted of interagency collaboration and solved some of problems of delivering special education certification coursework to rural areas. However, paraeducators were not intended target of this program. Why Recruit Pameducators? Many have noted that the utilization of paraeducator to support education of individuals with disabilities has increased dramatically over past 10 years (p. 45) even though there is little research to document this trend (Giangreco, Edelmam & Broer, 2001). Although some lament this state of affairs (Brown, Knight, Ross & Ziegler, 1999), one positive aspect of this situation is that pool from which to recruit teachers has expanded as well, as it is reported that there are over 300,000 paraeducators currently working in special education in United States (Giangreco, Edelman, Broer, & Doyle, 2001). Recruiting paraeducators to be teachers is not a new idea and others cite this opportunity as a resource when reporting on training needs of paraeducators (Passaro, Pickett, Latham, & HongBo, 1994). Several factors make it attractive to recruit paraeducators for certified teaching positions. First, paraeducators usually represent culture or cultures of surrounding area (French & Pickett, 1997) and are committed to residing in and enriching their community. …

Challenge and opportunity: nurse practitioner programs partnering with managed care.

To examine the experiences of nurse practitioner (NP) students who participated in a collaborative educational program between the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Health New England (HNE) Health Plan, Springfield, MA. Nurse practitioner faculty and managed care executives shared resources to educate NP students and to address their perceptions about managed care. Verbatim transcriptions and journal writings of students specifically designated as "Partnerships for Quality Education (PQE) trainees" and reports of their fellow classmates, all of whom received varying extent of access to managed care theory, administrative, and clinical experiences within the HNE plan. The experiences of the PQE trainees revealed a greatly expanded understanding of managed care that challenged students' previous beliefs. They reported greater satisfaction with program participation than their classmates, had an unprecedented opportunity to articulate the NP role to a managed care organization (MCO), and learned that a collaborative, rather than an adversarial, relationship with an MCO produces better outcomes for patients and providers. Many students in the class, including some of the PQE trainees, were concerned, however, about what they perceived as managed care "taking time away from clinical issues," which they considered more important. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND PRACTICE: There is a need for balance between both managed care and clinical content in NP programs, yet students must have an intimate grasp of both if they are to survive in today's health care environment.

Association of Teacher Educators Distinguished Program in Teacher Education Award 2001: Preparing Scholar-Practitioners in the 21st Century

The University of Arkansas' Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program is a dynamic research based program developed through the cooperation of university faculty and representative public school teachers and administrators. The MAT is a comprehensive, collaborative teacher education program based on a Scholar-Practitioner Model that involves extensive field experiences connected to all education courses and an intensive yearlong internship during the students' fifth year. The new teacher education program partners university faculty with public school educators to enhance the knowledge and skills of the prospective teachers and the continued professional development of the university and public school faculty. While our focus primarily has been on the preparation of public school teachers, we do so with the clear view in mind of enhancing the learning of the children they will serve.

Portrait of Success: Cooperating Teachers and the Student Teaching Experience

Current research on student teachers and the student teaching experience often has neglected the point of view of the cooperating teachers. Through interviews with 20 cooperating teachers, the researcher obtained data on how cooperating teachers define a successful student teaching experience and what they believe could enhance their success as student mentors. The data from the interviews confirm certain trends in these perceptions, including the importance of a “mutual learning relationship” between the student and cooperating teacher. Cooperating teachers also called for greater support and collaboration from the university community, defined by (a) improved communication about university expectations, (b) more courses and inservicing for cooperating teachers, (c) more input from cooperating teachers about the content and delivery of methods courses, and (d) more input from cooperating teachers in the development of teacher education programs. The author concludes that more effective teacher education models must be informed by a larger data base of information from cooperating teachers and that collaborative teacher education programs must include the voice of the professional who works closest with the student teacher.

Collaborating for Breast Health Education and Research: A University, Industry, and Community Agency Partnership

Initiating a collaborative health education program about breast health required talent, expertise, and workload contributions from all involved including university researchers, a regional breast screening agency, and local industries. The credibility and opinions of liaisons or key informants were valued highly, and their support was critical to the success of the project. Participation in any collaborative project is predicated on benefits perceived by each of the partners. The community agency reaped the benefits of greater dissemination of their educational materials through the interventions. The project increased corporate and union awareness of the resources of this agency and in this community. Throughout the project, meetings and telephone conferences were held on a weekly or biweekly basis with the liaisons. Liaisons disseminated updates to management and union representatives.

Youth Functional Status and Academic Achievement in Collaborative Mental Health and Education Programs:Two California Care Systems

This article describes the educational and functional status of youth served in joint education and mental health programs nested within two counties implementing the California System of Care Model for youth with severe emotional disturbance. The goals of the study were to (a) describe the demographic, educational, and clinical characteristics of youth served in education/mental health programs; (b) understand the relationship between functional status and academic achievement of these youth; and (c) compare these youth with matched peers involved in the broader system of care. Children and adolescents in the education/mental health programs were primarily Anglo-American boys with low academic achievement and high levels of functional impairment. Functional status and academic achievement were not related. Youth served in the specialized programs were more functionally impaired than youth served in the broader care system. This study provides evidence that youth served in education/mental health programs have the types of multisystem needs that may warrant multiagency collaboration and services.

International collaboration for home care education, Part I: Creating the partnership.

This two-part series describes the collaborative summer home care nursing program for Korean nurses conducted by the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, in cooperation with the College of Nursing of Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Part I focuses on the development of the collaboration, and part II focuses on the content of the three-week summer home care program and describes related issues and problems as well as suggests solutions. The series concludes with the findings on the program from the postprogram evaluations of students, preceptors, and patients. The collaborative educational program was developed to give Korean home care nurses an opportunity to gain clinical experience in home care nursing in the United States so that they could learn how to deliver better-quality home care for patients and their informal caregivers. Therefore, the program focused on practice-oriented lectures and clinical experiences.

Rural sex education: assessment of programs and interagency collaboration.

The purposes of this study were to assess the sex education programs offered in three rural Ohio counties, the agencies involved, and the extent to which agencies collaborated, and to compare interagency collaboration across counties. This cross-sectional study occurred in two phases. Using key-informant interviews (n = 85), Phase 1 identified current programs. Phase 2 assessed interagency collaboration via a mailed survey (n = 116). Results indicated that there were five to nine sex education programs per county, each involving five to eight agencies. Sex education was offered inside and outside of schools; programs were available to keep pregnant/parenting youth in school, enhance self-esteem, provide parenting education to teens, and advocate for abstinence. Sex education also occurred via a newsletter and an adolescent health conference, and in various clinics. Minimal collaboration was noted among agencies providing these programs. Public health nurses are ideally situated to identify current programs and agencies involved and form an interagency group to plan and implement comprehensive, collaborative sex education programs for youth. Further research is needed to longitudinally assess the impact of such program development on interagency collaboration, teen sexual activity, and pregnancy rates.

Abortion education for residents

Planned Parenthood of New York City established a physician education program in first-trimester abortion using local anesthesia at its three clinics. This paper describes the program's technical and counseling skills curricula, individualized instruction, quality-assurance procedures, obstacles encountered, and solutions implemented. Major obstacles were slow initial recruitment, disincentives of off-site education, and scheduling difficulties. Solutions included grand rounds presentations at local hospitals to recruit residents, considerable flexibility in rotational scheduling, and expansion of instructional staff to include academic physicians as teachers. Since its inception in July 1993, 53 residents and attending physicians have been taught to perform induced abortions at Planned Parenthood, and 25 who completed the program are currently providing abortions around the nation. Planned Parenthood's experience in teaching residents from local hospitals to perform first-trimester abortion using local anesthesia may be valuable for those who wish to implement similar collaborative off-site educational programs.

Developing a collaborative community partnership program in medical asepsis with tattoo studios.

The possibility of transmission of infectious agents during tattooing has become a legitimate issue of concern for health care providers. A collaborative educational program was developed by a county health department, College of Nursing, and tattoo artists to address issues of medical asepsis with the goal of producing a mechanism for certification of tattoo studios. The group's effort was enhanced by recognizing each other's value systems and by the mutual need for a successful program. A framework for developing, implementing, and evaluating community partnerships was addressed. This program demonstrated that community health nurses can play an instrumental role in collaborating with both health care providers and personal-service workers to minimize transmission of infectious agents during cosmetic procedures.

Faculty development: a transcultural experience.

A collaborative education program between Schools of Nursing at the Jordan University of Science and Technology and the University of Windsor, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), provides advanced clinical and theoretical education for Jordanian faculty and thus enriches the education of nursing students. This article describes the preparation of the faculty development proposal and the implementation of the project in a transcultural context, and identifies strengths and limitations of the project. Recommendations for effective strategies regarding international development in nursing education are made and a discussion of the benefits that ensued to both faculties is included.

A collaborative program for international education.

A collaborative educational program for Japanese nurses was developed, which merged the resources of the practice and education settings at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the MGH Institute of Health Professions. Two concurrent programs were developed--Adult Health and Maternal-Child Health. These concurrent programs focused on content reflecting key areas in the realm of nursing practice and education in both Japan and the United States. Complementary clinical tours were an integral part of the program. This dyad of lecture and clinical experiences provided a forum to focus on issues relevant to nursing worldwide.

A Collaborative Field-Based Urban Teacher Education Program

A Collaborative Field-Based Urban Teacher Education Program