Common Core Course Research Articles

Context of English Common Core course 2023 at the University of Panama

Context of English Common Core course 2023 at the University of Panama

Examining the Foundation: Scaffolding “soft” skills from entry to graduation in an undergraduate business program

Critical thinking, creativity, communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, empathy, resilience, ambition, grit, innovation... (Heckman & Kautz, 2012). These skills, known as a contentious four-letter “S” word (soft), are considered a requirement for employment and advancement for the 21st-century graduate (Carnevale & Smith, 2013). Within a School of Business, in an environment highly regarded for technical skill achievement in diploma and degree graduates, faculty set out to investigate the contentiousness and inclusion of human skills in curriculum outcomes. While not directly built into the curriculum, there is an institutional understanding that human skill development is innately a part of the programs. The intention is that human skills (LeBusque, 2020), or power skills (PMI, 2022) naturally occur during course delivery, creating a commonality across foundational courses to reinforce the skill sets identified, developed, and refined as students complete their credentials. However, industry reports (Lapointe & Turner, 2020; RBC, 2019) and the authors’ own institutional data collected from new graduates and employers indicated room for improvement in these skills. To gain a better understanding, the authors undertook a critical examination through a document analysis of all common core courses that form the program foundation. This involved 24 common courses, comprising 1,442-course objectives or outcomes, resulting in a range of 134 Bloom’s Taxonomy verbs. In this paper, the authors begin the first phase of this comprehensive study with a return to the course foundations. Through this analysis, the authors present a framework to better understand and strengthen the learning foundation, to proceed with realignment and strategic scaffolding of both technical and human skills from entry through graduation. Keywords: business education, skill development, course objectives, Bloom's Taxonomy, 21st-century graduate, document analysis

Evaluation of UN SDG-related formal learning activities in a university common core curriculum

Purpose Higher education plays an essential role in achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, there are only scattered studies on monitoring how universities promote SDGs through their curriculum. The purpose of this study is to investigate the connection of existing common core courses in a university to SDG education. In particular, this study wanted to know how common core courses can be classified by machine-learning approach according to SDGs. Design/methodology/approach In this report, the authors used machine learning techniques to tag the 166 common core courses in a university with SDGs and then analyzed the results based on visualizations. The training data set comes from the OSDG public community data set which the community had verified. Meanwhile, key descriptions of common core courses had been used for the classification. The study used the multinomial logistic regression algorithm for the classification. Descriptive analysis at course-level, theme-level and curriculum-level had been included to illustrate the proposed approach’s functions. Findings The results indicate that the machine-learning classification approach can significantly accelerate the SDG classification of courses. However, currently, it cannot replace human classification due to the complexity of the problem and the lack of relevant training data. Research limitations/implications The study can achieve a more accurate model training through adopting advanced machine learning algorithms (e.g. deep learning, multioutput multiclass machine learning algorithms); developing a more effective test data set by extracting more relevant information from syllabus and learning materials; expanding the training data set of SDGs that currently have insufficient records (e.g. SDG 12); and replacing the existing training data set from OSDG by authentic education-related documents (such as course syllabus) with SDG classifications. The performance of the algorithm should also be compared to other computer-based and human-based SDG classification approaches for cross-checking the results, with a systematic evaluation framework. Furthermore, the study can be analyzed by circulating results to students and understanding how they would interpret and use the results for choosing courses for studying. Furthermore, the study mainly focused on the classification of topics that are taught in courses but cannot measure the effectiveness of adopted pedagogies, assessment strategies and competency development strategies in courses. The study can also conduct analysis based on assessment tasks and rubrics of courses to see whether the assessment tasks can help students understand and take action on SDGs. Originality/value The proposed approach explores the possibility of using machine learning for SDG classifications in scale.

Cost-Effectiveness of Universal Screening for Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in China: An Economic Evaluation

Background: With the largest hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected population worldwide, universal HBV screening in China may significantly contribute to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2030 goals in eliminating viral hepatitis. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of universal HBV screening in China and identified optimal screening strategies. Methods: We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov cohort model based on four HBV serological screening methods in China. We simulated these universal screening in 15 different adult age groups with different initiation time (year 2021, 2026 and 2031). We performed probabilistic and one-way deterministic sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of our findings. Results: With a willingness-to-pay level of 3x Chinese gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (US$30,828), HBsAg/HBsAb/HBeAg/HBeAb/HBcAb (five-test) screening among 18-70 years was the most cost-effective strategy in 2021 (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER] US$18,295/quality-adjusted life-year [QALY] gained). This remained the most cost-effective strategy, even when the willingness-to-pay threshold reduced to US$17,778; other strategies became more cost-effective at lower willingness-to-pay levels. This strategy would potentially prevent 3.46 million liver-related deaths over the lifetime of the cohort. It remained the most cost-effective even when the implementation was delayed to 2026 and 2031, but with greater ICERs (US$20,183/QALY and US$23,123/QALY, respectively). The screening will no longer be cost-effective in younger age groups in delayed scenarios. Conclusion: Five-test universal screening among 18-70 years implemented in 2021 is the optimal HBV screening strategy in China. Delaying strategy implementation reduces overall cost-effectiveness. Early screening initiation will aid global efforts in achieving viral hepatitis elimination. Funding: LZ is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 8191101420); Outstanding Young Scholars Funding (3111500001); Xi'an Jiaotong University Basic Research and Profession Grant (xtr022019003); and Xi'an Jiaotong University Young Talent Support Program (YX6J004). WKS is supported by the Outstanding Young Researcher Award, the University of Hong Kong. JJO is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leadership Fellowship (GNT11953955). This project is funded by The University of Hong Kong Common Core Course. Declaration of Interest: PC is a staff member of the World Health Organization; the author alone is responsible for the views expressed in this publication, and they do not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of the World Health Organization. MFY is an advisory board member and/or received research funding from AbbVie, Arbutus Biopharma, Assembly Biosciences, Bristol Myer Squibb, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Gilead Sciences, Janssen, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Clear B Therapeutics, Springbank Pharmaceuticals; and received research funding from Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Fujirebio Incorporation and Sysmex Corporation. WKS received speaker's fees from AstraZeneca and Mylan, is an advisory board member of CSL Behring, is an advisory board member and received speaker's fees from AbbVie, and is an advisory board member, received speaker's fees and researching funding from Gilead Sciences. The remaining authors have no conflict of interests.

CABARAN E-DAGANG DALAM KALANGAN PELAJAR KEUSAHAWANAN DIGITAL JABATAN PERDAGANGAN

Digital Entrepreneurship Course (Digital Entrepreneurship) is a common core course that must be taken by Diploma level students at the Department of Commerce, Malaysian Polytechnic. The course offering aims to produce entrepreneurs who are able to conduct business online in line with the development of IR4.0. This study was conducted to identify the challenges faced by Merlimau Polytechnic Digital Entrepreneurship’s students and the differences faced by students based on the duration of business experiences and programme studies. This survey research using a quantitative approach was conducted on 113 students in the Commerce Department, as a sample to answer the questionnaire. The questionnaire has 15 items questions covering three aspects of the study namely technical and knowledge, security, and finance. Research data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results of the study found that the challenge of e-commerce among Digital Entrepreneurship students is at a moderate level between 2.93 to 3.29. The findings of the study also found that there was no significant difference between e-commerce challenges on the duration of business experience p (113) = 0.466 and programme studies with the value of p (113) = 0.594. The effect of offering these courses can polish students' skills to become entrepreneurs and provide experience in facing the challenges of doing business online. It can also be used as a guide to lecturers and curriculum in producing teaching content aligned to the organization's objectives to develop holistic, entrepreneurial, and balanced TVET graduates through dynamic education comply with the industrial revolution (IR4.0).

Applying partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in an investigation of undergraduate students’ learning transfer of academic English

Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is a statistical analysis technique that has been widely adopted in marketing and strategic management disciplines, yet there is a paucity of application in language education research. This study applies PLS-SEM in an investigation of undergraduate students’ learning transfer by analysing their perceptions of learned skills they find transferable in a general EAP course and the extent of transferability to interdisciplinary-organised Common Core courses. A theoretical model was proposed to examine the interrelationships of variables, namely content relevance, understanding of learning, transfer/applicability and transfer outcome. Two rounds of in-class e-survey were administered with 675 (63.2%) and 689 (64.3%) valid responses respectively. The results from the PLS-SEM reveal that there are significant relationships between the variables. This study not only can fill the research space of learning transfer in EAP in language learning, it can also model a new quantitative empirical research method which can be used to explain and predict learning transfer. Implications for future EAP research using PLS-SEM are discussed.

The best universities of the world and ours: A comparison of the economics major curricula

This research compared the economics curriculum of the economics undergraduate programs of the best universities in the world, and those of universities within a developing country (Ecuador), in order to show the basic formal differences and the common characteristics (intra-rankings and inter-rankings). The proposed comparison criteria were the academic load, the professional approach, and the common core courses. We found that, in the best universities in the world, the students must study between 30 and 40 courses. It is almost half than in Ecuador. In the group with the lower status the distribution of courses was more dispersed. Another difference was that low-level local universities teach courses of general application, and those of worldwide category are focused in teaching only specific economics courses.

Science education in the 21st century

The traditional university science curriculum was designed to train specialists in specific disciplines. However, in universities all over the world, science students are going into increasingly diverse careers and the current model does not fit their needs. Advances in technology also make certain modes of learning obsolete. In the last 10 years, the Faculty of Science of the University of Hong Kong has undertaken major curriculum reforms. A sequence of science foundation courses required of all incoming science students are designed to teach science in an integrated manner, and to emphasize the concepts and utilities, not computational techniques, of mathematics. A number of non-discipline specific common core courses have been developed to broaden students' awareness of the relevance of science to society and the interdisciplinary nature of science. By putting the emphasis on the scientific process rather than the outcome, students are taught how to identify, formulate, and solve diverse problems.

Study on training programs for preventive medicine undergraduates in China's colleges and uni-versities

Objective To explore the current training programs for preventive medicine undergrad-uates in China's colleges and universities, so as to provide more clues for further optimizing the training program. Methods Twelve colleges and universities were selected in accordance with the stratification of 985, 211 and general colleges and universities and their training programs for preventive medicine under-graduates were collected in February, 2016. By comparing with the requirements of directory and introduction of courses in colleges and universities (2012) and the spirit of the second round of undergraduate teaching evaluation of higher education institutions, training programs were described; t test and multivariate analysis of variance were used to compare differences among different levels of colleges and universities; SPSS 21.0 was used for statistical processing. Results In some colleges and universities, training programs were still not concrete and the setting of three common core courses (Health Education, Health Service Management and Women's Health Science) did not meet the require-ments of the new directory of 2012. All selected colleges and universities had established their standards of the minimum curricular credits (including course system and internship practical training) which were(245.33±27.01) credits. In course system, the required course and the elective course were (176.25±18.46) credits, (26.62±12.68) credits, respectively. The percentage of preventive medicine in required courses was relatively lower, only (21.99±3.50)%. In internship and practical training, the clinical practice and the specialty practice were (20.00±5.13) weeks, (27.33±7.78) weeks, taking (16.46±7.75) credits, (23.50±9.86) credits, respectively. No differences were found in courses setting, credits distribution among 985, 211 and general universities and colleges, all P>0.05. Conclusion There still exist problems: training pro-grams are not concrete and the training system cannot fully reflect training objectives in some colleges and universities, needing to be further standardized and improved. Key words: Preventive medicine; Undergraduate; Training program; Curriculum system; Pre-sent study

Incorporating Experiential Learning in Engineering Courses

In recent years, as a method of delivering course material has become more recognized in university education. This article is a report on a project conducted in the School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University that incorporates experiential learning in a lower division course. The course is a firstyear, common core course in logic circuits. At the time that this project was implemented, the course did not have any lab components attached to it; therefore, incorporating experiential learning into the course was even more challenging. In this article, an example of an assignment given to students that incorporates experiential learning is presented, and the results of students' feedback on this method of learning compared to the conventional method are summarized. A similar approach can be applied to other subjects in engineering, even without requiring a laboratory component in the course. This article also provides example applications for analog and digital communication courses.

Analyzing the curricula of doctor of philosophy in educational technology-related programs in the United States

The purpose of this study was to analyze on-campus and online PhD programs in educational technology-related fields in the United States. In particular, it sought to evaluate the most common program titles; core, elective, and research courses based on program curricula. The research design was quantitative content analysis and data were collected from six different sources. The study found 44 institutions offered campus-based degree programs and four offered online degree programs in educational technology-related fields with 27 different program titles. In addition, 324 core courses, 157 elective courses, and 260 research courses were further analyzed. The results revealed that the most common program titles were Curriculum and Instruction, Learning Design and Technology, Instructional Technology, Learning Technologies, Instructional Design and Technology, and Educational Technology. The most common core courses were Instructional Design, Advanced Instructional Design, Curriculum Theory, Needs Assessment, Internship in Instructional Technology, Instructional Systems Design, and Theories of Learning and Instruction. The most common elective courses were Multicultural Education, Foundations of Distance Learning, Educational Foundations, and Message Design. The most common research courses were Quantitative Methods, Qualitative Methods, Qualitative Research, Educational Research Methods, Multivariate Analysis, Introduction to Qualitative Research in Education, and Mixed Methods. Furthermore, this study provided discussion and implications for current study as well as recommendations for future research.

Environmental impact assessment in higher education institutions in East Africa: the case of Rwanda.

Due to the pressure on limited resources produced by a growing population and due to a decade of war, Rwanda is facing a major problem in environmental protection. Because of such problems, it seems only reasonable that environment-related courses should play an important role in the curricula of institutions of higher learning. The main aim of this research is to present a comprehensive picture of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) integration in graduate and undergraduate programs in Rwandese higher education institutions and to make recommendations for its improvement. During this study, two surveys were conducted: the first survey targeted Environmental Impact Assessment lecturers and the second survey was for Environmental Impact Assessment practitioners (including EIA certified experts and competent authorities). The study found that Environmental Impact Assessment is not well established in these institutions and it is not taught in some programs; civil engineering, for example, has no Environmental Impact Assessment courses. Recommendations to improve EIA education are proposed, such as requiring that a common core course in Environmental Impact Assessment be made available in Rwandese higher learning institutions.

EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTEMPORARY PRINCIPLES ON LEARNING AND TEACHING A FUNDAMENTAL FIRST-YEAR ENGINEERING COURSE

Statics is the most fundamental component of Engineering Mechanics, and it is usually delivered in the first year in a common core course for engineering programs. The delivery of this key unit to the fresh first-year engineering students is very challenging and thus teaching pedagogies, strategies and methods should be further developed in response to the challenges in this important course which critically facilitates the transition of the students from high school to university and establishes their foundation knowledge on Engineering Mechanics. This paper reports the effective implementation of contemporary learning and teaching principles in a first-year core engineering course-Statics. The learning and teaching activities designed in this course include independent learning and collaborative learning, problem and project-based team work and peer learning, and progressive assessments. Effective teaching pedagogies, strategies and methodologies are developed on the basis of these educational principles to engage and motivate the first-year engineering students at most. The proposed methodologies are demonstrated effective in engaging a medium to large size class and the results of formal course surveys demonstrate the efficiency of these methods.

Biotechniques laboratory: An enabling course in the biological sciences

Practical skills and competencies are critical to student engagement and effective learning in laboratory courses. This article describes the design of a yearlong, stand-alone laboratory course—the Biotechniques Laboratory—a common core course in the second year of all our degree programs in the biological sciences. It is an enabling, introductory laboratory course with a focus on the development of basic, practical skills, competencies, and knowledge in experimental techniques commonly used across the biological sciences. It is based on a full “hands on” approach where all students undertake a variety of practical exercises derived principally from the disciplines of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and microbiology. Explicit skills training, the opportunity to repeat laboratory exercises until the required skill and/or competency is achieved, the consolidation of learned skills in different contexts throughout the course and a competency based assessment method are all distinctive features that facilitate the achievement of the desired student outcomes. Students graduate from this course enabled to more effectively engage and achieve in advanced laboratory courses and research projects developing higher order skills and knowledge for use in graduate studies and/or employment.

Incorporating Quantitative Reasoning in Common Core Courses: Mathematics for The Ghost Map

How can mathematics be integrated into multi-section interdisciplinary courses to enhance thematic understandings and shared common readings? As an example, four forms of quantitative reasoning are used to understand and critique one such common reading: Steven Berlin Johnson’s "The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How it Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World" (Riverhead Books, 2006). Geometry, statistics, modeling, and networks are featured in this essay as the means of depicting, understanding, elaborating, and critiquing the public health issues raised in Johnson’s book. Specific pedagogical examples and resources are included to illustrate applications and opportunities for generalization beyond this specific example. Quantitative reasoning provides a robust, yet often neglected, lens for doing literary and historical analyses in interdisciplinary education.

Teaching a State-required Course: The History of the Turkish Revolution

This paper studies innovative approaches and challenges to teaching the state required common core course of the history of the Turkish Revolution. The Turkish state believes that teaching the Turkish Revolution to the younger generations helps to spread the ideology of the Turkish Republic. The paper summarizes the history of the course since the foundation of the Turkish Republic and critically discusses its ideological foundations and changes in its methods and premises over time. Teaching a state-required course creates several problems such as lack of student interest and limited exposure to the history of contemporary Turkey. In order to deal with these problems, teaching techniques have been adopted from the New History approach and improved the required curriculum.

Technology infrastructure in support of a medical & bioinformatics masters degree

In 2003, Grand Valley State University started a Masters program in Medical & Bioinformatics. This M.S. degree, together with related degrees in Biostatistics and Biotechnology, were part of the "Professional Science Masters" development and implementation initiative supported by the Sloan Foundation. The interdisciplinary curriculum includes common core courses, the promotion and development of "soft skills" through teamwork and project management experiences, and an applied research focus with a mandatory business/industry internship. Instrumental to achieving these goals is a strong lab component to the curriculum that incorporates familiarity with industry-standard and widely-used software packages. We here give an update on details of the system architecture, software components, and their adaptations through the first six years of our program.

A Preliminary Blooms Taxonomy Assessment Of End-Of-Chapter Problems In Business School Textbooks

This article examines textbook problems used in a sampling of some of the most common core courses found in schools of business to ascertain what level of learning, as defined by Blooms Taxonomy, is required to provide a correct answer. A set of working definitions based on Blooms Taxonomy (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956) was developed for the six different levels of the taxonomy. Because the course credit model relies so heavily on textbooks, the end of chapter problems for a leading text book in eight traditional business disciplines were evaluated. The initial findings indicate that the vast majority of end of chapter problems examined only required students to function at Level 1 (Knowledge) or Level 2 (Comprehension). While preliminary in nature, these data suggest the need for the use of other methods to challenge the student to think on higher cognitive levels.

Technology infrastructure supporting a medical & bioinformatics masters degree

Grand Valley State University has recently created a new Masters program in Medical & Bioinformatics. The M.S. degree, along with related degrees in Biostatistics and Biotechnology, are components of the "Professional Science Masters" development and implementation initiative supported by the Sloan Foundation. Key features of the new curriculum include an interdisciplinary framework with common core courses, the promotion and development of "soft skills" through teamwork and project management experiences, and an applied research focus highlighted by a mandatory business/industry internship. Instrumental to achieving these goals is a strong lab component to the curriculum that incorporates familiarity with industry-standard software packages. The laboratory infrastructure will be utilized by multiple courses, thus interconnecting different foci of the program and providing a complete experience for students.

Using electronic meeting system support in the design of the graduate core curriculum

This article focuses on the use of an electronic meeting system (EMS) to facilitate the selection and refinement of a set of common graduate core courses for all master's degrees within the school of education in an upper-division university. The EMS was used at selected intervals within a seven months' process and provided an opportunity for broad-based group involvement in selection of the core competencies to be included. The seven-member task force generated ideas, discussed highly charged issues, prioritized competencies, and came to consensus through a combination of traditional and electronic meeting environments. The process followed, as well as the advantages, disadvantages, and insights gained, are reported here.