Core Syllabus Research Articles

JR87, Application for Judicial Review

JR87, the first respondent, now nine, attended a controlled primary school in Belfast and took part in non-denominational Christian religious education (RE) and collective worship (CW). Her parents described themselves as ‘broadly humanist’ and had not raised their daughter in any religious tradition. Once she began attending school, however, they noticed that she would say a prayer before eating and ask them questions about God and religion. They voiced their concerns to the school about its RE teaching and were told that its provision of RE and CW was ‘bible-based’, followed the core syllabus for education and complied with the relevant legislation. They challenged this, arguing that the relevant legislation contravened their Convention rights under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 2 of Protocol 1 (‘A2P1’). They were successful in the lower court and the Department of Education appealed.

Challenges to Digital Education During Covid-19: Insights from Uttar Pradesh

If anything, covid-19 stretched the pre-existent inequalities in education system in India. If prompt corrective action is not taken, the number of girls dropping out of schools will continue to climb, opening the door for early marriages, sexual exploitation, and domestic abuse. In order to answer the following questions, we will examine access and challenges to education during covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh in this article- How does education during a pandemic impact children's learning and continuity in education? Focus groups were held in both rural and urban areas of Uttar Pradesh with head teachers, schoolteachers and students (mostly girls) from higher secondary sections of schools to propose possible corrective measures to increase access to education and to raise awareness of potential issues that teachers and students may encounter. Our findings recommend that digital education needs a new outlook towards the core syllabus as well, which should be flexible to adapt to new methods of teaching-learning process. The study also proposes introduction of bridge courses to fill up the learning gap caused during the lockdown.

Australian Health Services Management Courses: A discussion on syllabus

Objective: The aim of this research was to understand core knowledge areas offered by Masters courses in health services management in Australian universities. Design: A Google search identified relevant Masters’ degrees in health services management. Course syllabus was then extracted from each university’s website. Common core subjects were then collated and compared. Setting: Data for this study was collected from Australian university websites.Main outcome measures: Findings were compared with those presented in a similar study conducted in 2013. Interpretation was also informed by an appraisal of key issues that characterise the current context of health care in Australia. Results: Masters’ degrees in health services management were offered by 18 universities. Common core subjects included management, evaluation, evidence, health system, governance, law and human resource management. A comparison with an earlier study conducted by Ritchie and Yen [1] found an increase in the following subjects: health system, quality management, health economics, policy and research, and a decrease in health information, epidemiology and resourcing. New knowledge areas included leadership, planning and project management, change management, and strategy. Conclusions: This paper presents a discussion on knowledge areas that comprise syllabus in masters level health services management education nationally. Key findings revealed differences between courses and the responsiveness of core syllabus to the current health care environment. The emergence of leadership, planning and project management was unsurprising while an absence of subjects that gave explicit reference to First Nations peoples was a notable finding.

MARI BELAJAR MENGURUS MASA DAN WANG (MBMMW) COURSEWARE FOR TABIKA KEMAS: TOWARDS PROMOTING ACTIVE LEARNING AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN

Nowadays, the use of web-based multimedia courseware encompasses all learning stages, especially among children. As an effort to assist teachers in promoting active learning among the children, Mari Belajar Mengurus Masa dan Wang (MBMMW) courseware is developed based on Tabika KEMAS core syllabus for mathematics focusing on money and time management. Proper interactive contents that include various activities and videos were provided in the courseware as the teaching and learning (T&L) aid for teachers, parents and students. Since there are limitations of current educational materials on money and time in Tabika KEMAS, MBMMW courseware is developed to assist both teachers and students in providing impactful T&L experience. This could later boost the students’ understanding and learning performance while allowing students to accomplish active learning with teachers and parents. By implementing cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML) and user experience (UX) recommendations, MBMMW courseware was carefully developed via ADDIE Model. Functionality tests have been conducted to ensure the operations of the menu, buttons and links displayed in the courseware. Moreover, user evaluation for MBMMW has been performed towards understanding the initial acceptance of MBMMW courseware among the users. Results have mostly shown positive reactions from the users, thus acknowledging the usability of MBMMW as an interesting and fun active learning aid for presenting fundamental knowledge about money and time.

A core syllabus for histology within the medical curriculum - The cardiovascular and lymphoid systems, the respiratory and digestive systems, and the integument.

Medical courses worldwide are undergoing significant curricular changes, including the teaching and learning of histology. In order to set international standards for the anatomical sciences, the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) is developing core anatomical syllabuses by means of Delphi panels. Already published is a core syllabus for the teaching of the cell and the basic tissues within medicine. Here, we record the deliberations of an IFAA Delphi panel commissioned to develop core subject matter for the teaching within a medical histology course of the cardiovascular and lymphatic circulatory system, the lymphoid, respiratory, and digestive systems, and the integument. The Delphi panel was comprised of academics from multiple countries who were required to review relevant histological topics/items by evaluating each topic as being either "Essential," "Important," "Acceptable," or "Not required." Topics that were rated by over 60% of the panelists as being "Essential" are reported in this paper as being core topics for the teaching of medical histology. Also reported are topics that, while not reaching the threshold for being designated as core material, may be recommended or not required within the curriculum.

Anatomy teaching in Saudi medical colleges- is there necessity of the national core syllabus of anatomy.

Curricular updates in medicine resulted in changes in gross anatomy teaching. We aim to find the trends and methods of gross anatomy teaching in medicine programs in Saudi Arabia. Further, examine whether the data would help to discuss whether a core Anatomy syllabus is required. A survey questionnaire based on the earlier studies, was sent to the anatomy faculty of 25 medical colleges to collect the data on the pedagogic and dissection/laboratory approaches, inclusion of radiological, clinical, surface anatomy sessions, and the total number of hours allocated for anatomy education. A total of 15 responses were received from different medical colleges of which nine provided complete details. A wide variation in the component and mode of delivery of anatomy was observed. The number of hours for the anatomy course ranged from 89 to 388 hours. These data will provide an update on gross anatomy teaching approaches, which will help in making informed decisions in course revisions and adopting the best practices. The variations in anatomy course with short duration raises concern about whether the essential learning outcomes are achieved to prepare a skillful and safe clinician? do we require a core syllabus of Anatomy to be adopted at the national level to achieve the essential learning outcomes? The Anatomical Society, UK has developed core syllabi of Anatomy for undergraduate medical, dental, nursing, and pharmacy students, which can serve as a guide in developing the core syllabus of Anatomy for medicine in Saudi.

Education and Training: Preparing physician associates to prescribe: evidence, educational frameworks and pathways

There are approximately 2,850 physician associates (PAs) in the UK, and this number is growing. PAs are unable to prescribe due to an absence of statutory regulation and necessary prescribing legislation. While PAs cannot prescribe, they must have an adequate level of pharmacology knowledge to safely manage patients. There is an expectation that this is taught as part of the core syllabus on PA programmes. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently announced the introduction of statutory regulation of Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs) that include PAs under the General Medical Council. With the introduction of regulation, PAs may be able to prescribe as part of their role. A working group is considering how this might be achieved in terms of education and supervision requirements, delivery of the training and scope of practice. This paper explores the current approach to delivering pharmacology across UK PA programmes. We evaluate what constitutes acceptable training and assessment, and determine if programmes have the capacity to prepare students for prescribing rights. We compare UK PA programmes with those in the USA, with the V300 Independent/Supplementary Prescribing course and with the Prescribing Safety Assessment examination.

Global versus local: A regional core embryology syllabus for medical students.

"Core syllabus" in this work refers to knowledge topics that an instructor should necessarily and indispensably address during a discipline. This study describes the process of developing a regional human embryology core syllabus for undergraduate medical courses in Brazil, using a two-round modified Delphi method as a tool for reaching consensus. A list of 679 human embryology topics was generated based on three textbooks. The Delphi panel consisted of specialists (n=51) with at least 2 years' medical experience in activities related to the contents of embryology or health sciences professionals with at least 5 years' experience in undergraduate medical education of embryology and other cognate disciplines. The panel rated the relevance of each topic on a Likert scale. Following consensus analysis, a list of 69 "core" topics was obtained. Then, in a second Delphi round, the panel was asked to "accept," "accept with modifications," or "reject" the new list. The research team performed a final revision/screening process and generated a core human embryology syllabus comprised of 63 topics. Comparing this regional syllabus with two international core syllabuses also built Delphi panels, 60.3% of the topics overlap with both syllabuses, and 39.7% of its content is unique. This study can be a valuable tool for decision-making in the embryology curriculum for health courses and reinforces the importance of local evaluation of international curricula of human embryology before implementing them, since the incidences of congenital anomalies vary in different regions of the world.

Staropolska poezja religijna w zreformowanej szkole ponadpodstawowej

The connection between literature and religion can be observed in the writing of every literary period. Old Polish religious poetry has an established position within this field of research – it constitutes a huge part of the literary works of the Middle Ages, the Reneissance and Baroque. Therefore, it is not surprising that this kind of literature appeared in the core curricula, syllabuses and textbooks for cultural and literary education of secondary school students even before the latest reform of the educational system, as well as after it. The crucial factor in the consideration of the role of Old Polish religious poetry in schools, is the opinion of Polish teachers, who base it on their experience in teaching it. The empirical research conducted on a group of Polish teachers prove that despite various difficulties faced while teaching Old Polish religious poetry, they see a great value in this type of literature in the overall process of education as well as in young adults’ personal life. Old Polish religious poetry introduces students to symbols crucial for our cultural circle. The last but not the least, it may help to fully understand and experience oneself/other people in the face of the sacred.

The attitudes of European medical students towards the clinical importance of neuroanatomy

The attitudes of medical students towards the clinical importance of neuroanatomy have been little studied. Because it has been reported that medical students find neuroanatomy difficult and can have ‘neurophobia’, here we test the hypothesis that early-stage medical students across Europe have a low regard for neuroanatomy’s clinical relevance. The work was conducted under the auspices of the Trans-European Pedagogic Research Group (TEPARG), with just over 1500 students from 12 European medical schools providing responses to a survey (52% response rate) that assessed their attitudes using Thurstone and Chave methodologies. Regardless of the university surveyed, and of the teaching methods employed for neuroanatomy, our findings were not consistent with our hypothesis. However, the students had a less favourable opinion of neuroanatomy’s importance compared to gross anatomy; although their attitudes were more positive than previously reported for histology and embryology. The extent to which neuroanatomy plays a significant role in the early years of medical education is moot. Nevertheless, we conclude that in addition to newly recruited medical students being informed of the subject’s role in a healthcare profession, we advocate the use of modern imaging technologies to enhance student understanding and motivation and cognisance of the core syllabus for the subject being developed by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA).

Exploring Curriculum Alignment through Syllabus Document Analysis: From National Language Policy to Local ELT Practice

Effective syllabus document design hinges on an alignment between learning objectives, teaching principles and curricular policy. Much of the work on syllabus design in the English Language Teaching (ELT) context focuses on the implementation of language teaching principles, such as those from the Communication Language Teaching (CLT) approach. Limited attention has been paid to this alignment, which is pivotal for ensuring the coherence and consistency between the intended outcomes, content selection and organisation, and assessment tasks. Employing qualitative document analysis (QDA), this study identifies the core syllabus elements and their alignment with current teaching approaches in twelve, localised ELT syllabuses. Utilising elements from Richards and Rodgers’ (2014) methods analysis and Nunan’s (1988) syllabus design, the analysis demonstrates that while CLT principles have been incorporated into the syllabuses, misalignments remain, such as those between intended objectives and assessment tasks. This paper offers an analytic framework to guide teachers in designing a more closely aligned syllabus and making visible its connections.

A core syllabus for histology within the medical curriculum-The cell and basic tissues.

The International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA) are developing core syllabuses for the anatomical sciences by means of Delphi panels. In this article, we provide the core subject matter for the teaching of the cell and of basic tissues within a medical histology course. The goal is to set an international standard providing guidelines for such a core syllabus. The Delphi panel, composed of members across multiple countries, required two rounds to evaluate 257 relevant items/topics approved by the IFAA. Based on the perception of the core knowledge of histology, the items were to be rated by each member of the Delphi panel as being "Essential," "Important," "Acceptable," or "Not required." Topics that were rated by over 60% of the panelists as being "Essential" and "Important" are provided in this article and are recommended for the teaching of medical histology.

A PANORAMA OF BIBLICAL STUDIES

This paper is meant to convey a general idea of the current functioning of Biblical Studies in Southern Africa. By means of approximate figures, a quantitative survey is given of students and teaching staff involved in Biblical Studies and Bible Education at schools, colleges and universities. The inference is drawn that at tertiary level we should be less concerned about an apparent overproduction of teachers for these subjects, but rather focus our attention on the significance and relevance of Biblical Studies in present-day South Africa. The second and main part of the paper is a qualitative survey in which an assessment of university, college and school syllabuses is given. The core syllabus for Biblical Studies at university level, as accepted by the Biblical Studies Society for Southern Africa, is taken as the frame of reference. The paper indicates how university syllabuses correlate with the core syllabus, but also how perspectives such as hermeneutical, historical, systematic and ethical are specially emphasized. Syllabus quotations on the ethical perspective provide a list of very relevant issues. And noteworthy answers to the questionnaire question on life-relatedness are added. School syllabuses are tactfully but critically discussed. In the Biblical Studies syllabus very little attention is given to the prophets and the letters, to the interpretation of Scripture, and to topical issues. Some of the Bible Education syllabuses do include – although inconspicuously placed – a few topical issues. The disappointing conclusion is that the life-relatedness of the Christian message is not taken seriously, except in some tertiary syllabuses. What is encouraging, however, are the questionnaire responses emphasizing our responsibility in respect of – The understanding of the Bible; The implications for daily living, Relationships with God and fellow-men, And the current situation South Africa; The formative value of Biblical Studies.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES OF NEUROANATOMY FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICINE: A DELPHI PROCESS

Background: Anatomy is a basic science needed by clinicians in order to perform medical procedures safely and effectively. Nowadays, the amount of time available for teaching anatomy is reduced because of the introduction of new subjects to medical program. Whereas, the anatomy itself is already too complex to learn, especially neuroanatomy. As the result, medical students tend to find difficulties in mastering anatomy. In fact, inadequate understanding of anatomy has an impact to medical errors. The aim of this study is to compose neuroanatomy learning objectives based on consensus of anatomy lecturers in Indonesia.Methods: Two-rounds Delphi process was employed in this qualitative study. Twenty anatomy lecturers from all over Indonesia were recruited as panels based on purposive sampling technique. Panels of first round of Delphi were requested to compose learning objectives based on neuroanatomy core syllabus available in the questionnaire. They had to list each learning objective with cognitive level according to Bloom’s taxonomy. In the second round, panels were asked to score each learning objectives based on their level of importance from 1 to 4. Learning objectives scored 3 or 4 by 60% panels were qualified as the final results. Results: 66 learning objectives were obtained in the first round of Delphi and became 68 due to modification process conducted by expert. In the second round, 67 learning objective were achieved, and became 52 after final process of expert modification. The learning objectives cognitive level varied in C1-C3 according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.Conclusion: This study obtained 52 learning objectives of neuroanatomy.

The development of an instruments diagnostic two-tier multiple choice assisted smartphone on salt hydrolysis

Research has been conducted instruments diagnostic two-tier multiple choice assisted smartphone on salt hydrolysis, or called Smartphone Tes Diagnostik Miskonsepsi Hidrolisis Garam (S-TDM-HG). In this study using descriptive methods that are part of research and development (R & D). The procedure of research is carried out through several stages of work, namely: (1) determination of subject matter; (2) study of core competencies, basic competencies, syllabus and material to determine concept labels, (3) concept map making, (4) identification of student misconceptions based on concept labels made in concept maps, (5) designing questions and answers (6) collection of existing multimedia, (7) making scripts and storyboards, (8) making S-TDM-HG. The development of the items adapted the stages developed by Treagust and McIntire. The concept map developed is used to identify what concepts will be developed in the process of making S-TDM-HG questions. Based on the essay test data given to 34 students in one of the high schools in Sumedang, the initial identification of misconceptions from students was generated to develop the S-TDM-HG problem in the first tier (tier 1) and second tier (tier 2). Based on the 16 response patterns obtained there are six possible answers to misconceptions, one possible answer understands the concept and nine possible answers that do not understand. 22 items developed, 20 questions are said to be valid with a CVI value of 0.9385. Based on 20 valid questions, which meet the content validation criteria as many as 18 items.

A core syllabus for the teaching of gross anatomy of the thorax to medical students

Discussion is ongoing concerning the need to ensure the clinical relevance of the biomedical sciences. However, clinical relevance within health care courses presupposes that there is internationally agreed core material to be taught and learned. For anatomy, by the initial use of Delphi Panels that comprise anatomists, scientists, and clinicians, the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAAs) is developing internationally accepted core syllabuses for all anatomical sciences disciplines in the health care professions. In this article, the deliberations of a Delphi Panel for the teaching of thoracic anatomy in the medical curriculum are presented, prior to their publication on the IFAA's website. To develop the syllabus further, it is required that anatomical societies, as well as individual anatomists and clinicians, comment upon, elaborate, and amend this draft recommended syllabus. The aim is to set internationally recognized standards and thus to provide guidelines concerning the knowledge of the human thorax expected of graduating medical professionals. Such information should be borne in mind by those involved in the development of medical courses. Clin. Anat. 33:300-315, 2020. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Descriptive analysis of II - MBBS university question papers of microbiology subject

Introduction: Assessment is a very important component of medical education and written examination is widely used tool of assessment. The instrument used in the written examination is the “Question Paper” (QP). The QP often lacks the validity, reliability, relevance and objectivity. 1,2 The present study is undertaken to assess the characteristics in construction of University question papers. Aim and Objectives: To analyze the theory question papers of Microbiology subject of Saurashtra University, with respect to; question form, learning objectives, relevance to core syllabus, relevance to teaching hours, and language and grammatical errors. Materials and Methods: Total 28 question papers of Saurashtra University of Microbiology subject (Mar-05 to Mar-15) were analyzed. The questions were analyzed with respect to types of question form and categorized in long answer type, short note type and short answer type. All questions were analyzed with respect to learning objectives and were classified in to three cognitive domains of learning knowledge, understanding and synthesis. All questions were analyzed to determine the focus of questions with respect to the syllabus and classified into must know, desirable to know and nice to know areas. Questions were analyzed to determine the weather questions cover the area of syllabus with regards to teaching hours dedicated. Questions were analyzed to identify the clarity and ambiguity in language, spelling and grammatical errors and scientific and taxonomic errors. Results: There were two paper styles noted. Question papers have long answer; short note and short answer questions. 95% questions were framed to test basic knowledge level of cognitive domain, and 5% question were framed to test the understanding level, while none of the questions were framed to test the synthesis level of cognitive domain. The majority of question were framed from must know area (97%) of syllabus, while less number of questions were from desirable to know (2%) and nice to know (1%) area. 30% of teaching hours were dedicated to bacteriology section and carried 22% weightage in examination. 6% of teaching hours were dedicated to mycology section which carried 11% weightage in examination. A balance was observed for General microbiology, Immunology and Virology sections with regards to teaching hours and weightage in examination. On an average of 11.1 errors per paper was noted. Spelling errors were common (8.8) followed by taxonomic errors (2.2) and grammatical errors (0.1). Conclusions: Major numbers of questions were subjective type than objective type. Majority of questions were framed to test basic knowledge level of cognitive domain. The majority of question were framed from must know area of syllabus which may have poor discriminatory ability between low and high achievers. A balance was observed for General microbiology, Immunology and Virology sections for dedicated teaching hours and its weightage in examination while Bacteriology has less and Parasitology and Mycology has more weightage in comparison to teaching hours. Many different types of errors were noted in question papers which include spelling errors, taxonomic errors and grammatical errors. A standard “Blue Print” is essential to bring the uniform standard in theory examination. Keywords: Question paper analysis, Blue-printing.

Introduction of the harmonised respiratory physiotherapy curriculum.

Building on the core syllabus for postgraduate training in respiratory physiotherapy, published in 2014, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) respiratory physiotherapy task force has developed a harmonised and structured postgraduate curriculum for respiratory physiotherapy training. The curriculum outlines the knowledge, skills and attitudes which must be mastered by a respiratory physiotherapist working with adult or paediatric patients, together with guidance for minimal clinical exposures, and forms of learning and assessment.This article presents the rationale, methodology and content of the ERS respiratory physiotherapy curriculum. The full curriculum can be found in the supplementary material.

The Development of a Core Syllabus for Teaching Anatomy of the Respiratory System to Medical Student

.

The development of a core syllabus for teaching musculoskeletal anatomy of the vertebral column and limbs to medical students

The study of human anatomy is fundamental to medical education globally. Knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy is essential for safe and effective clinical practice, yet this topic often receives insufficient medical program time and perceptions differ regarding which knowledge is core. Given the lack of syllabuses specific to musculoskeletal anatomy, this article aims to provide a detailed syllabus for the vertebral column and limbs relevant to medical students. A Delphi panel comprising anatomists and clinicians rated 2,260 anatomical structures and concepts as "essential," "important," "acceptable," or "not required," with evaluations based around the core knowledge deemed acceptable for a competent medical student. Based on the percentage of panelist agreement for an item to be considered "essential," each item was then classified as core (≥60%), recommended (30%-59%), not recommended (20%-29%), or not core (<20%). Items not classified as core or recommended but rated important by greater than 50% of the panel were highlighted for future consideration. A total of 252/389 musculoskeletal concept items were categorized as core or recommended. The number of core or recommended items for the vertebral column, upper limb, and lower limb were 220/438, 322/663, and 318/770, respectively. Ninety-six items were recommended for future consideration. The results of this Delphi panel will be published on the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists website for continuing international consideration and deliberation by relevant stakeholders. The aim is to set an internationally recognized syllabus, that covers the minimum musculoskeletal content that is academically and clinically relevant. Clin. Anat. 32:974-1007, 2019. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.