Design Of Educational Materials Research Articles

Study protocol to examine the effects of acute exercise on motor learning and brain activity in children with developmental coordination disorder (ExLe-Brain-DCD)

Introduction Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is one of the most prevalent pediatric chronic conditions. Without proper intervention, significant delays in motor skill performance and learning may persist until adulthood. Moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise has been proven to improve motor learning (adaptation and consolidation) in children with or without disorders. However, the effect of a short bout of physical exercise on motor adaptation and consolidation in children with DCD has not been examined. Furthermore, the role of perceptual-motor integration and attention as mediators of learning has not been examined via neuroimaging in this population. Objectives Therefore, the primary aims of this project will be to compare children with and without DCD to (a) examine the effect of acute exercise on motor learning (adaptation and consolidation) while performing a rotational visuo-motor adaptation task (rVMA), and (b) explore cortical activation in the dorsolateral- and ventrolateral-prefrontal cortex areas while learning the rVMA task under rest or post-exercise conditions. Methods One hundred twenty children will be recruited (60 DCD, 60 controls) and within-cohort randomly assigned to either exercise (13-minute shuttle run task) or rest prior to performing the rVMA task. Adaptation and consolidation will be evaluated via two error variables and three retention tests (1h, 24h and 7 days post adaptation). Cortical activation will be registered via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during the baseline, adaptation, and consolidation. Discussion We expect to find exercise benefits on motor learning and attention so that children with DCD profiles will be closer to those of children with typical development. The results of this project will provide further evidence to: (a) better characterize children with DCD for the design of educational materials, and (b) establish acute exercise as a potential intervention to improve motor learning and attention.

РОЗВИТОК КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТІ З ВЕБ-ДИЗАЙНУ ПЕДАГОГІЧНИХ ПРАЦІВНИКІВ ЗАКЛАДІВ ПРОФЕСІЙНОЇ (ПРОФЕСІЙНО-ТЕХНІЧНОЇ) ОСВІТИ

Relevance: in modern conditions, teachers are actively involved in the creation of electronic textbooks, interactive notebooks, various forms and test tasks, etc. All this means developing and designing objects of the Internet information environment from the standpoint of user-friendliness and meeting the user's aesthetic needs. The web design competence development of teaching staff at vocational education institutions is an urgent need in the context of digitalisation of education. Aim: defining the structure of competence in web design for teaching staff of vocational education institutions and substantiating the methodology for its development. Methods: analysis and synthesis – to determine the development state of the problem under study and the list of competence in web design of teaching staff; generalization – to formulate conclusions and recommendations for the web design competence development of teaching staff at vocational education institutions; diagnostic (testing, conversation) – to find out the level of competence in web design of teaching staff. Results: it was found that more than 17% of teachers design and create websites and web pages that combine text with sounds, pictures, graphics and video; 5-7% use various graphic editors and image processing services; about 80 % of respondents carry out independent design development of electronic publications (a product containing information in electronic form); less than 6 % of respondents indicated that there is a unified approach to the design of educational materials on hard copy and for posting on the Internet. The structure of competence in web design for teaching staff of vocational education institutions consists of technical skills (basics of composition, typography, colour science, graphic design, design software, user interface (UI), user experience (UX), responsive design) and soft skills (project management, time management, copywriting, web design awareness, creative thinking, critical thinking, attention to detail, communication, self-reflection). To assess this competence, four levels (initial, low, medium, high) have been developed, taking into account the indicators of motivational, cognitive, activity and reflective criteria. Taking into account the specifics of the teaching staff activities at vocational education institutions, a methodology for their design education has been developed, which is aimed at developing competence in web design and includes seven stages. Conclusions: Teaching staff of vocational education institutions are involved in the development of e-learning content, but have a low level of competence in web design. The web design competence of a teaching staff member of a vocational education institution is a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes to web design technologies to create educational content for performing tasks, solving problems, communicating, managing information, working together in the information and educational environment of a vocational education institution, doing it effectively, appropriately, safely, critically, creatively, independently and ethically. At the same time, the teacher does not have to be a web designer, he/she uses the tools and ready-made algorithms of the services he/she works with, the basis of his/her training in this field is graphic design, typography, copywriting, etc. for the effective presentation of electronic content.

Main aspects of the development of quality design of educational materials

У статті проаналізовано наявний теоретичний та практичний досвід в області педагогічного дизайну. Досліджено основні аспекти розробки якісного дизайну навчальних матеріалів, а саме відповідність дизайну віковим особливостям цільової аудиторії з урахуванням потреб та очікуванням, рівню знань і сучасних технологій. Розглянуто важливість логічного та послідовного викладення нової інформації, а також необхідність оптимізації та актуалізації навчальних матеріалів. Наголошено на важливості типографіки в навчальному дизайні, оскільки вдалий вибір шрифту може покращити читабельність тексту, виділити важливу інформацію і сприяти інтересу до навчання та колірної гами, використання фото та відео матеріалів. Охарактеризовано відмінності проектування дизайну для різних вікових категорій з урахуванням рівня знань та мотивації цільової аудиторії. Висвітлено важливість вибору кольорів у навчальному дизайні, враховуючи їх вплив на настрій і поведінку користувачів. Наведено прийоми для вдалого підбору колірної гами. Виявлено шляхи використання кольору, типографіки та мультимедійних матеріалів задля покращення рівня сприйняття та засвоєння учнями нової інформації. У подальшій роботі планується проаналізувати та конкретизувати різноманітні матеріально-технічні засоби для проектування навчальних матеріалів та розробити серію навчальних шкільних плакатів за допомогою сучасних графічних редакторів.

Fibre4life: Investigating older adults dietary fibre preferences and the role of targeted educational materials on modulating future dietary fibre intake

The UK has an ever-increasing ageing population; hence, promoting balanced nutrition can have fundamental health and cost benefits. In addition, the majority of older adults' dietary fibre intake is below recommendations and this is despite its well-cited benefits; therefore, more emphasis should be placed on identifying viable age-suitable strategies to overcome the associated dietary fibre-related knowledge gap. Accordingly, one hundred and seventy older adults (65-87 years) were recruited to partake in two survey related studies: (1) initial insights (e.g., dietary fibre-related knowledge, awareness, attitudes and behaviour as well as information preferences) were captured to inform the design of educational materials; and (2) the impact of two targeted educational materials on modulating older adults’ future dietary fibre intake was tested. Older adults were willing to learn more about dietary fibre and requested additional information relating to its benefits, recommendations and food-based examples in a clear and accessible format. Therefore, two educational materials (factsheet and practical tips) were developed encompassing key themes. Overall, older adults engaged with the educational materials (regardless of topic and format); thus, demonstrating the potential benefits of this approach going forwards. There was strong agreement with all variables: learning something new, change future dietary fibre intake, format liking, content engaging and share with others as well as the overall experience being cited as useful/helpful. Going forwards, importance should be placed on measuring dietary fibre consumption post engaging with educational materials. In addition, utilising a holistic approach incorporating support from different sources (e.g., health professionals, government, food companies, supermarkets and community) could be fundamental in helping older adults to consume more dietary fibre and subsequently contributing to positive health outcomes.

Methodological guide for the creation of educational materials based on patterns of needs and design

Teachers face different roles according to the educational needs a student population may require. One of these roles has to do with the teachers´ relationship with the design of educational materials. This paper aims to provide an introductory methodological guide for the creation of educational materials, based on specific patterns of needs and design. It is expected that teachers can also perceive their teaching role as an effective teacher-designer considering four components: needs analysis (NA), instructional design (ID), universal design for learning (UDL), and graphic design (GD). NA is fundamental in the process of creating educational materials to developing actions such as needs inquiry and analysis, allowing the teacher-designer to reflect on the educational material. The use of an ID model provides strong support in the construction of educational materials and allows teacher-designers to generate coherent products that meet the real needs of the student population. The principles of UDL help to make the design of educational resources accessible to the target population. GD goes from being an aesthetic component to making pedagogical contributions, by enhancing the final quality of the material in terms of imagery, color palette, and selected typography. Lastly, educational materials should not lose their main purpose. In this sense, a teacher-designer has to follow patterns of needs and design that can address how particular individuals learn and what they specifically require so a material becomes a functional and successful contribution for the learning process.

UNIVERSAL EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL. EXHIBITION BY PER ISAK JUUSO FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN

This article explores the strategies employed by educators at the Sámi Center for Contemporary Art in Karasjok, Norway, in the production of educational materials related to an exhibition by Sámi duodji artist Per Isak Juuso. The study examines the process of creating materials that are suitable for various age groups of children and youth, and applicable to both local Sámi and international visitors. The research question is: How can the content of educational material within an art exhibition be designed to appeal to diverse audiences of children and youth? The aim of the study is to identify what kind of educational material about Sámi art can be used by different age groups and backgrounds, including local Sámi and international visitors. This aim is achieved through the following objectives: the design of educational material, presentation of the material to various groups of youth and children and their educators, evaluation of feedback on the content of the developed material, and a comparison, through observation, of the quantity of material used during the exhibition. The results of the research provide recommendations for art institutions and museums on how to develop universal educational materials that are suitable for various groups of learners and can be adapted by teachers to different levels of understanding during conversations.

Chinese students’ motivation to adopt distance learning of the Russian language

Introduction. Currently, restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have not yet been fully lifted in the People's Republic of China and students studying in Russia periodically switch to distance learning. The purpose of the article is to study the specifics of students' motivation to use distance technologies for teaching the Russian language using internationally recognized methods of measurement and statistical data analysis. Materials and Methods. The Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) measuring materials for studying the specifics of the educational motivation of students of the Ural Federal University (hereinafter referred to as UrFU) from the PRC for the use of distance technologies for teaching the Russian language were created for the AttentionRelevance-Confidence-Satisfaction (ARCS) structural model. We studied the relationship between the personal data of students (gender, age, year of study, educational program, additional language training and the results of measuring educational motivation (IMMS) for the use of distance technologies for teaching the Russian language and its structural components: attention (ATT), relevance (REL), Confidence (CON), Satisfaction (SAT).The study involved 673 UrFU students from the PRC, who had experience of long-term distance learning under restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Statistical processing of the measurement results was carried out using the structural equation modeling method Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). A confirmatory and exploratory factorial analysis of the obtained results was carried out using the SPSS software tool, including the AMOS module. Results. The developed IMMS questionnaire was validated by confirmatory factor analysis of IMMS measurement results using the AMOS module of the SPSS software tool. The method of exploratory factor analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between the indicators of students' educational motivation for using distance technologies for teaching the Russian language (IMMS) and its structural components with the personal data of the respondents. The gender of the student and the presence of parallel additional language training were found to have the strongest influence on learning motivation (girls are more motivated than boys). The gender of the student and the presence of parallel additional language training (regression coefficient r = 0.61) have the strongest influence on the structural component of learning motivation relevance (REL). Conclusion. The results of the study showed a high level of motivation for distance learning of the Russian language among UrFU students from China which is due to the effective design of educational materials. It is shown that when developing motivating teaching materials for distance learning, it is necessary to take into account the gender composition of trainees and the availability of parallel additional training in the subject.

A roadmap toward equitable, coordinated, quality reproductive care for women with chronic conditions.

A roadmap toward equitable, coordinated, quality reproductive care for women with chronic conditions.

Educational Strategies to Promote Adherence to Treatment in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

Introduction: Educational material is a key strategy for primary health care promotion. Purpose: To design and validate educational material adapted to the population and aimed to increase knowledge about adherence to the treatment of arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus. Methodology: Methodological study for the design of educational material for people with diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure. For the design, content validity tests were carried out, with the participation of six experts in health education and six patients with chronic diseases. Validation was performed pursuant to the attraction, understanding, engagement, and acceptance criteria. Results: The validation confirmed that all items and criteria were above the minimal expected range. Conclusion: The design and validation of educational material provide elements that improve the education of patients about their pathologies and their adherence to treatment.

PEDAGOGICAL DESIGN AT THE UNIVERSITY: «INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR» AS A NONLINEAR METHOD OF TEACHING LITERATURE

This study attempts to demonstrate some non-linear methods and techniques for organizing the educational process at a university within the framework of the modern branch of practical pedagogy - pedagogical design (using the example of studying literature at a university). The definition of the concept of «Pedagogical design» is given; the problem of the need to create a new educational environment is raised, in connection with the increased need for high-quality and relevant knowledge aimed at the realization of the individual in the new digital realities. The relevance and novelty of the undertaken analysis is substantiated. The study presents the results of the analysis of the preferences of the contingent of students and the analysis of the educational environment. The concept of pedagogical activity is substantiated, which implies the introduction of such a genre as an interview (interview with the author) into lectures and practical classes in literature, using innovative technologies and digital capabilities of the educational process within the framework of pedagogical design, the expediency of this form of presentation of educational material is substantiated. An example of the design of educational material in the form of an interview, tested in the framework of a project with the University of Zurich (Switzerland), is proposed.

Development of Healthcare Service Design Concepts for NICU Parental Education.

The objective of this study was to develop healthcare service design concepts through an empirical study utilizing design thinking to improve the quality of caregiver education provided in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This study adopted the Double Diamond Process of service design comprising the discover, define, and development stages. We identified 7 issues, organized into 10 healthcare service design concepts associated with NICU education: improving the design of educational material, improving materials for high-risk infant guidance, a practicum kit, a parent proficiency checklist, a systematic parent education manual, predictable guidelines for tests and treatment plans, waiting time that provides comfort, message cards that convey feelings, a reservation system for visits, and a post-discharge information sharing platform. The service concepts’ effectiveness was verified through evaluations by healthcare experts. The results represent customers’ perspectives and experiences regarding parental education. The application of the healthcare service design method could be further developed in future studies. The 10 service concepts derived from this study can be applied and evaluated as specific NICU educational programs.

Interpretative Signs as a Tool Supporting Informal Environmental Education on the Example of Warsaw’s Urban Forests

The article presents the results of research conducted in order to determine the comprehensibility (intelligibility) of the text of signs on educational paths in Warsaw’s city forests. This evaluation was carried out with the use of an online IT tool—Promovolt. The obtained results were confronted with the assessment of users of educational paths and the opinion of an expert group, which consisted of people involved in the design of educational materials. The results indicate that the majority of the analyzed interpretative signs are dedicated to secondary school students because of the level of text comprehensibility. At the same time, 20% of the text is understandable only to recipients with higher education. This means that the educational paths in the urban forests of Warsaw, with interpretative signs allowing independent learning, do not sufficiently support the ecological education of children and youth from primary schools up to 15 years of age, as well as people with basic or vocational education.

МЕТОДИКА ПРЕПОДАВАНИЯ ИНФОРМАТИКИ В ВЫСШИХ УЧЕБНЫХ ЗАВЕДЕНИЯХ

This article discusses the definition of teaching methods as a science, its object and subject, and features. The main components of the connection between the methodology of teaching computer science as a science and the main concepts of the educational process are also identified. The main focus is on generalizing the experience of teaching the discipline "Informatics" to students of humanitarian universities and highlighting interdisciplinary connections. The purpose of the article is to describe the intermediate results obtained during the study of the effective use of information technologies in the course of teaching students of a humanitarian university in the discipline "Informatics". The structure of the e-course in the self-study support system is presented. The place of the discipline "Informatics" in the training programs of students of the 1st year of the bachelor's degree in the areas of "Economics" is highlighted, the types of tasks for independent work of students are described, and an example of the design of educational materials for the case in the discipline "Informatics" is given. The main directions of improving the methodology of teaching the discipline "Informatics" are also outlined.

Probing Greek secondary school students’ awareness of green chemistry principles infused in context-based projects related to socio-scientific issues

ABSTRACT This study aims at investigating students’ awareness of green chemistry principles (GCPs) which are infused in two context-based projects that are related to socio-scientific issues, namely climate change and materials’ recycling. At first, content analysis of the projects’ activities showed the infusion of four GCPs. Subsequently, the students’ written reports associated with these activities were evaluated in order to examine the incorporation of different GCPs in their argumentation. The four principles identified in the first part of the study, were also shown to be incorporated in students’ argumentation, although with variable frequency. The specific themes which manifest students’ awareness of the different GCPs were also identified. These themes may guide the effective design of educational material dedicated to the infusion of GCPs in chemistry education, thus contributing to the promotion of students’ environmental awareness and the development of skills which characterise socially responsible citizenship.

Pedagogical design in the design of educational materials when creating electronic courses

The article indicates the importance of the principles of pedagogical design and pedagogical design in ensuring the effectiveness of e-learning. The author considers the features and advantages of blended learning for both students and university teachers in general, shows the possibilities of using the electronic environment within the framework of full-time and distance learning. The practical aspect of these problems is considered, which is associated with the fact that few teachers are ready to master the latest technologies, design the content and organizational aspects of the digital educational space, adapt the educational process to the requirements of an innovative society, since there are no ideas about the digital educational space as a whole.

Are medical students equipped for digital studies?Have their hopes and fears been confirmed during Covid-19? What should we consider in the future?

ABSTRACT Digitisation in the education of future doctors was still in its infancy before the Covid pandemic. For the successful implementation of digital teaching, students need the technical equipment and the necessary skills to use it in a meaningful way. Furthermore, it requires a willingness to adapt the learning environment and to take responsibility for self-directed learning. At the beginning of 2020, faculties were forced to convert all teaching to digital formats. Initial research shows that students prefer face-to-face teaching. To determine whether medical students were prepared for digital studies and what should be considered for the future, we analysed surveys at the beginning of online studies and after two Corona semesters at a medical faculty. We were able to show that although our students had good technology equipment, they had a rather negative attitude towards online teaching for various reasons and developed negative emotions. Deficits in design of educational material, and personal learning habits raised concern. A lack of guidance and a lack of interaction with fellow students contributed to this. Adjustments in these areas will be necessary in the future to provide students with positive access to digital studies and thus increase learning success.

An in-depth exploration of the post-test informational needs of BRCA1 and BRCA2 pathogenic variant carriers in Asia

IntroductionIdentification of one’s status as a BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carrier often marks the start of navigating challenging decisions related to cancer risk management and result disclosure. Carriers report unmet informational needs, but studies have yet to explore the specific aspects of and how best to fulfill these needs. This study aims to explore the informational needs of BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers in Asia to inform for the design of educational materials to support risk management decision-making.MethodsSemi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with two male and 22 female English-speaking BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers, aged 29–66 years, identified through the Cancer Genetics Service at the National Cancer Centre Singapore. A grounded theory approach with thematic analysis was undertaken to extract dominant themes.ResultsFour themes were identified: (i) proactive online information seeking behaviors (ii) personalized informational needs; (iii) challenges in sharing the results; and (iv) lack of genetic awareness.DiscussionParticipants highlight challenges with sharing their result arising from significant post-result informational needs, which have manifested into proactive online information-seeking behaviors. They desire for an online source of information, where content is personalized, reliable and local. Participants foresee the potential of an online resource to raise genetic awareness. This suggests the use of a culturally tailored online-based genetics resource, to promote result disclosure, empower risk-management decisions and raise genetic literacy rates.

Information flow and cognition affect each other: Evidence from digital learning

In the context of learning systems, identifying causal relationships among information presented to the user, their behavior and cognitive effort required/exerted to understand and perform a task is key to building effective learning experiences, and to maintain engagement in learning processes. An unexplored question is whether our interaction with presented information affects our cognitive effort (and behaviour), or vice-versa. We investigate causal relationship between information presented and cognitive effort (and behaviour) in the context of two separate studies (N = 40, N = 98), and study the effect of instruction (active/passive task). We utilize screen-recordings and eye-tracking data to investigate the relationship among these variables. To investigate the causal relationships among the different measurements, we use Granger’s causality. Further, we propose a new method to combine two time-series from multiple participants for detecting causal relationships. Our results indicate that information presentation drives user focus size (behaviour), and that cognitive load (a measure of cognitive effort exerted) drives information presentation. This relationship is also moderated by instruction type and performance-level (high/low). We draw implications for design of educational material and learning technologies.

Understanding the Health Literacy in Patients With Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Following an acute thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) episode, patients are at risk for relapse, and a careful long-term follow-up is needed. Adherence to the follow-up by patients implies a good understanding of the disease. However, TTP literacy in patients is currently unknown. To explore the TTP literacy in patients and identify factors associated with poor disease understanding, a questionnaire was developed focusing on patient's characteristics, knowledge about TTP and patients’ actions in an emergency. The questionnaire was presented to 120 TTP patients in remission from the French National Registry for Thrombotic Microangiopathies. TTP literacy was low in 24%, intermediate in 43% and high in 33% of the patients. Low TTP literacy was associated with older age and low education level. Among the knowledge gaps identified, few patients knew that plasma exchange in acute phase is mandatory and has to be done daily (39%), 47% of participants did not consider themselves at risk for relapse, and 30% of women did not know that pregnancy exposes them to a greater risk of relapse. Importantly, few patients responded about life-saving actions in an emergency. Hence, the design of educational material should pay special attention to the age and education level of the target population focusing on the events leading to TTP, the importance of the emergency treatment, controllable predisposing factors for TTP development and patient attitude in an emergency.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices among veterinarians during an outbreak of canine leptospirosis—Maricopa County, Arizona, 2017

Leptospirosis, caused by Leptospira spp., is a zoonotic bacterial disease important to both human and animal health. Six pathogenic serovars are currently known to commonly infect and cause disease in dogs in the United States. While canine leptospirosis infection is historically rare in Arizona (≤5 cases reported annually) (ADHS unpublished data) several clusters were reported in Maricopa County (MC) during February 2016–January 2017. Public health initiated an outbreak response and developed a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey for veterinarians. The goals were to determine awareness and general attitudes about canine leptospirosis and to identify gaps in veterinarians’ knowledge in treatment and prevention. We distributed a 40-question self-administered online survey to 1058 Arizona Veterinary Medical Association members, made available during February 9–May 15, 2017. We analyzed the results using Pearson’s Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact test; a P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. We analyzed 202 complete responses. Veterinarians from 10 (66%) of 15 Arizona counties were represented. MC practices were more likely to stock leptospirosis vaccine (80%) than other counties combined (58%) (P = 0.004). The average composite knowledge score was 24.4 out of 38 (range 12–37, median 24); 49% of respondents demonstrated higher knowledge as defined by authors, largely in identification of leptospirosis risk factors (86%) and routes of exposure (73%). Fewer than half (45%) of respondents correctly identified the length of time bacteria can be shed in dogs’ urine. Eighty-one percent of respondents demonstrated lower knowledge about clinical signs associated with leptospirosis; only 47% of respondents identified eight clinical signs commonly associated with leptospirosis. Sixty-one percent of MC respondents agreed that leptospirosis is an important canine disease in their geographic area, while only 40% of other county respondents agreed (P=0.03). Seventy percent of respondents identified diagnostic testing options. The majority correctly selected infection-control practices in line with recommendations from 2 national clinical guidelines. More respondents would recommend leptospirosis vaccination if dogs traveled or lived in rural areas (87–96%) than if dogs attended day care or were boarded (63%). We identified opportunities for education, including the local epidemiology of leptospirosis, transmission prevention strategies, vaccine safety, testing, clinical identification, and emerging risk factors. Our findings will help guide the design of educational materials for small animal veterinarians in Arizona regarding recommendations for prevention of animal and human leptospirosis infections; these efforts could also shift the culture of reporting companion animal diseases to improve future One Health collaborations.