Development Of Curricular Materials Research Articles

Sex and gender specific health topics in medical student learners: pulse check eight years later

BackgroundAn essential component of patient-centered, individualized medicine is considering how sex and gender affect mechanisms of health and disease.ObjectivesTo assess medical students’ current knowledge of sex and gender specific health (SGSH) concepts compared to results from the same survey in 2012 to better inform development of curricular materials for medical education.MethodsA previously designed survey tool, which assessed current knowledge of sex and gender-based medicine of medical students, was emailed to all Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine (MCASOM) students on Minnesota, Arizona, and Florida campuses in 2020. Descriptive and qualitative thematic results were compared to the same survey administered in 2012 to students enrolled in MCASOM. Changes in the inclusion of SGSH topics were assessed over the eight years.ResultsOne hundred and one of 365 (27.7% response rate) surveys were returned with 2:1 female to male respondents with representation from all 4 years. The definitions of the terms “sex” and “gender” were correctly identified by most respondents (93.1%). However, only 36% (12/33) of questions related to other medical knowledge on SGSH topics had more than a 50% correct response rate. More than half of the students reported that SGSH topics were included in Gynecology, Cardiology, Pediatrics, and Immunology. SGSH topics were reported as not being routinely covered in Neurology and Nephrology, although more students said they were in 2020 then 2012. Sixty-two percent of students favored increasing SGSH in the current curriculum.ConclusionsMedical students appear to understand the definition of and importance of SGSH in education. While some improvements in coverage by subject matter and topic area appear to have occurred as reported by medical students, opportunity remains to more fully integrate SGSH concepts in medical school curricula.

Interaction effects of race and gender in elementary CS attitudes: A validation and cross-sectional study

Computer science (CS) initiatives for elementary students, including brief Hour of Code activities and longer in- and after-school programs that emphasize robotics and coding, have continued to increase in popularity. Many of these initiatives are intended to increase CS exposure to students who historically have been underrepresented in CS academic trajectories, including women and students of color. This study aimed at examining the gender and race difference in elementary students’ attitudes toward CS. To that end we developed and validated a survey instrument called Elementary Computer Science Attitudes (E-CSA) which consisted of the constructs of CS self-efficacy and outcome expectancy , through a combination of classical test theory and item response theory. The target audience for this instrument and study was upper elementary students (grades 4 and 5, ages 8 to 11). The E-CSA was found to be a gender and race bias-free instrument. A two-way ANOVA test was then used to answer research questions. We found no significant interaction effect between gender and race in the two constructs of CS Attitudes. We also did not see a significant difference based on race. However, a significant difference was found in both CS attitudes constructs based on gender, whereby male students had higher CS attitudes than female students. We discuss our findings from the perspective of the equity issue in CS education. Furthermore, we believe the E-CSA instrument can inform classroom-based interventions, the development of curricular materials, and reinforce findings from cross-sectional CS studies. • E-CSA instrument includes the constructs of CS self-efficacy and outcome expectancy. • The E-CSA was found to be a psychometrically gender bias-free instrument. • Found that male students had significantly higher CS attitudes than female students

NiCE Teacher Workshop: Engaging K-12 Teachers in the Development of Curricular Materials That Utilize Complex Networks Concepts

Our educational systems must prepare students for an increasingly complex and interconnected future, but teachers facing this task are not equipped to prepare students to succeed. Network science–the study of how biological, social, physical and technological systems interconnect, how the structure of those connections evolve over time, and how those structures and behaviors inform our understanding of them–is a pathway to deepening engagement with the kinds of complex problems these students will have to deal with as adults in the workforce. We recently held the Networks in Classroom Education (NiCE) workshop for a group of 21 K-12 teachers with various disciplinary backgrounds. The explicit aim of the workshop was to introduce them to concepts in network science, show them how these concepts can be utilized in the classroom, and empower them to develop resources using these concepts, in the form of lesson plans, for themselves and for the wider community. Here we detail the nature of the workshop and present its outcomes, including a set of publicly available innovative lesson plans. We also discuss the future development of the successful integration of network science in K-12 education and its importance in inspiring and enabling our teachers.

Mathematics teacher training at the State Technical University in Chile

During the fifties and sixties in Chile many mathematics graduates of Pedagogical Institutes became university instructors rather than high school teachers as intended. In the late sixties Masters level programmes began giving more advanced training for university mathematics instructors. A ‘modern’ mathematics curriculum including computer science was introduced in the high schools. The first significant attempt to adapt the training of Chilean high school mathematics teachers to the new academic and social realities was begun in 1976 at the State Technical University with the cooperation of Teachers College, Columbia University, and the support of the Organization of American States. The four‐year programme leads to Licenciatura (Bachelors) in Mathematics and Computer Education. All courses are taught by faculty members of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. The three basic areas of instruction are mathematics, computer science, and mathematics education. Funds provided by the O.A.S. have helped to make possible the development of curricular materials in Spanish, and the acquisition of computing and video tape equipment.

Gow, D. T. Design and development of curricular materials. Pittsburgh, PA: University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1976; Vol. 1, 252 pp., Vol. 2, 268 pp. Paperback, $13.95, paper text edition $19.95

Gow, D. T. Design and development of curricular materials. Pittsburgh, PA: University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 1976; Vol. 1, 252 pp., Vol. 2, 268 pp. Paperback, $13.95, paper text edition $19.95