Modes Of Education Delivery Research Articles

Pressure‐relieving equipment: promoting its correct use amongst nurses via differing modes of educational delivery

To examine the impact of written and verbal education on bed-making practices, in an attempt to reduce the prevalence of pressure ulcers. The Department of Health has set targets for a 5% reduction per annum in the incidence of pressure ulcers. Electric profiling beds with a visco-elastic polymer mattress are a new innovation in pressure ulcer prevention; however, mattress efficacy is reduced by tightly tucking sheets around the mattress. A prospective randomized pre/post-test experimental design. Ward managers at a teaching hospital were approached to participate in the study. Two researchers independently examined the tightness of the sheets around the mattresses. Wards were randomized to one of two groups. Groups A and B received written education. In addition, group B received verbal education on alternate days for one week. Beds were re-examined one month later. One researcher was blinded to the educational delivery received by the wards. Twelve wards agreed to participate in the study and 245 beds were examined. Before education, 113 beds (46%) had sheets tucked correctly around the mattresses. Following education, this increased to 215 beds (87.8%) (chi2 = 68.03, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the number of correctly made beds between the two different education groups: 100 (87.72%) beds correctly made in group A vs. 115 (87.79%) beds in group B (chi2 = 0, P = 0.987). Clear, concise written instruction improved practice but verbal education was not additionally beneficial. Nurses are receptive to clear, concise written evidence regarding pressure ulcer prevention and incorporate this into clinical practice.

Accounting undergraduates' changing use of ICT and their views on using the Internet in higher education – a research note

This paper reports the results of a study exploring the changing use of ICT by undergraduate students and their views of using the Internet while undertaking accounting degrees at two UK universities. Questionnaires, designed to provide an overview of students' use of the Internet and other ICT applications in their degree courses, were administered to the same cohort of students majoring in accounting during their first and final academic years. In addition, discussion group interviews were carried out with students in both institutions. This part of the study specifically examines the use of the Internet in accounting education from the students' perspective, obtaining their views of possible future applications of the Internet (e.g. for on-line teaching, tutorials and assessment). The quantitative study reveals a significant increase in students' reported voluntary use of the Internet and e-mail, but the qualitative study indicates that the students were reluctant to consider being taught via the Internet. The paper concludes that, as this was a study of undergraduate students attending university, they have made a preference for a certain form of educational experience. There is evidence which indicates that these students value classroom and social interaction and the skills they develop in such an educational context. As a result only Internet use which supports learners in their chosen mode of education delivery is likely to be endorsed. This finding may assist educators, who are currently using virtual learning environments to support the delivery of on campus courses to establish the extent to which e-learning developments are likely to be successful.

Scale of Operations and Locus of Control in Market‐ Versus Mission‐Oriented Charter Schools*

Objective. The objective of this article is to investigate two distinct strands in the charter school movement: one that emphasizes school‐based management and another that emphasizes market efficiency. We were interested in whether charter schools that were founded or co‐founded by for‐profit education management organizations (EMOs) tend to pursue economies of scale and are less likely than others to implement school‐level decision making in key areas.Methods. The analysis uses data drawn from a survey we conducted of the population of charter schools in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.Results. We find that charter schools that were founded or co‐founded by EMOs tend to be larger and are less likely to exhibit decision‐making control at the school level.Conclusions. Our analysis underscores the importance of disaggregating the charter school phenomenon into its distinct constituent parts in order to draw meaningful lessons from this evolving and significant experiment in alternative education delivery mode.

2: The Institutional Change Agency: The Expanding Role of Academic Support Centers

Higher education is going through significant changes stimulated by the rapid growth of the internet, the increasing globalization of higher education, and the ever-pressing question of institutional quality. New modes of educational delivery through virtual networks are breaking the traditional mold of instructional provision. New players, new pedagogies, and new paradigms are redefining higher education. The rules are changing, and there is increased pressure on institutions of higher education to evolve, adapt, or desist. (Swail, 2002, p. 16)

Developing Online Instruction: Partnership between Instructors and Technical Developers

Asynchronous instruction via the Internet is fast becoming the educational delivery mode of choice by employed professionals who are unable to conveniently access higher education on traditional campuses. K-12 schools are also finding online instruction applicable to the elementary and secondary students and to the provision of staff development. A key to this movement is the capability of schools and institutions of higher education to design and develop online instruction. Educators possess the curriculum content and instructional design skills, but few have the technical capabilities to place instruction online. While there is a growing number of technicians with the technical skills, they often lack experience in instructional design. The authors share their experience in designing, developing and teaching two graduate level courses fully online using audio streaming technology. The focus of their discussion is on the team approach to development where the instructor possesses the content and the instructional design expertise, and other team members are skilled in technical development. The observations shared were derived from journals kept by the team and the collection of formative and performance data. The context of their development efforts are described, the team process is reviewed, and suggestions offered on how best to engage instructional and technical developers in a team approach to the creation of online instruction.

Development and Delivery of an Electroscience Curriculum for the Greenfield Coalition

AbstractThis paper address the challenges associated with the development and delivery of an electroscience curriculum for the Greenfield Coalition. The Greenfield Coalition for New Manufacturing Education is a National Science Foundation‐supported partnership of five diverse educational institutions, five top manufacturing companies, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and Focus: HOPE. Greenfield was chartered to develop and produce a new innovative manufacturing technology and engineering curriculum. The development of the electroscience curriculum involves design, development, and delivery to Focus: HOPE candidates as well as an assessment of the curriculum. The project involves the innovative integration of physics and the principles of electrical engineering into one curriculum that serves candidates in three programs leading to the degrees of Associate of Science (AS), Bachelor of Engineering (BE), and Bachelor of Engineering Technology (BET). The electroscience curriculum employs computer‐based instruction (CBI) is the primary mode of educational delivery. The assessment of the first delivery of this curriculum to Focus: HOPE candidates is also discussed.

Professional Empowerment and Teaching Sociology to Health Care Professionals

The teaching of the social and behavioral sciences as disciplines within the education and training of health care professionals is a relatively new phenomenon in the United Kingdom. The push for their inclusion in medical, nursing, midwifery and radiography curricula is a consequence of major changes in the system and service of health care in Britain, which lent a greater urgency to the professionalization of these occupations. This, in turn, called for professional and educational validating bodies to fundamentally reorganize courses, to raise their academic level, and to encourage widespread research into learning styles, continuing professional development, and alternative educational delivery modes such as open and distance learning. In teaching sociology across a range of newly developed health care courses we have had to consider the dynamics of United Kingdom health care education that prompted their development. This paper is based on our experiences in designing, implementing, and evaluating such courses.

Continuing professional education: a challenge for rural health practitioners.

Health professionals in rural and remote areas of Australia are disadvantaged when accessing continuing education. Their geographical isolation influences attendance at seminars, workshops and even informal discussions with colleagues. This paper describes the strategies adopted to meet the continuing education needs of a group of health professionals working in diabetes education and discusses how other specialist areas can provide similar educational opportunities. The education programs for isolated health professionals involved in diabetes care in South Australia were created by a team, and the resources of their associated institutions. Formal working agreements were established to achieve the aim of relevant continuing education for rural health professionals and to ensure ongoing ventures. All programs have been positively received, and evaluations identify the need to develop other, related subjects. Future developments will further utilise advances in technology to extend access and add to the current modes of education delivery. It is the intention of this group to continue to develop practice-based subjects capable of meeting rural health practitioners' needs and thus enhance the quality of care in rural and remote communities.

Exploring Student Interest in Hospitality Distance Education

The current study examined differences in hospitality students' interest in pursuing distance education with regard to their demographic factors, external constraints, GPA, achievement motivation, and perceived quality of four delivery modes of distance education. It was found that students were most interested in pursuing computer-mediated instruction, followed by satellite courses and tele course study. They were least likely to pursue correspondence study. Students most likely to pursue distance education were those with the highest GPA (F = 3.44, p = .04), the highest degree of external constraint (F = 7.27, p = .002), and full-time employment (F = 3.08, p = .05). No significant results were found with regard to achievement motivation and interest in distance education. These results empha size the importance of more technologicallysophisticated delivery modes in distance education and the necessity to preassess distance education students.

Computerized Educational Delivery Strategies in Nine North American Colleges

Abstract This paper discusses high technology educational delivery systems in nine post‐secondary two‐year educational colleges—five in the western United States and four in Canada. Emphasis is on the use of computers to provide alternative delivery systems to traditional classroom teaching. The paper also reflects a natural overlap with open education and self‐paced (fleximode) learning, here defined as an approach to programmed computerized and traditional learning which permits a flexible mix of time, location and teaching strategies. The term ‘fleximode’ is used generically to include computer‐assisted learning (CAL), computer‐managed learning (CML), artificial intelligence (AI), teleconferencing and other educational delivery modes. Teachers can draw conclusions about the relative merits of the delivery systems discussed, their advantages and disadvantages, and the cost. The paper encourages educationalists to develop a clearer conceptual understanding of alternative delivery systems and their possib...