Education Research Literature Research Articles

‘ … breaks down silos’: allied health clinicians’ perceptions of informal interprofessional interactions in the healthcare workplace

ABSTRACT Informal interprofessional interactions have gained interest in recent interprofessional care, education, health services and social sciences research literature. Some of the established benefits associated with these interactions include enhanced communication, teamwork, research translation and the provision of safer care. Limited evidence about how informal interprofessional interactions are perceived by the allied health workforce, exists. The survey conducted at a large Australian health service explored allied health clinicians’ perceptions of the benefits, challenges and enablers of informal interprofessional interactions and their recommendations to improve opportunities for these workplace interactions. Sixty-four responses were analysed descriptively (for close-ended questions) and using a framework analysis approach, informed by Bourdieu’s social space theory (for open-ended questions). Perceived benefits were aligned with three themes: teams and organisations, individual clinicians and service-users. Challenges to, and enablers of, informal interprofessional interactions were identified according to five themes: socio-cultural practices, physical environment, timing-related factors, individual and organisational factors. Participant recommendations to increase opportunities for informal interprofessional workplace interactions for allied health reflected three of the aforementioned themes: socio-cultural practices, physical environment and organisational factors. This theoretically-informed analysis may aid in the development of strategies to support these types of workplace interactions and realise the benefits identified.

Revisiting School Mathematics in Pre-service Secondary Teacher Education: Purposes, Opportunities and Challenges

Despite compelling arguments for the importance of revisiting school mathematics in pre-service mathematics teacher education, there is little indication of how such revisiting might be done, particularly at secondary level. We argue that revisiting provides three key opportunities for learning: (1) additional time on the mathematics that pre-service teachers will teach in schools; (2) attention to mathematical practices and (3) opportunity to learn about seminal constructs and findings from the mathematics education research literature. We illustrate these with three revisiting tasks and their enactment in a course where opportunities for revisiting were deliberately offered. We also discuss challenges that arise as teacher educators intentionally design opportunities for revisiting school mathematics.

Students' Perceptions of a New Doctor of Physical Therapy Curriculum Based on Constructivism and Cognitive Load Theories: A Qualitative Study

Introduction.In 2016, faculty at the MGH Institute of Health Professions implemented a new Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) curriculum based on constructivist and cognitive load theories. There is recognition that faculty too often overlook the importance of students' perceptions on the effectiveness of teaching methodologies and that student “buy-in” is particularly pivotal in curricula based on contemporary learning theories. Thus, students' perceptions have become a focus in the higher education research literature. The purpose of this article is to explore the perceptions of the first cohort of DPT students in our new curriculum across their academic studies.Participants.Nineteen of 70 students from the first cohort of our new curriculum participated in 1 of the 3 focus groups in year 1 (round 1) and 1 of the 2 focus groups in year 2 (round 2), with 4 students participating in both rounds.Methods.Qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify, summarize, and interpret students' perceptions regarding their experiences in this new curriculum.Results.Six themes emerging from round 1 were class preparation; plusses and minuses of group learning; usefulness of assessments; managing faculty/course differences; finding life balance; and student performance outcomes. A seventh theme emerged from round 2, namely, evolving and adapting approaches to learning.Discussion and Conclusion.Themes and subthemes are discussed in the context of other studies on students' perceptions of courses and curricula applying contemporary learning theories in higher education. Some of the themes emerging from our study are not unique to DPT curricula based on constructivist theories. However, our findings reflect both positive aspects of such approaches from the students' viewpoints and challenges that should be considered in supporting student engagement when designing or modifying such curricula. Findings may inform DPT programs considering similar curricular shifts toward contemporary learning practices, facilitating program curricular planning and transition processes.

From Knowledge Sharing to Reflective Thinking: Using Focus Group to Promote EFL Teachers’ Reflectivity

Educational research literature has underscored the key role of collaboration and interaction among teachers. As such, the present study, as its main objective, sought whether knowledge sharing in a reflective focus group improved English as a foreign language (EFL) student teachers’ reflective practice. In addition, it explored the benefits and challenges to knowledge sharing in a reflective focus group. To this end, a survey of reflective practice, and a semi-structured interview were employed to investigate research questions. Eleven Iranian Master of Arts (MA) students who were, at the same time, EFL teachers in languages schools served as the participants of the study. The results indicated that the focus group platform could enable EFL teachers to improve their reflective practice through interaction with colleagues. Among other factors, receiving constructive feedback, and recognizing the possible relationship between theory and practice were the benefits of knowledge sharing through reflective practice. Regarding the barriers to using reflective focus group, various inhibitors were reported by the participants that can be classified into personal, institutional, and educational factors. The implications of the study are also presented.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF UNIVERSITY SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The development of human civilization convincingly proves to us that a person, being born in a certain historical epoch in a certain country, prepares not for life in general, but for life in specific social and cultural conditions. Analysis of the available philosophical, pedagogical, sociological literature and areas of scientific and educational research indicates that researchers focus their attention on the problem of social responsibility of modern Universities. In particular, interest in this issue has grown significantly in recent years. The activities of Universities are never limited to the training of future specialists. Universities perform the social function of reproduction and development of society and its systems through the processes of translation of cultural norms in changing historical circumstances, each time on the basis of new social relations. Although among researchers there is no consensus on the definition of social responsibility of the University and the areas of its implementation, there is a general understanding of this phenomenon as a certain obligation of a higher education institution to society. That is why it is important to realize that the social responsibility of Universities should be considered in the context of the general social and cultural dynamics of a particular society. And if there were times when the social responsibility of the University could be represented by the concept of «literacy», then modern world makes completely different demands on education in general and on understanding of the University social responsibility in particular. The social responsibility of the University to society as a social institution, its individual groups and strata, is its commitment to contribute to the solution of important social problems.

A Robotics Course during COVID-19: Lessons Learned and Best Practices for Online Teaching beyond the Pandemic

The article describes observations from the online teaching of a robotics class during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, also known as the coronavirus. The changes in the course structure and in the provided material lead to an unexpected increase in the grade performance of the students. The article provides a description and an analysis of the effects and their possible causes. In addition to a grade-performance analysis, further data from a university-wide and from a course-specific survey are used. The analysis of the effects and their possible causes is furthermore discussed in relation to the educational research literature. Some evidence for the general findings is provided, which are of interest for online teaching or blended learning in general, respectively, for teaching in robotics and related areas. These include some evidence for the benefits of asynchronous online teaching and for the role of social interaction, which may happen in self-organized, smaller peer groups, even without the intervention of the instructor. The findings and the extensive pointers to the literature can also provide useful guidelines for instructors of robotics courses when considering the use of online or blended teaching in the future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Beneath the Surface: An Investigation of General Chemistry Students' Study Skills to Predict Course Outcomes.

As the conversation in higher education shifts from diversity to inclusion, the attrition rates of students in the STEM fields continues to be a point of discussion. Combined with the demand for expansion in the STEM workforce, various retention reforms have been proposed, implemented, and in some cases integrated into policy following evidence of success. Still, new findings, technological advances, and socio-cultural shifts inevitably necessitate an on-going investigation as to how students approach learning. Among other factors, students who enter college without effective study skills are at much greater risk of being unsuccessful in their coursework. In order to construct an equitable learning environment, a mechanism must be developed to provide underprepared students with access to resources or interventions designed to refine the skills they need to be successful in the course. Early, reliable assessments can provide predictions of individual student outcomes in order to guide the development and implementation of such targeted interventions. In the present study, a model is developed to predict students' odds of success based their study approaches, as measured by their responses to twelve survey items from an existing instrument used in the Chemistry Education Research literature designed to measure students' deep and surface learning approaches. The model's prediction specificity ranges from 66.5% to 86.9% by semester. Two distinct sets of lower-performing students are identified in the data: those who align predominantly with surface approaches to learning versus those who indicate using both deep and surface approaches to learning. This supports the idea of a tailored approach to interventions, rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Results from this instrument were correlated to students' reported study methods and beliefs.

Learning from the Perspectives of Albert Bandura and Abdullah Nashih Ulwan: Implications Towards the 21st Century Education

A vast existing literature in educational research has been explored on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) with the focus on addressing self-efficacy, self-regulation and social interactions in learning. This theory is used as a framework to predict behaviours and interventions. However, researchers have managed to comprehend and adopt the theory comprehensively with regards to all the factors involved specifically in the domain of pedagogical potentials in education and metaphysics. Thus, this paper has two-fold purposes. Firstly, this paper seeks to revisit the SCT from Islamic perspectives. Secondly, it attempts to propose a new pedagogical framework adapted from both theories for enhancing classroom teaching and learning. For this, the theoretical approach of Abdullah Nashih Ulwan has been compared and contrasted with an analytical approach by framing the references of the theory and the domain in education and well-being. Based on the analytic summary, this research has adopted comparative holistic visual representation by analyzing the SCT and Islamic perspectives. In consequence, a proposed learning model is given for a comprehensive view from both perspectives. The findings will advocate teachers and researchers when dealing with holistic human behaviour and personality development.

Academic success from an individual perspective: A proposal for redefinition

The examination of academic achievements is common in educational research literature, with most studies referring to grades (marks) as measures of success. In addition, outside the realm of research, a student’s grades are usually the main criteria for admission to education programmes, nomination for honours (passing above ordinary level), award of scholarships and so forth. However, scholars have put forward several arguments against the use of grades as the sole or most important measure of academic success. This research note focuses on a specific aspect of this problem, namely the failure to consider learners’ personal perspective regarding their own achievements. Many approaches to evaluating achievements call for their examination in light of previously defined goals. However, each learner defines her or his aspirations and goals differently, while achievements are usually measured on a uniform scale. This research note reviews this problem and considers alternative models (including both their advantages and their shortcomings) for defining academic success in terms of expectations and motivation. In addition, the author proposes a measure to enable the evaluation of academic achievements in terms of an individual student’s goals and aspirations.

VIDEO PRESENTASI, BLENDED LEARNING, COGNITIVE LOAD DAN HASIL BELAJAR: SUATU KAJIAN TEORITIS

Video Presentation is a learning medium that is very supportive of the e-learning-based learning process. Learning videos can help reduce the cognitive load of learners. Cognitive load is a theoretical concept with a very central role in the educational research literature. The basic idea of cognitive load theory is that cognitive capacity in working memory is limited, so that if the learning task requires too much capacity, learning will be hampered. This study aims to review the results of research that explores the use of video presentations to overcome cognitive load in blended learning. Through a review of research on learning using a published video presentation model. The aim of this study is to identify strategies used by researchers in overcoming cognitive load in learning activities, and also to synthesize current literature on the impact of using video presentations on learning outcomes. This study uses a research library research method. The results of the study found that one way to optimize the use of working memory capacity and avoid cognitive overload is to design an instructional system, one of which is a video presentation. Cognitive load theory has been researched and proven to be overcome by using video presentations. This study openly explores the limitations of video presentations in blended learning to overcome cognitive load and improve learning outcomes by identifying a number of related conceptual, methodological and application problems.

Preparing for a future career through entrepreneurship education: Towards a research agenda

Although most students of entrepreneurship education find employment in established organizations after graduation, the employability of entrepreneurship education graduates remains largely overlooked in the education research literature. In this conceptual paper, the authors address this gap to motivate a future research agenda. The paper describes how entrepreneurship education may enable or impede the graduates’ entrance, development and transition in the labour market. To develop the theoretical arguments, the authors build on a processual conceptualization of employability. Seven propositions are presented to conceptually explore how competencies that are obtained through entrepreneurship education may influence the employability of graduates in a dynamic labour market. The propositions lay the groundwork for future studies on entrepreneurship education graduates’ employability and set a research agenda for how the employability of these graduates could be studied.

The computerized objective assessment of surgical skills: Considerations for counting the number of movements.

Motion capture and analysis techniques are emerging in the surgical education and surgical education research literature as viable ways to augment the assessment of technical skills. In particular, these methods provide an opportunity to reveal objective information about the efficiency of surgical procedures, above and beyond the accuracy of procedural outcomes. One assessment that is very prevalent in the literature are counts of the number of movements a surgeon makes in completing a technical performance. In this commentary, the number of movements metric is explored from kinesiology and engineering perspectives; two disciplines that have contributed heavily to the development of rigorous motion analysis methods. Furthermore, the assumption that skill efficiency improves linearly as a learner progresses along the continuum of expertise is challenged. While movement efficiency does certainly improve, this assumption does not necessarily capture the way that learners flexibly prioritize particular aspects of performance in the intermediate stages of skill learning. By way of this commentary, important a priori decisions that should proceed effective motion capture and analysis are highlighted, a call for the standardization of procedures is made, and an opportunity to better understand the way that computerized movement analysis techniques may contribute (or be detrimental) to competency constructs in surgical education and assessment is realized.

Gatekeeper Engagement and the Importance of Phronesis-Praxis in School-Based Research

While research that is embedded in schools is reported widely in education and psychological research literature, studies that focus on how researchers might navigate school-based gatekeepers is minimal. This study addresses this gap. The research presented in this paper reports on the recruitment process that was employed in a study that involved working in partnership with schools and teachers to refine a researcher created intervention. In this paper, gatekeepers in the research process are initially identified and the researcher-gatekeeper interaction is explicated. Clark’s seven mechanisms for gatekeeper engagement are drawn on to identify the supporters and challenges to gatekeeper engagement. These supporters and challenges are then examined through the conceptual framework of phronesis–praxis to critically analyse how the researcher navigated the researcher-gatekeeper relationship. This study provides insight into the importance of phronesis (practical wisdom) and how it can be used by researchers to navigate researcher-gatekeeper interactions to access research participants situated in school-based sites. A major finding of this study is that through adopting a phronetic approach to the research process a powerful way to navigate the researcher-gatekeeper relationship and gain a better understanding of access to research participants in school-based contexts emerges. It also provides an avenue in which educators; early career researchers; and doctoral students can begin to develop their research praxis.

The role of recognition in disciplinary identity for girls

AbstractComputing fields are foundational to most STEM disciplines and the only STEM discipline to show a consistent decline in women's representation since 1990, making it an important field for STEM educators to study. The explanation for the underrepresentation of women and girls in computing is twofold: a sense that they do not fit within the stereotypes associated with computing and a lack of access to computer games and technologies beginning at an early age (Richard, 2016). Informal coding education programs are uniquely situated to counter these hurdles because they can offer additional resources and time for engagement in specially designed activities developed around best practices to improve girls coding identities (National Research Council [NRC], 2009). We draw upon research by Calabrese Barton et al. (2013) and Carlone and Johnson's (2007) research as a lens by which to examine girls' coding identity work in an informal coding education setting—a concept not currently defined in the science education research literature. In this paper, we describe the coding identity trajectories of three middle school girls who participated in a coding camp: Lilly, Victoria, and Beth. Our results provide a conceptual framework that will guide future research on coding identity that better encompasses the role of recognition by educators and peers on youth's coding identity development. This framework can be used to guide broader science education identity research, particularly as it applies to informal STEM education settings that work to engage students, especially girls, across the STEM spectrum.

EFL Education for the Visually Impaired in Japan: Data from Five Interviews

The educational research literature has promoted integrating students with disabilities into mainstream classrooms since the 1970s. In 2007, the Japanese government amended the School Educational Law, which has increased the number of educational opportunities available to students with disabilities. At the same time, the Japanese education system is, increasingly, following the global trend of promoting English as a foreign language (EFL) education at every level of the education system. There are approximately 1.64 million visually impaired people in Japan. Of these, an estimated 187,800 are blind. Even as the disability rights movement in Japan advances its agenda of barrier-free access, the processes through which blind students learn (and can be taught) foreign languages has not been well described within the broader educational community. In this paper, I will present the results of an interview study conducted with student and teacher participants at a school for the visually impaired in Japan. In this study, I sought to address two research foci: 1) what best practices can support teachers in conducting classes with visually impaired students; and 2) how visually impaired students relate to and engage with their EFL classes. Through my analysis of the interview data, I identified three core themes: a) the importance of targeted needs analysis; b) the centrality of braille for equity and access; and c) a tension between traditional educational support systems for visually impaired students in Japan, and what contemporary students increasingly need.

The undergraduate simulation framework: standardising design and delivery

PurposeHigher education organisations have the need and capacity to meet the expectations of industry partners to develop practice-ready graduates. Altered social and fiscal constraints have implications for the health workforce and, as such, decisions about how best to prepare undergraduate students should be considered. The purpose of this (conceptual) paper is to present the undergraduate simulation framework that has been designed to promote a standardised delivery of simulation, enabling graduates to have a higher capacity to meet workforce needs.Design/methodology/approachEducation and simulation literature were explored to inform the development of the undergraduate simulation framework. A working knowledge of accreditation standards of health professions was key in designing a framework that could be applied across disciplines.FindingsThe framework encompasses tenets of a learner-centred pedagogy as well as professional and simulation standards. Experiential learning, behaviourism and social constructivism are viewed as foundational pillars when developing and delivering a simulation and have been considered in developing the framework. Other constructs of the undergraduate simulation framework are prebriefing, debriefing, repetition in the form of simulation cycles and the roles of student and educator.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that this framework be incorporated into undergraduate health programmes to enhance student learning and potentiate the transference of knowledge and skills to the clinical setting.Originality/valueThe undergraduate simulation framework was developed to contribute to education and simulation research literature specific to health programmes to enhance student learning in readiness for the clinical environment.

For an education with no hope

Most of the literature in educational research, and in philosophy of education specifically, has been clearly appealing to hope in its various forms, in attempts to bring it back, improve it and have more of it. This paper wishes to explore a different terrain. I ask whether there can be a worthwhile education that does not require hope, and I suggest that even when hope remains a commendable attribute of education, the strict prohibition on hopelessness in education should be rejected for there is much to be gained from embracing hope's opposite—despair. Firstly, I discuss hope's faults and drawbacks, focusing on the reasons for its rejection in ancient Greece and on its privatisation and commodification in contemporary capitalist society. Here, hope's connection to transcendence and the secular attempts to overcome it will be examined. Secondly, following the conceptualisation of despair by political theorist Robyn Marasco (2015), I reassess the dialectics of hope and despair and highlight the role of hopelessness in energising and enlivening critique. Finally, reading in Martin Luther King's famous ‘I have a dream’ speech, I suggest that a pedagogy of despair can accommodate presentism and even, despite its name, bring about a particular dialectics of hope.

Digital flesh: a feminist approach to the body in cyberspace

ABSTRACT Despite the rapid growth of digital learning, the relationship between the body and new information technologies has been underexamined in education research literature. This study presents a feminist conceptual framework in order to situate the body as an issue central to the academic discussion of online education. This paper extends feminist technoscience scholars’ notion of co-constructing gender-technology by critiquing the disembodied approach to emerging education technologies. By integrating the philosophical approaches to the body of Butler and several phenomenologists, the author suggests alternative ways of understanding online learning environments based on a literature review. This new feminist phenomenological concept, digital flesh, prompts a greater awareness of the gendered materiality of cyberspace that challenges the dominant discourse of learning technology, as evidenced by recent artificial intelligence experiments.

Thematic analysis of 18 years of physics education research conference proceedings using natural language processing

We have used an unsupervised machine learning method called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to thematically analyze all papers published in the Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings between 2001 and 2018. By looking at co-occurrences of words across the data corpus, this technique has allowed us to identify ten distinct themes or "topics" that have seen varying levels of prevalence in Physics Education Research (PER) over time and to rate the distribution of these topics within each paper. Our analysis suggests that although all identified topics have seen sustained interest over time, PER has also seen several waves of increased interest in certain topics, beginning with initial interest in qualitative, theory-building studies of student understanding, which has given way to a focus on problem solving in the late 2010s. Since 2010 the field has seen a shift towards more sociocultural views of teaching and learning with a particular focus on communities of practice, student identities, and institutional change. Based on these results, we suggest that unsupervised text analysis techniques like LDA may hold promise for providing quantitative, independent, and replicable analyses of educational research literature.

The relationship between mathematicians’ pedagogical goals, orientations, and common teaching practices in advanced mathematics

Despite mathematics educators’ research into more effective modes of teaching, lecture is still the dominant mode of instruction in undergraduate mathematics courses. Surveys suggest this is because most mathematicians believe this is the best way to teach. This paper answers a call by mathematics education researchers to explore mathematicians’ needs and goals concerning teaching. We interviewed eight mathematicians about findings in the mathematics education research literature concerning common pedagogical practices of instructors of advanced mathematics classes: “chalk talk,” the presentation of formal and informal content, and teacher questioning. We then analyzed the responses for resources, orientations, and goals that might influence the participants to engage in these practices. We describe how participants believed common lecturing practices allowed them to achieve their goals and aligned with their orientations. We discuss these findings in depth and consider what implications they may have for researchers that aim to change mathematicians’ teaching practices.