Faculty Perceptions Of Teaching Research Articles

Do we teach critical thinking? A mixed methods study of faculty and student perceptions of teaching and learning critical thinking at three professional schools

Introduction Critical thinking (CT) is an essential set of skills and dispositions for professionals. While viewed as an important part of professional education, approaches to teaching and assessing critical thinking have been siloed within disciplines and there are limited data on whether student perceptions of learning align with faculty perceptions of teaching. Materials and methods The authors used a convergent mixed methods approach in required core courses in schools of education, government, and medicine at one university in the Northeast United States. Faculty surveys and student focus groups (FG) addressed definitions, strategies, and barriers to teaching CT. Results and conclusions Sixty-four (51.6%) faculty completed the survey, and 34 students participated in FGs. Among faculty, 54.0% (34/63) reported explicitly teaching CT; but students suggested teaching CT was predominantly implicit. Faculty-reported strategies differed among schools. Faculty defined CT in process terms such as ‘analyzing’; students defined CT in terms of viewpoints and biases. Our results reveal a lack of explicit, shared CT mental models between faculty and students and across professional schools. Explicit teaching of CT may help develop a shared language and lead to better understanding and application of the skills and dispositions necessary to succeed in professional life.

Workforce Diversity at Work: Exploring Ethnicity as Moderating in Age and Performance

It’s critical to promote workplace employee diversity, as it empowers various workforces and improves teamwork. Adopting employee diversity fosters a positive work atmosphere that encourages employee creativity and productivity. Based on this background, the aim of the study was to understand teaching faculty perceptions of age, ethnicity, and performance and to analyse the moderating effect of ethnicity on age and performance. The study was objective in nature, focusing on private colleges in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal to select teaching faculty. A cross-sectional design was adopted, ensuring a snapshot of data collection. Consent and privacy were maintained throughout the study, respecting participants' confidentiality. The study identifies ethnicity as a moderating factor between age and performance, where age and ethnicity separately enhance performance but ethnicity as a moderating factor interacts negatively. While age has a positive relationship with performance, ethnicity as a moderator displays a subtle yet significant negative impact on job performance. Colleges must address both the advantages of age diversity and the ethnic imbalances in order to encourage equal opportunities and boost overall productivity.

Teaching faculty perceptions, attitudes, challenges, and satisfaction of online teaching during COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia: A national survey

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and associated preventative measures introduced a shock to the teaching paradigm in Saudi Arabia and the world. While many studies have documented the challenges and perceptions of students during the COVID-19 pandemic, less attention has been given to higher education staff. The aim of the present investigation is to evaluate the staff’s perception and experiences of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.Materials and methodsA validated survey was conducted between December 2021 and June 2022 in Saudi Arabian Universities to assess the status of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic among faculty members. The collected responses were exploratively and statistically analyzed.ResultsA total of 1117 response was received. About 66% of the respondents were male and 90% of them hold postgraduate degree. Although rarely or occasionally teach online pre-COVID-19, only 33% of the respondents think the transition was difficult and 55% of them support the move. Most respondents received adequate training (68%) and tools (80%) and 88% of the respondents mentioned that they did not accrue additional workload in online study design. While the perception of online teaching was mostly positive (62%) with high satisfaction (71%). However, 25% of the respondents reported that a poor internet bandwidth was an obstacle and 20% was unable to track students’ engagement. Respondents with more years of experience, previous training, support, or perceived online transition as easy were also more likely to be satisfied with the process. Also, older respondents, those who support the transition and those with previous training were less likely to report barriers (allp< 0.001).ConclusionThe perception and experience of transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia were positive. Low internet bandwidth and inability to track students’ limited effective online teaching. Work experience, previous training, and positive perception are the main factors that influence staff online teaching satisfaction.

The Impact of an Acute Medical Unit in Internal Medicine on Resident Education.

BackgroundMedical trainees are expected to provide care for increasingly sick and treatment intensive patients. To improve patient care, hospitals worldwide have developed acute medical units (AMUs), dedicated medical wards that provide care for patients during the first 24 to 72 hours of an emergency medical hospital admission. A distinguishing feature of these units is that they are supervised by senior clinicians and offer multidisciplinary patient-centered care. Little is known about the impact of AMUs on trainee supervision and education.MethodsIn this educational case study, we describe the evolution, process and structure of our AMU service. We also provide resident and teaching faculty perceptions of the impact of this intervention on education and supervision.ResultsQuestionnaire results showed that residents and teaching attendings believed that supervision and education were improved on the AMU, as compared to the traditional medical ward model. Residents also felt that their knowledge and clinical skills in managing acute patients improved. Procedure skills were less impacted by the intervention. A small number of residents believed that the AMU model worsened supervision and education.ConclusionIntegrating medical trainees into an AMU allowed for early evaluation and input from senior clinicians and increased opportunities to work in and learn from multidisciplinary teams, contributing to improved resident supervision and education. Future studies are needed to assess the long-term impact of the AMU on educational outcomes.

Teaching during COVID-19: faculty members’ perceptions during and after an “exceptional” semester

PurposeWith the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in March 2020, higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide were confronted with creating online courses to complete the semester. While emphasizing positive elements such as flexibility and innovative solutions, the literature focused on numerous faculty problems such as online fatigue, emotional well-being and stress. This paper aims to explore faculty perceptions of teaching during the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachTwo surveys, in the first week and at the end of the semester, were conducted at a business school in Switzerland via the program Lima. A total of 19 faculty members participated in the survey. Of the participants, 56.7% responded in the first survey and 70.9% responded in the second.FindingsThe findings revealed that the faculty’s impressions of their online courses remained positive. The most significant issue cited was time. According to faculty estimations, more than ten additional hours per week were spent preparing for online courses. Nonetheless, many faculty members reported interest in continuing online practices in their future courses.Practical implicationsThe COVID-19 pandemic pushed HEIs to embrace the digital revolution while teaching in a competence-oriented mode. However, moving forward, HEIs must mitigate the long-term effects by careful planning and evaluating their digital readiness as an institution and offering training for their faculty and students when necessary.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the existing literature by analyzing one stakeholder group, i.e. faculty members, and their perceptions of teaching during a worldwide pandemic.

Perceptions of scheduled vs. unscheduled directly observed visits in an internal medicine residency outpatient clinic

IntroductionLearners may subconsciously change their behavior once they know they are being observed, and this Hawthorne effect should be considered when designing assessments of learner behavior. While there is a growing body of literature to suggest direct observation is the ideal standard for formative assessment, the best method to directly observe learners is unknown. We explored scheduled and unscheduled methods of direct observation among internal medicine residents in the outpatient continuity clinic to advance the understanding of both observation methods.MethodsWe conducted a thematic analysis of faculty and internal medicine residents in an outpatient clinic setting. A semi-structured interview guide for focus group sessions was created. Focus groups were used to explore the internal medicine resident and core teaching faculty perceptions of the scheduled and unscheduled direct observation methods in the outpatient clinc. An experienced qualitative research interviewer external to the internal medicine residency was moderating the sessions. Eight peer focus groups were held. ion of themes from focus group transcripts identified resident and faculty perceptions of the different observation methods.ResultsFocus groups had 14 resident participants and 14 faculty participants. Unscheduled observations were felt to be more authentic than scheduled observations since residents perceived their behavior to be unmodified. Unscheduled observations allowed for increased numbers of observations per resident, which permitted more frequent formative assessments. Residents and faculty preferred remote video observation compared to in-room observation. Participants found direct observation a useful learning tool for high-yield, specific feedback.ConclusionsUnscheduled remote direct observation captures authentic clinical encounters while minimizing learner behavior modification. An unscheduled observation approach results in more frequent formative assessment and therefore in more instances of valuable feedback compared to scheduled observations. These findings can help guide the best practice approaches to direct clinical observation in order to enhance residents learning and experience.

Medical student and medical school teaching faculty perceptions of conflict of interest

BackgroundAttitudes towards conflict of interest (COI) and COI policy are shaped during medical school and influence both the education of medical students and their future medical practice. Understanding the current attitudes of medical students and medical school teaching faculty may provide insight into what is taught about COI and COI policy within the ‘hidden’ medical curriculum. Differences between medical student and medical school teaching faculty perceptions of COI and COI policy have not been compared in detail. The authors surveyed first year medical students and medical school teaching faculty at one academic medical center.ResultsThe response rate was 98.7% (150/152) for students and 34.2% (69/202) for faculty. Students were less likely than faculty to agree that lecturers should disclose COI to any learners (4.06 vs. 4.31, p = 0.01), but more likely to agree that COI disclosure decreases the presentation of biased material (3.80 vs. 3.21, p < 0.001). Student and faculty responses for all other questions were not different. Many of these responses suggest student and faculty support for stronger COI policy at academic medical centers.ConclusionsStudents and faculty perceptions regarding COI and COI policy are largely similar, but differ in terms of the perceived effectiveness of COI disclosure. This study also suggests that medical students and medical school teaching faculty support for stronger COI policy at academic medical centers.

Using teaching faculty focus groups to assess information literacy core competencies at a university level

Grand Valley State University librarians designed and conducted teaching faculty focus groups to gauge their response to a new information literacy (IL) core student competencies document created to support a developing library IL programme. Although the competencies were inspired by existing, widely known information literacy standards and guidelines the University Libraries' Information Literacy Competencies document (ILCC) is unique and written specifically to address the university's culture and curriculum. The authors of this paper formed a research team to assemble two groups of teaching faculty from various disciplines and to analyse focus group transcripts using a content analysis approach. The resulting data revealed unexpected perceptions about information literacy among teaching faculty and concerns about how to apply the ILCC document. In analysing the data, we generated ideas for supporting teaching faculty as they apply the ILCC document. Focus groups were used to gauge teaching faculty perceptions of the ILCC document. The results of the focus groups informed our efforts to tailor the ILCC document to existing university programs and curricula by using the language that was familiar to teaching faculty; and to explore teaching faculty perceptions of challenges and needed support. The paper explains how the focus group method was employed to test information literacy competencies in order to provide a potential model for other universities who are customising their own information literacy standards

Solution focused nursing: An evaluation of current practice

This Australian study explored the extent to which solution focused nursing (SFN), a new philosophy of care underpinning a Bachelor of Nursing Programme, was understood by students and staff. Students and faculty perceptions of teaching and learning were explored using survey and semi-structured interview methods. The results showed that students did not have strong views about whether solutions or problems contribute best to a definition of nursing knowledge, but there were some differences between the year groups. This was hypothesised to be related to the way SFN is or is not being taught. Teachers were generally positive about SFN but perceived that they needed more education on the philosophy to ensure it could be translated into their teaching. A teaching and learning package is recommended to be produced and made available to all teachers within the program.

Emergency medicine teaching faculty perceptions about formal academic sessions: “What’s in it for us?”

Little is known about factors affecting emergency physician attendance at formal academic teaching sessions or what emergency physicians believe to be the benefits derived from attending these activities. To determine what factors influence emergency medicine faculty attendance at formal academic rounds, what benefits they derive from attendance, and what differences in perceptions there are between full-time clinical and part-time clinical academic faculty. A survey was sent to all emergency physicians with academic appointments at one institution. Responses were tabulated dichotomously (yes/no) for checklist answers and analyzed using a 2-person grounded theory approach for open answers based on an a priori analysis plan. Differences between full-time and part-time faculty were compared using the chi-squared test for significance. Response rate was 73.8% (48/65). Significant impediments to attendance included clinical responsibilities (75%), professional responsibilities (52.1%), personal responsibilities (33.3%), location (31.2%) and time (27.1%). Perceived benefits of attending rounds were: continuing medical education, social interaction, teaching opportunities, interaction with residents, comparing one's practice with peers, improving teaching techniques, and enjoyment of the format. There were no statistically significant differences between groups' responses. Emergency physicians in our study attend formal teaching sessions infrequently, suggesting that the perceived benefits do not outweigh impediments to attendance. The single main impediment, competing responsibilities, is difficult to modify for emergency physicians. Strategies to increase faculty attendance should focus on enhancing the main perceived benefits: continuing medical education, social interaction and educational development. Faculty learn from themselves and from residents during formal teaching sessions.

Both Sides of the Looking Glass: Librarian and Teaching Faculty Perceptions of Librarianship at Six Community Colleges

Librarians and teaching faculty often have different perceptions of the roles of the library and the librarian in undergraduate education. A study surveying six community colleges reveals that there is much room for improvement in the interrelationship between librarians and teaching faculty. More effective communication and mutual respect would enhance the educational experience for students and provide a richer learning environment.

Teaching Faculty Perceptions of Academic Librarians at Memphis State University (Research Note)

Teaching Faculty Perceptions of Academic Librarians at Memphis State University (Research Note)