Faculty Skills Research Articles

Beyond the bedside: A scoping review of the experiences of non-practising health care professionals in Health Professions Education.

The shortage of educators within Health Professions Education (HPE) threatens the optimal training of the future health care workforce. Furthermore, without recruitment of diverse and skilled faculty, targets to expand the workforce will not be possible. Non-practising health care professionals offer extensive knowledge and qualifications within health care, without the competing clinical commitments of their clinical academic colleagues, and therefore are ideally positioned to support education and training initiatives. However, the limited available evidence suggests that these individuals face significant challenges transitioning from clinical to academic roles. The purpose of this scoping review is to address the research question 'What is known about the career experiences of non-practicing healthcare professionals (defined as individuals with clinical backgrounds who no longer engage in direct patient care) across various professions and internationally, within the field of health professions education?'. To do so, we aim to map the global experiences of non-practising health care professionals from different specialties and disciplines transitioning to HPE, with a view to both current support strategies that aim to recruit and retain these individuals and fuel future research in this area. Following Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review guidelines, a research question was formulated focussing on exploring the career experiences of non-practising health care professionals now working in HPE. Searching seven literature databases and grey literature identified 51 articles for analysis. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were utilised to chart and thematically analyse data to identify key themes. There has been a rise in publications on this topic, with most studies originating from the United States and focusing on nursing. Transition to academia is marked by significant challenges, including identity shifts, renumeration and professional progression tensions, licencing issues and financial concerns. Support systems are crucial to navigating new roles alongside personal/professional development but often lacking. This scoping review highlights challenges and opportunities for non-practising health care professionals in HPE. Additional support for making the transition to education, including structured onboarding processes and long-term mentoring relationships, would be beneficial. Recognising the liminal space these professionals occupy might also facilitate more effective integration into academic roles, contributing to a more dynamic and inclusive HPE environment. Future research should explore these experiences from broader professional and geographical perspectives and employ an intersectional approach to fully understand and support this growing demographic in our field.

The year long journey: Transforming the BSN-DNP curriculum

BackgroundRevising a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) curriculum for family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner education with an eye on future changes in competencies required planning and consensus among taskforce members. Major priorities included: the need to embed competency- based education (CBE), the National Taskforce Criteria for Nurse Practitioner (6th ed.) education, and the Essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education (American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials, 2021). FindingsChallenges began with faculty knowledge of CBE, NP faculty skills in curriculum building, buying in to the revised degree, and reviewing all current literature on the DNP NP knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for current practice. The year long journey yielded a comprehensive curriculum model to share as well as several lessons learned and recommendations for this journey. ConclusionThe process resulted in a curriculum revision that thus far, is better suited to development of the “work-ready” graduate while still supporting individualized student needs in attending a doctoral-level program. Ongoing work is focused on specific “pillars” of program support including clinical preceptor placement and partnerships, preceptor resources, student retention resources, and exploration of competency-based tracking data management.Considering the impact on faculty workload, program leadership should actively assess levels of curricular expertise of faculty involved to determine additional development or training needs for individual professional growth.

The Effect of a Brain-based Learning Strategy on Developing The Reading Comprehension Skills of Faculty of Specific Education Prospective Teachers

The Effect of a Brain-based Learning Strategy on Developing The Reading Comprehension Skills of Faculty of Specific Education Prospective Teachers

Using Mobile-Assisted Language Learning to Enhance EFL Oral Language Skills of Faculty of Education English Majors

Using Mobile-Assisted Language Learning to Enhance EFL Oral Language Skills of Faculty of Education English Majors

Efficacy of Faculty Development Training Workshops (FDTWs) on Writing High-Quality Multiple-Choice Questions at Northern Border University (NBU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

A multiple-choice question (MCQ) is a frequently used assessment tool in medical education for both certification and competitive examinations. Well-constructed MCQs impact the utility of the assessment and, thus, the fate of the examinee. To analyze the basic science faculty perceptions of writing high-quality MCQs, to create awareness of item-writing flaws in constructing high-quality MCQs, and to determine the impact of faculty development training workshops (FDTWs) on MCQ writing skills. An online workshop was held over two weeks for basic science faculty to learn high-quality MCQ construction. Faculty-made MCQs were analyzed for flaws, and a questionnaire assessed the impact of the workshop on MCQ construction. Pre- and post-workshop responses were compared to evaluate the necessity of such workshops for improving faculty skills in MCQ assessments. A total of 47 (83.2%) of participating faculty believed the workshop could reduce MCQ construction errors. The participants agreed that a series of workshops were needed for lasting improvements in MCQ construction. One-day short-duration workshops, such as the current one alone, cannot achieve the objectives of training participants to write high-quality MCQs. To improve student assessment through high-quality MCQs, the faculty needs to be exposed to continuous and frequent sessions that will help them.

21st century learning skills of maritime faculty in the Province of Antique, Philippines

The demands of the 21st century require educators to adapt and empower themselves with essential traits and skills to cope with the changes and bridge the gap, as they play a significant role in shaping the lives and careers of their students. This descriptive-correlational study aimed to determine the 21st century learning skills of maritime faculty in the Province of Antique, Philippines. The data gathering instrument used was a researcher-constructed questionnaire on 21st century skills, adapted from the study of Kelly et al. (2019), which was revised, contextualized to the local setting, and duly validated by a jury composed of five members. The statistical tools were mean, frequency, and percentage for descriptive analysis; the Mann-Whitney U test; and the Kruskal-Wallis H test for inferential analysis. The alpha level was set at 0.05. The study found that, generally, maritime faculty had a high level of 21st century learning skills. A significant difference existed in the maritime faculty’s level of skills in 21st century learning in terms of communication and media fluency when classified as to the length of service as a seafarer. No significant difference existed in the maritime faculty’s level of skills in 21st century learning in terms of collaboration, teamwork, and leadership skills; critical thinking and problem-solving skills; or creativity and innovation skills when grouped according to age, civil status, length of service as faculty, length of service as a seafarer, and educational attainment. Further, in terms of the communication and media skills of maritime faculty, no significant difference was found to exist when they were grouped according to age, civil status, length of service as faculty, and length of service as a seafarer. Highlights 21st-century skills are essential in the modern classroom By participating in capacity-building workshops, maritime faculty can enhance their 21st century skills Young maritime faculty with short seafaring experience must gain more seafaring experience to integrate those experiences into teaching strategies essential to the 21st century classroom To benefit digital natives, old and experienced maritime faculty must embrace change by using modern teaching methods and strategies Lifelong learning must be encouraged among maritime faculty, which is an essential tool for the development of their 21st century skills

Investigation of the Relationship Between Psychological Well-Being and Problem Solving Skills of Faculty of Health Sciences Students

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the psychological well-being of health sciences students; their problem-solving skills and to examine the relationship between them. Methods: The research was carried out in descriptive cross-sectional design. The population of the research consists of students studying in the field of health sciences at two foundation universities in Turkey. 'Descriptive Information Form', 'Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS)' and 'Problem Solving Inventory (PSI)' were used to collect data. The data were analyzed in SPSS program. Results: The students' PSI total score average was 100.4±17.22; PSI sub-dimension total score averages were determined as 'Personal Control' 15.89 ±3.92, 'Problem Solving Confidence' 29.40±8.13 and 'Approach Avoidance Style' 44.97±9.73. The mean total score of PWBS was found to be 42.7±8.54. Conclusion: In line with the results obtained, it was found that there was a significant relationship between psychological well-being and problem-solving skills, and that as students' psychological well-being increased wtih their problem-solving skills. Consistent with these findings, it was concluded that problem solving sub-dimensions, psychological well-being and total problem solving score were positively related. Psychological well-being and problem solving skills are directly related to each other and affect each other.

Workplace spirituality and critical thinking skills of faculty in higher education in Pakistan: the mediating role of knowledge management

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between workplace spirituality (WPS) and faculty critical thinking (CT) and the mediating effect of knowledge management (KM) among faculty at public universities.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional research design to attain the objective. Using simple random sampling, the data were collected from 295 faculty members working in public universities in Sindh, Pakistan. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on covariance and mediation analysis was conducted using Preacher and Haye’s (2008) approach.FindingsFindings revealed a significant positive association between WPS, KM and faculty CT. In addition, the results indicated that KM played a partial mediating role in the relationship between WPS and CT.Practical implicationsEncouraging WPS can cultivate an environment of transparency, teamwork and knowledge exchange, promoting and enhancing faculty CT abilities.Originality/valueRare research exists regarding the connections between WPS, KM and CT in the Pakistani higher education system.

Using an Artificial Intelligence Application Based on Integrating Social-Emotional Learning in Developing EFL Listening and Speaking Skills of Faculty of Education English Majors

Using an Artificial Intelligence Application Based on Integrating Social-Emotional Learning in Developing EFL Listening and Speaking Skills of Faculty of Education English Majors

Develop Students' Learning Planning Skills Faculty of Chinese, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2

Recognizing the importance and practical significance of study planning skills for students in general and students of the Faculty of Chinese at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, we have researched the current status of planning skills. Learning plans of students of the Faculty of Chinese, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. From the results of this research, we propose recommendations that contribute to improving the learning planning skills of students of the Faculty of Chinese, Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, in particular, and students of universities in general.

Return on investment for developing electronic courses at Umm Al-Qura University: A case study

This study focuses on using the return-on-investment (ROI) method to assess the effectiveness of e-learning programs and projects at universities. It aims to increase the efficiency of these programs and help identify promising e-learning initiatives for the future. Research indicates that only a small percentage (8%) of educational institutions measure the ROI of their teaching programs. This particular research evaluates the ROI of an e-learning course development project at Umm Al-Qura University, conducted between 2019 and 2021 under the E-Learning and Distance Education Deanship. The methodology of the study involves descriptive analysis. This includes assessing the project's ROI, reviewing related literature, creating research tools, and performing statistical data analysis. The study found that the project had an ROI of 189.9%, meaning it produced nearly double the investment made in it. This indicates financial success, as the benefits of the project surpassed its costs. Moreover, the study highlights several indirect advantages of the project. These include increased satisfaction levels among students and faculty with the e-learning courses and enhanced learning outcomes. The project also aimed to improve the skills of students and faculty in using computers, the internet, and distance communication tools, thereby contributing to the overall institutional work system at Umm Al-Qura University.

Critical thinking skills of students of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at A'sharqiah University

The study aims to measure the level of critical thinking skills among students in Faculty of Arts and Humanities of A’sharqiah University in the Sultanate of Oman, and to know the level of their availability based on the variables cumulative average. the researchers used the descriptive approach, and to achieve the objectives of the study they used The California Test for Critical Thinking Skills Picture (A) after evaluation (Farraj, 2006) was applied to a sample of (438) students from Faculty of Arts and Humanities. The results of the study found that the critical thinking skills of Faculty of Arts and Humanities students are below the educationally acceptable level, Moreover, there are no statistically significant differences due to the cumulative average variable in all skills except for the skill of deduction in favor of a rate of (3.6-4) over a rate of (2.6-3). The researchers recommended reconsidering the construction of curricula and educational outcomes so that they focus on teaching students' critical thinking skills, as well as evaluating assessment methods, especially achievement tests, to distinguish students according to their critical thinking skills.

What You Didn't Learn in Residency: A Collective Curriculum for New Academic EM Faculty and Fellows.

This curriculum is designed for emergency medicine fellows and first-year junior faculty. The curriculum covers core topics related to academic and professional success for an early career faculty member. The curriculum is designed as quarterly sessions over the course of one academic year. An increasing number of emergency medicine graduates are pursuing fellowship after completion of residency.1 Fellowship can be challenging as newly minted graduates begin to explore their academic niche, refine their clinical practice, and define their personal and professional spheres. We propose a structured curriculum to help guide fellows and new faculty to mitigate these challenges. The aim of this curriculum is to develop relevant skills to promote academic success for fellows and first-year faculty at the start of their academic career and which could be completed during a one-year training timeline. We included topics relevant to all fellow and new faculty's expected personal and professional journey during this first year, including time management, academic productivity, resilience/wellness, and developing a national reputation. The educational strategies used in this curriculum consist primarily of lecture seminars. There is one short individual activity associated with the lectures and one small group discussion. The course was assessed with pre- and post-test surveys following each lecture. Surveys assessed participants' reaction, learning, and behavior for each session. Evaluations were completed based on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree). Fifteen participants attended the seminar series encompassing fellows and first-year faculty/post-fellows from ten different fellowship subspecialities. Average pre-assessment scores were low for many of the self-reported skills and confidence throughout the seminar series. Overall, participants reported increased confidence on the post-test for each of the seminar topics. In addition, participants reported that they learned new skills and planned to use the new ideas presented. All participants reported they would recommend these seminars to someone else on their same career path. Overall, participants reported increased confidence, new skills, and plans to use the ideas presented in the seminar series. The content appears applicable to this learner set since all reported they would recommend the series to others on their career path. In conclusion, we believe our seminar series will build skills for fellows and first-year faculty which will promote academic success. Academic success, professional development, early career development.

VIRTUAL REALITY FOR PALLIATIVE CARE COMMUNICATION TRAINING: A NOVEL DISSEMINATION STRATEGY

Abstract Towards the end of life, 75% of older adults visit the emergency department (ED). During acute health decompensation, most older adults with serious illness (predicted survival of less than one year) do not have advance directives and are at risk of receiving care inconsistent with their goals. To deliver patient-centered care, palliative care communication skills are essential, especially during the shared decision-making for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (i.e., code status conversations). Facilitated by skilled faculty and trained actors playing the role of a seriously ill older adult in acute health decompensation, the traditional palliative care communication training combines role play and individual feedback to practice communication skills. These evidence-based, palliative care trainings have demonstrated to improve communication skills in trained clinicians with enduring skills 12-15 months later. However, these trainings take a minimum of four hours with highly trained faculty and professional actors to role play, which hinders wider dissemination. To improve nationwide dissemination of evidence-based practices in code status conversations, we have leveraged virtual reality technology to allow clinicians to experience in-person, palliative care communication training. In collaboration with a virtual reality company, a 360-degree view, virtual reality training content has been filmed in a real hospital environment. Using the same evidence-based, palliative care communication contents, clinicians in training can now experience the role play in a virtual reality environment in one hour instead of four. By leveraging virtual reality technology, evidence-based palliative care communication training can now be disseminated with much less institutional investment (e.g., training time, faculty resources, etc.).

A Pedagogy of Possibility

Using our work together on an upper-level undergraduate English course as an example, we illustrate that a just combination of librarian and faculty skills and labor, made visible to each other and to students, creates the conditions to enact a transformative student-centered pedagogical approach with special collections as a site of learning and activism. However, we first had to recognize, reflect on, and reject the power dynamics that pervade librarian-faculty collaboration. We will expound on our shared critique of power within the neoliberal corporatized academy that helped us get beyond the conventional librarian-faculty teaching partnership to experiment with critical pedagogies of possibility and enact a feminist praxis; modeling and cultivating interdependent confidence and vulnerability to empower students to be free and creative thinkers.

Developing and Implementing a Blended Faculty Teaching Mentorship Program: A Canadian Pilot Project

This article presents the results of the development and implementation of a mentorship program, now in its sixth year, designed to support the professional development of teaching skills for faculty and contract instructors. The program is unique in that it is a combination of a variety of other approaches such as formal and informal mentoring as well as intra-departmental and interdepartmental mentoring. This model incorporates the effective elements of a mentor program as identified in the literature, while eschewing the traditional model of one-to-one mentoring between senior and junior colleagues. The findings to date, which include more support for teaching after participating in the project as well as an increase in the amount of faculty accessing a mentor, indicate that the program is achieving its intended goals and should continue. The authors provide recommendations and suggestions for the inclusion of a teaching mentorship program at other institutions within (or outside of) Canada.

Quality Assurance of Multiple-Choice Questions Test Through Item Analysis

Objective: To analyze the value of in use multiple choice questions of ophthalmology by finding discrimination index, distractor efficiency and difficulty index.Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: The Study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan from January 2022 to March 2022. Methods: The study included result of all multiple-choice questions administered during pre-annual examination of the year 2021. There were 45 multiple-choice questions with one correct option and three distractors. Analysis of each item was performed to find difficulty discrimination index and distractor efficiency.Data were entered and analyzed by SPSS software 20.0. Frequency and percentage were calculated for all categorical variables and mean and standard deviation were considered for all continuous variables. Difficulty and discrimination index and distractor efficiency were calculated for multiple-choice questions.Results: Overall, 68.9% had good/acceptable levels of difficulty and were stored, whereas 24.4% were too easy and 6.7% were too complex and confusing. Discrimination analysis demonstrated 27 items to be excellent, 13 good and 5 having poor discrimination. Distractor efficacy was found to be 93.32±19.60. Out of 135 distractors, 129 were functional while non-functioning distractor (NFD) were 6.Conclusion: Item analysis is a valuable assessment tool that identifies better multiple-choice questions to be retained while discarding or reviewing the weak ones. Faculty development programs should be organized for improving item writing skills of faculty
 How to cite this: Farooq MZ, Mashhood S. Quality Assurance of Multiple Choice Questions Test Through Item Analysis. Life and Science. 2023; 4(4): 499-505. doi: http://doi.org/10.37185/LnS.1.1.315

Theatre-based techniques for enhancing creativity in engineering education: An evaluation study of the creativity academy program

In response to the underemphasis on creativity in college engineering education and the limited knowledge and skills of early-career engineering faculty to nurture students’ creativity, the Creativity Academy was designed as a faculty development program. Using theatre-based approaches, the program aimed to train early-career engineering faculty members to incorporate creativity into their classrooms. Two research questions were addressed: how faculty incorporate creativity after participating in the Creativity Academy and how students perceive faculty integration of creativity into their classes. Interviews were conducted with ten early-career engineering faculty members who participated in the training, as well as focus group interviews with each faculty participant’s students. Results indicated that faculty participants mastered at least two creativity-fostering exercises to apply in their teaching, revised their syllabi, and incorporated these exercises to engage students and develop their creativity. Students confirmed the changes in their professors’ teaching practices and expressed excitement. The study concludes that providing more opportunities for engineering students to develop creativity is essential, and the implications of the findings are discussed with suggestions for future Creativity Academy programs.

Impact of AutoCAD among Engineering and Architecture Students in Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte

Computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) technology, particularly AutoCAD, has transformed design and technical documentation by automating procedures that formerly required manual drafting. This study explores the impact of AutoCAD on engineering and architecture students at the Saint Joseph Institute of Technology in Butuan City, Agusan del Norte. The main objectives are to gather students' perspectives on the challenges and benefits of using AutoCAD, identify the number of students experiencing difficulties, and assess how AutoCAD helps prepare students for their future professions. Using a survey research design with a Google Form, data was collected from 30 participants, comprising 15 engineering and 15 architecture students. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended questions addressing the impact of AutoCAD on learning outcomes, perceptions, and overall satisfaction with the program. The findings reveal that the majority (96%) of participants reported a positive impact from utilizing AutoCAD, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing technical skills, improving design understanding, and streamlining drafting and modeling processes. Moreover, AutoCAD facilitated accurate and detailed drawings, promoting better visualization and communication of ideas. Respondents expressed that AutoCAD integration into the curriculum provided valuable hands-on training and prepared them for the industry's demands. While most students found AutoCAD beneficial, a smaller proportion (70%) encountered difficulties with the software, particularly those who were less computer literate or lacked skilled faculty support. Nonetheless, the study emphasizes the importance of AutoCAD's role in developing design creativity among students in engineering and architecture programs. In conclusion, this research demonstrates the significant impact of AutoCAD on the engineering and architecture students of Saint Joseph Institute of Technology, Butuan City. The software enhances technical proficiency and fosters design creativity, contributing to a comprehensive and practical learning experience. The study's findings shed light on the importance of efficient faculty support and proper training to fully harness the potential of AutoCAD in education. As AutoCAD remains an indispensable tool in the modern design industry, its successful integration into the curriculum is essential for preparing students for their future professions.

Strategic alignment dimensions and structured practices of learning organizations: A case study of Wasit university

Learning organizations promote education by capitalizing on their 'strategic alignment'. However, an organizational strategy is a critical problem since it influences organizational efficiency and performance. This study aims to evaluate the strategic alignment dimensions' impact on the organization's learning practices. This research is quantitative, descriptive and explanatory. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) method was used to assess the research variables. The case under study is the Wasit University faculty giving access to a sample of 450 participants. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS V.25 and Amos.V.23 statistical programs. Research hypotheses were accepted and confirmed the statistical significance (p < 5%) of the influence of the strategic alignment dimensions which include telecommunication, organizational value, governance, partnership and workforce skills on the learning organization practices at Wasit University. The constructs retained in the strategic alignment dimensions of organizational learning indicated the availability of telecommunication, organizational value, governance, partnership and faculty skills. Universities should increase their interest in and investment in the mechanisms of organizational learning to facilitate the process of obtaining knowledge. It is essential to involve instructors and consider their views and capabilities when making strategic decisions.