Formal Coursework Research Articles

SIG 16 Perspectives Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2011

SIG 16 Perspectives Vol. 12, No. 4, December 2011

Agricultural Safety Training: California Style

ABSTRACT In response to 1990 regulations in California, agricultural industry leaders formed a coalition with academic institutions and farm organizations to ensure they were compliant with new standards for worker safety in agricultural work settings. Out of this coalition emerged a not-for-profit organization, AgSafe. This was followed by a formal training program, the California Agricultural Safety Certificate Program. Now with more than 10 years' experience, this program has evolved into a highly successful initiative that garners industry support throughout the state. Courses can be taken at one annual event or at intervals, including regionalized offerings. The AgSafe program and other training workshops have helped agricultural producers/employers more rapidly and effectively adopt best management practices in an increasingly more complicated regulatory environment. In the process it has enhanced a culture of safety and introduced valuable strategies that increase productivity while improving safety and health outcomes for workers. To date, nearly 550 individuals have secured certificates of completion that reflect at least 15 hours of formal coursework. English- and Spanish-language training is offered in a manner that is responsive to the learning styles of a multicultural workforce. California's approach for safety training of agricultural workers can serve as a model for enhancing respect and cooperation among employers, workers, and safety professionals. Barbara C. Lee is Director, National Farm Medicine Center, Marshfield, Wisconsin, and Administrative Director, Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America. Amy Wolfe is Executive Director, AgSafe, Modesto, California. James M. Meyers recently retired from a position as a Cooperative Extension Specialist, University of California, Berkeley, as well as University of California, Davis. He maintains involvement in regional agricultural issues.

High School Economic Education and Access to Financial Services

This study provides a long‐term assessment of economic education by examining an individual's decision to have a bank account. Using the results of a nationwide telephone survey, high school courses in economics and business reduced the probability that an adult was unbanked, ceteris paribus. In addition, adults who demonstrated a higher level of understanding of basic economic concepts were less likely to be unbanked. The results indicated that an individual's understanding of the economic system was as important as formal coursework in explaining access to basic financial services.

Challenges and Rewards

It is very commendable that the editor in chief and the editorial board of this journal have validated the important role of bioethics, public policy, and humanism in the science and practice of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery through this regular commentary feature. The goals are to explore the implications for bioethics in every aspect of this subspecialty and to consider the broader applications of these disciplines to facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Future issues will deal with myriad topics, and guest commentaries will be invited. Formal medical education in bioethics is a recent phenomenon. Most medical schools now have some structure— perhaps an institute or a center—where trainedandexperiencedfacultyprovidedidactic and experiential education in bioethics and humanism. Some medical schools have formal additional coursework in bioethics and humanism, as well as public health policy, which might lead to a certificate or special commendation at the time of graduation. A few medical schoolshavegraduateprogramsformedical students in bioethics that lead to the awarding of a master’s degree in addition tothemedicaldoctorate.Furthermore,the AccreditationCouncilforGraduateMedical Education competencies now include requiredstandardsandassessmentsofethical behavior by residents, which is vital to their professional development. As these young physicians enter academic medicineorcommunitypractice,theywillhave anadvancedknowledgeofthefundamentals of bioethics and an awareness of how these principles apply to the practice of medicine. However, what about the current practitioners who have not had the opportunity to formally study bioethics and to have their ethical behavior formally assessed during training? One cannot assume that such formal education is necessary for the development of an ethical physician. Indeed, it is my belief that mostindividualsbeginmedicalschoolwith an ethical foundation (although it is recognized that some do not) that is matured over years of experience in caring for patients. The alternative is also true: there are practicing physicians who, despite excellent exposure to the tenets and clinicalapplicationsofethicsduringtraining, still behave in an unethical manner. Thisgivesrisetomybeliefthatthereisno gray area for professional ethics in medicine—oneiseitheranethicalphysicianor an unethical physician.

Enhancing An Undergraduate Business Statistics Course: Linking Teaching And Learning With Assessment Issues

This paper examines several ways in which teaching effectiveness and student learning in an undergraduate Business Statistics course can be enhanced. First, we review some key concepts in Business Statistics that are often challenging to teach and show how using real data sets assist students in developing deeper understanding of the concepts. Second, the paper examines some ways that typical learning issues faced by students taking such a course can be effectively addressed. Third, the paper describes how assessing what knowledge of statistics is retained after formal coursework is completed can provide both a rich source of feedback to improve Business Statistics courses themselves and to strengthen undergraduate business programs, in general.

Reading, writing, resonating: striking chords across the contexts of students’ everyday and college lives

This paper draws on data from an Economic and Social Research Council‐funded research project on literacies in the context of further education in the UK. Taking a social view of reading and writing moves us away from seeing literacy (singular) as a universal set of transferable skills towards seeing literacies (plural) as emergent practices found in social settings. Taking a situated, socio‐cultural approach also leads us to notice how contexts and practice co‐emerge. The research project we document sought to inquire into the interface between literacies in students’ everyday lives and their formal college coursework. Findings indicate that if contexts and their associated literacies are co‐emergent and co‐determined by each other, then literacy skills do not simply ‘transfer’ between contexts but are better seen as resonant across contexts through the manner in which discrete aspects of literacy practices relate. We conclude by delineating some strategies for enacting a critical, situated‐yet‐polycontextual literacy pedagogy that pays respect to students’ everyday literacies as a valuable resource base in formal coursework.

AGA Institute Future Trends Committee Report: The Future of Gastroenterology Training Programs in the United States

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Future Trends Committee (FTC) developed this report based on a consensus conference it convened on March 8–9, 2008, in Washington, DC. The report was prepared for the FTC by Carol Regueiro, MD, MSc, a medical writer under contract to the AGA Institute, and Michael Stolar, PhD, staff liaison to the FTC. This report was approved by the FTC on July 1, 2008, and accepted by the AGA Institute Governing Board on July 26, 2008.

Development of an education track in anatomy PhD at Indiana University School of Medicine

The last two decades have witnessed fundamental changes in the way graduate students are trained in anatomy departments. No longer are students routinely required to learn and teach the traditional anatomical subdisciplines to earn their PhDs. Paradoxically, a doctorate in anatomy no longer guarantees any expert knowledge of anatomy. As classically trained anatomists retire and leave the workforce, they are not being replaced by newly minted PhDs with the requisite training and career focus needed to maintain the teaching mission. In consequence, the nation's health professional schools are faced with a growing shortage of qualified anatomy instructors, especially in gross anatomy. To help address this problem, the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, in consultation with the School of Education, designed a separate PhD track for students who desire a career focus in education rather than biomedical research. The goal of the education track is twofold: (1) to provide students with extensive training in all of the anatomical subdisciplines coupled with sufficient teaching experience to be fully prepared to assume major educational responsibilities upon graduation and (2) to train students to conduct rigorous, hypothesis‐driven medical education research and other scholarly work necessary for promotion and tenure. The proposed five‐year training program will require formal coursework in anatomy (31 hours), education (18 hours), statistics (6 hours), and electives (9 hours), as well as 26 hours for an educational research project. Once approved, the education track will produce a small but stable supply of doctoral‐level anatomy educators for a growing academic market.

Leadership Characteristics of Outstanding Seniors in a Land-Grant University College of Agriculture

Leadership is a concept that has always been a major component of Colleges of Agriculture. Undergraduate student have numerous opportunities to develop their leadership skills and abilities though formal coursework, collegiate organizations, and personal leadership activities. This ethnographic qualitative research study investigated the leadership characteristics of outstanding seniors in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University. The study utilized a semi-structured interview methodology. The objectives of the study were to 1) Determine the leadership development experiences of the outstanding seniors prior to their enrolling in college, 2) Identify the leadership development activities in which they participated during their undergraduate studies, 3) Identify their self-perceived strengths, weaknesses, and leadership influences, 4) Identify the personal and professional leadership goals. Results indicate that the outstanding seniors had significant leadership development experiences in FFA and 4-H while in high school. They continued to participate in leadership activities in dozens of different collegiate organizations, both within and outside of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The outstanding seniors had a passionate belief in their own leadership ability, believed strongly in servant leadership, and used their leadership to the benefit of the organizations in which they were members.

Review Essay: Avoiding conventional understandings: the enduring legacy of Eliot Freidson

Review Essay: Avoiding conventional understandings: the enduring legacy of Eliot Freidson

What do beginning students know, and what can they do?

We are studying what students know about computer science-related topics before they take formal coursework at the university level. Preliminary results suggest that entering students have a fairly sophisticated understanding of algorithms. We are exploring other central computing topics for similar shared commonsense understanding.

Comparative analysis of state requirements for the training of substance abuse and mental health counselors

Data on minimum state requirements for drug and alcohol counselors and mental health counselors in all 50 states and Washington, DC, suggest that training as a mental health counselor is primarily structured through formal education, whereas training as a substance abuse counselor resembles an apprentice model. Fewer states offer or require certification or licensure of substance abuse counselors, compared to mental health counselors. States that do offer such credentials for substance abuse counselors generally require more hours of supervised work experience and continuing education, but fewer hours of formal coursework and practicum courses, and a lower level of formal education. Although these different models for training are valid, they each have different implications for clinical practice, dissemination of research findings to practice, and management within the service delivery model.

EDITORIAL

Support for LearningVolume 20, Issue 4 p. 154-156 EDITORIAL Caroline Roaf, Caroline Roaf Taught in primary and secondary schools and worked as a SENCO. She has also trained as an educational psychologist. She currently works in the Education Department at Oxford Brookes University. Her teaching and research interests include child development with a particular focus on thinking skills and reading development, and the role of the pupil support services in facilitating inclusive practice in schools.Search for more papers by this authorGeorgina Glenny, Corresponding Author Georgina Glenny Taught in primary and secondary schools and worked as a SENCO. She has also trained as an educational psychologist. She currently works in the Education Department at Oxford Brookes University. Her teaching and research interests include child development with a particular focus on thinking skills and reading development, and the role of the pupil support services in facilitating inclusive practice in schools. Westminster Institute of Education Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus Oxford OX2 9AT Email: goglenny@brookes.ac.uk Institute of Education University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA email: g.b.g.mannion@stir.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this authorGreg Mannion, Corresponding Author Greg Mannion Lectures in the Institute of Education at the University of Stirling. Having conducted research on New Community Schools in the late 1990s, he has worked alongside partners in other social science areas to design and facilitate inter-agency workshops for practitioners. He is a co-director of ‘Literacies for Learning in FE’, as part of the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme looking at the role of everyday literacy as a resource in formal coursework. Westminster Institute of Education Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus Oxford OX2 9AT Email: goglenny@brookes.ac.uk Institute of Education University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA email: g.b.g.mannion@stir.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this author Caroline Roaf, Caroline Roaf Taught in primary and secondary schools and worked as a SENCO. She has also trained as an educational psychologist. She currently works in the Education Department at Oxford Brookes University. Her teaching and research interests include child development with a particular focus on thinking skills and reading development, and the role of the pupil support services in facilitating inclusive practice in schools.Search for more papers by this authorGeorgina Glenny, Corresponding Author Georgina Glenny Taught in primary and secondary schools and worked as a SENCO. She has also trained as an educational psychologist. She currently works in the Education Department at Oxford Brookes University. Her teaching and research interests include child development with a particular focus on thinking skills and reading development, and the role of the pupil support services in facilitating inclusive practice in schools. Westminster Institute of Education Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus Oxford OX2 9AT Email: goglenny@brookes.ac.uk Institute of Education University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA email: g.b.g.mannion@stir.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this authorGreg Mannion, Corresponding Author Greg Mannion Lectures in the Institute of Education at the University of Stirling. Having conducted research on New Community Schools in the late 1990s, he has worked alongside partners in other social science areas to design and facilitate inter-agency workshops for practitioners. He is a co-director of ‘Literacies for Learning in FE’, as part of the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme looking at the role of everyday literacy as a resource in formal coursework. Westminster Institute of Education Oxford Brookes University Harcourt Hill Campus Oxford OX2 9AT Email: goglenny@brookes.ac.uk Institute of Education University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA email: g.b.g.mannion@stir.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this author First published: 11 October 2005 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0268-2141.2005.00381.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume20, Issue4November 2005Pages 154-156 RelatedInformation

Global quality criteria, standards, and indicators for doctoral programs in nursing; literature review and guideline development

Background: Nursing profession has intensified education and training of nurse researchers who could enhance the health of people through the discovery and dissemination of knowledge. This resulted in rapid increase in the number of doctoral programs in nursing in many countries in recent decades, but the guidelines for quality programs are lacking. Objectives: To develop guidelines for quality criteria, standards, and indicators for doctoral programs in nursing that may be used worldwide. Methods: The work of the quality criteria, standards and indicators (QCSI) committee of the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing formed the basis of this paper and authors supplemented it by a literature review and consultation with international experts. Findings: The major criteria of quality of doctoral program were: the nature of the mission, the quality of faculty, the students, the curriculum, program administration, and resources. Sub-criteria, standards and indicators for each of these criteria were identified in sufficient detail to provide guidance for quality doctoral programs in nursing. Concerns as to whether the QCSI would apply to those countries and doctoral programs that focus on a research thesis only, without formal coursework were addressed. Experts from across the world felt that the QCSI would be applicable for most program types. Conclusions: Global criteria, standards, and indicators for doctoral programs in nursing presented in this article may serve as guidelines for most doctoral programs in the world as these were developed by experienced nurse scholars representing eight countries from five continents. The degree of detail in these parameters is sufficient to enhance the utility of the QCSI for all doctoral programs worldwide.

Action Learning in Higher Education: an investigation of its potential to develop professional capability

This study investigated the extent to which a course, designed using peer and action learning principles to function as an ‘on campus practicum’, can develop the professional capabilities of students. As part of their formal coursework, third year behavioural science students, functioning as ‘student consultants’, entered into a ‘client–consultant’ relationship with first and second year ‘student client’ groups. Both groups of students reported positive learning outcomes. Third year student consultants reported using less surface and more deep approaches to their learning in this course design than in concurrent courses taught along more conventional (i.e. lecture and tutorial) lines. Students also reported significantly greater development of meta‐adaptive skills (e.g. learning to learn) than in conventional teaching designs.

Increasing Diversity in the Marine Sciences Through the Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program

The Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program (MIMSUP) is an academic program at Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC) that seeks to increase the representation of minority individuals in the marine sciences. For the past 13 years, groups of students have spent two 10-week quarters at SPMC studying marine science, doing independent research, and developing the skills needed for success as marine scientists/educators. Program elements include formal coursework in marine science, supervised independent research, training in up-to-date field and laboratory investigative techniques, experience developing scientific and personal job-related skills, and introduction to the career options open to marine scientists. Results indicate that the program is impacting the career paths of student participants; program alumni seek advanced education and pursue careers in the marine and environmental sciences. MIMSUP introduces underrepresented students to the marine sciences, helps them develop greater confidence in their potential, and prepares them for successful careers in this field.

Characteristics of Effective Teachers of Gifted Students: Teacher Background and Personality Styles of Students

This study was designed to explore characteristics of exceptional teachers of gifted students. Participants included 63 teachers and 1,247 highly able students. Teachers responded to 2 measures: a background questionnaire and the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), a self-report personality inventory. Students also completed the MBTI. In response to the background questionnaire, the majority of teachers reported holding advanced degrees in a content area; most were not certified to teach and reported completing no formal coursework in gifted education. Results from the MBTI indicated that exemplary teachers were more likely to prefer N (intuition) and T (thinking), as compared to a normative teacher sample. The personality types of teachers were in many ways similar to the personality types of the gifted students. These findings suggest that teachers who are judged to be highly effective in working with gifted students prefer abstract themes and concepts, are open and flexible, and value logical analysis and objectivity. Results suggest that teacher personality and cognitive style may play a role in his or her effectiveness in teaching gifted students.

What Inspires Undergraduate Design Students?

The importance of design inspiration sources and the way designers utilize them during their designing activities is well documented (Oxman, 1990). For example, the use of nature as a source of inspiration is widespread in a variety of design disciplines (Petroski, 1994), such as the invention of VELCRO in the early 1940s (Wake, 2000). More recently, architectural design firms such as Frank Gehry and the Future Systems Group have received widespread recognition for their creative use of design inspiration sources. Gehry, responsible for the design of the hugely successful Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, lists one of his main sources of design inspiration as ‘fish ‘. The Future Systems Group (1999) on the other hand are well known for their extraordinary range of inspirational sources in their design work such as the use of cross-sectional views of racing yachts in the design of the Lords Media Centre, London. In the realm of product design, inspirational sources are also viewed as a significant factor in the development of unique and innovative objects. For example, the hugely successful Michael Young includes the work of the American conceptual artist Jeff Koons, old tractors and milk bottles in his list of wide-ranging inspiration sources (Payne, 1999). Similarly, the British furniture designer Matthew Hilton has used imagery and inspiration sources in his Wait plastic chair from classic furniture pieces of the 1960s and 1970s including Vico Magistretti's Selene chair and Joe Colombo's Universale chair (McDermott and Dewing, 2000). However, studies into what inspires undergraduate design students, to date, have been neglected. Thus the goals of this paper are firstly to investigate what inspires undergraduate design students and secondly explore any correlation between the formal undergraduate coursework performances of the students and their design inspiration sources.

Dartmouth Medical School.

Dartmouth Medical School.

Becoming an academic administrator: is it for you?

Faculty members who think they want to advance into educational administration should consider whether they have the needed qualities, whether they understand the role and its advantages and disadvantages, and whether they are educationally prepared to do so. Making the transition into first-line administration (chairperson, director, assistant dean, or dean) can be stressful, but proper preparation can enhance adaptation. Formal coursework in educational administration is recommended, as is the development of a relationship with a mentor. Well-prepared administrators in academic nursing are always in demand.