Formal Education Training Research Articles

Designing an innovative professional development experience to build infection control professionals’ educational expertise

Background: Advances in networked learning technologies have impacted our understanding and organization of teaching and learning. In the modern context of a learning society, conventional classroom-style education and transfer of knowledge is being challenged. Infection prevention and control (IPAC) educational practice must respond to the change that technology brings to teaching and learning. While education is an important component of IPAC professional practice, few Infection Control Professionals (ICPs) have formal pedagogical training. ICPs need support in shifting from teaching-as-telling approaches to becoming designers of contemporary active and engaged teaching and learning environments. Methods: To build ICP pedagogical expertise and practice within the Alberta Health Services (AHS) IPAC program, a Design-Based Research methodology was used to systematically engineer an intentionally disruptive professional development experience (PDE) for ICPs that aligned with contemporary teaching and learning strategies. The PDE was situated in the context of a Community of Learning (CoL) located within the ICPs’ workplace practice. Learning in the CoL was mediated through participation in collaborative design, teaching, and learning activities over a period of one year. Results: The PDE framework that emerged in this study facilitated changes in the AHS ICP CoL participants’ understanding of teaching and learning, their sense of identity as educators, and their educational practices. The core of the framework focused on designing for a flexible, responsive collaborative learning environment supported by four strategies: a) creating an awareness of ICP educational practice, b) building pedagogical knowledge, c) experiencing different teaching and learning strategies, and d) building ICPs’ identity as educators. Discussion: Creating conceptual change and new designs for teaching practice is not easy, as it involves significant transformation that can be uncomfortable and complex and often requires new ways of learning. This paper discusses the guiding principles used in the design of this intentionally disruptive yet positive and responsive learning experience to build the participating ICPs’ pedagogical expertise and practice.

Teaching without being taught how: social work practice faculty voices

ABSTRACTSocial work practice faculty have an important role in socializing MSW students to the field and practice of social work. This study, based on interviews with 15 faculty teaching an advanced clinical practice course in the United States, examines how faculty conceptualize teaching and learning. Faculty were asked about the theories or frameworks that guided their teaching, their own journeys to teaching and the resources that support their teaching. The study found that participants drew largely on their own experiences as student learners and social work practitioners and did not have much formal training in teaching and student learning. Furthermore, while half of the participants were able to identify a learning theory that guided their teaching, the other half were not. Finally, while participants articulated the need for support regarding their own teaching, many of the schools did not have formal faculty development opportunities. The paper ends with recommendations for supporting current and new faculty regarding teaching and student learning.

Self-efficacy and attitudes of the teacher candidates who participated in pedagogical formation training

This study was performed to investigate the perception of self-efficacy and attitudes towards teaching profession of the teacher candidates who participated in the certificate program of pedagogical formation training with regards to such variables as gender, age and graduated undergraduate programs. A descriptive survey model was utilized. The study group consisted of 141 teacher candidates who participated in the certificate program of pedagogical formation in spring term of 2010-2011 academic year at Mehmet Akif Ersoy University. For data collection, self-efficacy scale and an attitude scale were utilized. In data analysis, descriptive statistics, internal consistency reliability coefficients analysis and independent samples t-test were applied. It was determined that both perception of self-efficacy and attitude levels of teacher candidates did not change according to gender and age. In terms of department variable, it was determined that difference between the self-efficacy levels of the teacher candidates who graduated from mathematical and verbal departments was, in favour of graduates of verbal department, statistically significant whereas difference between the attitude levels of teacher candidates was, in favour of graduates of mathematical department, statistically significant. The relationship between perceptions of self-efficacy, attitude levels and gender, age, department variables was also investigated. Key words: Pedagogic formation training, self-efficacy (perception), attitude.

The Views of Pre-Service Teachers at an Internship High School on Pedagogical Formation Program in Turkey

<p style="text-align:justify">A variety of teacher training system was implemented in Turkey until today. One of these systems is pedagogical formation training. The aim of this study was to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the pedagogical formation training according to the opinions of pre-service teachers and the experiences during the pedagogical formation training, to gather information about whether these experiences contributed to their teaching, and to evaluate the place of the pedagogical formation training in teacher employment in the light of this information. The research was carried out using an interview technique of qualitative analysis methods. The study group comprised of 20 pre-service teachers from different undergraduate programs, and they participated in a 14-weekinternship program at a high school in Ankara during the 2017-2018 academic year as a requirement for a training course. Content analysis method was used for data analysis. As a result of the research, the pre-service teachers stated that they found the internship training in practice schools as useful for future teaching lives, but they did not find the theoretical training given in the classes useful for various reasons. They considered that there are some weak points of the program: the duration of the formation course is short, lessons are late in the evening, classes are crowded, and the teaching staff have negative effects on the students: they are indifferent, and there are almost the same topics in each lesson. This means that they were mostly not satisfied with its overall quality, and so its operability was enough. Like some of the suggestions, it is recommended that duration of the program should be extended to a long period, and the instructors should be selected from those who can give energy to the class, have communication skills, can create discipline in the classroom, and have experience in traditional classroom teaching.</p>

Measuring Military Professionalism in Partner Nations: Guidance for Security Assistance Officials

ABSTRACTThe U.S. spends billions of dollars in its security cooperation program to develop “professional, accountable, and capable security forces” in other nations, part of a grand strategy to improve global stability and counter violent extremism. Despite its great investment in professionalizing foreign militaries, however, the U.S. has no functional definition of military professionalism – a term that until now has been considered too vague and multi-faceted to operationalize. In this article, the author seeks to remedy this oversight, drawing from twenty years of security cooperation fieldwork in Latin America and Africa, as well as a vigorous literature review, to define four important components of military professionalism: (1) formal military education and vocational training, (2) military subordination to elected civilian officials, (3) knowledge and practice of the law of armed conflict and human rights law, and (4) a clearly established program of professional military ethics. This article provides guidelines for U.S. and European officials who work with partner nations to develop more professional military forces and, in particular, for officials managing security assistance programs with developing countries.

The Views of Students in History Department About “The Misuses of History”

Bu araştırmanın amacı, hem tarihçi hem de tarih öğretmeni adayı olan öğrencilerin, tarihin kötüye kullanımı hakkındaki görüşlerini tespit etmektir. Araştırma nitel araştırma yöntemi ile ve temel nitel araştırma deseni ile yürütülmüştür. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, 2014-2015 eğitim öğretim yılında, Atatürk Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi, Tarih bölümü son sınıfta okuyan ve aynı zamanda pedagojik formasyon eğitimi alan öğrenciler oluşturmaktadır. Çalışma grubunun belirlenmesinde kolay ulaşılabilir durum örneklemesi benimsenmiştir. Veriler, açık uçlu anket formu ile toplanmış ve içerik analizi yöntemi ile analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgulara göre katılımcılar, II. Abdülhamit örneğinde bir tarihsel karakter hakkında yapılan farklı ve zıt yorumların en önemli sebebi olarak objektif olamamayı göstermişlerdir. Katılımcıların hepsi tarihin kötüye kullanılabileceğini belirtmişlerdir. Katılımcıların tarihin kötüye kullanılma biçimleri hakkındaki görüşleri; geçmişin siyasal amaçlar için kullanılması, tarihi kişiliklerin yanlış bilgilerle kötülenmesi, geçmişin ideolojik olarak anlatılması, geçmişin medya yoluyla çarpıtılması şeklinde sıralanmaktadır. Katılımcıların, öğrencilerin tarihin kötüye kullanımları konusunda nasıl bilinçlendirilebileceği hakkındaki görüşleri incelendiğinde objektiflik vurgusu ön plana çıkmaktadır. Katılımcılar, öğrencilere tarihin objektif bir şekilde anlatılmasını ve onların da tarihe objektif bakmalarının sağlanmasını önermişlerdir. Katılımcılar tarafından dile getirilen üst sıralardaki diğer görüşler; öğrencileri tarihin kötüye kullanımı ve bunun zararları konusunda bilinçlendirme, araştırmaya sevk etme, doğru ve gerçekçi kaynaklara yönlendirme, öğrencilere her olayın yaşandığı dönemin şartlarına göre değerlendirilmesini önerme ile farklı kaynaklardan yararlanılmasını önerme şeklindedir. Araştırmada katılımcıların tarih metodolojisine kısmen hâkim olduğu ve tarihin kötüye kullanımı konusunda yeterince donanımlı olmadığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Öğretmen adaylarının tarihin nasıl kötüye kullanılabileceğine ve buna karşılık öğrencilerinin nasıl bilinçlendirilebileceğine yönelik iyi bir eğitim almaları sağlanmalıdır.

Training model for online nurse educators

Background and objective: Online instruction is very different from teaching in a face-to-face setting and educators may lack formal pedagogical training specific to online instruction; in addition, online instructors may feel isolated and have less access to direct support than their counterparts on campus. The objective of this study was to promote best practice in online education through faculty support and professional development; a structured online training process was created.Methods: Design: Instructors that teach in the online venue need teaching and training to feel comfortable with the technology and online pedagogy strategies that support best practice in online education. A structured training process was created to support novice online educators. Setting: Nursing faculty and Masters of Science in Nursing education track students co-taught one online class together. Participants: Faculty and senior level Masters of Science in Nursing education track students were asked to reflect on their one-year teaching and training experience as educators. Methods: Qualitative analysis using Denzin’s interpretive interactionism was used to elicit meaning from participant experiences.Results: Four themes emerged from the data; online pedagogy, knowledge acquisition, mentor-mentee role, and online nurse educator. These themes align with the scholarship of teaching, discovery, application, and integration, respectively. The Training Model for Online Nurse Educators was developed to show this relationship.Conclusions: Using Boyer’s model of scholarship as a framework for online training can prepare instructors for the online nurse educator role. Online instructional delivery is a mainstay in education necessitating nurse educators who are prepared to apply best practice strategies in online education.

Occupational anxiety and self-efficacy levels among prospective teachers

<span lang="TR">This study examined the relationship between occupational anxiety and self-efficacy levels of prospective teachers enrolled in pedagogical formation training certificate program at the faculty of education in universities under the Council of Higher Education to teach in secondary schools and high schools in Turkey, and evaluated them based on diverse variables (gender, department, high school type, educational level of parents). It was a descriptive study using survey model. The study group comprised 236 prospective teachers. Research data were gathered through “Teaching Occupation Anxiety Scale” and “Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale”. </span><span lang="EN-GB">The study concluded that the prospective teachers’ anxiety about the teaching profession was low, whereas they had high occupational self-efficacy, and there was a moderate, negative relationship between the two variables. The study also found that occupational self-efficacy levels of the participants differed in relation to the educational level of father.</span>

Acquisition of pedagogical knowledge by instructors of veterinary medicine

Background: When practitioners of veterinary medicine enter academia as faculty or clinical instructors, they are asked to perform research, provide service and outreach, and educate students, yet the teaching component is a struggle for many. It has been posited that academic clinicians develop a teaching style similar to those they observed while in school but this has not been confirmed with empirical evidence. Aim: The aim of this research was to determine how veterinary instructors obtained pedagogical knowledge prior to their faculty appointment. Setting: The sample consisted of veterinary faculty at a college of veterinary medicine from the southeastern United States. The land-grant university that the veterinary school is associated with is one of only a few schools to earn both research and community engagement rankings from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Methods: Online surveys were administered to a stratified sample of veterinary faculty and instructors. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to collect and analyse both close-ended and open-ended data. A coding process provided labels for emerging themes, concepts and examples and each research question was answered with descriptive detail. Results: Descriptive results showed that most instructors (93%) did not receive formal teacher training but derived their pedagogical knowledge from role models prior to teaching. Many faculty members (70%) attended university-sponsored workshops offered by their institutions to build upon and improve their teaching skills. Conclusion: Overarching themes reflected observational learning in situ and a general emphasis on non-cognitive skill development, particularly regarding interpersonal skills.

Magistério: que lugar é esse?

A formação de professores para a Educação Infantil e anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental tinha como lócus para acontecer no nível médio. Em 1996, com a promulgação da LDB n. 9.394, essa modalidade de formação docente foi imersa em um ambíguo contexto. Ao mesmo tempo que a legislação prevê a formação docente em nível superior, o curso de Magistério permanece em funcionamento, e, assim, professores que se formam neste continuam sendo contratados. Este artigo foi elaborado a partir de uma pesquisa documental, a qual teve por objetivo analisar a política de formação dos professores. Os objetivos específicos foram contextualizar a formação de professores em nível médio no Brasil, além disso, discutir a política de formação de professores a partir da metodologia de análise Abordagem do Ciclo de Políticas proposta por Ball e seus colaboradores. A discussão está ancorada principalmente em Ball, Foucault, Mainardes, Tanuri, Villela e Schaffrath. Apesar de haver leis que apontam o nível superior como lócus privilegiado para a formação do professor, elas não significaram o fim da formação em nível médio. O mesmo sistema educacional que coloca em xeque a formação de professores em nível médio oferece essa formação e contrata os docentes formados por ela. A formação em nível médio e em nível superior coabitam no contexto da prática.

Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers about Teacher Professional Ethics Course Through Metaphors

The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of pre-service teachers towards teacher professional ethics course. The research was carried out with 138 pre-service teachers attending pedagogical formation training certificate program a public university in Turkey. In the study, a phenomenological method was used within the scope of qualitative research model. A semi-structured form with open-ended questions was used as a data collection tool to reveal pre-service teachers' perceptions of teacher professional ethics course. In this form, the pre-service teachers were asked to complete the sentence "the teacher professional ethics course is like ......; because ......". The results obtained from the pre-service teachers' responses were analyzed using content analysis technique. Based on these metaphors and the content analysis, the validity-reliability of the categories were shared with 3 faculty members who specialize in the field of metaphors and category lists. After expert opinions, non-overlapping metaphors were determined and the final shape was given. As a result of the research, it was found out that the pre-service teachers mostly expressed the compass and light metaphors from the metaphors they produced for the teacher professional ethics course. Based on their, “the course guiding students” category is the most commonly expressed metaphor among the categories formed in common characteristics. According to the pre-service teachers, teacher professional ethics course guides people in the right direction. As a result of the research, it was noted that pre-service teachers were able to express their own specific attitude and in-depth thinking abilities to express their perceptions about the subject.

The Mediator Role of Interaction Anxiety in the Relationship between Social Support Perception and Smartphone Addiction

Preservice teachers prepare for a profession that requires intense communication and interaction. They are expected to gain competencies in their profession in this process. These competencies include the technical knowledge particular to the profession, and communication and social skills. It is thus important to investigate the factors that affect the academic and social interaction, the learning environment and the psycho-social development of university students, and in particular, preservice teachers. This study aims to investigate the relationship among preservice teachers’ social support perceptions, interaction anxiety and smartphone addiction. The students from the faculty of education and the students with the pedagogical formation training in İnönü University during the 2017-2018 academic year constituted the population of the study and the participants were 496 preservice teachers who were selected from this population using the random sampling technique. Hypotheses were developed to investigate the relationship among the research variables. After testing the hypotheses, the results indicated that the preservice teachers’ social support perceptions and interaction anxiety significantly predicts their smartphone addiction, that their social support perceptions significantly predict their interaction anxiety, and that their interaction anxiety has a mediator effect on the relationship between their social support perceptions and smartphone addiction.

Ranking of Accounting Doctoral Programs Based on Student Ratings in Ratemyprofessors.com and the Effect of Formal Teaching Training on the Rankings

Aim/Purpose: Although there are calls for better teaching training for accounting doctoral students, there are limited research findings on rankings of accounting doctoral programs based on the teaching effectiveness of their graduates. Background: There are two research objectives of this study. First, we rank the US accounting doctoral programs based on the student perceptions of the teaching effectiveness of their graduates using student ratings in ratemyprofessors.com. Second, we examine whether the ranking is associated with the presence of formal teaching training in the doctoral programs. Methodology: Overall quality ratings posted in ratemyprofessors.com are collected for 822 accounting professors who graduated in 2001-10 from 75 US accounting doctoral programs. The curriculum information is collected from the web pages of their doctoral programs. Contribution: This study fills two voids in the literature. Unlike previous accounting doctoral studies that rank programs based on the amount of research output of the graduates, this paper ranks programs based on the perceived teaching effectiveness of the graduates. It also adds insights into the importance of offering formal teaching training to doctoral students, which is called for by the AACSB. Findings: We find that the teaching ranking in this study is only mildly related to previous research rankings that were based on the research output of doctoral graduates. We also find that doctoral programs with higher rankings in this study are more likely to have formal teaching training in their programs. Recommendations for Practitioners: Given the findings in this study and the literature, accounting doctoral program administrators should incorporate or strengthen a formal teaching training component in doctoral programs. Recommendation for Researchers: There is a need for researchers on doctoral program evaluations to broaden their scope of assessment to include both teaching scholarship and research output of the doctoral graduates. Impact on Society: The findings in this study show that there is limited formal teaching training for accounting doctoral students, which is consistent with results in the literature of other fields. This study echoes the calls for more training on how to teach to improve the teaching ability of the graduates. When doctoral graduates become more effective professors, the learning outcome among college students can be improved as a result. Future Research: Future research can explore other better and more direct measures of teaching effectiveness in the evaluation of the accounting doctoral graduates and the accounting doctoral programs. The effect and the methods of more innovative pedagogical training on doctoral students can also be examined.

Emergency medicine residents as teachers: A survey pertaining to the perceptions toward teaching by such residents

Background and Aim: There is a current trend for emergency medicine (EM) residents to adopt the role of educators within their given institution. Incidentally, such educational roles have become a part of residency training programs in many training hospitals worldwide. The current study was conducted in order to determine the perceptions of EM residents regarding their role as a teacher. Methods: A validated survey questionnaire was distributed online via Google Forms to all EM residents in six major governmental hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results: A total of 76 EM residents responded to the survey. Almost 89.5% of these residents (n = 68) did not possess any previous formal training in teaching. Incidentally, 36 (47.4%) residents claimed that their institution required them to undertake a teaching role. Interestingly, a significant portion of residents (76.3%) loved to share their clinical experiences with their students. Conversely, although the majority of the residents (76.3%) felt rewarded on account of their teaching, 28.9% reported feeling stressed when they taught undergraduate medical students. Conclusion: EM residents seemed to embrace their role as teachers and deemed teaching to be a noble part of their job. It would seem, however, that, although residents gain certain benefits from teaching both academically and psychologically, there is a clear need for more in-depth formal training in teaching modalities. The amount of clinical and teaching workload should be balanced to minimize further stress among resident tutors.

Educational experiences in a master of health professions education program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico: A qualitative study.

Medical schools and healthcare institutions need leaders with formal training in education, in order to provide quality medical teaching. An answer to this need lies in the graduate programs of health professions education. Many programs exist, but there is a dearth of publications about their educational processes and experiences. The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching and learning experiences of students, teachers, and graduates of the Master in Health Professions Education (MHPE) program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). A qualitative approach was used with focus group discussions with students, graduates, and teachers, to explore their opinions, feelings, and experiences about the program. Purposeful sampling of participants was done. Focus group guides were developed for the different study groups; testimonies were codified and categorized with axial coding and a constant comparison method. Testimonies from 19 participants in three focus groups were obtained (five graduates, seven current students, and seven teachers). The data were grouped in seven thematic categories: expectations, feedback of research projects, the tutorial process, teaching strategies, usefulness of what was learned, professional development, and assessment. Positive elements of the program were identified as well as areas in need of improvement. The MHPE program at UNAM has been a positive experience for students and mostly fulfilled their expectations, they learned the basic theories and practical aspects of teaching, learning, and assessment in the health professions. Some areas need improvement, such as tutor performance and timely feedback to the students. Graduates think the competencies acquired in the program are useful for their professional practice. This information will be used to improve the program. There is a need to meet international standards in MHPE programs.

What constitutes excellent teaching: A survey of the perceptions of AAVMC distinguished veterinary teacher award winners

Background: Although researchers have attempted to discern the characteristics of good teachers and good teaching, no one has attempted to solicit the perspectives of instructors recognized for their teaching effectiveness in veterinary medicine. Thus, the purpose of this study was to survey national award-winning educators, namely recipients of the AAVMC Distinguished Veterinary Teacher Award, in an effort to gain insights about the beliefs, characteristics and behaviors of proven, outstanding educators. Methods: This mixed-methods study utilized survey and grounded theory methodologies to analyze quantitative and qualitative data. Results: Although most award-winning educators did not possess any formal training in education, each demonstrated a high-level understanding of modern learning theory and effective pedagogical techniques. Although opinions varied on some issues, there was virtually a consensus on the importance of issues such as emphasizing clinical relevance, focusing on core concepts, avoiding minutiae, offering opportunities for application, and illustrating how concepts are related. Further, most educators embraced backward design principles and were highly intrinsically motivated to perform their instructional duties well. Award-winning educators tend to believe developing expertise in teaching is just as important as developing expertise in one's academic discipline/content area. Conclusion: Continual and increasing efforts to promote faculty development are warranted in veterinary medical education.

Teaching the millennial radiology resident: applying a five-step 'microskills' pedagogy.

Radiology is a unique medical specialty that focuses on image interpretation and report generation with limited patient contact. Resident read-out sessions with teaching are a quintessential part of reporting workflow practices in teaching institutions. However, most radiologist-educators do not have formal training in teaching and learning experiences vary. The five-step 'microskills' model ('one-minute preceptor' technique) developed by Neher is an easily adopted teaching model that complements the workflow of the typical read-out session, and can be utilised by radiologists of varied teaching experience and seniority. The steps are: (a) get a commitment; (b) probe for supporting evidence; (c) teach general rules; (d) reinforce what was done right; and (e) correct mistakes. Feedback is important to the model and accounts for two out of five microskills. The teaching model emphasises knowledge application and establishing relevance, which is useful in engaging the millennial resident. It is easily assimilated and applied by radiologist-educators.

Evaluation of Food Safety and Hygienic Practices in the Tourism Industry: A Case Study of Some Selected Restaurants in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

In Ghana, although a number of regulations are in place to guide caterers in their operations, hygienic practices among restaurants in the Kumasi Metropolitan area are inadequate. The hospitality industry alone accounts for about 44% of all the reported food-borne illness outbreaks. The main objective of the study was to assess and evaluate the extent at which licensed restaurants in the Kumasi Metropolis observe food safety and hygienic practices regulations in food provision. Fifty (50) respondents were drawn from the population under study, specifically from staff, managers and regulatory bodies including the Metropolitan Assembly. Primary data was collected from the three groups. Questionnaires were administered and in-depth interview was conducted. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze data collected from the respondents in the survey. The study showed that customers in the selected restaurants were very much satisfied at the extent by which restaurants in the Kumasi Metropolis observe and apply the food safety and hygienic practices. It was also revealed that there is adequate evidence to show that formal education and professional training have a significant impact on food safety and hygienic practices of caterers and restaurant managers in the tourism industry in the Kumasi Metropolis. The study recommends that restaurants in the metropolis should be encouraged to sponsor their workers to enroll in some professional programmes to acquire more knowledge for the purpose of practicing food safety and hygiene in the restaurant business. It is further recommended that regulatory bodies should improve their performance by maintaining high standard of food hygiene.

Fostering youth leader credibility: Professional, organizational, and community impacts associated with completion of an online master's degree in youth development leadership

Youth development leaders (YDLs) take diverse pathways to obtain the knowledge and skills needed for youthwork, from progression through organizational positions with no formal educational training in the field to obtaining advanced degrees focusing on specialized knowledge. Youth development degrees at the higher education level improve outcomes for YDLs as well as the youth they serve. When YDLs gain knowledge and skills rooted in youth development theory and practice, they are better able to offer high-quality programs and more likely to advance in their careers. This study identifies the perceived individual, organizational, and community level impacts on graduates of an online master's degree in Youth Development Leadership. The study found that graduates perceived their degrees were related to positive outcomes in professionalism (increased knowledge and application of youth development theory, heightened self-confidence and credibility in professional abilities, improvement of professional skills, career advancement, and recognition); improved organizational practices (with respect to training, staff management, and program quality); and increased community engagement (increased availability of programs and community collaboration). The online master's degree in Youth Development Leadership provided an opportunity for youth workers to build credibility on multiple levels by connecting theory to practice.

Recurrent Polyuria

Recurrent Polyuria