Teaching Modalities Research Articles

29 Assessing Paediatric Trainees’ Confidence in Providing Culturally Responsive Care to Patients

Abstract Background Extensive data consistently demonstrate inequities in access and delivery of healthcare for patients from historically marginalized populations, resulting in poorer health outcomes. To address systemic oppression in healthcare, it is necessary to embed principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within medical education. Currently, limited data exist regarding paediatric trainees’ interest in EDI curricula and confidence in applying this knowledge to provide culturally responsive care. Objectives To assess paediatric trainees’ confidence in applying EDI knowledge to provide culturally responsive care to children and youth from historically marginalized communities. Design/Methods An anonymous online survey was distributed to paediatric trainees at a Canadian paediatric tertiary care centre during the 2021/22 academic year. Closed-ended questions used a Likert scale to assess respondents’ confidence and interest in providing culturally responsive care to patients. Open-ended questions explored trainees’ perceptions of effective EDI learning modalities. Quantitative data was summarized using descriptive statistics. Descriptive content analysis was used to highlight themes within qualitative data. Results 116 paediatric trainees completed the survey, of which 72/116 (62%) were subspecialty residents/fellows and 44/116 (38%) were core residents. Nearly all respondents indicated importance (mean 97%) and interest (mean 95%) in learning about providing culturally responsive care to patients from historically marginalized communities. However, many trainees lacked confidence in their knowledge of providing culturally responsive care (mean 51%) and applying their knowledge in clinical practice (mean 53%). Respondents identified direct clinical exposure through rotations, immersive experiences, and continuity clinics as effective EDI teaching modalities. Identified barriers included time constraints in the clinical environment, burnout, and lack of exposure to diverse patient populations. Conclusion Most paediatric trainees want to provide culturally responsive care to patients from historically marginalized communities, but do not feel confident in their knowledge to do so. These study findings will be utilized to develop and implement an enhanced EDI education curriculum for both core trainees, as well as subspecialty residents and fellows, across the Department of Paediatrics.

Providing culturally responsive care in a pediatric setting: are our trainees ready?

BackgroundExtensive data consistently demonstrates inequities in access and delivery of healthcare for patients from historically marginalized populations, resulting in poorer health outcomes. To address this systemic oppression in healthcare, it is necessary to embed principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) at an early stage within medical education. This study aimed to assess pediatric trainees’ perceived interest in EDI curricula as well as their confidence in applying this knowledge to provide culturally responsive care.MethodsAn anonymous online survey was distributed to pediatric trainees at the University of Toronto. Closed-ended questions used a Likert scale to assess respondents’ confidence and interest in providing culturally responsive care to patients. Open-ended questions explored trainees’ perceptions of effective EDI learning modalities. A mixed methods approach was utilized, where quantitative data was summarized using descriptive statistics and descriptive content analysis was used to highlight themes within qualitative data.Results116 pediatric trainees completed the survey, of which 72/116 (62%) were subspecialty residents/fellows and 44/116 (38%) were core residents. 97% of all responses agreed or strongly agreed that it was important to learn about providing culturally responsive care to patients from historically marginalized communities; however, many trainees lacked confidence in their knowledge of providing culturally responsive care (42%) and applying their knowledge in clinical practice (47%). Respondents identified direct clinical exposure through rotations, immersive experiences, and continuity clinics as effective EDI teaching modalities. Identified barriers included time constraints in the clinical environment, burnout, and lack of exposure to diverse patient populations.ConclusionMost pediatric trainees want to provide culturally responsive care to patients from historically marginalized communities, but do not feel confident in their knowledge to do so. Trainees value learning about EDI through direct clinical exposure and immersive experiences, rather than didactic lectures or modules. These study findings will be utilized to develop and implement an enhanced EDI education curriculum for pediatric trainees at the University of Toronto and other postgraduate residency programs.

Evaluation of Teacher Competency in Teaching Dance Sports in Selected Universities in Hunan Province, China

This paper evaluates the ability of sports dance teachers in selected universities in Hunan province, and selects teachers and students from 5 universities to carry out a questionnaire survey. The results show that ：1.there are more young female teachers, most of whom are only 5-10 years of teaching age;2.In terms of principles and concept of dance sports, the teachers need to focus on how to increase the locomotor and non-locomotor movements, patterns and sequences of movements while applying different dance elements;3. Teachers are needed to prioritize their training to enhance the fluency in the waltz routine and eloquence in employing distinctive style and artistic elements in dance routines; 4. The teachers are still using limited teaching strategies and modality of learning in teaching dance sports;5. The teachers are not consistently giving enough feedback on the performance of the students and to the parents as an important part of the assessment and evaluation of student’s learning.

Comparing the Effectiveness of Discrete Trial Training Delivered via Telehealth and In-Person on Skill Acquisition.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the delivery of early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) services. As a result, many EIBI service providers shifted to either temporarily or permanently providing some or all of their services via telehealth. Most published research on behavior analytic approaches to telehealth has focused on training others to implement behavior analytic interventions in an in-person setting. In contrast, relatively few researchers have evaluated direct EIBI service delivery via telehealth (i.e., professionals directly providing behavior analytic interventions to clients/learners using technology). Little is known about the effectiveness of behavior analytic interventions delivered remotely to learners via telehealth compared to standard in-person intervention delivery. The purpose of the present study was to directly compare the effectiveness of discrete trial training delivered remotely via telehealth and in-person on the acquisition of labeling occupations for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in an EIBI program. The results and implications of the effectiveness of the different teaching modalities and observed generalization and maintenance will be discussed.Evaluating the effectiveness of behavior analytic interventions delivered remotely via telehealth compared to standard in-person delivery could help increase access to services for those in need.We found little difference in the acquisition of labeling occupations across the two modalities for all three participants.Future researchers should consider how to incorporate strategies to promote generalization into direct telehealth services.Future researchers should evaluate how learners without previous exposure to discrete trial training may perform during direct telehealth services.

Arthroscopic Training: Historical Insights and Future Directions.

Arthroscopy is an orthopaedic technique that provides surgical solutions in a minimally invasive fashion. Since its introduction, arthroscopy has become a preferred surgical approach for treating various orthopaedic pathologies, such as meniscal tears, anterior cruciate ligament ruptures, rotator cuff tears, and wrist, elbow, ankle, and hip conditions. Despite its ubiquity, surgical training in arthroscopy poses several challenges for educators and trainees. Arthroscopy involves neuromotor skills which differ from those of open surgery, such as the principles of triangulation, bimanual dexterity, and the ability to navigate a three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional screen. There remains no universally implemented curriculum for arthroscopic education within orthopaedic residency or fellowship training programs, permitting the potential for highly variable training experiences from institution to institution. Therefore, the current review seeks to highlight the history of arthroscopic education, strategies and current teaching modalities in modern arthroscopic education, and avenues for future educational pathways.

Alfaisal University's Academic Success Center: An Individualized Peer-Assisted Learning Program for Mutual Tutor-Student Advancement.

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is an educational strategy whereby students teach other students. PAL presents many advantages to the institution, tutors, and tutees. It can benefit the university by presenting a cost-effective approach where the efforts and time of faculty are reduced. We describe a retrospective analysis detailing the structure, function, and effectiveness of the Academic Success Center (ASC) at Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, since 2020. The ASC encompasses various types of PAL methods. It is the only PAL program in Saudi Arabia whereby its tutors, referred to as student consultants, are compensated financially. We retrospectively analyzed the total number of appointments, the total number of students who accessed the center, as well as the breakdown between different colleges and academic years, and their satisfaction level with the PAL mode of teaching. Our results indicate a high level of appointments for these PAL sessions increasing on a yearly basis and a high level of satisfaction from both the tutors and the tutees. PAL is an effective teaching and mentoring modality with high retention rates that has contributed to an increased sense of well-being among students who have utilized these services.

Medication administration competency for clinical preparedness: Comparing testing modalities and test anxiety in undergraduate nursing students

BackgroundAdverse drug events, which occur at various stages of the medication preparation and administration process, cause over half a million injuries or deaths yearly. Upon graduation, prelicensure nursing students lack the skill and competency required for safe medication administration. Therefore, it is essential to ascertain their medication administration proficiency throughout their curriculum prior to participation in clinical experiences. Historically, this has been a deeply embedded process of high-stakes testing. Aligned is cognitive test anxiety which can severely limit a student's performance. Thus, nursing student competency and control appraisal in medication administration can be linked to the Control Value Theory framework. ObjectivesThe purpose of the research was to determine whether an e-simulated high-stakes medication administration test was associated with less anxiety than a standard high-stakes medication math assessment within and between two nursing tracks over three semesters to capture sequencing of medical-surgical clinical courses. DesignThe prospective, quantitative, longitudinal study received Institutional Review Board approval. Participants/settingStudents were recruited from a traditional BSN track and an online LPN-to-BSN track per course level over three semesters. MethodsParticipants completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory prior to their course level high-stakes assessment modality. ResultsFor both tracks, testing anxiety remained a factor with no significant difference in the anxiety level between assessment modalities. There was a trend for anxiety scores to slightly decrease over time with each testing modality, but results were non-significant. There was a trend for traditional BSN students (n = 435) to have slightly lower anxiety scores than the LPN-to-BSN (n = 246) students. ConclusionsResearchers must continue investigating teaching, learning, and testing modalities in medication calculation/administration that maintain rigor, enhance student self-efficacy, and provide accurate assessment. These can be aligned with research regarding study skills training and cognitive-behavioral interventions to help mitigate the challenge of cognitive test anxiety.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Emergency Remote Teaching During COVID-19 at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman

The uncertain situation emerging from COVID-19 led to an unprecedented suspension of face-to-face classes and the adoption of emergency remote teaching (ERT) in higher education institutions (HEIs). However, ERT required specific skills on the part of the teachers. As higher education systems gradually revert to normalcy, it is vital to reflect on ERT practices. Hence, this study investigates, in retrospect, the experiences of the General Foundation Programme (GFP) teachers at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman in conducting and adapting to ERT. The exploratory study uses an online questionnaire and the analysis is based on 102 teacher responses. The results of the quantitative data were analyzed and complemented with an extensive literature review. The findings can be grouped into six themes: teachers’ awareness of ERT and online teaching, readiness to deliver ERT, course management, students’ readiness, emotions in ERT, and effectiveness and future potential of remote teaching. The study suggests ways for HEIs to adapt to emergency teaching and learning and prepare for the effective implementation of online teaching. The paper provides insights into the challenges and opportunities associated with the emerging modalities of online teaching and informs decision and policy makers to develop a framework for their implementation. These findings have important implications for crisis management and the effective implementation of online teaching and learning in tertiary education. This study fills a gap in online teaching and learning research of the understudied context of a GFP in the Arab Gulf context.

Curriculum Innovations: A Comprehensive Teleneurology Curriculum for Neurology Trainees.

As the role of teleneurology expands, it is important to prepare trainees to perform virtual encounters proficiently. We created a comprehensive multimodality teleneurology curriculum for residents to teach key aspects of telehealth encounters including the virtual examination and skill development across several environments. We developed and implemented a teleneurology curriculum focused on teaching the virtual neurologic examination, measuring teleneurology competency, and providing opportunities for trainees to perform telehealth encounters in multiple settings. Residents (N = 22) were first surveyed on what methods would be most helpful to learn teleneurology. Trainees observed a faculty member conducting a teleneurology visit with another faculty member playing a patient. Residents then practiced a teleneurology encounter during a 10-minute objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) at a simulation center. After positive feedback from the fall of 2020, we adapted the OSCE to be completely remote in the spring of 2021 for senior residents. Trainees then performed teleneurology visits during their continuity clinics and subspecialty clinic rotations. All neurology residents from adult and child neurology and neuropsychiatry programs at New York University Grossman School of Medicine participated in the curriculum. Residents identified a variety of teaching modalities that would help them learn teleneurology: didactics with slides (25%), live demonstration (25%), simulated experience (23%), starting with live patients (23%), and articles/reading material (4%). To date, 68 trainees participated in the OSCE. Trainees who completed on-site and remote simulations reported increased comfort (p < 0.05) and interest in teleneurology (p < 0.05) and requested more access to simulations during training. Sensorimotor assessment and adequate visualization of the affected limb were identified as areas for improvement. Our multimodal 3-year teleneurology curriculum provides opportunities for residents to learn and apply teleneurology. Survey tools helped strengthen the curriculum to optimize educational potential. We implemented a teleneurology simulation with and without the use of a simulation center. We plan to expand our teleneurology clinical and simulation experiences to trainees based on our data and further developments in teleneurology and to track the progress of teleneurology skills as residents advance through training.

917 Building Virtual Reality Into Global Surgical Training: An Innovative Approach Applied in Uganda

Abstract Aim Virtual Reality in Medicine and Surgery (VRiMS) is an academic working group devoted to creating technology-based solutions in post-graduate surgical and medical education. Based at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) with funding from Health Education England they use ‘Extended Reality’ including fully immersive Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) which overlays digital information onto real-time visualisation, and 360-degree video which offers a partially immersive experience. Benefits include reduced costs of delivering education, improving trainees’ experiences, and improving accessibility to surgical opportunities. Method VRiMS utilizes 360-degree video of cadaveric teaching streamed via low-tech cardboard headsets to deliver a novel teaching modality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Uganda was the first location of a proof-of-concept course over 4 days delivered in 3 modalities: in-person - 10 delegates from East Africa provided scholarships (funded by Saving Faces) to travel to Brighton; 79 delegates attending virtually at a conference centre in Kampala; and over 1000 delegates globally attending remotely from a diversity of nations. Qualitative data was gathered for thematic analysis. Results Feedback was very positive, and barriers identified included requirements of a smart phone and sufficient internet. Ongoing links were developed with other LMIC units, with a recent conference run in Kenya. Conclusions VRiMS aims to ensure scientific validity in the projects being run, and analysis of the courses have given actionable insights into the experiences of surgical trainees both in the UK and in LMICs, showing that Extended Reality has enormous potential to benefit trainees worldwide.

786 A Collaborative, Online, 'Near-Peer' Teaching Programme for Medical Schools with Short Breast Surgery Rotations

Abstract Aim The quality of teaching for breast surgery, a niche specialty that medical schools dedicate little placement time to, can vary from hospital to hospital. This single-centre cross-sectional study investigated whether a new near-peer teaching programme could improve this. Method An online teaching programme was created and executed by final year medical students (‘near-peers’) for penultimate year students rotating through a week-long Breast Surgery placement at a major teaching hospital in London, United Kingdom. It consisted of asynchronous pre-tutorial Single Best Answer questions and an online small group tutorial and was conducted every three weeks for a year. A mix of qualitative and quantitative data were collected using feedback forms. Results Thirty students opted in. The pre-tutorial SBAs were rated 4.07 out of 5, while the near-peer interactive tutorial scored 4.77 out of 5. Students’ self-reported confidence, on a scale of 1 to 5, increased significantly by an average of 1.5 points (p &amp;lt;0.001). Students also rated this programme either the same or more highly than all other teaching modalities available during these their clinical placements. Thematic analysis of free-text responses showed that students enjoyed the interactivity of the sessions, the exam relevance of the content covered, and the utility of this programme in consolidating information at the tail-end of their placements. Conclusions This novel interactive teaching programme was designed and executed relatively easily by near-peers, was received favourably in our pilot, and can be easily implemented for other 'short-rotation specialties' in medical school (e.g., urology, vascular surgery, ENT).

Embracing the Technological Metamorphosis: Envisioning Higher Education for Generation Alpha in a Shifting Educational Landscape

The contemporary landscape is witnessing an accelerated technological evolution that is fundamentally altering our conception of knowledge as an open and easily attainable entity. This transformative progression is not only redefining the practical application of competencies, concepts, and insights but also exerting a profound impact on various facets of education. This paradigmatic transition, catalyzed by the pervasive influence of technology, is particularly pertinent in the realm of education, where its metamorphic contributions are conspicuously manifest. As the educational milieu continues to undergo metamorphosis, the future pedagogical and didactic methodologies will inevitably bear the indelible imprint of technological advancements. Concurrently, educators are confronted with the distinctive imperative of effectively engaging the emergent cohort of learners, commonly referred to as Generation Alpha, within the context of higher education. Characterized by a pronounced entrepreneurial disposition, Generation Alpha is notably predisposed to embracing innovation and advancement, with a significant proportion of its members harboring aspirations of pursuing tertiary education. The present study undertakes a proactive stance in envisioning the educational dynamics and prospects that will define the forthcoming landscape of higher education, with a focal lens on the distinctive attributes of Generation Alpha. This entails a comprehensive inquiry into their favored pedagogical modalities, cognitive perspectives, and educational anticipations. The study embraces a robust theoretical framework that is anchored in the distinctive attributes of Generation Alpha, attributes invariably molded by the inexorable march of technological progress. In a complementary manner, the study derives insights from a triad of discrete empirical investigations conducted across diverse locales including Slovakia, Hungary, Australia, and Turkey. Collectively, these empirical explorations synergistically illuminate the complex matrix of challenges and opportunities that underpin the educational edifice concerning Generation Alpha. The research significantly underscores the potency wielded by the realm of social media and interconnectivity in shaping educational discourse. Moreover, it discerns Generation Alpha's inherent prowess in swiftly assimilating and processing information as an invaluable asset that stands to influence forthcoming pedagogical paradigms within the precincts of higher education. Informed by these discerning revelations, the research culminates in the formulation of actionable imperatives directed at institutes of higher learning, with a strategic intent to implement transformative measures aimed at elevating the erudition voyage for the denizens of Generation Alpha. These prescriptive directives are meticulously attuned to the distinct attributes, cognitive configurations, and educational expectations that are emblematic of Generation Alpha, thereby orchestrating an ecosystem conducive to fostering an immersive and resonant traditional odyssey.

The experience and attitudes of long-term care workers with teaching and learning modalities for the delivery of continuing professional development activities: a mixed-methods study

Aimto develop a better understanding of the attitudes and experiences of healthcare workers and managers with face-to-face, online asynchronous (pre-recorded), and online synchronous (live) modalities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) working in the Long-Term Care (LTC) sector. BackgroundThe recent global pandemic significantly interrupted the delivery and organisation of education and training for healthcare professionals internationally. As a result of the restrictions, healthcare professionals’ access to CPD was limited, consequentially education and training activities were mostly delivered online. Research into the experiences of healthcare workers with the various teaching and learning modalities in the LTC setting is limited. DesignAn explanatory mixed methods study using an exploratory sequential design. MethodsA two-phase study conducted from January 2022 to September 2022, in the Republic of Ireland. In phase one, researchers conducted four focus groups and in phase two 168 participants completed a survey to explore the results of phase one. ResultsFrom the focus groups interviews five themes emerged regarding participants’ experiences, attitudes and preferences with the three modalities of CPD education and training in the field of LTC: 1) Flexibility, 2) Networking, 3) Resources and Support, 4) Engaging and meaningful learning, and 5) Balancing online and face-to-face learning through Blended Learning. Results from the survey found the preferred modality was face to face (n = 54, 32.1%), followed very closely by blended learning (n = 51, 30.4%). Most of the respondents reported that synchronous online CPD education was convenient, flexible, offers the opportunity to interact with peers, and that its quality depends on educators’ skills. The majority of respondents (n = 155, 92.3%) declared that they would require support in the workplace to implement their new knowledge and skills. ConclusionsThis study revealed the significance participants place on ‘engagement’ when taking part in education and training. Engagement was described as a key factor to improve the delivery of CPD in the LTC setting. In addition, regardless of the mode of delivery, participants reported that they need to be supported in the workplace to implement their new knowledge and skills. This requires the support and endorsement of employers and managers, who could ensure more protected time for learning, technical support and championing facilitators and mentors in the workplace to enhance the translation of new knowledge into clinical practice. Tweetable abstractIn LTC settings, face-to-face CPD is the preferred mode of delivery. Although synchronous online CPD is very convenient, educators must be able to engage learners. LTC workers need support by managers to implement their new knowledge and skills in their workplace.

Training doctoral students in critical thinking and experimental design using problem-based learning

BackgroundTraditionally, doctoral student education in the biomedical sciences relies on didactic coursework to build a foundation of scientific knowledge and an apprenticeship model of training in the laboratory of an established investigator. Recent recommendations for revision of graduate training include the utilization of graduate student competencies to assess progress and the introduction of novel curricula focused on development of skills, rather than accumulation of facts. Evidence demonstrates that active learning approaches are effective. Several facets of active learning are components of problem-based learning (PBL), which is a teaching modality where student learning is self-directed toward solving problems in a relevant context. These concepts were combined and incorporated in creating a new introductory graduate course designed to develop scientific skills (student competencies) in matriculating doctoral students using a PBL format.MethodsEvaluation of course effectiveness was measured using the principals of the Kirkpatrick Four Level Model of Evaluation. At the end of each course offering, students completed evaluation surveys on the course and instructors to assess their perceptions of training effectiveness. Pre- and post-tests assessing students’ proficiency in experimental design were used to measure student learning.ResultsThe analysis of the outcomes of the course suggests the training is effective in improving experimental design. The course was well received by the students as measured by student evaluations (Kirkpatrick Model Level 1). Improved scores on post-tests indicate that the students learned from the experience (Kirkpatrick Model Level 2). A template is provided for the implementation of similar courses at other institutions.ConclusionsThis problem-based learning course appears effective in training newly matriculated graduate students in the required skills for designing experiments to test specific hypotheses, enhancing student preparation prior to initiation of their dissertation research.

Online training and education from the VR-1 reactor—Lessons learned

Hands-on education and training is a key part of fixing and developing technology knowledge and is an inherent part of many engineering and scientific curricula. However, access to large complex training facilities, such as nuclear reactor, could be limited by various factors, such as unavailability of those facilities in the region, high traveling costs or harmonization of the schedules of hands-on E&T with theoretical lectures and with the operational schedule of the facility. To handle the issue, several success stories have been reached with the introduction of the Internet Reactor Labs (IRL). The Internet Reactor Labs can strongly contribute to accessibility of training at research reactors and can contribute to improvements in their utilization. The paper describes the development of the Internet Reactor Lab at the VR-1 reactor of the Czech Technical University in Prague. Contrary to single-purpose IRLs, it presents various modalities of online teaching and training in experimental reactor physics and reactor operation in general as well as outreach activities that have been developed in recent years.

Augmented Reality for Teaching Storytelling in a Rural Foundation Phase Primary School: Integrating a Place-Based Approach

Augmented reality (AR) has recently become a new leading edge in mobile-assisted language learning attributed to the popularity of smartphones. The place-based approach (PBA) is a situated, context-rich teaching and learning modality characterized by its relationship to place. AR and PBA have proven to be useful in educational settings; however, few studies have observed them being used jointly. This study aims to explore the combination of AR and PBA in teaching storytelling in a foundation phase (FP) rural primary school. Based on current trends, the study also aims to design learning principles for teaching that will help language teachers integrate this innovative technology and approach into literacy teaching. The study was tested with two FP teachers and 12 FP learners in a real classroom and carried out with qualitative observations and semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that learners are more motivated and interested in activities that have been enhanced because they encourage problem-solving, discovery, and socialization. The findings also suggest that technological interventions, particularly when learners work as a team, may have a bigger impact than non-technology-integrated instruction. These results offer demonstrable support for technology use and have useful results for future practice.

EXPECTATIONS OF UNIVERSITY LECTURERS AND STUDENTS ON SMART LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Education in the 21st century has become more technology integrated, and the shift from conventional modalities of teaching to technology-assisted teaching methodologies accelerated during the pandemic years. The current study employed a qualitative research design (n=12) to explore this shift and the expectations of these novel teaching modalities from both facilitator and learner perspectives in urban higher education settings in India. An inductive thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that there is a significant gap in lecturers’ and students’ definitions and expectations of smart learning environments. The themes that emerged from the data were bifurcated into lecturer and student perspectives on smart learning environments and included innovative nature, novelty and complexity, student excitement, and limitations of content. Based on the findings, lecturer and student expectations of SLE platforms had points of convergence and divergence which are unique to the socio-cultural positions of the participants. The current study argues the need to devise methods to improve the efficacy of SLEs in developing economies. Keywords: smart learning environments, augmented reality, virtual reality, qualitative study

Design of oral English teaching model based on multi-modal perception of the Internet of Things and improved conventional neural networks.

Oral English instruction plays a pivotal role in educational endeavors. The emergence of online teaching in response to the epidemic has created an urgent demand for a methodology to evaluate and monitor oral English instruction. In the post-epidemic era, distance learning has become indispensable for educational pursuits. Given the distinct teaching modality and approach of oral English instruction, it is imperative to explore an intelligent scoring technique that can effectively oversee the content of English teaching. With this objective in mind, we have devised a scoring approach for oral English instruction based on multi-modal perception utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT). Initially, a trained convolutional neural network (CNN) model is employed to extract and quantify visual information and audio features from the IoT, reducing them to a fixed dimension. Subsequently, an external attention model is proposed to compute spoken English and image characteristics. Lastly, the content of English instruction is classified and graded based on the quantitative attributes of oral dialogue. Our findings illustrate that our scoring model for oral English instruction surpasses others, achieving the highest rankings and an accuracy of 88.8%, outperforming others by more than 2%.

Let's go shopping: Virtual reality as a tier‐3 intervention for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities

AbstractBest practices for technology use in academic settings, specifically those preparing students for postsecondary transition (ages 18–21) are not well documented and research studies commenting on the use of technology for acquisition of social and adaptive skills is limited. Literature indicates that students with mild–moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) benefit from adaptive‐skills programs and curricula. School psychologists, special educators, and school‐based interventionists are in a unique position to provide adaptive skill services and tier‐3 interventions that are evidence‐based, innovative, and serve the most vulnerable students. This manuscript utilizes a sign‐case design to test the use of virtual reality (VR) as an individualized intervention and teaching modality to a student in a center‐based high school program with IDD. Results yield promising findings, indicating those with IDD may master VR as a tool, learn new skills with VR programming, and generalize those skills to real‐world settings. Further, VR offers unique benefits that can shape the way school interventionists view technology and how innovative practices can be used for students with IDD.

It's Never Too Soon! Comparing Intercultural Learning Outcomes of Undergraduate Students via Face-to-Face and Online Teaching Modalities

Purpose: Providing culturally responsive care for a diverse patient population is critical for future speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Prior studies have shown gains in intercultural competence (ICC) from study abroad programs, face-to-face classes, and online courses; however, limited studies have investigated differences between face-to-face and online modes of delivery in speech-language pathology and audiology. The purpose of this study was (a) to evaluate whether there are quantitative differences in development of ICC in a direct comparison of a face-to-face and 100% asynchronous online introductory in communication disorders, and (b) to describe participants learning through the structural intercultural learning activities embedded into the course using a qualitative approach. Method: The study used a mixed-methods approach collecting both quantitative (Intercultural Development Inventory) and qualitative (final reflection papers) data. Data analysis included t tests and clustering analysis of quantitative data and scoring and thematic analysis of qualitative data. Results: Results demonstrated statistically significant increases in IDI scores for participants in both the online and face-to-face classes. Qualitative analysis indicated that all participants, regardless of change in score, demonstrated growth in ICC as seen in their comments. Conclusions: Overall, structured intercultural learning activities embedded within a course can be an effective means of facilitating intercultural growth in undergraduate participants in both face-to-face and online instructional modalities. Additionally, participants whose quantitative scores declined had similar qualitative comments suggesting intercultural growth in all participants independent of changes in quantitative scores.