Burden Of Preparation Research Articles

Does Lecture Style Matter in Asynchronous Online Interteaching?

Background Although substantial empirical evidence supports interteaching, few studies have investigated the clarifying lecture component, and none have evaluated it in an online course format. Objective This study evaluated the necessity of a clarifying lecture in an asynchronous online course and compared a clarifying lecture (based on student feedback) to brief standard lecture (covering material the instructor thought was difficult). Method Participants were undergraduates ( N = 116) across three sections of an online Psychology of Learning course. An alternating treatments design was used to vary the order of three brief lecture conditions across weeks in the courses: (a) clarifying lecture; (b) standard lecture; and (c) no lecture. Results There were no significant differences in exam scores across the three conditions. However, students scored significantly higher on weekly exams when the lecture conditions were collapsed and compared to no lecture. Most students reported a preference for the clarifying lecture. Conclusion Our findings suggest that both styles of asynchronous lectures positively impacted weekly (but not cumulative final) exam scores. Teaching Implications The efficacy of interteaching was not decreased by altering lecture style. This flexibility eases the course preparation burden on instructors given they could prepare lectures prior to gathering student feedback.

The burden of at-home preparation of lyophilized parenteral medications: an analysis of contributing factors and implications for chronic disease patients and caregivers

ABSTRACTBackground: In the acute care setting, parenteral medication errors are well-studied. However, there is comparatively little research on how these issues translate to patient- or caregiver-prepared medications in the home, particularly with reconstituted medications.Methods: This was an ethnographic study designed to identify issues associated with four reconstitution use scenarios. Preparation burden was determined by measuring the time and manipulations required to prepare reconstituted medications across three preparation phases (assembly, reconstitution, and transfer). Deviations from product instructions for use, sterility breaches, self-reported preparation complications, and supply storage conditions were also analyzed.Results: A total of 14 participants completed the study. Overall, preparation burden was markedly higher when purpose-built reconstitution devices were not available. The majority of participants reported experiencing at least one complication associated with their medication preparation process; the reconstitution phase was the most significant source of both instructions for use deviations and breaches in sterility. Participants reported that the volume and variety of medication preparation supplies were a significant source of burden.Conclusions: At-home preparation of reconstituted medications poses several challenges for patients and caregivers. As parenteral medications continue to shift towards self-administration, manufacturers should carefully consider the usability of such products and employ purpose-built reconstitution devices whenever possible.

Special Devices in Teaching Geometry

Since the colleges have adopted a more or less uniform standard of entrance requirements, necessitating a high degree of efficiency on the part of the candidates for admission, the burden of preparation falls upon the secondary schools. This raising of the standard on the part of the colleges frequently sorely taxes these schools by requiring a greater amount of work in preparatory subjects without any proportionate increase in the time supposed to be devoted to such preparation. Many of our high schools and private preparatory schools today are doing much of the work that, a decade ago, was considered the function of the first-year college classes. To complete the additional work imposed by this increase in the entrance requirements without slighting any of the subjects is by no means a simple task. The work must be, to a certain extent, condensed and simplified, or special devices resorted to as a means of arousing the student’s interest or directing and conserving his energies.