Professional Master's Degree Program Research Articles

Bridging the Other Side of the Gap: Teaching “Practical Theory” to Future Practitioners

Abstract Much has been written about the need to “bridge the gap” between the academic study of international relations—particularly policy-oriented subfields such as foreign policy analysis and security studies—and the needs of policymakers. This important agenda largely focuses on encouraging academics to produce more policy-relevant, accessible research. While such efforts are indispensable, they neglect another important piece of the equation: teaching future policymakers how to translate theory into practice. The bridge needs to be a two-way street. Scholars add value for policy because their work is grounded in theory, offering analytical structure to make sense of a complex world. But applying theory to policy is unlikely to resonate with practitioners who do not have the basic conceptual literacy to grasp why theory-informed research is relevant to their own hands-on concerns. We therefore propose a teaching approach we term “practical theory,” geared specifically for professionally oriented students. Drawing on our own experience in teaching, developing curriculum, and writing for students in professional master's degree programs, we recommend instructors: choose theories and frameworks that are most likely to be useful in practice, update these theories for the times as needed, reconsider nomenclature and banish unnecessary academic jargon, and apply theory early and often.

ʺA competency model as a tool for improving the quality of vocational training in the educational and professional Master's degree program "Social Institution Managementʺ

agementʺ.The paper presents a competency model as a tool to improve the quality of vocational training ofgraduates in the educational and vocational Master’s program "Social Institution Management” (specialty"Management"). Emphasis is placed on the fact that the development of the social sphere is an importantcomponent of the development of society as a whole. The analysis of the current state of vocational training ofspecialists for the social sphere in Master's degree programs at higher education institutions of Ukraine wascarried out, which found that training is conducted in the following specialties: 231 "Social Work", 232 "SocialSecurity", 028 "Management of Socio-Cultural Activities", 073 "Management". It was also determined thatvocational training is carried out mainly under the educational program "Social Work" in fifteen institutions ofhigher education in Ukraine. Analysis of the content of education in specialty 231 "Social Work" and specialty232 "Social Security" showed that they have similar content, but the emphasis is on the essence of social work.At the same time, the issues of social sphere management are ignored, as a result of which the quality of socialservices is reduced. Therefore, a competency model of the graduate in the specialty 073 "Management" inaccordance with the educational program "Social Institution Management" was developed with regard to theestablished competency structure (knowledge, skills, and professionally important qualities). The list andnames of competencies were taken from the approved standard of higher education in the relevant specialty. Anexample of a schematic consideration of the competency "Ability to implement scientific management methodsin institutions and organizations of the social sphere" is given. The logical correspondence "competence –learning outcomes – discipline" in the specialty 073 "Management" in accordance with the educational program "Social Institution Management" is also substantiated. The presented learning outcomes also meet the approvedstandard of higher education in the relevant specialty. Based on the provisions of the theory of pedagogicalassessment, it is proposed to use standard assessment methods to measure the individual components of eachcompetency and integral competency as a whole. Approximate diagnostic methods are given. Vocationaltraining under the educational vocational program "Social Institution Management" of the specialty 073"Management" on the basis of the developed model will significantly improve the quality of educationalservices in the Master's program in this area.

Mapeamento sistemático das pesquisas realizadas nos programas de mestrado profissional que versam sobre a aprendizagem matemática na educação infantil

A proposta deste artigo é apresentar um panorama das dissertações, realizadas em programas de mestrado profissional, que versam sobre a aprendizagem matemática na Educação Infantil. A pesquisa é qualitativa e utiliza como procedimento inventariante o mapeamento sistemático, em que a preocupação central é a caracterização dos estudos e não a realização de análise e inferências de qualidade. O cenário da pesquisa foi constituído pelos trabalhos disponibilizados no catálogo de dissertações e teses da Capes, no recorte temporal de 2013 a 2018. A busca inicial ocorreu no mês de julho de 2019, e após a adoção dos critérios de exclusão e inclusão, totalizou-se em 84 trabalhos. Destes, após o processo de parametrização, com o estabelecimento de 11 descritores, restaram-se 12 estudos sobre a temática em tela. Após este processo, realizamos a leitura flutuante dos textos e o fichamento. Em alguns casos os trabalhos foram lidos na íntegra. As pesquisas foram categorizadas em três focos e seis subfocos temáticos. Os resultados apontam a relevância das pesquisas realizadas, pois apresentam contribuições efetivas para a aprendizagem matemática das crianças. Apesar disso, a maior parte dos trabalhos estão centrados na realização de metodologias diversificadas e alguns textos não destacam de forma evidenciada o produto educacional, critério essencial em programas stricto sensu profissional. Por fim, destacamos que a metodologia adotada não é rígida, podendo ser adaptada por outros pesquisadores, permitindo a obtenção diversificada de dados.

Spiegel Online

Spiegel Online (www.spiegel.de) is the leading news Web site in Germany. The site was first designed to accompany Der Spiegel, one of Europe's largest and Germany's most influential weekly magazine, which has a weekly circulation of around one million. The site's content is produced by a team of more than fifty journalists writing in several categories: politics, business, networld, panorama, arts and entertainment, science, university, school, sports, travel, weather, and automobiles. The original content is complemented by articles purchased from news agencies and selected articles from the print edition. Spiegel-Verlag is a major contributor to the Hamburg Media School, which offers professional master's degree programs in Media Management (MBA), film, and journalism. In their second year, MBA students typically engage in consulting projects with major media companies. In a recent assignment, Spiegel Online posed two questions to the MBA team: are there any chances for an economically successful entry into the market for interactive classifieds? And if so, what should the business model look like in detail? A student team analyzed markets for classified ads and found one market segment that appeared to be particularly promising: the market for art objects. During the development of a business plan for a new venture in this market it became apparent that there is much uncertainty about the key input parameters to the business plan. As a result, it is very difficult to assess the viability of the business idea. How can the team properly account for the uncertain input parameters? What is the impact of this uncertainty on the bottom line? Will a Web site for art objects earn or lose money? How can the team communicate this uncertainty to a group of high-level decision makers who want a simple “go or no-go” recommendation?The objective is to make students aware of the applicability of Monte Carlo simulation to the analysis of complex business plans. Students should learn how to explicitly account for uncertain inputs in a business plan, how to assess the impact of uncertainty on the bottom line via Monte Carlo simulation, and how to communicate the results of their analysis to high-level decision makers.

Student-Retention and Career-Placement Rates Between Bachelor's and Master's Degree Professional Athletic Training Programs.

The debate over what the entry-level degree should be for athletic training has heightened. A comparison of retention and career-placement rates between bachelor's and master's degree professional athletic training programs may inform the debate. To compare the retention rates and career-placement rates of students in bachelor's and master's degree professional programs. Cross-sectional study. Web-based survey. A total of 192 program directors (PDs) from bachelor's degree (n = 177) and master's degree (n = 15) professional programs. The PDs completed a Web-based survey. We instructed the PDs to provide a retention rate and career-placement rate for the students in the programs they lead for each of the past 5 years. We also asked the PDs if they thought retention of students was a problem currently facing athletic training education. We used independent t tests to compare the responses between bachelor's and master's degree professional programs. We found a higher retention rate for professional master's degree students (88.70% ± 9.02%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 83.71, 93.69) than bachelor's degree students (80.98% ± 17.86%, 95% CI = 78.30, 83.66) (t25 = -2.86, P = .008, d = 0.55). Similarly, PDs from professional master's degree programs reported higher career-placement percentages (88.50% ± 10.68%, 95% CI = 82.33, 94.67) than bachelor's degree professional PDs (71.32% ± 18.47%, 95% CI = 68.54, 74.10) (t20 = -5.40, P < .001, d = 1.14). Finally, we observed no difference between groups regarding whether retention is a problem facing athletic training (χ(2)1 = 0.720, P = .40, Φ = .061). Professional master's degree education appears to facilitate higher retention rates and greater career-placement rates in athletic training than bachelor's degree education. Professional socialization, program selectivity, and student commitment and motivation levels may help to explain the differences noted.

CURRENT SITUATION OF MEDICINE III AND CHALLENGES.

Describe the current situation of the area Medicine III of CAPES and detect challenges for the next four years of evaluation. The area's documents and reports of meetings were read from 2004 to 2013 Medicine III Capes as well as reports and evaluation form of each Postgraduate Program (PPG) of the area and the sub-page of the area from the Capes website. The data relating to the evaluation process, the assessment form and faculty, student and scientific production data of all of Post-Graduate Programs of Medicine III were computed and analyzed. From these data were detected the challenges of the area for the next four years (2013-2016). Among the 3,806 PPG, Medicine III had 41 PPG during last triennial evaluation and progressed from 18% to 43% of PPG very good or more concept (triennium 2001-2003 and 2010-2012). Most PPG were located in the South-East region (32), three in the South and two in the North-East. There was no PPG in North or Central-West regions. In 2013 and 2014 there were four approved Professional Master Degree Programs and one Master (M) and Doctorate (PhD). The average of permanent professors was 558 teachers with about three students/professor. The number of PhD graduates has increased as well as the reason PhD/MD. The proportion of in high impact periodicals (A1, A2, B1 and B2) jumped from 30% to 50% demonstrating positive community response to the policy area. The challenges identified were: decrease regional asymmetry, increase the number of masters and doctors of excellence, reassessment of Brazilian journals, stimulate and set internationalization indicators, including post-doctors and definition of its indicators, the PPG nucleation analysis, PPG 3x3, include primary and secondary education, professional master and indicators of technological scientific production and solidarity. Medicine III has been scientifically consolidated and their scientific researchers demonstrated maturity reaching a high level and matched to areas of greatest tradition and history. For the maintenance and advancement of the area some challenges and goals were established to be developed in the period from 2013 to 2016. Descrever a situação atual da área Medicina III da Capes e detectar os desafios para o próximo quadriênio de avaliação. Os documentos e relatórios de reuniões de área a partir de 2004 até 2013 da Medicina III da Capes foram lidos assim como os relatórios e as fichas de avaliação de cada Programa de Pós Graduação (PPG) da área e a subpágina da área no site da Capes. Os dados referentes ao Processo de Avaliação, à Ficha de Avaliação e aos dados do Corpo Docente, Discente e Produção científica de todos os PPG da Medicina III foram computados e analisados. A partir desses dados foram detectados os desafios da área para o próximo quadriênio (2013-2016). Dentre os 3.806 PPG, a Medicina III apresentava 41 PPG durante última avaliação trienal e evoluiu de 18% para 43% de PPG > conceito muito bom (Triênios 2001-2003 e 2010-2012). A maioria dos PPG se localizavam na Região Sudeste (32), três no Sul e dois no Nordeste. Não havia nenhum PPG no Norte ou Centro-Oeste. Em 2013 e 2014 foram aprovadas quatro mestrados profissionais e um mestrado e doutorado acadêmico. A média de docente permanente no triênio foi de 558 docentes com cerca de três alunos titulados/docente. O número de doutores titulados tem aumentado assim como a razão Doutorado/Mestrado. A proporção de publicações em periódicos de maior impacto (A1, A2, B1 e B2) saltou de 30% para 50% demonstrando resposta positiva da comunidade à política da área. Os desafios detectados foram: diminuir assimetria regional, elevar o número de mestres e doutores de excelência, reavaliação das revistas nacionais, estimular e definir indicadores de internacionalização, inclusão de pós-doutores e definição de seus indicadores, análise da nucleação do PPG, PPG 3x3, inclusão ensino médio e fundamental, mestrado profissional e indicadores da produção científico-tecnológica e solidariedade. A Medicina III tem se consolidado cientificamente e seus pesquisadores demonstraram maturidade científica chegando a um patamar elevado e igualado às áreas de maior tradição e história. Para a manutenção e avanço da área alguns desafios e metas foram traçadas para serem desenvolvidas no quadriênio 2013-2016.

Professional Master's degree in Nursing: knowledge production and challenges.

Objective to analyze the production of knowledge resulting from the professional master's degree programs in Nursing and to reflect about their perspectives for the area. Method descriptive and analytical study. Data collected from the dissertations of three educational institutions that graduated students in programs of professional master's degree in Nursing between 2006 and 2012 were included. Results most of the 127 course completion studies analyzed were developed within hospital contexts; there was a focus on the organizational and healthcare areas, in the research fields care process and management, and predominance of qualitative studies. There are various products resulting from the course completion studies: evaluation of services/healthcare programs and development of processes, care or educational protocols. Conclusion the programs of professional master's degree in Nursing, which are undergoing a consolidation stage, have recent production under development and there is a gap in the creation of hard technologies and innovation. They are essential for the development of innovative professional practices that articulate the healthcare and educational areas.

Ensino de trigonometria numa abordagem histórica: um produto educacional

Este trabalho objetiva relatar a construção de um caderno de atividades para o ensino de trigonometria, enfocando a fusão possível entre a abordagem histórica no ensino de matemática e o mestrado profissional. Para isso, são expostos aspectos teóricos considerados na construção desse produto educacional, uma descrição detalhada da estrutura desse produto, algumas considerações sobre sua aplicação e os principais resultados observados. Ainda, apresentamos parte do produto educacional com o intuito de promover, entre professores de matemática, possíveis articulações pedagógicas envolvendo a trigonometria e sua história.

Kit de primeiros socorros: um guia para professores que, repentinamente, passam a atuar na EaD

Apresentamos o produto educacional desenvolvido juntamente à investigação realizada no mestrado profissional em Educação Matemática da Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto. No âmbito do projeto UAB, preocupamo-nos com o processo de transição dos professores do ensino presencial para a modalidade a distância, muitas vezes, com pouca ou nenhuma capacitação prévia. Observamos que os recursos tecnológicos que auxiliam nas interações entre os participantes foram utilizados, inicialmente, de forma precária e, por vezes, refletiam suas práticas do ensino presencial. As mediações foram percebidas sob a ótica da Teoria da Atividade que estuda o sujeito em atividade e, na medida em que incorporavam novos artefatos em sua prática, em constante mudança. O produto, um guia para professores que passam a atuar repentinamente no ensino a distância dentro do sistema UAB, procurou esclarecer ao professor esse novo cenário, conceituando brevemente os elementos da UAB e sugerindo ferramentas e tutoriais de maneira prática e objetiva.

Sequência didática para o ensino de trigonometria usando o software GeoGebra

Este artigo visa a apresentação de um produto educacional, um caderno de atividades com recomendação de uso para sala de aula do ensino fundamental e médio, que teve como argumentos teóricos as investigações realizadas na dissertação de Mestrado Profissional em ensino de Matemática. Objetivamos, com esse estudo, analisar algumas das potencialidades e limitações do software GeoGebra no ensino e na aprendizagem de trigonometria. Adotamos as concepções da Didática da Matemática no que se refere ao uso das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação com os recursos de um software de geometria dinâmica e atividades investigativas. Para tanto, descrevemos brevemente a estrutura do caderno de atividades, apresentando as teorias que o fundamentaram e os objetivos que nortearam sua elaboração.

Dividindo histórias e opiniões: o produto de uma pesquisa em história da educação matemática

O presente texto tem como objetivo contar o processo de criação de um produto anexado a uma pesquisa de natureza histórica em um Programa de Mestrado Profissional de Educação Matemática. Como se sabe, a Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) destaca que a pesquisa desenvolvida em um Mestrado Profissional precisa gerar um produto que contribua para a prática dos profissionais da área envolvida. Sabemos que elaborar um produto a ser apensado a uma pesquisa histórica é algo bastante novo, visto que, tradicionalmente, essa linha de pesquisa vincula-se a mestrados acadêmicos. Assim, neste texto apresentamos como, ao elaborar a dissertação Uma história do ensino primário em tempos de modernização da matemática escolar, Vassouras 1950-1969, se deu a apropriação do referencial teórico e como o desenvolvimento da pesquisa em seu todo, incluindo as atividades realizadas durante o estágio supervisionado, proporcionaram o surgimento da ideia do referido material, sua elaboração e os ganhos obtidos.

A produção de significados de estudantes do ensino fundamental para tarefas geométricas

No presente artigo, apresentamos o processo de produção de um conjunto de tarefas educacionais, envolvendo área e perímetro de figuras geométricas planas, o qual desenvolvemos durante o curso de Mestrado Profissional em Educação Matemática. Nosso objetivo foi criar uma série de tarefas embasada teoricamente e que nos permitisse identificar dificuldades discentes acerca dos temas área e perímetro, levantando possibilidades de intervenção nos processos de aprendizagem desses temas geométricos, nos anos finais do ensino fundamental. Em nossa pesquisa, adotamos o Modelo dos Campos Semânticos como base teórico-epistemológica e como instrumento de leitura das produções de significados dos sujeitos de pesquisa. Apresentamos, ainda, uma breve revisão de literatura sobre medidas geométricas e dificuldades de aprendizagem de área e perímetro. Finalmente, discutimos as características das tarefas educacionais que elaboramos, escolhidas a partir da abordagem que adotamos para tratar de produto educacional.

Ten years of Professional Master degree in Nursing Care of Fluminense Federal University

In 2014 the Professional Master Degree Program in Nursing Care (MPEA) of Fluminense Federal University (UFF) will celebrate ten years since the beginning of its first class and twelve years since its approval by the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES). Being a pioneer in the Nursing field, the origins of this type of education and the challenges faced by the MPEA in his career are being recovered.

Development of a professional science master's degree program in safety pharmacology

Development of a professional science master's degree program in safety pharmacology

Investigando a aprendizagem de professores de física acerca do fenômeno da interferência quântica

Analisa-se a evolução conceitual de 14 professores de Ensino Médio que foram estudantes, no 2º semestre de 2005, de uma disciplina sobre Física Quântica (FQ) no Mestrado Profissional em Ensino de Física da UFRGS. Foi realizada uma análise de suas respostas acerca da interferência quântica em questionários especialmente desenvolvidos. Este estudo insere-se no âmbito de um projeto sobre Tópicos de Física Moderna e Contemporânea na formação de professores e já tem, como resultados a elaboração de um questionário sobre conceitos de FQ, construção e avaliação de uma unidade didática baseada em experimentos virtuais e o desenvolvimento de um software livre, do tipo "bancada virtual", que simula o fenômeno da interferência quântica em um aparato denominado Interferômetro de Mach Zehnder. A partir das sínteses das questões e da análise das respostas dos alunos, os resultados aqui relatados evidenciam aspectos de uma evolução conceitual em tópicos introdutórios de FQ.

Carnegie Mellon's entertainment technology center

This professional master's degree program puts artists and technologists together on interdisciplinary teams to create interactive experiences.

Climate Forecast Maps as a Communication and Decision-Support Tool: An Empirical Test with Prospective Policy Makers

This paper reports an empirical study of communication issues concerning climate forecasts. Students in a professional master's degree (MPA) program in environmental science and policy participated in the study as prospective policy makers. Participants viewed a set of currently issued precipitation forecast maps, and answered questions designed to assess, in the context relevant to agricultural and environmental decision-making, their understanding and evaluation of the maps. Participants failed to understand some aspects of the information shown on the maps, in the current design, as the map makers intended. In particular, participants had difficulty understanding probability forecast maps and distinguishing probabilistic three category forecasts and the amount of precipitation. Most participants evaluated the degree of agreement between the forecast and observation as "agree only slightly" or "agree somewhat." More than half of the participants were not inclined to use the forecasts in agricultural decision-making. Implications for improvement in design for better communication are discussed.

Laboratory Automation Curriculum at Keck Graduate Institute

A novel curriculum in laboratory automation and high-throughput technologies has been developed at the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) over the past five years as part of the professional masters degree program in applied life sciences. The goal of this curriculum has been four-fold: (1) motivate study by describing the need for automation through several example problems in combinatorial biological discovery, (2) provide elements of fundamental engineering science that are required for the development of the technologies and tools that enable automation, (3) provide opportunities for the students to see and use state-of-the-art instruments, learn about existing industry standards, and to visit integrated laboratories that perform high-throughput research, and (4) introduce scientific discoveries and new technologies that could have future impact on laboratory automation and discuss current trends, and project future trends in this field.

Professional master's degree programs in regulatory affairs and biomedical quality systems.

Two new programs are designed to supply biotechnology professionals with industry-specific skills required for successful biomedical product development.

Predicting Academic, Clinical, and Licensure Examination Performance in a Professional (Entry-Level) Masterʼs Degree Program in Physical Therapy

Background and Purpose. Physical therapy schools use a variety of admission criteria to select qualified candidates who will succeed academically and professionally. Outcome variables include scholastic achievement, clinical competence, and successful passage of the licensure examination. Identifying reliable and valid predictors presents significant challenges. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of one set of admission criteria to a master's degree program in physical therapy to predict graduate program grade point average (GPA), applied skills as measured by the Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI), and national physical therapy licensure examination (NPTE) scores. Subjects. A retrospective multiple regression analysis focused on 121 students who earned an entry-level master's degree in physical therapy (MPT) at the College of St Catherine from 1998 to 2001. Methods. Admission criteria included overall and prerequisite preadmission GPAs, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and admission committee evaluations of multiple factors. Outcome variables were final cumulative MPT GPA (MPTGPA) and CPI and NPTE scores. Results. The MPT grades were best predicted by preadmission grades. With GRE scores and age, prior grades accounted for 37% of the variability in graduate grades. The MPTGPA was the best predictor of NPTE scores; however, with prior grades and GSE scores, it accounted for only 11% of NPTE variability. The CPI scores increased significantly across 4 placements over a 2-year period, but were not predictable above chance level by any of the present variables. Discussion and Conclusion. Academic outcomes of MPT grades can be moderately predicted using traditional admission criteria. However, licensure examination scores appear to be only weakly predictable. The total absence of predictability of clinical performance, as measured by the CPI, is problematic and demands closer evaluation. Restricted ranges in both the admission and outcome variables contributed to the limited predictive power of the present admission criteria. Key Words: Admission criteria, Clinical Performance Instrument, National Physical Therapy Examination, Predicting academic performance, Predicting clinical performance. INTRODUCTION Competition for admission to Professional (entry-level) master's degree programs in physical therapy (MPT programs) has declined due to smaller numbers of applicants in the last few years.' Nonetheless, there is still a need to use discriminating selection criteria that can effectively identify candidates capable of successfully completing a rigorous academic program, displaying effective clinical performance and passing the national physical therapy !!censure examination (NPTE) at the outset of their professional careers. Surveys of admission criteria used in allied health professions, including physical therapy, confirm the strong reliance on previous scholastic achievement, including both overall preadmission grade point average (GPA) and GPA based on prerequisite science courses (most often biology, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, and physics).2-7 When academic performance in the physical therapy program is the dependent variablc in a forecasting study, it is logical to use as one's predictor the same type of behavior at the undergraduate level (overall and prerequisite GPAs). Indeed, in several studies,**' ' 2 prior GPA was found to be the single best predictor of physical therapy grades. Unfortunately, physical therapy grade predictors have not been found to be equally reliable forecasters of clinical performance.13 Silver and Hodgson14 have recently reported similar constraints on predicting clinical performance in medical school. Attempts to predict clinical skills have introduced a quite different set of issues for admission committees, as well as for researchers investigating this question. The first difficulty is identifying admission measures that assess applicants' potential for developing skills necessary for clinical competence, although interviews, reference letters, and application essays have all been used with varying amounts of success. …