Proportion Of Comments Research Articles

Gender patterns in engineering PhD teaching assistant evaluations corroborate role congruity theory

BackgroundThe body of work regarding gender bias in academia shows that female instructors are often rated lower by students than their male counterparts. Mechanisms are complex and intersectional and often associated with role congruity theory. Little research has examined parallel patterns in graduate teaching assistant (TA) evaluations. In research institutions, TAs make up a large portion of teaching teams. Identifying bias and working to remove it is critical to shifting the already-well-documented gender imbalance in higher education. To evaluate gender-associated perceptions of graduate TAs’ teaching skills, we analyzed Likert-scale, mid-semester survey data using ordinal logistic regression models for PhD TAs in five (pre-COVID) semesters in the College of Engineering at Cornell University, a large R1 institution in the United States. We also regressed scores for each survey question against the overall TA quality rating for male- and female-identifying TAs to compare the strength of those relationships and explore potential differences in student expectations associated with gender roles. A subset of narrative comment data were coded into themes, analyzed, and triangulated with other observed patterns.ResultsMale TAs had a higher likelihood of receiving a better rating than female TAs for all survey questions in which students rated performance. Statistical evidence of different slopes of relationships between particular questions and overall TA quality rating suggested that female and male TAs were “valued” more for behaviors/attributes congruent with roles ascribed to that gender in broader society. Female TAs received a higher proportion of positive comments for communication skills and more comments regarding supportiveness than male TAs. Males received more comments about their overall value as TAs, however all comments regarding overall quality as TAs were positive regardless of gender. The amount and proportion of comments that were positive or negative for knowledge, enthusiasm, preparedness or fairness were the same for male and female TAs.ConclusionsGender-based disparity is occurring in TA evaluations and aligns with patterns observed in research on teaching evaluations for faculty. Correlation between overall TA ratings and scores for specific survey questions and narrative responses indicate that role congruity influences traits that students perceive as important and positive in TAs of different genders.

Preliminary evaluation of a low-intensity parent training program on speech-language stimulation for children with language delay

AimThe study assessed the outcome of a low-intensity parent training program for improving parent's language input to children with language delay. MethodNine parents and their children aged between 12 months to 24 months, exhibiting delay in language development, participated in a brief training program over three sessions. Training comprised of inputs on speech-language development, play development and speech-language stimulation strategies, supported by a manual. Effect of the training program on parent's language behaviour was evaluated through observations of parent-child interaction recorded before training and six-weeks and 10-weeks post training. Measures including, different functions served by verbalizations of parents and their nonverbal affective behaviours, were analysed. Results and DiscussionParents’ verbalizations increased significantly from baseline to the two follow-up sessions. Proportion of comments, suggestions and reflections on the child's productions increased with a concurrent decrease in the use of direct commands and questions, from baseline to post training at 10-weeks. Parents reported regular use of the manual during and after the training sessions. Post training, they identified play-based activities and provided opportunities for interactions in daily routines. Changes in the child's communication skills were also reported. ConclusionA low-intensity training program for parents, supported by a manual focusing on developmentally appropriate play and speech-language stimulation, resulted in increased verbal interaction and changes in language input to children.

To What Degree Are the 13 Entrustable Professional Activities Already Incorporated Into Physicians’ Performance Schemas for Medical Students?

Phenomenon: There is an abundance of literature on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in theory, but there are few studies on the EPAs in practice for undergraduate clinical education. In addition, little is known about the degree to which the EPAs are or are not aligned with physician assessors’ performance schemas of the clerkship student. Investigating the degree to which physician assessors’ performance schemas are already aligned with the activities described by the EPAs is critical for effective workplace assessment design. Approach: We sampled 1,032 areas of strength (strength) and areas for improvement (improvement) written evaluation comments by 423 physician assessors for clerkship students’ performance in academic years 2014–15 and 2015–16 at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Two researchers independently categorized each comment by EPA and/or coded by non-EPA topic. The proportion of comment types was compared between strength comments and improvement comments with the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test. Findings: The most frequently mentioned EPAs in comments were about history gathering/physical exam, differential diagnosis, documentation, presentation, and interprofessional collaboration; few mentioned diagnostic tests, patient handovers, recognition of urgent patient care, and patient safety, and none mentioned orders/prescriptions and informed consent. The most frequent non-EPA topics were about medical knowledge, need to read more, learning attitude, work ethic, professionalism/maturity, and receptiveness to feedback. The proportion of comments aligned with an EPA only, a non-EPA topic only, or both an EPA and non-EPA topic was significantly different for clerkship students’ strength compared to improvement. Insights: Physician assessors’ performance schemas for clerkship students were aligned with EPAs to varying degrees depending on the specific EPA and whether describing strength or improvement. Of interest, the frequently mentioned non-EPA comments represented some of the competencies that contribute to effectively performing particular EPAs and are Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies (e.g., medical knowledge, professionalism), used in residency programs. Because physician assessors for undergraduate medical education often also participate in graduate medical education, the frequency of non-EPA topics aligned to ACGME competencies may suggest influence of graduate medical education evaluative frameworks on performance schemas for clerkship students; this could be important when considering implementation of EPAs in undergraduate medical education.

Comparison of online and classroom-based student evaluations of instruction

In recent years, colleges have been moving from traditional, classroom‐based student evaluations of instruction to online evaluations. Because of the importance of these evaluations in decisions regarding retention, promotion and tenure, instructors are justifiably concerned about how this trend might affect their ratings. We recruited faculty members who were teaching two or more sections of the same course in a single semester and assigned at least one section to receive online evaluations and the other section(s) to receive classroom evaluations. We hypothesised that the online evaluations would yield a lower response rate than the classroom administration. We also predicted that there would be no significant differences in the overall ratings, the number of written comments, and the valence (positive/neutral/negative) of students’ comments. A total of 32 instructors participated in the study over two semesters, providing evaluation data from 2057 students. As expected, online evaluations had a significantly lower response rate than classroom evaluations. Additionally, there were no differences in the mean ratings, the percentage of students who provided written comments or the proportion of comments in the three valence categories. Thus, even with the lower response rate for online evaluations, the two administration formats seemed to produce comparable data.

Alcohol, young people and the media: a study of radio output in six radio stations in England

This research investigated the representation of alcohol in radio output. The study was prompted by concerns that media output might be part of a developing culture of excessive drinking among young people. Alcohol comments were examined across six radio stations in England. 1200 h of weekend output was screened and the sampling frame included periods when references to alcohol would be expected, such as the Christmas period. Statistical analysis identified the volume and proportion of comments, whereas qualitative analysis explored these in more depth, focusing on the themes and discourses surrounding alcohol talk. Of 703 alcohol comments identified, 244 involved presenters. The volume of comments about alcohol varied between stations, being lower on BBC than on commercial stations and being influenced by music genre. Seventy-three percent of comments initiated by presenters, compared with 45% of comments from all sources, encouraged drinking. The majority of comments by presenters support drinking in relation to partying and socializing. Alcohol comments seem to create identity for programmes and forge connections between presenters and audiences, although some presenters achieve this without mentioning drinking. The assumption that alcohol is necessary to have a good time is seldom directly challenged. While it may be unsurprising that much of this content reflected themes of weekend drinking and partying, the study suggests that alcohol comments play a particular role in marketing and branding of radio output. Comments about alcohol are shaped by broadcasting conventions that make it difficult to challenge discourses surrounding excessive drinking. Further research is needed on the influence that radio output may have on drinking behaviour among young people.

Vision-specific health-related quality of life: content areas for nursing home residents.

Nursing home residents have a high prevalence of remediable visual impairment and blindness. Future research on the effectiveness of providing eye care to nursing home residents will need to include a vision-targeted health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instrument appropriate for this population. The purpose of this study was to identify the core content areas for such an instrument. In-depth interviews on vision-related issues were conducted with 40 residents. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and coded using a standardized protocol. Binocular distance and near visual acuity were assessed using the resident's 'walking around' correction to examine whether one vision-specific HRQOL measure could address the needs of residents with 'good' and 'poor' vision. Overall 1070 vision-related comments were identified. Residents mentioned 315 problem comments that were grouped into 13 categories, including ocular symptoms (18% of comments), reading (15%), general vision (13%), psychological distress (12%), and activities of daily living (ADLs) (7%). Compared to published data on vision-specific content areas most relevant to community based persons, nursing home residents focused more on ocular symptoms and basic ADLs, with no mention of issues related to driving, home care, and finances. The majority of categories mentioned did not differ on the proportion of comments made- by those with 'good' and 'poor' visual acuity, suggesting that one vision-specific HRQOL instrument would be appropriate for residents with varying levels of visual acuity. Future work will focus on developing a vision-specific HRQOL instrument for nursing home residents.

‘City harsh’ and ‘the welsh version of RP’: Some ways in which teachers view dialects of welsh English

This paper summarises some of the findings from a project in progress which researches teachers’ sociolinguistic awareness in Wales. A questionnaire was sent to secondary teachers all over Wales to investigate their perceptions of, and attitudes towards, geographical varieties of Welsh English. They were asked to draw in what they felt to be the main Welsh English dialect regions on a blank map of Wales, and then to label and characterise these regions in their own words. They were also asked to complete semantic differential scales for a number of conceptually presented varieties. In the scales task, they differentiated the varieties in such a way that each had its own evaluative profile along dimensions of prestige, dynamism, pleasantness, and Welshness, with one variety approximating subjective definition as a standard. The labels and characterisations provided by the teachers often carried highly evaluative content, and differentiated varieties in terms of the quality and relative proportions of comments relating to positive and negative affect, prestige, Welshness, English‐ness, perceived linguistic features etc. Some interesting differences between the labels and scales data are considered, and issues of importance to Language Awareness are highlighted.

Attributional Comments of Experienced and Novice Examiners During Intelligence Testing

Attributional and encouraging statements during WISC-R administration were compared for experienced and beginning examiners. The patterns of comments for both experienced and beginning examiners seemed to be related to structural aspects of the test, and the proportions of comments in attributional categories were similar for the two groups. However, experienced examiners made greater numbers of both attributional and encouraging comments. The results suggest that further investigation of subjective aspects of test administration be made and implications for training of examiners be considered.

Learning techniques for driver training

This small scale project showed that by systematically observing the behaviour of trainees at specified hazard points, road behaviour could be assessed. It showed that this behaviour was related to success in the driving test which in turn was related to instructor style. Style was measured from tape-recordings made in the cab during the course of instruction, by calculating percentage talk time and the proportion of comments which were defined as ‘teaching’ comments. These were ones which encouraged the trainee to use his discretionary skills and gave him feedback on his decisions. They are the sort of comments that differentiate between trainee orientated learning and instructor orientated learning. The ‘telling’ form of instruction is helpful where straightforward procedures have to be learned such as the ‘how’ of gear changing, but ‘where’ and ‘when’ to change gear is related to many variables such as visibility, speed, weight and road conditions and so the driver must be capable of making his own decisions. It seems that he makes these decisions better when his instructor uses ‘teaching’ remarks rather than ‘telling’ remarks. An attempt was made to change the style of two instructors by the use of a guided self-discovery method, but although the results were encouraging, it was felt that a complete and permanent change of style would require feedback and discussion with a trajning adviser. The difference in style can be related to a great deal of learning which involves the development of new concepts which have to be internalized and understood before they can be applied to different situations. Instructor style plays an important role in facilitating or inhibiting the development of concepts, and in creating either an adaptable trainee who has accepted responsibility for his own learning, or a trainer-dependent trainee who has great difficulty in transferring his learning from the specific instance in which it occurred.