Small Group Work Research Articles

Factors Influencing Student Confidence and Their Perception of Learning in Chemistry and Biochemistry Courses

In this study, various course features affecting student confidence and their perceived learning experience were examined in the context of undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry courses. Online surveys were used to measure student-reported confidence in their ability to solve problems in groups versus working individually, and to measure the extent to which various course features influenced their learning experience. Compared to working alone, working in small groups of 3-4 had a remarkably large effect on students' confidence in solving problems. Upon examining over 1500 student responses to more than 150 different problems/exercises presented over dozens of classes across 3 separate courses, students' self-reported confidence in solving problems increased to an average reported value of 8.0 out of 10 when working on problems in small groups compared to an average reported value of 6.5 out of 10 when working individually. The positive and close correlation between a learner's confidence and their actual performance has been well-established in both educational and neurocognitive fields. These data demonstrate that group work significantly enhances student confidence in solving problems, which suggests how important it is for instructors to incorporate regular group work as part of their course experience to improve students' learning and performance. Further, this study also examined specific course features and the extent to which such features influence students' self-reported perceptions of their learning. Survey responses indicated that students found regular instructor feedback, opportunities to revisit/correct assessments for additional credit (i.e. multi-stage assessments), and the class environment as the top-three course features that were most influential on their learning. Instructors can thus further improve student learning by structuring their courses to include strategic opportunities for students to revisit assessments, for instance by using multi-stage exams or quizzes, while also providing frequent and high-quality feedback, as well as by facilitating a positive class environment in which students are best poised to learn.

Using a Flipped Classroom to Increase Understanding, Retention and Engagement in a Virtual Anatomy and Physiology Course

In Fall 2020, in order to maximize student understanding and retention of material in my online undergraduate combined Anatomy and Physiology course, I decided to alter my traditional method of lecture delivery and to flip the class. I also intended that this method would allow for increased student engagement in the virtual class and a more discussion based synchronous class would allow a sense of community to develop, which I saw as especially important while the class was geographically distant during the pandemic. Students were required to watch two or three short videos up to 20 minutes each, before attending each virtual class that met twice weekly. During our synchronous class, students completed activities such as small group work on case studies, answering short answer questions, polls, reviewing material and asking open questions. Mid-way through the semester I reviewed the class format, the students’ preparedness for class, their understanding of the material and satisfaction with the format. I found that the flipped class format allowing for increased small group work in class and content discussion, helped to create a sense of community in the virtual class, however by week 6 of the semester the number of students that were not viewing the content videos before class was increasing and their preparedness was falling. Results from a mid-semester survey indicated that 40% of students were happy with the flipped classroom, whereas 48% of the students preferred a hybrid format, requiring them to watch a single video up to 20 minutes before attending class and covering more content in lecture format in our virtual class. Just 11% of students indicated a preference for changing to a traditional synchronous lecture format. I learned that 48% of students reported the flipped format increased their understanding of the material with 25% of students being neutral and 76% of students reported the flipped method improved their retention of the material. In response to the mid-semester survey, I opted to complete the second half of the semester using the hybrid model, in which the students watched up to 20 minutes of pre-recorded material before our virtual class and in class we completed a mixture of lecture and small group and individual activities. With this hybrid model students continued to be engaged in the virtual class and mastered the content. In conclusion, I found that the flipped classroom was helpful in promoting student understanding, retention and allowed for a greater sense of community in an online setting. However, the students found it difficult to review all of the lecture material before attending class and were missing content with the flipped model, therefore a hybrid model was more popular and ultimately successful.

AAI Curriculum Ad Hoc Committee Presentation: The Development of AAI Recommendations for an Undergraduate Course in Immunology

Abstract The subject of immunology is a conceptually intricate and rapidly expanding field of study that is vitally important to biomedical science undergraduate education. Identifying the “essential” components of an undergraduate immunology (UGI) course can be daunting due to the varying post-graduate pathways students take. To address the need for a guiding framework for teaching UGI, the American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Education Committee commissioned the AAI Curriculum Ad Hoc Committee to develop a cohesive document identifying the core curricular components deemed essential for UGI courses, and opportunities to meet the needs of diverse student populations. In this presentation, we will share the process by which this effort was accomplished, with the hope of illuminating both the successes and challenges of our work to the education community, and inspiring similar efforts in other areas. We will cover the essential and reiterative steps of this undertaking by detailing: the collaboration with various stakeholders, including undergraduate, medical school, and industry partners; the evaluation of potential curricular components, including outreach surveys and small working groups from the AAI community; the refinement of the recommendations, including an organized virtual workshop with open participation from stakeholders; the development of a statement on inclusive and antiracist teaching; the determination of a dissemination plan; and the identification of future needs and goals for the process. We believe that sharing this process will be insightful for educators in the field of immunology, and more broadly to any educator with an interest in the process of inclusive and comprehensive curriculum development.

Transition from a lecture‐based to an active learning curriculum in medical physiology

The goal of medical physiology education is long-term retention of knowledge and the ability to apply acquired knowledge in practice. The educational literature has demonstrated that this is best achieved using active learning models. In our medical school, physiology education was structured around a passive lecture format, and the application of knowledge primarily occurred via formative and summative assessments. Our goal was to transition physiology education from a passive to an active learning format over a timeframe that allowed faculty and students to adjust to the new format. We developed a 3-year plan. To monitor and assess the success of the transition, we used the evaluative tool known as PORTAAL1, which includes four dimensions. Dimension 1, Practice, was implemented using a flipped classroom model. Dimension 2, Logic Development, employed small group work, followed by Q&A sessions. Dimension 3, Accountability, was accomplished by Readiness and Retention exercises that were required before the Q&A sessions. To achieve Dimension 4, Reduced Apprehension, clinically oriented learning scenarios were released in advance of in-class sessions and groups were called upon to discuss their responses to triggers in scenarios. In contrast to low attendance (< 35%) at most lecture-based sessions, nearly 100% of the class was engaged in the Zoom-based active learning sessions. We continue to monitor and compare the gradual but steady improvement in academic performance to the lecture-style format. The transition has required faculty to develop pre-class learning modules as well as clinically oriented in-class sessions structured around active learning. We anticipate this shift in learning strategies will enhance the movement toward an organ-based preclinical curriculum. 1CBE-Life Sciences Education 2015;14:1-16.

Gender stereotypes and inclusion in language teaching

Example sentences are a major source of data in both linguistics and language teaching. We use examples in our teaching to support students’ learning, both in textbooks and in more informal contexts such as classroom instruction and small-group work. This paper is concerned with the representation of gender in such examples. We introduce our prior work on the use of examples in Linguistics research articles, showing that they exhibit pervasive biases and stereotypes. Among other findings, men outnumber women in examples at a 2:1 rate. Men are portrayed more often as grammatical subjects with jobs, while women are family-oriented passive actors in a male world. We offer recommendations to avoid such bias, to encourage student participation and send a message of inclusion in the classroom.

Faculty perceptions of engaging older adults in higher education: The need for intergenerational pedagogy

ABSTRACT Institutions of higher education need to become more age friendly. Creating an on-campus lifelong learning program can offer older adults opportunities to audit classes and engage in multigenerational classrooms, but can also promote intergenerational learning when instructors consciously use pedagogy that fosters engagement between learners from various generations. Promoting intergenerational learning to facilitate reciprocal sharing of expertise between generations is also the fourth principle of the Age Friendly University framework. This qualitative interview study examines the perspectives of 27 faculty members who have opened their face to face classrooms to older adult auditors to 1) Explore perceived benefits and challenges associated with having older adults in the college classroom and to 2) Determine what levels of intergenerational learning may be taking place. Compared to lecture-based courses, faculty whose pedagogy promotes discussion, sharing, and small group work reported detailed examples of older adult learners and traditionally-aged college students engaging in course-related discussion. The unique, historical and diverse perspectives of older adults improved the quality of education for students, and fostered in-depth learning. Challenges related to older adult auditors included poor/limited attendance, sharing of strong opinions/dominating class discussion, sensory/mobility and technology accessibility. Recommendations include training to promote intergenerational engagement in college classrooms.

УЛОГА АКЦИОНОГ ИСТРАЖИВАЊА У ПРЕВЕНЦИЈИ НАСИЉА У ШКОЛАМА – ПРИМЕР РЕФЛЕКСИВНЕ ПРАКСЕ

The aim of the action research conducted is focused on professional training and creating a favorable climate in the classroom for the development of each student. The paper emphasises how important and efficient action researches are in improving teachers’ reflective practice, as well as in providing support for its practical application. The research presented in this paper involved four stages of action research: teachers’ training, creation and realization of activities, evaluation of teachers and students and of the complete programme, as well. The formative evaluation was done by means of the questionnaire for the assessment of the accomplishments of workshop activities and interview conducted with the teachers after each of the activity was completed. The summation evaluation was done by means of the questionnaire for the assessment of the initial knowledge of the students and the ultimate knowledge they acquired regarding types and forms of violence, and reacting to and reporting peer violence. Finally, third questionnaire was used for the self-assessment of the teachers’ practice. The workshop activities included: active methods, the method of experiential learning, cooperative and problem method. The activities were realized through simultaneous individual activities, work in small groups, group discussions, talking circles and frontal forms of work. The results obtained showed positive changes among teachers regarding the acquisition of knowledge related to the preventive measures against peer violence. With regard to the students, the observed changes were related to their expansion of knowledge about violence, improvement of their mutual cooperation and higher level of tolerance in resolving conflicts.

Enhancing Student Knowledge of Diabetes through Virtual Choose Your Own Adventure Patient Case Format.

Educational strategies to teach pharmacy students about diabetes are necessary to prepare future pharmacists to manage complex patients. The Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) patient case format is an innovative activity that presents a patient case in an engaging way. The objectives of this study were (1) to describe the development of the innovative teaching activity and (2) to assess its effect on student knowledge and confidence in outpatient management of diabetes. The CYOA patient case activity was designed by transforming a traditional paper patient case involving outpatient diabetes management into an interactive format utilizing an online platform. The activity was conducted with 186 second-year pharmacy students in a skills-based course. This activity was administered virtually through a combination of small group work and large group discussion. After completion of the activity, students completed an online self-assessment questionnaire. Of 178 completed questionnaires, there was a statistically significant difference in students’ self-ratings after versus before the activity for all survey items (p < 0.001). The CYOA activity improved self-reported knowledge of outpatient diabetes management and increased self-reported confidence in clinical decision-making skills. This format shows promise as an educational tool that may be adapted for other disease states to enhance clinical decision-making skills.

Social Work E-Placements During COVID-19: Learnings of Staff and Students

ABSTRACT This paper describes and explores e-placements that engaged social work students in semester one of 2020 due to placement disruption after the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. The term “e-placement” describes a placement undertaken off site from the placement organisation or agency. Students at James Cook University (JCU), Queensland, Australia, who could not continue in on-site placements were offered the opportunity to participate in a Community Connector Project (CCP) to complete their placement. The aims of the project were to provide an online supported placement experience in order to deliver a comprehensive and interactive learning experience for students to meet the learning outcomes of a field education experience, work with the community to explore community needs during the pandemic, share and distribute existing information and resources, and develop further information and resources. Twenty students chose to participate in the CCP. The project included biweekly meetings, small group work, and individual work. This paper was written collaboratively between field education staff, students, and a service provider. It presents practice reflections on the project and the project’s outcomes, challenges, and learning. Implications for educational practice are drawn. IMPLICATIONS Students in e-placements can feel overwhelmed and isolated and need targeted support and rich opportunities for collaboration and exchange. E-placements can be valuable learning opportunities. E-placements are resource intensive if student learning and safety are to be prioritised.

Zwischen Schule und Studium – Wissenskommunikation in studentischen Kleingruppen angehender Lehrer*innen

AbstractBridging the gap between theory and practice is an important topic in German teacher education: How can trainee teachers be prepared for the requirements of their future job? One concept that has been discussed in depth is research-based learning: it promises to foster critical thinking and reflexion skills. In our paper, we discuss data from three settings of research-based learning in which students work in small groups of 2–4 persons on empirical data and/or discuss scientific publications. Using a conversation analytic approach, we ask how exactly students bridge the aforementioned gap – how they use biographical and/or professional knowledge from the epistemic domainschool, and in what way these referrals are functional for the ongoing interaction in the small groups. We describe three practices and discuss them in terms of identity construction, knowledge communication and ‘doing togetherness’.

Jumpstarting Health With a 15-Day Whole-Food Plant-Based Program.

The 15-day Jumpstart was developed as an evidence-based, affordable, standardized, replicable, and scalable program, designed to demonstrate quickly to patients that changing what they eat can improve their health. The program was designed using the principles of the self-determination theory of motivation and personality. Patients were instructed to eat an Esselstyn-compliant, whole-food plant-based diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Of the 389 participants in the program from September 2018 to February 2020, average weight loss was 5.8 pounds (7.3 for those whose body mass index was >30), average systolic blood pressure drop was 6.8 points (16.8 points for those with systolic blood pressure >140), average drop in cholesterol was 26 points (44 points for those with a cholesterol >200), average drop in low-density lipoprotein was 19 points (33 points for those with a low-density lipoprotein >100), and average drop in fasting blood sugar was 5.1 points (28.4 points for those starting in the diabetic range); P value was <.005 for fasting blood sugar and <.001 for all other comparisons. A 15-day program that helps patients adopt an Esselstyn-style whole-food plant-based diet, through education, individualized medical feedback, social support, and facilitated small group work, rapidly improves health.

PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS OF FORMATION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL THINKING OF HIGHER EDUCATION SEEKERS

The relevance of the chosen research topic is due to the fact that modern social and economic environment requires specialists in the area of physical culture and sports to be ready for self-realization of professional potential in terms of market economy, which requires certain knowledge and skills to start and develop their own business. The purpose of the article is to suggest the pedagogical construction of forms and methods of teaching within the disciplines which ensure the formation of entrepreneurial thinking of future bachelors in physical culture and sports. To achieve this goal, abstract-logical and system-structural research methods have been used. The author’s concept of the process of formation of information and communication, economic and managerial components of entrepreneurial culture of future bachelors in physical culture and sports involves the implementation of preparatory, theoretical and practical stages. The formation of entrepreneurial culture at the preparatory stage is associated with the compulsory discipline “Information Technology in Physical Culture and Sports” (second semester). The theoretical stage involves mastering the study material of optional courses “Management in Physical Culture and Sports” (third semester), “Marketing of Physical Culture and Sports” (fourth semester), “Entrepreneurship in Physical Culture and Sports” (fifth semester), “Innovative technologies of sports training and physical culture” (sixth semester). The practical stage includes the preparation and defense of a course work and internships at enterprises that provide physical culture and health services. The disciplines ensuring the formation of entrepreneurship in higher education are defined as “Entrepreneurship in physical culture and sports” and the content module “Startups in the field” of the discipline “Innovative technologies of sports training and physical culture”. The discipline “Entrepreneurship in Physical Culture and Sports” has four credits, each of which corresponds to a certain module. The following forms and methods of organization of educational process have been offered: traditional lectures, lectures-press conferences, lectures-presentations, a round table, business games, method of problem-based learning, work in small groups and a method of individual work. These pedagogical conditions for the development of entrepreneurial thinking contribute to the creation and consolidation of certain patterns of successful business projects in the field, the acquisition of skills of self-analysis of entrepreneurial thinking using appropriate diagnostic techniques, create conditions for creative communication with the audience, collaboration in the creation process, emotional interaction and activate students’ independent cognitive activity, encourage them to perform search and research activities.

Motivating Premedical Students to Get Interested in Physics

Physics teachers around the world are trying to create classroom environments that would allow life science students to be more intrinsically motivated in their work. These efforts include, among others, matching classroom activities to students’ interests as well as structurally variable activities to match different student abilities. While physics instruction at the Université libre de Bruxelles also strives to make classes more relevant for life science students, two stimulation approaches will be presented here in detail. These include the in-class motivation using historical examples of physicians’ role in physics development and the small group work outside of class on physics problems that have engaging, motivating, and challenging biomedical headings.

An Examination of Intragroup Process in Service-Learning Teams

Small group work performed in the context of university service-learning projects has been seen as a vehicle well-suited to teaching students about group dynamics and how to work on real world problems as members of a team. Little research, however, has focused on the intragroup processes involved in service-learning. The present study was conducted in the context of a service-learning project in which twenty groups of four to five university business school students taught continuation high school students a series of lessons regarding life skills such as goal setting and career readiness. The lesson planning sessions of the university students were video recorded and the videos were then analyzed for patterns of utterances by group participants (questions; instructions; suggestions; etc.) that occurred during the sessions. An iterative process of coding and recoding was employed to capture each behavior for further study. The results suggest that the groups engaged in a surprising level of meaningful collaboration, with leadership shared among group members, and little evidence of individual dominance of groups, or conflict between students.

ORGANIZATION OF DEMO LESSONS IN RUSSIAN LANGUAGE IN TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES

This article is devoted to the issues of teaching Russian language in groups with the national language of instruction in non-philological universities. The article discusses the principles of approach to the assessment of pedagogical skills through demo lessons, which use various methods of innovative educational technologies, interactive tasks: "Pen on the table", "Domino", "Knew. Want to know. Have known”, a Blitz survey, work in small groups (pairs), etc. Demo lessons, which are a source of innovative experience and pedagogical skills, provide a higher efficiency of the educational process. KEYWORDS: teaching of the Russian language, education, open class, methods, pedagogical skills, educational process, educational technologies.

The Magic of Project Resolution in a Short Period of Time: Design Sprint Applied in Higher Education

The research conducted in this study was applied to multidisciplinary groups of Higher Education belonging to different degrees using the methodology proposed by the Design Sprint (DS) tool for the achievement of different challenges/objectives in a very short time. The methodology used is an adaptation of the one proposed by the DS, carried out in five non-consecutive stages/sessions focused on students of the first two years of different degrees of the CEU San Pablo University. The students, in general, have valued very positively the collaborative work in small groups, the time management and the administration of work under stress. The abandonment of the different challenges was set at 32%. A high level of commitment has been appreciated among the students to reach the proposed challenges, however, the work of the mentors as guides, becomes essential in the first courses of the different degrees in a general way. The application of the SD methodology provides students with an increase in their performance, in their ability to work in teams and to adapt in the best possible way to the demands of a society that is increasingly demanding new technologies. Students have increased their ability to reflect, transform and innovate in the different objectives/challenges/projects demanded by the new circumstances and social strategies. The support of good mentors, critics and specialists in the different areas to be addressed is necessary to offer students a better learning experience.

Comparing and Discussing Multiple Strategies: An Approach to Improving Algebra Instruction

Productive learning of algebra is supported when students reflect on multiple strategies, compare them and discuss the rationale behind and relative merits of particular strategies. Comparison and Discussion of Multiple Strategies (CDMS) is an instructional approach designed to support these processes in math classrooms. In the current study, 16 Algebra I teachers received professional development and supplemental materials to support CDMS when teaching a unit on linear equation solving and 475 of their students completed assessments of their linear equation solving knowledge before and after the unit. Thirteen Algebra I teachers and their 359 students were the business-as-usual control group. CDMS increased how often teachers engaged their students in comparison of multiple strategies, sustained small group work, and sustained mathematical discussions. Students in CDMS classrooms also had higher knowledge of linear equations on the posttest, particularly procedural flexibility, even after controlling for pretest knowledge and school demographic differences. Thus, encouraging teachers to regularly compare and discuss multiple strategies increases students’ algebra learning. Findings highlight the need to expand theories of algebra learning to include attention to procedural flexibility, illustrate an instructional theory and method to promote broader learning about algebra, and provide evidence for effective instructional practices.

How to Peer Review a Paper

At the beginning of a career in academic psychiatry, new attending psychiatrists do not have all the skills necessary to advance towards promotion. For instance, attendings are most likely well versed in reading and perhaps in writing medical literature, but may not have the knowledge, skills or attitudes to provide a meaningful peer review to a publication. Aside from providing an important, meaningful service to medical science, reviewing articles prior to publication can allow novice researchers and writers to gain important skills in writing for publication and critical thinking. It also allows one to keep up to date on the latest science, and build your CV. This interactive workshop will give participants the opportunity to work in small groups to review an article, present their evaluation and compare their findings with experts.Dr. Nery Diaz and Dr. Paroma Mitra will discuss the basic process of peer review, why participants should accept requests to review articles and provide a “how to” guide. Then, participants will form small groups and group review a section of an article using the guidelines discussed previously. After, the groups will report out their findings. The results from the official review of the article will be shared so that participants can compare findings. Dr. Jordan Karp will provide insights into the process of publication from the viewpoint of a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Finally, Dr. Popeo will provide a brief summary.

Recipes for Adult Learning: Innovations in teaching neuroimaging to geriatric trainees

This session will introduce a mosaic of teaching strategies that utilize adult learning principles and allow for collaborativelearning in neuroimaging foundations and applications, disciplines often undertaught in clinical psychiatry training. To open, there will be a brief session introducing the concept of adult learning, the course, and syllabus (10 mins). We will present data collected from our current cohort of trainees and lessons learned along the way (20 mins). The audience will then break into small working groups and will use the tools introduced in the session to prepare a class about neuroimaging (30 mins). There will be a 30 minute-long large group discussion about the projects created. Learners will leave with ideas on how to approach constructing a neuroimaging curriculum.

Communicative competencies anchored longitudinally - the curriculum "personal and professional development" in the model study programme in undergraduate medical education at the University of Witten/Herdecke.

Background: In October 2018, the University of Witten/Herdecke (UW/H) launched the new reformed medical education programme called Medicine 2018+. A major innovation compared to the existing model programme was the introduction of thematic focuses. A longitudinal communication skills curriculum was integrated into the new thematic focus “professional and personal development – inner work” (IAP). With the start of the new programme, the IAP curriculum has been built step-by-step over time, i.e. the first four semesters have already been implemented, the following semesters are being planned.Project description: IAP aims to provide students with patient-centred medicine. Five areas of competence were defined: Doctor-patient communication, team competence, staying healthy, my paths to becoming a doctor, medicine and society. The focus of this article is on the communication curriculum. The first year of study focusses on the training of basic communication skills. In the 2nd year of study, students practice these basic skills in small groups with simulated patients (SP), whereby the emphasis in the 3rd semester is on history taking and in the 4th semester is on sharing information. In the 3rd semester, students complete a communication station in an OSCE. From the 5th semester onwards, the focus of training is on the consolidation of basic and advanced communication skills, which can be applied in clinical clerkships, and the reflection of clinical experiences. Key didactic elements are, in addition to teaching the theoretical basics, experience-based small group work with and without SP, feedback and reflection. The evaluation of the summer semester 2020 showed high agreement ratings of the students regarding the overall satisfaction with the individual courses (83-100% agreement).Discussion: The introduction of IAP has been very positively received by the students. Challenges are the adequate handling of the increasing student workload when planning new courses, the implementation of a longitudinal e-portfolio as well as the recruitment and training of clinical teachers and SPs.Conclusion: As the evaluation results of the summer semester 2020 show, the first steps of implementing a longitudinal communication curriculum at UW/H have been successful. Helpful strategies were the orientation on published examples from other faculties as well as regular feedback and discussions with students and teachers in order to adapt and integrate educational considerations into the existing model programme in Witten.