Student-centered Curriculum Research Articles

Children's Books and Curriculum Integration in K-12

Children's Books and Curriculum Integration in K-12 Antonio Causarano (bio) As a former special education teacher supporting students with disabilities in inclusive programs, and as a literacy instructor teaching literacy courses in an urban redesigned program, I have always seen picturebooks as paramount to designing an integrated literacy curriculum that can effectively support students' acquisition of foundational knowledge in content areas (Vučković). The importance of children's books as multimodal texts that scaffold reading comprehension by a balance between illustrations and narrative with content that presents cultural and racial variations is key to see student-centered instruction around the themes created by choosing quality children's books integrated across the curriculum (Zunshine). The overarching question here is how to create a student-centered curriculum using children's books across the curriculum that expose students to diversity in language, culture, and exceptionalities. One of the many possible answers is to see the learner at the center of the reading process and to provide teachers with the theory and the methodological tools to design effective curriculum integration using children's books as core texts in curriculum and instruction (Roger). The Reader at the Center of the Literacy Process Curriculum integration happens when students are placed at the center of the learning process by considering who they are in terms of culture, language, and exceptionalities. This means that the learner is the most important element that determines what texts will be used to design an integrated curriculum that will see students' diversity as the driving force to scaffold the literacy process across the curriculum. The theory that supports an integrated curriculum design is, in my experience, Rosenblatt's reader response theory (Literature; The Reader), which provides the theoretical framework to put the learner at the center of the reading process by choosing texts that mirror the learner's interests. Readers, according to reader response theory, come from different walks of life. The diversity and richness in the reader's background knowledge are key in looking at the processes that underlie the response to the same text and also, more importantly, indicate that the meaning is determined by the dynamic relationship between the reader and the text (Rosenblatt, Literature and The Reader). Reader response theory gives the learner a variety of possible ways in which he or she can contribute to the meaningmaking [End Page 83] process during the reading event. In turn, the reader is an active participant in literacy events across the curriculum, where the content of children's books acts as a cognitive stimulus to delve into the dynamics of the content of the text in relation to the learner's background knowledge. Rosenblatt's (Literature; The Reader) theory sees the reader, the text, and the context of reading as integrated. The three components cannot be separated in the meaning-making process and represent the blueprint for an effective design of integrated curriculum across content areas. The methodological processes that follow from reader response theory clearly point to assessing the background knowledge of the learners in a classroom to match the concepts of books to children and to create a virtuous cycle of learning where readers, texts, and contexts of learning are integrated across the curriculum. Assessment of children's background knowledge and interests represents the stepping stone for designing the curriculum from the bottom up (Columba et al.). I will lay out the components of effective assessment teachers can use to acquire a systematic knowledge of their learners and how to apply this knowledge to design integrated curriculum using children's books. Know Your Students in Depth The first step is to ask the crucial questions that drive your assessment design in an integrated curriculum using children's books. Columba et al. suggest the following questions to shape authentic assessment of learners' interest in the reading process and to differentiate texts to match them to each learner's ability and intrinsic motivation. (1) What is special about this student? (2) What is the student's background (sociocultural, economic, linguistic, etc.)? (3) What values does the learner hold (e.g., cultural or religious)? (4) What does the learner already know, and what can he or she do? (5...

“Waking Justice”: An @cto on Education

“Waking Justice”: An @cto on Education Daniel Morales Morales (bio) “Waking Justice” is inspired by the work of Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino as well as Augusto Boal work around Theatre of the Oppressed. Actos that are part of El Teatro Campesino, like the ones in Valdez’s Early Works: Actos, Bernabé and Pensamiento Serpentino (1990), are not only art but social activism, and a key tool to challenge the status quo and advocate for change. According to Valdez (1971), the acto has five goals: “inspire the audience to social action, illuminate specific points about social problems, satirize the opposition, show or hint at a solution, and express what people are thinking” (6). This @cto was created during a series of workshops with middle and high schoolers who were part of an after-school theater class that collaborated with undergraduates, a graduate student, and a faculty member in creating and performing art. I refer to this piece as an @cto instead of an acto since its multiple versions were created online after receiving feedback from the students who authored part of the script and those who performed the @ cto on stage. This collective aspect helped the intergenerational artists of this @cto create work that included multiple experiences in educational spaces. The Latinx Theatre Project The Latinx Theatre Project was a collaborative theater experience that brought together undergraduates in the Spanish and Portuguese Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and students involved in the First Generation Youth Program in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Dr. Kristie Soares, the instructor for the class, created a collaboration in the Fall of 2017 to immerse the undergraduates and the young performers in Latinx art pedagogies, divided into three units: Theatre of the Oppressed, the Nuyorican Poetry Movement, and El Teatro Campesino. The first third of the semester was spent mostly building community among the undergraduates and understanding the sociohistorical context of the Latinx community in western Massachusetts. During the second third of the semester, we started to collaborate with the young performers from First Generation. In the last third of the semester, we worked together with the youth as an ensemble to create and stage [End Page 232] performance pieces in the style of the Latinx art pedagogies that were centered in the partnership. For the whole semester, we not only trained to facilitate Latinx theater exercises as part of our social justice practice but also learned and practiced concrete skills in theater arts, such as writing, performing, and set design. For our final performance at Teatro Vida, in Springfield, we shared with the audience our Nuyorican-style spoken word collage, a rhythm poem combining Nuyorican poetry and Theatre of the Oppressed, a video of our creative process, and “Waking Justice,” our @cto written in the style of El Teatro Campesino. The first element used in our process of creation was Theatre of the Oppressed. Augusto Boal’s work offered us an embodiment of Freirean concepts that can be deployed in the classroom in a novel, engaging, and empowering way. Central to Boal’s ideas is what he terms a “spect-actor” (2002, 243), which means there is not a distinction between actors and spectators; we all have the ability to observe critically and act upon our analysis. As a result, the spectator becomes “spect-actor”—an element of the theatrical performance that both views and actively participates in and co-constructs the course of events, its actions, and outcomes. Boal’s concept of a spectactor is very closely related to Paulo Freire’s concept of “praxis”—the unification of theory and practice and “generative terms”—topics that participants generate which are used as centerpieces of student-centered curriculum (Freire 1970). Rather than talking about the issues affecting Latinx students in schools, the spectactors interacted and manipulated dramatized representations of codified generative themes. In the case of “Waking Justice,” the characters illuminated the disproportionate punishment of students of color in schools, the lack of caring from a predominantly white teacher population, and the focus on a Eurocentric curriculum and standardized testing. The solutions are for the audience to decide, but there is a clear indication for teachers to learn from students, to listen to them...

‘Can we play the real sport?’ Co-creating a student-centered after-school sports club

ABSTRACT Background For years, physical activity settings had portrayed a discourse that does not allow to add new and different elements in its practice. This discourse established a status quo that has affected in many ways the structure, the pedagogy and practice of physical activity settings. This is the case of out-school programs. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the process of co-creating an after-school sports club implementing a student-centered pedagogy. Methods This was an activist research project framed in two semesters. A key aspect of activist research is rooted in social interaction and a student-centered pedagogy is central in its framework. Participants included a doctoral candidate (lead author), a university professor (peer debriefing and second author), 3 college graduate and undergraduate students and 13 middle school students. Data collected included 11 peer-debriefing meetings, 22 youth debriefing meetings, 22 researcher journal entries and 13 debriefing meetings with the college adult participants. Findings Implementing a student-centered pedagogy such as the Student-Centered Inquiry as Curriculum approach helped to co-design and co-create this process within the sports club, which are divided into three sections: (1) design process of a student-centered sports club, (2) challenges and successes process of a student-centered sports club design, and (3) ‘Can we play the real sport? – Co-creating a student-centered sports club curriculum. Conclusion Co-creating a student-centered after-school sports club had two key elements: collaborative work and time. These two key elements helped a student-centered pedagogy central to an activist approach to become the bridge that facilitates youth engagement in out-school settings such as an after-school sports club.

Keeping It Relevant: Student-Centered Reflections, Choices, and Actions of Critical Race Womanist Pedagogues

This article examines how three Black women educators disrupt oppressive norms in urban schooling through their applications of critical race womanist pedagogy (CRWP). Using narrative excerpts formed from semi-structured interviews exploring how they contend with sociopolitical injustices through their pedagogical choices and actions, CRWP characterizes their daily classroom practices in four ways: (1) teacher reflexivity and student-centered curriculum, (2) authentic and reality-based curriculum, (3) culturally and politically relevant pedagogy, and (4) self-actualization and capacity-oriented approaches. Concretizing enactments of CRWP can inform the work of teachers, teacher educators, and administrators committed to prioritizing student-centered, politicized, academically responsive, and asset-based urban education.

Mentoring Faculty Through a Quantitative Reasoning Professional Development Program: Why Do Faculty Participate and What Do They Get Out of It?

ABSTRACTAlthough quantitative reasoning (QR) is central to general education, many college students lack fundamental numeracy skills. In response, The City University of New York established a QR faculty development program that trained instructors across the disciplines through teaching exercises, guided discussions, hands-on activities, the development of instructional/assessment materials, and feedback from mentors and peers. Ten cohorts, 2010–2019, responded to surveys that evaluated their motives for participating and the extent to which they felt their goals were met. Faculty joined the program due to factors including their concern for students, their commitment to QR instruction, and their desire to build professional networks. Program completers reported a better understanding of QR, a greater commitment to QR instruction, increased awareness of tools and techniques (e.g., progressive pedagogies, active learning and constructivist approaches), a clearer sense of students’ needs, a commitment to assessment, and strong engagement with CUNY’s multidisciplinary, multi-institutional QR community. Overall, the perceived benefits of the program match participants’ motives for joining. Respondents’ comments suggest that faculty development for general education requires motivated participants, opportunities for networking, thoughtful discussion of readings and videos, modeling of best practices, a student-centered curriculum, sensitivity to participants’ backgrounds, adequate incentives, effective mentorship, and institutional commitment.

Electives in the medical curriculum \u2013 an opportunity to achieve students\u2019 satisfaction?

BackgroundElectives are perceived by medical students as a valuable, highly regarded experience, allowing them to customize learning experiences and enabling them to early differentiate during medical training. The present work aims to uncover students’ major determinants of satisfaction and how they interfere with their future elective choices in order to identify the best approach to implement electives in medical curricula.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted through a written evaluation survey concerning the electives available in the academic year 2015–2016. Our institution provides 106 electives to students from the 2nd to the 5th year. Students’ satisfaction was assessed through a validated questionnaire with eight sentences expressing opinions related to electives global satisfaction. Data from 538 inquiries from 229 students were analyzed quantitatively using regression and correlation models, and qualitatively through phenomenography.ResultsQuantitative analysis of the questionnaires allowed to establish both: 1) The determinants of students’ satisfaction with electives, which were Agreement with teaching and learning methodologies, followed by Agreement with assessment methodologies employed, Perception of the workload demanded and Requirement for continuous work and 2) The predictors of students preferences in the following years, namely, Agreement with assessment methodologies employed, Classes attendance and Ranking of the allocated elective established in the previous year. Qualitative analysis of questionnaires revealed that students consider electives as being innovative and interesting, claiming that some, for their relevant content, could be integrated into the medical core curriculum.ConclusionsOur work raises awareness on the best practices when it comes to electives’ organization to meet students’ satisfaction. We can conclude that medical schools should measure students satisfaction as a tool to organize and predict future needs of electives and placements when designing and implementing this alternative student-centred curriculum or even to improve the existing practices regarding electives in medical courses.

The effect of cooperative learning strategy on the engagement in architectural education

Cooperative learning is one of the important educational strategies that have been adopted in the student-centered curricula, and an important step in learning and education is the development and enhancement of student learning and their interaction with improving the effectiveness of teaching. The aim of this research is to study the impact of the use of cooperative learning strategy and its impact on academic engagement and its reflection on student performance achievement and results of their learning process for a sample of students from the Department of Architecture in the College of Engineering at Mustansiriyah University. The results showed a strong correlation between cooperative learning strategy and academic engagement in the educational process with high impact factor between the two variables, so the result was positive, which enhanced the academic achievement results for the stage as well as an increase in technical and academic skills for students by helping them meet the design requirements and enhancing their social skills, so they became more motivating and willing to learn and strengthen social relations between students and the faculty as well as the influence of time factor where teamwork significantly reduced time at the level of achievement, in addition to the time devoted to criticism for five groups compared to (15) individuals. The experiment demonstrated the effect of cooperative learning strategy on the level of student engagement in terms of its four characteristics:• Behavioral engagement through effective engagement into group work.• An increase in the desire to work and an improvement in social relations, and hence, increase in the rates of emotional engagement.• Cognitive merger by noting an improvement in academic performance in general compared to individual performance.• The individual effort may not be apparent to some students due to the interlock of joints of work at the group level.

과목선택권 확대를 통해 본 학습자 주도성의 의미 재고: S고 학생들의 공동교육과정 경험을 중심으로

과목선택권 확대를 통해 본 학습자 주도성의 의미 재고: S고 학생들의 공동교육과정 경험을 중심으로

A Self-Study on the Physical Education Teaching Experiences of Student-Centered Curriculum

A Self-Study on the Physical Education Teaching Experiences of Student-Centered Curriculum

Empathy, well-being and stressful experiences in the clinical learning environment

ObjectiveThis study examines whether students in the clinical phase show reduced well-being and lower empathy scores compared to preclinical students. Furthermore, it explores students’ most stressful experiences. MethodsA cross-sectional mixed-methods study was conducted among medical students of the revised patient- and student-centred curriculum at Witten/Herdecke University (Germany). An online survey included questions regarding empathy (JSPE-S), well-being (WHO-5), distressing factors in the learning and clinical environments, mistreatment and thoughts of dropping out. Results176 (34 %) of 517 medical students completed the questionnaire, 73 being preclinical and 103 clinical students. Despite lower well-being, clinical student did not demonstrate lower empathy levels. Main stressors during the clinical phase were negative physician role models and financially focussed care rather than challenging patient encounters. Compared to preclinical students, clinical students showed more mistreatment experiences and higher ratings towards thoughts of dropping out. ConclusionOur results illustrate contemporary challenges to establishing a learner-centred clinical environment that nurtures well-being and empathy of medical students. The sustainment of empathy despite more stressful experiences and lower well-being may be due to protective factors. Practice ImplicationsThe paper suggests activities to support clinical students to find ways to adapt the clinical learning environment to students’ needs.

Change of accreditation standards of medical schools by the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation from 2000 to 2019.

This review presents information on changes in the accreditation standards of medical schools in Korea by the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE) from 2000 to 2019. Specifically, the following aspects are explained: the development process, setting principles and directions, evaluation items, characteristics of the standards, and validity testing over the course of 4 cycles. The first cycle of accreditation (2000–2005) focused on ensuring the minimum requirements for the educational environment. The evaluation criteria emphasized the core elements of medical education, including facilities and human resources. The second cycle of accreditation (2007–2010) emphasized universities’ commitment to social accountability and the pursuit of excellence in medical education. It raised the importance of qualitative standards for judging the content and quality of education. In the post-second accreditation cycle (2012–2018) which means third accreditation cycle, accreditation criteria were developed to standardize the educational environment and programs and to be used for curriculum development in order to continually improve the quality of basic medical education. Most recently, the ASK 2019 (Accreditation Standards of KIMEE 2019) accreditation cycle focused on qualitative evaluations in accordance with the World Federation of Medical Education’s accreditation criteria to reach the international level of basic medical education, which emphasizes the need for a student-centered curriculum, communication with society, and evaluation through a comprehensive basic medical education course. The KIMEE has developed a basic medical education evaluation and accreditation system in a step-by-step manner, as outlined above. Understanding previous processes will be helpful for the future development of accreditation criteria for medical schools in Korea.

Álitamál tengd innleiðingu hæfnimiðaðs námsmats í skyldunámi

Rannsóknastofa um námskrár, námsmat og námsskipulag stóð fyrir tveimur málþingum um námskrár og námsmat á vordögum 2019. Gestur fyrra málþingsins var hollenski námskrárfræðingurinn Jan van den Akker og á seinna málþinginu fluttu fimm hérlendir sérfræðingar erindi um innleiðingu nýs námsmatskerfis í skyldunámi. Undanfarin misseri hefur átt sér stað umræða um þetta kerfi eins og það var kynnt í núgildandi aðalnámskrá fyrir skyldunám. Skotið hafa upp kollinum áhugaverð álitamál og spurningar þessu tengdar. Þar má í fyrsta lagi nefna spurninguna um miðlæga samræmingu hæfniviðmiða og mats. Í öðru lagi beinast augu manna að faglegri ábyrgð kennara og um leið vaxandi vinnuálagi þeirra við námsmat sem er samofið námi og kennslu. Í þriðja lagi þarf að gefa nýjum hugtökum gaum og beitingu þeirra eða öllu heldur nýjum orðum yfir kunnugleg hugtök. Í fjórða lagi koma við sögu gamalkunnar hugmyndastefnur í námskrárfræðum og áhrif þeirra á setningu markmiða og hæfniviðmiða. Loks hafa vaknað spurningar um samband leiðsagnarmats og lokamats og aðferðir þar að lútandi. Markmið greinarinnar er að rýna nánar í þessi álitamál með vísan í rannsóknir og kenningar annars vegar og hins vegar erindi þeirra sem töluðu á málþingunum. Meginniðurstaða höfundar er að víðtækt mat á hæfni hljóti að stuðla að auknu réttmæti og þar með sanngjarnara mati öllum til meiri hagsbóta en áður tíðkaðist. Að sama skapi krefst framkvæmd slíks mats aukinnar matsfræðiþekkingar og faglegrar ábyrgðar kennara og stjórnenda. Um leið má þó ljóst vera að viðmið um hæfni og mat í hinu nýja kerfi eru á margan hátt óljós og því auknar líkur á ósamræmi í mati frá einum skóla til annars.

Implementation of a student-centered curriculum: Challenges ahead and the potential solutions

The competency-based medical education curriculum advocates for the shifting of curriculum from the teacher-centric to the student-centric curriculum. A student-centered curriculum is the one, in which students themselves are accountable for the teaching–learning process, including the framed policies and the decisions taken. However, the path to implement a student-centric curriculum is quite challenging, and a wide range of challenges have been identified from the perspectives of different involved stakeholders. In order to successfully implement a student-centric curriculum, we have to do a lot many things which essentially includes, designing of the curriculum based on well-defined and specific competencies, very much in advance. It is very important to sensitize all the stakeholders involved, and all of them have to understand the need of the same and then work together as a team. In conclusion, the successful implementation of a student-centric curriculum requires extensive planning, preparation, and involvement. The road ahead is quite challenging, but it is not impossible, and it just requires dedicated efforts from all the concerned stakeholders.

Rethinking Learning Design: Reconceptualizing the Role of the Learning Designer in Pre-Service Teacher Preparation through a Design-led Approach

Acquisition of twenty-first-century skills is widely regarded as a determinant of future success. Design-thinking approaches are considered effective in acquiring these skills; however, there has been limited research into the usage of design thinking as a pedagogical approach to assist pre-service teachers (PSTs) in student-centered curriculum design and delivery. Research is also limited regarding the role of the learning designer as an external facilitator, contributing to the development of PSTs as design thinkers and the transformation of classroom practices. A comprehensive literature review reveals learning design remains misunderstood, misaligned with the practices of instructional design, and confused by the exponential growth of educational technologies. This study combines research on learning design, teacher self-efficacy, and design-led educational innovation to formulate the Learning DESIGN Model, a conceptual model of how learning designers can assist in the preparation of PSTs to improve students’ acquisition of twenty-first-century skills. The model facilitates the development of design-thinking processes, skills, and mindsets in PSTs to improve their self-efficacy and enable more student-centered approaches toward curriculum design and classroom practice. It is anticipated this will transform PST education, improve student engagement, and encourage in-service teachers to engaging in design thinking as an educational framework.

422 Developing foundational courses to support undergraduate student success in animal science departmental core curriculum

Abstract Today’s student population comes from highly diverse culture and socio-economic backgrounds, entering college with a range of life experiences and professional aspirations. The selection of and success upon entering a major is highly influenced by those factors. As society has progressed the principle purposes of the animal science discipline have remained intact but the industry scope has expanded as has the range of background knowledge and experience of students entering the major. To address these changes a data-driven, student-centered curriculum study was conducted. Amongst the study findings was that there exists a gap between existing student knowledge and skills, and faculty expectations upon entering disciplinary core courses, which were deemed necessary to gain proficiency in areas identified by industry stakeholders. In order to bridge this gap, it was a goal of the department to create foundational level courses that would support the department curriculum. Through the collaborative efforts between faculty within the animal science department and members of the university center for teaching excellence, as well as findings from the data generated as part of the curriculum redesign process, two new courses were identified for development: Farm Animal Biosystems and Livestock Production Systems. These courses illustrate a novel approach to addressing the disparity in student background knowledge and skills. Rather than assuming a level of proficiency with skills and addressing gaps in knowledge or vice versa, these key areas have been identified and separated so as to provide students with a solid foundation in both the scientific and applied components of the discipline, thus promoting success within the remainder of the curriculum. Successful completion of these courses will enable student to enter the specialized discipline core classes with a more uniform knowledge base.

A comparison of the South African and Indonesian teachers preferred curriculum ideology for school science

South Africa and Indonesia are currently implementing revised school curricula, which are informed by various socio-scientific, political, and economic imperatives related to global educational reform. Teacher preparedness to implement these curriculum reforms could be affected by their teaching philosophies and preferred curriculum ideologies. The present research sought to determine curriculum ideologies preferred by Indonesian and South African teachers, as a preliminary investigation into teachers’ beliefs about the role of education in different teaching and learning contexts. The research question underlying this non-experimental comparative quantitative research asked: How do South African and Indonesian teachers’ preferred curriculum ideology for school science compare? Data were collected using a previously validated questionnaire from purposively selected science teachers from the two countries. Results indicate that the majority of teachers in both countries generally prefer the student-centered curriculum ideology for school science. Differences were observed between teachers concerning specific aspects of school science. It is concluded that teachers have specific preferred ideologies for school science; however, there are local context-specific factors that inform the preferred ideologies among teachers. Further research is required to determine the impact of the preferred ideologies on teaching and learning and curriculum implementation.

Optimising the learning environment for undergraduate students in the Department of Family Medicine at Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University

Background: An important determinant of a medical student’s behaviour and performance is the department’s teaching and learning environment. Evaluation of such an environment can explore methods to improve educational curricula and optimise the academic learning environment.Aim: The aim is to evaluate the educational environment of undergraduate students in the Department of Family Medicine as perceived by students.Setting: This descriptive quantitative study was conducted with one group of final-year students (n = 41) enrolled in 2018, with a response rate of 93% (n = 39). Students were in different training sites at SMU.Methods: Data were collected using the Dundee Ready Educational Environmental Measure (DREEM) questionnaire. Total and mean scores for all questions were calculated.Results: The learning environment was given a mean score of 142/200 by the students. Individual subscales show that ‘academic self-perception’ was rated the highest (25/32), while ‘social self-perception’ had the lowest score (13/24). Positive perception aspects of the academic climate included: student competence and confidence; student participation in class; constructive criticism provided; empathy in medical profession; and friendships created. Areas for improvement included: provision of good support systems for students; social life improvement; course coordinators being less authoritarian and more approachable; student-centred curriculum with less emphasis on factual learning and factual recall.Conclusion: Students’ perceptions of their learning environment were more positive than negative. The areas of improvement will be used to draw lessons to optimise the curriculum and learning environment, improve administrative processes and develop student support mechanisms in order to improve students’ academic experience.

135 Developing foundational courses to support undergraduate student success in animal science departmental core curriculum

Abstract Today’s student population comes from highly diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, entering college with a range of life experiences and professional aspirations. The selection of and success upon entering a major is highly influenced by those factors. As society has progressed, the principle purposes of the animal science discipline have remained intact, but the industry scope has expanded as has the range of background knowledge and experience of students entering the major. To address these changes a data-driven, student-centered curriculum study was conducted. Stakeholder (comprised of industry members, faculty, current and former students) surveys (n = 289) served as a foundational component of the study. Survey responses revealed the existence of a gap between student knowledge and skills and faculty expectations upon entering disciplinary core courses, which were deemed necessary to gain proficiency in areas identified by industry stakeholders. To address that gap, collaborative efforts between Animal Science Department faculty and members of the University Center for Teaching Excellence, as well as findings from the data generated as part of the curriculum redesign process, were used to identify two new courses for development: Farm Animal Biosystems and Livestock Production Systems. Each course incorporates departmental learning outcomes, assessments, and specified teaching methods into their syllabi. Furthermore, they illustrate a novel approach to addressing the disparity in student background knowledge and skills. Rather than assuming a standardized level of skill and addressing only gaps in knowledge or vice versa, key areas have been identified and separated for individualized focus in order to provide students with a solid foundation in both the scientific and applied components of the discipline. Successful completion of these courses will enable students to enter the specialized disciplinary core classes with a more uniform knowledge base, thus promoting success throughout the curriculum

A practical approach for successful small group teaching in medical schools with student centered curricula.

There has been a paradigm shift in the teaching strategies from didactic or teacher-centered to more vibrant student centered approaches. For the last five decades, small group teaching (SGT) has been a hallmark of this reorientation of educational strategies especially in medical schools, which use problem-based learning as a core educational tool. The key strength of SGT is the continuous and active participation by learners which fosters lifelong learning skills. SGT has had a profound influence on the motivation levels of students, self-confidence, self-directed learning and fabric of teamwork. The role of the tutor as a facilitator rather than knowledge provider is of paramount importance in this process. However, there are challenges that ensue as a result of heterogeneous teaching skills and attitudes of faculty members from diverse backgrounds. Some of the tutors from traditional backgrounds find it difficult to adjust to switching roles from a conventional teacher to a facilitator and inadvertently defeat the very philosophy of student-centered SGT. This article has been composed with this background in mind and ten general basic and practical guidelines are offered which are expected to be useful for the successful transition from a traditional teacher to a SGT facilitator.

Comparison of General Dentistry Curriculum in Iran with Eight of the World's Top Dental Faculties.

Background and objectives:A curriculum is a general and immense outline of an educational activity. A curriculum defines teaching content, student and curriculum assessment methods, and ultimately defines the framework for each activity in the curriculum. Given the importance of training in medicine and dentistry, the purpose of this study was to compare Iran's general dentistry curriculum with eight of the world's top dental faculties. Materials and methods:In descriptive-comparative research, the important components and parameters of the curriculum of the PhD in dentistry at several universities in the world were studied and compared with Iranian curriculum. The present study was conducted in two stages: The first phase included finding the best dental faculties in the world; the second phase was to identify and examine the various components of the curriculum of the PhD in Public Dentistry in Iran and the 8th highest dental faculties in the world and compare them according to Loudvigsson indicators. The results of the study were reported using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage). Results:All of the evaluated indicators were in the Iranian curriculum. The study of the eight top universities in the world showed that the indicators worth paying attention to, including critical thinking and scientific approach in the program, student-centered curriculum, horizontal and vertical integration, systematic education, education based on community health care system, community-based education and ethical principles, existed in all curricula of the studied colleges. The presence of a selective framework in a curriculum and early clinical exposure was only available in the educational curriculum of four universities: Toronto, UNC, Minnesota and UCLA. The focus on small group work was defined as the prevailing educational method in three Herman Ostrow, Minnesota and UCSF universities. The problem-solving learning index was only presented at two universities in Osaka and NYU. Conclusion:The highest rates of Loudvigsson indicators in general dentistry curriculums of eight universities in the world were 90% and at least 72.7%, while the above indicators were 100% in the dentistry curriculum of Iran. According to the indicators of Loudvigsson, Iran's dental training program is ranked high in content.