Educational Toolbox Research Articles

Integrating planetary health education into tertiary curricula: a practical toolbox for implementation

ObjectiveTo present a series of case studies from our respective countries and disciplines on approaches to implementing the Planetary Health Education Framework in university health professional education programs, and to propose a curriculum implementation and evaluation toolbox for educators to facilitate the adoption of similar initiatives in their programs. We emphasize the importance of applying an Indigenous lens to curriculum needs assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation.MethodsCase studies from Australia and United States were collated using a six-stage design-based educational research framework (Focus, Formulation, Contextualization, Definition, Implementation, Evaluation) for teaching planetary health and methods of curriculum evaluation. These components were then mapped to derive the curriculum implementation toolbox reflecting the six-stage design-based educational research framework.ResultsThe case studies demonstrated different approaches to successful integration of the Planetary Health Education Framework in medicine, nursing, public health, and allied health disciplines. This integration often involved Indigenous perspectives on environmental stewardship, holistic health, and community well-being into the curriculum. The case studies also highlighted the importance of community engagement, cultural competency, and interdisciplinary collaboration in curriculum development. Findings from case studies were used to propose a curriculum implementation toolbox to assist educators in adapting and integrating planetary health education into their own programs.DiscussionWhile valuable frameworks for teaching planetary health in health science programs exist, challenges remain in implementing these frameworks in real-world educational environments. The proposed curriculum implementation toolbox offers practical strategies and resources for educators to incorporate these principles into their teaching. Additionally, the case studies reported here contribute to the growing body of literature on planetary health education pertinent to addressing the triple planetary crisis.

Management Reasoning: A Toolbox for Educators.

Management Reasoning: A Toolbox for Educators.

All-digital training course in neurophysiology: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundThe social distancing and suspension of on-campus learning, imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, are likely to influence medical training for months if not years. Thus, there is a need for digital replacement for classroom teaching, especially for hands-on courses, during which social distancing is hardly possible. Here, we investigated students’ learning experience with a newly designed digital training course in neurophysiology, with intercalated teaching blocks in either asynchronous (unsupervised online lectures and e-labs) or synchronous (online seminars, supervised by instructors) formats.MethodsThe accompanying anonymized prospective study included 146 student participants. At the beginning and the end of the course, students were invited to answer anonymous online questionnaires with 18 and 25 items, respectively. We conducted both qualitative analyses of students’ survey responses and statistical analyses of the results of cohort-specific summative examinations. The summative assessment results were compared both between 4 current cohorts and with the respective historical cohorts.ResultsDespite having little prior experience with e-learning (4.5 on the 1-7 scale), students adapted remarkably well to this online format. They appreciated its higher flexibility, time efficiency, student-oriented nature (especially when using inverted classroom settings), tolerance towards the individual learning style and family circumstances, and valued the ability to work through lectures and e-labs at their own learning speed. The major complaints concerned diminished social contacts with instructors and fellow students, the inability to ask questions as they occur, and the lack of sufficient technical expertise. The students valued the newly developed e-labs, especially the implementation of interactive preparative measures (PreLabs) and the intuitive lab design offered by the chosen software (Lt Platform from AD Instruments). The summative examinations at the end of the course documented the quality of knowledge transfer, which was comparable to that of previous classically instructed cohorts.ConclusionDespite the missing personal contact between the faculty and the students, inherent to online teaching, the all-digital training course described here proofed to be of good educational value and, in case the pandemic continues, is worse considering for the future. Some of the described building blocks, like digital lectures or interactive PreLabs, may survive the pandemics to enrich the medical education toolbox in the future.

Rethinking Our Annual Congress-Meeting the Needs of Specialist Physicians by Partnering With Provincial Simulation Centers.

:Canada's maintenance of certification programs for physicians has evolved to emphasize assessment activities. Our organization recognized the importance of offering more practice assessment opportunities to our members to enhance their practice and help them comply with a regulation from our provincial professional body related to ongoing continuing education. This led us to rethink our annual congress and enrich the program with a curriculum of interdisciplinary simulation sessions tailored to meet the needs of a broad audience of specialists. Our challenges are similar to those of many national specialty societies having limited access to simulation facilities, instructors, and simulation teams that can cover the breadth and scope of perceived and unperceived simulation needs for their specialty. Our innovative solution was to partner with local experts to develop 22 simulation sessions over the past three years. The response was very positive, drawing 867 participants. Over 95% of participants either agreed or strongly agreed that their simulation session (1) met their learning objectives, (2) was relevant for their practice, and (3) encouraged them to modify their practice. Narrative comments from a survey sent to the 2018 participants four months after their activity indicated several self-reported changes in their practice or patient outcomes. We were able to centralize offers from organizations that had previously worked in silo to develop simulation sessions meeting the needs of our members. Proposing simulation sessions allowed our organization to establish long-term partnerships and to expend our “educational toolbox” to address skill gaps not usually addressed during annual meetings.

Designing an innovative educational toolbox to support the transition to new technologies

Designing an innovative educational toolbox to support the transition to new technologies

Technology-enhanced learning: a role for video animation

The last 20 years has seen a shift in medical education from printed analogue formats of knowledge transfer to digital knowledge transfer via media platforms and virtual learning environments. Traditional university medical teaching was characterised by lectures and printed textbooks, which to a degree still have an important role to play in knowledge acquisition, but which in isolation do not engage the modern learner, who has become reliant on digital platforms and 'soundbite' learning. Recently, however, traditional methods of teaching and learning have been augmented by, and indeed sometimes replaced by, the alternative learning methods such as: problem-based learning; a greater integration of basic science and clinical considerations; smaller teaching groups; the 'flipped classroom' concept; and various technological tools which promote an interactive learning style. The aim of these new teaching methods is to overcome the well-documented limitations of traditional lectures and printed material in the transfer of knowledge from expert to student, by better engaging the minds of more visual learners and encouraging the use of diverse resources for lifelong learning. In this commentary paper, we share the concept of video animation as an additional educational tool, and one that can help to integrate molecular, cellular and clinical processes that underpin our understanding of biology and pathology in modern education. Importantly, while they can provide focused and attractive formats for 'soundbite' learning, their aim as a tool within the broader educational toolbox is to direct the interested reader towards more traditional formats of learning, which permit a deeper dive into a particular field or concept. In this manner, carefully constructed video animations can serve to provide a broad overview of a particular field or concept and to facilitate deeper learning when desired by the student.

Developing a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Nursing Education Toolkit.

Current education lacks lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and two-spirit (LGBTQI2S) content for health care providers (HCPs). Providing HCPs with understanding of LGBTQI2S health issues would reduce barriers. The Innovative Thinking to Support LGBTQI2S Health and Wellness trainee award supported the development of a website with virtual simulation games (VSGs) about providing culturally humble care to LGBTQI2S individuals to address this need. An online educational toolbox was developed that included VSGs and resources. Development processes included a visioning meeting, development of learning objectives, and using a decision-point map for script writing. Bilingual VSGs were filmed, and the website was developed. The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Nursing Toolkit was created to advance cultural humility in practice. Learning modules focus on encounters using cultural humility to meet the unique needs of the LGBTQI2S community. Our innovative educational toolkit can be used to provide professional development of nurses and other HCPs to care for LGBTQI2S individuals. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(9):412-419.].

Continuing Medical Education in an On-Demand World: Is Podcasting the Netflix of Medical Education?

Podcasting, like many new technologies, provides the opportunity to make learning more convenient and efficient. Since gaining popularity as a medium in the early 2000s, there is a growing number of podcasts in the medical field that target the lay public, patients, and health care professionals.1 In 2018, the Edison Report stated that 44% of Americans had listened to a podcast in their lifetime, and 26% listened in the past month.2 These percentages have consistently risen since 2008.2 Regular podcast listeners tend to have an advanced degree, full-time employment, and a higher annual household income than the general US population.2 The Edison Report also states that podcasting takes advantage of commute time, and as per the US Census Bureau, the average American commute is 26 minutes each way.2 Given this reported average listener profile, physicians seem ideal targets for podcast-based education. Podcasts are currently used in a variety of ways for medical education. The earliest adopters of medical education podcasting were emergency physicians and intensivists.3 Residents have been quick to adopt podcasts as part of their medical education toolbox because they tend to be younger and more likely to use technology. Mallin et al4 showed that …

Modeling transcriptional factor cross-talk to understand parabolic kinetics, bimodal gene expression and retroactivity in biosensor design

Transcriptional factor-based biosensor has been widely used to reprogram and adjust cellular activity to the changing environment. These biosensors translate an internal cellular signal to a transcriptional reporter output. Previous examples have demonstrated transcriptional factor (TF) cross-talk could lead to complex gene expression dynamics. In this report, we formulated a mechanism-based kinetic model to simulate and predict how TF cross-talk reshape the transcriptional dynamics of an engineered biosensor. Our model comprises TF cross-talk and Hill-type equation to quantify the degree of gene repression and de-repression; it also accounts for protein degradation, cell growth (dilution) effect and the carrying capacity of the system. Our simulation fits well with the biphasic parabolic gene expression pattern of an experimentally validated malonyl-CoA sensor. We discovered that exponential growth could lead to hysteresis in the TF cross-talk model. With Logistic growth to limit the carrying capacity, we find that bimodal gene expression pattern could arise, and this phenomenon is rooted in the hysteresis characteristics of the TF cross-talk model. The computational insights obtained in this study will guide us to design accurate, sensitive TF-based biosensors and may serve as a diagnostic platform to troubleshoot the complex transcriptional dynamics in biosensor design. The computational framework developed here will also provide an educational toolbox for synthetic biologist and biochemical/biomolecular engineering students to understand biosystem design and transcriptional regulation.

Blended learning for teaching Theology

New tools are added to the educational toolbox in order to enhance and support learning. This descriptive study expands and explains the intricate nature of blended learning. Adding to the four basic components of time, space, media and activities are the three modes of formal, informal and non-formal delivery and the external components of prior learning and lived experience. Contrary to the narrow use of traditional, mostly Western-based learning options, blended learning opens up the opportunity to incorporate not only developing technology but also neglected, traditional means of knowledge acquisition into the process of learning. It opens new pathways for the teaching of Theology in an African context. It adjusts to individual needs and serves as a countermeasure against potential digital colonialism and digital serfdom on the one hand and provide opportunities that close the space and time gaps and filter out academic isolation on the other hand. Blended learning allows educators to use and combine pedagogical approaches and learning and teaching theories in creative ways.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article calls for a widening perspective on the concept of blended learning, resulting in unique opportunities for Africanisation, decoloniality and a fresh way of teaching Theology in higher education.

A Review on “Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life” by Marshall B. Rosenberg

This article aims to celebrate the life and the work of renowned peace activist Marshall B. Rosenberg who elucidated the principles and tools of his Non-Violent Communication (abbreviated as NVC) approach in his untimely book “Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life.” Indeed, “Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life" is the magnum opus of Rosenberg's lifetime work and it stands out as a foundational transformative educational toolbox in developing the cognitive and emotive skills for compassion and reconciliation at both personal and societal level. Simply defined as “a way of communicating that leads us to give from the heart”, Rosenberg’s “Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life” provides its readers with effective and accessible tools to remove the barriers that stand in front of compassionate communication.

Difficult debriefing situations: A toolbox for simulation educators

Background: Simulation-based education (SBE) has emerged as an essential modality for health professions education. One of the central tenants of effective SBE is reflective practice, typically guided by a facilitated debriefing. The debriefing conversation has the possibility of becoming a difficult conversation based on learner and situation-related factors. Difficult debriefing situations may threaten the learning environment, thus requiring an appreciation and understanding of the various ways that learners may react adversely to simulation and debriefing.Aim: This article provides a review of the various phenotypes of difficult debriefing situations and a toolbox of proactive and reactive strategies to help guide the simulation educator to manage these situations, with the ultimate goal of achieving learning objectives.

Location-based games with smartphones – developing a toolbox for educators

Location-based games with smartphones – developing a toolbox for educators

Improving Awareness, Identification, and Management of Sarcopenic Obesity in Cancer Survivors: An Evidence-Based Toolbox.

Sarcopenic obesity, the dual condition of decreased muscle mass with increased fat mass, can affect morbidity, mortality, and quality of life in adult cancer survivors. The purpose of this project was to determine the effects of the use of an educational toolbox on advanced practice nurses' (APNs') confidence in identifying and managing adult cancer survivors at risk for sarcopenic obesity. APNs in an outpatient practice who care for adult cancer survivors received an educational toolbox with strategies to identify and manage adult cancer survivors at risk for sarcopenic obesity. APNs reported being more confident in their ability to identify adult patients with cancer at risk for sarcopenic obesity and in their ability to manage these patients compared to prior to the intervention. Educational resources provided an effective tool for identifying and managing patients at risk for sarcopenic obesity.

An Innovative Approach to Avoid Reinventing the Wheel: The Anesthesia Education Toolbox.

An Innovative Approach to Avoid Reinventing the Wheel: The Anesthesia Education Toolbox.

Watershed modeling applications with a modular physically-based and spatially-distributed watershed educational toolbox

Introductory hydrology courses traditionally focus on process-based hydrology (i.e. precipitation, evaporation, runoff, etc.) that is ultimately unified through watershed modeling. Although physically-based and spatially-distributed hydrologic models are arguably valuable learning tools, they typically have steep learning curves and high computational costs. To overcome these common drawbacks in hydrology education, we developed the user-friendly, open-access Modular Distributed Watershed Educational Toolbox (MOD-WET). MOD-WET is a compilation of highly modular functions designed for process-based applications, which are integrated into a physically-based and spatially-distributed watershed model. When students use the toolbox to study individual processes, they become familiar with the fundamental components forming the hydrologic model. Student feedback indicates that this approach makes a holistic understanding of the water cycle more accessible to students. Hydrograph sensitivity to watershed characteristics (size, slope, roughness, etc.) is demonstrated. The capability of MOD-WET to model warm and cold land processes is also illustrated for a snow-covered basin.

Use of mobile technologies as support tools for geography field trips

In recent years, cellular phones and tablets have become increasingly more prevalent and popular. Due to their great mobility, light weight and ability to serve as a platform for various applications, these devices are ideal candidates for supporting out-of-classroom learning. Geography teachers in the twenty-first century must become familiar with these tools and must learn how to integrate them into their teaching, both in the classroom and in the field. Intelligent use of these tools can make classroom learning interesting and interactive and can transform the field trip into a stimulating and probing learning experience.This paper describes a course designed to train geography teachers to use the technological and pedagogical capabilities of mobile technologies to promote learning, with the goal of introducing mobile devices into the educational toolbox for geography field trips. The primary objective of the course was to enable geography education students to plan and carry out field trips that integrate mobile technologies and to teach them how to use these technologies in the educational activities they plan for the trips.The results of the research assessing the course indicate that technologies now available in mobile devices can be used to upgrade students’ learning abilities during field trips. The education students who took the course indicated that they planned to use these technologies on a regular basis in the future as an additional means of learning outside the classroom. They reported being able to produce activities on their own that optimally integrate the use of these technologies in field trip activities.

Abstract 229: An Urban Garden Initiative: A Component of Project Healthy Schools

INTRO: Childhood obesity has been a growing problem in the US, with its prevalence linked to cardiovascular disease. School gardens can provide a hands-on method of teaching healthy dietary habits for students. Project Healthy Schools (PHS) is a school-based wellness program, a collaboration between the University of Michigan Health System and community groups that focuses mainly on middle school students. PHS currently has educational programming in 42 schools across lower and mid-Michigan. In 2010, PHS began implementing a garden initiative in select Detroit schools. METHODOLOGY: The goal of the garden initiative is to familiarize students with fruits and vegetables and increase their interest in eating fresh produce and other healthy foods. Students are invited to participate in the gardening, which increases time spent outdoors, away from televisions, computers and video games. Initial funding for this project came from multiple donors interested in promoting healthy lifestyles in school-age children: The University Cultural Center Association, Detroit’s Garden Resource Program, Lowe’s Education Toolbox Grant, Whole Kids Foundation and the American Heart Association. RESULTS: Six Detroit schools participated in the garden initiative. The gardens are located either directly at or within walking distance of the school. At each school, the garden initiative consists of an afterschool club, led by a PHS Wellness Coordinator and/or a teacher. Students from regular classes also visit the garden as a way to engage additional students with the project. Each year, the gardening starts in April and the harvest season ends in October. During summer vacation, students have the opportunity to remain involved. In the fall, the produce they harvest has been used in lessons where students consume the produce raw, learn to cook with produce, or even sell the garden produce. While not all changes reached a level of significance, there were some notable trends, including an increase in vegetable consumption in four schools in 2012. The gardens have also encouraged parental involvement as some parents accompanied their children to the school garden. CONCLUSIONS: Garden initiatives have given a number of Detroit students the opportunity to learn about fresh produce, encouraged healthy eating, and promoted parental involvement. Garden initiatives for this program will continue with the goal of incorporation into the schools’ curricula. As the project expands, future studies will further evaluate the effects of students’ participation in the gardens on students’ eating habits and physiological markers.

GUI based Testing Tool for Transformer

The objective of this paper is to develop an educational toolbox using GUI for analysis of transformers for students and lecturers. GUI figure file is developed for Open Circuit & Short Circuit Test, Sumpner’s Test, All day efficiency (Energy efficiency) of transformer and parallel operation of two transformers. All this kinds of problems consists of various methods of mathematical calculation which is difficult to perform by using manual calculation (formula and calculator). The existence of this educational toolbox will help the user to calculate the parameter hence the calculation become faster and easier. The user can enter the data and obtained the results quickly in the form of data or figures. The students can also observe the effect of variation of input parameters on performance of transformer. This educational toolbox was developed by using MATLAB software. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v4i3.5213

An educational model for ensemble streamflow simulation and uncertainty analysis

Abstract. This paper presents the hands-on modeling toolbox, HBV-Ensemble, designed as a complement to theoretical hydrology lectures, to teach hydrological processes and their uncertainties. The HBV-Ensemble can be used for in-class lab practices and homework assignments, and assessment of students' understanding of hydrological processes. Using this modeling toolbox, students can gain more insights into how hydrological processes (e.g., precipitation, snowmelt and snow accumulation, soil moisture, evapotranspiration and runoff generation) are interconnected. The educational toolbox includes a MATLAB Graphical User Interface (GUI) and an ensemble simulation scheme that can be used for teaching uncertainty analysis, parameter estimation, ensemble simulation and model sensitivity. HBV-Ensemble was administered in a class for both in-class instruction and a final project, and students submitted their feedback about the toolbox. The results indicate that this educational software had a positive impact on students understanding and knowledge of uncertainty in hydrological modeling.