Traditional Teaching Paradigms Research Articles

The Flipped Classroom: Fertile Ground for Nursing Education Research.

In the flipped classroom (FC) students view pre-recorded lectures or complete pre-class assignments to learn foundational concepts. Class time involves problem-solving and application activities that cultivate higher-level cognitive skills. A systematic, analytical literature review was conducted to explore the FC's current state of the science within higher education. Examination of this model's definition and measures of student performance, student and faculty perceptions revealed an ill-defined educational approach. Few studies confirmed FC effectiveness; many lacked rigorous design, randomized samples, or control of extraneous variables. Few researchers conducted longitudinal studies to determine sufficiently trends related to FC practice. This study proves relevant to nurse educators transitioning from traditional teaching paradigms to learner-centered models, and provides insight from faculty teaching across disciplines around the world. It reveals pertinent findings and identifies current knowledge gaps that call for further inquiry.

Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery in undergraduate medical education: advances and innovations.

Medical students graduate with the knowledge and skills to be undifferentiated general physicians. Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OtoHNS) is an essential component of primary healthcare, but is disproportionately under-represented in undergraduate medical education (UME). Advances and innovations in educational technology may represent an exciting and creative solution to this important problem. Failure to meet this educational need will result in substantial downstream effects in primary healthcare delivery. The objectives of this study were to 1) demonstrate current deficits in OtoHNS teaching at the UME level; 2) develop, validate, and critically appraise educational innovations that may enrich OtoHNS teaching in medical school curricula; and 3) propose a process for standardization of learning objectives for OtoHNS in UME as it relates to development and deployment of such educational tools. A white paper, prepared as a Triological Society thesis, which consolidates a prospective 10-year investigation of the problem of and potential solutions for under-representation of OtoHNS in UME. Cited datasets include multicenter surveys, cohort studies, and prospective, randomized controlled trials. A series of published and unpublished data were synthesized that addresses the following: 1) the current state of OtoHNS teaching at the UME level with respect to content, volume, structure, and methods; and 2) educational innovations including e-learning and simulation with emphasis on validity and learning effectiveness. Educational innovations specific to postgraduate (residency) training were excluded. Data support the observation that there is uniformly disproportionate under-representation of OtoHNS within UME curricula. Medical school graduates, especially those pursuing primary care specialties, report poor overall comfort levels in managing OtoHNS problems. A series of novel teaching methods were developed and validated using e-learning and simulation. Selected technologies may have a role in medical student teaching. It has been shown that e-learning has limited value in teaching complex spatial anatomy to novice learners, but good value in teaching basic clinical knowledge and selected technical skills. The role of simulation as it pertains to the novice learner is evolving. Important factors to consider during development of these tools include: 1) knowledge base and learning style of the learner, 2) complexity and nature of the learning objectives, 3) understanding the features and limitations of different technological genres, and 4) a team approach to module development. There remains a role for traditional teaching paradigms such as lectures, labs, and standardized patients; however, the choice of instructional genre should be fundamentally tailored to the nature of the learning outcomes. Enriching OtoHNS teaching in medical school is essential optimize primary care delivered to patients. Although e-learning and simulation are broadly accepted and desirable by today's medical students, these technologies should be woven into the fabric of UME pedagogical principles judiciously, and only after empiric assessment. Foundational to the development and implementation of these technologies is the framework of standardized competency-based learning objectives, common to all graduating medical students. NA

Serious Game Design Process, Study Case: Sixth Grade Math

The way in which students are being educated is evolving; the traditional teaching paradigm, where formal and non-formal education are treated as a mutually exclusive, must be changed and turned into a new learning paradigm where formal and non-formal education are treated as one in order to achieve a meaningful and relevant learning. In Mexico, it is clear that educational level of students is barely improving in elementary school students, considering basic topics on Math, Science, and Spanish. There is a need to integrate more efficient mechanisms, like serious video games, in non-formal environment for students and increase learning opportunities beyond the classroom. Therefore, it is envisaged as a possibility, the large scale production of video games to address this problematic. But, a reason why it is not often carried out the large scale development of digital resources is the lack of well-defined development processes and documented experiences. This research will provide solution to the lack of well-defined development processes for large scale production of serious video games, presenting a proposal for a development process with fundamentals in software engineering. The overall findings of the research show that there is an improvement in the knowledge acquisition of the students.

A mixed project-based learning framework: preparing and developing student competencies in a French Grande Ecole

Emerging engineers need to rely on a whole body of scientific and technical knowledge, but also on a wide set of competencies. For engineering schools a competency objectives approach requires specific pedagogical methods. Some competencies based on skills and attitudes are difficult to develop through traditional teaching, so in 2003 our institution implemented a project-oriented framework combining pedagogical methods such as project-based learning, active pedagogy and traditional teaching paradigms. In practice, each semester students work in groups on a competency-controlled project lasting over 100 hours per student. Although comparisons between various pedagogical methods are difficult and sensitive, numerous internal signals confirm the validity of several aspects of our mixed option.

So You’re Thinking of Trying Problem Based Learning?: Three Critical Success Factors for Implementation

Problem-based learning (PBL) shifts the traditional teaching paradigm. Rather than being teacher centered, PBL is student centered. Rather than presenting content first, PBL presents the problem first. Rather than presenting the students with a well-structured problem with a clear answer, PBL presents the students with an ill-structured problem with no clear solution. The research evidence, although still limited, indicates that PBL is more effective than the traditional teaching paradigm. However, to implement PBL successfully requires significant rethinking. The article examines three critical success factors essential for making PBL successful in management education. Those critical success factors are orienting students to this new instructional strategy, picking the problem, and forming the teams. The author shares his experiences using PBL and an instrument he has found useful in forming the teams.

Creating Learning Libraries in Support of Seamless Learning Cultures

Summary Higher education has been rethinking the traditional teaching paradigm of the lecture in which most faculty-student interaction occurs in the classroom. The new emphasis on student learning focuses institutional mission on enabling learning by whatever means work best. Creating a seamless learning culture is one way to stress student learning. A significant feature of seamless learning is supporting out-of-the classroom learning. This paper examines how academic libraries can contribute to a seamless learning culture and what this means for restructuring approaches to library instruction and the ways librarians interact with students.

The Necessity of Uncertainty: A Case Study of Language Arts Reform

The call for language arts reform is clear. The expectations are high. The mission is to create classrooms in which all children are becoming strategic, critical, independent, and lifelong readers and writers (National Council of Teachers of English, 1996). Policy makers and administrators, however, cannot create these classrooms through instructional mandates. Duffy and Hoffman (1999) argue that teachers are key and that the success of language arts reform hinges on independent, problem-solving, and spirited teachers who understand that their job is to use many good methods and materials in various ways according to students' needs (p. 15). The educational community has repeatedly demonstrated that conceptualizing reform as training teachers to reenact an instructional program results in superficial or short-lived reform (Duffy, 1997; Fullan, 1996). A reform effort begins to fail when its participants become too focused on promoting the solution and lose sight of the challenges that gave it life (Hoffman, 1998, p. 109). Substantive and lasting language arts reform is inescapably linked to the abilities and the willingness of teachers to embrace and act upon the uncertainties that emerge as they teach students with many diverse needs. Reform efforts that focus on preparing teachers to implement preordained practices without question or adaptation constrain teachers' abilities and willingness to refine their craft through reflective, insightful, critical, and ongoing inquiry (Allington & Walmsley, 1995; Duffy, 1997; Fullan, 1996). Thus, such efforts discreetly undermine the process of real reform. Dewey (1929, 1933) explains that uncertainty is the force that creates space for real growth and change. A technical conceptualization of teaching and educational reform cannot provoke or sustain the ongoing reflection and inquiry needed for substantive and meaningful language arts reform. Knowledgeable teachers engaged in thoughtful decision making and probing inquiry who use instructional models as ideas for further refinement and who understand the role of uncertainty in their professional development are essential to successful language arts reform. Their uncertainties are its cornerstone. I have worked with and observed the professional development of countless preservice and inservice teachers. My experiences have convinced me that developing more complex understandings of how teachers respond to and act upon the uncertainty that they uncover in their practices is a critical piece of understanding effective language arts reform. In this case study, I explore the varied ways in which elementary teachers in one system reacted to uncertainties inherent in a language arts reform effort. The teachers' varied responses were most likely linked in complex ways to differences in their beliefs, dispositions, and knowledge (e.g., Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986; Schlechty, 1993); however, the primary purpose of this study was to describe how teachers responded to the uncertainty inherent in language arts reform. Case Profile Located in the same city as Auburn University, Auburn City Schools (ACS) is a district of nearly 4,300 students and approximately 300 teachers. Slightly more than 35% of the student population is minority (primarily African American). For many years, teachers in the district have been exploring how to teach language arts in more meaningful and effective ways. Many ACS teachers have challenged themselves to create more student-centered classroom environments that feature higher-order thinking and more active inquiry than traditional teaching paradigms. ACS teachers, to varying degrees, have been using children's literature, literature discussions groups, reading-writing workshops, and thematic units as they work toward teaching skills and strategies in authentic contexts, promoting self-regulating behaviors, and presenting language and literacy as lifelong ventures rather than simply school tasks. …

Society, Educational Systems and Entrepreneurship

A great deal has been written on the subject of entrepreneurship. This paper attempts to explore the relationship between entrepreneurship and society at large, and specifically between entrepreneurship and the educational processes that society employs. The paper presents a discussion on a number of critical questions, beginning with why society needs entrepreneurship and whether the promises of entrepreneurship satisfy that need. The conclusion reached is essentially that cultural change has to take place, towards a societal state that reflects the characteristics of entrepreneurship, if the economic infrastructure of society is to be capable of coping with the increasingly turbulent environment. The paper further suggests that, if a culture shift is to be made, then an appropriate point of intervention would be through the educational system, and that it would likely be some 10 years before society could observe not only a culture shift but also a measured benefit to it. Accepting that the starting point should be the educational system, then further fundamental questions must be addressed. These concern the academic processes involved in presenting entrepreneurship, and how it challenges traditional teaching paradigms. Indeed a fundamental question often asked with regard to entrepreneurship is ‘Can it be taught at all?’ – some suggest that individuals who behave in an entrepreneurial way do so as a function of some kind of genetic influence. The paper concludes that the only constant is change, and that society needs to contend with the various dimensions of it. In doing so, we need to develop a collective mind-set, capable of coping with uncertainty, tolerant of risk, and opportunistic in coping with the turbulent and dynamic demand patterns with which it is faced. In other words, we need to foster an entrepreneurial culture.