Tutorial Sessions Research Articles

Invertebrate Film Festival: Science, creativity, and flexibility in a virtual teaching environment

AbstractWe implemented a new video project in a marine invertebrate zoology undergraduate class. The project required students to produce 3–5 min videos about a particular invertebrate or any aspect of invertebrate biology they were interested in. The development of this assignment was prompted by the limitations for lab activities due to COVID‐19 and three short‐term campus closures in response to threats of inclement weather. This assignment can be completed individually on a flexible schedule, without physical access to campus, and culminates in an Invertebrate Film Festival during the last lab period. The project was assigned at the start of the term with only minimal instructions to promote creativity. Students completed the project over the course of the 14‐week semester, with several checkpoints, most notably a peer review of the movie script 2 weeks prior to the due date. To support the video production, students were encouraged to attend workshops and schedule individual tutoring sessions offered by the Studio in the campus's Center for Academic Learning Support. Surveys at the beginning and the end of the semester revealed that the perception of the video project was overall positive, although some students were apprehensive in the beginning. Video topics, techniques, and software used by students varied widely, but overall the video quality exceeded our expectations. Many students took pride in their videos and agreed to make them available as supplementary material for this article. If we repeat this assignment in future semesters, we will streamline the peer review process and possibly offer short video tutorials for video‐editing software.

Perception of medical students about problem-based learning at Jouf University.

To evaluate students' perceptions of problem-based learning tutorial sessions. The cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, Jouf University, Al-Jawf Saudi Arabia, from March to May 2019, and comprised medical students in their clinical phase. Data was collected using an electronic questionnaire about students' perceptions of problem-based learning sessions, tutors' session facilitation, and tutors' student evaluation fairness. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Of the 66 students approached, 51(77.27%) completed the questionnaire; 23(45%) males and 28(55%) females. The agreement mean perception score was 4.73±2.13 regarding various statements characterising problem-based learning sessions. Lesser mean score of agreement 1.33±1.07 was observed regarding tutors' facilitation of the sessions and their students' evaluation. Students perceived problem-based learning sessions as effective and interactive, but did not positively perceive tutors' evaluations.

Spanish Language Development and Support in a Bilingual Teacher Preparation Program

ABSTRACT This is a case study of supplementary support sessions for Spanish proficiency offered in a bilingual teacher preparation program in Texas throughout an academic year. The support sessions were created to assist pre-service bilingual teachers in further developing their command of Spanish through extra practice, feedback, and test preparation in Spanish. The tutorial sessions stimulated pre-service bilingual teachers to make sense of their own bilingualism in connection to their emergent professional identity, as well as their perceptions of their own preparation/preparedness to teach bilingually. The case study analyzes the effectiveness of the support sessions as evidenced in written and oral samples excerpted from the recorded sessions. This research calls for rethinking how bilingual teacher preparation programs can provide explicit and systematic language support to meet the needs of bilingual educators preparing for their future professional practice.

A comparative study of the effectiveness of problem-based learning versus tutorials in first-year MBBS students

Background: Anatomy is one of the basic subjects a first- year of M.B.B.S student has to learn. It is the keystone to the foundation of the medical curriculum. Knowledge of Anatomy is extensively related in context to almost every aspect of the Medical Curriculum and practice of medicine. Hence it needs to be taught and learned efficiently by medical graduates. The current study aims to record and analyze the effect of teaching methodologies like problem-based learning (PBL) and tutorials when combined with didactic lecture among first -year medical undergraduate students. Materials and Methods: This comparative study was done at A.C.S Medical College and Hospital .150 first- year M.B.B.S students had given consent to participate in the study. All students attended to didactic lectures. They were randomly split into 2 groups (Group A and Group B-75 in each). Group A and B were further divided into 3 small groups (25 students in each). Both groups are to undergo tutorial and PBL sessions for 4 selected topics in Gross Anatomy of Abdomen during the practical session. A Pre-test followed by a post-test was given to compare the knowledge acquired by the students. Self-administered feedback was taken to understand the preferred methodology. Results: On data analysis, the paired T showed a significant difference between the means of Pre-test and Post-test marks (P=.001) in both the groups exposed to didactic lectures with tutorials and didactic lectures with PBL, thus indicating that knowledge acquired in both teaching-learning methods was of significance. Knowledge gained in didactic lectures with PBL was significantly higher (P=0.001) than from didactic lectures with tutorials. 76% of students preferred and accepted PBL as a better teaching methodology Conclusion: The current study clearly states with PBL is more effective in terms of critical thinking and concept building. However, students want both PBL and tutorial sessions to be included along with didactic lectures.

Student perception and performance using the online tools Socrative® vs. Kahoot!® in the discipline of Urology

Abstract: Introduction: Active methodologies are tools aimed at engaging students in the learning process. Through them, the student is confronted with problem situations and, to solve them, they need to actively participate in the construction of the solution. Socrative® and Kahoot!® are tools that can be used to support the growing demand for new teaching methods. Objective: This study aims to compare the scores obtained by urology student in pre-tests applied using the Socrative® and Kahoot!® applications, and to analyze the students’ perceptions after the exposure to the learning tools. Method: A prospective and comparative study was carried out on the use of the Socrative® and Kahoot!® applications in the discipline of Urology of the medical course. The cohort consisted of two classes of students, 193 in total. Students were divided into six groups, separated in two different schedules, and they took turns weekly switching the tools. The methodologies were used as a pre-test during the tutorial sessions, aiming to compare the grades obtained by the students between the applications. At the end of the course, the students answered a perception questionnaire in relation to each platform. The data were statistically analyzed using the program SPSS Statistics v.20.0. The Wilcoxon non-parametric test and the Chi-square test were used. Values of p <0.05 indicated statistical significance. Result: The Socrative® application obtained better results in terms of the number of correct answers and in relation to the students’ satisfaction. Among the six topics addressed in the pre-tests, two showed higher scores with the Socrative® tool (p = 0.017 and p = 0.042). As for the perception questionnaire, the Socrative® tool showed an average score 1.8 points higher than Kahoot!® (0 - 10 scale), and statistical significance was found in seven out of the eight evaluated questions. Conclusion: The Socrative® tool showed higher grades and was more satisfactory to students than Kahoot!®.

Student perception and performance using the online tools Socrative® vs. Kahoot!® in the discipline of Urology

Abstract: Introduction: Active methodologies are tools aimed at engaging students in the learning process. Through them, the student is confronted with problem situations and, to solve them, they need to actively participate in the construction of the solution. Socrative® and Kahoot!® are tools that can be used to support the growing demand for new teaching methods. Objective: This study aims to compare the scores obtained by urology student in pre-tests applied using the Socrative® and Kahoot!® applications, and to analyze the students’ perceptions after the exposure to the learning tools. Method: A prospective and comparative study was carried out on the use of the Socrative® and Kahoot!® applications in the discipline of Urology of the medical course. The cohort consisted of two classes of students, 193 in total. Students were divided into six groups, separated in two different schedules, and they took turns weekly switching the tools. The methodologies were used as a pre-test during the tutorial sessions, aiming to compare the grades obtained by the students between the applications. At the end of the course, the students answered a perception questionnaire in relation to each platform. The data were statistically analyzed using the program SPSS Statistics v.20.0. The Wilcoxon non-parametric test and the Chi-square test were used. Values of p <0.05 indicated statistical significance. Result: The Socrative® application obtained better results in terms of the number of correct answers and in relation to the students’ satisfaction. Among the six topics addressed in the pre-tests, two showed higher scores with the Socrative® tool (p = 0.017 and p = 0.042). As for the perception questionnaire, the Socrative® tool showed an average score 1.8 points higher than Kahoot!® (0 - 10 scale), and statistical significance was found in seven out of the eight evaluated questions. Conclusion: The Socrative® tool showed higher grades and was more satisfactory to students than Kahoot!®.

Medical education in times of COVID – 19: an experience at Faculdade Pernambucana da Saúde

Abstract Objectives: to describe and discuss interventions and strategies carried out at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde (FPS) during the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate impairment in learning and preserve students, tutors, and staff’s health. Experience report: the teaching methodology used by FPS is problem-based learning, which greatly facilitated the non-discontinuity of theoretical activities carried out in-person in tutorial sessions involving a tutor and 10 to 12 students. This format was transferred to Webex Meetings rooms and held remotely. Practical laboratory activities were suspended and resumed when allowed in July. The teaching outpatient activities (third and fourth year) were suspended and resumed in August. Two years of internship were interrupted for 30 days (fifth year) and for 15 days (sixth year). External activities of practices in primary care were also suspended and resumed gradually. All assessments and activities that required face-to-face meetings, integrations, scientific initiation program orientations, collegiate meetings, meetings of the self-assessment committee were and are being carried out remotely. Conclusions: we believe that we were able to mitigate impairment in students' learning without compromising the conclusion of the school year that was facilitated by Problem Based Learning method.

Dicimus Docere (Call to Teach): Reliving Education Through Tutorial Sessions

The necessity to train student-teachers for an increasingly evolving curriculum will only mean that every tertiary institution should strive to produce passionate and committed educators. The study explored the underlying teaching experiences of all 96 student teacher-extensionists during tutorial sessions. Their teaching experience has been transformed into the phases of experiential learning theory and explored using mixed-method research design. Findings showed that these preservice teachers discovered the passion for teaching amidst challenges in the chosen profession, as such, teaching was neither innate nor a calling; teaching is chosen and enhanced through reflective and relevant personal experiences across experiential stages. With these findings, a substantial increment of firsthand teaching activities like tutorial sessions should be an integral component in a teacher education curriculum.

Evaluation of a Lower-Resource-Dependent Tutoring Program Designed to Improve Introductory Psychology Performance

Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a peer tutoring system shown to increase course grades and reduce dropout, particularly for courses with significant failure/dropout rates. Unfortunately, such systems can place significant time and resource demands on faculty, SI personnel, and higher education institutions, all of which pose impediments to their adoption. Given this concern, an assessment of a less resource-taxing version of SI is presented. Across three sections of Introductory Psychology, 30%–42% of enrolled students attended at least one lower-resource group tutorial session. These students performed significantly better on course exams than did non-attendees, by as much as a letter grade. Further, those who attended more sessions earned higher final course grades. These performance differences do not appear to be due to selection bias; session attendance predicted grades on four of the five course exams, even after controlling for students’ academic ability and motivation. Students who did not participate cited time constraints as the primary reason. Those who did participate perceived most session activities as highly beneficial, especially completing a pre-session study guide and reviewing the answers in-session. Thus, the present tutoring program appears to represent an effective, efficient method of achieving desirable academic outcomes that students regard as worthwhile.

IMPACT OF A SINGLE TUTORIAL SESSION ON THE TECHNIQUE OF USING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT BY HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Objective: To determine the impact of a single tutorial session on the technique of donning and doffing the personal protective equipment by health care workers.
 Study Design: Cross-sectional comparative study.
 Place and Duration of Study: CMH Landi Kotal Cantt, from 1st March 2020 to 10th June 2020.
 Patients and Methods: The study was conducted on 62 health workers, working in CMH Landi Kotal Cantt. They were asked to demonstrate donning and doffing surgical masks, gowns and gloves and the steps were evaluated as per a standardized checklist. Then, the participants were given a single tutorial of the donning and doffing technique of personal protective equipment. They were asked to demonstrate their technique of personal protective equipment use one week, one month and three months after the tutorial. Any improvement was recorded in the checklist used earlier.
 Results: The correct donning and doffing technique of personal protective equipment were demonstrated by 22 and 14 participants respectively before the tutorial. When evaluated one week after the tutorial, this number increased to 48 and 38 respectively, showing significant improvement (p<0.05). The technique of personal protective equipment use deteriorated significantly one month of the tutorial and deteriorated further after three months (p<0.05). The most common fault while donning and doffing the equipment was the incorrect donning sequence, and self-contamination while taking off the gloves, respectively.
 Conclusion: A single tutorial session results in significant improvement in the technique of using personal protective equipment by health care workers but the effect is lost over time.

A Comparison of Undergraduate Students’ Perception of Tutorials Before and During the COVID-19: A Case of the University of Kwazulu-Natal in the Discipline of Public Governance

Enhancing students’ learning experience through support structures such as tutorial sessions is essential. Students attending the tutorial sessions within the Discipline of Public Governance have never been given the opportunity to provide feedback on the sessions they have attended. They only get a chance to evaluate their lecturers using closed and open-ended questions to capture their learning experiences about modules’ structure, content, delivery and assessments. This implied a need to explore the students’ perceptions about the tutorial sessions during the normal conditions and under severe conditions like this of COVID-19. The quantitative approach was utilised and the data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires to the undergraduate students. The participants attended tutorials within the Discipline of Public Governance during the first semester of the year 2020. The study findings indicated that tutorial sessions occupy a critical role in students' development and learning. It is the platform for the students to easily interact with other students, discuss issues, and improve their performance. The study recommends that higher education institutions invest in the tutorial structure as one of the student support systems as it produces positive results in enhancing student learning. Redefining and reviewing the tutorial support structure is always crucial to improve the tutorial sessions' quality.

Infection, Participation and Informality in higher arts education: the case of the School of Arts (Porto)

Higher arts education poses several specific challenges. The specificity of art in the contemporary age demands the development of unique strategies. Following a conceptual framework defined by Infection, Participation and Informality the School of Arts at Universidade Católica Portuguesa adopted since 2018 a strategy comprising a project-based methodology, informal tutoring sessions with artists, a Cultural Programme and an artistic residencies programme. This paper presents the early results of this strategy, and analyses how it could foster the critical artistic practice of the students.

Geneticus Investigatio: a technology-enhanced learning environment for scaffolding complex learning in genetics

Bioscientists such as geneticists and molecular biologists regularly demonstrate the integration of domain concepts and science inquiry practices/skills while explaining a natural phenomenon. The complexity of these concepts and skills becomes manifold at the tertiary undergraduate level and are known to be challenging for learners. They learn these in silos as part of theory classes, practical labs, and tutorial sessions while in an industry, they will be required to integrate and apply in a given authentic context. To support learners in this process, we have designed and developed Geneticus Investigatio (GI), a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) environment for scaffolding complex learning in the context of Mendelian genetics. GI facilitates this complex learning by the integration of domain concepts and science inquiry practices through inquiry-driven reflective learning experiences, which are interspersed with inquiry-based learning steps in an authentic context along with metacognitive reflection. In this paper, we present two cycles of iterative design, development, and evaluation of GI, based on the design-based research (DBR) approach. In the first DBR cycle, we identified the pedagogical design features and learning activities of GI based on an exploratory study with bio-science instructors for facilitating complex learning. We then report a pre-post classroom study (N = 37) in which we investigated the learning and perceptions of usability and usefulness of GI. The results indicate high learning gains after interacting with GI and learner perceptions that activities in GI help learn concepts and inquiry practices along with its integration. It is followed by the identification of interaction and other difficulties by the learner, which were triangulated with different data sources. It provided insights into the pedagogical and design changes required in GI. The revised version of GI was evaluated with a quasi-experimental classroom study (N = 121). The results indicate that the drawbacks of the previous version of GI were addressed. The main contributions of this research are a pedagogical design for facilitating complex learning and its implementation in the form of GI TEL environment.

How learning theories can be applied to support older adults’ acquisition of digital skills?

Digitalization of public services affects daily life of older adults since adequate digital skills are required in using the digital devices and services. Many organizations have reacted to the growing need of older adults to receive support in using digital services by offering guidance in digital skills. The knowledge of how older adults learn help in successfully organizing digital skills guidance.
 In this presentation we will introduce the variety of concepts and theories concerning digital skills learning of older adults. We will also share results of peer guidance sessions of older adults from the viewpoints of three different learning theories.
 Data is collected from eight focus group interviews (N = 42, 62-79 years old). Data was analyzed using theory-driven content analysis.
 According to the results, peer tutors applied all three learning theoretical approaches in digital skills guidance. Furthermore, peer tutors paid attention to characteristics of ageing that affect learning. At best, peer tutoring sessions were constructed as shared learning practices of both tutors and tutees. Results provide new information about how to support older adults in peer tutoring sessions. Research results can be used in educating peer tutors and teachers of older adults as well as in developing support systems in implementation of digital public services. This research is a part of ACCESS project in which digital skills learning of older adults is investigated in four European countries.
 The ACCESS project is funded by EU Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) “More Years, Better Lives” The Potential and Challenges of Demographic Change.

“Make the Appointments Obligatory”: The Cultural and Institutional Challenges of Establishing a University Writing Center in Norway

In the US, writing centers have a long history at institutions of higher learning. Often housed in individual colleges, writing centers function to help both undergraduate and graduate students develop their writing skills and become more confident, independent writers. Assistance, which is typically offered by students who are themselves seasoned writers, takes form in both face-to-face and online tutoring sessions, and can focus on tenets of writing ranging from general skills (e.g., outlining, drafting, organization) to discipline- or genre-specific assignments (e.g., theses, reports, presentations). In recent years, efforts have been made to transfer the writing center culture across the pond; success stories have popped up in a wide range of European countries. Yet several contexts have yet to be investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges of establishing a writing center at the Department of Teacher Education (Institutt for lærerutdanning) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). In autumn 2019, 43 pre-service second-year students taking a course on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) were obligated to make one appointment with the writing center to discuss drafts of a paper for a required assignment. Afterwards, they completed a survey detailing the experience of their visit. Results revealed that while students on the whole benefited from the sessions to discuss their writing, the students hinted at several cultural deviations that have the potential to hobble efforts of establishing a writing center. Instructional implications are discussed.

Experiential learning with virtual reality: animal handling training

Training in handling laboratory animals is fundamentally imperative to the responsible use of animals in research. Animal welfare topic is underdeveloped in the tertiary education, where instruction is majorly delivered in the format of lecture and group discussion only. Students with limited exposure to the laboratory were inattentive to animal welfare and uncertain how ethics intertwine with science. This paper describes a multi-disciplinary experience in developing and implementing virtual reality (VR) simulation to enhance contextual learning of using animal models in research with digital technology in biomedical science teaching at higher education. The in-house developed courseware consists of student-centred stimulations designed with game elements implemented at the tutorial session. At the first game level, the setting situates at in the preparation room that requires learners to apply the laboratory safety knowledge to wear personal protective equipment. At the second game level, the environment situates at the restricted experimental room to perform hands-on injections on mice. If the learner fails to pick up appropriate safety equipment at the first level, the learner is prohibited from entering the next level. During the simulation, the learner’s interaction is also displayed to the monitor that supports parallel teaching to the larger class. At the debriefing, 3Rs principles were reinforced as a sample framework for performing humane animal research. We illustrate how the hybrid uses of VR technology with gamification, together with didactic pedagogy, offers promise in enforcing working knowledge into better task performance, specifically research skills training. Our experience and students’ feedback show using immersive VR for educational purposes to encourage the learner applying conceptual knowledge in the simulated laboratory setting. Further application of VR in science for vocational training or higher education is feasible to engage students or stakeholders from various disciplines.

The Effect of Using Native versus Nonnative Language on the Participation Level of Medical Students during PBL Tutorials

PurposeLanguage competency has been perceived to be a significant barrier to both learning and interaction in university. However, most studies in this field confine themselves to perceptions of students. This study focused on actual behaviors in small group discussions. It explored whether linguistic differences affect the level of participation between students who conduct discussions in their native Arabic language and those who participate in a second language, being English. MethodAn experimental study conducted at a Saudi medical school. First-year medical students were assigned randomly to attend two small-group discussions either in Arabic or in English. All sessions were video-recorded for data transcription and analysis. The students' utterances were broken down into propositions and subsequently categorized as either explanatory or descriptive. The number of propositions for each student was counted for each group. Analysis of variance was conducted to test for differences. To examine students’ perception toward conducting small-group discussions either in English or Arabic, students were invited to anonymously fill a questionnaire distributed at the end of the sessions. ResultsStudents who were assigned to sessions conducted in their native language produced significant more descriptive (p < 0.005) and explanatory propositions (p < 0.008). Discussions conducted in their native language were almost 60% more extensive than those conducted in English. Although not significant, students reported that conducting the PBL tutorial session in the Arabic language made them more motivated and gave them more confidence in expressing their thoughts. However, when PBL is conducted in English, students indicated that their understanding of basic sciences is better (p < 0.001). In addition, they assume that they acquire a deeper knowledge. ConclusionStudents’ who use their native language in small-group discussions contribute more than those discuss matters using a foreign language. However, more students perceived that using the English language helps them better in understanding basic sciences and ensuring deeper knowledge.

39th International Deep Drawing Research Group Conference

Be more flexible: extending flexibility of sheet metal forming Seoul, Republic of Korea International Deep Drawing Research Group annual conference 2020 was virtually held on 26 – 30 October in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The conference was organized by the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity. The conference chairs were Prof. Myoung-Gyu Lee, Seoul National University, Dr. Daeyong Kim, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Dr. Jung Han Song, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, and Prof. Ji Hoon Kim, Pusan National University.List of International Deep Drawing Research Group, Virtual Conference, Topics, Plenary speakers, Tutorial sessions, Participants & Authors, Scientific Committee, Local Organizing Committee, Advisory Board, Acknowledgement, Sponsors and Exhibitors, Editors, Images are available in the pdf.

Mobile Learning Support in Delivering Distance Education: Perception of Students of University of Cape Coast, Ghana

This paper explored the perception of University of Cape Coast distance education students on the use of mobile technologies to facilitate interactions among students and tutors as a learning-support system. The paper aimed at establishing whether distance education students would accept to be taught using a blend of mobile technologies and biweekly direct face-to-face tutorials on weekends. A questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 300 students pursuing various Diploma, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees by distance at University of Cape Coast using systematic sampling technique. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. It was found that scheduled face-to-face tutorial sessions of distance education in University of Cape Coast were not supportive enough to address students’ learning needs. Also, all the respondents possessed mobile devices and perceived blending of mobile learning in distance education as an avenue to enhance collaborative learning with faculty and colleagues. It was recommended that curriculum and instructional designers of distance education courses must consider incorporating mobile learning pedagogies in the distance courses and learning experiences to address students’ learning needs using mobile technologies.

A note on independence in probability

ABSTRACT We consider here two questions posed by first-year undergraduate students in a statistics tutorial session. These questions are related, and each concerns an aspect of independence in probability. The notion of independence does tend to be a little less intuitive than some of the other elementary probabilistic concepts, thereby providing students with greater opportunities to pose insightful, sophisticated and interesting questions in the classroom or the lecture theatre. With the help of diagrams, we provide solutions to the two questions.