Undergraduate Course Research Articles

The hardest-hit home run?

We present a problem to be assigned or done as an in-class activity in an upper-division undergraduate course on computational physics. The problem involves a home run hit by Mickey Mantle on May 22, 1963, which he famously called “the hardest ball I ever hit.” Is this home run truly one for the record books, or has it been eclipsed by players in the modern era? Modeling the trajectory of a baseball involves consideration of both wind resistance and the Magnus effect and is an interesting application of numerical solutions to ordinary differential equations. Ultimately, the answer is that Mantle would compare favorably to the most powerful batters currently playing, but to arrive at that conclusion we must reflect on the plausibility of results and sources of uncertainty.

Why the action?

In this note, I present two variations of the principle of stationary action in order to provide alternative ways for students to think about the action that they may find more intuitive than the traditional approach. These methods involve Lagrange multiplier techniques and are, therefore, best suited for students who are encountering the stationary action principle for a second or third time, perhaps in an advanced undergraduate mathematical methods course or a graduate classical mechanics course.

Grab the Mic: Connecting theory and practice within an undergraduate sport communication course

Experiential learning within sport management classrooms provides valuable industry experience to complement theoretical knowledge. Content creation is a valuable skill for sport management students, particularly those who are looking to work within media and marketing spaces after graduation. Therefore, sport communication undergraduate students at a large research-intensive institution in the Midwest of the United States participated in a podcast creation project for their sport communication class. The experiential learning opportunity provided students with the opportunity to collaborate with a classmate to write, record, and edit a podcast episode under the umbrella of the department's podcast show. This gave the students valuable experience in creating content for professional consumption. The project received positive feedback from students on skill development and the benefits of collaboration, while also discussing the challenges associated with the time demands of the project.

Curricular Redundancy in Medical Undergraduate Course: Critical Insights from Various Stakeholders in Medical Institutes in India

Background Medical education is continuously evolving to keep pace with the dynamic field of medicine. This study addresses the issue of curricular redundancy in medical education, highlighting the necessity for periodic reviews to eliminate outdated or irrelevant topics. Method A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, involving participants from various medical schools across India. An online questionnaire was used to gather data on redundant topics, suggested replacements, and improvements in the curriculum for both didactic and non-didactic subjects, along with inputs related to assessment and evaluation methods. Content analysis was used for thematic identification and qualitative interpretation. Results Out of 71 respondents from a wide geographic distribution, 30% were female, and 70% were male, with an age range of 17 to 36 years. Participants expressed concerns about redundant theoretical (32%) and practical (51%) topics. Qualitative analysis highlighted the need for integrating different subjects and placing a stronger focus on practical clinical skills. Participants emphasized the importance of a curriculum that keeps pace with advancements in medicine, such as genomics and artificial intelligence, while also addressing mental health. Specifically, they suggested combining anatomy and surgery courses, incorporating more active learning techniques, and utilizing ongoing assessments to gauge progress. Conclusion The study highlights the necessity of eliminating curricular redundancy in medical education. Recommendations include developing a flexible curriculum, emphasizing region-specific content, and implementing a formative assessment system. Additionally, the importance of faculty development and stakeholder involvement in curriculum design is emphasized. Key Message Key insights for updating the medical undergraduate curriculum include the following:

Pitfalls in the assessment of higher education learning gains in Brazil through multilevel regression: handling the ceiling effect.

This work assesses the validity of the Brazilian Indicator of the Difference between Observed and Expected Performances (IDD), which applies a multilevel regression model to rank university courses. It proposes a methodology to test for inconsistencies and research for the causes. With this objective, we develop an experimental methodology, applied to a database with 4,432 production engineering students distributed over 329 undergraduate courses, from the government’s National Institute for Educational Studies and Research. We display a graphical analysis of the expected and achieved grades in final graduation exams, the gap in which determines the learning gains for every course. Then we apply the multilevel linear regression model of the IDD in a particular scenario, to test for consistency in value-added learning measurements using the technique reductio ad absurdum. The result reveals that the present methodology for the calculation of the IDD is inadequate and inconsistent, and that this can be explained by the ceiling effect. It needs to be radically revised to prevent unfair judgements. Finally, we propose and implement a production frontier technique to correct for the ensuing ceiling effect, namely a variable returns to scale data envelopment analysis model for adjusting the measurements using evidence based benchmarks.

Approach to Mental Disorders in Dental Education in a Brazilian State

Oral diseases present higher prevalence in people with mental disorders, which makes dental care a possible means for screening and referral to mental health specialized care. Because some dental conditions can be caused by or associated with mental disorders, dentists can identify patients’ mental health care needs. However, they have shown low confidence and a lack of training in dealing with mental health patients, which may indicate a deficiency in the approach to mental disorders in dental education. This study aimed to verify whether undergraduate Dentistry courses in a Brazilian state introduce knowledge about adult mental disorders into their curriculum content. The courses operating in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were assessed by information available at the e-MEC system, the official database of courses and Higher Education Institutions in Brazil, and at institutions’ websites. Two researchers independently assessed pedagogical projects, curriculum matrices, syllabi, and teaching plans. Psychology disciplines Applied Psychology and Psychology-related were identified, and their syllabi and teaching plans were screened, searching for themes related to mental disorders and/or psychopathology. Of the 73 courses included, 34 were evaluated, and only five courses presented disciplines with some approach to mental disorders and/or psychopathology. The results showed that a large part of undergraduate Dentistry courses assessed do not address knowledge about adult mental disorders as part of dental education. Considering the impact of mental disorders on oral and systemic health, it is important to reflect on the role of dentists in mental health care and on the responsibility of Higher Education Institutions regarding the development of skills and competencies of these professionals. The results of this study draw attention to the need to address adult mental disorders in dental education, reinforcing mental health as an important aspect of patients’ general health.

Nursing Students’ Satisfaction with Clinical Simulation: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Clinical Simulation improves results in the students’ learning tests and allows for preserving acquired knowledge for longer periods of time, promoting more significant learning. This study was conducted to analyze Nursing students’ satisfaction with Clinical Simulation in three centres attached to a university from southern Spain. Methods: A quantitative, non-experimental and cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out. The students included were attending their third year of the Nursing undergraduate course and had already taken part in training sessions by means of Clinical Simulation. The Satisfaction Scale with High-Fidelity Clinical Simulation in Students (SSHF) was used for data collection. This scale has been validated and has 33 items grouped into eight factors. The SPSS software (version 28), was used for data analysis, establishing p-values < 0.05 for the statistically significant differences. Results: The participants were 180 students, with a mean age of 22.17 years old. Of them, 90.56% belonged to the female gender. A mean score of 3.82 out of 5 was obtained in the SSHF items. The items that obtained the highest scores were the following: benefits of Clinical Simulation as it relates theory with practise; possibility of learning based on the mistakes made; and comfort and respect while the sessions were developed. The item that obtained the lowest score was “timing for each simulation case”. We found significant differences in the results obtained according to each attached centre. Conclusions: The students showed high satisfaction levels regarding High-Fidelity Clinical Simulation in each of the three attached centres included in the study. Nevertheless, they stated the need to invest more time in Clinical Simulation sessions.

Online teaching and Learning post-Covid: An Analysis of LMS Usage and Student Outcomes Following the Pandemic

In 2020, the global higher education sector plunged into online teaching and learning within a very short timeframe with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Sri Lankan state higher education system was no exception. While the initial readiness of both students and teachers for this switch varied or, in many cases, was low, online instruction was the predominant form of teaching and learning for most of the subsequent two years. The Sri Lankan university sector resumed face-to-face teaching for undergraduates in mid-2022 but aspects of online teaching and learning remain, providing a valuable opportunity to take stock of the experiences gathered during the pandemic. This study aims to use data on undergraduate courses offered both during and after the pandemic period at the Faculty of Business in the University of Moratuwa in order to identify online teaching practices that persisted beyond the COVID-19 period and relate student interactions with these activities with academic outcomes. The dataset spans 473 students in five cohorts across six undergraduate courses and includes Moodle (the LMS used by the university) logs, data on academic outcomes, and features of the online course pages. The student level data for the selected courses are augmented with interviews with the corresponding lecturers to gain further insights into why certain learning activities were considered successful and others not. By doing so, the paper aims to identify effective learning tools and best practices that arose during the unplanned transition to online teaching from both lecturer and student perspectives. The results show that there is a continuity in the tools between the online mode during the pandemic and the post-pandemic return to face-to-face teaching with tools such as quizzes, assignment submissions, and videos/lecture recordings used noticeably more than in the pre-Covid period. The use of interactive tools increase the student engagement with the course Moodle pages, which in turn are positively associated with learning outcomes. The paper thus highlights some positive consequences of the pandemic period on education in terms of enhancing the adoption of digital tools for learning among both staff and students.

Ensino do Building Information Modeling (BIM) em Instituições de Ensino Superior no Brasil

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has emerged as a necessary tool in the architecture, engineering, construction and operations scenario, offering an innovative and integrated approach not only for project development, but also contributing to the construction management and maintenance of buildings. . In the Brazilian context, academia has dedicated special attention to BIM, reflected in the production of theses and dissertations carried out over the last few years. This research aimed to identify the main trends and pedagogical approaches used in the productions found, presenting their strengths and advances verified in the use of this methodology, as well as the weaknesses or limiting points, based on Brazilian academic production on teaching BIM in the period from 2013 to 2020, resulting from the analysis of theses and dissertations published in the CAPES Catalog of Theses and Dissertations, which address the topic of Construction Information Modeling or Building Information Modeling in the dimension of its teaching. classifies as applied, exploratory, with a qualitative approach, using the bibliographic research method and application of the content analysis technique. It is hoped that, through the results obtained, the adoption of the BIM methodology in undergraduate courses in architecture and urbanism and related areas can be encouraged in the country.

From Traditional to Challenge-Based Learning: A Case Study

The rapid evolution of the information technology sector necessitates innovative educational methods not only addressing current industry needs but also anticipating future challenges. This study aims to explore the transition from traditional pedagogical approaches to challenge-based learning (CBL) within the context of an undergraduate course, "Ethical, Social and Professional Aspects of IT" (120 participants). It investigates how this methodological shift influences the development strategies of the course and the pedagogical outcomes for students, particularly first-year IT administration and development students engaging in practical group work. Employing a mixed research design, the study gathers data through reflections of the course staff, empirical study with students and analysis of the didactic changes within the course. It evaluates the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) and CBL methodologies in addressing real-world IT ethics, social, and professional challenges with a focus on fostering creativity, problem-solving skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Preliminary findings suggest that CBL not only enhances students' engagement and learning outcomes but also bridges the gap between academic knowledge and practical application in the IT sector. The collaboration students provided insights into real-world challenges, improving students’ learning and administrative experiences at the university. Furthermore, the study highlights the advantages of integrating both PBL and CBL to cultivate a more dynamic and responsive educational environment. The shift towards CBL in the "Ethical, Social and Professional Aspects of IT" course at Tallinn University of Technology represents a significant step forward in aligning educational practices with the needs of the contemporary and future IT industry, preparing students for the complexities of the modern workforce, and contributing to a sustainable, innovative, and resilient economy. Further research is needed to fully understand the long-term impacts of this pedagogical shift and to refine the methodologies for broader application.

Community-Engaged Learning: Centering Public Health in Undergraduate Education by Examining Food Insecurity in the Tampa Bay Area

Community-engaged learning (CEL) is a “hands-on” approach to introducing undergraduate students to public health methods and theory in local contexts. CEL bridges academic theory and real-world practice by civic development and learning while addressing real-world problems, community needs, and interests. By applying public health theory and methods, students examined food insecurity and inequity in the Tampa Bay area by working in a community food garden and food distribution center to examine the social, economic, and environmental conditions that influence food insecurity. There were several learning outcomes for the students’ CEL experience, such as increasing the understanding of social issues through participation in the community, understanding the importance of offering culturally appropriate food, and examining how food insecurity is perpetuated by structural, social, and racial barriers within their community. This paper will discuss the process of creating community partnerships for CEL, student assignments, students feedback and reflection about their CEL experiences, and future recommendations for integrating CEL into undergraduate courses.

Exploring relationship maintenance behaviors among emerging adult siblings: comparative analysis of measurement frameworks

ABSTRACT This study replicates and expands upon Myers (2022) work examining the moderating influence of shared family identity on relationship maintenance behaviors and relational quality. This research also offers a comparative analysis between two measurement frameworks designed to evaluate relationship maintenance behaviors: Canary and Stafford’s (1992) model and Ledbetter’s (2013) framework. Survey data was collected from 218 undergraduate students at a mid-size university in the southern United States, all enrolled in undergraduate communication courses. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression, findings demonstrate the moderating effect of shared family identity on emerging adult sibling use of the following relationship maintenance behaviors from Ledbetter’s measurement framework—verbal affection, informal talk, deep talk, conflict management, and shared networks—and perceived relational quality. Notably, none of Canary and Stafford’s maintenance strategies produced significant results in the moderation analysis.

Development of Leadership Skills in Medical Education: Protocol for a Scoping Review.

Leadership is recognized as an essential competency in health care and science, being central for professionals to face health challenges. Few physicians feel prepared to serve as leaders in the health care environment, and few receive training in the leadership skills needed to be successful. Teaching leadership skills together with extensive, longitudinal, clinical education in an authentic and nurturing environment can effectively develop students for leadership in medicine. Studies on the subject still do not show the best way to implement it in medical education, and an updated review is necessary. The aim of this study is to identify the types of available evidence on the teaching of leadership skills in undergraduate courses in the health area, analyze them, determine knowledge gaps, and disseminate the research results. This is a scoping review that will consider studies on leadership skills in medical and health undergraduate courses. Primary studies published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese since 2019 will be considered. The search will be performed in 8 databases, and reference lists will be searched for additional studies. Duplicates will be removed, and 2 independent reviewers will examine the titles, abstracts, and full texts of the selected studies. Data extraction will be performed using a tool developed by the researchers. The scoping review is currently in progress. The preliminary database search has been completed, yielding a total of 1213 articles across multiple databases. The next stages, including deduplication, title and abstract screening, and full-text review, are scheduled to be completed by December 2024. Data extraction and analysis are expected to be finalized by March 2025, with the final report anticipated to be ready for submission by June 2025. This scoping review on leadership in the medical curriculum can significantly contribute to the literature by organizing and synthesizing the available evidence on teaching leadership skills in undergraduate courses in the health area. Furthermore, by analyzing evidence and identifying knowledge gaps, the study can provide valuable insights to develop more efficient and comprehensive medical education programs, thus preparing students to take on leadership roles in the complex environment of health care. Open Science Framework YEXKB; https://osf.io/yexkb. PRR1-10.2196/62810.

Implementing Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences (PEACE) Model into an Undergraduate Therapeutic Recreation Course

Studying aging is vital for therapeutic recreation students due to several compelling factors, like an increasing ag-ing population, prevalence of ageism in society, and ris-ing numbers of recreational therapists providing services to older adults. In addition to educating students about the aging process, faculty members have the opportunity to develop innovative approaches within the therapeu-tic recreation curriculum to highlight how older adults contribute positively to society. Additionally, recreational therapists involved in developing intergenerational pro-grams have a unique opportunity to facilitate positive connections between younger and older adults. This manuscript aimed to present how the Positive Education about Aging and Contact Experiences (PEACE) model was infused into an undergraduate therapeutic recre-ation course about aging and used to help design and im-plement two intergenerational service-learning projects.

Identifying factors associated with instructor implementation of three-dimensional assessment in undergraduate biology courses.

Recent national calls to transform undergraduate science education have centered on engaging students in scientific practices as a means to help them develop deeper insights into science. The three-dimensional framework for science education encapsulates the goals of these national calls by recommending that instructors integrate scientific practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas throughout their courses. Prior research has found that introductory undergraduate biology exams contain few three-dimensional items suggesting that instructors likely face barriers in meeting the goals of national calls. To better understand these putative challenges, we explored factors potentially associated with three-dimensional alignment. Our generalized linear mixed model indicated that instructors who used three-dimensional items on their exams were more likely to use Bloom's Taxonomy when designing their exams and were more likely to write these items using a constructed-response format. We also found that professional development opportunities did not necessarily change the likelihood an instructor would employ three-dimensional items. We previously identified that few items in our sample fully aligned to scientific practices, making scientific practices the limiting dimension for three-dimensional alignment. Our subsequent analysis here revealed that most biology instructors had exam items that were at least partially aligned to scientific practices. Based on our results, we highlight the significant time and resources that instructors likely need to write and grade constructed-response assessments, suggest that instructors build on items that are mostly aligned to scientific practices to increase their three-dimensional alignment, and propose ways that professional development programs and communities might further support instructors in meeting national calls.

Development of learning objectives to support undergraduate virology curriculum guidelines.

It has become increasingly important for microbiology educators to help students learn critical concepts of the discipline. This is particularly true in virology, where current challenges include increasing rates of vaccine hesitancy, misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, and controversy surrounding research on pathogens with pandemic potential. Having students learn virology can attract more people to the field and increase the number of people who can engage in meaningful discourse about issues relating to the discipline. However, the limited number of virologists who teach undergraduates, combined with the fact that many institutions lack stand-alone virology courses, results in virology often being taught as a limited number of lectures within an undergraduate microbiology course (if it is covered at all), which may or may not be taught by an individual trained as a virologist. To provide a framework to teach virology to undergraduate students, a team of virology educators, with support from the American Society for Virology (ASV), developed curriculum guidelines for use in a stand-alone undergraduate virology course or a virology section within another course (D. B. Kushner et al., J Virol 96:e01305-22, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1128/jvi.01305-22). These guidelines are available at the ASV website (https://asv.org/curriculum-guidelines/). To assist educators in implementing these guidelines, we created examples of measurable learning objectives. This perspective provides details about the virology curriculum guidelines and learning objectives and accompanies the perspective by Boury et al. in this issue of the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (25:e00126-24, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00126-24) about the recent revision of the microbiology curriculum guidelines overseen by the American Society for Microbiology.

Integrating the personal, relational, and political: empowering climate action through decolonial feminist action research

This article centres decolonial feminist contributions to action research, which orient us to see how the oppressive conceptual frameworks that enable sexism, gender violence, and gender inequality are fundamentally intertwined with those that enable racism, (neo)colonialism, and the pillaging and destruction of nature and planetary systems: all of which come together in the climate emergency. Given that climate change is unarguably a “threat multiplier”, if action research is to help combat the climate crisis, it must mobilise intersectional feminist, anti-racist, and decolonial frameworks. Integrating decolonial feminism with action research offers long-overdue theoretical, methodological, and practical insights. I use the acronym DF-AR to refer to existing and emerging forms of action research underpinned by decolonial feminist principles, as well as aspirational imaginaries gesturing towards decolonial feminist futures. Drawing on empirical insights from DF-AR processes embedded within an undergraduate final-year course in the UK, I consider how the experimental and micropolitical practices associated with these imaginaries can strengthen our response to the climate emergency: that is, the strategies and qualitative differences they afford.

Research and innovation of the “ship navigation radar” course based on the four‐in‐one approach in engineering education accreditation

AbstractTo achieve the strategic goal of marine and transportation power, it is imperative to cultivate highly skilled navigation professionals with a strong theoretical foundation and practical expertize. Seizing the opportunity by the “Double Thousand Plan” first‐class undergraduate courses initiated by the Ministry of Education, a four‐in‐one experimental teaching model is developed for ship navigation radar courses that integrate virtual reality technology under the context of engineering certification. The model encompasses land laboratory real training, maritime radar simulator training platform, comprehensive real‐ship training at sea, and virtual laboratory teaching and training. Through this innovative approach, students can acquire essential knowledge of ship navigation radar required for practical activities in navigation practice while honing their operational skills in positioning, navigation, and collision avoidance using radars. Furthermore, an analysis of course attainment and future development trends is conducted to provide insights into enhancing maritime education and fostering internationally competitive shipping talents.

Teaching Places and Teaching Place

Keith Basso’s seminal work, ‘Wisdom Sits in Places’, explores epistemologies of place used by the people of the Cibecue Western Apache community in what is now called Arizona, US. One of the major conclusions Basso arrives at is that places for the people of Cibecue are active repositories of wisdom, as embodied in narratives connected to those places. Engaging with the places in a particular way leads to wisdom. Using this book in an academic classroom provides interesting layers of opportunity, in that students can be said to be at university on a similar path, a pursuit of wisdom. This paper will explore the complexity and value of using ‘Wisdom Sits in Places’ to simultaneously teach about the people of Cibecue and their way of finding and making wisdom, and also give students their own set of tools as they attempt to find and make wisdom. Using an epistemological approach from an undergraduate course, “Place and Identity”, this paper will present what it means to teach about a place, to teach a place, and to teach the concept of place all at the same time. Multiple intersections of place, knowledge, and people (folk) will be explored.

Integrating mathematical modeling into synthetic biology education: a comprehensive approach through webinars and syllabus development

Mathematical modeling is a fundamental aspect of synthetic biology, enabling precise design and analysis of biological systems. To enhance students' understanding of this critical topic, we developed a series of webinars aimed at teaching mathematical modeling to iGEM teams. These webinars were initially created to maintain student engagement during a period of restricted lab access but quickly demonstrated their value as an effective educational tool. The success of these webinars highlighted the suitability of mathematical modeling as a topic well-suited to both onsite and online learning environments. Recognizing this, we expanded the content into a comprehensive syllabus for undergraduate courses in synthetic biology at the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia in Spain and Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas—ESPE in Ecuador. The course now serves as a core component of synthetic biology education, offering students a robust framework for understanding and applying mathematical models. It includes a series of lectures, practical exercises, and case studies, all designed to deepen students' knowledge and skills in this essential area. To support educators and students, we have also developed a deck of slides and example scripts that provide practical examples and reinforce the concepts taught in the course. This manuscript presents the development, implementation, and impact of these educational initiatives, demonstrating how mathematical modeling can be effectively integrated into synthetic biology curricula to prepare students for real-world challenges in the field.