Valuable Learning Research Articles

Theorising a spectrum of reasons for failure in knowledge brokering: a developmental evaluation

Background: Despite the growing interest in knowledge brokering as an approach to mobilising knowledge for societal benefit, research has only recently begun investigating the consequences of knowledge brokers’ actions. In particular, while it is known that failure can provide a valuable learning experience for individuals and organisations alike, very few studies have explored failure in knowledge brokering. Aims and objectives: With the aim of informing how knowledge brokers can navigate common professional challenges, this article discusses a spectrum of reasons for failure in the professional practice of knowledge brokering. Methods: Data for this article comes from a developmental evaluation of a network of knowledge brokers, focusing specifically on a set of semi-structured interviews (N = 20). Findings: The overarching themes identified in this study are organised according to the three constructs that knowledge brokers act upon in the i-PARIHS framework: innovation, recipients, and context. Knowledge brokers experienced different types of failure across these constructs, ranging from violations of prescribed practices and processes to exploratory testing. Discussion and conclusions: Failure is not a monolithic outcome, and future research could seek to identify levers for change regarding the failure experiences available to knowledge brokers. Additionally, it will not be enough to learn to fail; research and practice in knowledge brokering must learn to fail intelligently. Finally, failure cannot remain a private experience. Advancing the field of knowledge brokering will require researchers and practitioners to share when and how their efforts have failed.

Symbolic access: medical students’ awareness of institutional culture and its influence on learning, a phenomenographic study

BackgroundThe discussion of access in medical education has its focus largely on physical and epistemological access, leaving a qualitative gap regarding sociocultural factors which enable access in this context. This study introduces and defines symbolic access, a concept with a specific lens on sociocultural inclusion, and the influence it has on student learning within the South African medical education landscape.MethodsA phenomenographic design was used to explore students’ conceptions of symbolic access and its impact on learning. One-on-one exploratory interviews were conducted with fifteen final year medical students at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Interviews were analysed using Sjöström and Dahlgren‘s seven-step phenomenography model.ResultsFour categories of description were induced, which described students’ understanding of symbolic access, these were rejection, disregard, invalidation, and actualization. Four dimensions of variation were discovered expressing the diversity of events which informed the collectives’ understanding of the phenomenon. These dimensions were; interactions with educators, peer relationships, educational environment, and race. Categories of description and dimensions of variation formed the Outcome Space, a visual representation of the student experience of symbolic access. The outcome space had a double narrative related to symbolic access; exclusion (major) and actualization (minor). Medical student’s chief experience within the medical community was exclusion, however clinical immersion, meaningful participation, peer-relationships, and clinical skills lessons facilitated community enculturation, and impacted learning.ConclusionDespite deeply exclusionary experiences throughout their programme, medical students articulated a paradox of both awareness and no awareness of symbolic access. The awareness of symbolic access was predominantly influenced by clinical experiences and clinical immersion during the pre-clinical and clinical years of study. Further, descriptions of valuable learning experiences were connected to clinical events and the involvement with patient care. This study suggests that the actualization of symbolic access and description of meaningful learning experiences are linked. Medical educationalists should design undergraduate curricula with early clinical immersion at the fore and explore symbolic concepts pertaining to access, as they are linked to transformative learning experiences for the medical student.

Development of the EVIBEC Learning Outcomes Framework to support the delivery of evidence-based practice curricula in health care professional programmes: a codesign approach

BackgroundAll healthcare professional education programmes must adopt a systematic approach towards ensuring graduates achieve the competencies required to be an evidence-based practitioner. While a list of competencies for evidence-based practice exist, health care educators continue to struggle with effectively integrating the necessary competencies into existing curricula. The purpose of this project was to develop an open access cross-discipline, learning outcomes framework to support educators in integrating the teaching, learning and assessment required to ensure all graduates of health care professional programmes can achieve the necessary evidence-based practice competencies.MethodsAn interdisciplinary team of health care professional educators and a librarian completed a review of the health professions literature on the teaching and assessment of evidence-based practice. The literature, coupled with the teams’ collective experiences in evidence-based education and research, were used to identify relevant teaching, learning and evidence-based competency frameworks to inform the project design. The guide and toolkit for experience-based co-design developed by the National Health Service Institute for Innovation and Improvement was adopted for this study ( Institute for Innovation and Improvement: Experience Based Design: Guide & Tools In. Leeds: NHS; 2009.). A four-step approach involving three online participatory co-design workshops and a national validation workshop was designed. Students (n = 33), faculty (n = 12), and clinical educators (n = 15) participated in formulating and mapping learning outcomes to evidence-based competencies. ResultsThrough a rigorous, systematic co-design process the Evidenced-based Education Collaborative (EVIBEC) Learning Outcomes Framework was developed. This framework consists of a series of student-centred learning outcomes, aligned to evidence-based practice competencies, classified according to the 5 As of EBP and mapped to the cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Associated learning activities for each step of EBP are suggested. ConclusionsA consensus-based, student-centred learning outcomes framework aligned to a contemporary set of EBP core competencies has been developed. The freely accessible EVIBEC framework may support entry level health care professional EBP education, by informing EBP curriculum development and offering the potential for interdisciplinary approaches to and sharing of valuable teaching and learning resources. Co-design proved an effective method in creating and refining this framework.

A scoping review of the ethical impacts of international medical electives on local students and patient care

BackgroundInternational electives are often considered a valuable learning opportunity for medical students. Yet, as travelling to lower and middle income countries (LMICs) becomes more common, ethical considerations of such practices emerge. We conducted a scoping review to assess the extent to which five ethical themes were addressed in existing literature about electives, with the aim of investigating the ethical impacts of medical student electives on local resources, patients and clinicians in LMICs.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed, Global Health and Embase databases using the search terms “(ethics) AND (medical electives)”. Thematic content analysis was undertaken using a combination of deductive and inductive themes. The deductive themes included: exceeding clinical competence, use of limited local resources, respect for patients and local culture, collaboration with local community/colleagues, and one-sided benefits in partnership. In addition, we also allowed for emerging themes within the data, and conducted a narrative synthesis of the results.ResultsA total of 37 papers discussed ethical issues relating to medical student international electives to LMICs. More publications were written from the medical student perspective (n = 14), than by the host-institution (n = 5), with nearly half written from third-party perspectives (n = 18). Negative impacts on local host students and impact upon patient care were identified as additional ethical considerations.ConclusionsOur review demonstrated that while there is a degree of awareness in the existing literature of the potential negative impacts of medical electives to local LMIC students’ access to medical education and patient care, continued work is needed to ensure equitable partnerships. We recommend that these ethical themes should be further explored in pre-departure elective teaching courses and post-elective debriefs to increase medical students’ awareness of the impact of their presence on host communities.

Silos to Synergy: Harnessing Integrated Learning for Improved Outcomes

Abstract— In recent days, integrated learning emerges as a potent pedagogical approach, intertwining diverse subjects to foster comprehensive education for millennial learners. Its benefits span across enhanced learning outcomes, improved critical thinking, creative problem solving, and engaged learning. The research study aims to create an effective integrated learning experience for the undergraduate students of information technology program. Around 65 students of fifth semester B.Tech IT program and three faculty members have participated in the research study. Project-Based Learning (PBL) has been adapted to creating meaningful cross-curricular experiences. The proposed PBL enables the learners to develop simulations for various cryptographic algorithms which were learnt in the course on Information security. The project also intertwines the concepts covered in other courses like Web Technologies, Software Testing and System Thinking. The PBL has been carefully designed with focus on problem statements, learning goals, project milestones, calendar and rubrics for assessment. Simulations developed by the learners in teams are integrated to create a complete software package which could serve as a virtual lab for cryptography and information security course. The experimental study on integrated learning has resulted in a usable educational software product for teaching cryptographic algorithms. Also, there is a significant enhancement in the attainment of course outcomes and satisfaction index of the learners. The positive outcome in learning achievements and student engagement affirm integrated learning's value. Various plans to address the implementation challenges in integrated learning are also discussed in the research article. The authors believe that the manuscript will serve as a beginner’s guide to academicians wishing to practice integrated learning in their classrooms. Keywords—Integrated Learning, Project Based Learning, Rubrics, Comprehensive Learning, Learning Outcomes, Product building skills.

Thought Experiments as an Error Detection and Correction Tool.

The ability to recognize and correct errors in one's explanatory understanding is critically important for learning. However, little is known about the mechanisms that determine when and under what circumstances errors are detected and how they are corrected. The present study investigated thought experiments as a potential tool that can reveal errors and trigger belief revision in the service of error correction. Across two experiments, 1149 participants engaged in reasoning about force and motion (a domain with well-documented misconceptions) in a pre-training-training-post-training design. The two experiments manipulated the type of mental model manipulated in the thought experiments (i.e., whether participants reasoned about forces acting on their own bodies vs. on external objects), as well as the level of relational and argumentative reasoning about the outcomes of the thought experiments. The results showed that: (i) thought experiments can serve as a tool to elicit inconsistencies in one's representations; (ii) the level of relational and argumentative reasoning determines the level of belief revision in the service of error correction; and (iii) the type of mental model manipulated in a thought experiment determines its outcome and its potential to initiate belief revision. Thought experiments can serve as a valuable teaching and learning tool, and they can help us better understand the nature of error detection and correction systems.

ЭЛЕМЕНТЫ АНИМАЦИОННОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ В ПРЕПОДАВАНИИ ИНОСТРАННОГО ЯЗЫКА

Playing and learning are often perceived as opposites. This is why many teachers are skeptical about the use of animation elements and games in the classroom. Nevertheless, it is quite possible to learn in the game or through the game: game techniques and animation can be integrated into educational activities. Language animation is a promising method, the advantage of which is a deep and comprehensive immersion of the student in a foreign language through a live learning situation. In foreign language classes, active interaction and visualization play an important role, so using animation can be a valuable learning tool. This will allow the teacher not only to arouse the interest of students and create a relaxed atmosphere, but also to bring external realities to the audience – for example, to recreate authentic communication situations. This method helps to understand the role of a foreign language in intercultural and interpersonal communication. This article discusses the possibilities of using animation in foreign language classes, the types of animation, the advantages of this method, ways to integrate animation into the learning process, and the possibilities of using it in groups with different levels of language training. Summing up, we can say that animation has a positive effect on the motivation of students, that animation has a positive effect on students’ motivation their perception of the language, and the development of listening and speaking skills.

Development of Uno Stacko Biology (Usb) Learning Media on Reproductive System Material Class Xi Sma Negeri 1 Palu

We can now address the issue of students not actively learning about the reproductive system in the classroom. We can attribute this phenomenon to the belief that the reproductive system’s material is excessively complex and primarily relies on rote memorization. The current issue is receiving significant attention and requires a thorough investigation from multiple stakeholders. The objective of this project is to create instructional media named Uno Stacko Biology (USB) that combines educational games to facilitate students’ understanding of the reproductive system. The study utilized a 4D development paradigm, which encompasses the phases of defining, designing, developing, and disseminating, to conduct research and achieve progress. The study comprised a sample of 20 students enrolled in the eleventh-grade science class at SMA Negeri 1 Palu. The data collection procedure involved the use of instrument validation sheets from media expert lecturers 1 and 2, as well as response sheets from both students and teachers. The data analysis employed encompasses both qualitative and quantitative descriptive analysis methodologies. Media Expert 1 validated the Uno Stacko Biology (USB) learning medium on the reproductive system module, achieving a score of 90%. Media Expert 2 achieved a precision score of 83.3%. The feasibility component, together with the evaluations from media experts 1 and 2, yielded an average score of 86.5%, signifying a satisfactory degree of feasibility. Moreover, the statistics on student responses indicated a percentage value of 94.8%, while the teacher’s response obtained a score of 96%. Therefore, we computed a mean score of 95.4%, which we categorized as “highly enjoyable.” Consequently, the educational curriculum may effectively integrate the Uno Stacko Biology (USB) learning technology, which specifically emphasizes the reproductive system as a valuable learning tool.

Decoding Success: Assessing the Online Pseudocode Interpreter through Users Insights

Pseudocode is vital in enhancing programming comprehension, making it an essential component of the Programming Logic Formulation (CS1) course. However, many CS1 students from various senior high school strands struggle with this concept, highlighting the need for additional learning resources. This research evaluated a pseudocode interpreter designed for first-year Information and Communications Technology (ICT) students at Iloilo Science and Technology University in Iloilo City, Philippines. Using random sampling, 147 first-year ICT students were selected to evaluate the software's user experience in usability, credibility, appearance, and loyalty using the Standardized User Experience Percentile Rank Questionnaire (SUPR-Q). Likewise, five ICT experts were selected using purposive sampling to evaluate the system's validity as instructional material based on its content and on the material's organization, form, and style using the university's Quality Form for Instructional Materials (IM). The user experience evaluation yielded positive results, with students unanimously agreeing on the software's ease of use, dependability, and user-friendliness. The expert evaluation confirmed the system's validity as instructional material, commending its content, organization, form, and style. These findings suggest that the pseudocode interpreter provides immediate benefits for students, offering a valuable learning tool. Moreover, the software has the potential to be adopted by other faculty members, promoting a more efficient and captivating learning experience. Future research could investigate how interpreters affect student learning and their usefulness in various educational settings.

Neutrosophic Delphi method to analyze the impact of Internships on the comprehensive development of university students

Internships play a crucial role in the comprehensive education of university students as they provide practical experience and promote the development of technical and soft skills. These practices not only promote personal development but also ease the transition into the world of work. The study aims to use a Neutrosophic Delphi method to analyze the extent to which work practices influence the comprehensive education of university students in Ecuador in 2023. A descriptive study was conducted with a sample of 410 students from academies and universities in Ecuador. Country Ecuador. Center of the country This method uses structured surveys to collect qualitative and quantitative data about the experiences, advantages, and skills acquired during internships. The results are presented in the form of data tables and statistical graphics that illustrate the close connection between professional experience and the overall educational level of students. Emphasis was placed on acquiring skills such as teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving. In summary, internships are a valuable learning tool for university students as they provide the opportunity to apply knowledge, develop skills, and improve their employability.

Performance outcomes from a DMEK peeling and preparation wet lab

ObjectiveTo evaluate the Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) preparation performance of trainee surgeons in an ex vivo human donor cornea DMEK wet lab simulation setting.MethodsHuman donor corneoscleral rims unsuitable for...

The impact of the Pitching Research Framework on AFAANZ grant applications: A pre-registered study

Despite the popularity of grant schemes, there is a noticeable absence of research into the impacts of streamlined grant processes on both assessors and applicants. This study conducted 46 interviews with finance and accounting academics in Australia and New Zealand to explore their experiences with the Pitching Research Framework (PRF) within the streamlined AFAANZ grant process. Utilising an inputs-process-outputs perspective, the findings reveal significant efficiencies due to the concise, comprehensive, and structured nature of the framework. Further, the PRF provides valuable learning and skill-building opportunities and varied outputs regardless of academic career stage for both assessors and applicants. Recommendations are proposed to enhance transparency, reduce perceived bias, and improve effectiveness of the grant awarding process. These findings provide practical implications for prospective assessors, applicants, the AFAANZ grant-awarding committee, and other grant-awarding bodies across Australia, New Zealand, and the globe.

Specialized Practice – An Opportunity for Students to Reflect on Their Experiential Learning

In order to offer students a quality internship, specialized practice should be an integrated, valuable experiential learning, relevant for their future activities. More, future students learn about university / faculty/professors’ prestige, about their opportunity to be engaged when they graduate, and learn about their internships and sometimes this internship could be an important reason for choosing a study program. So, considering university offer for a quality internship, we consider that is necessarily to also create for students the opportunity to be reflexive on their personal experiential learning. Our present study presents the opinion of our students from Petroleum – Gas University of Ploiesti, Pedagogy specialisation, considering their pedagogic and specialized practice, starting from their reflexive observation during counselling activities they have assisted / performed in high schools.

THE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF CANVA APPLICATION AS A TOOL IN LEARNING WRITING SKILL

The use of technology in English language learning can bring tremendous effects because it provides students with enjoyable learning opportunities and facilitates the development of their English language skills. In this context, the study aimed to investigate students’ perceptions of using the Canva application as a tool for learning writing skills in the explanatory text, namely cause and effect in SMA Negeri 11 Semarang in the academic year 2022/2023. The study was conducted using qualitative research. The sample of the respondents was XI MIPA 6 with a total of 36 students. The sampling technique used purposive sampling. A survey technique was used to collect the data by distributing the proposed questionnaire to the respondents through Google Forms. A questionnaire was used as an instrument consisting of 3 indicators requiring 10 items to obtain data related to measure students’ viewpoints on the utilization of Canva in learning writing skills. This study revealed that the Canva application proved to be a valuable resource in assisting students in cultivating their writing skills and it is regarded as a user-friendly resource since it can be conveniently reached via smartphones and personal computers. The features of Canva empower learners to exhibit their creativity in writing by using a wide variety of templates. It concludes that students can improve the quality of their writing by using Canva as a technological medium in the 21st century. Canva is a fascinating and well-chosen application and can be viewed by students as a valuable and functional learning tool to boost their writing.

Teaching virtual presentation with a theory‐based feedback intervention: An experiential class project for the postpandemic era

AbstractThis study draws from feedback intervention theory and professional communications theory to present a versatile, experiential class project to develop and improve students’ virtual communications and presentation skills by combining hard and soft‐skill development, multisource feedback, and self‐reflection. After successfully using this class project for four semesters, data were collected from six graduate classes (N = 145) to assess the project's effectiveness and students’ perceptions. Positive student feedback, control group–trained group comparisons, and the trained group's Time 1–Time 2 performance comparisons provide supportive evidence for the effectiveness of the project as a valuable learning tool in helping students develop virtual communication and presentation skills. As companies and institutions across industries continue to utilize virtual work arrangements, this project will be a useful tool for preparing students for the postpandemic digital business world.

Promoting Experiential Learning in a Services Marketing Class Through the Integration of Service Design

ABSTRACT This article presents marketing educators with an approach to teaching an undergraduate services marketing class with a unique emphasis on service design. As part of the class, the content on services marketing fundamentals is blended with a detailed discussion of service design. Additionally, hands-on experience with the service design process is provided as part of a semester-long project in which students design a service delivered through a mobile application. The findings suggest that students develop a strong understanding of service design fundamentals and find the class to be a valuable learning experience.

Developing STEM Electronic Student Worksheet with Problem-Based Learning to Enhance Communication Skills

This research aimed to develop STEM-integrated Problem-Based Learning e-worksheets to enhance students' communication skills. The research methodology employed was research and development (R&D). The development process followed the instructional design model ADDIE, which consists of five stages: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Upon conducting research and analysis, the results indicated high satisfaction with the validity of the STEM-integrated problem-based e-worksheets in terms of content and construct. The average content aspect percentage was 88%, while the construct aspect percentage was 87%. The effectiveness of the e-worksheets was demonstrated through N-gain results and paired t-tests, revealing a notable improvement in communication skills. In conclusion, the developed Problem-Based Learning e-worksheets integrated with STEM effectively enhanced students' communication skills. These findings hold significant value for the learning process, particularly in enhancing students' communication skills and providing teachers of physics with additional e-worksheets as valuable learning resources. It is expected that further development of these e-worksheets will contribute significantly to enhancing students' overall communication skills.

The ups and downs of maritime spatial planning in Portugal

Directive 2014/89/EU provided a common framework for MSP in Europe, aiming to promote the sustainable development of maritime activities. However, its implementation has been facing various challenges in different Member States. This paper presents the evolution of MSP in Portugal and analyses how the conditions set by the directive have been addressed, particularly in the environmental domain. The analyses are mainly achieved through existing literature and the positions taken by the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development. Portuguese efforts around MSP started before the approval of the directive and allowed a valuable learning experience. The legal diplomas later adopted provided a framework for developing marine spatial plans with a more comprehensive architecture of the MSP system. While some issues remain in terms of meeting some of the requirements of the directive, operational procedures and assessment of MSP implementation, there are positive aspects highlighted with the entire presentation of the situation of MSP in Portugal so far.

Process evaluation of a primary care-based type 2 diabetes remission project in the North East of England.

A type 2 diabetes remission project, Remission in Diabetes (REMI.D), funded by Sport England, was developed by stakeholders based in the North East of England and begun in early 2020. This local delivery pilot sought to tackle health inequalities by working with multiple organisations to demonstrate a way of scaling up an effective type 2 diabetes remission strategy which included both physical activity and dietary components. The intended delivery of the original project was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and changes were made to the project delivery in 2022. The aim of this process evaluation was to learn from the reactive decisions taken by stakeholders which altered the REMI.D project in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve stakeholders (from local authorities, secondary care, universities, NHS England commissioning, Diabetes UK, Sport England, Everyone Active and Active Partnerships) involved in the design and delivery of the intervention took part in a semi-structured interview lasting up to 60 min. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis used the pre-determined 'core content' themes from the Medical Research Council and National Institute for Health Research framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions. Three topics for discussion emerged as follows: (a) lack of effective collaboration, (b) perception of change and (c) scalability of the intervention. Hierarchy within the stakeholder group initially hampered collaboration. Change was reactive as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Project changes reduced project sustainability and scalability but offered valuable learning about the need for explicit project theory for partnership working, co-production with service users and project flexibility for long-term health behaviour change.

Convolutional attention with roll padding: Classifying PM2.5 concentration levels in the city of Beijing

A precise and timely classification of particulate matter 2.5 concentration levels is important for the design of air quality regulatory measures in a contemporaneous context characterized by the transition to a low-carbon economy. This study uses a well-known air quality dataset retrieved from the University of California at Irvine repository, which consists of a multivariate time series covering particulate matter 2.5 concentration levels in the city of Beijing for a period of 5 years. We train, test, and validate several deep learning architectures for a multinomial classification of the target variable in the period of 24 h ahead from the contemporaneous moment of action relying on historical information about the last 168 h and considering a sliding window of 24 h to construct examples. Results indicate that the internationally patented Variable Split Convolutional Attention model exhibits the best accuracy. The main novelty of this model consists of introducing bidimensional convolutional operations inside the attention block to capture the relative attention weight given to patterns of contiguous segments within different time-steps for each input variable. Therefore, a valuable deep learning architecture is presented to properly classify particulate matter 2.5 concentration levels in the atmosphere.