Explore the effectiveness of a multi-level assessment protocol for online learning

Science and health outreach activities are aimed at motivating and sparking interest among prospective students to pursue careers in these fields; however, research studies supporting this hypothesis are limited. The aim of our study was to organize an integrated Anatomy and Physiology outreach to examine preuniversity students' learning experiences (learning tools, activities, and facilitators) and motivation to pursue a career in health care and to gather evidence on their attitudes and perceptions of such activities. A 2-day course on cardiorespiratory and gastrointestinal anatomical systems was presented at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore using its key pedagogies, that is, multimodal practical and team-based learning. Ninety preuniversity students from 21 preuniversity institutions in Singapore participated in this 2-day course, and their experiences were evaluated using a 4-point Likert scale and open-ended survey questions. Free-text comments were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The survey using the 4-point Likert scale was completed by 81 (92%) of the 88 participants. Most students felt that the course materials were adequate (mean 3.57, SD 0.57) and met the learning objectives (mean 3.73, SD 0.52). The students felt that the instructors were clear (mean 3.73, SD 0.52) and effective (mean 3.70, SD 0.53). They liked the organization of the outreach session (mean 3.64, SD 0.48) and were highly motivated to study medicine or allied/biomedical sciences (mean 3.69, SD 0.54). Practical and team-based learning were regarded as exceedingly satisfactory (mean 3.63, SD 0.53 and mean 3.58, SD 0.54, respectively). All the respondents said that they would recommend this course to peers. Thematic analysis revealed that the participants gained a new perspective of the human body structure and function, they liked the unique learning settings, they were motivated to pursue a career in health care, they were satisfied with the sessions, and interactions with the facilitators increased their understanding of the human anatomy and physiology. Structured health outreach activities provide students with unique opportunities to experience a preclinical learning environment in a medical school, deepen their understanding of human body structure and function, and increase their motivation and interest in science. Further, outreach programs may lay the foundations for potential students aiming to pursue health profession education.

With the increasing availability of computer-based testing programs, many instructors are beginning to adapt traditional paper-pencil tests to electronic formats. While there are advantages to computer-based testing over traditional testing, there is considerable debate concerning the equivalence of scores obtained from these testing modalities. Past research has cited limitations in computer-based testing (such as inability to review questions, change answers or skip questions, and the motivation of the examinees) that may impact test-takers' scores and reduce equivalence to identical paper-pencil tests. The purpose of the current study is to examine the equivalence between computer-based and traditional tests when the computer testing program provides opportunities comparable to paper testing conditions. Twenty-seven introductory psychology students completed ten identical unit tests via paper or computer. The results indicated that, when students are motivated and testing conditions are equivalent, there are no differences between the scores obtained via computer-based or paper-pencil tests.

Mapping the Perceived Sexuality of Heterosexual Men and Women in Mid- and Later Life: A Mixed-Methods Study

ABSTRACTIntroduction: To facilitate large-scale assessment of a variety of cognitive abilities in clinical studies, we developed a self-administered online neuropsychological test battery: the Amsterdam Cognition Scan (ACS). The current studies evaluate in a group of adult cancer patients: test–retest reliability of the ACS and the influence of test setting (home or hospital), and the relationship between our online and a traditional test battery (concurrent validity). Method: Test–retest reliability was studied in 96 cancer patients (57 female; Mage = 51.8 years) who completed the ACS twice. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to assess consistency over time. The test setting was counterbalanced between home and hospital; influence on test performance was assessed by repeated measures analyses of variance. Concurrent validity was studied in 201 cancer patients (112 female; Mage = 53.5 years) who completed both the online and an equivalent traditional neuropsychological test battery. Spearman or Pearson correlations were used to assess consistency between online and traditional tests. Results: ICCs of the online tests ranged from .29 to .76, with an ICC of .78 for the ACS total score. These correlations are generally comparable with the test–retest correlations of the traditional tests as reported in the literature. Correlating online and traditional test scores, we observed medium to large concurrent validity (r/ρ = .42 to .70; total score r = .78), except for a visuospatial memory test (ρ = .36). Correlations were affected—as expected—by design differences between online tests and their offline counterparts. Conclusions: Although development and optimization of the ACS is an ongoing process, and reliability can be optimized for several tests, our results indicate that it is a highly usable tool to obtain (online) measures of various cognitive abilities. The ACS is expected to facilitate efficient gathering of data on cognitive functioning in the near future.

Introduction: The mobile app WhatsApp is gaining popularity in Medical Education informally over the last few years because of its easy availability, instant access and ease in transferring high quality medical images. Dermatology being a highly visual subject, WhatsApp can be used as a learning tool in addition to didactic lectures. Aim: To assess the perception of undergraduate students and faculty about e-learning using WhatsApp in Dermatology. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in August 2020 among second year undergraduate students. Two modules based on Case Based Learning (CBL) were made and posted on a dedicated WhatsApp group (including students and dermatology faculty). Students were asked to send responses to questions on the group. Students and faculty were also asked to fill a pre-structured, prevalidated feedback questionnaire to assess their perception regarding the use of WhatsApp as a learning tool. Descriptive analysis was used. Open ended questions were analyzed by thematic qualitative analysis and expressed as percentages. Results: Total 80 students participated in the study, 50 students who filled the feedback questionnaire, 30 were females, mean age of the study group was 20.25 years. Twenty seven students (54%) were of the opinion that WhatsApp was a good motivator for Self Directed Learning (SDL) while 20 (40%) of them remained neutral. Twenty nine (58%) students wanted WhatsApp as an online teaching method to be part of teaching in Dermatology. Thirty students (60%) felt WhatsApp was a flexible learning tool in terms of time and place. Among total four faculty, 3 (75%) agreed that WhatsApp was a good learning tool, increased teacher-student interaction and was a good motivator to self-directed learning. Conclusion: If used with a well-structured educational research model, WhatsApp becomes a highly effective tool in medical education.

Conducting research in rural and remote areas is compounded by challenges associated with accessing relatively small populations spread over large geographical areas. Open-ended questions provided in a postal survey format are an advantageous way of including rural and remote residents in research studies. This method means that it is possible to ask for in-depth perspectives, from a large sample, in a relatively resource-efficient way. Such questions are frequently included in population-based surveys; however, they are rarely analysed. The aim of this article is to explore word cloud analysis, to evaluate the utility of automated programs to supplement the analysis of open-ended survey responses. Participants from the Australian Rural Mental Health Study completed the open-ended question 'What health services would you like to see the local health district providing that are currently not available in your area?' A word cloud analysis was then undertaken using the program Wordle; the size of the word in the cloud illustrates how many times, in proportion to other words, a word has appeared in responses, and provides an easily interpretable visual illustration of research results. In total, 388 participants provided a response to the free-text question. Using the word cloud as a visual guide, key words were identified and used to locate relevant quotes from the full open-text responses. \'Mental health\' was the most frequent request, cited by 81 people (20.8%). Following mental health, requests for more \'specialists\' (n=59) and \'services\' (n=53) were the second and third most frequent responses respectively. Visiting specialists were requested by multiple respondents (n=14). Less frequent requests illustrated in the word cloud are important when considering representatives from smaller population groups such as those with specific health needs or conditions including \'maternity\' services (n=13), \'cancer\' (n=10), \'drug and alcohol\' services (n=8), and \'aged care\' (n=7) services are all core services even though they were being called for by fewer people. This lesser frequency may suggest that these services are already considered as available in some rural and remote communities. This research aimed to determine whether meaningful and informative data could be obtained from short responses from open-ended survey questions using an automated data analysis technique to supplement a more in-depth analysis. The findings showed that, while not as detailed as interview responses, the open-ended survey questions provided sufficient information to develop a broad overview of the health service priorities identified by this large rural sample. Such automated data analysis techniques are rarely employed; however, the current research provides valuable support for their utility in rural and remote health research. This research has implications for researchers interested in engaging rural and remote residents, demonstrating that meaningful information can be extracted from short survey response data, contributing a resource-efficient supplement to a more detailed analysis. Open-ended questions are often asked in population-based studies yet they are rarely analysed, posing both an opportunity and a challenge for researchers using such participant-driven responses. The lessons learned from the methodology applied can be transferred to other population-based survey studies more widely.

With significant learning experiences, students undergo positive, substantial, and lasting influences on their personal and professional lives. With grant support from The Ohio State University's Affordable Learning Exchange Program, students created e-book chapters for a Current Concepts in Dental Hygiene as a significant learning experience. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an e-book chapter creation project on the learning of undergraduate dental hygiene students using Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning. Upon IRB exemption, this study involved a mixed-methods, cross-sectional research design involving a survey of attitudinal and reflective questions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The data from 100% (n=41) of the dental hygiene students enrolled in the Current Concepts in Dental Hygiene course were analyzed. Most students recognized the alignment of the 6 scaffolded assignments with the 6 domains of Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning. Most students agreed the project focused on foundational knowledge (68.8%, n=27), promoted active learning (73.2%, n=30), applied to real life problems (63.4%, n=26), and provided life lessons (56.1%, n=23). Thematic analysis revealed students appreciated the teamwork involved and the scaffolding of assignments, recognized the challenges of inconsistent feedback and technical issues with the software, and felt that more faculty guidance and technical support would have improved their experiences. Future research should evaluate the impact of using Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning with the design of courses or course-long projects on the education of dental and dental hygiene students.

IntroductionIn 2018, our Midwestern university medical center began offering unconscious bias training. Each session concluded with a standard evaluation. We analyzed two years of data that focused on three areas: 1) whether demographic differences or amount of prior knowledge on the topic influenced the training experience; 2) what participants liked best about the training; and 3) whether participants’ stated intentions to apply their learning at the end of the training aligned with institutional goals of the training.MethodsParticipants attended sessions open to the campus community pre-scheduled by the Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and posted on its website. Chi-square tests were utilized to test associations between outcomes and questionnaire responses. Outcome measures included race/ethnicity, prior knowledge level, and overall rating of the training. Thematic analysis was used to code comments and establish themes from two open-ended survey questions.ResultsSignificant differences were found by race and ethnicity for all questionnaire responses; each were p < 0.001. Those who reported they had advanced/expert knowledge on the topic were less likely to report the training increased their knowledge, and those who reported their race as White/Caucasian tended to give the training the highest overall rating, as did heterosexuals. Through thematic analysis, participants valued the interactive nature of the training sessions, the use of storytelling, and the safety of the learning environment. Participants’ intention to apply their learning indicated they had gained general awareness of bias and settings where it might influence their work.ConclusionsIn an effort to foster a better working and learning environment for those who are underrepresented in the health professions, training was provide that may not have met the expectations of all participants. At the same time, participants who identified as White clearly increased their awareness of bias. Therefore, it is recommended to move away from one-size-fits-all unconscious bias training and develop a robust training continuum to provide ongoing advancement for diverse audiences.

Companies and their executives are concluding that to accomplish their complex tasks and all-encompassing missions and goals, they must step outside the traditional realms of teamwork and partnership and engage in cross-cultural and multinational alliances. One of the principal areas affecting teamwork today, especially in diverse workplaces, is the variety of cultural value orientations that the members relate to. To better prepare students for joining global enterprises, it is necessary to understand their cultural orientations and how those may influence their teamwork interactions. This study used a mixed methods design to characterize computer and information technology undergraduate students’ cultural orientations and their cultural awareness in the context of teamwork experiences. The data for the study was collected in the form of a reflection assignment that was implemented during the first week of classes as a way to promote students’ cultural awareness and how that may play out in their teamwork interactions. The reflection assignment had two parts: (i) a survey and (ii) reflection questions. The study used descriptive statistics and t-tests to analyze the survey (quantitative data), and thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the reflection questions (qualitative data). Our analysis of the quantitative data revealed that students identified the following core values they are Individualism, Equality, Monochronic, Meritocracy, Informality, Personal Efficacy, and Directness, and these values resonated with most of the students in class. Corresponding qualitative themes that emerged regarding students’ beliefs of how those values may play out in their teamwork experience were (a) Treating everyone equally and understanding others, (b) Increasing temporal Awareness, (c) Enacting effective communication, (d) Monitoring the progress of team members and (e) Establishing rules and boundaries.

Over the last decade, in addition to their entertainment dimension, digital games, have been used as teaching and learning tools. International literature has shown several studies that evaluate the effectiveness of digital games in the educational process. Many researchers argue that digital games can be of assistance to student’s learning and solving problems, as well as develop social and cognitive skills (Gee 2003, Prensky 2007, Oblinger &amp;amp; Oblinger 2005, Watson et al. 2011). This research aimed to computer science teachers and primary education teacher’s perceptions, regarding the use of digital games, as a teaching and learning tool, the factors that make their use effective, not to mention the barriers to their use. One hundred twenty teachers participated (70 computer science teachers and 50 teachers), by completing a questionnaire of fifteen questions, on a Likert scale and two open-ended questions. Results demonstrated that both teachers and computer educators agree that the use of digital games is a "good" practice, which enhances and enriches the learning process, provides motivation, and is an effective learning tool. Their design should be addressed to students’ personal needs and be based on learning principles. However, it has been observed that computer educators are the ones who use digital games in their teaching, more often as opposed to teachers. The main obstacles that prevent teachers from using technology in their classrooms are the lack of infrastructure, motivation, training, as well as the time available. The elements that seem to be taken into consideration by a teacher, in order to capitalize on digital games in the educational process, are personal needs and students’ particularities, as well as preparation, feedback and the setting of limits by the teachers. Research findings could be utilized in both digital play use in education and in its development, as a learning tool.&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/soc/0036/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Citizen science at public libraries: Data on librarians and users perceptions of participating in a citizen science project in Catalunya, Spain

330 Teaching Goals of Care to Medical Students through Conversation Games

Internet has become a part of our life. Online learning offers us convenience, flexibility and collaboration. In this paper, a new online learning platform – GoPutonghua is introduced for self-learners to learn Putonghua. The online platform includes components like learning materials, online exercises, online assessment, learning tools and communications tools. The platform allows learners to conduct online exercises that are related to the lecture contents in e-books and online lectures. An online assessment system is developed for learners to know their performance and seek for improvement. A character dictionary (zidian) and a phrase dictionary (cidian) are built to support mapping from Chinese characters to Pinyin. Learning tools like Pinyin converter and Text-to-Pinyin Speech have been developed to search for the Pinyin (with tone marks) of Chinese characters and produce the correct pronunciations in Putonghua. The two types of communication tools (asynchronous and synchronous) are also included in the platform. GoPutonghua is developed to provide more resources and services for self-learners to learn Putonghua in a hassle-free manner. This paper explains why there is a need of developing the new online platform. The components and the architecture of the platform will be introduced. The implementation details of some components will be discussed in this paper. Finally, an evaluation on the usefulness and the quality of the online platform will also be reported.KeywordsChinese CharacterCommunication ToolInstant MessagingOnline PlatformOnline AssessmentThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Probes are follow-ups to survey questions used to gain insights on respondents’ understanding of and responses to these questions. They are usually administered as open-ended questions, primarily in the context of questionnaire pretesting. Due to the decreased cost of data collection for open-ended questions in web surveys, researchers have argued for embedding more open-ended probes in large-scale web surveys. However, there are concerns that this may cause reactivity and impact survey data. The study presents a randomized experiment in which identical survey questions were run with and without open-ended probes. Embedding open-ended probes resulted in higher levels of survey break off, as well as increased backtracking and answer changes to previous questions. In most cases, there was no impact of open-ended probes on the cognitive processing of and response to survey questions. Implications for embedding open-ended probes into web surveys are discussed.

&lt;p&gt;In this exploratory study we used an intensive longitudinal approach to measure student engagement in a blended educational technology course, collecting both self-report and observational data. The self-report measure included a simple survey of Likert-scale and open-ended questions given repeatedly during the semester. Observational data were student activity data extracted from the learning management system. We explored how engagement varied over time, both at the course level and between students, to identify patterns and influences of student engagement in a blended course. We found that clarity of instruction and relevance of activities influenced student satisfaction more than the medium of instruction. Student engagement patterns observed in the log data revealed that exploring learning tools and previewing upcoming assignments and learning activities can be useful indicators of a successful learning experience. Future work will investigate these findings on a larger scale.&lt;/p&gt;