Development of a Longitudinal Curricular Evaluation Framework for Intra- and Interprofessional Teamwork

Objectives: To describe the development and evaluation of a university-wide competency and evaluation framework for intra- and interprofessional education (IPE) teamwork.Methods: Development of the framework was based on existing literature and specific contexts of the schools within our university. Evaluation and program alignment regarding use of the framework were achieved through qualitative interviews with deans of the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy, and focused on how they evaluated student progression towards the university-wide teamwork competency. Interview data were analyzed using classical content analysis.Results: Despite efforts to carefully design the framework, interviews revealed that significant variation exists regarding when and how both IPE and team-based care are taught and evaluated across schools. Common barriers to interprofessional education included variations in teamwork practices across disciplines, scheduling challenges, and lack of resources for implementation. Recommendations for how to align teaching and evaluation activities with the framework are posed.Conclusions: Longitudinally tracking the development of interprofessional competencies within/across health professions schools requires careful planning and collaboration among institutional leaders, interprofessional educators, program evaluators, and students. The information gained from this process provides insights toward implementing future high-quality IPE in teamwork and other inter- and intraprofessional competencies, which may be helpful to others.

Microsurgical education in the USA: Past, present and future

Microsurgery is a demanding surgical skillset which requires attention to detail and repeated practice to succeed. Microsurgery courses around the globe allow students to learn through performing a variety of technical exercises. Microsurgery education dates back to the late 1960s with notable instructors, Harry J. Buncke and Robert Acland. Currently, many microsurgery courses are available that share commonalities, and some important structural differences have been demonstrated to differentially affect student progression and competence. Multiple available training programs as well as the advancement of supermicrosurgery training is listed and described.The microsurgery training course at Columbia University’s New York Presbyterian Irving Medical Center led by Drs. Ronsenwasser, Strauch and Akelina provides students with expert instruction through a punctilious training curriculum. By imparting these techniques to the students, trainees’s progression markedly improves relative to alternative microsurgery courses that do not incorporate expert instruction. The Covid-19 pandemic, has resulted in the development of a virtual microsurgery training program at the lab which focuses on building the foundation of basic skills for trainees unable to travel or receive adequate education.

Patterns of persistence among engineering students at a South African university: A decision tree analysis

Globally, there is growing concern about student progression in most higher education institutions. In this study, we examined patterns of persistence among students who began their engineering degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in 2012 and 2013. The sample was restricted to 1370 incoming students who were tracked to 2019, allowing for a 7-year graduation period for the initial cohort. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics as well as the decision tree approach – a highly visual data-mining technique which helps identify subgroups and relationships that are often difficult to detect through traditional statistical methods. The results from these analyses indicate that up to 50% of students enrolled in the School of Engineering had chosen engineering as their first choice. Approximately 40% had persisted in engineering, 50% had withdrawn by the time of this survey, while the remaining 10% were still registered in the engineering programme. Departure from engineering occurs most in the first year, while graduation most likely occurs after 5 years of registration. Student persistence in engineering can also be classified based on first-year accumulated credits, admission point scores, race, and financial aid, of which first-year accumulated credits is the most critical factor. Overall, our study suggests that understanding failure in the first year might be the missing link in our understanding of student persistence in engineering.

Rethinking How We Design Programs

The landscape of higher education continues to change causing us to re-think the way we offer programs. Redesigning programs by listening to students pushes us to make radical changes. This chapter shows how the authors changed the content and delivery model by constantly reviewing student input on how we offer an online, competency-based alternative teacher certification program. They created annual measures that define program success, reviewed lead metrics to gain insight on areas working and needing improvements, and made ongoing changes to design and offer the program after listening to students' needs and desires. The program changes included continuous daily enrollment, changes in the instructor model to support student progression, an advising model focused on supporting individual student success throughout the program, and enhanced mentor support for fieldwork. The goal is to offer credentialing programs in different ways that prioritize accessibility, affordability, and applied field-based opportunities.

Curriculum development in American Studies: Interdisciplinarity, student progression, and the Swedish-American paradox

The article explores challenges and possibilities of curriculum development in American Studies in Sweden, a discipline that does not yet exist as a national degree-awarding subject. The aim is to investigate how advanced level learning in American Studies can be designed in relation to student progression. The backdrop to this problem is “the Swedish-American paradox”—the fact the many Swedish students have substantial prior experiences and knowledges about the United States, yet where the opportunities for academic education about North America are rather limited. While American Studies is a common discipline at North American and European universities, it does not have a strong foothold in Sweden. The article discusses the disciplinary history and educational tradition within American Studies, focusing on its interdisciplinarity. It then discusses how interdisciplinarity have been brought into American Studies curricula internationally, and how this sits within the framework of the Swedish Higher Education Ordinance. The American Studies case is juxtaposed to similar fields through a review of area studies MA programs in Sweden. The article ends with an exploration of the ways in which interdisciplinarity can be adopted as a learning outcome in relation to the challenge of student progression in Sweden.

Differences in Sport Management Doctoral Students’ Experiences With Gender Microaggressions and Stereotype Threat by Gender

Not unlike the sport industry, the majority of sport management students in the United States are White, middle-class males. As women in male-dominated academic departments experience gender harassment more frequently than women in balanced or female-dominated departments, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of sport management doctoral students with gender microaggressions and stereotype threat by gender to examine if such experiences occur at this stage in academia. The results indicate that female students experience gender microaggressions of being excluded, being treated like a second-class citizen, and being placed in restrictive roles by program faculty due to their gender more frequently than male students. This study provides clarity into issues affecting female doctoral student progression postgraduation in sport management. In addition, this study provides context around the student experience in doctoral programs across male-dominated academic disciplines.

A Liberating Curricula as a Social Responsibility for Promoting Social Justice and Student Success Within the UK Higher Education Institution (HEI)

Integrating corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as part of a higher education institution (HEI) organisational strategies and practices to address economic and social inequality is no longer a new phenomenon. This promotes increased levels of involvement, choice, and diversity, and is aligned with recent initiatives to widen participation improve representation and promote attainment. CSR may also be encapsulated within frameworks through which HEIs may identify and self-reflect on institutional and cultural barriers that impede minority ethnic (ME) staff and students' progression and attainment. This chapter is informed by discussions concerning CSR within higher education in relation to the aims and objectives of education; student progression and attainment as a university's socially responsible business practice and act of due diligence, to improve representation, progression and success for ME students; curriculum vs. education and the function of a liberating curriculum as a vehicle to enhance academic attainment and promote student success.