Case-based education: A strategy for contextualising journalism curriculum in East Africa

Journalism ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1985-2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhonda Breit

This article explores a set of educational strategies used in a new Master of Arts in Digital Journalism aimed at strengthening the multimedia production skills of East African journalists. Drawing on constructivist theories of learning, the article argues that preparing journalism graduates for unknown futures requires curricula to be contextualised environmentally and cognitively. This has implications for both the process of curriculum planning and the strategies deployed in designing programmatic content and the learning experience. Citing the experiences of implementing a new Master of Arts in Digital Journalism in Kenya, the article describes an issues-framing process used to inform curriculum design to ensure the programme is environmentally relevant. It goes on to describe three innovative ways case-based education can be used to contextualise learning to ensure cognitive relevance. Integrating cases across and through the curriculum develops ‘cognitive flexibility’ in the form of advanced thinking and problem-solving skills. Such skills are essential for journalists to adapt to rapidly changing professional and social contexts. The outcome of this systematic approach to curriculum development is a flexible, spiral curriculum that promotes cognitive flexibility while addressing the discrete educational issues facing East African journalists. The approaches outlined might offer a replicable framework to maintain the environmental and cognitive relevance of journalism education in times of unrelenting change.

2021 ◽  
Vol 156 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S107-S107
Author(s):  
R Saxena ◽  
T Ejutse ◽  
M Salzle ◽  
K Carnevale

Abstract Introduction/Objective Case-based learning has been utilized for implementation in learning pathological and clinical features of diseases in an integrated, facile manner for some time now. We applied certain novel technological advances to improve case-based learning - short clinical vignettes describing all pertinent pathologic features with the help of digital pathology images - including both negative and positive findings. The clinical cases combined with digital pathological and radiological images and labs were uploaded on Moodle platform for student access, to be followed later by an online interactive discussion via Zoom. Methods/Case Report Clinical cases meticulously woven with digital pathological and radiological images and labs were centralized on 3 fundamental competencies – disease processes, systemic pathology and diagnostic & therapeutic pathology. This was followed by corresponding Q-A session using the “breakout room” feature of Zoom to form a differential diagnosis, reach a final diagnosis and discuss appropriate management options. Students exited the breakout rooms after individual groupwork to return to the main Zoom session for final discussion. Novel web- based tools, social media assistance, and other online resources were utilized to enhance the online learning experience. Results (if a Case Study enter NA) Student feedback confirmed that our online instructional methodology was incredibly stimulatory, particularly in topics that were difficult to grasp using traditional pedagogical methods. Summative and formative assessments indicated performance gain, enhanced motivation, improved critical thinking and evolved ability to solve clinical cases. Drawbacks included irregular student participation, lack of face-to-face interaction, network issues and time differences. Conclusion Our pathology pedagogy provides flexibility and self-directed learning skills, while simultaneously covering the geographical limitations. This not only helps students in developing critical clinical reasoning, but also enables them to acquire life-long learning and problem-solving skills. The technique proved to be a powerful educational tool that facilitated an interactive learning experience beyond the classroom setting, with integration of multidisciplinary aspects in learning Pathology. Additionally, the communication competency was also covered during case discussion among students, promoting literary, verbal and team-working capabilities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Mei-Ling Chuang

Qualitative and quantitative research was conducted with undergraduate students majoring in early childhood care and education to explore the impact of service-learning on personal and professional development, as well as to assess satisfaction with the service-learning project. The data were gathered at a baby care center, where these students arranged games, through a questionnaire given to the students (N=37), a questionnaire given to parents who came with their children to the center (N=34), as well as reflection paper and report by the students on how they felt about the activity. The qualitative data were analyzed from five different aspects: (1). Enhancing students’ academic knowledge and skills, (2). Learning public service from the activity, (3). Cooperation and teamwork, (4) Benefits for children, (5) Suggestions of students afterwards. The findings of this research demonstrated that this service learning experience was beneficial for children, parents and the students, enhancing students’ academic knowledge, problem solving skills, as well as interpersonal development.


Author(s):  
Trisha Gupte ◽  
Field M. Watts ◽  
Jennifer A. Schmidt-McCormack ◽  
Ina Zaimi ◽  
Anne Ruggles Gere ◽  
...  

Teaching organic chemistry requires supporting learning strategies that meaningfully engage students with the challenging concepts and advanced problem-solving skills needed to be successful. Such meaningful learning experiences should encourage students to actively choose to incorporate new concepts into their existing knowledge frameworks by appealing to the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains of learning. This study provides a qualitative analysis of students’ meaningful learning experiences after completing three Writing-to-Learn (WTL) assignments in an organic chemistry laboratory course. The assignments were designed to appeal to the three domains necessary for a meaningful learning experience, and this research seeks to understand if and how the WTL assignments promoted students’ meaningful learning. The primary data collected were the students’ responses to open-ended feedback surveys conducted after each assignment. These responses were qualitatively analyzed to identify themes across students’ experiences about their meaningful learning. The feedback survey analysis was triangulated with interviews conducted after each assignment. The results identify how the assignments connected to students’ existing knowledge from other courses and indicate that assignment components such as authentic contexts, clear expectations, and peer review supported students’ meaningful learning experiences. These results inform how assignment design can influence students’ learning experiences and suggest implications for how to support students’ meaningful learning of organic chemistry through writing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanqin Wei ◽  
Qiyang Sun ◽  
Zili Qin ◽  
Huiwen Zhuang ◽  
Guangli Jiang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Standardized training allows more physicians to master otoendoscopic surgery. However, the lecture-based learning (LBL) applied in otoendoscopy teaching may not be conducive to training students in clinical thinking and surgical ability. It is necessary to explore innovative methods for otoendoscopy teaching. This study aimed to determine the effect of a step-by-step (SBS) method combined with case-based learning (CBL) in otoendoscopy teaching. Methods Fifty-nine physicians who participated in otoendoscopy training were selected as the study subjects and randomly divided into two groups (A and B). Group A underwent training with the SBS & CBL method, while Group B underwent training with the LBL & CBL method. The effects of these two methods for otoendoscopy training were compared by evaluation of professional skills and questionnaires before and after the training. Results Proficiency in otoendoscopic anatomy and grades for both professional knowledge and otoendoscopic skills were significantly higher in Group A than in Group B(P < 0.05). In terms of learning interest, surgical ability, acting capacity during surgery, reducing surgical complications, and satisfaction with learning experience, all responses from Group A were better than those from Group B(P < 0.05). Conclusions The SBS & CBL method may help to improve ability in otoendoscopic surgery and clinical thinking and appears suitable for endoscopy teaching.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 5568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas K.F. Chiu ◽  
Ching-sing Chai

The teaching of artificial intelligence (AI) topics in school curricula is an important global strategic initiative in educating the next generation. As AI technologies are new to K-12 schools, there is a lack of studies that inform schools’ teachers about AI curriculum design. How to prepare and engage teachers, and which approaches are suitable for planning the curriculum for sustainable development, are unclear. Therefore, this case study aimed to explore the views of teachers with and without AI teaching experience on key considerations for the preparation, implementation and continuous refinement of a formal AI curriculum for K-12 schools. It drew on the self-determination theory (SDT) and four basic curriculum planning approaches—content, product, process and praxis—as theoretical frameworks to explain the research problems and findings. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 teachers—twelve with and twelve without experience in teaching AI—and used thematic analysis to analyze the interview data. Our findings revealed that genuine curriculum creation should encompass all four forms of curriculum design approach that are coordinated by teachers’ self-determination to be orchestrators of student learning experiences. This study also proposed a curriculum development cycle for teachers and curriculum officers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Vijayalakshmi S. Bhojaraja ◽  
B. K. Manjunatha Goud ◽  
Joan Kumar ◽  
Anand Srinivasan ◽  
Jeevan K. Shetty

Objectives: Our medical school followed the traditional curriculum earlier, and due to a large amount of content embedded in each discipline, which had less scope for active and deep learning. To overcome this, we adopted an integrated curriculum and introduced a few active teaching/learning (T/L) methodologies, which promote deep learning and problem-solving skills. One such T/L methodology we introduced was team-based learning (TBL). Before implementing this active T/L methodology in the integrated curriculum, we evaluated the effectiveness of TBL in medical students from the traditional curriculum and aimed to determine students’ perceptions. Furthermore, we aimed to explore the perception of TBL in students who underwent integrated curriculum to evaluate the difference in their perception compared to the traditional curriculum. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in RAK Medical and Health Sciences University on the 1st year medical students from the traditional and integrated curriculum. Institutional ethical committee clearance and informed consent were obtained before starting the study. A pre-validated 5-item survey questionnaire comprising questions related to the content, process, and teamwork was used to obtain perceptions of students’ on TBL. Results: The students positively perceived the teaching-learning experience using TBL and understood the concepts better. Even the students with integrated curriculum had the same positive impact on their learning attitudes. The majority of students in both cohorts agreed that discussion among their teams helped them to learn better. Around two-thirds (66%) of students from the traditional curriculum and one-third (39%) of students from integrated curriculum wanted TBLs as T/L methodology over didactic lectures. Conclusion: TBL helped to learn better and understand the subject and promoted self and peer engagement, which facilitated their learning by clarifying the doubts with peers. Due to this positive TBL experience, most students from both curriculums recommended its use as a T/L method over lecture. Hence, TBL sessions in medical schools can be used as an effective T/L method to facilitate meaningful learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Shan Lin ◽  
Ying-Hsun Lai

In recent years, the learning efficacy of online to offline (O2O) teaching methods seems to outperform traditional teaching methods in the field of education. Students can use a small private online course (SPOC) teaching platform to preview class-related materials, learn basic knowledge, and enhance the practical experience of system development in offline courses. The research team applied an artificial intelligence (AI) precision education strategy to design a teaching experiment that evaluated whether this approach may lead to better learning outcomes. In addition to questionnaire surveys to ascertain students' attitudes toward and their satisfaction with learning, this study employed in-depth interviews to understand a potential influence on changes in teachers' curriculum design and teaching approaches when SPOCs was integrated into the traditional university classroom, as well as the impact of the AI precision education model. The results showed that the AI precision education model may facilitate students' learning experience and enhance student achievement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Fahad H Abdeen ◽  
Waheeb Albiladi

The use of games in education has received much attention from educators who perceive games as a motivational tool that can enhance their teaching and learning practice. Gamification in education is a relatively new field that promotes the use of games for educational purposes. Gamification or game-bases teaching is a growing trend among educational institutions, which use it to promote training, develop problem-solving skills in learners, and enhance the learning experience. The present paper aims to revisit the literature on the use of gamification in educational settings. Specifically, the paper discusses the use of gamification for teaching and learning English in the ESL/EFL context. Games have been used effectively with language learners to develop their skills in speaking, listening, writing, reading, and grammar.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. McDevitt ◽  
V. Passi

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of an Interprofessional Education (IPE) programme in eating disorders for mental health practitioners using a case-based learning approach.MethodsA total of 25 mental health clinicians were asked to evaluate their IPE programme as part of training for the National Clinical Programme in Eating Disorders. They completed a Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), a learner reaction questionnaire after each session and a final open evaluation at 4 months. Non-parametric statistical analysis was employed to analyse learner attitudes and reactions, and qualitative information was coded.ResultsA total of 23 (92%) clinicians from five disciplines participated. Baseline attitudes towards IPE were positive on all RIPLS subscales, and those with prior IPE experience had most positive views as to its benefits for teamwork and patient care (p=0.036). Learner reactions on content, delivery, outcome and structure indicated that individual learning experience was strongly positively endorsed. Change in clinical practice behaviour was reported in terms of communication, clinical activity, outcome evaluation and confidence. Barriers included other demands on time, organisational support, not having enough patients or co-workers to practice skills, and knowledge differentials between learners.ConclusionsIPE using a case based learning approach is an effective and acceptable means of developing specialist training across existing service, team and professional boundaries. It has potential for positive impact on knowledge, clinical behaviour and service delivery. Recommendations include the introduction of IPE group guidelines, wider circulation of learning points and content, and the use of self-competency ratings and reflective logs.


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