scholarly journals The hospice as a learning space: a death education intervention with a group of adolescents

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Testoni ◽  
Lorenza Palazzo ◽  
Lucia Ronconi ◽  
Stefania Donna ◽  
Paolo Francesco Cottone ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The denial of death in Western society deprives young people of the tools to derive meaning from experiences of death and dying. Literature shows that death education may allow them to become familiar with this topic without causing negative effects. This article describes the effects of a death education course with adolescents, wherein participants were given the opportunity to meet palliative doctors and palliative psychologists at school and in a hospice, where they were able to converse with the families of the dying. Methods This study used mixed methods and included an evaluation of a death education intervention with longitudinal follow-up of outcomes. The course involved 87 secondary school students (experimental group) aged between 16 and 20 years. We also recruited a control group of 76 similarly-aged students to observe differences. The variables we examined were: alexithymia, representation of death, value attributed to life and spirituality. These were measured with the following instruments: the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, the Testoni Death Representation Scale, the Personal Meaning Profile and the Spiritual Orientation Inventory, respectively. To better understand how the students perceived the experience, we asked the experimental group to answer some open-ended questions. Their answers were analysed through thematic analysis. Results The study showed that death education and the hospice experience did not produce negative effects, but rather allowed students to decrease alexithymia, improving their ability to recognise and express emotions. Thematic analysis revealed that all participants perceived the experience as very positive. Conclusions Our findings affirm that death education programs can be successfully implemented in high schools, and that they can usefully involve local hospices and palliative care professionals, especially physicians and psychologists.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Testoni ◽  
Fabio Vito Sblano ◽  
Lorenza Palazzo ◽  
Sara Pompele ◽  
Michael Alexander Wieser

Abstract Background: In Western society, discussions about death have shifted from the domain of the everyday to the domain of medicine. Such censorship does not reduce the fear of death; rather, it deprives people of the means to elaborate their experiences of death, generating negative effects such as difficult mourning and stigmatisation of palliative care environments. The objective of this follow-up study was to detect whether and how death education can help to improve individuals’ relationship with death. Methods: This was a qualitative research study based on grounded theory. We conducted semi-structured interviews with both palliative care professionals and teachers who had taken part in a death education intervention three years earlier. The interviews were interpreted through thematic analysis. Results: The results confirmed death education’s positive effect for both palliative care professionals and teachers. These individuals reported that the education initiative helped them to positively modify their perspectives on death and dying, as well as their attitudes towards life. It also helped to improve community attitudes towards the hospice and its workers. Conclusions: This study confirmed that school education initiatives can create continuity between hospices and local communities. The death education project provided an educational space in which it was possible to elaborate experiences linked to death and to re-evaluate and appreciate hospices and their staff.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1830
Author(s):  
Chih-Chao Chung ◽  
Shi-Jer Lou

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of introduction of the physical computing strategy of Arduino Boards in a program design course on coding literacy and the effectiveness of the application in technical high school students. This study selected two classes of twelfth-grade students enrolled in a program design course at a technical high school in Southern Taiwan as the samples. One class was the control group (43 students), and the other was the experimental group (42 students). During the 18-week course, the control group carried out a DBL (design-based learning) programming project, and the experimental group carried out the DBL programming project using the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards. Pre- and posttests and a questionnaire survey were carried out, while ANCOVA (analysis of covariance) was used for evaluation purposes. In the course, students in the experimental group were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews to understand their learning status and to perform qualitative analysis and summarization. This study proposed the physical computing strategy of Arduino boards, featuring staged teaching content, practical teaching activities, and real themes and problem-solving tasks. The results show that the coding literacy of students in the different teaching strategy groups was significantly improved. However, in the Arduino course on DBL programming, the students in the experimental group had a significantly higher learning efficiency in coding literacy than those in the control group. Moreover, according to the qualitative analysis using student interviews, Arduino boards were found to improve students’ motivation to learn coding and to aid in systematically guiding students toward improving their coding literacy by combining their learning with DBL theory. Thus, Arduino technology can be effectively used to improve students’ programming abilities and their operational thinking in practically applying programming theories.


2021 ◽  
pp. 025576142110059
Author(s):  
Alican Gülle ◽  
Cenk Akay ◽  
Nezaket Bilge Uzun

Kodály-inspired pedagogy enables students to participate effectively in a music course by engaging in active musical interactions with folk songs and melodies. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Kodály-inspired pedagogy on recorder performance and attitudes toward music of secondary school students. A quasi-experimental design was used in the study. The experimental group was taught using Kodály-inspired pedagogy and the control group using the general music teaching methods for 9 weeks. A two-way mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA) and content analysis were used to analyze the data. A Recorder Performance Grading Key, music course attitude scale, and open-ended questions were used to collect the data. Consequently, the findings indicated that Kodály-inspired pedagogy had a significant effect on the students’ recorder performance but the researchers could not find a significant effect on students’ attitudes toward the music course. Moreover, students in the experimental group reported improvement in their recorder performance and attitudes toward music education. The researchers recommended including information about the implementation of Kodály-inspired pedagogy in music teacher textbooks, providing in-service training for teachers to enable them to use Kodály-inspired pedagogy.


Author(s):  
Tun Zaw Oo ◽  
Andrea Magyar ◽  
Anita Habók

AbstractThis study investigates the effectiveness of the reflection-based reciprocal teaching (RBRT) approach for Myanmar upper secondary school students’ reading comprehension in English. In the RBRT approach, the main frame is based on the reflective teaching model for reading comprehension (Oo and Habók in Int Electron J Elementary Educ 13(1):127–138, 2020), in which the reciprocal teaching method (involving questioning, clarifying, summarizing, and predicting) was applied. This study used cluster randomized trials. Two groups participated in the research: the experimental group, who were taught with the RBRT approach, and the control group, who were taught with traditional methods. Results showed that the RBRT approach has a strong effect on students’ English reading comprehension achievement. The experimental group increased its achievement on the posttest significantly, and the students’ results showed high effect size. It was also found that teachers’ reflection on the instructional context had a considerable impact on raising students’ reading comprehension achievement. The RBRT approach can be successfully applied in the classroom environment to develop students’ reading comprehension in English in Myanmar.


2021 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. A4.2-A4
Author(s):  
Matthew Warren-James ◽  
Julie Hanson ◽  
Belinda Flanagan ◽  
Mary Katsikitis ◽  
Bill Lord

BackgroundWhilst there is evidence to suggest paramedics experience significant stress when working in the ambulance setting little is known about the experiences of first year paramedic students. This research aimed to: (i) identify whether levels of stress, anxiety and depression experienced by first year paramedic students changed after ambulance placement compared to a control group, and (ii) identify the main perceived and actual sources of stress around ambulance placement.MethodsA before-and-after quasi-experimental design was used to compare whether the experience of ambulance placement altered the levels of stress, anxiety and depression in an experimental group that attended an ambulance placement (n = 20) and the control group who did not (n = 10). Online surveys encompassing the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and qualitative questions about sources of stress were concurrently deployed to both the experimental and control groups before and after the ambulance placement. Participants were first year paramedic students working in Queensland Ambulance Service, Australia.ResultsThere was a significant reduction in levels of stress in participants after undertaking their first ambulance placement (Mdn = -4.00) when compared to a control group (Mdn = 0.00), U = 52.5, p = .035, n2 = 0.15. Responses to survey questions suggest anticipation about experiencing death and dying of patients was the most frequently reported stressor of student paramedics before undertaking ambulance placements, however insecurity about knowledge, competence and fear of failure was the most frequently experienced stressor reported after completing ambulance placements.ConclusionsThe findings from this study suggest that the fear of the unknown may be worse than the reality. Anticipatory stress is the foremost problem for first year paramedic students attending their first ambulance placement. Placement pre-briefing should focus on educational interventions to build knowledge and skills competency to reduce stress levels and fear of failure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 662-671
Author(s):  
Henry Orbasayan Alperito ◽  
Cristobal Millenes Ambayon

The Basic English Speech Support is audio with transcription which is composed of the features of pronunciation that is purposely compiled to enhance pronunciation skills specifically, the sounds of English, stress, intonation, and linking. It is applied within the study with the aim of measuring its effectiveness to the pronunciation skills of Senior High School students. The study is designed to evaluate, validate and determine the effectiveness of Basic English Speech Support to the Senior High School, Grade 12, Accountancy, Business and Management students in Libertad National High School. English-teacher Evaluators evaluated the audio and its transcription. The design involved the experimental group and the control group which were carefully selected through the randomization process. The data gathered were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential tools such as mean, standard deviation, and t-test. The results revealed that students from the experimental group got a higher mean gain compared to the control group. It was factually and statistically confirmed that the utilization of Basic English Speech Support served as a significant element in teaching pronunciation and evidently, advances better learning among Senior High School students.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meliha Zejnilagić-Hajrić ◽  
◽  
, Adel Polutak ◽  
Ines Nuić ◽  
◽  
...  

In this research two different ways of students' reviewing their knowledge in chemistry about carbohydrates are described: group work and discussion with teacher. In experimental group (EG) students were working in groups on their assignments, while in control group (CG) discussion led by teacher was implemented. Results showed better EG students’ achievements on paper-and-pencil test of knowledge on the following class. Keywords: evaluation, group work, teacher-led discussion, carbohydrates.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 408-433

The aim of the research is to investigate the effect of idea gardens on the performance and information processing skills of high school students in mathematics. The research community represents the school's first graders, July 14th for girls. The research sample consisted of (70) male and female students. The number of students in the experimental group was (35) and the number of students in the control group was (35). The researcher found a relationship between the two in variables of IQ test, previous collection and life expectancy, measured in months, in information processing skills of the tribes. The researcher has prepared a collection of tests with (20) paragraphs. After being presented to a group of judges, the validity of the test was verified. The researcher also developed an information processing measure consisting of (20) paragraphs and extracted the obvious honesty by presenting it to a group of reviewers and extracting it in the form way to repeat the test (0.87). The researcher has achieved the following results: 1- There were statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group, which studied the gardens of ideas, compared with the control group, which studied the conventional collection method. 2- There are statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group studied using idea gardens versus members of the control group studied using conventional information processing Keywords: Gardens of Ideas, Collection, Mathematics


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-52
Author(s):  
I. I. Dutka ◽  
F. V. Grynchuk ◽  
I. S. Davydenko ◽  
A. V. Ushakov ◽  
E. V. Uliashkevych

To study the possibility and effectiveness of using succinylated gelatin (SG) for injecting endoscopic hemostasis. Material and methods. 70 albino non-linear rats. 0.5 ml of the solution has been injected into the anterior wall of the stomach with a syringe after laparotomy. A mixture of 0.9 % NaCl solution and epinephrine hydrothartrate (1.8 mg/1 ml) has been used in a ratio of 1:20 for the control group (35 animals). A mixture of a solution of SG (40 mg/1000 ml of injection water) and epinephrine hydrothartrate (1.8 mg/1 ml) in a ratio of 1:20 for the experimental group (35 animals). Right after the injection and in 1, 3, 6, 12 hours, after laparotomy, the stomach wall has been taken for histological examination, during which the thickness of the stomach wall (TSW) has been determined. Results. As soon as the injection has been given, the TSW in animals of both groups hasn`t differed significantly. The TSW has significantly increased in both of the groups, and the parameters of indicators in the experimental group have significantly raised in 1 h after the injection. In 3, 6, and 12 hours, the TSW in both groups has been decreasing. The parameters of indicators in the experimental group of animals have been significantly higher than in the control one all the time during the study. The indicators have barely differed from the initial ones in the control group 12 hours later, whereas in the experimental one they have been significantly higher. Histological studies have shown that the structure of stomach tissues in both groups hasn`t varied. The SG injection has not caused any negative effects on the tissues of the stomach wall. The thickness of the submucosa hasn`t been much modified right after the injection. The thickness (26.95±5.34 microns) has increased in the experimental group 12 hours later than in the control one (15.45±4.38 microns, p<0.01). Most of the vessels of the experimental group have remained compressed 12 hours later, whereas the diameter of the vessels of the control group has been growing. Conclusions. 1. The TSW hasn`t differed right after the injection (a mixture of 0.9 % NaCl and epinephrine solution and a mixture of SG and epinephrine solution) into the stomach wall. 2. 1 h later after the injection, the TSW has increased and its parameters after injection of a mixture with SG have been significantly higher. 3. In 3,6,12 h and later on, the TSW has been gradually reducing and its parameters after injection of a mixture with SG have been significantly higher each time. The thickness of the submucosa and the degree of compression of the vessels have also been considerably higher. 4. No negative changes in the structure of stomach tissues after injection of the mixture with SG have been detected. This allows it to be used for performing endoscopic hemostasis by injection therapy in clinical conditions.


Author(s):  
Wafa Abed M Al-Harbi, Sanaa Saleh Askool

This study aims to identify the effectiveness of participation in a blog for extra-curricular activities for developing the critical thinking skills of third secondary students in Jeddah. The sample consisted of (100) students from several schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia randomly selected and divided into (50) experimental group, (50) control group. The study used the Semi-experimental method and conducted the Watson and Glaser test for critical thinking. The results of the study showed that there were statistically significant differences (0.05) among the experimental group (individual and cooperative) For the officer in the brother Bar dimensional test critical thinking skills for the benefit of the experimental group because of its effect for the use of a typical blog (single, cooperative).


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