Leadership in Out-of-School Learning: The Educational Doctorate Program at the University of Pittsburgh

Non-formal science education means goal-oriented learning outside of school. The use of out of school learning environments (e.g. science camps) has been found to increase motivation and interest in natural sciences. In this study, the relevance of non-formal science education in science camps has been analyzed from the perspectives of children and families, which has not been studied before. The analysis of relevance has been based on the relevance theory developed by Stuckey, Hofstein, Mamlok-Naaman & Eilks in 2013. The study focuses on the 46 science camps organized by the University of Helsinki LUMA Centre in the years 2015 and 2016, involving more than 900 schoolchildren and some of their parents (N=124). The study examined also the impact of children’s gender and children’s earlier interest in science on the relevance of chemistry related science camps. Survey and theme interview were both used as research methods. The results of the survey show that non-formal science education in science camps is relevant according to both the children and the families, mainly at the level of individual relevance, with emphasis on present and intrinsic dimensions of relevance. The tasks related to the camp themes, for example in chemistry camps, experimental work in the laboratory, and friends made in the science camps are the most relevant for children. The chemistry science camps are individually most relevant to those children who didn’t have much earlier interest in chemistry. Boys are more confident about their own interests at the individual relevance level than girls. At the level of societal relevance, boys are more focused on present-day relevance than girls when girls also consider the future. The levels of societal and vocational relevance were only slightly visible in the answers of the survey. However, based on theme interviews, camps were considered as relevant for all relevance levels of the relevance theory. The results of this research can be utilized in the development of out of school learning environments, especially in the development of science camps and in further research.

Download Full-text

The Center for International Biomedical Communications Research

Methods of Information in Medicine ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1636285 ◽

1966 ◽

Vol 05 (03) ◽

pp. 142-146

Author(s):

A. Kent ◽

P. J. Vinken

Keyword(s):

Information Needs ◽

English Language ◽

Medical Information ◽

Biomedical Literature ◽

Information Storage ◽

Control Mechanisms ◽

University Of Pittsburgh ◽

The World ◽

The University ◽

Excerpta Medica Foundation

A joint center has been established by the University of Pittsburgh and the Excerpta Medica Foundation. The basic objective of the Center is to seek ways in which the health sciences community may achieve increasingly convenient and economical access to scientific findings. The research center will make use of facilities and resources of both participating institutions. Cooperating from the University of Pittsburgh will be the School of Medicine, the Computation and Data Processing Center, and the Knowledge Availability Systems (KAS) Center. The KAS Center is an interdisciplinary organization engaging in research, operations, and teaching in the information sciences.Excerpta Medica Foundation, which is the largest international medical abstracting service in the world, with offices in Amsterdam, New York, London, Milan, Tokyo and Buenos Aires, will draw on its permanent medical staff of 54 specialists in charge of the 35 abstracting journals and other reference works prepared and published by the Foundation, the 700 eminent clinicians and researchers represented on its International Editorial Boards, and the 6,000 physicians who participate in its abstracting programs throughout the world. Excerpta Medica will also make available to the Center its long experience in the field, as well as its extensive resources of medical information accumulated during the Foundation’s twenty years of existence. These consist of over 1,300,000 English-language _abstract of the world’s biomedical literature, indexes to its abstracting journals, and the microfilm library in which complete original texts of all the 3,000 primary biomedical journals, monitored by Excerpta Medica in Amsterdam are stored since 1960.The objectives of the program of the combined Center include: (1) establishing a firm base of user relevance data; (2) developing improved vocabulary control mechanisms; (3) developing means of determining confidence limits of vocabulary control mechanisms in terms of user relevance data; 4. developing and field testing of new or improved media for providing medical literature to users; 5. developing methods for determining the relationship between learning and relevance in medical information storage and retrieval systems’; and (6) exploring automatic methods for retrospective searching of the specialized indexes of Excerpta Medica.The priority projects to be undertaken by the Center are (1) the investigation of the information needs of medical scientists, and (2) the development of a highly detailed Master List of Biomedical Indexing Terms. Excerpta Medica has already been at work on the latter project for several years.

Download Full-text

Thyrsa Wealtheow Amos: The Dean of Deans

NASPA Journal ◽

10.2202/0027-6014.1337 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Richard J. Herdlein

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Student Affairs ◽

Historical Research ◽

University Of Pittsburgh ◽

Student Personnel ◽

Dean Of Women ◽

History Of ◽

Personnel Administration ◽

The University

The scholarship of student affairs has neglected to carefully review its contextual past and, in the process, failed to fully integrate historical research into practice. The story of Thyrsa Wealtheow Amos and the history of the Dean of Womens Program at the University of Pittsburgh,191941, helps us to reflect on the true reality of our work in higher education. Although seemingly a time in the distant past, Thyrsa Amos embodied the spirit of student personnel administration that shines ever so bright to thisd ay. The purpose of this research is to provide some of thatcontext and remind us of the values that serve as foundations of the profession.

Download Full-text

Bariatric Surgery vs Lifestyle Intervention for Diabetes Treatment: 5-Year Outcomes From a Randomized Trial

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/clinem/dgaa006 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 105 (3) ◽

pp. 866-876 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Anita P Courcoulas ◽

James W Gallagher ◽

Rebecca H Neiberg ◽

Emily B Eagleton ◽

James P DeLany ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bariatric Surgery ◽

Weight Loss ◽

Lifestyle Intervention ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

The United States ◽

Diabetes Remission ◽

University Of Pittsburgh ◽

Lifestyle Treatment ◽

Surgical Treatments ◽

The University

Abstract Context Questions remain about bariatric surgery for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatment. Objective Compare the remission of T2DM following surgical or nonsurgical treatments. Design, setting, and participants Randomized controlled trial at the University of Pittsburgh, in the United States. Five-year follow-up from February 2015 until June 2016. Interventions 61 participants with obesity and T2DM who were initially randomized to either bariatric surgical treatments (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass [RYGB] or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding [LAGB]) or an intensive lifestyle weight loss intervention (LWLI) program for 1 year. Lower level lifestyle weight loss interventions (LLLIs) were then delivered for 4 years. Main Outcomes and Measures Diabetes remission assessed at 5 years. Results The mean age of the patients was 47 ± 6.6 years, 82% were women, and 21% African American. Mean hemoglobin A1c level 7.8% ± 1.9%, body mass index (BMI) 35.7 ± 3.1 kg/m2, and 26 participants (43%) had BMI < 35 kg/m2. Partial or complete T2DM remission was achieved by 30% (n = 6) of RYGB, 19% (n = 4) of LAGB, and no LWLI participants (P = .0208). At 5 years those in the RYGB group had the largest percentage of individuals (56%) not requiring any medications for T2DM compared with those in the LAGB (45%) and LWLI (0%) groups (P = .0065). Mean reductions in percent body weight at 5 years was the greatest after RYGB 25.2% ± 2.1%, followed by LAGB 12.7% ± 2.0% and lifestyle treatment 5.1% ± 2.5% (all pairwise P < .01). Conclusions Surgical treatments are more effective than lifestyle intervention alone for T2DM treatment.

Download Full-text

Constructing an "Imagined Community": The Romanian Classroom at the University of Pittsburgh, 1927-1943

Studies in the Decorative Arts ◽

10.1086/studdecoarts.5.2.40662646 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 40-68

Author(s):

LUCIA CURTA

Keyword(s):

Imagined Community ◽

University Of Pittsburgh ◽

The University

Download Full-text

A Better Learning Community: Mixed-Methods Reveal Medical Student Preferences with Implications for Learning Community Design and Implementation

Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development ◽

10.1177/23821205211014895 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 238212052110148

Author(s):

Jasna Vuk ◽

Steven McKee ◽

Sara Tariq ◽

Priya Mendiratta

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Learning Community ◽

Online Survey ◽

Free Form ◽

University Of Arkansas ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

Face To Face ◽

Personal Support ◽

School Learning ◽

The University

Background: Medical school learning communities benefit students. The College of Medicine (COM) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) provides medical students with academic, professional, and personal support through a learning community (LC) made of 7 academic houses. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the academic house model at UAMS utilizing a mixed-methods survey. The aims were to: (1) assess student experience and satisfaction with academic houses, (2) describe the realms of advising and guidance, and (3) identify areas for improvement. Method: An online survey was assigned to 723 COM students (all students enrolled, first through fourth years) at UAMS in March 2019. The survey was comprised of 25 items (10 multiple-choice, 8 on the Likert scale, and 7 open-ended questions). Data was depicted using frequency and percentages and/or thematic review of free-form responses. Results: The survey response rate was 31% (227 students). The majority of students responding (132, 58.1%) attended 2 or more face-to-face meetings with the faculty advisor within the preceding year. However, 27 (11.9%) students did not have any meetings. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the guidance and direction provided by their advisors [very satisfied (n = 83; 36.6%); satisfied (n = 77; 33.9%)]. Themes that emerged from student generated areas for improvement include time constraints, advisor/advisee interest mismatch, and perceived inadequacy of advising content/connections. Conclusions: This study confirms the effectiveness of the LC model for advising and mentoring in the COM at UAMS. Uniquely, this study identifies not only learners’ satisfaction with their LC but also highlights areas for improvement which are widely generalizable and important to consider for institutions with or planning to start an LC.

Download Full-text