To lecture or not to lecture, that is the question! Modern medical and nursing students' perceptions regarding lectures and lecture attendance at the University of Ottawa

Lecture has historically been a core method used for content delivery in healthcare profession education. However, lecture attendance has decreased within the recent generations of students. The current study focus was to assess the medical and nursing students’ perceptions regarding lecture attendance. To assist with this, second year medical (110/320) and nursing students (95/215) were requested to answer a 10-item survey. The results show that the top reasons why medical and nursing students attended lectures, respectively included: “lectures were mandatory” (81.8% and 68.8%), “socializing with peers” (68.2% and 30.1%), and “professor emphasized important points” (67.3% and 90.3%). While some reasons for students not attending lectures were that the lecture format was not effective (63.5% and 67.7%), students preferred to use recordings of the lectures (43.3% and 18.1%). Overall, 64.6% of medical students and 63.4% of nursing students agree that traditional lectures are an effective way of learning. Sixty two percent of medical students (62% n=68) of medical students stated that traditional lectures is their preferred method of learning compared to flipped classroom (27%), small group learning (30%), and online learning (31%). While (39%) of nursing students stated that traditional lectures is their preferred method of learning compared to flipped classroom (21.5% ), small group learning (3.2%), and online learning (7.4%). The results suggest that there is variability in students’ preferred learning style. While some prefer the face-to-face interaction with the professor, other students favour studying at their own pace. The majority of medical and nursing students think traditional lectures continue to play a major educational role.

Can Peer Assessment Impact Self-efficacy During Small-Group Learning?

Introduction: While studies report positive correlations between students’ perceptions of the learning environment and their reported self-efficacy, the role of peer assessment is poorly understood in this context. This study examines the process and impact of peer assessment on self-efficacy and perceptions of the learning environment during a small-group discussion-based course required of first-year medical students. Methods: After spending time in small-group learning, students completed three peer assessments and reviewed three assessments of themselves. Analysis of the peer assessments included thematic coding of comments and word counts. Prior to and following the assessment period, students completed a survey including the Generalized Self-efficacy (GSE) Scale, and six locally-developed questions regarding the learning environment and perceptions of peer assessment. We performed paired-sample t tests to determine whether there were differences between the pre- and post-peer assessment surveys. The SUNY Upstate Institutional Review Board reviewed the study and determined it to be exempt. Results: Peer assessment narratives referred most commonly to students’ participation style and the need for greater participation. Word counts ranged widely. A paired sample t test indicated that the difference between pre and post peer assessment GSE scores was significant (P=.009), but the effect size was small (d=0.32). Perceptions of the learning environment did not change after the peer assessments. Conclusion: Peer assessment offers a potential strategy for enhancing self-efficacy in medical school small-group learning environments and requires few resources to implement, relative to the potential benefits.

Enhancing Students’ Attitude towards Biology through the Integration of Traditional Medicine and 5E’s Learning Cycle

The study investigated the effect of integrating traditional medicine (TM) concepts with grade 9th microorganism and disease topics on students’ attitude towards biology. The study used a quasi-experimental pretest, posttest non-equivalent group design. two intact classes were selected in Chiro district of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The first class belonged to the treatment group where TM contents are integrated through 5E’s learning cycle with the topic Microorganism and Disease and the second was assigned as comparison group learning the same biology unit on Microorganisms and Disease using the usual approach. Biological Attitude Questionnaires (BAQ) was administered for both groups as pre- and post-tests. The findings showed that the integration of TM with the school biology enhanced students’ attitude towards biology as compared with teaching the topics without integration.

Interrogating Values of Adult Education Practice in Hong Kong

The practice of adult learning and education (ALE) in Hong Kong is lesser known to the wider community of ALE practitioners due to lack of exchanges with international peers. There is a small community of full-time ALE practitioners working mainly in university continuing education schools but a larger body of uncharacterised or alternative practitioners can also be found. Essentially, both types of practitioners are conservative in their outlook and they adopt strategies that align with market needs and priorities set by public funders. Under the backdrop of neoliberalism which has harmonised ALE practice worldwide, a dominant form of individualised learning makes it difficult to promote group learning for societal advancement. ALE practitioners in Hong Kong are no exception to this influence and have been found to profess philosophical orientations favouring the behaviourist/narrowed progressivist notions of learner empowerment for economic and personal gains. Given recent worldwide renewed enthusiasm in making ALE responsive to societal issues, this paper examines the options and learning areas that ALE practitioners in Hong Kong can make their contributions to, such as: health advocacy, climate justice, and media literacy. Through engaging in these aspects of work, practitioners will have to incorporate methods of facilitating group learning in formal and non-formal ALE programmes and courses. An embrace by practitioners of the original notion of progressivist philosophy in adult education may emerge as one of the outcomes to make ALE practice inclusive, relevant and socially responsible. Even with the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, it is deemed even more pressing to pursue a balanced practice approach that can take care of individual's skills transformation for post-COVID economy as well as developing human bonds that would help to make society progressive as a countercheck to neoliberal-inspired individualistic adult learning.

Predictive Group Learning Behavior Approach and Inquiry Learning For Higher Education

Group work can inspire students, encourage constructive learning, and improve essential critical thinking, communication, and decision-making in the present competitive world. The risk factors in group learning include students who prefer working alone and strongly despise dealing with things created by gathering in teams. Online learners often have problems locating lasting peace times for group therapy sessions are considered an essential factor. A predictive Group Learning Behavior Approach (PGLBA) has been proposed. Students who commute to college agree to group conferences and workgroup learning and Inquiry learning for higher education. The grounded Inquiry Learning Approach is invented to strengthen students’ enjoyment of active group learning, and the students find times for group meetings that are often mutually advantageous. The simulation analysis is performed based on performance, accuracy, and efficiency proves the proposed framework’s reliability. The experimental results show that the proposed PGLBA-IL model enhances the accuracy ratio of 81.2%, an efficiency ratio of the number of students 86.4%, and the overall performance analysis ratio of 85.1% compared to others existing approaches.

Cooperative Approach: A Survey on Students’ Preferred Classroom Activities in Reading Classes at Thu Dau Mot University

The Cooperative approach or Cooperative learning approach is defined as a model of group learning in which students are assigned to cooperate in teams for gaining a common purpose whereas they have to show their independence in completing sectional tasks. This learning style, to some extent, has been used in Reading classes at Thu Dau Mot University along with other methods for boosting students’ working motivation. From the mentioned premise, the paper investigated English-majored students’ favorable activities in Reading classrooms to clarify student’s learning motives as well as their willingness to work in group during the lessons. A survey questionnaire on selective activities was sent to the fourth–year English majors to measure the respondents’ attitudes. Accordingly, the paper focuses on the following aspects: (1) students’ attitudes towards reading skills, (2) their preferred classroom activities, and (3) their expected achievements from the course. Consequently, it is found out that there was a kind of intrinsic motivation among learners in the course, the students are interested in self-conducted activities, and that cooperative learning activities might foster students’ love for reading.