Success and Satisfaction with Virtual Hematology Curriculum Implemented in Response to COVID-19

Introduction: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oregon Health and Science University Blood & Host Defense medical school pre-clinical block was reformatted to a completely online curriculum. In previous years, the curriculum consisted of traditional 1-hour lectures from Monday to Wednesday, with small group review sessions on Thursday prior to weekly assessments on Friday. Changes for the virtual curriculum included shortened, pre-recorded lectures divided into modules by topic, with follow-up questions to test comprehension in real-time. These were followed by live, 1-hour Q&A sessions each day. Weekly, 2-3-hour case-based review sessions were also held virtually in real-time. We aimed to study student performance in this new curriculum, and to learn about the satisfaction of both students and instructors with these changes. Methods: To measure performance, class testing averages across graded components were compared to previous years. To measure satisfaction, first-year medical students and course instructors were polled via anonymous, voluntary Qualtrics® surveys after course completion. Answers were given on a 5-point Likert scale. Students were also asked to answer four free-response questions. Results: Class testing averages were similar to previous years across all graded components of the curriculum. Following remediation, the pass rate for the course was 100%. Fifty eight out of 150 students completed the satisfaction survey, a response rate of 39%. Most students found pre-recorded lectures and weekly live review sessions "useful" or "very useful," but responses were more varied for daily Q&A sessions. Most students either "somewhat preferred" or "greatly preferred" the module-based format over hour-long lectures and indicated they would like a similar format in future virtual blocks. Themes from qualitative questions included a preference for virtual curriculum for its increased flexibility. A small subset of students described a preference for in-person lecture due to increased engagement. Thirteen out of 31 instructors completed the survey, for a response rate of 42%. Six of the respondents indicated that they would prefer the traditional version of the curriculum for the following year, while 5 selected the new virtual-only format. Twelve instructors completed Likert-scale questions comparing the two curriculums. There was no statistically significant difference in satisfaction with lecture format, time and effort to prepare lectures, amount of interaction with students, and overall teaching experience. However, there was a significant increase in dissatisfaction with the quality of student interaction and student engagement with the new virtual curriculum. Conclusions: Students successfully learned in the new, virtual curriculum as demonstrated by summative assessments. Trends that emerged from student feedback included a preference for module-based format over hour-long lectures, and pre-recorded lectures over live sessions. Most respondents enjoyed the weekly live review sessions, but were mixed regarding daily live Q&A sessions. We suspect this mixed feedback for the daily reviews was due to constraints on the schedule and the necessity of viewing all modules each morning prior to the session. From the perspective of instructors, there was perhaps unsurprisingly decreased satisfaction with student engagement in the virtual setting. However, overall, there was no meaningful difference in preference regarding lecture format. When combining this with the diverse needs and preferences of medical students, future versions of the course should consider incorporating more virtual elements. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Say my name! An empirical study on the pronounceability of identifier names

Identifiers represent approximately 2/3 of the elements in source code, and their names directly impact code comprehension. Indeed, intention-revealing names make code easier to understand, especially in code review sessions, where developers examine each other's code for mistakes. However, we argue that names should be understandable and pronounceable to enable developers to review and discuss code effectively. Therefore, we carried out an empirical study based on 40 open-source projects to explore the naming practices of developers concerning word complexity and pronounceability. We applied the Word Complexity Measure (WCM) to discover complex names; and analyzed the phonetic similarity among names and hard-to-pronounce English words. As a result, we observed that most of the analyzed names are somewhat composed of hard-to-pronounce words. The overall word complexity score of the projects also tends to be significant. Finally, the results show that the code location impacts the word complexity: names in small scopes tend to be simpler than names declared in large scopes.

Promoted Peer Review in EFL Writing: Development in Students’ Perceptions and Feedback

While many studies have examined the impact of peer review on EFL students’ perceptions of peer review and acceptance and incorporation of feedback in their writing with the help of training or guidance and guide (check list), using a combination of these techniques plus multiplicity of review sessions, as a promotion, has been underexplored. This study aims to investigate the usefulness of training, guidance, and multiplicity of peer review sessions in changing students’ negative perceptions of peer review and increasing their acceptance and incorporation of feedback in EFL writing. Two training workshops and checklists were used to help students do the review, which was accomplished in five multiple sessions. Thirty-four students voluntarily participated in this study, which employed a five-item pre-/post methodology—the online survey and students’ written drafts as data collection instruments. To analyze the data, independent samples t-tests were used for the five-item survey, percentage of each peer session’s comments (i.e., comments made/comments incorporated) was calculated to assess peers’ acceptance of their partners’ feedback, and a repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted to determine whether participants incorporated more feedback over time. The results showed that, first, the participants revealed positive perceptions of the effectiveness of peer review. Second, the students highly accepted their peers’ feedback. Finally, the students incorporated a significantly higher quantity of reviewers’ feedback into second drafts at the end of every session, starting from the second session. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.

Dialogue in the studio: Supporting comprehension in studio-based architectural design tutorials

This article examines perceptions regarding the purpose and delivery of tutorials in the architectural design studio that can support how students comprehend feedback. It draws on literature on ‘dialogic feedback’ and theoretical accounts of ‘dialogue’, framing the notion of the dialogic as one in which meanings and identities are realized through a multi-voiced state, questioning the extent to which studio-based tutorials can be considered dialogic. The study uses thematic analysis to reflect on 212 accounts of educators and students at a UK-based architecture school. The article highlights that a comprehension-oriented praxis as opposed to an assessment-oriented praxis can better enable dialogic practice, allowing learners to realize, position and comprehend their own voice amongst the divergent views. The article extends the critical body of work dedicated to evaluating feedback delivery in one-off review sessions, to the context of tutorials and their longitudinal implications on the learning experience.

The configuration and experience mapping of an accessible VR environment for effective design reviews

This paper presents a new VR interaction environment for the evaluation of digital prototypes, specifically in designer–client review sessions, and documents its implementation via experience mapping. Usability of VR controllers and basic manipulation remains a barrier for lay users, and a range of typical implementations are reviewed, highlighting the need for an easily accessible interface for this setting. The resulting interface configuration – the Control Carousel – demonstrates how the appropriate use of familiar mechanisms can increase VR accessibility. Three case studies using the Carousel in commercial design projects are described, and the subsequent interface refinements outlined. Finally, the development of an experience map describing the logistical, interactive, and emotive factors affecting the Carousel's implementation is documented. This provides insights on how experience mapping can be used as part of a human-centred design process to ensure VR environments are attuned to the requirements of users, in this instance delivering improved collaborative reviews.