Investigating the Effectiveness of Using a Situated Simulation-Based Program to Improve Occupational Therapy Students’ Interactions and Observation Skills with Children

Purpose. Interaction and observation are critical skills for occupational therapists who work with pediatric clients. The objective of this study was to investigate whether using standardized child patients within a situated simulation-based (SSB) program increases students’ knowledge and clinical skills when working with children in occupational therapy. Materials and Methods. This controlled trial with multiple measures recruited students from the pediatric occupational therapy curriculum enrolled in an SSB program in consecutive academic years ( n = 62 ). Experimental group students participated in a simulation experience with video training sessions, followed by an SSB exam with standardized child patients; the control group performed the video training simultaneously. Quantitative outcomes included quizzes to measure clinical knowledge, video training scores, and a situated simulation exam to assess clinical skills. Results. The experimental group had a significantly higher postwritten quiz scores than the control group; the video training scores were not significantly different between groups. Linear regression analysis showed a significant association between the SSB exam and postwritten quiz scores ( β = 0.487 , p = 0.017 ). The experimental group had a total pass rate of 65.6% for the SSB exam. The communication and interaction pass rate was 53.1%; the basic evaluation rate was 68.8%, implying that communication/interaction skills are hard to simulate from video training alone; therefore, the authentic fidelity of the SSB program needs to improve further to enhance learning. Conclusions. The SSB program with standardized child patients improved students’ clinical knowledge and skills more than lectures and practice alone. Using standardized child patients in programs or exams appears to positively influence students’ performance. Situated simulation-based learning that allows the realistic practice of observation and communication skills may enhance students’ clinical competency. Future research should develop standard training methods and evaluation processes in high-fidelity simulations for generalized use in other occupational therapy programs.

Palliative medicine education—Bed Race, The End of Life Board Game in undergraduates

BackgroundEducational board games facilitate active learning to conceptualise knowledge, and, promote collaborative learning and team work. Despite increasing interest in them, use in palliative and end of life care has been very limited to date.MethodIn ‘Bed race, The End of Life Game’, participants are divided into four teams who move a model hospital bed around a board to collect items (syringe driver; Do Not Attempt Resuscitation form; oral hydration gel; a ‘heart’; Just In Case medicines). To obtain items at themed ‘checkpoints’, each team needs to answer quiz questions, which require application of clinical knowledge and/or communication skills. Pregame and postgame quiz scores and feedback were collected from 12 game sessions involving 251 year 5 medical students.Results169 (67%) of students completed pregame and postgame anonymous quiz questions and free-text feedback. Postgame quiz scores were higher for each topic, and the difference in the paired pregame and postgame questionnaires was statistically significant (p<0.05). Themes from the free-text feedback included ‘engaging and fun’; ‘relevant learning’; ‘peer learning and team work’.ConclusionsEducational board games are not a new panacea for education, but the concept can be successfully applied in palliative care.

Learners’ Performance in a MOOC on Programming

In every course, there are learners who successfully pass assessments and complete the course. However, there are also those who fail the course for various reasons. One of such reasons may be related to success in assessment. Although performance in assessments has been studied before, there is a lack of knowledge on the degree of variance between different types of learners in terms of scores and the number of resubmissions. In the paper, we analyse the performance in assessments demonstrated by non-completers and completers and by completers with different engagement levels and difficulty-resolving patterns. The data have been gathered from the Moodle statistics source based on the performance of 1065 participants, as regards their completion status, the number of attempts made per each programming task and quiz, and the score received per quiz. Quantitative analysis was performed with descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Non-completers and completers were similar in resubmissions per quiz, but the former, expectedly, made more resubmissions per programming task and received lower quiz scores. Completers made more attempts per task than per quiz. They could provide a correct solution with a few resubmissions and receive good scores already at a pragmatic engagement level. At the same time, the increased use of help sources in case of difficulties was also associated with a higher number of attempts and lower quiz scores received. The study may have implications in understanding the role of assessments in dropouts and how completers with different engagement and difficulty-resolving patterns cope with assessments.

Understanding how embedded peer comments affect student quiz scores, academic writing and lecture note-taking accuracy

Purpose This study aims to better understand the relationship between peer feedback in the context of online collaborative note-taking and how comments impacted student performance and understanding. Design/methodology/approach This one sample investigation was of graduate students participating in an academic writing class working collaboratively online. Data was gathered on student feedback during note-taking activity to test for its effects on student performance and understanding. Findings The use of peer comments in online note-taking was found to impact student quiz scores and academic writing skills positively. However, no significance was found between comments and the completeness of their notes taken, suggesting its limits to promote deeper understanding. Research limitations/implications The level and detail about the comments made and how accurately they recall the important details from the video lectures is not known. The average number of comments made weekly by each group was also low. Practical implications Designers and teachers using online collaborative activities could benefit by understanding the nature in which peer comments can enhance student learning, bearing in mind the need for explicit guidance in how to comment and at what level of knowledge their comments should target. Social implications Online collaboration, peer editing and commenting is widely used by educators and the public. A better understanding of how these elements operate might improve the quality of knowledge artefacts such as academic writing and research notes. Originality/value Existing literature focuses mainly on peer feedback on writing or other artefacts; this paper seeks to find out more about the impact of comments in particular on collaborative note-taking.

Does the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment Scales Affect the Mini-Quiz Score of Students in the Medical Study Program of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta

A student, especially a new student, will make adjustments to their environment in their first year of college, from high school to higher education. During the adjustment process, freshman experience various kinds of changes in the Higher Education environment. These changes both academically and non-academically. This research is a quantitative analytic observational research with cross sectional approach. The population used in this study were new students of the 2018 class of the Medical Study Program at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. There were 150 new student batch 2018 as population of the study. Based on the results and discussion, it can be concluded that there is no significant relationship between the MMPI-2 College Maladjustment Scales (Mt) and the mini-quiz score. It is suggested to have further research with more mini-quiz scores in blocks, research on factors that affect learning outcomes, and involve other aspects of learning outcomes, not only mini-quiz scores but also final block evaluation scores, tutorial scores and practicum scores.

Monolingual versus multilingual foreign language teaching: French and Arabic at beginning levels

Macaro has stated that the choice between a monolingual, immersive, target language-only pedagogy versus a non-immersive, multilingual pedagogy is ‘probably the most fundamental question facing second language acquisition (SLA) researchers, language teachers, and policymakers’. Recognizing that prior empirical work on monolingual versus multilingual approaches has primarily been (1) descriptive, (2) in the context of English as a second or foreign language, and (3) very short term, often with one brief treatment, this intervention study examines the effectiveness of use of the L1/non-target language in the L2 classroom in a quasi-experimental, 10-week study examining French, a commonly learned foreign language, and Arabic, a less commonly learned foreign language, at beginning levels of proficiency in a community-based setting with 25 hours of instruction. Groups experiencing multilingual instruction outperformed those experiencing monolingual instruction in both languages with different instructors at almost all time periods and in almost all skill areas. Moderate to large effect sizes were found in inferential analyses of aggregated weekly progress quiz scores and scores in writing and vocabulary, and statistically significant differences between groups in Arabic were obtained in analyses of aggregated quiz scores overall and scores for writing. These findings support theoretical position statements and a growing body of empirical research arguing for the potential benefits of inclusion of non-target languages in second language teaching and learning.

Motivating Students to Engage in Preparation for Flipped Classrooms by Using Embedded Quizzes in Pre-class Videos

Background: The success of flipped classrooms is dependent upon students’ preparation prior to class, the lack of which is the most common challenge associated with this teaching methodology. To mitigate this limitation, it is important to develop and assess methods of engaging learners during pre-class activities. Objective: To determine if quiz delivery method (embedded throughout versus after pre-class videos) affects students’ knowledge retention, grades, and video viewing behavior. Methods: Participating students were randomized to take quizzes, either during pre-class videos via Panopto™ (EQV) or after pre-class videos in the traditional manner via Moodle™ (TMM). Outcomes assessed included students’ knowledge retention, scores on pre- and post-class quizzes, and pre-class video viewing behavior (total views and minutes viewed per student) during a three-week period. Having experienced both quizzing modalities during the semester, the perceptions from students in the EQV group were surveyed. Results: Baseline assessment results of both groups (n = 27 per group) were comparable with a median score of 33% (IQR: 17, 50) in both groups. Performance was also similar on knowledge retention [TMM: 67% (50, 83) vs. EQV: 83% (50, 83)], pre-class quiz scores [TMM: 90% (87, 97) vs. EQV: 93% (90, 95)], and post-class quiz scores [TMM: 93% (80, 100) vs. EQV: 87% (80, 100)], while students in the EQV group had more total views [10 (8, 12)] vs. [5 (2, 11)] and minutes viewed [71 (36, 108) vs. 35 (15, 81)]. Results from the perception survey administered to students in the EQV group (74.1% response rate) indicated a preference for embedded quizzes overall (58%) and for class preparation (75%) when compared with post-video quizzes. Conclusion: Students’ knowledge retention and performance were similar in both EQV and TMM groups, though students in the EQV group were more engaged with videos and most of them preferred this quiz delivery. Using embedded quizzes for formative rather than summative assessment might be an appropriate mechanism to encourage students’ viewing of pre-class videos and their preparation for flipped classes.

Comparing Student-Created to Teacher-Created Study Guides Within An Interteaching Framework

Background: The role of the preparation or study guide in interteaching is relatively unexplored. One study demonstrated that having students create their own study guide was just as effective as completing a teacher-created study guide. Objective: The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend the methods of previous research to compare the effects of student-created to teacher-created study guides on student learning. Method: We compared the effects of teacher-created to student-created study guides on student quiz scores within the context of an interteaching framework using multi-element designs. We counterbalanced the order of study guide implementation for a total of 24 quizzes across two classes of 25 students each. Results: Quiz scores were high overall, and the most effective study guide type varied across class sections; student-created was more effective for Class 1 and teacher-created was more effective for Class 2. Conclusion: Interteaching resulted in high quiz scores (above 80%) overall, regardless of study guide type. There may be an interaction between discussion length, instructor, and study guide type that warrants further investigation. Teaching Implications: The results of this study suggest that instructors using the interteaching format can save time in preparing for their class by having the students create their own study guides while still promoting quality learning.

Quality and Patient Safety in a Pathology Residency Training Program

Introduction/Objective Since the start of the new millennium, optimization of Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) has taken a renewed focus in the healthcare industry. Consequently, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has mandated that QPS be a part of residency training. We have previously presented our curriculum designed to meet the specific needs of Pathology training programs, and covering four content areas: Handoffs, Error Management, Laboratory Administration, and Process Improvement. We are now presenting implementation. Methods To implement this curriculum, we 1) created online modules for self-directed learning on basic topics (using courses developed by IHI and CAP, and assigned articles), and paired these with faculty-facilitated interactive learning activities on more complex topics, including proficiency testing, root cause analysis and test utilization, 2) assigned every resident to a QPS project that was aligned with departmental priorities, led by a faculty advisor, and ran over 8- 10 months, and 3) appointed a QPS Chief Resident to coordinate and support the residents’ QPS activities. We measured the impact of the curriculum by comparing RISE laboratory accreditation percentiles and QPS curriculum quiz scores before and after curriculum implementation. Results After its implementation, RISE percentiles increased by at least 25 for every PGY, and QPS quiz scores increased by at least 10% for 3 of 4 PGY. Every QPS project was presented at Grand Rounds, and 4 were presented externally, including 2 at national conferences. Conclusion Our curriculum was successful in improving residents’ knowledge and competence in QPS. Challenges included designing appropriate learning activities, tracking completion of activities, coordinating faculty schedules and maintaining resident buy-in to the curriculum. We believe that the basic structure of our curriculum offers a solid foundation to which revisions can be made as QPS priorities evolve, and which can be readily adapted to other programs and locations.

Pre and Post Workshop Knowledge Assessment Regarding ECG and Arrhythmia Management in Medical Undergraduates

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of ECG interpretation workshops as a useful tool in medical education for teaching the integrated cardiovascular module for undergraduate medical students. Study design and setting: Cross sectional (pre and post workshop quiz) at Jinnah Medical and Dental College over four months from August-November 2019. Methodology: Total 80 undergraduate medical students participated in the training session. Pre-workshop Quiz was conducted MCQs (single best answer) to determine the prior knowledge of participants on ECG interpretation and action of antiarrhythmic drugs. Interactive lectures were delivered by the cardiology consultant and faculty of pharmacology. Comprehensive hands-on skill session for 12-limb lead and ECG interpretation was organized by the physiology department. Post-Quiz included MCQs (single best answer). Feedback forms were filled at the end of the training and lecture sessions. Paired students T test was used on SPSS 21. Results: Total Eighty 4th year MBBSÊparticipated in pre-workshop quiz (MCQs) and post MCQs Sixty (75%) students had an unsatisfactory score and only twenty (25%) had satisfactory scores in pre- training Quiz. Post-training and lecture sessions, Quiz (MCQs) scores had significant improvement. Seventy (87%) students had a satisfactory score of which five students were outstanding and only five (6%) scored unsatisfactory. Feedback form filled and the comments were recorded. Conclusions: It was found by post workshop quiz scores and feedback regarding interdepartmental integrated activity results in a better teaching and learning outcomes. Post workshop Quiz scores indicated the improvement in ECG interpretation and skills.