Research priorities in light of current trends in microsurgical training: revalidation, simulation, cross-training, and standardisation.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedPlastic surgery training worldwide has seen a thorough restructuring over the past decade, with the introduction of formal training curricula and work-based assessment tools. Part of this process has been the introduction of revalidation and a greater use of simulation in training delivery. Simulation is an increasingly important tool for educators because it provides a way to reduce risks to both trainees and patients, whilst facilitating improved technical proficiency. Current microsurgery training interventions are often predicated on theories of skill acquisition and development that follow a 'practice makes perfect' model. Given the changing landscape of surgical training and advances in educational theories related to skill development, research is needed to assess the potential benefits of alternative models, particularly cross-training, a model now widely used in non-medical areas with significant benefits. Furthermore, with the proliferation of microsurgery training interventions and therefore diversity in length, cost, content and models used, appropriate standardisation will be an important factor to ensure that courses deliver consistent and effective training that achieves appropriate levels of competency. Key research requirements should be gathered and used in directing further research in these areas to achieve on-going improvement of microsurgery training

การวิจัยประเมินความต้องการจำเป็นด้านสมรรถนะเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสารในศตวรรษที่ 21 ของครูสังกัดสำนักงานคณะกรรมการ การศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐาน

บทคัดย่อ การวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อประเมินความต้องการจำเป็นเกี่ยวกับสมรรถนะด้านเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสารในศตวรรษที่ 21 กลุ่มตัวอย่าง คือ ครูสังกัดสำนักงานคณะกรรมการการศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐานจากทั่วประเทศ จำนวน 1,058 คน ได้มาจากการสุ่มแบบหลายขั้นตอน เครื่องมือที่ใช้ในการวิจัย คือ แบบประเมินความต้องการจำเป็นเกี่ยวกับสมรรถนะด้านเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสารของครูในศตวรรษที่ 21 โดยมีค่าอำนาจจำแนกระหว่าง .231 - .895        ค่าความเชื่อมั่นระหว่าง .940 - .982 วิเคราะห์ข้อมูลโดยใช้ค่าเฉลี่ย ส่วนเบี่ยงเบนมาตรฐาน และการวิเคราะห์ค่าดัชนีความต้องการจำเป็นแบบปรับปรุง ผลการวิจัยพบว่า ความต้องการจำเป็นเกี่ยวกับสมรรถนะด้านเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสารของครูโดยรวมในทุกภูมิภาค ได้แก่ 1) ด้านความรู้ ครูมีความต้องการจำเป็นมากที่สุดในเรื่องของการมีความรู้ความเข้าใจในการวางแผนในการทำให้การสอนและการเรียนรู้มีประสิทธิภาพโดยใช้เทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร 2) ด้านทักษะ ครูมีความต้องการจำเป็นมากที่สุดในเรื่องของสามารถประยุกต์ใช้งานเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร        ในการพัฒนาผู้เรียนให้มีทักษะการคิดขั้นสูงและมีความคิดสร้างสรรค์ 3) ด้านเจตคติ ครูมีความต้องการจำเป็นในเรื่องของการเผยแพร่ประสบการณ์ ทักษะความรู้ และมีการร่วมมือกับผู้เชี่ยวชาญในระดับเดียวกันเพื่อเป็นการพัฒนาการใช้เทคโนโลยีเพื่อในการศึกษามากที่สุด คำสำคัญ : สมรรถนะเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร ความต้องการจำเป็น ครูสังกัดสำนักงานคณะกรรมการการศึกษาขั้นพื้นฐาน   ABSTRACT The objective of this research was to study the needs assessment of teacher competency on information and communications and technology in 21st century.  The participants were 1, 058 teachers in Office of the Basic Education Commission around the country by multiple random sampling.  Research instrument was the need of teacher competency on Information and communications and Technology in 21st century questionnaire.  It had discriminative power between .231 - .895 and confidence values ​​between .940 - .982.  The data were analyzed by mean, Standard Deviation and modified priority needs index. The research findings were that overall teachers in the country needed information and communications and technology competency in 21st century as follows: 1) Knowledge Aspect : the teachers need the most in understanding of planning to make teaching and learning effective through using information and communications technology, 2) Skill Aspect: the teachers need the most about applying information and communications technology to develop learners with advanced and creative thinking skills, and 3) Attitude Aspect: the teachers need the most about disseminating experience, knowledge, and cooperate with experts in the same level to develop technology in education. Keywords : ICT Competency, Needs Assessment, Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC

Perception of Employers' in Transforming Technical and Vocational Education and Training vis-a-vis Emerging Technology Tools for Sustainable Workforce Development in Nigeria

Economic competitiveness of a country depends to a large extent on the skills of its workforce. The skills and the competencies of the workforce, in turn, are dependent upon the quality of the country’s education and training. Education and training are undergoing continuous change, and this change poses more challenges to the 21st-century workforce, and to training institutions. Despite the importance of TVET in transforming economic development, of any nation, Nigeria still has different perspectives about the competency of its TVET graduates. Therefore, the paper aims at determining the perceptions of Organized Private Sector (OPS) employers’ regarding the competency of TVET graduates and the role of emerging technology tools in transforming TVET for a sustainable workforce development. Using a descriptive survey research design and a sample of 80 OPS employers. A validated and piloted questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale used as the data collection instrument for the study. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics including means, standard deviation and ANOVA. Data analysis was facilitated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings revealed that employers were not satisfied with the competency level of TVET graduates as it is showed that they are not well prepared to enter the competitive workforce and to be self-reliant. Given the nature and complexity of the field of TVET for a sustainable workforce, it was recommended that the utilization of adequate planning and management of emerging technology tools and resources in teaching TVET programs could contribute enormously to the quality and sustainability of the Nigerian workforce

Should We Flip the Script?: A Literature Review of Deficit-Based Perspectives on First-Year Undergraduate Students’ Information Literacy

This mixed method systematic review considers recent literature on the information literacy (IL) skills of first-year undergraduate students. The review uncovers the following themes: faculty and librarians perceive first-year students as lacking IL skills; students have varying perceptions of their IL skills; assessment studies yield conflicting findings on first-year students\u27 IL; communication between high school and college librarians is challenging; and some IL researchers emphasise and leverage first-year students\u27 prior knowledge and experience in IL instruction. These themes emerge from extensive searches in four research databases for scholarly and professional articles written in English within the past ten years. With the exception of a few articles, studies reviewed consistently express their findings in terms of students’ gaps or deficits. We question whether this is the most productive basis for developing effective IL programs. Instead, we call for further investigation of students’ existing knowledge and skills as a basis for implementing constructivist and strengths-based pedagogies

Strengthening High School Teaching and Learning in New Hampshire's Competency-Based System

For a century, most students have advanced from grade to grade based on the number of days they spend in class, but in New Hampshire, schools have moved away from "seat time" and toward "competency-based learning," which advances students when they have mastered course content. This report profiles how two high schools in New Hampshire made this shift and examines the changes that were necessary to make competency-based advancement an important part of New Hampshire's strategy for implementing the Common Core State Standards and ensuring that students graduate ready for college and a career

Employability in the 21st Century: complex (interactive) problem solving and other essential skills

Neubert, Mainert, Kretzschmar, and Greiff (2015) plea to integrate the 21st century skills of complex problem solving (CPS) and collaborative problem solving (ColPS) in the assessment and development suite of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists, given the expected increase in nonroutine and interactive tasks in the new workplace. At the same time, they promote new ways of assessing these skills using computer-based microworlds, enabling the systematic variation of problem features in assessment. Neubert and colleagues’ (2015) suggestions are a valuable step in connecting differential psychologists’ models of human differences and functioning with human resources professionals’ interest in understanding and predicting behavior at work. We concur that CPS and ColPS are important transversal skills, useful for I-O psychologists, but these are only two babies of a single family, and the domain of 21st century skills includes other families of a different kind that are also with utility for I-O psychologists. The current contribution is meant to broaden this interesting discussion in two important ways. We clarify that CPS and ColPS need to be considered in the context of a wider set of 21st century skills with an origin in the education domain, and we highlight a number of crucial steps that still need to be taken before “getting started” (Neubert et al., 2015, p. last page of the discussion) with this taxonomic framework. But first, we feel the need to slightly reframe the relevance of considering 21st century skills in I-O psychology by shifting the attention from narrow task-related skills to the broader domain of career management competencies.</jats:p

Devising a consensus definition and framework for non-technical skills in healthcare to support educational design: A modified Delphi study

Background Non-technical skills are a subset of human factors that focus on the individual and promote safety through teamwork and awareness. There is no widely adopted competency or outcome based framework for non-technical skills training in healthcare outside the surgical environment. The authors set out to devise such a framework and reach a consensus on a definition using a modified Delphi approach. Methods An exhaustive list of published and team suggested items was presented to the expert panel for ranking and to propose a definition. In the second round, a focused list was presented, as well as the proposed definition elements. The finalised framework was sent to the panel for review. Summary of results 16 experts participated (58% response rate). A total of 36 items of 105 ranked highly enough to present in round two. The final framework consists of 16 competencies for all and 8 specific competencies for team leaders. The consensus definition describes non-technical skills as ‘a set of social (communication and team work) and cognitive (analytical and personal behaviour) skills that support high quality, safe, effective and efficient inter-professional care within the complex healthcare system’. Conclusions The authors have produced a new competency framework, through the works of an international expert panel, which is not discipline specific. This consensus competency framework can be used by curriculum developers, educational innovators and clinical teachers to support developments in the field

Research based yet action oriented: Developing individual level enterprising competencies

This paper outlines an approach to teaching enterprising competencies in the university setting of Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand. It is characterised by two features. First, it has an experiential component in the form of developmental exercises; forms of practice which are devised by the students themselves. Second, the exercises are research-based: students study academic articles and book chapters that give clues about how to practice the various competencies. The method is inspired by Gibb’s (1993, 1998, 2002a, 2002b) ideas about simulating the essences of enterprise in the learning environment. The approach used at Massey is outlined at the end of the paper. The paper begins with offering the rationales for the course. First, it provides arguments as to why enterprising competencies are becoming increasingly important for our students. Second, it is argued why, out of three approaches to competency, the behavioural approach is deemed to be the most suitable for the approach employed at Massey. Third, in the debate about generic versus situation specific competencies, it argues for the relevance of generic competencies. The paper then describes entrepreneurship / small business (E/SB) research on competencies, and discusses why entrepreneurship research is often of little help for ‘how to’ approaches. Finally, the Massey approach is described in detail

Next Generation User Skills

The world is awash with statistics on the impact of the web on 21st century living, learning and working. They are accompanied by the pronouncements and predictions of experts from every camp, from those heralding a new brave new world of co-creation and choice, to warnings from the dark side in terms of ethics and educational standards, tempered by increasing recognition that ‘we’ may no longer be in control of such matters. Meanwhile, surveys report that around 80% of businesses have invested in IT and 60% have websites. Whilst the extent and value of adoption differs significantly across businesses and sectors, the foundations for new ways of working and doing business are broadly in place, with older and static businesses typifying the laggards. It would not be unsafe to project that, by 2013, even more people will be required to use ICT in the workplace and in their everyday lives, increasingly involving online communication and web-based applications. This represents a scenario to which those responsible for developing curricula and awards must respond – in the primary and secondary phases, vocational and applied learning, work based and adult community provision and higher education. To ensure the relevance of and to influence the ongoing enhancement of user ICT provision and the associated awards, Digital 2020 and the Scottish Qualifications Authority jointly commissioned Sero Consulting to develop a vision for ICT user skills in 2013 – ‘Next Generation User Skills’ – taking account of: • Skills that all employers will need, which they may not currently recognise. • Skills that people (especially young people) will already have, but which may not be accredited. • Essential skills for living and learning in a digital age. This paper is drawn from the resulting public report, ‘Next Generation User Skills – Working, Learning & Living Online in 2013’ (September 2008), which provides: • An overview of the current ICT user skills landscape. • A model representing digital activities and competencies that might constitute the ‘Next Generation User Skillscape’. • A mapping of that activity space onto tools and awards, with a gap analysis identifying weaknesses in provision. • An overview of the recommendations to the report sponsors