Evaluation of an interactive, case-based review session in teaching medical microbiology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) has replaced its microbiology wet laboratory with a variety of tutorials including a case-based interactive session called Microbial Jeopardy!. The question remains whether the time spent by students and faculty in the interactive case-based tutorial is worthwhile? This study was designed to address this question by analyzing both student performance data and assessing students' perceptions regarding the tutorial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Both quantitative and qualitative data were used in the current study. Part One of the study involved assessing student performance using archival records of seven case-based exam questions used in the 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 OSU-CHS Medical Microbiology course. Two sample t-tests for proportions were used to test for significant differences related to tutorial usage. Part Two used both quantitative and qualitative means to assess student's perceptions of the Microbial Jeopardy! session. First, a retrospective survey was administered to students who were enrolled in Medical Microbiology in 2006 or 2007. Second, responses to open-ended items from the 2008 course evaluations were reviewed for comments regarding the Microbial Jeopardy! session.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both student performance and student perception data support continued use of the tutorials. Quantitative and qualitative data converge to suggest that students like and learn from the interactive, case-based session.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The case-based tutorial appears to improve student performance on case-based exam questions. Additionally, students perceived the tutorial as helpful in preparing for exam questions and reviewing the course material. The time commitment for use of the case-based tutorial appears to be justified.</p

A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Role Stress and Organizational Commitment: the Moderating Effects of Occupational Type and Culture

The demand for employees to be more productive while also being adaptable to new organizational pressures has intensified the nature of work and the demands placed upon employees. We meta-analyzed the relationship between employee role stress and organizational commitment and tested the effects of two potential moderators of this relationship. One-hundred and five studies (N = 37,993 individuals) conducted from 2001 to 2019 were included in the meta-analysis. Significant negative relationships were found between three forms of role stress (role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload) and affective organizational commitment. All role stressors had stronger relationships with affective commitment than with continuance commitment which was not found to be significantly related to any of the types of role stress tested. Overall, employees’ perceived role stress was inversely associated with their desire to stay with the organization (affective commitment) but not their need to stay (continuance commitment) with the organization. Moderator analyses revealed that occupational type and culture significantly influenced role stressor-affective commitment relationships. Specifically, stronger relationships were found for studies conducted in transactional occupations and western cultures. Implications of findings for organizations are discussed and directions for future research are provided.Ye

Deviations from Prescribed Prompting Procedures: Implications for Treatment Integrity

Abstract The acquisition of new skills may be hindered when teaching procedures vary from previously validated approaches or contain errors. In the present study, we compared the acquisition and maintenance of response chains taught using a perfectly implemented system of least prompts and a multiple verbal prompts procedure (i.e., addition of multiple verbal prompts and failure to follow through with more intrusive prompts). Four children, aged 6-9, participated in the study. An adapted alternating treatments design was used to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of learning during the system of least prompts and the alternative system of least prompts. Results were consistent with those obtained in previous studies in that the perfectly implemented and alternative prompting procedures were effective in teaching new skills for all participants. However, the perfectly implemented treatment required fewer trials to mastery for 4 of the 5 evaluations. Response chains taught under the multiple verbal prompts condition had poorer maintenance for 2 of the 5 evaluations. The results of the current study suggest that deviations from empirically identified teaching procedures may reduce the speed with which new skills are acquired

TRAINING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN TO USE VISUAL IMAGINING AS A PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGY FOR COMPLEX CATEGORIZATION TASKS

It has been suggested that verbally sophisticated individuals engage in a series of precurrent behaviors (e.g., covert intraverbal behavior, grouping stimuli, visual imagining) to solve problems such as answering questions (Palmer, 1991; Skinner, 1953). We examined the effects of one problem solving strategy—visual imagining—on increasing responses to intraverbal categorization questions. Participants were 4 typically developing preschoolers between the ages of 4 and 5 years. Visual imagining training was insufficient to produce a substantial increase in target responses. It was not until the children were prompted to use the visual imagining strategy that a large and immediate increase in the number of target responses was observed. The number of prompts did not decrease until the children were given a rule describing the use of the visual imagining strategy. Within-session response patterns indicated that none of the children used visual imagining prior to being prompted to do so and that use of the strategy continued after introduction of the rule. These results were consistent for 3 of 4 children. Within-session response patterns suggested that the 4th child occasionally imagined when prompted to do so, but the gains were not maintained. The results are discussed in terms of Skinner's analysis of problem solving and the development of visual imagining

The Impact of Anti-Intellectualism Attitudes and Academic Self-Efficacy on Business Students’ Perceptions of Cheating

cheating, business students, anti-intellectualism, self-efficacy,