Students’ Basic Psychological Needs in Blended Teacher Learning Groups During COVID-19

Teacher Learning Groups (TLGs) are social configurations in which student teachers (henceforth: students) learn together with peers, teacher trainers and teachers through social interactions (Doppenberg et al., 2012). Due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, blended education has developed quickly. Blended education combines contact learning with distance learning ((Müller & Mildenberger, 2021). This workshop aims to shed light on how blended meetings interfere with the fulfilment of students’ basic psychological needs in TLGs. We also want to find out how to facilitate TLGs to support students’ basic psychological needs in times when social distancing is necessary or when blended education is convenient (e.g., to enhance the accessibility of education)

Students’ basic psychological needs in blended teacher learning groups

IntroductionStudent teachers (henceforth: students) in higher education often experience feelings of emotional loneliness that negatively impact upon their well-being and motivation to learn. Consequently, the importance of social learning for students has gained increased prominence, with Teacher Learning Groups (TLGs), that is, social configurations in which students, in-service teachers, and teacher educators, sometimes supplemented by researchers and/or experts, collaboratively learn through social interactions, being introduced in teacher training institutes. Ordinarily, TLGs organized their meetings face-to-face; however, due to COVID-19 measures, they had to rapidly transition to blended meetings, which in turn impacted upon students’ basic psychological needs.MethodsIn the present study, a convergent parallel mixed-methods design was utilized. The variables Social Configurations (Practice integration, Long-term orientation and goals; Shared identity and equal relationships) and Basic Psychological Needs (Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness) were assessed through the use of qualitative interviews and by administering two online quantitative surveys: the “Dimensions of Social Learning Questionnaire” and the “Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale”. Seventy students completed the questionnaires, while 14 students were interviewed. The students were recruited from four teacher training institutes.ResultsThe analyses reveal that the more students perceive Shared identity and equal relationships in blended TLGs, the greater the fulfillment of Basic Psychological Needs they experience. Moreover, the more students experience the fulfillment of the need for Competence, the more students perceive TLGs’ Social Configurations.DiscussionBased on the findings, we conclude that, although in-depth learning is more challenging during distance learning, blended TLGs are valuable for students’ Basic Psychological Needs during unpredictable times

A Case–Control Study of Lung Cancer Nested in a Cohort of European Asphalt Workers

BACKGROUND: We conducted a nested case-control study in a cohort of European asphalt workers in which an increase in lung cancer risk has been reported among workers exposed to airborne bitumen fume, although potential bias and confounding were not fully addressed. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the contribution of exposure to bitumen, other occupational agents, and tobacco smoking to the risk of lung cancer among asphalt workers. METHODS: Cases were cohort members in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Israel who had died of lung cancer between 1980 and the end of follow-up (2002-2005). Controls were individually matched in a 3:1 ratio to cases on year of birth and country. We derived exposure estimates for bitumen fume and condensate, organic vapor, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as for asbestos, crystalline silica, diesel motor exhaust, and coal tar. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for ever-exposure, duration, average exposure, and cumulative exposure after adjusting for tobacco smoking and exposure to coal tar. RESULTS: A total of 433 cases and 1,253 controls were included in the analysis. The OR was 1.12 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.84-1.49] for inhalation exposure to bitumen fume and 1.17 (95% CI, 0.88-1.56) for dermal exposure to bitumen condensate. No significant trend was observed between lung cancer risk and duration, average exposure, or cumulative exposure to bitumen fume or condensate. CONCLUSIONS: We found no consistent evidence of an association between indicators of either inhalation or dermal exposure to bitumen and lung cancer risk. A sizable proportion of the excess mortality from lung cancer relative to the general population observed in the earlier cohort phase is likely attributable to high tobacco consumption and possibly to coal tar exposure, whereas other occupational agents do not appear to play an important role

"Che tempo fa?" Indagine sul grado di Soddisfazione dei servizi offerti dal Centro Basaglia: l'opinione dei pazienti.

Studio costituito da una prima parte nella quale viene presentata l’evoluzione storica del Sistema Sanitario Nazionale italiano presentando successivamente i piani sanitari odierni in materia di salute mentale; l’importanza della valutazione della soddisfazione del servizio in salute mentale per migliorare la qualità di vita degli utenti apprendendo l’evoluzione dello stesso concetto e della sua importanza. Nella seconda parte della tesi verrà descritto nello specifico la rete dei servizi nel settore della salute mentale svolte sul territorio pisano con un attenzione particolare al Centro Basaglia, luogo in cui è stato possibile raccogliere i dati a testimonianza di tale ricerca

Of studenten gemotiveerder zijn als ze deelnemen aan leernetwerken? Vaak wel!

De Open Universiteit doet al enkele jaren onderzoek naar ‘netwerkleren’ onder leraren: de manier waarop zij in groepsverband een vraagstuk uit de praktijk proberen te begrijpen en op te lossen. Op dit moment focust dit onderzoek zich onder andere op studenten in deze ‘leernetwerken’. Hoe ervaren zij hun deelname bijvoorbeeld? En wat zijn succesfactoren

Students' basic psychological needs in blended teacher learning groups

Introduction: Student teachers (henceforth: students) in higher education often experience feelings of emotional loneliness that negatively impact upon their well-being and motivation to learn. Consequently, the importance of social learning for students has gained increased prominence, with Teacher Learning Groups (TLGs), that is, social configurations in which students, in-service teachers, and teacher educators, sometimes supplemented by researchers and/or experts, collaboratively learn through social interactions, being introduced in teacher training institutes. Ordinarily, TLGs organized their meetings face-to-face; however, due to COVID-19 measures, they had to rapidly transition to blended meetings, which in turn impacted upon students’ basic psychological needs. Methods: In the present study, a convergent parallel mixed-methods design was utilized. The variables Social Configurations (Practice integration, Long-term orientation and goals; Shared identity and equal relationships) and Basic Psychological Needs (Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness) were assessed through the use of qualitative interviews and by administering two online quantitative surveys: the “Dimensions of Social Learning Questionnaire” and the “Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale”. Seventy students completed the questionnaires, while 14 students were interviewed. The students were recruited from four teacher training institutes. Results: The analyses reveal that the more students perceive Shared identity and equal relationships in blended TLGs, the greater the fulfillment of Basic Psychological Needs they experience. Moreover, the more students experience the fulfillment of the need for Competence, the more students perceive TLGs’ Social Configurations. Discussion: Based on the findings, we conclude that, although in-depth learning is more challenging during distance learning, blended TLGs are valuable for students’ Basic Psychological Needs during unpredictable times

Does a more refined assessment of exposure to bitumen fume and confounders alter risk estimates from a nested case-control study of lung cancer among European asphalt workers?

Agostini, Michela Ferro, Gilles Burstyn, Igor de Vocht, Frank Portengen, Lutzen Olsson, Ann Boffetta, Paolo Kromhout, Hans eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2013/01/17 06:00 Occup Environ Med. 2013 Mar;70(3):195-202. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2012-100839. Epub 2013 Jan 15.International audienceOBJECTIVE: To investigate whether a refined assessment of exposure to bitumen fume among workers in the European asphalt industry within a nested case-control study resulted in a different interpretation pertaining to risk of lung cancer mortality compared with the cohort study. METHODS: Pearson correlation coefficients between refined and original estimates were calculated. Logistic regression and generalised additive models (penalised splines) were fitted to estimate ORs for exposure to bitumen fume using the refined and original exposure estimates, respectively, while adjusting for potential confounding. RESULTS: 1555 subjects included in the nested case-control study had both refined and original estimates for exposure to bitumen fume. Exposure assessment in the nested case-control study (compared with the cohort phase) increased the number of subjects never-exposed to bitumen fume from 18% to 32%. From the 1282 subjects originally considered exposed in the cohort phase, 309 (24%) became unexposed after the nested case-control exposure assessment. From the 273 subjects originally considered non-exposed in the cohort phase, 87 (32%) became exposed in the nested case-control study. The majority (75%) of subjects however did not change exposure status and changes were similar among cases and controls. Correlation coefficients between refined and original exposure estimates were moderate overall (range 0.42-0.46), but varied considerably among countries. The ORs and exposure-response curves for exposure to bitumen fume were not meaningfully different between analyses that used refined and original exposure estimates. Adjustment for tobacco smoking and exposure to coal tar did not change these patterns. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that more detailed data collection and exposure assessment in the nested case-control study compared with the cohort study did change exposure status of many subjects, but did not alter results of the exposure-response analysis. Adjustment for tobacco smoking did not have a noticeable effect on risk estimates either