Lecturer e-Training Program to Support University Teaching | Programme d’e-formation pour les chargés de cours pour appuyer l’enseignement universitaire

This article attempts to explore the extent to which Lecturer e-Training Program (LeP) supports lecturers in their preparation for student-centred teaching. LeP was conducted in a blended mode, that is, it involved an online self-paced learning module followed by an interactive online discussion and ended with a face-to-face action learning. It was compulsory for all lecturers in this university to enrol in LeP. The data collection involved distributing questionnaires to all 36 lecturers. After that, 16 lecturers were selected at random for one-to-one structured interviews. In this study, it was found that LeP contributed significantly to the lecturer preparation for student-centred teaching, in particular, Stage 2 (Online Discussion) and Stage 3 (Face-to-Face Action Learning). Lecturers in this university were mostly homogeneous with regard to culture. It would be interesting to test LeP across cultural diversity as it was believed Asians and Westerners think differently. Le présent article vise à explorer la mesure dans laquelle le Programme d’e-formation (Lecturer e-Training Program) appuie les chargés de cours dans leur préparation pour un enseignement centré sur l’étudiant. Le Programme a été réalisé en mode hybride, c’est-à-dire avec un module d’apprentissage en ligne à rythme libre, qui a été suivi d’une discussion interactive en ligne et finalement d’un apprentissage par l’action réalisé en personne. Tous les chargés de cours de cette université devaient s’inscrire au Programme. La collecte de données a consisté à distribuer des questionnaires aux 36 chargés de cours. Ensuite, 16 d’entre eux ont été choisis au hasard pour des entrevues structurées en tête-à-tête. Dans cette étude, on a conclu que le Programme contribuait de façon importante à la préparation du chargé de cours pour un enseignement centré sur l’étudiant, particulièrement le deuxième stade (discussion en ligne) et le troisième (apprentissage par l’action réalisé en personne). La culture des chargés de cours de cette université était surtout homogène. Il serait intéressant de tester le Programme à travers une diversité culturelle, car on croit que les personnes asiatiques et occidentales pensent différemment

Different Degrees of Blending Benefit Students Differently: A Pilot Study

We are constantly seeking for the best method to teach our students. Lecture style which is in existence for many years is still applicable to a certain extent. The birth of personal computer and Internet has resulted in wide spectrum of instructional strategies taking advantage of these two wonders. One of them is blended learning. The model used in this experiment has online and offline modes. For the online mode we used forum discussions to replace face-to-face instructions. Lecturers are introduced to various online activities that they can choose from in the forum discussions. One of the important aspects of blended learning is the integration of offline and online activities. The other aspect of the blended learning model is the offline mode or face-to-face teaching in the classroom. This experiment lasted for four weeks involving three lecturers and a total of 73 students. Each lecturer was given different degrees of blending in this experiment, that is, 25% online mode, 50% or 75% the highest online mode. For instance, in a 25% online mode students do not attend class for one week in a 4-week experiment. This study shows that students do view the new teaching method in a positive manner as many of them on average reported improvement in self study and time management skills. Whether different degrees of blending benefit students differently, this pilot study tends to show that there is no significant difference between the 25% and 75% groups in self study, attitude toward blended learning and forum participation

Problems Implementing Problem-Based Learning by a Private Malaysian University

In this case study the focus is on lecturers’ readiness in the design of PBL problems and to facilitate students’ learning. This paper also looks into students’ readiness in terms of acquiring metacognitive skills and collaborating in group to solve PBL problems. Problems encountered by both lecturers and students are discussed in the context of the chosen private Malaysian university

Prevalence and correlates of subjective cognitive impairment in Chinese psychiatric patients during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong

IntroductionThe extent of cognitive impairment and its association with psychological distress among people with pre-existing mental illness during COVID-19 is understudied. This study aimed to investigate prevalence and correlates of subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) in Chinese psychiatric patients during fifth-wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong (HK).MethodsFour-hundred-eight psychiatric outpatients aged 18–64 years were assessed with questionnaires between 28 March and 8 April 2022, encompassing illness profile, psychopathological symptoms, coping-styles, resilience, and COVID-19 related factors. Participants were categorized into moderate-to-severe and intact/mild cognitive impairment (CI+ vs. CI-) groups based on severity of self-reported cognitive complaints. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to determine variables associated with CI+ status.ResultsOne-hundred-ninety-nine participants (48.8%) experienced CI+. A multivariate model on psychopathological symptoms found that depressive and post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms were related to CI+, while a multivariate model on coping, resilience and COVID-19 related factors revealed that avoidant coping, low resilience and more stressors were associated with CI+. Final combined model demonstrated the best model performance and showed that more severe depressive and PTSD-like symptoms, and adoption of avoidant coping were significantly associated with CI+.ConclusionAlmost half of the sample of psychiatric patients reported cognitive complaints during fifth-wave of COVID-19 in HK. Greater depressive and PTSD-like symptom severity, and maladaptive (avoidant) coping were found as correlates of SCI. COVID-19 related factors were not independently associated with SCI in psychiatric patients. Early detection with targeted psychological interventions may therefore reduce psychological distress, and hence self-perceived cognitive difficulties in this vulnerable population

Table_1_Prevalence and correlates of subjective cognitive impairment in Chinese psychiatric patients during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong.DOCX

IntroductionThe extent of cognitive impairment and its association with psychological distress among people with pre-existing mental illness during COVID-19 is understudied. This study aimed to investigate prevalence and correlates of subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) in Chinese psychiatric patients during fifth-wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong (HK).MethodsFour-hundred-eight psychiatric outpatients aged 18–64 years were assessed with questionnaires between 28 March and 8 April 2022, encompassing illness profile, psychopathological symptoms, coping-styles, resilience, and COVID-19 related factors. Participants were categorized into moderate-to-severe and intact/mild cognitive impairment (CI+ vs. CI-) groups based on severity of self-reported cognitive complaints. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted to determine variables associated with CI+ status.ResultsOne-hundred-ninety-nine participants (48.8%) experienced CI+. A multivariate model on psychopathological symptoms found that depressive and post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD)-like symptoms were related to CI+, while a multivariate model on coping, resilience and COVID-19 related factors revealed that avoidant coping, low resilience and more stressors were associated with CI+. Final combined model demonstrated the best model performance and showed that more severe depressive and PTSD-like symptoms, and adoption of avoidant coping were significantly associated with CI+.ConclusionAlmost half of the sample of psychiatric patients reported cognitive complaints during fifth-wave of COVID-19 in HK. Greater depressive and PTSD-like symptom severity, and maladaptive (avoidant) coping were found as correlates of SCI. COVID-19 related factors were not independently associated with SCI in psychiatric patients. Early detection with targeted psychological interventions may therefore reduce psychological distress, and hence self-perceived cognitive difficulties in this vulnerable population.</p