Enhancing Quality Teaching Through Informal Community Learning In Knowledge Centres

Teaching and learning have always been at the heart of the missions of universities. The growing interest nowadays to pay attention to the quality of higher education teaching results in initiatives such as the establishment of Teaching and Learning Centres (TLCs). The Academy for Learning and Teaching (ALT) at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has recently been created, and it is still under construction, with the purpose of promoting quality of teaching through engaging staff in interaction and in learning lessons from evidence-based educational practices and innovation in engineering education. Furthermore, ALT supports the professional development of faculty teaching staff through Learning Communities (LCs) as informal learning mechanisms that stimulate knowledge sharing about engineering education experiences across departments (and universities). LCs facilitate interaction with peers, discussions on educational practices, working in teams, and exposing academic and education support staff to have access to state-of-the-art research and information on educational issues. LCs are organized by themes, such as Digitalization, that cover topics relevant to innovative practices, e.g., Learning Analytics, Artificial Intelligence in education or Digital Assessment. The purpose of this study is to present the ALT model as a knowledge centre in engineering education that stimulates the advancement of quality teaching. Specifically, we analyze successful factors to constitute Learning Communities, as well as, the motivation of the teaching staff to participate in the LC associated to the TU/e ALT. ALT may serve as an inspiring model for other engineering and technical higher education institutions and universities wishing to promote professional development of teachers.</p

Coaching practices in challenge-based learning:Characteristics in students' projects

Coaching students in CBL settings requires specific approaches. Although CBL has similar characteristics as Design-based learning (DBL), the educational concept and approach applied in the engineering programs at the Eindhoven University of Technology for over the past twenty years, CBL evolves from the DBL concept to emphasize the importance of addressing the sustainable development goals in education. Despite the fact that DBL coaching characteristics have been investigated, it becomes interesting to research these practices in CBL settings. The aim of this research study was to investigate coaching practices and explore differences among experienced coaches versus novice coaches, and the influence of the project set-up (e.g. group versus individual projects). The study was conducted in the department of Industrial Design, where students work on open- ended and hands-on challenges in groups or individually in the squad, an educational organizational form, where education and research come together. Project coaches and teacher coaches support the students to gain and apply knowledge and in the supervision of self-directed learning. The research method consisted of observations of coaching sessions (N=9), and semi-structured individual interviews with coaches (N=13 coaches) of various levels of experiences. Semistructured interviews with individual (N=14) and groups of students (N=3) took place. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis and categories within the framework of coaching in Design-based Learning by Gómez Puente (2013) and the theoretical framework of Cognitive Apprenticeship by Collins (1991). Results indicate that the 3 most frequently used coaching practices are a) asking open-ended questions; b) providing feedback on progress in technical design and design process; c) encouraging students to explore alternatives for problem solving using different perspectives. The results are in line with teaching the discipline as design process are embedded in uncertain and creative undertakings in which students are motivated to think big in proposing solutions. Novice coaches focused more on technical design while more experienced coaches encouraged students to reflect on their learning process and to become more self-regulated learners.</p

Local sclerotherapy with Polydocanol (Aethoxysklerol®) for the treatment of Epistaxis in Rendu-Osler-Weber or Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT): 15 years of experience*

Producción CientíficaHereditary Haemorrhagic Telangiectasia or Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant vascular disease characterized by mucocutaneous and gastrointestinal telangiectases and localized arteriovenous malformations in lung, brain and liver. Epistaxis, due to rupture of telangiectases of the nasal mucosa, is the most frequent clinical manifestation, leading in many cases to severe impairment of the quality of life in the patients. Though several treatments have been used to reduce epistaxis, none have been completely effective, with the exception of polydocanol (Aethoxysklerol®) in submucosal or subpericondrial injections, which was first presented in 2000 with very good results. After fifteen years using polydocanol in submucosal injections on 45 patients and with nearly 300 injections, we have observed that in 95% of all cases, their nose bleeds improved with respect to frequency and quantity without any important side effects. There was just one case of septal perforation, another with increased septal perforation, and one patient who suffered from dizziness and blurred vision for a few minutes. In this paper the results obtained using this technique over a fifteen-year period will be presented and evaluated

Solvent-Free Preparation of 1,8-Dioxo-Octahydroxanthenes Employing Iron Oxide Nanomaterials

In this study, 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthenes were prepared employing a simple, effective and environmentally sound approach utilizing an iron oxide nanocatalyst under solventless conditions. The proposed iron oxide nanomaterial exhibited high product yields, short reaction times and a facile work-up procedure. The synthesized catalyst was also found to be highly stable and reusable under the investigated conditions (up to twelve consecutive cycles) without any significant loss in its catalytic activity

Spanish Preanalytical Quality Monitoring Program (SEQC), an overview of 12 years' experience

Preanalytical variables, such as sample collection, handling and transport, may affect patient results. Preanalytical phase quality monitoring should be established in order to minimize laboratory errors and improve patient safety. A retrospective study (2001-2013) of the results obtained through the Spanish Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Pathology (SEQC) External quality assessment (preanalytical phase) was performed to summarize data regarding the main factors affecting preanalytical phase quality. Our aim was to compare data from 2006 to 2013 with a previously published manuscript assessing the 2001-2005 period. A significant decrease in rejection rates was observed both for blood and urine samples. For serum samples, the most frequent rejection causes in the first period were non-received samples (37.5%), hemolysis (29.3%) and clotted samples (14.4%). Conversely, in the second period, hemolysis was the main rejection cause (36.2%), followed by non-received samples (34.5%) and clotted samples (11.1%). For urine samples, the main rejection cause overall was a non-received sample (up to 86.1% of cases in the second period, and 81.6% in the first). For blood samples with anticoagulant, the number of rejections also decreased. While plasma-citrate-ESR still showed the highest percentages of rejections (0.980% vs. 1.473%, p<0.001), the lowest corresponded to whole-blood EDTA (0.296% vs. 0.381%, p<0.001). For the majority of sample types, a decrease in preanalytical errors was confirmed. Improvements in organization, implementation of standardized procedures in the preanalytical phase, and participation in a Spanish external quality assessment scheme may have notably contributed to error reduction in this phase

Corrigendum to: Preanalytical issues related to routine and diagnostic glucose tests: Results from a survey in Spain

This is a correction of Biochem Med (Zagreb) 2020;30(1):010704. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11613/ BM.2020.01070