Explicitly teaching teamwork and written communication within a problem based curriculum: development of a generalised framework

CONTEXT Recent years have seen the growing importance of employability skills for engineering graduate success. Beyond disciplinary specific capabilities, employers increasingly expect graduates to be proficient in skills that are transferrable across employment contexts; specifically, “the ability to communicate, collaborate and operate effectively within an industry environment” (Deloitte Access Economics, 2014, p. 3). However, there are concerns that current undergraduate programs, both in Australia and internationally, are producing graduates without the requisite proficiency in employability skills to flourish in their profession. According to the European Commission (2015), “the successful development of [employability] skills requires an education system capable of preparing students through more active and problem-based learning approaches, using assignments from the ‘real world’ and including support for risk taking and creativity” (p. 4). Nonetheless, within a problem based curriculum, skills development must be explicit. In particular, teamwork skills are “not likely to emerge spontaneously” (Hughes and Jones, 2011, p. 60). Effective implementation of explicit skills development within a problem based learning environment (PBL) remains an open research question. PURPOSE This paper reports on the development of a generalised pedagogical framework for explicitly scaffolding written communication and teamwork skills within a PBL curriculum. APPROACH Over several years, employability skills development within an Australian mechanical engineering degree program was evaluated using curriculum mapping, student performance, and staff and student feedback. This evaluation reviewed employability skills needs of graduates, and investigated why such skills were being underdeveloped within the curriculum, despite widespread application in learning and assessment tasks. Evaluation findings informed the development of a pedagogical framework, designed to explicitly address the employability skills shortfall within a PBL curriculum. RESULTS The study highlighted that the development of written communication and teamwork skills were largely assumed within the engineering degree program. Learning modules or experiences devoted to developing these skills were either rare (as with written communication) or largely absent (as with teamwork). Additionally, many large projects utilising these skills comprised a single, culminating assessment task, without opportunity for students to reflect on skills development or apply instructor feedback from one task to the next. Hence, a PBL subject structure was developed, integrating explicit instruction on written communication and teamwork, and allowing scaffolded reflection and performance enhancement within a single teaching period to assure learning. CONCLUSION The PBL framework intentionally scaffolds written communication and teamwork skills within a single subject, making possible accelerated and contextualised employability skills development. This framework has applicability across subjects, year levels and disciplinary contexts

Hiding in plain view: the potential for commonly used drugs to reduce breast cancer mortality

Many medications have been developed for one purpose but then are found to have other clinical activities. There is tremendous interest in whether non-cancer medications may potentially have effects on breast cancer survival. In this review article, we have presented and evaluated the evidence for several commonly used over-the-counter and prescription medications - including aspirin (and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, statins, digoxin, and metformin - that have been evaluated among breast cancer survivors in prospective studies. Substantial scientific evidence supports the hypothesis that some of these common and relatively safe drugs may reduce breast cancer mortality among those with the disease by an amount that rivals the mortality reduction gained by currently used therapies. In particular, the evidence is strongest for aspirin (approximately 50% reduction), statins (approximately 25% reduction), and metformin (approximately 50% reduction). As these drugs are generic and inexpensive, there is little incentive for the pharmaceutical industry to fund the randomized trials that would show their effectiveness definitively. We advocate that confirmation of these findings in randomized trials be considered a high research priority, as the potential impact on human lives saved could be immense

Who does what now? How physics lab instruction impacts student behaviors

While laboratory instruction is a cornerstone of physics education, the impact of student behaviours in labs on retention, persistence in the field, and the formation of students' physics identity remains an open question. In this study, we performed in-lab observations of student actions over two semesters in two pedagogically different sections of the same introductory physics course. We used a cluster analysis to identify different categories of student behaviour and analyzed how they correlate with lab structure and gender. We find that, in lab structures which fostered collaborative group work and promoted decision making, there was a task division along gender lines with respect to laptop and equipment usage (and found no such divide among students in guided verification labs).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 3 table

Engaging rural residents in patient-centered health care research

Patient engagement is increasingly recognized as a critical component in improving health care. Yet, there remains a gap in our understanding of the intricacies of rural patient engagement in health-related research. This article describes the process of engaging rural patients, caregivers and broader stakeholders to actively participate in an exploratory effort to understand rural perspectives around the patient-centered medical home model. Highlights of the project’s engagement activities demonstrate how giving voice to rural residents can have a significant impact. Lessons learned point to the importance of six factors for successful engagement of rural residents as partners in health care research: building relationships, defining expectations, establishing communication guidelines, developing shared understanding, facilitating dialogue, and valuing contributions

Educators’ Perspectives on the Use of Restorative Practices in Urban High Schools

African American youth are suspended and expelled at a higher rate than their nonminority (White) counterparts. Punitive processes such as zero-tolerance policies result in suspensions and expulsions, removing African American youth out of the classroom, and increasing the risk of dropping out and diminishing opportunities for academic success. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of restorative practices in urban high schools through the perspectives of urban educators. For the purpose of this study, the term urban was defined as predominantly African American. The theoretical foundation of this basic qualitative research was Canter and Canter’s assertive behavior model. The research questions guiding this study focused on the perspectives on school discipline of educators regarding the use of restorative practices; the ways that restorative practices influenced educators’ attitudes toward the role of school discipline; and the ways that perspectives of teachers, deans, and administrators differ on the use of restorative practices with urban high school youth. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 participants who used restorative practices in urban high schools. Data analysis included coding and the identification of themes. Findings revealed that educators most often used restorative practices for physical or verbal altercations; restorative practices had some influence on disciplinary decisions; and there were pros and cons to using restorative practices. This study may influence positive social change by informing other educators in urban high schools who use restorative practices, of ways to improve staff and student relationships, which could minimize negative behaviors and out-of-school suspensions

Misdiagnosis, Mistreatment, and Harm - When Medical Care Ignores Social Forces.

The Case Studies in Social Medicine demonstrate that when physicians use only biologic or individual behavioral interventions to treat diseases that stem from or are exacerbated by social factors, we risk harming the patients we seek to serve