Requirements for effective academic leadership in Iran: A Nominal Group Technique exercise

Background. During the last two decades, medical education in Iran has shifted from elite to mass education, with a considerable increase in number of schools, faculties, and programs. Because of this transformation, it is a good case now to explore academic leadership in a non-western country. The objective of this study was to explore the views on effective academic leadership requirements held by key informants in Iran's medical education system. Methods. A nominal group study was conducted by strategic sampling in which participants were requested to discuss and report on requirements for academic leadership, suggestions and barriers. Written notes from the discussions were transcribed and subjected to content analysis. Results. Six themes of effective academic leadership emerged: 1)shared vision, goal, and strategy, 2) teaching and research leadership, 3) fair and efficient management, 4) mutual trust and respect, 5) development and recognition, and 6) transformational leadership. Current Iranian academic leadership suffers from lack of meritocracy, conservative leaders, politicization, bureaucracy, and belief in misconceptions. Conclusion. The structure of the Iranian medical university system is not supportive of effective academic leadership. However, participants' views on effective academic leadership are in line with what is also found in the western literature, that is, if the managers could create the premises for a supportive and transformational leadership, they could generate mutual trust and respect in academia and increase scientific production. © 2008 Bikmoradi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Interprofessional education in a student-led emergency department : a realist evaluation

This paper reports a realist evaluation undertaken to identify factors that facilitated or hindered the successful implementation of interprofessional clinical training for undergraduate students in an emergency department. A realist evaluation provides a framework for understanding how the context and underlying mechanisms affect the outcome patterns of an intervention. The researchers gathered both qualitative and quantitative data from internal documents, semi-structured interviews, observations and questionnaires to study what worked, for whom and under what circumstances in this specific interprofessional setting. The study participants were medical, nursing and physiotherapy students, their supervisors and two members of the emergency department’s management staff. The data analysis indicated that the emergency ward provided an excellent environment for interprofessional education (IPE), as attested by the students, supervisors and the clinical managers. An essential prerequisite is that the students have obtained adequate skills to work independently. Exemplary conditions for IPE to work well in an emergency department demand the continuity of effective and encouraging supervision throughout the training period and supervisors who are knowledgeable about developing a team

Virtual Reality for Health Professions Education: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by the Digital Health Education Collaboration

Background: Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that allows the user to explore and manipulate computer-generated real or artificial three-dimensional multimedia sensory environments in real time to gain practical knowledge that can be used in clinical practice. Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of VR for educating health professionals and improving their knowledge, cognitive skills, attitudes, and satisfaction. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the effectiveness of VR in pre- and postregistration health professions education following the gold standard Cochrane methodology. We searched 7 databases from the year 1990 to August 2017. No language restrictions were applied. We included randomized controlled trials and cluster-randomized trials. We independently selected studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias, and then, we compared the information in pairs. We contacted authors of the studies for additional information if necessary. All pooled analyses were based on random-effects models. We used the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach to rate the quality of the body of evidence. Results: A total of 31 studies (2407 participants) were included. Meta-analysis of 8 studies found that VR slightly improves postintervention knowledge scores when compared with traditional learning (standardized mean difference [SMD]=0.44; 95% CI 0.18-0.69; I2=49%; 603 participants; moderate certainty evidence) or other types of digital education such as online or offline digital education (SMD=0.43; 95% CI 0.07-0.79; I2=78%; 608 participants [8 studies]; low certainty evidence). Another meta-analysis of 4 studies found that VR improves health professionals’ cognitive skills when compared with traditional learning (SMD=1.12; 95% CI 0.81-1.43; I2=0%; 235 participants; large effect size; moderate certainty evidence). Two studies compared the effect of VR with other forms of digital education on skills, favoring the VR group (SMD=0.5; 95% CI 0.32-0.69; I2=0%; 467 participants; moderate effect size; low certainty evidence). The findings for attitudes and satisfaction were mixed and inconclusive. None of the studies reported any patient-related outcomes, behavior change, as well as unintended or adverse effects of VR. Overall, the certainty of evidence according to the GRADE criteria ranged from low to moderate. We downgraded our certainty of evidence primarily because of the risk of bias and/or inconsistency. Conclusions: We found evidence suggesting that VR improves postintervention knowledge and skills outcomes of health professionals when compared with traditional education or other types of digital education such as online or offline digital education. The findings on other outcomes are limited. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of immersive and interactive forms of VR and evaluate other outcomes such as attitude, satisfaction, cost-effectiveness, and clinical practice or behavior change.</br

Contextual adaptation of the Personnel Evaluation Standards for assessing faculty evaluation systems in developing countries: the case of Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Faculty evaluations can identify needs to be addressed in effective development programs. Generic evaluation models exist, but these require adaptation to a particular context of interest. We report on one approach to such adaptation in the context of medical education in Iran, which is integrated into the delivery and management of healthcare services nationwide.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a triangulation design, interviews with senior faculty leaders were conducted to identify relevant areas for faculty evaluation. We then adapted the published checklist of the Personnel Evaluation Standards to fit the Iranian medical universities' context by considering faculty members' diverse roles. Then the adapted instrument was administered to faculty at twelve medical schools in Iran.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The interviews revealed poor linkages between existing forms of development and evaluation, imbalance between the faculty work components and evaluated areas, inappropriate feedback and use of information in decision making. The principles of Personnel Evaluation Standards addressed almost all of these concerns and were used to assess the existing faculty evaluation system and also adapted to evaluate the core faculty roles. The survey response rate was 74%. Responses showed that the four principles in all faculty members' roles were met <it>occasionally </it>to <it>frequently</it>. Evaluation of teaching and research had the highest mean scores, while clinical and healthcare services, institutional administration, and self-development had the lowest mean scores. There were statistically significant differences between small medium and large medical schools (p < 0.000).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The adapted Personnel Evaluation Standards appears to be valid and applicable for monitoring and continuous improvement of a faculty evaluation system in the context of medical universities in Iran. The approach developed here provides a more balanced assessment of multiple faculty roles, including educational, clinical and healthcare services. In order to address identified deficiencies, the evaluation system should recognize, document, and uniformly reward those activities that are vital to the academic mission. Inclusion of personal developmental concerns in the evaluation discussion is essential for evaluation systems.</p

Simulation-Based VR Training for the Nuclear Sector&mdash;A Pilot Study

Simulation-based training has seen an increased use of extended reality, that is, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) displays. The health professions have been using VR for simulation-based training more extensively than others. This method can offer the possibility of immediate feedback, which promotes more accurate training to self-correct mistakes in environments that are otherwise risky or provide unsafe conditions. The nuclear industry has attempted to seize the same digital and educational transformation to train their personnel to handle dangerous scenarios. We ran a pilot study with the aim of evaluating the VR training scenario developed for the specific target group and the acceptance of the VR technology itself for this kind of training. We used the Kirkpatrick framework to evaluate the training and the VR-HAM acceptance model to evaluate the acceptance of VR. A VR scenario was developed to test specific technical skills of nuclear power plant personnel. The 13 participants showed results within the basic level of the Kirkpatrick framework and held both positive reactions and concerns, that is, they enjoyed the training with VR and expressed concerns regarding the stability of the VR technology. The participants also showed positive attitudes towards the perceived ease of use and usefulness of the VR-HAM and its various constructs. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic limited our testing, we could show valuable data and positive attitudes and perceived ease by the participants. Simulation-based VR training could be an important complement to traditional training methods, especially where safety is a priority, but we still need to provide solid evidence

Learning in focus : Rethinking the role of technology in medical education

Educational computer applications have flooded into all fields of education, especially during the past few decades. Medicine is one such domain where technology has overwhelmingly entered the educational sphere, pushed by policy-makers and leaders who thought better to embrace it before even considering it. Study I shows that this is in fact still the case. The choice of a learning platform was solely economic, and the results of the study revealed that students expressed readiness to and positive attitudes towards information technology in education and exposed a possible benefit from its use in the long run. However, they also suggested negative opinions about the learning management system used in their coursework, suggesting a need for change of the technology. This study provides evidence that in order for computer-based systems to be effective they must be designed and implemented with care, otherwise they may risk to lower students interest and activation. Study II explored whether students approaches to learning related to their perception of the same learning platform already mentioned. Scales of the ASSIST questionnaire loaded in a two-principal components solution, surface and deep-strategic. We found statistically significant correlations between approaches to learning and students attitudes toward ICT. We concluded that early identification of approaches to learning and attitudes toward ICT may prove important in order to provide assistance to and aid the transition of students with diverse individual characteristics and to the design of new learning environments. In Study III we observed the pilot implementation of 3D Embryo, an interactive multi-dimensional animation. Students were overwhelmingly positive about the application. However, there was no statistical difference between the control and experimental groups on a performance test. A positive trend was found between deep processing and general test score. Also statistical significance was found between deep processing and three-dimensional perception. The essential result was that of deep learning being more decisive than the interactive application itself in the learning task. Even though interactive multimedia may not be superior as a learning tool, they offer the opportunity to extend the possibilities of the traditional learning environment. The evidence that students who adopted deep processing performed better generally and especially in the spatial task is a key finding that calls for future studies on medical anatomy expertise and transfer. Study IV proposed a both theoretical and practical framework that attempted to provide information and scaffolding mainly to teachers, course designers and administrators who currently face the initiative of implementing innovation, in all its forms, in the education system. But it could be also informative for policy-makers and educational officers. It aims at helping all these different actors with issues of analysis of, leading and sustaining innovation in medical education; it provides with the kind of information to be considered at each step of the innovation process in order to make decisions and reach set objectives; it suggests how to process the data generated from the analysis; and how to feed the results back into the process of innovation. In addition, it provides these actors with practical information on how to analyse innovation through the approach of Activity Theory and implement it through Participation Action Research. This last study ties together the other studies and grounds them to several theoretical frameworks. It indicates that educational technology is not the answer to our educational problems, but a multi-function tool at our disposal with teacher and student at the centre. Educational technology can most definitely lend us a hand in the effort of renovating medical education. Therefore, issues of implementation become central for the success of educational technology, but they must be based on sound scientific approach, educational theories, procedures and techniques

SBGTool v2.0: An Empirical Study on a Similarity-Based Grouping Tool for Students’ Learning Outcomes

Visual Learning Analytics (VLA) tools and technologies enable meaningful exchange of information between educational data and teachers. This allows teachers to create meaningful groups of students based on possible collaboration and productive discussions. VLA tools also allow to better understand students' educational demands. Finding similar samples in huge educational datasets, however, involves the use of effective similarity measures that represent the teacher's purpose. In this study, we conducted a user study and improved our web-based VLA tool, Similarity-Based Grouping (SBGTool), to help teachers categorize students into groups based on their similar learning outcomes and activities. SBGTool v2.0 differs from SBGTool due to design changes made in response to teacher suggestions, the addition of sorting options to the dashboard table, the addition of a dropdown component to group the students into classrooms and improvement in some visualizations. To counteract colour-blindness, we have also considered a number of color palettes. By applying SBGTool v2.0, teachers may compare the outcomes of individual students inside a classroom, determine which subjects are the most and least difficult over the period of a week or an academic year, identify the number of correct and incorrect responses for the most difficult and easiest subjects, categorize students into various groups based on their learning outcomes, discover the week with the most interactions for examining students' engagement, and find the relationship between students’ activity and study success. We used 10,000 random samples from the EdNet dataset, a large-scale hierarchical educational dataset consisting of student-system interactions from multiple platforms at the university level, collected over a two-year period, to illustrate the tool's efficacy. Finally, we provide the outcomes of the user study that evaluated the tool's effectiveness. The results revealed that even with limited training, the participants were able to complete the required analysis tasks. Additionally, the participants’ feedback showed that the SBGTool v2.0 gained a good level of support for the given tasks, and it had the potential to assist teachers in enhancing collaborative learning in their classrooms

SAVis : a Learning Analytics Dashboard with Interactive Visualization and Machine Learning

A dashboard that provides a central location to monitor and analyze data is an efficient way to track multiple data sources. In the educational community, for example, using dashboards can be a straightforward introduction into the concepts of visual learning analytics. In this paper, the design and implementation of Student Activity Visualization (SAVis), a new Learning Analytics Dashboard (LAD) using interactive visualization and Machine Learning (ML) is presented and discussed. The design of the dashboard was directed towards answering a set of 22 pedagogical questions that teachers might want to investigate in an educational dataset. We evaluate SAVis with an educational dataset containing more than two million samples, including the learning behaviors of 6,423 students who used a web-based learning platform for one year. We show how SAVis can deliver relevant information to teachers and support them to interact with and analyze the students’ data to gain a better overview of students’ activities in terms of, for example, their performance in number of correct/incorrect answers per each topic

Towards a Teacher-Oriented Framework of Visual Learning Analytics by Scenario-Based Development

Visual Learning Analytics (VLA) tools (such as dashboards) serve as a centralized hub for monitoring and analyzing educational data. Dashboards can assist teachers in data-informed pedagogical decision-making and/or students in following their own learning progress. However, the design of VLA tools should include features of trust in order to make analytics overt among its users. In this study, we propose a framework for the development of VLA tools from beginning to end that describes how we intend to develop the digital and technical infrastructure in our project for teachers. With that aim, we offer one scenario describing how data is managed, transferred, analyzed, and visualized by teachers. The suggested framework intends to make it easier for developers to understand the various steps involved in co-designing and developing a reliable VLA tool and to comprehend the importance of the teacher’s participation in design. VLA tools developed based on the proposed framework have the potential to assist teachers in understanding and analyzing educational data, monitoring students’ learning paths based on their learning outcomes and activities, simplifying regular tasks, and giving teachers more time to support teaching/learning and growth