Why do medical students fail? : a study of 1st year medical students and the educational context

A third of medical students at Birmingham Medical School fail one or more first year exams. Alarm has been raised about the apparent over-representation of ethnic minority students amongst those who fail. In this case study I ask: 1. Is there a connection between students’ ethnicity and performance in end of first year exams? 2. Is the experience of medical students at this medical school conducive to effective learning? 3. What, if anything, could be done to improve students’ learning? I show that there is a link between particular students and exam performance, but the link is with socio-economic background, not ethnicity. Students from a privileged background appear to perform better than students from a disadvantaged background. I argue that this may be due to an environment which is not conducive to effective learning. Using a range of research methods I describe how students are expected to support themselves intellectually to become independent learners while passive educational methods such as lectures and a heavy timetable are favoured and students receive limited formative feedback on their progress. The study ends positively, however, as I identify improvements that could be, and in some instances have been, made to the environment.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Significant benefits of AIP testing and clinical screening in familial isolated and young-onset pituitary tumors

Context Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene are responsible for a subset of familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) cases and sporadic pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Objective To compare prospectively diagnosed AIP mutation-positive (AIPmut) PitNET patients with clinically presenting patients and to compare the clinical characteristics of AIPmut and AIPneg PitNET patients. Design 12-year prospective, observational study. Participants & Setting We studied probands and family members of FIPA kindreds and sporadic patients with disease onset ≤18 years or macroadenomas with onset ≤30 years (n = 1477). This was a collaborative study conducted at referral centers for pituitary diseases. Interventions & Outcome AIP testing and clinical screening for pituitary disease. Comparison of characteristics of prospectively diagnosed (n = 22) vs clinically presenting AIPmut PitNET patients (n = 145), and AIPmut (n = 167) vs AIPneg PitNET patients (n = 1310). Results Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut PitNET patients had smaller lesions with less suprasellar extension or cavernous sinus invasion and required fewer treatments with fewer operations and no radiotherapy compared with clinically presenting cases; there were fewer cases with active disease and hypopituitarism at last follow-up. When comparing AIPmut and AIPneg cases, AIPmut patients were more often males, younger, more often had GH excess, pituitary apoplexy, suprasellar extension, and more patients required multimodal therapy, including radiotherapy. AIPmut patients (n = 136) with GH excess were taller than AIPneg counterparts (n = 650). Conclusions Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut patients show better outcomes than clinically presenting cases, demonstrating the benefits of genetic and clinical screening. AIP-related pituitary disease has a wide spectrum ranging from aggressively growing lesions to stable or indolent disease course

Why do medical students fail? a study of 1st year medical students and the educational context

A third of medical students at Birmingham Medical School fail one or more first year exams. Alarm has been raised about the apparent over-representation of ethnic minority students amongst those who fail. In this case study I ask: 1. Is there a connection between students’ ethnicity and performance in end of first year exams? 2. Is the experience of medical students at this medical school conducive to effective learning? 3. What, if anything, could be done to improve students’ learning? I show that there is a link between particular students and exam performance, but the link is with socio-economic background, not ethnicity. Students from a privileged background appear to perform better than students from a disadvantaged background. I argue that this may be due to an environment which is not conducive to effective learning. Using a range of research methods I describe how students are expected to support themselves intellectually to become independent learners while passive educational methods such as lectures and a heavy timetable are favoured and students receive limited formative feedback on their progress. The study ends positively, however, as I identify improvements that could be, and in some instances have been, made to the environment

Shoes for the Shoemaker’s Children: Providing an Accreditation Process for Programs Offered by Educational Developers

Educational developers in universities and colleges design, develop, and deliver courses and programs for professors and teaching assistants (TAs) to support teaching and learning in postsecondary institutions. While courses that professors and TAs teach are often accredited by the institution or a professional body, courses offered by educational developers are often not accredited at all. With this anomaly in mind, the Educational Developers Caucus (EDC) created a working group to first explore the appetite for a Canadian accreditation process, and then to design and implement a framework. This article describes the process and product of the accreditation working group and reports on an initial evaluation of its impact, arguing for its valuable contribution to enhancing the quality of faculty and TA development programs and courses and thereby of teaching and learning

La participation laisse à prévoir le travail individuel, mais pas le travail de groupe, dans le contexte d’un cours général hybride en éducation

Past research on face-to-face instructional delivery demonstrates that students’ participation is positively related to their achievement in a course (Rocca, 2010), and that participation mediates the relation between attendance and achievement (Kim et al., 2019). Given that blended learning is on the rise in higher education (Johnson et al., 2016), it is of growing interest to explore whether this positive association between participation and achievement holds in the context of blended learning. Here we investigated whether students’ participation was (a) predictive of their overall grade in the course and (b) differentially predictive of their grades on three different types of assessments: tests (test and quiz), written assignments (argumentative letter and critical essay), and oral activities (debate). The results of our regression analyses showed that participation grades were predictive of learning achievement in the course with respect to overall grade (R2=0.364; ß=0.365), test grade (R2=0.164; ß==0.327), and written grade (R2=0.212; ß=0.278). Participation was not predictive of oral grades as a whole; however, further analyses showed that students’ participation predicted the individual (vs. group-based) component of the oral grade (R2=0.045; ß=0.113). Thus, our findings demonstrate that students’ participation grades are predictive of their grades on assessments that are independent but not group-based, at least in the context of the blended course investigated in this study.Les recherches menées dans le passé sur la prestation de cours en personne montrent que la participation des étudiants et des étudiantes est liée positivement à leur réussite dans le cours (Rocca, 2010) et que la participation sert de médiateur dans la relation entre la présence en classe et la réussite (Kim et al, 2019). Étant donné que l’apprentissage hybride est de plus en plus populaire dans l’enseignement supérieur (Johnson et al, 2016), il devient de plus en plus intéressant d’explorer si cette association positive entre la participation et la réussite est toujours valable dans le contexte de l’apprentissage hybride. Dans cet article, nous enquêtons pour savoir si la participation des étudiants et des étudiantes (a) pouvait laisser prévoir leur note globale dans le cours et (b) pouvait laisser prévoir de façon différentielle leurs notes dans trois types de travaux : les tests (test et quiz), les devoirs écrits (lettre d’argumentation et essai critique) et les activités orales (débat). Les résultats de nos analyses de régression indiquent que les notes de participation pouvaient laisser prévoir les résultats d’apprentissage dans le cours en ce qui a trait à la note finale (R2=0.364; ß=0.365), à la note du test (R2=0.164; ß=0.3627) et à la note de l’écrit (R2=0.212; ß=0.278). La participation ne pouvait pas laisser prévoir les notes de l’oral dans son ensemble; toutefois, des analyses complémentaires ont indiqué que la participation des étudiants et des étudiantes laissait prévoir la composante individuelle (par rapport à la composante du groupe) de la note orale (R2=0.045; ß=0.113). Ainsi, nos résultats montrent que les notes de participation des étudiants et des étudiantes peuvent laisser prévoir leurs notes de devoirs et de travaux indépendants mais non pas pour le travail de groupe, tout au moins dans le contexte du cours hybride qui a fait l’objet de cette recherche

Drawing on the Principles of SoTL to Illuminate a Path Forward for the Scholarship of Educational Development

There has been growing discourse related to the importance of the scholarship of educational development (SoED), but less discussion related to clearly defining principles for guiding engagement in SoED or contextualizing SoED within literature related to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Expanding upon Felten’s (2013) principles for SoTL, as well as evolving discourse related to principles of educational development (e.g., Gibbs, 2013; Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010; Timmermans, 2014), this paper presents seven principles for SoED. Two additional principles (transforming practice and reflective practice) are added to Felten’s principles to further contextualize SoED in relation to educational development and SoTL. Three cases are provided to illustrate educational development, SoTL, and SoED within the context of these principles. The interrelationships between educational development, SoTL, and SoED are complex. While SoED offers many opportunities for further legitimizing the individual and collective practices in educational development, it also presents many additional tensions and questions for further research. On parle de plus en plus de l’importance de l’avancement des connaissances en pédagogie (ACP), mais on parle moins d’une définition claire des principes qui guident l’engagement en ACP ou de la contextualisation de l’ACP dans les publications de la recherche consacrée à l’avancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage (ACEA). Pour élargir la portée des principes pour l’ACEA présentés par Felten (2013), ainsi que celle du discours évolutif lié aux principes de la pédagogie (voir Gibbs, 2013; Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010; Timmermans, 2014), cet article présente sept principes pour l’ACP. Deux principes supplémentaires (transformation de la pratique et pratique réflective) sont ajoutés aux principes de Felten afin de contextualiser davantage l’ACP par rapport à la pédagogie et à l’ACEA. Trois cas sont présentés pour illustrer la pédagogie, l’ACEA et l’ACP dans le contexte de ces principes. Les relations entre la pédagogie, l’ACEA et l’ACP sont complexes. Alors que l’ACP offre de nombreuses possibilités pour rendre plus légitimes les pratiques individuelles et collectives en pédagogie, il présente également de nombreuses tensions et des questions supplémentaires qui pourront faire l’objet de davantage de recherche