26 research outputs found
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 studentsâ 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 studentsâ 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
Turning the Tables: Involving Undergrads as Researchers in SoTL
We report on the experience of working on a research project where students and faculty worked together as peers. The project investigated the challenges and enablers that helped or hindered faculty engage in SoTL work, and what might help encourage their colleagues to engage. The findings were instrumental in identifying components for a guide for SoTL. The findings from the study have been published elsewhere. In this paper we report on the experience of two undergraduate students who took a central role guided by experienced researchers, in collating, coding and analyzing the results, and of two experienced researchers. We share a brief overview of the project and its outcomes, provide detail of the involvement of the students and hear from them and the researchers about the experience of taking part in the project. The findings from both the original study and the student experiences will be of interest to others interested in work in this field
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 â€18 years or macroadenomas with onset â€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 studentsâ 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 studentsâ 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 Shoemakerâs 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 Ă prĂ©voir le travail individuel, mais pas le travail de groupe, dans le contexte dâun cours gĂ©nĂ©ral hybride en Ă©ducation
Past research on face-to-face instructional delivery demonstrates that studentsâ 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 studentsâ 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; Ă=0.365), test grade (R2=0.164; Ă==0.327), and written grade (R2=0.212; Ă=0.278). Participation was not predictive of oral grades as a whole; however, further analyses showed that studentsâ participation predicted the individual (vs. group-based) component of the oral grade (R2=0.045; Ă=0.113). Thus, our findings demonstrate that studentsâ 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 menĂ©es dans le passĂ© sur la prestation de cours en personne montrent que la participation des Ă©tudiants et des Ă©tudiantes est liĂ©e positivement Ă leur rĂ©ussite dans le cours (Rocca, 2010) et que la participation sert de mĂ©diateur dans la relation entre la prĂ©sence en classe et la rĂ©ussite (Kim et al, 2019). Ătant donnĂ© que lâapprentissage hybride est de plus en plus populaire dans lâenseignement supĂ©rieur (Johnson et al, 2016), il devient de plus en plus intĂ©ressant dâexplorer si cette association positive entre la participation et la rĂ©ussite est toujours valable dans le contexte de lâapprentissage hybride. Dans cet article, nous enquĂȘtons pour savoir si la participation des Ă©tudiants et des Ă©tudiantes (a) pouvait laisser prĂ©voir leur note globale dans le cours et (b) pouvait laisser prĂ©voir de façon diffĂ©rentielle leurs notes dans trois types de travaux : les tests (test et quiz), les devoirs Ă©crits (lettre dâargumentation et essai critique) et les activitĂ©s orales (dĂ©bat). Les rĂ©sultats de nos analyses de rĂ©gression indiquent que les notes de participation pouvaient laisser prĂ©voir les rĂ©sultats dâapprentissage dans le cours en ce qui a trait Ă la note finale (R2=0.364; Ă=0.365), Ă la note du test (R2=0.164; Ă=0.3627) et Ă la note de lâĂ©crit (R2=0.212; Ă=0.278). La participation ne pouvait pas laisser prĂ©voir les notes de lâoral dans son ensemble; toutefois, des analyses complĂ©mentaires ont indiquĂ© que la participation des Ă©tudiants et des Ă©tudiantes laissait prĂ©voir la composante individuelle (par rapport Ă la composante du groupe) de la note orale (R2=0.045; Ă=0.113). Ainsi, nos rĂ©sultats montrent que les notes de participation des Ă©tudiants et des Ă©tudiantes peuvent laisser prĂ©voir leurs notes de devoirs et de travaux indĂ©pendants mais non pas pour le travail de groupe, tout au moins dans le contexte du cours hybride qui a fait lâobjet 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 Feltenâs (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 Feltenâs 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 lâimportance de lâavancement des connaissances en pĂ©dagogie (ACP), mais on parle moins dâune dĂ©finition claire des principes qui guident lâengagement en ACP ou de la contextualisation de lâACP dans les publications de la recherche consacrĂ©e Ă lâavancement des connaissances en enseignement et en apprentissage (ACEA). Pour Ă©largir la portĂ©e des principes pour lâACEA prĂ©sentĂ©s par Felten (2013), ainsi que celle du discours Ă©volutif liĂ© aux principes de la pĂ©dagogie (voir Gibbs, 2013; Taylor & Rege Colet, 2010; Timmermans, 2014), cet article prĂ©sente sept principes pour lâACP. Deux principes supplĂ©mentaires (transformation de la pratique et pratique rĂ©flective) sont ajoutĂ©s aux principes de Felten afin de contextualiser davantage lâACP par rapport Ă la pĂ©dagogie et Ă lâACEA. Trois cas sont prĂ©sentĂ©s pour illustrer la pĂ©dagogie, lâACEA et lâACP dans le contexte de ces principes. Les relations entre la pĂ©dagogie, lâACEA et lâACP sont complexes. Alors que lâACP offre de nombreuses possibilitĂ©s pour rendre plus lĂ©gitimes les pratiques individuelles et collectives en pĂ©dagogie, il prĂ©sente Ă©galement de nombreuses tensions et des questions supplĂ©mentaires qui pourront faire lâobjet de davantage de recherche