A pre-post test evaluation of the impact of the PELICAN MDT-TME development programme on the working lives of colorectal cancer team members

Background - The PELICAN Multidisciplinary Team Total Mesorectal Excision (MDT-TME) Development Programme aimed to improve clinical outcomes for rectal cancer by educating colorectal cancer teams in precision surgery and related aspects of multidisciplinary care. The Programme reached almost all colorectal cancer teams across England. We took the opportunity to assess the impact of participating in this novel team-based Development Programme on the working lives of colorectal cancer team members. Methods - The impact of participating in the programme on team members' self-reported job stress, job satisfaction and team performance was assessed in a pre-post course study. 333/568 (59%) team members, from the 75 multidisciplinary teams who attended the final year of the Programme, completed questionnaires pre-course, and 6-8 weeks post-course. Results - Across all team members, the main sources of job satisfaction related to working in multidisciplinary teams; whilst feeling overloaded was the main source of job stress. Surgeons and clinical nurse specialists reported higher levels of job satisfaction than team members who do not provide direct patient care, whilst MDT coordinators reported the lowest levels of job satisfaction and job stress. Both job stress and satisfaction decreased after participating in the Programme for all team members. There was a small improvement in team performance. Conclusions - Participation in the Development Programme had a mixed impact on the working lives of team members in the immediate aftermath of attending. The decrease in team members' job stress may reflect the improved knowledge and skills conferred by the Programme. The decrease in job satisfaction may be the consequence of being unable to apply these skills immediately in clinical practice because of a lack of required infrastructure and/or equipment. In addition, whilst the Programme raised awareness of the challenges of teamworking, a greater focus on tackling these issues may have improved working lives further.

Predicting university success in psychology:are subject-specific skills important?

The relationship between previous academic achievement and subsequent success at university was explored in a retrospective study of 56 UK psychology students. It was found that the subjects studied at A-level, and the grades obtained, did not predict performance at university. In contrast, GCSE grades, in particular those achieved in Science and English, were significant predictors of final year marks. Once at university, first and second year results had an incremental ability to predict final year performance, with an additional effect of undertaking a work placement. The implications of the results are discussed within the context of recent literature relating to cognitive and non-cognitive predictors of academic performance.

The UK MPharm (1) - are we over reliant on traditional teaching methods?

Introduction-The design of the UK MPharm curriculum is driven by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) accreditation process and the EU directive (85/432/EEC).[1] Although the RPSGB is informed about teaching activity in UK Schools of Pharmacy (SOPs), there is no database which aggregates information to provide the whole picture of pharmacy education within the UK. The aim of the teaching, learning and assessment study [2] was to document and map current programmes in the 16 established SOPs. Recent developments in programme delivery have resulted in a focus on deep learning (for example, through problem based learning approaches) and on being more student centred and less didactic through lectures. The specific objectives of this part of the study were (a) to quantify the content and modes of delivery of material as described in course documentation and (b) having categorised the range of teaching methods, ask students to rate how important they perceived each one for their own learning (using a three point Likert scale: very important, fairly important or not important). Material and methods-The study design compared three datasets: (1) quantitative course document review, (2) qualitative staff interview and (3) quantitative student self completion survey. All 16 SOPs provided a set of their undergraduate course documentation for the year 2003/4. The documentation variables were entered into Excel tables. A self-completion questionnaire was administered to all year four undergraduates, using a pragmatic mixture of methods, (n=1847) in 15 SOPs within Great Britain. The survey data were analysed (n=741) using SPSS, excluding non-UK students who may have undertaken part of their studies within a non-UK university. Results and discussion-Interviews showed that individual teachers and course module leaders determine the choice of teaching methods used. Content review of the documentary evidence showed that 51% of the taught element of the course was delivered using lectures, 31% using practicals (includes computer aided learning) and 18% small group or interactive teaching. There was high uniformity across the schools for the first three years; variation in the final year was due to the project. The average number of hours per year across 15 schools (data for one school were not available) was: year 1: 408 hours; year 2: 401 hours; year 3: 387 hours; year 4: 401 hours. The survey showed that students perceived lectures to be the most important method of teaching after dispensing or clinical practicals. Taking the very important rating only: 94% (n=694) dispensing or clinical practicals; 75% (n=558) lectures; 52% (n=386) workshops, 50% (n=369) tutorials, 43% (n=318) directed study. Scientific laboratory practices were rated very important by only 31% (n=227). The study shows that teaching of pharmacy to undergraduates in the UK is still essentially didactic through a high proportion of formal lectures and with high levels of staff-student contact. Schools consider lectures still to be the most cost effective means of delivering the core syllabus to large cohorts of students. However, this does limit the scope for any optionality within teaching, the scope for small group work is reduced as is the opportunity to develop multi-professional learning or practice placements. Although novel teaching and learning techniques such as e-learning have expanded considerably over the past decade, schools of pharmacy have concentrated on lectures as the best way of coping with the huge expansion in student numbers. References [1] Council Directive. Concerning the coordination of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in respect of certain activities in the field of pharmacy. Official Journal of the European Communities 1985;85/432/EEC. [2] Wilson K, Jesson J, Langley C, Clarke L, Hatfield K. MPharm Programmes: Where are we now? Report commissioned by the Pharmacy Practice Research Trust., 2005.

Educating for sustainability in language degrees:a tale of 2 case-studies

Purpose According to the 2014 joint report drafted by the Quality Assurance Agency and Higher Education Academy (QAA/HEA), universities have a key role to play in the development of sustainability literate graduates who can contribute to an environmentally responsible society. In this paper, the authors aim to assess language students’ understanding of sustainable development (SD) issues. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 surveys two cohorts of final year language students about to enter the graduate job market, and Study 2 surveys first year language students before and after the inclusion of SD content in one of their modules. The questions to the students are provided along with qualitative and quantitative results. Findings Results suggest that only 48% of language graduates are currently aware that they will need to take account of the environmental impact of their work as professional practitioners, and 52% do not consider it appropriate to learn about SD during their degree. However, results also suggest that incorporating SD early on in the language curriculum could contribute positively to the development of sustainability literate graduates. Originality/value While many language departments are aware of the importance of integrating sustainability into their curricula, and while employers are increasingly demanding sustainability literate graduates, there is little evidence that language students leave university with a real understanding of sustainability issues. This paper presents evidence of the current situation as well as a novel way to integrate sustainability into the language curriculum in order to remedy the situation.

Impacts of distributed generation on low-voltage distribution network protection

This paper reports work of a MEng student final year project, which looks in detail at the impacts that distributed generation can have on existing low-voltage distribution network protection systems. After a review of up-to-date protection issues, this paper will investigate several key issues that face distributed generation connections when it comes to network protection systems. These issues include, the blinding of protection systems, failure to automatically reclose, unintentional islanding, loss of mains power and the false tripping of feeders. Each of these problems impacts on protection systems in its own way. This study aims to review and investigate these problems via simulation demonstrations on one representative network to recommend solutions to practices.

On the periphery of Europe:an investigation of the construction of Turkish-Cypriot adolescent identities

This research study investigates the identities of a group of adolescent Turkish Cypriot (TC) students in their final year of secondary education in northern Cyprus, which it is argued, lies on the periphery of Europe. The main aim is to explore the linguistic construction of TC youth identities within school contexts but primarily the classroom in a political context in which the uniquely ambiguous status of Turkish Cypriots within the European Union (EU) continues, and where Turkish Cypriots are considered to be Europeans as individuals but not as a separate political entity. A secondary focus is upon the students’ investment in learning the English language. Identity is defined as a lifelong process of 'the social positioning of self and the other' (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005:586) which is endlessly re-created (Tabouret-Keller, 1997) and the distinction between the terms 'identity' and 'identities' is discussed. The study explores the social construction of TC students' identities using an ethnomethodological case study. By using Conversation Analysis of selected extracts from the data collected through observations of classroom interactions, focus group discussions and interviews, the thesis shows that TC students perceive and enact 'in-betweener identities' in terms of their ethnicity, societal values, age, religion, languages and Europeanness. Being on the periphery of the EU, it is argued that the Turkish Cypriots of northern Cyprus are the ‘peripheral members of the EU, remaining present yet absent. They are personally EU citizens but not as a society and cannot be represented within EU institutions. But will they ever acquire full membership, as any peripheral member would aspire to have or will they remain in between occident and orient? The possible answers to this question and the resulting ideological associations will shape how and to what extent these TC students perceive and enact their identities.

Engineering for employability:a transition into CDIO

This paper draws upon the findings of a three year study which tracks an institutions journey of CDIO. In focusing on the student perspective the findings discuss students’ prior learning experiences and their expectations of university. The study considers students’ early perceptions of CDIO; emergent findings suggest that whilst CDIO is not really what students expect when they first arrive at university, most prefer it to ‘traditional lectures’. Indeed the majority indicate that they believe the approach enhances their employability and provides a more engaging learning experience. The conclusion argues that with its focus on problem-based learning and team-working, CDIO has changed the face of the 1st year experience for mechanical engineering and designed students within the university and that in doing so it has enhanced transition and ultimately promoted student success.

Encouraging student to reflect on their employment experience

The purpose behind this case study is to share with a wider audience of placement officers, tutors and those who are involved in the management of placement students or employment of graduates, the approach taken to encourage reflective learning in undergraduate placement students at Aston Business School. Reflective learning forms an important foundation of the placement year at Aston Business School, where a professional placement is a mandatory element of the four year degree, for all Home/EU students (optional for International students) who are taking a Single Honours degree (i.e. a fully business programme). The placement year is not compulsory for those students taking a Combined Honours degree (i.e. a degree where two unrelated subjects are studied), although approximately 50% of those students taking an Aston Business School subject opt to take a placement year. Students spend their year out undertaking a ‘proper’ job within a company or public sector organisation. They are normally paid a reasonable salary for their work (in 2004/5 the average advertised salary was £13,700 per annum). The placement year is assessed, carrying credits which amount to a contribution of 10% towards the students’ final degree. The assessment methods used require the students to submit an academic essay relating theory to practice, a factual report about the company which can be of use to future students, and a log book, the latter being the reflective piece of work. Encouragement to reflect on the placement year has always been an important feature of Aston Business School’s approach to learning. More recently, however, feedback from employers indicated that, although our students have excellent employability skills, “they do not think about them” (Aston Business School Advisory Panel, 2001). We, therefore, began some activities which would encourage students to go beyond the mere acquisition of skills and knowledge. This work became the basis of a programme of introductions to reflective learning, mentoring and awareness of different learning styles written up in Higson and Jones (2002). The idea was to get students used to the idea of reflection on their experiences well before they entered the placement year.