Interactive Learning in Library Inductions at University for the Creative Arts

Large group library inductions in a lecture theatre at the beginning of term are considered to be one of the more challenging scenarios for delivery. This article describes an activity in which students in groups of 30-90 are introduced to the library and its resources, using an activity to engage them and to connect their ideas with the content presented. The work of several educational theorists embodied in the activity is then described. The session was conceived as a collaboration between the Learning and Teaching Librarian and the Learning Development Tutor, who is responsible for supporting students with their reading, writing and critical skills. This work was done at University for the Creative Arts, where the author formerly held post as Learning and teaching Librarian.

Bespoke Radiology e-Learning

Introduction: Foundation doctors are expected to assess and interpret plain x-ray studies of the chest/abdomen before a definitive report is issued by senior staff. The Royal College of Radiologists have published guidelines (RCR curriculum) on the scope of plain film findings medical students should be familiar with.1 Studies have shown that the x-ray interpretation without feedback does not significantly improve diagnostic ability. 2 Queen’s University, Belfast Trust Radiology and Experior Medical developed an online system to assess individual student ability to interpret X-ray findings. Over a series of assessments each student’s profile is built up, identifying strengths and weakness. The system can then create bespoke individual assessments re-evaluating previously identified weak areas and quantifying interpretative skill improvement. Aim: To determine how readily an online system is adopted by senior medical students, investigating if increasing exposure to x-ray interpretation combined with cyclical formative feedback enhances performance. Methods: The system was offered to all 270 final year medical students as an online resource. The system comprised a series of 20 weekly 30 minute assessments, containing normal and abnormal x-rays within the RCR curriculum. After each assessment students were given formative feedback, including their own result, annotated answers, peer group comparison and a breakdown of areas of strength and weakness. Focus groups of 4-5 students addressed student perspectives of the system, including ease of use, image resolution, system performance across different operating platforms, perceived value of formative feedback loops, breakdown of performance and the value of bespoke personalised assessments. Research Ethics Approval was granted for the study. Data analysis was via two-sided one-sample t-test; initial minimal recruitment was estimated as 60 students, to detect a mean 10% change in performance, with a standard deviation of 20%. Results and Discussion: Over 80% (n = XXX/270) of the student cohort engaged with the study. Student baseline average was 39%, increasing to 62% by the exit test. The steadily sustained improvement (57% relative performance in interpretative diagnostic accuracy) was despite increasing test difficulty. Student feedback via focus groups was universally positive throughout the examined domains. Conclusion: The online resource proved to be valuable, with high levels of student engagement, improving performance despite increasingly difficulty testing and positive learner experience with the system. References: 1. Undergraduate Radiology Curriculum, The Royal College of Ra, April 2012. Ref No. BFCR(12)4 The Royal College of Radiologists, April 2012 2. I Satia, S Bashagha, A Bibi, R Ahmed, S Mellor, F Zaman. Assessing the accuracy and certainty in interpretating chest x-rays in the medical division. Clin Med August 2013 Vol.13 no. 4 349-352

Learning environment, preparedness and satisfaction in osteopathy in Europe: The PreSS study

Objective: 1) to assess the preparedness to practice and satisfaction in learning environment amongst new graduates from European osteopathic institutions; 2) to compare the results of preparedness to practice and satisfaction in learning environment between and within countries where osteopathy is regulated and where regulation is still to be achieved; 3) to identify possible correlations between learning environment and preparedness to practice. Method: Osteopathic education providers of full-time education located in Europe were enrolled, and their final year students were contacted to complete a survey. Measures used were: Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and a demographic questionnaire. Scores were compared across institutions using one-way ANOVA and generalised linear model. Results: Nine European osteopathic education institutions participated in the study (4 located in Italy, 2 in the UK, 1 in France, 1 in Belgium and 1 in the Netherlands) and 243 (77%) of their final-year students completed the survey. The DREEM total score mean was 121.4 (SEM: 1.66) whilst the AAMC was 17.58 (SEM:0.35). A generalised linear model found a significant association between not-regulated countries and total score as well as subscales DREEM scores (p<0.001). Learning environment and preparedness to practice were significantly positively correlated (r=0.76; p<0.01). Discussion: A perceived higher level of preparedness and satisfaction was found amongst students from osteopathic institutions located in countries without regulation compared to those located in countries where osteopathy is regulated; however, all institutions obtained a 'more positive than negative' result. Moreover, in general, cohorts with fewer than 20 students scored significantly higher compared to larger student cohorts. Finally, an overall positive correlation between students' preparedness and satisfaction were found across all institutions recruited.

Promoting oral health in adults with learning disability

Introduction: It is complex to define learning disabilities, there is no single universal definition used; there are different interpretations and definitions used for learning disabilities in different countries and communities. Primarily, the term “learning disability” sometimes used as “learning difficulties” is a term widely used in UK. There are various types and degree of severity of learning disabilities depending upon the extent of disorder. Though different definitions used all over the world, its types and classification coupled with their health and oral health needs are discussed in this review. Objectives:  To review the background literature on definitions of learning disabilities and health needs of this population.  To review literature on individual clinical preventive intervention to determine the effectiveness in promoting oral health amongst adults in learning disabilities.  To review literature in relation to community based preventive dental measures.  To determine the interventions in this areas are appropriate to support policy and practice and if these interventions establish good evidence to suggest that the oral health needs of adults with learning disabilities are met or not.  To make recommendations in implementing future preventive oral health interventions for adults with learning disabilities. Methodology: It was develop a comprehensive narrative synthesis of previously published literature from different sources and summarizes the whole research in a particular area identifying gap of knowledge. It provides a broad perspective of a subject and supports continuing education. It also is directed to inform policy and further research. It is a qualitative type of research with a broad question and critical analysis of literature published in books, article and journals. The research question evaluated on PICOS criteria is: Effectiveness of preventive dental interventions in adults with learning disabilities. The research question clearly defines the PICOS i.e. participants, interventions, comparison, outcome and study design. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews (CDSR), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of effects (DARE) through York University and National institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) was searched to identify need of this review. There was no literature review found on the preventive dental interventions found hence, justifying this review. The guidance used in this review is from York University and methods opted for search of literature is based on the following: Type of participants, interventions, outcome measure, studies and search. The review of literature; author search; systematic and narrative reviews, through the following electronic databases via UFP library services: Pub-Med, Medline, EMBASE, CINHAL, Google scholar; Science Direct; Social and Medicine. A comprehensive search of all available literature from 1990-2015, including systematic reviews, policy documents and some guideline documents was done. Internet resource used to access; Department of Health, World Health Organization, Disability World, Disability Rights Commission, the Stationery office, MENCAP, Australian Learning Disability Association. The literature search was carried out with single word, combined words and phrases, authors' names and the title of literature search. Results: It is primarily looking at the oral health interventions available for adults with learning disabilities in clinical settings and the community measures observed over a period of 25 years 1990-2015. There were 7of the clinical intervention studies and one community based intervention study was added in this review. Conclusion: There is a gap of knowledge identified in not having ample research in the area of preventive dental interventions in adults with learning or intellectual disabilities and there is a need of more research, studies need to be of a better quality and a special consideration is required in the community settings where maintenance of oral hygiene for this vulnerable group of society is hugely dependent on their caregivers. Though, the policy and guideline directs on the preventive dental interventions of adults with LD there still a gap evident in understanding and implication of the guidance in practice by the dental and care support team. Understanding learning disabilities and to identify their behavior, compliance and oral health needs is paramount for all professionals working with or for them at each level.

A neuroimaging investigation of the association between aerobic fitness, hippocampal volume and memory performance in preadolescent children

Because children are becoming increasingly overweight, unhealthy and unfit, understanding the neurocognitive benefits of an active lifestyle in childhood has important public health and educational implications. Animal research has indicated that aerobic exercise is related to increased cell proliferation and survival in the hippocampus as well as enhanced hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. Recent evidence extends this relationship to elderly humans by suggesting that high aerobic fitness levels in older adults are associated with increased hippocampal volume and superior memory performance. The present study aimed to further extend the link between fitness, hippocampal volume, and memory to a sample of preadolescent children. To this end, magnetic resonance imaging was employed to investigate whether high- and low-fit 9- and 10-year-old children showed differences in hippocampal volume and if the differences were related to performance on an item and relational memory task. Relational but not item memory is primarily supported by the hippocampus. Consistent with predictions, high-fit children showed greater bilateral hippocampal volumes. Furthermore, hippocampal volume was positively associated with performance on the relational but not the item memory task. The findings are the first to suggest that aerobic fitness can impact the structure and function of the developing human brain.

Action-Emotion Style, Learning Approach and Coping Strategies, in Undergraduate University Students

Action-Emotion Style (AES) is an affective-motivational construct that describes the achievement motivation that is characteristic of students in their interaction with stressful situations. Using elements from the Type-A Behavior Pattern (TABP), characteristics of competitiveness and overwork occur in different combinations with emotions of impatience and hostility, leading to a classification containing five categories of action-emotion style (Type B, Impatient-hostile type, Medium type, Competitive-Overworking type and Type A). The objective of the present research is to establish how characteristics of action-emotion style relate to learning approach (deep and surface approaches) and to coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused). The sample was composed of 225 students from the Psychology degree program. Pearson correlation analyses, ANOVAs and MANOVAs were used. Results showed that competitiveness-overwork characteristics have a significant positive association with the deep approach and with problem-focused strategies, while impatience-hostility is thus related to surface approach and emotion-focused strategies. The level of action-emotion style had a significant main effect. The results verified our hypotheses with reference to the relationships between action-emotion style, learning approaches and coping strategies.

Learning Sustainability with EPS@ISEP – Development of an Insectarium

8th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education (PAEE)

Learning Sustainability with EPS@ISEP – Development of a Water Disinfection System

Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education (PAEE), Guimarães, 2016

Self-regulated learning in higher education : strategies adopted by computer programming students

Trabalho apresentado em PAEE/ALE’2016, 8th International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education (PAEE) and 14th Active Learning in Engineering Education Workshop (ALE)

Guidelines for Creating ICT-based Adaptable Learning Resources

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2014

From the workplace to the classroom:examining the impact of self-leadership learning strategies on higher educational attainment and success

Self-leadership is a concept from the organisational and management literature broadly combining processes of self-goal setting, self-regulation and self-motivation. Research has typically focused on the impact of self-leadership on work performance outcomes, with little attention to potential benefits for learning and development. In this paper, we employ a longitudinal design to examine the association of a number of processes of self-leadership with higher educational attainment in a sample of business students (N = 150). Self-reported use of strategies related to behavioural, cognitive and motivational aspects of self-leadership were measured in the first semester of the academic year, and correlated with end-of year grade point average. We found that in particular, self-goal setting, pro-active goal-related behaviour, behaviour regulation and direction, motivational awareness, and optimism were all significant predictors of educational attainment. We discuss implications for educational research and for teachers and tutors in practice.

Leadership and Pedagogical Interaction as Predictors of Learning Outcomes in Physical Education

This research aims to understand the relative contribution of leadership styles and teacher-student and student-student pedagogical interaction concerning learning performance and academic achievement in Physical Education. A quantitative methodology was implemented, comprising a sample of 447 students attending a school grouping located in the coastal region of central Portugal. In order to verify the nature, the strength and the direction of the relations among the variables, correlation and multiple regression analyses were used. For this, scales already validated and used in other researches were applied. The results show that the learning performance and the academic achievement are significantly associated with teacher leadership styles and teacher-student and student-student pedagogical interaction. A stronger association was obtained with leadership styles, especially the democratic one. It should be mentioned that these factors provide a higher relative contribution to the learning performance than to the academic achievement. The analysis conducted highlights the importance of the democratic teacher leadership style and of the pedagogical interaction established within the classroom towards the improvement of students’ ability to understand the gains and the effort made in learning.

Leadership and Pedagogical Interaction as Predictors of Learning Outcomes in Physical Education

Problem Statement: This research aims to understand the relative contribution of leadership styles and teacher-student and student-student pedagogical interaction concerning the learning performance and academic achievement in physical education. Research Questions: Are the teacher leadership style and the teacher-student and student-student pedagogical interaction related to the learning performance and academic achievement in physical education in basic schooling? Purpose of Study: There are several factors that contribute for the explanation of learning outcomes, namely teacher leadership styles in the classroom, as well as teacher-student and student-student pedagogical interactions. These factors are considered to be essential in the teaching-learning process and in the subsequent improvement of educational outcomes. Research Methods: A quantitative methodology was implemented, comprising a sample of 447 students attending a School Grouping located in the Central Region of Portugal. In order to verify the nature, the strength and the direction of the relations among the variables, correlation and multiple regression analyses were used. For this, scales already validated and used in other researches were applied. Findings: The results show that the learning performance and the academic achievement are significantly associated with teacher leadership styles and teacher-student and student-student pedagogical interaction. A stronger association was obtained with leadership styles, especially the democratic one. It should be mentioned that these factors provide a higher relative contribution to the learning performance than to the academic achievement. Conclusions: This study sought to deepen the understanding of the explanatory factors of academic success concerning the teaching-learning process in physical education. The analysis conducted highlights the importance of the democratic teacher leadership style and of the pedagogical interaction established within the classroom towards the improvement of students' ability to understand the gains and the effort made in learning.