The nurses´ experience on nursing students and their clinical learning process in hospital

Nursing studies program, and relationships between University academic program and Hospitals, all influence bedsides nurses´ experience on nursing clinical learning process.

Development and psychometric testing of the clinical learning environment, supervision and nurse teacher evaluation scale (CLES+T): The Spanish version

Background: The Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate the quality of the clinical learning process in international nursing education contexts. Objectives: This paper reports the development and psychometric testing of the Spanish version of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale. Design: Cross-sectional validation study of the scale. Setting: 10 public and private hospitals in the Alicante area, and the Faculty of Health Sciences (University of Alicante, Spain). Participants: 370 student nurses on clinical placement (January 2011–March 2012). Methods: The Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale was translated using the modified direct translation method. Statistical analyses were performed using PASW Statistics 18 and AMOS 18.0.0 software. A multivariate analysis was conducted in order to assess construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to evaluate instrument reliability. Results: An exploratory factorial analysis identified the five dimensions from the original version, and explained 66.4% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the factor structure of the Spanish version of the instrument. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the scale was .95, ranging from .80 to .97 for the subscales. Conclusion: This version of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale instrument showed acceptable psychometric properties for use as an assessment scale in Spanish-speaking countries.

Computer Networks Virtualization with GNS3: Evaluating a solution to optimize resources and achieve a distance learning

Designing educational resources allow students to modify their learning process. In particular, on-line and downloadable educational resources have been successfully used in engineering education the last years [1]. Usually, these resources are free and accessible from web. In addition, they are designed and developed by lecturers and used by their students. But, they are rarely developed by students in order to be used by other students. In this work-in-progress, lecturers and students are working together to implement educational resources, which can be used by students to improve the learning process of computer networks subject in engineering studies. In particular, network topologies to model LAN (Local Area Network) and MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) are virtualized in order to simulate the behavior of the links and nodes when they are interconnected with different physical and logical design.

Innovative education networking aimed at multimedia tools for geometrical optics learning

We present a purposeful initiative to open new grounds for teaching Geometrical Optics. It is based on the creation of an innovative education networking involving academic staff from three Spanish universities linked together around Optics. Nowadays, students demand online resources such as innovative multimedia tools for complementing the understanding of their studies. Geometrical Optics relies on basics of light phenomena like reflection and refraction and the use of simple optical elements such as mirrors, prisms, lenses, and fibers. The mathematical treatment is simple and the equations are not too complicated. But from our long time experience in teaching to undergraduate students, we realize that important concepts are missed by these students because they do not work ray tracing as they should do. Moreover, Geometrical Optics laboratory is crucial by providing many short Optics experiments and thus stimulating students interest in the study of such a topic. Multimedia applications help teachers to cover those student demands. In that sense, our educational networking shares and develops online materials based on 1) video-tutorials of laboratory experiences and of ray tracing exercises, 2) different online platforms for student self-examinations and 3) computer assisted geometrical optics exercises. That will result in interesting educational synergies and promote student autonomy for learning Optics.

Validation of a Spanish version of the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (DELES) in Spain

The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the Spanish version of the Distance Education Learning Environments Survey (Sp-DELES). This instrument assesses students’ perceptions of virtual learning environments using six scales: Instructor Support, Student Interaction and Collaboration, Personal Relevance, Authentic Learning, Active Learning, and Autonomy. Further, the Sp-DELES includes an additional scale that assesses students’ Satisfaction with their classes. The original DELES has been used in at least 27 independent studies with strong reliability and validity. For this study, we sampled 265 students from the University of Alicante enrolled in various hybrid and distance education courses taught by the Department of Health Psychology. We analysed the Sp-DELES for validity using principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation, and for reliability using Cronbach’s alpha. The Sp-DELES exhibited good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha for the scales ranging from 0.86 to 0.97) and the original six-factor structure was replicated and accounted for 72.9 % of the total variance. Overall the results are consistent with those of the original English-language version of the instrument. The Sp-DELES has proven to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing psychosocial learning environments in tertiary-level hybrid and distance-education settings.

A three-stage DEA model to evaluate learning-teaching technical efficiency: Key performance indicators and contextual variables

This study evaluates the technical efficiency of the learning-teaching process in higher education using a three-stage procedure that offers advances in comparison to previous studies and improves the quality of the results. First, it utilizes a multiple stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with contextual variables. Second, the levels of super efficiency are calculated in order to prioritize the efficiency units. And finally, through sensitivity analysis, the contribution of each key performance indicator (KPI) is established with respect to the efficiency levels without omission of variables. The analytical data was collected from a survey completed by 633 tourism students during the 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 academic course years. The results suggest that level of satisfaction with the course, diversity of materials and satisfaction with the teacher were the most important factors affecting teaching performance. Furthermore, the effect of the contextual variables was found to be significant.

How can directories of open access repositories improve the reuse of learning objects in building engineering?

This paper studies the use of directories of open access repositories worldwide (DOARW) to search Spanish repositories containing learning objects in the field of building engineering (BE). Results show that DOARW are powerful tools, but deficiencies (indicated in this study) have to be solved in order to obtain more accurate searches, and to facilitate repository-finding for potential users who are seeking learning objects (LOs) for reuse. Aiming to contribute to the promotion of the reuse of Spanish LOs, this study exposes to the academic community all existing Spanish repositories with LOs, and in particular, the repositories that contain LOs in the field of BE. This paper also studies the critical mass of available content (LOs) in the field of BE in Spain. It has been found to be low.

How to Use Cooperative Learning for Assessing Students’ Emotional Competences: A Practical Example at the Tertiary Level

Cooperative learning allows students acquisition of competences that are essential for the labour market such as leadership, critical thinking, communication, and so on. For this reason, different cooperative activities were designed in a language subject in English Studies so that students could work in groups and acquire those competences. This article describes some such activities and the emotional competences that students acquire with them. Moreover, a survey was conducted in order to establish students’ opinions about the main competences they acquired with the activities designed and their opinion about a cooperative methodology. Students’ answers were positive and they were aware of what they had learned.

BEYOND WORDS: HOW LEARNING TO READ AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE RELATED FOR STRUGGLING READERS

The overarching purpose of this research program was to describe how intervening for academic deficits may be accompanied by changes in mental health. This multi-dimensional, multi-perspective, and iterative research program was developed to report on two distinct but related studies that addressed the same issue: in what ways does the mental health of students change as they transition from being struggling readers to more able readers? To describe the changes, these studies used a number of qualitative research methodologies—focus groups, individual interviews, and ethnographic case studies. Themes that emerged from the focus group and interview data in the first study were used to create a model that guided observations and interview questions in the second study. The first study described what parents, classroom teachers, and two reading instructors of nine previously struggling readers reported as the outcomes of becoming a more proficient reader. Data from this study indicated three broad domains in which change, as perceived by participants, occurred―cognitive/learning, behavioural/social, and psychological/emotional. Within these three domains, six dimensions were identified as having changed as reading improved: (a) academic achievement, (b) attitude, (c) attention, (d) behaviour, (e) mental health, and (f) empowerment. These domains, dimensions, and 15 constituent elements were used to create the model to guide the subsequent study. The purpose of the second study was to validate and refine this model by using an ethnographic case study approach to explore the ways in which the model accounted for the changes in reading and mental health seen in three boys over the months they participated in the intervention. By investigating the relationship between learning to read and mental health, this research aimed to enhance our understanding of how gains in reading may also improve the mental health of struggling readers. The model was found to be robust and a convenient conceptual framework to further our understanding of this relationship. Importantly, gains made in the cognitive/learning domain through an effective reading intervention, offered in a supportive learning environment, were shown to be accompanied by concomitant gains in both the behavioural/social and psychological/emotional domains—all of which enhance student thriving.

An Investigation of the Features and Effectiveness of the Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program in Ontario

This dissertation includes two studies. Study 1 is a qualitative case study that describes enactment of the main components of a high fidelity Full-Day Early Learning Kindergarten (FDELK) classroom, specifically play-based learning and teacher-ECE collaboration. Study 2 is a quantitative analysis that investigates how effectively the FDELK program promotes school readiness skills, namely self-regulation, literacy, and numeracy, in Kindergarteners. To describe the main components of an FDELK classroom in Study 1, a sub-sample of four high fidelity case study schools were selected from a larger case study sample. Interview data from these schools’ administrators, educators, parents, and community stakeholders were used to describe how the main components of the FDELK program enabled educators to meet the individual needs of students and promote students’ SR development. In Study 2, hierarchical regression analyses of 32,207 students’ self-regulation, literacy, and numeracy outcomes using 2012 Ontario Early Development Instrument (EDI) data revealed essentially no benefit for students participating in the FDELK program when compared to peers in Half-Day or Alternate-Day Kindergarten programs. Being older and female predicted more positive SR and literacy outcomes. Age and gender accounted for limited variance in numeracy outcomes. Results from both studies suggest that the Ontario Ministry of Education should take steps to improve the quality of the FDELK program by incorporating evidence-based guidelines and goals for play, reducing Kindergarten class sizes to more effectively scaffold learning, and revising curriculum expectations to include a greater focus on SR, literacy, and numeracy skills.

Extending Working Lives: A comparative analysis of how governments influence lifelong learning, CEPS Special Report No. 111, July 2015

This report offers a comparative policy study on adult learning within the scope of complementary research conducted by Beblavý et al. (2013) on how people upgrade their skills during their adult lifetimes. To achieve our objectives, we identified regulatory policies and financial support in 11 countries for two main categories of learning: formal higher education and employer-based training. Drawing upon the results of the country reports carried out by our partners in the MoPAct project, we found that in none of the countries examined is there an ‘older student’ policy. In most cases grants and financial support are awarded only up until a certain age. In all of the countries studied, standard undergraduate and post-graduate studies are available for part-time students. The distribution of full-time students and part-time students in tertiary education varies from one country to another as well as from one age group to another. The participation in full-time tertiary education programmes decreases with the age of students. In Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and the UK, there are no mandatory policies to ensure employer-based training. However, in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain, employer-based training is more clearly regulated and the employers might have obligations to provide training for their staff. Taking into consideration Beblavý et al. (2013), we observe that comparative differences across countries can be related to policy differences only in some cases. The policy framework seems to impact more the employer-based training than the educational attainment (upgrade of ISCED level). In Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Poland, we find a perfect match between policy outcomes and the results of Beblavý et al. (2013) related to employer-based training. This is not the case in the United Kingdom, where the two aspects observed are not correlated.

O sistema PBL, problem-based learning, no ensino de medicina no Brasil : análise bibliográfica sobre a sua execução

Introdução: Entre as estratégias de ensino e aprendizagem utilizadas nas práticas pedagógicas, a Problem Based Learning (PBL) (Aprendizagem Baseada em Problemas) é utilizada desde 1960, em especial nos cursos de Medicina. Mesmo sendo uma estratégia valiosa, um dos seus obstáculos é a pouca prática dos alunos em atividades autodirigidas, pesquisa e construção coletiva do conhecimento. Objetivo: Rastrear elementos constitutivos da PBL através de dados colhidos em artigos pesquisados em sítios de divulgação científica; Avaliar, nos estudos selecionados, os aspectos positivos e negativos que estejam relacionados com a metodologia do Sistema PBL aplicada ao ensino médico no Brasil. Metodologia: Estudo bibliográfico de 13 textos utilizando um modelo de desconstrução, denominada Análise Textual Discursiva (ATD) que consiste em: transformação dos artigos em pedaços menores; análise textual; identificação de padrões convergentes e divergentes em relação a PBL; organização e síntese dos dados, culminando com a elaboração de estratégia adaptativa da PBL para o curso de Medicina. Resultados: Foram encontradas 116 citações que convergiam para referências positivos acerca da metodologia PBL e 40 citações que divergiam acerca dos pontos positivos. Os aspectos positivos como o desenvolvimento de atitudes e habilidades; desenvolvimento de competências anteriores ao curso; efeitos positivos depois de terminada a graduação, como autonomia de estudo e a articulação entre currículo e realidade profissional, representam pontos a serem reforçados na aula. Em contraponto, foi observado que dentre os negativos a não compreensão do papel do professor como tutor; necessidade de conteúdo formal tradicional pelos alunos e a expectativa que o professor retire as suas dúvidas são pontos a serem evitados. Conclusões: A metodologia PBL deverá servir como metodologia ativa para aproveitar ao máximo as habilidades que os alunos já apresentam, potencializando o aprendizado na educação médica em sala de aula. Palavras-Chave: PBL; curso de medicina; metodologia ativa; educação médica.

The Learning Laboratory : the door--a center of alternatives /

Mode of access: Internet.

Simulating Nursing: Rhetoric, Materiality, and Disciplinary Learning

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Evaluative learning in human Pavlovian conditioning: Extinct, but still there?

Previous studies of human affective learning, the acquisition of likes and dislikes, provided evidence that extinction training does not affect changes in conditional stimulus (CS) valence as indexed by paper/pencil ratings. Experiment 1 (N = 32) investigated whether this is an artifact of the CS valence assessment, which is taken in test sessions before and after training. Pleasantness ratings were collected in pre/post training tests and, for half of the participants, on-line during training. Rated unpleasantness of the CS that preceded the aversive US (CS+) increased during acquisition and decreased during extinction back to neutral. However, as in previous studies, post extinction paper/pencil ratings revealed the maintenance of rated CS+ unpleasantness. Experiment 2 (N = 34) replicated this finding for two measures of CS valence, paper/pencil and the continuous measure used during training. The present results indicate that previous reports of failures to find extinction of affective learning may reflect renewal rather than maintenance of acquired CS valence across extinction training. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.