Evolving student–faculty partnerships in medical education through peer-assisted learning

Peer reviewed

Development of a work-based learning MSc course which incorporates the development and demonstration of professional engineering competence standards

UK engineering standards are regulated by the Engineering Council (EC) using a set of generic threshold competence standards which all professionally registered Chartered Engineers in the UK must demonstrate, underpinned by a separate academic qualification at Masters Level. As part of an EC-led national project for the development of work-based learning (WBL) courses leading to Chartered Engineer registration, Aston University has started an MSc Professional Engineering programme, a development of a model originally designed by Kingston University, and build around a set of generic modules which map onto the competence standards. The learning pedagogy of these modules conforms to a widely recognised experiential learning model, with refinements incorporated from a number of other learning models. In particular, the use of workplace mentoring to support the development of critical reflection and to overcome barriers to learning is being incorporated into the learning space. This discussion paper explains the work that was done in collaboration with the EC and a number of Professional Engineering Institutions, to design a course structure and curricular framework that optimises the engineering learning process for engineers already working across a wide range of industries, and to address issues of engineering sustainability. It also explains the thinking behind the work that has been started to provide an international version of the course, built around a set of globalised engineering competences. © 2010 W J Glew, E F Elsworth.

An evaluation of an online peer support forum for university students with depressive symptoms

Background: Depression is the most common mental health problem among young people, particularly university students, with prevalence rates as high as 48% reported. This population however, is reluctant to seek professional help. Online interventions may be particularly appealing to students, with evidence suggesting that they use the Internet for mental health support. While there are many mental health resources on the Internet few focus specifically on the needs of young people and few have been evaluated. This research aimed to develop and pilot test an online peer support intervention for students experiencing depressive symptoms. Methods: A depression support Web site (www.losetheblues.ie) was designed specifically for 18-24. year old students. The study used a mixed method, involving quantitative descriptive, pre- and post-test and qualitative descriptive designs. Data were collected using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), a background questionnaire and online forum posts. Results: The sample consisted of 117 university students with self-reported depressive symptoms. Results from participants in the pre- and post-test element of the study, showed no statistical significance. The forum posts revealed that the participants' main difficulties were loneliness and perceived lack of socialization skills. The Web site provided a place for sharing, offering and receiving emotional and informational support. Conclusion: Developing health care interventions in an online environment presents unique challenges to the research process, however they have the potential to provide mental health care that is accessible and affordable.

Establishing a Baseline Measurement of Intercultural Competence of Ukrainian Faculty: Setting the Stage for Domestic and Global Intercultural Understanding

Post-Soviet Ukraine is in a time of upheaval and transition. Internal relations between pro-Western and pro-Russian supporters have deteriorated in the light of recent political events of Euro Revolution, Russia’s occupation of the Crimean peninsula, and the militant confrontations in the southeastern regions of the country. In the light of these developments, intercultural competence is greatly needed to alleviate domestic tensions and enable effective intercultural communication with the representatives of different cultures within the country and beyond its borders. This study established a baseline of psychometric estimates of intercultural competence of Ukrainian higher education faculty. A sample of 276 professors of different academic majors from one university in Western Ukraine participated in the research. The Global Perspective Inventory (GPI; Merrill, Braskamp, & Braskamp, 2012) was chosen as a research instrument to measure intercultural competence of the faculty members. The GPI takes into account cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal domains, each of which contains two scales reflective of theories of cultural development and intercultural communication – Cognitive-Knowing, Cognitive-Knowledge, Intrapersonal-Identity, Intrapersonal-Affect, Interpersonal-Social Responsibility, and Interpersonal-Social Interaction. Because the research instrument has neither been previously used as a measure of intercultural competence, nor administered in Ukraine, it was cross-validated using a Table of Specification (Newman, Lim, & Pineda, 2013) and two sets of factor analyses. As a result, a modified version of the GPI was created for use in Ukraine. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to test relationships between the participants’ GPI scores on intercultural competence, and several independent variables that consisted of academic discipline, intercultural experience, and how long the participants taught at the university. The analyses determined a positive relationship between the scores on three out of six scales of the original version and two out of five scales of the modified version of the GPI and all the independent variables simultaneously. The relationship between the faculty responses on the six scales of both GPI versions and the independent variables controlling for each other produced mixed results. A unique role of intercultural professional development in predicting intercultural competence was discussed.

HELPING YOUTH WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER DEVELOP SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN COMMUNITY-BASED SETTINGS

The purpose of the current dissertation is to identify the features of effective interventions by exploring the experiences of youth with ASD who participate in such interventions, through two intervention studies (Studies 1 and 2) and one interview study (Study 3). Studies 1 and 2 were designed to support the development of social competence of youth with ASD through Structured Play with LEGO TM (Study 1, 12 youths with ASD, ages 7–12) and Minecraft TM (Study 2, 4 youths with ASD, ages 11–13). Over the course of the sessions, the play of the youth developed from parallel play (children playing alone, without interacting) to co-operative play (playing together with shared objectives). The results of Study 2 showed that rates of initiations and levels of engagement increased from the first session to the final session. In Study 3, 12 youths with ASD (ages 10–14) and at least one of their parents were interviewed to explore what children and their parents want from programs designed to improve social competence, which activities and practices were perceived to promote social competence by the participants, and which factors affected their decisions regarding these programs. The adolescents and parents looked for programs that supported social development and emotional wellbeing, but did not always have access to the programs they would have preferred, with factors such as cost and location reducing their options. Three overarching themes emerged through analysis of the three studies: (a) interests of the youth; (b) structure, both through interactions and instruction; and (c) naturalistic settings. Adolescents generally engage more willingly in interventions that incorporate their interests, such as play with Minecraft TM in Study 2. Additionally, Structured Play and structured instruction were crucial components of providing safe and supportive contexts for the development of social competence. Finally, skills learned in naturalistic settings tend to be applied more successfully in everyday situations. The themes are analysed through the lens of Vygotsky’s (1978) perspectives on learning, play, and development. Implications of the results for practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Mitigating Social Risk in the Extractive Sector: Developing Intercultural Competence as a Tool for Negotiating Western-Indigenous Perspectives within the Undergraduate Mining Engineering Curriculum

Drawing upon critical, communications, and educational theories, this thesis develops a novel framing of the problem of social risk in the extractive sector, as it relates to the building of respectful relationships with indigenous peoples. Building upon Bakhtin’s dialogism, the thesis demonstrates the linkage of this aspect of social risk to professional education, and specifically, to the undergraduate mining engineering curriculum, and develops a framework for the development of skills related to intercultural competence in the education of mining engineers. The knowledge of social risk, as well as the level of intercultural competence, of students in the mining engineering program, is investigated through a mixture of surveys and focus groups – as is the impact of specific learning interventions. One aspect of this investigation is whether development of these attributes alters graduates’ conception of their identity as mining engineers, i.e. the range and scope of responsibilities, and understanding of to whom responsibilities are owed, and their role in building trusting relationships with communities. Survey results demonstrate that student openness to the perspectives of other cultures increases with exposure to the second year curriculum. Students became more knowledgeable about social dimensions of responsible mining, but not about cultural dimensions. Analysis of focus group data shows that students are highly motivated to improve community perspectives and acceptance. It is observed that students want to show respect for diverse peoples and communities where they will work, but they are hampered by their inability to appreciate the viewpoints of people who do not share their values. They embrace benefit sharing and environmental protection as norms, but they mistakenly conclude that opposition to mining is rooted in a lack of education rather than in cultural values. Three, sequential, threshold concepts are identified as impeding development of intercultural competence: Awareness and Acknowledgement of Different Forms of Knowledge; Recognition that Value Systems are a Function of Culture; Respect for varied perceptions of Social Wellbeing and Quality of Life. Future curriculum development in the undergraduate mining engineering program, as well as in other educational programs relevant to the extractive sector, can be effectively targeted by focusing on these threshold concepts.

The Causes and Effects of Consumer Competence Perceptions

Consumers are constantly making consumption decisions and engaging in marketplace activities that require some level of competence. In other words, consumers possess and require some knowledge, skills, and abilities to engage in the marketplace and obtain what they want. But what causes consumers to infer they are or are not competent? And, what are the consequences of these competence inferences on consumer behaviour? This dissertation examines the role consumption plays in consumers’ inferences of their own competence to enhance our understanding of these issues. By integrating the literature on competence and attributions of blame, this dissertation develops a theory for when and how consumption influences self-perceptions of competence and how these self-perceptions of competence impact future consumer behaviours. Evidence from five studies suggests that consumers infer their own competence from their consumption outcomes, despite who is actually responsible for causing these outcomes. This means consumers potentially see themselves as incompetent for negative outcomes that are entirely firm-caused. This dissertation argues that people infer their own competence from firm-caused outcomes because they conflate their decisions made prior to an outcome with the cause of that outcome. This dissertation also examines how these variations in self-perceptions of competence can influence future consumer behaviours.

Self-efficacy in depression: Bridging the gap between competence and real-world functioning

Background: Depression is the largest contributing factor to years lost to disability, and symptom remission does not always result in functional improvement. Comprehensive analysis of functioning requires investigation both of the competence to perform behaviours, as well as actual performance in the real world. Further, two independent domains of functioning have been proposed: adaptive (behaviours conducive to daily living skills and independent functioning) and interpersonal (behaviours conducive to the successful initiation and maintenance of social relationships). To date, very little is known about the relationship between these constructs in depression, and the factors that may play a key role in the disparity between competence and real-world performance in adaptive and interpersonal functioning. Purpose: This study used a multidimensional (adaptive and interpersonal functioning), multi-level (competence and performance) approach to explore the potential discrepancy between competence and real-world performance in depression, specifically investigating whether self-efficacy (one’s beliefs of their capability to perform particular actions) predicts depressed individuals’ underperformance in the real world relative to their ability. A comparison sample of healthy participants was included to investigate the level of depressed individuals’ impairment, across variables, relative to healthy individuals. Method: Forty-two participants with depression and twenty healthy participants without history of, or current, psychiatric illness were recruited in the Kingston, Ontario community. Competence, self-efficacy, and real-world functioning all in both adaptive and interpersonal domains, and symptoms were assessed during a single-visit assessment. Results: Relative to healthy individuals, depressed individuals showed significantly poorer adaptive and interpersonal competence, adaptive and interpersonal functioning, and significantly lower self-efficacy for adaptive and interpersonal behaviours. Self-efficacy significantly predicted functional disability both in the domain of adaptive and interpersonal functioning. Interpersonal self-efficacy accounted for significant variance in the discrepancy between interpersonal competence and functioning. Conclusions: The current study provides the first data regarding relationships among competence, functioning, and self-efficacy in depression. Self-efficacy may play an important role in the deployment of functional skills in everyday life. This has implications for therapeutic interventions aimed at enhancing depressed individuals’ engagement in functional activities. There may be additional intrinsic or extrinsic factors that influence the relationships among competence and functioning in depression.

Teaching Intercultural Competence in Translator Training

In this position paper we define an interculturally competent translator as one that demonstrates a high level of intercultural knowledge, skills, attitude and flexibility throughout his or her professional engagements. We argue that to attain this goal in translator training intercultural competence needs to be introduced into the curriculum explicitly and in a conceptually clear manner. In this article we provide an overview of earlier attempts at discussing the role of intercultural communication in translator training curricula and we discuss the various pedagogical and practical challenges involved. We also look at some future challenges, identifying increasing societal diversity as both a source of added urgency into intercultural training and a challenge for traditional biculturally based notions of translators’ intercultural competence and we argue for the central role of empathy. Finally, and importantly, we introduce the contributions to the special issue.

Operationalising Intercultural Competence for Translation Pedagogy

This article discusses intercultural competence in the context of translator training. It looks at the way this competence is incorporated and defined in the overall translation competence models, moving on to introduce two models that focus on intercultural competence in particular and serve to operationalize the concept for pedagogical purposes. Making this competence more explicit in translator training is considered vital: in the light of results gained from a survey into the current pedagogical practice (PICT 2012), translator trainers’ and translation students’ understanding of the nature and extent of (inter)cultural training do not match. This calls for re-evaluation of teaching practice which, in turn, presupposes a detailed, comprehensive account of the various dimensions of intercultural competence a translator is to possess. This article discusses these dimensions and provides exemplary scenarios on how to address them in translator training.

La carpeta de aprendizaje y la evaluación entre iguales de los estudiantes. Resultados de una innovación docente en los estudios universitarios de las artes

Students reflect more on their learning in course subjects when they participate in managing their teaching–learning environment. As a form of guided participation, peer assessment serves the following purposes: (a) it improves the student’s understanding of previously established learning objectives; (b) it is a powerful metacognitive tool; (c) it transfers to the student part of the responsibility for assessing learning, which means deciding which learning activities are important and choosing the degree of effort a course subject will require; (d) it emphasizes the collective aspect of the nature of knowledge; and (e) the educational benefits derived from peer assessment clearly justify the efforts required to implement activities. This paper reports on the relative merits of a learning portfolio compiled during fine arts-related studies in which peer assessment played an important role. The researchers analyzed the student work load and the final marks students received for compulsory art subjects. They conclude that the use of a closed learning portfolio with a well-structured, sequential and analytical design can have a positive effect on student learning and that, although implementing peer assessment may be complex and students need to become familiar with it, its use is not only feasible but recommendable.

La ética hacker frente al capitalismo netárquíco: software libre y peer production en las iniciativas de Economía Colaborativa en Andalucía

En los últimos años el término Economía Colaborativa se ha popularizado sin que, hasta el momento, haya sido definido de manera inequívoca. Bajo esta denominación se engloban experiencias tan diversas como bancos de tiempo, huertos urbanos, startups o grandes plataformas digitales. La proliferación de este tipo de iniciativas puede relacionarse con una multiplicidad de factores tales como el desarrollo tecnológico, la recesión económica y otras crisis superpuestas (medioambiental, de cuidados, de valores, de lo político) y un cierto cambio en los valores sociales. Entre 2014-2015 se han realizado dos investigaciones en Andalucía de manera casi paralela y con una metodología similar. La primera de ellas pretendía identificar prácticas de Economía Colaborativa en el entorno universitario. La segunda investigación identificaba experiencias de emprendimiento a nivel autonómico. A luz de los resultados obtenidos se plantea la siguiente cuestión sobre la naturaleza misma de la Economía Colaborativa: ¿nos encontramos ante prácticas postcapitalistas que abren el camino a una sociedad más justa e igualitaria o, más bien, estamos ante una respuesta del capital para, una vez más, seguir extrayendo de manera privada el valor que se genera socialmente? Este artículo, partiendo del análisis del conjunto de iniciativas detentadas en Andalucía, se centra en aquellas basadas en el software libre y la producción digital concluyendo cómo, gracias a la incorporación de ciertos aspectos de la ética hacker y las lógicas del conocimiento abierto, éstas pueden situarse dentro de un escenario de fomento de los comunes globales frente a las lógicas imperantes del capitalismo netárquico. 

Peer Support to Facilitate Knowledge Sharing on Complex Tasks

This thesis explores how to design a peer support system to facilitate self-organized knowledge sharing in non-formal learning environments, in particular when learners work on complex tasks. The peer support system aims to replace two teacher-led didactic arrangements: selecting a tutor at the initial stage, and guidance during the interaction process (Dillenbourg, 1999; Topping, 1996). Such a system has previously been developed by Van Rosmalen (2008) and De Bakker (2010) and has been tentatively used to facilitate knowledge sharing on content-related questions. In this thesis, we would like to find out how to further improve the design of this peer support system, especially to facilitate knowledge sharing on complex tasks. Since little pedagogical theory is available to inform the design of our peer support system, this thesis attempts to apply cognitive load theory (Sweller, Van Merriënboer, & Paas, 1998; Van Merriënboer & Sweller, 2005) that informs instructional designs in classroom settings to the design of our peer support system in Learning Networks.

Does digital competence and occupational setting influence MOOC participation? Evidence from a cross-course survey.

While MOOCs are recognized nowadays as a potential format for professional development and lifelong learning, little research has been conducted on the factors that influence MOOC participation of professionals and unemployed in MOOCs. Based on a framework developed earlier, we conducted a study, which focused on the influence of background variables such us digital competence, age, gender and educational level on MOOC participation. Occupational setting was considered as a moderator in the analysis of the impact of digital skills. Results of the study showed that MOOCs were an important tool for unemployed participants who were more likely to enroll in MOOCs than employed learners. MOOCs were also a way for workers who do not received employer support for other training activities to get professional development training. Results of the regression analysis showed that a person’s level of digital competence was an important predictor for enrolment in MOOCs and that specifically interaction skills were more important than information skills for participating in the MOOC context.

Peer Mentoring and Professionalism

Peer mentoring has been a success for everyone involved resulting in a ‘win-win-win’ situation for mentors, mentees and university schools and departments (Andrews and Clark, 2011). Mentors have the opportunity to develop key transferable skills such as communication and leadership, which in turn can enhance their employability opportunities. There is also potential to increase and develop social and academic confidence. For mentees the benefits include the opportunity to gain advice, encouragement and support during the transition period from school/college/work to university along with the opportunity to gain an insight into the stages of university life by learning the "rules of the game". Through peer mentor schemes University schools and departments are meeting the demand to support student success while assisting student transition and reducing attrition. This paper will focus on the peer mentor scheme set up in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast specifically the development of employability skills through company involvement in the scheme.