A gamified mobile application for engaging new students at university orientation

The term gamification describes the addition of game elements to non-game contexts as a means to motivate and engage users. This study investigates the design, delivery and pilot evaluation of a gamified, smartphone application built to introduce new students to the campus, services and people at university during their first few weeks. This paper describes changes to the application made after an initial field study was undertaken and provides an evaluation of the impact of the redesign. Survey responses were collected from thirteen students and usage data was captured from 105 students. Results indicate three levels of user engagement and suggest that there is value in adding game elements to the experience in this way. A number of issues are identified and discussed based on game challenges, input, and facilitating game elements in an event setting such as university orientation.

Evaluation of a date rape prevention program for new students in a university setting

The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a date rape prevention program among new students at Rice University. Six-hundred and fifteen new students were randomly assigned to one of eight residential colleges or dormitories. The distribution of students to each of the dormitories was carried out in accordance with a stratified random sampling procedure. The study population was divided into strata based on ethnicity, gender, geographical region, and academic major. The number of students randomly assigned to each of the eight dormitories was approximately 75. After this procedure was completed, each of the colleges was randomly selected to either the intervention or control group. A randomized pretest and posttest control group design was used to assess changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior with regard to date rape. All participants were given an anonymous pretest and posttest measuring attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior immediately prior to and following the intervention. The intervention group attended the play Scruples, designed to promote date rape prevention, after which they were immediately posttested. After this initial posttest the intervention group also participated in an interactive group role-playing activity led by trained peer instructors. The control group was pretested and subject to the placebo intervention of a multiculturalism play and was posttested immediately afterwards. Later in the week this group saw the Scruples play only. Both control and intervention groups were sent a two month follow-up survey questionnaire, to measure any changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior over time. As hypothesized students who saw the play Scruples showed a change in attitudes immediately posttest but no difference in self-efficacy or behavior. The two month follow-up survey showed no change in attitudes, self-efficacy, or behavior. There was a difference at pretest in males and females attitudes, with males showing significantly more rape tolerant attitudes than females. Thus, the proposed research findings will provide a better understanding of the attitudes that perpetuate date rape, and will inform strategies for prevention programs. ^

Guide for new students.

Mode of access: Internet.

Illinois public community colleges statewide occupational student follow-up study : final report of a three year longitudinal study of fall 1974 new students enrolled in occupational programs.

Cover title.

New developments in library orientation and information literacy:regenerating library services for new students

Over the last six years, Aston University Library & Information Services Induction Team have worked on the Welcome experience for new and returning students to the Library.  The article provides an overview of the Induction programme and how it has evolved to engage students pre and post arrival to the University. 

Academic review: a study of textual production of new students in the distance education

This article focuses on the difficulties encountered in text production students of the first phase of an undergraduate distance learning course at the Federal University of Santa Catarina with regard to working with the gender discourse academic review. The research question that drives this study is: In terms of social experiences with written language system, which factors are inferreds in the analysis of problems of adaptation to the visualized gender in textual production reviews in the academic sphere in the course of Portuguese Language distance? The study developed is anchored in theories of literacy based on Street (1984; 2003; 2009), Hamilton (2000), Barton and Hamilton (2004), among other authors who discuss the new studies of literacy through ethnographic perspectives; as well as the theories of genres of Bakhtin and his Circle (2003 [1952/53]). The results show problems (not) appropriate to the genre, both in terms of compositional configuration as in relation to the thematic content and style and signal distinctions between school and family literacy practices and academic literacy practices, demanding methodological resignifications in addressing gender in the academic sphere. The study contributes to the Applied Linguistics area paying attention to the need to undertake a teaching preparation (Halte, 2008) that includes the experiences of students and their weaknesses, so as to focus on them.

Las Ciencias de la Educación en la UBA : La perspectiva de sus actores

El presente artículo ofrece una caracterización de los cambios en las expectativas y las preocupaciones de estudiantes y graduados de Ciencias de la Educación en la UBA. Además aborda las tensiones entre perspectivas ingenuas y posiciones críticas; entre la formación teórica y los requerimientos de las diversas prácticas

Las Ciencias de la Educación en Uruguay

El artículo historiza el desarrollo del campo de las Ciencias de la Educación en la Universidad de la República de Uruguay en la segunda mitad del siglo XX y comienzos del siglo XXI. Para ello plantea algunos momentos destacados en dicho proceso. También presenta una caracterización inicial acerca de la actual constitución del campo profesional en el país. Concluye subrayando los elementos fundamentales de lo planteado y ofreciendo algunos interrogantes en relación a las posibilidades de consolidación de un campo de estudios sobre educación en la Universidad

Las Ciencias de la Educación en la UBA : La perspectiva de sus actores

El presente artículo ofrece una caracterización de los cambios en las expectativas y las preocupaciones de estudiantes y graduados de Ciencias de la Educación en la UBA. Además aborda las tensiones entre perspectivas ingenuas y posiciones críticas; entre la formación teórica y los requerimientos de las diversas prácticas

Las Ciencias de la Educación en Uruguay

El artículo historiza el desarrollo del campo de las Ciencias de la Educación en la Universidad de la República de Uruguay en la segunda mitad del siglo XX y comienzos del siglo XXI. Para ello plantea algunos momentos destacados en dicho proceso. También presenta una caracterización inicial acerca de la actual constitución del campo profesional en el país. Concluye subrayando los elementos fundamentales de lo planteado y ofreciendo algunos interrogantes en relación a las posibilidades de consolidación de un campo de estudios sobre educación en la Universidad

Las Ciencias de la Educación en la UBA : La perspectiva de sus actores

El presente artículo ofrece una caracterización de los cambios en las expectativas y las preocupaciones de estudiantes y graduados de Ciencias de la Educación en la UBA. Además aborda las tensiones entre perspectivas ingenuas y posiciones críticas; entre la formación teórica y los requerimientos de las diversas prácticas

Las Ciencias de la Educación en Uruguay

El artículo historiza el desarrollo del campo de las Ciencias de la Educación en la Universidad de la República de Uruguay en la segunda mitad del siglo XX y comienzos del siglo XXI. Para ello plantea algunos momentos destacados en dicho proceso. También presenta una caracterización inicial acerca de la actual constitución del campo profesional en el país. Concluye subrayando los elementos fundamentales de lo planteado y ofreciendo algunos interrogantes en relación a las posibilidades de consolidación de un campo de estudios sobre educación en la Universidad

How Prepared are UK Medical Graduates for Practice? Final report from a programme of research commissioned by the General Medical Council

This programme of research aimed to understand the extent to which current UK medical graduates are prepared for practice. Commissioned by the General Medical Council, we conducted: (1) A Rapid Review of the literature between 2009 and 2013; (2) narrative interviews with a range of stakeholders; and (3) longitudinal audio-diaries with Foundation Year 1 doctors. The Rapid Review (RR) resulted in data from 81 manuscripts being extracted and mapped against a coding framework (including outcomes from Tomorrow's Doctors (2009) (TD09)). A narrative synthesis of the data was undertaken. Narrative interviews were conducted with 185 participants from 8 stakeholder groups: F1 trainees, newly registered trainee doctors, clinical educators, undergraduate and postgraduate deans and foundation programme directors, other healthcare professionals, employers, policy and government and patient and public representatives. Longitudinal audio-diaries were recorded by 26 F1 trainees over 4 months. The data were analysed thematically and mapped against TD09. Together these data shed light onto how preparedness for practice is conceptualised, measured, how prepared UK medical graduates are for practice, the effectiveness of transition interventions and the currently debated issue of bringing full registration forward to align with medical students’ graduation. Preparedness for practice was conceptualised as both a long- and short-term venture that included personal readiness as well as knowledge, skills and attitudes. It has mainly been researched using self-report measures of generalised incidents that have been shown to be problematic. In terms of transition interventions: assistantships were found to be valuable and efficacious for proactive students as team members, shadowing is effective when undertaken close to employment/setting of F1 post and induction is generally effective but of inconsistent quality. The August transition was highlighted in our interview and audio-diary data where F1s felt unprepared, particularly for the step-change in responsibility, workload, degree of multitasking and understanding where to go for help. Evidence of preparedness for specific tasks, skills and knowledge was contradictory: trainees are well prepared for some practical procedures but not others, reasonably well prepared for history taking and full physical examinations, but mostly unprepared for adopting an holistic understanding of the patient, involving patients in their care, safe and legal prescribing, diagnosing and managing complex clinical conditions and providing immediate care in medical emergencies. Evidence for preparedness for interactional and interpersonal aspects of practice was inconsistent with some studies in the RR suggesting graduates were prepared for team working and communicating with colleagues and patients, but other studies contradicting this. Interview and audio-diary data highlights concerns around F1s preparedness for communicating with angry or upset patients and relatives, breaking bad news, communicating with the wider team (including interprofessionally) and handover communication. There was some evidence in the RR to suggest that graduates were unprepared for dealing with error and safety incidents and lack an understanding of how the clinical environment works. Interview and audio-diary data backs this up, adding that F1s are also unprepared for understanding financial aspects of healthcare. In terms of being personally prepared, RR, interview and audio diary evidence is mixed around graduates’ preparedness for identifying their own limitations, but all data points to graduates’ difficulties in the domain of time management. In terms of personal and situational demographic factors, the RR found that gender did not typically predict perceptions of preparedness, but graduates from more recent cohorts, graduate entry students, graduates from problem based learning courses, UK educated graduates and graduates with an integrated degree reported feeling better prepared. The longitudinal audio-diaries provided insights into the preparedness journey for F1s. There seems to be a general development in the direction of trainees feeling more confident and competent as they gain more experience. However, these developments were not necessarily linear as challenging circumstances (e.g. new specialty, new colleagues, lack of staffing) sometimes made them feel unprepared for situations where they had previously indicated preparedness.

Resources for new postgraduate students

These resources will be helpful for new students beginning new taught postgraduate programmes.