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An exploration of students’ use of digital resources for self-study in anatomy: a survey study
Background
The development of technology has provided new ways for active engagement and for visualizing structures in anatomy education including digital resources that may be used outside of the classroom. To support students’ learning, there is a need to better understand students’ experiences of using digital resources. This study aimed to identify which resources students use, their preferences, the purpose of using them, and barriers to adopting tools for self-study of anatomy.
Methods
A mixed -methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative data was used to collect and analyse data. Two consecutive cohorts of first-semester medical students (n = 278) were invited to complete an anonymized survey. The survey consisted of itemized questions, free-text space for comments, and one open-ended question. Descriptive statistics were used for demographics and itemized answers. Comments and free-text answers were analysed qualitatively using abductive inference.
Results
One hundred and twenty-seven students completed the survey (response rate 45%). Most students (46%) reported that they spend more than 30 h/per week on self-study. They used a variety of digital resources for different purposes. Most students used digital resources to prepare for examinations, when they encountered difficulties and after going through a section. Students reported that they would use digital resources to a greater extent if they were offered an introduction, if resources were more accessible, and if they could interact with a tutor. The free-text responses revealed that digital resources helped students understand anatomy, allowed them to make active choices, provided tools for repetition and memorization, accelerated and simplified the learning process, and complemented other learning resources.
Conclusions
Digital resources may support the understanding of anatomy by offering alternative modes of learning and providing a valuable complement to other learning resources. Educators should consider how digital resources are introduced and offer support and feedback.
Journal Article
Ukulele for dummies
Presents an introduction to playing the ukulele, discussing such topics as chords, strumming, fingerpicking, and different genres and styles, along with advice on selecting and caring for an instrument.
Book
Supporting preservice teachers to navigate the tensions of teaching English Language Arts: An examination of two teacher educator's literacies pedagogies
In 1997-1998, we taught in the same independently funded elementary school. As teachers of Grade 1 and Grade 2, the school leadership asked us to research and recommend a program to support early reading instruction and replace the outdated basal readers. Opinions were sometimes diverse as we met with parents and school board members to identify beliefs/priorities in early reading instruction. More than 25 years later, in our work as teacher educators in two provinces, we are embroiled in similar conversations about reading instruction in a field mapped by polarizing views expressed in reports, social media, and teacher professional texts. As teacher educators, we recognize: 1) this context as challenging for preservice teachers to enter professional practice and 2) our role in supporting preservice teachers in entering the field. This was the impetus for a research study examining our pedagogies. We ask: How are we, as teacher educators, supporting preservice teachers to navigate the theoretical and practical tensions of teaching Language Arts through our pedagogies? In this article, we share findings from a collaborative Self-Study of Teacher Education Practice (S-STEP) where we leverage our long-standing relationship as critical friends in research/teaching to examine our teacher education pedagogies in our elementary English Language Arts courses in 2022-2023. Data sources include teaching artifacts (e.g., syllabi, powerpoints, activities) and videorecordings of discussions as we share these artifacts over Zoom. Guided by posthuman perspectives, we consider the non-human and human entities that were a part of our pedagogies. Analysis is currently underway. Preliminary findings suggest a shift from sharing particular practices with each other to a focus on decision-making to support preservice teachers in weighing the desires of teaching practices in literacies as well as diffusing binaries. This article highlights teacher education practices as relational and moving in response to context.
Journal Article
Effect of active learning and online discussions on the academic performances of dental students
Background
COVID-19 caused significant confusion around the world, and dental education was no exception. Therefore, in line with the demands of the times, this study sought to determine the applicability of online active learning to dental education.
Methods
This study was conducted in the second semester of 2020 at a school of dentistry in a selective university in Korea. A total of 114 dental students were recruited. Participants were assigned to four different groups (lecture and discussion [LD], lecture and discussion with instructor’s worksheet [LW], self-study and discussion [SSD], and self-study and discussion with instructor’s worksheet [SW]) using the random breakout room function in the Zoom video conference application. Their final test scores were then analyzed using analysis of variance and the online active learning results were compared with the offline learning results.
Results
The scores were highest for the transfer type items in the SSD group, followed by the SW group and the two lecture groups, which had no significant differences. These scores and pattern differences between the groups were similar for all items. The results suggested that studying by oneself rather than simply listening to lectures enhanced the effects of the discussions and led to higher learning outcomes. In addition, the effect of the instructor's intervention in the middle of the discussion varied depending on the pre-learning activities of discussion. As with previous offline experiments, self-study followed by group discussion had higher learning outcomes for both the verbatim and transfer type items.
Conclusions
In agreement with the Interactive, Constructive, Active, and Passive (ICAP) framework and other active learning theories, the findings clearly indicated that online active learning was applicable to dental students, and when self-study precedes discussion, the learning is richer and the learning outcomes are better.
Journal Article
Data Collection in Times of Pandemic: A Self-Study and Revisit of Research Practices During a Crisis
COVID-19 as a global pandemic has greatly disrupted research, not only in terms of the practicality of research activities such as data collection, but also in data quality. Using self-study in form of duoethnography method for reflecting on research practice, this article reviews and reflects on the practices of remote data collection during the pandemic and further revisits additional issues brought about by these practices and concerns. One key observation from this self-study is the prevalence of practical challenges, particularly those related to participant access, that overshadows the potential advantages of remote data collection as well as other challenges. This challenge results in researchers’ reduced control of the research process and also a requirement for more flexibility, greater sensitivity toward the participants and research skills for the researchers. We also observe greater conflation of quantitative and qualitative data collection and the emergence of triangulation as the main strategy to offset potential threats to data quality. This article concludes by calling for more discussions on several areas that feature scarce discussion in literature, including potential rhetoric importance assigned to data collection, adequacy of triangulation to safeguard data quality, and the potential difference between COVID-19’s impact on quantitative and qualitative research.
Journal Article
A new R&D-based algorithm for optimization of large-scale problems
Optimization has become a necessary part of any activities in our life. Thus, bunch of optimization algorithms have been introduced by researchers during the past decades. However, large-scale optimization problems are still challenging. In this research, inspired by research and development procedure, a new metaheuristic algorithm called Research and Development (R&D)-Based Algorithm (RDBA) has been proposed for optimization of large-scale problems. The mechanism of searching for the best result is based on four activities of “Learning,” doing a “Teamwork,” participating in the “Conference,” and “Self-study.” The conducted method is tested on 13 well-known benchmarks with dimensions ranging from 30 to 1000, and the results are compared with the previous studies working in this area. The simulations demonstrate that RDBA is much effective than 12 powerful algorithms in solving high-dimensional complicated functions regarding solution precision, stability, and convergence rate.
Journal Article