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General education is integral to higher education, fostering comprehensive development in students. "Kitchen Chemistry" is a novel general education course in theoretical and experimental chemistry designed for undergraduate students at our university. The content of the course integrates academic knowledge and aligns closely with daily life, which is informative and entertaining. It features a multi-dimensional assessment system emphasizing process-oriented evaluation and comprehensive skill assessment, including peer evaluations. This course effectively ignites student interest in chemistry, enhances their chemical literacy, strengthens their overall capabilities, and contributes to advancing science education, achieving excellent teaching results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the impact that teachers’ participation in a short compulsory course on active learning had on their teaching practice. The course was offered at all departments of a STEM faculty with a total of 516 participants. Evaluations showed that teachers especially appreciated collegial discussions and examples of teaching practices in the course. In a survey, 64% indicated the course had led them to implement active teaching. Comparing large-scale pre-course and post-course student surveys with up to 2389 individual responses revealed a significant increase in the number of courses with active learning. The course as a change strategy contains aspects of both middle-out and top-down approaches and organising the course at departments, enables movement from individual to structural level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical thinking is a common and important learning outcome in college curricula. Case-based and problem-based learning can be used to assess and foster critical thinking skills. HNF 250–Contemporary Issues in Human Nutrition is a critical thinking course developed during the redesign of a nutritional sciences major program. Course assignments were designed to assess the course and nutritional sciences major learning outcomes. The nutrition and health claim assignment is scaffolded across the academic semester as three assignments: 1) bibliography assignment; 2) poster presentation; and 3) paper. Course lectures and materials have been designed to prepare students for completion of each assignment. The assignments have been modified over time based on classroom observations and student performance. In 2021, the course learning outcomes were examined by assessing several assignments including the nutrition and health claim poster and paper. Course learning outcome benchmarks using these assessments generally included 80% of students achieving an 80% for each criterion. Results revealed that students were not meeting most of these assessment benchmarks during the 2021 iteration, although benchmark data from other course assessments were more satisfactory. It is possible that the transition from a virtual to an in-person format negatively influenced student performance on these course learning outcomes. This course and the nutrition and health claim assignment example can provide a course design and learning outcome assessment framework for other higher education critical thinking courses. NEW & NOTEWORTHY: This paper describes how a scaffolded nutrition and health claim assignment is used to teach critical thinking skills among nutritional sciences students and examine the program's learning outcomes. Further, this course example is to serve as an model for STEM majors on how to incorporate case-based and problem-based learning strategies into an undergraduate course. Listen to this article's corresponding podcast at https://apspublicationspodcast.podbean.com/e/teaching-critical-thinking-in-nutritional-sciences/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qualitative research and mixed methods are core competencies for epidemiologists. In response to the shortage of guidance on graduate course development, we wrote a course development guide aimed at faculty and students designing similar courses in epidemiology curricula. The guide combines established educational theory with faculty and student experiences from a recent introductory course for epidemiology and biostatistics doctoral students at the University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich. We propose a student-centred course with inverse classroom teaching and practice exercises with faculty input. Integration of student input during the course development process helps align the course syllabus with student needs. The proposed course comprises six sessions that cover learning outcomes in comprehension, knowledge, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Following an introductory session, the students engage in face-to-face interviews, focus group interviews, observational methods, analysis and how qualitative and quantitative methods are integrated in mixed methods. Furthermore, the course covers interviewer safety, research ethics, quality in qualitative research and a practice session focused on the use of interview hardware, including video and audio recorders. The student-led teaching characteristic of the course allows for an immersive and reflective teaching-learning environment. After implementation of the course and learning from faculty and student perspectives, we propose these additional foci: a student project to apply learned knowledge to a case study; integration in mixed-methods; and providing faculty a larger space to cover theory and field anecdotes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interprofessional education is expected to promote collaborative practice and should therefore be included in health professionals' curricula. Reports on interprofessional curricular development and its evaluation are rare. We therefore undertook a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a new, mandatory course on interprofessional collaboration for medical students during their third year of the Bachelor of Medicine study programme. The newly developed and implemented course spans over six weeks and was designed in a hybrid, flipped-classroom format. It incorporates experience- and case-based learning as well as interactions with other health professionals. Each student completes an eLearning and a clinical workshadowing individually before attending the - due to the pandemic - virtual live lectures. To assess quality and usefulness of teaching-learning formats and course structure to learn about interprofessional collaboration and to develop interprofessional competencies and identity, a quantitative and qualitative evaluation was performed with more than 280 medical students and 26 nurse educators from teaching hospitals using online surveys (open & closedended format). Data were analyzed descriptively and using content analysis processes. Students appreciated the flipped-classroom concept, the real-world case-based learning scenarios with interprofessional lecturer teams, and the possibility of an experience-based learning opportunity in the clinical setting including interaction with students and professionals from other health professions. Interprofessional identity did not change during the course. Evaluation data showed that the course is a promising approach for teaching-learning interprofessional competencies to medical students. The evaluation revealed three factors that determined the success of this course, namely, a flipped-classroom concept, the individual workshadowing of medical students with another health professional, mainly nurses, and live sessions with interprofessional teaching-learning teams. The course structure and teaching-learning methods showed potential and could serve as a template for interprofessional course development in other institutions and on other course topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In CME/CPD, a significant part of research is about effectiveness. Attention to the development process can be vital to understand how it impacts progress and results. This study aims to explore an innovative process of applying a combined approach using design-based research, collaborative innovation, and program theory to develop CPD about type 2 diabetes for GPs and clinic nurses with a group of interprofessional stakeholders. In particular, the development process of the combined approach and how it impacts the progress and the activities. We applied two qualitative methods. First, we analysed 159 documents from the development process, and second, eight semi-structured key informant interviews. Data were deductively analysed using 15 predefined elements derived from the combined approach combined with open coding analyses. The analysis showed how the combined approach structured the process. And the interviews broadened our understanding of the relationship between the process and the activities. Four additional themes were constructed from the open coding, including surrender to the process. Surrendering was a central part of the interviewees' participation in the process. The combined approach facilitated this unfamiliar experience of surrender. By supporting participants to surrender, the combined approach enabled an expansion of interprofessional collaboration and the development of innovative activities and learning methods in CPD on type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design education has traditionally been deemed a face-to-face endeavor causing online learning to be disregarded as a viable teaching option. Nonetheless, the recent impact of COVID-19 pressured design schools to rapidly migrate online, impelling many educators to utilize this unfamiliar and largely dismissed methodology. The impending problems exposed with this sudden shift point to a significant gap in research. Accordingly, this study proposes a set of guidelines targeting design knowledge-building, based on an in-depth look at student experience during an online design course. Data were collected through a 63-item course efficiency survey (n = 59) and a series of semi-structured focus group interviews (n = 16) with the enrolled students. The following overarching themes emerged through iterative thematic analysis of the interview data: (1) flexibility and handling stress, (2) managing self-pacing issues (3) formal conversation platform, (4) content variety and access options. The themes were interpreted in relation to the survey findings and the broader research on learning. The proposed guidelines emphasize initially clear goals and objectives, pacing flexibility with progress guidance, content and communication variety, sense of presence and peer exposure, and individualized feedback. It is expected that the guidelines will be helpful in building, conducting, and evaluating future online design knowledge-building experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a framework for educating future evaluators and users of evaluation through community-engaged, experiential learning courses and offers practical guidance about how such a class can be structured. This approach is illustrated via a reflective case narrative describing how an introductory, undergraduate class at a mid-size, public university in the northwest partnered with a community agency. In the class, students learned and practiced evaluation principles in the context of a Parents as Teachers home visiting program, actively engaged in course assignments designed to support the program's evaluation needs, and presented meta-evaluative findings and recommendations for future evaluation work to the community partner to conclude the semester. This community-engaged approach to teaching evaluation anchors student learning in an applied context, promotes social engagement, and enables students to contribute to knowledge about effective human action, as outlined in the American Evaluation Association's Mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curriculum ideological & political education is to "foster virtue through education", that is, in the spirit of "ten years of nurturing a tree while a hundred years of training a man", to play an effective synergistic role in fostering students' virtue throughout their whole process of study. In this paper, we share our pedagogical view of course development for ideological & political education via sorting out new education and cultivation objectives, new teaching schemes and new design of example cases in the course of "General chemistry (H)" at Zhejiang University. Also, we share our experience by relying on the teachers as the main executors, the course development as the basic approach and the classroom as the primary location for effectively practicing ideological & political education along with integrating cultivation of chemistry subject knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review aimed to collate and summarize available research literature about wheelchair service provision education available to healthcare professional students, healthcare personnel and educators across low- to high-resourced settings. The Joanna Briggs Institute methodological steps for scoping reviews were followed. Included studies were mainly sourced from Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Academic Search Complete and ProQuest. Independent title, abstract and full-text screening with defined inclusion and exclusion criteria was performed. All screening and extraction were performed independently by two authors. A thematic approach was used to synthesize results. Data extracted from included studies were charted according to a template that we created. The study quality was also appraised. A total of 25 articles were included (11, 36% from high-income settings) with 12 (48%) observational studies and 13 (52%) experimental studies. The literature addressed three main topics: (1) assessing wheelchair service provision knowledge, (2) implementing training interventions using in-person, online and/or hybrid learning approaches and (3) describing current wheelchair service provision education globally. The most frequently reported training programs used were the Wheelchair Skills Program and the World Health Organization Wheelchair Service Training Package – Basic Level. Limited information has been published about the integration of wheelchair content into the curricula of professional rehabilitation programs. Efforts to build international partnerships, improve the quality and currency of training programs and build resources that can assist educators in the integration of wheelchair-related content into professional rehabilitation programs should be prioritized. This is the first review that examined and synthesized the current state of wheelchair service provision education for rehabilitation students and personnel across low- to high-income countries. Findings from this review indicate that there is limited information about the integration of wheelchair-related content into professional rehabilitation programs. Efforts to build international partnerships, standardize wheelchair service provision content and evaluation and integrate training into professional rehabilitation programs worldwide should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay addresses a nursing discipline- specific approach to teaching a course about lifespan growth and development. This course may be a requirement for the baccalaureate degree in nursing, offered as a pre-requisite to the nursing major or relevant content may be integrated into clinical courses. Noteworthy is that the content for the course frequently is drawn from the field of developmental psychology. In this essay, I offer a nursing-discipline specific approach guided by Meleis' transitions framework and the Roper-Logan-Tierney model of nursing based on activities of daily living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training in the field of implementation science is critical for future pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists to successfully implement precision health interventions in pharmacy practice. We developed an elective course for second- and third-year students at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to develop foundational knowledge in implementation science with a focus on precision health implementation. The eight-week course used a flipped classroom format featuring lecture videos, suggested readings, quizzes, guest lectures from experts, case studies, and a group project. We evaluated course quality through class participation, a pre- and post-test on course content, and a mixed-methods survey completed by the students. Overall engagement in in the course was high and students demonstrated significant improvement in understanding of implementation science and precision health. Strengths of the course as identified by students were the use of expert guest speakers, pre-class lectures, and case study exercises, while the ordering of content and improved connection between content and guest lectures were identified as areas for improvement. In conclusion, the elective course was well-received and meets a critical need in the field of pharmacy to build implementation science capacity. Future work is needed to expand and refine education for the implementation of precision health for pharmacy professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The content of noise, vibration, and harshness is an important part of the undergraduate mechanical engineering program education to prepare students ready for their future career, and it has received great attention from educators. Since course content in noise, vibration, and harshness usually requires more mathematical background knowledge and skills such as problem-solving in differential equations and linear algebra, students at the undergraduate level usually experience difficulty in the problem-solving work in noise, vibration, and harshness, though they have already completed the pre-requisite mathematics courses. In this paper, a new schedule and course content design for noise and vibration courses are introduced. By embedding active learning and design during projects, the students were able to obtain a better understanding of the concept of acoustics and vibration, as well as applying the knowledge from lectures to labs so they can connect the learning to real-world applications. Four projects are introduced and explained. To evaluate the effectiveness of the course, student outcomes are assessed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a set of guidelines called the Three-Tier Design Process (TTDP), providing a pathway for faculty and other higher-education professionals who intend to design and develop a course in a Learning Management System and to promote learner-centered experiences. This paper includes detailed discussion about each tier of the TTDP, its subcomponents, and an example of its application. The TTDP borrows from existing theories, models, and literature in the instructional design field that focuses on key aspects that help create positive learning experiences. Tier 1 focuses on course design and serves as a foundation for the next two tiers; Tier 2 emphasizes course development; and Tier 3 concentrates on the user-experience considerations. Examples from a real course are additionally provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student perceptions and opinions regarding the relevance of course content can influence their desire and motivation to learn. Instructors can benefit from including content relevant to students' lives, possibly leading them to take a greater interest in gaining knowledge and applying the material. This study aimed to investigate the health topics included in an introductory health course offered at a medium-sized, public liberal arts university in Tennessee and to explore perceptions of current undergraduate students regarding the relevance of those topics. Over the 2018–2019 academic year, four focus groups were conducted with 14 students who discussed their perceptions, opinions, and experiences of the course and offered suggestions regarding topics they thought should be incorporated in future iterations of the course. Participants wished that topics currently covered in the course, such as nutrition and fitness, would incorporate more experiential learning to provide greater applicability to their lives as college students. Students also expressed a desire for greater coverage of topics that they considered particularly relevant to their lifestyle and health, such as mental health, sleep, time management, and decision making. Information from this study can be used to help develop course content for undergraduate personal health courses so students can feel more connected to the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undergraduate students in engineering technology are typically not required to take any courses on numerical methods or computational techniques and thus have little or no knowledge of many basic numerical approaches commonly used in engineering disciplines, such as root finding, curve fitting, numerical integration, and numerical differentiation. In addition, they are only required to take one introductory level programming course and thus usually experience difficulty when working on course projects involving extensive programming. However, the industry is demanding different skillsets than the ones that were expected just a decade ago. Numerical and programming skills are becoming increasingly important. In this case study, the effectiveness of embedding numerical methods and MATLAB programming in MMET 303 Fluid Mechanics and Power, a four-credit junior-level required course offered every semester for undergraduates at the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University, was assessed. A series of learning modules were purposefully designed and implemented as a trial test in the classes offered in the semester of Fall 2023. Instructor's observation, submitted assignments, and survey results were analyzed. The results suggested that embedding numerical methods and associated MATLAB programming into a required course enhanced students’ analytical skills of tackling practical problems, helping them become better prepared as they move on into the industrial companies or the graduate schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Zealand Certificate in Early Childhood Education and Care (Level 4) programme was designed and developed when a Level 4 early childhood education qualification became mandatory for all educators working with children and families in the New Zealand early childhood education home-based sector. This occurred at a time when Open Polytechnic was undergoing a transformational change programme to ensure ongoing innovation in open distant flexible learning (ODFL). This paper provides insight into the design and development of a fully online, Level 4, early childhood education and care programme. Several "stories" focus on pedagogy that empowers learners in an online flexible distance learning environment, innovative teamwork, and initial feedback from stakeholders. The pedagogy underpinning the development of the programme is informed by the integration of sociocultural and constructivist theories with information communication technology (ICT), as specified by The Pedagogic Model of Integrating Constructivist and Sociocultural Learning Principles with Information Communication Technology, key educational design principles, and the assessment approach. In the first phase, work focused on designing at a programme level; work in the second phase developed the three courses that met qualification specifications set by the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF). The desired pedagogy and innovative teamwork resulted in very positive initial feedback from stakeholders. The paper recommends that feedback from stakeholders be formally collected in the new year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a recent article published by Inside Higher Ed (2018), one-third of all students are taking at least one online class and without that option available, many colleges and universities would see their enrollment in decline. The question for those institutions that do not provide such an online offering is "where do we begin?" This becomes a complicated question when asking other faculty who have experience developing online courses since there is no standard method by which to design them. There are some important considerations and valuable tools that can be useful in deciding how to develop not only the first course, but all of those to follow. While this paper is geared toward an audience with no experience in online courses, there are elements that may be useful to anyone building or revising their curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Master Plan for Medical Studies 2020 places additional emphasis on curricular development processes. In addition, institutes may recognize a need to optimize their courses, for example because of poor evaluations. Frequently, however, the resources required for comprehensive optimizations are not available. In the present study, we aimed to use the example of a biochemistry seminar that takes place in the preclinical part of the medical degree at Ulm University Medical School to show how a course can be successfully optimized in small steps and evaluation results can be used for quality assurance. Methods: Similar to a continuous improvement process (CIP), over the course of five years a biochemistry seminar was gradually optimized in three steps. This process used structural, methodological, and content components, such as vertical integration, the inverted classroom method, and competence orientation. For quality assurance, we analyzed the official, standardized evaluation sheets from a total of n=1248 students. We evaluated the optimization process on the basis of responses to evaluation statements that were arranged into categories such as "organization, structure, implementation" and "quality of teaching," free text information, and the results of a pilot study conducted in parallel. We then determined the usefulness of the students' evaluation results for evaluating the optimization process. Results: Each developmental step resulted in a significantly more positive overall evaluation of the seminar by the students. This result was independent of whether the development was on a structural or methodological/content-related level. In addition, the evaluations of the categories that were optimized were significantly better. For example, the vertical integration and introduction of the inverted classroom method were accompanied by a better evaluation of the "quality of teaching" and a change in the structure led to a higher score in the category "organization, structure, implementation." A comparison with the free text evaluation sheets and the results of the pilot study supports the results. Conclusion: Although optimization of a curriculum or course is a major task, it can also be successfully completed in small steps. With this approach, new learning goals, for example as required in the Master Plan for Medical Studies 2020, can be continuously integrated and student satisfaction with a course can be increased. Student evaluation results can represent a kind of quality assurance in this process and can provide important impulses for optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a step-by-step conversion of a face-to-face (F2F) entry level social work research methods course to a computer-mediated format. An overview of teaching practices and the important pedagogical foundations associated with this curricular effort are discussed followed by an introduction to the electronic platform utilized in the course. Five new teaching practices that guide the F2F-to-online course conversion of this introductory research methods course are presented with corresponding teaching activities and technological tools. A conversion matrix aligns the teaching practices, classroom activities, and provides references for the identified tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to accreditation of our Master of Public Health program, integration of Indigenous public health competencies, and implementation of the health promotion practitioner accreditation in Australia, we designed a core Master of Public Health promotion course. In this article, we begin by describing the three sets of competencies that informed our course development. Despite consensus that reflexivity is central to effective health promotion practice, there was limited reference to reflexive practice within established competencies. However, given our broader alignment with Freire's philosophy of "conscientization," we came to realize that reflexivity was central to our pedagogical framework. In what follows, we describe the conceptualization of reflexivity that guided course development and how reflexivity was integrated into the lecture and assessment content. We highlight how reflection, as part of the assessment, was applied as a means of engaging students in their journey through understanding the inextricably social, political, economic, and cultural nature of health and health promotion practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This session will present how New Mexico State University, through the Disability Access Services Department, works with students who disclose a disability or impairment that creates barriers in their courses or other University sponsored activities. It will include a brief overview of post-secondary trends and the most commonly reported disabilities and requests for accommodations in university settings. Attendees will become familiar with the process to implement accommodations that can mitigate such barriers and what it means to be a qualified student with a disability who can receive accommodations. After covering how to meet the requirements of the American's with Disabilities Act (ADA), the session will provide strategies for course development that can be inclusive of every student and even reduce the need for students with disabilities to request accommodations. We will discuss Universal Design concepts and provide examples of strategies that can be built into a course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In education for sustainable development (ESD), the inclusion and handling of a multitude of perspectives and the interconnectivity of different dimensions of the world are often targeted. Based on the assumption that concept maps can capture notions of this learning, concept maps generated by students were used to complement a large number of other empirical data from several years of a master level course module in engineering education with a specific focus on ESD. Multivariate data analysis (MVDA) was used to find correlations between the many different variables. Empirical data included data on the background of students, on their participation in different teaching and learning activities (TLAs), and on their performance in different types of assessment, including concept maps generated before and after the course. According to the concept map results, the students seem to develop, in general, a more balanced and systemic view during the course. The use of MVDA was helpful in revealing both expected and unexpected co-variations. Results show that previous experiences (student background) is an important factor behind high performance and that TLAs in the course are providing complementary knowledge. The main focus of this paper is on how the innovative approach of combining the use of concept maps and MVDA can provide useful understanding of possible correlations between student characteristics, their participation in TLAs and their performance in assessments in an ESD course. The use of concept maps was seen as useful in capturing important notions of ESD while the MVDA enabled quick analysis of the large data set. Highlights • Student data included concept map results (pre- and post-course) over 5 years. • Multivariate Data Analysis (MVDA) was used to analyze correlations. • The teaching helped students develop a more systemic and balanced view. • However, student background was also important. • MVDA was found useful for analysis and pedagogical reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiencing discrimination based on body size has numerous health consequences and negatively affects motivation for positive health behaviors. Because weight bias is particularly prevalent among health professionals, interventions to reduce weight bias in this group are essential. The purpose of this mixed-methods, 15-week study was to develop and examine the effect of a college course focused on reducing weight bias in health promotion undergraduates. In this study (N = 64), quantitative change in implicit and explicit weight bias among students enrolled in a course to reduce weight bias was compared with a control group and two other groups of students in the health promotion degree program. Qualitative data were also analyzed through content analysis of pre- and postsemester writing assignments among students in the course focused on weight bias. Statistical analyses revealed a significant reduction in explicit weight bias among students in the course focused on weight bias with no significant changes in explicit weight bias for any other group. There were no significant changes in implicit weight bias for any group. Content analysis of qualitative data was consistent with the quantitative reductions in extrinsic weight bias. Students shared substantially more nuanced understandings of obesity postsemester. Furthermore, the persistence of internal contradictions in students’ analyses illustrates the particular challenge in reducing implicit bias. These results demonstrate that, although intrinsic weight bias may be more difficult to change, a college course focused on reducing weight bias can facilitate significant reductions in extrinsic weight bias among health promotion undergraduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human physiology is a core physical sciences course for health professions students, such as nurses and exercise science majors. The concepts of human physiology lay the foundation for health professions courses, such as pathophysiology. The National Council Licensing Exam for registered nurses (a timed nursing licensure exam) and the American College of Sports Medicine timed licensure exams for exercise sciences students have a framework consisting of human physiology concepts and are computer adaptive testing (CAT) assessments. This provides a case for electronic testing (in the undergraduate class setting) as a preparatory measure for CAT licensing exams. Case studies have illustrated a high information retention rate, with students completing online homework vs. paper, as well. Additionally, in recent years, virtual laboratories for nonphysical science majors have been described as safer and effective for the purposes of educating students in laboratory techniques and experimental measures. Lastly, a successful learning approach utilized by museums has been found to be effective in younger students as well: “touch learning” (tactile learning). It also is important to note that student discussions and the face-to-face teaching dynamic play a critical role in the undergraduate education process. As such, the teaching methodology discussed here combines e-learning, virtual laboratories, tactile learning, and face-to-face didactic instruction of human physiology in developing a course to engage undergraduate health professions students, increase retention of human physiology course materials, and simultaneously prepare students for the CAT assessments that are licensing exams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current transition towards smart distribution systems necessitates the development of educational curricula that have the interdisciplinary breadth together with the technical depth to furnish the present and future generation of engineers with a new set of skills and tools to address the challenges associated with emerging smart grid technologies. This work presents a newly designed smart distribution course that is intended to meet the needs of the power distribution industry. The paper gives a high-level overview of the broad range of topics related to developments and trends in smart distribution technologies including automatic restoration, data management, cybersecurity, interoperability and standards, and future vision. It stresses the multidisciplinary nature of the course and the importance of the strong collaboration between academia and key stakeholders, and the support from utilities, industry, government, and consultants. The course has been developed and taught by distribution system experts who are currently implementing smart grid technologies along with smart grid pioneers who are known worldwide. Moreover, to measure the effectiveness of the instructional approach of the course, students learning outcomes were assessed and discussed. The lessons learned from the implementation of the course are also summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional career preparation courses provide students with a variety of benefits. Students taking these courses report a better understanding of psychology-related careers, less indecision about their future careers, and are more knowledgeable about themselves in relation to careers. Yet only 37% of undergraduate psychology programs offer formal career preparation through the curriculum. Given the lack of experience and training faculty have on career preparation issues, they may be uncomfortable developing such courses. This article addresses considerations one should make when developing a career preparation course for undergraduate psychology majors as well as potential topics and assignments for the course. It also outlines how to place career preparation within the major using modules when career preparation courses are not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose was to investigate whether it would be useful for development purposes to include a survey of learning styles among student and teachers as part of the evaluation of a graduate course in statistics in a Public Health Programme, and to compare the learning styles of students and lecturers. A qualitative analysis was conducted to identify the implicit styles embedded in course descriptions. The D-SA-LSI based on Sternberg’s theory of mental self-government was used to measure learning styles. The 14 learning style scales has good psychometric properties, and measure qualitatively different styles. Results showed differences between the learning styles of teachers and students, and identified two areas for course development: the design of exercises with regard to the level of abstraction and concreteness; the incompatibility of the relatively complex ways of thinking embedded in course objectives and the students’ preferences for thinking at a cognitively simpler level while learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper chronicles the experience of academic staff in developing a course to enhance the critical thinking skills of environmental management undergraduates. We outline our considerations and process for course development, discuss insights from course evaluations, and reflect on the challenges encountered. We believe these perspectives will be useful for others who are developing critical thinking skills curricula, especially first year courses. Aspects of the course design which were considered particularly effective were the use of scaffolded assessment, the application of threshold concepts, and well-structured collaborative learning activities paired with quality tutors. The key learning for the authors from the evaluation of the course was that while the tools and strategies developed were very useful, interweaving these tools into year 2 and 3 courses would help students see the ongoing value of critical thinking in their work. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article we discuss an action research experience that took place from 2002 to 2015. We analyze the inception and progress of several project-based learning-centered academic courses that were aimed at developing the project management skills of graduate and undergraduate students. The experience involved approximately 1800 students from two universities and 40 community partners. The students developed real-life projects on behalf of institutions and non-governmental organizations located in the area that help people in need; we refer to these agencies as ‘community partners.’ We analyze the development of the course from a systemic perspective, making use of causal loop diagrams in order to understand the main driving dynamics. We discuss the results achieved by these projects and the benefits brought to the community partners. We also present testimony from the community partners themselves. We conclude by presenting the lessons we learned over the years we have been running this course. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Simple surveys are the predominant tool for course evaluations in most universities, but their validity has been questioned. They have been criticized for being a ritual way of complying with administrative regulations rather than a way of improving educational quality. Moreover, there is often a focus on student satisfaction, where the complexity of learning processes and the development of learner identities are lost. As an alternative approach, a qualitative course evaluation was tested that consisted of a single question: What could have been done in this course in order to better support your learning? Twenty-one second-year psychology students completed the evaluation at the end of a course. They provided rich answers describing learning activities and communication, and they described both teachers and students as agents. Going beyond merely reporting possible improvements, the students saw their learning processes in a context of academic demands and social mechanisms. It is argued that qualitative course evaluations can provide information about students’ understanding of their own learning that is difficult to uncover in a traditional survey. It is concluded that qualitative course evaluations would support the development of a student learner identity and help create a role for students as co-producers of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reports on perceptions and practices in relation to integrating culture into EFL teaching and how course material was designed within the Thai curriculum framework. Thai teachers’ understanding of what constitutes culture, the role it plays in language learning and how such understanding is being translated into pedagogical practices are under investigation. The practice demonstrated an attempt to adapt the Byram’s model to fit local circumstances, policies and needs. The knowledge of everyday cultures of native speakers was promoted, whilst cultures in the prior curriculum merely constituted high cultures such as literature. Potential materials, including newspapers and magazine articles, nonfiction, TV programmes and films were suggested to encourage an ethnographic frame of mind in students. The discussion of a few practical ways in which these materials can be used to promote cultural awareness and how they could be used to facilitate opportunities for language skills practice were provided. Feedback from students include the novelty of the experience, changing perspectives, facilitating better communication, practical and useful knowledge, fun, autonomous learning, critical thinking and empathy towards other cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The science of cartography has evolved significantly during the last years. Major developments have been achieved in the specific areas of output media, map production technologies and dissemination channels. The existence of several freely available web-mapping tools (e.g. JavaScript mapping libraries) encourages a broader community of users to produce web-maps and visually represent research results and data. Despite the obvious advantages of promoting the importance of cartography to a wider audience, the difficulty of conveying, acquiring and applying specialised cartographic knowledge might discourage this new global "crowd" of prosumers (= at the same time producer and users of maps). A modern and promising approach in reaching those target groups is through a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). MOOCs belong to a relatively new Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) group of educational approaches, which an increasing number of universities try to integrate in their teaching. The main objectives of those courses is to disseminate knowledge through the sharing of free high-quality learning materials, to produce new knowledge through students' interactions with the course platform, and to enable research on education and learning. In spite of the numerous advantages offered by MOOCs, their number remains relatively small within the field of cartography, compared to other scientific areas (e.g. Business & Management). In order to disseminate the missing cartographic knowledge by means of state-of-the-art online and distance learning tools, a project group at the Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation (IKG) of ETH Zurich has initiated and developed a new introductory MOOC on Web Cartography since 2017. It is to our knowledge the first introductory MOOC on Web Cartography addressing both cartographers and non-cartographers. Based on our experience in the regular university courses and on numerous external requests for support in web cartography, we want to provide the MOOC students with the theoretical background, technical knowledge and practical skills to successfully produce interactive cartographic web applications. The course is divided in two parts. Part 1 deals with web technologies to create interactive web maps. It first describes the functioning of JavaScript mapping libraries and shows how animations and interactive elements can be added. Part 2 deepens the knowledge on JavaScript mapping libraries, shows how map data can be processed and manipulated, gives an overview of web-friendly data formats and presents powerful visualization components and a data-driven approach to DOM manipulation. Furthermore, the basics of 3D graphics are introduced. Finally, the web map application is completed with a user-friendly interface. Table 1 gives an overview of the course content structured in modules. The course is based on 9 different didactic pillars: 1. The course follows a competence-based design approach that focuses on the outcomes of the learning process. 2. The overall learning targets and objectives are defined at the beginning of each course week, and refer to course lessons as well as to exercises. Even for each single lesson, the specific learning content is presented at the beginning and the student is accordingly guided step-by-step through the lesson. 3. A Pedagogical approach of "Extreme Apprenticeship" has been chosen. It comprises various exercises that offer the opportunity for actual practice, as well as continuous feedback from the advisor to the learner during the supervised course phase. 4. A learning plan is offered for each participant. If necessary, the plan can be individually adjusted by supplying scheduling assistance from the course team. The course can also be attended in a self-paced mode, outside of the official course phases. 5. The professor addresses the student directly under talking-head videos (Fig. 1). 6. Nevertheless, there are opportunities for social networking by setting up a space to foster social interaction and frequent contact among learners, and with the supervisors. 7. It was decided to use shorter videos, which are proven to be more engaging, leaving enough time to deepen the knowledge, i.e. by rewinding the video, as well as for the carefully adapted exercises. 8. The examples were chosen in order that they can be understood regardless of the cultural background. 9. During the supervised course phase, feedback was given by the course team after each e-assessment question In the first supervised phase, the course was attended by approximately 1000 students. As generally in MOOCs we could observe an effect of rather rapid increase of enrolment, but also a similar decrease of participation and power of endurance of the students. Only about 20 students have finally obtained a certificate of successful attendance. The feedback was generally good. The effort to provide personal feedback to the students was however rather high, and the exchange would have been easier in a personal classroom environment. Since the beginning of the course data have been collected to let us analyse the influence of our approach to the teaching experience as well as to identify its advantages and disadvantages. The produced knowledge can help us evaluate the followed methodology as well as to make suggestions for the future design of geospatial MOOCs and their impact on education and training in cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the outline of an interdisciplinary undergraduate course entitled: "Islands: Models for our Planet - Metaphors for our World", and will reflect on insights gained during its development and teaching in two consecutive academic years (2014-2015; 2015-2016). The main challenge faced during the development and teaching of this interdisciplinary course was to introduce a wide range of topics in a coherent way. For this reason, a theoretical framework was developed to guide students throughout their learning process and to structure the content of the course. The developed course materials are shared in the supplementary materials of this paper to facilitate colleagues around the world who are teaching a course in island studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youguang Tu is a contemporary Chinese philosopher of education. His course on philosophy of education had a significant impact on his students. This exploratory study examines how Tu designed and taught this course. Ultimately, there are two reasons why Tu’s course had such a significant influence on his students. The first is that Tu used problem-centered design to address both central problems of education and specific problems that students encountered. The second is that Tu exhibited a personal teaching style that incorporated elegant handwriting, appropriate analogies, and fierce passion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As traditional publishing becomes more digitized, the responsibilities of its professionals become increasingly distributed. This is especially true in situations where copy editors are required to work within a mark-up (increasingly XML) paradigm. In developing our curriculum, we have shaped our teaching of editorial practice to consistently reinforce the underlying structure of a publication, as inferred from the technology and practices of a production department. As such, the philosophy of creating a publication from an informed structural perspective has become one of our key driving concepts reinforced over the course of several modules in our degree and continuing professional development programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Increasing efforts are being made globally on capacity building. North-south research partnerships have contributed significantly to enhancing the research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past few decades; however, a lack of skilled researchers to inform health policy development persists, particularly in LMICs. TheEUFP7 fundedAfrican/AsianRegional CapacityDevelopment (ARCADE) projects were multi-partner consortia aimed to develop a new generation of highly trained researchers from universities across the globe, focusing on global health-related subjects: health systems and services research and research on social determinants of health. This article aims to outline the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the life course of the projects, focusing on the key outputs and experiences of developing and implementing these two projects together with sub-Saharan African, Asian and European institution partners. Design: Sixteen participants from 12 partner institutions were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis, which resulted in four themes and three sub-categories. These data were complemented by a review of project reports. Results: The results indicated that the ARCADE projects have been successful in developing and delivering courses, and have reached over 920 postgraduate students. Some partners thought the north-south and south-south partnerships that evolved during the project were the main achievement. However, others found there to be a 'north-south divide' in certain aspects. Challenges included technical constraints and quality assurance. Additionally, adapting new teaching and learning methods into current university systems was challenging, combined with not being able to award students with credits for their degrees. Conclusion: The ARCADE projects were introduced as an innovative and ambitious project idea, although not designed appropriately for all partner institutions. Some challenges were underestimated from the beginning, and for such future projects, a more structured approach needs to be adopted. ARCADE partners learned that integrating courses into current university systems and awarding students credits are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Increasing efforts are being made globally on capacity building. North-south research partnerships have contributed significantly to enhancing the research capacity in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the past few decades; however, a lack of skilled researchers to inform health policy development persists, particularly in LMICs. The EU FP7 funded African/Asian Regional Capacity Development (ARCADE) projects were multi-partner consortia aimed to develop a new generation of highly trained researchers from universities across the globe, focusing on global health-related subjects: health systems and services research and research on social determinants of health. This article aims to outline the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the life course of the projects, focusing on the key outputs and experiences of developing and implementing these two projects together with sub-Saharan African, Asian and European institution partners. Design: Sixteen participants from 12 partner institutions were interviewed. The data were analysed using thematic content analysis, which resulted in four themes and three sub-categories. These data were complemented by a review of project reports. Results: The results indicated that the ARCADE projects have been successful in developing and delivering courses, and have reached over 920 postgraduate students. Some partners thought the north-south and south-south partnerships that evolved during the project were the main achievement. However, others found there to be a 'north-south divide' in certain aspects. Challenges included technical constraints and quality assurance. Additionally, adapting new teaching and learning methods into current university systems was challenging, combined with not being able to award students with credits for their degrees. Conclusion: The ARCADE projects were introduced as an innovative and ambitious project idea, although not designed appropriately for all partner institutions. Some challenges were underestimated from the beginning, and for such future projects, a more structured approach needs to be adopted. ARCADE partners learned that integrating courses into current university systems and awarding students credits are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes an innovative elective nursing course developed and implemented in a private, liberal arts school of nursing grounded in Dominican values of study, reflection, and action. Course development, course content, and highlights and lowlights of the first cohort experience and implications for the community are discussed, along with background about veteran-centered care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet Based learning is an emerging concept in distanced education now-a-days. Quality Benchmarks were also equally important to consider. The study was aimed to investigate the impact of flexibility in internet based distance education on quality benchmarks. A self-administered 7 point likert scale questionnaire was adopted for primary data collection. Virtual University of Pakistan has been chosen as target organization under judgmental sampling technique. 205 faculty members of Virtual University of Pakistan recorded their responses. Correlation and regression analysis was run in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 19.0 for data analysis. Findings proved that flexibility has positive impact on quality benchmarks. Data shows that flexibility explains 18.9% variation in quality benchmarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a response to the new requirements posed by the shift towards Smartgrids, there have been many initiatives worldwide to develop and update power engineering education curricula. This paper reports efforts to develop courses with the purpose to cross the gap between the disciplines of power engineering and information communication technology at KTH—the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. The course portfolio is engineered to complement several master programs offered by the university, and the intended audience are students and practitioners both with and without the power engineering background. This paper primarily focuses on details of a keystone course, Computer Applications in Power Systems, and its connection with the other courses in the portfolio. To prove the popularity and relevance of the reported course portfolio, increasingly positive feedback from students, recognition from industry partners, and accomplishments in terms of meeting several strategic goals in education set by the IEEE Power & Energy Society are also reported by this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper considers the research philosophy of co-production for use in the field of EAP, where it has been little utilised as a guiding principle for research and development projects. The central question to be addressed is the appropriacy of co-production in a specific setting, and the challenges and benefits it brings to the research process. For projects situated in settings that are relatively unfamiliar to professional researchers, co-production provides a promising framework to i) ensure diversity of contextually appropriate perspectives, ii) engender collaboration and egalitarianism, iii) build capacity for action, and iv) engage with and bring together the community to work towards a common goal. We explored the potential of co-production through a project aiming to improve EAP teaching quality in tertiary education in Uzbekistan. The project was designed and implemented by one UK-based and four Uzbekistan-based team members who trained tertiary-level teachers to better instruct EAP, and it successfully reached approximately 300 teaching professionals across Uzbekistan. We detail how co-production brought value to the project but also ways in which it could not be fully implemented. We intend this paper to be an introduction to the application of co-production, through which others in EAP can explore its exciting possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curriculum development research on nursing English in Taiwan has tended to end at needs analysis, offering little guidance on how to design and implement a course. Our objective was to examine how a course on workplace communication in English for nursing students in Taiwan would emerge in the classroom if teachers and students collaboratively generated language needs analysis and a syllabus of communicative performances. An action research approach was used to guide and document the teaching/learning and research process, and content analysis was used to examine and thematize the data. The research setting was an elective, one-semester nursing English course for students in a Bachelor of Science in nursing program in Taiwan. The participants were 16 third-year students whose first language is Mandarin Chinese, during their first semester of nursing practicum courses. Four types of interactional language (empirical, existential, transactional, discussion) and eight learning strategies emerged during weekly performance development. This study provides an innovative approach to course development in nursing English for foreign and second language users. Collaboratively developing an emergent syllabus of communicative performances in an action research framework can be a productive way to build an English health communication repertoire that is engaging, memorable, and adaptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secure hash functions are the unsung heroes of modern cryptography. Introductory courses in cryptography often leave them out; since they do not have a secret key, it is difficult to use hash functions by themselves for cryptography. In addition, most theoretical discussions of cryptographic systems can get by without mentioning them. However, for secure practical implementations of public-key ciphers, digital signatures, and many other systems, they are indispensable. In this article, the author discusses the requirements for a secure hash function and relates his attempts to come up with a “toy” system which is both reasonably secure and also suitable for students to work with by hand in a classroom setting. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The advancement of research from basic science discovery to clinical application requires the extensive collaboration of individuals from multiple disciplines, therefore the ability to work as an effective interprofessional team is essential for researchers in clinical and translational science (CTS). Courses that build interprofessional skills are a key component in CTS education, but the development of these courses poses numerous administrative and educational challenges. This paper describes the processes of designing, implementing, and evaluating an innovative graduate-level course that combines online lectures and in-class facilitated group discussions to promote interprofessional interactions. The course offers students the opportunity to interact with and learn from individuals in a variety of disciplines, and it requires students to engage in interprofessional group work to meet the course objectives. During the past 4 years, 96 students from the schools of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, public health, and health and rehabilitation sciences at a large urban university have completed the course. The course has been well-received, with 87% of students rating its overall quality as excellent, good, or satisfactory. The course offers educators a model to teach graduate students the skills that are essential for becoming effective CTS researchers. Clin Trans Sci 2012; Volume #: 1-7 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving foundation-level practice behaviors to develop social work core competencies involves integrating learning across a curriculum. This article focuses on two phases of foundation-level course redevelopment aimed to support graduate students in accomplishing this outcome. The first phase involved restructuring the course to become a constructivist learning environment. The second phase involved the use of cultural historical activity theory to assess this environment and design additional components to better address student needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes Demitasse, a cipher that is intended to be used by inexperienced students in a classroom setting. The cipher is based on the Tiny Encryption Algorithm, but the parameters have been reduced in order to allow the students to operate the cipher with paper and pencil rather than a computer. Nevertheless, students using the cipher should gain some understanding into the inner workings of a modern computer cipher. An example of the use of Demitasse in the classroom is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a blended learning approach to teaching an Electronic Instrumentation course for a degree in Telecommunications Engineering at the University of Málaga, Spain. This work describes the combination of virtual training, implemented in a Moodle platform, and classical attendance training. One of the key aspects of this blended approach is the inclusion of new pedagogical materials. Methodological strategies and innovations have been applied in teaching practice on a real Electronic Instrumentation course during the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 academic years. The course has also been evaluated through the students' opinions. Results derived from this evaluation have been successful and promising in improving the learning experience, with a high level of acceptance and satisfaction with the course organisation and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes a case study in which the main objective is to understand how engineering students can improve their writing skills, regarding spelling and syntax, when taught specifically on these issues. The methodology Writing To Learn is applied in two courses and, making use of the written texts, the students’ writing skills are assessed and evaluated. In one course, writing skills are taught and assessed and in the other they are only assessed. The comparison allows conclusions on the success of teaching writing skills, the influence of text styles and the differences between basic and advanced writing skills. It was found that writing skills were successfully taught, particularly with regard to basic writing skills. Advanced writing errors are twice as common as basic writing errors. Schematic writing styles favour a reduced number of writing errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]