Curriculum Content (curriculum + content)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


European College of Gerodontology: undergraduate curriculum guidelines in Gerodontology

GERODONTOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Anastassia Kossioni
Effective undergraduate teaching of gerodontology to present and future dental students is important if good oral health care of older people is to be assured. A review of the undergraduate curriculum for gerodontology is presented and indicates the need for a knowledge base from which new graduates can develop a special interest in care of older patients. The aim is improved care of older patients, satisfaction for teaching staff involved and improved professional standing for Dentistry. Motivation of students could also be achieved by the positive match between rising patient awareness and ethical responsibility of the profession for those older patients. As it stands, the undergraduate curriculum should include topics on specific care for the elderly and other patient groups, which extend the competences already agreed by the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE). The logistics of teaching these topics will need co-ordination of those staff with appropriate skill and interest, preferably as a development of existing curriculum content. [source]


Institutional and curricular characteristics of leading graduate HRD programs in the United States

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2002
K. Peter Kuchinke
HRD graduate programs form an important component of the system of human resource education in the United States. This study investigated the institutional and curricular characteristics of fifty-five leading programs in this country, focusing on three areas: institutional arrangements, student enrollment, and core curriculum content. Findings include a large degree of heterogeneity among program names, departmental affiliations, and specializations. Compared to data from 1991, student enrollment has declined at the master's level while part-time course taking has increased. Analysis of the core curriculum at these institutions showed a disparity between course offerings and much current writing in the field. [source]


The Role of Process Evaluation in the Training of Facilitators for an Adolescent Health Education Program

JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH, Issue 4 2000
Deborah Helitzer
ABSTRACT: This article reports on the process evaluation of the training of facilitators for the Adolescent Social Action Program, a health education program in Albuquerque, New Mexico that trained college students and adult volunteers to work with middle school students. From the process evaluation data collected throughout a four-year period (1995,1998), data relevant to training are described: facilitator characteristics, facilitator training, curriculum implementation, and use of the program's model designed to promote critical thinking and dialogue. Results indicated that, though most facilitators reported the training was sufficient to enable them to implement the curriculum, they did not completely do so, especially as groups reached their final sessions. Facilitators covered the core curriculum content, but often failed to follow through with the more abstract activities. The need to perform and report the process evaluation in time to provide ample opportunity for trainers and curriculum designers to make appropriate adjustments is discussed. [source]


Relevant behavioural and social science for medical undergraduates: a comparison of specialist and non-specialist educators

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 10 2006
Sarah Peters
Aim, To compare what medical educators who are specialists in the behavioural and social sciences and their non-specialist counterparts consider to be core concepts that medical graduates should understand. Background, Previously perceived as ,nice to know' rather than ,need to know', the General Medical Council (GMC) now places behavioural and social sciences on the same need-to-know basis as clinical and basic sciences. Attempts have been made to identify what components of these topics medical students need to know; however, it remains unknown if decisions over programme content differ depending on whether or not educationalists have specialist knowledge of the behavioural and social sciences. Methods, In a survey of medical educationalists within all UK medical schools, respondents were asked to indicate from a comprehensive list of psychological, sociological and anthropological concepts what they considered a minimally competent graduate should understand. Comparisons were made between the concepts identified by specialist behavioural and social science (BSS) educators and those without such training. Results, Despite different disciplinary backgrounds, non-specialist educators largely concurred with BSS specialist educators in the concepts they considered tomorrow's doctors should know about. However, among BSS specialists there remained disagreement on what BSS content was relevant for graduates. Differences reflect specialist knowledge and recognition of the role of theoretical underpinning of BSS and reveal gaps in non-specialists knowledge. Conclusions, Educationalists with formal training in the full range of behavioural and social sciences should be involved in the development of BSS curriculum content at both national and school levels. [source]


Using instructional logs to identify quality in educational settings

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, Issue 121 2009
Brian Rowan
When attempting to identify educational settings that are most effective in improving student achievement, classroom process (that is, the way in which a teacher interacts with his or her students) is a key feature of interest. Unfortunately, high-quality assessment of the student-teacher interaction occurs all too infrequently, despite the critical role that understanding and measuring such processes can play in school improvement. This article discusses the strengths and weaknesses of two common approaches to studying these processes,direct classroom observation and annual surveys of teachers,and then describes the ways in which instructional logs can be used to overcome some of the limitations of these two approaches when gathering data on curriculum content and coverage. Classroom observations are expensive, require extensive training of raters to ensure consistency in the observations, and because of their expense generally cannot be conducted frequently enough to enable the researcher to generalize observational findings to the entire school year or illuminate the patterns of instructional change that occur across the school year. Annual surveys are less expensive but often suffer from self-report bias and the bias that occurs when teachers are asked to retrospectively report on their activities over the course of a single year. Instructional logs offer a valid, reliable, and relatively cost-effective alternative for collecting detailed information about classroom practice and can overcome some of the limitations of both observations and annual surveys. [source]


Review of anatomy education in Australian and New Zealand medical schools

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 4 2010
Steven Craig
Abstract Anatomy instruction at Australian and New Zealand medical schools has been the subject of considerable debate recently. Many commentators have lamented the gradual devaluation of anatomy as core knowledge in medical courses. To date, much of this debate has been speculative or anecdotal and lacking reliable supporting data. To provide a basis for better understanding and more informed discussion, this study analyses how anatomy is currently taught and assessed in Australian and New Zealand medical schools. A mailed questionnaire survey was sent to each of the 19 Australian and 2 New Zealand medical schools, examining the time allocation, content, delivery and assessment of anatomy for the 2008 academic year. Nineteen of the 21 (90.5%) universities invited to participate completed the survey. There was considerable variability in the time allocation, content, delivery and assessment of anatomy in Australasian medical schools. The average total hours of anatomy teaching for all courses was 171 h (SD ± 116.7, range 56/560). Historical data indicate a major decline in anatomy teaching hours within medical courses in Australia and New Zealand. Our results reveal that as there is no national curriculum for anatomy instruction, the curriculum content, instruction methodology and assessment is highly variable between individual institutions. Such variability in anatomy teaching and assessment raises an important question: is there also variable depth of understanding of anatomy between graduates of different medical courses? [source]


Contemporary issues in dental education in Australia

AUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010
TJ Freer
Abstract Australia has witnessed a proliferation of dental workforce training opportunities over the last 15 years, including dentists, dental therapists, dental hygienists and prosthetists. The reasons for this have not been examined critically. Universities have welcomed the opportunities to increase the student base but do not seem to have examined the advisability of continued expansion or its impact on the delivery and costs of health services. Nor have they enquired expressly whether they have any responsibility in these matters. Public health benefits should constitute a significant element of curriculum design. There seems to have been a general acceptance of the premise that more is necessarily better. Ironically, these developments have occurred in the face of significant recurrent cost increments and serious academic staff shortages. The schools have responded with alterations to curriculum content. Student cohort composition, course structures, educational focus, postgraduate training and research have been affected. The primary purpose of this review is to highlight the issues which currently drive workforce training and curriculum content and to suggest that some current practices should be re-examined as a starting point for setting defined common objectives within the Australian dental educational spectrum. Salient issues which require examination include course standards and accreditation, workforce mix, dental health demands, public service obligations and staffing profiles. [source]


Study of Gerontological Nursing Curriculum

NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 3 2002
S.J. Chon
The purpose of this study was: (i) to survey the present status of the gerontological nursing course in 3-year diploma programs, baccalaureate degree programs (BSN), and graduate programs in Korea; and (ii) to analyze the contents of the syllabus, credits, clinical practise, and gerontological nursing textbooks used within these programs, so as to provide basic data for developing a standard model for a gerontological nursing curriculum. Primary data were collected from all the nursing programs in Korea, from November 2000 to February 2001, by way of mail and fax. Data on the detailed contents of the gerontological nursing curriculum were collected from those programs that had a gerontological nursing course. The results of the study revealed that 36 diploma programs (58%), 40 BSN (80%), and 17 graduate programs (63%) offered gerontological nursing courses. The credits of the gerontological nursing course offered, by program, were found to be: one credit (10 diploma programs, eight BSN programs), two credits (22 diploma programs, 29 BSN programs) and three credits (one BSN program). The gerontological nursing courses were found to be taught mostly by adult health nursing professors. The contents of gerontological nursing curricula were analyzed by comparison with the core curriculum of NGNA. The majority of the nursing schools were found to include the following: gerontological nursing in general; theory of aging; aging processes; care plan options; and common health problems. Legal/ethical issues; evaluation; regulatory and reimbursement issues; education issues; nursing research in gerontology; and environment issues of older adults were not covered in most of the programs. Differences were noted between ADN, BSN, and graduate school curricula. However, similar curriculum contents were found among the undergraduate programs, suggesting that these curricula used gerontological nursing textbooks as references. [source]