Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Science Students (science + student)
Kinds of Science Students Selected AbstractsDiagnostic online assessment of basic IT skills in 1st-year undergraduates in the Medical Sciences Division, University of OxfordBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Vivien Sieber Attitude, experience and competence (broadly covered by the European Computer Driving Licence syllabus) in information technology (IT) were assessed in 846 1st-year Medical Sciences Division undergraduates (2003,06) at the start of their first term. Online assessments delivered during induction workshops were presented as an opportunity for self-evaluation and to provide performance-related recommendations for training. Results were consistent over 4 years. There was no difference in attitude between years or programme of study and the majority selected ,competent to use a range of applications'. Nor were there any differences in competence between all students in any year; however, male Medical Science students performed significantly better than females (2006). Students with a recognised IT qualification also did significantly better than those without. There was a discrepancy between measured skill and individual self-evaluation of competence; in particular, weaker students overestimated their competence. In all years, some students showed a fundamental lack of understanding of basic IT skills. Introducing online diagnostic testing raised the profile of the importance of IT skills to both academic staff and students. [source] MATLAB as an introductory programming languageCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006M. A. Wirth Abstract This paper explores the use of MATLAB for teaching the fundamental constructs of programming languages to engineering and science students. It was found that the time taken for students to learn programming can be reduced by up to 50%, paving the way for using the language to solve problems. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 14: 20,30, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20064 [source] Images of poverty and attributions for poverty: does higher education moderate the linkage?,INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NONPROFIT & VOLUNTARY SECTOR MARKETING, Issue 2 2009Ishbel McWha ,Development Education' is a topical phrase describing campaigns to raise public awareness about global poverty, but how do such processes interact with more formal learning experiences, for example in Higher Education? One hundred and seventy-one final-semester Business versus Social Science University students experienced a conventionally ,cropped' (child's face only) versus ,full' (face-plus-context) campaign-like image of a child in poverty. They also completed the attribution-focused ,Causes of Third-World Poverty Questionnaire' (CTWPQ). Business students tended to disagree less than social science students with blaming-the-poor for poverty. More importantly, a cropped image condition resulted in significantly elevated blame-the-poor scores among business students, but not those in social science. Interactions like this suggest that campaign images can be psychologically tailored to differently educated market segments. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A systematic review of peer teaching and learning in clinical educationJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2008Jacinta Secomb Aims and objectives., The purpose of this review is to provide a framework for peer teaching and learning in the clinical education of undergraduate health science students in clinical practice settings and make clear the positive and negative aspects of this teaching and learning strategy. Background., The practice of using peers incidentally or purposefully in the clinical education of apprentice or undergraduate health science students is a well-established tradition and commonly practiced, but lacks definition in its implementation. Method., The author conducted a search of health science and educational electronic databases using the terms peer, clinical education and undergraduate. The set limitations were publications after 1980 (2005 inclusive), English language and research papers. Selection of studies occurred: based on participant, intervention, research method and learning outcomes, following a rigorous critical and quality appraisal with a purposefully developed tool. The results have been both tabled and collated in a narrative summary. Results., Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria, representing five countries and four health science disciplines. This review reported mostly positive outcomes on the effectiveness of peer teaching and learning; it can increase student's confidence in clinical practice and improve learning in the psychomotor and cognitive domains. Negative aspects were also identified; these include poor student learning if personalities or learning styles are not compatible and students spending less individualized time with the clinical instructor. Conclusions., Peer teaching and learning is an effective educational intervention for health science students on clinical placements. Preclinical education of students congruent with the academic timetable increases student educational outcomes from peer teaching and learning. Strategies are required prior to clinical placement to accommodate incompatible students or poor student learning. Relevance to clinical practice., The findings from this systematic review, although not statistically significant, do have pragmatic implications for clinical practice. It can increase clinical placement opportunities for undergraduate health students, assist clinical staff with workload pressures and increase clinician time with clients, while further developing students' knowledge, skills and attitudes. [source] An exploratory study of adolescent's perceptions of the WebJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 4 2003J. Dinet Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the influence of two individual characteristics (Web experience and academic focus) of adolescents on the Web perception, using off-line questionnaires (a Lickert response scale) constituted on the basis of a series of interviews. Questions concerned: perceptions about the nature of information found in the Web; ,strategies' of access to the interesting Internet sites and the reliability of different information resources (libraries, television, Web, etc.). Results lead to the assumption that adolescents with high Web experience became more critical, less confident and less enthusiastic than adolescents with low Web experience and that, in some dimensions, perceptions of literature students are different to those of science students. Even if some interesting results were obtained, further research is needed to explore users' perceptions related to individuals' characteristics and to determine the generalisability of the influences identified in this exploratory study. [source] Developing Political Competence: A Comparative Study Across DisciplinesPUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2001Joanne W Rains D.N.S. Political activism is one way that nurses care for individuals and communities, and intervene in the broad range of socioeconomic factors influencing health. Though policy advocacy is a core public health function and a valuable nursing activity, the process of acquiring requisite skills and attitudes for political involvement is not often explored. What crucial experiences enfranchise nursing students toward future policy involvement? What is the student journey toward political competence? Do nursing students vary from students of other disciplines in this process? In-depth interviews were conducted with baccalaureate nursing students and political science students who were near graduation. Content analysis of interview transcripts revealed several themes. Despite rich examples of activism, nursing students viewed public policy as a barrier, and did not see connections between the personal, professional, and political. Nursing seemed grounded in application and service, demonstrating by involvement that they could "walk the walk." Political science involvement originated in theory, and resulted in more articulate discourse on the subject: they could "talk the talk." The data suggest a need for interdisciplinary dialogue, faculty modelling of political competence, opportunities for students to realize personal, professional, and political connections, and a concern of socialization in the context of global citizenship. [source] Happy and healthy only if occupied?AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010Perceptions of health sciences students on occupation in later life Background/aim:,In this study, we bring attention to the university education of health science students with respect to occupation in later life. Our goal was to provide descriptive data from narratives of a group of undergraduate students and initiate discussion about the place of occupation in the context of ageing to answer the following questions: (i) How young people perceive successful ageing in relation to occupation? and (ii) can spirituality-related activities be considered occupations in later life? Methods:,Based on a thematic selection, the quality of photographs and reflective narratives, 60 Photovoice assignments created by health sciences students were analysed using content analysis. Results:,The findings of this study indicate that students seem to neglect the benefits of ,being' through spiritual engagement, and instead emphasise the importance of ,doing', and perpetuate pervasive successful ageing discourses in Western societies. Conclusions:,Occupational therapists have potential to take an active role in undergraduate health science education and to inform the development of holistic models that would include spirituality as an avenue to live late life to its fullest potential. Photovoice emerged as a powerful teaching method to increase awareness, empathy and compassion of young adults towards ageing. [source] Introducing undergraduate students to scienceBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 2 2010Paulo De Ávila Jr. Abstract Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and mandatory for science students. A 60-h course was created to offer undergraduate students a framework in which to learn the procedures of scientific production and publication. The course's main focus was biochemistry, and it was comprised of two modules. Module I dealt with scientific articles, and Module II with research project writing. Module I covered the topics: 1) the difference between scientific knowledge and common sense, 2) different conceptions of science, 3) scientific methodology, 4) scientific publishing categories, 5) logical principles, 6) deductive and inductive approaches, and 7) critical reading of scientific articles. Module II dealt with 1) selection of an experimental problem for investigation, 2) bibliographic revision, 3) materials and methods, 4) project writing and presentation, 5) funding agencies, and 6) critical analysis of experimental results. The course adopted a collaborative learning strategy, and each topic was studied through activities performed by the students. Qualitative and quantitative course evaluations with Likert questionnaires were carried out at each stage, and the results showed the students' high approval of the course. The staff responsible for course planning and development also evaluated it positively. The Biochemistry Department of the Chemistry Institute of the University of São Paulo has offered the course four times. [source] Genomics and bioinformatics in undergraduate curricula: Contexts for hybrid laboratory/lecture courses for entering and advanced science studentsBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 1 2010Louise Temple Abstract Emerging interest in genomics in the scientific community prompted biologists at James Madison University to create two courses at different levels to modernize the biology curriculum. The courses are hybrids of classroom and laboratory experiences. An upper level class uses raw sequence of a genome (plasmid or virus) as the subject on which to base the experience of genomic analysis. Students also learn bioinformatics and software programs needed to support a project linking structure and function in proteins and showing evolutionary relatedness of similar genes. An optional entry-level course taken in addition to the required first-year curriculum and sponsored in part by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, engages first year students in a primary research project. In the first semester, they isolate and characterize novel bacteriophages that infect soil bacteria. In the second semester, these young scientists annotate the genes on one or more of the unique viruses they discovered. These courses are demanding but exciting for both faculty and students and should be accessible to any interested faculty member. [source] Critical analysis on the use of poster display as an alternative evaluation method in basic biochemistryBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 4 2005Patricia M. B. Fernandes Abstract This article describes the use of poster preparation and display as an assessment tool and includes feedback from the students and academics concerned. This alternative approach has been used for four years since 2000 for biological science students studying biochemistry. The object of this approach was to get away from traditional teaching evaluation strategies, which promote passive learning and superficial memorization. Creating and presenting posters based on published manuscripts require students to understand, critically analyze, and disseminate the data, thereby promoting the understanding and retention of the material presented. [source] Happy and healthy only if occupied?AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010Perceptions of health sciences students on occupation in later life Background/aim:,In this study, we bring attention to the university education of health science students with respect to occupation in later life. Our goal was to provide descriptive data from narratives of a group of undergraduate students and initiate discussion about the place of occupation in the context of ageing to answer the following questions: (i) How young people perceive successful ageing in relation to occupation? and (ii) can spirituality-related activities be considered occupations in later life? Methods:,Based on a thematic selection, the quality of photographs and reflective narratives, 60 Photovoice assignments created by health sciences students were analysed using content analysis. Results:,The findings of this study indicate that students seem to neglect the benefits of ,being' through spiritual engagement, and instead emphasise the importance of ,doing', and perpetuate pervasive successful ageing discourses in Western societies. Conclusions:,Occupational therapists have potential to take an active role in undergraduate health science education and to inform the development of holistic models that would include spirituality as an avenue to live late life to its fullest potential. Photovoice emerged as a powerful teaching method to increase awareness, empathy and compassion of young adults towards ageing. [source] | |||||||||||||