Educational Content (educational + content)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The academic environment: the students' perspective

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 2008
K. Divaris (nci)
Abstract Dental education is regarded as a complex, demanding and often stressful pedagogical procedure. Undergraduates, while enrolled in programmes of 4,6 years duration, are required to attain a unique and diverse collection of competences. Despite the major differences in educational systems, philosophies, methods and resources available worldwide, dental students' views regarding their education appear to be relatively convergent. This paper summarizes dental students' standpoint of their studies, showcases their experiences in different educational settings and discusses the characteristics of a positive academic environment. It is a consensus opinion that the ,students' perspective' should be taken into consideration in all discussions and decisions regarding dental education. Moreover, it is suggested that the set of recommendations proposed can improve students' quality of life and well-being, enhance their total educational experience and positively influence their future careers as oral health physicians. The ,ideal' academic environment may be defined as one that best prepares students for their future professional life and contributes towards their personal development, psychosomatic and social well-being. A number of diverse factors significantly influence the way students perceive and experience their education. These range from ,class size', ,leisure time' and ,assessment procedures' to ,relations with peers and faculty', ,ethical climate' and ,extra-curricular opportunities'. Research has revealed that stress symptoms, including psychological and psychosomatic manifestations, are prevalent among dental students. Apparently some stressors are inherent in dental studies. Nevertheless, suggested strategies and preventive interventions can reduce or eliminate many sources of stress and appropriate support services should be readily available. A key point for the Working Group has been the discrimination between ,teaching' and ,learning'. It is suggested that the educational content should be made available to students through a variety of methods, because individual learning styles and preferences vary considerably. Regardless of the educational philosophy adopted, students should be placed at the centre of the process. Moreover, it is critical that they are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. Other improvements suggested include increased formative assessment and self-assessment opportunities, reflective portfolios, collaborative learning, familiarization with and increased implementation of information and communication technology applications, early clinical exposure, greater emphasis on qualitative criteria in clinical education, community placements, and other extracurricular experiences such as international exchanges and awareness of minority and global health issues. The establishment of a global network in dental education is firmly supported but to be effective it will need active student representation and involvement. [source]


Heart failure self-management education: a systematic review of the evidence

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVIDENCE BASED HEALTHCARE, Issue 3 2009
Suzanne Austin Boren PhD MHA
Abstract Objective, The objective of this systematic review is to identify educational content and techniques that lead to successful patient self-management and improved outcomes in congestive heart failure education programs. Methods, MEDLINE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, as well as reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews, were searched. Eligible studies were randomised controlled trials evaluating congestive heart failure self-management education programs with outcome measures. Two of the investigators independently abstracted descriptive information, education content topics and outcomes data. Results, A total of 7413 patients participated in the 35 eligible congestive heart failure self-management education studies. The congestive heart failure self-management programs incorporated 20 education topics in four categories: (i) knowledge and self-management (diagnosis and prognosis, pathophysiology of how congestive heart failure affects the body, aims of treatment, management and symptoms, medication review and discussion of side-effects, knowing when to access/call the general practitioner, communication with the physician, follow up for assessment or reinforcement); (ii) social interaction and support (social interaction and support, stress, depression); (iii) fluids management (sodium restriction, fluid balance, daily measurement of weight, ankle circumference, self-monitoring and compliance relative to fluids); and (iv) diet and activity (dietary assessment and instructions, physical activity and exercise, alcohol intake, smoking cessation). A total of 113 unique outcomes in nine categories (satisfaction, learning, behaviour, medications, clinical status, social functioning, mortality, medical resource utilisation and cost) were measured in the studies. Sixty (53%) of the outcomes showed significant improvement in at least one study. Conclusion, Educational interventions should be based on scientifically sound research evidence. The education topic list developed in this review can be used by patients and clinicians to prioritise and personalise education. [source]


Teachers' support with ad-hoc collaborative networks

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 3 2005
C. Cortez
Abstract Efforts to improve the educational process must focus on those most responsible for implementing it: the teachers. It is with them in mind that we propose a face-to-face computer-supported collaborative learning system that uses wirelessly networked hand-held computers to create an environment for helping students assimilate and transfer educational content. Two applications of this system are presented in this paper. The first involves the use of the system by students, transforming classroom dynamics and enabling collaboration and interaction between the students and the teacher. In the second application, the system is used to help teachers update their knowledge of subject content and exchange methodological strategies. [source]


The digital divide: Who really benefits from the proposed solutions for closing the gap

PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2002
Roland D. Houston
The authors conducted an exploratory content analysis of 269 English language articles about the digital divide to identify potential connections between proposed solutions and the strategic interests of the proposers, or stakeholders. Articles were coded by type of suggested solution and by type of stakeholder offering the solution. Educators predominated in the study literature, stressing the need for a change in Internet connectivity, educational content, and a change in user education, socioeconomic status (SES), and culture. The digital industry provided the next largest number of articles, suggesting governmental policy changes to promote new equipment, increased Internet connectivity, the training of digital industry workers, and a change in content of the Internet. Articles from the nondigital business community suggested that no gap existed or that market dynamics (the status quo) would close it. [source]


The Selection of Contents in School Projects in Spain

CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 3 2000
Maria Clemente
Studies on curricular contents have predominantly been focused along lines that are sociopolitical (what type of culture is selected by general policies) and epistemological (history of disciplines and their role in the configuration of what school knowledge is). These studies have also moved within a sphere that is prior to the decisions taken in a school or classroom, even though they have served to sustain a large part of the actions that teachers have carried out in this respect. In the present article our aim was to learn how teachers decide on educational contents, since new Spanish educational policy demands that teachers participate in the selection of the contents to be taught at their schools. In order to learn how this is done, our research began with the definition of six criteria (epistemological, factual, pedagogical, pragmatic, psychological and socioideological) that teachers could employ in the selection of contents, in order to subsequently verify the importance of each by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire was answered by approximately 900 teachers from Infant and Primary Compulsory Education. The results obtained have allowed us to include in our conclusion different ideas and initiatives that could be taken in relation to content selection. These have to do, above all, with the training of teachers in schools. [source]


Consumers' awareness and information need about food hygiene in Korea: focused on pesticide residues and food borne illness

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2003
Meera Kim
This study investigated consumers' awareness and information need about food hygiene especially focused on pesticide residues and food borne illness in Korea. The data were collected from 350 adults living in Daegu and Busan, Korea by a self-administered questionnaire. Frequency and chi-square tests were conducted by SPSS. The results of the survey were as follows: Firstly the consumers' concerns about food hygiene were high. About three-fourths of the respondents answered that they were ,somewhat' or ,highly' concerned about pesticide residues and food borne illness. Especially women and the older showed more concerns than men and the younger. Secondly, the respondents worried about eating vegetables, fruits and grains in turn because of pesticide residues, and did not trust the results from food hygiene tests by the Government. Thirdly, three-fourths of the respondents used the way to wash food stuffs with water several times to clean pesticide residues. Fourth, about four-fifths of the subjects worried about food borne illness caused by fish to the extreme and about two-thirds answered that un-fresh or contaminated food stuffs were the major factor of food borne illness in cooking. Finally, the respondents primarily wanted to get the information about harmfulness of pesticide residues in foods, and methods to choose fresh food regarding food borne illness. Under the situation of the lack of educational programs for food hygiene in Korea, the educational contents for food hygiene to improve public health can be developed on the basis of this study. [source]