First Semester (first + semester)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A case study of a cooperative learning experiment in artificial intelligence

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 4 2007
Fernando Díez
Abstract This article describes an innovative teaching experiment (part of a project for Innovation in Teaching at the University Autónoma of Madrid) which was undertaken by the authors during the first semester of the academic year 2004/2005. This teaching experiment has been the object of evaluation by the students as part of their coursework and has consisted of the use of the groupware system KnowCat, by which the students prepare a repository of documents related to topics and themes associated with the subject matter (Artificial Intelligence). During the process of elaboration both the votes for the best documents and the annotation made about them play an essential role. These documents are carried out exclusively by the students and they are who decide, by means of their activity, which of the documents presented are to be chosen as representative of the entire collection. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 15: 308,316, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com); DOI 10.1002/cae.20114 [source]


Dental students' motivation and the context of learning

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DENTAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2009
Bettina Tjagvad Kristensen
Abstract This qualitative study shows dental students' motives for choosing the dental education and how the motives influence their motivation at the first semester of study. Further the study demonstrates the relevance of the context of learning. This issue is of importance when planning a curriculum for the dental education. The material consists of interviews with eight dental students. The results show that dental students were focused on their future professional role, its practical dimensions and their future working conditions. Their motivation for choosing the dental education was found to influence their motivation for studying and their experience of the relevance of the first semester. The dental students who had co-education with the medical students at the first year of study missed a dental context and courses with clinically relevant contents. In conclusion, our data signify the importance of the context of learning. It is recommended that a future curriculum for the dental school should be designed in a way where basic science subjects are taught with both theoretically as well as practically oriented subjects and in a context which is meaningful for the students. [source]


Psychosocial response in emergency situations , the nurse's role

INTERNATIONAL NURSING REVIEW, Issue 1 2007
Dnurs, F. Hughes rn
Background:, It is critical to ensure that nurses have the skills and knowledge to respond effectively and to contribute to the psychosocial recovery of survivors of emergencies, particularly as an increasing proportion of the population is at risk of being exposed to a catastrophe. Over a decade ago it was reported that 16% of the world's population was at risk of experiencing some kind of catastrophic event. That has now risen with a total of 16% vulnerable to flood alone worldwide (Ministry of Health 2005). In the first semester of 2005, there were 174 natural disasters affecting 86 countries, resulting in the deaths of 5967 people, affecting a total of 60 million with an estimated damage of $6.3 billion (US$) (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters 2005). Aim:, To describe the nursing contribution to the psychosocial recovery of survivors of emergencies during the emergency preparedness and planning stage and in promoting recovery over the longer term. Methods:, Data for this article was sourced from relevant literature including World Health Organization policy and guidelines regarding mental health in emergencies. Implications for education, training and practice:, It is vital that nurses realize they are too vulnerable to the effects of an emergency situation and that steps can be taken to protect nurses from enduring psychosocial effects. [source]


A Study into the Feasibility and Effects of Reading Extended Authentic Discourse in the Beginning German Language Classroom

MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 1 2002
Hiram Maxim
Despite efforts to integrate all levels of foreign language instruction, reading remains on the periphery of beginning language study. Reading extended texts is outcast to an even greater degree. This article addresses this issue by presenting the design, results, and implications from a study involving beginning college-level language students who read a 142-page romance novel in their first semester of German. During the semester, the treatment group (N= 27) followed the same standard first-semester syllabus as the comparison group (N= 32), but replaced all standard reading assignments in the textbook with daily in-class readings of the romance novel. The effects of the treatment were assessed on the basis of the two groups' results on (a) three departmental exams and (b) a pretest and posttest consisting of written recall protocols of 4 texts and vocabulary-related questions. A statistical analysis of these two measures yielded 2 central findings. First, students were able to read a full-length authentic text in the first semester. Second, the treatment group performed as well as the comparison group on the three department tests and the posttest, which runs counter to arguments that time spent reading in class adversely affects beginning language learners' second language development. Curricular and pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed. [source]


Networking to develop a professional identity: A look at the first-semester experience of doctoral students in business

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR TEACHING & LEARNING, Issue 113 2008
Vicki L. Sweitzer
Bringing together mentoring, social networks, and professional identity theories, this chapter explores how messages received from network partners influenced the professional identity development of business doctoral students in their first semester of study. [source]


Modifications of Graduate Public/ Community Health Nursing Internships to Facilitate Compliance with Institutional Review Board and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Regulations

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2005
Gwendolyn F. Foss
ABSTRACT, This paper describes the changes that were made to a two-semester graduate internship course to facilitate student compliance with Institutional Review Board (IRB) and agency requirements for compliance with the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Students now spend the first semester of the internship developing collaborative relationships with the agency and conceptualizing, planning, and developing all aspects of the project, including preparing materials for an IRB review. A series of workshops about the IRB process, the Privacy Rule of HIPAA, and on-line resources have been developed. A password-protected web site and other resources were developed for preceptors. The result of the changes has been primarily positive. By having to conceptualize and develop the entire project at the beginning, students demonstrate a better understanding of program development and evaluation. Their writing has markedly improved. Preceptors like the course revisions, the convenience of on-line resources, and the enhanced course focus on the protection of health care information and of potential participants in health education programs or program evaluation projects. [source]


Genomics and bioinformatics in undergraduate curricula: Contexts for hybrid laboratory/lecture courses for entering and advanced science students

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 1 2010
Louise 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]


The personal response: A novel writing assignment to engage first year students in large human biology classes,

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 2 2007
Roger W. Moni
Abstract The teaching of highly valued scientific writing skills in the first year of university is challenging. This report describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel written assignment, The Personal Response and accompanying Peer Review, in the course, Human Biology (BIOL1015) at The University of Queensland. These assignments were the first assessment tasks of the course and were set early in the first semester of university. BIOL1015 had a diverse cohort of 319 first year students from five bachelor degree programs, primarily from Pharmacy and Human Movement Studies. Audio files in the form of interviews with eminent biomedical scientists were obtained from a leading public radio program. Students used these files as triggers to submit a short but highly structured assignment written from a personal perspective and in an expressive style. Evaluations revealed that overall, students found the task interesting and challenging. Students performed well, regardless of their background knowledge, disciplinary interest, or preference for topics within human biology. This study demonstrated that The Personal Response was an appropriate task for these first year students of human biology. It represents an alternative to traditional essay writing. [source]


The Relevance of student seminars on clinically related subjects in a biochemistry course for medical and nutrition students,

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 1 2002
Marcelo Hermes-Lima
Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the value of a system of seminars on clinically related biochemistry topics for undergraduate students in medicine and nutrition at the University of Brasília, Brazil. During the second semester of 1998 (1998,2), the teaching staff decided to establish new and stricter rules for the seminar method and to adopt a system of peer tutoring, whereby former good to excellent students of the class Bioquímica e Biofísica helped in the planning and preparation of the oral presentations. The average performance grades for the seminars in the first semester of 1998 (1998,1) (7.19 ± 1.42) were significantly lower than those for the following semesters (ranging from 8.10 to 8.91), indicating some degree of success with the new system. We also conducted, by means of questionnaires, an evaluation (scores ranging from 0 to 4) of each student seminar (14 topics) in relation to the overall biochemistry learning experience connected to the clinical expectations of the students. All seminars but one averaged above 3.0. Moreover, when asked whether (i) the seminars were relevant to a more clinical approach to biochemistry and whether (ii) the oral presentations could be viewed as valid tools for the understanding of biochemistry, 96% (n = 188) and 80.6% (n = 150) of the students, respectively, answered, "yes." The students also scored the work of the peer tutors high (ranging from 3.38 to 3.90, out of 4). A seminar system for a clinically related biochemistry course may also open the minds of students about the relevance of biochemistry to their future medical or nutritional practices. [source]