Facilitation skills: the catalyst for increased effectiveness in consultant practice and clinical systems leadership

Consultant practitioner is the pinnacle of the clinical career ladder for all health care disciplines in the United Kingdom. Consultant nurse, midwife and health visitor roles build on the clinical credibility and expertise characteristic of advanced level practice, but also possess expertise in: clinical systems leadership and the facilitation of culture change, learning and development; advanced consultancy approaches, and research and evaluation to prioritise person-centred, safe and effective care across patient pathways.

This project aimed to help new and emerging consultants to become more effective in their role through a programme of support to develop their expertise.

Emancipatory action research, supported by claims, concerns and issues tool, derived from Stakeholder Evaluation, and other methods (active learning, action learning, collaborative workshops and individual tools e.g. qualitative 360 degree feedback and reflective reviews) comprised the supportive intervention which enabled participants to research their own practice.

The programme’s methodology and methods helped participants to: research their own practice; theorise from practice; grow the facilitation skills needed to develop and demonstrate their own effectiveness; foster the effectiveness of others and; transform practice culture. Greater effectiveness in their multiple roles was demonstrated, as was the impact of this on others, services and organisations.

The study concludes that the support programme augmented by the methodology, facilitation skills and the 10 principles derived from a concept analysis of work-based learning is central to achieving improved effectiveness and transformation of others, services and organisations. Theoretical insights at collective/community levels also resulted. Key recommendations are identified for commissioners, higher education and research.     

Leveraging new media skills in a peer feedback tool

Today's youth thrive in informal participatory communities where they not only consume but also act as contributors or producers. Through active participation they develop new media skills encompassing cultural competencies and social skills. In a participatory culture of learning, students' active contributions to their learning are stressed and peer feedback is considered an important component. In this paper we consider how to leverage aspects of these skills and the environments in which they are developed in the design of a peer feedback tool for students engaged in collaborative inquiry learning. The tool needs to be lightweight, and “playful” and draw on these participatory skills in order to entice and motivate students to give and receive feedback.     

EDLE: an integrated tool to foster entrepreneurial skills development in engineering education

Academic papers on entrepreneurship in engineers’ education have been growing in the last decades. However, studies on entrepreneurship in engineering have not sought to analyze how entrepreneurship education, in connection to active learning, design thinking, and Bloom’s Taxonomy, inserted in an integrated way, as a tool, might help the process of engineering students’ entrepreneurial skills development. Thus, this study has the goal to propose an integrated tool, linked to the principles of entrepreneurship education, active learning, design thinking, and Bloom’s Taxonomy, to foster engineering students’ entrepreneurial skills development. The tool, called Entrepreneurial Dynamic Learning, is operationalized and validated in a 2-year case study in a Brazilian public university. The study also produces practical implications, and five are highlighted: (1) at the level of governments and policy makers; (2) engineering scientific associations; (3) universities, coordinators, and professors of engineering undergraduate programs; (4) engineering education researchers; and (5) the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry.     

OD as muddling: Implications for communication consultants

This paper posits that communication consultants, in becoming grounded in the theory and practice of OD interventions, must recognize the subtle, potentially unforeseen problems inherent in most interventions. This argument is developed in three stages. First, OD as a problematic process is discussed by comparing it with Lindblom's analysis of “Muddling Through.” Second, each of the problem areas suggested by this comparison is developed. Finally, implications are derived on the basis of this comparison.     

Assessing teamwork in undergraduate education: a measurement tool to evaluate individual teamwork skills

Effective teamwork skills are essential for success in an increasingly team-based workplace. However, research suggests that there is often confusion concerning how teamwork is measured and assessed, making it difficult to develop these skills in undergraduate curricula. The goal of the present study was to develop a sustainable tool for assessing individual teamwork skills, with the intention of refining and measuring these skills over time. The TeamUp rubric was selected as the preliminary standardised measure of teamwork and tested in a second year undergraduate course (Phase One). Although the tool displayed acceptable psychometric properties, there was concern that it was too lengthy, compromising student completion. This prompted refinement and modification leading to the development of the Team-Q, which was again tested in the same undergraduate course (Phase Two). The new tool had high internal consistency, as well as conceptual similarity to other measures of teamwork. Estimates of inter-rater reliability were within a satisfactory range, although it was determined that logistical issues limited the feasibility of external evaluations. Preliminary evidence suggests that teamwork skills improve over time when taught and assessed, providing support for the continued application of the Team-Q as a tool for developing teamwork skills in undergraduate education.     

Teaching for transfer of core/key skills in higher education: Cognitive skills

This article is a result of a completed survey of the mainly cognitive science literature on the transferability of those skills which have been described variously as ‘core’, ‘key’, and ‘generic’. The literature reveals that those predominantly cognitive skills which have been studied thoroughly (mainly problem solving) are transferable under certain conditions. These conditions relate particularly to the methods and environment of the learning of these skills. Therefore, there are many implications for the teaching of key skills in higher education, which the article draws out, following a summary of the main findings of the research literature. Learning of principles and concepts facilitates transfer to dissimilar problems, as it creates more flexible mental representations, whereas rote learning of facts discourages transfer. Transfer is fostered when general principles of reasoning are taught together with self-monitoring practices and potential applications in varied contexts. Training in reasoning and critical thinking is only effective for transfer, when abstract principles and rules are coupled with examples. Transfer is promoted when learning takes place in a social context, which fosters generation of principles and explanations. Transfer improves when learning is through co-operative methods, and where there is feedback on performance with training examples. The specificity of the context in which principles are learned reduces their transfer. Transfer is promoted if learners are shown how problems resemble each other, if they are expected to learn to do this themselves, if they are aware of how to apply skills in different contexts, if attention is directed to the underlying goal structure of comparable problems, if examples are varied and are accompanied by rules or principles (especially if discovered by the learners), and if learners’ self-explanations are stimulated. Learning to use meta-cognitive strategies is especially important for transfer.     

Managing the consultant and the client: A two-handled crosscut saw

This article focuses on managing the client and the concultant with a performance appraisal process. The authors use their current practical experiences to consider the management of an effective client-consultant relationship. Dorothy writes from her perspective as a training director and user consultants and Maureen from her experience as an independent consultant providing management training and consulting services in the Metropolitan Washington area.     

The effect of a programming tool scratch on the problem-solving skills of middle school students

Education and Information Technologies - Problem-solving is one of the most important twenty-first-century skills and should be acquired at an early age. Since programming is a kind of...     

令人瞩目的西方教育研究领域

目前全世界各国都把教育置于优先地位,这使教育科学研究处于一个非常有利的蓬勃发展时期。其中,教育研究领域的多样化便是一个有力的证明。本文根据《最有意义的教育研究》和《教育展望》中文版2000年第3期,将当代国外教育研究中最迫切的主题、最流行的主题、最有意义的主题     

大学课程设计自学指南:如何设计课程以促进意义深远的学习

作为大学老师,为了达到好的教学效果,我们必须能够做好两项活动,既要做好课程设计,又要做好师生互动.就这两项活动而言,我们的课程设计能力常常是制约因素.《创造意义深远的学习经历:大学课程整合设计方案》一书作者,美国奥克拉荷马大学教学发展项目部主任迪·芬克博士撰写了一份大学课程设计的自学指南,旨在给大家介绍一套系统有效的课程设计程式,帮助大家学会怎样进行课程设计.指南包括课程整合设计的三个主要阶段,每阶段包括开篇的介绍性评价,读者可以加以使用的工作簿,以及读者在课程设计过程中可以对自己提出的一些问题,以对自己的设计实践进行推敲.     

Beyond employer engagement and skills supply: building conditions for partnership working and skills co-production in the English context

Education providers and employers working together to prepare young people and adults for employment is internationally accepted as a key factor in effective technical and vocational education. In the English context, however, we argue that two related orthodoxies have prevailed – ‘employer engagement’ and ‘skills supply’ – in which education providers have striven to gain employer involvement in their programmes and meet their skills needs. The effectiveness of these twin orthodoxies has been limited by the ‘New Low Skills Equilibrium’ (NLSE) involving a symbiosis of weaknesses on both the education and employer sides. The article draws on findings of a two-year research and development programme in East London which explored the process of education-employer partnership working to support inclusive growth in key economic sectors. The research suggested that this aim was best supported by processes of ‘co-production’ that actively involved both partners in attempting to address features of the NLSE. The research also pointed to constraining factors. The article concludes by identifying the conditions required for the realisation of co-production approaches that include the development of new collaborative structures – High Progression and Skills Networks (HPSNs) – involving a wide range of social partners at the local and regional levels.     

OC和OD门上拉电阻阻值的计算技巧

OC和OD门电路,在使用中门电路的输出端与外接电源VCC′之间串接上拉电阻。多个OC或OD门输出端可以并联,共用一个上拉电阻。上拉电阻阻值的计算是面向21世纪教材引入的实际问题。文章讨论计算电阻阻值选择范围的技巧。掌握选择技巧,可以解决任何类似复杂电路的问题。     

The skills balancing act in sub-Saharan Africa: Investing in skills for productivity,inclusivity and adaptability

International Review of Education -     

Robots: A high-tech tool for the learner

Conclusion With the rapid developments of technology, robotic literacy is becoming a greater necessity. Alvin Toffler stated in theThird Wave that students ought to be print literate, computer literate, media literate, and robot literate. In addition, Harold Shane predicted that robots may become paraprofessionals in the future classroom. With these developments, teachers should be prepared to include robotic literacy in the school curriculum. To assist in the attainment of that worthy goal, the utilization of a walking, talking, and grabbing robot would be the most effective teaching strategy. As an outstanding motivator, robots can generate maximum enthusiasm, facilitate learning, and provide a stimulating and enjoyable learning experience for students. Today is the time for media specialists and teachers to examine the potential of robotic literacy as an important content area providing necessary knowledge and skills needed by students entering the Information Era. ▪     

旅游伦理:旅游高等教育中重大缺失

中国旅游高等教育经过20多年的发展已经取得了显著成就,但面对旅游业发展中出现的众多伦理问题,旅游高等教育并没有给予高度重视,无论在旅游管理专业的培养目标、课程设置上,还是在旅游管理专业的教材内容上,反映出旅游伦理在旅游高等教育中的缺失。因此,为了培养适应并能促进旅游业可持续发展的旅游管理人才,我们需要借鉴相关学科的经验,将旅游伦理教育引入到旅游高等教育中来。     

Significant research in the Eastern states

Lindsley, Charles F., Radio and Television Communication, N. Y.: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 1952, 492 pp. $5.50.

White, Melvin R., Beginning Television Production, Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Co., 1953, 107 pp. $2.50.

Chinn. Howard, Television Broadcasting, N. Y.: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 1953, 700 pp. $10.00

Hahn, Elsie, et. al., Basic Voice Training for Speech, N. Y.: McGraw‐Hill Book Co., 253 pp. $4.25.

Raubicheck, Letitia, Your Voice and Speech, N. Y.: Prentice‐Hall, Inc., 1953, 376 pp. $4.05.

Irwin, Ruth S., Speech and Hearing Therapy, N. Y.: Harper and Brothers, 1953, 202 pp. $2.50.

Gruver, Bert, The Stage Manager's Handbook, N. Y.: Harper and Brothers, 1953, 202 pp. $2.50.

Krutch, Joseph Wood, "Modernism”; in Modern Drama, Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1953, 138 pp. $2.75.

Kokeritz, Helge, Shakespeare's Pronunciation, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953, 516 pp. $7.50.

Stevenson, Burton. The Standard Book of Shakespeare Quotations, N. Y.: Funk and Wagnalls Co., 1953, 766 pp. $7.50.

Lowrey, Sara and Johnson, Gertrude E., Interpretative Reading, N. Y.: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, Inc., 1953, 595 pp. $3.75.