The effect of face‐to‐face teaching on student knowledge and satisfaction in an undergraduate neuroanatomy course

The total number of anatomy teaching hours has declined in medical courses worldwide. Conversely, face‐to‐face teaching in undergraduate neuroanatomy at Macquarie University increased by 50% in 2011. Our aim was to investigate whether this influenced student performance and overall satisfaction with the course. One hundred eighty‐one students consented to participate in this study. A questionnaire was administered to rate the course, and final grades from the old and new unit cohorts were compared. The old and new unit cohorts did not differ in their final grades (P = 0.249). However, the new unit cohort rated their knowledge of the material higher compared to the old unit cohort (P = 0.013), and reported higher levels of satisfaction with the course (P < 0.001). In an era in which teaching time for anatomy has been reduced at tertiary institutions, and there is much lamenting of the effect this will have, there is a paucity of literature on whether the decrease really influences neuroanatomical knowledge. This is the first study, to the best of our knowledge, to show that an increase in total face‐to‐face teaching hours does not improve student grades, but does increase student satisfaction with the course. Anat Sci Educ 6: 239–245. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

A retrospective look at replacing face‐to‐face embryology instruction with online lectures in a human anatomy course

Embryology is integrated into the Clinically Oriented Anatomy course at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. Before 2008, the same instructor presented embryology in 13 face‐to‐face lectures distributed by organ systems throughout the course. For the 2008 and 2009 offerings of the course, a hybrid embryology instruction model with four face‐to‐face classes that supplemented online recorded lectures was used. One instructor delivered the lectures face‐to‐face in 2007 and by online videos in 2008–2009, while a second instructor provided the supplemental face‐to‐face classes in 2008–2009. The same embryology learning objectives and selected examination questions were used for each of the three years. This allowed direct comparison of learning outcomes, as measured by examination performance, for students receiving only face‐to‐face embryology instruction versus the hybrid approach. Comparison of the face‐to‐face lectures to the hybrid approach showed no difference in overall class performance on embryology questions that were used all three years. Moreover, there was no differential effect of the delivery method on the examination scores for bottom quartile students. Students completed an end‐of‐course survey to assess their opinions. They rated the two forms of delivery similarly on a six‐point Likert scale and reported that face‐to‐face lectures have the advantage of allowing them to interact with the instructor, whereas online lectures could be paused, replayed, and viewed at any time. These experiences suggest the need for well‐designed prospective studies to determine whether online lectures can be used to enhance the efficacy of embryology instruction. Anat Sci Educ 7: 234–241. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Face‐to‐face talk to support computer‐mediated discussion in a primary school literacy practice

In this study, Dutch primary school children used a computer‐mediated discussion forum to discuss the concept of horror stories. In such discussion forums children often write their contributions individually. This paper presents an ongoing empirical study in which the contributions to an electronic discussion forum from children working individually were compared to contributions from children working in dyads. Preliminary results indicated that children working in dyads around the computer wrote more contributions to the computer‐mediated discussion and were more attentive to the collaborative process, than children who wrote their contributions individually.     

Teacher and child talk in active learning and whole‐class contexts: some implications for children from economically less advantaged home backgrounds

This paper reports the experiences of 150 children and six primary teachers when active learning pedagogies were introduced into the first year of primary schools. Although active learning increased the amount of talk between children, those from socio‐economically advantaged homes talked more than those from less advantaged homes. Also, individual children experienced very little time engaged in high‐quality talk with the teacher, despite the teachers spending over one‐third of their time responding to children's needs and interests. Contextual differences, such as the different staffing ratios in schools and pre‐schools, may affect how well the benefits of active learning transfer from pre‐school contexts into primary schools. Policy‐makers and teachers should pay particular attention to the implications of this for the education of children from economically less advantaged home backgrounds.     

HistoViewer: An interactive e‐learning platform facilitating group and peer group learning

Understanding tissue architecture and the morphological characteristics of cells is a central prerequisite to comprehending the basis of physiological tissue function in healthy individuals and relating this to disease states. Traditionally, medical curricula include courses where students examine glass slides of cytological or tissue samples under a light microscope. However, it is challenging to implement group and peer group learning in these courses and to give students sufficient time to study specimens. An increasing number of medical schools have thus started to implement digital slide viewers, so‐called virtual microscopes, in histology and histopathology. These websites are mostly based on standard commercial software and offer limited adaptation to the special needs of first‐year students. An e‐learning platform has therefore been developed for use in cytology and histology courses. This virtual microscopy tool is coupled to a central database in which students can label and store the positions of individual structures for later repetition. As learning in pairs and peer groups has been shown to provide a high learning outcome, identified structures can be shared and discussed with students' peers or faculty via a built‐in communication module. This website has the possibility of opening an arbitrary number of frames which all can actively be moved and changed in magnification to enable the comparison of specimens and thus encourage a more global understanding of related tissues. HistoViewer is thus suggested as an e‐learning tool combining several modern teaching concepts. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.     

Writing and pseudo‐writing from Internet‐based sources: implications for learning and assessment

In recent years, plagiarism has been on the increase across the Western world. This article identifies Internet access as a contributory cause of this trend and addresses the implications of readily available Internet sources for the teaching and assessment of writing in schools. The basis for the article is a previous study showing a wide incidence of plagiarism in the Internet‐based writing of students in three classes at upper secondary school level in Norway. I relate the students' choices to writing as a cognitive process and as a cultural practice. My basic assumption is that the students' writing is work. It is this work we have in mind when we relate writing to learning and when we assess students' skills on the basis of their written texts. Access to the Internet changes the premises for this work because writing can be replaced by ‘pseudo‐writing’. ‘Pseudo‐writing’ is a work reducing writing practice, which neither excludes nor coincides with what we traditionally associate with plagiarism in schools. The main point in this article is that when students have access to the Internet during essay writing, the result is unavoidably a product of both writing and pseudo‐writing. Internet access thus leads to greater uncertainty about the role writing plays in student learning and makes it more difficult to take written assignments into account in assessing students' school results and effort.     

Postgraduate conception of research methodology: implications for learning and teaching

This qualitative inquiry investigates postgraduate students’ conceptions of research methodology and how it contributes to their learning. It explores factors likely to motivate student choice of research methodology and challenges in understanding research methods. The research was carried out at research-intensive universities in New Zealand and in Malaysia with similar postgraduate programmes. Participants were enrolled in Masters and Ph.D. programmes. Findings revealed that participants share a recognition that research methodology is a significant body of knowledge in postgraduate education. However, there were noticeable differences in perspectives regarding what constitutes research methodology and whether or not it should be conceived as a discipline. To some participants, learning research methodology is less of a discipline but rather an acquisition of a set of isolated facts and skills without necessarily acquiring a deeper understanding of research. Furthermore, postgraduate students choose research methodology based on a number of factors such as familiarity with a method, methodological orientation of the primary supervisor, the domain of study, and the nature of research problems pursued. Participants reported that the key challenges they face in understanding research methodology include framing research questions, understanding the theory or literature and its role in shaping research outcomes, and difficulties in performing data analysis.     

Identification of gifted students with learning disabilities in a Response‐to‐Intervention era

The identification of children who are twice‐exceptional—those who are gifted and have concomitant learning disabilities (LDs)—has historically posed a number of challenges for school psychologists and other school personnel. With the reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and the shift to the use of a Response‐to‐Intervention (RtI) model to identify students with LDs, the task of identifying those who are twice exceptional is even more daunting. This article proposes an integrated model for the identification of gifted children with LDs that blends standardized assessment methods with practices consistent with RtI. This balanced approach brings together the best of both worlds to more accurately identify twice‐exceptional students and better meet their educational needs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Face‐to‐face versus online tuition: Preference,performance and pass rates in white and ethnic minority students

Attainment in higher education tends to be poorer in ethnic minority students than in white students. This study examined whether this attainment gap was affected by the introduction of online tuition. Data were obtained from students who had taken courses in either arts or management with the UK Open University and had opted for either face‐to‐face or online tuition. The arts courses had a higher proportion of white students and lower proportions of Asian and black students than the management courses. Nevertheless, white and ethnic minority students gave similar reasons for choosing face‐to‐face tuition or online tuition. In the management courses but not in the arts courses, the pass rate was lower in students who had received online tuition than in students who had received face‐to‐face tuition. Regardless of the discipline or mode of tuition, black students tended to obtain lower marks and lower pass rate than white students, but Asian students did not. It is concluded that online tuition is an appropriate form of student support in both campus‐based and distance education but that the attainment gap in ethnic minority students probably does not arise from the nature and quality of their interactions with teachers and other students.     

Dimensions of personalisation in technology‐enhanced learning: A framework and implications for design

Personalisation of learning is a recurring trend in our society, referred to in government speeches, popular media, conference and research papers and technological innovations. This latter aspect—of using personalisation in technology‐enhanced learning (TEL)—has promised much but has not always lived up to the claims made. Personalisation is often perceived to be a positive phenomenon, but it is often difficult to know how to implement it effectively within educational technology. In order to address this problem, we propose a framework for the analysis and creation of personalised TEL. This article outlines and explains this framework with examples from a series of case studies. The framework serves as a valuable resource in order to change or consolidate existing practice and suggests design guidelines for effective implementations of future personalised TEL.     

Emotion recognition and communication for reducing second‐language speaking anxiety in a web‐based one‐to‐one synchronous learning environment

e‐Learning is becoming an increasingly popular educational paradigm because of the rapid growth of the Internet. Recent studies have argued that affective modelling (ie, considering a learner's emotional or motivational state) should also be considered while designing learning activities. Many studies indicated that various learning emotions markedly impact learning outcomes. In the language education field, many studies have investigated anxiety associated with learning a second language, noting that anxiety has an adverse effect on the performance of those speaking English as a second language. Therefore, how to reduce anxiety associated with learning a second language to increase learning performance is an important research issue in the language education field. Accordingly, this study employed a sensor, signal processing, wireless communication, system‐on‐chip and machine‐learning techniques in developing an embedded human emotion recognition system based on human pulse signals for detecting three human emotions—nervousness, peace and joy—to help teachers reduce language‐learning anxiety of individual learners in a web‐based one‐to‐one synchronous learning environment. The accuracy rate of the proposed emotion recognition model evaluated by cross‐validation is as high as 79.7136% when filtering out human pulse signals that have bias. Moreover, this study applied the embedded emotion recognition system to assist instructor's teaching in a synchronous English conversation environment by immediately reporting variations in individual learner emotions to the teacher during learning. In this instructional experiment, the teacher can give appropriate learning assistance or guidance based on the emotion states of individual learners. Experimental results indicate that the proposed embedded human emotion recognition system is helpful in reducing language‐based anxiety, thus promoting instruction effectiveness in English conversation classes.     

ICT and resource–based learning: implications for the future

Current learning and teaching methods, such as resource–based learning, require children to make use of a range of resources within and outside school. However, access to learning resources, especially ICT (information and communications technology), depends on the facilities available within a child's school, home and local community. A research project entitled "Children, Access and Learning: Resource–based Learning and the Impacts of Environment and Learning Cultures" was undertaken by CIRT (Centre for Information Research) at the University of Central England in Birmingham, UK between March 2000 and September 2001. This research emerged from concerns that circumstances in and beyond school may disadvantage those children without easy access to resources. This article outlines some of the findings of the research in the context of current debates surrounding the growing importance of ICT in education.     

On the bus and online: instantiating an interactive learning environment through design-based research

The World Health Organization converted an award-winning experiential learning course that takes place on a bus traveling down the “cold chain” for time- and temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products in Turkey to an online interactive learning environment through design-based research. Similarities and differences in the objectives of the two courses as well as the overlap in the learning activities, tools, and technologies deployed in courses are delineated. Many learning activities from the real bus course were successfully moved to the online course, but a few learning activities from the bus course could not be replicated in the online environment. However, several new and arguably more effective learning activities were implemented online that could not be accomplished on the bus. Design principles for developing online experiential learning environments were derived from the design-based research.     

Use of interactive sessions and e‐learning in teaching anatomy to first‐year optometry students

Students enrolled in the Optometry program at the University of Manchester are required to take a functional anatomy course during the first year of their studies. Low mean scores in the written examination of this unit for the past two academic years energized staff to rethink the teaching format. Interactive sessions lasting 20 minutes each were introduced during the two hour lecture sessions. In these sessions students reinforced their anatomical knowledge learned in lectures, through playing games such as anatomy bingo and solving anatomical anagrams. In addition, five e‐learning modules were also introduced for students to complete in their own time. A pre‐ and postcourse questionnaire were distributed to obtain student views on their expectations of the course and interactive sessions. Comparisons were made between written examination results from 2008 to 2009 to written examination results from the previous five academic years to see if the interactive sessions and e‐learning modules had any impact on student knowledge. In addition, comparisons were made between student performances on the functional anatomy course with their performance in all of the other assessments taken by the students during their first year of study. Analysis of the questionnaires showed that student's expectations of the course were fulfilled and the interactive sessions were well received by the majority. There was a significant increase (P ≤ 0.01) in the mean examination score in 2008–2009 after introduction of the interactive sessions and e‐learning modules compared with scores in previous years. The introduction of interactive sessions has increased student enjoyment of the module and along with the e‐learning modules have had a positive impact on student examination results. Anat Sci Educ 3:39–45, 2010. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Response‐to‐intervention in high‐risk preschools: Critical issues for implementation

This article summarizes the current knowledge of response‐to‐intervention (RTI) models in preschool settings, with an emphasis on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of our current research base. Particular attention is given to the unique challenges of high‐risk preschool settings. Presently, sufficient empirical support exists to begin establishing tiered intervention systems and building teacher capacity. Lacking, however, are valid and reliable assessment tools and insufficiently trained personnel to support a data‐based decision‐model within high‐risk preschools. We conclude that organizational development should focus on building teacher capacity, establishing high‐quality classroom instruction, and planning for sustainable programs, with adoption of a full RTI service delivery model serving as a long‐range aspirational goal. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Developing professional learning for staff working with children with speech,language and communication needs combined with moderate‐to‐severe learning difficulties

This article presents research undertaken as part of a PhD by Carolyn Anderson who is a senior lecturer on the BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Strathclyde. The study explores the professional learning experiences of 49 teachers working in eight schools and units for children with additional support needs in Scotland. In particular, she examines the professional learning experiences of teachers working with children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) combined with moderate‐to‐severe learning difficulties. While the teachers under study predominantly engaged with informal professional learning, she observes that they often expressed a lack of confidence in this form of professional development, tending to value formal learning regardless of impact. In response she raises a number of important questions about the role of Initial Teacher and Postgraduate Education and the ways in which schools understand reflective practice.     

When style meets pattern in mentoring talk: implications for student teacher community learning environments in practice teaching

This study investigates how mentor talk unfolds in a community of learners during an entire school year in the context of practice teaching in university teacher education. Specifically, it focuses on how emergent styles and patterns of mentor’s talk shaped power relations in the discourse, promoting different kinds of learning environments. Data collection included 23 video-recorded meetings of the learning community of 11 student teachers and a university mentor and 25 semi-structured interviews with all participants including the mentor. Findings show that styles and patterns of mentor talk are central to how a particular learning environment in a community develops. Implications for pre-service mentors’ roles in the context of student teacher learning in a community are discussed.     

Situated cognition and learning environments: implications for teachers on- and offline in the new digital media age

John Seely Brown suggested that learning environments should be spaces in which all work is public, is subject to iterative critique by instructors and peers, and in which social interaction is primary. In such spaces, students and teachers engage in a situated cognition approach to teaching and learning where “cognitive accomplishments rely in part on structures and processes outside the individual”. Here we describe a qualitative analysis of a socially situated learning setting that aimed to develop children who can design, analyze, critique, and transform media, subjecting existing social media, their designs, and their peers’ designs to public and iterative critique. In this setting, adult mentors supported children’s self-expression, self-reflection, and skillbuilding through authentic, socially situated reading, writing, and discussion, and media production. Creating and leveraging such spaces is essential for preparing all children for successful experiences in the new knowledge economy in formal and informal educational settings.