The gross anatomy course: An analysis of its importance

The gross anatomy dissection course is a cost‐intensive piece of undergraduate medical education that students and professionals alike describe as very important within the overall medical curriculum. We sought to understand more explicitly students' valuation of gross anatomy as an “important” course and so developed a quantitative longitudinal questionnaire. Medical students (n = 124) enrolled in the winter term 2006/2007 gross anatomy course at the Ulm University Faculty of Medicine were surveyed anonymously prior to, in the middle of, and at the end of the dissection course. Subgroups of students expressing rising or falling opinions of course value were identified and correlated with student opinions about the course's ability to convey professional competencies. Five‐point Likert scales were used for each survey item, which included such standardized instruments as the NeoFFI, BSI, and FBM. The study confirmed that medical students believe dissection to be valuable. Students indicated that participation in the course facilitated acquisition of anatomy knowledge as well as skills related to teamwork, coping with stress, and, to a lesser extent, time management. Students also noted that they developed less empathy than expected beforehand. Significant subgroup differences were observed relative to the competencies of teamwork, stress coping strategies, and empathy, as well as in students' stress levels associated with having to take a dissection course. Our study builds on previous work that has shown dissection courses help students develop professional competencies. The increase in professionalism might be a reason for the generally high value students place on the gross anatomy dissection course, Anat Sci Educ 3:3–11, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Interpretative comments - need for harmonization? Results of the Croatian survey by the Working Group for Post-analytics

IntroductionInterpretation of laboratory test results is a complex post-analytical activity that requires not only understanding of the clinical significance of laboratory results but also the analytical phase of laboratory work. The aims of this study were to determine: 1) the general opinion of Croatian medical biochemistry laboratories (MBLs) about the importance of interpretative comments on laboratory test reports, and 2) to find out whether harmonization of interpretative comments is needed.Materials and methodsThis retrospective study was designed as a survey by the Working Group for Post-analytics as part of national External Quality Assessment (EQA) program. All 195 MBLs participating in the national EQA scheme, were invited to participate in the survey. Results are reported as percentages of the total number of survey participants.ResultsOut of 195 MBLs, 162 participated in the survey (83%). Among them 59% MBLs implemented test result comments in routine according to national recommendations. The majority of laboratories (92%) state that interpretative comments added value to the laboratory reports, and a substantial part (72%) does not have feedback from physicians on their significance. Although physicians and patients ask for expert opinion, participants stated that the lack of interest of physicians (64%) as well as the inability to access patient’s medical record (62%) affects the quality of expert opinion.ConclusionAlthough most participants state that they use interpretative comments and provide expert opinions regarding test results, results of the present study indicate that harmonization for interpretative comments is needed.     

Semantic Similarity Search on Semistructured Data with the XXL Search Engine

Query languages for XML such as XPath or XQuery support Boolean retrieval: a query result is a (possibly restructured) subset of XML elements or entire documents that satisfy the search conditions of the query. This search paradigm works for highly schematic XML data collections such as electronic catalogs. However, for searching information in open environments such as the Web or intranets of large corporations, ranked retrieval is more appropriate: a query result is a ranked list of XML elements in descending order of (estimated) relevance. Web search engines, which are based on the ranked retrieval paradigm, do, however, not consider the additional information and rich annotations provided by the structure of XML documents and their element names.This article presents the XXL search engine that supports relevance ranking on XML data. XXL is particularly geared for path queries with wildcards that can span multiple XML collections and contain both exact-match as well as semantic-similarity search conditions. In addition, ontological information and suitable index structures are used to improve the search efficiency and effectiveness. XXL is fully implemented as a suite of Java classes and servlets. Experiments in the context of the INEX benchmark demonstrate the efficiency of the XXL search engine and underline its effectiveness for ranked retrieval.     

Between Pragmatism and Legitimacy: Developments and dilemmas in teacher education in The Netherlands

In this paper, we describe how the shortage of teachers accelerates the development of Dutch teacher education in a more competence- and school-based direction. We address three themes. First, we note that Dutch teacher education institutes are taking initiatives to develop competence-based curricula and assessment. However, until now these developments have had a weak foundation. Secondly, it is clear that schools are developing and carrying out teacher improvement plans, but that student teachers are seldom part of these plans. Thirdly, the teacher educators in schools cannot meet the professional standards yet. Teacher educators in teacher education institutes also need time and support to adapt to new circumstances. However, there are promising developments in the right direction. Notre paper analyse les conséquences de la pénurie d'enseignants sur la formation des professeurs aux Pays-Bas. Cette formation est de plus en plus tournée vers l'école et s'oriente davantage dans une direction qui privilégie la compétence. Dans une première partie, nous constatons qu'aux Pays-Bas les instituts de formation des enseignants prennent des initiatives pour développer des programmes et des contrôles basés sur les compétences. Pour l'instant cependant, les fondements de cette évolution restent encore assez fragiles. Deuxièmement, on se rend compte que les écoles développent et mettent en place des projets d'amélioration de la profession d'enseignant, mais ceux qui forment les étudiants collaborent rarement à ces projets. Troisièmement, les formateurs d'enseignants dans les écoles ne peuvent pas encore satisfaire au niveau professionnel que l'on veut atteindre. Les formateurs des enseignants dans les instituts de formation pour enseignants ont aussi besoin de temps et de soutien pour s'adapter àla nouvelle situation. Pourtant, il y a des progrès et l'on va dans la bonne direction. En este artículo describimos cómo la escasez de profesores está acelerando en Holanda un proceso en el que la formación de profesores se basa cada vez más en las competencias y en el que hay una mayor participación de las escuelas. Abordamos tres temas. En primer lugar, constatamos que los centros de formación de profesores en Holanda están tomando iniciativas para elaborar evaluaciones y currículos basados en las competencias. Sin embargo, hasta ahora estas iniciativas no han tenido una base sólida. En segundo lugar, está claro que las escuelas, por su parte, están elaborando y ejecutando planes para mejorar el nivel de los profesores, pero que los profesores en formación rara vez forman parte de esos planes. En tercer lugar, los formadores de profesores en las escuelas no pueden cumplir aún las normas profesionales y los formadores de profesores en los centros de formación también necesitan tiempo y apoyo para adaptarse a las nuevas circunstancias. Sin embargo, existen signos prometedores de mejoramiento de estos aspectos. In diesem Artikel beschreiben wir, dass der Lehrermangel die Entwicklung einer Ausbildung von niederländischen Lehrern in eine mehr kompetenz- und schulbezogene Richtung beschleunigt. Wir beschäftigen uns mit drei Themen: Erstens sehen wir, dass die Lehrerausbildungsinstitute der Niederlande Initiativen zur Entwicklung von kompetenzbezogenen Curricula und zur Erfolgsbewertung ergreifen. Bis jetzt haben diese Entwicklungen allerdings ein schwaches Fundament. Zweitens ist klar, dass Schulen Professionalisierungspläne entwickeln und ausführen. Die Praktikanten sind jedoch selten in diese Pläne einbezogen. Drittens können die Lehrerausbilder in Schulen den akademischen Normen noch nicht Genüge leisten. Lehrerausbilder in Lehrerausbildungsinstitute brauchen auch Zeit und Unterstützung, um sich neuen Verhältnissen anzupassen. Es gibt jedoch vielversprechende Entwicklungen in die richtige Richtung.     

Positionierungen zu „Elite“ und „Exzellenz“ in gymnasialen Bildungsregionen – Eine „Gretchenfrage“ für Schulleiter exklusiver Gymnasien?

Looking at two urban higher education regions, in this paper we investigate the question of which positions head teachers of “exclusive” German gymnasiums adopt with regard to concepts such as ‘elite’, ‘excellence’ and thus also to schools’ attempts to distinguish their own profiles in the education system, all the while bearing in mind the context of public discourses about ‘elite’ and ‘excellence’. In doing so, we reconstruct four modes of dealing with the elite concept. All of these modes—even the most positive references—show that for “exclusive” German Gymnasiums the term ‘elite’ is precariously situated, associated as it is with a considerable need for legitimation. By contrast, it is not problematic to refer to a meritocratic elite concept that involves functional academic and leadership elites in the sense of excellence. On the other hand, any association of these upper secondary schools with power, financial and business elites does seem highly problematic and is vehemently rejected. This clear rejection occurs—and this is the central thesis of this article—because otherwise meritocracy itself, as the hegemonic academic form of legitimation, would be threatened to its very core.     

Implementing the flipped classroom: an exploration of study behaviour and student performance

The flipped classroom is becoming more popular as a means to support student learning in higher education by requiring students to prepare before lectures and actively engaging students during lectures. While some research has been conducted into student performance in the flipped classroom, students’ study behaviour throughout a flipped course has not been investigated. This study explored students’ study behaviour throughout a flipped and a regular course by means of bi-weekly diaries. Furthermore, student references to their learning regulation were explored in course evaluations. Results from the diaries showed that students’ study behaviour in the flipped course did not appear to be very different from that of students in a regular course. Furthermore, study behaviour did not appear strongly related to student performance in both the flipped and the regular course. Exploration of student references to their learning regulation in the course evaluations showed that some students experienced the flipped course design as intended to support their learning process. Other students, however, demonstrated resistance to changing their study behaviour even though changing study behaviour is expected in order to benefit from the flipped classroom. Further research on the relationship between students’ learning regulation and actual study behaviour and course results is necessary to understand when and why implementing the flipped classroom is successful. Recommendations that may help more effective flipped classroom implementation include considering the prior history between students and instructor(s), the broader curriculum context, and frequent expectation communication especially with large numbers of students and non-mandatory lecture attendance.     

Conversations with Five Highly Successful Female Educational Psychologists: Patricia Alexander,Carol Dweck,Jacquelynne Eccles,Mareike Kunter,and Tamara van Gog

Educational Psychology Review - Previous studies have investigated the characteristics, influencing factors, and working strategies of highly successful educational psychologists. These studies,...     

Bifurcated commitment,priorities, and social contagion: the dynamics and correlates of volunteering within a university student population

In spite of a progressive institutionalisation of community‐based learning into higher education, relatively little is known about the actual dynamics and correlates of volunteering by students. The study presented seeks a more in‐depth understanding of the spontaneous, extracurricular involvement within a university student population. Data are drawn from a postal survey of a representative sample of third‐year university students enrolled at a Flemish university (n = 744). In a first step, an exploration of the course and nature of students’ volunteer involvement is provided. In a second step, an explanatory model is constructed to predict the likelihood of belonging to the categories of volunteers, former volunteers or non‐volunteers. Firstly, it appears that a large group of students drop out of volunteering in transition to university, and that volunteering is rarely given priority in students’ agenda. Furthermore, a bifurcated pattern of involvement with a different pace inside and outside university is identified. Finally, extensive embedding in a volunteer environment as well as the discipline of study are major predictors of volunteering by students. Gender, church practice, being encouraged to volunteer and subjective study pressure produce subsidiary effects.     

Reduction of mental distress in the dissection course by introducing the body donor experience through anatomical demonstrations of organ systems

The practice of dissection teaches students not only the foundations of anatomical knowledge but also encourages the development of professional competencies. Yet, the dissection of cadavers in the gross anatomy course can be a stress factor for medical students. There are a minor proportion of students who demonstrate strong emotional reactions in anticipation of being confronted with a cadaver. Therefore, in 2008, the authors implemented a voluntary course entitled, “Anatomical demonstrations of organ systems” (AD‐OS) in advance of the dissection course to ease this psychological burden. The question of whether attendees of AD‐OS showed less mental distress at the start of the dissection course compared with those that had not or only infrequently visited AD‐OS was addressed. AD‐OS attendees assessed their expected mental distress using a five‐point Likert scale before starting the dissection course and a second time at the end of their first day, after they had been confronted with a cadaver. AD‐OS was evaluated as excellent and the majority of students participated actively during teaching sessions. Overall, female students showed higher levels of mental distress. AD‐OS attendees assessed themselves as being less burdened by mental distress than members of the control group. Longitudinal analysis revealed that students who visited AD‐OS showed a marked decrease of their mental distress level, comparing prospective and retrospective ratings. This was significantly (P < 0.001; Z = ?6.061) different from nonattendees or those who visited AD‐OS only infrequently. AD‐OS satisfied its intended teaching goals and proved that a step‐by‐step introduction of dissection through anatomical demonstrations helped to reduce the mental distress of students. Future studies are planned to measure mental distress with objective instruments. Anat Sci Educ © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Predicting teachers’ instructional behaviors: The interplay between self-efficacy and intrinsic needs

This study was conducted to extend previous research by examining the specificity of teachers’ intrinsic needs and self-efficacy, and how they interact to predict instructional behaviors. Self-reporting measures were applied to assess teachers’ self-efficacy and intrinsic need satisfaction and students rated the teachers’ instructional behaviors (cognitive activation, teacher–student relationship and classroom management). The latent moderated structural (LMS) equation analyses conducted on data collected from 155 mathematics teachers and 3483 grade 10 students in secondary schools in Germany revealed that separately both self-efficacy and intrinsic needs predicted instructional behaviors. Moreover, a significant interaction effect between intrinsic need satisfaction and self-efficacy emphasized that when need satisfaction is not provided by the school environment, a high level of self-efficacy has a negative effect on the teacher–student relationship. Our findings underline that self-efficacy and intrinsic needs have commonalities when predicting instructional behavior and the importance of addressing the interaction between personal and environmental characteristics within the learning environment. Future research on teachers’ instructional behaviors should take aspects of teacher competence beyond self-efficacy into considerations and should examine how intrinsic need satisfaction can be enhanced.