Online access to MEDLINE in clinical settings: impact of user fees

The effect of introducing user fees on the frequency and quality of MEDLINE searching with GRATEFUL MED by physicians in clinical settings was tested. After training and free use (prior study), consenting participants were randomly allocated to pay searching costs (pay group) or continue without fees (no pay group). Fifty-nine physicians participated. Among the prior study's frequent searchers, the pay group searched at less than one third of the rate of those assigned to no pay. For less frequent searchers in the prior study, only 48% of those assigned to pay did any searches, compared with 85% for the no pay group (P = 0.006), and for those who did search, their frequency was almost half. However, there was no significant difference in the quality of searches; both groups demonstrated about equivalent recall (P = 0.77), but significantly lower precision (P = 0.03) than for the librarian's independent searches. Similarly, there was no difference in the proportion of searches affecting clinical decisions for the two groups. Thus, imposing user charges for online searching in clinical settings after a period of free use adversely affects searching quantity, but not quality. MEDLINE providers should consider whether user fees will undermine its benefits.     

Theories of Learning and Teaching and the Practice of Excellence in Higher Education

This paper critically examines two sorts of theories of teaching and learning in higher education ‐ the informal and the formal. It argues that defining the problem of how to improve the quality of higher education in terms of “theory into practice” is not useful; practice is continually informed by theory. However, there is a tendency to ignore the contribution of formal educational theory, which is experimental and forward‐looking, in favour of an essentially amateur approach to improving teaching, which is driven by institutional imperatives, rewards compliance rather than risk‐taking, and trivialises the teacher's experiences. Examples of this process are given; they include the Higher Education Council's draft advice on quality and the use of student ratings of teaching. The problem is redefined as one of bringing formal and informal theories into a fruitful relationship in order to develop, through democratic means, the practice of integrity in teaching. Some implications for the role of the educational development professional are considered.     

Textbook treatments and students' understanding of acceleration

This paper has been accepted for publication in theJournal of Research in Science Teaching. Copies are available from Gloria Dall'Alba, ERADU, RMIT, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne. Vic. 3001.     

How does a context‐based approach influence understanding of key chemical ideas at 16+?

One of the characteristics of curriculum development in recent years has been an increased emphasis on using contexts and applications as a means of developing scientific understanding. Yet relatively little has been done to compare the effects of learning on context‐based approaches to science teaching with more traditional approaches. This study compares the performance on a range of diagnostic questions of pupils following both a context‐based approach and a more traditional approach to high school chemistry. The study shows that there is little difference in levels of understanding, but that there appear to be some benefits associated with a context‐based approach in terms of stimulating pupils’ interest in science.     

Sing a song please: Musical contexts and language learning

Abstract

Language for children who have special educational needs is generally recognised to be an educational objective in its own right. In the last decade, the pragmatic perspective has currently focussed attention on the contexts within which the structures of language develop and are used. It is suggested that naturalistic interactions between children and adults provide appropriate contexts for language learning. The focus of the present study was to examine the possible relationship between a musical context and language learning. A group of six language‐impaired children was studied in two routinized contexts, a lesson‐without‐music and a singing session. Child‐teacher talk in the musical and non‐musical contexts was analysed using a conversational participation coding system, which included measures of turn‐taking, initiation and imitation. The findings suggest that the addition of music to a routinized context has the potential to increase the language‐impaired child's ability to interact non‐verbally.     

Beyond Generic Mentoring: Helping trainee teachers to teach primary science

Support material to assist primary teacher mentors to help trainee teachers improve their medium-term and individual lesson plans, as well as their science lessons, was developed. This support material comprised checklists that focused on science, rather than generic teaching, illustrated by examples of trainee teachers' work, with a commentary. The trial of the material involved 64 teacher mentors and 26 trainee teachers. Trainees' practice in science was found to have improved in subsequent unmentored lessons, but good practice was not transferred to other subjects. Teachers also reported that their own practice improved and indicated that the material would be valuable in science in-service training with their colleagues.     

A criminal justice contribution to a general education diversity requirement

In the United States, colleges and universities have recently increased attention to diversity of faculty, staff, and student populations. Among the manifestations of the diversity movement are calls for modifications of general education courses to include coverage of cultural or human diversity. At the University at Albany, one of the first human diversity courses was offered by the School of Criminal Justice. The authors review the objectives of the course, the teaching materials selected, and students' reactions to the first offering of the course. Among the most troubling reactions was students' resistance to history, to explorations of context of criminal justice practice, and to examination of current discriminatory policy and practice.