Greater expectations: Learning from other nations in the quest for 'world-class standards' in US school mathematics and science

This study examines teachers’ experiences with and opinions on a web‐based, cross‐cultural project. Students from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Macedonia, and Sweden used information and communication technology and international collaboration to explore the links among youth, culture, and the use of alcohol. The data was generated through interviews with the teachers co‐ordinating the project in each of the classes. The teachers’ experiences with the approach as a whole led them to emphasize that the action‐oriented and participatory approach, combined with the use of information and communication technology and international collaboration, brought new, valuable perspectives to their own teaching and to their reflections about emerging new roles and teaching skills needed. The provisions for genuine student participation, authenticity in learning, intrinsic motivation, and the sense of the other were identified by the teachers as the main strengths of the approach.     

Criss-cross heart three-dimensional printed models in medical education: A multicenter study on their value as a supporting tool to conventional imaging

The utility of three-dimensional (3D) printed models for medical education in complex congenital heart disease (CHD) is sparse and limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of 3D printed models for medical education in criss-cross hearts covering a wide range of participants with different levels of knowledge and experience, from medical students, clinical fellows up to senior medical personnel. Study participants were enrolled from four dedicated imaging workshops developed between 2016 and 2019. The study design was a non-randomized cross-over study to evaluate 127 participants' level of understanding of the criss-cross heart anatomy. This was evaluated using the scores obtained following teaching with conventional images (echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging) versus a 3D printed model learning approach. A significant improvement in anatomical knowledge of criss-cross heart anatomy was observed when comparing conventional imaging test scores to 3D printed model tests [76.9% (61.5%–87.8%) vs. 84.6% (76.9%–96.2%), P < 0.001]. The increase in the questionnaire marks was statistically significant across all academic groups (consultants in pediatric cardiology, fellows in pediatric cardiology, and medical students). Ninety-four percent (120) and 95.2% (121) of the participants agreed or strongly agreed, respectively, that 3D models helped them to better understand the medical images. Participants scored their overall satisfaction with the 3D printed models as 9.1 out of 10 points. In complex CHD such as criss-cross hearts, 3D printed replicas improve the understanding of cardiovascular anatomy. They enhanced the teaching experience especially when approaching medical students.     

Positions Toward Science Studies in Medicine Among University Graduates of Medicine and the Teenaged Participants of the ��Medical Systems�� Study Program

The ??Medical Systems?? program was designed to introduce high school students to the world of advanced medicine. Its premise was to use an applied scientific discipline like medicine to encourage high-school students?? interest in basic science. This study compares the teen-aged graduates of ??Medical Systems?? with fourth and fifth-year medical students. It aims to identify the attitudes of these two groups towards medical science and basic sciences in medicine. The population included 94 graduates of ??Medical Systems?? from schools throughout Israel, who had also completed an advanced-level course in a basic science (biology, chemistry or physics), and 96 medical students from different Israeli universities. The students?? attitudes were measured using West et al.??s questionnaire (Med Educ 16(4):188?C191, 1982), which assesses both the attitude of the participants towards basic science knowledge, and their attitude towards their learning experience in medical school. Nine participants from each group were also interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. The results showed essential differences in the attitudes of the two groups. The high school students consider scientific knowledge far more essential for a physician than do the medical students, who also showed a far lower estimation of the effectiveness of their science studies.     

Impulsive cognitive style: Three modification techniques

Fifty-five boys aged 8-11, categorized as impulsives by means of the Matching Familiar Figures test, participated in a study comparing the effects of three different techniques, designed to change an impulsive cognitive style on response accuracy and response latency. One group of impulsives was trained to increase response latency by means of modeling and instructions. A second group was trained to increase response accuracy by a strategy of visual detailing. The third group was trained to increase response accuracy by a strategy of visual discrimination. The two groups trained to increase response accuracy showed a significant decrease in errors, as well as an increase in response latency. The “visual discrimination” group had a significantly shorter response latency than the “visual detailing” group. Subjects trained only to increase response latency did show a significant increase in latency; however, there was no decrease in errors.