Scoping review: The use of augmented reality in clinical anatomical education and its assessment tools

The purpose of this review was to identify the different augmented reality (AR) modalities used to teach anatomy to students, health professional trainees, and surgeons, and to examine the assessment tools used to evaluate the performance of various AR modalities. A scoping review of four databases was performed using variations of: (1) AR, (2) medical or anatomical teaching/education/training, and (3) anatomy or radiology or cadaver. Scientific articles were identified and screened for the inclusion and exclusion criteria as per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses with extension for scoping reviews guidelines. Virtual reality was an exclusion criterion. From this scoping review, data were extracted from a total of 54 articles and the following four AR modalities were identified: head-mounted display, projection, instrument and screen, and mobile device. The usability, feasibility, and acceptability of these AR modalities were evaluated using a variety of quantitative and qualitative assessment tools. Within more recent years of AR integration into anatomy education, the assessment of visuospatial ability, cognitive load, time on task, and increasing academic achievement outcomes are variables of interest, which continue to warrant more exploration. Sufficiently powered studies using validated assessment tools must be conducted to better understand the role of AR in anatomical education.     

DIRECT BEHAVIORAL CONSULTATION: EFFECTS ON TEACHERS’ PRAISE AND STUDENT DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR

Direct behavioral consultation is an extension of traditional behavioral consultation and focuses on assessment and training in the classroom during ongoing classroom activities. This study evaluated direct behavioral consultation services in two elementary alternative classrooms referred following a program evaluation in which data suggested behavior‐specific praise was not being delivered at a desired level. A multiple baseline design across classrooms was used to evaluate indirect and direct training procedures for increasing teachers’ implementation of behavior‐specific praise. Results indicated that indirect training did not result in substantial improvements in teachers’ use of behavior‐specific praise. Direct training procedures resulted in immediate increases in behavior‐specific praise for both teachers, but only one teacher maintained those increases immediately following training. For the other teacher, when performance feedback was added to direct training, increases in behavior‐specific praise were maintained. Data are also presented regarding student disruptive behavior. Results are discussed in terms of direct behavioral consultation theory and practice for educational settings.     

Teaching Grammar and Testing Grammar in the English Primary School: The Impact on Teachers and their Teaching of the Grammar Element of the Statutory Test in Spelling,Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

The research examined the impact on teachers of the grammar element of a new statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) in primary schools in England. The research aimed to evaluate the nature and the extent of changes to the teaching of grammar and to wider literacy teaching since the introduction of the test in 2013. The research explored teachers’ responses to teaching grammar to a statutory test format, and how teachers implemented rapid curriculum change in their classrooms. The research sought to learn the perspectives of teachers as they adjusted to new English assessments and new expectations for children’s language in the primary school. This paper draws on teacher interviews (n = 16) and an online survey of teaching staff (n = 170). Teachers discuss their knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of grammar at their own level, and their skills for teaching pupils; they also discuss their observations of how pupils have responded to explicit grammar teaching and the grammar test. The data give some insights into the processes for teachers of applying new requirements for teaching and testing grammar, and how teachers strive to make grammar accessible to children. The findings discussed in this paper are: (1) since the introduction of the statutory SPaG test in primary schools, time spent teaching decontextualised and contextualised grammar has increased significantly; (2) grammar is now taught explicitly and formally as a classroom literacy routine; (3) the test format influences grammar teaching content and approaches; (4) teachers observe that pupils enjoy learning grammar and taking the test; (5) teachers disagree about the extent to which explicit grammar teaching and testing have a positive impact on pupils’ language and literacy skills; (6) teachers feel more confident about teaching grammar.     

An Explanation for School Failure: Moving Beyond Black Inferiority and Alienation as a Policy-Making Agenda

Numerous authors identify a white supremacist ideology that shapes the educational opportunities for racially diverse students. We contend that this ideology informs educational policy and hampers the likelihood that racially diverse populations can achieve success at levels similar to students of European descent. In this paper we define the white supremacist ideology as it informs education policy and practices. Three examples from the United States are then used to illustrate the influence of such an ideology. These examples include the creation and protection of racially segregated schooling; desegregation policies; and the current uses of school report cards. We conclude with the relevance of this discussion to educational debates in Great Britain and South Africa, and recommendations to minimise the influence of this ideology on education policy and school reform efforts.     

Hypermedia navigation: Profiles of hypermedia users

In this study we explored the use of log files as a window into the process of hypermedia navigation. Although there is a growing body of research addressing theoretical and design issues related to open-ended, non-directive technologies such as hypermedia, relatively few studies have attempted to explain navigational performance. Sixty-six undergraduate students used a multidimensional, computer-based kiosk that could be explored in a nonlinear fashion to find information in response to one of two information-retrieval tasks (simple or complex). Cluster analysis was used to generate performance profiles derived from navigational data captured in log files. Analyses of within-cluster performance profiles, combined with external validation criteria, led to the classification of four different types of navigational performance (models users, disenchanted volunteers, feature explorers, and cyber cartographers). These characterizations were consistent with information-retrieval scores and the external criteria (self-efficacy, perceived utility, and interest). For example, individuals who appeared to take the time to learn the layout of the kiosk also had the highest self-efficacy, while those who used the help screen and watched the most movies had the lowest self-efficacy. Results also demonstrated an interaction between various individual navigational profiles and type of information-retrieval task.     

Integrating technology in a field-based teacher training program: The PT3@ASU project

The Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) initiative has funded various efforts to improve and enhance the technology preparation of preservice teachers. At Arizona State University, these efforts have focused on providing preservice teachers with opportunities to develop, implement, and evaluate their own instructional activities that utilize technology effectively and appropriately in authentic situations, to give them the myriad of tools necessary to integrate technology into teaching and learning activities. This paper focuses on the integration of these efforts into the field-based elementary education program, and discusses our formative evaluation of the field-based technology integration model, through the following questions: What are the preliminary successes of the model with regard to student perceptions, attitudes, and integration of technology into instructional activities? and What components of the model require additions or modifications?     

One Goal,Two Institutions: How a Community College and 4-Year University Partner to Bridge Student College Readiness Gaps

ABSTRACT

Recent national attention on college completion poses unique challenges and opportunities for community colleges. Moving underprepared students through basic skills educational courses to degree attainment represents an ongoing challenge. With more than 60% of community college students enrolled in remedial education, 2-year institutions must explore innovative approaches aimed at underprepared student completion. One community college did just that and partnered with a 4-year institution to expand postsecondary pathway options for underprepared first-year students. By establishing the Tiger Gateway Program, these two institutions collaborated to address student college readiness gaps using a summer bridge model. Seventy-five percent of participants self-reported as Hispanic/Latino with the remaining 25% identifying as African American or Black. Outcomes indicate participants who completed the program, 23 of 26, made gains in intellectual, academic, and social development. Findings support scholarship attesting that highly structured, meaningful, well-defined collaboration particularly benefits students from low-socio-status and underserved populations.     

Preschool emotional competence: pathway to social competence?

Preschoolers' (N = 143) patterns of emotional expressiveness, emotion regulation, and emotion knowledge were assessed. Their contributions to social competence, as evidenced by sociometric likability and teacher ratings, were evaluated via latent variable modeling, both concurrently and across time. Moderation of key results by age and sex was also explored. Emotional competence assessed at 3 to 4 years of age contributed to both concurrent and kindergarten social competence. Even early in the preschool period, contributions of emotional competence to social competence have long-term implications.