Should mobile learning be compulsory for preparing students for learning in the workplace?

From the contexts of current social, educational and health policy, there appears to be an increasingly inevitable “mobilisation” of resources in medicine and health as the use mobile technology devices and applications becomes widespread and culturally “normed” in workplaces. Over the past 8 years, students from the University of Leeds Medical School have been loaned mobile devices and smartphones and been given access to mobile‐based resources to assist them with learning and assessments as part of clinical activity in placement settings. Our experiences lead us to suggest that educators should be focusing less on whether mobile learning should be implemented and more on developing mobile learning in curricula that is comprehensive, sustainable, meaningful and compulsory, in order to prepare students for accessing and using such resources in their working lives.     

ATTITUDES TOWARD MATHEMATICS,LEVEL OF MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCY,AND RELATIVE GAINS IN COMPETENCY IN TWO‐ AND FOUR‐YEAR COLLEGES: A COMPARISON

An attitude toward mathematics questionnaire indicated no real difference in attitudes between two‐ and four‐year colleges. No differences in mathematical competencies, as measured by the Beckmann‐Beal Mathematical Competencies Test for Enlightened Citizens, existed between two‐ and four‐year colleges. The gain in mathematical competency due to taking one precalculus mathematics course was only 1.48 questions, or an increase of only 4.1%.     

Assessment leaders’ perspectives of institutional cultures of assessment: a Delphi study

Institutional cultures of assessment are praised as beneficial to student learning. Yet, extant studies have not explored the theoretical foundations and pragmatic approaches to shaping cultures of assessment. The researchers used the Delphi method to explore 10 higher education assessment leaders’ attitudes and theoretical perspectives regarding cultures of assessment. These expert assessment leaders were iteratively surveyed until a reasonable threshold of consensus was reached. Study participants viewed buy-in as a necessary component of a positive campus culture of assessment, and advice on reshaping negative cultures was offered. Assessment leaders’ guiding theoretical frameworks were implied and loosely defined with metaphors. Finally, advice is offered for improving cultures of assessment by symbolically connecting assessment to student learning through dialogue.     

Rethinking higher agricultural education in a time of globalization and rural restructuring

Abstract

This paper explores the consequences of globalization and rapid rural restructuring for our institutions of higher agricultural learning. It is essential for these institutions to make fundamental choices. This process of priority setting should not only be based on a continuous survey of the labour market but also on what the institutions themselves consider as challenging areas of activities. The paper discusses a number of necessary changes in the areas of targets and contents, institutional management, professionalization and strategy of higher agricultural education.     

The hospital library online--a point of service for consumers and hospital staff: a case study.

The Health Library at Stanford University is described in the context of electronic information services provided to Stanford University Medical Center, the local community, and Internet users in general. The evolution from CD-ROM-based services to Web-based services and in-library services to networked resources are described. Electronic services have expanded the mission of The Health Library to include national and international users and the provision of unique services and collections.     

A comparison of three Native American groups and a Caucasian group on the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test-Revised

This study compared the performance of three different Native American groups and a Caucasian group on the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test-Revised and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. The tests were administered to 40 Navajo, 40 Papago, 40 Hopi, and 40 Caucasian children. All of the children were in regular classrooms and none had been referred for school psychological services. The results, using a one-way analysis of variance, indicated significant differences among the four groups on the MPD-R rotation scores and two of the three configuration scores. When age was controlled, these MPD-R scores remained significant. There were no significant differences among the four groups for achievement. It was also found that the MPD-R was correlated significantly with some of the achievement variables.