A Multipart Project Planning and Tracking Exercise

Project Management is an important skill for business students to develop. Although project‐oriented activity is very common, the success rate for projects is poor. Many projects fail due to poor planning. This article describes a multipart class exercise used to teach elements of a project management methodology to undergraduate and graduate business students. Over the course of the eight‐part exercise, student teams iteratively develop a project plan and Gantt chart, an initial and detailed project charter, a variance analysis model, and a status report. Students are taught an iterative top‐down planning process using a technique we term the ODW (Objectives–Deliverables–Workplan) model. Students are introduced to Microsoft Project and use the tool to develop a project plan that becomes part of a more detailed Project Charter. In the final stages of the exercise, students collect results, update their plan, and produce a project status report.     

Acquiring Clinical Knowledge from an Online Video Platform: A Randomized Controlled Experiment on the Relevance of Integrating Anatomical Information and Clinical Practice

Basic subjects in medical education, such as anatomy, are often taught through teaching formats that do not always sufficiently demonstrate the relevance of this basic information for clinical practice. Accordingly, it is a recent trend in anatomy education to link anatomical information more explicitly to clinical practice. This article presents an online video platform (Tuebingen’s Sectio Chirurgica [TSC]) as one means of explicitly integrating preclinical anatomical knowledge and clinical application. The purpose of the study presented here was to examine the effects of videos through which medical students were educated about Anterior Cruciate Ligament reconstruction. A TSC video about this surgical procedure was compared to a video with a traditional lecture providing the identical information. Participants (n = 114) perceived the TSC video to be superior in comprehensibility of the presentation (P = 0.003) and conceivability of the surgical procedure (P = 0.027), and to be more entertaining (P < 0.001). Moreover, participants in the TSC condition acquired more clinical knowledge than in the lecture condition (P = 0.043) but did not differ in their acquisition of anatomical knowledge. Mediation analyses indicated that the effect on the acquisition of clinical knowledge was mediated by comprehensibility, conceivability, and entertainment. These findings are discussed regarding their implications for medical education in terms of contributing to the general trend of linking preclinical anatomical knowledge to clinical application. A discussion about the limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also provided.     

The directional links between students’ academic motivation and social integration during the first year of higher education

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Previous theoretical research proposed a link between students’ academic motivation and students’ experiences of social integration, but...     

Variation in Valuation: How Research Groups Accumulate Credibility in Four Epistemic Cultures

Minerva - This paper aims to explore disciplinary variation in valuation practices by comparing the way research groups accumulate credibility across four epistemic cultures. Our analysis is based...     

Validity and reliability of a linear positional transducer across commonly practised resistance training exercises

This study investigated the validity and reliability of the GymAware PowerTool (GPT). Thirteen resistance trained participants completed three visits, consisting of three repetitions of free-weight back squat, bench press, deadlift (80% one repetition maximum), and countermovement jump. Bar displacement, peak and mean velocity, peak and mean force, and jump height were calculated using the GPT, a three-dimensional motion capture system (Motion Analysis Corporation; 150 Hz), and a force plate (Kistler; 1500 Hz). Least products regression were used to compare agreeability between devices. A within-trial one-way ANOVA, typical error (TE; %), and smallest worthwhile change (SWC) were used to assess reliability. Regression analysis resulted in R² values of >0.85 for all variables excluding deadlift mean velocity (R² = 0.54–0.69). Significant differences were observed between visits 3-2 for bench press bar displacement (0.395 ± 0.055 m; 0.383 ± 0.053 m), and deadlift bar displacement (0.557 ± 0.034 m; 0.568 ± 0.034 m). No other significant differences were found. Low to moderate TE (0.6–8.8%) were found for all variables, with SWC ranging 1.7–7.4%. The data provides evidence that the GPT can be used to measure kinetic and kinematic outputs, however, care should be taken when monitoring deadlift performance.     

The role of the teacher with substance-abusing adolescents in secondary schools

Before choosing to become involved with students who currently are abusing psychoactive substances, teachers must consider not only the potential consequences and payoffs to them professionally, but also what specifically they can do to help adolescents. This article presents some of the philosophical problems, and suggests potential solutions of how to relate to students who engage in potentially self-destructive, drug-related behavior. There is a need for teachers to become quasi-counselors and consultants, since they are the first line of defense against substance use and abuse.