The Use of Anatomical Dissection Videos in Medical Education

Dissection videos are commonly utilized in gross anatomy courses; however, the actual usage of such videos, as well as the academic impact of student use of these videos, is largely unknown. Understanding how dissection videos impact learning is important in making curricular decisions. In this study, 22 dissection videos were created to review structures identified in laboratory sessions throughout the Organ Systems 1 (OS1), 2 (OS2), and 3 (OS3) courses. Dissection videos were provided to 201 first-year medical students, and viewing data were recorded. Demographic data for age and gender identity were also collected from students. Overall, there was a significant decrease in total views (P = 0.001), the number of students who pressed play (P < 0.001), and the number of students who viewed ≥ 90% of the total length of videos (P < 0.001) from OS1 to OS3. The total adjusted time spent viewing videos was not significantly different between individual OS courses. There were some instances where significant differences existed in examination performance between those who did and did not view videos, and by time spent viewing videos. There were no significant differences in time spent viewing videos by gender. Together these data suggest that students may utilize dissection videos more at the beginning of a dissection course, although they remain an important resource throughout the year for a subset of students.     

Generation of vertical angular momentum in single,double, and triple-turn pirouette en dehors in ballet

The purpose of this study was to investigate the vertical angular momentum generation strategies used by skilled ballet dancers in pirouette en dehors. Select kinematic parameters of the pirouette preparation (stance depth, vertical center-of-mass motion range, initial shoulder line position, shoulder line angular displacement, and maximum trunk twist angle) along with vertical angular momentum parameters during the turn (maximum momentums of the whole body and body parts, and duration and rate of generation) were obtained from nine skilled collegiate ballet dancers through a three-dimensional motion analysis and compared among three turn conditions (single, double, and triple). A one-way (‘turn’) multivariate analysis of variance of the kinematic parameters and angular momentum parameters of the whole body and a two-way analysis of variance (‘turn’ × ‘body’) of the maximum angular momentums of the body parts were conducted. Significant ‘turn’ effects were observed in the kinematic/angular momentum parameters (both the preparation and the turn) (p < 0.05). As the number of turns increased, skilled dancers generated larger vertical angular momentums by predominantly increasing the rate of momentum generation using rotation of the upper trunk and arms. The trail (closing) arm showed the largest contribution to whole-body angular momentum followed by the lead arm.     

Children’s screen and problematic media use in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

This mixed methods study examined parent-reported child screen media use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining 2019–2020 changes in parent perceptions of media, screen media use (SMU), and problematic media use (PMU) in children aged 2–13 years (N = 129; 64 boys, 64 girls, 1 nonbinary; 90.7% White, 4.6% Hispanic/Latino, 0.8% Black, 8.5% multiethnic; primarily middle-to-high income). Quantitative analyses showed a significant SMU and PMU increase (medium effect size). There was a steeper increase in PMU among school-age (older) children. Together, the qualitative and quantitative results suggest that the PMU and SMU increase were influenced by distal, proximal, and maintaining factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning, child behaviors, other children, parental mediation, and positive media reinforcement.     

Developing Relationships Between Sexual Health Clinics and Schools: More than clinic nurses doing sex education sessions?

Linking schools with sexual health clinics facilitates clinic access by young people. This paper documents the process of developing one such link and its impact on clinic use. Multiple data collection strategies were used to document a developing school/clinic relationship and constant comparative analysis was used to develop hypotheses from the data as follows: ” A few teachers have a good knowledge of local sexual health services and extensive experience of referring to them. ” Most tutors (despite their pastoral role) have little knowledge of local sexual health services and no experience of referring to them. ” Organising work in the school is difficult because teachers have little non-teaching time and a variable commitment to sex and relationship education. ” The link between the clinic and the school has facilitated access to the clinic by school pupils. ” Outreach work is more effective when young people meet the outreach worker repeatedly in different settings. Each hypothesis is presented with its supporting data. This information is consistent with what is known about the benefits of school/clinic links and adds to what is known about the process of developing and maintaining such links.     

Talking about education: exploring the significance of teachers’ talk for teacher agency

Abstract

The interest in teachers’ discourses and vocabularies has for a long time been studied under the rubric of knowledge, most notably teachers’ professional knowledge. This interest can be traced back to Shulman’s distinction between different kinds of teacher knowledge and Schwab’s interest in the role of practical reasoning and judgement in teaching. Within the research, a distinction can be found between a more narrow approach that focuses on teachers’ propositional or theoretical knowledge and a more encompassing approach in which teachers’ knowledge is not only the knowledge for teachers generated elsewhere, but also the knowledge of teachers. This is the ‘stock of knowledge’ gained from a range of sources and experiences, including teachers’ ongoing engagement with the practice of teaching itself. In this paper, we focus on the role of teachers’ talk in their achievement of agency. We explore how, in what way and to what extent such talk helps or hinders teachers in exerting control over and giving direction to their everyday practices, bearing in mind that such practices are not just the outcome of teachers’ judgements and actions, but are also shaped by the structures and cultures within which teachers work.     

Sources of Job Satisfaction in Science Secondary School Teachers in Chile

The paper aims to augment the limited literature on teacher job satisfaction in developing countries, specifically in Chile. The nature of job satisfaction in Chilean secondary science teachers is investigated and causes of satisfaction and dissatisfaction identified. Teachers mentioned most often their satisfaction with interactions with students, relationships held within the school and opportunities to contribute to the development of society, future generations or the individual. Sources of dissatisfaction are poor salary, excessive workload, student characteristics, resources and infrastructure. Associations between teachers' characteristics (age, gender, experience), the type of school administration and job satisfaction are also made and suggestions on how to address the issues of teacher satisfaction and dissatisfaction are discussed.     

Coming to Terms with Perfection: The Case of Terri Schiavo

Our project is intended to supplement and extend research that emphasizes how the rhetoric informing the euthanasia debate admits a call of conscience and how this call would have us act heroically as we acknowledge what is arguably some particular truth that is at work in the debate (e.g., only God has the right to take a life). The relationship between conscience, acknowledgment, heroism, truth and rhetoric, we submit, presupposes the workings of our metaphysical desire for perfection—a desire that is definitely on hand when debating issues of the “good life” and the “good death.” The relationship constitutes a rhetoric of perfection that plays an essential role in the euthanasia debate as a whole. Such a rhetoric lies at the heart of the recent and much publicized case of Terri Schiavo—a young woman who lived in a persistent vegetative state for 15 years before she was allowed to die the “dignified” death that she supposedly wanted all along.     

Mentoring partnerships in science education

The authors use an action research (AR) approach in a collegiate studio physics class to investigate the power of partnerships via conferences as they relate to issues of establishing a student/mentor rapport, empowering students to reduce inequity, and the successes and barriers to hearing students’ voices. The graduate teaching assistant (TA, Author 1) conducted one-on-one conferences with 29 students, elicited student opinions about the progress of the course, and talked with faculty, TAs, and an undergraduate supplemental instructor for other sections of the course. At the end of the semester, the students reported increased knowledge of the TA as a person and as an instructor, and vice versa. Sixty-five percent of students reported no interest in changing circumstances to make it easier to talk about personal concerns with the TA. College students reluctantly voiced their opinions about the course, possibly due to the power structure of the classroom. Other TAs in the department expressed mostly disinterest in the project, while faculty members were interested in student learning but skeptical of student empowerment. A case study of one student is presented, wherein his attendance improved in the course and he received additional help outside class, both possibly as a result of the student/TA conferences. Students in this studio physics section were more likely to interact directly with faculty or TAs during lectures, but less likely to do so during lab sessions, than were students in a non-studio physics section.     

Aligning goals, assessments, and activities: an approach to teaching PCR and gel electrophoresis

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gel electrophoresis have become common techniques used in undergraduate molecular and cell biology labs. Although students enjoy learning these techniques, they often cannot fully comprehend and analyze the outcomes of their experiments because of a disconnect between concepts taught in lecture and experiments done in lab. Here we report the development and implementation of novel exercises that integrate the biological concepts of DNA structure and replication with the techniques of PCR and gel electrophoresis. Learning goals were defined based on concepts taught throughout the cell biology lab course and learning objectives specific to the PCR and gel electrophoresis lab. Exercises developed to promote critical thinking and target the underlying concepts of PCR, primer design, gel analysis, and troubleshooting were incorporated into an existing lab unit based on the detection of genetically modified organisms. Evaluative assessments for each exercise were aligned with the learning goals and used to measure student learning achievements. Our analysis found that the exercises were effective in enhancing student understanding of these concepts as shown by student performance across all learning goals. The new materials were particularly helpful in acquiring relevant knowledge, fostering critical-thinking skills, and uncovering prevalent misconceptions.     

Children's Judgments and Reasoning About Same‐Sex Romantic Relationships

Children's (5‐, 7‐ to 8‐, and 10‐ to 11‐year‐olds), and adolescents’ (13‐ to 14‐year‐olds) judgments and reasoning about same‐sex romantic relationships were examined (N = 128). Participants’ beliefs about the acceptability and legal regulation of these relationships were assessed, along with their judgments and beliefs about excluding someone because of his or her sexual orientation and the origins of same‐sex attraction. Older participants evaluated same‐sex romantic relationships more positively and used more references to personal choice and justice/discrimination reasoning to support their judgments. Younger participants were less critical of a law prohibiting same‐sex relationships and were more likely to believe it was not acceptable to violate this law. Beliefs about origins of same‐sex attraction showed age‐specific patterns in their associations with evaluations.