Original Article
Raziye Emambakhsh; Moghaddameh Mirzaee; Abedin Iranpour; Roghaieh Ershad Sarabi
Abstract
Background: The group discussion method is one of the student-centered and active teaching methods in which learners actively participate in educational activities using discussion, and they are given the opportunity to share their opinions and experiences with others.Objectives: The present study was ...
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Background: The group discussion method is one of the student-centered and active teaching methods in which learners actively participate in educational activities using discussion, and they are given the opportunity to share their opinions and experiences with others.Objectives: The present study was conducted to compare the effects of the group discussion method and the lecture method on health workers’ knowledge and attitudes.Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 70 health workers working in Baft, Kerman province, were selected by census method and divided into two groups of 35 people. Asthma-related educational content was presented for one group as a lecture and the other as a group discussion. Before and after the intervention, health workers’ knowledge and attitudes scores were evaluated and compared using a researcher-made questionnaire.Results: The mean age of participants was 38 ± 2.7 years. After the intervention, the mean score of attitude was 65.86 ± 6 in the lecture group and 68.66 ± 4.7 in the group discussion group, indicating a significant difference (p = 0.04). The mean score of knowledge after the intervention was 11.4 ± 1.66 in the lecture group and 11.28 ± 1.6 in the group discussion group, which was not statistically significant (p = 0.77). In both groups, the mean scores of knowledge and attitude increased significantly after the intervention (p<0.0001).Conclusion: The results showed that education affected the increase of health workers’ knowledge and attitudes in both groups. Also, the group discussion method had a greater effect on increasing the attitude of individuals compared to the lecture method; however, this effect was not significant for knowledge. Therefore, it can be concluded that for the training of health workers, it is better to use integrated teaching methods to create deep and efficient learning as well as positive attitude and motivation.
Original Article
Mahdieh Torkashvand; Matineh Pourrahimi; Hadi Jalilvand; Mojtaba Abdi; Ebrahim Nasiri; Fatemeh Haghi
Abstract
Background: Students’ academic failure is one of the educational problems causing the loss of allocated resources.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the factors affecting the academic failure of students and their viewpoints regarding the factors affecting educational achievement at Guilan ...
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Background: Students’ academic failure is one of the educational problems causing the loss of allocated resources.
Objectives: This study aimed to assess the factors affecting the academic failure of students and their viewpoints regarding the factors affecting educational achievement at Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Guilan, Iran.
Methods: The present cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 375 students in medical, nursing, and other related fields. A valid and reliable multipart questionnaire was used as a data collection tool. Based on the obtained results, the criteria for academic failure were extracted. Then, due to abnormal data distribution, Spearman nonparametric statistical test was used to analyze the data using both SPSS software (version 23) and GraphPad Prism software (version 7).
Results: According to the obtained results, the frequency of academic failure in the study population was 25.6%. Moreover, 28.46% of the students were satisfied with their field of study. Academic failure showed the strongest relationships with gender, regularity, and precision in the study. Furthermore, the most effective factors in educational achievement from the students’ viewpoints were student motivation, professor’s mastery over the subject, and student occupational future.
Conclusion: It is necessary to create a system to precisely investigate students’ academic failure and counseling needs to help them if necessary.
Review
Hoda Ahmari Tehran; Mojgan Mohammadimehr; Fatemeh Keshmiri
Abstract
Background: Planning and conducting successful scholarship of teaching and learning or educational scholarship in medical education is essential. The guidelines for faculty members can be significant.
Objectives: This study aimed to develop a practical guide for teaching and learning scholarship activities.
Methods: ...
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Background: Planning and conducting successful scholarship of teaching and learning or educational scholarship in medical education is essential. The guidelines for faculty members can be significant.
Objectives: This study aimed to develop a practical guide for teaching and learning scholarship activities.
Methods: The present study was a research synthesis conducted in six steps, including formulation of problem or question, literature search, data extraction and analysis, interpretation of results, and public presentation. The extracted publications were independently analyzed, and a consensus was reached on each paper’s stated definitions of the educational scholarship steps.
Results: The results were classified into 12 steps, including recognizing an educational problem, reviewing the literature, analyzing the context, creating a goal-oriented team of stakeholders, determining objectives and planning the SoTL project, finding supportive resources, considering ethical issues, implementing the scholar activities and analyzing evidence, critical appraisal of the SoTL project, reflecting on the SoTL project, documenting the details of the SoTL project, and going public and disseminating the experiences.
Conclusion: Scholars must be able to provide a clear, complete explanation of the innovativeness of their scholarly ideas and the need for this kind of content for their audiences. However, studying and reviewing relevant journals, reflecting on the issues or questions posed, and exchanging ideas with your colleagues are recommended for reviewing and refining scholarly and idea-generation questions.
Brief report
Zahra Zahedi; Hamid Salehiniya; Afagh Zarei; Hamid Abbaszadeh
Abstract
Background: Due to the widespread utilization of electronic exams, neglecting their quality is a major threat. Assessing the quality of electronic exams plays a decisive role in determining the efficacy of electronic learning.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the quality of electronic exams held ...
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Background: Due to the widespread utilization of electronic exams, neglecting their quality is a major threat. Assessing the quality of electronic exams plays a decisive role in determining the efficacy of electronic learning.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the quality of electronic exams held at the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.Methods: Following a cross-sectional design, this study included all electronic exams of the electronic test center of Birjand University of Medical Sciences during the academic year of 2020. Reliability, discrimination index (DI), and difficulty index (DIF) of exams were used to assess the quality. Descriptive statistics and frequency distributions were used to describe the data.Results: Out of 101 E-exams, 59.4% had appropriate DIF, 61.4% had low DI, and 66.3% had unfavorable reliability. Also, 38.6% of exams had high DIF (easy questions). For all exams, the mean of DIF, DI, and reliability was 0.66±0.14, 0.28±0.08, and 0.56±0.31, respectively. The mean of DI (P= 0.30) and reliability (P= 0.09) was not significantly different based on faculty. The mean of DIF was significantly different according to the faculty (P=0.03).Conclusion: Concerning the quality of e-exams, most problems are related to the DI and reliability. It is recommended to hold empowerment workshops on how to design exam questions for faculty members to get them acquainted with strategies to increase the reliability and discrimination index of the exam.
Original Article
Ensiyeh Mirzaei; Mehrangiz Alinejad; Badrsadat Daneshmand
Abstract
Background: Given that interaction is a vital element in virtual learning, using the professors’ experiences and perceptions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak can provide useful information about the quality of educational interactions in virtual learning courses in order ...
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Background: Given that interaction is a vital element in virtual learning, using the professors’ experiences and perceptions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak can provide useful information about the quality of educational interactions in virtual learning courses in order to improve virtual learning.Objectives: This study aims to explain the perceptions of faculty members of Kerman universities regarding virtual learning based on educational interactions during the COVID-19 outbreak.Methods: This study was conducted with a qualitative content analysis approach in the academic year of 2021 in Kerman University of Medical Sciences and Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. The data collection method was semi-structured interviews with 13 professors of these universities who were included in the study using purposive sampling. Data analysis was performed using the qualitative content analysis method according to the steps introduced by Graneheim and Lundman.Results: The results of this study were presented in the form of 4 main themes: 1) Teacher-learner interactions, including the tools used, how they interact, and their barriers; 2) Learner-learner interaction, learner-content interaction, and teacher-content interaction, including the professors’ actions to create and increase them; 3) Teacher-teacher interactions, including professors’ instructional and research interactions and their barriers; 4) Content-content interaction, which the findings indicated that professors did not pay much attention to this type of interaction.Conclusion: Virtual learning is not limited to the COVID-19 outbreak period but can be used as a supplement to face-to-face learning, even when the universities reopen; therefore, valuable experiences of professors of virtual learning can be used to strengthen various types of educational interactions and develop virtual learning in the studied universities and other universities.
Brief report
Saeid Heidari-Soureshjani; Parastoo Yarmohammadi-Samani; Abdollah Mohammadian-Hafshejani; Dariush Gholipour Mofrad-Dashtaki
Abstract
Background: Research anxiety and academic self-concept are among the factors that can be effective in improving the level of students’ capabilities in research in the field of medical education.Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between research anxiety and ...
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Background: Research anxiety and academic self-concept are among the factors that can be effective in improving the level of students’ capabilities in research in the field of medical education.Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine the relationship between research anxiety and academic self-concept in master’s and doctoral students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences.Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical research was conducted on 102 graduate students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences in the master’s and doctoral degrees in 2019. Sampling was performed using a convenience method. The data collection tool included the Higgins Research Anxiety Inventory and the Academic Self-Concept Questionnaire (ASCQ). The data were analyzed by calculating the mean and standard deviation, the independent t-test, and the Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS software.Results: In master’s students, research anxiety was inversely and significantly correlated with academic self-concept (r = -0.339, P = 0.002) and academic self-confidence (r = -0.425, P < 0.001). Also, academic self-concept was directly and significantly associated with academic self-confidence (r = 0.876, P < 0.001) and academic effort (r = 0.821, P < 0.001). In doctoral students, academic self-concept also showed a direct and significant association with academic self-confidence (r = 0.835, P < 0.001) and academic effort (r = -0.753, P < 0.001).Conclusion: Research anxiety was associated with academic self-concept in master’s students of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, but such a relationship was not found in doctoral students.
Original Article
Seyed Sadegh Salehi Sadati; Atieh Hasani Helm; Zahra Mortazavi; Behnaz Alafchi; Homa Naderifar; Saideh Sadat Mortazavi
Abstract
Background: Sensory processing pattern is a unique characteristic in each human. Critical thinking is a well-known skill of successful individuals.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the critical thinking skills and sensory processing patterns of students of Medical Sciences.Methods: ...
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Background: Sensory processing pattern is a unique characteristic in each human. Critical thinking is a well-known skill of successful individuals.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between the critical thinking skills and sensory processing patterns of students of Medical Sciences.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 213 students (147 males and 66 females). Brown’s Adolescent and Adult Sensory Profile Questionnaire and Ricketts’ Critical Thinking Questionnaire were used for data collection. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 24) and appropriate statistical tests (i.e., the Pearson correlation test and independent samples t-test).Results: Critical thinking had a significant positive relationship with sensory sensitivity (r=0.229) and a significant inverse relationship with sensory seeking (r=-0.249) and low registration (r=-0.223). Critical thinking had a significant positive relationship with students’ grade point average (r=0.875). Additionally, there was no significant relationship between critical thinking with sensory avoidance (r=0.099) and age (r=0.847). In the sensory processing patterns, only low registration had a significant relationship with gender (P<0.05).Conclusion: Students whose dominant patterns of sensory processing were sensory sensitivity and sensory seeking had better and worse critical thinking skills than others, respectively. It seems necessary to pay attention to sensory processing patterns in students to develop their mental skills, especially critical thinking.
Original Article
Leili Mosalanejad; Mehdi Dastpak; Fatemeh Kheshti
Abstract
Background: COVID-19 crisis has created special educational conditions. This challenge has brought about changes in students’ academic lifestyles.
Objectives: We aimed to conduct a qualitative study on the students’ academic lifestyle and quality during the COVID-19 crisis.
Methods: This ...
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Background: COVID-19 crisis has created special educational conditions. This challenge has brought about changes in students’ academic lifestyles.
Objectives: We aimed to conduct a qualitative study on the students’ academic lifestyle and quality during the COVID-19 crisis.
Methods: This is a qualitative method with a phenomenological analysis. The research was conducted within the framework of logic sampling on 50 students with a phenomenological approach to Medical, Health, and Laboratory Sciences students. It was purposeful. Students were asked to describe the style and quality of their academic life in the form of expression of experience during their COVID-19 crisis and quarantine, and then the analysis of the students’ written work was performed using Colaizzi’s seven-step process. Four-dimension criteria were also considered to assess rigor of qualitative research (credibility, dependability, conformability, and transferability).
Results: Of 64 codes obtained in the research, five themes and 11 sub-themes emerged. Themes included items such as 1) unknown stress and anxiety, vague future and professional problem, 2) cognitive burden (information literacy, bulk contents, need for self-paced, and need for mastery), 3) interests (following interest and compensation process), 4) skills (self-regulation, self-direction, and time management), and 5) security (available content, exercise, and practice).
Conclusion: According to the results, it can be stated that changing the academic lifestyle can provide improved personal skills and information literacy, but changing the academic lifestyle in a negative direction with cognitive burden and fear of the unknown has created many problems in the process of this lifestyle.
Original Article
Fatemeh Sadat Sajadi; Marzieh Pirzadeh-Ashraf; Ali Eskandarizadeh; Mohammad Izadi
Abstract
Background: Assessment plays a great role in encouraging learning and evaluating whether the learning objectives have been achieved.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of dental faculty members toward Patient Management Problem (PMP) and Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) tests.Methods: ...
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Background: Assessment plays a great role in encouraging learning and evaluating whether the learning objectives have been achieved.Objectives: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of dental faculty members toward Patient Management Problem (PMP) and Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) tests.Methods: In this descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was used to collect information from 54 faculty members of the dental school of Kerman University of Medical Sciences from 2019 to 2020. This study’s questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first part included demographic information, and the second included questions related to the faculty members' knowledge (10 questions) and attitudes (8 questions) towards MCQ and PMP tests. Cronbach’s alpha was considered to be 0.8. Content validity was assessed to determine the validity of the questionnaire. SPSS 20 was used to analyze the data, which included descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, and standard deviation, as well as non-parametric tests such as the Kruskal-Wallis and linear regression tests.Results: Fifty four dentistry faculty members returned the completed questionnaires in this study. Amongst them, 34(63%) were female, and 20(37%) were male. The mean scores of the knowledge and attitudes questionnaire toward the MCQ and PMP tests were 7.20 and 27.83, respectively. The Mean scores of the knowledge and attitudes had no significant relationship with age, gender, and teaching experience.Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that the dental faculty members had good knowledge about MCQs and PMPs structures and their strengths and weaknesses. There was also a good awareness of the shortcomings of the MCQ test in the assessment of clinical reasoning and the lack of transparency of this assessment tool.
Original Article
Samira Gholamian; Katayun Alidoosti; Shahrzad Zolala; Sakineh Sabzevari
Abstract
Background: From the past to the present, the traditional lecturing method has been the usual and preferred method for teaching, and instructors use learner-oriented methods such as group discussion less due to reasons such as being time-consuming and low-experienced in both groups of learners and professors ...
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Background: From the past to the present, the traditional lecturing method has been the usual and preferred method for teaching, and instructors use learner-oriented methods such as group discussion less due to reasons such as being time-consuming and low-experienced in both groups of learners and professors in this regard.Objectives: The present study was conducted to compare the effect of implementing the competency-based education model on the clinical skills among midwifery students.Methods: This study was semi-experimental; the samples consisted of 34 midwifery students randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The procedures of pelvic examination, Leopold maneuvers, and suturing were taught in the form of competency-based education during six 60-minute sessions for the experimental group, and the control group was trained according to the conventional method. The required information was collected by the triple skills checklist, and finally, the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test in SPSS software.Results: After the intervention, in the experimental and control groups, the pelvic examination skill scores were 38.00 ± 8.41 and 20.76 ± 7.91, the Leopold maneuvers scores were 35.40 ± 6.29 and 23.18 ± 6.73, and the suturing scores were reported as 30.71 ± 6.93 and 22.12 ± 9.58, respectively (P < 0.050). The results of the ANCOVA test showed that competency-based education affected learning the pelvic examination skill with an effect size of 0.893, suturing with an effect size of 0.644, and Leopold maneuvers with an effect size of 0.860.Conclusion: Given that students’ skill needs are considered in detail in the competency-based model and are accompanied by continuous evaluation and feedback, they can affect clinical learning. Based on the obtained results, it is suggested that instructors and professors use the competency-based education method as a strategy in addition to the conventional method for teaching professional skills in midwifery.
Original Article
Mitra Kamyabi
Abstract
Background: Nowadays, expectations from higher education systems have changed, and the purpose of these centers is not only to transfer information. One of the solutions to respond to higher education’s new need is to move toward lifelong learning.Objectives: This research was conducted to investigate ...
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Background: Nowadays, expectations from higher education systems have changed, and the purpose of these centers is not only to transfer information. One of the solutions to respond to higher education’s new need is to move toward lifelong learning.Objectives: This research was conducted to investigate the desirable features of content in higher education with an emphasis on the lifelong learning approach.Methods: This qualitative study was conducted with a content analysis approach in 2019. Nineteen faculty members of Isfahan University, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, and Medical Sciences Universities of Kerman and Isfahan, who were experienced in the fields of curriculum planning, higher education, and teaching and learning, were selected to participate in the study through purposive sampling. Data were collected through open-ended semi-structured interviews. Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative method was used to analyze the data. The results of data analysis were presented during three stages of open, axial, and selective coding. The peer check method and external observer were used in order to ensure the reliability and acceptability of the data.Results: According to the results of this research, three main categories were identified as the desirable features of content with an emphasis on the lifelong approach. The first category was “suitability of the content for society and its needs”, which includes the components of being up-to-date and applicability and usefulness. The second category is “suitability for the learner and his/her needs”, which includes the dimensions of matching with the learner’s interest, need, and ability, developing individual skills according to the learners’ potential, and developing excellent thinking skills. The third category is “suitability for curriculum regulations”, which includes the components of continuous education, learning with multiple methods, quality, flexibility, diversity, coherence, and self-direction.Conclusion: The results of this research can be used in revising higher education content with an emphasis on educating individuals with the feature of lifelong learning.
Original Article
Fatemeh Keshmiri
Abstract
Background: The necessity of responding to changes and promoting the quality of education has increased the necessity of applying new approaches to empowerment programs.Objectives: The present research aimed to determine the effects of mid-term empowerment programs using a blended approach in the form ...
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Background: The necessity of responding to changes and promoting the quality of education has increased the necessity of applying new approaches to empowerment programs.Objectives: The present research aimed to determine the effects of mid-term empowerment programs using a blended approach in the form of flipped classrooms (asynchronous, live meetings) before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic and a virtual (asynchronous-synchronous) approach during the COVID-19 epidemic on teachers’ learning and satisfaction concerning teacher roles in the medical science education system.Methods: This study was quasi-experimental, and its participants were faculty members of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, participating in the empowerment program. This program was implemented in four periods, including 20 training sessions concerning the roles of a teacher in educational systems in the areas of “professional commitment, lesson planning, teaching-learning methods, assessment and evaluation methods, production of educational products, effective communication, and classroom management”. The program evaluation was performed using the participants’ levels of learning and satisfaction by scenario-based questions and a questionnaire, respectively. The results of different blended education approaches were compared in two time periods, before and during the COVID-19 epidemic. Data were analyzed using descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (independent T-test) tests. P >0.05 was considered the significance level.Results: One hundred and eighteen faculty members participated in the study, of whom 56 were female (47.5%), and 62 were male (52.5%). The faculty members’ satisfaction scores with blended empowerment courses with the flipped classroom were reported as 4.34±0.16 and the virtual blended classroom as 3.26±0.59. A significant difference was observed between satisfaction scores in different periods (P=0.001). The participants’ learning scores in the programs held by the blended approach with the flipped classroom (82.16±32.20) were significantly higher than those held during the COVID-19 epidemic (virtual approach) (59.23±48.53).Conclusion: The satisfaction and learning of participants in the flipped classroom program and the virtual blended classroom were at favorable and average levels, respectively. This difference in learning and satisfaction from the perspective of faculty members was significant. Therefore, interactive approaches in different virtual education platforms and a blended approach in empowerment programs are recommended.
Original Article
Zohreh Sohrabi; Atefeh Zabihi Zazoly; Somayeh Alizadeh; Azam Norozi; Gobad Ramezani; Akram Zhianifard
Abstract
Background: Cultural competence is a core skill for the healthcare team that reputable medical organizations and associations have always emphasized. Its components are essential in reducing health inequalities, increasing patient satisfaction, and improving health outcomes.Objectives: Considering that ...
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Background: Cultural competence is a core skill for the healthcare team that reputable medical organizations and associations have always emphasized. Its components are essential in reducing health inequalities, increasing patient satisfaction, and improving health outcomes.Objectives: Considering that competency improvement will affect other skills and abilities, this study attempted to identify the effect of cultural competence training on the medical residents’ empathy.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted among 44 medical residents randomly divided into two groups (control and experimental). The participants were from various medical disciplines (internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery, pathology, and anesthesia). Cultural Competence was taught to the experimental group in a workshop. Then they were sent short educational messages based on the elements of the cultural competence model of Campinha-Bacote for a month. Data were collected using Jefferson's empathy questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS16.Results: In this study, forty-four residents were randomly divided into two groups of 22 people. There was no significant difference between the scores of participants in the two groups before the cultural competency course (P>0.05). However, there was a substantial difference between the scores of the two groups after the intervention (P<0.05). The empathy score was higher in the intervention group.Conclusion: According to the current study, cultural competence training enhances learners’ empathy in clinical settings. It is recommended to be integrated into educational planning and new revisions of curriculums.
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