Perception of pharmacy students towards blended pedagogy in 21st century pharmacy education

Background: In industrialized and developing economic countries like India, the technology transfer has significantly enhanced the quality of higher education, where the tentacles of digitalization have deeply entered education system, which opened the gateway of blended pedagogy, enabling a greater access to course content, learning preparation in peers and interactions. Across the globe, blended learning is applied in pharmaceutical education but it gained momentum in Indian pharmacy education during the global threat, COVID-19 pandemic. Aim and Objectives: The current experimental study of six months duration was performed to investigate the perception of pharmacy students towards blended pedagogy in pharmacy education at undergraduate level. Methodology: In the current experiment survey, a validated standard self-administered questionnaire with 28 inventories under 7 categories was administered to students pursuing undergraduate pharmacy programs in a pharmacy institute located at rural Andhra Pradesh for a period of six months, through online mode;data collection was performed in students showing willingness and further collected data was assessed through excel spreadsheet. Result(s): The study observed a two-third satisfaction on an average in terms of all the indicators which influence the blended pedagogy (teacher 71.8%, course content 74.8%, technology transfer 58.7%, interactions 78.8%, and constructive knowledge 73.7%). Conclusion(s): In conclusion, our study envisaged effective student engagement, with more facilitator-student interactions and adaptability;through blended learning which enabled, enhanced and transformed students to active learners.Copyright © 2023, Indian Pharmaceutical Association. All rights reserved.

Studying and Enhancing the Methods for Distance Teaching of Computer Science in Kazakh Secondary School Students during the Pandemic

Introduction. In 2020, the first two weeks of the enforced transformation of all the levels of school education, which was initiated as one of the measures against the Coro- navirus disease (COVID-19), revealed a range of issues hampering the appropriate distance education. The absence of the methodological basis for conducting online classes in the Kazakh pedagogical community defined the need to study and enhance forms and technologies that would be efficient to use to interact with students during the transition of the national educa- tion system to distance education. Aim. The aim of this research lies in defining efficient methods for distance teaching of computer science in the Kazakh secondary school students in terms of ensuring the mainte- nance of the quality of knowledge and the academic progress of students at the sufficient level corresponding to that of the traditional in-person education. Methodology and research methods. A total of five educators and 320 students of three Kazakh schools took part in the study. At the moment of the experiment, the students were aged 12 to 18 years old. The participants were divided into seven groups according to the edu- cational level (5th-11th forms) in order to make it more convenient to trace qualitative changes in the academic progress depending on the selected method for distance teaching of computer science. The authors conducted three control evaluations of the quality of knowledge in each of the 320 participants. The t-test for unpaired samples for every group was conducted to prove the statistical certainty of the calculated average reference values, which were required to con- firm the viability of the conducted research. The analysis of the data obtained at the concluding stage of the experiment allowed to compare them with the reference values calculated at the preliminary stage of the research in question. For the comparison, The authors applied the Mann-Whitney U test for independent samples.Results. The preliminary analysis of the quality of knowledge related to the discipline of computer science in the participants revealed generally high and average level of both ac- quisition of theoretical information and development of the subject-related skills, which was registered based of the results of in-person education. The leading experience of the specialists composing the authors' initiative research group allowed developing a structural scheme for an online lesson. The lessons applying this scheme were conducted up to the end of the academic quarter. By conducting the Mann-Whitney U test, we discovered that the obtained average values of the quality of teaching computer science to the participants statistically increased (I group - Uemp = 6.49 (p s 0.05), II group - Uemp = 7.46 (p s 0.05), III group - Uemp = 6.05 (p s 0.01), IV group - Uemp = 6.71 (p s 0.05), V group - Uemp = 6.91 (p s 0.01), VI group - Uemp = 6.65 (p s 0.05), VII group - Uemp = 6.21 (p s 0.05)). Despite temporary fall in the efficiency of teaching computer science registered during the transition to the distance model, it was man- aged to achieve the level of academic progress and acquisition of knowledge corresponding to that of in-person education. Scientific novelty. TThe significance of the collected and analysed data was statistically proved. The data confirmed the efficiency of the use of defined and adapted approaches and teaching techniques, which were able to compensate the absence of traditional in-person les- sons, while preventing the fall in the academic progress and the quality of knowledge in stu- dents. Practical significance. The obtained results evidence the success of the arrangements aimed at the enhancement of the methods for distance teaching of computer science in the Kazakh secondary school students during the transition to distance education enforced due to the pandemic.

Digital pedagogy in dialogue: Student teaching during COVID-19

This study depicts the narrative of Noelle, a 22-year-old student teacher from a state university in a large Southeastern U.S. community amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. During Noelle's student teaching experience in the Fall 2020 semester, educators and students were returning to formal teaching and learning in a variety of face-to-face, virtual, and hybrid configurations. Classroom teachers turned to digital technologies to overcome the barriers presented by virtual student attendance and social distancing. At the same time, student teachers like Noelle were entering classrooms to develop their burgeoning teaching skills. Noelle's narrative was constructed and analyzed with respect for the inner dialoguing in which she engaged as she developed her digital pedagogy and digitally-mediated teaching approaches. Findings from Noelle's narrative of digital pedagogy are presented thematically and conclusions and implications for teacher education programs and future research are disseminated.Copyright © 2023, Pharmaceutical Association of Serbia. All rights reserved.

Perception of pharmacy students towards blended pedagogy in 21st century pharmacy education

Background: In industrialised and developing economic countries like India, the technology transfer has significantly enhanced the quality of higher education, where the tentacles of digitsation have deeply entered education system, which opened the gateway of blended pedagogy, enabling a greater access to course content, learning preparation in peers and interactions. Across the globe blended learning is applied in pharmaceutical education, but it gained momentum in Indian pharmacy education during the global threat COVID 19 pandemic. Aim and Objectives: The current experimental study of six months duration was performed to investigate the perception of pharmacy students towards blended pedagogy in pharmacy education at undergraduate level. Methodology: In the current experiment survey, a validated standard self-administered questionnaire with 28 inventories under 7 categories was administered to students pursuing undergraduate pharmacy programs in a pharmacy institute located at rural Andhra Pradesh for a period of six months, through online mode;data collection was performed in students showing willingness and further collected data was assessed through excel spread sheet. Result(s): The study observed a two-third satisfaction on an average in terms of all the indicators which influence the blended pedagogy (teacher 71.8%, course content 74.8%, technology transfer 58.7%, interactions 78.8%, and constructive knowledge 73.7%). Conclusion(s): In conclusion, our study envisaged effective student engagement, with more facilitator-student interactions and adaptability;through blended learning which enabled, enhanced and transformed students to active learners. Copyright © 2022, Indian Pharmaceutical Association. All rights reserved.

THE TEACHER-STUDENT PEDAGOGICAL RELATIONSHIP AT THE LAW SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GUAYAQUIL DURING COVID-19

One of the most interesting topics in University Pedagogy is the teaching-learning relationship between Teacher and Student, which supposes as an ideal effective transmission of knowledge that is expected to be productive for the benefit of Society, meaning that the academic training brings to the student a possibility of full achievement. The way of seeing the pedagogical relationship between teacher and student changed radically since the pandemic redefined the educational paradigms, as well as the application of new methods and study techniques for students. This phenomenon was evidenced in the Law Career, noting very significant changes in the processes of feedback and evaluation.

Hybrid model of dermatology residency training in COVID-19 pandemic

Objective To plan and execute a teaching and assessment strategy to engage the residents in academics to minimize the potential loss in their training during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods At the start of COVID-19 pandemic in the country (from 4th week of March 2020), we started online academic activities for our 28 post graduate residents, by incorporating smart phone applications ("WhatsApp" and "Zoom") and during following one and half year, our teaching strategy evolved through following four stages. (i) Pure Online Learning, (ii) Online plus Physical Learning, (iii) Predominantly Physical Learning, (iv) Reengagement in a "new normal" environment.. Results All components of residency curriculum (theoretical knowledge, professional competencies, skills enhancement) were achieved through frequent MCQs tests, clinical slide sessions, patient-based real time teaching, case presentations, Mock viva and TOACS exams and hands on workshops. Conclusion Hybrid model using smart phones with WhatsApp and Zoom applications is a feasible, cost-effective, and appropriate alternate to traditional medical education during COVID-19 pandemic.

Post Covid Revolution in Education System

Covid-19 pandemic has affected every aspect of life worldwide, includes health sector, service sector, hospitality sector, tour & travel sector, and more specially the education sector at school level as well as at college level of every country. Affect on education sector indirectly affected the upcoming future of nation. Due to infectious nature of disease, people are not supposed to expose outside and come in touch and also instructed to keep distance and follow covid protocol in order to prevent the spread of virus. In such situation we have to lay additional effort to save our kids and decide not to send them to school/college. Management of the school/college is also not in state, taking any risk with student’s life and looking toward another alternative of teaching. We are forced to rethink how education works will carry on in the wake of COVID-19 and consider pandemic as an opportunity to reimaging learning and equip students with skills required navigating the future. This is where new teaching pedagogy and technology comes in play and impacts the whole scenario of education and also open new door of business as an opportunity to reimaging learning and modernize our education systems for the 21st century. This paper presents the analysis of impact of pandemic on traditional smooth running education system and new digital learning platform as the solution of mythic “education is broken” in pandemic. Also present challenges and problems occur due to rapid adoption of online digital learning system whose design is not fully tested to be best pedagogical practices. Paper presents future prospects of remote learning by expert and also brings the new business opportunity in education sector.

A Study on Hurdles Faced by Medical Students during e-Learning Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: An online questionnaire-based survey

Introduction: In order to halt the progression of COVID-19, governments of many countries including India implemented national lockdown. In view of the sudden closure of educational institutions, remote teaching was implemented with the help of online learning or E-learning. Thus, the aim of the study was assessing the attitudes and perceptions of MBBS students regarding the effectiveness of e-learning and the impact of COVID-19 on the student’s mental wellbeing and learning. Methods: The survey instrument was a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 17 close ended questions and 3 open ended question. It has 3 sociodemographic questions, 13 questions assessing their attitudes and perceptions regarding the effectiveness of e-learning and 4 questions investigating the impact of COVID-19 on the student’s mental wellbeing and learning. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS (version 20). Results: A total of 404 undergraduate students studying in FMHS, SGT University, Gurugram participated in the survey. A major part of the students (57.1%) was using their Mobile phones for e-learning followed by 24.6% using their Personal computer or Laptop, 12% were using combination of these devices and 6.3% using tablets. Due to inconsistent internet connection, most of the students (71.5%) were facing challenges. 64.9% of the respondents faced distraction during the class such as lack of audio clarity, internet connection problems, lack of environment, concentration issues, notifications and social media, student teacher interactions, practical aspect not covered and lack of physical interaction with the teacher. The continuous screen time posed a major problem for students who suffered from strain in the eyes (58.3%), headache (18.7%), neck pain (8.8%), back pain (6.3%) or all of the above problems (7.7%). Thus, 84.1% of the undergraduate students preferred conventional Classroom learning to e-learning. Conclusions: Implementation of strict social distancing and lockdown in COVID-19 era, has mandated the pedagogy of remote learning which remains the only viable option for teaching and learning in these difficult times. The students should be advised to follow good ergonomic practices to maintain their ocular health and should be motivated to enhance their mental well-being and learning amid COVID-19 pandemic.

The online art museum: Facilitating the integration of the medical humanities during intern orientation

Learning Objectives: Participants were expected to: 1) Reflect on professional identity;2) Gain introductions to each other and the city;3) Practice close-looking and observation;4) Examine one's own biases and assumptions : Introduction: The humanities have been deemed fundamental to medical education by the American Association of Medical Colleges and evidence suggests that they improve observation skills, empathy, and communication, and may impact transformational outcomes such as professional identity formation. Such critical competencies are especially important during the transition to intern year. In the COVID-19 era specifically, and tightlypacked intern orientation schedules in general, barriers exist to incorporating the humanities, especially at off-campus sites like museums. Since a virtual format may represent an innovative solution, we implemented an online art museum activity during intern orientation. Educational Objectives: 1) Reflect on professional identity;2) Gain introductions to each other and the city, 3) Practice closelooking and observation, 4) Examine one's own biases. Curricular Design: We applied established museumbased pedagogy, including visual thinking strategies (VTS), which uses art to encourage multiple perspectives, critical thinking, and intellectual curiosity. Works from local museums and street art representative of diverse artists, time periods, and subjects were selected from publicly available online image galleries and collated into a presentation. Twelve interns completed a pre-session activity, then joined two emergency medicine (EM) faculty facilitators on Zoom and participated in a series of activities including paired introductions, triaging portraits as patients, and a VTS session. (Table 1) The activities involved reflection, observation, and individual and collaborative meaningmaking using art. Impact/Effectiveness: Participants (10) who completed the evaluation rated the activity as “excellent” and requested more sessions. Learner objectives were met. (Table 2) The online museum tour represents a low-cost, replicable approach to making humanities education accessible to EM trainees both within and across institutions.

Virtual didactics maintain educational engagement with convenience

Learning Objectives: We sought to investigate participants' satisfaction, engagement and motivation to participate in weekly virtual residency didactics and compare both the pre and post implementation average attendance for resident and faculty physicians in an Emergency medicine residency program. Background: During the novel 2019 Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), social-distancing guidelines limited the ability for graduate medical education (GME) programs to continue their in-person weekly didactics. This not only threatened the ability to provide regularly-scheduled education, but also promoted social isolation at a time when many learners were vulnerable to both the clinical and personal challenges of living and working during a pandemic. Objectives: We sought to investigate participants' satisfaction, engagement and motivation to participate in weekly virtual residency didactics and compare both the pre and post implementation average attendance for resident and faculty physicians in an Emergency medicine residency program. Methods: Weekly didactic curriculum for EM residents was migrated to a synchronous, virtual format, leveraging Zoom Conferencing software. Sessions evolved from recycled core content content powerpoints to now incorporate gamification, active learning, and interdisciplinary pedagogies to remain authentic to our traditional live curriculum. Results: An anonymous survey was sent to resident physicians (PGY1-3) and faculty, which resulted in a 48% and 26% response rate respectively. Resident and faculty attendance increased (69% to 80% and 19 to 23% respectively when averaged over 8 weeks pre/post implementation).The vast majority of residents were satisfied and motivated to attend with most feeling engaged or very engaged overall. Respondents were also able to give free text answers about feeling engaged, distanced, confused and how a virtual conference has been helpful. Underlying themes included wellness due to ease of accessibility, engagement in small groups, and surprise with ease of use and amount of interaction possible. Conclusion: The authors posit that a virtual, weekly, synchronous conference curriculum is a convenient, engaging, and effective modality to both maintain resident social connectedness and provide educational.

MICROBIOLOGY LABORATORY CLASSES during the PANDEMIC CONTEXT

Most of the subjects of the Microbiology Career have a large hourly load of laboratory classes. In the context of pandemic, practical classes were redefined. Although laboratory classes provide undergraduate students with hand experience and with the opportunity to explore methods, during the present period the students had little contact with the laboratory classes. Therefore, based on the preventive and mandatory social restrictions of the year 2020, we revised the subject to a virtual format and adapted its content to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The activities in the laboratory were reformulated including the technologies from the point of view of critical pedagogy. Classes were carried out by videoconference platforms contemplating the inclusion of all students. The virtual classroom is a tool that offers the possibilities of teaching online, but it is more than a virtual environment, since it is made up of 6 elements: the teacher, the student, the context, the time, the contents, and the didactic proposal. To promote the development of learning activities in this period, work was done in the virtual classroom, innovating with different digital resources. These resources had rarely been used in-person classes, although we consider that in the present context, they contributed to improving the pedagogical option, since they were used to support the construction of knowledge in the undergraduate students. We worked with diagrams, photos, and videos to visualize what the work to be carried out in the laboratory would be like. Discussion of the possible results to be obtained and how they could be solved in the laboratory was encouraged. As professors we understood that mediation of educational proposals with digital technologies must be accompanied by new ways of planning, interpreting, and understanding the teaching role and the class itself. Technologies only allow a pedagogical transformation if we think them as attractive, challenging, and critical projects. MICROBIOLOGY - MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY.

Toward a computational enactive, extended, embedded, emotive, and embodied (5E) psychiatry

Introduction: Psychiatry is challenged by a plurality of complementary approaches. These challenges stem from the existence of multiple levels of understanding, i.e. systems of representations, tools, methodologies and objectives in psychiatry–ranging from computational approaches and systems dynamics to the multiplicity of emerging nosographies, such as the NIMH Research Domain Criteria project or staging models. In this plurality, a significant number of clinicians have adopted the biopsychosocial model. However, such a model has been widely criticized for more than twenty years. In parallel, science has declined a set of different pluralistic frameworks. Thus, through the challenges of computational modeling in psychiatry, we will see how the enactive approach of psychiatry could respond to this multiplicity. Indeed, such an enactive approach considers that perception is a (predictive) activity, which gives sense to the environment (i.e., sense making). Perception and, by extension, cognitive processes are not internal representations of the outside world, but they are deployed according to the 5E approach, i.e., an embodied, embedded, enacted, emotive and extended approach. Methods: In this article, we first study the pluralist framework in psychiatry, in order to show its contributions in the clinical practice. Secondly, we analyze the contributions of the enactive approach for clinical practice in psychiatry. Results: Two forms of pluralisms can be described: a non-integrative pluralism and an integrative pluralism. The first examines the coexistence of different potentially incompatible or untranslatable systems in the scientific or clinical landscape. The second proposes the development of a general framework, bringing together the different levels of understanding and systems of representations. However, pluralism has many pitfalls and limitations. Especially by allowing computational modeling, the enactive framework, anchored both in cognitive sciences, theory of dynamic systems, systems biology and phenomenology, has recently been proposed as an answer to the challenge of integrative psychiatry. Conclusions: A significant number of mental health professionals are already working accepting such a variety of clinical and scientific approaches. We show that the enactive approach allows psychiatry: (1) to consider the subjectivity and the patient's experience, (2) to articulate different “granularities” within the clinical consultation, (3) to explain the benefits the creation of meaning for the patient, (4) to provide concrete models, (5) to support pedagogy in psychiatry. The enactive approach provides a conception for understanding psychiatric disorders as embodied, embedded, enacted, emotional and extended. In that way, the manifestations experienced by the patients are sense making experiences and can be conceived according to various levels of granularity.

Can field botany be effectively taught as a distance course? Experiences and reflections from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 forced a rapid change in university teaching, with large numbers of courses switching to distance learning with very little time for preparation. Courses involving many practical elements and field excursions required particular care if students were to fulfil planned learning outcomes. Here, we present our experiences in teaching field botany in 2020 and 2021. Using a range of methods and tools to introduce students to the subject, promote self-learning and reflection and give rapid and regular feedback, we were able to produce a course that allowed students to achieve the intended learning outcomes and that obtained similarly positive student evaluations to previous years. The course and its outcomes were further improved in 2021. We describe how we structured field botany as a distance course in order that we could give the best possible learning experience for the students. Finally, we reflect on how digital tools can aid teaching such subjects in the future, in a world where public knowledge of natural history is declining.