University faculty's informal learning and professional reflections: text mining for processing interviews

Purpose: As university faculty faced new challenges, such as rapid digital social and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, this study aimed to identify the daily changes in the interaction between the faculty and the organizational environment (colleague, policy and new issue) by exploring their recent dynamic educational efforts and the professional development. Design/methodology/approach: This is a study wherein perceptions of 20 faculty from 15 universities and colleges were collected through in-depth online interviews. The authors analyzed interview data by arranging and visualizing the analyzed data using network clustering. Further, they applied the Latent Dirichlet allocation of the topic modeling to monitor the appropriate number of clusters, ultimately determined as four clusters using partial clustering. Findings: The results showed that university faculty spontaneously tried to solve the problems through informal learning while the commitment to peer learning was deepening, reflecting the collectivist orientation nature of Chinese culture. Besides, the faculty also required support to reflect on their daily efforts for professional development. These results about their various learning routines prove the justification for the faculty's professional development to be discussed from the "learning by doing” perspective of lifelong learning. Originality/value: This study proved the significance of informal learning for university faculty's professional development and the reasonable value of peer learning, and provided insights into how the Chinese context may influence university faculty's informal learning experience. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The Role of Collaborative Observational Practice and Feedback-Discourse to Promote Remote Acquisition of Technical Surgical Skills.

INTRODUCTION: Acquisition of technical skills remotely in a decentralized model requires an efficacious way of providing feedback. The primary objective was to test the efficacy of various forms of feedback on the acquisition of surgical skills by medical students. METHODS: Forty volunteers were randomized to four experimental groups, differing from the nature of feedback (free text versus structured) and who provided the feedback (expert versus peer learners). They had to perform sutures and upload attempts on a learning management system to receive interactive feedback. The pretest and retention test performances were assessed. RESULTS: All groups significantly improved from pretests to retention tests; however, participants using checklist showed statistically lower improvements than the other groups, which did not differ from each other. CONCLUSIONS: Remote learners can acquire surgical skills, and most importantly, peers who provide feedback, are as effective as experts if they use open-ended comments and not checklists.

Fostering social mobility and employability: the case for peer learning

Higher education institutions continue to face challenges in fostering social mobility and preparing their students for the world of work. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges via disruption to education and reduced opportunities for work-integrated learning. Framing this as our point of departure, we propose that peer learning can play an integral part in reducing the attainment gap by promoting learner autonomy. Our essay uses the example of Supplemental Instruction to highlight the benefits and challenges of peer learning. We end with a call for empirical research and knowledge sharing to advance peer learning in an impactful way.

Teaching Interchange – An Interactive Online Event for Peer Learning Among Educators

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally challenged the educational approaches in Higher Education. Educators have adapted to the highly uncertain situation by developing emergency remote teaching scenarios. Real-time knowledge exchange between educators is crucial for transitioning these improvised teaching practices to professional online or blended learning scenarios. Thus, the online event "Teaching Interchange” was developed as a catalyst for peer learning among practitioners in the field of engineering education. It is a customized event considering the current needs and interests of the participants and consists of interactive online sessions. The two editions described in this paper successfully connected educators from various universities and equipped them with tangible ideas for their next steps. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Writing-to-learn: Strategies to promote engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and active listening in economics courses

Incorporating writing into an economics course is a beneficial goal of economic educators. The potential benefits of using writing to enhance learning among economics students have been emphasized in the literature. Writing to Learn (WTL) is an act of using writing activities to help students think through key concepts presented in a course. The authors' objective in this article is to describe WTL activities that promote engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and active listening. This WTL strategy was born out of a desire to help students focus and learn in an online format during a particularly stressful time of the COVID-19 global pandemic. However, this strategy can be applied in all teaching formats: face-to-face, online or hybrid, and to both graduate and undergraduate students.

Predicting user acceptance of peer-to-peer e-learning: An extension of the technology acceptance model

With COVID-19 compelling some countries to close their schools, e-learning has now become the primary mode of learning. Researchers have renewed their interest in users' acceptance of e-learning via different platforms, given the possibility of different results relative to what was known pre-pandemic. However, e-learning still poses issues such as isolation, demotivation and learning attrition, which may be counterbalanced by peer-to-peer (P2P) learning. On this basis, this study surveyed 417 Indian students on their acceptance of P2P e-learning with the extended Technology Acceptance Model. The data analysis confirmed that perceived ease of use was positively associated with the perceived usefulness of and students' attitude towards P2P e-learning. Credibility was also found to be positively associated with perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude towards P2P e-learning. However, the study could not confirm the association between perceived usefulness and attitude towards P2P e-learning. Additionally, self-efficacy displayed a weak, but significant association with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of P2P e-learning. Internet self-efficacy was found to have a positive association on the intention to use P2P e-learning, but not its perceived ease of use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Training, assessing, and matching students in technology-mediated peer learning environments

Article 1: One-on-one tutoring is the most effective teaching arrangement. Most schools and families, however, cannot afford to provide each child with a tutor. Peer tutoring in classrooms, a more feasible and scalable learning arrangement, increases learning for both tutors and tutees, but peer tutors' efficacy is often limited by their didactic and disempowering approaches. Two interventions were developed to test the viability of using online, scalable training to foster students' adoption of learner-centered teaching methods. To test the efficacy of these interventions, two randomized control experiments were conducted with 198 middle school math students. Both trainings increased the frequency that tutors employed learner-centered strategies, evident in clickstream data from virtual scenarios and in tutee reflections following real-life tutoring. Shifts in tutoring behaviors significantly boosted tutee learning at every level of tutor content mastery. This suggests that training students to use learner-centered tutoring strategies can greatly improve the efficacy for peer tutoring in classrooms, and that technological solutions can scale this type of training.Article 2: "Learning loss" and "learning recovery" have become commonplace terms to describe schooling needs in a COVID-impacted world. It is unsurprising that tutoring is emerging as a key stopgap measure to accelerate recovery. Historically, tutoring has been the most powerful learning intervention, but it is costly to administer and challenging to integrate in classrooms. Peer tutoring is a relatively untapped solution, due to barriers around time management, organization, matching, and assessment. Following trials of an interactive training platform called PeerTeach that rapidly improved middle schoolers' peer tutoring ability, our research team established a research practice partnership to design self-sustaining classrooms with peer tutoring as a central focus. This chapter reports on our five-month design-based research study with an Indian middle school where we found convincing evidence for the viability of tech-mediated peer tutoring as an antidote to key challenges of Group Learning. Through this study, we gained valuable insights into the critical roles technology can play in training effective peer helpers, optimally matching tutoring pairs, overcoming pitfalls that often preclude Group Learning, and promoting the motivational elements which students most value.Article 3 In fields like computer science or mechanical engineering, academic findings consistently influence real-world products and activity. Research on the science of learning, on the other hand, has a relatively small influence on classroom practice. This phenomenon exists despite an enormous workforce of potential research consumers-the US has over 3 million teachers and about 100,000 principals-and several large-scale dissemination initiatives, including the What Works Clearinghouse. This article explores the challenges and obstacles precluding the translation of learning science research to practice. It discusses the past few decades of methodological evolution focused on engendering relevant projects by conducting ecologically valid research inside classrooms, centering teacher voice in the research process, and deviating from fixed-intervention study designs in favor of more iterative, increasingly effective models. The chapter culminates with a set of recommendations aimed at supporting learning scientists in executing research that produces solutions that are viable and efficacious in classrooms. The highlighted methods are concretized through illustrative examples drawn from the six-year PeerTeach research project. They include need-finding in the wild to validate prevalent issues, low-fidelity prototyping to quickly reach viable designs, informant recruitment for constant reality checks, and representative sampling to inform dissemination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

A thematic analysis of students' discussions on death and body donation in international online focus groups.

Historically, Anatomy education is an in-person discipline involving exposure to human body donors that facilitates personal and professional growth through, in part, the initiation of reflection on the topic of death. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic the decreased exposure to cadaveric anatomy for many health professions students may have influenced the depth of their individual reflections on this topic. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the effect of an alternate approach-focus group discussions between peers with varying degrees of exposure to cadaveric material-that may offer one strategy to stimulate deep reflection on the topic of death. A programmatic intervention was introduced, wherein students (n = 221) from 13 international universities discussed differences in their anatomy courses during small focus group sessions as part of an online exchange program. An inductive semantic thematic analysis was conducted on responses to an open-ended text-response question on how the activity influenced students' reflections about death. Resulting themes were organized into categories that described the content and topics of the students' discussions as they grappled with this sensitive topic. The students reportedly engaged in deep reflection and expressed an increased sense of connectedness with their peers, despite their disparate exposure levels to cadaveric anatomy and being physically distanced. This demonstrates that focus groups with students experiencing different laboratory contexts can be used to help all students reflect on the topic of death and that interchanges between dissecting and non-dissecting students can initiate thoughts about death and body donation among non-dissecting students.

Implementation of a Student-Teacher-Based Blended Curriculum for the Training of Medical Students for Nasopharyngeal Swab and Intramuscular Injection: Mixed Methods Pre-Post and Satisfaction Surveys.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major disruption in the health care sector with increased workload and the need for new staff to assist with screening and vaccination tasks. Within this context, teaching medical students to perform intramuscular injections and nasal swabs could help address workforce needs. Although several recent studies discuss medical students' role and integration in clinical activities during the pandemic, knowledge gaps exist concerning their role and potential benefit in designing and leading teaching activities during this period. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to prospectively assess the impact in terms of confidence, cognitive knowledge, and perceived satisfaction of a student-teacher-designed educational activity consisting of nasopharyngeal swabs and intramuscular injections for the training of second-year medical students in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland. METHODS: This was a mixed methods pre-post surveys and satisfaction survey study. Activities were designed using evidence-based teaching methodologies based on the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) criteria. All second-year medical students who did not participate in the activity's old format were recruited unless they explicitly stated that they wanted to opt out. Pre-post activity surveys were designed to assess perception of confidence and cognitive knowledge. An additional survey was designed to assess satisfaction in the mentioned activities. Instructional design was blended with a presession e-learning activity and a 2-hour practice session with simulators. RESULTS: Between December 13, 2021, and January 25, 2022, a total of 108 second-year medical students were recruited; 82 (75.9%) students participated in the preactivity survey and 73 (67.6%) in the postactivity survey. Students' confidence in performing intramuscular injections and nasal swabs significantly increased on a 5-point Likert scale for both procedures-from 3.31 (SD 1.23) and 3.59 (SD 1.13) before the activity to 4.45 (SD 0.62) and 4.32 (SD 0.76) after the activity (P<.001), respectively. Perceptions of cognitive knowledge acquisition also significantly increased for both activities. For the nasopharyngeal swab, knowledge acquisition concerning indications increased from 2.7 (SD 1.24) to 4.15 (SD 0.83), and for the intramuscular injection, knowledge acquisition concerning indications increased from 2.64 (SD 1.1) to 4.34 (SD 0.65) (P<.001). Knowledge of contraindications for both activities increased from 2.43 (SD 1.1) to 3.71 (SD 1.12) and from 2.49 (SD 1.13) to 4.19 (SD 0.63), respectively (P<.001). High satisfaction rates were reported for both activities. CONCLUSIONS: Student-teacher-based blended activities for training novice medical students in commonly performed procedural skills seem effective for increasing their confidence and cognitive knowledge and should be further integrated within a medical school curriculum. Blended learning instructional design increases students' satisfaction about clinical competency activities. Future research should elucidate the impact of student-teacher-designed and student-teacher-led educational activities.

Self-efficacy in engineering design through peer review, self-review, and interactive online tutorials

Self-regulated learning is a key attribute in tertiary engineering education, and forms the basis of engineering judgement. The experience of remote learning during the COVID-19 era revealed particular challenges in self-regulated student learning practices, but also resulted in a number of systemic, technology-based interventions to enable improved student learning. Drawing on a 3rd-year electronic design course case study at a contact-based engineering faculty in South Africa, this paper presents an approach to bridging the gap between student perceptions and their actual assessment performance during independent, remote learning. Using scaffolded reflective and peer learning strategies, the research team sought to answer the question: What is the impact on self-efficacy of frequent self- and peer-assessment opportunities across a range of project-based learning tasks? Results were analysed using Bandura's four self-efficacy 'mastery' and experiential domains, and indicate an improvement in alignment between perceptions and actual performance. We suggest that a well-designed, scaffolded set of assignments with reflective and peer-learning opportunities can contribute significantly to the development of student confidence and mastery. © 2022 IEEE.

Peer Learning - An Interactive and Collaborative E-Learning Application for College Students

Since the start of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, the entire educational system has been challenging and Sri Lanka economic crisis, but this is especially effect for students who are now enrolled. This developmental milestone is reached when adolescents begin to assume responsibilities and acquire leadership skills through participation in a range of team activities. It is easiest to gain experience working in a group setting while still in school. Nevertheless, given the current stage of the Sri Lanka economic crisis, students will face a range of challenges. They are incapable of participating in group activities that are relevant to the subjects they teach, and, as previously indicated, enhancing their leadership skills, which is particularly problematic when working with students. The 'Peer Learning' solution is a web-based application that supports students in enhancing their collaborative learning skills. Through the system, students have the opportunity to study a variety of collaborative tasks, which improves their educational and interpersonal abilities. In addition, professors can share their knowledge with students by personalizing questions, posting films, and demonstrating figures. Students can easily comprehend the system's operation due to its user-friendly design, which enables advanced technological methods for monitoring and guiding students' activities simultaneously. © 2022 IEEE.

Pursuing student success in the library: a case study in peer mentor program transition, training and engagement

PurposeThis article shares an academic library's transition from traditional reference services to a peer support model during a campus reopening post-COVID-19 closure. It examines the conception, implementation and implications of the Peer Mentor program amidst shifts in campus priorities, Library research and reference paradigms and the Library workforce, from the perspectives of library faculty and staff, alongside feedback from student workers.Design/methodology/approachThe article uses a case study approach to detail the Library's Peer Mentor Program by authors involved in various stages of the program's lifespan and discusses the beginnings, implementations and challenges of the program and introduces the unique curriculum used to train student Peer Mentors.FindingsThe authors chronicle their own experience after two semesters of the Peer Mentor program alongside qualitative feedback from the first cohort of Peer Mentors. The Peer Mentor feedback points to positive impacts in other academic pursuits and in gaining a greater understanding of the information landscape and the library field.Originality/valueThe case study presented is a valuable example for academic librarians considering beginning peer-to-peer learning models within their own research and reference services units, especially those who may be creating these peer learning networks in the wake of library service disruption or restructure (such as due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Writing-to-learn: Strategies to promote engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and active listening in economics courses

Incorporating writing into an economics course is a beneficial goal of economic educators. The potential benefits of using writing to enhance learning among economics students have been emphasized in the literature. Writing to Learn (WTL) is an act of using writing activities to help students think through key concepts presented in a course. The authors' objective in this article is to describe WTL activities that promote engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and active listening. This WTL strategy was born out of a desire to help students focus and learn in an online format during a particularly stressful time of the COVID-19 global pandemic. However, this strategy can be applied in all teaching formats: face-to-face, online or hybrid, and to both graduate and undergraduate students.

Fostering social mobility and employability: the case for peer learning

Higher education institutions continue to face challenges in fostering social mobility and preparing their students for the world of work. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges via disruption to education and reduced opportunities for work-integrated learning. Framing this as our point of departure, we propose that peer learning can play an integral part in reducing the attainment gap by promoting learner autonomy. Our essay uses the example of Supplemental Instruction to highlight the benefits and challenges of peer learning. We end with a call for empirical research and knowledge sharing to advance peer learning in an impactful way. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Making the Abstract Concrete: A Project-Based Laboratory Activity on Concrete Manufacturing for Civil Engineering Students

We explored whether a project-based approach and experiential-learning activity would improve learning of complex concepts related to concrete manufacturing in the workplace. We designed a group-based laboratory activity, followed by student-peer teaching and marking and a final report writing task, based on the job of a concrete technician/engineer in a concrete production plant. An action research approach was used to assess student satisfaction (N = 269), their perception of the learning experience, and the impact on their grades. There were four data sources: Observations made by lecturers and TAs, standardised student evaluations, a targeted survey, and course grades. We correlated measures of student peer -teaching with academic output. Students were satisfied overall with the activity and their perceptions of experiential-learning were positive. The student peer-teaching activity needs improvements. Despite extra online-learning resources provided to compensate for Covid disruptions, students were more satisfied with the in-person activity than with the on-line counterpart. Our positive results suggest that student learning about concrete manufacturing improves when complex theory is integrated with practical learning activities using a project-based approach. We will further modify and integrate learning activities based on these results in our new multi-disciplinary learning spaces.

Mediating Epistemological Access through Asynchronous Online Discussion Forums during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications for Re-Imagining Online Collaborative Self-Directed Peer Engagement and Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the burgeoning of online learning and asynchronous online discussion forums in higher education due to restrictions on face-to-face teaching and learning interactions. Previous research on asynchronous online discussion forums focused on the processes that enhance or limit discussion threads and how discussion posts develop students' reflection and critical thinking skills. Although asynchronous online discussion forums are regarded as spaces for interactive learning, very little is known about how they facilitate epistemological access and enable collaborative peer learning interactions during periods of disruption such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study explores voluntary asynchronous online discussion forum participation in a non-credit bearing course from a unique angle of mediating epistemological access to online learning. This study draws on connectivist theory as a theoretical framework in a digital age where the student is in control of engagement interaction and information exchange. The central research question posed is how does an asynchronous online discussion forum mediate epistemological access to online learning and facilitate collaborative self-directed peer learning during the COVID-19 pandemic? The present study is underpinned by an inductive qualitative exploratory case study approach. A total of 2 146 discussion posts from 1 348 students across five faculties were downloaded from the learning management system and analysed using thematic analysis. This study indicates that epistemological access using a technology-mediated tool, is best facilitated through agency at the institutional, the instructor and the student level. The findings show that despite academic and technological challenges an online discussion forum enables epistemological access, interactive exchange of information and the formation of collaborative peer learning communities. In an age of digital inequalities, this study provides a starting point to uncover ontological barriers to epistemological access to online learning and signals the importance of integrating epistemological access, pedagogy and technology. This article concludes with implications for re-imagining the design of online multi -modal pedagogy to mediate online collaborative self-directed peer engagement and learning.

Using social mobile learning to stimulate idea generation for collective intelligence among higher education students

The importance of social networks has increased in recent decades, yet the use of social learning in higher education is nascent. Little is known how to foster high levels of social learning discourse among students in higher education classrooms. To address this gap, the present study analyses the use of a mobile application (Soqqle) for sharing student-generated content and peer to-peer communication. Students from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia uploaded videos linked to assessments and received feedback from their instructors and peers through social engagement features (e.g., comments, likes). The majority of students reported that the social learning experience promoted idea generation, increased creativity, and improved attention. These results indicate that integrating online platforms and mobile applications can promote social learning. The findings have important implications for educational practice because many educational institutions have adopted online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022 Hong Kong Bao Long Accounting And Secretarial Limited. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of home-based naturopathic telehealth clinic: an innovative COVID-19 pandemic response.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia disrupted usual clinical training placements for naturopathic students. An innovative, remote Telehealth clinic was developed and implemented. This pilot study evaluates student and educator learning and teaching experiences in Telehealth. A survey assessed Likert and qualitative written responses to student and staff interaction with the Telehealth clinic. RESULTS: Nine student and 12 educator responses were included in the analysis. All students positively rated Telehealth training resources and the educator support provided. Students rated the Telehealth learning experience as 'very good' (78%) or 'good' (22%) with educator ratings of 'very good' (67%) or 'good' (33%). Thematic analysis of student written responses showed increased client diversity, collaboration, peer learning, increased feedback, and improved digital and technology skills. Virtual physical examination and infrastructure limitations were reported as Telehealth clinical practicum challenges. Naturopathic Telehealth clinic practicum is a valuable alternative to in-person clinical practicums for Australian students. It enhances student collaboration and peer learning. Challenges of technology, infrastructure and incorporating Telehealth in curriculum may be barriers to implementation of Telehealth. However, Telehealth is an important clinical training option to prepare student practitioners for contemporary professional practice if in-person consultation is prohibitive, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Towards a sustainable online peer learning model based on student's perspectives.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally shifted learning from the traditional classroom approach to online learning. As such, this study used a revision centre as a case study to develop the factors that contribute to the theoretical framework of online peer learning in the higher education sector due to COVID-19. This study also explores the integrated effects of online peer learning on students and investigates whether advanced information technology creates new opportunities or additional burdens for students in adopting online peer learning environments. Descriptive statistical analysis, factor analysis, and correlation analysis were conducted on survey data gathered from 204 sub-degree students in Hong Kong. The results addressed four main factors developed from 39 variables: enhancement of learning ability, the attitude toward learning, motivation for learning, and interpersonal relationship which were closely associated. The study findings provide strategies and constructive recommendations for educators to develop a new online learning pedagogy, construct sustainable online peer learning, and effectively manage students' online learning to meet the needs for post-COVID online education.

Mobile-Social Learning for Continuing Professional Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND: Access to continuing professional development (CPD) for health care workers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is severely limited. Digital technology serves as a promising platform for supporting CPD for health care workers by providing educational content virtually and enabling virtual peer-to-peer and mentor interaction for enhanced learning. Digital strategies for CPD that foster virtual interaction can increase workforce retention and bolster the health workforce in LMICs. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this integrative review was to evaluate the evidence on which digital platforms were used to provide CPD to health care workers and clinical students in LMICs, which was complemented with virtual peer-to-peer or mentor interaction. We phrased this intersection of virtual learning and virtual interaction as mobile-social learning. METHODS: A comprehensive database and gray literature search was conducted to identify qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies, along with empirical evidence, that used digital technology to provide CPD and virtual interaction with peers or mentors. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed. Eligible articles were written in English, conducted in an LMIC, and used a mobile device to provide CPD and facilitate virtual peer-to-peer or mentor interaction. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened, followed by an assessment of the quality of evidence and an appraisal of the articles. A content analysis was then used to deductively code the data into emerging themes. RESULTS: A total of 750 articles were identified, and 31 (4.1%) were included in the review. SMS text messaging and mobile instant messaging were the most common methods used to provide continuing education and virtual interaction between peers and mentors (25/31, 81%). Across the included articles, participants had high acceptability for using digital platforms for learning and interaction. Virtual peer interaction and mentorship were found to contribute to positive learning outcomes in most studies (27/31, 87%) through increased knowledge sharing, knowledge gains, improved clinical skills, and improved service delivery. Peer-to-peer and mentor interaction were found to improve social support and reduce feelings of isolation (9/31, 29%). There were several challenges in the implementation and use of digital technology for mobile-social learning, including limited access to resources (eg, internet coverage and stable electricity), flexibility in scheduling to participate in CPD, and sociobehavioral challenges among students. CONCLUSIONS: The summary suggests that mobile-social learning is a useful modality for curriculum dissemination and skill training and that the interface of mobile and social learning serves as a catalyst for improved learning outcomes coupled with increased social capital.