Comparison of the effectiveness of exclusively facilitated clinical teaching as an alternative to traditional practice-based primary care placements.

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 presented major challenges to undergraduate GP placement capacity and there was an increased reliance on clinical training using facilitated simulation. The authors present a novel comparison of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of delivering a one-week primary care course using entirely GP-facilitated clinical teaching outside the GP setting against traditional practice-based GP clinical education. METHODS: A one-week GP placement was redeveloped from a traditional teaching model (TT-M) to an exclusively facilitated teaching model (FT-M) delivered outside the GP practice setting, using principles of blended learning, flipped classroom methods, e-learning and simulation. Both teaching models, delivered in different locations during 2022 to pre-clinical students, were evaluated using student feedback surveys for attainment of learning outcomes and course satisfaction. RESULTS: The students reported their consultation skills and clinical knowledge (amalgamated mean score 4.36 for FT-M versus 4.63 for TT-M; P = 0.05), as well as preparation for the clinical phases (mean scores 4.35 for FT-M versus 4.41 for TT-M; P = 0.68), were well developed and similar for both courses. Students reported similar enjoyment across both teaching models (FT-M mean score 4.31 versus 4.41 for TT-M; P = 0.49). The costs for delivering teaching per 4-h session for 100 students were £1,379 and £5,551 for FT-M and TT-M, respectively. CONCLUSION: Delivery of a one-week primary care attachment to third year medical students using an FT-M was similarly effective and more cost effective than delivering it by a TT-M. FT-M potentially offers an important adjunct to clinical learning and resilience to capacity challenges for GP placements.

Essential workers? An institutional ethnographic lens on pandemic GP placements.

BACKGROUND: Clinical placements for medical students in the United Kingdom (UK) came to an abrupt halt in March 2020. The rapidly evolving Covid19 pandemic created specific challenges for educators, balancing safety concerns for patients, students and healthcare staff alongside the imperative to continue to train future clinicians. Organisations such as the Medical Schools Council (MSC) published guidance to help plan return of students to clinical placements. This study aimed to examine how GP education leads made decisions around students returning to clinical placements for the 20/21 academic year. METHOD: Data collection and analysis was informed by an Institutional Ethnographic approach. Five GP education leads from medical schools throughout the UK were interviewed (over MS TEAMS™). Interviews focused on the work the participants did to plan students' return to clinical placements and how they used texts to inform this work. Analysis focused on the interplay between the interview and textual data. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: GP education leads actively used MSC guidance which confirmed students to be 'essential workers', an unquestioned and unquestionable phrase at the time. This permitted students to return to clinical placements by affording the GP education leads authority to ask or persuade GP tutors to accept them. Furthermore, by describing teaching as 'essential work' in its own right in the guidance, this extended what the GP tutors came to expect to do as 'essential workers' themselves. CONCLUSION: GP education leads activated authoritarian phrases such as 'essential workers' and 'essential work' contained within MSC guidance to direct students' return to clinical placements in GP settings.

Using memes to promote student engagement and classroom community during remote learning.

As colleges moved to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, many instructors found it difficult to maintain student engagement and classroom community in the virtual environment. We developed a semester-long activity for a molecular biology research methodology course where students created, and shared original memes related to course content with peers through group chat. Surveys and semi-structured interviews revealed that the exercise was effective in promoting student engagement, a sense of community, and relieving stress.

Work In Progress: Intersections between mentoring attributes and outcomes among Learning Assistants

Learning Assistants (LAs) are undergraduate students that serve as course assistants in STEM courses to facilitate the learning of their near-peers. This paper explored the perspectives of LAs at four institutions with respect to mentoring and their personal outcomes. Interviews with program coordinators revealed different goals and implementation of the LA programs at each institution. Survey responses from the LAs revealed differences by school in the percentage who felt that they had been mentored as well as how the LA's perceived that they had mentored others. The most common outcomes from serving as an LA were teaching skills, communication skills, confidence, and satisfaction from giving back. Statistically significant correlations were found between some mentoring attributes and outcomes, such as perceiving that their mentoring included listening was correlated with the outcomes of satisfaction from giving back (phi 0.323) and communication skills (phi 0.134). The results may be impacted by COVID-related online instruction. This preliminary study is laying the groundwork for a larger study to examine the ties between different LA program characteristics and the outcomes for LAs. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2022.

Protein structure-function exploration initiative in undergraduate biochemistry and independent research courses.

Protein structure-function relationship serves as the primary learning outcome in any undergraduate biochemistry course. We expanded the protein structure-function exploration, PSFE initiative during COVID-19 to provide more effective and engaging experience to our undergraduates in biochemistry and independent research courses. Multiple alignments of protein sequences provided crucial insight into sequence conservation across many species and thus allow identification of those sections of the sequence most critical to protein function. We used Anabaena Sensory Rhodopsin, ASR its transducer, ASRT and downstream novel kinase gene products of Anabaena PCC 7120 to seek their alignment with homologs in available database. Pymol served an opportunity to achieve this goal (interactive learning during lab session and stimulation of course content discussion) in interesting ways. The PSFE initiative expansion continued during pandemic using online/hybrid modality. Initially model examples all helical ASR and beta-sheet ASRT were introduced to connect and integrate our ongoing research interest into classroom activities. Subsequently, undergraduates in biochemistry course were assigned a homolog of model proteins any particular protein of students choice to study and characterize using Pymol in semester. During first phase, each undergraduate worked independently using established guidelines. Student's exploration progress was periodically reviewed in pilot phase with majority of students who perceived it as challenging task successfully completed the assignment. Using the PyMol application to reinforce visual understanding of protein structure was highly satisfying experience that greatly enriched undergraduates understanding and appreciation. This article reports a session from the virtual international 2021 IUBMB/ASBMB workshop, "Teaching Science on BigData."

Online Teaching of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Medical Students in Pediatrics: Single-Center Experience

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to change its approach to medical education with most of the undergraduate (UG) teaching shifting to online mode. As in other colleges in India, we also switched to online classes for both UG and postgraduate (PG) students in April 2020. We intend to share our preliminary experience about the acceptance and performance of these online classes in Pediatrics. Methodology: For UGs, we studied the attendance and marks of term ending summative assessment of batch of 2020 who attended online classes and compared them to the attendance and marks of the term ending summative assessment of the previous three batches (2017, 2018, and 2019). We also obtained a feedback on a prevalidated questionnaire from the UG as well as PG students. Results: The mean +/- standard deviation (SD) attendance of the batch of 2020 was 81.6 +/- 16.2%, while that of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 batch during the same period was 84.9 +/- 10.9%, 92.6 +/- 4.8%, and 83.0 +/- 7.6% respectively. Similarly, the mean +/- SD marks for the batch of 2020 was 74.8 +/- 6.5% while it was 66.9 +/- 9.4%, 58.6 +/- 10.1%, and 60.9 +/- 9.7% for 2017, 2018, and 2019 batches, respectively. The feedback obtained from both UGs and PGs was satisfactory in relation to the acceptance of the online mode. Conclusion: The online classes in Pediatrics are a reasonable alternative to the onsite classes in the prevailing situation.

Self-Guided Smartphone Excursions in University Teaching-Experiences From Exploring "Water in the City"

Like many other university teachers, we were faced with an unprecedented situation in spring 2020, when we had to cancel on-site teaching and excursions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we were in the fortunate position that we had already started to develop a smartphone-based self-guided excursion on the topic of "Water in the City". We accelerated this development and used it to replace the traditional group excursion in our Bachelor level introductory course in Hydrology and Climatology. The excursion of this course is visited by around 150 students each year. Because the student feedback was overall very positive, we used the self-guided excursion again in 2021 and plan to continue to use it in the coming years. In this paper, we describe the excursion, discuss the experiences of the students and ourselves, and present recommendations and ideas that could be useful for similar excursions at other universities.

Remote Prototyping of FPGA-Based Devices in the IoT Concept during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This paper presents a system for the remote design and testing of electronic circuits and devices with FPGAs during COVID-19 and similar lockdown periods when physical access to laboratories is not permitted. The system is based on the application of the IoT concept, in which the final device is a test board with an FPGA chip. The system allows for remote visual inspection of the board and the devices linked to it in the laboratory. The system was developed for remote learning taking place during the lockdown periods at Poznan University of Technology (PUT) in Poland. The functionality of the system is confirmed by two demonstration tasks (the use of the temperature and humidity DHT11 sensor and the design of a generator of sinusoidal waveforms) for students in the fundamentals of digital design and synthesis courses. The proposed solution allows, in part, to bypass the time-consuming simulations, and accelerate the process of prototyping digital circuits by remotely accessing the infrastructure of the microelectronics laboratory.

PSII-B-20 Benefits of a lecture teaching assistant in hiflex courses

The Covid-19 pandemic has required implantation of online education strategies, even for animal science courses, that are traditionally delivered face-to-face (F2F). As universities reopened many students were given the option of attending classes either F2F or remotely via live stream. This scenario, where some students are present in-person while others are present online simultaneously, is referred to as hiflex teaching. Face-to-face and online teaching strategies are established and literature contains pedagogical information, however hiflex teaching presents previously unencountered challenges. It can be difficult for instructors to maintain engagement with, essentially, two separative audiences of students. The objective was to address this issue by providing a graduate teaching assistant (TA) to large lecture courses, where traditionally TA positions were reserved only for lab courses. The hypothesis was that this would enable both audiences to receive appropriate focus. In this study, a TA attended the F2F lecture for an introductory equine science course (total students: n = 75;remote students: n= ~55), with the role of monitoring the simultaneous Zoom session with remote students. We found that questions from remote students increased when they had the ability to post them in real-time using the Zoom chat feature, as opposed waiting for a break in instruction in F2F situations. Having the TA present in the classroom enabled them to answer basic questions via Zoom, and to interact with the instructor should a question arise online that would benefit all students in the course. This allowed the instructor to effectively teach without taking up valuable class time alternating between programs on the computer and risking missing an online student question. This approach received positive feedback from the instructor and students alike. Additionally, it provided a novel teaching experience for a graduate TA. Similar strategies may be used to help to facilitate future success in hiflex courses.

Effectiveness of a Large-Scale Implementation of Hybrid Labs for Experiential Learning at Imperial College London

Experiential learning is an integral component of engineering education. The Chemeng Remote Experience Augmented through TEchnology (CREATE) labs concept was implemented in the academic year 2020-21 in response to COVID19 for first-, second-, and third-year chemical engineering undergraduate students studying at Imperial College London. Using a range of technologies including pan-tilt-zoom cameras and Microsoft HoloLens 2 to provide real-time views of the lab environment from anywhere in the world. Students could control the experiments remotely while graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) operated the equipment based on the students’ instructions. This study is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of this implementation with a focus on student communication and confidence. Students and GTAs were surveyed at the end of labs, and a year-dependent response was observed. The majority of students (>70%) reported experiencing effective communication with team members and GTAs and there was a strong positive correlation between communication and confidence in applying engineering concepts in the labs (χ2 = 79.96;p=1.69×10-10). 5-10% of students from all year groups reported that they disliked the lack of in-person activities. The majority (>90%) of GTAs assisting with experiments stated that they associated their role in the CREATE labs with that of a facilitator. The overall delivery of CREATE labs during academic year 2020-21 was positively received by both students and GTAs with recommendations for in-person activities for first- and second-year students. With minor modifications, CREATE labs has the potential to prepare students for effective remote communication and gain experience in using smart technologies which are key components of Industry 4.0.

Transforming a Didactic Lecture into a Student-Centered Active Learning Exercise—Teaching Equine Diarrhea to Fourth-Year Veterinary Students

Problem-solving abilities, creative and critical thinking, communication skills, and teamwork are now recognized as fundamental determinants of professional success, especially in vocational professions, such as veterinary science. Tertiary education is now obliged to provide opportunities for students to become proficient in these qualities. With this in mind, the principal author, an equine science senior lecturer, attempted to increase student engagement by developing a new active learning, student-centered one-hour teaching episode on ‘equine diarrhea’, to replace the traditional didactic lecture format. The aim of the study, therefore, was to share the principal author’s journey in the development and implementation of this active learning episode and to explain why it represents a simple but effective method of promoting student engagement. In addition, the adaptation of this method into an online teaching and learning format is briefly discussed. The effectiveness of this active learning method is also explored by comparing it with the traditional didactic method of delivery. Students in the active learning class reported that the learning activity had enhanced their skills in clinical reasoning, problem-solving, and communication. They also described themselves as active participants in the learning process. Students in the traditional didactic class reported that they were satisfied with the time allocated to the lecture, felt that the lecture was well organized and managed, and subsequently felt adequately prepared to answer conventional examination questions relating to equine diarrhea. Other issues, such as student resistance to changes in teaching formats, the effectiveness of group work or teamwork, levels of student confidence within an active learning environment, and the importance of high-quality facilitation during active learning activities, are also discussed in this paper. Although the active learning method described is not novel, the authors hope that fellow educators, across any tertiary discipline, might find that the method described represents a quick and simple method of transforming a single didactic lecture into an enjoyable and engaging learning activity.

[Alice in the digital wonderland-pediatric teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Alice im digitalen Wunderland: pädiatrische Lehre in der COVID-19-Pandemie: Eine Umfrage und Stellungnahme der AG Lehre der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin (DGKJ).

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid switch from undergraduate classroom teaching to online-teaching; a challenging process for teachers and students. Based on a recent online survey among German pediatric university hospitals the "AG Lehre der DGKJ" (teaching working group of the German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine) summarizes latest experiences with e­learning during the summer term of 2020. The survey participants from 17 pediatric university hospitals report that the large spectrum of e­learning formats could sufficiently replace classical lectures and seminars but could not fully replace teaching involving direct contact to patients. The introduction of new digital teaching formats is time-consuming, needs high-quality IT infrastructure, should be embedded in a continuous curriculum and provide the possibility of regular exchange between students and teachers. Teachers should be provided with the opportunity for training in didactic methods and IT skills. These results correspond to the literature on e­learning in general and undergraduate medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic in particular. The experiences summarized here should not only facilitate the development of e­learning tools during the ongoing pandemic but also stimulate to establish e­learning as a valuable component of future pediatric medical education. New digital substitutes for teaching involving pediatric patients need to be developed.The statement was drafted by consensus by the German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Working Group on Teaching and approved by the DGKJ board.

Distance – Learning Goes Viral: Redefining the Teaching Boundaries in the Transformative Pedagogy Perspective

This work analyzes the teaching and educational approach, based on Distance Learning, used in a Mathematics class with Engineering students. Thinking critically about how we worked before the COVID-19 crisis, we try to elaborate on possible ways to overcome linear processes' inertia. The teacher's educational activities and the students’ reactions are analyzed in the light of the theory of Transformative Learning. We adopt the theoretical and analytical tools provided by the theory of Interest Dense Situation and the theory of Self-Determination. A qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted referring to a didactic experiment monitoring various elements through a questionnaire consisting of open-ended and Likert questions and thought closed questions together with the results of the midterm test. © Italian e-Learning Association.

A remote undergraduate biology seminar on SARS-CoV-2 literature.

At our small liberal arts college, we require undergraduates majoring in Biology and Biomedical Sciences to take a seminar in the spring of their senior year. Each year, the seminar focuses on a different topic in molecular biology and/or biochemistry. The course operates as a "journal club"-every week, a student presents a peer-reviewed research article, and the instructor moderates a discussion. When the transition to remote learning occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the seminar meetings were moved online to a Zoom-based platform, and the course topic was changed to focus on emerging research regarding the novel coronavirus. The continuation of the Biology senior seminar in a remote context was straightforward, and the SARS-CoV-2 virus furnished a rich theme for exploration of diverse topics in molecular biology and genetics.

Facilitating Understanding, Modeling and Simulation of Infectious Disease Epidemics in the Age of COVID-19.

Interest in the mathematical modeling of infectious diseases has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many medical students do not have the required background in coding or mathematics to engage optimally in this approach. System dynamics is a methodology for implementing mathematical models as easy-to-understand stock-flow diagrams. Remarkably, creating stock-flow diagrams is the same process as creating the equivalent differential equations. Yet, its visual nature makes the process simple and intuitive. We demonstrate the simplicity of system dynamics by applying it to epidemic models including a model of COVID-19 mutation. We then discuss the ease with which far more complex models can be produced by implementing a model comprising eight differential equations of a Chikungunya epidemic from the literature. Finally, we discuss the learning environment in which the teaching of the epidemic modeling occurs. We advocate the widespread use of system dynamics to empower those who are engaged in infectious disease epidemiology, regardless of their mathematical background.

Addressing the failures of undergraduate anatomy education: Dissecting the issue and innovating a solution.

BACKGROUND: Reduced time allocation, changes in teaching methods and Covid-19 have resulted in undergraduate anatomy teaching being marginalised.This has implications on patient safety, litigation, student satisfaction and surgical workforce planning. AIMS: The aim of this study is to survey a cohort of recent English medical graduates to attain their perspective on anatomy training and to propose an innovative solution to solve existing problems in undergraduate anatomy training. METHODS: An online survey was sent out to 40 foundation doctors to offer insights into their undergraduate anatomy training. We asked participants to rate their perceived importance of anatomy, the importance offered to anatomy teaching at undergraduate level, preparation for clinical practice and future career plans. RESULTS: 22 participants responded to the online survey. All trained across England with equal spread between Northern and Southern medical schools. All participants perceived anatomy to be either important or very important in the survey. 20/22 felt that their undergraduate anatomy teaching was given very low to average importance by their institutions. 8/22 were confident or very confident with their anatomy knowledge on beginning clinical practice. Of the 22, 5 planned surgical careers, 10 did not know or gave other responses and 7 wanted to do General Practice. 16/22 said anatomy training had or will impact their decision on choosing a speciality. CONCLUSION: The current literature and above survey highlight the deficiencies that current doctors are facing.We suggest implementation of a standardised anatomy curriculum and the development of an online anatomy course.

Using COVID-19 as a teaching tool in a time of remote learning: A workflow for bioinformatic approaches to identifying candidates for therapeutic and vaccine development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an urgent need for engaging computational alternatives to traditional laboratory exercises. Here we introduce a customizable and flexible workflow, designed with the SARS CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 in mind, as a means of reinforcing fundamental biology concepts using bioinformatics approaches. This workflow is accessible to a wide range of students in life science majors regardless of their prior bioinformatics knowledge, and all software is freely available, thus eliminating potential cost barriers. Using the workflow can thus provide a diverse group of students the opportunity to conduct inquiry-driven research. Here we demonstrate the utility of this workflow and outline the logical steps involved in the identification of therapeutic or vaccine targets against SARS CoV-2. We also provide an example of how the workflow may be adapted to other infectious microbes. Overall, our workflow anchors student understanding of viral biology and genomics and allows students to develop valuable bioinformatics expertise as well as to hone critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while also creating an opportunity to better understand emerging information surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.