CREATE'ing improvements in first-year students' science efficacy via an online introductory course experience.

With a primary objective to engage students in the process of science online, we transformed a long-standing laboratory course for first-year science students into a more accessible, immersive experience of current biological research using a narrow and focused set of primary literature and the Consider, Read, Elucidate a hypothesis, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment (CREATE) pedagogy. The efficacy of the CREATE approach has been demonstrated in a diversity of higher education settings and courses. It is, however, not yet known if CREATE can be successfully implemented online with a large, diverse team of faculty untrained in the CREATE pedagogy. Here, we present the transformation of a large-enrollment, multi-section, multi-instructor course for first-year students in which the instructors follow different biological research questions but work together to reach shared goals and outcomes. We assessed students' (i) science self-efficacy and (ii) epistemological beliefs about science throughout an academic year of instruction fully administered online as a result of ongoing threats posed by COVID-19. Our findings demonstrate that novice CREATE instructors with varying levels of teaching experience and ranks can achieve comparable outcomes and improvements in students' science efficacy in the virtual classroom as a teaching team. This study extends the use of the CREATE pedagogy to large, team-taught, multi-section courses and shows its utility in the online teaching and learning environment.

Value creation in a learning community: an interprofessional partnership between nursing home care, education and students.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the value created in a learning community - comprised of different professionals and nursing students - at a nursing home. METHODS: A case study approach was used. Data were collected between 2019 and 2021 through self-reports, observations and stories (interviews, diaries). RESULTS: The template analysis revealed nine transcending themes, six associated with preexisting value-creation cycles (expected, immediate, potential, applied, realized and transformative value) and three other relevant themes: contextual, factors and value-creation initiators. CONCLUSIONS: A nursing home learning community comprised of diverse professionals in partnership with nursing students shows a variety of value creation and seems to potentially leverage interprofessional and lifelong learning activities, on top of formal nursing education. It is recommended to integrate the value-creation cycles into the processes of learning communities to promote collective decision-making. Research on both the final level of students involved and having residents participate in the learning community would be worthwhile.

Beyond Collaborative Learning: a Comparison of Small Groups in Face-to-Face and Online Settings.

Small group-based instructional approaches such as case-based learning (CBL) and team-based learning (TBL) are widely used in medical education to promote collaboration and team learning. During the pandemic, many medical schools shifted from face-to-face instruction to online settings. While CBL/TBL are intended to foster collaborative skills, it is unclear how its use evolves in an online setting and whether the online setting impacts students' perceptions and behaviors in collaboration. This study examined how the change from in-person to online CBL/TBL impacted students' collaboration. We used a mixed-methods sequential design, first collecting and analyzing retrospective cohort quantitative data with the Class of 2023 through peer evaluation surveys followed by six focus groups. Students' assessment of their peers was generally positive. Nonparametric testing showed significant differences for two questions with less positive perceptions in the virtual setting compared to when students had in-person CBL/TBL. The focus group results identified several themes related to collaboration and learning communities. In the virtual setting, students not only lost collaboration opportunities with their group members in CBL/TBL, but also learning opportunities and social connections with other groups and the community as a whole. Virtual learning environments may have presented challenges for collaborative learning and the establishment of a sense of community.

Learning analytics for enhanced professional capital development: a systematic review.

Background/Motivation: This article presents a systematic review aimed at examining the utilization of learning analytics (LA) to enhance teachers' professional capital. Aim: The study focuses on three primary research questions: (1) exploring the characteristics and approaches of LA in professional capital, (2) investigating suggestions from LA for assessing and improving professional capital, and (3) examining variables studied in enhancing the most intricate dimension of professional capital using LA. Methodology: To address the research objectives, a systematic review was conducted focusing on the key concepts "learning analytics" and "professional capital." Following the procedures outlined encompassed in four stages: identification, screening, inclusion, and adequacy. The PRISMA 2009 protocol guided the systematic review process. Principal findings: The findings of the study underscore the efficacy of LA as a catalyst for improving professional capital, particularly through collaborative learning and the utilization of tools like forums and online learning platforms. Social capital emerges as a pivotal component in integrating diverse types of professional capital, fostering opportunities for knowledge creation and social networking. Conclusion/Significance: In conclusion, the study highlights the paramount significance of addressing teachers' professional capital development through collaborative approaches and leveraging technology, particularly in primary education. The article concludes by emphasizing the imperative for more research and knowledge dissemination in this field, aiming to ensure equity in learning and address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We All Sort of Jump to That Relationship Piece": Science Teachers' Collaborative Professional Learning About the Role of Relationships in Argumentation.

This study investigates how a professional learning approach that draws on elements from collaborative autoethnography (CAE) can support science teachers' learning about argumentation. It provides an account of how six secondary science teachers collectively explored their views and understandings of the importance of relationships for fostering argumentative sensemaking in classrooms. The educators partnered across four sessions to identify themes that emerged from their autoethnographic writings and discussions. The construct of "diffraction" later helped provide a situated, entangled analysis of how ideas traveled within the group over time. Findings highlight how teachers surfaced the importance of cultivating trusting classroom relationships (between teachers and students as well as between students with one another) to foster the social dialogic elements of argumentation and collective sensemaking. This insight is one not generally emphasized in teacher professional development related to argumentation and has only recently been examined in the research literature. Teachers also reclaimed the idea of "rigor" to encompass discourse that is connected to students' lives and engages them in knowledge-building with others. This study demonstrates how a CAE-inspired teacher professional development model that emphasizes teacher agency and professional knowledge can help educators develop nuanced understandings of argumentation. As more classrooms focus on engaging students in argumentative practices, this study suggests the need for the field of science education to shift its focus to attend more fully to the role of classroom relationships, vulnerability, and trust. This study also suggests promising strategies for helping teachers increase their commitment to enacting productive and expansive classroom argumentation practices that center students' experiences, value diverse sensemaking, and increase equitable opportunities for learning.

Promoting Innovation in State and Territorial Maternal and Child Health Policymaking.

INTRODUCTION: The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) launched the PRISM (Promoting Innovation in State and Territorial MCH Policymaking) Learning Community, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The goal of PRISM was to build state and territorial health agency program and policy-making capacity to address substance use and mental health in the maternal and child health (MCH) population. Expanding access to care and treatment for perinatal substance use disorders (SUD) emerged as the issue of greatest need for state teams. METHODS: The PRISM Learning Community consisted of three major components: (1) intensive capacity building for cross-agency state teams, which involved action planning, peer-to-peer learning, and technical assistance; (2) programming to inform the MCH field broadly about innovations in perinatal SUD policy and practice; and (3) a program evaluation involving pre-, mid-, and post-assessments and follow-up key informant interviews with state teams. This manuscript is not based on clinical study or patient data, therefore IRB approval was not required. RESULTS: States reported that their knowledge of perinatal SUDs increased and their cross-agency partnerships were strengthened as a result of their participation in PRISM. States identified four key priorities for their continued work: to improve multisector collaborations, to institute equitable SUD screening practices for pregnant people, to strengthen the perinatal behavioral health workforce, and to enhance Medicaid coverage for perinatal SUD prevention and treatment services. The need to respond to urgent demands of COVID-19 and the stigma associated with perinatal SUDs were the most significant barriers to advancing state action plan goals. DISCUSSION: Since 2018, the PRISM project has supported nine jurisdictions across two cohorts. Participation in PRISM advanced state policies and programs to improve perinatal SUD care through capacity building, technical assistance, and virtual programming. Findings and lessons learned from PRISM may inform the activities of other states seeking to address perinatal substance use disorders.

The transformative cognition of English as a Foreign Language student teachers' personal practical knowledge.

This study investigates the process by which English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers transmute their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) into Personal Practical Knowledge (PPK) within a blended learning community. Data sources, including conversation transcripts, reflective journals, and field notes, were meticulously examined utilizing the commonplaces of temporality, sociality, and place. Several key findings were unveiled: (1) the volume and focal points of transformed PPK varied across participants; (2) the metamorphosis of PCK into PPK was found to be selectively partial, filtered by factors such as previous learning experiences, course expectations, and levels of engagement; and (3) the selection process was molded within the dynamic interplay of the internal components of the blended learning community and the external socio-cultural conditions. The study concludes that the cognition mechanism of EFL student teachers' PPK is characterized by elements of variation, selection, and dynamism.

What are the core features of professional learning community in Chinese preschool teachers' perspectives: based on grounded theory analysis.

Introduction: Professional learning community (PLC) has been concerned as an effective way to promote teacher professional development in China. However, PLC must be optimized due to Chinese culture and education system. This study aimed to explore the features of PLC in preschool teachers' perspectives and provided theoretical basis for PLC localization practice. Methods: Twenty-eight preschool teachers were engaged in a PLC, their interview data and personal reflection diaries were collected and analyzed based on grounded theory analysis. Results and discussion: Five core features of PLC in teachers' perspectives were extracted in this study, including a common vision, a read-practice-share flow, continuous reflection, distributed leadership, peer and organizational support. PLC's common vision is to promote teachers' professional development and children's development. Teachers learn and reflect in the process of "reading-practice-sharing," peer support and leadership empowerment play an important role in a sustainable PLC.

Research on the International Sustainable Practice of the Taiwanese Food and Agricultural Education Law under the Current Global Food Security Challenges.

On 19 April 2022, in order to overcome a succession of recent global food health and agriculture safety (FHAS) incidents, the Taiwanese government instituted and announced 20 comprehensive Articles under the Taiwanese Food and Agricultural Education Law (TFAEL) for regulating the Taiwanese FHAS in order to completely construct the international strategies under the current global food security challenges of the FAHS. As a result, this research study firstly employs the learning community model (LCM) of the learning theory to measure the implementing depth of the international sustainability practice of the 20 Articles of the Taiwanese FHASE from a learning performance analytical perspective. Then, the social learning theory (SLT) of the educational theory is applied to consolidate the individual behaviors of the relative stakeholders, the organizational management of the relative industries and the socialized consent of the multilateral organization performance assessment network (MOPAN) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN). After completing quantitative and qualitative analyses, the two most valuable conclusions and findings were as follows: (1) Not only Article 12, but also Articles 3, 4 and 5 of the new law can empirically facilitate strategic management for supporting and promoting the Taiwanese FHAS educational policy dialogue at a global, regional and country scale in order to effectively advance the international sustainable compatibility of the TFAEL. (2) Articles 6, 11 and 16 of the new law can completely construct operational management for building normative and standard-setting Taiwanese FHAS educational works in order to efficiently advance the international sustainable compatibility of the TFAEL. Therefore, beyond the analytical results of this research, the international sustainable compatibility of the TFAEL provides a direction for the development of sustainable food systems, food policies, agricultural food markets and food chains in order to overcome the various contemporary global food security challenges.

The impact of professional learning communities on pre-service teachers' professional commitment.

While in-service teachers' professional commitment has gained significant attention in recent years, researches on pre-service teachers' professional commitment is still insufficient, particularly with regard to the effect that professional learning communities play on pre-service teachers' professional commitment. In this context, this study employed mixed methods to investigate the impact of workshops for teaching competitions as a professional learning community on pre-service teachers' professional commitment in China. A questionnaire survey was administered to pre-service teachers who had workshop experiences (n = 43) and their classmates who did not have workshop experiences (n = 98) to examine the effect of workshops for teaching competitions as a professional learning community on pre-service teachers' professional commitment. Follow-up qualitative interviews with 5 pre-service teachers with workshop experiences were conducted to explain the reasons behind such effects. The results showed that workshop experiences had significant and positive effects on pre-service teachers' professional commitment and the characteristics of shared vision, collaboration, and reflective dialogue affected their professional commitment from three perspectives: commitment to teaching as a career, personal time investment, and interest in professional development.

Improving teachers' professional development through professional learning community: Voices from secondary school teachers at Malaysian Chinese independent schools.

The impact of the professional learning community on teachers' professional development has been studied in different contexts. However, the number of studies on the voices of secondary teachers in Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary Schools [MICSS) needs to be more detailed. This study aimed to investigate how teachers in MICSS view the impact of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) on their professional development. Data for this study was collected using semi-structured interviews with eight MICSS teachers selected from two different-scale MICSSs. The patterns were analyzed by repetitive data reading, data coding, and theme creation. The findings show that with the help of PLC, MICSS teachers may improve their professional development more effectively, particularly in enhancing their knowledge of their subject, students, effective teaching methodology, and sense of occupational belonging. Moreover, collective learning and classroom observation procedures are the most effective among all the PLC activities in the MICSS context. The findings have practical implications for teachers and trainers to improve teachers' profession by establishing professional learning groups.

Implementation and evaluation of a pharmacy family program to foster community and inclusion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Learning communities in the form of student-faculty families in pharmacy education provide a structure to foster community and inclusion. The purpose of this work is to describe how a new Pharmacy Family (PF) program was implemented and to evaluate the impact on students. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY AND SETTING: Our PF program was developed with the goals of building community, promoting a sense of belonging, providing students with opportunities to share and receive advice, and providing a venue for surveillance of student concerns. Each family was comprised of one to two faculty/instructor leaders and three to four doctor of pharmacy students from each cohort and met longitudinally over the course of the academic year. Quantitative and qualitative survey data were collected to assess student perceptions and program satisfaction. FINDINGS: A total of 233 students (66.2%) completed the survey and the majority (66%) were satisfied with the program. Thematic analysis of open-ended questions revealed four themes that contributed to students' satisfaction ratings: meeting content, relationships, atmosphere, and timing. Students with high satisfaction frequently noted that the program fostered connections, mentoring opportunities, and a safe space to share concerns. Students that were neutral or dissatisfied frequently commented on the timing of meetings and inability to form deeper connections. SUMMARY: Student-faculty families can be implemented to improve community and engagement within pharmacy education. Our program was most successful in providing a venue for students to share concerns. Addressing meeting times and adjusting the structure to promote community building is warranted to achieve program goals.

Knowledge of autism gained by learning from people through a local UK Autism Champion Network: A health and social care professional perspective.

LAY ABSTRACT: The Autism Act 10 Years On found few autistic adults thought health and social care professionals had a good understanding of autism. Autism training has been made law in the United Kingdom for health and social care staff to tackle health inequality. The county wide Autism Champion Network evaluated here is an equal partnership of interested staff across sectors (Autism Champions) and autistic experts by virtue of lived experience (Autism Advisory Panel). With knowledge flowing both ways, the Autism Champions take learning back to teams to support continuous development of services to meet autistic need. Seven health and social sector professionals from the Network participated in semi-structured interviews on sharing knowledge of autism gained with their teams. All participants provide care and support for autistic people, some working in specialist positions. Results showed that developing new relationships with people outside their own team to signpost to, answer questions and share resources, and informal learning from autistic people, was more valued and used in practice than information gained from presentations. These results have implications in developing learning for those who need above a basic knowledge of autism and may be useful for others considering setting up an Autism Champion Network.

Assessing Sustainability of State-Led Action Plans for the Opioid Use Disorder, Maternal Outcomes, and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Initiative Learning Community, 2018-2021.

Objective(s): The opioid crisis affects the health and health care of pregnant and postpartum people and infants prenatally exposed to substances. A Learning Community (LC) among 15 states was implemented to improve services for these populations. States drafted action plans with goals, strategies, and activities. Materials and Methods: Qualitative data from action plans were analyzed to assess how reported activities aligned with focus areas each year. Year 2 focus areas were compared with year 1 to identify shifts or expansion of activities. States self-assessed progress at the LC closing meeting, reported goal completion, barriers and facilitators affecting goal completion, and sustainment strategies. Results: In year 2, many states included activities focused on access to and coordination of quality services (13 of 15 states) and provider awareness and training (11 of 15). Among 12 states participating in both years of the LC, 11 expanded activities to include at least one additional focus area, adding activities in financing and coverage of services (n = 6); consumer awareness and education (n = 5); or ethical, legal, and social considerations (n = 4). Of the 39 goals developed by states, 54% were completed, and of those not completed, 94% had ongoing activities. Barriers to goal completion included competing priorities and pandemic-related constraints, whereas facilitators involving use of the LC as a forum for information-sharing and leadership-supported goal completion. Sustainability strategies were continued provider training and partnership with Perinatal Quality Collaboratives. Conclusion: State LC participation supported sustainment of activities to improve health and health care for pregnant and postpartum people with opioid use disorder and infants prenatally exposed to substances.

Virtual Collaborative Behavioral Health Model in a Community Pediatric Network: Two-Year Outcomes.

Due to the pervasive shortage of behavioral health (BH) specialists, collaborative partnerships between pediatric primary care practitioners (PPCPs) and BH specialists can enhance provision of BH services by PPCPs. We aimed to create a new model of collaborative care that was mostly virtual, affordable, and scalable. The pilot program was implemented in 18 practices (48 PPCPs serving approximately 150 000 patients) in 2 consecutive cohorts. Outcomes were assessed by administering pre-program and post-program surveys. Across the 18 practices, PPCPs reported significantly increased confidence in their BH knowledge and skills, and significantly increased their provision of target BH services. Barriers to BH service provision (resources, time, and staff) were unchanged. This compact, mostly virtual model of BH collaboration appears to be beneficial to PPCPs while also offering convenience to patients and affordability and scalability to the practice network.

A social network perspective on peer relationship formation of medical undergraduates within large-scale learning communities.

INTRODUCTION: Students' formal networks, which are formed by a formal curriculum design, such as formally organized study groups within learning communities (LCs), may benefit students' interactions and learning. It is unclear how large-scale LCs contribute to the formation of different informal peer relationships, which refers to student self-organized out-of-class relationships. Two mechanisms can explain relationship formation in LCs. Propinquity within formal networks and homophily of students' characteristics (nationality, sex, academic performance) may promote students' peer relationships. This study explores to what extent the formation of students' informal networks was determined by their formal networks (LCs) while controlling for students' characteristics and which mechanisms play an important role. METHODS: With online surveys, data were collected about five informal networks (help-seeking, collaboration, information sharing, friendship, and learn-from) from 69 first- and 51 second- bachelor year medical students (2890 relationships). Students were divided into four LCs in the formal curriculum. We compared students' five informal network structures between first- and second-year students, domestic and international students, within and between formal networks. Besides, we used Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) Regression Analysis in Ucinet to investigate the associations between students' informal and formal networks (LCs) and students' characteristics. RESULTS: Propinquity (in the same LC) plays a role since students have more informal connections within LCs than between LCs. Furthermore, it seems to play a greater role for second-year students than for first-year students. Homophily of nationality is important in informal networking since students are more likely to connect with others of similar nationalities. CONCLUSION: Students become more connected within the LC when they remain in the same LC for a longer period. Formal networks enhance the students' informal interactions within LCs but seem to restrict the interactions among students from other LCs. International students need support in order to integrate with domestic students in LCs.

Standardizing Research Training: a Pilot Curriculum Within a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program.

While scholarly activity is recognized as critical in cancer education, there is an outstanding need for methods to define research learning competencies and tools for formal research productivity and competency assessment. We piloted and studied a novel educational initiative within the University of Wisconsin Hematology/Oncology fellowship program, establishing a professional learning community (PLC) of research mentors and developing a formative evaluation tool, a research portfolio. We developed a PLC engaged in reflective conversations about intended learning outcomes and effective instructional strategies. Subsequently, a research portfolio was piloted with four first-year Hematology/Oncology fellows at the start of the 2020 academic year in which trainees document, critically evaluate, and reflect upon the knowledge, skills, confidence, and productivity acquired during research training. We employed surveys to evaluate the initiative. Seven Hematology/Oncology fellows (7/12, 58%) completed pre-intervention and six-month interim evaluation surveys, with 43% (3/7) identifying an increased confidence in quality of research training strategies following the pilot initiation. All four first-year fellows that piloted the research portfolio (4/4, 100%) completed interim evaluation surveys that demonstrated benefits of the research portfolio including self-reflection and goal setting. Research portfolio scoring correlated with other markers of academic success, suggesting its potential to predict research success. Our data suggest that bringing together a community of research mentors to generate shared learning goals and develop the framework for a formative evaluation portfolio may meet critical needs research training needs in cancer education. Given promising results, we aim to create a new educational tool for research training.

Mathematics coordinators as school team PD leaders before and during COVID-19.

This study explored a professional development (PD) program preparing mathematics coordinators to lead effective PD in their schools. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic emerging in the midst of this study, the PD program and school team PD were performed online instead of face-to-face. We explored the PD program and school team PD design before and during COVID-19 period, and the coordinators' expertise-based PD leadership professional identity (LPI). Findings revealed structural stability of the PD program design, and support of coordinators' LPI. Coordinators enacted a structural transition of effective PD design into the school team PD, demonstrating their LPI in practice.

"It's hard to feel a part of something when you've never met people": defining "learning community" in an online era.

Feeling part of a community of learners has been shown to foster students' engagement and sense of belonging, leading to higher retention and achievement of learning outcomes. The pivot to online teaching caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a reappraisal of all aspects of the student experience, including students' capacity and opportunity to engage in meaningful learning communities online. There has been some emergent literature which considers how to facilitate online learning communities in the emergency remote teaching context prompted by COVID-19. However, there is a notable lack of literature which considers how learning communities are defined, understood, and negotiated by students in this unique teaching context. Given how students' perceptions of learning communities contributes to Higher Education policy (e.g. through the National Student Survey), this is important to understand. In the present study (N = 309), we qualitatively investigated students' understanding and definition of the term "learning community" during a time of emergency pivot to online teaching and learning. A reflexive thematic analysis of students' first-hand responses generated three dominant themes: "Feeling connected: Bridging the gap whilst physically distanced", "Feeling included: Visible and valued", and "Feeling together: Mutuality and the shared experience". We discuss the implications for these conceptualisations of an online learning community and suggest ways forward for Higher Education pedagogy.

Research on community learning model in network teaching of Biochemistry course / 中华医学教育探索杂志

In the online teaching of Biochemistry course, a variety of network resource platforms (such as Zhihuishu learning network, teleconference, WeChat, QQ, etc) were used to establish a learning community. The teaching content and teaching plan were carefully designed and implemented, enriching the knowledge system of the learning community. And then blending teaching was performed through the combination of live broadcasting and online interaction. In addition to teaching students the basic knowledge of biochemistry, it is also combined with clinical cases and life examples to interact and discuss with students in various forms, giving full play to the advantages of learning community and improving the quality and effect of online learning.