Search Results (61)

Progress in clinical practice, research, and teaching needs a common language. Agreement among veterinary endocrinologists on definitions of concepts related to Cushing’s syndrome (CS) and hypoadrenocorticism is lacking. After a successful inaugural cycle on diabetes mellitus terminology, project Agreeing Language in Veterinary Endocrinology (ALIVE) held a second cycle, with simplified methodology, and brought together 10 experts of the European Society of Veterinary Endocrinology (ESVE) and the Society of Comparative Endocrinology (SCE). It employed a four-round modified Delphi Method to generate draft definitions and try and achieve consensus. A final round used an endorsement survey of the expert-generated definitions distributed to the ESVE and SCE memberships, seeking a simple majority endorsement. A minimum of 20% membership participation was sought. The 10 experts achieved 100% consensus on the definition of 35 adrenal disease-associated concepts, including disease definitions, diagnostic criteria, and test definitions, a disease classification system for CS and hypoadrenocorticism, and a clinical scoring system for CS. Definitions were subsequently assessed by 78 ESVE and SCE members (26% of combined memberships). All definitions achieved a simple majority, ranging from 83.1 to 100%. ALIVE proved effective in creating a body of terminology for adrenal disease in companion animals, which met the overall approval of a majority of those participating in the endorsement phase. The prospective use of these definitions could help improve comparability and standards for adrenal disease research, education, and clinics. Full article

Teacher collaboration, particularly through collaborative lesson planning, plays a key role in fostering professional development and teaching skills. This study investigates the effectiveness of the proposed Shared Collaborative Lesson Planning (SCLP) procedure in enhancing the professional development of prospective teachers through the lens of socially shared regulation of learning (SSRL). Twenty-four prospective information and technology teachers participated in two rounds of SCLP activities. Using a cyclical framework, the prospective teachers engaged in collaborative tasks supported by an online learning platform and other computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) tools. Detailed descriptions from observations, recordings, questionnaires, and interviews revealed that the SCLP procedure can help facilitate structured collaboration, improve professional skills, and encourage adaptive regulatory behaviors among the prospective teachers. The integration of CSCL tools further enhanced the effectiveness of the collaborative lesson planning process. However, challenges related to technical proficiency and emotional regulation were identified. The study concludes that the SCLP procedure offers a promising approach for teacher education by fostering a collaborative learning environment and promoting regulatory behaviors. Future research should explore the long-term impacts and adaptability across diverse educational contexts to strengthen teacher education programs or courses. Full article

The advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has significantly transformed the educational landscape. While GenAI offers benefits such as convenient access to learning resources, it also introduces potential risks. This study explores the phenomenon of learning burnout among university students resulting from the misuse of GenAI in this context. A questionnaire was designed to assess five key dimensions: information overload and cognitive load, overdependence on technology, limitations of personalized learning, shifts in the role of educators, and declining motivation. Data were collected from 143 students across various majors at Shandong Institute of Petroleum and Chemical Technology in China. In response to the issues identified in the survey, the study proposes several teaching strategies, including cheating detection, peer learning and evaluation, and anonymous feedback mechanisms, which were tested through experimental teaching interventions. The results showed positive outcomes, with students who participated in these strategies demonstrating improved academic performance. Additionally, two rounds of surveys indicated that students’ acceptance of additional learning tasks increased over time. This research enhances our understanding of the complex relationship between GenAI and learning burnout, offering valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers on how to effectively integrate GenAI into education while mitigating its negative impacts and fostering healthier learning environments. The dataset, including detailed survey questions and results, is available for download on GitHub. Full article

The rapid advancement of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping K-12 education, thereby emphasizing the growing need for AI Literacy among teachers. This study identifies key factors that influence teachers’ self-perceived AI Literacy and evaluates their impact on AI Literacy performance across various teaching phases, using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP). Data collected from 1172 K-12 teachers in South Korea were preprocessed and then split into an 80:20 training-to-testing ratio. To optimize model performance, Bayesian Optimization was used to fine-tune key hyperparameters, including the learning rate, maximum depth, subsample ratio, and number of boosting rounds. The model’s predictive accuracy was assessed using R², MSE, MAE, and RMSE. The optimized model achieved R² values of 0.8206 (Class Preparation), 0.8007 (Class Implementation), 0.8066 (Class Assessment), and 0.7746 (Utilizing Assessment Results). The results indicate that technical knowledge and AI Literacy skills are the most influential factors in the Class Preparation and Implementation Phases, while educational decision-making and ethical considerations play a crucial role in the Assessment and Utilizing Assessment Results Phases. Further, SHAP analysis highlights that both teachers’ and students’ perceived levels of AI learning significantly impact the adoption of AI Literacy, underscoring the importance of contextual factors in integrating AI within education. These findings emphasize the need for AI Literacy education that integrates technical competencies, pedagogical strategies, and ethical decision-making. This study provides empirical insights to support the development of teacher training programs and AI Literacy policies, ensuring the effective integration of AI in education. Full article

Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is a common complication in cancer patients, occurring in 3–5% of diagnosed cases annually, and serves as the initial manifestation of malignancy in 20% of patients. Timely diagnosis and management are critical due to the risk of irreversible neurological damage and the significant impact on both quality and quantity of life. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that patients presenting with back pain accompanied by neurological signs and/or symptoms undergo whole-spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 24 h. This retrospective study at Medway Maritime Hospital in England aimed to assess adherence to these guidelines by reviewing the time from presentation to MRI for patients exhibiting symptoms and/or signs of MSCC. Data for 69 patients were collected over one year using electronic patient records and the acute oncology service database. Analysis revealed that MRI was conducted within 24 h in only 43 out of 69 cases (62%), and 16 out of 25 delayed cases (i.e., MRI done beyond the recommended 24 h window) experienced delays of more than 48 h. To improve guideline adherence, interventions such as informational flyers and regular MSCC training sessions, including trainee teaching and presentations during grand rounds, were implemented. A follow-up re-audit involving 113 patients over one year demonstrated improved adherence to the 24 h MRI guideline, with 81 out of 113 cases (71%) meeting the target. The second cycle also documented reasons for delays, identifying patient compliance and pain control as primary factors. Additionally, the timing of steroid administration following suspicion of MSCC was recorded. Future studies should re-assess adherence, focus on better documentation of delay causes, enhance pain management before MRI scans, and ensure prompt steroid administration. Full article

With the proliferation of artificial intelligence in education, AI-generated digital educational resources are increasingly being employed as supplements for university teaching and learning. However, this raises concerns about the quality of the content produced. To conduct a comprehensive quality assessment, this paper presents an evaluation index system for AI-generated digital educational resources by combining the Delphi method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The initial quality indicators across the dimensions of content, expression, and user and technical aspects are identified through a systematic literature review of the recent research. Then, the Delphi method is utilized to modify the quality indicators according to experts’ opinions through two rounds of questionnaire surveys. Subsequently, the weight coefficients of the quality indicators are calculated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Finally, a quality indicator system for evaluating AI-generated digital educational resources is developed, which comprises four dimensions and twenty indicators. The findings reveal that content characteristics are of critical importance in assessing the quality of AI-generated educational resources, followed by expression characteristics as the second most significant factor, with user and technical characteristics also being recognized. Among the second-level indicators, “authenticity”, “accuracy”, “legitimacy”, and “relevance” are accorded greater importance relative to other indicators. The proposed system equips relevant stakeholders with a framework for selecting high-quality AIGDERs and steering AI tools in line with educational standards. Finally, some implications are provided to support the selection of high-quality AI-generated resources and guidance on aligning these resources with educational standards. Full article

This study examines the relationship between undergraduates’ learning environment perception, achievement goals, and the deep learning approach in a research-oriented Chinese university with a longitudinal mediation model. A total of 260 undergraduates, including 135 top-notch undergraduates and 125 ordinary undergraduates, participated in all three rounds of investigation across 18 months. The results revealed that (a) mastery-approach goals and mastery-avoidance goals can partially mediate the longitudinal impact of undergraduate students’ perception of the learning environment on their deep learning approaches, while performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals do not serve as longitudinal mediators in the influence of undergraduate students’ perception of the learning environment on their deep learning approaches. (b) There are two longitudinal mediating pathways, namely the mastery-approach goals and mastery-avoidance goals, in the influence process of perceived learning environment on deep learning approaches among undergraduates. (c) The mediating effect of mastery-approach goals on the influence of learning environment perception on undergraduates’ deep learning approaches is more significant than mastery-avoidance goals. The findings of this study will contribute new empirical evidence that can inform teaching reform initiatives aimed at enhancing the learning quality of undergraduates. Full article

Trillium Health Partners (THP) is a hospital network that serves the Mississauga region of Ontario, Canada, and sees nearly 1.7 million patient visits each year. THP is also a provider of highly specialized services to the region and a fully-fledged academic teaching center, with embedded research and innovation. Background/Objectives: Highly trained, skilled, and experienced nurses are foundational to THPs ability to meet the complex care needs of our patients across specialized programs. In 2024, 50% of the nursing workforce at THP was noted to have less than five years of experience. This generation of nurses are reporting high levels of burnout and are at greater risk of leaving the profession. The more experienced nurses are also facing burnout due to the continued pressures and demands in the workplace, having to manage an increasingly complex patient assignment, while providing mentorship to more novice nurses. Based on the existing literature and our collective experience at THP, we have developed the Transition to Independent Practice Support (TIPS) program, a multi-pronged approach to bolster support for our nursing workforce. The TIPS program at THP is designed to address knowledge gaps and enhance clinical competence among new and aspiring nurses. The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of the TIPS program in facilitating the transition of novice nurses to independent and competent practitioners, utilizing the Kirkpatrick Model of Evaluation The specific objectives include (a) assessing participants’ reactions to the TIPS program; (b) measuring the increase in nurses’ knowledge and confidence following program participation; (c) evaluating changes in nurses’ behavior and practice post-program; and (d) determining the program’s impact on nurse retention and quality of patient care. Methods: Grounded in Meleis’s Transition Theory, the program combines webinars, simulations, clinical rounding, and mentorship to build resilience, decision-making, and confidence. Evaluative measures, based on the Kirkpatrick Model, assessed participant satisfaction, learning outcomes, behavior changes, and retention. Results: From September 2023 to March 2024, 388 interdisciplinary participants attended the program, including nursing students (56%), registered nurses (24%), registered practical nurses (14%), and aspiring nurses in other interprofessional roles (6%). Participants expressed high satisfaction with the program, achieving a mean reaction score of 4.80 (SD = 0.2921). Ninety-five percent found the sessions relevant, and 98% rated the facilitators as knowledgeable. Self-reported confidence significantly increased across all topics, with overall mean confidence scores rising from 2.94 to 4.52 (p < 0.0001, Cohen’s d = 3.01), demonstrating a strong impact on skill acquisition and application. Behavioral evaluations through simulations, competency checklists, and follow-up touchpoints confirmed improved clinical performance, with participants achieving 100% compliance to nursing skills during simulations and sustained confidence at three-month follow-ups. Since the program’s implementation, nursing turnover rates decreased from 9.52% to 7.7% by March 2024, with 100% of RNs, RPNs and IENs of TIPS participants retained within six months. Conclusions: This paper outlines the TIPS program and the diverse teaching and learning methodologies used in the design and program implementation to ultimately support the transition experience of the new gradate nurse into acute care. Preliminary outcomes are discussed including nursing retention rates, nurses’ knowledge, confidence, and skill levels. Full article

This article examines the teaching of civic engagement in academic settings, focusing on its role in generating new knowledge and fostering social and personal action. The article proposes regulatory remedies to ensure a fair and balanced curriculum supporting diverse worldviews and productive discourse, promoting student civic participation. The legal principle of equal protection, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment, serves as the foundation. The Fourteenth Amendment emphasizes equal treatment and opportunities for all, including access to a well-rounded education. By incorporating its principles into education, the article highlights the need to promote fair, civic education that empowers all students to participate actively in their communities. I recommend regulatory remedies to solidify education’s nature and foster a balanced curriculum. The proposed remedies ensure that various worldviews are embraced, promoting productive and amicable discourse among students. Creating an inclusive learning environment also allows students to engage in critical thinking and develop a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives, ultimately enhancing their civic participation. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the importance of regulatory safeguards against biased or exclusionary educational practices to ensure that all students have equal educational opportunities, regardless of their background or beliefs. By eliminating barriers and promoting a fair educational system, students can develop the necessary knowledge and skills to contribute to their communities actively. By incorporating the legal principle of equal protection with respect to perspectives represented on campus, the article advocates for legal and regulatory remedies to promote a fair and balanced curriculum that supports diverse worldviews. Full article

Background: Serious illness conversation (SIC) in an important skillset for clinicians. A review of mortality meetings from an urban academic hospital highlighted the need for early engagement in SICs and advance care planning (ACP) to align medical treatments with patient-centered outcomes. The aim of this study was to increase SICs and their documentation in patients with low one-year survival probability identified by updated Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) scores. Methods: This was a quality improvement study with data collected pre- and post-intervention at a large urban level one trauma center in Virginia, which also serves as a primary teaching hospital to about 400 residents and fellows. Patient chart reviews were completed to assess medical records and hospitalization data. Chi square tests were used to identify statistical significance with the alpha level set at <0.05. Integrated care managers were trained to identify and discuss high CCI scores during interdisciplinary rounds. Providers were encouraged to document SICs with identified patients in extent of care (EOC) notes within the hospital’s cloud-based electronic health record known as EPIC. Results: Sixty-two patients with high CCI scores were documented, with 16 (25.81%, p = 0.0001) having EOC notes. Patients with documented EOC notes were significantly more likely to change their focus of care, prompting palliative care (63.04% vs. 50%, p = 0.007) and hospice consults (93.48% vs. 68.75%, p = 0.01), compared to those without. Post-intervention surveys revealed that although 50% of providers conducted SICs, fewer used EOC notes for documentation. Conclusion: This initial intervention suggests that the documentation of SICs increases engagement in ACP, palliative care, hospice consultations, and do not resuscitate decisions. Full article

Background/Objectives: School-based nutrition education interventions can support the development of children’s food literacy and healthy eating habits. The Foodbot Factory serious game was developed to support school nutrition education based on Canada’s Food Guide and Ontario curriculum. The objective of this research was to refine the Foodbot Factory intervention to include curriculum-based lesson plans that had a high-level of acceptability by stakeholders to support implementation by teachers in classrooms. Methods: A co-design approach was used to engage teacher and dietitian stakeholders in developing five lesson plans for the intervention, who contributed to creating the intervention content in three stages. The stages included reviewing and providing feedback on the initial draft of the lesson plans, participating in facilitated discussion rounds to come to a consensus on the changes required, and completing a final review of the intervention’s acceptability. Qualitative data included notes on the lesson plans and recordings from meetings that were analyzed thematically. Results: During the first co-design stage, major revisions were suggested for two-fifths of the lessons by stakeholders. Further stakeholder suggestions were discussed and integrated into the intervention from facilitated discussions, improving the lesson plan content and intervention feasibility. All stakeholders agreed that the final version of the intervention was acceptable and would support classroom nutrition education. Five lesson plans were created and compiled into a unit plan, containing additional teaching resources, to support nutrition education with Foodbot Factory. Conclusions: The co-design process greatly improved the Foodbot Factory intervention and its feasibility for classroom implementation. Including diverse stakeholder perspectives led to unique and different insights to improve the intervention. Full article

Currently, there are no guidelines on housing or recommendations for practical environmental enrichments for chickens used for research and teaching purposes. This study was conducted to identify optimal enrichment programs to improve the health and welfare of caged hens used for teaching and research purposes. The 24-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens (n = 168) were allocated at random to six enrichment programs/treatments with 14 replicate cages of two birds per cage during a 5-week experiment. Hens had physical access to the following treatments: no enrichment provided (control); round, wooden perches provided (perch); scratch pads made of wood and covered with sandpaper provided (scratch pad); hanging CDs provided (hanging CD); all three enrichment forms provided (complex environment); and each enrichment form provided on a 2-week rotation (novelty). While the egg quality was consistent, the complex group had a significantly lower feed intake (p < 0.001) but similar egg mass; thus, they also had a lower feed conversion ratio (p < 0.001). Additionally, hens in the complex treatment group had the leanest average body weight at week 5 (p < 0.01). It should be noted that while some measures of welfare did show significant differences, the biological or practical difference may be negligible, as in the case of the body condition score in this study. The results show that providing three different forms of environmental enrichment had positive effects on the welfare, health condition, and laying performance of laying hens relative to no enrichment or only one enrichment item. Full article

This dataset shows the original validation and standardization of the Questionnaire for the Self-Assessment of Service-Learning Experiences in Higher Education (QaSLu). The QaSLu is the first instrument to measure university service-learning (USL), validated following a strict qualitative and quantitative process by a sample of experts in USL and generating rating scales for different profiles of professors. The Delphi method was used for the qualitative validation by 16 academic experts, who evaluated the relevance and clarity of the items. After two consultation rounds, 45 items were qualitatively validated, generating the QaSLu-45. Then, 118 instructors from 43 universities took part as the sample in the quantitative validation procedure. Quantitative validation was carried out through goodness-of-fit measures using confirmatory factor analysis and the final configuration optimized using one-factor robust exploratory factor analysis, determining the most optimal version of the questionnaire under the law of parsimony, the QaSLu-27, with only 27 items and better psychometric properties. Finally, rating scales were calculated to compare different profiles of USL professors. These findings offer a valid, strong, and trustworthy instrument. The QaSLu-27 may be helpful for the design of USL experiences, in addition to facilitating the assessment of such programs to enhance teaching and learning processes. Full article

Our objective was to provide expert consensus on best practices for anatomy teaching and training on ultrasound-guided botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) injection for specialists involved in treating spasticity and dystonia. Nine experts (three neurologists; six physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians) participated in a three-round modified Delphi process. Over three rounds, experts reached consensus on 15 of 16 statements describing best practices for anatomy and BoNT-A injection training. They unanimously agreed that knowledge of the target audience, including their needs and current competency, is crucial when designing training programs. Experts also agreed that alignment between instructors is essential to ensure consistency of approach over time and between regions, and that training programs should be simple, adaptable, and “hands-on” to enhance engagement and learning. Consensus was also reached for several other key areas of training program development. The best-practice principles identified by expert consensus could aid in the development of effective, standardized programs for anatomy teaching and BoNT-A injection training for the purposes of treating spasticity and dystonia. This will enhance the exchange of knowledge, skills, and educational approaches between global experts, allowing more specialists to treat important movement disorders and ultimately improving patient outcomes. Full article

The purpose of this paper is to provide a description and evaluation of a graduate-level Health Services Research Methods course offered at the University of Arizona R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy. This three-credit, round-table discussion-style course introduces students to fundamental concepts in healthcare study design and teaches them how to design and critique example studies for a variety of commonly encountered study designs. The course is assessed through essay-style examinations, development of a research proposal, and low-stakes weekly assignments. Twenty-seven students have completed the course in the past five years. Feedback from student course surveys was almost unanimously positive, with few meaningful suggestions for improvement. The description and evaluation of a graduate-level Health Services Research Methods course at one institution indicates that students had a largely favorable experience with the course. Considerations for future revisions to the course are discussed alongside other lessons learned. Full article