Challenging Teachers' Practice through Learning: Reflections on the Enhancing Effective Practice in Special Education Programme of Research and Professional Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bourke, Roseanna

2006-01-01

When teachers participate in professional development and learning opportunities it enables them to reconceptualise their assessment and teaching practices with the support of facilitators and researchers. National programmes of professional development and research, such as the three year Enhancing Effective Practice in Special Education (EEPiSE)…

Enhancing reflective practice through online learning: impact on clinical practice

PubMed Central

Sim, J; Radloff, A

2008-01-01

Purpose Traditionally, radiographers and radiation therapists function in a workplace environment that is protocol-driven with limited functional autonomy. The workplace promotes a culture of conformity and discourages practitioners from reflective and critical thinking, essential attributes for continuing learning and advancing workplace practices. As part of the first author’s doctoral study, a continuing professional development (CPD) educational framework was used to design and implement an online module for radiation therapists’ CPD activities. The study aimed to determine if it is possible to enhance healthcare practitioners’ reflective practice via online learning and to establish the impact of reflective learning on clinical practice. Materials and methods The objectives of the online module were to increase radiation therapists’ knowledge in planning for radiation therapy for the breast by assisting them engage in reflective practice. The cyclical process of action research was used to pilot the module twice with two groups of volunteer radiation therapists (twenty-six participants) from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Results The online module was evaluated using Kirkpatrick’s four-level evaluation model. Evidence indicated that participants were empowered as a result of participation in the module. They began reflecting in the workplace while assuming a more proactive role and increased clinical responsibilities, engaged colleagues in collaborative reflections and adopted evidence-based approaches in advancing clinical practices. Conclusion The study shows that it is possible to assist practitioners engage in reflective practice using an online CPD educational framework. Participants were able to apply the reflective learning they had developed in their workplace. As a result of their learning, they felt empowered to continue to effect changes in their workplace beyond the cessation of the online module. PMID:21614319

Improving the quality of cognitive behaviour therapy case conceptualization: the role of self-practice/self-reflection.

PubMed

Haarhoff, Beverly; Gibson, Kerry; Flett, Ross

2011-05-01

CBT case conceptualization is considered to be a key competency. Prior to the publication in 2009 of Kuyken, Padesky and Dudley's book, little has been documented concerning methods for training conceptualization skills and the conceptualization process is usually perceived as predominantly an intellectual process. In this paper, the Declarative-Procedural-Reflective model of therapist skill acquisition provides a route to understanding how different kinds of knowledge systems can be integrated to enhance therapist skill acquisition. Sixteen recent graduates of a postgraduate diploma in cognitive behaviour therapy worked independently through a self-practice/self-reflection workbook designed to lead them through a series of CBT interventions commonly used to elicit the information required for a CBT conceptualization. The participants' self-reflections were thematically analyzed and uncovered the following inter-related themes: increased theoretical understanding of the CBT model, self-awareness, empathy, conceptualization of the therapeutic relationship, and adaptation of clinical interventions and practice. A tentative conclusion reached, based on the self-reflections of the participants, was that targeted self-practice/self-reflection enhanced case conceptualization skill by consolidating the Declarative, Procedural and Reflective systems important in therapist skill acquisition. © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2011

Using flash cards to engage Indonesian nursing students in reflection on their practice.

PubMed

Wanda, Dessie; Fowler, Cathrine; Wilson, Valerie

2016-03-01

Reflective practice is now widely used as a critical learning tool in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing programs in most developed countries. However in developing countries, reflective practice is in its infancy. To introduce reflective practice to postgraduate students in an Indonesian nursing education institution. This paper presents the positive meanings of reflection and reflective practice experienced by the students and the way they used reflection within their practice. A descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the meaning of reflection or reflective practice using flashcards. A clinical reflective practice model taking into consideration Indonesian culture was developed and applied during students' clinical placement. A few weeks post clinical placement, 21 students participated in an evaluation session. The meaning of reflection or reflective practice was explored using flash cards containing images of people and environment with different situations and events. Students were asked to choose a card that represented their viewpoints about reflective practice and share it with the group. Data were digitally captured and analyzed using thematic analysis. Reflection provided a positive experience for the students. In their own words, they discussed their journey of using reflection during the clinical placement period. The use of reflection was identified as expanding their view of nursing practice, providing a safe place to explore their experiences and clarity when they encountered challenging situations during their clinical practice. Reflecting on practice experiences resulted in increased self-awareness, and enhanced their learning. The findings indicate that reflective practice can be implemented successfully in Indonesia and may have value for other Eastern countries that share similar cultural characteristics. The use of flash cards assisted the students describe through stories their experiences of participating in this reflective practice program. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Student Teaching Portfolios: A Tool for Promoting Reflective Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borko, Hilda; Michalec, Paul; Timmons, Maria; Siddle, Jean

1997-01-01

Examines student teaching portfolios in action within preservice teacher education, describing how the University of Colorado mandated student teaching portfolios for preservice educators. A study examined whether portfolio construction would enhance student teachers' reflection on practice. Data from interviews and students' written reflections…

Customizing vacuum fluctuations for enhanced entanglement creation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jin

2018-07-01

This paper connects the creation of entanglement through cavity enhanced decay rate with practical design parameters such as cavity dimension and cavity mirror reflectivity. The clarification of specific physical parameters on cavity enhanced emission in relation to entanglement creation is discussed. It is found that entanglement increases as the size of the cavity decreases, or the reflectivity of the cavity mirrors increases. Additionally, the negative effect of individual qubit decoherence on the entanglement is discussed. These results can be used to design or choose a practical system for implementing entanglement between two qubits for quantum computation and information processing.

R-NEST: Design-Based Research for Technology-Enhanced Reflective Practice in Initial Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson Long, Bonnie; Hall, Tony

2015-01-01

This paper reports research into developing digital storytelling (DST) to enhance reflection within a specific professional learning context--that of a programme of teacher education--while concomitantly producing a transferrable design framework for adaption into other, similar post-secondary educational contexts. There has been limited…

Enhancing Critical Reflection and Writing Skills in the HBSE Classroom and beyond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiener, Diane R.

2012-01-01

Human Behavior in the Social Environment (HBSE) is an ideal location in which graduate social work students can enhance their critical reflection and writing skills while integrating social work theories with practice, research, and policy. A writing-intensive, learner-centered model using specific strategies is described via a framework of…

Reflection Amplifiers in Online Courses: A Classification Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Verpoorten, Dominique; Westera, Wim; Specht, Marcus

2011-01-01

This paper provides a theoretical framework for "reflection amplifiers" that are used in online courses. Such reflection amplifiers are intervention techniques that aim at provoking reflective practices in learning, in order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of learning and promote meta-cognition. A literature survey identified a sample of…

Quality of Preservice Physics Teachers' Reflections in Their Teaching Portfolios and Their Perceived Reflections: Do They Intersect?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ogan-Bekiroglu, Feral

2014-01-01

Although proponents support portfolios' value to enhance the reflective thinking of novice teachers and imply that such thinking improves teachers' practice, few studies have confirmed these assertions by directly measuring in-depth reflection or describing conditions that develop it. In this study, reflective thinking in preservice teachers'…

A Written, Reflective and Dialogic Strategy for Assessment Feedback That Can Enhance Student/Teacher Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crimmins, Gail; Nash, Gregory; Oprescu, Florin; Liebergreen, Marama; Turley, Janet; Bond, Richard; Dayton, Jeanne

2016-01-01

In response to the shortcomings of current assessment feedback practice, this paper presents the results of a study designed to examine students' and teachers' experience of engaging in a written, reflective and dialogic feedback (WRDF) strategy. The strategy was designed to enhance the learning experience of students undertaking a large…

Player-Driven Video Analysis to Enhance Reflective Soccer Practice in Talent Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hjort, Anders; Henriksen, Kristoffer; Elbæk, Lars

2018-01-01

In the present article, we investigate the introduction of a cloud-based video analysis platform called Player Universe (PU). Video analysis is not a new performance-enhancing element in sports, but PU is innovative in how it facilitates reflective learning. Video analysis is executed in the PU platform by involving the players in the analysis…

Enhancing the Practice of Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Ruth

2016-01-01

This account of practice focuses on my learning and development as a new Action Learning Facilitator. It reflects on my thoughts and feelings as I began to facilitate my own sets a year or so ago. It will discuss and reflect on topics such as communication, feedback, expectations (both mine, the set members and the organisations), values, ethics,…

Unlocking reflective practice for nurses: innovations in working with master of nursing students in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Joyce-McCoach, Joanne T; Parrish, Dominique R; Andersen, Patrea R; Wall, Natalie

2013-09-01

Being reflective is well established as an important conduit of practice development, a desirable tertiary graduate quality and a core competency of health professional membership. By assisting students to be more effective in their ability to reflect, they are better able to formulate strategies to manage issues experienced within a professional context, which ultimately assists them to be better service providers. However, some students are challenged by the practice of reflection and these challenges are even more notable for international students. This paper presents a teaching initiative that focused specifically on enhancing the capacity of an international cohort of nursing students, to engage in reflective practice. The initiative centered on an evaluation of a reflective practice core subject, which was taught in a Master of Nursing programme delivered in Hong Kong. A learning-centered framework was used to evaluate the subject and identify innovative strategies that would better assist international students to develop reflective practices. The outcomes of curriculum and teaching analysis and proposed changes and innovations in teaching practice to support international students are presented and discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facilitating students' reflective practice in a medical course: literature review.

PubMed

Chaffey, Lisa Jane; de Leeuw, Evelyne Johanna Janet; Finnigan, Gerard Anthony

2012-01-01

Reflection and reflective practice is of increasing importance in medical education curricula. The aim of this review is to summarise the literature published around facilitating reflection in a medical course, and to answer the question : W0 hat is the current evidence regarding learning and development moments across the medical curriculum in developing students' reflective practice? A review of the literature was undertaken using defined databases and the search terms 'medical students', 'medical education', 'reflection', 'reflectFNx01' and 'medicine'. The search was limited to peer-reviewed published material in English and between the years 2001 and 2011, and included research, reviews and opinion pieces. Thirty-six relevant articles were found, identifying enhancing factors and barriers to effectively teaching reflective practice within medical curricula, relating to: The breadth of the meaning of reflection; facilitating reflection by medical educators; using written or web-based portfolios to facilitate reflection; and assessing the reflective work of students. A variety of reflective purposes was found in this literature review. Evidence indicates that, if students are unclear as to the purpose of reflection and do not see educators modelling reflective behaviours, they are likely to undervalue this important skill regardless of the associated learning and development opportunities embedded in the curriculum.

Exploring the attributes of critical thinking: a conceptual basis.

PubMed

Forneris, Susan G

2004-01-01

Many teaching methods used in nursing education to enhance critical thinking focus on teaching students how to directly apply knowledge; a technically rational approach. While seemingly effective at enhancing students' critical thinking abilities in structured learning situations, these methods don't prepare students to operationalize critical thinking to manage the complexities that actually exist in practice. The work of contemporary educational theorists Paulo Freire, Donald Schon, Chris Argyris, Jack Mezirow, Stephen Brookfield, and Robert Tennyson all share similar perspectives on thinking in practice and the use of reflection to achieve a coherence of understanding. Their perspectives provide insight on how educators can shift from a means-end approach to operationalizing thinking in practice. The author identifies four attributes of critical thinking in practice evidenced in these views, followed by a discussion of specific educational strategies that reflect these attributes, and operationalize a critical thinking process in nursing practice to achieve a coherence of understanding.

Enhancing Teachers' Technological Pedagogical Knowledge and Practices: A Professional Development Model for Technology Teachers in Malawi

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chikasanda, Vanwyk Khobidi Mbubzi; Otrel-Cass, Kathrin; Williams, John; Jones, Alister

2013-01-01

This paper reports on a professional development that was designed and implemented in an attempt to broaden teachers' knowledge of the nature of technology and also enhance their technological pedagogical practices. The professional development was organised in four phases with each phase providing themes for reflection and teacher learning in…

Using visual thinking strategies with nursing students to enhance nursing assessment skills: A qualitative design.

PubMed

Nanavaty, Joanne

2018-03-01

This qualitative design study addressed the enhancement of nursing assessment skills through the use of Visual Thinking Strategies and reflection. This study advances understanding of the use of Visual Thinking Strategies and reflection as ways to explore new methods of thinking and observing patient situations relating to health care. Sixty nursing students in a licensed practical nursing program made up the sample of participants who attended an art gallery as part of a class assignment. Participants replied to a survey of interest for participation at the art gallery. Participants reviewed artwork at the gallery and shared observations with the larger group during a post-conference session in a gathering area of the museum at the end of the visit. A reflective exercise on the art gallery experience exhibited further thoughts about the art gallery experience and demonstrated the connections made to clinical practice by the student. The findings of this study support the use of Visual Thinking Strategies and reflection as effective teaching and learning tools for enhancing nursing skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhancing medical-surgical nursing practice: using practice tests and clinical examples to promote active learning and program evaluation.

PubMed

DuHamel, Martha B; Hirnle, Constance; Karvonen, Colleen; Sayre, Cindy; Wyant, Sheryl; Colobong Smith, Nancy; Keener, Sheila; Barrett, Shannon; Whitney, Joanne D

2011-10-01

In a 14-week medical-surgical nursing review course, two teaching strategies are used to promote active learning and assess the transfer of knowledge to nursing practice. Practice tests and clinical examples provide opportunities for participants to engage in self-assessment and reflective learning and enhance their nursing knowledge, skills, and practice. These strategies also contribute to program evaluation and are adaptable to a variety of course formats, including traditional classroom, web conference, and online self-study. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Using Technology for Enhancing Reflective Writing, Metacognition and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mair, Carolyn

2012-01-01

There exists broad agreement on the value of reflective practice for personal and professional development. However, many students in higher education (HE) struggle with the concept of reflection, so they do not engage well with the process, and its full value is seldom realised. An online resource was developed to facilitate and structure the…

Enhancing students' moral competence in practice: Challenges experienced by Malawian nurse teachers.

PubMed

Solum, Eva Merethe; Maluwa, Veronica Mary; Tveit, Bodil; Severinsson, Elisabeth

2016-09-01

Nurses and student nurses in Malawi often encounter challenges in taking a moral course of action. Several studies have demonstrated a need for increased awareness of ethical issues in the nursing education. To explore the challenges experienced by nurse teachers in Malawi in their efforts to enhance students' moral competence in clinical practice. A qualitative hermeneutic approach was employed to interpret the teachers' experiences. Individual interviews (N = 8) and a focus group interview with teachers (N = 9) from different nursing colleges were conducted. Ethical approval was granted and all participants signed their informed consent. Two overall themes emerged: (1) authoritarian learning climate, with three subthemes: (a) fear of making critical comments about clinical practice, (b) fear of disclosing mistakes and lack of knowledge and (c) lack of a culture of critical discussion and reflection that promotes moral competence; and (2) discrepancy between expectations on learning outcome from nursing college and the learning opportunities in practice comprising three subthemes: (a) gap between the theory taught in class and learning opportunities in clinical practice, (b) lack of good role models and (c) lack of resources. Our findings indicated that showing respect was a central objective when the students were assessed in practice. A number of previous studies have enlightened the need for critical reflection in nursing education. Few studies have linked this to challenges experienced by teachers for development of moral competence in practice. This is one of the first such studies done in an African setting. There is a clear relationship between the two themes. A less authoritarian learning climate may enhance critical reflection and discussion between students, teachers and nurses. This can narrow the gap between the theory taught in college and what is demonstrated in clinical practice. Moral competence must be enhanced in order to ensure patients' rights and safety. © The Author(s) 2015.

Introducing Reflexivity to Evaluation Practice: An In-Depth Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Draanen, Jenna

2017-01-01

There is currently a paucity of literature in the field of evaluation regarding the practice of reflection and reflexivity and a lack of available tools to guide this practice--yet using a reflexive model can enhance evaluation practice. This paper focuses on the methods and results of a reflexive inquiry that was conducted during a participatory…

International education and reflection: transition of Swedish and American nursing students to authenticity.

PubMed

Lepp, Margret; Zorn, CeCelia R; Duffy, Patricia R; Dickson, Rana J

2003-01-01

Reflection, a process grounded in distancing from the self to enhance self-awareness, can be used as a pedagogic activity to promote students' transition to a greater authenticity and professionalism and, therefore, improve patient care and nursing practice. In this international educational project (implemented in 2001) using interactive videoconferencing technology (IVC), Swedish and U.S. nursing students and faculty incorporated reflective journaling, drama in education, photolanguage, and off-air meeting discussions to enhance personal and professional development. Highlights from the literature, a description of the project, and student and faculty appraisals are presented.

Does Testing Impair Relational Processing? Failed Attempts to Replicate the Negative Testing Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rawson, Katherine A.; Wissman, Kathryn T.; Vaughn, Kalif E.

2015-01-01

Recent research on testing effects (i.e., practice tests are more effective than restudy for enhancing subsequent memory) has focused on explaining when and why testing enhances memory. Of particular interest for present purposes, Zaromb and Roediger (2010) reported evidence that testing effects in part reflect enhanced relational processing,…

Reflections on Revitalizing and Reinforcing Native Languages and Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Real Bird, Lanny

2017-01-01

The purpose of this essay is to introduce nativist expression, historic practices, and perceptions in describing an important approach to exercising language revitalization based on traditional fundamentals and operational ownership in Native organizations of these reflections. Information is presented to enhance the understanding of how Native…

Service Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education: Strategies to Facilitate Meaningful Reflection.

PubMed

Schmidt, Nola A; Brown, Janet M

2016-01-01

Service learning is recognized as a valuable pedagogy involving experiential learning, reflection, and reciprocal learning. Students develop critical thinking and social awareness by using the crucial activity of reflecting upon their experiential learning with community partners. The purpose of this paper is to demystify the process of reflection by identifying best practices to enhance reflection and offering suggestions for grading. By understanding "the what" and "the how" of reflection, educators can implement service learning experiences designed to include the essential component of reflection. Strategies for facilitating meaningful reflection are described including descriptions of what students should reflect upon and how to initiate reflection through writing, reading, doing, and telling. Grading rubrics are suggested to facilitate evaluation of student reflection. When properly implemented, service learning encourages students to be good citizens of the world. By using best practices associated with reflection, students can be challenged to think critically about the world and how their service can achieve community goals. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

The Power and Utility of Reflective Learning Portfolios in Honors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corley, Christopher R.; Zubizarreta, John

2012-01-01

The explosive growth of learning portfolios in higher education as a compelling tool for enhanced student learning, assessment, and career preparation is a sign of the increasing significance of reflective practice and mindful, systematic documentation in promoting deep, meaningful, transformative learning experiences. The advent of sophisticated…

Mathematical Tasks as a Framework for Reflection: From Research To Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stein, Mary Kay; Smith, Margaret Schwan

1998-01-01

Describes the Quantitative Understanding: Amplifying Student Achievement and Reasoning (QUASAR) national reform project aimed at studying and fostering the development and implementation of enhanced mathematics instructional programs. It is a framework for reflection based on mathematical tasks used during classroom instruction and the ways in…

Fostering an Action-Reflection Dynamic amongst Student Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, Helen; Cowan, John

2008-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to explore changes taking place in a curriculum design for postgraduate teaching in personnel and development, aimed at enhancing lifelong learning. A scheme is described which aims to improve the alignment for professional development of students, in ways that facilitate critically reflective practice.…

Using Blogs as a Means of Enhancing Reflective Teaching Practice in Open Distance Learning Ecologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Wyk, Micheal M.

2013-01-01

Reflection is an important concept or principle that is fundamental in the interpretation of new information, and is also required if learning is to advance from surface to deep learning. The purpose of this article is to explore the use of blogs as an e-learning journal writing tool for reflection and peer-feedback during Teaching Practice…

Developing the practice context to enable more effective pain management with older people: an action research approach

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background This paper, which draws upon an Emancipatory Action Research (EAR) approach, unearths how the complexities of context influence the realities of nursing practice. While the intention of the project was to identify and change factors in the practice context that inhibit effective person-centred pain management practices with older people (65 years or older), reflective critical engagement with the findings identified that enhancing pain management practices with older people was dependent on cultural change in the unit as a whole. Methods An EAR approach was utilised. The project was undertaken in a surgical unit that conducted complex abdominal surgery. Eighty-five percent (n = 48) of nursing staff participated in the two-year project (05/NIR02/107). Data were obtained through the use of facilitated critical reflection with nursing staff. Results Three key themes (psychological safety, leadership, oppression) and four subthemes (power, horizontal violence, distorted perceptions, autonomy) were found to influence the way in which effective nursing practice was realised. Within the theme of 'context,' effective leadership and the creation of a psychologically safe environment were key elements in the enhancement of all aspects of nursing practice. Conclusions Whilst other research has identified the importance of 'practice context' and models and frameworks are emerging to address this issue, the theme of 'psychological safety' has been given little attention in the knowledge translation/implementation literature. Within the principles of EAR, facilitated reflective sessions were found to create 'psychologically safe spaces' that supported practitioners to develop effective person-centred nursing practices in complex clinical environments. PMID:21284857

Enhancing Trifocal Leadership Practices Using Simulation in a Pediatric Charge Nurse Orientation Program.

PubMed

Clark, Teresa J; Yoder-Wise, Patricia S

2015-07-01

A well-established charge nurse orientation program was enhanced with the addition of a simulation, addressing three primary populations (the trifocus) with whom charge nurses interact: patients, patients' parents, and other staff members. In this pilot quality improvement project, 20 staff nurses enrolled in the orientation program and were assigned a mentor. Only one participant used the mentorship opportunity; therefore, it is not discussed here. Twelve nurses completed all charge nurse classes and a simulation scenario of caring for a deteriorating infant. The nurses were given an opportunity to reflect on leadership practices after the simulation. Thematic analysis from qualitative, reflective data supported the enhanced understanding of managing complex patients, a code situation, and teams; guiding a team's novice nurse; leading as a charge nurse; and using clinical and critical thinking skills. All nurses reported that the simulation as experiential learning helped them to meet their leadership goals. Copyright 2015, SLACK Incorporated.

Reflection on the Role of the Spirit in Finding Meaning and Healing as Clinicians.

PubMed

Jacobs, Carolyn

2018-01-01

Reflections on the Role of the Spirit in Finding Meaning and Healing as Clinicians is based on a presentation for the George Washington Spirituality and Health Summer Institute on July 13, 2017. The presentation invited health care professionals to explore contemplative practices as ways to invite the Spirit to strengthening their resilience in caring for themselves and others. As clinicians, there is often a longing to be grounded in a regular contemplative practice centering one's inner life and to acknowledge the creative energy of the Spirit in relationships. This reflection draws on resilience research that finds that contemplative practices such as deep breathing, meditation, reflective writing, and peer or community support enhance ways of meaning making and healing. Contemplative practices are provided, which can connect clinicians to the Spirit with the purpose of leading to increased meaning and healing in self and relationships. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Professional identity formation in medical education for humanistic, resilient physicians: pedagogic strategies for bridging theory to practice.

PubMed

Wald, Hedy S; Anthony, David; Hutchinson, Tom A; Liben, Stephen; Smilovitch, Mark; Donato, Anthony A

2015-06-01

Recent calls for an expanded perspective on medical education and training include focusing on complexities of professional identity formation (PIF). Medical educators are challenged to facilitate the active constructive, integrative developmental process of PIF within standardized and personalized and/or formal and informal curricular approaches. How can we best support the complex iterative PIF process for a humanistic, resilient health care professional? How can we effectively scaffold the necessary critical reflective learning and practice skill set for our learners to support the shaping of a professional identity?The authors present three pedagogic innovations contributing to the PIF process within undergraduate and graduate medical education (GME) at their institutions. These are (1) interactive reflective writing fostering reflective capacity, emotional awareness, and resiliency (as complexities within physician-patient interactions are explored) for personal and professional development; (2) synergistic teaching modules about mindful clinical practice and resilient responses to difficult interactions, to foster clinician resilience and enhanced well-being for effective professional functioning; and (3) strategies for effective use of a professional development e-portfolio and faculty development of reflective coaching skills in GME.These strategies as "bridges from theory to practice" embody and integrate key elements of promoting and enriching PIF, including guided reflection, the significant role of relationships (faculty and peers), mindfulness, adequate feedback, and creating collaborative learning environments. Ideally, such pedagogic innovations can make a significant contribution toward enhancing quality of care and caring with resilience for the being, relating, and doing of a humanistic health care professional.

A measurable impact of a self-practice/self-reflection programme on the therapeutic skills of experienced cognitive-behavioural therapists.

PubMed

Davis, Melanie L; Thwaites, Richard; Freeston, Mark H; Bennett-Levy, James

2015-01-01

The need for effective training methods for enhancing cognitive-behavioural therapist competency is not only relevant to new therapists but also to experienced therapists looking to retain and further enhance their skills. Self-practice/self-reflection (SP/SR) is a self-experiential cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) training programme, which combines the experience of practicing CBT methods on oneself with structured reflection on the implications of the experience for clinical practice. In order to build on previous qualitative studies of SP/SR, which have mainly focused on trainee CBT therapists, the aim of the current study was to quantify the impact of SP/SR on the therapeutic skills of an experienced cohort of CBT therapists. Fourteen CBT therapists were recruited to participate in an SP/SR programme specifically adapted for experienced therapists. In the context of a quasi-experimental design including multiple baselines within a single-case methodology, therapists provided self-ratings of technical cognitive therapy skill and interpersonal empathic skill at four critical time points: baseline, pre-SP/SR and post-SP/SR and follow-up. Analysis of programme completers (n = 7) indicated that SP/SR enhances both technical skill and interpersonal therapeutic skill. Further intention-to-treat group (n = 14) analyses including both those who left the programme early (n = 3) and those who partially completed the programme (n = 4) added to the robustness of findings with respect to technical cognitive therapy skills but not interpersonal empathic skills. It was concluded that SP/SR, as a training and development programme, could offer an avenue to further therapeutic skill enhancement in already experienced CBT therapists. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect of a Self-Reflection and Insight Program on the Nursing Competence of Nursing Students: A Longitudinal Study.

PubMed

Pai, Hsiang-Chu

2015-01-01

Nurses have to solve complex problems for their patients and their families, and as such, nursing care capability has become a focus of attention. The aim of this longitudinal study was to develop a self-reflection practice exercise program for nursing students to be used during clinical practice and to evaluate the effects of this program empirically and longitudinally on change in students' clinical competence, self-reflection, stress, and perceived teaching quality. An additional aim was to determine the predictors important to nursing competence. We sampled 260 nursing students from a total of 377 practicum students to participate in this study. A total of 245 students nurse completed 4 questionnaires, Holistic Nursing Competence Scale, Self-Reflection and Insight Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Clinical Teaching Quality Scale, at 2, 4, and 6 months after clinical practice experience. Generalized estimating equation models were used to examine the change in scores on each of the questionnaires. The findings showed that, at 6 months after clinical practice, nursing competence was significantly higher than at 2 and 4 months, was positively related to self-reflection and insight, and was negatively related to practice stress. Nursing students' competence at each time period was positively related to clinical teachers' instructional quality at 4 and 6 months. These results indicate that a clinical practice program with self-reflection learning exercise improves nursing students' clinical competence and that nursing students' self-reflection and perceived practice stress affect their nursing competence. Nursing core competencies are enhanced with a self-reflection program, which helps nursing students to improve self-awareness and decrease stress that may interfere with learning. Further, clinical practice experience, self-reflection and insight, and practice stress are predictors of nursing students' clinical competence. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhanced Patient-Centred Care: Physiotherapists' Perspectives on the Impact of International Clinical Internships on Canadian Practice.

PubMed

Mesaroli, Giulia; Bourgeois, Anne-Marie; McCurry, Ellen; Condren, Allison; Petropanagos, Peter; Fraser, Michelle; Nixon, Stephanie A

2015-01-01

To explore the perspectives of physiotherapists who participated in an international clinical internship (ICI) in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) during their physiotherapy (PT) training in a Canadian PT programme regarding the ICI's impact on their PT practice in Canada. This qualitative descriptive study used in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data were organized using NVivo; inductive and deductive coding were used to analyze data and develop broader themes. The 13 practising Canadian physiotherapists interviewed described three enhanced capacities: (1) critical reflection on culture, values and practice; (2) communication skills; and (3) creativity and resourcefulness. These capacities were perceived to transfer to Canadian practice by enhancing participants' ability to deliver patient-centred care, specifically through an enhanced understanding of patients' values and social determinants of health, regardless of the Canadian setting or patient population. For PT students considering an ICI, the study findings provide insight into the perceived impact of ICIs on Canadian practice. For PT academic programmes, the findings can guide decisions on the extent of investment in ICIs as learning opportunities that will enhance practice in Canada.

How can video supported reflection enhance teachers' professional development?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCullagh, John F.

2012-03-01

This paper responds to Eva Lundqvist, Jonas Almqvist and Leif Ostman's account of how the manner of teaching can strongly influence pupil learning by recommending video supported reflection as a means by which teachers can transform the nature of their practice. Given the complex nature of the many conditions which influence and control teachers' actions the reframing of routine practice through reflection-in-action can prove challenging. This response paper describes how video can empower teachers to take greater control of their progress and allows for a more social constructivist approach to professional development. Along with a consideration of the difficulties associated with the notion of `reflection' and a short case study, the paper uses Lev Semenovich Vygotsky's zone of proximal development and the notion of scaffolding to propose that video offers a Video Supported Zone of Proximal Development which can ease the process of teacher development. In capturing permanent and exchangeable representations of practice video encourages a collaborative approach to reflection and is consistent with the original ideas of John Dewey.

Dance Education Action Research: A Twin Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giguere, Miriam

2015-01-01

In this article, the author compares the practices, philosophy, and history of action research, also known as participatory action research, to the purposes and practices of dance education. The comparison yields connections in four categories, enhancing self-reflective teaching and curriculum design, taking responsibility for teaching outcomes,…

Supporting Adolescent Literacy Achievement. Issue Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berman, Ilene

2009-01-01

This brief enhances recommendations and policy strategies from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) publication "Reading to Achieve: A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy". It reflects lessons from recent research and best practices from states selected to receive NGA Center support to develop statewide…

Using Video-Stimulated Recall to Enhance Preservice-Teacher Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Endacott, Jason L.

2016-01-01

Teacher-education programs are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness of their graduates at a time in which many states have adopted a new generation of formal teacher-evaluation systems. Despite the current emphasis on the evaluation of teacher proficiency, the opportunity to reflect upon practice remains a vital aspect of…

Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University: Enhancing Employability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Álvarez-Mayo, Carmen, Ed.; Gallagher-Brett, Angela, Ed.; Michel, Franck, Ed.

2017-01-01

This second volume in this series of papers dedicated to innovative language teaching and learning at university focuses on enhancing employability. Throughout the book, which includes a selection of 14 peer-reviewed and edited short papers, authors share good practices drawing on research; reflect on their experience to promote student…

Distributing Leadership for Sustainable Peer Feedback on Tertiary Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wingrove, Dallas; Clarke, Angela; Chester, Andrea

2015-01-01

A growing evidence-based literature supports the value of peer feedback as a positive professional learning activity that enhances confidence, builds collegial relationships and supports reflective practice. Less clear is how best to embed such programs in university practices. This paper describes a leadership approach developed to support the…

Supporting the Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Inquiry and Design Project: A Teacher's Reflections on Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viilo, Marjut; Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Pirita; Hakkarainen, Kai

2011-01-01

In this study, we argue that a teacher has a crucial role in leading students into collaborative inquiry-learning practices. While many studies have given the impression that students are able to engage in inquiry processes on their own, the role of social practices and teacher guidance often remains unexplained. However, even when the pedagogical…

Little Association Between Wellness Policies and School-Reported Nutrition Practices

PubMed Central

Lucarelli, Jennifer F.; Alaimo, Katherine; Belansky, Elaine S.; Mang, Ellen; Miles, Richard; Kelleher, Deanne K.; Bailey, Deborah; Drzal, Nicholas B.; Liu, Hui

2017-01-01

Background The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 mandated written school wellness policies. Little evidence exists to evaluate the impact of such policies. This study assessed the quality (comprehensiveness of topics addressed and strength of wording) of wellness policies and the agreement between written district-level policies and school-reported nutrition policies and practices in 48 low-income Michigan school districts participating in the School Nutrition Advances Kids study. Method Written wellness policy quality was assessed using the School Wellness Policy Evaluation Tool. School nutrition policies and practices were assessed using the School Environment and Policy Survey. Analysis of variance determined differences in policy quality, and Fisher’s exact test examined agreement between written policies and school-reported practices. Results Written wellness policies contained ambiguous language and addressed few practices, indicating low comprehensiveness and strength. Most districts adopted model wellness policy templates without modification, and the template used was the primary determinant of policy quality. Written wellness policies often did not reflect school-reported nutrition policies and practices. Conclusions School health advocates should avoid assumptions that written wellness policies accurately reflect school practices. Encouraging policy template customization and stronger, more specific language may enhance wellness policy quality, ensure consistency between policy and practice, and enhance implementation of school nutrition initiatives. PMID:25249567

E-Portfolios Rescue Biology Students from a Poorer Final Exam Result: Promoting Student Metacognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haave, Neil

2016-01-01

E-portfolios have the potential to transform students' learning experiences. They promote reflection on the significance of what and how students have learned. Such reflective practices enhance students' ability to articulate their knowledge and skills to their peers, teachers, and future employers. In addition, e-portfolios can help assess the…

Tapping Technology in Creating Product Development Studies: Reflections on an ESP-Business Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeh, Aiden

2015-01-01

This paper describes a teacher's reflections on a technology-enhanced project-based learning approach to teaching an ESP-business lesson on product development, which is part of the curriculum for Conference English and Meetings Practice (CEMP), a business-track course for the Adult Continuing Education program at a private university in southern…

How Can Video Supported Reflection Enhance Teachers' Professional Development?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCullagh, John F.

2012-01-01

This paper responds to Eva Lundqvist, Jonas Almqvist and Leif Ostman's account of how the manner of teaching can strongly influence pupil learning by recommending video supported reflection as a means by which teachers can transform the nature of their practice. Given the complex nature of the many conditions which influence and control teachers'…

Experiential learning in practice: An ethnographic study among nursing students and preceptors.

PubMed

Rodríguez-García, Marta; Medina-Moya, José Luis; González-Pascual, Juan Luis; Cardenete-Reyes, César

2018-03-01

This study aimed to explore the reflective dialogues and processes that take place between preceptors and their nursing students and to examine how preceptors make use of their expert knowledge in order to enhance students' experiential learning during clinical placements. Two 30-h courses on reflective teaching were conducted. The study sample included 15 preceptors and 27 undergraduate nursing students. Data were collected during the course and during clinical placements at two X hospitals. Data collection included non-participatory observation and informal conversations with preceptors, in-depth interviews and focus groups. Preceptors used a series of strategies to promote experiential learning; these included creating links with practice, the use of examples, allowing students to adopt professional roles and enhancing autonomy. The value of preceptors is their wealth of professional experience, which is key during the learning process of nursing students. Preceptors must learn to master the art of questioning and stimulating reflective dialogues, in order to stimulate students' critical thinking and encourage them to resolve common problems that arise during practice. Students demand a more active role in their own learning processes. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Storytelling: a teaching-learning technique.

PubMed

Geanellos, R

1996-03-01

Nurses' stories, arising from the practice world, reconstruct the essence of experience as lived and provide vehicles for learning about nursing. The learning process is forwarded by combining storytelling and reflection. Reflection represents an active, purposive, contemplative and deliberative approach to learning through which learners create meaning from the learning experience. The combination of storytelling and reflection allows the creation of links between the materials at hand and prior and future learning. As a teaching-learning technique storytelling engages learners; organizes information; allows exploration of shared lived experiences without the demands, responsibilities and consequences of practice; facilitates remembering; enhances discussion, problem posing and problem solving; and aids understanding of what it is to nurse and to be a nurse.

Connecting to Experience: High-Impact Practices for Leadership Development.

PubMed

Priest, Kerry L; Clegorne, Nicholas A

2015-01-01

Leadership educators can leverage high-impact experiences to enhance student leadership development. This chapter describes three key practices--sociocultural conversations with peers, mentoring, and membership in off-campus organizations--as levers of leadership learning. Illustrations of the practice in context and reflections from practitioners and students are also included. The chapter concludes with considerations of context, developmental readiness, and best practices of experiential education. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Inspiring to Inspire: Developing Teaching in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Louise; Nixon, Sarah; Hennessy, Claire; Mahon, Elizabeth; Adams, Gill

2016-01-01

Following a three-year staff development initiative within one faculty in a UK university, the authors reflected on inspiring teaching and the role that staff development can play in enhancing individual practice. Teaching is a core component of Higher Education and is complex and multi-faceted both theoretically and in practice. Through…

Using Action Research to Enhance Learning on End-Use Energy Demand: Lessons from Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrova, Saska; Torres Garcia, Miguel; Bouzarovski, Stefan

2017-01-01

This paper responds to the need for a greater integration of energy and environment themes in the higher education curriculum. We explore the practical implications of empowering students towards the implementation of individual action research projects focused on investigating and addressing insufficient or wasteful energy consumption among…

In Search of Coherence: "Inquiring" at Multiple Levels of a Teacher Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McQuillan, Patrick J.; Welch, Matthew James; Barnatt, Joan

2012-01-01

Inquiry-into-practice represents a valuable disposition for teachers; reflecting on one's teaching to derive insights for subsequent practice can enhance professional efficacy and promote student achievement. To support this disposition among teacher candidates (TCs), Lynch School of Education faculty at Boston College created a capstone course,…

Enhancing the Quality and Relevance of Higher Education through Effective Teaching Practices and Instructors' Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alemu, Birhanu Moges

2014-01-01

The five key behaviours for effective teaching are: lesson clarity, instructional variety, and instructor task orientation, engagement in the learning process and student success rate. This study examines the reflections of university students and instructors regarding the implementation of effective teaching practices and instructors'…

Interprofessional communication training: benefits to practicing pharmacists.

PubMed

Luetsch, Karen; Rowett, Debra

2015-10-01

Interprofessional communication skills are important for pharmacists to build collaborative relationships with other health professionals, integrate into healthcare teams, maximise their effectiveness in patient care in addressing complex care needs and meet the demands of health care reforms. This qualitative study explores clinical pharmacists' experiences and reflections after completing a learning and practice module which introduced them to a framework for successful interprofessional communication. The postgraduate clinical pharmacy program at The University of Queensland and the clinical pharmacy practice environments of forty-eight hospital and seven community based pharmacists. A learning and practice module outlining a framework for successful interprofessional communication was designed and integrated into a postgraduate clinical pharmacy program. Enrolled pharmacists applied newly learnt communication skills in pro-actively initiated, clinical discussions with a health professional in their practice environment. They provided written reflections on their experiences which were analysed using thematic analysis. Pharmacists' perceptions of the impact of applying the communication framework during their interaction with a health professional in their practice setting. Themes which emerged from reflections described pharmacists' confidence and capabilities to successfully conduct a clinical discussion with a health professional after initial apprehension and nervousness about the scheduled interaction. The application of the communication framework enhanced their perception of their professional identity, credibility and ability to build a collaborative working relationship with other health professionals. Pharmacists perceived that a learning and practice module for successful interprofessional practice integrated into a postgraduate clinical pharmacy program enhanced their interprofessional communication skills. The development of pro-active, interprofessional communication skills has the potential to increase interprofessional collaboration and pharmacists' personal role satisfaction. Pharmacists also observed it added value to their professional contribution in health care teams when addressing the demands of increasingly complex health care needs and reforms.

Blogs and the Design of Reflective Peer-to-Peer Technology-Enhanced Learning and Formative Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olofsson, Anders D.; Lindberg, J. Ola; Hauge, Trond Eiliv

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the use of blogs as part of a formative assessment practice, to report how reflective peer-to-peer learning can be designed and provided in online higher education. Design/methodology/approach: The research relies on a qualitative approach. The empirical setting comprised an online higher education…

Using a Metacognitive Approach with Case-Based Instruction to Enhance Teacher Reflection and Promote Effective Educational Practices for Diverse Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Catharine; van Garderen, Delinda

2009-01-01

Many teacher educators have enthusiastically embraced case-based instruction in teacher education programs. However, the research base is equivocal on whether preservice and in-service teacher educators' case-based reflections on educational issues are comprehensive and critical. This study explores the use of a metacognitive strategy--the case…

Transforming practice organizations to foster lifelong learning and commitment to medical professionalism.

PubMed

Frankford, D M; Patterson, M A; Konrad, T R

2000-07-01

Practice organizations will increasingly engage in activities that are the functional equivalents of continuing medical education. The authors maintain that if these activities are properly structured within practice organizations, they can become powerful engines of socialization to enhance physicians' lifelong learning and commitment to medical professionalism. They propose that this promise can be realized if new or reformed practice organizations combine education and service delivery and institutionalize processes of individual and collective reflection. The resulting "institutions of reflective practice" would be ones of collegial, experiential, reflective lifelong learning concerning the technical and normative aspects of medical work. They would extend recent methods of medical education such as problem-based learning into the practice setting and draw on extant methods used in complex organizations to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages that practice organizations typically present for adult learning. As such, these institutions would balance the potentially conflicting organizational needs for, on the one hand, (1) self-direction, risk taking, and creativity; (2) specialization; and (3) collegiality; and, on the other hand, (4) organizational structure, (5) coordination of division of labor, and (6) hierarchy. Overall, this institutionalization of reflective practice would enrich practice with education and education with practice, and accomplish the ideals of what the authors call "responsive medical professionalism." The medical profession would both contribute and be responsive to social values, and medical work would be valued intrinsically and as central to practitioners' self-identity and as a contribution to the public good.

Gathering Requirements for Teacher Tools: Strategies for Empowering Teachers Through Co-Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matuk, Camillia; Gerard, Libby; Lim-Breitbart, Jonathan; Linn, Marcia

2016-02-01

Technology can enhance teachers' practice in multiple ways. It can help them better understand patterns in their students' thinking, manage class progress at individual and group levels, and obtain evidence to inform modifications to curriculum and instruction. Such technology is most effective when it is aligned with teachers' goals and expectations. Participatory methods, which involve teachers closely in the design process, are widely recommended for establishing accurate design requirements that address users' needs. By collaborating with researchers, teachers can contribute their professional expertise to shape the tools of their practice, and ultimately ensure their sustained use. However, there is little guidance available for maintaining effective teacher-researcher design partnerships. We describe four strategies for engaging teachers in designing tools intended to support and enhance their practice within a web-based science learning environment: discussing physical artifacts, reacting to scenarios, customizing prototypes, and writing user stories. Using design artifacts and documents of teachers' reflections, we illustrate how we applied these techniques over 5 years of annual professional development workshops, and examine their affordances for eliciting teachers' ideas. We reflect on how these approaches have helped inform technology refinements and innovations. We moreover discuss the further benefits these strategies have had in encouraging teachers to reflect on their own practice and on the roles of technology in supporting it; and in allowing researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between technology, teaching, and design.

Arts, literature and reflective writing as educational strategies to promote narrative reasoning capabilities among physiotherapy students.

PubMed

Caeiro, Carmen; Cruz, Eduardo Brazete; Pereira, Carla Mendes

2014-11-01

The use of arts, literature and reflective writing has becoming increasingly popular in health professionals education. However, research examining its contribution as an educational strategy to promote narrative reasoning capabilities is limited, particularly from the students' perspective. This study aimed to explore the final year physiotherapy students' perspectives about the contribution of arts, literature and reflective writing in facilitating narrative reasoning capabilities. Three focus group meetings using a semi-structured interview schedule were carried out to collect data. Focus group sessions were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to conduct the study and analyze the transcripts. Three themes emerged: (1) developmental understanding of the patients' experiences; (2) developmental understanding about the self; and (3) embedding reflection in clinical practice. Students emphasized an increasing capability to be sensitive and vicariously experience the patient's experience. Through reflective writing, students reported they became more capable of thinking critically about their practice and learning needs for continuous professional development. Finally, students highlighted the contribution of these strategies in making reflection part of their practice. Final year physiotherapy students reported enhanced skills of narrative reasoning. The findings support the inclusion of these strategies within the undergraduate physiotherapy curricula.

Spirituality in end-of-life care: attending the person on their journey.

PubMed

Hayden, Deborah

2011-11-01

Spirituality is a fundamental element to the human experience of health and healing, illness and dying. Spiritual care is an essential component of palliative and end-of-life care provision and is the responsibility of all staff and carers involved in the care of patients and families. As end-of-life care is a significant element of community nursing, this article explores the relevancy of spirituality to end-of-life practice, the challenge of defining spirituality and the attributes and skills required for the practice of spiritual care. The aim of is to encourage self reflection and open dialogue about the subject, thus enhancing community nurses' understanding of spiritual care practice. By reflecting and generating talk about the practice of spiritual care, it may become more normalized, recognized, and practically meaningful, thereby retaining its significance in holistic nursing.

Enhancing Practice and Achievement in Introductory Programming with a Robot Olympics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Michael James; Counsell, Steve; Lauria, Stanislao; Swift, Stephen; Tucker, Allan; Shepperd, Martin; Ghinea, Gheorghita

2015-01-01

Computer programming is notoriously difficult to learn. To this end, regular practice in the form of application and reflection is an important enabler of student learning. However, educators often find that first-year B.Sc. students do not readily engage in such activities. Providing each student with a programmable robot, however, could be used…

"There's More Unites Us than Divides Us!" A Further and Higher Education Community of Practice in Nursing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayne, Wendy; Andrew, Nicola; Drury, Carol; Egan, Irene; Leitch, Anne; Malone, Marion

2015-01-01

In 2010, reflecting the strategic institutional imperative of widening participation and enhancing transition to health programmes, a Scottish nursing community of practice (CoP), was formed to bring together academics from further and higher education, initially for a period of six months. The community was funded by the Greater Glasgow…

The role of practical wisdom in nurse manager practice: why experience matters.

PubMed

Cathcart, Eloise Balasco; Greenspan, Miriam

2013-10-01

To illustrate through the interpretation of one representative nurse manager's narrative how the methodology of practice articulation gives language to the ways practical wisdom develops in leadership practice and facilitates learning. Patricia Benner's corpus of research has demonstrated that reflection on clinical narratives comes closer than other pedagogical methods to replicating and enhancing the experiential learning required for the development of practical wisdom. Using Benner's methodology of practice articulation, 91 nurse managers wrote and read to a peer group a narrative of their lived experience in the role. The groups interpreted the narratives to extract the skilled knowledge and ethics embedded in the practice of the nurse manager authors. One narrative was chosen for this paper because it is a particularly clear exemplar of how practical wisdom develops in nurse manager practice. Articulating and reflecting on experiential learning led to an understanding of how practical wisdom developed in one nurse manager's practice. Interpretation of the narrative of one nurse manager illustrated how reflection on a complex ethical dilemma was a source of character development for the individual and the peer group. Describing and interpreting how practical wisdom develops for individual nurse managers can be a source of learning for the narrative author and other role incumbents who need to make sound decisions and take prudent action in ethically challenging situations. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Is the Cognitive Complexity of Commitment-to-Change Statements Associated With Change in Clinical Practice? An Application of Bloom's Taxonomy.

PubMed

Armson, Heather; Elmslie, Tom; Roder, Stefanie; Wakefield, Jacqueline

2015-01-01

This study categorizes 4 practice change options, including commitment-to-change (CTC) statements using Bloom's taxonomy to explore the relationship between a hierarchy of CTC statements and implementation of changes in practice. Our hypothesis was that deeper learning would be positively associated with implementation of planned practice changes. Thirty-five family physicians were recruited from existing practice-based small learning groups. They were asked to use their usual small-group process while exploring an educational module on peripheral neuropathy. Part of this process included the completion of a practice reflection tool (PRT) that incorporates CTC statements containing a broader set of practice change options-considering change, confirmation of practice, and not convinced a change is needed ("enhanced" CTC). The statements were categorized using Bloom's taxonomy and then compared to reported practice implementation after 3 months. Nearly all participants made a CTC statement and successful practice implementation at 3 months. By using the "enhanced" CTC options, additional components that contribute to practice change were captured. Unanticipated changes accounted for one-third of all successful changes. Categorizing statements on the PRT using Bloom's taxonomy highlighted the progression from knowledge/comprehension to application/analysis to synthesis/evaluation. All PRT statements were classified in the upper 2 levels of the taxonomy, and these higher-level (deep learning) statements were related to higher levels of practice implementation. The "enhanced" CTC options captured changes that would not otherwise be identified and may be worthy of further exploration in other CME activities. Using Bloom's taxonomy to code the PRT statements proved useful in highlighting the progression through increasing levels of cognitive complexity-reflecting deep learning. © 2015 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

Secondary School Students Learning from Reflections on the Rationale behind Self-Made Errors: A Field Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heemsoth, Tim; Heinze, Aiso

2016-01-01

Thus far, it is unclear how students can learn most effectively from their own errors. In this study, reflections on the rationale behind self-made errors are assumed to enhance knowledge acquisition. In a field experiment with pre/post/follow-up design, the authors practiced fractions with 174 seventh- and eighth-grade students who were randomly…

Implementing reflection: insights from pre-registration mental health students.

PubMed

Donovan, Moira O

2007-08-01

Reflection and reflective practice continues to be contentious issues in nursing. The focus of this article is the use of reflection by pre-registration mental health students. The broad aim of this preliminary study was to discover student mental health nurses' perceptions of reflection as a learning strategy during clinical placement. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology [Charmaz, K., 2000. Grounded theory: Objectivist and Constructivist Methods. In: Denzin, N., Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, second ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California], five students were interviewed individually in their clinical placements. Data analysis revealed three major categories: understanding the process of reflection, using reflection in clinical practice, and needing support and guidance. Findings indicated that students were primarily using reflection-on-action, but to varying extents. Overall, students felt that reflection facilitated their learning. Factors were discovered that both helped and hindered students' use of reflection. These included level of preparation to reflect, a limited culture of reflection and the level of support from preceptors, clinical staff, clinical placement co-ordinators, and lecturers. In conclusion, it appears that a collaborative approach between students, Health Service Providers and institutes of nursing is vital for the successful development and implementation of reflective learning strategies in clinical placement. Suggestions are made as to how a collaborative approach may be developed to enhance this process.

"Reflecting Forward" on the Digital in Multidirectional Memory-Work between Canada and South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strong-Wilson, Teresa; Mitchell, Claudia; Morrison,, Connie; Radford,, Linda; Pithouse-Morgan, Kathleen

2014-01-01

We explore the place that the digital can occupy in teachers' pedagogical practices around social justice and especially how memory-work can deepen and enhance teacher practices. Like Walter Benjamin, we see memory as being a medium for exploring the past and where the digital provides greater opportunities for teachers to work productively across…

Simultaneous generation of high-efficiency broadband asymmetric anomalous refraction and reflection waves with few-layer anisotropic metasurface

PubMed Central

Li, Zhancheng; Liu, Wenwei; Cheng, Hua; Liu, Jieying; Chen, Shuqi; Tian, Jianguo

2016-01-01

Optical metasurfaces consisting of single-layer nanostructures have immensely promising applications in wavefront control because they can be used to arbitrarily manipulate wave phase, and polarization. However, anomalous refraction and reflection waves have not yet been simultaneously and asymmetrically generated, and the limited efficiency and bandwidth of pre-existing single-layer metasurfaces hinder their practical applications. Here, a few-layer anisotropic metasurface is presented for simultaneously generating high-efficiency broadband asymmetric anomalous refraction and reflection waves. Moreover, the normal transmission and reflection waves are low and the anomalous waves are the predominant ones, which is quite beneficial for practical applications such as beam deflectors. Our work provides an effective method of enhancing the performance of anomalous wave generation, and the asymmetric performance of the proposed metasurface shows endless possibilities in wavefront control for nanophotonics device design and optical communication applications. PMID:27762286

Using photography to enhance GP trainees' reflective practice and professional development.

PubMed

Rutherford; Forde, Emer; Priego-Hernandez, Jacqueline; Butcher, Aurelia; Wedderburn, Clare

2018-02-08

The capacity and the commitment to reflect are integral to the practice of medicine and are core components of most general practitioners (GP) training programmes. Teaching through the humanities is a growing area within medical education, but one which is often considered a voluntary 'add-on' for the interested doctor. This article describes an evaluation of a highly innovative pedagogical project which used photography as a means to enhance GP trainees' reflective capacity, self-awareness and professional development. Photography was used as a tool to develop GP trainees' skills in recognising and articulating the attitudes, feelings and values that might impact on their clinical work and to enhance their confidence in their ability to deal with these concerns/issues. We submit that photography is uniquely well suited for facilitating insight and self-reflection because it provides the ability to record 'at the touch of a button' those scenes and images to which our attention is intuitively drawn without the need for-or the interference of-conscious decisions. This allows us the opportunity to reflect later on the reasons for our intuitive attraction to these scenes. These photography workshops were a compulsory part of the GP training programme and, despite the participants' traditional scientific backgrounds, the results clearly demonstrate the willingness of participants to accept-even embrace-the use of art as a tool for learning. The GP trainees who took part in this project acknowledged it to be beneficial for both their personal and professional development. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Reflections on clinical practice whilst developing a portfolio of evidence: Perceptions of undergraduate nursing students in the Western Cape, South Africa.

PubMed

Ticha, Victoire; Fakude, Lorraine P

2015-12-09

In order to develop clinical judgement, nurses should be encouraged to become analytical and critical thinkers. Development of a portfolio of evidence (PoE) of reflection on clinical experiences is one of the strategies that can be used to enhance analytical and critical thinking amongst nursing students. Students' perceptions of the process are important in order to encourage their reflective practice. PoE compilation at a school of nursing at a university in the Western Cape includes evidence of students' clinical learning which they present in a portfolio. The students are expected to reflect on their clinical learning experiences and include these reflections in their portfolios. To describe the perceptions of fourth-year nursing students regarding reflective practice whilst compiling their PoEs. A qualitative design was used to explore the perceptions of registered fourth-year nursing students with regard to their reflective practice whilst compiling their PoEs. Purposive sampling was used for selection of participants. Three focus group discussions were held, each consisting of six to eight participants. Data saturation was reached during the third meeting. Tesch's method of data analysis was used. Findings revealed that reflection enabled the learners to gain experience and identify challenges related to the expected events and tasks carried out at the hospitals and in the classroom whilst developing their PoE. The compilation of a PoE was a good teaching and learning strategy, and the skills, experience and knowledge that the participants in this study acquired boosted their self-esteem, confidence and critical thinking. Reflection also assisted in self-directed learning.

The Use of Questions within In-the-Moment Coaching in Initial Mathematics Teacher Education: Enhancing Participation, Reflection, and Co-Construction in Rehearsals of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Averill, Robin; Drake, Michael; Anderson, Dayle; Anthony, Glenda

2016-01-01

Managing mathematical discussion is known to be challenging for novice teachers. Coaching within student teacher rehearsals of teaching has been shown to develop mathematics teaching practice, but can be time consuming. To examine how coaching using questions could assist novice teachers to promote mathematical thinking and discussions within…

Reflective Practice in the Clinical Setting: A Multi-Institutional Qualitative Study of Pediatric Faculty and Residents.

PubMed

Plant, Jennifer; Li, Su-Ting T; Blankenburg, Rebecca; Bogetz, Alyssa L; Long, Michele; Butani, Lavjay

2017-11-01

To explore when and in what form pediatric faculty and residents practice reflection. From February to June 2015, the authors conducted focus groups of pediatric faculty and residents at the University of California, Davis; Stanford University; and the University of California, San Francisco, until thematic saturation occurred. Transcripts were analyzed based on Mezirow's and Schon's models of reflection, using the constant comparative method associated with grounded theory. Two investigators independently coded transcripts and reconciled codes to develop themes. All investigators reviewed the codes and developed a final list of themes through consensus. Through iterative discussions, investigators developed a conceptual model of reflection in the clinical setting. Seventeen faculty and 20 residents from three institutions participated in six focus groups. Five themes emerged: triggers of reflection, intrinsic factors, extrinsic factors, timing, and outcome of reflection. Various triggers led to reflection; whether a specific trigger led to reflection depended on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. When reflection occurred, it happened in action or on action. Under optimal conditions, this reflection was goal and action directed and became critical reflection. In other instances, this process resulted in unproductive rumination or acted as an emotional release or supportive therapy. Participants reflected in clinical settings, but did not always explicitly identify it as reflection or reflect in growth-promoting ways. Strategies to enhance critical reflection include developing knowledge and skills in reflection, providing performance data to inform reflection, creating time and space for safe reflection, and providing mentorship to guide the process.

Acquiring and refining CBT skills and competencies: which training methods are perceived to be most effective?

PubMed

Bennett-Levy, James; McManus, Freda; Westling, Bengt E; Fennell, Melanie

2009-10-01

A theoretical and empirical base for CBT training and supervision has started to emerge. Increasingly sophisticated maps of CBT therapist competencies have recently been developed, and there is evidence that CBT training and supervision can produce enhancement of CBT skills. However, the evidence base suggesting which specific training techniques are most effective for the development of CBT competencies is lacking. This paper addresses the question: What training or supervision methods are perceived by experienced therapists to be most effective for training CBT competencies? 120 experienced CBT therapists rated which training or supervision methods in their experience had been most effective in enhancing different types of therapy-relevant knowledge or skills. In line with the main prediction, it was found that different training methods were perceived to be differentially effective. For instance, reading, lectures/talks and modelling were perceived to be most useful for the acquisition of declarative knowledge, while enactive learning strategies (role-play, self-experiential work), together with modelling and reflective practice, were perceived to be most effective in enhancing procedural skills. Self-experiential work and reflective practice were seen as particularly helpful in improving reflective capability and interpersonal skills. The study provides a framework for thinking about the acquisition and refinement of therapist skills that may help trainers, supervisors and clinicians target their learning objectives with the most effective training strategies.

How to use PRICE treatment for soft tissue injuries.

PubMed

Norton, Cormac

2016-08-24

Rationale and key points This article assists nurses to use the acronym PRICE (protection, rest, ice, compression and elevation) to guide the treatment of patients with uncomplicated soft tissue injuries to their upper or lower limbs. » Treatment of soft tissue injuries to limbs is important to reduce complications following injury, alleviate pain and ensure normal limb function is restored promptly. » Nurses should have an understanding of the rationale and evidence base supporting PRICE treatment of soft tissue injuries. » Providing accurate information to patients and carers about the management of soft tissue injuries and anticipated recovery time is an important aspect of treatment. » Further research is required to develop best practice in the treatment of soft tissue injuries. Reflective activity 'How to' articles can help you update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of: 1. How this article might change your practice when managing patients with soft tissue injuries to upper or lower limbs. 2. Positive elements of your current practice and those that could be enhanced. Subscribers can upload their reflective accounts at: rcni.com/portfolio.

Exploring the perception of nursing students about consequences of reflection in clinical settings

PubMed Central

Karimi, Shahnaz; Haghani, Fariba; Yamani, Nikoo; Kalyani, Majid Najafi

2017-01-01

Background Reflection on practical experiences is a key element that enables students to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses and develop nursing skills. Whilst reflection may enhance students’ learning in practice, there is little evidence about nursing students’ perception of the consequences of reflection in clinical settings. Objective This study aimed to explore Iranian nursing students’ perception regarding the consequences of reflection during clinical practices. Methods This qualitative study was conducted by a conventional content analysis approach in two nursing schools at Shiraz and Fasa Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews during 2015–2016, from 20 students selected by purposive sampling. All the interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by content analysis method. Rigor of this study was approved by member check and external audit. Results Two categories emerged from the data analysis, including movement toward professionalism and self-actualization of emotions. The former consisted of three subcategories of function modification, sharing experiences and generalizing experiences. The latter consisted of two subcategories of inner satisfaction and peace of mind. Conclusion The results indicated that nursing students’ reflection in clinical settings is effective in personal and professional levels. Reflection in a personal level led to positive emotions that increased the quality of care in patients. Accordingly, nursing educators need to create a nurturing climate as well as supporting reflective behaviors of nursing students. PMID:29038696

Education research: communication skills for neurology residents: structured teaching and reflective practice.

PubMed

Watling, Christopher J; Brown, Judith B

2007-11-27

Despite the importance of communication skills for neurologists, specific training in this area at the residency level is often lacking. This study aimed to enhance learning of these skills and to encourage reflective practice around communication skills. A group of 12 neurology residents participated in a series of six case-based communication skills workshops. Each workshop focused on a particular clinical scenario, including breaking bad news, discussing do-not-resuscitate orders, communicating with "difficult" patients, disclosing medical errors, obtaining informed consent for neurologic tests and procedures, and discussing life-and-death decisions with families of critically ill patients. Residents also kept reflective portfolios in which real examples of these interactions were recorded. The program was well accepted, and residents rated the workshops as effective and relevant to their practice. Analysis of residents' portfolios revealed three themes relevant to patient-physician communication: 1) communication is more successful when adequate time is allowed, 2) the ability to empathize with patients and their families is essential to successful interactions, and 3) the development of specific approaches to challenging scenarios can facilitate effective interactions. The portfolios also demonstrated that residents would engage in reflective practice. Targeting of communication skills training around specific clinical scenarios using neurologic cases was well accepted and was deemed relevant to practice. The use of portfolios may promote lifelong learning in this area.

Real life narratives enhance learning about the 'art and science' of midwifery practice.

PubMed

Gilkison, Andrea; Giddings, Lynne; Smythe, Liz

2016-03-01

Health professional educators have long grappled with how to teach the more elusive art of practice alongside the science (a term that encompasses the sort of professional knowledge that can be directly passed on). A competent practitioner is one who knows when, how and for whom to apply knowledge and skills, thereby making the links between theory and practice. They combine art and science in such a way that integrates knowledge with insight. This participatory hermeneutic study explored the experience of teachers and students of implementing a narrative-centred curriculum in undergraduate midwifery education. It revealed that when real life narratives were central to the learning environment, students' learning about the art of midwifery practice was enhanced as they learned about midwifery decisions, reflected on their own values and beliefs and felt an emotional connection with the narrator. Further, art and science became melded together in the context specific wisdom of practice (phronesis).

Refining a definition of reflection for the being as well as doing the work of a physician.

PubMed

Wald, Hedy S

2015-04-21

Reflection is core to professional competency and supports the active, constructive process of professional identity formation. Medical educators thus grapple with operationalizing and effectively integrating reflection as a foundational construct within health care professions education and practice. Core elements of reflection including role of emotions and awareness of self, other and situation, do not appear within various working definitions of reflection. This observation as well as noted recent shift in medical education toward emphasis on the "being" as well as "doing the work" of a physician led to the author's proposed refining of Sandars' reflection definition and expansion of Nguyen et al.'s reflection model. A refined reflection definition is offered for a more inclusionary approach. A caveat regarding potential for expected reflective learning outcomes (given reflection as a process) is provided and the integral role of mentor-enhanced reflection is discussed. Reflection as a continuum is highlighted and exemplified within Wald et al.'s REFLECT rubric and Nguyen et al.'s reflection model.

A cooperative inquiry into action learning and praxis development in a community nursing module.

PubMed

Jenkins, Emrys R; Mabbett, Gaynor M; Surridge, Andrea G; Warring, Joanna; Gwynn, Elizabeth D

2009-09-01

As nurse lecturers we investigated practice development and action learning approaches aimed at enabling postregistration bachelor's- and master's-level nursing students (Community Health Studies, Nursing in the Home) to advance practice in the context of policy and professional developments. A patchwork text was used to assess summatively what students achieved (practice change/development) and how this was informed critically, via an extended epistemology. First-person inquiry supplemented by cooperative inquiry postcourse completion (including reflective discussions with 16 students and 16 practice mentors) were used to assist coresearcher constructions of meaning. A relational, tripartite approach to learning and assessment (students', teachers', and practice mentors' collective contributions) depends on continuing reflective attention. Action learning enhances interrelation of experience with dialectic thinking. The patchwork text functions to promote creative writing, evaluative thinking, and praxis development. Role modeling by all, being genuine and not just "talking" genuine, is challenging yet crucial if people are to function as mutual resources for learning.

Contributions to These Practices from a Professional Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kale, Ugur

2004-01-01

Teacher professional development is assumed to be enhanced through reflective, collective, collaborative professional communities (Little, 2003). Universities in these teacher community developments play a big role by providing teachers with pedagogical helps and professional developments. By not only encouraging teachers to go to conferences, do…

A nursing student's reflective account of decision-making in a school nursing setting.

PubMed

Squirrell, Bethaney; Hunt, Jane

2018-05-11

Reflection is integral to professional revalidation and enhancing nursing practice; it is an art and a science to be learned. Learning the art of reflection begins as a student in clinical placement settings. Drawing on a reflective model, this article presents an account of one second-year children's nursing student's experiences in a community-based placement with a school nursing team. A school nurse appointment was reflected on where advice was offered to a 13-year-old student with sleep difficulties, low affect and lethargy, which included avoiding caffeinated drinks, reducing use of a laptop and mobile phone before going to sleep, and establishing a regular bedtime routine. Providing nursing care to this young person enabled the nursing student to improve their decision-making skills, become more self-aware, increase their confidence when communicating with a patient and reinforce the importance of applying theory to practice. ©2018 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Reflection: a critical proficiency essential to the effective development of a high competence in communication.

PubMed

Adams, Cindy L; Nestel, Debra; Wolf, Peter

2006-01-01

Reflection, or the ability to step back from an experience and consider it critically, in an analytical, non-subjective manner, is an essential aspect of problem solving and decision making, and also of effective communication with clients and colleagues. Reflective practice has been described as the essence of professionalism and is therefore a core professional skill; rarely, however, has it been explicitly taught in veterinary curricula, and it has only a recent history in undergraduate human medical curricula. We describe here two preliminary case studies, one in a veterinary medical education context and the other within a human medical education framework, as examples of approaches to assessing a student's ability for ''reflection.'' The case studies also illustrate some of the key principles. Both of the case studies described had as their end goal the enhancement of communication skills through critical reflection. At Monash University, Australia, the majority of students were assessed as being at a level of ''reflection in development.'' The students in the Ontario Veterinary College case study showed moderately good use of self-awareness and critical reflection as a basis for modifying and integrating communication skills into practice. While both preliminary case studies point to the fact that students recognize the importance of communication and value the opportunity to practice it, few students in either case study identified the importance of reflection for lifelong learning and professional competence. Opportunities to complete critical reflection exercises in other parts of curricula and outside of communication would likely reinforce its importance as a generic skill. Ongoing scholarly approaches to teaching, learning, and evaluating reflection and self-awareness are needed.

Towards Patient-Centered Conflicts of Interest Policy

PubMed Central

Young, Peter D.; Xie, Dawei; Schmidt, Harald

2018-01-01

Financial conflicts of interest exist between industry and physicians, and these relationships have the power to influence physicians’ medical practice. Transparency about conflicts matters for ensuring adequate informed consent, controlling healthcare expenditure, and encouraging physicians’ reflection on professionalism. The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Open Payments Program (OPP) to publicly disclose and bring transparency to the relationships between industry and physicians in the United States. We set out to explore user awareness of the database and the ease of accessibility to disclosed information, however, as we show, both awareness and actual use are very low. Two practical policies can greatly enhance its intended function and help alleviate ethical tension. The first is to provide data for individual physicians not merely in absolute terms, but in meaningful context, that is, in relation to the zip code, city, and state averages. The second increases access to the OPP dataset by adding hyperlinks from physicians’ professional websites directly to their Open Payments disclosure pages. These changes considerably improve transparency and the utility of available data, and can furthermore enhance professionalism and accountability by encouraging physicians to reflect more actively on their own practices. PMID:29524935

What happens in the lab does not stay in the lab [corrected]: Applying midstream modulation to enhance critical reflection in the laboratory.

PubMed

Schuurbiers, Daan

2011-12-01

In response to widespread policy prescriptions for responsible innovation, social scientists and engineering ethicists, among others, have sought to engage natural scientists and engineers at the 'midstream': building interdisciplinary collaborations to integrate social and ethical considerations with research and development processes. Two 'laboratory engagement studies' have explored how applying the framework of midstream modulation could enhance the reflections of natural scientists on the socio-ethical context of their work. The results of these interdisciplinary collaborations confirm the utility of midstream modulation in encouraging both first- and second-order reflective learning. The potential for second-order reflective learning, in which underlying value systems become the object of reflection, is particularly significant with respect to addressing social responsibility in research practices. Midstream modulation served to render the socio-ethical context of research visible in the laboratory and helped enable research participants to more critically reflect on this broader context. While lab-based collaborations would benefit from being carried out in concert with activities at institutional and policy levels, midstream modulation could prove a valuable asset in the toolbox of interdisciplinary methods aimed at responsible innovation.

An assessment of the Virginia Department of Transportation's public involvement practices and the development of a public involvement toolkit : Phase II.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

Well-implemented public involvement programs have many potential benefits for transportation agencies including enhanced credibility with the public, decisions reflecting community values, and reduced risks of litigation (O'Connor et al., 2000). The ...

Changing Images of Childhood. Issues in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goellner, Lydia A.

2000-01-01

Examines the changing images of childhood throughout history, focusing on how changes are reflected in beliefs and educational and social practices toward children with special needs. Describes impact of a painful childhood on Friedrich Froebel and actor Cary Grant. Suggests ways to enhance children's lives, including government subsidized…

Enabling the BC Transfer System: A Discussion Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer, 2011

2011-01-01

This discussion paper outlines processes, as well as opportunities and constraints, for "enabling" BC Transfer System institutions to enhance transfer credit information in the BC Transfer Guide, making it more reflective of institutional practices and student mobility. BCCAT's focus is increasing the availability of transfer credit…

Undergraduate nurses reflections on Whatsapp use in improving primary health care education.

PubMed

Willemse, Juliana J

2015-08-13

The global use of mobile devices with their connectivity capacity, and integrated with the affordances of social media networks, provides a resource-rich platform for innovative student-directed learning experiences. The objective of this study was to review the experiences of undergraduate nurses on the improvement of primary health care education at a School of Nursing at a University in the Western Cape, South Africa, through the incorporation of a social media application, WhatsApp. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual design was used to explore and describe data collected from a purposive sample of 21 undergraduate nursing students. The study population was engaged in a WhatsApp discussion group to enhance their integration of theory and clinical practice of the health assessment competency of the Primary Health Care Module. Participants submitted electronic reflections on their experiences in the WhatsApp discussion group via email on completion of the study. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data collected was done according to Tesch's (1990) steps of descriptive data analysis in order to identify the major themes in the study. The electronic reflections were analysed to explore their rich, reflective data. Seven themes were identified that included: positive experiences using the WhatsApp group; the usefulness of WhatsApp for integrating theory and clinical practice; the availability of resources for test preparation; opportunity for clarification; anonymity; exclusion of students as a result of the lack of an appropriate device, and the application caused the battery of the device to run flat quickly. The results of the experiences of students in the WhatsApp discussion group could be used to inform the use of social media applications in teaching and learning, with the purpose of enhancing the integration of the theory and clinical practice.

An appraisal of students' awareness of "self-reflection" in a first-year pathology course of undergraduate medical/dental education.

PubMed

Kanthan, Rani; Senger, Jenna-Lynn B

2011-09-23

Self-reflection and reflective practice are increasingly considered as essential attributes of competent professionals functioning in complex and ever-changing healthcare systems of the 21st century. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of students' awareness and understanding of the reflective process and the meaning of 'self-reflection' within the contextual framework of their learning environment in the first-year of their medical/dental education. We endorse that the introduction of such explicit educational tasks at this early stage enhances and promotes students' awareness, understanding, and proficiency of this skill in their continuing life-long health professional learning. Over two years, students registered in first-year pathology at the University of Saskatchewan were introduced to a self-reflection assignment which comprised in the submission of a one-page reflective document to a template of reflective questions provided in the given context of their learning environment. This was a mandatory but ungraded component at the midterm and final examinations. These documents were individually analyzed and thematically categorized to a "5 levels-of-reflection-awareness" scale using a specially-designed rubric based on the accepted major theories of reflection that included students' identification of: 1) personal abilities, 2) personal learning styles 3) relationships between course material and student history 4) emotional responses and 5) future applications. 410 self-reflection documents were analyzed. The student self-awareness on personal learning style (72.7% level 3+) and course content (55.2% level 3+) were well-reflected. Reflections at a level 1 awareness included identification of a) specific teaching strategies utilized to enhance learning (58.4%), b) personal strengths/weaknesses (53%), and c) emotional responses, values, and beliefs (71.5%). Students' abilities to connect information to life experiences and to future events with understanding were more evenly distributed across all 5 levels of reflection-awareness. Exposure to self-reflection assignments in the early years of undergraduate medical education increases student awareness and promotes the creation of personal meaning of one's reactions, values, and premises in the context of student learning environments. Early introduction with repetition to such cognitive processes as practice tools increases engagement in reflection that may facilitate proficiency in mastering this competency leading to the creation of future reflective health professionals.

An appraisal of students' awareness of "self-reflection" in a first-year pathology course of undergraduate medical/dental education

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Self-reflection and reflective practice are increasingly considered as essential attributes of competent professionals functioning in complex and ever-changing healthcare systems of the 21st century. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of students' awareness and understanding of the reflective process and the meaning of 'self-reflection' within the contextual framework of their learning environment in the first-year of their medical/dental education. We endorse that the introduction of such explicit educational tasks at this early stage enhances and promotes students' awareness, understanding, and proficiency of this skill in their continuing life-long health professional learning. Methods Over two years, students registered in first-year pathology at the University of Saskatchewan were introduced to a self-reflection assignment which comprised in the submission of a one-page reflective document to a template of reflective questions provided in the given context of their learning environment. This was a mandatory but ungraded component at the midterm and final examinations. These documents were individually analyzed and thematically categorized to a "5 levels-of-reflection-awareness" scale using a specially-designed rubric based on the accepted major theories of reflection that included students' identification of: 1) personal abilities, 2) personal learning styles 3) relationships between course material and student history 4) emotional responses and 5) future applications. Results 410 self-reflection documents were analyzed. The student self-awareness on personal learning style (72.7% level 3+) and course content (55.2% level 3+) were well-reflected. Reflections at a level 1 awareness included identification of a) specific teaching strategies utilized to enhance learning (58.4%), b) personal strengths/weaknesses (53%), and c) emotional responses, values, and beliefs (71.5%). Students' abilities to connect information to life experiences and to future events with understanding were more evenly distributed across all 5 levels of reflection-awareness. Conclusions Exposure to self-reflection assignments in the early years of undergraduate medical education increases student awareness and promotes the creation of personal meaning of one's reactions, values, and premises in the context of student learning environments. Early introduction with repetition to such cognitive processes as practice tools increases engagement in reflection that may facilitate proficiency in mastering this competency leading to the creation of future reflective health professionals. PMID:21943239

Enhancing communication in oncology outpatient consultations: critical reflections from doctors

PubMed Central

Murphy, Roger; Cox, Karen; Steward, William

2011-01-01

Objectives The experiences of patients diagnosed with advanced incurable cancer and the doctors who conducted their medical consultations were studied in order to improve the understanding of what happens in consultations, when bad news is disclosed. The major objective of the study was to critically reflect upon doctor-patient communication, in such situations, with a view to considering future strategies for doctors’ continuing professional development. Methods Sixteen patients and sixteen Oncologists, from a cancer centre in the UK were recruited into this ethnographic study. One hundred and fifteen episodes of data were collected from audio recorded consultations; interviews with doctors and patients and their relatives and observations of consultations. These data were analysed using a constant comparison method. Results Interactions between doctors and patients are complex and consultations can be challenging for both of them. Some doctors spoke openly about their need for additional support to enhance their communication related competencies within Oncology consultations. These doctors wanted to observe their peers conducting consultations. They also wanted to receive feedback about their own clinical practices. These doctors stated that they wanted an open culture whereby they could talk freely about difficult and emotionally challenging consultations without fear of being considered incompetent by their Consultants, who act in a clinical supervisory role. Conclusions To help practitioners consolidate their practice in such settings it is necessary to develop better collaborations among practitioners within clinical practice. Providing individual supervisory sessions or group workshops can facilitate reflective learning and provide an open and supportive learning culture.

Performance and palliative care: a drama module for medical students.

PubMed

Jeffrey, Ewan James; Goddard, Jen; Jeffrey, David

2012-12-01

This paper describes an innovative 2 weeks module for medical students facilitated by drama educators and a palliative medicine doctor. The module incorporates drama, end-of-life care, teamwork and reflective practice. The module contents, practical aspects of drama teaching and learning outcomes are discussed. Various themes emerged from a study of Harold Pinter's play, The Caretaker, which were relevant to clinical practice: silence, power, communication, uncertainty and unanswered questions. Drama teaching may be one way of enhancing students' confidence, increasing self- awareness, developing ethical thinking and fostering teamworking.

Reflecting on holistic nursing: the contribution of an academic with lived experience of mental health service use.

PubMed

Byrne, Louise; Happell, Brenda; Welch, Anthony; Moxham, Lorna

2013-04-01

The educational preparation of registered nurses is presumed to reflect a holistic approach with emphasis on the bio-psycho-social model of care. The broader literature suggests this goal is not always realised. The aim of this study is to present the views, experiences, and perceptions of undergraduate nursing students who were taught by an academic with a lived experience of mental health service use. In particular, we wanted to look at the expected impact of this approach to learning on their nursing practice. A qualitative, exploratory approach was used, involving in-depth individual interviews with 12 undergraduate nursing students completing the course, "recovery for mental health nursing practice," as part of a major in mental health nursing in a university in Queensland, Australia. Students were asked to reflect upon and discuss their experiences of being taught by a person with lived experience of mental health service use. Data were analysed following Colaizzi's steps to identify the main themes. The three main themes were (1) recovery--bringing holistic nursing to life; (2) influencing practice; and (3) gaining self-awareness through course assessment: challenge and opportunity. These themes suggest an appreciation for holistic nursing and an increased capacity for reflective understanding. The responses from participants suggest the Recovery course had a significant impact on their attitudes to nursing and that their nursing practice would be positively enhanced as a consequence.

Contemplative Education in Unexpected Places: Teaching Mindfulness in Arkansas and Austria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holland, Daniel

2006-01-01

Mindfulness meditation is increasingly recognized as a health promotion practice across many different kinds of settings. Concomitantly, contemplative education is being integrated into colleges and universities in order to enhance learning through reflection and personal insight. The confluence of these trends provides an opportunity to develop…

Evaluating Youth Development Programs: Progress and Promise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Jodie L.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2016-01-01

Advances in theories of adolescent development and positive youth development have greatly increased our understanding of how programs and practices with adolescents can impede or enhance their development. In this article the authors reflect on the progress in research on youth development programs in the last two decades, since possibly the…

Reflective Dialogue: A Path to Enhanced Teacher Efficacy and Classroom Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isai, Shelley

2010-01-01

Literature abounds on professional development. However, teacher change is not so much the result of professional development, but rather successful implementation of strategies learned into the classroom: a mastery experience. Mastery experience, after all, is the most influential predicator of teacher efficacy, which is equated to student…

Mindfulness, Democracy, and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyde, Andrea Marie; LaPrad, James G.

2015-01-01

In this article, we explain how mindfulness can enhance a democratic way of being, connecting practices of awareness, reflection, dialog, and action to democratic citizenship and social arrangements. We begin by sharing our understanding of democracy as a philosophy and a political system. We then provide a background for the concept of…

University Teachers' Self-Reflection on Their Academic Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pedrosa-de-Jesus, Helena; Guerra, Cecília; Watts, Mike

2017-01-01

This study followed the academic growth of four university teachers, over a two-year period, with the intention of enhancing inquiry-based learning in practice. Data were generated within the natural settings of classrooms, laboratories and lecture halls, through the analysis of teaching materials, low-participation observation, informal…

Teaching Social Work Practice Research to Enhance Research-Minded Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Satka, Mirja; Kääriäinen, Aino; Yliruka, Laura

2016-01-01

The emphasis on student cognitive knowledge and expertise in social work education has been shifting more toward reflective learning that features learning networks and dialogical interaction. In the context of innovative knowledge communities for promoting social work expertise, educators have become facilitators of learning that is expanding…

Establishing Learning Communities among Science Teachers through Lesson Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mee, Lee Shok; Oyao, Sheila Gamut

2013-01-01

The fundamental philosophy embedded in lesson study is the collaborative practice of teachers working together to plan, teach, observe, reflect and refine lessons. It has been well established that collaboration strengthens teacher collegial relationships and enhances pedagogical content knowledge. While teacher collaboration seems to be a norm in…

Reflective Role-Playing in the Development of Dialogic Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hersted, Lone

2017-01-01

Whether an organization prospers depends importantly on the relationships among its participants, and central to the success of relationships is the process of dialogue. This article describes an action-based educational practice for enhancing dialogical and relational skills among members of an organization. The effort draws on concepts of…

Lifestyle, health and the ethics of good living. Health behaviour counselling in general practice.

PubMed

Walseth, Liv Tveit; Abildsnes, Eirik; Schei, Edvin

2011-05-01

To present theory that illustrates the relevance of ethics for lifestyle counselling in patient-centred general practice, and to illustrate the theory by a qualitative study exploring how doctors may obstruct or enhance the possibilities for ethical dialogue. The theoretical part is based on theory of common morality and Habermas' communication theory. The empirical study consists of 12 consultations concerning lifestyle changes, followed by interviews of doctors and patients. Identification of two contrasting consultations holding much and little ethical dialogue, "translation" into speech acts, and interpretation of speech acts and interviews guided by theory. General advice obstructed possibilities for ethical clarification and patient-centredness. Ethical clarification was asked for, and was enhanced by the doctor using communication techniques such as interpretation, summarization, and exploration of the objective, subjective and social dimensions of the patients' lifeworlds. However, to produce concrete good decisions an additional reflection over possibilities and obstacles in the patient's lifeworld is necessary. Consultations concerning lifestyle changes hold opportunities for ethical clarification and reflection which may create decisions rooted in the patient's everyday life. The study suggests that GPs should encourage active reflection and deliberation on values and norms in consultations concerning lifestyle changes. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creating safety by strengthening clinicians' capacity for reflexivity

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

This commentary explores the nature of creating safety in the here-and-now. Creating safety encompasses two dimensions: revisiting specific behaviours by focusing on substandard performance (reflection), and a more broad-ranging attention to everyday behaviours that are taken as given (reflexivity). The piece pays particular attention to this second dimension of creating safety. Two techniques that promote reflexivity are discussed: video-filming real-time, everyday clinical practice and inviting clinicians' feedback about their own footage, and reflecting on the knowledge and questions that patients and families have about their care, and about unexpected outcomes and clinical incidents. The piece concludes that feedback about everyday practice using these methods is critical to enhancing the safety of everyday activity. PMID:21450780

The value and pitfalls of speculation about science and technology in bioethics: the case of cognitive enhancement.

PubMed

Racine, Eric; Martin Rubio, Tristana; Chandler, Jennifer; Forlini, Cynthia; Lucke, Jayne

2014-08-01

In the debate on the ethics of the non-medical use of pharmaceuticals for cognitive performance enhancement in healthy individuals there is a clear division between those who view "cognitive enhancement" as ethically unproblematic and those who see such practices as fraught with ethical problems. Yet another, more subtle issue, relates to the relevance and quality of the contribution of scholarly bioethics to this debate. More specifically, how have various forms of speculation, anticipatory ethics, and methods to predict scientific trends and societal responses augmented or diminished this contribution? In this paper, we use the discussion of the ethics of cognitive enhancement to explore the positive and negative contribution of speculation in bioethics scholarship. First, we review and discuss how speculation has relied on different sets of assumptions regarding the non-medical use of stimulants, namely: (1) terminology and framing; (2) scientific aspects such as efficacy and safety; (3) estimates of prevalence and consequent normalization; and (4) the need for normative reflection and regulatory guidelines. Second, three methodological guideposts are proposed to alleviate some of the pitfalls of speculation: (1) acknowledge assumptions more explicitly and identify the value attributed to assumptions; (2) validate assumptions with interdisciplinary literature; and (3) adopt a broad perspective to promote more comprehensive reflection. We conclude that, through the examination of the controversy about cognitive enhancement, we can employ these methodological guideposts to enhance the value of contributions from bioethics and minimize potential epistemic and practical pitfalls in this case and perhaps in other areas of bioethical debate.

Use of a Self-Reflection Tool to Enhance Resident Learning on an Adolescent Medicine Rotation.

PubMed

Greenberg, Katherine Blumoff; Baldwin, Constance

2016-08-01

Adolescent Medicine (AM) educators in pediatric residency programs are seeking new ways to engage learners in adolescent health. This mixed-methods study presents a novel self-reflection tool and addresses whether self-reflection enhanced residents' perception of the value of an adolescent rotation, in particular, its relevance to their future practice. The self-reflection tool included 17 Likert scale items on residents' comfort with the essential tasks of adolescent care and open-ended questions that promoted self-reflection and goal setting. Semi-structured, postrotation interviews encouraged residents to discuss their experiences. Likert scale data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and interview notes and written comments on the self-reflection tool were combined for qualitative data analysis. Residents' pre-to post-self-evaluations showed statistically significant increases in comfort with most of the adolescent health care tasks. Four major themes emerged from our qualitative analysis: (1) the value of observing skilled attendings as role models; (2) the comfort gained through broad and frequent adolescent care experiences; (3) the career relevance of AM; and (4) the ability to set personally meaningful goals for the rotation. Residents used the self-reflection tool to mindfully set goals and found their AM education valuable and relevant to their future careers. Our tool helped make explicit to residents the norms, values, and beliefs of the hidden curriculum applied to the care of adolescents and helped them to improve the self-assessed quality of their rapport and communications with adolescents. We conclude that a structured self-reflection exercise can enhance residents' experiences on an AM rotation. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reflective teaching practices: an approach to teaching communication skills in a small-group setting.

PubMed

Fryer-Edwards, Kelly; Arnold, Robert M; Baile, Walter; Tulsky, James A; Petracca, Frances; Back, Anthony

2006-07-01

Small-group teaching is particularly suited for complex skills such as communication. Existing work has identified the basic elements of small-group teaching, but few descriptions of higher-order teaching practices exist in the medical literature. Thus the authors developed an empirically driven and theoretically grounded model for small-group communication-skills teaching. Between 2002 and 2005, teaching observations were collected over 100 hours of direct contact time between four expert facilitators and 120 medical oncology fellows participating in Oncotalk, a semiannual, four-day retreat focused on end-of-life communication skills. The authors conducted small-group teaching observations, semistructured interviews with faculty participants, video or audio recording with transcript review, and evaluation of results by faculty participants. Teaching skills observed during the retreats included a linked set of reflective, process-oriented teaching practices: identifying a learning edge, proposing and testing hypotheses, and calibrating learner self-assessments. Based on observations and debriefings with facilitators, the authors developed a conceptual model of teaching that illustrates an iterative loop of teaching practices aimed at enhancing learners' engagement and self-efficacy. Through longitudinal, empirical observations, this project identified a set of specific teaching skills for small-group settings with applicability to other clinical teaching settings. This study extends current theory and teaching practice prescriptions by describing specific teaching practices required for effective teaching. These reflective teaching practices, while developed for communication skills training, may be useful for teaching other challenging topics such as ethics and professionalism.

Fostering critical thinking and collaborative learning skills among medical students through a research protocol writing activity in the curriculum.

PubMed

Sahoo, Soumendra; Mohammed, Ciraj Ali

2018-06-01

This intervention was aimed to analyse the effect of academic writing and journal critiquing as educational approaches in improving critical thinking and collaborative learning among undergraduate medical students. A research proposal writing format was created for the 4th year medical students of Melaka Manipal Medical College, Malaysia during their ophthalmology clinical postings. The students worked in small groups and developed research protocols through an evidence based approach. This was followed by writing reflective summaries in academic portfolios about the activity undertaken. A mixed methods study was designed to explore the possible role of collaborative research proposal writing in enhancing critical thinking and collaborative learning. Analysis of reflections submitted by 188 medical students after the intervention indicate that majority of them found an improvement in their skills of critical thinking and collaborative learning as a result of research protocol writing. All participants agreed that the model helped in applying concepts to new situations in the form of designing their own study, which reflected in enhanced higher order cognitive skills. This study shows that the introduction of a structured module in the core medical curriculum that focuses on research writing skills embedded with collaborative and reflective practices can enhance collaborative learning, critical thinking, and reasoning among medical students.

The use of abstract paintings and narratives to foster reflective capacity in medical educators: a multinational faculty development workshop

PubMed Central

Karkabi, Khaled; Wald, Hedy S; Cohen Castel, Orit

2014-01-01

Reflective capacity is integral to core healthcare professional practice competencies. Reflection plays a central role in teacher education as reflecting on teaching behaviours with critical analysis can potentially improve teaching practice. The humanities including narrative and the visual arts can serve as a valuable tool for fostering reflection. We conducted a multinational faculty development workshop aiming to enhance reflective capacity in medical educators by using a combination of abstract paintings and narratives. Twenty-three family physicians or physicians-in-training from 10 countries participated in the workshop. Qualitative assessment of the workshop showed that the combined use of art and narrative was well received and perceived as contributing to the reflective exercise. Participants generally felt that viewing abstract paintings had facilitated a valuable mood transformation and prepared them emotionally for the reflective writing. Our analysis found that the following themes emerged from participants’ responses: (1) narratives from different countries are similar; (2) the use of art helped access feelings; (3) viewing abstract paintings facilitated next steps; (4) writing reflective narratives promoted examination of educational challenges, compassion for self and other, and building an action plan; and (5) sharing of narrative was helpful for fostering active listening and appreciating multiple perspectives. Future research might include comparing outcomes for a group participating in arts–narrative-based workshops with those of a control group using only reflective narrative or in combination with figurative art, and implementing a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment. PMID:24273319

Scaffolding reflective journal writing - negotiating power, play and position.

PubMed

Harris, M

2008-04-01

A three-year qualitative study based on an action-research design, framed within the critical genre and using a multi-method approach, was used to establish how a model of critical reflective practice [Van Aswegen, E.J., Brink, H.I., Steyn, P.J., 2000. A model for facilitation of critical reflective practice: Part I- Introductory discussion and explanation of the phases followed to construct the model. Part ll - Conceptual analysis within the context of constructing the model. Part III - Description of the model. Curationis 23 (4), 117-135.] could be implemented. Reflective journals were introduced as one of the educational strategies within the model to support and sustain 'deep' transformatory learning. A component of this larger study focused on how scaffolding deep learning through reflective writing is enhanced by supportive structures. These include critiquing (feedback), a mutually developed self-evaluation strategy, as well as an awareness of and sensitivity to the need for student/writer-responder negotiation. Three student groups of part-time post-basic, practicing South African nurses engaged in reflective writing over the period of an academic year. This article is based on their perceptions, mid-way through their writing, of these strategies. It reflects the story of assumptions made by educators, and challenges for change. Students find reflective writing difficult, and although they are willing to accept its value and engage in the process, they require a regular, specific and sensitive critical response from their writer-responder and follow-up supportive contact. Self-evaluation for the purposes of 'owning' their own ideas is difficult, and requires constant support and validation. Transformatory learning comes at a cost, and a revisiting of the balance of power between student and educator is in order.

Reflective practice groups for nurses: a consultation liaison psychiatry nursing initiative: part 2--the evaluation.

PubMed

Dawber, Chris

2013-06-01

This paper outlines an evaluation of reflective practice groups (RPG) involving nurses and midwives from three clinical nursing specialties at Redcliffe and Caboolture Hospitals, Queensland, Australia. The groups were facilitated by the consultation liaison psychiatry nurse and author using a process-focused, whole-of-group approach to explore clinical narrative in a supportive group setting. This was a preliminary evaluation utilizing a recently-developed tool, the Clinical Supervision Evaluation Questionnaire, along with externally-facilitated focus groups. Nurses and midwives responded favourably to RPG, reporting a positive impact on clinical practice, self-awareness, and resilience. The majority of participants considered RPG had positive implications for team functioning. The focus groups identified the importance of facilitation style and the need to address aspects of workplace culture to enable group development and enhance the capacity for reflection. Evaluation of the data indicates this style of RPG can improve reflective thinking, promote team cohesion, and provide support for nurses and midwives working in clinical settings. Following on from this study, a second phase of research has commenced, providing more detailed, longitudinal evaluation across a larger, more diverse group of nurses. © 2012 The Author; International Journal of Mental Health Nursing © 2012 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Buddhism and neuroethics: the ethics of pharmaceutical cognitive enhancement.

PubMed

Fenton, Andrew

2009-08-01

This paper integrates some Buddhist moral values, attitudes and self-cultivation techniques into a discussion of the ethics of cognitive enhancement technologies - in particular, pharmaceutical enhancements. Many Buddhists utilize meditation techniques that are both integral to their practice and are believed to enhance the cognitive and affective states of experienced practitioners. Additionally, Mahāyāna Buddhism's teaching on skillful means permits a liberal use of methods or techniques in Buddhist practice that yield insight into our selfnature or aid in alleviating or eliminating duhkha (i.e. dissatisfaction). These features of many, if not most, Buddhist traditions will inform much of the Buddhist assessment of pharmaceutical enhancements offered in this paper. Some Buddhist concerns about the effects and context of the use of pharmaceutical enhancements will be canvassed in the discussion. Also, the author will consider Buddhist views of the possible harms that may befall human and nonhuman research subjects, interference with a recipient's karma, the artificiality of pharmaceutical enhancements, and the possible motivations or intentions of healthy individuals pursuing pharmacological enhancement. Perhaps surprisingly, none of these concerns will adequately ground a reflective Buddhist opposition to the further development and continued use of pharmaceutical enhancements, either in principle or in practice. The author argues that Buddhists, from at least certain traditions - particularly Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions - should advocate the development or use of pharmaceutical enhancements if a consequence of their use is further insight into our self-nature or the reduction or alleviation of duhkha.

Medical students' reflective writing about a task-based learning experience on public health communication.

PubMed

Koh, Yang Huang; Wong, Mee Lian; Lee, Jeanette Jen-Mai

2014-02-01

Medical educators constantly face the challenge of preparing students for public health practice. This study aimed to analyze students' reflections to gain insight into their task-based experiences in the public health communication selective. We have also examined their self-reported learning outcomes and benefits with regard to application of public health communication. Each student wrote a semi-structured reflective journal about his or her experiences leading to the delivery of a public health talk by the group. Records from 41 students were content-analyzed for recurring themes and sub-themes. Students reported a wide range of personal and professional issues. Their writings were characterized by a deep sense of self-awareness and social relatedness such as increased self-worth, communications skills, and collaborative learning. The learning encounter challenged assumptions, and enhanced awareness of the complexity of behaviour change Students also wrote about learning being more enjoyable and how the selective had forced them to adopt a more thoughtful stance towards knowledge acquisition and assimilation. Task-based learning combined with a process for reflection holds promise as an educational strategy for teaching public health communication, and cultivating the habits of reflective practice.

Different proactive and reactive action control in fencers' and boxers' brain.

PubMed

Bianco, Valentina; Di Russo, Francesco; Perri, Rinaldo Livio; Berchicci, Marika

2017-02-20

Practicing sport at top level requires excellent physical and cognitive skills. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether specific sport practice may affect the preparation-perception-action stages of processing during a visuo-motor task requiring perceptual discrimination and fast response. We recruited 39 participants (two groups of professional fencers and boxers, and a control group; N=13 for each group) and measured behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs) while performing a go/no-go task. Results revealed that athletes were faster than controls, while fencers were more accurate than boxers. ERP analysis revealed that motor preparation, indexed by the Bereitschaftspotential (BP), was increased in athletes than controls, whereas the top-down attentional control, reflected by the prefrontal negativity (pN) component, was enhanced only in fencers when compared to controls. Most of the post-stimulus ERPs i.e. the N1, the N2, the P3, and the pP2, were enhanced in fencers. Combat sports require fast action execution, but the preparatory brain activity might differ according to the specific practice required by each discipline. Boxers might afford to commit more errors (as reflected by high commission error (CE) rate and by a small pN amplitude), while fencers have to be as much fast and accurate as possible (thanks to an enhanced pN amplitude). Although the possible influence of repetitive head blows on cerebral activity cannot be excluded in boxers, our results suggest that cognitive benefits of high-level sport practice might also be transferred to the daily (i.e., no sport-related) activities. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Boundary Crossings: Using Participatory Theatre as a Site for Deepening Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumrai, Rajni Rani; Chauhan, Vipin; Hoy, Jane

2011-01-01

Amongst the academic community there has been an increasing acceptance that knowledge and learning is no longer situated solely within academic settings and that workplace settings are also legitimate spaces for reflecting on practice in order to enhance professional capabilities. Learners are uniquely placed to draw on their workplace experiences…

Enhancing Deep Learning: Lessons from the Introduction of Learning Teams in Management Education in France

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borredon, Liz; Deffayet, Sylvie; Baker, Ann C.; Kolb, David

2011-01-01

Drawing from the reflective teaching and learning practices recommended in influential publications on learning styles, experiential learning, deep learning, and dialogue, the authors tested the concept of "learning teams" in the framework of a leadership program implemented for the first time in a top French management school…

Reflections on Service-Learning: Student Experiences in a Sport-Based Youth Development Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitley, Meredith A.; Farrell, Kelly; Maisonet, Cindy; Hoffer, Andrew

2017-01-01

Service-learning courses provide students with practical opportunities to enhance their learning and development in the field, along with getting students engaged in different communities and settings. However, there are still many challenges to designing and offering effective service-learning courses, such as requiring all students to…

Transforming an MFT Program: A Model for Enhancing Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDowell, Teresa; Fang, Shi-Ruei; Brownlee, Kenya; Young, Cecilia Gomez; Khanna, Anchal

2002-01-01

Marriage and family therapy programs need to go beyond the typical practices of recruiting and retaining students of color. Marriage and family therapy educators must assume positions of leadership by transforming graduate programs to reflect a deep, active, systemic commitment to both diversity and social justice. In this article, we argue that…

Reflective Blogfolios in the Language Classroom: Impact on EFL Tertiary Students' Argumentative Writing Skills and Ways of Knowing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ammar, Abdullah Mahmoud Ismial

2016-01-01

The emerging paradigm shift in educational contexts from walled classroom environments to virtual, hybrid, blended, and lately personal learning environments has brought about vast changes in the foreign language classroom practices. Numerous calls for experimenting with new instructional treatments to enhance students' language performance in…

Food and Culture: A Pedagogical Approach to Contextualizing Food-Based Activities in Multicultural Counseling Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sommer, Carol A.; Rush, Lee Covington; Ingene, Daphne H.

2011-01-01

Pedagogic approaches that draw on reflective practices and experiential activities are valued for their perceived ability to enhance multicultural understanding. The use of food-based assignments is not uncommon in multicultural counseling courses; however, the authors contend that although these activities may be experiential in nature, they are…

International WIL Placements: Their Influence on Student Professional Development, Personal Growth and Cultural Competence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gribble, Nigel; Dender, Alma; Lawrence, Emma; Manning, Kirrily; Falkmer, Torbjorn

2014-01-01

In the increasingly global world, skills in cultural competence now form part of the minimum standards of practice required for allied health professionals. During an international work-integrated learning (WIL) placement, allied health students' cultural competence is expected to be enhanced. The present study scrutinized reflective journals of…

The Delivery of Recreation Programs: Students Gain Entry Level Management Skills through Service Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmermann, Jo An M.; Dupree, Jessica; Hodges, Jan S.

2014-01-01

Service learning is a well established pedagogy within higher education. Specifically, service learning allows students to engage in "real world" activities to practice skills and reflect upon their own competence. To enhance the effectiveness of service learning, instructors need to consider a multitude of learning influences. This…

Enhancing Nature of Science Understanding, Reflective Judgment, and Argumentation through Socioscientific Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callahan, Brendan E.

2009-01-01

There is a distinct divide between theory and practice in American science education. Research indicates that a constructivist philosophy, in which students construct their own knowledge, is conductive to learning, while in many cases teachers continue to present science in a more traditional manner. This study sought to explore possible…

Students' Representations of Scientific Practice during a Science Internship: Reflections from an Activity-Theoretic Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Pei-Ling; van Eijck, Michiel; Roth, Wolff-Michael

2010-01-01

Working at scientists' elbows is one suggestion that educators make to improve science education, because such "authentic experiences" provide students with various types of science knowledge. However, there is an ongoing debate in the literature about the assumption that authentic science activities can enhance students' understandings…

Explicit Reflective Nature of Science Instruction: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Umbrellaology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scharmann, Lawrence C.; Smith, Mike U.; James, Mark C.; Jensen, Murray

2005-01-01

The investigators sought to design an instructional unit to enhance an understanding of the nature of science (NOS) by taking into account both instructional best practices and suggestions made by noted science philosopher Thomas Kuhn. Preservice secondary science teachers enrolled in a course, "Laboratory Techniques in the Teaching of Science,"…

Resident Self-Assessment and Self-Reflection: University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Five-Year Study

PubMed Central

Hildebrand, Christopher; Trowbridge, Elizabeth; Roach, Mary A.; Sullivan, Anne Gravel; Broman, Aimee Teo

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND Chart review represents a critical cornerstone for practice-based learning and improvement in our internal medicine residency program. OBJECTIVE To document residents’ performance monitoring and improvement skills in their continuity clinics, their satisfaction with practice-based learning and improvement, and their ability to self-reflect on their performance. DESIGN Retrospective longitudinal design with repeated measures. PARTICIPANTS Eighty Internal Medicine residents abstracted data for 3 consecutive years from the medical records of their 4,390 patients in the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) Hospital and Clinics and William S. Middleton Veterans Administration (VA) outpatient clinics. MEASUREMENT Logistic modeling was used to determine the effect of postgraduate year, resident sex, graduation cohort, and clinic setting on residents’ “compliance rate” on 17 nationally recognized health screening and chronic disease management parameters from 2003 to 2007. RESULTS Residents’ adherence to national preventive and chronic disease standards increased significantly from intern to subsequent years for administering immunizations, screening for diabetes, cholesterol, cancer, and behavioral risks, and for management of diabetes. Of the residents, 92% found the chart review exercise beneficial, with 63% reporting gains in understanding about their medical practices, 26% reflecting on specific gaps in their practices, and 8% taking critical action to improve their patient outcomes. CONCLUSIONS This paper provides support for the feasibility and practicality of this limited-cost method of chart review. It also directs our residency program’s attention in the continuity clinic to a key area important to internal medicine training programs by highlighting the potential benefit of enhancing residents’ self-reflection skills. PMID:19156469

Geriatric Care as an Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience

PubMed Central

Boyce, Eric; Patel, Rajul A.

2011-01-01

Objective. To describe the design, delivery, and impact of a geriatric introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) to develop students’ skills related to consultant pharmacists’ roles and patient care responsibilities. Design. A required 2-unit geriatric IPPE, involving 40 hours in a geriatric-care facility, 5 reflection hours, and 12 classroom-discussion hours, was developed for first- and second-year pharmacy students. Students interviewed patients and caregivers, reviewed patient charts, triaged patient needs, prepared care plans, and performed quality-assurance functions. Assessment. After completing the IPPE, students’ geriatric- and patient-care abilities were enhanced, based on review of their interactions, care plans, reflections, and examinations, and they demonstrated cognitive, affective, and psychomotor-domain learning skills. Students’ care plans and quality assurance activities revealed positive patient outcomes, opportunities for measurable patient health improvement, and a positive impact on quality assurance activities. Student evaluations and feedback from health workers at the facilities also were positive. Conclusions. This geriatric IPPE in which students cared for a specific patient and interacted with other health care providers is an innovative approach to enhancing students’ abilities to serve the growing geriatric population. PMID:21931453

A reflective framework to foster emotionally intelligent leadership in nursing.

PubMed

Heckemann, Birgit; Schols, Jos M G A; Halfens, Ruud J G

2015-09-01

To propose a reflective framework based on the perspective of emotional intelligence (EI) in nurse leadership literature. Emotional intelligence is a self-development construct aimed at enhancing the management of feelings and interpersonal relationships, which has become increasingly popular in nurse leadership. Reflection is an established means to foster learning. Integrating those aspects of emotional intelligence pertinent to nurse leadership into a reflective framework might support the development of nurse leadership in a practical context. A sample of 22 articles, retrieved via electronic databases (Ovid/Medline, BNI, psycArticles, Zetoc and CINAHL) and published between January 1996 and April 2009, was analysed in a qualitative descriptive content analysis. Three dimensions that characterise emotional intelligence leadership in the context of nursing - the nurse leader as a 'socio-cultural architect', as a 'responsive carer' and as a 'strategic visionary' - emerged from the analysis. To enable practical application, these dimensions were contextualised into a reflective framework. Emotional intelligence skills are regarded as essential for establishing empowering work environments in nursing. A reflective framework might aid the translation of emotional intelligence into a real-world context. The proposed framework may supplement learning about emotional intelligence skills and aid the integration of emotional intelligence in a clinical environment. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

User perceptions of the knowledge underpinning practice orientation dial (KUPOD) as a tool to enhance learning.

PubMed

Borlase, Jeanette; Abelson-Mitchell, Nadine

2008-01-01

The concern of academics and clinicians about the alleged dichotomy between theoretical concepts and the practice of nursing has been the catalyst for the development of a pocket-sized aid for nurses, known as the Knowledge Underpinning Practice Orientation Dial (KUPOD [N]/The Dial). A mixed method approach was used incorporating a questionnaire and a focus group of educators. The Dial was introduced, as part of a module, undertaken by a cohort of second-year Diploma in Nursing (Adult Branch) students. Twenty-eight students returned the questionnaire (response rate=85%). Results revealed that the Dial was easy to use in a variety of situations and locations. Respondents used the Dial within clinical and classroom settings and for self directed study. They reported that it was a practical and effective aid to learning, assisting in correlating theory and practice. It supported reflection and enhanced confidence in the clinical area, indicating that this economically produced tool helps to bridge the theory-practice gap. The Dial is now being introduced as a learning resource to a wider range of students.

Efficacy and efficiency in formative assessment: an informed reflection on the value of partial marking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seaton, Katherine A.

2013-10-01

This article presents an informed reflection on the evolution of teacher-to-learner feedback provided on written assignments in first-year university mathematics subjects. The feedback provided addresses not only mathematical accuracy and skills, but also the development of graduate attributes, such as discipline-appropriate written communication. Effective and efficient practices that have been collectively refined and enhanced, for more than a decade, are described and examined. This model for formative assessment in mathematics subjects is critiqued in the light of the scholarly literature on feedback and assessment.

Non-verbal communication: the importance of listening.

PubMed

Kacperek, L

This article presents the author's personal reflection on how her nursing practice was enhanced as a result of losing her voice. Surprisingly, being unable to speak appeared to improve the nurse/patient relationship. Patients responded positively to a quiet approach and silent communication. Indeed, the skilled use of non-verbal communication through silence, facial expression, touch and closer physical proximity appeared to facilitate active listening, and helped to develop empathy, intuition and presence between the nurse and patient. Quietly 'being with' patients and communicating non-verbally was an effective form of communication. It is suggested that effective communication is dependent on the nurse's ability to listen and utilize non-verbal communication skills. In addition, it is clear that reflection on practical experience can be an important method of uncovering and exploring tacit knowledge in nursing.

Reflective Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Thomas S. C.

2013-01-01

Thomas Farrell's "Reflective Teaching" outlines four principles that take teachers from just doing reflection to making it a way of being. Using the four principles, Reflective Practice Is Evidence Based, Reflective Practice Involves Dialogue, Reflective Practice Links Beliefs and Practices, and Reflective Practice Is a Way of Life,…

Reflective practice in speech-language pathology: a scoping review.

PubMed

Caty, Marie-Ève; Kinsella, Elizabeth Anne; Doyle, Philip C

2015-01-01

Within the profession of speech-language pathology, there is limited information related to both conceptual and empirical perspectives of reflective practice. This review considers the key concepts and approaches to reflection and reflective practice that have been published in the speech-language pathology literature in order to identify potential research gaps. A scoping review was conducted using Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework. A total of 42 relevant publications were selected for review. The resulting literature mapping revealed that scholarship on reflection and reflective practice in speech-language pathology is limited. Our conceptual mapping pointed to the use of both multiple and generic terms and a lack of conceptual clarity about reflection and reflective practice in speech-language pathology. Two predominant approaches to reflection and reflective practice were identified: written reflection and reflective discussion. Both educational and clinical practice contexts were associated with reflection and reflective practice. Publications reviewed were primarily concerned with reflection and reflective practice by novices and expert practitioners. Based on this review, we posit that there is considerable need for conceptual and empirical work with a goal to support university- and work-based educational initiatives involving reflection and reflective practice in speech-language pathology.

Faculty development to enhance humanistic teaching and role modeling: a collaborative study at eight institutions.

PubMed

Branch, William T; Chou, Calvin L; Farber, Neil J; Hatem, David; Keenan, Craig; Makoul, Gregory; Quinn, Mariah; Salazar, William; Sillman, Jane; Stuber, Margaret; Wilkerson, LuAnn; Mathew, George; Fost, Michael

2014-09-01

There is increased emphasis on practicing humanism in medicine but explicit methods for faculty development in humanism are rare. We sought to demonstrate improved faculty teaching and role modeling of humanistic and professional values by participants in a multi-institutional faculty development program as rated by their learners in clinical settings compared to contemporaneous controls. Blinded learners in clinical settings rated their clinical teachers, either participants or controls, on the previously validated 10-item Humanistic Teaching Practices Effectiveness (HTPE) questionnaire. Groups of 7-9 participants at 8 academic medical centers completed an 18-month faculty development program. Participating faculty were chosen by program facilitators at each institution on the basis of being promising teachers, willing to participate in the longitudinal faculty development program. Our 18-month curriculum combined experiential learning of teaching skills with critical reflection using appreciative inquiry narratives about their experiences as teachers and other reflective discussions. The main outcome was the aggregate score of the ten items on the questionnaire at all institutions. The aggregate score favored participants over controls (P = 0.019) independently of gender, experience on faculty, specialty area, and/or overall teaching skills. Longitudinal, intensive faculty development that employs experiential learning and critical reflection likely enhances humanistic teaching and role modeling. Almost all participants completed the program. Results are generalizable to other schools.

Enhancing the primary care team to provide redesigned care: the roles of practice facilitators and care managers.

PubMed

Taylor, Erin Fries; Machta, Rachel M; Meyers, David S; Genevro, Janice; Peikes, Deborah N

2013-01-01

Efforts to redesign primary care require multiple supports. Two potential members of the primary care team-practice facilitator and care manager-can play important but distinct roles in redesigning and improving care delivery. Facilitators, also known as quality improvement coaches, assist practices with coordinating their quality improvement activities and help build capacity for those activities-reflecting a systems-level approach to improving quality, safety, and implementation of evidence-based practices. Care managers provide direct patient care by coordinating care and helping patients navigate the system, improving access for patients, and communicating across the care team. These complementary roles aim to help primary care practices deliver coordinated, accessible, comprehensive, and patient-centered care.

Interview with a Vampire, I Mean, a Librarian: When Pre-Service Teachers Meet Practicing School Librarians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roux, Yvonne R.

2008-01-01

The subtitle of the guidelines for school librarians, "Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning" reflects school library professionals' view that partnering with teachers and other educators is vital to enhancing the learning process, and the book devotes a chapter to the importance of collaboration. Yet one of the most…

Evaluating Student-Generated Film as a Learning Tool for Qualitative Methods: Geographical "Drifts" and the City

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Jon

2013-01-01

Film as a tool for learning offers considerable opportunity for enhancing student understanding. This paper reflects on the experiences of a project that required students to make a short film demonstrating their practical understanding of qualitative methods. In the psychogeographical tradition, students were asked to "drift" across the…

Revisiting the Art of Undergraduate Teaching in Higher Education: One Person's Journey towards Enlightenment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglas, Max E.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to offer reflections regarding teaching undergraduate students spanning a forty-five year career in higher education. The author discusses his teaching philosophy coupled with his perspective focusing on the "best" pedagogical practices that he has used to enhance student learning. The selected methods are…

Backchannel Discussions during Classroom Observations: Connecting Theory and Practice in Real Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howell, Penny B.; Sheffield, Caroline C.; Shelton, Ashley L.; Vujaklija, Amy R.

2017-01-01

This article provides an overview of utilizing an online backchannel platform, TodaysMeet, to enhance middle level preservice teachers' course-embedded classroom observations in early field experiences through the synchronous utilization of 1:1 tablet technology. In reflecting on the use of these applications, it is apparent that it created a safe…

Reflections on the Use of Iterative, Agile and Collaborative Approaches for Blended Flipped Learning Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owen, Hazel; Dunham, Nicola

2015-01-01

E-learning experiences are widely becoming common practice in many schools, tertiary institutions and other organisations. However despite this increased use of technology to enhance learning and the associated investment involved the result does not always equate to more engaged, knowledgeable and skilled learners. We have observed two key…

Concept Maps: Practice Applications in Adult Education and Human Resource Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daley, Barbara J.

2010-01-01

Concept maps can be used as both a cognitive and constructivist learning strategy in teaching and learning in adult education and human resource development. The maps can be used to understand course readings, analyze case studies, develop reflective thinking and enhance research skills. The creation of concept maps can also be supported by the…

The Practicum Script Concordance Test: An Online Continuing Professional Development Format to Foster Reflection on Clinical Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornos, Eduardo H.; Pleguezuelos, Eduardo M.; Brailovsky, Carlos A.; Harillo, Leandro D.; Dory, Valerie; Charlin, Bernard

2013-01-01

Introduction: Judgment in the face of uncertainty is an important dimension of expertise and clinical competence. However, it is challenging to conceive continuing professional development (CPD) initiatives aimed at helping physicians enhance their clinical judgment skills in ill-defined situations. We present an online script concordance-based…

The Use of Scaffolding Approach to Enhance Students' Engagement in Learning Structural Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hardjito, Djwantoro

2010-01-01

This paper presents a reflection on the use of Scaffolding Approach to engage Civil Engineering students in learning Structural Analysis subjects. In this approach, after listening to the lecture on background theory, students are provided with a series of practice problems, each one comes with the steps, formulas, hints, and tables needed to…

Using Electronic Journals to Facilitate Reflective Thinking Regarding Instructional Practices during Early Field Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyers, Eldon, Jr.

2006-01-01

Loras College recently became a laptop campus. Faculty members in the Division of Education viewed the transformation of the college learning environment as an opportunity to enhance the elementary education teacher preparation program. There was a desire to make productive use of the improved technology available and the early field experience…

Using Video to Enhance Reflective Practice: Student Teachers' Dialogic Examination of Their Own Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sydnor, Jackie

2016-01-01

In this qualitative study, five student teachers engaged in dialogic viewing of video of their own teaching with their university supervisor. The questions guiding this research included: (1) What do teacher candidates notice as they watch videos of themselves teaching in the company of their university supervisor?; (2) How does dialogic viewing…

The Impact of the Developmental Training Model on Staff Development in Air Force Child Development Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bird, Candace Maria Edmonds

2010-01-01

In an effort to standardize training delivery and to individualize staff development based on observation and reflective practice, the Air Force implemented the Developmental Training Model (DTM) in its Child Development Programs. The goal of the Developmental Training Model is to enhance high quality programs through improvements in the training…

An innovative peer assessment approach to enhance guideline adherence in physical therapy: single-masked, cluster-randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Maas, Marjo J M; van der Wees, Philip J; Braam, Carla; Koetsenruijter, Jan; Heerkens, Yvonne F; van der Vleuten, Cees P M; Nijhuis-van der Sanden, Maria W G

2015-04-01

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are not readily implemented in clinical practice. One of the impeding factors is that physical therapists do not hold realistic perceptions of their adherence to CPGs. Peer assessment (PA) is an implementation strategy that aims at improving guideline adherence by enhancing reflective practice, awareness of professional performance, and attainment of personal goals. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of PA with the usual case discussion (CD) strategy on adherence to CPGs for physical therapist management of upper extremity complaints. A single-masked, cluster-randomized controlled trial with pretest-posttest design was conducted. Twenty communities of practice (n=149 physical therapists) were randomly assigned to groups receiving PA or CD, with both interventions consisting of 4 sessions over 6 months. Both PA and CD groups worked on identical clinical cases relevant to the guidelines. Peer assessment focused on individual performance observed and evaluated by peers; CD focused on discussion. Guideline adherence was measured with clinical vignettes, reflective practice was measured with the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS), awareness of performance was measured via the correlation between perceived and assessed improvement, and attainment of personal goals was measured with written commitments to change. The PA groups improved more on guideline adherence compared with the CD groups (effect=22.52; 95% confidence interval [95% CI]=2.38, 42.66; P=.03). The SRIS scores did not differ between PA and CD groups. Awareness of performance was greater for the PA groups (r=.36) than for the CD groups (r=.08) (effect=14.73; 95% CI=2.78, 26.68; P=.01). The PA strategy was more effective than the CD strategy in attaining personal goals (effect=0.50; 95% CI=0.04, 0.96; P=.03). Limited validity of clinical vignettes as a proxy measure of clinical practice was a limitation of the study. Peer assessment was more effective than CD in improving adherence to CPGs. Personal feedback may have contributed to its effectiveness. Future research should address the role of the group coach. © 2015 American Physical Therapy Association.

Fostering critical thinking and collaborative learning skills among medical students through a research protocol writing activity in the curriculum

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Purpose This intervention was aimed to analyse the effect of academic writing and journal critiquing as educational approaches in improving critical thinking and collaborative learning among undergraduate medical students. Methods A research proposal writing format was created for the 4th year medical students of Melaka Manipal Medical College, Malaysia during their ophthalmology clinical postings. The students worked in small groups and developed research protocols through an evidence based approach. This was followed by writing reflective summaries in academic portfolios about the activity undertaken.A mixed methods study was designed to explore the possible role of collaborative research proposal writing in enhancing critical thinking and collaborative learning. Results Analysis of reflections submitted by 188 medical students after the intervention indicate that majority of them found an improvement in their skills of critical thinking and collaborative learning as a result of research protocol writing. All participants agreed that the model helped in applying concepts to new situations in the form of designing their own study, which reflected in enhanced higher order cognitive skills. Conclusion This study shows that the introduction of a structured module in the core medical curriculum that focuses on research writing skills embedded with collaborative and reflective practices can enhance collaborative learning, critical thinking, and reasoning among medical students. PMID:29860777

Peer group reflection helps clinical teachers to critically reflect on their teaching.

PubMed

Boerboom, Tobias B B; Jaarsma, Debbie; Dolmans, Diana H J M; Scherpbier, Albert J J A; Mastenbroek, Nicole J J M; Van Beukelen, Peter

2011-01-01

Student evaluations can help clinical teachers to reflect on their teaching skills and find ways to improve their teaching. Studies have shown that the mere presentation of student evaluations is not a sufficient incentive for teachers to critically reflect on their teaching. We evaluated and compared the effectiveness of two feedback facilitation strategies that were identical except for a peer reflection meeting. In this study, 54 clinical teachers were randomly assigned to two feedback strategies. In one strategy, a peer reflection was added as an additional step. All teachers completed a questionnaire evaluating the strategy that they had experienced. We analysed the reflection reports and the evaluation questionnaire. Both strategies stimulated teachers to reflect on feedback and formulate alternative actions for their teaching practice. The teachers who had participated in the peer reflection meeting showed deeper critical reflection and more concrete plans to change their teaching. All feedback strategies were considered effective by the majority of the teachers. Strategies with student feedback and self-assessment stimulated reflection on teaching and helped clinical teachers to formulate plans for improvement. A peer reflection meeting seemed to enhance reflection quality. Further research should establish whether it can have lasting effects on teaching quality.

The development of pedagogical content knowledge in science teachers: New opportunities through technology-mediated reflection and peer-exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madeira, M. Cheryl-Ann

This design-based research study investigates the development of pedagogical content knowledge among nine teacher-participants (N = 9) in three design phases. PCK is a particular type of teacher knowledge that addresses not only the teacher's understanding of the content to be instructed, but also ways of how to teach that content effectively. This knowledge has been well documented over several decades, and is seen as central to teacher expertise. However, its actual development has been difficult for researchers to investigate. This study offers a detailed perspective on how teachers developed PCK with their engagement in lesson planning and enactment of a project-based technology-enhanced lesson. The study includes two specific interventions designed to enhance teachers' development of PCK: (1) scaffolded reflection that occurs throughout the practices; and (2) peer-exchange of lesson plans, enactment ideas, and completed reflections. The findings demonstrate that teachers improve their planning and enactment of project-based technology-enhanced lessons with scaffolded reflection and peer exchange. Positive correlations were seen between teachers' engagement in the reflections and the quality of their lesson planning. Teachers who participated more deeply in the scaffolded reflections were able to understand how their lesson plans and enactment patterns fostered student understanding of relevant science concepts. Positive correlations were also seen between community influence and teacher lesson plans and enactment. Additionally, positive correlations were confirmed between teachers' level of participation in the peer exchange activities and the quality of their lesson planning and enactments. Teachers who contributed more deeply within the online and face-to-face peer community meetings benefited from the different perspectives of their peers about student learning and the best ways to succeed with project-based instruction. This study allowed some insight into how PCK develops as a result of teachers' engagement in the complex set of activities that constitute the practices of lesson planning and enactment. The primary implication of this study is that engaging teachers in scaffolded reflections and peer exchange can be a valuable in-service professional development activity. A methodological strength is derived from an approach to coding teachers' lesson planning and enactment according to an activity systems perspective, drawing on a spectrum of data sources (e.g., wiki-based reflections, planning artefacts, videotaped classroom enactments). Teacher learning---particularly the development of PCK---is recognized as critical in promoting student understanding of science concepts. This dissertation lays out a possible foundation for professional development models that promote effective teacher learning.

Narrative medicine in surgical education.

PubMed

Pearson, A Scott; McTigue, Michael P; Tarpley, John L

2008-01-01

Narrative medicine is a patient-centered approach to the practice of medicine that rescues the patients' stories and integrates what is important to them into decisions regarding their health care. Our hypothesis is that narrative understanding enhances the patient-provider relationship and contributes to optimizing patient care. We propose to use written narrative reflection to capture and measure the general competencies of systems-based practice, practice-based learning, communication skills, and professionalism. DEVELOPMENT/METHODS: The development of this narrative-based project is based on a pilot study that we conducted at our institution with third-year surgical clerkship students. In the pilot, students produced in-depth narrative write-ups on a patient they had had the opportunity to "know." We plan a similar approach for surgical resident education. After a brief discussion of narrative medicine during our scheduled didactic conference, the residents are asked to initiate a written narrative reflection on a patient of their choosing. The narratives will be collected 1 week later. Our plan is to repeat this assessment quarterly so that 4 narratives will be generated annually from internship through the chief resident year. The narratives will be analyzed for content and recurring themes that capture the resident's communication skills, professionalism, as well as self-critique (practice-based learning) and value attributed to health-care teams (systems-based practice). After completion of the narratives, a 5-point Likert response survey will be given to the residents to assess their experience and the perceived value of written reflection. The written narratives will become part of the resident's ongoing portfolio. IMPLEMENTATION/EXPERIENCE TO DATE: Feedback from the medical student pilot study was favorable. When asked in a follow-up questionnaire, most students reported the experience to be valuable and recommended the use of narrative reflection in medical education. To assess the feasibility of this approach in surgical residency, we introduced the concept of narrative reflection to our residents during surgery grand rounds. Thirty-three narratives were collected 1 week later. CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS: This preliminary experience suggests that acquisition of resident-authored narrative reflection is feasible during surgical residency. Use of this narrative-based approach in surgical resident education has the potential to capture and measure the general competencies of systems-based practice, practice-based learning, communication skills, and professionalism.

Qualitative evaluation of the implementation of the Interdisciplinary Management Tool: a reflective tool to enhance interdisciplinary teamwork using Structured, Facilitated Action Research for Implementation.

PubMed

Nancarrow, Susan A; Smith, Tony; Ariss, Steven; Enderby, Pamela M

2015-07-01

Reflective practice is used increasingly to enhance team functioning and service effectiveness; however, there is little evidence of its use in interdisciplinary teams. This paper presents the qualitative evaluation of the Interdisciplinary Management Tool (IMT), an evidence-based change tool designed to enhance interdisciplinary teamwork through structured team reflection. The IMT incorporates three components: an evidence-based resource guide; a reflective implementation framework based on Structured, Facilitated Action Research for Implementation methodology; and formative and summative evaluation components. The IMT was implemented with intermediate care teams supported by independent facilitators in England. Each intervention lasted 6 months and was evaluated over a 12-month period. Data sources include interviews, a focus group with facilitators, questionnaires completed by team members and documentary feedback from structured team reports. Data were analysed qualitatively using the Framework approach. The IMT was implemented with 10 teams, including 253 staff from more than 10 different disciplines. Team challenges included lack of clear vision; communication issues; limited career progression opportunities; inefficient resource use; need for role clarity and service development. The IMT successfully engaged staff in the change process, and resulted in teams developing creative strategies to address the issues identified. Participants valued dedicated time to focus on the processes of team functioning; however, some were uncomfortable with a focus on teamwork at the expense of delivering direct patient care. The IMT is a relatively low-cost, structured, reflective way to enhance team function. It empowers individuals to understand and value their own, and others' roles and responsibilities within the team; identify barriers to effective teamwork, and develop and implement appropriate solutions to these. To be successful, teams need protected time to take for reflection, and executive support to be able to broker changes that are beyond the scope of the team. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How to set up and use a Twitter account professionally.

PubMed

Chudleigh, Meriel; Jones, Ray

2016-11-02

Rationale and key points This article encourages nurses to use Twitter to engage in professional discussions, share information and raise awareness of alternative views to enhance practice and patient care. Twitter is an online social media service that enables users to send and read 140-character messages called tweets. » Twitter is free and accessible across multiple platforms and devices, providing immediate contact with professionals, organisations and the public worldwide. » Many healthcare professionals use Twitter to share ideas and information. » Responsible use of Twitter creates opportunities to access information, discuss issues and challenge misconceptions to support professional nursing behaviours. Reflective activity 'How to' articles can help update your practice and ensure it remains evidence based. Apply this article to your practice. Reflect on and write a short account of: 1. How you could develop your use of Twitter for professional learning and interaction with healthcare professionals and others. 2. How you could support a colleague to use Twitter for the first time.

Exploring the emerging profession of speech-language pathology in Vietnam through pioneering eyes.

PubMed

Atherton, Marie; Davidson, Bronwyn; McAllister, Lindy

2017-04-01

In September 2012, 18 Vietnamese health professionals graduated as Vietnam's first university qualified speech-language pathologists (SLPs). This study details the reflections of these pioneering health professionals at 12 months following their graduation, drawing attention to their scope of practice as SLPs and to the opportunities and challenges to progressing the practice of speech-language pathology (SLP) in Vietnam. Thirteen graduates participated in small group interviews where they described their work and their perceptions of their emerging practice. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was employed to identify key concepts and themes within the data. Four overarching themes were identified-scope of practice, establishing identity, confidence to practise and progressing the profession. Overall analysis revealed evolving professional practice characterised by new learning, fluctuations in confidence and an active forging of professional identity. Mentoring and support by international colleagues and advancing professional recognition were identified as critical to the profession's progression and to the development of context-specific and culturally appropriate services. Participants' reflections draw focus to an important role for the international SLP community as it works in partnership with colleagues to enhance awareness of and services for people with communication disabilities in under-served communities such as Vietnam.

Continuing education for general practice. 2. Systematic learning from experience.

PubMed Central

al-Shehri, A; Stanley, I; Thomas, P

1993-01-01

Prompted by evidence that the recently-adopted arrangements for ongoing education among established general practitioners are unsatisfactory, the first of a pair of papers examined the theoretical basis of continuing education for general practice and proposed a model of self-directed learning in which the experience of established practitioners is connected, through the media of reading, reflection and audit, with competence for the role. In this paper a practical, systematic approach to self-directed learning by general practitioners is described based on the model. The contribution which appropriate participation in continuing medical education can make to enhancing learning from experience is outlined. PMID:8373649

Racism in nursing education: a reflective journey.

PubMed

Markey, Kathleen; Tilki, Mary

This article discusses the personal and professional journey of discovery experienced by a nurse lecturer as a result of engagement in a project exploring the impact of racism in the nursing classroom. The findings of the study demonstrated the existence and complexity of racism, the impact of racism on student learning, the limitations of lecturers in recognizing and addressing racism and organizational factors which perpetuate institutional racism. The authors describe the insight gained from the research process and how this has influenced the practice of the first author and how reflection and mentorship by the second author have challenged personal ethnocentricity, encouraged new ways of thinking, enhanced confidence and encouraged experiential teaching strategies. The article highlights the ways in which nurse lecturers might become culturally competent and in particular addressing issues of racism in the classroom and enabling learning which is applicable in practice.

Prospective faculty developing understanding of teaching and learning processes in science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pareja, Jose I.

Historically, teaching has been considered a burden by many academics at institutions of higher education, particularly research scientists. Furthermore, university faculty and prospective faculty often have limited exposure to issues associated with effective teaching and learning. As a result, a series of ineffective teaching and learning strategies are pervasive in university classrooms. This exploratory case study focuses on four biology graduate teaching fellows (BGF) who participated in a National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 Program. Such programs were introduced by NSF to enhance the preparation of prospective faculty for their future professional responsibilities. In this particular program, BGF were paired with high school biology teachers (pedagogical mentors) for at least one year. During this yearlong partnership, BGF were involved in a series of activities related to teaching and learning ranging from classroom teaching, tutoring, lesson planning, grading, to participating in professional development conferences and reflecting upon their practices. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in BGF understanding of teaching and learning processes in science as a function of their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). In addition, the potential transfer of this knowledge between high school and higher education contexts was investigated. The findings of this study suggest that understanding of teaching and learning processes in science by the BGF changed. Specific aspects of the BGF involvement in the program (such as classroom observations, practice teaching, communicating with mentors, and reflecting upon one's practice) contributed to PCK development. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that constant reflection is critical in the process of change. Concurrently, BGFs enhanced understanding of science teaching and learning processes may be transferable from the high school context to the university context. Future research studies should be designed to explore explicitly this transfer phenomenon.

Pondering practice: Enhancing the art of reflection.

PubMed

Hayes, Carolyn; Jackson, Debra; Davidson, Patricia M; Daly, John; Power, Tamara

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to describe the effect that immersive simulation experiences and guided reflection can have on the undergraduate nurses' understanding of how stressful environments impact their emotions, performance and ability to implement safe administration of medications. Patient safety can be jeopardised if nurses are unsure of how to appropriately manage and respond to interruptions. Medication administration errors are a major patient safety issue and often occur as a consequence of ineffective interruption management. The skills associated with medication administration are most often taught to, and performed by, undergraduate nurses in a controlled environment. However, the clinical environment in which nurses are expected to administer medications is often highly stressed and nurses are frequently interrupted. This study used role-play simulation and written reflections to facilitate deeper levels of student self-awareness. A qualitative approach was taken to explore students' understanding of the effects of interruptions on their ability to undertake safe medication administration. Convenience sampling of second-year undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a medical-surgical subject was used in this study. Data were obtained from 451:528 (85.42%) of those students and analysed using thematic analysis. Students reported increasing consciousness and the importance of reflection for evaluating performance and gaining self-awareness. They described self-awareness, effective communication, compassion and empathy as significant factors in facilitating self-efficacy and improved patient care outcomes. Following a role-play simulation experience, student nurses reported new knowledge and skill acquisition related to patient safety, and new awareness of the need for empathetic and compassionate care during medication administration. Practicing medication administration in realistic settings adds to current strategies that aim to reduce medication errors by allowing students to reflect on and in practice and develop strategies to ensure patient safety. Experiencing clinical scenarios within the safety of simulated environments, offers undergraduate student nurses an opportunity to reflect on practice to provide safer, more empathetic and compassionate care for patients in the future. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Earthquakes in Mexico in 1985. Their psychological repercussions and intervention by psychoanalysts].

PubMed

Martínez y Aguilar, Y

1987-01-01

Starting with a real event, the Mexican earthquake of 1985, this article describes a certain number of practices of Mexican psychoanalysts and their theoretical reflections which grew out of the experience of helping a disaster-struck population during a crisis period. The result of this intervention was that it enhanced the elaboration of the emotional and traumatic conflict created by this kind of natural phenomenon. This work, a; though not constituting a generalized practice within psychoanalysis, corroborates certain processes in Freud's second theory of drives.

Concept Car Design and Ability Training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Jiefeng; Lu, Hairong

The concept design as a symbol of creative design thinking, reflecting on the future design of exploratory and prospective, as a vehicle to explore the notion of future car design, design inspiration and creativity is not only a bold display, more through demonstrate the concept, reflects the company's technological strength and technological progress, and thus enhance their brand image. Present Chinese automobile design also has a very big disparity with world level, through cultivating students' concept design ability, to establish native design features and self-reliant brand image is practical and effective ways, also be necessary and pressing.

Interprofessional communication supporting clinical handover in emergency departments: An observation study.

PubMed

Redley, Bernice; Botti, Mari; Wood, Beverley; Bucknall, Tracey

2017-08-01

Poor interprofessional communication poses a risk to patient safety at change-of-shift in emergency departments (EDs). The purpose of this study was to identify and describe patterns and processes of interprofessional communication impacting quality of ED change-of-shift handovers. Observation of 66 change-of-shift handovers at two acute hospital EDs in Victoria, Australia. Focus groups with 34 nurse participants complemented the observations. Qualitative data analysis involved content and thematic methods. Four structural components of ED handover processes emerged represented by (ABCD): (1) Antecedents; (2) Behaviours and interactions; (3) Content; and (4) Delegation of ongoing care. Infrequent and ad hoc interprofessional communication and discipline-specific handover content and processes emerged as specific risks to patient safety at change-of-shift handovers. Three themes related to risky and effective practices to support interprofessional communications across the four stages of ED handovers emerged: 1) standard processes and practices, 2) teamwork and interactions and 3) communication activities and practices. Unreliable interprofessional communication can impact the quality of change-of-shift handovers in EDs and poses risk to patient safety. Structured reflective analysis of existing practices can identify opportunities for standardisation, enhanced team practices and effective communication across four stages of the handover process to support clinicians to enhance local handover practices. Future research should test and refine models to support analysis of practice, and identify and test strategies to enhance ED interprofessional communication to support clinical handovers. Copyright © 2017 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Narrating practice: reflective accounts and the textual construction of reality.

PubMed

Taylor, Carolyn

2003-05-01

Two approaches dominate current thinking in health and welfare: evidence-based practice and reflective practice. Whilst there is debate about the merits of evidence-based practice, reflective practice is generally accepted with critical debate as an important educational tool. Where critique does exist it tends to adopt a Foucauldian approach, focusing on the surveillance and self-regulatory aspects of reflective practice. This article acknowledges the critical purchase on the concept of reflective practice offered by Foucauldian approaches but argues that microsociological and discourse analytic approaches can further illuminate the subject and thus serve as a complement to them. The claims of proponents of reflective practice are explored, in opposition to the technical-rational approach of evidence-based practice. Reflective practice tends to adopt a naive or romantic realist position and fails to acknowledge the ways in which reflective accounts construct the world of practice. Microsociological approaches can help us to understand reflective accounts as examples of case-talk, constructed in a narrative form in the same way as case records and presentations.

Enhancing the Professional Mindset of Future Sales Professionals: Key Insights from a Master in Sales Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcos-Cuevas, Javier; Critten, Peter; Squire, Phil; Speakman, James I. F.

2014-01-01

Sales education has grown in importance, particularly throughout the last decade, with an increasing number of university sales centers offering programs to prepare new generations of sales professionals. In this article, we describe how work-based learning, action research, and reflective practice used in a sales master program can be used in…

Statistics? You Must Be Joking: The Application and Evaluation of Humor when Teaching Statistics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, David L.; Hood, Michelle; Neumann, Michelle M.

2009-01-01

Humor has been promoted as a teaching tool that enhances student engagement and learning. The present report traces the pathway from research to practice by reflecting upon various ways to incorporate humor into the face-to-face teaching of statistics. The use of humor in an introductory university statistics course was evaluated via interviews…

Enhanced Student Learning in Accounting Utilising Web-Based Technology, Peer-Review Feedback and Reflective Practices: A Learning Community Approach to Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Sue; Ryan, Mary; Pearce, Jon

2015-01-01

Higher education is becoming a major driver of economic competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy. Maintaining the competitive edge has seen an increase in public accountability of higher education institutions through the mechanism of ranking universities based on the quality of their teaching and learning outcomes. As a…

Enhancing the Status of Peer Observation through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engin, Marion

2016-01-01

In this Reflection on Practice I argue the case for using the principles of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) to serve as a framework for evaluating and designing peer observation programmes in higher education contexts. I suggest that for peer observation to be an activity worthy of SoTL, it should be systematic, collaborative,…

Promotion of Spiritual Development: Exploration of the Self and Spiritualism through the Practice of Chinese Calligraphy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hue, Ming-Tak

2009-01-01

Promotion of students' spiritual development is one of the goals of pastoral care in schools. The heritage of Chinese calligraphy is traditionally used as a way to enhance an individual's self-reflection and cultivation, and has an educational value in spiritual development. This study aims to examine the cultural meaning of Chinese calligraphy…

Frontal and occipital-parietal alpha oscillations distinguish between stimulus conflict and response conflict

PubMed Central

Tang, Dandan; Hu, Li; Lei, Yi; Li, Hong; Chen, Antao

2015-01-01

Conflicts between target and distraction can occur at the level of both stimulus and response processing. However, the neural oscillations underlying occurrence of the interference in different levels have not been understood well. Here, we reveal such a neural oscillation modulation by combining a 4:2 mapping design (two targets are mapped into one response key) with a practice paradigm (pretest, practice, and posttest) when healthy human participants were performing a novel color-word flanker task. Response time (RT) results revealed constant stimulus conflict (SC, stimulus incongruent minus congruent, SI-CO) but increased response conflict (RC, response incongruent minus stimulus incongruent, RI-SI) with practice. Event-related potential (ERP) results demonstrated stable P3 amplitude differences for the SI-CO in the centro-parietal region across practice, which may reflect maintenance of the stimulus processing; and significantly larger P3 amplitudes in the same region for the RI relative to SI trial type in posttest, which may reflect inhibition of the distraction response. Further, neural oscillatory results showed that with practice, the lower alpha band in the frontal region and the upper alpha band in the occipital-parietal region distinguished between stimulus- and response-conflicts, respectively, suggesting that practice reduces the alertness (sensitiveness) of the brain to conflict occurrence, and enhances stimulus-response associations. PMID:26300758

Application of theory to enhance audit and feedback interventions to increase the uptake of evidence-based transfusion practice: an intervention development protocol.

PubMed

Gould, Natalie J; Lorencatto, Fabiana; Stanworth, Simon J; Michie, Susan; Prior, Maria E; Glidewell, Liz; Grimshaw, Jeremy M; Francis, Jill J

2014-07-29

Audits of blood transfusion demonstrate around 20% transfusions are outside national recommendations and guidelines. Audit and feedback is a widely used quality improvement intervention but effects on clinical practice are variable, suggesting potential for enhancement. Behavioural theory, theoretical frameworks of behaviour change and behaviour change techniques provide systematic processes to enhance intervention. This study is part of a larger programme of work to promote the uptake of evidence-based transfusion practice. The objectives of this study are to design two theoretically enhanced audit and feedback interventions; one focused on content and one on delivery, and investigate the feasibility and acceptability. Study A (Content): A coding framework based on current evidence regarding audit and feedback, and behaviour change theory and frameworks will be developed and applied as part of a structured content analysis to specify the key components of existing feedback documents. Prototype feedback documents with enhanced content and also a protocol, describing principles for enhancing feedback content, will be developed. Study B (Delivery): Individual semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals and observations of team meetings in four hospitals will be used to specify, and identify views about, current audit and feedback practice. Interviews will be based on a topic guide developed using the Theoretical Domains Framework and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Analysis of transcripts based on these frameworks will form the evidence base for developing a protocol describing an enhanced intervention that focuses on feedback delivery. Study C (Feasibility and Acceptability): Enhanced interventions will be piloted in four hospitals. Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observations will be used to assess feasibility and acceptability. This intervention development work reflects the UK Medical Research Council's guidance on development of complex interventions, which emphasises the importance of a robust theoretical basis for intervention design and recommends systematic assessment of feasibility and acceptability prior to taking interventions to evaluation in a full-scale randomised study. The work-up includes specification of current practice so that, in the trials to be conducted later in this programme, there will be a clear distinction between the control (usual practice) conditions and the interventions to be evaluated.

Impact of reflective mulch on yield of strawberry plants and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug (Heteroptera: Miridae).

PubMed

Rhainds, N; Kovach, J; Dosa, E L; English-Loeb, G

2001-12-01

The current study investigated the impact of reflective mulch on yield of strawberry plants and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bugs, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), for three strawberry cultivars: 'Honeoye', 'Earliglow', and two sibling Dayneutrals ('Tribute' and 'Tristar', herein considered as one cultivar). Of all cultivars tested, Honeoye was the most productive and least susceptible to tarnished plant bug. For Earliglow and Honeoye, reflective mulch enhanced productivity of strawberry plants and suppressed density of nymphs per flower cluster and proportion of damaged fruits, but did not significantly impact numbers of nymphs or damaged fruits per hectare, Results with Dayneutrals were not consistently significant. Both in the presence or absence of reflective mulch, proportion of damaged fruits increased with increasing density of nymphs per flower cluster and with decreasing number of fruits harvested per row section, suggesting that planting productive strawberry cultivars or maintaining cultural practices that promote high yield may provide an effective line of defense against tarnished plant bug. These results also suggest that reflective mulch may suppress incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug both directly, by reducing number of nymphs per flower cluster, and indirectly, by enhancing productivity of strawberry plants. Economic analyses evaluating costs and benefits of using reflective mulch, as well as studies investigating mechanisms that underlie the impact of reflective mulch on yield and incidence of damage by tarnished plant bug, are still needed before reflective mulch can be implemented as a management strategy in commercial strawberry fields.

Analysis of Student Service-Learning Reflections for the Assessment of Transferable-Skills Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzo, D. M.; Dewoolkar, M.; Hayden, N.; Oka, L.; Pearce, A. R.

2010-12-01

The civil and environmental engineering (CEE) programs at the University of Vermont (UVM) incorporate systems thinking and a systems approach to sustainable engineering problem solving. A systems approach considers long-term social, environmental and economic factors within the context of the engineering problem solution and encompasses sustainable engineering solutions. Our goal is to prepare students to become leaders in their chosen field who can anticipate co-products associated with forecasted solutions. As a way of practicing the systems approach, we include service-learning projects in many of our undergraduate engineering courses, culminating with the senior capstone design course. We use a variety of formative and summative assessment methods to gage student understanding and attitudes including student surveys, focus groups, assessment of student projects, and student reflections. Student reflections from two courses -Modeling Environmental and Transportation Systems (31 juniors) and Senior Design Project (30 seniors) are compared. Of these, 25 students were common to both courses. The focus of the systems modeling service-learning project involved mentoring home-schooled children (11-14 yrs old) to solve problems of mobility, using the fun and inspiration of biomimicry. Students were required to invent innovative methods to move people or goods that improve associated constraints (i.e., minimize congestion, reduce pollution, increase safety), or reduce the need for transportation altogether. The capstone design project required a comprehensive engineering design involving two or more CEE sub-disciplines. Both service-learning projects were intended to enhance students’ academic learning experience, attain civic engagement and reinforce transferable skills (written and oral communication, teamwork, leadership and mentoring skills). The student course reflections were not guided; yet they provided valuable data to assess commonalities and differences in student attitudes toward their service-learning projects, specifically, the development of transferable skills. In the spirit of service-learning pedagogy, we divide the contents of students’ written reflections into three categories - academic enhancement, civic engagement and personal growth skills. The commonalities focused mostly on civic engagement. Differences are observed primarily in academic enhancement and personal growth categories. Students working on the biomimicry design project reflected on personal growth (e.g. leadership skills, mentoring, creativity, organizational skills, communication to nontechnical audience), but did not credit it with academic enhancement. In contrast, the senior design reflections concentrated on academics, specifically, students appreciated the enhancement of technical skills as a part of their engineering experience.

Fostering interprofessional learning in a rehabilitation setting: development of an interprofessional clinical learning unit.

PubMed

Vanderzalm, Jeanne; Hall, Mark D; McFarlane, Lu-Anne; Rutherford, Laurie; Patterson, Steven K

2013-01-01

The development and implementation of interprofessional (IP) clinical learning units as a method to enhance IP clinical education and improve patient care in a rehabilitation setting are described. Using a community-based participatory research approach, academia and healthcare delivery agencies formed a partnership to create an IP clinical learning unit in a rehabilitation setting. Preimplementation data from surveys and focus group data identified areas for improvement to enhance IP understanding and collaboration. A working group developed and implemented initiatives to enhance IP practice. Preimplementation, eight themes emerged from which the working group identified goals and implemented strategies to strengthen IP learning. Goals included Creation of an IP Learning Environment, Increased Awareness of IP Practice, Role Clarification, Enhanced IP Communication, and Reflection and Evaluation. Postimplementation data revealed six themes: Communication, Informal IP Learning, Role Awareness, Positive Learning Environment, Logistics, and Challenges. The development of the IP clinical learning unit was successful and rewarding, but not without its challenges. Formal IP education was necessary to enhance collaborative practice, even in a multidisciplinary environment. Commitment and support from all participants, particularly managers and administrators from the healthcare agency, were critical to success. The focus of this unit was on a stroke rehabilitation unit; however, the development and implementation principles identified may be applicable to any team-based clinical setting. © 2013 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

Educating for ethical leadership through web-based coaching.

PubMed

Eide, Tom; Dulmen, Sandra van; Eide, Hilde

2016-12-01

Ethical leadership is important for developing ethical healthcare practice. However, there is little research-based knowledge on how to stimulate and educate for ethical leadership. The aim was to develop and investigate the feasibility of a 6-week web-based, ethical leadership educational programme and learn from participants' experience. Training programme and research design: A training programme was developed consisting of (1) a practice part, where the participating middle managers developed and ran an ethics project in their own departments aiming at enhancing the ethical mindfulness of the organizational culture, and (2) a web-based reflection part, including online reflections and coaching while executing the ethics project. Focus group interviews were used to explore the participants' experiences with and the feasibility of the training. Participants and research context: Nine middle managers were recruited from a part-time master's programme in leadership in Oslo, Norway. The research context was the participating leaders' work situation during the 6 weeks of training. Ethical considerations: Participation was voluntary, data anonymized and the confidentiality of the participating leaders/students and their institutions maintained. No patient or medical information was involved. Eight of the nine recruited leaders completed the programme. They evaluated the training programme as efficient and supportive, with the written, situational feedback/coaching as the most important element, enhancing reflection and motivation, counteracting a feeling of loneliness and promoting the execution of change. The findings seem consistent with the basic assumptions behind the educational design, based partly on e-health research, feedback studies and organizational ethics methodology, partly on theories on workplace learning, reflection, recognition and motivation. The training programme seems feasible. It should be adjusted according to participants' proposals and tested further in a large-scale study.

Medical students, early general practice placements and positive supervisor experiences.

PubMed

Henderson, Margaret; Upham, Susan; King, David; Dick, Marie-Louise; van Driel, Mieke

2018-03-01

Introduction Community-based longitudinal clinical placements for medical students are becoming more common globally. The perspective of supervising clinicians about their experiences and processes involved in maximising these training experiences has received less attention than that of students. Aims This paper explores the general practitioner (GP) supervisor perspective of positive training experiences with medical students undertaking urban community-based, longitudinal clinical placements in the early years of medical training. Methods Year 2 medical students spent a half-day per week in general practice for either 13 or 26 weeks. Transcribed semi-structured interviews from a convenience sample of participating GPs were thematically analysed by two researchers, using a general inductive approach. Results Identified themes related to the attributes of participating persons and organisations: GPs, students, patients, practices and their supporting institution; GPs' perceptions of student development; and triggers enhancing the experience. A model was developed to reflect these themes. Conclusions Training experiences were enhanced for GPs supervising medical students in early longitudinal clinical placements by the synergy of motivated students and keen teachers with support from patients, practice staff and academic institutions. We developed an explanatory model to better understand the mechanism of positive experiences. Understanding the interaction of factors enhancing teaching satisfaction is important for clinical disciplines wishing to maintain sustainable, high quality teaching.

Supporting Pre-Service Teachers to Enhance the Effectiveness of Their Classroom Practice through Engaging with the "Voice" of Their Pupils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopkins, Elizabeth Anne

2014-01-01

The research reported here was focussed on accessing the perceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the critical factors which support highly effective learning in schools in the United Kingdom. Their perceptions were arranged into a taxonomy so that they can be used as a starting point for their reflections on the observations they make of…

Influential Factors and Faculty Members' Practices in Technology Integration Using ISTE Standards for Teacher Preparation at Taibah University--Saudi Arabia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bajabaa, Aysha Sulaiman

2017-01-01

Using technology effectively has been proven to enhance education. The status quo in Saudi Arabia reflects low-level usage of technology in K-12 classrooms. Preparing 21st Century teachers to integrate technology in their future classrooms for meaningful learning requires College of Education faculty to model using technology effectively. This…

Digital Stories as a Method for Evidence-Based Practice and Knowledge Co-Creation in Technology-Enhanced Learning for Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Sarah; Guldberg, Karen; Porayska-Pomsta, Kaska; Lee, Rachael

2015-01-01

Storytelling is a powerful means of expression especially for voices that may be difficult to hear or represent in typical ways. This paper reports and reflects on our experiences of co-creating digital stories with school practitioners in a project focusing on embedding innovative technologies for children on the autism spectrum in classroom…

Use of actors as standardized psychiatric patients.

PubMed

Keltner, Norman L; Grant, Joan S; McLernon, Dennis

2011-05-01

Using actors in simulation provides opportunities for immersive, interactive, and reflective experiences to improve health care professionals' clinical expertise and practice. These experiences facilitate the development of enhanced critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills without risks to patients. This article discusses how to integrate actors and students into simulated experiences. Examples are provided using mental health simulations with actors as standardized psychiatric patients. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Value of Collaboration With Standardized Patients and Patient Facilitators in Enhancing Reflection During the Process of Building a Simulation.

PubMed

Stanley, Claire; Lindsay, Sally; Parker, Kathryn; Kawamura, Anne; Samad Zubairi, Mohammad

2018-05-09

We previously reported that experienced clinicians find the process of collectively building and participating in simulations provide (1) a unique reflective opportunity; (2) a venue to identify different perspectives through discussion and action in a group; and (3) a safe environment for learning. No studies have assessed the value of collaborating with standardized patients (SPs) and patient facilitators (PFs) in the process. In this work, we describe this collaboration in building a simulation and the key elements that facilitate reflection. Three simulation scenarios surrounding communication were built by teams of clinicians, a PF, and SPs. Six build sessions were audio recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed through an iterative process to (1) describe the steps of building a simulation scenario and (2) identify the key elements involved in the collaboration. The five main steps to build a simulation scenario were (1) storytelling and reflection; (2) defining objectives and brainstorming ideas; (3) building a stem and creating a template; (4) refining the scenario with feedback from SPs; and (5) mock run-throughs with follow-up discussion. During these steps, the PF shared personal insights, challenging participants to reflect deeper to better understand and consider the patient's perspective. The SPs provided unique outside perspective to the group. In addition, the interaction between the SPs and the PF helped refine character roles. A collaborative approach incorporating feedback from PFs and SPs to create a simulation scenario is a valuable method to enhance reflective practice for clinicians.

Reflecting Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galea, Simone

2012-01-01

This paper demystifies reflective practice on teaching by focusing on the idea of reflection itself and how it has been conceived by two philosophers, Plato and Irigaray. It argues that reflective practice has become a standardized method of defining the teacher in teacher education and teacher accreditation systems. It explores how practices of…

Weaving Arctic Networks of Support and Engaged Accountability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warnick, W. K.

2003-12-01

This presentation will provide a preview of a new project which explores the potential of applying emerging educational research in conjunction with the latest polar research through a multifaceted approach designed to weave networks of support and engaged accountability between Arctic researchers, teachers, and learners. This presentation will outline how Sunwood's (2002) WoSEA educational model might be utilized to facilitate and study methods of engaging and supporting teachers and scientists in collaborative Arctic research and pedagogy. The model we are proposing employs action research methodology to provide educators and scientists the opportunity to engage in reflection on their own practice, and enhancement of their own practice through extensive connection and collaboration between education and scientific professionals, thus contributing to the cumulative development of a lifelong learning continuum. Our Weaving the Arctic project will amplify and enhance the voice, knowledge and expertise of Arctic researchers and teachers as each participant explores, shares, and showcases their experience, knowledge, and the products of their practice. Weaving thus holds great promise for addressing science education needs, particularly the critical needs surrounding enhancement and retention of STEM teachers in K-12 (especially rural) schools. This presentation will share the promise of our Weaving model.

Identifying clinical learning needs using structured group feedback: first year evaluation of pre-registration nursing and midwifery degree programmes.

PubMed

Frazer, Kate; Connolly, Michael; Naughton, Corina; Kow, Veronica

2014-07-01

Facilitating and supporting clinical learning for student nurses and midwives are essential within their practice environments. Clinical placements provide unique opportunities in preparation for future roles. Understanding the experiences of first year student nurses and midwives following clinical exposures and examining the clinical facilitators and barriers can assist in maintaining and developing clinical supports. The study used a structured group feedback approach with a convenience sample of 223 first year nursing and midwifery students in one Irish university in April 2011 to ascertain feedback on the clinical aspects of their degree programme. Approximately 200 students participated in the process. Two key clinical issues were identified by students: facilitating clinical learning and learning experiences and needs. Positive learning environments, supportive staff and increased opportunities for reflection were important issues for first year students. The role of supportive mentoring staff in clinical practice is essential to enhance student learning. Students value reflection in practice and require more opportunities to engage during placements. More collaborative approaches are required to ensure evolving and adapting practice environments can accommodate student learning. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empathy and spiritual care in midwifery practice: Contributing to women's enhanced birth experiences.

PubMed

Moloney, Sharon; Gair, Susan

2015-12-01

Research has identified empathy as a crucial ingredient in effective practice for health professionals, including midwifery. Equally, the role of spirituality has been recognised as enhancing the quality of the birth experience through the care, compassion and presence of the midwife. Yet literature discussing birthing women's lived experiences of caregiver empathy and spiritual care appears uncommon. The aim of this article is to highlight women's stories about midwives' empathy and spiritual care or lack thereof during birth, in order to contribute to the promotion of more empathic, spiritually aware midwifery practice. Ten interviews and seven focus groups were conducted with forty-eight women, including mothers, midwives and staff from a women's service. A secondary analysis of the data was conducted examining women's descriptions and reflections on midwives' levels of empathy and spiritual care. When midwives' empathy and spiritual care were evident, women's birth experiences appeared enhanced, providing a solid foundation for confident mothering. Conversely, participants appeared to link a lack of caregiver empathy, compassion or spiritual care with more enduring consequences, birth trauma and difficulty bonding with their babies. Midwives' empathy and spiritual care can play a key role in creating positive birth and mothering experiences. More research into the role of empathy and spiritual care in enhancing midwifery practice in all birth settings is recommended, as is the increased embeddedness of empathic regard and the notion of 'birth as sacred' into midwifery curricula. Copyright © 2015 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A partnership model for a reflective narrative for researcher and participant.

PubMed

Murphy, Gill; Peters, Kath; Wilkes, Lesley; Jackson, Debra

2016-09-01

Background Conceptual frameworks are important to ensure a clear underpinning research philosophy. Further, the use of conceptual frameworks can support structured research processes. Aim To present a partnership model for a reflective narrative for researcher and participant. Discussion This paper positions the underpinning philosophical framework of the model in social constructionism (the idea that jointly constructed understandings form the basis for shared assumptions) and narrative enquiry. The model has five stages - study design, invitation to share a research space and partnership, a metaphorical research space, building a community story, and reading the community story to others. Core principles of the partnership model are continual reflection by the researcher, potential reflections by participants, reciprocal sharing, and partnership in research. Conclusion A 'trajectory of self' for both participants and researchers can be enhanced within reflective partnerships. Implications for practice This model can be applied to studies that use narrative enquiry and are seeking a humanistic approach with participant engagement.

Towards a phenomenology of caregiving: growth in the caregiver is a vital component.

PubMed Central

Daly, M E

1987-01-01

The classical notions of 'virtue' and 'leisure' offer excellent insights into the essentially moral nature of medical practice. This is especially evident in the understanding that professional caregiving has the potential to enhance the moral character as well as the moral awareness of the practitioner. Reflective awareness of the moral nature of the caregiving process can also contribute to coping with negative stress, which almost always has its origins in frustrations rooted in moral quandaries and evaluations. Understanding the process required arises from implementation of caregiving in combination with deliberate, conscious development of spiritual awareness and reflection on moral meaning. PMID:3572991

Developing mathematical practices through reflection cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinholz, Daniel L.

2016-09-01

This paper focuses on reflection in learning mathematical practices. While there is a long history of research on reflection in mathematics, it has focused primarily on the development of conceptual understanding. Building on notion of learning as participation in social practices, this paper broadens the theory of reflection in mathematics learning. To do so, it introduces the concept of reflection cycles. Each cycle begins with prospective reflection, which guides one's actions during an experience, and ends with retrospective reflection, which consolidates the experience and informs the next reflection cycle. Using reflection cycles as an organizing framework, this paper synthesizes the literature on reflective practices at a variety of levels: (1) metacognition, (2) self-assessment, (3) noticing, and (4) lifelong learning. These practices represent a spectrum of reflection, ranging from the micro level (1) to macro level (4).

Practical Qualitative Research Strategies: Training Interviewers and Coders.

PubMed

Goodell, L Suzanne; Stage, Virginia C; Cooke, Natalie K

2016-09-01

The increased emphasis on incorporating qualitative methodologies into nutrition education development and evaluation underscores the importance of using rigorous protocols to enhance the trustworthiness of the findings. A 5-phase protocol for training qualitative research assistants (data collectors and coders) was developed as an approach to increase the consistency of the data produced. This training provides exposure to the core principles of qualitative research and then asks the research assistant to apply those principles through practice in a setting structured on critical reflection. Copyright © 2016 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical Growth: An Evolutionary Concept Analysis.

PubMed

Barkimer, Jessica

2016-01-01

Clinical growth is an essential component of nursing education, although challenging to evaluate. Considering the paradigm shift toward constructivism and student-centered learning, clinical growth requires an examination within contemporary practices. A concept analysis of clinical growth in nursing education produced defining attributes, antecedents, and consequences. Attributes included higher-level thinking, socialization, skill development, self-reflection, self-investment, interpersonal communication, and linking theory to practice. Identification of critical attributes allows educators to adapt to student-centered learning in the clinical environment. These findings allow educators to determine significant research questions, develop situation-specific theories, and identify strategies to enhance student learning in the clinical environment.

Professional Learning in Human Resource Management: Problematising the Teaching of Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griggs, V.; Holden, R.; Rae, J.; Lawless, A.

2015-01-01

Reflection and reflective practice are much discussed aspects of professional education. This paper conveys our efforts to problematise teaching reflective practice in human resources (HR) education. The research, on which the paper is based, engages with stakeholders involved in the professional learning and education of reflective practice in…

Medical humanities and their discontents: definitions, critiques, and implications.

PubMed

Shapiro, Johanna; Coulehan, Jack; Wear, Delese; Montello, Martha

2009-02-01

The humanities offer great potential for enhancing professional and humanistic development in medical education. Yet, although many students report benefit from exposure to the humanities in their medical education, they also offer consistent complaints and skepticism. The authors offer a pedagogical definition of the medical humanities, linking it to medicine as a practice profession. They then explore three student critiques of medical humanities curricula: (1) the content critique, examining issues of perceived relevance and intellectual bait-and-switch, (2) the teaching critique, which examines instructor trustworthiness and perceived personal intrusiveness, and (3) the structural/placement critique, or how and when medical humanities appear in the curriculum. Next, ways are suggested to tailor medical humanities to better acknowledge and reframe the needs of medical students. These include ongoing cross-disciplinary reflective practices in which intellectual tools of the humanities are incorporated into educational activities to help students examine and, at times, contest the process, values, and goals of medical practice. This systematic, pervasive reflection will organically lead to meaningful contributions from the medical humanities in three specific areas of great interest to medical educators: professionalism, "narrativity," and educational competencies. Regarding pedagogy, the implications of this approach are an integrated required curriculum and innovative concepts such as "applied humanities scholars." In turn, systematic integration of humanities perspectives and ways of thinking into clinical training will usefully expand the range of metaphors and narratives available to reflect on medical practice and offer possibilities for deepening and strengthening professional education.

REFLECTIONS ON THE ROLE OF THE PHARMACY REGULATORY AUTHORITY IN ENHANCING QUALITY RELATED EVENT REPORTING IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIESi

PubMed Central

Boyle, Todd A.; Bishop, Andrea C.; Mahaffey, Thomas; MacKinnon, Neil J.; Ashcroft, Darren; Zwicker, Bev; Reid, Carolyn

2016-01-01

Background Given the demanding nature of providing pharmacy services, coupled with the expanded scope of practice of the professions in jurisdictions around the world, greater commitment to continuous quality improvement through adoption of quality related event (QRE) reporting is necessary to ensure patient safety. Pharmacy regulatory authorities (PRAs) are in a unique position to enhance QRE reporting and learning through the standardization of expected practice Objective This study aims to better understand the perceived roles of PRAs in enhancing QRE reporting and learning in community pharmacies and identifying regulatory best practices to execute such roles. Methods A purposive case sampling approach was used to identify PRA staff members from two groups (deputy registrars and pharmacy inspectors) in 10 Canadian jurisdictions to participate in focus groups in the fall of 2011. Focus groups were used to explore perceptions of the role of PRAs in enhancing and promoting QRE reporting and learning, and perceived barriers to effective implementation in practice. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results Two focus groups were conducted, one with seven deputy registrars/practice managers and one with nine pharmacy inspectors. Five themes were identified, including (1) defining QRE reporting and compliance, (2) navigating role conflict, (3) educating for enhanced QRE reporting and learning, (4) promoting the positive/removing the fear of QREs, and (5) tailoring QRE reporting and learning consistency. Conclusions Overall, participants perceived a strong role for PRAs in enhancing QRE reporting and learning and providing education for pharmacies to support their compliance with reporting standards. However, PRAs must navigate the conflict inherent in both educating and promoting a process for achieving a standard while simultaneously inspecting compliance to that standard. Ensuring pharmacies have autonomy in operationalizing standards may help to mitigate this conflict. Finally, greater education for PRAs themselves to better inspect compliance and in order to better communicate the benefits of QRE reporting and learning to pharmacies would be beneficial. PMID:23830506

Nursing students' perceptions of learning after high fidelity simulation: Effects of a Three-step Post-simulation Reflection Model.

PubMed

Lestander, Örjan; Lehto, Niklas; Engström, Åsa

2016-05-01

High-fidelity simulation (HFS) has become a bridge between theoretical knowledge and practical skills. A safe and realistic environment is commonly used in nursing education to improve cognitive, affective and psychomotor abilities. Debriefing following a simulation experience provides opportunities for students to analyze and begin to reflect upon their decisions, actions and results. The nursing literature highlights the need to promote the concept of reflective practice and to assist students in reflection, and research indicates the need to refine and develop debriefing strategies, which is the focus of the current paper. To explore the value of reflections after HFS by investigating nursing students' perceptions of their learning when a Three-step Post-simulation Reflection Model is used. A qualitative descriptive research approach was applied. A Three-step Post-simulation Reflection Model that combined written and verbal reflections was used after an HFS experience in a second-year course in the Bachelor Program in Nursing at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Reflective texts written before and after a verbal group reflection were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The main theme in the first written reflections was identified as "Starting to act as a nurse", with the following categories: feeling stressed, inadequate and inexperienced; developing an awareness of the importance of never compromising patient safety; planning the work and prioritizing; and beginning to understand and implement nursing knowledge. The main theme in the second written reflections was identified to be "Maturing in the profession", with the following categories: appreciating colleagues, good communication and thoughtfulness; gaining increased self-awareness and confidence; and beginning to understand the profession. The Three-step Post-simulation Reflection Model fostered an appreciation of clear and effective communication. Having time for thoughtfulness and reflection promotes self-awareness and a better understanding of both the nursing profession and patient safety. The progress demonstrated in the depth of the themes in the written reflections indicates that repeated reflections stimulate and enhance student learning. The findings point towards the potential effectiveness of alternate methods of reflections. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Designing Reflective Practice in the Context of OER-Based E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karunanayaka, Shironica P.; Naidu, Som; Rajendra, J. C. N.; Ratnayake, H. U. W.

2017-01-01

Much is said about the importance of reflective practice especially in the professions. Yet much of what happens as part of reflective practice in the professions such as teaching is most of the time left to chance. Reflective practice allows practitioners to see the link between theory and practice by thoughtfully considering their own…

Yesterday and Today: Reflecting on Past Practice to Help Build and Strengthen the Researcher Partnership at Monash University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Groenewegen, David

2017-01-01

Librarians at universities continue to seek new ways to engage and partner with researchers in order to enhance and enrich the way that they work. This article looks at some of the ways that libraries have been doing this in recent years, what has worked, and what needs to be done to continue to develop these important partnerships. These…

'The Loss of My Elderly Patient:' Interactive reflective writing to support medical students' rites of passage.

PubMed

Wald, Hedy S; Reis, Shmuel P; Monroe, Alicia D; Borkan, Jeffrey M

2010-01-01

The fostering of reflective capacity within medical education helps develop critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills and enhances professionalism. Use of reflective narratives to augment reflective practice instruction is well documented. At Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University (Alpert Med), a narrative medicine curriculum innovation of students' reflective writing (field notes) with individualized feedback from an interdisciplinary faculty team (in pre-clinical years) has been implemented in a Doctoring course to cultivate reflective capacity, empathy, and humanism. Interactive reflective writing (student writer/faculty feedback provider dyad), we propose, can additionally support students with rites of passage at critical educational junctures. At Alpert Med, we have devised a tool to guide faculty in crafting quality feedback, i.e. the Brown Educational Guide to Analysis of Narrative (BEGAN) which includes identifying students' salient quotes, utilizing reflection-inviting questions and close reading, highlighting derived lessons/key concepts, extracting clinical patterns, and providing concrete recommendations as relevant. We provide an example of a student's narrative describing an emotionally powerful and meaningful event - the loss of his first patient - and faculty responses using BEGAN. The provision of quality feedback to students' reflective writing - supported by BEGAN - can facilitate the transformation of student to professional through reflection within medical education.

Troubling Muddy Waters: Problematizing Reflective Practice in Global Medical Education.

PubMed

Naidu, Thirusha; Kumagai, Arno K

2016-03-01

The idea of exporting the concept of reflective practice for a global medical education audience is growing. However, the uncritical export and adoption of Western concepts of reflection may be inappropriate in non-Western societies. The emphasis in Western medical education on the use of reflection for a specific end--that is, the improvement of individual clinical practice--tends to ignore the range of reflective practice, concentrating on reflection alone while overlooking critical reflection and reflexivity. This Perspective places the concept of reflective practice under a critical lens to explore a broader view for its application in medical education outside the West. The authors suggest that ideas about reflection in medicine and medical education may not be as easily transferable from Western to non-Western contexts as concepts from biomedical science are. The authors pose the question, When "exporting" Western medical education strategies and principles, how often do Western-trained educators authentically open up to the possibility that there are alternative ways of seeing and knowing that may be valuable in educating Western physicians? One answer lies in the assertion that educators should aspire to turn exportation of educational theory into a truly bidirectional, collaborative exchange in which culturally conscious views of reflective practice contribute to humanistic, equitable patient care. This discussion engages in troubling the already-muddy waters of reflective practice by exploring the global applicability of reflective practice as it is currently applied in medical education. The globalization of medical education demands critical reflection on reflection itself.

Orientations to Reflective Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wellington, Bud; Austin, Patricia

1996-01-01

Delineates five orientations to reflective practice: immediate, technical, deliberative, dialectic, and transpersonal, each reflecting different social science bases and beliefs and values about education. Views them as interactive, interdependent, noncompeting, aspects of reflective practice. (SK)

Centres for Leadership: a strategy for academic integration.

PubMed

King, Gillian; Parker, Kathryn; Peacocke, Sean; Curran, C J; McPherson, Amy C; Chau, Tom; Widgett, Elaine; Fehlings, Darcy; Milo-Manson, Golda

2017-05-15

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe how an Academic Health Science Centre, providing pediatric rehabilitation services, research, and education, developed a Centres for Leadership (CfL) initiative to integrate its academic functions and embrace the goal of being a learning organization. Design/methodology/approach Historical documents, tracked output information, and staff members' insights were used to describe the ten-year evolution of the initiative, its benefits, and transformational learnings for the organization. Findings The evolutions concerned development of a series of CfLs, and changes over time in leadership and management structure, as well as in operations and targeted activities. Benefits included enhanced clinician engagement in research, practice-based research, and impacts on clinical practice. Transformational learnings concerned the importance of supporting stakeholder engagement, fostering a spirit of inquiry, and fostering leaderful practice. These learnings contributed to three related emergent outcomes reflecting "way stations" on the journey to enhanced evidence-informed decision making and clinical excellence: enhancements in authentic partnerships, greater innovation capacity, and greater understanding and actualization of leadership values. Practical implications Practical information is provided for other organizations interested in understanding how this initiative evolved, its tangible value, and its wider benefits for organizational collaboration, innovation, and leadership values. Challenges encountered and main messages for other organizations are also considered. Originality/value A strategy map is used to present the structures, processes, and outcomes arising from the initiative, with the goal of informing the operations of other organizations desiring to be learning organizations.

Bridging theory and practice: Mixed methods approach to instruction of law and ethics within the pharmaceutical sciences.

PubMed

Wilby, Kyle John; Nasr, Ziad Ghantous

2016-11-01

Background: Professional responsibilities are guided by laws and ethics that must be introduced and mastered within pharmaceutical sciences training. Instructional design to teaching typically introduces concepts in a traditional didactic approach and requires student memorization prior to application within practice settings. Additionally, many centers rely on best practices from abroad, due to lack of locally published laws and guidance documents. Objectives: The aim of this paper was to summarize and critically evaluate a professional skills laboratory designed to enhance learning through diversity in instructional methods relating to pharmacy law and best practices regarding narcotics, controlled medications, and benzodiazepines. Setting: This study took place within the Professional Skills Laboratory at the College of Pharmacy at Qatar University. Method: A total of 25 students participated in a redesigned laboratory session administered by a faculty member, clinical lecturer, teaching assistant, and a professional skills laboratory technician. The laboratory consisted of eight independent stations that students rotated during the 3-h session. Stations were highly interactive in nature and were designed using non-traditional approaches such as charades, role-plays, and reflective drawings. All stations attempted to have students relate learned concepts to practice within Qatar. Main outcome measures: Student perceptions of the laboratory were measured on a post-questionnaire and were summarized descriptively. Using reflection and consensus techniques, two faculty members completed a SWOC (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Challenges) analysis in preparation for future cycles. Results: 100% (25/25) of students somewhat or strongly agreed that their knowledge regarding laws and best practices increased and that their learning experience was enhanced by a mixed-methods approach. A total of 96% (24/25) of students stated that the mixed-methods instructional approach should be continued in the future. The SWOC analysis identified the mixed methods approach and student feedback as strengths and opportunities, while resource shortages and lack of impact assessment were identified as weaknesses and challenges. Conclusion: Creative redesign of instructional methods pertaining to law and best practices was effective to achieve positive student perceptions regarding instructional methods and learning. Future cycles should include rigorous assessment methods to evaluate impact on student learning and practice.

Learning across the curriculum: connecting the pharmaceutical sciences to practice in the first professional year.

PubMed

Brown, Bethanne; Skau, Kenneth; Wall, Andrea

2009-04-07

To facilitate the student's ability to make the connection of the core foundational basic science courses to the practice of pharmacy. In 2000, 10 faculty members from basic science and practice courses created and implemented an integrated Patient Care Project for which students chose a volunteer patient and completed 15 different assignments Evidence of student learning, such as grades and reflective comments along with collected evaluative data, indicated an enhancement in students' perceived understanding of the connection between basic science and patient care. The Patient Care Project provided students an opportunity to use knowledge gained in their first-year foundational courses to the care of a patient, solidifying their understanding of the connection between basic science and patient care.

Evolutionary Approach of Virtual Communities of Practice: A Reflection within a Network of Spanish Rural Schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frossard, Frédérique; Trifonova, Anna; Barajas Frutos, Mario

The isolation of rural communities creates special necessities for teachers and students in rural schools. The present article describes "Rural Virtual School", a Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP) in which Spanish teachers of rural schools share learning resources and teaching methodologies through social software applications. The article arrives to an evolutionary model, in which the use of the social software tools evolves together with the needs and the activities of the VCoP through the different stages of its lifetime. Currently, the community has reached a high level of maturity and, in order to keep its momentum, the members intentionally use appropriate technologies specially designed to enhance rich innovative educational approaches, through which they collaboratively generate creative practices.

Explicit Reflective Nature of Science Instruction: Evolution, Intelligent Design, and Umbrellaology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scharmann, Lawrence C.; Smith, Mike U.; James, Mark C.; Jensen, Murray

2005-02-01

The investigators sought to design an instructional unit to enhance an understanding of the nature of science (NOS) by taking into account both instructional best practices and suggestions made by noted science philosopher Thomas Kuhn. Preservice secondary science teachers enrolled in a course, Laboratory Techniques in the Teaching of Science, served as participants in action research. Sources of data used to inform instructional decisions included students written reaction papers to the assigned readings, transcribed verbal comments made during class discussions and other in-class activities, and final reflection essays. Three iterative implementations of the instructional unit were attempted. The objectives of the study were essentially met. The instructional unit was able to provoke preservice teachers into wrestling with many substantive issues associated with the NOS. Implications concerning the design of explicit reflective NOS instruction are included.

Developing occupational therapy students' practice habits via qualitative inquiry education.

PubMed

Marterella, Abbey L; Aldrich, Rebecca M

2015-04-01

Accreditation standards and practice competencies underscore the importance of research for occupational therapy practice, but they do not guide how occupational therapy education addresses research. Despite the prominence of qualitative research in the health professions, there exists a need to articulate how and why qualitative inquiry is taught in occupational therapy education. We discuss how qualitative inquiry education can develop habits of reflection and reflexivity, criticality, and active engagement in preparation for occupational therapy practice. We hold that our students' professional abilities to practice in a well-reasoned, ethical, and responsive manner are enhanced by experiences with qualitative inquiry and suggest that there is potential in linking qualitative inquiry experiences to professional habit formation in occupational therapy education. In addition to teaching research for its own sake, we suggest that educators can adopt a broader view of how qualitative inquiry functions within occupational therapy education.

Supervision for superheroes: the case for reflective professional supervision for senior doctors.

PubMed

Austin, Helen

2016-05-06

The practice of medicine is inherently stressful with regular exposure to trauma and the distress of others. There is a culture in medicine that doctors should not be affected by such things, although it is well recognised that doctors have higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, and substance abuse than the general public. Reflective professional supervision is a forum where the complexities of the interpersonal interactions that underpin the provision of healthcare can be explored in a supportive and confidential setting. It is argued that this is a process that should continue for the duration of a doctor's career, with potential benefits including enhanced job satisfaction and resilience, better workplace communication and improved interpersonal skills.

Trust and Reflection in Primary Care Practice Redesign.

PubMed

Lanham, Holly Jordan; Palmer, Raymond F; Leykum, Luci K; McDaniel, Reuben R; Nutting, Paul A; Stange, Kurt C; Crabtree, Benjamin F; Miller, William L; Jaén, Carlos Roberto

2016-08-01

To test a conceptual model of relationships, reflection, sensemaking, and learning in primary care practices transitioning to patient-centered medical homes (PCMH). Primary data were collected as part of the American Academy of Family Physicians' National Demonstration Project of the PCMH. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of clinicians and staff from 36 family medicine practices across the United States. Surveys measured seven characteristics of practice relationships (trust, diversity, mindfulness, heedful interrelation, respectful interaction, social/task relatedness, and rich and lean communication) and three organizational attributes (reflection, sensemaking, and learning) of practices. We surveyed 396 clinicians and practice staff. We performed a multigroup path analysis of the data. Parameter estimates were calculated using a Bayesian estimation method. Trust and reflection were important in explaining the characteristics of practice relationships and their associations with sensemaking and learning. The strongest associations between relationships, sensemaking, and learning were found under conditions of high trust and reflection. The weakest associations were found under conditions of low trust and reflection. Trust and reflection appear to play a key role in moderating relationships, sensemaking, and learning in practices undergoing practice redesign. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

Using Reflective Practice to Support Management Student Learning: Three Brief Assignments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reilly, Anne H.

2018-01-01

Reflective practice supports critical thinking and assessment skills through analyzing one's own life experiences, and the role of reflection in learning has been long recognized. However, drawbacks of many reflective practice assignments are their broad scope and lengthy written requirements. I propose that the reflection process is robust enough…

Rural nursing education: a photovoice perspective.

PubMed

Leipert, Beverly; Anderson, Emma

2012-01-01

For many rural Canadians nursing care is the primary and often the sole access point to health care. As such, rural nurses are an invaluable resource to the health and wellbeing of rural populations. However, due to a nursing workforce that is aging and retiring, limited resources and support, healthcare reform issues, and other factors, these rural professionals are in short supply. Because of limited opportunities to learn about rural practice settings, nursing students may be reluctant to select rural practice locations. Relevant and effective educational initiatives are needed to attract nursing students to underserved rural and remote communities so that rural people receive the health care they require. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of the innovative research approach called photovoice as an educational strategy to foster learning about and interest in rural locations and rural nursing as future practice settings. Fostering of interest in rural may help to address nursing workforce shortages in rural settings. Thirty-eight third and fourth year nursing and health sciences students enrolled in an elective 'Rural Nursing' course used the qualitative research method photovoice to take photographs that represented challenges and facilitators of rural nursing practice. They then engaged in written reflection about their photos. Photos were to be taken in rural settings of their choice, thus fostering both urban and rural student exposure to diverse rural communities. One hundred forty-four photos and reflections were submitted, representing students' appreciation of diverse facilitators and challenges to rural nursing practice. Facilitators included technology, a generalist role, strong sense of community, and slower pace of life. Challenges included inadequate rural education in undergraduate nursing programs, professional isolation, safety issues, few opportunities for professional development, lack of anonymity, and insider/outsider status. Exemplar photos and reflections are provided. The photovoice research approach used in this rural education endeavour proved to be very useful in fostering students' exposure to, interest in, and understanding of rural settings and their influence on rural nursing practice. Photovoice is also recommended for use in rural courses other than nursing. Suggested strategies include group photovoice experience and the expansion of reflection to enhance rural health research.

Still Going Strong: A Tracer Study of the Community Mothers Programme, Dublin, Ireland. Early Childhood Development: Practice and Reflections. Following Footsteps.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Molloy, Brenda

Home visiting is the strategy used by the Community Mothers Programme to enhance parenting skills of first-time mothers from economically disadvantaged areas in Dublin, Ireland. The home visitors are all women from the community who volunteer to visit parents in their homes once a month for 1 hour over a 12-month period. In a 1989 evaluation, 232…

A work-based learning approach for clinical support workers on mental health inpatient wards.

PubMed

Kemp, Philip; Gilding, Moorene; Seewooruttun, Khooseal; Walsh, Hannah

2016-09-14

Background With a rise in the number of unqualified staff providing health and social care, and reports raising concerns about the quality of care provided, there is a need to address the learning needs of clinical support workers. This article describes a qualitative evaluation of a service improvement project that involved a work-based learning approach for clinical support workers on mental health inpatient wards. Aim To investigate and identify insights in relation to the content and process of learning using a work-based learning approach for clinical support workers. Method This was a qualitative evaluation of a service improvement project involving 25 clinical support workers at the seven mental health inpatient units in South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Three clinical skills tutors were appointed to develop, implement and evaluate the work-based learning approach. Four sources of data were used to evaluate this approach, including reflective journals, qualitative responses to questionnaires, three focus groups involving the clinical support workers and a group interview involving the clinical skills tutors. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The work-based learning approach was highly valued by the clinical support workers and enhanced learning in practice. Face-to-face learning in practice helped the clinical support workers to develop practice skills and reflective learning skills. Insights relating to the role of clinical support workers were also identified, including the benefits of face-to-face supervision in practice, particularly in relation to the interpersonal aspects of care. Conclusion A work-based learning approach has the potential to enhance care delivery by meeting the learning needs of clinical support workers and enabling them to apply learning to practice. Care providers should consider how the work-based learning approach can be used on a systematic, organisation-wide basis in the context of budgetary restrictions.

A missing ethical competency? A review of critical reflection in health promotion.

PubMed

Tretheway, Rebecca; Taylor, Jane; O'Hara, Lily; Percival, Nikki

2015-12-01

There is increasing emphasis in the health promotion literature on the ethical imperative for the profession to move towards critical practice. A key challenge for health promotion is that critical practice appears both under-developed and under-practiced. This is evident in the omission of critical reflection from Australian and international competencies for health promotion practitioners. A narrative literature review was undertaken to explore the current use of critical reflection in health promotion. Critical reflection models relevant to health promotion were identified and critiqued. There was a dearth of literature on critical reflection within health promotion, despite recognition of its potential to support critical practice. The discipline of critical social work provided literature on the use, effect and outcome of critical reflection in practice. The interdisciplinary critical reflection model was identified as the model most applicable to health promotion. Underpinned by critical theory, this model emphasises both critical and ethical practice. Critical reflection is a core competency for health promotion practitioners to address the ethical imperative to move towards critical practice. There is a need to explore the application of a critical reflection model in health promotion to determine how it may support critical and ethical practice. So what? If health promotion is to meet its ethical responsibilities, then critical reflection needs to be articulated as a core health promotion competency and a model for its application in health promotion developed.

Inclusive design in architectural practice: Experiential learning of disability in architectural education.

PubMed

Mulligan, Kerry; Calder, Allyson; Mulligan, Hilda

2018-04-01

The built environment can facilitate or impede an individual's ability to participate in society. This is particularly so for people with disability. Architects are well placed to be advocates for design that enhances societal equality. This qualitative study explored architectural design students' perceptions of inclusive design, their reflections resulting from an experiential learning module and the subsequent influence of these on their design practice. Twenty four architectural design students participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Data were analyzed thematically. Three themes were evident: 1) Inclusive design was perceived as challenging, 2) Appreciation for the opportunity to learn about the perspectives of people with disabilities, and 3) Change of attitude toward inclusive design. Experiential learning had fostered reflection, changes in attitude and the realization that inclusive design, should begin at the start of the design process. For equitable access for all people to become reality, experiential learning, coupled with positive examples of inclusive design should be embedded in architectural education. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health Information Technology, Patient Safety, and Professional Nursing Care Documentation in Acute Care Settings.

PubMed

Lavin, Mary Ann; Harper, Ellen; Barr, Nancy

2015-04-14

The electronic health record (EHR) is a documentation tool that yields data useful in enhancing patient safety, evaluating care quality, maximizing efficiency, and measuring staffing needs. Although nurses applaud the EHR, they also indicate dissatisfaction with its design and cumbersome electronic processes. This article describes the views of nurses shared by members of the Nursing Practice Committee of the Missouri Nurses Association; it encourages nurses to share their EHR concerns with Information Technology (IT) staff and vendors and to take their place at the table when nursing-related IT decisions are made. In this article, we describe the experiential-reflective reasoning and action model used to understand staff nurses' perspectives, share committee reflections and recommendations for improving both documentation and documentation technology, and conclude by encouraging nurses to develop their documentation and informatics skills. Nursing issues include medication safety, documentation and standards of practice, and EHR efficiency. IT concerns include interoperability, vendors, innovation, nursing voice, education, and collaboration.

Professional knowledge and the epistemology of reflective practice.

PubMed

Kinsella, Elizabeth Anne

2010-01-01

Reflective practice is one of the most popular theories of professional knowledge in the last 20 years and has been widely adopted by nursing, health, and social care professions. The term was coined by Donald Schön in his influential books The Reflective Practitioner, and Educating the Reflective Practitioner, and has garnered the unprecedented attention of theorists and practitioners of professional education and practice. Reflective practice has been integrated into professional preparatory programmes, continuing education programmes, and by the regulatory bodies of a wide range of health and social care professions. Yet, despite its popularity and widespread adoption, a problem frequently raised in the literature concerns the lack of conceptual clarity surrounding the term reflective practice. This paper seeks to respond to this problem by offering an analysis of the epistemology of reflective practice as revealed through a critical examination of philosophical influences within the theory. The aim is to discern philosophical underpinnings of reflective practice in order to advance increasingly coherent interpretations, and to consider the implications for conceptions of professional knowledge in professional life. The paper briefly examines major philosophical underpinnings in reflective practice to explicate central themes that inform the epistemological assumptions of the theory. The study draws on the work of Donald Schön, and on texts from four philosophers: John Dewey, Nelson Goodman, Michael Polanyi, and Gilbert Ryle. Five central epistemological themes in reflective practice are illuminated: (1) a broad critique of technical rationality; (2) professional practice knowledge as artistry; (3) constructivist assumptions in the theory; (4) the significance of tacit knowledge for professional practice knowledge; and (5) overcoming mind body dualism to recognize the knowledge revealed in intelligent action. The paper reveals that the theory of reflective practice is concerned with deep epistemological questions of significance to conceptions of knowledge in health and social care professions.

Evaluating the Use of Reflective Practice in a Nonprofessional, Undergraduate Clinical Communication Skills Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beveridge, Tyler S.; Fruchter, Lauren L.; Sanmartin, Cleo V.; deLottinville, Carl B.

2014-01-01

Recent studies suggest that the quality of reflective practice being achieved in educational settings is inadequate. Our study aims to determine the level of reflection present in written student reflections in a nonprofessional undergraduate course. We also seek to explore student and instructor perspectives on the value of reflective practices.…

Disentangling the relationships among self-reflection, insight, and subjective well-being: the role of dysfunctional attitudes and core self-evaluations.

PubMed

Stein, Daniel; Grant, Anthony M

2014-01-01

Central to many psychological schools of thought is the notion that self-reflection leads to self-insight which, in turn, leads to enhanced well-being. However, empirical research has found that although self-insight is typically associated with well-being, self-reflection is frequently not associated with self-insight or well-being. Past attempts to understand this conundrum have tended to focus on the role of ruminative self-refection. Using a different approach this study investigates the roles of dysfunctional attitudes and positive core self-evaluations. Using data from 227 participants, two key findings are reported: first, dysfunctional attitudes suppress the relationship between self-reflection and self-insight; and second, positive core self-evaluations mediate the relationship between self-insight and subjective well-being. These two findings imply that a path exists from self-reflection to subjective well-being through self-insight and positive core self-evaluations. This path model was found to be a good fit. Implications for future research and positive psychological practice are discussed.

The introspective may achieve more: Enhancing existing Geoscientific models with native-language emulated structural reflection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ji, Xinye; Shen, Chaopeng

2018-01-01

Geoscientific models manage myriad and increasingly complex data structures as trans-disciplinary models are integrated. They often incur significant redundancy with cross-cutting tasks. Reflection, the ability of a program to inspect and modify its structure and behavior at runtime, is known as a powerful tool to improve code reusability, abstraction, and separation of concerns. Reflection is rarely adopted in high-performance Geoscientific models, especially with Fortran, where it was previously deemed implausible. Practical constraints of language and legacy often limit us to feather-weight, native-language solutions. We demonstrate the usefulness of a structural-reflection-emulating, dynamically-linked metaObjects, gd. We show real-world examples including data structure self-assembly, effortless input/output (IO) and upgrade to parallel I/O, recursive actions and batch operations. We share gd and a derived module that reproduces MATLAB-like structure in Fortran and C++. We suggest that both a gd representation and a Fortran-native representation are maintained to access the data, each for separate purposes. Embracing emulated reflection allows generically-written codes that are highly re-usable across projects.

Critical thinking evaluation in reflective writing: Development and testing of Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (Reflection).

PubMed

Carter, Amanda G; Creedy, Debra K; Sidebotham, Mary

2017-11-01

develop and test a tool designed for use by academics to evaluate pre-registration midwifery students' critical thinking skills in reflective writing. a descriptive cohort design was used. a random sample (n = 100) of archived student reflective writings based on a clinical event or experience during 2014 and 2015. a staged model for tool development was used to develop a fifteen item scale involving item generation; mapping of draft items to critical thinking concepts and expert review to test content validity; inter-rater reliability testing; pilot testing of the tool on 100 reflective writings; and psychometric testing. Item scores were analysed for mean, range and standard deviation. Internal reliability, content and construct validity were assessed. expert review of the tool revealed a high content validity index score of 0.98. Using two independent raters to establish inter-rater reliability, good absolute agreement of 72% was achieved with a Kappa coefficient K = 0.43 (p<0.0001). Construct validity via exploratory factor analysis revealed three factors: analyses context, reasoned inquiry, and self-evaluation. The mean total score for the tool was 50.48 (SD = 12.86). Total and subscale scores correlated significantly. The scale achieved good internal reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .93. this study establishedthe reliability and validity of the CACTiM (reflection) for use by academics to evaluate midwifery students' critical thinking in reflective writing. Validation with large diverse samples is warranted. reflective practice is a key learning and teaching strategy in undergraduate Bachelor of Midwifery programmes and essential for safe, competent practice. There is the potential to enhance critical thinking development by assessingreflective writing with the CACTiM (reflection) tool to provide formative and summative feedback to students and inform teaching strategies. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reflective Practice in Group Co-Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okech, Jane E. Atieno

2008-01-01

Group literature on co-leaders' experiences and perceptions while leading groups illuminate reflective practice as highly influential to co-leader relationships and performances. Using practical examples grounded by interdisciplinary literature on reflective practice, this article explores and expands dialogue on the complex interplay between…

Developing Musical Creativity through Reflective and Collaborative Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gruenhagen, Lisa M.

2017-01-01

This article focuses on developing musical creativity through reflective and collaborative practices in elementary music. Studies on reflective practices reveal that students of any age are able to reflect knowingly. Researchers who have examined thinking, creativity, and musical understanding have discussed the importance of teaching practices…

Improving Inquiry Teaching through Reflection on Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lotter, Christine R.; Miller, Cory

2017-08-01

In this paper, we explore middle school science teachers' learning of inquiry-based instructional strategies through reflection on practice teaching sessions during a summer enrichment program with middle level students. The reflection sessions were part of a larger year-long inquiry professional development program in which teachers learned science content and inquiry pedagogy. The program included a 2-week summer institute in which teachers participated in science content sessions, practice teaching to middle level students, and small group-facilitated reflection sessions on their teaching. For this study, data collection focused on teachers' recorded dialogue during the facilitator - run reflection sessions, the teachers' daily written reflections, a final written reflection, and a written reflection on a videotaped teaching session. We investigated the teachers' reflection levels and the themes teachers focused on during their reflection sessions. Teachers were found to reflect at various reflection levels, from simple description to a more sophisticated focus on how to improve student learning. Recurrent themes point to the importance of providing situated learning environments, such as the practice teaching with immediate reflection for teachers to have time to practice new instructional strategies and gain insight from peers and science educators on how to handle student learning issues.

Reflective Practice in Physical Education and Physical Education Teacher Education: A Review of the Literature since 1995

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Standal, Oyvind F.; Moe, Vegard F.

2013-01-01

Reflection and reflective practice are key concepts in the educational literature as well as in research on physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE). The purpose of this article is to review the current empirical knowledge base for reflection and reflective practice in PE and PETE from 1995 to 2011. The review…

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers in food safety: An integrative review.

PubMed

Zanin, Laís Mariano; da Cunha, Diogo Thimoteo; de Rosso, Veridiana Vera; Capriles, Vanessa Dias; Stedefeldt, Elke

2017-10-01

This study presents an overview of the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of food handlers with training in food safety, in addition to proposing reflections on the training of food handlers, considering its responsibility for food safety and health of consumers. The review was based on the integrative method. The descriptors used were: (food handler), (knowledge, attitudes and practice) and (training). Six databases were searched, 253 articles were consulted and 36 original articles were included. Fifty per cent of the articles pointed that there was no proper translation of knowledge into attitudes/practices or attitudes into practices after training. Knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers are important for identifying how efficient training in food safety is allowing prioritize actions in planning training. The evaluation of KAP is the first step to understand the food handler's point of view. After this evaluation other diagnostic strategies become necessary to enhance this understanding. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The structural basis for enhanced silver reflectance in Koi fish scale and skin.

PubMed

Gur, Dvir; Leshem, Ben; Oron, Dan; Weiner, Steve; Addadi, Lia

2014-12-10

Fish have evolved biogenic multilayer reflectors composed of stacks of intracellular anhydrous guanine crystals separated by cytoplasm, to produce the silvery luster of their skin and scales. Here we compare two different variants of the Japanese Koi fish; one of them with enhanced reflectivity. Our aim is to determine how biology modulates reflectivity, and from this to obtain a mechanistic understanding of the structure and properties governing the intensity of silver reflectance. We measured the reflectance of individual scales with a custom-made microscope, and then for each individual scale we characterized the structure of the guanine crystal/cytoplasm layers using high-resolution cryo-SEM. The measured reflectance and the structural-geometrical parameters were used to calculate the reflectance of each scale, and the results were compared to the experimental measurements. We show that enhanced reflectivity is obtained with the same basic guanine crystal/cytoplasm stacks, but the structural arrangement between the stack, inside the stacks, and relative to the scale surface is varied when reflectivity is enhanced. Finally, we propose a model that incorporates the basic building block parameters, the crystal orientation inside the tissue, and the resulting reflectance and explains the mechanistic basis for reflectance enhancement.

The informal curriculum - general practitioner perceptions of ethics in clinical practice.

PubMed

Sturman, Nancy J; Parker, Malcolm; van Driel, Mieke L

2012-12-01

Australian medical students should graduate with an understanding of the principles of medical law and ethics, and their application to clinical settings. Although student perspectives have been studied previously, the teacher experience of ethical issues also needs to be understood, particularly in the general practice setting. Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 13 general practitioner teachers. They were asked to reflect on common and/or important ethical issues in their day-to-day practice. An inductive thematic analysis of the data was performed by two investigators, who reached a consensus on major themes using an iterative, dialogic process. Participants reported negotiating ethical issues frequently. Major themes included patient-doctor relationships, professional differences, truth-telling, ethically 'grey' areas and the personal demands of ethical decision making. General practitioners in this study describe sometimes needing to apply judgement and compromise in situations involving legal or ethical issues, in order to act in the best interests of patients and to successfully negotiate the patient-doctor relationship. Students learning in this clinical context may perceive mixed messages and ethical lapses in these challenging 'grey' areas. The ethical acumen and emotional resilience of both students and clinical teachers may be enhanced by ongoing reflective discussion with colleagues.

Effects of cultivar, fruit number and reflected photosynthetically active radiation on Fragaria x ananassa productivity and fruit ellagic acid and ascorbic acid concentrations.

PubMed

Atkinson, C J; Dodds, P A A; Ford, Y Y; Le Mière, J; Taylor, J M; Blake, P S; Paul, N

2006-03-01

A number of strawberry varieties were surveyed for their total ellagic acid concentration, and attempts were made to determine if ellagic acid and ascorbic acid concentrations of two strawberry cultivars could be increased by polythene reflective mulches. After adjusting crop yields and cultivation using polythene mulches with two different PAR reflective capacities, field- and polytunnel-grown strawberries were analysed for ellagic acid and ascorbic acid concentrations by HPLC. Comparative measurements of yield and fruit quality were determined along with plant developmental changes. Ellagic acid concentration varied widely with strawberry cultivar (60-341 microg g(-1) frozen weight), as did the ratio of conjugated ellagic acid : free ellagic acid. Also, there was significant year-to-year variation in total ellagic acid concentration with some cultivars. Mulches with different reflective capacities impacted on strawberry production; highly reflective mulches significantly increased growth and yield, the latter due to increases in fruit size and number. Highly reflective mulches significantly increased total concentrations of ellagic acid and ascorbic acid relative to control in fruit of different cultivars. The potential of agronomic practices to enhance the concentration and amounts of these important dietary bioactive compounds is discussed.

Reflective Practice in Physiotherapy Education: A Critical Conversation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clouder, Lynn

2000-01-01

Describes how reflective practice is conceptualized and interpreted by practicing physiotherapists and undergraduate physiotherapy students. Analysis of qualitative interviews and workshops highlights both contextual and practical differences in modes of reflection by practitioners. Discussion notes the context of the task-oriented culture of the…

The Nature of Reflective Practice and Emotional Intelligence in Tutorial Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, Gobinder Singh

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper was to assess the nature of reflective practice and emotional intelligence in tutorial settings. Following the completion of a self-report measure of emotional intelligence, practitioners incorporated a model of reflective practice into their tutorial sessions. Practitioners were instructed to utilise reflective practice…

Diffracting Reflection: A Move beyond Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Veronica Ann

2017-01-01

Reflective practice has become a core component in higher education studies. In the health sciences, reflective tasks are required throughout the undergraduate programmes, yet many students struggle to find value in these tasks for their present and future professional practice. Benefits that can be derived from the process are undermined by this…

Uses of Technology to Support Reflective Teaching Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brent, Wayne

2010-01-01

This dissertation researched and reported on how technology was used to facilitate and inform reflective teaching practices. It also identified the characteristics of benefits and barriers in using technology for teaching and reflection. The study, descriptive in nature, was designed to determine the reflective practices of instructors and how…

Developing Mathematical Practices through Reflection Cycles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinholz, Daniel L.

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on reflection in learning mathematical practices. While there is a long history of research on reflection in mathematics, it has focused primarily on the development of conceptual understanding. Building on notion of learning as participation in social practices, this paper broadens the theory of reflection in mathematics…

Reflection and Reflective Practice Discourses in Coaching: A Critical Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cushion, Christopher J.

2018-01-01

Reflection and reflective practice is seen as an established part of coaching and coach education practice. It has become a "taken-for-granted" part of coaching that is accepted enthusiastically and unquestioningly, and is assumed to be "good" for coaching and coaches. Drawing on sociological concepts, a primarily Foucauldian…

How Educators Conceptualize and Teach Reflective Practice: A Survey of North American Pediatric Medical Educators.

PubMed

Butani, Lavjay; Bannister, Susan L; Rubin, Allison; Forbes, Karen L

2017-04-01

The objectives of this study were to explore pediatric undergraduate medical educators' understanding of reflective practice, the barriers they face in teaching this, the curricular activities they use, and the value they assign to reflective practice. Nine survey questions were sent to members of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, an international pediatric undergraduate medical educator group. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Open-ended responses were analyzed qualitatively through an iterative process to establish themes representing understanding of reflective practice and barriers in teaching this. Respondents representing 56% of all North American schools answered at least 1 survey question. Qualitative analysis of understanding of reflection revealed 11 themes spanning all components of reflective practice, albeit with a narrow view on triggers for reflection and a lower emphasis on understanding the why of things and on perspective-taking. The most frequent barriers in teaching this were the lack of skilled educators and limited time. Most respondents valued reflective skills but few reported confidence in their ability to teach reflection. Several curricular activities were used to teach reflection, the most common being narrative writing. Pediatric undergraduate medical educators value reflection and endorse its teaching. However, many do not have a complete understanding of the construct and few report confidence in teaching this. Implementing longitudinal curricula in reflective practice may require a culture change; opportunities exist for faculty development about the meaning and value of reflective practice and how best to teach this. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reflections on the role of the pharmacy regulatory authority in enhancing quality related event reporting in community pharmacies.

PubMed

Boyle, Todd A; Bishop, Andrea C; Mahaffey, Thomas; Mackinnon, Neil J; Ashcroft, Darren M; Zwicker, Bev; Reid, Carolyn

2014-01-01

Given the demanding nature of providing pharmacy services, coupled with the expanded scope of practice of the professions in jurisdictions around the world, greater commitment to continuous quality improvement through adoption of quality-related event (QRE) reporting is necessary to ensure patient safety. Pharmacy regulatory authorities (PRAs) are in a unique position to enhance QRE reporting and learning through the standardization of expected practice. This study was aimed to gain a better understanding of the perceived roles of PRAs in enhancing QRE reporting and learning in community pharmacies, and identifying regulatory best practices to execute such roles. A purposive case sampling approach was used to identify PRA staff members from two groups (Deputy registrars and pharmacy inspectors) in 10 Canadian jurisdictions to participate in focus groups in the fall of 2011. Focus groups were used to explore perceptions of the role of PRAs in enhancing and promoting QRE reporting and learning, and perceived barriers to effective implementation in practice. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Two focus groups were conducted, one with seven Deputy registrars/Practice managers, and one with nine pharmacy inspectors. Five themes were identified, including (1) defining QRE reporting and compliance, (2) navigating role conflict, (3) educating for enhanced QRE reporting and learning, (4) promoting the positive/removing the fear of QREs, and (5) tailoring QRE reporting and learning consistency. Overall, participants perceived a strong role for PRAs in enhancing QRE reporting and learning and providing education for pharmacies to support their compliance with reporting standards. However, PRAs must navigate the conflict inherent in both educating and promoting a process for achieving a standard while simultaneously inspecting compliance to that standard. Ensuring pharmacies have autonomy in operationalizing standards may help to mitigate this conflict. Finally, greater education for PRAs themselves to better inspect compliance and in order to better communicate the benefits of QRE reporting and learning to pharmacies would be beneficial. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An enquiry of 'Every3Days' a drama-based workshop developing professional collaboration for women experiencing domestic violence during pregnancy in the South East of England.

PubMed

Baird, Kathleen; Salmon, Debra

2012-12-01

this exploratory work examined and assessed the experiences of participants (n=90) using an interactive drama workshop to facilitate the planning and understanding of multiagency working around domestic violence during pregnancy. a descriptive research design was utilised to collect data from field observations, participant reflective feedback sheets and semi-structured telephone interviews. participants invited to the workshop originated from a wide range of backgrounds including health and social care, criminal justice and the third sector. All participants were invited to complete the reflective feedback evaluation form. To enhance the comprehensiveness of the enquiry, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 10 of the participants. shared themes emerging from the data analysis included improved awareness of the consequences of domestic violence; greater understanding of multiple professional roles including the policy context and enhanced skill development. However, participants questioned the extent to which this approach impacted upon longer term practice and policy development. by centring attention on the emic perspective of women themselves, the drama approach developed professional's awareness, relationships, understanding and skills. Nevertheless, drama can be an expensive education tool. It is therefore essential that further research explores the longer term impacts on practice and outcomes for women that include cost-benefit analysis. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Making strange": a role for the humanities in medical education.

PubMed

Kumagai, Arno K; Wear, Delese

2014-07-01

Stories, film, drama, and art have been used in medical education to enhance empathy, perspective-taking, and openness to "otherness," and to stimulate reflection on self, others, and the world. Yet another, equally important function of the humanities and arts in the education of physicians is that of "making strange"-that is, portraying daily events, habits, practices, and people through literature and the arts in a way that disturbs and disrupts one's assumptions, perspectives, and ways of acting so that one sees the self, others, and the world anew. Tracing the development of this concept from Viktor Shklovsky's "enstrangement" (ostranenie) through Bertolt Brecht's "alienation effect," this essay describes the use of this technique to disrupt the "automaticity of thinking" in order to discover new ways of perceiving and being in the world.Enstrangement may be used in medical education in order to stimulate critical reflection and dialogue on assumptions, biases, and taken-for-granted societal conditions that may hinder the realization of a truly humanistic clinical practice. In addition to its ability to enhance one's critical understanding of medicine, the technique of "making strange" does something else: By disrupting fixed beliefs, this approach may allow a reexamination of patient-physician relationships in terms of human interactions and provide health care professionals an opportunity-an "open space"-to bear witness and engage with other individuals during challenging times.

The Difference Between Countermovement and Squat Jump Performances: A Review of Underlying Mechanisms With Practical Applications.

PubMed

Van Hooren, Bas; Zolotarjova, Julia

2017-07-01

Van Hooren, B and Zolotarjova, J. The difference between countermovement and squat jump performances: a review of underlying mechanisms with practical applications. J Strength Cond Res 31(7): 2011-2020, 2017-Two movements that are widely used to monitor athletic performance are the countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ). Countermovement jump performance is almost always better than SJ performance, and the difference in performance is thought to reflect an effective utilization of the stretch-shortening cycle. However, the mechanisms responsible for the performance-enhancing effect of the stretch-shortening cycle are frequently undefined. Uncovering and understanding these mechanisms is essential to make an inference regarding the difference between the jumps. Therefore, we will review the potential mechanisms that explain the better performance in a CMJ as compared with a SJ. It is concluded that the difference in performance may primarily be related to the greater uptake of muscle slack and the buildup of stimulation during the countermovement in a CMJ. Elastic energy may also have a small contribution to an enhanced CMJ performance. Therefore, a larger difference between the jumps is not necessarily a better indicator of high-intensity sports performance. Although a larger difference may reflect the utilization of elastic energy in a small-amplitude CMJ as a result of a well-developed capability to co-activate muscles and quickly build up stimulation, a larger difference may also reflect a poor capability to reduce the degree of muscle slack and build up stimulation in the SJ. Because the capability to reduce the degree of muscle slack and quickly build up stimulation in the SJ may be especially important to high-intensity sports performance, training protocols might concentrate on attaining a smaller difference between the jumps.

Reflective Practice and Inquiry: Let's Talk More about Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earl, Kerry; Ussher, Bill

2016-01-01

Reflective practice and inquiry are aspects of teacher professional practice that characterise teachers as learners. Reflective practice in some form is considered in contemporary education as an essential activity for teachers and teacher educators. "Inquiry as professional development" and "inquiry as research", on the other…

Signal-enhancement reflective pulse oximeter with Fresnel lens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Shuang-Chao; Sun, Ching-Cherng

2016-09-01

In this paper, a new reflective pulse oximeter is proposed and demonstrated with implanting a Fresnel lens, which enhances the reflected signal. An optical simulation model incorporated with human skin characteristics is presented to evaluate the capability of the Fresnel lens. In addition, the distance between the light emitting diode and the photodiode is optimized. Compared with the other reflective oximeters, the reflected signal light detected by the photodiode is enhanced to more than 140%.

Understanding the processes of writing papers reflectively.

PubMed

Regmi, Krishna; Naidoo, Jennie

2013-07-01

This paper explores the writing of research papers using reflective frameworks. Reflective practice is integral to professional education and development. However, healthcare students, academics and practitioners have given limited attention to how to write reflectively. In addition, there are limited resources on the practical aspects of writing papers reflectively. The following major databases were searched: PubMed, Medline, King's Library, Excerpta Medica Database, Department of Health database, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. The searches were conducted using 'free text' and 'index' terms. Only relevant papers published in English were reviewed and scrutinised. Unpublished reports, internal publications, snowballing from the reference lists and personal contacts were also included in the search. This is a review paper that critiques the frameworks used for reflective practice. Writing papers reflectively is a complex task. Healthcare professionals and researchers need to understand the meaning of reflection and make appropriate use of reflective frameworks. Demystifying the process of reflectively writing papers will help professionals develop skills and competencies. IMPLICATION FOR RESEARCH/PRACTICE: This article provides a practical guide to reflection and how nursing and allied healthcare students, academics and practitioners can practise it. The paper identifies four generic stages in frameworks: description, assessment, evaluation and action, which are illustrated by annotated 'skeletal' examples. It is hoped that this will assist the process of reflective practice, writing and learning.

Pedagogical Practices of Reflection in Tertiary Dance Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leijen, Ali; Lam, Ineke; Simons, P. Robert-Jan; Wildschut, Liesbeth

2008-01-01

The three different perspectives on reflection in education are embedded in the philosophical traditions of pragmatism, critical social theory and Kant. We aimed to describe the pedagogical practices of reflection, and to develop a descriptive model of the practices of reflection in tertiary dance education which can be used by dance educators to…

Towards a Theory of the Ecology of Reflection: Reflective Practice for Experiential Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harvey, Marina; ; Coulson, Debra; McMaugh, Anne

2016-01-01

Reflective practice is widely adopted across the field of experience-based learning subjects in higher education, including practicums, work-integrated learning, internships, service learning and community participation. This adoption of reflective practice implies that it supports student learning through experience. When reviewing the evidence…

Eliciting and Assessing Reflective Practice: A Case Study in Web 2.0 Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parkes, Kelly A.; Kajder, Sara

2010-01-01

This paper focuses on the role of multimodal technologies in facilitating reflective processes and the subsequent assessment of reflectivity for students in pre-professional programs. Reflective practice has been established as a critical tool for developing identity in and on practice. This paper will focus firstly on reviewing salient literature…

Life Story Reflection in Social Work Education: A Practical Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spector-Mersel, Gabriela

2017-01-01

Drawing from the practice-oriented conception of reflection in social work, its applications in social work education typically focus on students' encounters with the field. Recognizing the value of practice-oriented reflection yet aware of its limitations, complementing it with life story reflection (LSR) is urged. The importance of LSR in social…

Experiences of self-practice/self-reflection in cognitive behavioural therapy: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

PubMed

Gale, Corinne; Schröder, Thomas

2014-12-01

Self-practice/self-reflection is a valuable training strategy which involves therapists applying therapeutic techniques to themselves, and reflecting on the process. To undertake a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies exploring therapists' experiences of self-practice/self-reflection in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). This would integrate, and interpret, the current literature in order to develop a new understanding, and contribute to the development of CBT training programmes. The meta-synthesis encompassed three distinct phases: undertaking a comprehensive and systematic literature search; critically appraising the papers; and synthesising the data using the meta-ethnographic method. The literature search identified 378 papers, ten met the criteria for inclusion. After critical appraisal, all were included in the synthesis. The synthesis identified 14 constructs, which fell into three broad categories: 'experience of self-practice/self-reflection'; 'outcomes of self-practice/self-reflection'; and 'implications for training'. This synthesis found that self-practice allows therapists to put themselves into their clients' shoes, experiencing the benefits that therapy can bring but also the problems that clients can run in to. This experience increases therapists' empathy for their clients, allowing them to draw on their own experiences in therapy. As a result, therapists tend to feel both more confident in themselves and more competent as a therapist. The self-practice/self-reflection process was facilitated by reflective writing and working with others, particularly peers. Self-practice/self-reflection is a valuable training strategy in CBT, which has a range of beneficial outcomes. It can also be used as a means of continuing personal and professional development. Self-practice of CBT techniques, and reflecting on the process, can be a useful training strategy and helpful for ongoing development Therapists could consider developing a 'self-case' study, rather than using the exercises as one-off techniques, recording reflections in writing, and sharing reflections with peers. Self-practice/self-reflection can be particularly helpful for increasing empathy for clients, highlighting the difficulties they may encounter. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Is There a Need for a More Expansive Use of Ethics and Values in Reflecting on the Use of Animals in Scientific Research?

PubMed Central

Fisher, Mark W.

2014-01-01

Simple Summary Debates about animal research are often polarized. On one side, increased knowledge, medical treatments or enhanced animal production are seen to justify harms. On the other, animals have rights constraining their use. Both sides fail to provide adequate support for this contentious use of animals. Reflecting the richness of ethics, it is suggested that empathy and respect for the animal, and greater acknowledgement of the value of experiences and care could also be considered. Along with a more informed understanding of the benefits of research and of the aims of animal rights, a more sophisticated ethic may reflect the common ground between the poles of the debate. Abstract Although reflecting a long tradition of moral reflection that the use of animals is acceptable as long as it is humane, the tension between causing harm to animals in research and the benefits to humans can nevertheless be troubling. Utilitarian arguments that appeal to the value of those practices in sustaining and enhancing human lives, and rights-based arguments which seek to constrain them, can be inadequate. Reflecting a more engaging, inclusive and sophisticated understanding of human activity, justification for animal use could be expanded to reflect the fullness and richness of ethical thinking. This might see more explicit inclusion of perspectives borne of virtues, caring, experiences, and respect for the essence of the animal, and different ways of understanding and knowing animals, values drawn from the middle ground of commonly acceptable human-animal relationships. Such values, already clearly evident in research, could be more widely integrated into arguments justifying animal use. A more expansive approach would not only reflect reality and acknowledge that costs and benefits are shared more widely, but it might result in more equitable, effective and humane science. It might also serve to reduce some of the tension long evident in the relationship between humans and animals.

Medical humanities: a closer look at learning.

PubMed

Patterson, A; Sharek, D; Hennessy, M; Phillips, M; Schofield, S

2016-06-01

The inclusion of medical humanities with medical curricula is a question that has been the focus of attention for many within the evolving field. This study addressed the question from a medical education perspective and aimed to investigate what students at Trinity College Dublin learned from participating in a short medical humanities student-selected module in their first year of an undergraduate medical programme. A total of 156 students provided a written reflection on a memorable event that occurred during their student-selected module. The reflections were analysed using the Reflection Evaluation for Learners' Enhanced Competencies Tool (REFLECT) and through qualitative thematic analysis of the written reflections. Evidence of learning from the REFLECT quantitative analysis showed that 50% of students displayed higher levels of reflection when describing their experience. The reflection content analysis supported the heterogeneous nature of learning outcome for students, with evidence to support the idea that the module provided opportunities for students to explore their beliefs, ideas and feelings regarding a range of areas outside their current experience or world view, to consider the views of others that they may have not previously been aware of, to reflect on their current views, and to consider their future professional practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Examining occupational therapy education through faculty engagement in curriculum mapping and pedagogical reflection.

PubMed

MacNeil, Cheryl; Hand, Theresa

2014-01-01

This article discusses a 1-yr evaluation study of a master of science in occupational therapy program to examine curriculum content and pedagogical practices as a way to gauge program preparedness to move to a clinical doctorate. Faculty members participated in a multitiered qualitative study that included curriculum mapping, semistructured individual interviewing, and iterative group analysis. Findings indicate that curriculum mapping and authentic dialogue helped the program formulate a more streamlined and integrated curriculum with increased faculty collaboration. Curriculum mapping and collaborative pedagogical reflection are valuable evaluation strategies for examining preparedness to offer a clinical doctorate, enhancing a self-study process, and providing information for ongoing formative curriculum review. Copyright © 2014 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Assessing fluorescent color: a review of common practices and their limitations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Streitel, Steve

2003-07-01

Fluorescent Colorants are widely used around the world to enhance visibility. The outstanding brightness and cleanliness of the colors lend themselves to applications in safety materials, advertising, toys, magazines, packaging, and other areas. The brightness and cleanliness is a result of the colorants ability to reradiate absorbed energy as visible light, usually shorter more energetic photons as longer less energetic photons. This can give reflectance values of well over 100%, sometimes as high as 300%, in the perceived color. A good working definition of fluorescent color is: A colorant that absorbs light energy and reradiates the energy at visible wavelengths. Light that is not absorbed is reflected, as in conventional color. Emission ceases when the excitation energy is removed.

[Pedagogical reflective practice of nursing undergraduates: the portfolio as an instrument].

PubMed

Vaz, Débora Rodrigues; Prado, Cláudia

2014-12-01

Analyzing the narratives related to the pedagogical practice experienced during the Supervised Curricular Internship reported in the portfolios of Nursing undergraduate students, regarding the levels of reflection. This is a documentary descriptive exploratory study that examined two of the activities proposed for the portfolio preparation. Among the 28 analyzed portfolios, all showed the three levels of reflection (technical, critical and metacritical). The students had the opportunity to experience the pedagogical practice and presented reflections at metacritical level, reflecting on their performance, the construction of their teaching identity, and about the importance of reflecting on the practice with the objective of transforming it and transforming themselves.

Creative art and medical student development: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Jones, Elizabeth K; Kittendorf, Anne L; Kumagai, Arno K

2017-02-01

Although many medical schools include arts-based activities in their curricula, empirical evidence is lacking regarding how the creation of art might impact medical students and their professional development. We used a qualitative research design in order to understand this process. We conducted and analysed interviews with 16 medical students who had created and presented original artwork in the context of a required narrative-based undergraduate medical education programme. Teams of students collaborated to create interpretive projects based on common themes arising from conversations with individuals with chronic illness and their families. Open-ended questions were utilised to explore the conceptualisation and presentation of the projects, the dynamics of teamwork and the meaning(s) they might have for the students' professional development. We identified themes using repeated contextual reading of the transcripts, which also enhanced accuracy of the interpretations and ensured saturation of themes. Several major themes and sub-themes were identified. The creation of art led to a sense of personal growth and development, including reflection on past life experiences, self-discovery and an awareness of art as a creative outlet. Students also reported an enhanced sense of community and the development of skills in collaboration. Lastly, students reflected on the human dimensions of illness and medical care and identified an enhanced awareness of the experience of those with illness. A programme involving the creation of art based on stories of illness encouraged students' explorations of conceptions of the self, family and society, as well as illness and medical care, while enhancing the development of a collaborative and patient-centred worldview. Creative art can be a novel educational tool to promote a reflective, humanistic medical practice. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and The Association for the Study of Medical Education.

Exploring students' perceptions on the use of significant event analysis, as part of a portfolio assessment process in general practice, as a tool for learning how to use reflection in learning

PubMed Central

Grant, Andrew J; Vermunt, Jan D; Kinnersley, Paul; Houston, Helen

2007-01-01

Background Portfolio learning enables students to collect evidence of their learning. Component tasks making up a portfolio can be devised that relate directly to intended learning outcomes. Reflective tasks can stimulate students to recognise their own learning needs. Assessment of portfolios using a rating scale relating to intended learning outcomes offers high content validity. This study evaluated a reflective portfolio used during a final-year attachment in general practice (family medicine). Students were asked to evaluate the portfolio (which used significant event analysis as a basis for reflection) as a learning tool. The validity and reliability of the portfolio as an assessment tool were also measured. Methods 81 final-year medical students completed reflective significant event analyses as part of a portfolio created during a three-week attachment (clerkship) in general practice (family medicine). As well as two reflective significant event analyses each portfolio contained an audit and a health needs assessment. Portfolios were marked three times; by the student's GP teacher, the course organiser and by another teacher in the university department of general practice. Inter-rater reliability between pairs of markers was calculated. A questionnaire enabled the students' experience of portfolio learning to be determined. Results Benefits to learning from reflective learning were limited. Students said that they thought more about the patients they wrote up in significant event analyses but information as to the nature and effect of this was not forthcoming. Moderate inter-rater reliability (Spearman's Rho .65) was found between pairs of departmental raters dealing with larger numbers (20 – 60) of portfolios. Inter-rater reliability of marking involving GP tutors who only marked 1 – 3 portfolios was very low. Students rated highly their mentoring relationship with their GP teacher but found the portfolio tasks time-consuming. Conclusion The inter-rater reliability observed in this study should be viewed alongside the high validity afforded by the authenticity of the learning tasks (compared with a sample of a student's learning taken by an exam question). Validity is enhanced by the rating scale which directly connects the grade given with intended learning outcomes. The moderate inter-rater reliability may be increased if a portfolio is completed over a longer period of time and contains more component pieces of work. The questionnaire used in this study only accessed limited information about the effect of reflection on students' learning. Qualitative methods of evaluation would determine the students experience in greater depth. It would be useful to evaluate the effects of reflective learning after students have had more time to get used to this unfamiliar method of learning and to overcome any problems in understanding the task. PMID:17397544

Exploring students' perceptions on the use of significant event analysis, as part of a portfolio assessment process in general practice, as a tool for learning how to use reflection in learning.

PubMed

Grant, Andrew J; Vermunt, Jan D; Kinnersley, Paul; Houston, Helen

2007-03-30

Portfolio learning enables students to collect evidence of their learning. Component tasks making up a portfolio can be devised that relate directly to intended learning outcomes. Reflective tasks can stimulate students to recognise their own learning needs. Assessment of portfolios using a rating scale relating to intended learning outcomes offers high content validity. This study evaluated a reflective portfolio used during a final-year attachment in general practice (family medicine). Students were asked to evaluate the portfolio (which used significant event analysis as a basis for reflection) as a learning tool. The validity and reliability of the portfolio as an assessment tool were also measured. 81 final-year medical students completed reflective significant event analyses as part of a portfolio created during a three-week attachment (clerkship) in general practice (family medicine). As well as two reflective significant event analyses each portfolio contained an audit and a health needs assessment. Portfolios were marked three times; by the student's GP teacher, the course organiser and by another teacher in the university department of general practice. Inter-rater reliability between pairs of markers was calculated. A questionnaire enabled the students' experience of portfolio learning to be determined. Benefits to learning from reflective learning were limited. Students said that they thought more about the patients they wrote up in significant event analyses but information as to the nature and effect of this was not forthcoming. Moderate inter-rater reliability (Spearman's Rho .65) was found between pairs of departmental raters dealing with larger numbers (20-60) of portfolios. Inter-rater reliability of marking involving GP tutors who only marked 1-3 portfolios was very low. Students rated highly their mentoring relationship with their GP teacher but found the portfolio tasks time-consuming. The inter-rater reliability observed in this study should be viewed alongside the high validity afforded by the authenticity of the learning tasks (compared with a sample of a student's learning taken by an exam question). Validity is enhanced by the rating scale which directly connects the grade given with intended learning outcomes. The moderate inter-rater reliability may be increased if a portfolio is completed over a longer period of time and contains more component pieces of work. The questionnaire used in this study only accessed limited information about the effect of reflection on students' learning. Qualitative methods of evaluation would determine the students experience in greater depth. It would be useful to evaluate the effects of reflective learning after students have had more time to get used to this unfamiliar method of learning and to overcome any problems in understanding the task.

Teachers Talking about Teaching and School: Collaboration and Reflective Practice via Critical Friends Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuh, Lisa P.

2016-01-01

Reflective practice has potentially positive effects on an organization's capacity to focus on student learning and teaching practices. In an effort to comply with policy and provide teachers with opportunities to reflect on their practice, districts, schools, and teachers have turned to various models that feature collaborative experiences. One…

From Reflective Practice to Practical Wisdom: Toward a Post-Foundational Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eryaman, Mustafa Yunus

2007-01-01

The author situates this paper within ongoing debates in related areas such as reflective practice, critical pedagogy, practical wisdom and critical theory. First, the author identifies some of the problems in the present notions of reflective teaching and progressive teacher education. The analyzes and compares the traditional-technical and…

"Keeping SCORE": Reflective Practice through Classroom Observations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Thomas S. C.

2011-01-01

Reflective practice means that teachers must subject their own teaching beliefs and practices to critical examination. One way of facilitating reflective practice in ESL teachers is to encourage them to engage in classroom observations as part of their professional development. This paper reports on a case study of a short series of classroom…

Beginning Science Teachers' Use of a Digital Video Annotation Tool to Promote Reflective Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McFadden, Justin; Ellis, Joshua; Anwar, Tasneem; Roehrig, Gillian

2014-06-01

The development of teachers as reflective practitioners is a central concept in national guidelines for teacher preparation and induction (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education 2008). The Teacher Induction Network (TIN) supports the development of reflective practice for beginning secondary science teachers through the creation of online "communities of practice" (Barab et al. in Inf Soc, 237-256, 2003), which have been shown to have positive impacts on teacher collaboration, communication, and reflection. Specifically, TIN integrated the use of asynchronous, video annotation as an affordance to directly facilitate teachers' reflection on their classroom practices (Tripp and Rich in Teach Teach Educ 28(5):728-739, 2013). This study examines the use of video annotation as a tool for developing reflective practices for beginning secondary science teachers. Teachers were enrolled in an online teacher induction course designed to promote reflective practice and inquiry-based instruction. A modified version of the Learning to Notice Framework (Sherin and van Es in J Teach Educ 60(1):20-37, 2009) was used to classify teachers' annotations on video of their teaching. Findings from the study include the tendency of teachers to focus on themselves in their annotations, as well as a preponderance of annotations focused on lower-level reflective practices of description and explanation. Suggestions for utilizing video annotation tools are discussed, as well as design features, which could be improved to further the development of richer annotations and deeper reflective practices.

Laser-driven Mach waves for gigabar-range shock experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swift, Damian; Lazicki, Amy; Coppari, Federica; Saunders, Alison; Nilsen, Joseph

2017-10-01

Mach reflection offers possibilities for generating planar, supported shocks at higher pressures than are practical even with laser ablation. We have studied the formation of Mach waves by algebraic solution and hydrocode simulation for drive pressures at much than reported previously, and for realistic equations of state. We predict that Mach reflection continues to occur as the drive pressure increases, and the pressure enhancement increases monotonically with drive pressure even though the ``enhancement spike'' characteristic of low-pressure Mach waves disappears. The growth angle also increases monotonically with pressure, so a higher drive pressure seems always to be an advantage. However, there are conditions where the Mach wave is perturbed by reflections. We have performed trial experiments at the Omega facility, using a laser-heated halfraum to induce a Mach wave in a polystyrene cone. Pulse length and energy limitations meant that the drive was not maintained long enough to fully support the shock, but the results indicated a Mach wave of 25-30 TPa from a drive pressure of 5-6 TPa, consistent with simulations. A similar configuration should be tested at the NIF, and a Z-pinch driven configuration may be possible. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Laser-driven Mach waves for gigabar-range shock experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swift, Damian; Jenei, Amy; Coppari, Federica; Saunders, Alison; Nilsen, Joseph

2017-06-01

Mach reflection offers possibilities for generating planar, supported shocks at higher pressures than are practical even with laser ablation. We have studied the formation of Mach waves by algebraic solution and hydrocode simulation for drive pressures at much than reported previously, and for realistic equations of state. We predict that Mach reflection continues to occur as the drive pressure increases, and the pressure enhancement increases monotonically with drive pressure even though the ``enhancement spike'' characteristic of low-pressure Mach waves disappears. The growth angle also increases monotonically with pressure, so a higher drive pressure seems always to be an advantage. However, there are conditions where the Mach wave is perturbed by reflections. We have performed trial experiments at the Omega facility, using a laser-heated halfraum to induce a Mach wave in a polystyrene cone. Pulse length and energy limitations meant that the drive was not maintained long enough to fully support the shock, but the results indicated a Mach wave of 25-30 TPa from a drive pressure of 5-6 TPa, consistent with simulations. A similar configuration should perform well at the NIF, and a Z-pinch driven configuration may be possible. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Theory in/to Practice: Using Dialogic Reflection to Develop a Writing Center Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, R. Mark

2011-01-01

Michael Mattison's "Someone to Watch Over Me: Reflection and Authority in the Writing Center" explores the problem of audience for tutors' reflective writing. In Mattison's case, tutoring practices and learning are undermined because reflective writing leads consultants to feel as though they are being spied upon by the writing center director.…

Defining Tools for Teacher Reflection: The Assessment of Learner-Centered Practices (ALCP).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCombs, Barbara L.

This paper focuses on the development and validation of survey tools that help teachers engage in a guided reflection process. The guided reflection process assists teachers at all levels, kindergarten through college, to reflect on (1) their own beliefs and practices; (2) how these practices are perceived by their students; and (3) the impact of…

A Practice-Based Approach to Student Reflection in the Workplace during a Work-Integrated Learning Placement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sykes, Christopher; Dean, Bonnie Amelia

2013-01-01

In the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) curriculum, reflection on workplace activities is widely used to support student learning. Recent critiques have demonstrated the limitations of current approaches to support students' reflective learning of workplace practices. By employing a practice-based approach, we seek to refocus WIL reflection on…

Two Mentor Practices that Generate Teacher Reflection without Explicit Solicitations: Some Preliminary Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waring, Hansun Zhang

2013-01-01

Despite the push for fostering reflective practices in teacher education in the last 20 years, true reflection remains rare (Farr, 2011). Based on a detailed analysis of four mentor-teacher meetings in a graduate TESOL program, I show how specific mentor practices generate teacher reflection without explicit solicitations. Findings of this study…

The Effects of Coaching Using a Reflective Framework on Early Childhood Science Teachers' Depth of Reflection and Change in Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloomquist, Debra L.

This embedded-mixed methods study examined if the use of a reflective framework with guiding prompts could support early childhood science teachers in improving their reflective practice and subsequently changing their pedagogy. It further investigated whether type of cognitive coaching group, individual or collaborative, impacted teacher depth of reflection and change in practice. Data included teacher reflections that were rated using the Level of Reflection-On-Action Assessment, reflective codes and inductive themes, as well as videos of participants lessons coded using the SCIIENCE instrument. Findings demonstrated that through guided reflection, teachers developed reflective thinking skills, and through this reflection became more critical and began to improve their pedagogical practice. Further findings supported that collaborative cognitive coaching may not be the most effective professional development for all teachers; as some teachers in the study were found to have difficulty improving their reflectivity and thus their teaching practice. Based on these findings it is recommended that coaches and designers of professional development continue to use reflective frameworks with guiding prompts to support teachers in the reflective process, but take into consideration that coaching may need to be differentiated for the various reflective levels demonstrated by teachers. Future studies will be needed to establish why some teachers have difficulty with the reflective process and how coaches or designers of professional development can further assist these teachers in becoming more critical reflectors.

Developing Dental Students' Awareness of Health Care Disparities and Desire to Serve Vulnerable Populations Through Service-Learning.

PubMed

Behar-Horenstein, Linda S; Feng, Xiaoying; Roberts, Kellie W; Gibbs, Micaela; Catalanotto, Frank A; Hudson-Vassell, Charisse M

2015-10-01

Service-learning in dental education helps students integrate knowledge with practice in an underserved community setting. The aim of this study was to explore how a service-learning experience affected a small group of dental students' beliefs about cultural competence, professionalism, career development, desire to practice in a community service setting, and perceptions about access and disparities issues. Prior to beginning their first year of dental school, five first-year dental students at one U.S. dental school participated in a six-week service-learning program in which they interned at one of three at-risk settings in order to experience health care delivery there. After the program, 60 reflective writing assignments completed by the participants were analyzed using grounded theory methods; interviews with the students were used to corroborate the findings from that analysis. Seven themes identified in the journal reflections and interview findings showed enhanced awareness of social health care issues and patient differences, as well as a social justice orientation and desire to address disparities. Building on this study, future research should explore the curricular components of service-learning programs to ensure students receive ample opportunity to reflect upon their experiences in order to integrate previously held assumptions with their newfound knowledge.

Nursing students' evaluation of a new feedback and reflection tool for use in high-fidelity simulation - Formative assessment of clinical skills. A descriptive quantitative research design.

PubMed

Solheim, Elisabeth; Plathe, Hilde Syvertsen; Eide, Hilde

2017-11-01

Clinical skills training is an important part of nurses' education programmes. Clinical skills are complex. A common understanding of what characterizes clinical skills and learning outcomes needs to be established. The aim of the study was to develop and evaluate a new reflection and feedback tool for formative assessment. The study has a descriptive quantitative design. 129 students participated who were at the end of the first year of a Bachelor degree in nursing. After highfidelity simulation, data were collected using a questionnaire with 19 closed-ended and 2 open-ended questions. The tool stimulated peer assessment, and enabled students to be more thorough in what to assess as an observer in clinical skills. The tool provided a structure for selfassessment and made visible items that are important to be aware of in clinical skills. This article adds to simulation literature and provides a tool that is useful in enhancing peer learning, which is essential for nurses in practice. The tool has potential for enabling students to learn about reflection and developing skills for guiding others in practice after they have graduated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Leading organisational learning in health care.

PubMed

Carroll, J S; Edmondson, A C

2002-03-01

As healthcare organisations seek to enhance safety and quality in a changing environment, organisational learning practices can help to improve existing skills and knowledge and provide opportunities to discover better ways of working together. Leadership at executive, middle management, and local levels is needed to create a sense of shared purpose. This shared vision should help to build effective relationships, facilitate connections between action and reflection, and strengthen the desirable elements of the healthcare culture while modifying outdated assumptions, procedures, and structures.

Long-term stability enhancement of Brillouin measurement in polymer optical fibers using amorphous fluoropolymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsutani, Natsuki; Lee, Heeyoung; Mizuno, Yosuke; Nakamura, Kentaro

2018-01-01

For Brillouin-sensing applications, we develop a method for mitigating the Fresnel reflection at the perfluorinated-polymer-optical-fiber ends by covering them with an amorphous fluoropolymer (CYTOP, fiber core material) dissolved in a volatile solvent. Unlike the conventional method using water, even after solvent evaporation, the CYTOP layer remains, resulting in long-term Fresnel reduction. In addition, the high viscosity of the CYTOP solution is a practical advantage. The effectiveness of this method is experimentally proved by Brillouin measurement.

Sailing a safe ship: improving patient safety by enhancing the leadership skills of new consultant specialist surgeons.

PubMed

Shah, Peter; Cross, Vinette; Sii, Freda

2013-01-01

The potential for "discontinuities in care" arising from the turbulent transition from specialist trainee to consultant specialist presents risks to patient safety. But it is easy to lose sight of the affective needs of individuals facing the burden of keeping patients safe. This article describes a 2-day program focused on new and prospective consultant specialist ophthalmic surgeons entitled "Sailing a Safe Ship" (SASS). The purpose was to facilitate understanding and analysis of their personal holistic learning needs and enhance individual agency in optimizing learning during the transition period. The program used gaming, team challenges, meta-planning, role play and professional actors, interactive presentations, and self-analysis tools to portray the real world of consultant specialist practice in terms of ill-defined problems requiring "elite communication" and effective negotiation of value differences and priorities for their resolution. Participants' insights into their individual learning were recorded in scheduled reflective sessions. The immediate impact on their learning was also considered in terms of direct (instructional) and indirect (nurturant) effects. Participants' insights reflected 4 key themes: admitting vulnerability and uncertainty, taking responsibility for managing risk, being self-aware and reflexive, and internalizing authentic leadership. Four instructional and 4 nurturant effects were revealed. Preliminary findings on long-term impact on participants' practice are outlined. Evidence from the evaluation indicated that participants felt empowered to construct a personal strategic response to unfamiliar and unanticipated workplace demands and pressures, adopt a capability mindset that would accelerate their capacity to fulfill an enhanced leadership role, and take a holistic approach to their continuing self-directed development as leaders and educators. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

A Reflective Learning Framework to Evaluate CME Effects on Practice Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, Kit H.; Pluye, Pierre; Grad, Roland; Weston, Cynthia

2010-01-01

Introduction: The importance of reflective practice is recognized by the adoption of a reflective learning model in continuing medical education (CME), but little is known about how to evaluate reflective learning in CME. Reflective learning seldom is defined in terms of specific cognitive processes or observable performances. Competency-based…

First year specialist trainees' engagement with reflective practice in the e-portfolio.

PubMed

McNeill, Helen; Brown, Jeremy M; Shaw, Nigel J

2010-10-01

Doctors in specialist training posts in the Mersey Deanery are expected to reflect on their clinical practice and to document their learning experiences in an e-portfolio. This study aims specifically to explore how they have engaged in reflection on their practice and how they utilise their learning portfolio to document evidence of this. A modified Delphi technique was used to develop a grading system to identify the level of reflection recorded by participants in the e-portfolio. Transcripts of the reflective accounts were then analysed using a qualitative approach which involved coding and categorising the data. This study demonstrated a wide variation in both the quantity and quality of reflection. Of particular note in the qualitative data analysis were themes relating to clinical knowledge and skills, learning in practice, communication, feelings, types of learning experience reflected on and wider aspects of medical practice. Findings indicate there is variation is the extent to which doctors both engage in and document evidence of reflection. Further research is needed to explore factors that enable or inhibit the use of the e-portfolio for reflection and whether recorded reflection is a true picture of the cognitive process involved.

Healthcare at the Crossroads: The Need to Shape an Organizational Culture of Humanistic Teaching and Practice.

PubMed

Rider, Elizabeth A; Gilligan, MaryAnn C; Osterberg, Lars G; Litzelman, Debra K; Plews-Ogan, Margaret; Weil, Amy B; Dunne, Dana W; Hafler, Janet P; May, Natalie B; Derse, Arthur R; Frankel, Richard M; Branch, William T

2018-05-08

Changes in the organization of medical practice have impeded humanistic practice and resulted in widespread physician burnout and dissatisfaction. To identify organizational factors that promote or inhibit humanistic practice of medicine by faculty physicians. From January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2016, faculty from eight US medical schools were asked to write reflectively on two open-ended questions regarding institutional-level motivators and impediments to humanistic practice and teaching within their organizations. Sixty eight of the 92 (74%) study participants who received the survey provided written responses. All subjects who were sent the survey had participated in a year-long small-group faculty development program to enhance humanistic practice and teaching. As humanistic leaders, subjects should have insights into motivating and inhibiting factors. Participants' responses were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Motivators included an organizational culture that enhances humanism, which we judged to be the overarching theme. Related themes included leadership supportive of humanistic practice, responsibility to role model humanism, organized activities that promote humanism, and practice structures that facilitate humanism. Impediments included top down organizational culture that inhibits humanism, along with related themes of non-supportive leadership, time and bureaucratic pressures, and non-facilitative practice structures. While healthcare has evolved rapidly, efforts to counteract the negative effects of changes in organizational and practice environments have largely focused on cultivating humanistic attributes in individuals. Our findings suggest that change at the organizational level is at least equally important. Physicians in our study described the characteristics of an organizational culture that supports and embraces humanism. We offer suggestions for organizational change that keep humanistic and compassionate patient care as its central focus.

Developing compassion through a relationship centred appreciative leadership programme.

PubMed

Dewar, Belinda; Cook, Fiona

2014-09-01

Recent attention in health care focuses on how to develop effective leaders for the future. Effective leadership is embodied in relationships and should be developed in and with staff and patients. This paper describes development, implementation and evaluation of an appreciative and relationship centred leadership programme carried out with 86 nursing staff covering 24 in-patient areas within one acute NHS Board in Scotland. The aim of the programme was to support staff to work together to develop a culture of inquiry that would enhance delivery of compassionate care. The 12 month Leadership Programme used the principles of appreciative relationship centred leadership. Within this framework participants were supported to explore relationships with self, patients and families, and with teams and the wider organisation using caring conversations. Participants worked within communities of practice and action learning sets. They were supported to use a range of structured tools to learn about the experience of others and to identify caring practices that worked well and then explore ways in which these could happen more of the time. A range of methods were used to evaluate impact of the programme including a culture questionnaire and semi structured interviews. Immersion crystallisation technique and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Key themes included; enhanced self-awareness, better relationships, greater ability to reflect on practice, different conversations in the workplace that were more compassionate and respectful, and an ethos of continuing learning and improvement. The programme supported participants to think in different ways and to be reflective and engaged participants rather than passive actors in shaping the cultural climate in which compassionate relationship centred care can flourish. Multidisciplinary programmes where the process and outcomes are explicitly linked to organisational objectives need to be considered in future programmes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oocyte cryopreservation beyond cancer: tools for ethical reflection.

PubMed

Linkeviciute, Alma; Peccatori, Fedro A; Sanchini, Virginia; Boniolo, Giovanni

2015-08-01

This article offers physicians a tool for structured ethical reflection on challenging situations surrounding oocyte cryopreservation in young healthy women. A systematic literature review offers a comprehensive overview of the ethical debate surrounding the practice. Ethical Counseling Methodology (ECM) offers a practical approach for addressing ethical uncertainties. ECM consists of seven steps: (i) case presentation; (ii) analysis of possible implications; (iii) presentation of ethical question(s); (iv) explanation of ethical terms; (v) presentation of the ethical arguments in favor of and against the procedure; (vi) examination of the individual patient's beliefs and wishes; and (vii) conclusive summary. The most problematic aspects in the ethical debate include the distinction between medical and non-medical use of oocyte cryopreservation, safety and efficiency of the procedure, and marketing practices aimed at healthy women. Female empowerment and enhanced reproductive choices (granted oocyte cryopreservation is a safe and efficient technique) are presented as ethical arguments supporting the practice, while ethical reservations towards oocyte cryopreservation are based on concerns about maternal and fetal safety and wider societal implications. Oocyte cryopreservation is gaining popularity among healthy reproductive age women. However, despite promised benefits it also involves risks that are not always properly communicated in commercialized settings. ECM offers clinicians a tool for structured ethical analysis taking into consideration a wide range of implications, various ethical standpoints, and patients' perceptions and beliefs.

Changes Resulting from Reflection Dialogues on Nursing Practice

PubMed Central

Okuda, Reiko; Fukada, Mika

2014-01-01

Background Reflection is defined here as a process by which, through self-conversation, one’s self and one’s behavior acquire meaning. However, people have limitations in terms of what they can express and be aware of during reflection. This finding points to the importance of facilitators. The purpose of this study was to determine what changes can be brought about through reflection dialogues on nursing practice. Methods The Participants were 9 nurses who worked at three institutions in City A, each with about 200 beds. Workplace topics were examined through self-reflections and reflection dialogues. The depth of reflection was assessed using the three levels of reflection described by Mezirow—{reflecting on the content}, {reflecting on the process} and {reflecting on the assumptions}. Results In reflecting on nursing practice, the participants were also divided into those who had already reached the highest level, {reflecting on assumptions}, via self-reflection, and those who remained at the level of {reflecting on processes}, despite the use of reflection dialogues. Conclusion The development of reflective thinking on nursing practice was connected not only to the participants’ desire to explore ways of accepting their individual experiences, but may also be connected to whether or not they are able to question themselves about their thoughts and preconceptions about nursing work. PMID:25067874

Appreciated but Constrained: Reflective Practice of Student Teachers in Learning Communities in a Confucian Heritage Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhan, Ying; Wan, Zhi Hong

2016-01-01

This study aimed to understand the reflective practice of 23 Chinese student teachers in learning communities (LCs) during their practicum in a Confucian heritage culture. The reflective levels of the student teachers and the factors that mediated the effects of LCs on their reflective practice were explored using journals and post-journal…

Integrating aesthetics into advanced practice mental health nursing: commercial film as a suggested modality.

PubMed

Raingruber, Bonnie

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the advantages and disadvantages of using feature films in teaching advanced practice mental health nursing. A phenomenological investigation was conducted of 11 master's student perspectives regarding the use of movies in an on-line course. According to the students, the disadvantages of movies were that films are time consuming to watch and often more dramatic than real-life situations. The advantages of using movies were that films are effective in promoting reflection and enhancing empathy. Students noted that movies poignantly portray emotional issues and are engaging in addition to being a good way both to present educational content and introduce ethical dilemmas. Using movies also may be effective with select clients as a once-removed way to introduce therapeutic discussions in outpatient practice.

Students' Representations of Scientific Practice during a Science Internship: Reflections from an activity-theoretic perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Pei-Ling; van Eijck, Michiel; Roth, Wolff-Michael

2010-06-01

Working at scientists' elbows is one suggestion that educators make to improve science education, because such "authentic experiences" provide students with various types of science knowledge. However, there is an ongoing debate in the literature about the assumption that authentic science activities can enhance students' understandings of scientific practice. The purpose of the study is to further address the debate in terms of the ethnographic data collected during an internship programme for high school students right through to their public presentations at the end. Drawing on activity theory to analyse these presentations, we found that students presented scientific practice as accomplished by individual personnel without collaboration in the laboratory. However, our ethnographic data of their internship interaction show that students have had conversations about the complex collaborations within and outside the laboratory. This phenomenon leads us to claim that students experienced authentic science in their internships, but their subsequent representations of authentic science are incomplete. That is, participating in authentic science internships and reporting scientific practice are embedded activities that constitute different goals and conditions rather than unrefracted reflections of one another. The debate on the influence on students' understanding of science practice is not simply related to situating students in authentic science contexts, but also related to students' values and ideology of reporting their understanding of and about science. To help students see these "invisible" moments of science practice is therefore crucial. We make suggestions for how the invisible in and of authentic science may be made visible.

Transformative learning and research utilization in nursing practice: a missing link?

PubMed

Matthew-Maich, Nancy; Ploeg, Jenny; Jack, Susan; Dobbins, Maureen

2010-03-01

Poor or inconsistent research utilization into clinical practice is a recurrent theme across study contexts, rendering leaders disillusioned with how best to foster the uptake of research into nursing practice. This makes it imperative to look to new approaches. Research utilization involves a learning process engaging attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors; yet, this is often overlooked in approaches and models used to facilitate research use. This oversight may offer some explanation to the limited progress in research utilization to date. Transformation Theory offers an explanatory theory and specific strategies (critical reflection and critical discourse) to explore attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors so that they are understood, validated, and can better guide actions. The purpose of this article was to explore what Transformation Theory can contribute to research utilization initiatives in nursing practice. Transformation Theory and transformative learning strategies are discussed and critically analyzed in consideration of their potential roles in fostering research utilization in clinical nursing practice. (1) Research utilization is a learning process that involves knowledge, skills, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. (2) Transformative learning strategies of critical reflection and discourse can facilitate insight into experiences, finding shared meanings among groups of people, and understanding/validating beliefs, attitudes, and feelings so they can more consciously guide future actions. This dimension is frequently neglected in research utilization efforts. (3) In combination with research utilization theories, Transformation Theory may be a missing link to make research utilization initiatives more effective in rendering and sustaining nursing practice change, thus enhancing client care and well-being. (4) Research and further consideration are both warranted and needed.

Through the eyes of professional developers: Understanding the design of learning experiences for science teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higgins, Tara Eileen

Professional development is important for improving teacher practice and student learning, particularly in inquiry-oriented and technology-enhanced science instruction. This study examines professional developers' practices and their impact on teachers' classroom instruction and student achievement. It analyzes professional developers designing and implementing a five-year professional development program designed to support middle school science teachers. The professional developers are four university-based researchers who worked with sixteen science teachers over three years, setting program goals, facilitating workshops, providing in-classroom support for teachers, and continually refining the program. The analysis is guided by the knowledge integration perspective, a sociocognitive framework for understanding how teachers and professional developers integrate their ideas about teaching and learning. The study investigates the professional developers' goals and teachers' interpretations of those goals. It documents how professional developers plan teacher learning experiences and explores the connection between professional development activities and teachers' classroom practice. Results are based on two rounds of interviews with professional developers, audio recordings of professional developers' planning meetings and videotaped professional development activities. Data include classroom observations, teacher interviews, teacher reflections during professional development activities, and results from student assessments. The study shows the benefit of a professional development approach that relies on an integrated cycle of setting goals, understanding teachers' interpretations, and refining implementation. The professional developers based their design on making inquiry and technology accessible, situating professional development in teachers' work, supporting collaboration, and sustaining learning. The findings reflect alignment of the design goals with the perspective guiding the curriculum design, and consider multiple goals for student and teacher learning. The study has implications for professional development design, particularly in supporting inquiry-oriented science and technology-enhanced instruction. Effective professional developers formulate coherent conceptions of program goals, use evidence of teacher outcomes to refine their goals and practices, and connect student and teacher learning. This study illustrates the value of research on the individuals who design and lead professional development programs.

The introspective may achieve more: Enhancing existing Geoscientific models with native-language emulated structural reflection

DOE PAGES

Ji, Xinye; Shen, Chaopeng

2017-09-28

Geoscientific models manage myriad and increasingly complex data structures as trans-disciplinary models are integrated. They often incur significant redundancy with cross-cutting tasks. Reflection, the ability of a program to inspect and modify its structure and behavior at runtime, is known as a powerful tool to improve code reusability, abstraction, and separation of concerns. Reflection is rarely adopted in high-performance Geoscientific models, especially with Fortran, where it was previously deemed implausible. Practical constraints of language and legacy often limit us to feather-weight, native-language solutions. We demonstrate the usefulness of a structural-reflection-emulating, dynamically-linked metaObjects, gd. We show real-world examples including data structuremore » self-assembly, effortless save/restart and upgrade to parallel I/O, recursive actions and batch operations. We share gd and a derived module that reproduces MATLAB-like structure in Fortran and C++. We suggest that both a gd representation and a Fortran-native representation are maintained to access the data, each for separate purposes. In conclusion, embracing emulated reflection allows generically-written codes that are highly re-usable across projects.« less

The introspective may achieve more: Enhancing existing Geoscientific models with native-language emulated structural reflection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ji, Xinye; Shen, Chaopeng

Geoscientific models manage myriad and increasingly complex data structures as trans-disciplinary models are integrated. They often incur significant redundancy with cross-cutting tasks. Reflection, the ability of a program to inspect and modify its structure and behavior at runtime, is known as a powerful tool to improve code reusability, abstraction, and separation of concerns. Reflection is rarely adopted in high-performance Geoscientific models, especially with Fortran, where it was previously deemed implausible. Practical constraints of language and legacy often limit us to feather-weight, native-language solutions. We demonstrate the usefulness of a structural-reflection-emulating, dynamically-linked metaObjects, gd. We show real-world examples including data structuremore » self-assembly, effortless save/restart and upgrade to parallel I/O, recursive actions and batch operations. We share gd and a derived module that reproduces MATLAB-like structure in Fortran and C++. We suggest that both a gd representation and a Fortran-native representation are maintained to access the data, each for separate purposes. In conclusion, embracing emulated reflection allows generically-written codes that are highly re-usable across projects.« less

A cultural historical activity theory perspective to understand preservice science teachers' reflections on and tensions during a microteaching experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sezen-Barrie, Asli; Tran, Minh-Dan; McDonald, Scott P.; Kelly, Gregory J.

2014-09-01

This study draws from cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to analyze preservice teachers' reflections on a microteaching activity. Microteaching activities involved preservice educators teaching middle school students from local schools. The study was conducted with 23 preservice teachers enrolled in a large university's teacher education program. During this secondary science teaching methods course, every pair of preservice teachers engaged in 20 minute microteaching activity with 3-5 middle school students. The microteaching was videotaped, and the teachers subsequently provided voice-over reflections on a second audio track. Transcriptions of the microteaching events were analyzed through the formation of event maps showing the phases of activity and the organizational sequence of actions. Event maps were used to investigate the focus of preservice teachers' reflections. The results showed that while learning from their microteaching, preservice teachers focused primarily on the mediating artifacts and gave least attention to the larger teaching community surrounding these activities. Use of CHAT helped to identify challenges in different elements of the microteaching activity. The study contributes to how reflective practice can be enhanced through attention to the social and cultural dimensions of the teaching.

Applications of Reflective Practice. UCEA Monograph Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wendel, Frederick C., Ed.

The implications of reflective practices for educational leadership are examined in this publication, which contains three papers originally presented at the 1990 Convention of the University Council for Educational Administration. Ann Hart, Nancy Sorensen, and Kerri Naylor report on applications of reflective practice to educational…

Guided wave imaging of oblique reflecting interfaces in pipes using common-source synthetic focusing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zeqing; Sun, Anyu; Ju, Bing-Feng

2018-04-01

Cross-mode-family mode conversion and secondary reflection of guided waves in pipes complicate the processing of guided waves signals, and can cause false detection. In this paper, filters operating in the spectral domain of wavenumber, circumferential order and frequency are designed to suppress the signal components of unwanted mode-family and unwanted traveling direction. Common-source synthetic focusing is used to reconstruct defect images from the guided wave signals. Simulations of the reflections from linear oblique defects and a semicircle defect are separately implemented. Defect images, which are reconstructed from the simulation results under different excitation conditions, are comparatively studied in terms of axial resolution, reflection amplitude, detectable oblique angle and so on. Further, the proposed method is experimentally validated by detecting linear cracks with various oblique angles (10-40°). The proposed method relies on the guided wave signals that are captured during 2-D scanning of a cylindrical area on the pipe. The redundancy of the signals is analyzed to reduce the time-consumption of the scanning process and to enhance the practicability of the proposed method.

Analyzing reflective narratives to assess the ethical reasoning of pediatric residents.

PubMed

Moon, Margaret; Taylor, Holly A; McDonald, Erin L; Hughes, Mark T; Beach, Mary Catherine; Carrese, Joseph A

2013-01-01

A limiting factor in ethics education in medical training has been difficulty in assessing competence in ethics. This study was conducted to test the concept that content analysis of pediatric residents' personal reflections about ethics experiences can identify changes in ethical sensitivity and reasoning over time. Analysis of written narratives focused on two of our ethics curriculum's goals: 1) To raise sensitivity to ethical issues in everyday clinical practice and 2) to enhance critical reflection on personal and professional values as they affect patient care. Content analysis of written reflections was guided by a tool developed to identify and assess the level of ethical reasoning in eight domains determined to be important aspects of ethical competence. Based on the assessment of narratives written at two times (12 to 16 months/apart) during their training, residents showed significant progress in two specific domains: use of professional values, and use of personal values. Residents did not show decline in ethical reasoning in any domain. This study demonstrates that content analysis of personal narratives may provide a useful method for assessment of developing ethical sensitivity and reasoning.

Promoting collaboration skills on reflection concept through multimedia-based integrated instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hermawan, Hermawan; Siahaan, Parsaoran; Suhendi, Endi; Samsudin, Achmad

2017-05-01

Multimedia-Based Integrated Instructions (MBI2) has been developed to promote the collaboration skills on reflection concepts turn into more real and meaningful learning. The initial design of MBI2 in the form of a multimedia computer that allows users to explore the concept of the overall reflectance of the light through the conceptual and practical aspects that have been developed. MBI2has been developed to promoteone of the skills that the 21st-century skills to students'junior high school that is collaboration skill in order to compete in the future life. The ability to collaborate is divided into five aspects, namely contributions, time management, problem-solving, working with others and research techniques. Research methods utiliseed in this study is an exploration and instructional development 4D model (define, design, develop and disseminate). Based on data analysis, it can be concluded that the development of integrated multimedia-based instruction (MBI2) on the concept of reflection through the 4D developing model was effectively to enhance collaboration skills of students'junior high school.

Benefits of Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Kathi

2006-01-01

In this article, the author discusses what she was able to learn from an exercise in self-reflection regarding her teaching. She also discusses the advantages of reflection for administrators: First, a reflective practice is data-driven, making it a more valid way to evaluate administrators' knowledge and skills. Second, a reflective practice…

Uncover it, students would learn leadership from Team-Based Learning (TBL): The effect of guided reflection and feedback.

PubMed

Alizadeh, Maryam; Mirzazadeh, Azim; Parmelee, Dean X; Peyton, Elizabeth; Janani, Leila; Hassanzadeh, Gholamreza; Nedjat, Saharnaz

2017-04-01

Little is known about best practices for teaching and learning leadership through Team-Based learning™ (TBL™) with medical students. We hypothesized that guided reflection and feedback would improve shared leadership and shared leadership capacity, and enhance team decision quality in TBL teams. We used the Kolb experiential learning theory as the theoretical framework. The study was conducted at Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Three TBL sessions with 206 students (39 teams) participated in the study. Using a quasi-experimental design, one batch received guided reflection and feedback on their team leadership processes (n = 20 teams) and the other received only TBL (n = 19 teams). Observers measured shared leadership using a checklist. Shared leadership capacity was measured using a questionnaire. Scores on a team application exercise were used to assess quality of team decisions. Evidence did not support our first hypothesis that reflection and feedback enhance shared leadership in TBL teams. Percentages of teams displaying shared leadership did not differ between intervention and control groups in sessions 1 (p = 0.6), 2 (p = 1) or 3 (p = 1). The results did not support the second hypothesis. We found no difference in quality of decision making between the intervention and control groups for sessions 1 (p = 0.77), 2 (p = 0.23), or 3 (p = 0.07). The third hypothesis that the reflection and feedback would have an effect on shared leadership capacity was supported (T = -8.55, p > 0.001 adjusted on baseline; T = -8.55, p > 0.001 adjusted on gender). We found that reflection and feedback improved shared leadership capacity but not shared leadership behaviors or team decision quality. We propose medical educators who apply TBL, should provide guided exercise in reflection and feedback so that students may better understand the benefits of working in teams as preparation for their future roles as leaders and members of health care teams.

Teachers As Researchers: Improving Practice in Rural and Small Schools. Rural, Small Schools Network Information Exchange: Number 11, Fall 1991.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Regional Laboratory for Educational Improvement of the Northeast & Islands, Andover, MA.

This packet includes reprints of journal articles and other information exploring reflective practice and action research among rural educators. The four sections of the packet cover concepts of reflective practice and action research; examples of reflective practice at both the elementary and secondary levels; issues such as encouraging…

Reflective practice and daily ward reality: a covert power game.

PubMed

Mantzoukas, Stefanos; Jasper, Melanie A

2004-11-01

The concept of reflection is propounded in the literature as an epistemology for practice that enables practitioners to solve their daily problematic situations through conscious thought processes which eventually leads to practice-based knowledge. Hence, reflection became a central tenet of both theory development and educational provision in nursing. Furthermore, this centrality of reflection was reinforced by statutory nursing bodies and service providers by adopting it as the means for carrying out adequate professional practice. Although this may be the case, issues of implementation of reflection within the daily reality of practitioners are frequently overlooked within the literature. Moreover, little consideration appears to be given on the impact that the organizational culture and the politics of power may exert on the implementation of reflective practices within daily ward reality. This paper explores how reflection is viewed by nurses within their daily reality in the medical wards, examines the relationships between the organizational culture of these wards and the practitioners and investigates whether reflective methods of practice were being implemented when the study was conducted. An interpretative ethnographical methodology was implemented and the data collecting methods used were observation, interviews and qualitative content analysis with a group of 16 practising nurses from four medical wards of one NHS Trust in England. Two interviews were conducted with each nurse within 3-week intervals. The content of these interviews evolved from the analysis of episodes of practice observed when the nurses were giving nursing care. These data were supplemented by narratives from the nurses' in the form of written reflective accounts that were analysed via qualitative content analysis techniques. Four themes were generated: (i) relationships between nurses and doctors; (ii) relationships between nurses and managers; (iii) nursing practice; and (iv) nurses' input in the outcome of a clinical situation. The concept of reflection appears to be invalidated by the organizational hierarchy of the wards on the basis of a power struggle game. The ward structure portrays reflection as an abnormal method of practice and knowledge development. This belittlement of reflection does not mirror the practitioners' reality. Instead, it is an intelligent and intentional act on behalf of the dominant professional groups in the wards to create an illusionary picture of ward reality to allow them to survey and define nursing practice and thus maintain and remain in power. This is explicated by using Foucault's analysis and critical social theory framework. Hence, reflective processes are constrained by this covert power game; reflection, where used, is confined to nurses' personal time and space. The realization of this covert power game by individual clinical nurses can become the incipient point for formally using reflective methods in the practice setting.

The theory-practice relationship: reflective skills and theoretical knowledge as key factors in bridging the gap between theory and practice in initial nursing education.

PubMed

Hatlevik, Ida Katrine Riksaasen

2012-04-01

This paper is a report of a correlational study of the relations of nursing students' acquired reflective skills, practical skills and theoretical knowledge on their perception of coherence between theory and practice. Reflection is considered a key factor in bridging the gap between theory and practice. However, it is not evident whether reflective skills are primarily generic in nature or whether they develop from a theoretical knowledge base or the acquisition of practical skills. This study is a secondary analysis of existing data. The data are part of a student survey that was conducted among third-year nursing students in Norway during the spring of 2007. A total of 446 nursing students participated in this study and the response rate was 71%. Structural equation modelling analyses were performed. The results indicate that students' perception of coherence between theory and practice during initial nursing education is directly influenced by reflective skills and theoretical knowledge. The results also reveal that reflective skills have mediating effects and that practical skills have a fully mediated and theoretical knowledge a partially mediated influence on students' perception of coherence. The findings imply that helping students perceive coherence between theory and practice in nursing education, developing students' reflective skills and strengthening the theoretical components of the initial nursing education programme might be beneficial. The results suggest that reflective thinking is not merely a generic skill but rather a skill that depends on the acquisition of relevant professional knowledge and experience. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Improving Design Understandings and Skills through Enhanced Metacognition: Reflective Design Journals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurt, Mustafa; Kurt, Sevinc

2017-01-01

The main aim of this study was to investigate and discover whether going through the process of reflection by keeping reflective design journals (RDJ) enhances architecture students' metacognition and whether this enhanced metacognition improves their design understandings and skills. The study was a mixed-methods design and utilised content…

Using Reflective Practice to Facilitate Conversations and Transform Instructional Practice for Middle School Science Teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higdon, Robbie L.

The process of teaching, especially inquiry, is complex and requires extended time for developing one's instructional practice (Loucks-Horsley, Stiles, Mundry, Love, & Hewson, 2010). The implementation of a continued cycle of self-reflection can engage teachers in analyzing their prior experiences and understandings about their instructional practice to promote the accommodation of new concepts and transform their practice. However, many teachers have difficulty engaging in the cognitive dissonance needed to identify those problems and promote their own growth without support. As one's professional practice becomes more repetitive and routine, it is difficult for the practitioner to recognize opportunities in which to contemplate one's habitual actions (Schon, 1983). In this multi-case study, two middle school science teachers who were engaged within a sustained professional development initiative participated in a series of one-on-one reflective dialogues regarding the decisions they made about the utilization of inquiry-based instruction. In addition, these teachers were asked to reflect upon the criteria used to determine how and when to implement these inquiry-based practices. These reflective dialogue sessions provided the opportunity to observe teacher conceptions and stimulate teacher cognitive dissonance about instructional practice. Qualitative analysis of data collected from these reflective dialogues along with informal and formal classroom observations of instructional practice uncovered diverse perceptions regarding the implementation of inquiry-based methods into present teaching practice. The use of reflective dialogue within the existing structure of the professional development initiative allowed for the facilitators of the professional development initiative to tailor ongoing support and their effective implementation of inquiry-based instruction. Additional research is needed to investigate the impact of reflective dialogue in achieving accommodation of new concepts leading to lasting conceptual change about inquiry-based instruction.

Engaging pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) clinical staff to lead practice improvement: the PICU participatory action research project (PICU-PAR).

PubMed

Collet, Jean-Paul; Skippen, Peter W; Mosavianpour, Mir Kaber; Pitfield, Alexander; Chakraborty, Bubli; Hunte, Garth; Lindstrom, Ronald; Kissoon, Niranjan; McKellin, William H

2014-01-08

Despite considerable efforts, engaging staff to lead quality improvement activities in practice settings is a persistent challenge. At British Columbia Children's Hospital (BCCH), the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) undertook a new phase of quality improvement actions based on the Community of Practice (CoP) model with Participatory Action Research (PAR). This approach aims to mobilize the PICU 'community' as a whole with a focus on practice; namely, to create a 'community of practice' to support reflection, learning, and innovation in everyday work. An iterative two-stage PAR process using mixed methods has been developed among the PICU CoP to describe the environment (stage 1) and implement specific interventions (stage 2). Stage 1 is ethnographic description of the unit's care practice. Surveys, interviews, focus groups, and direct observations describe the clinical staff's experiences and perspectives around bedside care and quality endeavors in the PICU. Contrasts and comparisons across participants, time and activities help understanding the PICU culture and experience. Stage 2 is a succession of PAR spirals, using results from phase 1 to set up specific interventions aimed at building the staff's capability to conduct QI projects while acquiring appropriate technical skills and leadership capacity (primary outcome). Team communication, information, and interaction will be enhanced through a knowledge exchange (KE) and a wireless network of iPADs. Lack of leadership at the staff level in order to improve daily practice is a recognized challenge that faces many hospitals. We believe that the PAR approach within a highly motivated CoP is a sound method to create the social dynamic and cultural context within which clinical teams can grow, reflect, innovate and feel proud to better serve patients.

Exploring resilience in rural GP registrars--implications for training.

PubMed

Walters, Lucie; Laurence, Caroline O; Dollard, Joanne; Elliott, Taryn; Eley, Diann S

2015-07-02

Resilience can be defined as the ability to rebound from adversity and overcome difficult circumstances. General Practice (GP) registrars face many challenges in transitioning into general practice, and additional stressors and pressures apply for those choosing a career in rural practice. At this time of international rural generalist medical workforce shortages, it is important to focus on the needs of rural GP registrars and how to support them to become resilient health care providers. This study sought to explore GP registrars' perceptions of their resilience and strategies they used to maintain resilience in rural general practice. In this qualitative interpretive research, semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using an inductive approach. Initial coding resulted in a coding framework which was refined using constant comparison and negative case analysis. Authors developed consensus around the final conceptual model. Eighteen GP registrars from: Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Independent Pathway, and three GP regional training programs with rural training posts. Six main themes emerged from the data. Firstly, rural GP registrars described four dichotomous tensions they faced: clinical caution versus clinical courage; flexibility versus persistence; reflective practice versus task-focused practice; and personal connections versus professional commitment. Further themes included: personal skills for balance which facilitated resilience including optimistic attitude, self-reflection and metacognition; and finally GP registrars recognised the role of their supervisors in supporting and stretching them to enhance their clinical resilience. Resilience is maintained as on a wobble board by balancing professional tensions within acceptable limits. These limits are unique to each individual, and may be expanded through personal growth and professional development as part of rural general practice training.

Spiritual Reflective Practice in Preservice Art Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Laurel H.

2005-01-01

Spirituality is becoming an increasingly significant aspect of contemporary art education theory. The manner in which one conceives of holistic art education curricula is partially shaped by one's understanding of a more spiritual approach to reflective thinking and practice in teacher education. Definitions of reflective practice and…

Exploration of a Reflective Practice Rubric

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Karen; James, Kimberley; Noy, Sue

2016-01-01

Work integrated learning (WIL) educators using reflective practice to facilitate student learning require a set of standards that works within the traditional assessment frame of Higher Education, to ascertain the level at which reflective practice has been demonstrated. However, there is a paucity of tested assessment instruments that provide…

The use of drama to support reflection and understanding of the residents' situation in dementia care: a pilot study.

PubMed

Bolmsjö, Ingrid; Edberg, Anna-Karin; Andersson, Petra Lilja

2014-09-01

One key aspect of person-centredness is striving to understand both the patients' experiences and behaviours from their perspective. These aspects are precisely those that staff in dementia care highlight as causing them most difficulty because the people in their care have major problems expressing themselves. There is thus a need to develop a method to help the staff to achieve interpretation through reflection. The aim of this study was to explore the use of drama as a tool to support reflection among staff working in the residential care of people with dementia. A qualitative evaluation of a programme consisting of three drama sessions with staff working in residential care (n = 10 nurse assistants). Data comprised observations and tape recordings of the sessions, the researchers' reflections after each session and a focus-group interview with the participants. The texts were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis showed that: (i) the exercises stimulate reflection about daily caring practice; (ii) the participants must receive extensive information about the purpose of the sessions; (iii) the research team must secure the defined frames and conditions and have practical knowledge about caring for people with dementia and (iv) the management needs to be stable, committed and supportive. Drama seems to be a valid tool to aid reflection, but several adjustments are needed concerning both the content of the sessions and the methodology. When designing a larger intervention study, it would be preferable to the sessions to be combined with staff support to effect changes in care provision resulting from their increased awareness of the residents' situation and experience. Our results showed that drama can be a means to enhance reflection among staff in residential care for people with dementia. Further research is however needed concerning the effects for the staff's situation and nursing care quality. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Preserving third year medical students' empathy and enhancing self-reflection using small group "virtual hangout" technology.

PubMed

Duke, Pamela; Grosseman, Suely; Novack, Dennis H; Rosenzweig, Steven

2015-01-01

Medical student professionalism education is challenging in scope, purpose, and delivery, particularly in the clinical years when students in large universities are dispersed across multiple clinical sites. We initiated a faculty-facilitated, peer small group course for our third year students, creating virtual classrooms using social networking and online learning management system technologies. The course emphasized narrative self-reflection, group inquiry, and peer support. We conducted this study to analyze the effects of a professionalism course on third year medical students' empathy and self-reflection (two elements of professionalism) and their perceptions about the course. Students completed the Groningen Reflection Ability Scale (GRAS) and the Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) before and after the course and provided anonymous online feedback. The results of the JSE before and after the course demonstrated preservation of empathy rather than its decline. In addition, there was a statistically significant increase in GRAS scores (p < 0.001), suggesting that the sharing of personal narratives may foster reflective ability and reflective practice among third year students. This study supports previous findings showing that students benefit from peer groups and discussion in a safe environment, which may include the use of a virtual group video platform.

Optical fringe-reflection deflectometry with sparse representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Yong-Liang; Li, Sikun; Zhang, Qican; Zhong, Jianxin; Su, Xianyu; You, Zhisheng

2018-05-01

Optical fringe-reflection deflectometry is a surprisingly attractive scratch detection technique for specular surfaces owing to its unparalleled local sensibility. Full-field surface topography is obtained from a measured normal field using gradient integration. However, there may not be an ideal measured gradient field for deflectometry reconstruction in practice. Both the non-integrability condition and various kinds of image noise distributions, which are present in the indirect measured gradient field, may lead to ambiguity about the scratches on specular surfaces. In order to reduce misjudgment of scratches, sparse representation is introduced into the Southwell curl equation for deflectometry. The curl can be represented as a linear combination of the given redundant dictionary for curl and the sparsest solution for gradient refinement. The non-integrability condition and noise permutation can be overcome with sparse representation for gradient refinement. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the accuracy rate of judgment of scratches can be enhanced with sparse representation compared to the standard least-squares integration. Preliminary experiments are performed with the application of practical measured deflectometric data to verify the validity of the algorithm.

A person-centered approach to study intimacy and sexuality in residential care facility (RCF) clients with dementia: Methodological considerations and a guide to study design.

PubMed

Roelofs, Tineke S M; Luijkx, Katrien G; Embregts, Petri J C M

2017-01-01

The person-centered perspective of residential care facility (RCF) residents with dementia with regard to their intimate and sexual lives is largely neglected in research. We aim to provide methodological considerations and reflections on a performed qualitative study. Recommendations and a guide to study design are provided to inform and encourage future research on the inclusion of people with dementia as participants. Methodological recommendations and reflections are described in chronological order of the procedure. Fragments of interviews are included for further illustration and clarification. Considering preparation, close involvement of clinical practice, and extensive deliberation regarding study design tended to be important. Considering procedure, investment in contacts with clinical practice and authorized representatives; an introduction meeting; person-centered inclusion and consent; profound skills in interviewing participants with dementia; and flexibility in data collection were proven of importance. Considering data analysis and study quality, including field notes and aiming at a balance between study quality and practicability to enhance study 'rigor' were found important. Including the person-centered perspective in research on intimacy and sexuality of RCF residents with dementia, is challenging and takes a flexible and creative approach. It is, however, worthwhile to close the gap in literature.

Rating teams' non-technical skills in the emergency department: A qualitative study of nurses' experience.

PubMed

Porter, Joanne E; Cant, Robyn P; Cooper, Simon J

2018-05-01

Non-technical skills (NTS) teamwork training can enhance clinicians' understanding of roles and improve communication. We evaluated a quality improvement project rating teams' NTS performance to determine the value of formal rating and debriefing processes. In two Australian emergency departments the NTS of resuscitation teams were rated by senior nurses and medical staff. Key measures were leadership, teamwork, and task management using a valid instrument: Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM™). Emergency nurses were asked to attend a focus group from which key themes around the quality improvement process were identified. Main themes were: 'Team composition' (allocation of resuscitation team roles), 'Resuscitation leadership' (including both nursing and medical leadership roles) and 'TEAM™ ratings promote reflective practice' (providing staff a platform to discuss team effectiveness). Objective ratings were seen as enabling staff to provide feedback to other team members. Reflection on practice and debriefing were thought to improve communication, help define roles and responsibilities, and clarify leadership roles. Use of a non-technical skills rating scheme such as TEAM™ after team-based clinical resuscitation events was seen by emergency department nurses as feasible and a useful process for examining and improving multi-disciplinary practice, while improving team performance. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fostering Teacher Candidates' Reflective Practice through Video Editing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trent, Margaret; Gurvitch, Rachel

2015-01-01

Recently, interest in using video to promote the reflective practice in preservice teacher education has increased. Video recordings of teaching incidents inspire the reflective practice in preservice teachers by allowing them to analyze instruction and view teaching in an objective light. As an extension of video recording, video editing has…

Confession, In-Service Training and Reflective Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fejes, Andreas

2011-01-01

This article focuses on how confession operates in contemporary discourses on reflective practices. By revisiting and mobilising Foucault's genealogy of confession in relation to how reflective practices are mobilised in an in-service training programme for healthcare assistants (HCA) in elderly care, it is argued that the HCAs are shaped as their…

Reflective Practice in a Pluri-Disciplinary Innovative Design Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choulier, Denis; Picard, Fabienne; Weite, Pierre-Alain

2007-01-01

Reflective practice is an important vehicle for the apprenticeship of tacit and procedure-oriented knowledge. This article explores the development of reflective practice in the teaching of an innovative design course. Starting from a characterization of the "materials of a design situation" (problem-solution duality, methods and tools,…

Presence without Being Present: Reflection and Action in a Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enfield, Mark; Stasz, Bird

2011-01-01

Reflection and Communities of Practice are common constructs in teacher education. Co-teaching is often seen as beneficial, yet teacher education students rarely have experiences being co-taught. Thus, reflection, communities of practice, and co-teaching, deserve careful consideration in designing teacher education learning experiences. Based on…

Cross-Continental Reflections on Evaluation Practice: Methods, Use, and Valuing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kallemeyn, Leanne M.; Hall, Jori; Friche, Nanna; McReynolds, Clifton

2015-01-01

The evaluation theory tree typology reflects the following three components of evaluation practice: (a) methods, (b) use, and (c) valuing. The purpose of this study was to explore how evaluation practice is conceived as reflected in articles published in the "American Journal of Evaluation" ("AJE") and "Evaluation," a…

Resistance and Disidentification in Reflective Practice with Preservice Teaching Interns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Middleton, Michael; Abrams, Eleanor; Seaman, Jayson

2011-01-01

Teachers who engage in reflective practices are better able to recognize the complexity of teaching, use judgment to choose appropriate strategies for teaching and learning in their specific contexts, and experience improved self-confidence. For these reasons, many teacher education programs emphasize self-reflective practice. Self-reflective…

Reflective Practices in Foreign Language Teacher Education: A View through Micro and Macro Windows

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geyer, Naomi

2008-01-01

As professional development models of teacher education that allow for self-directed, collaborative, inquiry-based learning are increasingly replacing more traditional top-down models, researchers acknowledge the impact of teachers' reflective practices. Although many different types of reflective practices are reported, the differences across…

Experiences of Teacher Reflection: Reggio Inspired Practices in the Studio

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parnell, Will

2012-01-01

A teacher educator phenomenologically researches with two studio teachers, creating a dynamic of three reflective practitioners making meaning of their time in the studios. They are reflective practitioners as they claim to practice learning and teaching in reflection, action and reflective action. In their team of three, they explore the…

Reflection in Work-Based Learning: Self-Regulation or Self-Liberation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siebert, Sabina; Walsh, Anita

2013-01-01

This article considers the role of reflective practice in work-based learning in higher education. The benefits of using reflection for learning at work have been widely recognised and the pedagogy to support reflection is now established. However, the use of reflective practice has been subjected to considerable critique, and many of the…

A conceptual framework to facilitate the mental health of student nurses working with persons with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

van Rensburg, Elsie S Janse; Poggenpoel, Marie; Myburgh, Chris

2015-11-25

Student nurses (SNs) experience emotional discomfort during placement in the clinical psychiatric learning environment. This may negatively influence their mental health. Limited support is available to assist both SNs working with persons with intellectual disabilities and nurse educators during clinical accompaniment. This article aims to discuss the generation of this framework to enhance student support. A theory-generative, qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual design was utilised to develop the framework by applying four steps. In step 1 concept analysis identified the central concept through field work. Data were collected from 13 SNs purposively selected from a specific higher educational institution in Gauteng through two focus group interviews, reflective journals, a reflective letter, naïve sketches, drawings and field notes and analysed with thematic coding. The central concept was identified from the results, supported by a literature review and defined by essential attributes. The central concept was classified through a survey list and demonstrated in a model case. In step 2 the central concepts were placed into relationships with each other. The conceptual framework was described and evaluated in step 3 and guidelines for implementation were described in step 4. The focus of this article will be on generating the conceptual framework. The central concept was 'the facilitation of engagement on a deeper emotional level of SNs'. The conceptual framework was described and evaluated. The conceptual framework can enhance the educational practices of nurse educators and can SN's practices of care for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Personal experience narratives by students: a teaching-learning tool in bioethics.

PubMed

Pandya, Radhika H; Shukla, Radha; Gor, Alpa P; Ganguly, Barna

2016-01-01

The principles of bioethics have been identified as important requirements for training basic medical doctors. Till now, various modalities have been used for teaching bioethics, such as lectures, followed by a small case-based discussion, case vignettes or debates among students. For effective teaching-learning of bioethics, it is necessary to integrate theory and practice rather than merely teach theoretical constructs without helping the students translate those constructs into practice. Classroom teaching can focus on the theoretical knowledge of professional relationships, patient-doctor relationships, issues at the beginning and end of life, reproductive technologies, etc. However, a better learning environment can be created through an experiencebased approach to complement lectures and facilitate successful teaching. Engaging students in reflective dialogue with their peers would allow them to refine their ideas with respect to learning ethics. It can help in the development both of the cognitive and affective domains of the teaching of bioethics. Real-life narratives by the interns, when used as case or situation analysis models for a particular ethical issue, can enhance other students' insight and give them a moral boost. Doing this can change the classroom atmosphere, enhance motivation, improve the students' aptitude and improve their attitude towards learning bioethics. Involving the students in this manner can prove to be a sustainable way of achieving the goal of deep reflective learning of bioethics and can serve as a new technique for maintaining the interest of students as well as teachers.

Social marketing in public health.

PubMed

Grier, Sonya; Bryant, Carol A

2005-01-01

Social marketing, the use of marketing to design and implement programs to promote socially beneficial behavior change, has grown in popularity and usage within the public health community. Despite this growth, many public health professionals have an incomplete understanding of the field. To advance current knowledge, we provide a practical definition and discuss the conceptual underpinnings of social marketing. We then describe several case studies to illustrate social marketing's application in public health and discuss challenges that inhibit the effective and efficient use of social marketing in public health. Finally, we reflect on future developments in the field. Our aim is practical: to enhance public health professionals' knowledge of the key elements of social marketing and how social marketing may be used to plan public health interventions.

A COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL FOR THE EXPANSION OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE AND SUPERVISION: EVALUATION OF A PILOT TRAINING SERIES FOR INFANT MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS.

PubMed

Shea, Sarah E; Goldberg, Sheryl; Weatherston, Deborah J

2016-11-01

The Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health identified a need for reflective supervision training for infant mental health (IMH) specialists providing home-based services to highly vulnerable infants and their families. Findings indicate that this pilot of an IMH community mental health professional development model was successful, as measured by the participants' increased capacity to apply reflective practice and supervisory knowledge and skills. Furthermore, IMH clinicians demonstrated an increase in the frequency of their use of reflective practice skills, and their supervisors demonstrated an increase in their sense of self-efficacy regarding reflective supervisory tasks. Finally, the evaluation included a successful pilot of new measures designed to measure reflective practice, contributing to the growing body of research in the area of reflective supervision. © 2016 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

What Could Be Future Scenarios?—Lessons from the History of Public Health Surveillance for the Future

PubMed Central

Choi, Bernard C.K.

2015-01-01

This article provides insights into the future based on a review of the past and present of public health surveillance—the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health data for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health action. Public health surveillance dates back to the first recorded epidemic in 3180 BC in Egypt. A number of lessons and items of interest are summarised from a review of historical perspectives in the past 5,000 years and the current practice of surveillance. Some future scenarios are presented: exploring new frontiers; enhancing computer technology; improving epidemic investigations; improving data collection, analysis, dissemination and use; building on lessons from the past; building capacity; and enhancing global surveillance. It is concluded that learning from the past, reflecting on the present, and planning for the future can further enhance public health surveillance. PMID:29546093

L'integration des savoirs theoriques a la pratique par l'analyse reflexive: Formation a la gestion de classe (The Integration of Theoretical Knowledge with the Practice of Reflective Analysis: Formation of Class Management).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bourgeois, Noella

1999-01-01

Explores whether reflective analysis promotes integration of theoretical knowledge presented in a course on motivation, with the practice of classroom management during a practice teaching round. Analyzes narrative accounts of practice where subjects recorded observations and reflections of experiences. Results indicate the presence of principal…

Teacher Reflective Practice in Jesuit High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klug, Joseph H.

2010-01-01

Teachers who engage in reflective practice are more effective and may encourage higher student achievement. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the methods that teachers use in order to engage in reflective practice. Further, it is essential to gain an understanding of how schools, including Jesuit high schools, promote reflective…

If These Walls Could Talk: Reflective Practice in Addiction Studies among Undergraduates in New Zealand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepherd, Robin

2010-01-01

This exploratory study examined reflective practice among a class of students studying a "communities and addictions" course as part of the undergraduate health science degree. Most reflective practice publications are focused on medical or teachers' training rather than undergraduates in general. This is surprising given that reflective…

Research: Reflecting Practice. Papers from the SCUTREA Annual Conference (23rd, Manchester, England, July 6-8, 1993).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Nod, Ed.; Jones, David J., Ed.

The following papers are included: "Social Classification of Women's Work" (Benn, Burton); "Developing Models of Learning from Experience" (Boud, Walker); "'Research Reflecting Practice?'" (Edwards, Usher); "Metaphors and Their Implications for Research and Practice in Adult and Community Education" (Hunt); "'Common-Sense' Approach to Reflection"…

Enhancing the quality of antibiotic prescribing in Primary Care: Qualitative evaluation of a blended learning intervention

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The Stemming the Tide of Antibiotic Resistance (STAR) Educational Program aims to enhance the quality of antibiotic prescribing and raise awareness about antibiotic resistance among general medical practitioners. It consists of a seven part, theory-based blended learning program that includes online reflection on clinicians' own practice, presentation of research evidence and guidelines, a practice-based seminar focusing on participants' own antibiotic prescribing and resistance rates in urine samples sent from their practice, communication skills training using videos of simulated patients in routine surgeries, and participation in a web forum. Effectiveness was evaluated in a randomised controlled trial in which 244 GPs and Nurse Practitioners and 68 general practices participated. This paper reports part of the process evaluation of that trial. Methods Semi-structured, digitally recorded, and transcribed telephone interviews with 31 purposively sampled trial participants analysed using thematic content analysis. Results The majority of participants reported increased awareness of antibiotic resistance, greater self-confidence in reducing antibiotic prescribing and at least some change in consultation style and antibiotic prescribing behaviour. Reported practical changes included adopting a practice-wide policy of antibiotic prescription reduction. Many GPs also reported increased insight into patients' expectations, ultimately contributing to improved doctor-patient rapport. The components of the intervention put forward as having the greatest influence on changing clinician behaviour were the up-to-date research evidence resources, simple and effective communication skills presented in on-line videos, and presentation of the practice's own antibiotic prescribing levels combined with an overview of local resistance data. Conclusion Participants regarded this complex blended learning intervention acceptable and feasible, and reported wide-ranging, positive changes in attitudes and clinical practice as a result of participating in the STAR Educational Program. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN63355948 PMID:20459655

Physical insights of cavity confinement enhancing effect in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

PubMed

Fu, Yangting; Hou, Zongyu; Wang, Zhe

2016-02-08

Using cavity confinement to enhance the plasma emission has been proved to be an effective way in LIBS technique while no direct visual evidence has been made to illustrate the physical mechanism of this enhancing effect. In this work, both laser-induced plasma plume images and shockwave images were obtained and synchronized for both flat surface case and rectangular cavity case. Phenomena of shockwave reflection, plasma compression by the reflected shockwave and merge of the reflected shockwave into plasma were observed. Plasma emission intensities recorded by ICCD in both cases were compared and the enhancement effect in the cavity case was identified in the comparison. The enhancement effect could be explained as reflected shockwave "compressing" effect, that is, the reflected shockwave would compress the plasma and result in a more condensed plasma core area with higher plasma temperature. Reflected shockwave also possibly contributed to plasma core position stabilization, which indicated the potential of better plasma signal reproducibility for the cavity case. Both plasma emission enhancement and plasma core position stabilization only exist within a certain temporal window, which indicates that the delay time of spectra acquisition is essential while using cavity confinement as a way to improve LIBS performance.

Development of Quality Management Systems for Clinical Practice Guidelines in Korea.

PubMed

Jo, Heui-Sug; Kim, Dong Ik; Chang, Sung-Goo; Shin, Ein-Soon; Oh, Moo-Kyung

2015-11-01

This study introduces the Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) appraisal system by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS). Quality management policies for CPGs vary among different countries, which have their own cultures and health care systems. However, supporting developers in guideline development and appraisals using standardized tools are common practices. KAMS, an organization representing the various medical societies of Korea, has been striving to establish a quality management system for CPGs, and has established a CPGs quality management system that reflects the characteristics of the Korean healthcare environment and the needs of its users. KAMS created a foundation for the development of CPGs, set up an independent appraisal organization, enacted regulations related to the appraisals, and trained appraisers. These efforts could enhance the ability of each individual medical society to develop CPGs, to increase the quality of the CPGs, and to ultimately improve the quality of the information available to decision-makers.

Why are we not evaluating multiple competing hypotheses in ecology and evolution?

PubMed Central

Avgar, Tal; Fryxell, John M.

2017-01-01

The use of multiple working hypotheses to gain strong inference is widely promoted as a means to enhance the effectiveness of scientific investigation. Only 21 of 100 randomly selected studies from the ecological and evolutionary literature tested more than one hypothesis and only eight tested more than two hypotheses. The surprising rarity of application of multiple working hypotheses suggests that this gap between theory and practice might reflect some fundamental issues. Here, we identify several intellectual and practical barriers that discourage us from using multiple hypotheses in our scientific investigation. While scientists have developed a number of ways to avoid biases, such as the use of double-blind controls, we suspect that few scientists are fully aware of the potential influence of cognitive bias on their decisions and they have not yet adopted many techniques available to overcome intellectual and practical barriers in order to improve scientific investigation. PMID:28280578

Gap analysis: a method to assess core competency development in the curriculum.

PubMed

Fater, Kerry H

2013-01-01

To determine the extent to which safety and quality improvement core competency development occurs in an undergraduate nursing program. Rapid change and increased complexity of health care environments demands that health care professionals are adequately prepared to provide high quality, safe care. A gap analysis compared the present state of competency development to a desirable (ideal) state. The core competencies, Nurse of the Future Nursing Core Competencies, reflect the ideal state and represent minimal expectations for entry into practice from pre-licensure programs. Findings from the gap analysis suggest significant strengths in numerous competency domains, deficiencies in two competency domains, and areas of redundancy in the curriculum. Gap analysis provides valuable data to direct curriculum revision. Opportunities for competency development were identified, and strategies were created jointly with the practice partner, thereby enhancing relevant knowledge, attitudes, and skills nurses need for clinical practice currently and in the future.

Research for Policy (R4P): development of a reflection tool for researchers to improve knowledge utilization.

PubMed

Hegger, Ingrid; Marks, Lisanne K; Janssen, Susan W J; Schuit, Albertine J; Keijsers, Jolanda F M; van Oers, Hans A M

2016-09-30

To improve knowledge utilization in policymaking, alignment between researchers and policymakers during knowledge production is essential, but difficult to maintain. In three previously reported case studies, we extensively evaluated complex research projects commissioned by policymakers to investigate how alignment is achieved in a research process and to discover ways to enhance knowledge contributions to health policy. In the present study, we investigated how the findings of these three research projects could be integrated into a practical tool for researchers to enhance their contribution to evidence-based policy. A cross-case analysis was conducted to integrate the findings of the evaluation of the three research projects and to identify important alignment areas in these projects. By means of an iterative process, we prepared a tool that includes reflection questions for researchers. The "Research for Policy" tool was tested with input from the project managers of three new research projects. Based on the findings, the final version of the Research for Policy tool was prepared. By cross-case analysis of the three case studies, the following important alignment areas were identified: the goal, quality, relevance, timing, and presentation of research, the tasks and authorities of actors, the consultative structure and vertical alignment within organizations, and the organizational environment. The project managers regarded the Research for Policy tool as a useful checklist for addressing the important alignment areas in a research project. Based on their feedback, the illustrative examples from the case studies were added to the reflection questions. The project managers suggested making the tool accessible not only to researchers but also to policymakers. The format of the Research for Policy tool was further adjusted to users' needs by adding clickable links. Alignment between research and policymaking requires continuous efforts and a clear understanding of process issues in the research project. The Research for Policy tool offers practical alignment guidance and facilitates reflection on process issues, which supports researchers in aligning with policymakers and in acting in a context-sensitive way.

Evaluation of the physician quality improvement initiative: the expected and unexpected opportunities.

PubMed

Wentlandt, Kirsten; Bracaglia, Andrea; Drummond, James; Handren, Lindsay; McCann, Joshua; Clarke, Catherine; Degendorfer, Niki; Chan, Charles K

2015-12-22

The Physician Quality Improvement Initiative (PQII) uses a well-established multi-source feedback program, and incorporates an additional facilitated feedback review with their department chief. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the value of the PQII by eliciting feedback from various stakeholders. All participants and department chiefs (n = 45) were invited to provide feedback on the project implementation and outcomes via survey and/or an interview. The survey consisted of 12 questions focused on the value of the PQII, it's influence on practice and the promotion of quality improvement and accountability. A total of 5 chiefs and 12 physician participants completed semi structured interviews. Participants found the PQII process, report and review session helpful, self-affirming or an opportunity for self-reflection, and an opportunity to engage their leaders about their practice. Chiefs indicated the sessions strengthened their understanding, ability to communicate and engage physicians about their practice, best practices, quality improvement and accountability. Thirty participants (66.7 %) completed the survey; of the responders 75.9, 89.7, 86.7 % found patient, co-worker, and physician colleague feedback valuable, respectively. A total of 67.9 % valued their facilitated review with their chief and 55.2 % indicated they were contemplating change due to their feedback. Participants believed the PQII promoted quality improvement (27/30, 90.0 %), and accountability (28/30, 93.3 %). The PQII provides an opportunity for physician development, affirmation and reflection, but also a structure to further departmental quality improvement, best practices, and finally, an opportunity to enhance communication, accountability and relationships between the organization, department chiefs and their staff.

Honesty in Critically Reflective Essays: An Analysis of Student Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maloney, Stephen; Tai, Joanna Hong-Meng; Lo, Kristin; Molloy, Elizabeth; Ilic, Dragan

2013-01-01

In health professional education, reflective practice is seen as a potential means for self-improvement from everyday clinical encounters. This study aims to examine the level of student honesty in critical reflection, and barriers and facilitators for students engaging in honest reflection. Third year physiotherapy students, completing summative…

Enabling Critical Reflection on Research Supervisory Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Margot; Kayrooz, Carole

2004-01-01

This paper describes the development of an instrument--The Reflective Supervisor Questionnaire (RSQ). The RSQ maps the domain of research supervisory practice as a facilitative process involving educational tasks and activities. It is designed to assist research supervisors explore, by means of self-reflection and reflection on feedback from…

Reflective Practice: Origins and Interpretations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Michael

2011-01-01

The idea of reflection is central to the theory and practice of learning--especially learning which is grounded in past or current experience. This paper proposes a working definition of reflection and reviews its origins and recent developments. The author also provides an account of "critical reflection", including its rationale and…

Aligning Practice to Policies: Changing the Culture to Recognize and Reward Teaching at Research Universities

PubMed Central

Dennin, Michael; Schultz, Zachary D.; Feig, Andrew; Finkelstein, Noah; Greenhoot, Andrea Follmer; Hildreth, Michael; Leibovich, Adam K.; Martin, James D.; Moldwin, Mark B.; O’Dowd, Diane K.; Posey, Lynmarie A.; Smith, Tobin L.; Miller, Emily R.

2017-01-01

Recent calls for improvement in undergraduate education within STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines are hampered by the methods used to evaluate teaching effectiveness. Faculty members at research universities are commonly assessed and promoted mainly on the basis of research success. To improve the quality of undergraduate teaching across all disciplines, not only STEM fields, requires creating an environment wherein continuous improvement of teaching is valued, assessed, and rewarded at various stages of a faculty member’s career. This requires consistent application of policies that reflect well-established best practices for evaluating teaching at the department, college, and university levels. Evidence shows most teaching evaluation practices do not reflect stated policies, even when the policies specifically espouse teaching as a value. Thus, alignment of practice to policy is a major barrier to establishing a culture in which teaching is valued. Situated in the context of current national efforts to improve undergraduate STEM education, including the Association of American Universities Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative, this essay discusses four guiding principles for aligning practice with stated priorities in formal policies: 1) enhancing the role of deans and chairs; 2) effectively using the hiring process; 3) improving communication; and 4) improving the understanding of teaching as a scholarly activity. In addition, three specific examples of efforts to improve the practice of evaluating teaching are presented as examples: 1) Three Bucket Model of merit review at the University of California, Irvine; (2) Evaluation of Teaching Rubric, University of Kansas; and (3) Teaching Quality Framework, University of Colorado, Boulder. These examples provide flexible criteria to holistically evaluate and improve the quality of teaching across the diverse institutions comprising modern higher education. PMID:29196430

Engaging Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) clinical staff to lead practice improvement: the PICU Participatory Action Research Project (PICU-PAR)

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Despite considerable efforts, engaging staff to lead quality improvement activities in practice settings is a persistent challenge. At British Columbia Children’s Hospital (BCCH), the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) undertook a new phase of quality improvement actions based on the Community of Practice (CoP) model with Participatory Action Research (PAR). This approach aims to mobilize the PICU ‘community’ as a whole with a focus on practice; namely, to create a ‘community of practice’ to support reflection, learning, and innovation in everyday work. Methodology An iterative two-stage PAR process using mixed methods has been developed among the PICU CoP to describe the environment (stage 1) and implement specific interventions (stage 2). Stage 1 is ethnographic description of the unit’s care practice. Surveys, interviews, focus groups, and direct observations describe the clinical staff’s experiences and perspectives around bedside care and quality endeavors in the PICU. Contrasts and comparisons across participants, time and activities help understanding the PICU culture and experience. Stage 2 is a succession of PAR spirals, using results from phase 1 to set up specific interventions aimed at building the staff’s capability to conduct QI projects while acquiring appropriate technical skills and leadership capacity (primary outcome). Team communication, information, and interaction will be enhanced through a knowledge exchange (KE) and a wireless network of iPADs. Relevance Lack of leadership at the staff level in order to improve daily practice is a recognized challenge that faces many hospitals. We believe that the PAR approach within a highly motivated CoP is a sound method to create the social dynamic and cultural context within which clinical teams can grow, reflect, innovate and feel proud to better serve patients. PMID:24401288

Spider web-structured labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials for low-frequency sound control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krushynska, A. O.; Bosia, F.; Miniaci, M.; Pugno, N. M.

2017-10-01

Attenuating low-frequency sound remains a challenge, despite many advances in this field. Recently-developed acoustic metamaterials are characterized by unusual wave manipulation abilities that make them ideal candidates for efficient subwavelength sound control. In particular, labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials exhibit extremely high wave reflectivity, conical dispersion, and multiple artificial resonant modes originating from the specifically-designed topological architectures. These features enable broadband sound attenuation, negative refraction, acoustic cloaking and other peculiar effects. However, hybrid and/or tunable metamaterial performance implying enhanced wave reflection and simultaneous presence of conical dispersion at desired frequencies has not been reported so far. In this paper, we propose a new type of labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials (LAMMs) with hybrid dispersion characteristics by exploiting spider web-structured configurations. The developed design approach consists in adding a square surrounding frame to sectorial circular-shaped labyrinthine channels described in previous publications (e.g. (11)). Despite its simplicity, this approach provides tunability in the metamaterial functionality, such as the activation/elimination of subwavelength band gaps and negative group-velocity modes by increasing/decreasing the edge cavity dimensions. Since these cavities can be treated as extensions of variable-width internal channels, it becomes possible to exploit geometrical features, such as channel width, to shift the band gap position and size to desired frequencies. Time transient simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed metastructures for wave manipulation in terms of transmission or reflection coefficients, amplitude attenuation and time delay at subwavelength frequencies. The obtained results can be important for practical applications of LAMMs such as lightweight acoustic barriers with enhanced broadband wave-reflecting performances.

Motion and Marking in Reflective Practice: Artifacts, Autobiographical Narrative and Sexuality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Risner, Doug

2017-01-01

This paper introduces a reflective methodology of the body as a resource for reflective practice based on an analysis of my personal response and experience of autobiographical narrative. It offers an approach in which the movements and markings of the body serve as important sites for collecting additional evidence of the daily practices that…

Improving Your Reflective Practice through Stories of Practitioner Research. Pen Green Books for Early Years Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Cath, Ed.

2012-01-01

"Improving Your Reflective Practice through Stories of Practitioner Research" shows how research has informed and created effective and valuable reflective practice in early years education, and offers depth to the arguments for a research-orientated stance to this vital field of study. This thought-provoking text explores and documents a variety…

Step Back and Consider: Learning from Reflective Practice in Infant Mental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gatti, Shelley Neilsen; Watson, Christopher L.; Siegel, Carol F.

2011-01-01

Reflective practice is used in different fields such as education and mental health. The educational form of reflective practice has been around since the 1930s (Dewey, as cited in Pedro, 2006); it is a problem-solving process that facilitates examination of behavior and responses to behavior. It takes into consideration multiple factors,…

Becoming Critical Thinkers: The Impact of Treatments on Student Reflective Practice in the College Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Depinet, Andrea

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of instructional treatments on reflective practice and critical thinking in the college classroom at Bowling Green State University in the College of Business. The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest posttest control group design to examine student reflective practice among three…

Exploring the use of student-led simulated practice learning in pre-registration nursing programmes.

PubMed

Brown, Jo; Collins, Guy; Gratton, Olivia

2017-09-20

Simulated practice learning is used in pre-registration nursing programmes to replicate situations that nursing students are likely to encounter in clinical practice, but in a safe and protected academic environment. However, lecturer-led simulated practice learning has been perceived as detached from contemporary nursing practice by some nursing students. Therefore, a pilot project was implemented in the authors' university to explore the use of student-led simulated practice learning and its potential benefits for nursing students. To evaluate the effectiveness of student-led simulated practice learning in pre-registration nursing programmes. The authors specifically wanted to: enhance the students' skills; improve their critical thinking and reflective strategies; and develop their leadership and management techniques. A literature review was undertaken to examine the evidence supporting student-led simulated practice learning. A skills gap analysis was then conducted with 35 third-year nursing students to identify their learning needs, from which suitable simulated practice learning scenarios and sessions were developed and undertaken. These sessions were evaluated using debriefs following each of the sessions, as well as informal discussions with the nursing students. The pilot project identified that student-led simulated learning: developed nursing students' ability to plan and facilitate colleagues' practice learning; enabled nursing students to develop their mentoring skills; reinforced the nursing students' self-awareness, which contributed to their personal development; and demonstrated the importance of peer feedback and support through the debriefs. Challenges included overcoming some students' resistance to the project and that some lecturers were initially concerned that nursing students may not have the clinical expertise to lead the simulated practice learning sessions effectively. This pilot project has demonstrated how student-led simulated practice learning sessions could be used to engage nursing students as partners in their learning, enhance their knowledge and skills, and promote self-directed learning. ©2012 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.

Concept mapping to promote meaningful learning, help relate theory to practice and improve learning self-efficacy in Asian mental health nursing students: A mixed-methods pilot study.

PubMed

Bressington, Daniel T; Wong, Wai-Kit; Lam, Kar Kei Claire; Chien, Wai Tong

2018-01-01

Student nurses are provided with a great deal of knowledge within university, but they can find it difficult to relate theory to nursing practice. This study aimed to test the appropriateness and feasibility of assessing Novak's concept mapping as an educational strategy to strengthen the theory-practice link, encourage meaningful learning and enhance learning self-efficacy in nursing students. This pilot study utilised a mixed-methods quasi-experimental design. The study was conducted in a University school of Nursing in Hong Kong. A total of 40 third-year pre-registration Asian mental health nursing students completed the study; 12 in the concept mapping (CM) group and 28 in the usual teaching methods (UTM) group. The impact of concept mapping was evaluated thorough analysis of quantitative changes in students' learning self-efficacy, analysis of the structure and contents of the concept maps (CM group), a quantitative measure of students' opinions about their reflective learning activities and content analysis of qualitative data from reflective written accounts (CM group). There were no significant differences in self-reported learning self-efficacy between the two groups (p=0.38). The concept mapping helped students identify their current level of understanding, but the increased awareness may cause an initial drop in learning self-efficacy. The results highlight that most CM students were able to demonstrate meaningful learning and perceived that concept mapping was a useful reflective learning strategy to help them to link theory and practice. The results provide preliminary evidence that the concept mapping approach can be useful to help mental health nursing students visualise their learning progress and encourage the integration of theoretical knowledge with clinical knowledge. Combining concept mapping data with quantitative measures and qualitative reflective journal data appears to be a useful way of assessing and understanding the effectiveness of concept mapping. Future studies should utilise a larger sample size and consider using the approach as a targeted intervention immediately before and during clinical learning placements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced sampling simulations to construct free-energy landscape of protein-partner substrate interaction.

PubMed

Ikebe, Jinzen; Umezawa, Koji; Higo, Junichi

2016-03-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using all-atom and explicit solvent models provide valuable information on the detailed behavior of protein-partner substrate binding at the atomic level. As the power of computational resources increase, MD simulations are being used more widely and easily. However, it is still difficult to investigate the thermodynamic properties of protein-partner substrate binding and protein folding with conventional MD simulations. Enhanced sampling methods have been developed to sample conformations that reflect equilibrium conditions in a more efficient manner than conventional MD simulations, thereby allowing the construction of accurate free-energy landscapes. In this review, we discuss these enhanced sampling methods using a series of case-by-case examples. In particular, we review enhanced sampling methods conforming to trivial trajectory parallelization, virtual-system coupled multicanonical MD, and adaptive lambda square dynamics. These methods have been recently developed based on the existing method of multicanonical MD simulation. Their applications are reviewed with an emphasis on describing their practical implementation. In our concluding remarks we explore extensions of the enhanced sampling methods that may allow for even more efficient sampling.

Integrated specialty service readiness in health reform: connections in haemophilia comprehensive care.

PubMed

Pritchard, A M; Page, D

2008-05-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified primary healthcare reform as a global priority whereby innovative practice changes are directed at improving health. This transformation to health reform in haemophilia service requires clarification of comprehensive care to reflect the WHO definition of health and key elements of primary healthcare reform. While comprehensive care supports effective healthcare delivery, comprehensive care must also be regarded beyond immediate patient management to reflect the broader system purpose in the care continuum with institutions, community agencies and government. Furthermore, health reform may be facilitated through integrated service delivery (ISD). ISD in specialty haemophilia care has the potential to reduce repetition of assessments, enhance care plan communication between providers and families, provide 24-h access to care, improve information availability regarding care quality and outcomes, consolidate access for multiple healthcare encounters and facilitate family self-efficacy and autonomy [1]. Three core aspects of ISD have been distinguished: clinical integration, information management and technology and vertical integration in local communities [2]. Selected examples taken from Canadian haemophilia comprehensive care illustrate how practice innovations are bridged with a broader system level approach and may support initiatives in other contexts. These innovations are thought to indicate readiness regarding ISD. Reflecting on the existing capacity of haemophilia comprehensive care teams will assist providers to connect and direct their existing strengths towards ISD and health reform.

Factors that influence the professional resilience of occupational therapists in mental health practice.

PubMed

Ashby, Samantha E; Ryan, Susan; Gray, Mel; James, Carole

2013-04-01

Mental health practice can create challenging environments for occupational therapists. This study explores the dynamic processes involved in the development and maintenance of professional resilience of experienced mental health occupational therapy practitioners. It presents the PRIOrity model that summarises the dynamic relationship between professional resilience, professional identity and occupation-based practice. A narrative inquiry methodology with two phases of interviews was used to collect the data from nine experienced mental health practitioners. Narrative thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Professional resilience was linked to: (i) professional identity which tended to be negatively influenced in contexts dominated by biomedical models and psychological theories; (ii) expectations on occupational therapists to work outside their professional domains and use generic knowledge; and (iii) lack of validation of occupation-focussed practice. Professional resilience was sustained by strategies that maintained participants' professional identity. These strategies included seeking 'good' supervision, establishing support networks and finding a job that allowed a match between valued knowledge and opportunities to use it in practice. For occupational therapists professional resilience is sustained and enhanced by a strong professional identity and valuing an occupational perspective of health. Strategies that encourage reflection on the theoretical knowledge underpinning practice can sustain resilience. These include supervision, in-service meetings and informal socialisation. Further research is required into the role discipline-specific theories play in sustaining professional values and identity. The development of strategies to enhance occupational therapists' professional resilience may assist in the retention of occupational therapists in the mental health workforce. © 2012 The Authors Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2012 Occupational Therapy Australia.

An exploration of how clinician attitudes and beliefs influence the implementation of lifestyle risk factor management in primary healthcare: a grounded theory study

PubMed Central

Laws, Rachel A; Kemp, Lynn A; Harris, Mark F; Davies, Gawaine Powell; Williams, Anna M; Eames-Brown, Rosslyn

2009-01-01

Background Despite the effectiveness of brief lifestyle intervention delivered in primary healthcare (PHC), implementation in routine practice remains suboptimal. Beliefs and attitudes have been shown to be associated with risk factor management practices, but little is known about the process by which clinicians' perceptions shape implementation. This study aims to describe a theoretical model to understand how clinicians' perceptions shape the implementation of lifestyle risk factor management in routine practice. The implications of the model for enhancing practices will also be discussed. Methods The study analysed data collected as part of a larger feasibility project of risk factor management in three community health teams in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This included journal notes kept through the implementation of the project, and interviews with 48 participants comprising 23 clinicians (including community nurses, allied health practitioners and an Aboriginal health worker), five managers, and two project officers. Data were analysed using grounded theory principles of open, focused, and theoretical coding and constant comparative techniques to construct a model grounded in the data. Results The model suggests that implementation reflects both clinician beliefs about whether they should (commitment) and can (capacity) address lifestyle issues. Commitment represents the priority placed on risk factor management and reflects beliefs about role responsibility congruence, client receptiveness, and the likely impact of intervening. Clinician beliefs about their capacity for risk factor management reflect their views about self-efficacy, role support, and the fit between risk factor management ways of working. The model suggests that clinicians formulate different expectations and intentions about how they will intervene based on these beliefs about commitment and capacity and their philosophical views about appropriate ways to intervene. These expectations then provide a cognitive framework guiding their risk factor management practices. Finally, clinicians' appraisal of the overall benefits versus costs of addressing lifestyle issues acts to positively or negatively reinforce their commitment to implementing these practices. Conclusion The model extends previous research by outlining a process by which clinicians' perceptions shape implementation of lifestyle risk factor management in routine practice. This provides new insights to inform the development of effective strategies to improve such practices. PMID:19825189

Quality improvement activities associated with organisational capacity in general practice.

PubMed

Amoroso, Cheryl; Proudfoot, Judy; Bubner, Tanya; Swan, Edward; Espinel, Paola; Barton, Christopher; Beilby, Justin; Harris, Mark

2007-01-01

Clinical audit is recognised worldwide as a useful tool for quality improvement. A feedback report profiling capacity for chronic disease care was sent to 97 general practices. These practices were invited to complete a clinical audit activity based on that feedback. Data were analysed quantitatively and case studies were developed based on the free text responses. Eighty-two (33%) of 247 general practitioners participated in the clinical audit process, representing 57 (59%) of 97 general practices. From the data in their feedback report, 37 (65%) of the 57 practices recognised the area most in need of improvement. This was most likely where the need related to clinical practice or teamwork, and least likely where the need related to linkages with other services, and business and finance. Only 25 practices (46%) developed an action plan related to their recognised area for improvement, and 22 (39%) practices implemented their chosen activity. Participating GPs judged that change activity focused on teamwork was most successful. The clinical audit process offered participating GPs and practices an opportunity to reflect on their performance across a number of key areas and to implement change to enhance the practice's capacity for quality chronic disease care. The relationship between need and action was weak, suggesting a need for greater support to overcome barriers.

Practicing health promotion in primary care -a reflective enquiry.

PubMed

Pati, S; Chauhan, A S; Mahapatra, S; Sinha, R; Pati, S

2017-12-01

Health promotion is an integral part of routine clinical practice. The physicians' role in improving the health status of the general population, through effective understanding and delivery of health promotion practice, is evident throughout the international literature. Data from India suggest that physicians have limited skills in delivering specific health promotion services. However, the data available on this is scarce. This study was planned to document the current health promotion knowledge, perception and practices of local primary care physicians in Odisha. An exploratory study was planned between the months of January - February 2013 in Odisha among primary care physicians working in government set up. This exploratory study was conducted, using a two-step self-administered questionnaire, thirty physicians practicing under government health system were asked to map their ideal and current health promotion practice, and potential health promotion elements to be worked upon to enhance the practice. The study recorded a significant difference between the mean of current and ideal health promotion practices. The study reported that physicians want to increase their practice on health education. We concluded that inclusion of health promotion practices in routine care is imperative for a strong healthcare system. It should be incorporated as a structured health promotion module in medical curriculum as well.

Form Follows Function: A Model for Clinical Supervision of Genetic Counseling Students.

PubMed

Wherley, Colleen; Veach, Patricia McCarthy; Martyr, Meredith A; LeRoy, Bonnie S

2015-10-01

Supervision plays a vital role in genetic counselor training, yet models describing genetic counseling supervision processes and outcomes are lacking. This paper describes a proposed supervision model intended to provide a framework to promote comprehensive and consistent clinical supervision training for genetic counseling students. Based on the principle "form follows function," the model reflects and reinforces McCarthy Veach et al.'s empirically derived model of genetic counseling practice - the "Reciprocal Engagement Model" (REM). The REM consists of mutually interactive educational, relational, and psychosocial components. The Reciprocal Engagement Model of Supervision (REM-S) has similar components and corresponding tenets, goals, and outcomes. The 5 REM-S tenets are: Learning and applying genetic information are key; Relationship is integral to genetic counseling supervision; Student autonomy must be supported; Students are capable; and Student emotions matter. The REM-S outcomes are: Student understands and applies information to independently provide effective services, develop professionally, and engage in self-reflective practice. The 16 REM-S goals are informed by the REM of genetic counseling practice and supported by prior literature. A review of models in medicine and psychology confirms the REM-S contains supervision elements common in healthcare fields, while remaining unique to genetic counseling. The REM-S shows promise for enhancing genetic counselor supervision training and practice and for promoting research on clinical supervision. The REM-S is presented in detail along with specific examples and training and research suggestions.

Determinants of nursing competence of nursing students in Taiwan: the role of self-reflection and insight.

PubMed

Eng, Cheng-Joo; Pai, Hsiang-Chu

2015-03-01

A nursing practicum course is critical to strengthening the nursing competence of nursing students. Research has found that practice stress and coping behaviors can have either a negative or positive influence on the learning and practice performance of nursing students. Nevertheless, there are few evidence-based studies related to the relationship between self-reflection and insight and nursing competence in Taiwanese nursing students. To test the determinants and the effect of self-reflection and insight on nursing competence in nursing students during the first 2 months of their practice experience. Cross-sectional and correlational research designs were employed. From September to November 2013, a total of 312 nursing students at a junior college in southern Taiwan served as participants in this study. Four questionnaires were used to collect data: Self-reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Coping Behavior Inventory (CBI), and Holistic Nursing Competence Scale (HNCS). The research model was evaluated through structural equation modeling (SEM), with the use of the partial least squares (PLS) method. Results indicated that self-reflection and insight, practice stress, and practice coping behavior were statistically significantly associated with nursing competence. In addition, self-reflection and insight were significantly and positively associated with practice coping behavior and negatively associated with practice stress. Students' coping behavior partially mediates the effect of self-reflection and stress on nursing competence. Overall, these variables explained 39.4% of the variance in these students' nursing competence. Self-reflection and insight affected nursing competence during the practice period. These variables have not only had a direct influence on nursing competence but also an indirect effect through the mediating effect of coping behavior and stress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of multi-functional silicon surface by direct laser writing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Ashwani Kumar; Soni, R. K.

2018-05-01

We present a simple, quick and one-step methodology based on nano-second laser direct writing for the fabrication of micro-nanostructures on silicon surface. The fabricated surfaces suppress the optical reflection by multiple reflection due to light trapping effect to a much lower value than polished silicon surface. These textured surfaces offer high enhancement ability after gold nanoparticle deposition and then explored for Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) for specific molecular detection. The effect of laser scanning line interval on optical reflection and SERS signal enhancement ability was also investigated. Our results indicate that low optical reflection substrates exhibit uniform SERS enhancement with enhancement factor of the order of 106. Furthermore, this methodology provide an alternative approach for cost-effective large area fabrication with good control over feature size.

Testing the Two-Layer Model for Correcting Clear Sky Reflectance near Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wen, Guoyong; Marshak, Alexander; Evans, Frank; Varnai, Tamas; Levy, Rob

2015-01-01

A two-layer model (2LM) was developed in our earlier studies to estimate the clear sky reflectance enhancement due to cloud-molecular radiative interaction at MODIS at 0.47 micrometers. Recently, we extended the model to include cloud-surface and cloud-aerosol radiative interactions. We use the LES/SHDOM simulated 3D true radiation fields to test the 2LM for reflectance enhancement at 0.47 micrometers. We find: The simple model captures the viewing angle dependence of the reflectance enhancement near cloud, suggesting the physics of this model is correct; the cloud-molecular interaction alone accounts for 70 percent of the enhancement; the cloud-surface interaction accounts for 16 percent of the enhancement; the cloud-aerosol interaction accounts for an additional 13 percent of the enhancement. We conclude that the 2LM is simple to apply and unbiased.

The interaction between reflection and practice in the professional development of a secondary education science teachers: Case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez Bernal, Bartolome

The work that we describe here is a case study of two secondary education science teachers about how action-oriented reflection and action itself interact, and their influence on professional development. The study was carried out from two different viewpoints: a study with a qualitative orientation on the one hand, using diverse data collection and analysis instruments, and collaborative action research on the other, to form the backbone of professional development. In our theoretical outline, we stress the concepts of reflection which sustain the theoretical-practical dialectic, and of complexity which is seen to be a progression hypothesis of central importance, and in which we distinguish three dimensions: technique, practice, and criticism. The reflection data collection instruments were the teacher's diaries and memos, transcriptions of the work group meetings, questionnaires, and interviews. For the classroom practice the ethnographic notes and extracts from the videotapes of the class sessions, and other documentary sources such. The fundamental instrument for data analysis, both for reflection and practice, was the System of Categories that includes six analytical frames: ideological, teacher education, psychological, contextual, epistemological, and curricular. We also used third-order instruments for the representation, such as complexity spheres for reflection and practice and the reflection-practice integration horizon, which allowed the evolution of the teachers to be viewed over the course of the two school years that the research lasted, as well as giving an overall representation of the integration of reflection and practice. The results showed the teachers to be in transition from a technical to a practical dimension, with both her reflection and her classroom practice in the process of becoming more complex, and with the two being closely integrated. It was also found that she had a hard core of obstacles impeding her professional development. We believe that the action-research program has had a very positive impact on the professional development of all the participating teachers. The results, however, far from meaning the end of the process, are merely the beginning of a new cycle in the action-research process, now with far solider starting data.

Synergies in Critical Reflective Practice and Science: Science as Reflection and Reflection as Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathieson, Luke

2016-01-01

The conceptions of reflective practice in education have their roots at least partly in the work of Dewey, who describes reflection as "the active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it tends" (Dewey 1933, p.9).…

Achieving Change through Reflective Practice: Closing the Loop.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Susie; Meerabeau, Liz

2000-01-01

A study in which reflection was used to identify nurses' learning needs regarding cardiopulmonary resuscitation found that an unexpected outcome of reflection was "apathy": action issues were not prioritized or acted upon. In order to effect changes in practice, planning and management of change should be part of the reflective cycle.…

Critical Reflection and Arts-Based Action Research for the Educator Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clarke, Amber; Bautista, Darryl

2017-01-01

Research suggests many educators are challenged to incorporate self-reflection into daily routines. Most often, self-reflection is practiced as a cognitive and text-based activity. This first-person action research project explores if alternative methods used for self-reflection achieves a more reflexive practice. In phase one, arts-based…

The Reflective Practitioner: A Contemporary Paradigm's Relevance for Social Work Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papell, Catherine P.; Skolnik, Louise

1992-01-01

A discussion of the role of reflective thinking in the social work professional's training and practice looks at theories on the relationship of reflection and skilled action and at contemporary social work theories. It is suggested that Donald Schon's reflection-in-action model has applications in social work education and practice. (MSE)

Counterfactual Mutation of Critical Classroom Incidents: Implications for Reflective Practice in Initial Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGarr, Oliver; McCormack, Orla

2016-01-01

This study explores reflective practice through the lens of counterfactual thinking and examines its role in encouraging student teachers to reflect on negative "critical incidents". The study posits that reflections on critical incidents are often not "critical" in nature. They more frequently result in counterfactual thinking…

A Commitment to Socially Just Teacher Preparation: Novice Teacher Educators' Reflections on Participation in a Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curcio, Rachelle; Schroeder, Stephanie

2017-01-01

Through reflective narrative, we present our experiences in a Community of Practice (CoP) committed to teacher preparation for social justice. First, we discuss the CoP's origination and then reflect upon how our participation informed our practice as novice teacher educators. Specifically, we propose that novice teacher educators' participation…

The Effect of Stakeholders on the Reflective Practice of School Principals: Practices in Istanbul and Copenhagen

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dalgiç, Gülay; Bakioglu, Aysen

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine with whom Turkish and Danish school principals engage in reflective practice and how this interaction helps to develop them as reflective practitioners. A phenomenological approach was followed in the study. Data were collected from 37 school principals (24 from Istanbul and 13 from Copenhagen) who were…

A Teacher Educator's Lessons Learned from Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Tom

2018-01-01

This article has two major goals. The first is to establish a distinction between the idea of critical reflection (as required today in many teacher education courses) and the concept of reflective practice (as set out by Schön in the context of active professional practice). The second is to present some of the important lessons a teacher…

A survey of current and anticipated use of standard and specialist equipment by UK optometrists.

PubMed

Dabasia, Priya L; Edgar, David F; Garway-Heath, David F; Lawrenson, John G

2014-09-01

To investigate current and anticipated use of equipment and information technology (IT) in community optometric practice in the UK, and to elicit optometrists' views on adoption of specialist equipment and IT. An anonymous online questionnaire was developed, covering use of standard and specialist diagnostic equipment, and IT. The survey was distributed to a random sample of 1300 UK College of Optometrists members. Four hundred and thirty-two responses were received (response rate = 35%). Enhanced (locally commissioned) or additional/separately contracted services were provided by 73% of respondents. Services included glaucoma repeat measures (30% of respondents), glaucoma referral refinement (22%), fast-track referral for wet age-related macular degeneration (48%), and direct cataract referral (40%). Most respondents (88%) reported using non-contact/pneumo tonometry for intra-ocular pressure measurement, with 81% using Goldmann or Perkins tonometry. The most widely used item of specialist equipment was the fundus camera (74% of respondents). Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) was used by 15% of respondents, up from 2% in 2007. Notably, 43% of those anticipating purchasing specialist equipment in the next 12 months planned to buy an OCT. 'Paperless' records were used by 39% of respondents, and almost 80% of practices used an electronic patient record/practice management system. Variations in responses between parts of the UK reflect differences in the provision of the General Ophthalmic Services contract or community enhanced services. There was general agreement that specialised equipment enhances clinical care, permits increased involvement in enhanced services, promotes the practice and can be used as a defence in clinico-legal cases, but initial costs and ongoing maintenance can be a financial burden. Respondents generally agreed that IT facilitates administrative flow and secure exchange of health information, and promotes a state-of-the-art practice image. However, use of IT may not save examination time; its dynamic nature necessitates frequent updates and technical support; the need for adequate training is an issue; and security of data is also a concern. UK optometrists increasingly employ modern equipment and IT services to enhance patient care and for practice management. While the clinical benefits of specialist equipment and IT are appreciated, questions remain as to whether the investment is cost-effective, and how specialist equipment and IT may be used to best advantage in community optometric practice. © 2014 The Authors. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of College of Optometrists.

An Australian investigation of emotional work, emotional well-being and professional practice: an emancipatory inquiry.

PubMed

Rose, Jayln; Glass, Nel

2010-05-01

This study set out to explore the relationship between emotional work, emotional well-being and professional practice of generalist community health nurses who provided palliative care to clients living at home. Research suggests that palliative care practice is emotionally demanding and at times challenging. Whilst nurses find their palliative practice a source of job satisfaction the associated stresses can impact on nurses emotional well-being. A qualitative emancipatory methodology informed this study. Semi-structured interviews/storytelling and reflective journaling were the two methods applied. Sixteen community health nurses including the researcher participated. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. The concept of emotional well-being is associated with nurses' feelings of being balanced or out of balance. There is a pervasive interconnectedness between emotional work, emotional well-being and professional practice that is influenced by factors such as organisational and workplace issues; communication with health professionals, professional boundaries; education and professional development. Three major interwoven themes emerged highlighting that palliative care provision was demanding and rewarding, yet dependent on the nurse's comfortability within practice. Self-care is also important to the generalist nurses and strategies to enhance well-being include healthy lifestyle choices, debriefing, self-validation, assertiveness and emotional support. Emotional well-being is complex and multifaceted. The value of emotional well-being to professional practice is important. Palliative care provision is associated with demands, rewards and comfortability. It is essential that attention be given to the experiences of generalist community health nurses who engage in palliative care provision. As the demand for community palliative care increases, the issues that limit and enhance the emotional well-being of generalist palliative care nurses' become critical. The findings have international relevance to generalist and specialist palliative care nurses, academics and researchers alike.

Facilitators and Barriers to Health-Seeking Behaviours among Filipino Migrants: Inductive Analysis to Inform Health Promotion

PubMed Central

Salamonson, Y.; Descallar, J.; Davidson, P. M.

2015-01-01

Understanding factors that influence health-seeking behaviour of migrants is necessary to intervene for behaviour change. This paper explores Filipino migrants' perceptions of facilitators and barriers to maintaining health in Australia. Open-ended survey item responses reflecting factors that assisted and hindered health following migration to Australia were inductively analysed. Three hundred and thirty-seven of the 552 survey respondents (61%) provided open-ended responses. Responses were grouped into two major categories: individual factors, including personal resources and cultural influences, and environmental factors encompassing both the physical conditions in the host country and health service access. Awareness of practices that enhance health was a major personal facilitator of health-seeking behaviour; however, competing priorities of daily living were perceived as barriers. Cultural beliefs and practices influenced health-seeking behaviour. Despite high self-rated English language skills in this population, new migrants and the elderly cited communication difficulties as barriers to accessing health services. Insight into facilitators and barriers to health-seeking behaviour in this less researched migrant population revealed tools for enhancing engagement in health promotion programs addressing healthy lifestyle. PMID:26380277

Second-surface silvered glass solar mirrors of very high reflectance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butel, Guillaume P.; Coughenour, Blake M.; Macleod, H. Angus; Kennedy, Cheryl E.; Olbert, Blain H.; Angel, J. Roger P.

2011-10-01

This paper reports methods developed to maximize the overall reflectance second-surface silvered glass. The reflectance at shorter wavelengths is increased with the aid of a dielectric enhancing layer between the silver and the glass, while at longer wavelengths it is enhanced by use of glass with negligible iron content. The calculated enhancement of reflectance, compared to unenhanced silver on standard low-iron float glass, corresponds to a 4.4% increase in reflectance averaged across the full solar spectrum, appropriate for CSP, and 2.7% for CPV systems using triple junction cells. An experimental reflector incorporating these improvements, of drawn crown glass and a silvered second-surface with dielectric boost, was measured at NREL to have 95.4% solar weighted reflectance. For comparison, non-enhanced, wetsilvered reflectors of the same 4 mm thickness show reflectance ranging from 91.6 - 94.6%, depending on iron content. A potential drawback of using iron-free drawn glass is reduced concentration in high concentration systems because of the inherent surface errors. This effect is largely mitigated for glass shaped by slumping into a concave mold, rather than by bending.

Reflective processes of practitioners in head and neck cancer rehabilitation: a grounded theory study.

PubMed

Caty, Marie-Ève; Kinsella, Elizabeth Anne; Doyle, Philip C

2016-12-01

This study systematically examined how experienced Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) use the processes of reflection to develop knowledge relevant for practice in the context of head and neck cancer (HNC) rehabilitation. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 SLPs working in HNC rehabilitation in North America. Grounded theory methodology was adopted for data collection and analysis. The findings inform a preliminary reflective practice model that depicts the processes of reflection used by practitioners interviewed. Nine categories of reflective processes were identified by participant SLPs in terms of the processes of reflection: ongoing questioning, experimenting through trial and error, integrating knowledge from past cases, embracing surprise, thinking out of the box, being in the moment, consulting with colleagues, putting oneself in the patients' shoes, and discerning ethical issues. These findings provide empirical evidence that supports Schön's theory of reflective practice and contribute to knowledge about the ways in which SLPs use processes of reflection in the context of HNC rehabilitation. The findings of this study have implications for how SLPs perceive and consider their role as knowledge-users and knowledge producers in their day-to-day clinical work, as well as for building capacity for reflective practice.

Identification of Pediatric Oral Health Core Competencies through Interprofessional Education and Practice.

PubMed

Hallas, D; Fernandez, J B; Herman, N G; Moursi, A

2015-01-01

Over the past seven years, the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) and the Advanced Practice: Pediatrics and the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) program at New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) have engaged in a program of formal educational activities with the specific goals of advancing interprofessional education, evidence-based practice, and interprofessional strategies to improve the oral-systemic health of infants and young children. Mentoring interprofessional students in all health care professions to collaboratively assess, analyze, and care-manage patients demands that faculty reflect on current practices and determine ways to enhance the curriculum to include evidence-based scholarly activities, opportunities for interprofessional education and practice, and interprofessional socialization. Through the processes of interprofessional education and practice, the pediatric nursing and dental faculty identified interprofessional performance and affective oral health core competencies for all dental and pediatric primary care providers. Students demonstrated achievement of interprofessional core competencies, after completing the interprofessional educational clinical practice activities at Head Start programs that included interprofessional evidence-based collaborative practice, case analyses, and presentations with scholarly discussions that explored ways to improve the oral health of diverse pediatric populations. The goal of improving the oral health of all children begins with interprofessional education that lays the foundations for interprofessional practice.

Identification of Pediatric Oral Health Core Competencies through Interprofessional Education and Practice

PubMed Central

Hallas, D.; Fernandez, J. B.; Herman, N. G.; Moursi, A.

2015-01-01

Over the past seven years, the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry (NYUCD) and the Advanced Practice: Pediatrics and the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) program at New York University College of Nursing (NYUCN) have engaged in a program of formal educational activities with the specific goals of advancing interprofessional education, evidence-based practice, and interprofessional strategies to improve the oral-systemic health of infants and young children. Mentoring interprofessional students in all health care professions to collaboratively assess, analyze, and care-manage patients demands that faculty reflect on current practices and determine ways to enhance the curriculum to include evidence-based scholarly activities, opportunities for interprofessional education and practice, and interprofessional socialization. Through the processes of interprofessional education and practice, the pediatric nursing and dental faculty identified interprofessional performance and affective oral health core competencies for all dental and pediatric primary care providers. Students demonstrated achievement of interprofessional core competencies, after completing the interprofessional educational clinical practice activities at Head Start programs that included interprofessional evidence-based collaborative practice, case analyses, and presentations with scholarly discussions that explored ways to improve the oral health of diverse pediatric populations. The goal of improving the oral health of all children begins with interprofessional education that lays the foundations for interprofessional practice. PMID:25653873

Medicalization: Current Concept and Future Directions in a Bionic Society

PubMed Central

Maturo, Antonio

2012-01-01

The article illustrates the main features of the concept of medicalization, starting from its theoretical roots. Although it is the process of extending the medical gaze on human conditions, it appears that medicalization cannot be strictly connected to medical imperialism anymore. Other “engines” of medicalization are influential: consumers, biotechnology and managed care. The growth of research and theoretical reflections on medicalization has led to the proposal of other parallel concepts like pharmaceuticalization, genetization and biomedicalization. These new theoretical tools could be useful in the analysis of human enhancement. Human enhancement can be considered as the use of biomedical technology to improve performance on a human being who is not in need of a cure: a practice that is increasingly spreading in what might be defined as a “bionic society”. PMID:22654387

Learning With Reflection: Practices in an Osteopathic Surgery Clinical Clerkship Through an Online Module.

PubMed

Lewis, Kadriye O; Farber, Susan; Chen, Haiqin; Peska, Don N

2015-11-01

The value of reflective practices has gained momentum in osteopathic medical education. However, the use of reflective pedagogies has not been explored in the larger context of medical course delivery and design, to the authors' knowledge. To determine the types of reflection demonstrated by osteopathic medical students on an online discussion board and to explore differences in discussion engagement caused by the use of a reflective learning self-assessment tool. Using a mixed-method approach, reflection processes in an osteopathic surgery clinical clerkship online module were investigated in third-year osteopathic medical students. Discussion board messages were captured and coded. Both manual coding techniques and automated interrogation using NVivo9 (a computer program) for qualitative data were applied. Correlations of scores across 4 case-based discussion tasks and scores for self-reflection were computed as quantitative data. Twenty-eight students were included. Four main types of reflection (ie, content, contextual, dialogic, and personal) along with corresponding differentiated subthemes for each type of case-based discussion board group message were identified. Group collaboration revealed insights about the reflection process itself and also about the evidence of collective efforts, group engagements, and intragroup support among students. Student preparation revealed that students' metacognition was triggered when they judged their own contributions to group work. Challenges in completing readings and meeting deadlines were related to the students' long work hours. Reflective practices are essential to the practice of osteopathic medicine and medical education. Curricula can promote the development of reflective skills by integrating these deliberate practices in educational activities.

Deeper than rhizomes, becoming decalcomaniacal: a reflexive response to Murakami and Siegel's "Becoming Bermuda grass"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitchell, Debra Bailey

2017-09-01

In responding to Murakami and Siegel's "Becoming Bermuda grass," one is led to reflect on one's own practice in what becomes an example of reflexivity. Following the authors' lead of incorporating Deleuze and Guattari's rhizomatic theory and the art form of decalcomania to reflect on practice, discoveries are made regarding the practice of a middle school science teacher. These reflective discoveries can be used to inform teaching practice in a manner that supports the development of identities of participation.

Implementing simulated learning modules to improve students’ pharmacy practice skills and professionalism

PubMed Central

Fejzic, Jasmina; Barker, Michelle

2015-01-01

Background: Effective communication enables healthcare professionals and students to practise their disciplines in a professional and competent manner. Simulated-based education (SBE) has been increasingly used to improve students’ communication and practice skills in Health Education. Objective: Simulated learning modules (SLMs) were developed using practice-based scenarios grounded in effective communication competencies. The effect of the SLMs on Pharmacy students’ (i) Practice skills and (ii) Professionalism were evaluated. Methods: SLMs integrating EXCELL competencies were applied in the classroom to study their effect on a number of learning outcomes. EXcellence in Cultural Experiential Learning and Leadership (EXCELL) Program is a schematic, evidence-based professional development resource centred around developing participants’ self-efficacy and generic communication competencies. Students (N=95) completed three hours of preliminary lectures and eight hours of SLM workshops including six scenarios focused on Pharmacy Practice and Experiential Placements. Each SLM included briefing, role-plays with actors, facilitation, and debriefing on EXCELL social interaction maps (SIMs). Evaluations comprised quantitative and qualitative survey responsed by students before and post-workshops, and post-placements, and teachers’ reflections. Surveys examine specific learning outcomes by using pharmacy professionalism and pharmacy practice effectiveness scales. Responses were measured prior to the commencement of SLMs, after completion of the two workshops and after students completed their block placement. Self-report measures enabled students to self-assess whether any improvements occurred. Results: Student responses were overwhelmingly positive and indicated significant improvements in their Pharmacy practice and professionalism skills, and commitment to professional ethics. Qualitative feedback strongly supported students’ improved communication skills and confidence. Teacher reflections observed ecological validity of SLMs as a method to enhance professionalism and communication skills, and suggested ways to improve this teaching modality. Conclusion: Inclusion of SLMs centred on practice and professionalism was evaluated as an effective, teaching strategy by students and staff. The integration of SIMs in SLMs has potential for wider application in clinical teaching. PMID:26445619

Web-Enhanced Instruction and Learning: Findings of a Short- and Long-Term Impact Study and Teacher Use of NASA Web Resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCarthy, Marianne C.; Grabowski, Barbara L.; Koszalka, Tiffany

2003-01-01

Over a three-year period, researchers and educators from the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), University Park, Pennsylvania, and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), Edwards, California, worked together to analyze, develop, implement and evaluate materials and tools that enable teachers to use NASA Web resources effectively for teaching science, mathematics, technology and geography. Two conference publications and one technical paper have already been published as part of this educational research series on Web-based instruction and learning. This technical paper, Web-Enhanced Instruction and Learning: Findings of a Short- and Long-Term Impact Study, is the culminating report in this educational research series and is based on the final report submitted to NASA. This report describes the broad spectrum of data gathered from teachers about their experiences using NASA Web resources in the classroom. It also describes participating teachers responses and feedback about the use of the NASA Web-Enhanced Learning Environment Strategies reflection tool on their teaching practices. The reflection tool was designed to help teachers merge the vast array of NASA resources with the best teaching methods, taking into consideration grade levels, subject areas and teaching preferences. The teachers described their attitudes toward technology and innovation in the classroom and their experiences and perceptions as they attempted to integrate Web resources into science, mathematics, technology and geography instruction.

Cocaine-associated retiform purpura: a C5b-9-mediated microangiopathy syndrome associated with enhanced apoptosis and high levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 expression.

PubMed

Magro, Cynthia M; Wang, Xuan

2013-10-01

Cocaine-associated retiform purpura is a recently described entity characterized by striking hemorrhagic necrosis involving areas of skin associated with administration of cocaine. Levamisole, an adulterant in cocaine, has been suggested as the main culprit pathogenetically. Four cases of cocaine-associated retiform purpura were encountered in the dermatopathology practice of C. M. Magro. The light microscopic findings were correlated with immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence studies. All 4 cases showed a very striking thrombotic diathesis associated with intravascular macrophage accumulation. Necrotizing vasculitis was noted in 1 case. Striking intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)/CD54 expression in vessel wall along with endothelial expression of caspase 3 and extensive vascular C5b-9 deposition was observed in all biopsies examined. Cocaine-induced retiform purpura is a C5b-9-mediated microvascular injury associated with enhanced apoptosis and prominent vascular expression of ICAM-1, all of which have been shown in prior in vitro and in vivo murine models to be a direct effect of cocaine metabolic products. Antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody and antiphospholipid antibodies are likely the direct sequelae of the proapoptotic microenvironment. The inflammatory vasculitic lesion could reflect the downstream end point reflective of enhanced ICAM-1 expression and the development of antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody. Levamisole likely works synergistically with cocaine in the propagation of this syndromic complex.

Subwavelength diffractive acoustics and wavefront manipulation with a reflective acoustic metasurface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Wenqi; Xie, Yangbo; Popa, Bogdan-Ioan; Cummer, Steven A.

2016-11-01

Acoustic metasurfaces provide useful wavefront shaping capabilities, such as beam steering, acoustic focusing, and asymmetric transmission, in a compact structure. Most acoustic metasurfaces described in the literature are transmissive devices and focus their performance on steering sound beam of the fundamental diffractive order. In addition, the range of incident angles studied is usually below the critical incidence predicted by generalized Snell's law of reflection. In this work, we comprehensively analyze the wave interaction with a generic periodic phase-modulating structure in order to predict the behavior of all diffractive orders, especially for cases beyond critical incidence. Under the guidance of the presented analysis, a broadband reflective metasurface is designed based on an expanded library of labyrinthine acoustic metamaterials. Various local and nonlocal wavefront shaping properties are experimentally demonstrated, and enhanced absorption of higher order diffractive waves is experimentally shown for the first time. The proposed methodology provides an accurate approach for predicting practical diffracted wave behaviors and opens a new perspective for the study of acoustic periodic structures. The designed metasurface extends the functionalities of acoustic metasurfaces and paves the way for the design of thin planar reflective structures for broadband acoustic wave manipulation and extraordinary absorption.

Reflective dialogue in clinical supervision: A pilot study involving collaborative review of supervision videos.

PubMed

Hill, Hamish R M; Crowe, Trevor P; Gonsalvez, Craig J

2016-01-01

To pilot an intervention involving reflective dialogue based on video recordings of clinical supervision. Fourteen participants (seven psychotherapists and their supervisors) completed a reflective practice protocol after viewing a video of their most recent supervision session, then shared their reflections in a second session. Thematic analysis of individual reflections and feedback resulted in the following dominant themes: (1) Increased discussion of supervisee anxiety and the tensions between autonomy and dependence; (2) intentions to alter supervisory roles and practice; (3) identification of and reflection on parallel process (defined as the dynamic transmission of relationship patterns between therapy and supervision); and (4) a range of perceived impacts including improvements in supervisory alliance. The results suggest that reflective dialogue based on supervision videos can play a useful role in psychotherapy supervision, including with relatively inexperienced supervisees. Suggestions are provided for the encouragement of ongoing reflective dialogue in routine supervision practice.

Promoting cognitive and metacognitive reflective reasoning skills in nursing practice: self-regulated learning theory.

PubMed

Kuiper, Ruth Anne; Pesut, Daniel J

2004-02-01

Effective clinical reasoning in nursing practice depends on the development of both cognitive and metacognitive skills. While a number of strategies have been implemented and tested to promote these skills, educators have not been able consistently to predict their development. Self-regulated learning theory suggests that this development requires concurrent attention to both the cognitive and metacognitive dimensions of reasoning in nursing care contexts. This paper reports on a study to explore the impact of self-regulated learning theory on reflective practice in nursing, and to advance the idea that both cognitive and metacognitive skills support the development of clinical reasoning skills. Integrative review of published literature in social science, educational psychology, nursing education, and professional education using the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC), and American Psychological Association (PsychInfo) Databases. The search included all English language articles with the key words clinical reasoning, cognition, critical thinking, metacognition, reflection, reflective practice, self-regulation and thinking. Reflective clinical reasoning in nursing practice depends on the development of both cognitive and metacognitive skill acquisition. This skill acquisition is best accomplished through teaching-learning attention to self-regulation learning theory. A critical analysis of the literature in the areas of critical thinking and reflective practice are described as a background for contemporary work with self-regulated learning theory. It is apparent that single-minded attention to critical thinking, without attention to the influence of metacognition or reflection, is but one perspective on clinical reasoning development. Likewise, single-minded attention to metacognition or reflection, without attention to the influence of critical thinking, is another perspective on clinical reasoning development. While strategies to facilitate critical thinking and reflective practice have been used in isolation from each other, there is evidence to suggest that they are inextricably linked and come together with the use of self-regulated learning prompts. Students and practising nurses are able to improve their cognitive and metacognitive skills in clinical contexts by using self-regulated learning strategies. The self-regulated learning model in nursing is offered to support teaching and learning of reflective clinical reasoning in nursing practice contexts.

The "R" Word in Teacher Education: Understanding the Teaching and Learning of Critical Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCabe, Michael; Walsh, Steve; Wideman, Ronald; Winter, Eileen

2009-01-01

The case for critical reflective practice (CRP) among teachers has been advocated for some time. Reflective practice is now at the heart of a number of teacher education programmes and is regarded as an important element in the preparation of new teachers. While it is clear that CRP is highly regarded by teacher educators, less clear is whether…

Reflective Practices in Professional Learning Communities: A Case Study of the Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Mary Ann

2012-01-01

Dewey (1933) provided the foundation for reflective practice in education with the notion that learning is not in the doing, but rather it is in the thinking about the doing that creates learning. Evidence is growing about the importance of reflection for improving teaching and learning practices to increase student achievement (York-Barr, et al.,…

Negotiating the Conflicts: Reexamining the Structure and Function of Reflection in Science Teacher Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danielowich, Robert

2007-01-01

Many researchers and teacher educators propose that reflection is an important way teachers can think about changing their views and practices. The hierarchical constructs used to describe reflection, however, are often interpreted in ways that promote reflection as a "tool" teachers use to elevate their views and practices toward ideal "end…

Diffracting Mandates for Reflective Practices in Teacher Education and Development: Multiple Readings from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Casey Y.; Smith, Kylie A.; Tesar, Marek

2017-01-01

Despite the ubiquity of reflective practice in education, mandating reflective processes within sanctioned frameworks is inherently problematic, as it may lead to reproduction, standardization, and forced universalities, rather than the critical and innovative pedagogy they intend. This article engages with reflection through both the metaphor and…

Removing Our Masks: Using the Visual and Performing Arts to Promote Deep Reflection in Pre-Service Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McHattan, Patty Alvarez; McCray, Erica D.

2009-01-01

The role of reflection is central to teacher preparation. As individuals integrate new information within their existing schema, they refine their practice. Through reflection pre-service teachers examine, evaluate, and adjust. Yet, the practice of reflection is rarely explicitly taught. Often teacher educators found their students aligning their…

The Effect of Reflective Thinking on the Teaching Practices of Preservice Physical Education Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dervent, Fatih

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of reflective thinking on the professional teaching practices of preservice physical education teachers and to explore their reflective levels. Within the qualitative research paradigm, action research was used to gain a deeper understanding of the reflective experiences of preservice physical…

The utility of vignettes to stimulate reflection on professionalism: theory and practice.

PubMed

Bernabeo, E C; Holmboe, E S; Ross, K; Chesluk, B; Ginsburg, S

2013-08-01

Professionalism remains a substantive theme in medical literature. There is an emerging emphasis on sociological and complex adaptive systems perspectives that refocuses attention from just the individual role to working within one's system to enact professionalism in practice. Reflecting on responses to professional dilemmas may be one method to help practicing physicians identify both internal and external factors contributing to (un) professional behavior. We present a rationale and theoretical framework that supports and guides a reflective approach to the self assessment of professionalism. Guided by principles grounded in this theoretical framework, we developed and piloted a set of vignettes on professionally challenging situations, designed to stimulate reflection in practicing physicians. Findings show that participants found the vignettes to be authentic and typical, and reported the group experience as facilitative around discussions of professional ambiguity. Providing an opportunity for physicians to reflect on professional behavior in an open and safe forum may be a practical way to guide physicians to assess themselves on professional behavior and engage with the complexities of their work. The finding that the focus groups led to reflection at a group level suggests that effective reflection on professional behavior may require a socially interactive process. Emphasizing both the behaviors and the internal and external context in which they occur can thus be viewed as critically important for understanding professionalism in practicing physicians.

A framework for understanding cancer comparative effectiveness research data needs.

PubMed

Carpenter, William R; Meyer, Anne-Marie; Abernethy, Amy P; Stürmer, Til; Kosorok, Michael R

2012-11-01

Randomized controlled trials remain the gold standard for evaluating cancer intervention efficacy. Randomized trials are not always feasible, practical, or timely and often don't adequately reflect patient heterogeneity and real-world clinical practice. Comparative effectiveness research can leverage secondary data to help fill knowledge gaps randomized trials leave unaddressed; however, comparative effectiveness research also faces shortcomings. The goal of this project was to develop a new model and inform an evolving framework articulating cancer comparative effectiveness research data needs. We examined prevalent models and conducted semi-structured discussions with 76 clinicians and comparative effectiveness research researchers affiliated with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's cancer comparative effectiveness research programs. A new model was iteratively developed and presents cancer comparative effectiveness research and important measures in a patient-centered, longitudinal chronic care model better reflecting contemporary cancer care in the context of the cancer care continuum, rather than a single-episode, acute-care perspective. Immediately relevant for federally funded comparative effectiveness research programs, the model informs an evolving framework articulating cancer comparative effectiveness research data needs, including evolutionary enhancements to registries and epidemiologic research data systems. We discuss elements of contemporary clinical practice, methodology improvements, and related needs affecting comparative effectiveness research's ability to yield findings clinicians, policy makers, and stakeholders can confidently act on. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A framework for understanding cancer comparative effectiveness research data needs

PubMed Central

Carpenter, William R; Meyer, Anne-Marie; Abernethy, Amy P.; Stürmer, Til; Kosorok, Michael R.

2012-01-01

Objective Randomized controlled trials remain the gold standard for evaluating cancer intervention efficacy. Randomized trials are not always feasible, practical, or timely, and often don’t adequately reflect patient heterogeneity and real-world clinical practice. Comparative effectiveness research can leverage secondary data to help fill knowledge gaps randomized trials leave unaddressed; however, comparative effectiveness research also faces shortcomings. The goal of this project was to develop a new model and inform an evolving framework articulating cancer comparative effectiveness research data needs. Study Design and Setting We examined prevalent models and conducted semi-structured discussions with 76 clinicians and comparative effectiveness research researchers affiliated with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s cancer comparative effectiveness research programs. Results A new model was iteratively developed, and presents cancer comparative effectiveness research and important measures in a patient-centered, longitudinal chronic care model better-reflecting contemporary cancer care in the context of the cancer care continuum, rather than a single-episode, acute-care perspective. Conclusion Immediately relevant for federally-funded comparative effectiveness research programs, the model informs an evolving framework articulating cancer comparative effectiveness research data needs, including evolutionary enhancements to registries and epidemiologic research data systems. We discuss elements of contemporary clinical practice, methodology improvements, and related needs affecting comparative effectiveness research’s ability to yield findings clinicians, policymakers, and stakeholders can confidently act on. PMID:23017633

Persistent influence of a narrative educational program on physician attitudes regarding patient care.

PubMed

Stojan, Jennifer N; Sun, Eleanor Y; Kumagai, Arno K

2018-02-28

Educational approaches involving patient stories aim at enhancing empathy and patient-centered care; however, it is not known whether the influence of such programs on physician attitudes persists beyond medical school. The Family Centered Experience (FCE) paired preclinical medical students with patient families over two years and engaged students in reflective dialogs about the volunteers' stories. This study examined possible long-term influences on attitudes toward medicine and doctoring. Interviews were conducted with former students at the end of or after post-graduate training. All had completed the FCE between 4 and 10 years before the study. Thematic analysis was informed by a constructivist Grounded Theory approach. Several themes were identified. The FCE made graduates aware of the patients' perspectives and impacted their clinical practice in specific ways, such as developing collaborative partnerships, conducting family meetings, and breaking bad news. The course had influenced career choices and interest in teaching. Finally, the FCE enhanced appreciation of the human dimensions of medicine, which graduates had drawn upon in subsequent years. A program based on longitudinal interactions with individuals with chronic illness can have persistent influence by stimulating reflection on the patient's perspective and humanistic approaches to patient care.

Resonance-dependent extraordinary reflection and transmission in PC-symmetric layered structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Yun-tuan; Zhang, Yi-chi; Wang, Ji-Jun

2018-01-01

In order to achieve controllable enhanced reflection and transmission in part-time (PT) symmetric systems, we combine a cavity resonance effect with the layered PT-symmetric structure. At the resonance wavelength, except for the nonreciprocal extraordinary reflection, an enhanced transmission is also obtained. Both the extraordinary reflectance and transmittance are dependent on the modulation depth and period number in a discrete form.

Clinical psychologists' experiences of reflective staff groups in inpatient psychiatric settings: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Heneghan, Cara; Wright, John; Watson, Gilli

2014-01-01

Background Reflective practice groups have been recommended for improving staff wellbeing and team functioning in inpatient psychiatric services, and clinical psychologists have been identified as potential leaders in this type of work. Research is limited with little information about reflective practice group guidelines, prevalence and effectiveness. Aims The aims of this study were to describe clinical psychologists' practice in reflective groups for staff in inpatient psychiatric services and to explore how such groups are conceptualized and implemented. Methods Online questionnaires and follow-up interviews were used to gain broad descriptions of practice and in-depth information about participants' experiences. The sample consisted of 73 clinical psychologists working in the UK, six of whom were interviewed. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, content analysis and thematic analysis. Results Clinical psychologists regularly facilitate reflective staff groups in inpatient psychiatric settings in the UK. Common outcomes related to staff wellbeing, service culture and teamwork. Engagement, group dynamics and lack of management support were common challenges. Group experiences were influenced by the organizational context. Conclusions Clinical psychologists' practices regarding reflective staff groups were in line with recent professional developments. Several difficulties were described, which may be indicative of both a difficulty inherent to the task and a training gap in reflective staff group process. The study had methodological limitations but offers a useful contribution to the literature, and enables practice and training implications to be drawn. The need for further research exploring facilitator characteristics, views of group participants and the impact of reflective staff groups on patients is indicated. The term 'reflective practice group' encompasses a range of practices, but a typical group structure was found with common aims, outcomes and challenges. Reflective staff groups are regularly facilitated by clinical psychologists in inpatient psychiatric settings in the UK and are influenced by practitioner experience as well as psychodynamic, systemic and group process theories. The safety required for reflective groups to function is influenced by the organizational context, and groups can contribute to shifts in culture toward including psychosocial perspectives. Reflective staff groups represent one type of contribution to an inpatient psychiatric service and team relationships; other processes to encourage alternative professional perspectives and values might also support change. More research is recommended to explore facilitator characteristics, the views of staff teams on reflective staff groups and the impact of these groups on patients. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Global megatrends and their implications for environmental assessment practice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Retief, Francois, E-mail: francois.retief@nwu.ac.za; Bond, Alan; Research Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University

This paper addresses the future of environmental assessment (EA) practice in light of a rapidly changing world. We apply a literature review-based methodology to firstly identify key global megatrends and then reflect upon the implications for EA practice based on some known challenges. The key megatrends identified are synthesised into six categories: i) demographics, ii) urbanization, iii) technological innovation, iv) power shifts, v) resource scarcity and vi) climate change. We then discuss the implications of these megatrends for EA practice against four known EA challenges namely: dealing with i) complexity and uncertainty, ii) efficiency, iii) significance and iv) communication andmore » participation. Our analysis suggests important implications for EA practice such as: increased difficulties with accuracy of prediction; the need for facilitative adaptation; an increase in the occurrence of unexpected events; higher expectations for procedural efficiency; challenges with information and communication management; dealing with significance judgements; and mitigation amidst resource scarcity and increasing pressures on earth systems. The megatrends underscore the need for continued evolution of EA thinking and practice, especially moving away from seeking a predictable single future or outcome towards the possibility of multiple scenarios with associated adaptability and enhanced system resilience capable of responding to rapid change.« less

How to manage organisational change and create practice teams: experiences of a South African primary care health centre.

PubMed

Mash, B J; Mayers, P; Conradie, H; Orayn, A; Kuiper, M; Marais, J

2008-07-01

In South Africa, first-contact primary care is delivered by nurses in small clinics and larger community health centres (CHC). CHCs also employ doctors, who often work in isolation from the nurses, with poor differentiation of roles and little effective teamwork or communication. Worcester CHC, a typical public sector CHC in rural South Africa, decided to explore how to create more successful practice teams of doctors and nurses. This paper is based on their experience of both unsuccessful and successful attempts to introduce practice teams and reports on their learning regarding organisational change. An emergent action research study design utilised a co-operative inquiry group. The first nine months of inquiry focused on understanding the initial unsuccessful attempt to create practice teams. This paper reports primarily on the subsequent nine months (four cycles of planning, action, observation and reflection) during which practice teams were re-introduced. The central question was how more effective practice teams of doctors and nurses could be created. The group utilised outcome mapping to assist with planning, monitoring and evaluation. Outcome mapping defined a vision, mission, boundary partners, outcome challenges, progress markers and strategies for the desired changes and supported quantitative monitoring of the process. Qualitative data were derived from the co-operative inquiry group (CIG) meetings and interviews with doctors, nurses, practice teams and patients. The CIG engaged effectively with 68% of the planned strategies, and more than 60% of the progress markers were achieved for clinical nurse practitioners, doctors, support staff and managers, but not for patients. Key themes that emerged from the inquiry group's reflection on their experience of the change process dealt with the amount of interaction, type of communication, team resilience, staff satisfaction, leadership style, reflective capacity, experimentation and evolution of new structures. The group's learning supported a view of change that sees the organisation as a living system in which information flow, participation and the development of resilience are key aspects. These themes fit well into an understanding of change based on complexity theory. If managers of the health system wish to enhance organisational change, then their goal may need to shift from optimising health care delivery in a mechanistic model to optimising health care workers in a living system.

Dialogue: network that intertwines the pedagogical relationship into the practical-reflective teaching.

PubMed

Lima, Margarete Maria de; Reibnitz, Kenya Schmidt; Kloh, Daiana; Vendruscolo, Carine; Corrêa, Aline Bússolo

2016-01-01

to understand how dialogue occurs in the pedagogical relation in the practical reflective teaching in an undergraduate program in nursing. qualitative research, case study. Data collection was conducted from May 2013 to September 2014 with eight professors of Nursing, by means of observation and interviews. Data analysis followed the operational proposal constituted by the exploratory stage and the interpretive stage. point the dialogue established within the pedagogical relation as a challenge to be faced in practical-reflective teaching, so professor and student build a relationship that foster thought and action in the theoretical context and in the field of practice. in establishing a dialogic-reflective tone in the pedagogical relationship, the professor opens paths to new discoveries, enabling the creation of teaching-learning spaces that stimulate autonomy, abilities, and critical and reflective attitudes of students along their education.

Reflective practice: a framework for case manager development.

PubMed

Brubakken, Karen; Grant, Sara; Johnson, Mary K; Kollauf, Cynthia

2011-01-01

The role of a nurse case manager (NCM) incorporates practice that is built upon knowledge gained in other roles as well as components unique to case management. The concept of reflective practice was used in creating a framework to recognize the developmental stages that occur within community based case management practice. The formation of this framework and its uses are described in this article. The practice setting is a community based case management department in a large midwestern metropolitan health care system with Magnet recognition. Advanced practice nurses provide care for clients with chronic health conditions. Twenty-four narratives were used to identify behaviors of community based case managers and to distinguish stages of practice. The behaviors of advanced practice found within the narratives were labeled and analyzed for similarities. Related behaviors were grouped and descriptor statements were written. These statements grouped into 3 domains of practice: relationship/partnership, coordination/collaboration, and clinical knowledge/decision making. The statements in each domain showed practice variations from competent to expert, and 3 stages were determined. Reliability and validity of the framework involved analysis of additional narratives. The reflective practice process, used for monthly case review presentations, provides opportunity for professional development and group learning focused on improving case manager practice. The framework is also being used in orientation as new case managers acclimate to the role. Reflective writing has unveiled the richness and depth of nurse case manager practice. The depth of knowledge and skills involved in community-based case management is captured within this reflective practice framework. This framework provides a format for describing community based case manager practice development over the course of time and has been used as a tool for orientation and peer review.

Angle-independent pH-sensitive composites with natural gyroid structure

PubMed Central

Xue, Ruiyang; Zhang, Wang; Sun, Peng; Zada, Imran; Guo, Cuiping; Liu, Qinglei; Gu, Jiajun; Su, Huilan; Zhang, Di

2017-01-01

pH sensor is an important and practical device with a wide application in environmental protection field and biomedical industries. An efficient way to enhance the practicability of intelligent polymer composed pH sensor is to subtilize the three-dimensional microstructure of the materials, adding measurable features to visualize the output signal. In this work, C. rubi wing scales were combined with pH-responsive smart polymer polymethylacrylic acid (PMAA) through polymerization to achieve a colour-tunable pH sensor with nature gyroid structure. Morphology and reflection characteristics of the novel composites, named G-PMAA, are carefully investigated and compared with the original biotemplate, C. rubi wing scales. The most remarkable property of G-PMAA is a single-value corresponding relationship between pH value and the reflection peak wavelength (λmax), with a colour distinction degree of 18 nm/pH, ensuring the accuracy and authenticity of the output. The pH sensor reported here is totally reversible, which is able to show the same results after several detection circles. Besides, G-PMAA is proved to be not influenced by the detection angle, which makes it a promising pH sensor with superb sensitivity, stability, and angle-independence. PMID:28165044

Reflection a neglected art in health promotion.

PubMed

Fleming, Paul

2007-10-01

Evaluation and quality assurance have, over time, become the bedrock of health promotion practice in ensuring effectiveness and efficiency of programme planning and delivery. There has been less emphasis, however, on formal recognition of the contribution of the personal characteristics and perspectives of those who plan and deliver programmes and to the more subtle underlying effects of prevailing societal and professional norms. This paper seeks to highlight the neglect of formal reflection as a key professional skill in professional health promotion practice. It outlines key theories underpinning the development of the concepts of reflection and reflective practice. The role of reflection in critical health education as it contributes to critical consciousness raising is highlighted through its contribution to the empowerment of change agents in a societal change context. A conceptual typology of reflective practice is described which provides a flexible structure with which professionals can reflect on the role of self, the context and the process of health promotion programme planning. Its use is illustrated from the author's published work in health promotion which is related to prevention of workplace violence.

Enabling the Journey from Experienced Practitioner to Para-Professional: Using Reflective Dialogue in Action Learning Triads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graves, Susan; Jones, Marion

2008-01-01

This article explores whether using reflective dialogue in action learning sets on a foundation degree (FD) in educational support can develop the capacity for reflective practice of the students. Developing a reflective stance in relation to professional practice is a central theme of the programme, which is reinforced by the work-based learning…

Oppression, Reflection, and Advocacy in the Classroom: One Teacher-Researcher Reflects on Her Research and Practices Involving African American Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haj-Broussard, Michelle

2006-01-01

In this article, I--a White, French-immersion teacher-researcher--engage in a reflective examination of my research and teaching practices involving African American students. My critical reflection of my research examines the instruments used in my comparative study of African American students' experiences in the French-immersion context and the…

Feeding Forward: Using Feedback to Promote Student Reflection and Learning--A Teaching Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinton, Sarah; Smallbone, Teresa

2010-01-01

Engaging in reflection is a vital part of learning for university students and its practice should be embedded in course design. Feedback on written work can be used as a vehicle for reflection. Both the gift and receipt of feedback and the habit of reflection require practice and capturing this experiential learning can be achieved in a class…

Students' reflections in a portfolio pilot: highlighting professional issues.

PubMed

Haffling, Ann-Christin; Beckman, Anders; Pahlmblad, Annika; Edgren, Gudrun

2010-01-01

Portfolios are highlighted as potential assessment tools for professional competence. Although students' self-reflections are considered to be central in the portfolio, the content of reflections in practice-based portfolios is seldom analysed. To investigate whether students' reflections include sufficient dimensions of professional competence, notwithstanding a standardized portfolio format, and to evaluate students' satisfaction with the portfolio. Thirty-five voluntary final-year medical students piloted a standardized portfolio in a general practice (GP) attachment at Lund University, Sweden. Students' portfolio reflections were based upon documentary evidence from practice, and aimed to demonstrate students' learning. The reflections were qualitatively analysed, using a framework approach. Students' evaluations of the portfolio were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. Among professional issues, an integration of cognitive, affective and practical dimensions in clinical practice was provided by students' reflections. The findings suggested an emphasis on affective issues, particularly on self-awareness of feelings, attitudes and concerns. In addition, ethical problems, clinical reasoning strategies and future communication skills training were subjects of several reflective commentaries. Students' reflections on their consultation skills demonstrated their endeavour to achieve structure in the medical interview by negotiation of an agenda for the consultation, keeping the interview on track, and using internal summarizing. The importance of active listening and exploration of patient's perspective was also emphasized. In students' case summaries, illustrating characteristic attributes of GP, the dominating theme was 'patient-centred care', including the patient-doctor relationship, holistic modelling and longitudinal continuity. Students were satisfied with the portfolio, but improved instructions were needed. A standardized portfolio in a defined course with a limited timeframe provided ample opportunities for reflections on professional issues. Support by mentors and a final examiner interview contributed to the success of the portfolio with students. The interview also allowed students to deepen their reflections and to receive feedback.

Should performance-enhancing drugs in sport be legalized under medical supervision?

PubMed

Wiesing, Urban

2011-02-01

This review examines the question of whether performance-enhancing drugs should be permitted in sport under the control of physicians, and evaluates the expected outcomes of such a scenario. Such a change in regulation would need to be tightly controlled because of the risks involved. The results of legalizing performance-enhancing drugs in competitive sport would be either unhelpful or negative, and the unwanted aspects of doping control would not disappear. Athletes, including children and adolescents who wanted to pursue competitive sports, would be forced to take additional, avoidable health risks. The 'natural lottery' of athletic talents would be compensated for only partially by use of performance-enhancing agents. It would also be complemented by another 'natural lottery' of variable responses to doping measures, combined with the inventiveness of doping doctors. There would be no gain in 'justice' (i.e. fairer results that reflected efforts made) for athletes as a result of legalizing doping. Legalization would not reduce restrictions on athletes' freedom; the control effort would remain the same, if not increased. Extremely complicated international regulations would have to be adopted. The game of the 'tortoise and the hare' between doping athletes and inspectors would remain because prohibited but not identifiable practices could still provide additional benefits from use of permissible drugs. Audience mistrust, particularly toward athletes who achieved outstanding feats, would remain because it would still be possible that these athletes were reliant on illegal doping practices. Doping entails exposing the athletes to avoidable risks that do not need to be taken to increase the appeal of a sport. Most importantly, the function of sport as a role model would definitely be damaged. It is not necessary to clarify the question of what constitutes the 'spirit of sport' and whether this may be changed. From a practical point of view, a legalization of performance-enhancing drugs in sport should not be considered for the simple reason that it has no advantages but many disadvantages.

Reflective Learning in Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brockbank, Anne, Ed.; McGill, Ian, Ed.; Beech, Nic, Ed.

This book contains 22 papers on reflective learning in practice. The following papers are included: "Our Purpose" (Ann Brockbank, Ian McGill, Nic Beech); "The Nature and Context of Learning" (Ann Brockbank, Ian McGill, Nic Beech); "Reflective Learning and Organizations" (Ann Brockbank, Ian McGill, Nic Beech);…

Exploring Dimensions of Critical Reflection in Activist-Facilitator Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Cindy

2013-01-01

This article explores how 14 diverse, Canadian activist-facilitators working in international development experience and understand "critical reflection" as a component of participatory methodologies in facilitation practices. The findings, based on my doctoral study, demonstrate that although critical reflection is often discussed as…

An integrated model for the effects of self-reflection and clinical experiential learning on clinical nursing performance in nursing students: A longitudinal study.

PubMed

Pai, Hsiang-Chu

2016-10-01

The use of clinical simulation in undergraduate nursing programs in Taiwan has gradually increased over the past 5years. Previous research has shown that students' experience of anxiety during simulated laboratory sessions influences their self-reflection and learning effectiveness. Thus, further study that tracks what influences students' clinical performance in actual clinical sites is vital. The aim of the study is to develop an integrated model that considers the associations among anxiety, self-reflection, and learning effectiveness and to understand how this model applies to student nurses' clinical performance while on clinical placement. This study used a correlational and longitudinal study design. The 80 nursing students, who ranged in age from 19 to 21 (mean=20.38, SD=0.56), were recruited from a nursing school in southern Taiwan. Data were collected during three phases of implementation using four questionnaires. During the first phase, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Simulation Learning Effectiveness Scale (SLES), and Self-Reflection and Insight Scale (SRIS) were used after students completed the simulation course in the school simulation laboratory. Nursing students also completed the Holistic Nursing Competence Scale at 2months (Phase 2) and 4months (Phase 3) after clinical practice experience. In Phase 3, students again completed the STAI and SRIS. Partial least squares (PLS), a structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure, was used to test the research model. The findings showed that: (1) at the start of the simulation laboratory, anxiety had a significant negative effect on students' simulation learning effectiveness (SLE; β=-0.14, p<0.05) and on self-reflection with insight (SRI; β=-0.52, p<0.01). Self-reflection also had a significant positive effect on simulation learning effectiveness (β=0.37, p<0.01). Anxiety had a significant negative effect on students' nursing competence during the first 2months of practice in a clinical nursing site (β=-0.20, p<0.01). Simulation learning effectiveness and self-reflection and insight also had a significant positive effect on nursing competence during the first 2months of practice in a clinical site (β=0.13; β=0.16, p<0.05), respectively; and (2) when students practice in a clinical setting, their previous experience of nursing competence during the first 2months of clinical care and their self-reflection and insight have a significant positive effect on their 4-month nursing competence (β=0.58; β=0.27, p<0.01). Anxiety, however, had a negative effect on 4-month nursing competence but not significantly. Overall, 41% of the variance in clinical nursing performance was accounted for by the variables in the integrated model. This study highlights that self-reflection with insight and clinical experience may help students to deflect anxiety that may influence the development of clinical competence. Of note is that real-life clinical experience has a stronger effect on enhancing clinical performance than does a simulation experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fostering Dental Students' Academic Achievements and Reflection Skills Through Clinical Peer Assessment and Feedback.

PubMed

Tricio, Jorge A; Woolford, Mark J; Escudier, Michael P

2016-08-01

Peer assessment is increasingly being encouraged to enhance dental students' learning. The aim of this study was to evaluate the educational impact in terms of academic achievements and reflective thinking of a formative prospective peer assessment and feedback protocol. Volunteer final-year dental students at King's College London Dental Institute, UK, received training on peer assessment, peer feedback, and self-reflection. At the beginning (baseline) and end (resultant) of the 2012-13 academic year, 86 students (55% of the year group) completed a reflection questionnaire (RQ). Sixty-eight of those students used a modified Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) as a framework for peer assessment and peer feedback during a complete academic year. End-of-year, high-stakes examination grades and RQ scores from the participants and nonparticipants were statistically compared. The participants completed 576 peer DOPS. Those 22 students who peer assessed each other ≥10 times exhibited highly statistically significant differences and powerful positive effect sizes in their high-stakes exam grades (p=0.0001, d=0.74) and critical reflection skills (p=0.005, d=1.41) when compared to those who did not assess one another. Furthermore, only the same 22 students showed a statistically significant increase and positive effect size in their critical reflection skills from baseline to resultant (p=0.003, d=1.04). The results of this study suggest that the protocol used has the potential to impact dental students' academic and reflection skills, provided it is practiced in ten or more peer encounters and ensuring peer feedback is provided followed by self-reflection.

Increasing the relevance of research to health care managers: hospital CEO imperatives for improving quality and lowering costs.

PubMed

Alexander, Jeffrey A; Hearld, Larry R; Jiang, H Joanna; Fraser, Irene

2007-01-01

Evidence-based management assumes that available research evidence is consistent with the problems and decision-making conditions faced by those who will utilize this evidence in practice. This article attempts to identify how hospital leaders view key determinants of hospital quality and costs, as well as the fundamental ways these leaders "think" about solutions to quality and cost issues in their organizations. The objective of this analysis is to better inform the research agenda and approaches pursued by health services research so that this research reflects the "realities" of practice in hospitals. We conducted a series of semistructured interviews with a convenience sample of eight hospital and three health system leaders. Questions focused on current and future challenges facing hospitals as they relate to hospital quality, costs, and efficiency, and potential solutions to those challenges. Nine major organizational and managerial factors emerged from the interviews, including staffing, evidence-based practice, information technology, data availability and benchmarking, and leadership. Hospital leaders tend to think about these factors systemically and consider process-related factors as the important drivers of cost and quality. The results suggest a need to expand the methods utilized by health services researchers to make their research more relevant to health care managers. Expanding research methods to reflect the systemic way that managers view the challenges and solutions facing their organizations may enhance the application of research findings into management practice. Finally, better communication is needed between the research and practice communities. Researchers must learn to think more like managers if their research is to be relevant, and managers must learn to more effectively communicate their issues with the research community and frame their problems in researchable terms.

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation With Social Work Students

PubMed Central

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2016-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to the class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use of reflective journals as a Flipped Classroom technique to increase reflective thinking and reading adherence. This study surveys 27 students in two practice courses about the use of weekly reflective journaling as a flipped classroom assignment. Findings support that reflective reading journals increase student preparation and engagement, but require more work for students and instructors. Implications are discussed. PMID:27672301

Computerised mirror therapy with Augmented Reflection Technology for early stroke rehabilitation: clinical feasibility and integration as an adjunct therapy.

PubMed

Hoermann, Simon; Ferreira Dos Santos, Luara; Morkisch, Nadine; Jettkowski, Katrin; Sillis, Moran; Devan, Hemakumar; Kanagasabai, Parimala S; Schmidt, Henning; Krüger, Jörg; Dohle, Christian; Regenbrecht, Holger; Hale, Leigh; Cutfield, Nicholas J

2017-07-01

New rehabilitation strategies for post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation employing visual stimulation show promising results, however, cost-efficient and clinically feasible ways to provide these interventions are still lacking. An integral step is to translate recent technological advances, such as in virtual and augmented reality, into therapeutic practice to improve outcomes for patients. This requires research on the adaptation of the technology for clinical use as well as on the appropriate guidelines and protocols for sustainable integration into therapeutic routines. Here, we present and evaluate a novel and affordable augmented reality system (Augmented Reflection Technology, ART) in combination with a validated mirror therapy protocol for upper limb rehabilitation after stroke. We evaluated components of the therapeutic intervention, from the patients' and the therapists' points of view in a clinical feasibility study at a rehabilitation centre. We also assessed the integration of ART as an adjunct therapy for the clinical rehabilitation of subacute patients at two different hospitals. The results showed that the combination and application of the Berlin Protocol for Mirror Therapy together with ART was feasible for clinical use. This combination was integrated into the therapeutic plan of subacute stroke patients at the two clinical locations where the second part of this research was conducted. Our findings pave the way for using technology to provide mirror therapy in clinical settings and show potential for the more effective use of inpatient time and enhanced recoveries for patients. Implications for Rehabilitation Computerised Mirror Therapy is feasible for clinical use Augmented Reflection Technology can be integrated as an adjunctive therapeutic intervention for subacute stroke patients in an inpatient setting Virtual Rehabilitation devices such as Augmented Reflection Technology have considerable potential to enhance stroke rehabilitation.

Examining the effects of a mindfulness-based distance learning professional training module on personal and professional functioning: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Whitesman, Simon; Mash, Robert

2016-11-09

Training people to deliver mindfulness-based interventions (MBI) is becoming an important activity as mindfulness has been shown to have clinical benefits across a variety of conditions. Training courses must not only address the principles, skills and theory of mindfulness, but the trainers themselves must be able to embody the practice. There is limited research on the ability of teachers-in-training to embody the practice as a result of teacher training programmes. This study explored the extent to which a short course enabled future teachers to embody mindfulness practice. This first module was part of a larger course of four modules to prepare future teachers of MBIs. Qualitative data was obtained from 10 out of 35 end of course written assignments that asked respondents to reflect on their experience of mindfulness practice during the course. These were systematically selected and a focus group interview was also conducted with local participants. Data was analysed by means of the framework method and key themes identified. The combination of a retreat and on-line learning was perceived to be effective. Students reported significant changes in personal functioning as a result of daily mindfulness practice: self-awareness, improved relationships, enhanced connectedness, better self-regulation, enhanced compassion and curiosity towards self and others and self-acceptance. Participants began to introduce elements of mindfulness into their professional practice. The first module of a post-graduate training programme for health professionals who want to teach MBIs successfully supported students to embody, explore and apply mindfulness in their lives. The integrated teaching modalities of residential retreat and distance-based on-line learning appeared effective.

Improving Inquiry Teaching through Reflection on Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lotter, Christine R.; Miller, Cory

2017-01-01

In this paper, we explore middle school science teachers' learning of inquiry-based instructional strategies through reflection on practice teaching sessions during a summer enrichment program with middle level students. The reflection sessions were part of a larger year-long inquiry professional development program in which teachers learned…

Reflective Practice: Look, Listen, Wonder, and Respond

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weatherston, Deborah J.

2013-01-01

The author explores the reflective components of observation, listening, wondering, and response. Together, these components invite parents to discover who their babies are as well as to understand the importance of nurturing relationships, past and present, to development, growth, and change. Of equal interest, reflective practice offers Infant…

An evaluation of an interprofessional practice-based learning environment using student reflections.

PubMed

Housley, Cora L; Neill, Kathryn K; White, Lanita S; Tedder, Andrea T; Castleberry, Ashley N

2018-01-01

The 12th Street Health and Wellness Center is an interprofessional, student-led, community-based clinic. Students from all University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences colleges work together to provide healthcare services for residents of an underserved community. Interprofessional student teams assess patients and present to an interprofessional preceptor team. At the conclusion of clinic, teams reflect on their experience. The objective of this study is to generate key themes from the end of clinic reflections to describe learning outcomes in an interprofessional practice environment. Student teams were asked to reflect on what they learned about patient care and interprofessional practice while volunteering at the clinic. Three hundred eighty reflection statements were assessed using the constant comparative approach with open coding by three researchers who identified and categorised themes by selecting key phrases from reflections. Eight themes emerged from this process which illuminated students' self-perceived development during practice-based learning and interprofessional collaboration. Key phrases were also coded to the four core Interprofessional Education Collaborative competency domains. These results suggest learners' perception that the Center is a practice-based environment that provides an opportunity to learn, integrate, and apply interprofessional curricular content.

Humpty Dumpty: reflection and reflective nursing practice.

PubMed

Richardson, R

1995-06-01

The recent increase in the amount of published work relating reflection and reflective practice to nurses and nursing practice suggests that nurses value the opportunities which this approach is believed to provide. There also appears to be an underlying assumption that we all share the same concepts, hence the association with Humpty Dumpty. Indications of attempts to mechanize the processes and to endow the perceived skills with an élitism are becoming evident. In contrast, there are other attempts to foster the notion of accepting uncertainty, unpredictability and the opportunity for increased understanding to emerge. In this paper, the roots of some of these concepts are traced. The appropriateness of traditional values and assumptions, based on natural science perspectives, in relation to reflective processes and the practice of nursing is questioned. The development of a multi-faceted approach which takes account of differing contexts and the factors which influence them is suggested.

Improving Si solar cell performance using Mn:ZnSe quantum dot-doped PLMA thin film

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA) thin film doped with Mn:ZnSe quantum dots (QDs) was spin-deposited on the front surface of Si solar cell for enhancing the solar cell efficiency via photoluminescence (PL) conversion. Significant solar cell efficiency enhancements (approximately 5% to 10%) under all-solar-spectrum (AM0) condition were observed after QD-doped PLMA coatings. Furthermore, the real contribution of the PL conversion was precisely assessed by investigating the photovoltaic responses of the QD-doped PLMA to monochromatic and AM0 light sources as functions of QD concentration, combined with reflectance and external quantum efficiency measurements. At a QD concentration of 1.6 mg/ml for example, among the efficiency enhancement of 5.96%, about 1.04% was due to the PL conversion, and the rest came from antireflection. Our work indicates that for the practical use of PL conversion in solar cell performance improvement, cautions are to be taken, as the achieved efficiency enhancement might not be wholly due to the PL conversion. PMID:23787125

Resonant optical tunneling-induced enhancement of the photonic spin Hall effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Xing; Wang, Qingkai; Guo, Jun; Zhang, Jin; Chen, Shuqing; Dai, Xiaoyu; Xiang, Yuanjiang

2018-04-01

Due to the quantum analogy with optics, the resonant optical tunneling effect (ROTE) has been proposed to investigate both the fundamental physics and the practical applications of optical switches and liquid refractive index sensors. In this paper, the ROTE is used to enhance the spin Hall effect (SHE) of transmitted light. It is demonstrated that sandwiching a layer of a high-refractive-index medium (boron nitride crystal) between two low-refractive-index layers (silica) can effectively enhance the photonic SHE due to the increased refractive index gradient and an enhanced evanescent field near the interface between silica and boron nitride. A maximum transverse shift of the horizontal polarization state in the ROTE structure of about 22.25 µm has been obtained, which is at least three orders of magnitude greater than the transverse shift in the frustrated total internal reflection structure. Moreover, the SHE can be manipulated by controlling the component materials and the thickness of the ROTE structure. These findings open the possibility for future applications of photonic SHE in precision metrology and spin-based photonics.

Supporting Faculty During Pedagogical Change Through Reflective Teaching Practice: An Innovative Approach.

PubMed

Armstrong, Deborah K; Asselin, Marilyn E

Given the recent calls for transformation of nursing education, it is critical that faculty be reflective educators. Reflective teaching practice is a process of self-examination and self-evaluation to gain insight into teaching to improve the teaching-learning experience. Limited attention has been given to this notion in the nursing education literature. An innovative reflective teaching practice approach for nursing education is proposed, consisting of question cues, journaling, and a process of facilitated meetings. The authors describe their perceptions of using this approach with faculty during the implementation of a new pedagogy and suggest areas for further research.

Reflecting, refueling, and reframing: a 10-year retrospective model for faculty development and its implications for nursing scholarship.

PubMed

Alteen, Anna Marie; Didham, Paula; Stratton, Cathy

2009-06-01

In this article, the authors retrace their journey during the past 10 years as faculty members engaged in the implementation of a new bachelor of nursing (collaborative) program. They outline the major personal challenges related to increasing credentials and portfolio development for teachers within a university environment. The authors extrapolate from the relevant literature on teaching and scholarship, and thereby analyze the methodologies that enhanced the faculty development process for them during this time. Specifically, they discuss the methods that facilitated meaningful reflection on their new roles and responsibilities; nurtured their professional growth and afforded opportunities for refueling and reenergizing along the way; and provided a vision for reframing their practice as nurse educators in light of previous experiences. With reference to Boyer's model of scholarship, the authors also explore possible implications for further analysis of the faculty development process within the broader context of nursing scholarship.

A case study of a multiply talented savant with an autism spectrum disorder: neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry.

PubMed

Wallace, Gregory L; Happé, Francesca; Giedd, Jay N

2009-05-27

Neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry in a savant (case GW) with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and both calendar calculation and artistic skills are quantified and compared with small groups of neurotypical controls. Good memory, mental calculation and visuospatial processing, as well as (implicit) knowledge of calendar structure and 'weak' central coherence characterized the cognitive profile of case GW. Possibly reflecting his savant skills, the superior parietal region of GW's cortex was the only area thicker (while areas such as the superior and medial prefrontal, middle temporal and motor cortices were thinner) than that of a neurotypical control group. Taken from the perspective of learning/practice-based models, skills in domains (e.g. calendars, art, music) that capitalize upon strengths often associated with ASD, such as detail-focused processing, are probably further enhanced through over-learning and massive exposure, and reflected in atypical brain structure.

A case study of a multiply talented savant with an autism spectrum disorder: neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry

PubMed Central

Wallace, Gregory L.; Happé, Francesca; Giedd, Jay N.

2009-01-01

Neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry in a savant (case GW) with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and both calendar calculation and artistic skills are quantified and compared with small groups of neurotypical controls. Good memory, mental calculation and visuospatial processing, as well as (implicit) knowledge of calendar structure and ‘weak’ central coherence characterized the cognitive profile of case GW. Possibly reflecting his savant skills, the superior parietal region of GW's cortex was the only area thicker (while areas such as the superior and medial prefrontal, middle temporal and motor cortices were thinner) than that of a neurotypical control group. Taken from the perspective of learning/practice-based models, skills in domains (e.g. calendars, art, music) that capitalize upon strengths often associated with ASD, such as detail-focused processing, are probably further enhanced through over-learning and massive exposure, and reflected in atypical brain structure. PMID:19528026

Enhanced backscatter of optical beams reflected in turbulent air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, W.; Palastro, J. P.; Wu, C.; Davis, C. C.

2015-07-01

Optical beams propagating through air acquire phase distortions from turbulent fluctuations in the refractive index. While these distortions are usually deleterious to propagation, beams reflected in a turbulent medium can undergo a local recovery of spatial coherence and intensity enhancement referred to as enhanced backscatter (EBS). Using a combination of lab-scale experiments and simulations, we investigate the EBS of optical beams reflected from corner cubes and rough surfaces, and identify the regimes in which EBS is most distinctly observed.

A Professionalism Curricular Model to Promote Transformative Learning Among Residents.

PubMed

Foshee, Cecile M; Mehdi, Ali; Bierer, S Beth; Traboulsi, Elias I; Isaacson, J Harry; Spencer, Abby; Calabrese, Cassandra; Burkey, Brian B

2017-06-01

Using the frameworks of transformational learning and situated learning theory, we developed a technology-enhanced professionalism curricular model to build a learning community aimed at promoting residents' self-reflection and self-awareness. The RAPR model had 4 components: (1) R ecognize : elicit awareness; (2) A ppreciate : question assumptions and take multiple perspectives; (3) P ractice : try new/changed perspectives; and (4) R eflect : articulate implications of transformed views on future actions. The authors explored the acceptability and practicality of the RAPR model in teaching professionalism in a residency setting, including how residents and faculty perceive the model, how well residents carry out the curricular activities, and whether these activities support transformational learning. A convenience sample of 52 postgraduate years 1 through 3 internal medicine residents participated in the 10-hour curriculum over 4 weeks. A constructivist approach guided the thematic analysis of residents' written reflections, which were a required curricular task. A total of 94% (49 of 52) of residents participated in 2 implementation periods (January and March 2015). Findings suggested that RAPR has the potential to foster professionalism transformation in 3 domains: (1) attitudinal, with participants reporting they viewed professionalism in a more positive light and felt more empathetic toward patients; (2) behavioral, with residents indicating their ability to listen to patients increased; and (3) cognitive, with residents indicating the discussions improved their ability to reflect, and this helped them create meaning from experiences. Our findings suggest that RAPR offers an acceptable and practical strategy to teach professionalism to residents.

Noise Power Spectrum in PROPELLER MR Imaging.

PubMed

Ichinoseki, Yuki; Nagasaka, Tatsuo; Miyamoto, Kota; Tamura, Hajime; Mori, Issei; Machida, Yoshio

2015-01-01

The noise power spectrum (NPS), an index for noise evaluation, represents the frequency characteristics of image noise. We measured the NPS in PROPELLER (Periodically Rotated Overlapping ParallEL Lines with Enhanced Reconstruction) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, a nonuniform data sampling technique, as an initial study for practical MR image evaluation using the NPS. The 2-dimensional (2D) NPS reflected the k-space sampling density and showed agreement with the shape of the k-space trajectory as expected theoretically. Additionally, the 2D NPS allowed visualization of a part of the image reconstruction process, such as filtering and motion correction.

Voices from the heart: the use of digital story telling in education.

PubMed

Matthews, Jackie

2014-01-01

Digital storytelling has emerged as a powerful teaching and learning tool, which presents personal narratives, images and music to create a unique and sometimes emotional snapshot into another person's experience. By offering a platform for sharing and understanding such narratives, professionals may gain insight into a perceived experience and construct their role accordingly. Used effectively, they can engage the listener and offer opportunity to reflect and consider the impact of their professional role on the storyteller. This article looks at how digital storytelling can enhance professional practice and enable vulnerable voices to be heard.

A diagnostic prototype of the potable water subsystem of the Space Station Freedom ECLSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lukefahr, Brenda D.; Rochowiak, Daniel M.; Benson, Brian L.; Rogers, John S.; Mckee, James W.

1989-01-01

In analyzing the baseline Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) command and control architecture, various processes are found which would be enhanced by the use of knowledge based system methods of implementation. The most suitable process for prototyping using rule based methods are documented, while domain knowledge resources and other practical considerations are examined. Requirements for a prototype rule based software system are documented. These requirements reflect Space Station Freedom ECLSS software and hardware development efforts, and knowledge based system requirements. A quick prototype knowledge based system environment is researched and developed.

Journalling and Public Health Education: Thinking about Reflecting...

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sendall, Marguerite C.; Domocol, Michelle L.

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to understand reflective journalling in a first year Public Health practice unit. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses pure phenomenography to interpret students' descriptions of reflective journalling. Data were collected from 32 students enrolled in PUB215 Public Health Practice in the School…

Promoting Reflection in Teacher Preparation Programs: A Multilevel Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Etscheidt, Susan; Curran, Christina M.; Sawyer, Candace M.

2012-01-01

Teacher reflection has been promoted as a necessary tool for educators to sustain responsive instructional practices. A variety of approaches for integrating inquiry into teaching and reflection in practice emerged from extensive and intensive efforts to reform teacher preparation programs. Based on those conceptualizations, a three-level model of…

Critically Reflective Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, Christine L.

2012-01-01

Critical Reflective Practice (CRP) has a proven reputation as a method for teacher-researchers in K-12 classrooms, but there have been few published examples of this method being used to document school leaders' work-based practice. This paper outlines adaptations made by the author from an original CRP method to a Critically Reflective Leadership…

Disruption, Dialogue, and Swerve: Reflective Structured Dialogue in Religious Studies Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeTemple, Jill; Sarrouf, John

2017-01-01

This article focuses on Reflective Structured Dialogue as a set of practices developed in the context of conflict resolution that are well suited to handling quotidian uneasiness and extraordinary moments of disruption in religious studies classrooms. After introducing Reflective Structured Dialogue's history, goals, and general practices, the…

Reflective Practice: Creating Capacities for School Improvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montie, Jo; York-Barr, Jennifer; Kronberg, Robi; Stevenson, Jane; Vallejo, Barb; Lunders, Cheri

This monograph addresses the importance of and strategies for improving education through reflective practice, defined as cognitive processes and an open perspective that involve conscious self-examination in order to gain understandings and improve the lives of students. Chapter 1 provides an overview and explains origins of reflective practice…

Suggested Guidelines for Writing Reflective Case Narratives: Structure and Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Karin L.; Renger, Ralph

2017-01-01

Reflective case narratives are a practical mechanism for conveying lessons learned for practice improvement. Their ability to transform experience into knowledge in a colloquial, narrative style positions reflective case narratives as a powerful learning tool with pedagogical benefits for the evaluation community. However, one criticism of…

Cultivating Critical Reflection: Educators Making Sense and Meaning of Professional Identity and Relational Dynamics in Complex Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Ann

2017-01-01

Critical reflection underpins socially just and inclusive practices that are distinguishing features of democratic learning communities. Critical reflection supports educators' interrogation of the underlying assumptions, intentions, values and beliefs that shape their worldview and sociocultural standpoint. Dominant sociocultural norms…

Reflection as Creative Process: Perspectives, Challenges and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guillaumier, Christina

2016-01-01

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities for embedding reflection in practice-based curricula in the arts. Following the root and branch curriculum reform project recently completed at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the paper presents a hermeneutic and analytical narrative of the challenges emerging from presenting reflection as…

The Power of Reflective Professional Development in Changing Elementary School Teachers' Instructional Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavedon, Carolina Christmann

With the new goal of K-12 education being to prepare students to be college and career ready at the end of high school, education needs to start changing at the elementary school level. The literature suggests that teachers need reflective professional development (PD) to effectively teach to the new standards and to demonstrate change to their current instructional practices. This mixed-method multiple-case study investigated the impacts of a reflective professional development (PD) in changing elementary school teachers' instructional practices. Teachers Instructional Portfolios (TIPs) were scored with a TIP rubric based on best practices in teaching mathematics problem-solving and science inquiry. The TIPs were also analyzed with a qualitative coding scheme. Case descriptions were written and all the collected data were used to explain the impacts of the reflective PD on changes in teachers' instructional practices. While we found no predictive patterns in relation to teachers changing their classroom practices based on the reflective PD, we claim that teachers' desire to change might contribute to improvements in instruction. We also observed that teachers' self-assessment scores tend to be higher than the actual TIP scores corroborating with the literature on the usage of self-assessment to evaluate teachers' instructional practices.

What Could Be Future Scenarios?-Lessons from the History of Public Health Surveillance for the Future: --A keynote address presented at the 8th World Alliance for Risk Factor Surveillance (WARFS) Global Conference on October 30, 2013, Beijing, China.

PubMed

Choi, Bernard C K

2015-01-01

This article provides insights into the future based on a review of the past and present of public health surveillance-the ongoing systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health data for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health action. Public health surveillance dates back to the first recorded epidemic in 3180 BC in Egypt. A number of lessons and items of interest are summarised from a review of historical perspectives in the past 5,000 years and the current practice of surveillance. Some future scenarios are presented: exploring new frontiers; enhancing computer technology; improving epidemic investigations; improving data collection, analysis, dissemination and use; building on lessons from the past; building capacity; and enhancing global surveillance. It is concluded that learning from the past, reflecting on the present, and planning for the future can further enhance public health surveillance.

Enhanced light extraction of plastic scintillator using large-area photonic crystal structures fabricated by hot embossing.

PubMed

Chen, Xueye; Liu, Bo; Wu, Qiang; Zhu, Zhichao; Zhu, Jingtao; Gu, Mu; Chen, Hong; Liu, Jinliang; Chen, Liang; Ouyang, Xiaoping

2018-04-30

Plastic scintillators are widely used in various radiation measurement systems. However, detection efficiency and signal-to-noise are limited due to the total internal reflection, especially for weak signal detection situations. In the present investigation, large-area photonic crystals consisting of an array of periodic truncated cone holes were prepared based on hot embossing technology aiming at coupling with the surface of plastic scintillator to improve the light extraction efficiency and directionality control. The experimental results show that a maximum enhancement of 64% at 25° emergence angle along Γ-M orientation and a maximum enhancement of 58% at 20° emergence angle along Γ-K orientation were obtained. The proposed fabrication method of photonic crystal scintillator can avoid complicated pattern transfer processes used in most traditional methods, leading to a simple, economical method for large-area preparation. The photonic crystal scintillator demonstrated in this work is of great value for practical applications of nuclear radiation detection.

Mindfulness-based interventions with social workers and the potential for enhanced patient-centered care: A systematic review of the literature.

PubMed

Trowbridge, Kelly; Mische Lawson, Lisa

2016-01-01

The use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) is well documented in the mental health, medical, and education literature. There is minimal research on the use of mindfulness with social workers. As demonstrated in other professional and helping fields, mindfulness may enhance clinical skills, reduce burnout, and increase job satisfaction among social workers. In the health care field mindfulness appears integral to patient and family relationships and personal resilience. The evolving and expanding role of hospital social workers may lead to increased work stress and greater demands from both the medical system and patients and families. Research with medical providers, such as physicians and nurses, suggests mindfulness may help in reducing stress, enhancing relationships, and fostering the self-reflection required to provide patient-centered care. We systematically reviewed the existing literature to begin understanding both mindfulness qualities and practices and the effectiveness of MBIs among social workers as well as the relationship of mindfulness to patient-centered care.

The Taped Monologue as Narrative Technique for Reflective Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Keith

2016-01-01

In this article, I describe how an EFL teacher engaged in a process of reflective practice. As she looked back on her teaching career, she explored the critical incidents, principles, and practices that have informed her present teaching identity. I focus on how a taped monologue narrative technique was used, and on the rationale, practice, and…

The ENB 199: an exploration of its effects on A & E nurses' practice.

PubMed

Wood, I

1998-10-01

In the UK, educational opportunities for Accident and Emergency (A & E) nurses are varied (Smith 1994) but the course most recognized as offering specialized A & E education is the English National Board (ENB) 199 course (A & E Nursing). This article describes a research study in which semi-structured interviews were used to gain a phenomenological perspective on the effects of undertaking the ENB 199 on the clinical practice of A & E nurses. The article discusses the methodology used and gives details of the interview framework adopted. Ethical issues are considered along with data collection and analysis. Findings of the study indicate that nurses who have successfully completed the ENB 199 express feelings of enhanced self-confidence in their ability to deliver high standards of care. The notion of increased confidence was also reflected in what the nurses described as their ability to question and challenge the practice of both nursing and medical colleagues. The paper also highlights findings which relate to specific clinical issues and the benefit of having time away from clinical practice in which to discuss issues important to practising A & E nurses.

Enhancing Feedback On Case Reports To Third Year Medical Students On Clinical Attachment

PubMed Central

McKeown, Pascal

2017-01-01

Preparation of case reports during student attachments has the attraction of reflecting real life clinical practice, but lacks standardisation when used in summative assessment. This study examined the occurrence and nature of feedback after the introduction of a new system of formative case reports in Third Year clinical attachments. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to compare the new system to previous practice. Comparison of questionnaire responses demonstrated more and earlier feedback in the New Third Year, which was likely to be delivered at a meeting rather than as written comment. In the New Third Year, the quality of feedback was better and several markers of high quality feedback were rated more highly. There was no difference, however, in students’ confidence in their ability to assess patients. The qualitative data from the New Third Year documented much excellent feedback but also examples of poor practice as well as inconsistency of advice. In conclusion, a relatively simple intervention effected radical changes to feedback practice and attitudes, although it is not known if the clinical skills of students improved. PMID:28298712

Why we do what we do: a theoretical evaluation of the integrated practice model for forensic nursing science.

PubMed

Valentine, Julie L

2014-01-01

An evaluation of the Integrated Practice Model for Forensic Nursing Science () is presented utilizing methods outlined by . A brief review of nursing theory basics and evaluation methods by Meleis is provided to enhance understanding of the ensuing theoretical evaluation and critique. The Integrated Practice Model for Forensic Nursing Science, created by forensic nursing pioneer Virginia Lynch, captures the theories, assumptions, concepts, and propositions inherent in forensic nursing practice and science. The historical background of the theory is explored as Lynch's model launched the role development of forensic nursing practice as both a nursing and forensic science specialty. It is derived from a combination of nursing, sociological, and philosophical theories to reflect the grounding of forensic nursing in the nursing, legal, psychological, and scientific communities. As Lynch's model is the first inception of forensic nursing theory, it is representative of a conceptual framework although the title implies a practice theory. The clarity and consistency displayed in the theory's structural components of assumptions, concepts, and propositions are analyzed. The model is described and evaluated. A summary of the strengths and limitations of the model is compiled followed by application to practice, education, and research with suggestions for ongoing theory development.

Enhanced light extraction of scintillator using large-area photonic crystal structures fabricated by soft-X-ray interference lithography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Zhichao; Wu, Shuang; Liu, Bo, E-mail: lbo@tongji.edu.cn

2015-06-15

Soft-X-ray interference lithography is utilized in combination with atomic layer deposition to prepare photonic crystal structures on the surface of Bi{sub 4}Ge{sub 3}O{sub 12} (BGO) scintillator in order to extract the light otherwise trapped in the internal of scintillator due to total internal reflection. An enhancement with wavelength- and emergence angle-integration by 95.1% has been achieved. This method is advantageous to fabricate photonic crystal structures with large-area and high-index-contrast which enable a high-efficient coupling of evanescent field and the photonic crystal structures. Generally, the method demonstrated in this work is also suitable for many other light emitting devices where amore » large-area is required in the practical applications.« less

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) liver imaging reporting and data system (LI-RADS) 2017 – a review of important differences compared to the CT/MRI system

PubMed Central

Noh, Seung Yeon; Wilson, Stephanie R; Kono, Yuko; Piscaglia, Fabio; Jang, Hyun-Jung; Lyshchik, Andrej; Dietrich, Christoph F.; Willmann, Juergen K.; Vezeridis, Alexander; Sirlin, Claude B

2017-01-01

Medical imaging plays an important role in the diagnosis and management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) was initially created to standardize the reporting and data collection of CT and MR imaging for patients at risk for HCC. As contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) has been widely used in clinical practice, it has recently been added to the LI-RADS. While CEUS LI-RADS shares fundamental concepts with CT/MRI LI-RADS, there are key differences between the modalities reflecting dissimilarities in the underlying methods of image acquisition and types of contrast material. This review introduces a recent update of CEUS LI-RADS and explains the key differences from CT/MRI LI-RADS. PMID:28911220

Medical ethics: enhanced or undermined by modes of payment?

PubMed

Zweifel, Peter; Janus, Katharina

2017-01-01

In the medical literature [1, 2, 7], the view prevails that any change away from fee-for-service (FFS) jeopardizes medical ethics, defined as motivational preference in this article. The objective of this contribution is to test this hypothesis by first developing two theoretical models of behavior, building on the pioneering works of Ellis and McGuire [4] and Pauly and Redisch [11]. Medical ethics is reflected by a parameter α, which indicates how much importance the physician attributes to patient well-being relative to his or her own income. Accordingly, a weakening of ethical orientation amounts to a fall in the value of α. While traditional economic theory takes preferences as predetermined, more recent contributions view them as endogenous (see, e.g., Frey and Oberholzer-Gee [5]). The model variant based on Ellis and McGuire [4] depicts the behavior of a physician in private practice, while the one based on Pauly and Redisch [11] applies to providers who share resources such as in hospital or group practice. Two changes in the mode of payment are analyzed, one from FFS to prospective payment (PP), the other to pay-for-performance (P4P). One set of predictions relates physician effort to a change in the mode of payment; another, physician effort to a change in α, the parameter reflecting ethics. Using these two relationships, a change in ethics can observationally be related to a change in the mode of payment. The predictions derived from the models are pitted against several case studies from diverse countries. A shift from FFS to PP is predicted to give rise to a negative observed relationship between the medical ethics of physicians in private practice under a wide variety of circumstances, more so than a shift to P4P, which can even be seen as enhancing medical ethics, provided physician effort has a sufficiently high marginal effectiveness in terms of patient well-being. This prediction is confirmed to a considerable degree by circumstantial evidence coming from the case studies. As to physicians working in hospital or group practice, the prediction is again that a transition in hospital payment from FFS to PP weakens their ethical orientation. However, this prediction could not be tested because the one hospital study found relates to a transition to P4P, suggesting that this mode of payment may actually enhance medical ethics of healthcare providers working in a hospital or group practice. The claim that moving away from FFS undermines medical ethics is far too sweeping. It can only in part be justified by observed relationships, which even may suggest that a transition to P4P strengthens medical ethics.

The alliance in reflective supervision: a commentary on Tomlin, Weatherston, and Pavkov's critical components of reflective supervision.

PubMed

Watkins, C Edward

2015-01-01

What are the critical components of reflective supervision? In this commentary, I offer a complementary perspective on A.M. Tomlin, D.J. Weatherston, and T. Pavkov's (2014) seminal study about that very question. I consider their findings within the context of what we now know about the supervisory alliance-a highly robust, heuristic, and eminently practical construct that appears to capture the spirit of reflection, collaboration, and regularity at its best. Matters of alliance theory, practice, and research are briefly addressed, and effort is made to consider the implications of the supervisory alliance as fundamental, foundational, and quintessentially organizational for reflective supervision practice. © 2015 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Validation of the Two-Layer Model for Correcting Clear Sky Reflectance Near Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wen, Guoyong; Marshak, Alexander; Evans, K. Frank; Vamal, Tamas

2014-01-01

A two-layer model was developed in our earlier studies to estimate the clear sky reflectance enhancement near clouds. This simple model accounts for the radiative interaction between boundary layer clouds and molecular layer above, the major contribution to the reflectance enhancement near clouds for short wavelengths. We use LES/SHDOM simulated 3D radiation fields to valid the two-layer model for reflectance enhancement at 0.47 micrometer. We find: (a) The simple model captures the viewing angle dependence of the reflectance enhancement near cloud, suggesting the physics of this model is correct; and (b) The magnitude of the 2-layer modeled enhancement agree reasonably well with the "truth" with some expected underestimation. We further extend our model to include cloud-surface interaction using the Poisson model for broken clouds. We found that including cloud-surface interaction improves the correction, though it can introduced some over corrections for large cloud albedo, large cloud optical depth, large cloud fraction, large cloud aspect ratio. This over correction can be reduced by excluding scenes (10 km x 10km) with large cloud fraction for which the Poisson model is not designed for. Further research is underway to account for the contribution of cloud-aerosol radiative interaction to the enhancement.

Does a summative portfolio foster the development of capabilities such as reflective practice and understanding ethics? An evaluation from two medical schools.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Anthony J; Howe, Amanda C; Miles, Susan; Harris, Peter; Hughes, Chris S; Jones, Philip; Scicluna, Helen; Leinster, Sam J

2012-01-01

Portfolios need to be evaluated to determine whether they encourage students to develop in capabilities such as reflective practice and ethical judgment. The aims of this study were (i) to determine whether preparing a portfolio helps promote students' development in a range of capabilities including understanding ethical and legal principles, reflective practice and effective communication, and (ii) to determine to what extent the format of the portfolio affected the outcome by comparing the experiences of students at two different medical schools. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate undergraduate medical students' experiences of completing a portfolio at two medical schools. A total of 526 (45% response rate) students answered the on-line questionnaire. Students from both medical schools gave the highest ranking for the portfolio as a trigger for reflective practice. 63% of students agreed their portfolio helped them develop reflective practice skills (p < 0.001), whereas only 22% disagreed. 48% of students agreed portfolios helped them understand ethical and legal principles whereas 29% disagreed (p < 0.001). In contrast, only 34% of students thought the portfolio helped them to develop effective communication. Students perceive portfolio preparation as an effective learning tool for the development of capabilities such as understanding ethical and legal principles and reflective practice, whereas other capabilities such as effective communication require complementary techniques and other modes of assessment.

Early Clinical Experiences for Second-Year Student Pharmacists at an Academic Medical Center.

PubMed

McLaughlin, Jacqueline E; Amerine, Lindsey B; Chen, Sheh-Li; Luter, David N; Arnall, Justin; Smith, Shayna; Roth, Mary T; Rodgers, Philip T; Williams, Dennis M; Pinelli, Nicole R

2015-11-25

To examine student outcomes associated with the Student Medication and Reconciliation Team (SMART) program, which was designed to provide second-year student pharmacists at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Eshelman School of Pharmacy direct patient care experience at UNC Medical Center. Twenty-two second-year student pharmacists were randomly selected from volunteers, given program training, and scheduled for three 5-hour evening shifts in 2013-2014. Pre/post surveys and reflection statements were collected from 19 students. Data were analyzed with a mixed methods approach. Survey results revealed an increase in student self-efficacy (p<0.05) and positive perceptions of SMART. Qualitative findings suggest the program provided opportunities for students to develop strategies for practice, promoted an appreciation for the various roles pharmacists play in health care, and fostered an appreciation for the complexity of real-world practice. Early clinical experiences can enhance student learning and development while fostering an appreciation for pharmacy practice.

Improving communication skill training in patient centered medical practice for enhancing rational use of laboratory tests: The core of bioinformation for leveraging stakeholder engagement in regulatory science.

PubMed

Moura, Josemar de Almeida; Costa, Bruna Carvalho; de Faria, Rosa Malena Delbone; Soares, Taciana Figueiredo; Moura, Eliane Perlatto; Chiappelli, Francesco

2013-01-01

Requests for laboratory tests are among the most relevant additional tools used by physicians as part of patient's health problemsolving. However, the overestimation of complementary investigation may be linked to less reflective medical practice as a consequence of a poor physician-patient communication, and may impair patient-centered care. This scenario is likely to result from reduced consultation time, and a clinical model focused on the disease. We propose a new medical intervention program that specifically targets improving the patient-centered communication of laboratory tests results, the core of bioinformation in health care. Expectations are that medical students training in communication skills significantly improve physicians-patient relationship, reduce inappropriate use of laboratorial tests, and raise stakeholder engagement.

Simulated Disaster Day: Benefit From Lessons Learned Through Years of Transformation From Silos to Interprofessional Education.

PubMed

Livingston, Laura L; West, Courtney A; Livingston, Jerry L; Landry, Karen A; Watzak, Bree C; Graham, Lori L

2016-08-01

Disaster Day is a simulation event that began in the College of Nursing and has increased exponentially in size and popularity for the last 8 years. The evolution has been the direct result of reflective practice and dedicated leadership in the form of students, faculty, and administration. Its development and expansion into a robust interprofessional education activity are noteworthy because it gives health care professions students an opportunity to work in teams to provide care in a disaster setting. The "authentic" learning situation has enhanced student knowledge of roles and responsibilities and seems to increase collaborative efforts with other disciplines. The lessons learned and modifications made in our Disaster Day planning, implementation, and evaluation processes are shared in an effort to facilitate best practices for other institutions interested in a similar activity.

Assessing Reflection in English Enhancement Courses: Teachers' Views and Development of a Holistic Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Ken

2016-01-01

The debate about whether and how reflection should/can be assessed has so far yielded inconclusive findings. This paper intends to revisit and further this controversial issue within a specific disciplinary context: the assessment of reflection in English enhancement courses within a second-language environment. Students across majors taking the…

Top-down enhancement and suppression of activity in category-selective extrastriate cortex from an act of reflective attention.

PubMed

Johnson, Matthew R; Johnson, Marcia K

2009-12-01

Recent research has demonstrated top-down attentional modulation of activity in extrastriate category-selective visual areas while stimuli are in view (perceptual attention) and after they are removed from view (reflective attention). Perceptual attention is capable of both enhancing and suppressing activity in category-selective areas relative to a passive viewing baseline. In this study, we demonstrate that a brief, simple act of reflective attention ("refreshing") is also capable of both enhancing and suppressing activity in some scene-selective areas (the parahippocampal place area [PPA]) but not others (refreshing resulted in enhancement but not in suppression in the middle occipital gyrus [MOG]). This suggests that different category-selective extrastriate areas preferring the same class of stimuli may contribute differentially to reflective processing of one's internal representations of such stimuli.

Enhanced chiral response from the Fabry-Perot cavity coupled meta-surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ze-Jian; Hu, De-Jiao; Gao, Fu-Hua; Hou, Yi-Dong

2016-08-01

The circular dichroism (CD) signal of a two-dimensional (2D) chiral meta-surface is usually weak, where the difference between the transmitted (or reflected) right and left circular polarization is barely small. We present a general method to enhance the reflective CD spectrum, by adding a layer of reflective film behind the meta-surface. The light passes through the chiral meta-surface and propagates towards the reflector, where it is reflected back and further interacts with the chiral meta-surface. The light is reflected back and forth between these two layers, forming a Fabry-Perot type resonance, which interacts with the localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) mode and greatly enhances the CD signal of the light wave leaving the meta-surface. We numerically calculate the CD enhancing effect of an L-shaped chiral meta-surface on a gold film in the visible range. Compared with the single layer meta-surface, the L-shaped chiral meta-surface has a CD maximum that is dramatically increased to 1. The analysis of reflection efficiency reveals that our design can be used to realize a reflective circular polarizer. Corresponding mode analysis shows that the huge CD originates from the hybrid mode comprised of FP mode and LSPR. Our results provide a general approach to enhancing the CD signal of a chiral meta-surface and can be used in areas like biosensing, circular polarizer, integrated photonics, etc. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61377054).

Enriching Practical Knowledge: Exploring Student Teachers' Competence in Integrating Theory and Practice of Mathematics Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oonk, Wil; Verloop, Nico; Gravemeijer, Koeno P. E.

2015-01-01

This study concentrated on the theory-practice problem in mathematics teacher education. We examined 13 student teachers' use of theory when they reflected on teaching practice in a class specifically designed to optimize the chance for theory use. We developed a Reflection Analysis Instrument with which the student teachers' use of theory could…

"(Dis)Empowered by What We See … ": Exploring the Use of Video-Stimulated Reflection in Physical Education Pedagogy and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mooney, Amanda; Hickey, Chris

2017-01-01

Reflexive accounts of physical education (PE) pedagogy and practice offer potential to reveal much about the intended and unintended learning, for both students and teachers, that can result from certain pedagogic encounters. Despite the promotion of reflective practice/s as a possible "panacea" for improved teaching and learning, there…

Documenting Student Engagement Using an Intention/Reflection Exercise during an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fierke, Kerry K.; Lepp, Gardner A.

2015-01-01

The article shares the outcomes of a practice called Intention/Reflection (I/R) when applied to a group of ten students in a five-week course involving an international advanced pharmacy practice experience. Developed by the authors and founded on a combination of theoretical principles, this practice is unique because of the blend of formative…

Exploring the Use of Experiential Learning Workshops and Reflective Practice within Professional Practice Development for Post-Graduate Health Promotion Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cronin, Mary; Connolly, Claire

2007-01-01

Objective: To explore and evaluate the use of two methods (1) experiential learning workshops and (2) reflective practice within post-graduate health promotion education, with a view to providing a foundation in professional practice based on health promotion principles and critical thinking. Design: This is an empirical study exploring the…

Tensions of Teaching: Beyond Tips to Critical Reflection.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Judith M.; And Others

This book presents a collection of essays by educational practitioners who reflect on the tensions of teaching and show that ongoing critical reflection is a powerful means through which teachers can transform their beliefs and practices. The essays are the culmination of these educators' inquiries into their own practice. Part 1,…

Use of Reflective Journals in Development of Teachers' Leadership and Teaching Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Göker, Suleyman Davut

2016-01-01

Focusing on the contribution of reflective practice to teaching practice amongst student teachers, this study examines the impact of reflective journal entries of 16 student teachers from Faculty of Education at the Artvin Coruh University in Turkey. Quantitative and qualitative research approaches were employed for this study including open-ended…

Building a Critically Reflective Practice: Relating Brookfield's Four Lenses to Inservice Teachers' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nager, Laura Helen

2017-01-01

Educators are a special group of professional practitioners. They are often characterized as self-directed, lifelong learners who routinely implement some level of reflection to improve instruction. Dewey referred to these reflective practitioners as professionals who, in an effort to continually develop their practice, actively consider multiple…

Guiding Moral Behavior through a Reflective Learning Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hedberg, Patricia R.

2017-01-01

Reflective learning practice embedded across the business curriculum is a powerful way to equip students with intentionally formed moral habits of the mind and heart. This article explores why and how to apply reflective learning to the teaching of business ethics. To act with integrity in complicated work organizations, students need skills and…

Reflective Written Pieces: Inquiry into the Practices of Pre-Service Literacy Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntosh, Janet

2017-01-01

The purpose of this action research project was to explore whether a reflective writing strategy, developed and used with pre-service teachers in a literacy methods course, assisted them with integrating theory and practice. The teacher educator analyzed the written reflective pieces and determined common categories. Study findings revealed some…

Beginning Science Teachers' Use of a Digital Video Annotation Tool to Promote Reflective Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McFadden, Justin; Ellis, Joshua; Anwar, Tasneem; Roehrig, Gillian

2014-01-01

The development of teachers as reflective practitioners is a central concept in national guidelines for teacher preparation and induction (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education 2008). The Teacher Induction Network (TIN) supports the development of reflective practice for beginning secondary science teachers through the creation…

The Possum Story: Reflections of an Early Childhood Drama Teacher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deans, Jan; Brown, Robert; Young, Sarah

2007-01-01

Support for reflective practice (Dewey, 1910; Schon, 1983) as a way of reviewing, articulating and informing practice, is well-established within teacher education and research, though there is still much to learn from the individual experience of the practitioner who grapples with the reflective process. This paper highlights the deliberations of…

How Reflective Is the Academic Essay?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maclellan, Effie

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of reflection in academic essays. Forty essays, all previously deemed to be of merit quality, were analysed in terms of three elements of reflection--how the educational issue is conceptualized; what the issue means for practice; and how practice might be changed to resolve the problematic. Each…

Personal, Reflective Writing: A Pedagogical Strategy for Teaching Business Students to Write

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrence, Holly

2013-01-01

The use of personal, reflective writing exercises is well documented in the disciplines of composition and management, and each discipline has been highly influential in establishing pedagogical practices in the business communication classroom. However, we see little evidence of the pedagogical practice, the use of personal reflective writing…

Rethinking Reflection: Using Online Reflective Learning in Professional Practice for Indigenous Health Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Miranda; Devonshire, Elizabeth

2004-01-01

This paper reports on an innovative use of online learning, within a distributed learning environment (DLE), to support students in an undergraduate programme in Indigenous health and community development to reflect on their experiences in professional placements. The professional practice curriculum at Yooroang Garang School of Indigenous Health…

Reflections on Becoming a Researcher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankel, Katherine K.; Pearson, P. David

2013-01-01

In this joint reflection two of the contributors to this issue of the "Journal of Education" consider the processes and practices that led to the publication of their respective pieces. Since one of the authors, Katherine Frankel, was a doctoral advisee of the other, David Pearson, they also reflect on the mentoring practices they shared…

John Dewey's Pragmatism: Implications for Reflection in Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddux, Harry Clark; Donnett, Deborah

2015-01-01

This essay examines the relationship of philosophical pragmatism to the practice of reflection in service-learning. Service-learning theory and practice often elides over or ignores entirely the principles of inquiry as developed by Dewey. The exercise of reflective thought requires that educators create a situation of discomfort for learners, and…

Student Teacher Reflective Writing: What Does It Reveal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mena-Marcos, Juanjo; Garcia-Rodriguez, Maria-Luisa; Tillema, Harm

2013-01-01

Some researchers claim that reflection helps student teachers to better understand their practice teaching. This study aims to explore how deliberate reflection by student teachers is encouraged as a way to prepare, analyse and evaluate their practice. A total of 104 student teachers in primary education participated in this study during their…

But Does It Work? Reflective Activities, Learning Outcomes and Instrumental Learning in Continuing Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roessger, Kevin M.

2015-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between reflective practice and instrumental learning within the context of continuing professional development (CPD). It is argued that instrumental learning is a unique process of adult learning, and reflective practice's impact on learning outcomes in instrumental learning contexts remains unclear. A…

Enhanced backscatter of optical beams reflected in atmospheric turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, W.; Palastro, J. P.; Wu, C.; Davis, C. C.

2014-10-01

Optical beams propagating through the atmosphere acquire phase distortions from turbulent fluctuations in the refractive index. While these distortions are usually deleterious to propagation, beams reflected in a turbulent medium can undergo a local recovery of spatial coherence and intensity enhancement referred to as enhanced backscatter (EBS). Using simulations, we investigate the EBS of optical beams reflected from mirrors, corner cubes, and rough surfaces, and identify the regimes in which EBS is most distinctly observed. Standard EBS detection requires averaging the reflected intensity over many passes through uncorrelated turbulence. Here we present an algorithm called the "tilt-shift method" which allows detection of EBS in static turbulence, improving its suitability for potential applications.

When Teachers Reflect: Journeys toward Effective, Inclusive Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tertell, Elizabeth A., Ed.; Klein, Susan M., Ed.; Jewett, Janet L., Ed.

On the premise that hearing other preschool teachers talk about their challenges in creating inclusive settings is a powerful impetus to reflect about one's own teaching practice, this book contains personal narratives by 18 teachers about their journeys toward inclusive, developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood education. The…

75 FR 52627 - Disenrollment Procedures

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-27

... program that has been discontinued. It also amends the regulation to reflect current VA practice and to... conform with current VA practice, which does not disenroll veterans based on their failure to file VA Form 10-10EZ. Current practice is reflected in current paragraph (d)(3)(iv). Removing paragraph (d)(5)(iii...

International mobility placements enable students and staff in Higher Education to enhance transversal and employability-related skills.

PubMed

Standley, Henrietta J

2015-10-01

Internationalization has commanded an ever-more prominent position in higher education over recent years, and is now firmly entrenched. While academia has long been outward looking-international research collaborations, conferences and student exchanges are well-established practices-it is relatively recently that internationalization has become a goal in its own right, rather than a consequence of normal academic activity. There are multiple interdependent drivers behind this: a focus on graduate employability and development of broad competencies and transferable skills in addition to subject-specific training, 'international awareness' being confirmed as a graduate attribute that is highly valued by employers, the availability of detailed information enabling prospective students to choose between Higher Education Institutions on the basis of their international opportunities and graduate employment rates, increasing competition between Institutions to attract the best students and to ascend national and international league tables, and (both driving and reflecting these trends) national policy frameworks. This minireview focuses on two aspects of internationalization of direct relevance to microbiology students and academic staff in a typical Higher Education Institution: student research placements overseas, and the impact of international mobility on teaching practice and the student experience. Practical strategies for developing intercultural awareness and enhancing employability are highlighted. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Discussion of New Approaches to Medium-Short-Term Earthquake Forecast in Practice of The Earthquake Prediction in Yunnan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, F.

2017-12-01

After retrospection of years of practice of the earthquake prediction in Yunnan area, it is widely considered that the fixed-point earthquake precursory anomalies mainly reflect the field information. The increase of amplitude and number of precursory anomalies could help to determine the original time of earthquakes, however it is difficult to obtain the spatial relevance between earthquakes and precursory anomalies, thus we can hardly predict the spatial locations of earthquakes using precursory anomalies. The past practices have shown that the seismic activities are superior to the precursory anomalies in predicting earthquakes locations, resulting from the increased seismicity were observed before 80% M=6.0 earthquakes in Yunnan area. While the mobile geomagnetic anomalies are turned out to be helpful in predicting earthquakes locations in recent year, for instance, the forecasted earthquakes occurring time and area derived form the 1-year-scale geomagnetic anomalies before the M6.5 Ludian earthquake in 2014 are shorter and smaller than which derived from the seismicity enhancement region. According to the past works, the author believes that the medium-short-term earthquake forecast level, as well as objective understanding of the seismogenic mechanisms, could be substantially improved by the densely laying observation array and capturing the dynamic process of physical property changes in the enhancement region of medium to small earthquakes.

Conceptualizing boundaries for the professionalization of healthcare ethics practice: a call for empirical research.

PubMed

Brown, Nancy C; McGee, Summer Johnson

2014-12-01

One of the challenges of modern healthcare ethics practice is the navigation of boundaries. Practicing healthcare ethicists in the performance of their role must navigate meanings, choices, decisions and actions embedded in complex cultural and social relationships amongst diverse individuals. In light of the evolving state of modern healthcare ethics practice and the recent move toward professionalization via certification, understanding boundary navigation in healthcare ethics practice is critical. Because healthcare ethics is endowed with many boundaries which often delineate concerns about professional expertise and authority, epistemological reflection on the relationship between theory and practice points toward the social context as relevant to the conceptualization of boundaries. The skills of social scientists may prove helpful to provide data and insights into the conceptualization and navigation of clinical ethics qua profession. Empirical ethics research, which combines empirical description (usually social scientific) with normative-ethical analysis and reflection, is a way forward as we engage and reflect upon issues which have implications for practice standards and professionalization of the role. This requires cooperative engagement of the descriptive and normative disciplines to explore our understandings of boundaries in healthcare ethics practice. This will contribute to the ongoing reflection not only as we envision the professional role but to ensure that it is enacted in practice.

The nursing students' attitude toward using blogs in a nursing clinical practicum in Taiwan: a 3-R framework.

PubMed

Lin, Kai-Yin; Shen, Yen-Fen

2013-09-01

Some nursing educators have been using blogs as a channel to reflect on, share, and discuss questions and ideas for educational purpose. There were not many studies focused on the application of blog technology to the professional development of nursing education in Taiwan. The major goal of this study was to use a blog platform for students, writing their reflection notes, and observing the feedbacks from peers during their clinical practicum. Then we tried to probe the nursing students' attitude toward adopting 3-R categories based blog, which included wRiting reflection notes, Reading peers' notes, and Receiving peers' feedback. Of the 179 fourth grade from one five-year technical college students enrolled in a clinical practice course in Taiwan were used as a pool of sampling. Four-eight students were invited by the researcher to take part in this project. 90% of the participants agreed that blogs provided them with opportunities to share personal experiences with others. 81% of them valued that blogs provided opportunities to offering encouragement and emotional support to their peers. A majority of the participants believed that reading peers' journals was helpful in enhancing their professional development. In addition, all of them agreed that reading peers' journals can help them understand their peer's viewpoints. Most of the participants agreed that they were benefited through receiving feedbacks on the blogs. About 98% of them agreed that feedbacks can promote interaction with peers. The findings of this study generally indicated the participants' positive attitude toward using blogs in their clinical practicum. A majority of the participants also claimed that blogs provided them the opportunities to share personal experiences with their peers as well as to see things from their peers' viewpoints. They believed that reading peers' notes was helpful in enhancing their professional development. In addition, most of them agreed that receiving feedbacks could promote in-depth reflections; therefore, they were encouraged to write more reflective notes. Thus, future clinical practicum design should exert efforts to foster students' collaboration, reflections, and dialogues by providing blog platform. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Targeting environmental beliefs in a community college environmental science course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldarelli, Mary K.

This critical action research study was designed to address the practice-based problem of efficacy in adult environmental education. Due to the numerous environmental problems facing the earth, environmental educators have been called upon to design and implement educational programs that foster environmentally responsible behavior in learners. The environmental pedagogy developed for this study grounded the learners in their socio-cultural context and utilized techniques of transformative learning to encourage learners to address the environmental beliefs that result from this context. Reflective journals and essays, collaborative writings, individual interviews, and a pretest/posttest questionnaire were utilized to determine the nature of change in the learners that resulted from this educational intervention. The participant outcomes of this study include expanded environmental awareness, a more holistic environmental perspective, action on new understandings and a change in environmental beliefs. During the twelve-week timeframe of this study participant meaning-making was enhanced by critical reflection, integration of past and present experiences, reliance on 'expert' knowledge and exposure to multiple perspectives. The nature of change that occurred in the individuals in this study would suggest that contextualizing adult environmental education and applying transformative learning theory to practice can result in a more relevant, less abstract conception of the environment and less symbolic proenvironmental beliefs and attitudes. In addition, the findings of this study also indicate that environmental educators should consider the impact of epistemological beliefs on environmental learning, and the uniquely individual and time-consuming aspects of applying transformative learning to practice.

Critical components of reflective supervision: responses from expert supervisors in the field.

PubMed

Tomlin, Angela M; Weatherston, Deborah J; Pavkov, Thomas

2014-01-01

This article offers a brief review of the history of supervision, defines reflective supervision, and reports the results of a Delphi study designed to identify critical components of reflective supervision. Academicians and master clinicians skilled in providing reflective supervision participated in a three-phase survey to elicit beliefs about best practice when engaging in reflective supervision. The process yielded consensus descriptions of optimal characteristics and behaviors of supervisors and supervisees when entering into supervisory relationships that encourage reflective practice. These results, although preliminary, suggest that it is possible to identify elements that are integral to effective reflective supervision. These initial findings may be used for future study of the reflective supervisory process. © 2013 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Creative writing and dementia care: 'making it real'.

PubMed

Bailey, Catherine; Jones, Romi; Tiplady, Sue; Quinn, Isabel; Wilcockson, Jane; Clarke, Amanda

2016-12-01

Health professionals continue to seek ways to promote positive communication and self-worth when supporting people living with dementia. The value of creative writing techniques as part of reflective practice in nursing and caring for older people with dementia needs further exploration. To introduce creative writing techniques to health professionals as part of dementia-related reflective practice. A local experienced author facilitated creative writing workshops with nine preregistration nursing students (general and mental health), one family carer and five care professionals working with people with dementia. The student nurses reported that the creative writing exercises felt more 'real' than the reflective practice models they had used in their academic and practical studies. Workshop participants also reported they had learnt some creative writing techniques to reduce work-related stress and anxiety. They also saw the impact of writing activities with people living with dementia, which can enable creativity and 'alleviate the common symptoms of depression and anxiety'. Creative writing techniques can support insightful, reflective dementia focused practice. Creative writing, as a tool in reflective practice, may enable health professionals and family carers to become confident and creative partners in older people's care. The added value, time and investment needed to introduce creative writing need to be articulated and acknowledged from within supervision and staffing teams. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Limiting Power of Cypriot Primary School Teachers' Private Reflections on Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loizou, Florentia

2013-01-01

In a previous paper (Loizou, F. 2011. How Cypriot primary school teachers promote their professional development through reflective practice. "Education 3-13" 39, no. 3: 233--247.) I explored the concept of theories-in-use within a qualitative research study in order to analyse the role of reflection in bringing about change in the…

Integrating 3D Printing into an Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Course: Reflections on Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Pamela; McCartney, Holly

2017-01-01

This reflection on practice describes a case study integrating 3D printing into a creativity course for preservice teachers. The theoretical rationale is discussed, and the steps for integration are outlined. Student responses and reflections on the experience provide the basis for our analysis. Examples and resources are provided, as well as a…

Students' Engagement in Reflective Tasks: An Investigation of Interactive and Non-Interactive Discourse Corpora

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farr, Fiona; Riordan, Elaine

2012-01-01

Reflective learning, a practice carrying relatively high educational value, has been with us for some time. Its popularity has grown to the extent that it is often adopted unquestioningly by educational practitioners. However, there are some important questions to be asked in relation to reflective practice. In reality, its impact on improved and…