NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 16: A comparison of the technical communications practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), NASA ARC, and NASA LaRC. The completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and 61 percent, respectively. The responses of the Russian and U.S. participants, to selected questions, are presented in this report.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 14: An analysis of the technical communications practices reported by Israeli and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Elazar, David; Kennedy, John M.

1991-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two pilot studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Israeli and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their view about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to randomly selected U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists who are working in cryogenics, adaptive walls, and magnetic suspension. A slightly modified version was sent to Israeli aerospace engineers and scientists working at Israel Aircraft Industries, LTD. Responses of the Israeli and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists to selected questions are presented in this paper.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 28: The technical communication practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Keene, Michael L.; Flammia, Madelyn; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communication practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions; second, to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of the undergraduate course in technical communication; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self administered questionnaire was distributed to Russian aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) and to their U.S. counterparts at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Russian and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this paper.

A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and U.S. Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Holloway, Karen; Sato, Yuko; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1996-01-01

To understand the diffusion of aerospace knowledge, it is necessary to understand the communications practices and the information-seeking behaviors of those involved in the production, transfer, and use of aerospace knowledge at the individual, organizational, national, and international levels. In this paper, we report selected results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on communications practices and information-seeking behaviors in the workplace. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communications, use of libraries, the use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. The responses of the survey respondents are placed within the context of the Japanese culture. We assume that differences in Japanese and U.S. cultures influence the communications practices and information-seeking behaviors of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 18: A comparison of the technical communication practices of aerospace engineers and scientists in India and the United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of India and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same seven objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them; sixth, to determine their use of electronic networks; and seventh, to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the Indian Institute of Science and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the India and U.S. surveys were 48 and 53 percent, respectively. Responses of the India and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this report.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 17: A comparison of the technical communication practices of Dutch and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same seven objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them; sixth, to determine their use of electronic networks; and seventh, to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), and NASA Ames Research Center, and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Dutch and U.S. surveys were 55 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 29: A comparison of the technical communications practices of Japanese and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same seven objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third; to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them; sixth, to determine their use of electronic networks; and seventh, to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists in Japan and at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Japanese and U.S. surveys were 85 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Japanese and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this report.

ESP for Engineers: A Reassessment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yin, Koh Moy

1988-01-01

Many foreign engineering undergraduates already have adequate English skills for the technical part of their academic and professional purposes, but still have problems with communication and interactive skills. Conventional ESP courses may not meet their needs, so an alternate program is proposed. (Author/LMO)

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 52: A comparison of the technical communications practices of Japanese and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Holloway, Karen; Sato, Yuko; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1995-01-01

To understand the diffusion of aerospace knowledge, it is necessary to understand the communications practices and the information-seeking behaviors of those involved in the production, transfer, and use of aerospace knowledge at the individual, organizational, national, and international levels. In this paper, we report selected results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on communications practices and information-seeking behaviors in the workplace. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communications, use of libraries, the use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. The responses of the survey respondents are placed within the context of the Japanese culture. We assume that differences in Japanese and U.S. cultures influence the communications practices and information-seeking behaviors of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

Practicing "Safe" Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dombrowski, Paul M.

2011-01-01

The nuclear power industry is undergoing a renaissance, led by initiatives from the Obama administration and several states. In light of this development and the growing information economy, it is crucial that the public be well-informed, effective, and responsible regarding important technological issues. For this reason, undergraduate education,…

Projects for People: An International Exchange Focused on Drinking Water Quality in Rural Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weathers, T. S.; Tarazona Vasquez, F.; Bailey, E.; Duong, V.; Gonzales Vera, R.; LaPorte, D.; Rojas Cala, B.; Torres Atencia, S.; Vasquez Auqui, J.

2016-12-01

The integration of human-centered design with technical engineering in a classroom setting can be challenging but immensely rewarding if coupled with a community-focused experience. Undergraduate students participated in an international exchange to address drinking water quality in the community of Huamancaca, located in the Junin region of Peru. Technical research and experimentation often comes easily to students in undergraduate engineering programs, however, implementation within a community requires a social license to operate. The objectives of this study were to address the technical challenges of designing a sustainable and effective water filtration system while also ensuring community support and education, coupled with user ownership of the process. In tandem with filter media experimentation with biochar and activated carbon produced using locally available agricultural waste from potatoes and carrots, we visited the people of Huamancaca to understand their needs and concerns. This direct communication with the community was invaluable; we observed that many of the residents' water quality problems could be solved with education. For example, proper sanitation techniques and appropriate addition of bleach or sufficient boiling time may make up for inconsistent water quality provided by the local distribution system. An education plan may also be developed for water treatment plant operators covering chlorine dosage for effective residual treatment within the distribution network in addition to filtration. Upon site visitation and sample collection, we realized that open communication with city officials, operators, business owners, and residents in both technical and social settings is essential for continued collaboration within this community. Solving a tangible problem or designing a product that can be effectively adopted is not a concept that is rigorously addressed in undergraduate education, however the setbacks, challenges, and triumphs experienced when interacting with a community can provide valuable lessons for career development.­

Using Classroom Layout to Help Reduce Students' Apprehension and Increase Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rae, Kirsten; Sands, John

2013-01-01

When teaching introductory management accounting courses at undergraduate level, the authors noticed that some students experience difficulty in integrating theoretical and technical knowledge of management accounting and applying it to specific scenarios. However, based on the authors' experience, the problems faced by students when learning…

"You're a Grounded Theorist for the Day": Teaching Students the Grounded Theory Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Docan-Morgan, Tony

2010-01-01

Undergraduate research experience offers students a host of benefits including: (a) improving interpersonal and technical skills; (b) fostering independent learning and analytical abilities; and (c) creating close personal connections with faculty members. However, Rodrick and Dickmeyer (2002) suggest that, "although communication educators…

The Effects of Podcasting on Student Perceptions of Community within the Online Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Larry A.

2010-01-01

This study examined the effects of using podcasts as a medium of communication toward affecting student perception of community within the online learning environment. A control and treatment group comparison design was employed with 184 online undergraduate students selected through purposive sampling at Ashland Community and Technical College.…

Meeting the Needs of Business: Are We Teaching the Right Things?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mill, Robert Christie

2007-01-01

It may be that business schools are not providing undergraduate business students with the competencies considered most important by company recruiters. Research from Bentley College and the University of Guelph indicates that graduates and managers find that non-technical skills such as creativity, oral and written communication, decision-making…

Using Popular Magazine Articles to Teach the Art of Writing for Nontechnical Audiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sivey, John D.; Lee, Cindy M.

2008-01-01

Many undergraduate chemistry curricula are devoting increasing amounts of time to teaching technical writing skills. Significantly less attention, however, is given toward training students in nontechnical writing strategies. The ability of chemistry students to communicate effectively in writing to a wide variety of audiences is an essential (and…

Astrobites: Four Years of Astro-blogging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faesi, Christopher; Newton, Elisabeth R.; Drout, Maria; Rawls, Meredith L.; Montet, Benjamin; Sanders, Nathan; Astrobites Collaboration

2015-01-01

Astrobites (astrobites.com) is now entering its fifth year publishing readable and accessible blog posts summarizing recent research in astrophysics and serving as an online hub for science communication. We continue to focus on our primary goal of making active research accessible to undergraduates by helping to break down technical descriptions and define jargon. However, our readership includes not only undergraduates, but also graduate students and professionals within astronomy, astronomy enthusiasts, and educators. With an average of more than 1000 page views per day, Astrobites reaches a large and diverse audience. We provide not only paper summaries, but also career guidance, practical 'how-to' articles, reports on attending conferences (such as this one), and astronomy news. Astrobites continues to be authored, operated, and led exclusively by a graduate students in astronomy, with our author list spanning the United States and beyond. We reflect on the first four years of Astrobites, including our emphasis on providing both graduate students and undergraduates with opportunities to write about their research for broad audiences, and present results from our latest readership survey. We also look forward at our continued involvement in broader science communication efforts, including ComSciCon (comscicon.com), the series of science communication workshops for graduate students.

Power factor of power educators. [Undergraduate and graduate programs

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

Barthold, L.O.

1979-01-01

Undergraduate engineering schools are doing an excellent job in offering technical material and preparing students for careers in industry or graduate schools. At the undergraduate level, the burden of adequately covering a widening range of engineering fundamentals precludes offering industry-oriented undergraduate courses. The lack of communication skills is a serious handicap to many graduates. Furthermore, the ability to identify problems and structure approaches to their solutions needs more attention in undergraduate education. The quality of graduate programs in power is closely linked to the accuracy and realism with which graduate faculty perceive the industry and its problems as well asmore » their skill in teaching. It is important for graduate faculty to maintain close working ties with industry. Part-time assignments with utilities, manufacturers, or consultants are the best way to do so. Doing so through research grants can also help but can likewise be counterproductive if faculty are not discriminating in the subject matter pursued.« less

Perceptions of Undergraduate Students and Faculty Regarding the Impact of Electronic Communication on the Written-Communication Skills of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houser, Laura Ann Camlet

2012-01-01

This narrative-qualitative study investigated the perceived impact that electronic communication has on the written-communication skills of undergraduate students. Open-ended survey questions queried the experiences of undergraduate students who use electronic communication, as well as the perceptions of faculty who teach undergraduate students.…

An Innovative Course in Technical Communication and More

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cranor, Maria B.; Price, Richard H.

2004-05-01

Several studies have shown that otherwise well-prepared physics undergraduates do not develop writing and speaking skills sufficient to the demands of graduate school or the technical workplace. To rectify this, we have developed and taught, for five semesters, a very successful course for junior and senior physics majors. Students improve their writing and speaking skills through technical projects and through a reading list which includes modules on scientific practice and ethics, pseudo science, management, and workplace collaboration. We present here an overview of this course, and discuss the pros and cons of introducing a useful, yet unusual and highly labor-intensive (for teachers and for students) class into the traditional physics curriculum.

A Matter of Chemical Engineering (On Teaching an Intensive Course in Technical Communication for Undergraduates).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Ralda M.

Because the ability to write reports and make oral presentations is crucial to success, the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of California (Berkeley) has set up an in-house, required course that is given every semester to about 60 students. Divided into three sections, one of which is for non-native speakers of English, the…

Interactive and Hands-on Methods for Professional Development of Undergraduate Researchers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pressley, S. N.; LeBeau, J. E.

2016-12-01

Professional development workshops for undergraduate research programs can range from communicating science (i.e. oral, technical writing, poster presentations), applying for fellowships and scholarships, applying to graduate school, and learning about careers, among others. Novel methods of presenting the information on the above topics can result in positive outcomes beyond the obvious of transferring knowledge. Examples of innovative methods to present professional development information include 1) An interactive session on how to write an abstract where students are given an opportunity to draft an abstract from a short technical article, followed by discussion amongst a group of peers, and comparison with the "published" abstract. 2) Using the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) method to evaluate and critique a research poster. 3) Inviting "experts" such as a Fulbright scholar graduate student to present on applying for fellowships and scholarships. These innovative methods of delivery provide more hands-on activities that engage the students, and in some cases (abstract writing) provide practice for the student. The methods also require that students develop team work skills, communicate amongst their peers, and develop networks with their cohort. All of these are essential non-technical skills needed for success in any career. Feedback from students on these sessions are positive and most importantly, the students walk out of the session with a smile on their face saying how much fun it was. Evaluating the impact of these sessions is more challenging and under investigation currently.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 43: The role of information resource training in aerospace education. Expanded version

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawrence, Barbara; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.; Holloway, Karen

1994-01-01

Information resource instruction for undergraduate aerospace engineering students has traditionally been limited to an occasional part of the education process--a written paper required in the capstone design course or a library tour. Efforts to encourage the use of aerospace literature and information resources have been made in the past decade, with a recent push from information and, especially, networking technology. This paper presents data from a survey of U.S. aerospace engineering students regarding their instruction in the use of information resources. We find that more than 25 percent of the students surveyed had no instruction in technical communications skills or the use of information resources. We consider the need for instruction in the use of information resources and technical communications skills and the opportunities presented for improvement.

Effect of a video on developing skills in undergraduate nursing students for the management of totally implantable central venous access ports.

PubMed

Cardoso, Ariane F; Moreli, Lucimara; Braga, Fernanda T M M; Vasques, Christiane I; Santos, Claudia B; Carvalho, Emilia C

2012-08-01

Handling Totally Implantable Access Ports (TIAP) is a nursing procedure that requires skill and knowledge to avoid adverse events. No studies addressing this procedure with undergraduate students were identified prior to this study. Communication technologies, such as videos, have been increasingly adopted in the teaching of nursing and have contributed to the acquisition of competencies for clinical performance. To evaluate the effect of a video on the puncture and heparinization of TIAP in the development of cognitive and technical competencies of undergraduate nursing students. Quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. 24 individuals participated in the study. Anxiety scores were kept at levels 1 and 2 in the pretest and posttest. In relation to cognitive knowledge concerning the procedure, the proportion of correct answers in the pretest was 0.14 (SD=0.12) and 0.90 in the posttest (SD=0.05). After watching the video, the average score obtained by the participants in the mock session was 27.20. The use of an educational video with a simulation of puncture and heparinization of TIAP proved to be a strategy that increased both cognitive and technical knowledge. This strategy is viable in the teaching-learning process and is useful as a support tool for professors and for the development of undergraduate nursing students. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engaging the Geodetic and Geoscience Communities in EarthScope Education and Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charlevoix, D. J.; Berg, M.; Morris, A. R.; Olds, S. E.

2013-12-01

UNAVCO is NSF's geodetic facility and operates as a university-governed consortium dedicated to facilitating geoscience research and education, including the support of EarthScope. The Education and Community Engagement program at UNAVCO provides support for broader impacts both externally to the broader University and EarthScope community as well as internally to the UNAVCO. During the first 10 years of EarthScope UNAVCO has engaged in outreach and education activities across the EarthScope footprint ranging from outreach to formal and informal educators and interpreters, to technical training for university faculty and researchers. UNAVCO works jointly with the EarthScope National Office and IRIS while simultaneously maintaining and developing an independent engagement and education program. UNAVCO provides training in the form of technical short courses to researchers including graduate students and early-career professionals, and conducts educational workshops for K-12 educators. A suite of educational materials focused on the integration of EarthScope data into curriculum materials is available from UNAVCO and will soon expand the undergraduate offerings to include a broader suite of geodesy applications activities for undergraduate students. UNAVCO provides outreach materials and in support of EarthScope including summaries of research project and campaign highlights, science snapshots featuring summaries of scientific advancements made possible by UNAVCO services and non-technical communications via social media. UNAVCO also provides undergraduate students exposure to EarthScope science research participation in a year-long research internship managed by UNAVCO (Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students - RESESS).

Making geoscience education accessible for students who are blind and visually impaired

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charlevoix, D. J.; Berg, M.; Morris, A. R.; Olds, S. E.

2011-12-01

UNAVCO is NSF's geodetic facility and operates as a university-governed consortium dedicated to facilitating geoscience research and education, including the support of EarthScope. The Education and Community Engagement program at UNAVCO provides support for broader impacts both externally to the broader University and EarthScope community as well as internally to the UNAVCO. During the first 10 years of EarthScope UNAVCO has engaged in outreach and education activities across the EarthScope footprint ranging from outreach to formal and informal educators and interpreters, to technical training for university faculty and researchers. UNAVCO works jointly with the EarthScope National Office and IRIS while simultaneously maintaining and developing an independent engagement and education program. UNAVCO provides training in the form of technical short courses to researchers including graduate students and early-career professionals, and conducts educational workshops for K-12 educators. A suite of educational materials focused on the integration of EarthScope data into curriculum materials is available from UNAVCO and will soon expand the undergraduate offerings to include a broader suite of geodesy applications activities for undergraduate students. UNAVCO provides outreach materials and in support of EarthScope including summaries of research project and campaign highlights, science snapshots featuring summaries of scientific advancements made possible by UNAVCO services and non-technical communications via social media. UNAVCO also provides undergraduate students exposure to EarthScope science research participation in a year-long research internship managed by UNAVCO (Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students - RESESS).

The Impact of Teaching Communication Strategies on English Speaking of Engineering Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kongsom, Tiwaporn

2016-01-01

This study investigates the impact of teaching communication strategies on Thai engineering undergraduate students' communication strategy use and strategic competence. Fifty-seven engineering undergraduate students were taught ten communication strategies for ten weeks and responded to a self-report communication strategy questionnaire before and…

Well, you have hepatic metastases: Use of technical language by medical students in simulated patient interviews.

PubMed

Bourquin, Céline; Stiefel, Friedrich; Mast, Marianne Schmid; Bonvin, Raphael; Berney, Alexandre

2015-03-01

This research explored medical students' use and perception of technical language in a practical training setting to enhance skills in breaking bad news in oncology. Terms potentially confusing to laypeople were selected from 108 videotaped interviews conducted in an undergraduate Communication Skills Training. A subset of these terms was included in a questionnaire completed by students (N=111) with the aim of gaining insight into their perceptions of different speech registers and of patient understanding. Excerpts of interviews were analyzed qualitatively to investigate students' communication strategies with respect to these technical terms. Fewer than half of the terms were clarified. Students checked for simulated patients' understanding of the terms palliative and metastasis/to metastasize in 22-23% of the interviews. The term ambulatory was spontaneously explained in 75% of the interviews, hepatic and metastasis/to metastasize in 22-24%. Most provided explanations were in plain language; metastasis/to metastasize and ganglion/ganglionic were among terms most frequently explained in technical language. A significant number of terms potentially unfamiliar and confusing to patients remained unclarified in training interviews conducted by senior medical students, even when they perceived the terms as technical. This exploration may offer important insights for improving future physicians' skills. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Local CD-ROM in interaction with HTML documents over the Internet.

PubMed

Mattheos, N; Nattestad, A; Attström, R

2000-08-01

The internet and computer assisted learning have enhanced the possibilities of providing quality distance learning in dentistry. The use of multimedia material is an essential part of such distance learning courses. However the Internet technology available has limitations regarding transmission of large multimedia files. Therefore especially when addressing undergraduate students or geographically isolated professionals, large download times make distance learning unattractive. This problem was technically solved in a distance learning course for undergraduate students from all over Europe. The present communication describes a method to bypass the problem of transmitting large multimedia files by the use of a specially designed CD-ROM. This CD-ROM was run locally on the students' PC interacting with HTML documents sent over the Internet.

Competencies for first year residents - physicians' views from medical schools with different undergraduate curricula.

PubMed

Fürstenberg, Sophie; Schick, Kristina; Deppermann, Jana; Prediger, Sarah; Berberat, Pascal O; Kadmon, Martina; Harendza, Sigrid

2017-09-07

Frameworks like the CanMEDS model depicting professional roles and specific professional activities provide guidelines for postgraduate education. When medical graduates start their residency, they should possess certain competencies related to communication, management and professionalism while other competencies will be refined during postgraduate training. Our study aimed to evaluate the relevance of different competencies for a first year resident required for entrustment decision from the perspective of physicians from medical faculties with different undergraduate medical curricula. Nine hundred fifty-two surgeons and internists from three medical schools with different undergraduate medical curricula were invited to rank 25 competencies according to their relevance for first year residents. The rankings were compared between universities, specialties, physicians' positions, and gender. Two hundred two physicians participated, 76 from Hamburg University, 44 from Oldenburg University, and 82 from Technical University Munich. No significant differences were found regarding the top 10 competencies relevant for first year residents between the universities. 'Responsibility' was the competency with the highest rank overall. Internists ranked 'Structure, work planning and priorities' higher while surgeons ranked 'Verbal communication with colleagues and supervisors' higher. Consultants evaluated 'Active listening to patients' more important than department directors and residents. Female physicians ranked 'Verbal communication with colleagues and supervisors' and 'Structure, work planning and priorities' significantly higher while male physicians ranked 'Scientifically and empirically grounded method of working' significantly higher. Physicians from universities with different undergraduate curricula principally agreed on the competencies relevant for first year residents. Some differences between physicians from different positions, specialties, and gender were found. These differences should be taken into account when planning competence-based postgraduate education training programs.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 26: The technical communication practices of aerospace engineering students: Results of the phase 3 AIAA National Student Survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Hecht, Laura M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate engineering students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an engineer, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication practices, habits, and training of aerospace engineering students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The survey was undertaken as a phase 3 activity of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance; use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign language technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 60: Culture and Workplace Communications: A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Sato, Yuko; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1997-01-01

The advent of global markets elevates the role and importance of culture as a mitigating factor in the diffusion of knowledge and technology and in product and process innovation. This is especially true in the Large Commercial Aircraft (LCA) sector where the production and market aspects are becoming increasingly international. As firms expand beyond their national borders, using such methods as risk- sharing partnerships, joint ventures, outsourcing, and alliances, they have to contend with national and corporate cultures. Our focus is on Japan, a 'program participant' in the production of the Boeing Company's 777; the influence of Japanese culture on the diffusion of knowledge and technology in aerospace at the national and international levels; those cultural determinants-the propensity to work together, a willingness to subsume individual interests to a greater good, and an emphasis on consensual decisionmaking-that have a direct bearing on the ability of Japanese firms to form alliances and compete in international markets; and those cultural determinants thought to influence the information- seeking behaviors and workplace communication practices of Japanese aerospace engineers and scientists. In this paper, we report selective results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on workplace communications. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communication, use of libraries, use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports.

Progress update on a 2015 USIP interdisciplinary undergraduate student microgravity experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dove, A.; Colwell, J. E.; Brisset, J.; Kirstein, J.; Brightwell, K.; Hayden, R.; Jorges, J.; Schwartzberg, D.; Strange, J.; Yates, A.

2016-12-01

Our team was selected by the 2016 USIP program to build, fly, and analyze the results from a granular dynamics experiment that will fly in 2017 on a suborbital flight. The experiment will be designed to test technology and enable science relevant to low-gravity planetary objects, such as asteroids, comets, and small moons. Following on the success of previous NASA Flight Opportunities Program (FOP) and Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP) projects, however, the primary driver of the project is to enable undergraduate student participation in the entire lifetime of a science and technology development project. Our mentoring team consists of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students, who have experience with the past USIP program and similar projects, as well as with mentoring undergraduate students. The undergraduate team includes a diversity of major disciplines, including physics, mechanical/aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, business (accounting), and marketing. Each team member has specific project tasks, as outlined in the proposal, and all members will also help develop and participate in outreach events. In additional to their project roles, students will also be responsible for presentations and milestones, such as design reviews. Through these reviews and the outreach events, all team members have the chance to develop their technical and non-technical communication skills. Previous experience with the NASA USIP program demonstrated that students achieve significant growth through these projects -gaining a better understanding of the entire lifecycle of a project, and, likely more importantly, how to work with a diverse team. In this talk, we will discuss the status of the project, and present student impressions and thoughts on the project thus far.

Culture and Workplace Communications: A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and U.S. Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E. (Editor); Sato, Yuko (Editor); Barclay, Rebecca O. (Editor); Kennedy, John M. (Editor)

1997-01-01

The advent of global markets elevates the role and importance of culture as a mitigating factor in the diffusion of knowledge and technology and in product and process innovation. This is especially true in the large commercial aircraft (LCA) sector where the production and market aspects are becoming increasingly international. As firms expand beyond their national borders, using such methods as risk-sharing partnerships, joint ventures, outsourcing, and alliances, they have to contend with national and corporate cultures. Our focus is on Japan, a program participant in the production of the Boeing Company's 777. The aspects of Japanese culture and workplace communications will be examined: (1) the influence of Japanese culture on the diffusion of knowledge and technology in aerospace at the national and international levels; (2) those cultural determinants-the propensity to work together, a willingness to subsume individual interests to a greater good, and an emphasis on consensual decision making-that have a direct bearing on the ability of Japanese firms to form alliances and compete in international markets; (3) and those cultural determinants thought to influence the information-seeking behaviors and workplace communication practices of Japanese aerospace engineers and scientists. In this article, we report selective results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on workplace communications. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communication, use of libraries, use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 64: Culture and Workplace Communications: A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Sato, Yuko; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1997-01-01

The advent of global markets elevates the role and importance of culture as a mitigating factor in the diffusion of knowledge and technology and in product and process innovation. This is especially true in the large commercial aircraft (LCA) sector where the production and market aspects are becoming increasingly international. As firms expand beyond their national borders, using such methods as risk-sharing partnerships, joint ventures, outsourcing, and alliances, they have to contend with national and corporate cultures. Our focus is on Japan, a program participant in the production of the Boeing Company's 777. The aspects of Japanese culture and workplace communications will be examined: 1.) the influence of Japanese culture on the diffusion of knowledge and technology in aerospace at the national and international levels; 2.) those cultural determinants-the propensity to work together, a willingness to subsume individual interests to a greater good, and an emphasis on consensual decision making-that have a direct bearing on the ability of Japanese firms to form alliances and compete in international markets; 3.) and those cultural determinants thought to influence the information-seeking behaviors and workplace communication practices of Japanese aerospace engineers and scientists. In this article, we report selective results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on workplace communications. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communication, use of libraries, use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports.

The effect of video-assisted oral feedback versus oral feedback on surgical communicative competences in undergraduate training.

PubMed

Ruesseler, M; Sterz, J; Bender, B; Hoefer, S; Walcher, F

2017-08-01

Feedback can significantly improve future performance. Reviewing one's performance by video is discussed as useful adjunct to debriefing, particularly for non-technical skills. Communicative competencies are an essential part of daily clinical practice; thus should be taught and assessed during undergraduate training. The aim of this study was to compare the educational value of video-assisted feedback versus oral feedback in communicative competencies in the surgical context. Fourth-year medical students completed a 210-min training unit of 'taking patient's history and obtaining informed consents prior to surgery' using role plays. Oral feedback was received directly thereafter using agenda-led, outcome-based guidelines (ALOBA). In the study group, the role plays were video-taped and reviewed thereafter. Afterwards, students completed two OSCE stations, where they were assessed regarding their communicative competencies and the content of the clinical scenario. One-hundred students (49 receiving video-assisted feedback, 51 oral) participated in the study. Those receiving video-assisted feedback performed significantly better in overall score in both OSCE stations (p < 0.001), in all five assessed communicative competencies at taking patient history (p = 0.029 or better), and in 2 of 5 items at obtaining informed consent (p = 0.008, <0.001). The educational effect size for both tasks was large. Using our methodology, video-assisted feedback offered a significant educational benefit over oral feedback alone during a simulated patient encounter in a surgical context.

Broadening the voice of science: Promoting scientific communication in the undergraduate classroom.

PubMed

Cirino, Lauren A; Emberts, Zachary; Joseph, Paul N; Allen, Pablo E; Lopatto, David; Miller, Christine W

2017-12-01

Effective and accurate communication of scientific findings is essential. Unfortunately, scientists are not always well trained in how to best communicate their results with other scientists nor do all appreciate the importance of speaking with the public. Here, we provide an example of how the development of oral communication skills can be integrated with research experiences at the undergraduate level. We describe our experiences developing, running, and evaluating a course for undergraduates that complemented their existing undergraduate research experiences with instruction on the nature of science and intensive training on the development of science communication skills. Students delivered science talks, research monologues, and poster presentations about the ecological and evolutionary research in which they were involved. We evaluated the effectiveness of our approach using the CURE survey and a focus group. As expected, undergraduates reported strong benefits to communication skills and confidence. We provide guidance for college researchers, instructors, and administrators interested in motivating and equipping the next generation of scientists to be excellent science communicators.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 27: The technical communication practices of engineering and science students: Results of the phase 3 academic surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Hecht, Laura M.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate engineering science students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an engineer or a scientist, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication practices, habits, and training of engineers and science (Physics) students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of students enrolled in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Bowling Green State University, and Texas A&M University. The survey was undertaken as part of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance, use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 28: The technical communication practices of aerospace engineering and science students: Results of the phase 4 cross-national surveys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Hecht, Laura M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

This report describes similarities and differences between undergraduate and graduate aerospace engineering and science students in the context of two general aspects of the educational experience. First, we explore the extent to which students differ regarding the factors that lead to the choice of becoming an aerospace engineer or a scientist, current satisfaction with that choice, and career-related goals and objectives. Second, we look at the technical communication skills, practices, habits, and training of aerospace engineering and science students. The reported data were obtained from a survey of students enrolled in aerospace engineering and science programs at universities in India, Japan, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The surveys were undertaken as part of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Data are reported for the following categories: student demographics; skill importance, skill training, and skill helpfulness; collaborative writing; computer and information technology use and importance, use of electronic networks; use and importance of libraries and library services; use and importance of information sources and products; use of foreign language technical reports; and foreign language (reading and speaking) skills.

An investigation of communication patterns and strategies between international teaching assistants and undergraduate students in university-level science labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gourlay, Barbara Elas

This research project investigates communication between international teaching assistants and their undergraduate students in university-level chemistry labs. During the fall semester, introductory-level chemistry lab sections of three experienced non-native speaking teaching assistants and their undergraduate students were observed. Digital audio and video recordings documented fifteen hours of lab communication, focusing on the activities and interactions in the first hour of the chemistry laboratory sessions. In follow-up one-on-one semi-structured interviews, the participants (undergraduates, teaching assistants, and faculty member) reviewed interactions and responded to a 10-item, 7-point Likert-scaled interview. Interactions were classified into success categories based on participants' opinions. Quantitative and qualitative data from the observations and interviews guided the analysis of the laboratory interactions, which examined patterns of conversational listening. Analysis of laboratory communication reveals that undergraduates initiated nearly two-thirds of laboratory communication, with three-fourths of interactions less than 30 seconds in duration. Issues of gender and topics of interaction activity were also explored. Interview data identified that successful undergraduate-teaching assistant communication in interactive science labs depends on teaching assistant listening comprehension skills to interpret and respond successfully to undergraduate questions. Successful communication in the chemistry lab depended on the coordination of visual and verbal sources of information. Teaching assistant responses that included explanations and elaborations were also seen as positive features in the communicative exchanges. Interaction analysis focusing on the listening comprehension demands placed on international teaching assistants revealed that undergraduate-initiated questions often employ deixis (exophoric reference), requiring teaching assistants to demonstrate skills at disambiguating undergraduate discourse. Interaction analysis reinforced that successful undergraduate-teaching assistant communication depends on the coordination of verbal and visual channels of communication, with the physical objects of the chemistry lab environment playing a pivotal role in expressing information and in mutual understanding. These results have implications for the evaluation of English proficiency and the preparation of non-native speaking teaching assistants by pointing out that teaching assistant listening comprehension skills and the use of contextual artifacts contribute to successful communication and are areas that, to date, have been underrepresented in the research literature on international teaching assistant communication.

Joint electrical engineering/physics course sequence for optics fundamentals and design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magnusson, Robert; Maldonado, Theresa A.; Black, Truman D.

2000-06-01

Optics is a key technology in a broad range of engineering and science applications of high national priority. Engineers and scientists with a sound background in this field are needed to preserve technical leadership and to establish new directions of research and development. To meet this educational need, a joint Electrical Engineering/Physics optics course sequence was created as PHYS 3445 Fundamentals of Optics and EE 4444 Optical Systems Design, both with a laboratory component. The objectives are to educate EE and Physics undergraduate students in the fundamentals of optics; in interdisciplinary problem solving; in design and analysis; in handling optical components; and in skills such as communications and team cooperation. Written technical reports in professional format are required, formal presentations are given, and participation in paper design contests is encouraged.

A model undergraduate research institute for study of emerging non-contact measurement technologies and techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dvonch, Curt; Smith, Christopher; Bourne, Stefanie; Blandino, Joseph R.; Miles, Jonathan J.

2006-04-01

The Infrared Development and Thermal Structures Laboratory (IDTSL) is an undergraduate research laboratory in the College of Integrated Science and Technology (CISAT) at James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia. During the 1997-98 academic year, Dr. Jonathan Miles established the IDTSL at JMU with the support of a collaborative research grant from the NASA Langley Research Center and with additional support from the College of Integrated Science and Technology at JMU. The IDTSL supports research and development efforts that feature non-contact thermal and mechanical measurements and advance the state of the art. These efforts all entail undergraduate participation intended to significantly enrich their technical education. The IDTSL is funded by major government organizations and the private sector and provides a unique opportunity to undergraduates who wish to participate in projects that push the boundaries of non-contact measurement technologies, and provides a model for effective hands-on, project oriented, student-centered learning that reinforces concepts and skills introduced within the Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) curriculum. The lab also provides access to advanced topics and emerging measurement technologies; fosters development of teaming and communication skills in an interdisciplinary environment; and avails undergraduates of professional activities including writing papers, presentation at conferences, and participation in summer internships. This paper provides an overview of the Infrared Development and Thermal Structures Laboratory, its functionality, its record of achievements, and the important contribution it has made to the field of non-contact measurement and undergraduate education.

Demand for interdisciplinary laboratories for physiology research by undergraduate students in biosciences and biomedical engineering.

PubMed

Clase, Kari L; Hein, Patrick W; Pelaez, Nancy J

2008-12-01

Physiology as a discipline is uniquely positioned to engage undergraduate students in interdisciplinary research in response to the 2006-2011 National Science Foundation Strategic Plan call for innovative transformational research, which emphasizes multidisciplinary projects. To prepare undergraduates for careers that cross disciplinary boundaries, students need to practice interdisciplinary communication in academic programs that connect students in diverse disciplines. This report surveys policy documents relevant to this emphasis on interdisciplinary training and suggests a changing role for physiology courses in bioscience and engineering programs. A role for a physiology course is increasingly recommended for engineering programs, but the study of physiology from an engineering perspective might differ from the study of physiology as a basic science. Indeed, physiology laboratory courses provide an arena where biomedical engineering and bioscience students can apply knowledge from both fields while cooperating in multidisciplinary teams under specified technical constraints. Because different problem-solving approaches are used by students of engineering and bioscience, instructional innovations are needed to break down stereotypes between the disciplines and create an educational environment where interdisciplinary teamwork is used to bridge differences.

American Chemical Society Student Affiliates Chapters: More Than Just Chemistry Clubs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montes, Ingrid; Collazo, Carmen

2003-10-01

Chemistry educators often examine and implement various instructional techniques, such as mentoring programs, to advance learning objectives and to equip students with analytical and technical skills, as well as the skills required of chemical science professionals. Student organizations, such as an American Chemical Society Student Affiliates (SA) chapter, can create a learning environment for undergraduates by engaging them in activities that develop communication, teamwork and inquiry, analysis, and problem-solving skills within a real-world setting. The environment is student-based, has personal meaning for the learner, emphasizes a process-and-product orientation, and emphasizes evaluation. Participation in SAs enhance the traditional chemistry curriculum, complementing the learning goals and meeting learning objectives that might not otherwise be addressed in the curriculum. In this article we discuss how SA chapters enhance the educational experience of undergraduate chemical science students, help develop new chemistry professionals, and shape enthusiastic and committed future chemical science leaders.

A writing-intensive course improves biology undergraduates' perception and confidence of their abilities to read scientific literature and communicate science.

PubMed

Brownell, Sara E; Price, Jordan V; Steinman, Lawrence

2013-03-01

Most scientists agree that comprehension of primary scientific papers and communication of scientific concepts are two of the most important skills that we can teach, but few undergraduate biology courses make these explicit course goals. We designed an undergraduate neuroimmunology course that uses a writing-intensive format. Using a mixture of primary literature, writing assignments directed toward a layperson and scientist audience, and in-class discussions, we aimed to improve the ability of students to 1) comprehend primary scientific papers, 2) communicate science to a scientific audience, and 3) communicate science to a layperson audience. We offered the course for three consecutive years and evaluated its impact on student perception and confidence using a combination of pre- and postcourse survey questions and coded open-ended responses. Students showed gains in both the perception of their understanding of primary scientific papers and of their abilities to communicate science to scientific and layperson audiences. These results indicate that this unique format can teach both communication skills and basic science to undergraduate biology students. We urge others to adopt a similar format for undergraduate biology courses to teach process skills in addition to content, thus broadening and strengthening the impact of undergraduate courses.

Thinking Outside the Lab

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colter, Tabitha

2017-01-01

As an undergraduate physics major who spent 2015 deep in a quantum optics lab at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, I knew my 2016 experience with the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee would be a completely new challenge. I have long had a passion for the bridge of communication between the technical and non-technical worlds but it was only through my AIP Mather internship this summer that I was able to see that passion come to life in the realm of science policy. Suddenly, I went from squeezing political philosophy classes into my packed schedule to witnessing the political process first-hand. I was thrilled to find that the skills of critical thinking and communicating complex issues I have developed throughout my training as a physicist were directly applicable to my work in Congress. Overall, my experience this summer has given me insight into the inner workings of the federal policy process, deepened my appreciation for the work of government employees to keep Congressional members informed on the pressing current issues, and exposed me to a whole range of alternative careers within science. AIP and SPS

Dehumanizing Communication Reified among Undergraduates and Lecturers: Issues and Suggestions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duvie, Adanma Nnekwu; Modebelu, Melody Ndidi

2014-01-01

This paper discusses dehumanizing communication reified among undergraduates and lecturers. Dehumanization is the act of degrading people with respect to their best qualities and denial of humanness to others. On the other hand, communication is human interaction and learning. Communication becomes rude when it is deliberately directed resulting…

Assessors for communication skills: SPs or healthcare professionals?

PubMed

Liew, Siaw-Cheok; Dutta, Susmita; Sidhu, Jagmohni Kaur; De-Alwis, Ranjit; Chen, Nicole; Sow, Chew-Fei; Barua, Ankur

2014-07-01

The complexity of modern medicine creates more challenges for teaching and assessment of communication skills in undergraduate medical programme. This research was conducted to study the level of communication skills among undergraduate medical students and to determine the difference between simulated patients and clinical instructors' assessment of communication skills. This comparative study was conducted for three months at the Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre of the International Medical University in Malaysia. The modified Calgary-Cambridge checklist was used to assess the communication skills of 50 first year and 50 second year medical students (five-minutes pre-recorded interview videos on the scenario of sore throat). These videos were reviewed and scored by simulated patients (SPs), communication skills instructors (CSIs) and non-communication skills instructors (non-CSIs). Better performance was observed among the undergraduate medical students, who had formal training in communication skills with a significant difference in overall scores detected among the first and second year medical students (p = 0.0008). A non-significant difference existed between the scores of SPs and CSIs for Year 1 (p = 0.151). The SPs could be trained and involved in assessment of communication skills. Formal training in communication skills is necessary in the undergraduate medical programme.

Person-centred communication: design, implementation and evaluation of a communication skills module or undergraduate nursing students - an Irish context.

PubMed

McCarthy, Bridie; O'Donovan, Moira; Twomey, Angela

2008-02-01

Despite wide agreement about the importance of effective communication in nursing there is continuing evidence of the need for nurses to improve their communication skills. Consequently, there is a growing demand for more therapeutic and person-centred communication courses. Studies on communication education reveal considerable variability on the design and operationalisation of these programmes. Additionally, the literature highlights that nurse educators are continually challenged with developing and implementing these programmes. Communication skills are generally taught in years one and two of undergraduate nursing degree programmes. This is a stage when students have minimal contact with patients and clients. We suggest that a communication skills module should be included in all final years of undergraduate nursing programmes. With an array of clinical experiences to draw from, final year nursing students are better placed to apply the skills of effective communication in practice. In this paper, we present the design, implementation and evaluation of an advanced communication skills module undertaken by fourth year undergraduate nursing students completing a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree - nursing programme at one university in the Republic of Ireland.

[Communication in medicine: a new and much needed curricular alternative].

PubMed

Halac, Eduardo; Quiroga, Daniel; Olmas, Josè M; Trucchia, Silvina M

2016-01-01

Medical education must emphasize communication practices mostly for undergraduate medical students. To introduce an approach for teaching and learning communication in medicine. An approach for developing communicational practices for both undergraduate and post graduate students is presented. Medical communication is not taught adequately in modern medical schools and is allotted a brief curricular space.. This curricular time must be widened in order to support communication's central role.

The use of interprofessional learning and simulation in undergraduate nursing programs to address interprofessional communication and collaboration: An integrative review of the literature.

PubMed

Granheim, Benedikte M; Shaw, Julie M; Mansah, Martha

2018-03-01

To identify how simulation and interprofessional learning are used together in undergraduate nursing programs and undertaken in schools of nursing to address interprofessional communication and collaboration. An integrative literature review. The databases CINAHL, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, PsycInfo and Science Direct were searched to identify articles from 2006 to 2016 that reported on the use of IPL and simulation together in undergraduate nursing education. Whittemore and Knafl's five step process was used to guide the integrative review of quantitative and qualitative literature. Only peer reviewed articles written in English that addressed undergraduate nursing studies, were included in the review. Articles that did not aim to improve communication and collaboration were excluded. All articles selected were examined to determine their contribution to interprofessional learning and simulation in undergraduate nursing knowledge. The faculties of nursing used interprofessional learning and simulation in undergraduate nursing programs that in some cases were connected to a specific course. A total of nine articles, eight research papers and one narrative report, that focused on collaboration and communication were selected for this review. Studies predominantly used nursing and medical student participants. None of the included studies identified prior student experience with interprofessional learning and simulation. Four key themes were identified: communication, collaboration/teamwork, learning in practice and understanding of roles, and communication. This review highlights the identified research relating to the combined teaching strategy of interprofessional learning and simulation that addressed communication and collaboration in undergraduate nursing programs. Further research into the implementation of interprofessional learning and simulation may benefit the emergent challenges. Information drawn from this review can be used in informing education and educational development in the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing Oral and Written Communication Skills in Undergraduate Computer Science and Information Systems Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kortsarts, Yana; Fischbach, Adam; Rufinus, Jeff; Utell, Janine M.; Yoon, Suk-Chung

2010-01-01

Developing and applying oral and written communication skills in the undergraduate computer science and computer information systems curriculum--one of the ABET accreditation requirements - is a very challenging and, at the same time, a rewarding task that provides various opportunities to enrich the undergraduate computer science and computer…

The Use of Virtual Reality Simulation to Improve Technical Skill in the Undergraduate Medical Imaging Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunn, Therese; Jones, Lee; Bridge, Pete; Rowntree, Pam; Nissen, Lisa

2018-01-01

In recent years, simulation has increasingly underpinned the acquisition of pre-clinical skills by undergraduate medical imaging (diagnostic radiography) students. This project aimed to evaluate the impact of an innovative virtual reality (VR) learning environment on the development of technical proficiency by students. The study assessed the…

Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? An authentic large-scale undergraduate research experience in mapping the human oral microbiome.

PubMed

Wang, Jack T H; Daly, Joshua N; Willner, Dana L; Patil, Jayee; Hall, Roy A; Schembri, Mark A; Tyson, Gene W; Hugenholtz, Philip

2015-05-01

Clinical microbiology testing is crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of community and hospital-acquired infections. Laboratory scientists need to utilize technical and problem-solving skills to select from a wide array of microbial identification techniques. The inquiry-driven laboratory training required to prepare microbiology graduates for this professional environment can be difficult to replicate within undergraduate curricula, especially in courses that accommodate large student cohorts. We aimed to improve undergraduate scientific training by engaging hundreds of introductory microbiology students in an Authentic Large-Scale Undergraduate Research Experience (ALURE). The ALURE aimed to characterize the microorganisms that reside in the healthy human oral cavity-the oral microbiome-by analyzing hundreds of samples obtained from student volunteers within the course. Students were able to choose from selective and differential culture media, Gram-staining, microscopy, as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing techniques, in order to collect, analyze, and interpret novel data to determine the collective oral microbiome of the student cohort. Pre- and postsurvey analysis of student learning gains across two iterations of the course (2012-2013) revealed significantly higher student confidence in laboratory skills following the completion of the ALURE (p < 0.05 using the Mann-Whitney U-test). Learning objectives on effective scientific communication were also met through effective student performance in laboratory reports describing the research outcomes of the project. The integration of undergraduate research in clinical microbiology has the capacity to deliver authentic research experiences and improve scientific training for large cohorts of undergraduate students.

Consensus statement on an updated core communication curriculum for UK undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Noble, Lorraine M; Scott-Smith, Wesley; O'Neill, Bernadette; Salisbury, Helen

2018-04-22

Clinical communication is a core component of undergraduate medical training. A consensus statement on the essential elements of the communication curriculum was co-produced in 2008 by the communication leads of UK medical schools. This paper discusses the relational, contextual and technological changes which have affected clinical communication since then and presents an updated curriculum for communication in undergraduate medicine. The consensus was developed through an iterative consultation process with the communication leads who represent their medical schools on the UK Council of Clinical Communication in Undergraduate Medical Education. The updated curriculum defines the underpinning values, core components and skills required within the context of contemporary medical care. It incorporates the evolving relational issues associated with the more prominent role of the patient in the consultation, reflected through legal precedent and changing societal expectations. The impact on clinical communication of the increased focus on patient safety, the professional duty of candour and digital medicine are discussed. Changes in the way medicine is practised should lead rapidly to adjustments to the content of curricula. The updated curriculum provides a model of best practice to help medical schools develop their teaching and argue for resources. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Technical quality of root canal treatment performed by undergraduate students using hand instrumentation: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Ribeiro, D M; Réus, J C; Felippe, W T; Pacheco-Pereira, C; Dutra, K L; Santos, J N; Porporatti, A L; De Luca Canto, G

2018-03-01

The technical quality of root canal treatment (RCT) may impact on the outcome. The quality of education received during undergraduate school may be linked to the quality of treatment provided in general dental practice. In this context, the aim of this systematic review was to answer the following focused questions: (i) What is the frequency of acceptable technical quality of root fillings, assessed radiographically, performed by undergraduate students? (ii) What are the most common errors assessed radiographically and reported in these treatments? For this purpose, articles that evaluated the quality of root fillings performed by undergraduate students were selected. Data were collected based on predetermined criteria. The key features from the included studies were extracted. GRADE-tool assessed the quality of the evidence. MAStARI evaluated the methodological quality, and a meta-analysis on all studies was conducted. At the end of the screening, 24 articles were identified. Overall frequency of acceptable technical quality of root fillings was 48%. From this total, 52% related to anterior teeth, 49% to premolars and 26% to molars. The main procedural errors reported were ledge formation, furcation perforation, apical transportation and apical perforation. The heterogeneity amongst the studies was high (84-99%). Five studies had a high risk of bias, eight had a moderate risk, and 11 had low risk. The overall quality of evidence identified was very low. The conclusion was that technical quality of root fillings performed by undergraduate students is low, which may reveal that endodontic education has limited achievement at undergraduate level. A plan to improve the quality of root fillings, and by extrapolation the overall quality of root canal treatment, should be discussed by the staff responsible for endodontic education and training. © 2017 International Endodontic Journal. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Teaching Communication/Interviewing Skills to Urban Undergraduate Social Work Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Marjorie Hinton

1979-01-01

The use of the Interpersonal Communication Inventory (ICI) with urban undergraduate social work students is described. ICI measures the patterns, characteristics, and styles of communication along the dimensions of: self-concept, listening, clarity of expression, coping with angry feelings, and self-disclosure. (Author/MLW)

The Influence of Materials Science and Engineering Undergraduate Research Experiences on Public Communication Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ing, Marsha; Fung, Wenson W.; Kisailus, David

2013-01-01

Communicating research findings with others is a skill essential to the success of future STEM professionals. However, little is known about how this skill can be nurtured through participating in undergraduate research. The purpose of this study is to quantify undergraduate participation in research in a materials science and engineering…

Communicating across the Curriculum in an Undergraduate Business Program: Management 100--Leadership and Communication in Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuleja, Elizabeth A.; Greenhalgh, Anne M.

2008-01-01

Educating undergraduate business students in the 21st century requires more than addressing the quantitative side of business; rather, it calls for including the more qualitative "soft skills," such as speaking and writing. This article examines the design, delivery, and effectiveness of an undergraduate program dedicated to leadership,…

Podcasting to Provide Teaching and Learning Support for an Undergraduate Module on English Language and Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edirisingha, Palitha; Rizzi, Chiara; Nie, Ming; Rothwell, Libby

2007-01-01

This paper reports findings from research into the benefits of integrating podcasts into a first year undergraduate module on English Language and Communication at Kingston University. As part of a Faculty teaching and learning support scheme for first year undergraduates, six podcasts were developed to improve students' learning and study skills…

The State of Enrollment Management in Journalism and Mass Communication Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rawlins, Brad L.; Soenksen, Roger; Jensen, Matt

Some programs in journalism and mass communication have been forced to incorporate limited enrollment strategies, as undergraduate interest in these programs continues to grow. After 4 years of moderate growth, undergraduate enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs increased dramatically in the year 2000. Some of the limited…

What Do Undergraduate Students Know about Scholarly Communication? A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riehle, Catherine Fraser; Hensley, Merinda Kaye

2017-01-01

Amid movements that recognize undergraduate students as knowledge creators, transformative work is being done at the intersection of information literacy and scholarly communication. Absent from the literature so far is research related to students' perception and understanding of scholarly communication. This paper reports a mixed methods study…

Undergraduate Instruction in Empirical Research Methods in Communication: Assessment and Recommendations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parks, Malcolm R.; Faw, Meara; Goldsmith, Daena

2011-01-01

This study assesses the current state of undergraduate instruction in empirical research methods in communication and offers recommendations for enhancing such instruction. Responses to an online questionnaire were received from 149 communication-related programs at four-year colleges and universities. Just over 85% of responding programs offered…

Using an Interdisciplinary Approach to Teach Undergraduates Communication and Information Literacy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinkelman, Andrea L.; Aune, Jeanine E.; Nonnecke, Gail R.

2010-01-01

For successful and productive careers, undergraduate students need effective communication and critical thinking skills; information literacy is a substantial component in the development of these skills. Students often perceive communication courses as distinct and separate from their chosen discipline. Faculty from the Departments of English and…

Reports of the Hope College Conference on Designing the Undergraduate Curriculum in Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenthal, Ann

2002-01-01

Presents in full a consensus document produced from the 2000 Hope College National Communication Association Faculty Development Institute conference. Agrees that all graduates of an undergraduate degree program in communication should meet conceptual and competency standards in eight different areas: theoretical approaches, sensitivity to diverse…

Multimedia as a Means to Enhance Teaching Technical Vocabulary to Physics Undergraduates in Rwanda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rusanganwa, Joseph

2013-01-01

This study investigates whether the integration of ICT in education can facilitate teaching and learning. An example of such integration is computer assisted language learning (CALL) of English technical vocabulary by undergraduate physics students in Rwanda. The study draws on theories of cognitive load and multimedia learning to explore learning…

A Comparison of the Act and Frequency of Plagiarism between Technical and Non-Technical Programme Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BavaHarji, Madhubala; Chetty, Thiba Naraina; Ismail, Zalina Bt; Letchumanan, Krishnaveni

2016-01-01

Concerned with intellectual theft, we decided to examine intellectual theft among undergraduates at a private higher education institution. The aim of this study was to compare the act and frequency of plagiarism, particularly between programmes, gender, year of study and academic performance. This study adopted the quantitative approach, using a…

A Writing-Intensive Course Improves Biology Undergraduates' Perception and Confidence of Their Abilities to Read Scientific Literature and Communicate Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Sara E.; Price, Jordan V.; Steinman, Lawrence

2013-01-01

Most scientists agree that comprehension of primary scientific papers and communication of scientific concepts are two of the most important skills that we can teach, but few undergraduate biology courses make these explicit course goals. We designed an undergraduate neuroimmunology course that uses a writing-intensive format. Using a mixture of…

Emotional intelligence score and performance of dental undergraduates.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Yuh; Ninomiya, Kazunori; Fujii, Kazuyuki; Sekimoto, Tsuneo

2016-09-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and undergraduate dental students' ability to deal with different situations of communication in a clinical dentistry practical training course of communication skills. Fourth-year students in 2012 and in 2013 at the Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry at Niigata participated in the survey. The total number of participating students was 129 (88 males and 41 females). The students were asked to complete the Japanese version of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test in communication skills. Female students tended to have significantly higher EI score than males. The EI score in the group with high-grade academic performers was higher than in the low-grade group. The influence of EI on academic performance appeared to be mainly due to the students' ability to accurately perceiving emotions and to their ability to understand emotional issues. The importance of EI may also lie in its ability to parse out personality factors from more changeable aspects of a person's behavior. Although further studies are required, we believe that dental educators need to assume the responsibility to help students develop their emotional competencies that they will need to prosper in their chosen careers. In our conclusion, dental educators should support low achievers to increase their levels of self-confidence instead of concentrating mainly on improving their technical skill and academic performance. This may lead to upgrading their skills for managing emotions and to changing their learning approach.

Enhancing Scientific Communication Through an Undergraduate Biology and Journalism Partnership.

PubMed

Schwingel, Johanna M

2018-01-01

Scientific terminology presents an obstacle to effective communication with nonscientific audiences. To overcome this obstacle, biology majors in a general microbiology elective completed a project involving two different audiences: a scientific audience of their peers and a general, nonscientific audience. First, students presented an overview of a primary research paper and the significance of its findings to a general, nonscientific audience in an elevator-type talk. This was followed by a peer interview with a student in a journalism course, in which the biology students needed to comprehend the article to effectively communicate it to the journalism students, and the journalism students needed to ask questions about an unfamiliar, technical topic. Next, the biology students wrote a summary of their article for a scientific audience. Finally, the students presented a figure from the article to their peers in a scientific, Bio-Minute format. The biology-journalism partnership allowed biology students to develop their ability to communicate scientific information and journalism students their ability to ask appropriate questions and establish a base of knowledge from which to write.

Core Skills for Effective Science Communication: A Teaching Resource for Undergraduate Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer-Mapstone, Lucy; Kuchel, Louise

2017-01-01

Science communication is a diverse and transdisciplinary field and is taught most effectively when the skills involved are tailored to specific educational contexts. Few academic resources exist to guide the teaching of communication with non-scientific audiences for an undergraduate science context. This mixed methods study aimed to explore what…

Teaching Scientists to Communicate: Evidence-Based Assessment for Undergraduate Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer-Mapstone, Lucy; Kuchel, Louise

2015-01-01

Communication skills are one of five nationally recognised learning outcomes for an Australian Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Previous evidence indicates that communication skills taught in Australian undergraduate science degrees are not developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the modern-day workplace--a problem faced in the UK and…

The Effect of Problem Based Learning on Undergraduate Oral Communication Competency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mandeville, David S.; Ho, Tiffanie K.; Valdez, Lindy A.

2017-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to ascertain the effect of Problem Based Learning (PBL) on student oral communication competency gains. Methods: Eighty students from two consecutive undergraduate Kinesiology courses (Spring semesters, 2014-15) formed into 29 small groups and were studied. Oral communication competency was assessed using a…

2015 Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments: Challenges and Opportunities for a Changing and Diversifying Field

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gotlieb, Melissa R.; McLaughlin, Bryan; Cummins, R. Glenn

2017-01-01

As with previous years, enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States have continued to decline. In 2015, such decline among undergraduate student enrollments was particularly prevalent in journalism sequences; in contrast, undergraduate enrollments in strategic communication sequences have seen some growth since…

Student Perceptions of Communication Skills in Undergraduate Science at an Australian Research-Intensive University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercer-Mapstone, Lucy D.; Matthews, Kelly E.

2017-01-01

Higher education institutions globally are acknowledging the need to teach communication skills. This study used the Science Student Skills Inventory to gain insight into how science students perceive the development of communication skills across the degree programme. Responses were obtained from 635 undergraduate students enrolled in a Bachelor…

The Utility of a Physics Education in Science Policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, Drew

2016-03-01

In order for regulators to create successful policies on technical issues, ranging from environmental protection to distribution of national Grant money, the scientific community must play an integral role in the legislative process. Through a summer-long internship with the Science, Space, and Technology Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, I have learned that skills developed while pursuing an undergraduate degree in physics are very valuable in the policy realm. My physics education provided me the necessary tools to bridge the goals of the scientific and political communities. The need for effective comprehension and communication of technical subjects provides an important opportunity for individuals with physics degrees to make substantial contributions to government policy. Science policy should be encouraged as one of the many career pathways for physics students. Society of Physics Students, John and Jane Mather Foundation for Science and the Arts.

The art of scientific writing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gad-El-Hak, Mohamed

2015-11-01

The humanities teach students how to learn and communicate. Science teaches why everything works. Engineering teaches how to make things work. But scientists and engineers need to communicate their ideas amongst themselves as well as to everyone else. A newly developed technical writing course is outlined. In the class, offered to senior undergraduate and beginning graduate students, we read numerous short novels, essays, and op-eds. Some of the reading materials are technical but many are not. The students also have weekly writing assignments. When the first assignment is returned to the students with a grade of 20-30%, their first reaction is, ``how come I did not receive my usual 80-90%?'' I retort, ``you reach that level only when your essay is ready to be published in The New York Times.'' What is emphasized in the class is the process of creating something to write about, researching that something, expressing ideas coherently and comprehensibly, then endlessly editing the essay. The elective class has been offered three times thus far, all of its available seats are always filled, the students' evaluations have been outstanding, and the improvements in the students' ability to write by the end of the semester is quite impressive.

Change is necessary in a biological engineering curriculum.

PubMed

Johnson, Arthur T; Montas, Hubert; Shirmohammadi, Adel; Wheaton, Fredrick W

2006-01-01

Success of a Biological Engineering undergraduate educational program can be measured in a number of ways, but however it is measured, a presently successful program can translate into an unsuccessful program if it cannot adjust to different conditions posed by technical advances, student characteristics, and academic pressures. Described in this paper is a Biological Engineering curriculum that has changed significantly since its transformation from Agricultural Engineering in 1993. As a result, student numbers have continued to climb, specific objectives have emerged, and unique courses have been developed. The Biological Resources Engineering program has evolved into a program that emphasizes breadth, fundamentals, communications skills, diversity, and practical engineering judgment.

Willingness to Communicate in English as a Second Language: A Case Study of Pakistani Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bukhari, Syeda Farzana; Cheng, Xiaoguang; Khan, Salman Ali

2015-01-01

Willingness to communicate (WTC) construct plays an important role in second language (L2) teaching and learning. Almost any second language learner is likely to respond to a direct question, but many will not continue or initiate communication. The present study investigates Pakistani undergraduate students' perception of their willingness to…

Research and Teaching: Encouraging Science Communication in an Undergraduate Curriculum Improves Students' Perceptions and Confidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Train, Tonya Laakko; Miyamoto, Yuko J.

2017-01-01

The ability to effectively communicate science is a skill sought after by graduate and professional schools as well as by employers in science-related fields. Are content-heavy undergraduate science curricula able to incorporate opportunities to develop science communication skills, and is promoting these skills worth the time and effort? The…

Development and Evaluation of an Undergraduate Science Communication Module

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeoman, Kay H.; James, Helen A.; Bowater, Laura

2011-01-01

This paper describes the design and evaluation of an undergraduate final year science communication module for the Science Faculty at the University of East Anglia. The module focuses specifically on science communication and aims to bring an understanding of how science is disseminated to the public. Students on the module are made aware of the…

The Development of Internet Use for Communication among Undergraduate Students: A Multilevel Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Chiungjung

2011-01-01

As few studies utilized longitudinal design to examine the development of Internet use for communication, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of gender and initial Internet use for communication on subsequent use. The study sample was 280 undergraduate students who were assessed at five time points. Hierarchical linear models were…

Creating Successful Campus Partnerships for Teaching Communication in Biology Courses and Labs.

PubMed

Hall, Susanne E; Birch, Christina

2018-01-01

Creating and teaching successful writing and communication assignments for biology undergraduate students can be challenging for faculty trying to balance the teaching of technical content. The growing body of published research and scholarship on effective teaching of writing and communication in biology can help inform such work, but there are also local resources available to support writing within biology courses that may be unfamiliar to science faculty and instructors. In this article, we discuss common on-campus resources biology faculty can make use of when incorporating writing and communication into their teaching. We present the missions, histories, and potential collaboration outcomes of three major on-campus writing resources: writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines initiatives (WAC/WID), writing programs, and writing centers. We explain some of the common misconceptions about these resources in order to help biology faculty understand their uses and limits, and we offer guiding questions faculty might ask the directors of these resources to start productive conversations. Collaboration with these resources will likely save faculty time and effort on curriculum development and, more importantly, will help biology students develop and improve their critical reading, writing, and communication skills.

Creating Successful Campus Partnerships for Teaching Communication in Biology Courses and Labs

PubMed Central

Hall, Susanne E.; Birch, Christina

2018-01-01

Creating and teaching successful writing and communication assignments for biology undergraduate students can be challenging for faculty trying to balance the teaching of technical content. The growing body of published research and scholarship on effective teaching of writing and communication in biology can help inform such work, but there are also local resources available to support writing within biology courses that may be unfamiliar to science faculty and instructors. In this article, we discuss common on-campus resources biology faculty can make use of when incorporating writing and communication into their teaching. We present the missions, histories, and potential collaboration outcomes of three major on-campus writing resources: writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines initiatives (WAC/WID), writing programs, and writing centers. We explain some of the common misconceptions about these resources in order to help biology faculty understand their uses and limits, and we offer guiding questions faculty might ask the directors of these resources to start productive conversations. Collaboration with these resources will likely save faculty time and effort on curriculum development and, more importantly, will help biology students develop and improve their critical reading, writing, and communication skills. PMID:29904537

Clinical communication skills and professionalism education are required from the beginning of medical training - a point of view of family physicians.

PubMed

Franco, Camila Ament Giuliani Dos Santos; Franco, Renato Soleiman; Lopes, José Mauro Ceratti; Severo, Milton; Ferreira, Maria Amélia

2018-03-20

The Brazilian undergraduate medical course is six years long. As in other countries, a medical residency is not obligatory to practice as a doctor. In this context, this paper aims to clarify what and when competencies in communication and professionalism should be addressed, shedding light on the role of university, residency and post-residency programmes. Brazilian family physicians with diverse levels of medical training answered a questionnaire designed to seek a consensus on the competencies that should be taught (key competencies) and when students should achieve them during their medical training. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and correlation tests. A total of seventy-four physicians participated; nearly all participants suggested that the students should achieve communication and professionalism competencies during undergraduate study (twenty out of thirty competencies - 66.7%) or during residency (seven out of thirty competencies - 23.33%). When competencies were analysed in domains, the results were that clinical communication skills and professionalism competencies should be achieved during undergraduate medical education, and interpersonal communication and leadership skills should be reached during postgraduate study. The authors propose that attainment of clinical communication skills and professionalism competencies should be required for undergraduate students. The foundation for Leadership and Interpersonal Abilities should be particularly formed at an undergraduate level and, furthermore, mastered by immersion in the future workplace and medical responsibilities in residency.

Procedural Influence on Internal and External Assessment Scores of Undergraduate Vocational and Technical Education Research Projects in Nigerian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

A. C., John; Manabete, S. S.

2015-01-01

This study sought to determine the procedural influence on internal and external assessment scores of undergraduate research projects in vocational and technical education programmes in the university under study. A survey research design was used for the conduct of this study. The population consisted of 130 lecturers and 1,847 students in the…

A model for communication skills assessment across the undergraduate curriculum.

PubMed

Rider, Elizabeth A; Hinrichs, Margaret M; Lown, Beth A

2006-08-01

Physicians' interpersonal and communication skills have a significant impact on patient care and correlate with improved healthcare outcomes. Some studies suggest, however, that communication skills decline during the four years of medical school. Regulatory and other medical organizations, recognizing the importance of interpersonal and communication skills in the practice of medicine, now require competence in communication skills. Two challenges exist: to select a framework of interpersonal and communication skills to teach across undergraduate medical education, and to develop and implement a uniform model for the assessment of these skills. The authors describe a process and model for developing and institutionalizing the assessment of communication skills across the undergraduate curriculum. Consensus was built regarding communication skill competencies by working with course leaders and examination directors, a uniform framework of competencies was selected to both teach and assess communication skills, and the framework was implemented across the Harvard Medical School undergraduate curriculum. The authors adapted an assessment framework based on the Bayer-Fetzer Kalamazoo Consensus Statement adapted a patient and added and satisfaction tool to bring patients' perspectives into the assessment of the learners. The core communication competencies and evaluation instruments were implemented in school-wide courses and assessment exercises including the first-year Patient-Doctor I Clinical Assessment, second-year Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE), third-year Patient-Doctor III Clinical Assessment, fourth-year Comprehensive Clinical Practice Examination and the Core Medicine Clerkships. Faculty were offered workshops and interactive web-based teaching to become familiar with the framework, and students used the framework with repeated opportunities for faculty feedback on these skills. A model is offered for educational leaders and others who are involved in designing assessment in communication skills. By presenting an approach for implementation, the authors hope to provide guidance for the successful integration of communication skills assessment in undergraduate medical education.

Designing Undergraduate Research Experiences: A Multiplicity of Options

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manduca, C. A.

2001-12-01

Research experiences for undergraduate students can serve many goals including: developing student understanding of the process of science; providing opportunities for students to develop professional skills or test career plans; completing publishable research; enabling faculty professional development; or enhancing the visibility of a science program. The large range of choices made in the design of an undergraduate research program or opportunity must reflect the goals of the program, the needs and abilities of the students and faculty, and the available resources including both time and money. Effective program design, execution, and evaluation can all be enhanced if the goals of the program are clearly articulated. Student research experiences can be divided into four components: 1) defining the research problem; 2) developing the research plan or experiment design; 3) collecting and interpreting data, and 4) communicating results. In each of these components, the program can be structured in a wide variety of ways and students can be given more or less guidance or freedom. While a feeling of ownership of the research project appears to be very important, examples of successful projects displaying a wide range of design decisions are available. Work with the Keck Geology Consortium suggests that four strategies can enhance the likelihood of successful student experiences: 1) students are well-prepared for research experience (project design must match student preparation); 2) timelines and events are structured to move students through intermediate goals to project completion; 3) support for the emotional, financial, academic and technical challenges of a research project is in place; 4) strong communications between students and faculty set clear expectations and enable mid-course corrections in the program or project design. Creating a research culture for the participants or embedding a project in an existing research culture can also assist students in completing a successful research experience. Outstanding undergraduate research experiences can take place in a wide variety of settings and serve a wide variety of student and faculty needs if projects are designed with these goals in mind.

A team approach to an undergraduate interprofessional communication course.

PubMed

Doucet, Shelley; Buchanan, Judy; Cole, Tricia; McCoy, Carolyn

2013-05-01

Interprofessional communication is a team-taught upper-level undergraduate course for Nursing and Health Sciences students. In addition to teaching fundamental communication skills, this course weaves interprofessional competencies into weekly learning activities and assignments. The utilization of the principles and practices of team-based learning in the classroom enhances the attainment and practice of communication and interprofessional collaboration skills. Lessons learned from conducting informal course evaluations and delivering the course multiple times are presented.

Debating science policy in the physics classroom.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, Shannon

2010-03-01

It is critically important that national and international science policy be scientifically grounded. To this end, the next generation of scientists and engineers will need to be technically competent, effective communicators of science, and engaged advisors in the debate and formulation of science policy. We describe three science policy debates developed for the physics classroom aimed at encouraging students to draw connections between their developing technical expertise and important science policy issues. The first debate considers the proposal for a 450-megawatt wind farm on public lands in Nantucket Sound and fits naturally into the curriculum related to alternative forms of energy production. The second debate considers national fuel-economy standards for sport-utility vehicles and can be incorporated into the curriculum related to heat engines. The third debate, suitable for the curriculum in optics, considers solid state lighting and implications of recent United States legislation that places stringent new energy-efficiency and reliability requirements on conventional lighting. The technical foundation for each of these debates fits naturally into the undergraduate physics curriculum and the material is suitable for a wide range of physics courses, including general science courses for non-majors.

The Skills that Technical Communicators Need: An Investigation of Technical Communication Graduates, Managers, and Curricula

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whiteside, Aimee L.

2003-01-01

This study examines the skills that recent technical communication graduates and managers believe technical communication students need before entering business and industry as new technical communicators. Through questionnaires and interviews with recent graduates and managers of technical communication departments as well as an analysis of the…

Undergraduate Biotechnology Students' Views of Science Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edmondston, Joanne Elisabeth; Dawson, Vaille; Schibeci, Renato

2010-12-01

Despite rapid growth of the biotechnology industry worldwide, a number of public concerns about the application of biotechnology and its regulation remain. In response to these concerns, greater emphasis has been placed on promoting biotechnologists' public engagement. As tertiary science degree programmes form the foundation of the biotechnology sector by providing a pipeline of university graduates entering into the profession, it has been proposed that formal science communication training be introduced at this early stage of career development. The aim of the present study was to examine the views of biotechnology students towards science communication and science communication training. Using an Australian biotechnology degree programme as a case study, 69 undergraduates from all three years of the programme were administered a questionnaire that asked them to rank the importance of 12 components of a biotechnology curriculum, including two science communication items. The results were compared to the responses of 274 students enrolled in other science programmes. Additional questions were provided to the second year biotechnology undergraduates and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 13 of these students to further examine their views of this area. The results of this study suggest that the biotechnology students surveyed do not value communication with non-scientists nor science communication training. The implications of these findings for the reform of undergraduate biotechnology courses yet to integrate science communication training into their science curriculum are discussed.

Communicating Discovery-Based Research Results to the News: A Real-World Lesson in Science Communication for Undergraduate Students.

PubMed

Garcia, Julie Torruellas

2018-01-01

Communicating science effectively to the general public is a necessary skill that takes practice. Generally, undergraduate science majors are taught to communicate to other scientists but are not given formal training on how to communicate with a nonscientist. An opportunity to appear on a news segment can be used as a real-world lesson on science communication for your students. This article will describe how to contact a producer to get your class on a news segment, ideas for types of research that may be of interest to the media, and how to practice communicating the results effectively.

A Combination Course and Lab-Based Approach to Teaching Research Skills to Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danowitz, Amy M.; Brown, Ronald C.; Jones, Clinton D.; Diegelman-Parente, Amy; Taylor, Christopher E.

2016-01-01

Undergraduate research is an important capstone experience that provides students with the conceptual and technical aptitude for graduate or industrial research. However, this experience is often compressed into a single term in a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) or run by individual faculty members for select students on an…

GTA Self-Disclosure: Motivations for Sharing Private Information with Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webb, Nathan G.

2017-01-01

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are a pervasive presence in undergraduate education. Although GTAs are expected to successfully communicate course content to undergraduate students, they often are inexperienced and receive little training in pedagogy. Therefore, GTAs must learn effective communication behaviors in the classroom. This study…

Encouraging the learning of hydraulic engineering subjects in agricultural engineering schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez Sinobas, Leonor; Sánchez Calvo, Raúl

2014-09-01

Several methodological approaches to improve the understanding and motivation of students in Hydraulic Engineering courses have been adopted in the Agricultural Engineering School at Technical University of Madrid. During three years student's progress and satisfaction have been assessed by continuous monitoring and the use of 'online' and web tools in two undergraduate courses. Results from their application to encourage learning and communication skills in Hydraulic Engineering subjects are analysed and compared to the initial situation. Student's academic performance has improved since their application, but surveys made among students showed that not all the methodological proposals were perceived as beneficial. Their participation in the 'online', classroom and reading activities was low although they were well assessed.

Blended learning pedagogy designed for communication module among undergraduate nursing students: A quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Shorey, Shefaly; Kowitlawakul, Yanika; Devi, M Kamala; Chen, Hui-Chen; Soong, Swee Kit Alan; Ang, Emily

2018-02-01

Effective communication is important for nurse and patient outcomes. Nursing students often feel unprepared to communicate effectively with patients and other healthcare workers within the clinical environment. Blended learning pedagogy-based communication skills training can provide an alternative to traditional methods of teaching to enhance students' satisfaction and self-efficacy levels in communicating with others. To examine the effectiveness of blended learning pedagogy in a redesigned communication module among nursing undergraduates in enhancing their satisfaction levels and attitudes towards learning communication module as well as self-efficacy in communication. A single group pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design was adopted. Data were collected from August 2016 to November 2016 from 124 nursing undergraduates from a leading nursing school. Blended learning pedagogy was adopted to redesign a communication module that offered a wide array of learning opportunities via face-to-face classroom and online sessions. Validated and reliable instruments were used to measure satisfaction levels with blended learning pedagogy, attitudes towards learning communication, and communication self-efficacy. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Participants had enhanced satisfaction levels with blended learning pedagogy, better attitudes in learning communication skills, and improved communication self-efficacies at posttest (week 13 of the semester) when compared with their pre-test scores (week one of the semester). Participants scored higher in the Blended Learning Satisfaction Scale, the Communication Skills Attitude Scale, and the communication skills subscale of the Nursing Students Self-Efficacy Scale. Blended learning pedagogy can be effectively used in facilitating communication modules and enhancing student outcomes among nursing undergraduates. The long-term effectiveness of using blended learning pedagogy in facilitating communication modules should be evaluated from students' and patients' perspectives. Additionally, the technology should be constantly improved by incorporating more interactive functions and should be tested to accommodate the learners' needs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Learning by Helping? Undergraduate Communication Outcomes Associated with Training or Service-Learning Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, Jennifer; DuBois, Melinda; Wigderson, Sara

2014-01-01

This study investigated communication outcomes after training or applied service-learning experiences. Pre-practicum trainees learned active listening skills over 10 weeks. Practicum students were successful trainees who staffed a helpline. Community interns were trained and supervised at community agencies. Undergraduate students in psychology…

Grade/Study-Performance Contracts, Enhanced Communication, Cooperative Learning, and Student Performance in Undergraduate Organic Chemistry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dougherty, Ralph C.

1997-01-01

Describes and evaluates a teaching strategy, designed to increase student retention while maintaining academic performance levels in undergraduate organic chemistry, that uses grade/study-performance contracts, enhanced communication using electronic mail, and cooperative learning. Concludes that a series of interventions can substantially…

Communication Boot Camp: Discover the Speaker in You!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Binti Ali, Zuraidah; Binti Nor Azmi, Noor Hafiza; Phillip, Alicia; bin Mokhtar, Mohd Zin

2013-01-01

Learning can take place almost anywhere, and this is especially true for our undergraduates who wish to become public speakers. Besides university course and public speaking workshops on campus grounds, undergraduates are now looking for a different learning environment--communication boot camps!! This study presents a compilation of learners'…

Undergraduate basic surgical skills education: impact on attitudes to a career in surgery and surgical skills acquisition.

PubMed

McAnena, P F; O'Halloran, N; Moloney, B M; Courtney, D; Waldron, R M; Flaherty, G; Kerin, M J

2018-05-01

Basic surgical skills modules in medical education are effective in teaching skills and increasing confidence among students approaching surgery. However, these modules are not delivered universally and their effect on the professional development of graduates has not been established. We aimed to assess the impact of a 10-week basic surgical skills module on attitudes and technical skills of first year medical students compared to interns. Eighteen students participated and were assessed using a 4-part questionnaire. Technical skills were assessed by observing students perform a basic interrupted suture, using the objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) tool. Fourteen interns were recruited. Students were more confident in surgical scrubbing (mean score 4.0 vs. 2.86, p = 0.001), and performing a basic suture (4.05 vs. 1.93, p = 0.000), more enthusiastic about assisting with an operation (4.5 vs. 3.0, p = 0.001) and more likely to consider a career in surgery (4.16 vs. 2.28, p = 0.000). Technical skills were greater in the student group (mean score 30.8 vs. 19.6, p = 0.001). Five interns had taken part in surgical skills modules as undergraduates. Their technical skills were significantly higher compared to interns who had not (n = 9) (28.8 vs. 14.5, p = 0.006), and they were more likely to consider a career in surgery (3.6 vs. 1.5, p = 0.036). The introduction of surgical skills teaching to the undergraduate medical curriculum has a positive impact on students' attitudes towards surgery and accelerates basic technical skills development. Consideration should be given to development of a standardised undergraduate core curriculum in basic surgical skills teaching.

A Geoscience Workforce Model for Non-Geoscience and Non-Traditional STEM Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liou-Mark, J.; Blake, R.; Norouzi, H.; Vladutescu, D. V.; Yuen-Lau, L.

2016-12-01

The Summit on the Future of Geoscience Undergraduate Education has recently identified key professional skills, competencies, and conceptual understanding necessary in the development of undergraduate geoscience students (American Geosciences Institute, 2015). Through a comprehensive study involving a diverse range of the geoscience academic and employer community, the following professional scientist skills were rated highly important: 1) critical thinking/problem solving skills; 2) effective communication; 3) ability to access and integrate information; 4) strong quantitative skills; and 5) ability to work in interdisciplinary/cross cultural teams. Based on the findings of the study above, the New York City College of Technology (City Tech) has created a one-year intensive training program that focusses on the development of technical and non-technical geoscience skills for non-geoscience, non-traditional STEM students. Although City Tech does not offer geoscience degrees, the primary goal of the program is to create an unconventional pathway for under-represented minority STEM students to enter, participate, and compete in the geoscience workforce. The selected cohort of STEM students engage in year-round activities that include a geoscience course, enrichment training workshops, networking sessions, leadership development, research experiences, and summer internships at federal, local, and private geoscience facilities. These carefully designed programmatic elements provide both the geoscience knowledge and the non-technical professional skills that are essential for the geoscience workforce. Moreover, by executing this alternate, robust geoscience workforce model that attracts and prepares underrepresented minorities for geoscience careers, this unique pathway opens another corridor that helps to ameliorate the dire plight of the geoscience workforce shortage. This project is supported by NSF IUSE GEOPATH Grant # 1540721.

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of the Experiences of Female African American Undergraduate Engineering Students at a Predominantly White and an Historically Black Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frillman, Sharron Ann

2011-01-01

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of twelve female African Americans enrolled as fulltime undergraduate engineering students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an historically Black university, and seven female African Americans enrolled as undergraduate engineering students at Purdue University in…

Professional communication competences of physiotherapists -- practice and educational perspectives.

PubMed

Włoszczak-Szubzda, Anna; Jarosz, Mirosław J

2013-01-01

Dissonance between the high 'technical' competences of medical professionals, including physiotherapists, and the relatively low level of patient satisfaction with care received is a phenomenon observed in many countries. Many studies show that it occurs in the case of an inadequate interpersonal communication between medical professionals and patients. The primary goal of the presented research was evaluation of the level (study of the state) of communication competences of physiotherapists, and determination of the factors on which this level depends. An additional goal was analysis of the needs and educational possibilities within the existing models of education in the area of interpersonal communication provided by higher medical education institutions. The self-designed questionnaire and adjective check list were subject to standardization from the aspect of reliability and validity. Information available on the websites of 20 educational facilities in Poland were compared. The study group covered a total number of 115 respondents in the following subgroups: 1) occupationally-active physiotherapists who, as a rule, were not trained in interpersonal communication (35 respondents); students of physiotherapy covered by a standard educational programme (60 respondents); 3) students of physiotherapy who, in addition to a standard educational programme, attended extra courses in professional interpersonal communications (20 respondents). The results of studies indicate poor efficacy of shaping communication competences of physiotherapists based on education in the area of general psychology and general interpersonal communication. Communication competences acquired during undergraduate physiotherapy education are subject to regression during occupational activity. Methods of evaluating communication competences are useful in constructing group and individual programmes focused on specific communication competences, rather than on general communication skills.

[Educating Speech Graduates and Undergraduates for Careers Other Than Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Robert N., Ed.

1976-01-01

The theme of this issue of "The ACA Bulletin" is the education of speech undergraduates and graduates for careers other than teaching. Included in this issue are such articles as "Employment of Speach Communication Graduates: A Rewiew of Problems and Prospects" by Robert Hall; "Employer Images of Speech Communication Majors: A Question of…

From Data to Policy: An Undergraduate Program in Research and Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fuoco, Rebecca; Blum, Arlene; Peaslee, Graham F.

2012-01-01

To bridge the gap between science and policy, future scientists should receive training that incorporates policy implications into the design, analysis, and communication of research. We present a student Science and Policy course for undergraduate science majors piloted at the University of California, Berkeley in the summer of 2011. During this…

Social Media and Electronic Networking Use and Preferences among Undergraduate Turf Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bigelow, Cale A.; Kaminski, John E., III

2016-01-01

Most undergraduate students arrive on campus fluent in electronic communication methods and social media (SM). This cultural or communication shift presents both opportunities and challenges in pedagogy. Social media allows users to share and network with geographically diverse individuals and has the potential for engaging students both inside…

Effective collaborative learning in biomedical education using a web-based infrastructure.

PubMed

Wu, Yunfeng; Zheng, Fang; Cai, Suxian; Xiang, Ning; Zhong, Zhangting; He, Jia; Xu, Fang

2012-01-01

This paper presents a feature-rich web-based system used for biomedical education at the undergraduate level. With the powerful groupware features provided by the wiki system, the instructors are able to establish a community-centered mentoring environment that capitalizes on local expertise to create a sense of online collaborative learning among students. The web-based infrastructure can help the instructors effectively organize and coordinate student research projects, and the groupware features may support the interactive activities, such as interpersonal communications and data sharing. The groupware features also provide the web-based system with a wide range of additional ways of organizing collaboratively developed materials, which makes it become an effective tool for online active learning. Students are able to learn the ability to work effectively in teams, with an improvement of project management, design collaboration, and technical writing skills. With the fruitful outcomes in recent years, it is positively thought that the web-based collaborative learning environment can perform an excellent shift away from the conventional instructor-centered teaching to community- centered collaborative learning in the undergraduate education.

Little people, big lessons: an innovative strategy to develop interpersonal skills in undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Reid Searl, Kerry; McAllister, Margaret; Dwyer, Trudy; Krebs, Katrina Lane; Anderson, Carina; Quinney, Loretto; McLellan, Sandy

2014-09-01

Learning the skills of child health nursing requires more than technical skill development. Humanistic attributes such as being genuine, accepting and empathic are imperative in gaining the trust of a child and in helping them feel comforted and safe in a health care setting. Interpersonal theory has a long history in nursing and numerous contemporary theories have drawn on the seminal work of Peplau to advance nursing practice. However, rarely has this theory been applied to simulation learning. This paper reports on an innovative simulation technique that blends interpersonal theory with puppets. Qualitative evaluation using focus group method with fifteen undergraduate nursing students revealed that the pedagogy had a positive impact on characteristics of the learner, the learning process and on interpersonal communication skills development. The study deepened insights about the educative process and led to learning impacts that suggest that puppet-based learning is a powerful medium to bridge theory and practice, bringing the importance of interpersonal theory to life for students. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The composing process in technical communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Masse, R. E.

1981-01-01

The theory and application of the composing process in technical communications is addressed. The composing process of engineers, some implications for composing research for the teaching and research of technical communication, and an interpretation of the processes as creative experience are also discussed. Two areas of technical communications summarized concern: the rhetorical features of technical communications, and the theoretical background for a process-based view, a problem-solving approach to technical writing.

An Analytical Tool to Determine Undergraduate Students' Use of Volume and Pressure when Describing Expansion Work and Technical Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nilsson, Tor; Niedderer, Hans

2012-01-01

In undergraduate chemical thermodynamics teachers often include equations and view manipulations of variables as understanding. Undergraduate students are often not able to describe the meaning of these equations. In chemistry, enthalpy and its change are introduced to describe some features of chemical reactions. In the process of measuring heat…

How Can Mobile SMS Communication Support and Enhance a First Year Undergraduate Learning Environment?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Geraldine; Edwards, Gabriele; Reid, Alan

2009-01-01

In this paper we discuss a case study investigating how the academic and personal development of first year students on an undergraduate sports education degree can be supported and enhanced with mobile SMS (Short Message Service) communication. SMS-based technologies were introduced in response to students' particular needs (in transition to…

Competencies Needed in Oral Communication in English among Thai Undergraduate Public Relations Students: A Substantial Gap between Expectations and Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pattanapichet, Fasawang; Chinokul, Sumalee

2011-01-01

This article investigates the competencies needed for oral communication in English among Thai undergraduate public relations students for handling public relations job interviews and performing entry-level public relations work. To identify these competencies, the study identified and involved all of the stakeholders in the data reliability…

Undergraduate Taiwanese Students' Perceptions of Using Computer-Mediated Communication in a TOEIC Preparation Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tai, Shu-hui April

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate Taiwanese undergraduate students' perception of using computer-mediated communication (CMC) in a TOEIC preparation course and determine if using an online format motivates them to succeed. As a result, five factors are addressed in the study, namely, attitude, motivation, study habit, feedback, and…

An Investigation of the Use of Synchronous Text-Based Communication Technologies by Undergraduate University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Richard John

2012-01-01

This dissertation presents the results of an exploratory study which examined the use of synchronous text-based communication technologies (SMS texting and instant messaging) by undergraduate university students generally 18 to 24 years old. Preliminary focus groups were conducted in order to gain additional understanding of their usage of these…

Frazzled by Facebook? An Exploratory Study of Gender Differences in Social Network Communication among Undergraduate Men and Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Sharon H.; Lougheed, Eric

2012-01-01

Although a majority of young adults are members of at least one social networking site, peer reviewed research examining gender differences in social networking communication is sparse. This study examined gender differences in social networking, particularly for Facebook use, among undergraduates. A survey was distributed to 268 college students…

"Physiology in the News": Using Press Releases to Enhance Lay Communication and Introduce Current Physiology Research to Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Kevin L.; Poteracki, James M.; Steury, Michael D.; Wehrwein, Erica A.

2015-01-01

Michigan State University's senior-level undergraduate physiology capstone laboratory uses a simple exercise termed "Physiology in the News," to help students explore the current research within the field of physiology while also learning to communicate science in lay terms. "Physiology in the News" is an activity that charges…

Using Facebook to Enhance Independent Student Engagement: A Case Study of First-Year Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clements, Jeff C.

2015-01-01

A case study was conducted to assess the efficacy of online communication tools for enhancing independent student engagement in a first-year undergraduate class. Material relevant to course topics was shared with students through three communication platforms and data were extracted to measure student engagement. A questionnaire was also used to…

Hippocampal Modulation of Associative Learning

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-01

Improvement of Visual Communication and Its Impact on Spatial Learning. Third Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering and...baseline for these observations. PUBLICATIONS: Goldbogen, G., Lerman, Z., Morton, D. and Wallisky, M. An Investigation of the Improvement of Visual ... Communication and Its Impact on Spatial Learning. Third Annual Argonne Symposium for Undergraduates in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (Submitted

Co-Curricular Connections: The Role of Undergraduate Research Experiences in Promoting Engineering Students' Communication, Teamwork, and Leadership Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Deborah Faye; Ro, Hyun Kyoung; Alcott, Benjamin; Lattuca, Lisa R.

2016-01-01

This study examined the impact of undergraduate research (UR) in engineering, focusing on three particular learning outcomes: communication, teamwork, and leadership. The study included 5126 students across 31 colleges of engineering. The authors employed propensity score matching method to address the selection bias for selection into (and…

Technical Writing across the Curriculum: Epics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olds, Barbara M.

Noting that technically competent graduates of professional schools need additional skills to function effectively in an increasingly complex and global society, this paper describes an innovative program in technical writing developed for undergraduate engineering students at the Colorado School of Mines. The paper first provides background…

The impact of expert- and peer feedback on communication skills of undergraduate dental students - a single-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

Krause, Felix; Schmalz, Gerhard; Haak, Rainer; Rockenbauch, Katrin

2017-12-01

To evaluate the effect of peer- and expert feedback on communication skills of undergraduate dental students. All students of the first clinical treatment course (n=46) were randomly assigned into two groups. For three times a medical-dental interview/consultation of each student with a real patient was videotaped. After every consultation the videos were assessed either by a person experienced in communication (expert group) or by a fellow student (peer group), giving the students feedback regarding their chairside performed communication skills. Before and after the feedback-interventions all students conducted an interview with simulated patients, which was rated using a validated global rating and analyzed statistically. Global ratings mean scores after feedback-intervention were significantly improved (p<0.05). Thereby, no significant differences in the overall assessment could be observed between expert and peer feedback (p>0.05). During this study students improved their communication skills in dentist-patient interactions. The communication experience of the feedback provider seems not to have any impact on the communication skills in undergraduate dental students. The clinical courses in dentistry offer the opportunity to implement peer-feedback interventions in real treatment situation as part of communication training to longitudinally improve communication skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

32 CFR 65.6 - Procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) This includes graduate and undergraduate training, and some vocational/technical training programs. DVA is the final authority on program eligibility. (vii) Individuals may...-State undergraduate tuition and fees at a public institution of higher learning (tuition and fees paid...

32 CFR 65.6 - Procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) This includes graduate and undergraduate training, and some vocational/technical training programs. DVA is the final authority on program eligibility. (vii) Individuals may...-State undergraduate tuition and fees at a public institution of higher learning (tuition and fees paid...

32 CFR 65.6 - Procedures.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Institution of Higher Learning (IHL) This includes graduate and undergraduate training, and some vocational/technical training programs. DVA is the final authority on program eligibility. (vii) Individuals may...-State undergraduate tuition and fees at a public institution of higher learning (tuition and fees paid...

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 25: The impact of language and culture on technical communication in Japan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kohl, John R.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Keene, Michael L.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

One of the most significant developments in the field of technical communication during the 1980's and 1990's has been a growing interest in international technical communication, including technical communication in Japan. This article provides insights into aspects of the Japanese language and culture that affect Japanese technical communication practices. These insights are then used to interpret and report the results of a survey of Japanese aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the kinds of communication products they produce, the kinds they use, and the specific recommendation they would offer to designers of academic programs in technical communication.

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. XXV - The impact of language and culture on technical communication in Japan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kohl, John R.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Keene, Michael L.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

One of the most significant developments in the field of technical communication during the 1980s and 1990s has been a growing interest in international technical communication, including technical communication in Japan. This article provides insights into aspects of the Japanese language and culture that affect Japanese technical communication practices. The authors then use these insights to interpret and report the results of a survey of Japanese aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the kinds of communication products they produce, the kinds they use, and the specific recommendations they would offer to designers of academic programs in technical communication.

Intimate examination teaching with volunteers: implementation and assessment at the University of Antwerp.

PubMed

Hendrickx, Kristin; De Winter, Benedicte Y; Wyndaele, Jean-Jacques; Tjalma, Wiebren A A; Debaene, Luc; Selleslags, Bert; Mast, Frieda; Buytaert, Philippe; Bossaert, Leo

2006-10-01

Teaching intimate physical examinations in medical schools generates practical, didactical and ethical problems. At the University of Antwerp, a unique program with intimate examination assistants (IEA) was implemented for fifth year's undergraduate students. They learn gynaecological and urological skills in healthy volunteers. Technical, communicative and attitude aspects are taken into account. Description of the implementation of the project. Assessment of the project by questionnaires, written reflections and round table conferences. The results provide detailed information about the student's perceptions of each component of the program as well as the perceptions of the IEA's and the teachers. The multilevel evaluation of the program supports the surplus value of working with IEA's in medical education. The eye-catcher in this program is the integration of clinical skills with communicative skills and attention for students' attitude. Working with IEA's for intimate examinations represents a benefit in medical education by lowering the student's threshold to perform the intimate physical examination on both men and women during their fulltime clerkships.

Sample Undergraduate Linguistics Courses. Linguistics in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Appendix 5.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linguistic Society of America, Washington, DC.

Thirty-six nontraditional undergraduate courses in linguistics are described. Course topics include: animal communication, bilingualism, sociolinguistics, introductory linguistics, language and formal reasoning, language and human conflict, language and power, language and sex, language and the brain, language planning, language typology and…

Beliefs and Uses of Tagging among Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kramer-Duffield, Jacob

2010-01-01

Context: This dissertation examines beliefs and uses regarding tagging among current undergraduate students, and examines the ecology of communications practice and implications for formation and maintenance of identity within the population. Currently enrolled undergraduate students at UNC-Chapel Hill formed the population for examination. …

Teaching Scientists to Communicate: Evidence-based assessment for undergraduate science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercer-Mapstone, Lucy; Kuchel, Louise

2015-07-01

Communication skills are one of five nationally recognised learning outcomes for an Australian Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. Previous evidence indicates that communication skills taught in Australian undergraduate science degrees are not developed sufficiently to meet the requirements of the modern-day workplace-a problem faced in the UK and USA also. Curriculum development in this area, however, hinges on first evaluating how communication skills are taught currently as a base from which to make effective changes. This study aimed to quantify the current standard of communication education within BSc degrees at Australian research-intensive universities. A detailed evidential baseline for not only what but also how communication skills are being taught was established. We quantified which communication skills were taught and assessed explicitly, implicitly, or were absent in a range of undergraduate science assessment tasks (n = 35) from four research-intensive Australian universities. Results indicate that 10 of the 12 core science communication skills used for evaluation were absent from more than 50% of assessment tasks and 77.14% of all assessment tasks taught less than 5 core communication skills explicitly. The design of assessment tasks significantly affected whether communication skills were taught explicitly. Prominent trends were that communication skills in tasks aimed at non-scientific audiences were taught more explicitly than in tasks aimed at scientific audiences, and the majority of group and multimedia tasks taught communication elements more explicitly than individual, or written and oral tasks. Implications for science communication in the BSc and further research are discussed.

Information and Communication Technologies Used by Undergraduate Students in their Academic and Socialization Activities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrera-Batista, Miguel A.; Gonzalez-Martinez, Maria Dolores

2008-01-01

The growth of availability and access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in higher education in Mexico is a fact. Nevertheless, not much is known about how students use these resources in their school and social activities. A survey to obtain information about how undergraduates use web resources and cell phones was designed and…

A 10-Year Assessment of Information and Communication Technology Tasks Required in Undergraduate Agriculture Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgar, Leslie D.; Johnson, Donald M.; Cox, Casandra

2012-01-01

This study sought to assess required information and communication technology (ICT) tasks in selected undergraduate agriculture courses in a land-grant university during a 10-year period. Selected agriculture faculty members in the fall 1999 (n = 63), 2004 (n = 55), and 2009 (n = 64) semesters were surveyed to determine the ICT tasks they required…

The Rhetoric of Mock Trial Debate: Using Logos, Pathos and Ethos in Undergraduate Competition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walker, Felicia R.

2005-01-01

While engaging in learning about roles of evidence, rules of procedure and case law, undergraduate mock trial students must also learn how to effectively communicate their evidence to the fact-finder. In mock trial, as in real courtroom trials in the United States legal system, communication skills and the ability to persuade are essential. This…

Science Café Course: An Innovative Means of Improving Communication Skills of Undergraduate Biology Majors

PubMed Central

Goldina, Anna; Weeks, Ophelia I.

2014-01-01

To help bridge the increasing gap between scientists and the public, we developed an innovative two-semester course called Science Café. In this course, undergraduate biology majors learn to develop communication skills to be better able to explain science concepts and current developments in science to non-scientists. Students develop and host outreach events on various topics relevant to the community, thereby increasing interactions between budding scientists and the public. Such a Science Café course emphasizes development of science communication skills early, at the undergraduate level, and empowers students to use their science knowledge in everyday interactions with the public to increase science literacy, get involved in the local community and engage the public in a dialogue on various pressing science issues. We believe that undergraduate science majors can be great ambassadors for science and are often overlooked since many aspire to go on to medical/veterinary/pharmacy schools. However, science communication skills are especially important for these types of students because when they become healthcare professionals, they will interact with the public as part of their everyday jobs and can thus be great representatives for the field. PMID:24839510

Science café course: an innovative means of improving communication skills of undergraduate biology majors.

PubMed

Goldina, Anna; Weeks, Ophelia I

2014-05-01

To help bridge the increasing gap between scientists and the public, we developed an innovative two-semester course called Science Café. In this course, undergraduate biology majors learn to develop communication skills to be better able to explain science concepts and current developments in science to non-scientists. Students develop and host outreach events on various topics relevant to the community, thereby increasing interactions between budding scientists and the public. Such a Science Café course emphasizes development of science communication skills early, at the undergraduate level, and empowers students to use their science knowledge in everyday interactions with the public to increase science literacy, get involved in the local community and engage the public in a dialogue on various pressing science issues. We believe that undergraduate science majors can be great ambassadors for science and are often overlooked since many aspire to go on to medical/veterinary/pharmacy schools. However, science communication skills are especially important for these types of students because when they become healthcare professionals, they will interact with the public as part of their everyday jobs and can thus be great representatives for the field.

Getting Personal: Individuality, Innovation, and Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steiner, Carol J.

1999-01-01

Suggests that effective communication between technical and nontechnical people is difficult because technical communication lacks a personal dimension: technical people give up their identity to be considered competent. Argues that a different approach to communication education for scientists, engineers, and technologists is required to equip…

Technical Communication, Knowledge Management, and XML.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Applen, J. D.

2002-01-01

Describes how technical communicators can become involved in knowledge management. Examines how technical communicators can teach organizations to design, access, and contribute to databases; alert them to new information; and facilitate trust and sharing. Concludes that successful technical communicators would do well to establish a culture that…

Legitimizing Technical Communication in English Departments: Carolyn Miller's "Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Patrick

2006-01-01

Carolyn Miller's oft-cited "Humanistic Rationale for Technical Writing," published in 1979, tries to give technical communication faculty more cultural capital in English departments controlled by literature professors. Miller replaces a positivistic emphasis in technical communication pedagogy with rhetoric. She shows how technical knowledge is…

A Prototype Two-tier Mentoring Program for Undergraduate Summer Interns from Minority-Serving Institutions at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gens, R.; Prakash, A.; Ozbay, G.; Sriharan, S.; Balazs, M. S.; Chittambakkam, A.; Starkenburg, D. P.; Waigl, C.; Cook, S.; Ferguson, A.; Foster, K.; Jones, E.; Kluge, A.; Stilson, K.

2013-12-01

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is partnering with Delaware State University, Virginia State University, Elizabeth City State University, Bethune-Cookman University, and Morgan State University on a U.S. Department of Agriculture - National Institute for Food and Agriculture funded grant for ';Enhancing Geographic Information System Education and Delivery through Collaboration: Curricula Design, Faculty, Staff, and Student Training and Development, and Extension Services'. As a part of this grant, in summer 2013, UAF hosted a week long workshop followed by an intense two week undergraduate internship program. Six undergraduate students from partnering Universities worked with UAF graduate students as their direct mentors. This cohort of undergraduate mentees and graduate student mentors were in-turn counseled by the two UAF principal investigators who served as ';super-mentors'. The role of each person in the two-tier mentoring system was well defined. The super-mentors ensured that there was consistency in the way the internship was setup and resources were allocated. They also ensured that there were no technical glitches in the research projects and that there was healthy communication and interaction among participants. Mentors worked with the mentees ahead of time in outlining a project that aligned with the mentees research interest, provided basic reading material to the interns to get oriented, prepared the datasets required to start the project, and guided the undergraduates throughout the internship. Undergraduates gained hands-on experience in geospatial data collection and application of tools in their projects related to mapping geomorphology, landcover, geothermal sites, fires, and meteorological conditions. Further, they shared their research results and experiences with a broad university-wide audience at the end of the internship period. All participants met at lunch-time for a daily science talk from external speakers. The program offered a rich and gratifying experience for all participants. Undergraduate students got a sneak-peek into a career in higher academia before stepping into graduate school. Graduate students gained mentoring experience, and also learned the importance of good time management and setting clear expectations.

Building Currency: Crafting New Channels for Undergraduate Communication Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Vickie Shamp; Barbe, Kaylene; Fullbright, Kalyn G.

2016-01-01

University professional development funds, generally present for faculty, and often available for graduate students through grants or stipends, are seldom available to undergraduates. In this study, we assessed Giddens and Pierson's (1998) structuration theory in terms of how a professional development fund for undergraduates can impact the lives…

Computer-Mediated Communication: Decisionmaking and Informal Interaction.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-15

the context of a project called the Computer-Administered Panel Study L (CAPS). Respondents in the project were 96 UNC undergraduate students . The...project consisted of the administration of over 100 questionnaires and experimental units to this panel of undergraduates who reported to weekly sessions...humanely (eg., are more likely to ignore or insult) via the more distant media. Audio-only communications are more likely to be depersonalized

The Role of the Electronic Portfolio in Enhancing Information and Communication Technology and English Language Skills: The Voices of Six Malaysian Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thang, Siew Ming; Lee, Yit Sim; Zulkifli, Nurul Farhana

2012-01-01

This study investigated the effects of the construction and development of electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) on a small user population at a public university in Malaysia. The study was based on a three-month Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and language learning course offered to the undergraduates of the university. One of the…

More than a Picture: Helping Undergraduates Learn to Communicate through Scientific Images

PubMed Central

Watson, Fiona L.

2008-01-01

Images are powerful means of communicating scientific results; a strong image can underscore an experimental result more effectively than any words, whereas a poor image can readily undermine a result or conclusion. Developmental biologists rely extensively on images to compare normal versus abnormal development and communicate their results. Most undergraduate lab science courses do not actively teach students skills to communicate effectively through images. To meet this need, we developed a series of image portfolio assignments and imaging workshops in our Developmental Biology course to encourage students to develop communication skills using images. The improvements in their images over the course of the semester were striking, and on anonymous course evaluations, 73% of students listed imaging skills as the most important skill or concept they learned in the course. The image literacy skills acquired through simple lab assignments and in-class workshops appeared to stimulate confidence in the student's own evaluations of current scientific literature to assess research conclusions. In this essay, we discuss our experiences and methodology teaching undergraduates the basic criteria involved in generating images that communicate scientific content and provide a road map for integrating this curriculum into any upper-level biology laboratory course. PMID:18316805

The Contemporary Relevance of Communication Research: Using "Communication Currents" in the Communication Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldeck, Jennifer H.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this report is to describe a rationale and strategies for use of the National Communication Association's online magazine, "Communication Currents", in the undergraduate communication curriculum. "Communication Currents" features essays that translate current scholarship published in NCA journals, making the research "understandable…

Achieving Graduate Employability through Consensus in the South Pacific Island Nation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhanugopan, Ramudu; Fish, Alan

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to recognise the important technical and business skills and personal attributes necessary to support the "employability" of undergraduate business students. Design/methodology/approach: Senior-level undergraduate business students and employers were surveyed regarding their perceptions on the…

Learning Computing Topics in Undergraduate Information Systems Courses: Managing Perceived Difficulty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wall, Jeffrey D.; Knapp, Janice

2014-01-01

Learning technical computing skills is increasingly important in our technology driven society. However, learning technical skills in information systems (IS) courses can be difficult. More than 20 percent of students in some technical courses may dropout or fail. Unfortunately, little is known about students' perceptions of the difficulty of…

Anxiety about anxiety in medical undergraduates.

PubMed

Dennis, Ashley; Warren, Rob; Neville, Fergus; Laidlaw, Anita; Ozakinci, Gozde

2012-10-01

Effective communication with patients is a vital ability for a doctor, and therefore training in communication skills forms an important component of the undergraduate medical curriculum. However, some medical undergraduates experience anxiety in communicating with patients and this makes it difficult for them to communicate with patients effectively. We developed workshops to equip students with skills to reduce communication-related anxiety, but turnout was low and only female students participated. This study investigated the barriers that existed to workshop participation in order to inform the development of future workshops. Semi-structured interviews with medical students who were completing their pre-clinical training (n = 16) were carried out. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. Participants recognised symptoms of anxiety, and some reported experiencing it when speaking with patients. Participants acknowledged that the workshops would be useful to some students. Labelling the workshops as dealing with 'anxiety' contributed to non-participation, as students perceived their attendance as potentially showing weakness to fellow students and to medical school staff. Our findings indicated that the stigma attached to seeking guidance for communication-related anxiety is exacerbated for male students and by the competitive medical school environment. Attitudes towards 'anxiety' and experiencing anxiety can act as a barrier towards seeking support for communication-related anxiety. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012.

The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sánchez, Fernando

2017-01-01

Design has come to be understood as an essential aspect of the work that technical communicators claim. As a result, research in the field of technical communication has approached studies of design in numerous ways. This article showcases how technical communication researchers assume the roles of observers, testers, critics, creators, and…

An Interdisciplinary Program in Technical Communications: Problems Encountered.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eckman, Martha

The need for experts in technical communication is growing significantly while the number of college graduates in the field accounts for less than one percent of the need. Three major types of problems should be considered in trying to establish a technical communication program: those involving society's need for better technical communicators,…

Gender Issues in Technical Communication Studies: An Overview of the Implications for the Profession, Research, and Pedagogy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Jo

1991-01-01

Presents an overview of research and unanswered questions related to gender issues in technical communication. Addresses the consequences of the feminization of technical communication, research on gender differences in technical communication, and the means for encouraging a more gender-balanced view of business and industry. (SR)

Technical quality of root canal treatment of posterior teeth after rotary or hand preparation by fifth year undergraduate students, The University of Jordan.

PubMed

Abu-Tahun, Ibrahim; Al-Rabab'ah, Mohammad A; Hammad, Mohammad; Khraisat, Ameen

2014-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the technical quality of root canal treatment provided by the undergraduate students as their first experience in molar endodontics using nickel-titanium (NiTi) files in a crown-down approach compared with stainless steel standard technique. This study was carried out by the fifth year undergraduate students attending peer review sessions as a part of their training programme, using two different questionnaires to assess the overall technical quality and potential problems regarding endodontic complications after root canal preparation with these two techniques. The overall results indicated a statistically significant difference in the performance of the two instrument techniques in difficult cases showing better performance of the NiTi system and mean rotary preparation time (P < 0.001). Under the conditions of this study, novice dental students, using NiTi ProTaper rotary files, were able to prepare root canals faster with more preparation accuracy compared with canals of same teeth prepared with hand instruments. © 2014 Australian Society of Endodontology.

Impact of Undergraduate Research on Academic Performance, Educational Planning, and Career Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kinkel, Doreen H.; Henke, Scott E.

2006-01-01

An undergraduate research mentoring program (URMP), initiated at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, was developed (1) to aid undergraduate wildlife students in the design, conduct, and analysis of original research projects; and (2) to encourage students to become effective written and oral communicators by preparing a manuscript of their…

On the Integration of Remote Experimentation into Undergraduate Laboratories-Technical Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esche, Sven K.

2006-01-01

This article presents how Stevens Institute of Technology (SIT) has adopted an Internet-based approach to implement its undergraduate student laboratories. The approach allowed student interaction with the experimental devices from remote locations at any time. Furthermore, it enabled instructors to include demonstrations of sophisticated…

Guide to Selected Federal Assistance Programs for Undergraduate Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stedman, Jim; Scott, Marcia

Information is provided on 14 federal programs providing financial assistance to undergraduate students in universities, colleges, and vocational/technical schools. The programs provide three different types of assistance: grants (or scholarships), loans, and job earnings. Grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, but loans do. Some of the…

Determining the Anxiety Sensitivity Bases of Anxiety: A Study with Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erozkan, Atilgan

2017-01-01

This study aims to examine the relationships between subdimensions of anxiety sensitivity and anxiety. The participants in the study were 841 undergraduate students (411 females; 430 males) randomly selected from three different faculties--Faculties of Technical Education, Education, and Sport Sciences--at Mugla Sitki Kocman University. Data…

Educational Experiences of Embry-Riddle Students through NASA Research Collaboration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlee, Keith; Chatman, Yadira; Ristow, James; Gangadharan, Sathya; Sudermann, James; Walker, Charles

2007-01-01

NASA's educational programs benefit students while increasing the overall productivity of the organization. The NASA Graduate Student Research Program (GSRP) awards fellowships for graduate study leading to both masters and doctoral degrees in several technical fields, while the Cooperative Education program allows undergraduate and graduate students the chance to gain work experience in the field. The Mission Analysis Branch of the Expendable Launch Vehicles Division at NASA Kennedy Space Center has utilized these two programs with students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to conduct research in modeling and developing a parameter estimation method for spacecraft fuel slosh using simple pendulum analogs. Simple pendulum models are used to understand complicated spacecraft fuel slosh behavior. A robust parameter estimation process will help to identiFy the parameters that will predict the response fairly accurately during the initial stages of design. NASA's Cooperative Education Program trains the next wave of new hires while allowing graduate and undergraduate college students to gain valuable "real-world" work experience. It gives NASA a no risk capability to evaluate the true performance of a prospective new hire without relying solely on a paper resume, while providing the students with a greater hiring potential upon graduation, at NASA or elsewhere. In addition, graduate students serve as mentors for undergrad students and provide a unique learning environment. Providing students with a unique opportunity to work on "real-world" aerospace problems ultimately reinforces their problem solving abilities and their communication skills (in terms of interviewing, resume writing, technical writing, presentation, and peer review) that are vital for the workforce to succeed.

Translating medical documents into plain language enhances communication skills in medical students--A pilot study.

PubMed

Bittner, Anja; Jonietz, Ansgar; Bittner, Johannes; Beickert, Luise; Harendza, Sigrid

2015-09-01

To train and assess undergraduate medical students' written communication skills by exercises in translating medical reports into plain language for real patients. 27 medical students participated in a newly developed communication course. They attended a 3-h seminar including a briefing on patient-centered communication and an introduction to working with the internet platform http://washabich.de. In the following ten weeks, participants "translated" one medical report every fortnight on this platform receiving feedback by a near-peer supervisor. A pre- and post-course assignment consisted of a self-assessment questionnaire on communication skills, analysis of a medical text with respect to medical jargon, and the translation of a medical report into plain language. In the self-assessment, students rated themselves in most aspects of patient-centered communication significantly higher after attending the course. After the course they marked significantly more medical jargon terms correctly than before (p<0.001). In a written plain language translation of a medical report they scored significantly higher with respect to communicative aspects (p<0.05) and medical correctness (p<0.001). Translating medical reports into plain language under near-peer supervision is associated with improved communication skills and medical knowledge in undergraduate medical students. To include translation exercises in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Technical Communicator as Advocate: Integrating a Social Justice Approach in Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Natasha N.

2016-01-01

This article argues for the need for a social justice approach to technical communication research and pedagogy. Given previous calls by scholars in technical and professional communication (TPC) for an attention to diversity, inclusion, and equality, the author examines the place and purpose of social justice in TPC and provides useful approaches…

"On the job" learning: A bioinformatics course incorporating undergraduates in actual research projects and manuscript submissions.

PubMed

Smith, Jason T; Harris, Justine C; Lopez, Oscar J; Valverde, Laura; Borchert, Glen M

2015-01-01

The sequencing of whole genomes and the analysis of genetic information continues to fundamentally change biological and medical research. Unfortunately, the people best suited to interpret this data (biologically trained researchers) are commonly discouraged by their own perceived computational limitations. To address this, we developed a course to help alleviate this constraint. Remarkably, in addition to equipping our undergraduates with an informatic toolset, we found our course design helped prepare our students for collaborative research careers in unexpected ways. Instead of simply offering a traditional lecture- or laboratory-based course, we chose a guided inquiry method, where an instructor-selected research question is examined by students in a collaborative analysis with students contributing to experimental design, data collection, and manuscript reporting. While students learn the skills needed to conduct bioinformatic research throughout all sections of the course, importantly, students also gain experience in working as a team and develop important communication skills through working with their partner and the class as a whole, and by contributing to an original research article. Remarkably, in its first three semesters, this novel computational genetics course has generated 45 undergraduate authorships across three peer-reviewed articles. More importantly, the students that took this course acquired a positive research experience, newfound informatics technical proficiency, unprecedented familiarity with manuscript preparation, and an earned sense of achievement. Although this course deals with analyses of genetic systems, we suggest the basic concept of integrating actual research projects into a 16-week undergraduate course could be applied to numerous other research-active academic fields. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Oral Communication Apprehension among International Doctoral Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amiri, Fatemeh; Puteh, Marlia

2018-01-01

Communication apprehension has been identified as a major factor which inhibits an individual's willingness to communicate and his/her ability to develop effective communication skills. While many prior studies have investigated oral communication apprehension among undergraduate students, there has been little research exploring this phenomenon…

Incorporating current research into formal higher education settings using Astrobites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Nathan E.; Kohler, Susanna; Faesi, Chris; Villar, Ashley; Zevin, Michael

2017-10-01

A primary goal of many undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in the physical sciences is to prepare students to engage in scientific research or to prepare students for careers that leverage skillsets similar to those used by research scientists. Even for students who may not intend to pursue a career with these characteristics, exposure to the context of applications in modern research can be a valuable tool for teaching and learning. However, a persistent barrier to student participation in research is familiarity with the technical language, format, and context that academic researchers use to communicate research methods and findings with each other: the literature of the field. Astrobites, an online web resource authored by graduate students, has published brief and accessible summaries of more than 1300 articles from the astrophysical literature since its founding in 2010. This article presents three methods for introducing students at all levels within the formal higher education setting to approaches and results from modern research. For each method, we provide a sample lesson plan that integrates content and principles from Astrobites, including step-by-step instructions for instructors, suggestions for adapting the lesson to different class levels across the undergraduate and graduate spectrum, sample student handouts, and a grading rubric.

Children's Literature in the Undergraduate Course on Communication Research Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Daniel S.

2010-01-01

Objective: Students will develop positive attitudes toward communication research by linking new values and principles with the familiar values and principles contained in children's literature. Course: Communication Research Methods.

Students' Strengths and Weaknesses in Evaluating Technical Arguments as Revealed through Implementing Calibrated Peer Review™ in a Bioengineering Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volz, Tracy; Saterbak, Ann

2009-01-01

In engineering fields, students are expected to construct technical arguments that demonstrate a discipline's expected use of logic, evidence, and conventions. Many undergraduate bioengineering students struggle to enact the appropriate argument structures when they produce technical posters. To address this problem we implemented Calibrated Peer…

Exploring Embedded Remediation for Community College Career Technical Education Pathways: Promising Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Donna Walters

2014-01-01

Public community colleges enroll nearly half of all undergraduate students in the United States and many of these students are enrolled in 1- and 2-year Career and Technical Education programs. Employers have indicated that colleges should place more emphasis on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. Career Technical Education can address…

Poster Presentations in Undergraduate Education and at Professional Meetings.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-01

AD-Ri34 684 POSTER PRESENTATIONS IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND fiT i/i PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS(U) AIR FORCE ACADEMY CO J T WIEBB ET AL- OCT 83 USAFA...USAFA-TR 83-17 4. TITLE (and Subtitle) S TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED POSTER PRESENTATIONS IN UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION AND AT PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS...19 r.EY WORDS (Continue on reverse side if necessary and Identify by block number) Poster , USAFA, technical writing, education 20 ABSTRACT (Continue on

The Organizational Communication Consulting Spectrum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tubbs, Stewart L.; Widgery, Robin N.

Surveys of business managers provide evidence that organizations need help in developing employee communication competencies. Recognizing this need, the speech profession has begun to show an increasing interest in developing both undergraduate and graduate courses in organizational communication. The need for developing communication skills…

Views of Malaysian interns and their supervisors on the adequacy of undergraduate clinical skills training.

PubMed

Chan, S C

2012-03-01

This study aimed to determine the views of Malaysian interns and their supervisors on whether undergraduate clinical skills training adequately equipped them for internship and their suggestions for improvement. Pre-tested questionnaires covering demographic characteristics, the participants' views on clinical skills training (communication, history taking, physical examination, diagnosis, patient management and procedures) and their suggestions for improvement were sent to all interns and their supervisors through the hospital directors. Data compiled was analysed to determine any significant association. Out of the 32 hospitals with interns, 22 participated in the study. 521 completed questionnaires (350 interns, 171 supervisors) were analysed. The majority of interns felt that their undergraduate clinical skills training was adequate in all the aspects studied. The majority of supervisors, however, felt that it was grossly inadequate to poor in the areas of communication: breaking bad news (77% supervisors versus 13% interns), dealing with angry patients (75% versus 20%), giving information (59% versus 3%), communicating with patients' families (53% versus 7%); adult resuscitation: intubation (72% versus 23%), defibrillation (77% versus 31%), use of drugs (62% versus 19%); and all aspects of child resuscitation. This was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Suggestions for improvement included more clinical exposure, communication skills workshop and monitoring of logbooks. This study suggests that there are deficiencies, particularly in communication and resuscitation skills training, in undergraduate clinical skills training. In-depth studies are required to identify ways to improve training.

The Great Instauration: Restoring Professional and Technical Writing to the Humanities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Renzo, Anthony

2002-01-01

Gathers some of Sir Francis Bacon's educational ideas from his various writings and applies them to the five stages of undergraduate professional and technical writing program development: planning, implementation, mission, design and development, staffing, and administration. (SG)

What Do We Learn about Technical Communication in Hungary through My Students and My Hungarian Colleagues: An Initial Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ding, Daniel D.

2018-01-01

Very few articles exist that document technical communication in Hungary. My Fulbright research reveals two general points: First, technical communication pedagogy stresses correct use of professional terms and phrases in technical translations or technical articles for fictional audiences. Second, it does not emphasize the importance of…

What You Should Get from a Professionally Oriented Master's Degree Program in Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carliner, Saul

1992-01-01

Cites reasons for pursuing a curriculum in technical communication, lists objectives a program should achieve, and outlines a four-part program that includes theory, professional skills, technical proficiency, and an internship. Lists schools offering programs in technical communication. (SR)

Resident physicians' attitudes and confidence in communicating with patients: a pilot study at a Japanese university hospital.

PubMed

Ishikawa, Hirono; Eto, Masato; Kitamura, Kiyoshi; Kiuchi, Takahiro

2014-09-01

This study aimed to explore the relationships among physicians' confidence in conducting medical interviews, their attitudes toward the patient-physician relationship, and undergraduate training in communication skills among resident physicians in Japan. Participants were 63 first-year resident physicians at a university hospital in Tokyo. The Physician Confidence in the Medical Interview scale (PCMI) was constructed based on the framework of the Calgary-Cambridge Guide. Additionally, participants' attitudes toward the patient-physician relationship (Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale; PPOS), undergraduate experience of communication skills training, and demographic characteristics were assessed through a self-reported questionnaire. The internal consistency of the PCMI and PPOS scales were adequate. As expected from the undergraduate curriculum for medical interviews in Japan, residents had relatively higher confidence in their communication skills with respect to gathering information and building the relationship, whereas less confident about sharing information and planning treatment. The PCMI was associated with a more patient-centered attitude as measured by the PPOS. These scales could be useful tools to measure physicians' confidence and attitudes in communicating with patients and to explore their changes through medical education. Residency programs should consider including systematic training and assessment in communication skills related to sharing information and planning treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changing the Scholarly Sources Landscape with Geomorphology Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackburn, Heidi; Dere, Ashlee

2016-01-01

Science is a core discipline in academia yet the focus of most undergraduate technical writing is generally on the data and results, not the literature review. The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) librarian and a new geology professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) collaborated to develop an information literacy…

Non-Technical Skills in Undergraduate Degrees in Business: Development and Transfer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Denise; Hancock, Phil

2010-01-01

The development of discipline-specific skills and knowledge is no longer considered sufficient in graduates of Bachelor level degrees in Business. Higher education providers are becoming increasingly responsible for the development of a generic skill set deemed essential in undergraduates. This required skill set comprises a broad range of…

Enhancing Teaching and Learning Wi-Fi Networking Using Limited Resources to Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sarkar, Nurul I.

2013-01-01

Motivating students to learn Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) wireless networking to undergraduate students is often difficult because many students find the subject rather technical and abstract when presented in traditional lecture format. This paper focuses on the teaching and learning aspects of Wi-Fi networking using limited hardware resources. It…

The Difficulties That the Undergraduate Students Face about Inner Product Space

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burhanzade, Hülya; Aygör, Nilgün

2016-01-01

In this qualitative research, we studied difficulties that undergraduate students face while learning the concept of inner product space. Participants were 35 first-year mathematics students from Yildiz Technical University in the 2011 and 2012 academic years. We asked participants to solve 5 inner product space questions. Data were jointly…

Graduate Employability and Communication Competence: Are Undergraduates Taught Relevant Skills?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clokie, Trish L.; Fourie, Elna

2016-01-01

This research establishes the role of communication education in employability by determining how employers of graduates view communication, identifying communication skills that employers view as relevant, and establishing whether these skills are included in communication courses. To achieve these aims, local businesses were surveyed, and the…

Perspectives of Science Communication Training Held by Lecturers of Biotechnology and Science Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmondston, Joanne; Dawson, Vaille

2014-01-01

Science communication training for undergraduate science students has been recommended to improve future scientists' ability to constructively engage with the public. This study examined biotechnology lecturers' and science communication lecturers' views of science communication training and its possible inclusion in a biotechnology degree course…

Communication, Communication, Communication! Growth through Laboratory Instructing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Jamie J.; DeAngelo, Samantha; Mack, Nancy; Thompson, Claudia; Cooper, Jennifer; Sesma, Arturo, Jr.

2014-01-01

This study examined gains undergraduate students made in their communication and collaboration skills when they served as peer teachers, i.e., laboratory instructors (LIs), for a General Psychology laboratory. Self-ratings of communication and collaboration skills were completed before and after teaching the laboratory. When compared to before the…

Experiences of nursing undergraduates on a redesigned blended communication module: A descriptive qualitative study.

PubMed

Shorey, Shefaly; Siew, An Ling; Ang, Emily

2018-02-01

Education is going through accelerated changes to accommodate the needs of contemporary students. However, there are ongoing concerns regarding the quality of education in communication skills for nurses and other healthcare professionals. Many studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a blended learning pedagogical tool in enhancing the learning of nursing undergraduates. However, little is known about students' experiences of a blended learning model for teaching communication skills. To explore first year nursing students' experiences of the blended learning design adopted in a communication module. A descriptive qualitative design was adopted. Data were collected in the form of written reflections from 74 first year nursing undergraduates who were enrolled in a university-affiliated nursing school. Students were asked to complete an online reflective exercise regarding an undergraduate communication module on their last day of class, and the submitted reflections were analyzed. A thematic analysis was conducted and ethics approval was obtained for this study. Six overarching themes and fifteen subthemes were generated. The six overarching themes were: 1) Helpful and engaging classroom experience, 2) valuable online activities, 3) meaningful assessment, 4) appreciation for interprofessional education, 5) personal enrichment, and 6) overall feedback and recommendations. The students in this study felt that the blended pedagogy communication module enhanced their learning and boosted their confidence in facing similar situations. Interprofessional education was well-accepted among students as they attained a deeper understanding on the importance of interprofessional learning and an appreciation towards other professionals. Blended pedagogy can be used in teaching communication skills to nursing students to provide a holistic and up-to-date learning experience. Future studies should consider engaging students in face-to-face interviews to obtain a deeper understanding on their experiences of a blended pedagogy incorporated communication module. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The SUPER Program: A Research-based Undergraduate Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ernakovich, J. G.; Boone, R. B.; Boot, C. M.; Denef, K.; Lavallee, J. M.; Moore, J. C.; Wallenstein, M. D.

2014-12-01

Producing undergraduates capable of broad, independent thinking is one of the grand challenges in science education. Experience-based learning, specifically hands-on research, is one mechanism for increasing students' ability to think critically. With this in mind, we created a two-semester long research program called SUPER (Skills for Undergraduate Participation in Ecological Research) aimed at teaching students to think like scientists and enhancing the student research experience through instruction and active-learning about the scientific method. Our aim was for students to gain knowledge, skills, and experience, and to conduct their own research. In the first semester, we hosted active-learning workshops on "Forming Hypotheses", "Experimental Design", "Collecting and Managing Data", "Analysis of Data", "Communicating to a Scientific Audience", "Reading Literature Effectively", and "Ethical Approaches". Each lesson was taught by different scientists from one of many ecological disciplines so that students were exposed to the variation in approach that scientists have. In the second semester, students paired with a scientific mentor and began doing research. To ensure the continued growth of the undergraduate researcher, we continued the active-learning workshops and the students attended meetings with their mentors. Thus, the students gained technical and cognitive skills in parallel, enabling them to understand both "the how" and "the why" of what they were doing in their research. The program culminated with a research poster session presented by the students. The interest in the program has grown beyond our expectations, and we have now run the program successfully for two years. Many of the students have gone on to campus research jobs, internships and graduate school, and have attributed part of their success in obtaining their positions to their experience with the SUPER program. Although common in other sciences, undergraduate research experiences are rare in ecology. We feel that development and implementation of these types of active-learning, research based programs can help universities to produce undergraduate researchers capable of contributing meaningfully to research, and to greater societal issues by enhancing their problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Sex Differences in Technical Communication: A Perspective from Social Role Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Isabelle

2004-01-01

This article interprets technical communication research about sex differences according to social role theory, which argues that sex differences are enculturated through experiences associated with social positions in the family and the workplace. It reevaluates technical communication research about sex differences in communicative and…

Interpersonal Communication in the Undergraduate Core.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolff, Leanne O.

The interpersonal communication course at an Ohio college is based on several assumptions about the nature of interpersonal communication. First, the course should emphasize both the ability to demonstrate knowledge of the communicative behavior appropriate in a given situation (cognitive domain) and the performance necessary for communication…

Critical Visual Literacy: Multimodal Communication across the Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duffelmeyer, Barb Blakely; Ellertson, Anthony

2005-01-01

"Critical Visual Literacy: Multimodal Communication Across the Curriculum" makes the case for expanding the pedagogical space and communication possibilities in undergraduate communication-intensive and linked (learning community) courses by allowing students to create multimodal texts that deal with civic and cultural and/or discipline…

The Boston Study: Analysis of a Major Metropolitan Business- and Technical-Communication Market.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchholz, William J.

1989-01-01

Presents a year-long study of the duties, skills, and knowledge required of business- and technical-communication professionals in Boston, Massachusetts. Focuses on six categories of practice: technical communication, publishing, public relations, marketing, development, and training. Suggests that in the next decade communication practitioners…

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 3:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of profit managers' and nonprofit managers' responses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Glassman, Myron; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Oliu, Walter E.

1989-01-01

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community were found to have different technical communications practices for one of the five assumptions tested. It was, therefore, concluded that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community do not have different technical communications practices.

The Effective of Using 5 Simple Steps (QSCCS) Learning Activities on Facebook to Promote Self-Learning in the 21st Century in Technology Printing and Advertising Course for Undergraduate Students in Education Technology and Communications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sittiwong, Tipparat; Wongnam, Thanet

2015-01-01

The objectives of this study were to: 1) study the result of implementing QSCCS with Facebook; 2) study students' opinions concerning the implementation of QSCCS with Facebook. The samples were 38 Technology and Communications undergraduates who attended Printing and Advertising Technology course in academic year of 2013. The information was…

Translating medical documents improves students' communication skills in simulated physician-patient encounters.

PubMed

Bittner, Anja; Bittner, Johannes; Jonietz, Ansgar; Dybowski, Christoph; Harendza, Sigrid

2016-02-27

Patient-physician communication should be based on plain and simple language. Despite communication skill trainings in undergraduate medical curricula medical students and physicians are often still not aware of using medical jargon when communicating with patients. The aim of this study was to compare linguistic communication skills of undergraduate medical students who voluntarily translate medical documents into plain language with students who do not participate in this voluntary task. Fifty-nine undergraduate medical students participated in this study. Twenty-nine participants were actively involved in voluntarily translating medical documents for real patients into plain language on the online-platform https://washabich.de (WHI group) and 30 participants were not (non-WHI group). The assessment resembled a virtual consultation hour, where participants were connected via skype to six simulated patients (SPs). The SPs assessed participants' communication skills. All conversations were transcribed and assessed for communication skills and medical correctness by a blinded expert. All participants completed a self-assessment questionnaire on their communication skills. Across all raters, the WHI group was assessed significantly (p = .007) better than the non-WHI group regarding the use of plain language. The blinded expert assessed the WHI group significantly (p = .018) better regarding the use of stylistic devices of communication. The SPs would choose participants from the WHI group significantly (p = .041) more frequently as their personal physician. No significant differences between the two groups were observed with respect to the medical correctness of the consultations. Written translation of medical documents is associated with significantly more frequent use of plain language in simulated physician-patient encounters. Similar extracurricular exercises might be a useful tool for medical students to enhance their communication skills with respect to using plain language in physician-patient communication.

Technical Communications in Aeronautics: Results of an Exploratory Study. NASA Technical Memorandum 101534, Parts 1 and 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; And Others

An exploratory study investigated technical communications in aeronautics by surveying aeronautical engineers and scientists. The study had five specific objectives: to solicit the opinions of aeronautical engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; to determine their use and production of…

Public Speaking or Interpersonal Communication: The Perspective of the High Communication Apprehension Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Judy C.; Yoder, Donald D.

Of 782 undergraduate students enrolled in either interpersonal communication or public speaking courses, the 125 students scoring high in communication apprehension were retested upon completion of the courses and analyzed for their responses to a student attitudes survey. Significantly greater numbers of the high communication apprehensive (HCA)…

Trainees' perceptions of practitioner competence during patient transfer.

PubMed

Grierson, Lawrence; Dubrowski, Adam; So, Steph; Kistner, Nicole; Carnahan, Heather

2012-01-01

Technical and communicative skills are both important features for one's perception of practitioner competence. This research examines how trainees' perceptions of practitioner competence change as they view health care practitioners who vary in their technical and communicative skill proficiencies. Occupational therapy students watched standardized encounters of a practitioner performing a patient transfer in combinations of low and high technical and communicative proficiency and then reported their perceptions of practitioner competence. The reports indicate that technical and communicative skills have independently identifiable impacts on the perceptions of practitioner competency, but technical proficiency has a special impact on the students' perceptions of practitioner communicative competence. The results are discussed with respect to the way in which students may evaluate their own competence on the basis of either technical or communicative skill. The issue of how this may lead trainees to dedicate their independent learning efforts to an incomplete set of features needed for the development of practitioner competency is raised.

Refining scientific writing skills with feedback that works for students and instructors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiani, Leily S.; Menke, Carrie

2015-10-01

Evaluation of student learning through assessment of communication skills is a generally important component of undergraduate education and particularly so for promotion of interdisciplinary research conducted by future scientists. To better build these skills we aim to quantify the effectiveness of feedback on student writing of technical reports in an upper-division physics lab course. In one implementation, feedback utilization - in the form of observing commented technical reports, attending office hours or emailing rough drafts of their reports was monitored then correlated with improvement in student writing. The improvement in student writing is quantified as the single-student normalized gain. A slight positive relationship was found between the number of times a student utilized feedback and the improvement in student writing. A subsequent study involved correlation of two complimentary assessments of student work. In the first assessment students received consistent feedback throughout the semester on all sections of a technical report in the form of highlighted bullet points in a detailed rubric. In the second assessment method students received varying amounts of feedback for each section of the technical paper throughout the semester with a focus on one section each week and follow-up feedback on previously covered sections. This approach provides focused feedback that can be scalable to larger classes. The number of highlighted bullet points in the rubric clearly decreases as a function of the focused feedback implementation. From this we conclude that student writing improves with the focused feedback method.

Introduction of Digital Computer Technology Into the Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory. Final Technical Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perone, Sam P.

The objective of this project has been the development of a successful approach for the incorporation of on-line computer technology into the undergraduate chemistry laboratory. This approach assumes no prior programing, electronics or instrumental analysis experience on the part of the student; it does not displace the chemistry content with…

Solitonic Gateless Computing

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-29

solitons. In essence , these intersections behave as DS switching junctions. Figure 1(a) depicts a nonlinear array network involving consecutive bends...junction, the signal DS would have totally disintegrated into transmitted and reflected waves. Thus in essence , the junction operates as an AND...2000-2001) Reinhard Neumeier (undergraduate student, visiting from Technical Un. of Munich, CREOL, 2003) Jasmine Milner (undergraduate student

The Effect of Note-Taking on University Students' Listening Comprehension of Lectures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiliçkaya, Ferit; Çokal Karadas, Derya

2009-01-01

The study investigated the effect of note-taking on comprehension of lectures by 44 undergraduate EFL students who are in the first year of their undergraduate level in the Department of Foreign Language Education in Middle East Technical University. The participants were divided into two groups, namely experimental and control groups. The…

Access, Satisfaction, and Future: Undergraduate Education at the Indian Institutes of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varma, Roli; Kapur, Deepak

2010-01-01

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are among the most prestigious technical institutes in India (and perhaps in the world) for undergraduate engineering education. Admission to an IIT is viewed by many Indians as a passport to success, prosperity, prestige, and possibly moving to Western countries for higher studies and/or jobs. This paper…

The Status of Career and Technical Education Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Edward C.; Gordon, Howard R. D.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine undergraduate and graduate student enrollments, course delivery modes, and curricular trends and issues of CTE programs. Based on findings from 139 program/department coordinators, results emphasized that although CTE programs within institutions of higher education have declined in number (Fletcher,…

Radiographic technical quality of root canal treatment performed ex vivo by dental students at Valencia University Medical and Dental School, Spain

PubMed Central

Faus-Matoses, Vicente; Alegre-Domingo, Teresa; Faus-Llácer, Vicente J.

2014-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate radiographically the quality of root canal fillings and compare manual and rotary preparation performed on extracted teeth by undergraduate dental students. Study Design: A total of 561 premolars and molars extracted teeth were prepared using nickel-titanium rotary files or manual instrumentation and filled with gutta-percha using a cold lateral condensation technique, by 4th grade undergraduate students. Periapical radiographs were used to assess the technical quality of the root canal filling, evaluating three variables: length, density and taper. These data were recorded, scored and used to study the “technical success rate” and the “overall score”. The length of each root canal filling was classified as acceptable, short and overfilled, based on their relationship with the radiographic apex. Density and taper of filling were evaluated based on the presence of voids and the uniform tapering of the filling, respectively. Statistical analysis was used to evaluate the quality of root canal treatment, considering p < 0.05 as a statistical significant level. Results: The percentage of technical success was 44% and the overall score was 7.8 out of 10. Technical success and overall score were greater with rotary instruments (52% against 28% with a manual one, p < 0.001; 8.3 against 6.7 respectively, p < 0.001). Conclusions: It appears that inexperienced operators perform better root canal treatment (RCT) with the use of rotary instrumentation. Key words:Dental education, endodontics, rotary instrumentation, radiographs, root canal treatment, undergraduate students. PMID:24121911

Training program developed for senior undergraduates majoring in optical communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cui, Sheng; Zhang, Xinliang; Ke, Changjian

2017-08-01

Based on the well-known simulation software VPI TransmissionMaker, a comprehensive training program for senior undergraduates majoring in optical communication and optical network technology was developed by the author after detailed study of the teaching difficult and key points in the discipline. Aiming at solving practical scientific and engineering problems, the program helped our students to develop the ability of acquiring and applying knowledge by designing optical devices, optical signal processing algorithms and optical fiber communication systems. Furthermore, innovation is inspired by introducing competition mechanism among project teams. The program was validated through four years of use and achieved good results.

Medical training for communication of bad news: A literature review

PubMed Central

Alelwani, Somia M.; Ahmed, Yasar A.

2014-01-01

In recent years, medical guidelines for communicating bad news to patients have been published. Training for this task was included in the curricula of undergraduate medical courses, specialization, and continuing medical education. The objective of this review is to evaluate the existing evidence in the literature on the effectiveness of such training. Only seven controlled trials were found, four of which were randomized, and these four indicate an improvement in the trainees. These findings suggest that training undergraduate and postgraduate doctors in skills for communicating bad news may be beneficial but there are important limitations to reach a definitive conclusion. These limitations are discussed in this article. PMID:25077144

Expanding the Scope of Technical Communication: Examples from the Department of Technical Communication at the University of Washington.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haselkorn, Mark P.; Sauer, Geoffrey; Turns, Jennifer; Illman, Deborah L.; Tsutsui, Michio; Plumb, Carolyn; Williams, Tom; Kolko, Beth; Spyridakis, Jan

2003-01-01

Presents eight current projects involving faculty in the University of Washington's Department of Technical Communication that illustrate the broadening of the field. Notes these projects address: the cognitive processing of visual material; Web-based education; strategic management of information; communicating science and technology in the…

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 2:] Technical communications in aeronautics: Results of an exploratory study. An analysis of managers' and nonmanagers' responses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Glassman, Myron; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Oliu, Walter E.

1989-01-01

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that aerospace managers and nonmanagers have different technical communications practices. Five assumptions were established for the analysis. Aerospace managers and nonmanagers were found to have different technical communications practices for three of the five assumptions tested. Although aerospace managers and nonmanagers were found to have different technical communications practices, the evidence was neither conclusive nor compelling that the presumption of difference in practices could be attributed to the duties performed by aerospace managers and nonmanagers.

Technical Communications in Aeronautics: Results of an Exploratory Study. An Analysis of Managers' and Nonmanagers' Responses. NASA Technical Memorandum 101625.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; And Others

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that aerospace managers and nonmanagers have different technical communications practices. Five secondary assumptions were established for the analysis: (1) that the…

Interactivity Communication and Trust: Further Studies of Leadership in the Electronic Age

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

composure, (h) favorable evaluation, and (i) decision-making effectiveness. Sample and Method. Participants (N = 146) were undergraduate students in...impairs decision quality when deceit and invalid information are introduced. Sample and Method. Participants (N = 126) were undergraduate students enrolled... undergraduate business students (N = 66) in two geographically distant U.S. universities participated in a four-week project using a web-based computer

A Survey of Practices and Strategies for Marketing Communication Majors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Philip A.; Wilson, Gerald L.

Fifty college speech departments responded to a survey intended to discover some of the common practices and strategies for marketing undergraduate speech communication majors. The results indicated that the most frequent name for the departments responding was "Communication" rather than "Speech Communication," completely the opposite of what was…

Teaching Oral Communication in Undergraduate Science: Are We Doing Enough and Doing it Right?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chan, Vincent

2011-01-01

Communication skills and insights form an important basis for employability and participation in society. Universities aim to produce graduates with effective communication skills. Effective oral communication is critical for the advancement and sharing of scientific knowledge. There is increasing recognition within tertiary institutions of the…

Strategies for Assessment of the Basic Undergraduate Interpersonal Communication Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ratliffe, Sharon A.

Golden West College's (GWC's) Interpersonal Communication course was designed to help students develop communication skills, understand the criteria used in selecting the most appropriate way to communicate, implement these choices effectively through verbal and nonverbal means, and evaluate the effectiveness of these choices. Students learn the…

Integration of a Communicating Science Module into an Advanced Chemistry Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Renaud, Jessica; Squier, Christopher; Larsen, Sarah C.

2006-01-01

A communicating science module was introduced into an advanced undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory course. The module was integrated into the course such that students received formal instruction in communicating science interwoven with the chemistry laboratory curriculum. The content of the communicating science module included three…

Online Supervision: A Theory of Supervisors' Strategic Communicative Influence on Student Dissertations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Augustsson, Gunnar; Jaldemark, Jimmy

2014-01-01

Online supervision mainly focuses on written communication and electronic drafts, while offline supervision comprises physical and social clues, verbal communication, and drafts of texts. This article focuses on supervisors' written online communication about drafts of undergraduate student dissertations. Theoretically, these utterances form…

Instructor Communication Behavior as a Factor Influencing the Class Participation of Classroom Communication Apprehensives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neer, Michael R.

A study investigated instructor communication behavior as a factor mediating classroom apprehensives' (CA) perceived discomfort with class participation. Respondents were 142 female and 85 male undergraduates enrolled in speech communication courses during the 1988-1989 academic year. Respondents were provided a packet of survey materials…

Communication Skills in Medical Education: An Integrated Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Kellie; Lyons, Zaza

2011-01-01

The importance of teaching communication skills in any undergraduate medical curriculum cannot be overstated. Effective doctor-patient communication is widely recognised as an essential aspect of quality patient care. A communication skills module developed for first year medical students at the University of Western Australia (UWA) is described…

Building a Context of Experience: Communication Audits to Teach Communication Concepts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Husband, Robert L.; Helmer, James E.

The research audit is an effective means for providing undergraduate students with relevant organizational experience through which they can integrate theory and practice. A course was designed to teach students to apply basic concepts in the field of organizational communication to "real life" communication problems in organizations.…

How Speech Communication Training Interfaces with Public Relations Training.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosley, Phyllis B.

Speech communication training is a valuable asset for those entering the public relations (PR) field. This notion is reinforced by the 1987 "Design for Undergraduate Public Relations Education," a guide for implementing speech communication courses within a public relations curriculum, and also in the incorporation of oral communication training…

Harlequin-Inspired Story-Based Learning: An Educational Innovation for Pediatric Nursing Communication.

PubMed

Shaw, Alison; Lind, Candace; Ewashen, Carol

2017-05-01

Effective communication with patients and families is essential for quality care in the pediatric environment. Despite this, the current structure and content of undergraduate nursing education often contributes to novice RNs feeling unprepared to manage complex pediatric communication situations. By merging the characteristics of the Harlequin persona with the structure of story-based learning, undergraduate students can be introduced to increasingly advanced pediatric communication scenarios in the classroom. Although story-based learning encourages students to identify and address the contextual and emotional elements of a story, the Harlequin encourages educators to challenge assumptions and upset the status quo. Nursing students can develop advanced communication abilities and learn to identify and cope with the emotions and complexities inherent in pediatric practice and communication. Harlequin-inspired story-based learning can enable nurse educators to create interesting, realistic, and challenging pediatric nursing stories designed to push students outside their comfort zones and enhance their advanced pediatric communication abilities. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(5):300-303.]. Copyright 2017, SLACK Incorporated.

EDI and the Technical Communicator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eiler, Mary Ann

1994-01-01

Assesses the role of technical communicators in electronic data interchange (EDI). Argues that, as experts in information design, human factors, instructional theory, and professional writing, technical communicators should be advocates of standard documentation protocols and should rethink the traditional concepts of "document" to…

Assessment of a Merged Research and Education Program in Pacific Latin America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bluth, G. J.; Gierke, J. S.; Gross, E. L.; Kieckhafer, P. B.; Rose, W. I.

2006-12-01

The ultimate goal of integrating research with education is to encourage cross-disciplinary, creative, and critical thinking in problem solving and foster the ability to deal with uncertainty in analyzing problems and designing appropriate solutions. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is actively promoting these kinds of programs, in particular in conjunction with international collaboration. With NSF support, we are building a new educational system of applied research and engineering, using two existing programs at Michigan Tech: a Peace Corp/Master's International (PC/MI) program in Natural Hazards which features a 2-year field assignment, and an "Enterprise" program for undergraduates, which gives teams of geoengineering students the opportunity to work for three years in a business-like setting to solve real-world problems. This project involves 2 post-doctoral researchers, 3-5 Ph.D. and Master's, 5-10 PC/MI graduate students, and roughly 20 undergraduate students each year. The assessment of this project involves measurement of participant perceptions and motivations towards working in Pacific Latin America (Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua), and tracking the changes as the participants complete academic and field aspects of this program. As the participants progress through their projects and Peace Corps assignments, we also get insights into the type of academic preparation best suited for international geoscience collaboration and it is not always a matter of technical knowledge. As a result, we are modifying existing courses in hazard communication, as well as developing a new course focusing on the geology of these regions taught through weekly contributions by an international team of researchers. Other efforts involve multi-university, web-based courses in critical technical topics such as volcano seismology, which because of their complex, cross-disciplinary nature are difficult to sustain from a single institution.

Political Communication Research in the 1980s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meadow, Robert G.

1985-01-01

Discusses eight books, including a textbook for undergraduates, that represent the type of research being conducted in the political communication field. Identifies major problems of current research. (PD)

The Impact of Language and Culture on Technical Communication in Japan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kohl, John R.; And Others

1993-01-01

Analyzes ambiguity as a factor in Japanese language and culture as they affect technical communication. Presents and interprets results of a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the kinds of communication products they produce and use and their ideas of what should be taught in technical communication courses.…

Culture and Workplace Communications: A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and U.S. Aerospace Engineers and Scientists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Sato, Yuko; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1997-01-01

Japanese (n=94) and U.S. (n=340) aerospace scientists/engineers described time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, importance of technical communication courses, and the use of libraries, computer networks, and technical reports. Japanese respondents had greater language fluency; U.S. respondents spent more time with…

Communication skills course in an Indian undergraduate dental curriculum: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Sangappa, Sunila B; Tekian, Ara

2013-08-01

This study assessed the impact of a course on communication skills for third-year undergraduate dental students at a dental institute in India. A randomized pretest, posttest controlled trial was conducted with all the students from four cohorts of third-year dental undergraduate students, divided into an intervention group (n=30) and a control group (n=30). The course was developed using Kern's six-step approach to curriculum development. Needs assessment was ascertained, and readings, lectures, and role-plays with real and simulated patients were implemented. Encounters of students during two patient interviews (simulated and real) were rated by two raters using a twenty-seven-item dental consultation communication checklist with a rating scale 0 to 3. Students completed a questionnaire regarding their acceptance of the course. A 2×2 (group × time) ANOVA with group as a between-subjects factor (control vs. experimental) and time as a within-subjects factor (pre vs. post) was performed. The two groups did not differ at pretest but differed significantly at posttest. This study showed that simply attending to patients during a clinical course did not improve professional communication skills. In contrast, the implementation of a course on communication skills did improve the students' dentist-patient interactions. Integrating the teaching and development of a relevant, outcome-based course on communication skills provided clear evidence of communication skills acquisition among these dental students. The course could be introduced in other Indian dental schools.

Describing Acupuncture: A New Challenge for Technical Communicators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karanikas, Marianthe

1997-01-01

Considers acupuncture as an increasingly popular alternative medical therapy, but difficult to describe in technical communication. Notes that traditional Chinese medical explanations of acupuncture are unscientific, and that scientific explanations of acupuncture are inconclusive. Finds that technical communicators must translate acupuncture for…

Developing Professional Skills in Undergraduate Engineering Students through Cocurricular Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Dara R.; Bagiati, Aikaterini; Sarma, Sanjay

2017-01-01

As nations have sought to keep pace with rapid technological innovation, governments have renewed their focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with emphasis on developing both technical and non-technical skills in STEM students. This article examines which engineering-relevant skills may be developed by…

Preparing CATE Leaders Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blank, Bill; Hernandez, Victor

2008-01-01

Like most institutions offering programs for career and technical educators, the University of South Florida (USAF) has experienced the impact of changes in the field. Thirty years ago there were undergraduate and graduate programs in career and technical education (CATE) at every university in the Florida state system involving more than 50…

Technical Communications in Aeronautics: Results of an Exploratory Study. An Analysis of Profit Managers' and Nonprofit Managers' Responses. NASA Technical Memorandum 101626.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; And Others

Data collected from an exploratory study concerned with the technical communications practices of aerospace engineers and scientists were analyzed to test the primary assumption that profit and nonprofit managers in the aerospace community have different technical communications practices. Profit and nonprofit managers were compared in five…

Oral Communication and Technical Writing: A Reconsideration of Writing in a Multicultural Era

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cibangu, Sylvain K.

2009-01-01

This article investigates the status of orality in the history of technical communication. The article calls for orality as an integral part and driving force of technical writing. The article brings to light the misconceptions that have led to a diminished role of oral communication in technical writing. The article shows the implications of oral…

Improving Climate Change Communication Skills through Community Outreach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanrahan, J.

2015-12-01

While many undergraduate Atmospheric Science departments are expanding their curriculums to focus on the science of climate change, often overlooked is the need to educate students about how this topic can be effectively communicated to others. It has become increasingly difficult for young scientists to comfortably discuss this polarizing topic with people outside of the classroom. To address this, Atmospheric Science faculty at Lyndon State College are providing undergraduate students the opportunity to practice this important skill by reaching out to the local community. Over the past year, students have been meeting regularly to discuss climate change and its impacts, and to present this information to the general public at local schools and organizations. The group was organized with the primary goal of teaching undergraduate students about effective ways to communicate basic climate science to nonscientists, but to also improve public understanding of anthropogenic climate change while starting a conversation among young people in the community. We will identify lessons learned after one year, discuss effective strategies, and summarize student feedback.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 46: Technical communications in aerospace: A comparison across four countries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, John M.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Hecht, Laura Frye; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1995-01-01

In this paper we describe the preliminary analysis of four groups of aerospace engineering and science students -- student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and students from universities in Japan, Russia, and Great Britain. We compare: (1) the demographic characteristics of the students; (2) factors that affected their career decision; (3) their career goals and aspirations; (4) their training in technical communication; and (5) their training in techniques for finding and using aerospace scientific and technical information (STI). Many employers in the US aerospace industry think there is a need for increased training of engineering students in technical communication. Engineers in the US and other countries believe that technical communication skills are critical for engineers' professional success. All students in our study agree about the importance of technical communication training for professional success, yet relatively few are happy with the instruction they receive. Overall, we conclude that additional instruction in technical communication and accessing STI would make it easier for students to achieve their career goals.

Students' Perspective (Age Wise, Gender Wise and Year Wise) of Parameters Affecting the Undergraduate Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kumari, Neeraj

2014-01-01

The objective of the study is to examine the students' perspective (age wise, gender wise and year wise) of parameters affecting the undergraduate engineering education system present in a private technical institution in NCR [National Capital Region], Haryana. It is a descriptive type of research in nature. The data has been collected with the…

Integrating Leadership Development throughout the Undergraduate Science Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reed, Kelynne E.; Aiello, David P.; Barton, Lance F.; Gould, Stephanie L.; McCain, Karla S.; Richardson, John M.

2016-01-01

This article discusses the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) Teaching and Research (STAR) Leadership Program, developed at Austin College, which engages students in activities integrated into undergraduate STEM courses that promote the development of leadership behaviors. Students focus on interpersonal communication,…

The National Climate Assessment as a Resource for Science Communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somerville, R. C. J.

2014-12-01

The 2014 Third National Climate Assessment (NCA3) is scientifically authoritative and features major advances, relative to other assessments produced by several organizations. NCA3 is a valuable resource for communicating climate science to a wide variety of audiences. Other assessments were often overly detailed and laden with scientific jargon that made them appear too complex and technical to many in their intended audiences, especially policymakers, the media, and the broad public. Some other assessments emphasized extensive scientific caveats, quantitative uncertainty estimates and broad consensus support. All these attributes, while valuable in research, carry the risk of impeding science communication to non-specialists. Without compromising scientific accuracy and integrity, NCA3 is written in exceptionally clear and vivid English. It includes outstanding graphics and employs powerful techniques aimed at conveying key results unambiguously to a wide range of audiences. I have used NCA3 as a resource in speaking about climate change in three very different settings: classroom teaching for undergraduate university students, presenting in academia to historians and other non-scientists, and briefing corporate executives working on renewable energy. NCA3 proved the value of developing a climate assessment with communication goals and strategies given a high priority throughout the process, not added on as an afterthought. I draw several lessons. First, producing an outstanding scientific assessment is too complex and demanding a task to be carried out by scientists alone. Many types of specialized expertise are also needed. Second, speaking about science to a variety of audiences requires an assortment of communication skills and tools, all tailored to specific groups of listeners. Third, NCA3 is scientifically impeccable and is also an outstanding example of effective communication as well as a valuable resource for communicators.

The Unfortunate Human Factor: A Selective History of Human Factors for Technical Communicators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Robert R.

1994-01-01

Reviews moments in the history of human factors that are especially relevant to the field of technical communications. Discusses human factors research that is applicable to technical communications. Focuses on qualitative usability research, minimalism, and human activity interface design. (HB)

Gender, Technology, and the History of Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durack, Katherine T.

1997-01-01

Considers why women have been absent from the history of technical communication. Discusses research from the history of technology suggesting that notions of "technology,""work," and "workplace" may be gendered terms. Concludes with several suggestions for defining technical communication so that significant works of…

Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bridgeford, Tracy, Ed.; Kitalong, Karla Saari, Ed.; Selfe, Dickie, Ed.

2004-01-01

"Innovative Approaches to Teaching Technical Communication" offers a variety of activities, projects, and approaches to energize pedagogy in technical communication and to provide a constructive critique of current practice. A practical collection, the approaches recommended here are readily adaptable to a range of technological and institutional…

The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication Proceedings (6th, Stillwater, Oklahoma, April 26-27, 1979).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warren, Thomas, Ed.

Articles in these proceedings of a conference of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication represent the views of professional communicators and academicians who share a concern for providing breadth and quality of preparation of present and future technical communicators. The 11 articles discuss the following topics: (1)…

Undergraduate courses for enhancing design ability in naval architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Kyu-Yeul; Ku, Namkug; Cha, Ju-Hwan

2013-09-01

Contemporary lectures in undergraduate engineering courses typically focus on teaching major technical knowledge-based theories in a limited time. Therefore, most lectures do not allow the students to gain understanding of how the theories are applied, especially in Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering departments. Shipyards require students to acquire practical ship design skills in undergraduate courses. To meet this requirement, two lectures are organized by the authors; namely, "Planning Procedure of Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering" (PNAOE) and "Innovative Ship Design" (ISD). The concept of project-based and collaborative learning is applied in these two lectures. In the PNAOE lecture, sophomores receive instruction in the designing and building of model ships, and the students' work is evaluated in a model ship contest. This curriculum enables students to understand the concepts of ship design and production. In the ISD lecture, seniors learn how to develop their creative ideas about ship design and communicate with members of group. They are encouraged to cooperate with others and understand the ship design process. In the capstone design course, students receive guidance to facilitate understanding of how the knowledge from their sophomore or junior classes, such as fluid mechanics, statics, and dynamics, can be applied to practical ship design. Students are also encouraged to compete in the ship design contest organized by the Society of Naval Architects of Korea. Moreover, the effectiveness of project-based and collaborative learning for enhancing interest in the shipbuilding Industry and understanding the ship design process is demonstrated by citing the PNAOE and ISD lectures as examples.

An Investigation of the Relationships among Technology Experiences, Communication Apprehension, Writing Apprehension and Computer Anxiety.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDowell, Earl E.; Schuelke, L. David

This study explored the relationships among communication technologies, communication apprehension, writing apprehension, and computer anxiety. Participants were 130 students from a variety of undergraduate oral communication classes in a large midwestern university who completed a modified form, 10 items, of McCroskey's Personal Report of…

A Longitudinal Analysis of Students' Motives for Communicating with Their Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Scott A.

2017-01-01

This study utilized the longitudinal survey research design using students' motives to communicate with their instructors as a test case. Participants were 282 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory communication courses at a large Mid-Atlantic university who completed the Student Communication Motives scale at three points (Time 1:…

How College Students Spend Their Time Communicating

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Emanuel, Richard; Adams, Jim; Baker, Kim; Daufin, E. K.; Ellington, Coke; Fitts, Elizabeth; Himsel, Jonathan; Holladay, Linda; Okeowo, David

2008-01-01

This study sought to assess how college students spend their time communicating and what impact, if any, communications devices may be having on how that time is spent. Undergraduates (N = 696) at four southeastern colleges were surveyed. Results revealed that listening comprises 55.4% of the total average communication day followed by reading…

Undergraduate Medical Communication Training by Means of Information and Communication Technologies in the USA and Ukraine

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manyuk, Lyubov; Kuchumova, Nataliya

2018-01-01

The US medical schools are characterized by a significant progress in the usage of information and communication technologies for professional purposes and communication skills development. This advance was influenced by a sequence of social, academic, technological and financial conditions, namely: permanent research in the branch of…

Research note: attitudes of teachers and undergraduate students regarding three augmentative and alternative communication modalities.

PubMed

Schäfer, Martina Christina Marion; Sutherland, Dean; McLay, Laurie; Achmadi, Donna; van der Meer, Larah; Sigafoos, Jeff; Lancioni, Giulio E; O'Reilly, Mark F; Schlosser, Ralf W; Marschik, Peter B

2016-12-01

The social validity of different communication modalities is a potentially important variable to consider when designing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) interventions. To assess the social validity of three AAC modes (i.e., manual signing, picture exchange, and an iPad ® -based speech-generating device), we asked 59 undergraduate students (pre-service teachers) and 43 teachers to watch a video explaining each mode. They were then asked to nominate the mode they perceived to be easiest to learn as well as the most intelligible, effective, and preferred. Participants were also asked to list the main reasons for their nominations and report on their experience with each modality. Most participants (68-86%) nominated the iPad-based speech-generating device (SGD) as easiest to learn, as well as the most intelligible, effective, and preferred. This device was perceived to be easy to understand and use and to have familiar and socially acceptable technology. Results suggest that iPad-based SGDs were perceived as more socially valid among this sample of teachers and undergraduate students. Information of this type may have some relevance to designing AAC supports for people who use AAC and their current and future potential communication partners.

Student development and ownership of ethical and professional standards.

PubMed

Hall, Kevin D

2004-04-01

Ethics and professional conduct are vital to civil engineering undergraduate curricula. Many programs struggle to ensure that students are given an adequate exposure to and appreciation of ethical and professional conduct issues. This paper describes a two-part ethics/professionalism project used in a senior-level course taught at the University of Arkansas. Initially, students scrutinize ethical canons and standards of professional conduct published by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and prepare an essay concerning the applicability of these standards. The second part of the project builds on the first: based on the opinion(s) generated in Part 1, students are asked to develop a set of canons or standards targeted specifically to the undergraduate student, and suggest processes for implementing those standards within the department. Project objectives include: (1) exposure to nationally-recognized ethical canons and standards of professional conduct; (2) personal formulation of ethical and professional standards; (3) skill enhancement for non-technical written communications. Feedback by students prior to and after the project indicates success in meeting all objectives. The feedback also indicates that for some students, definitions and applications of ethics and professionalism are being broadened to include more than academic honesty issues.

Optics and communication technology major of physics undergraduate degree at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buranasiri, Prathan

2014-09-01

A physics undergraduate degree major in optics and communication technology has been offered at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), Bangkok, Thailand. There are nine required three credit hour courses including two laboratory courses plus a number of selections in optics and communication based technology courses. For independent thinking and industrial working skills, nine credit hours of research project, practical training or overseas studies are included for selection in the final semester. Students are encouraged to participate in international conferences and professional organizations. Recently the program, with support from SPIE and OSA, has organized its first international conference on photonic solutions 2013 (ICPS 2013).

The Golden Age of Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimball, Miles A.

2017-01-01

This article uses a historical perspective to describe the development of the profession of technical communication through three ages: Brass, Beige, and Glass. I compare this development to the growth of the academic discipline and both to the explosion of noninstitutional technical communication--the growing body of tactical technical…

Going Online: Helping Technical Communicators Help Translators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flint, Patricia; Lord van Slyke, Melanie; Starke-Meyerring, Doreen; Thompson, Aimee

1999-01-01

Explains why technical communicators should help translators. Offers tips for creating "translation-friendly" documentation. Describes the research and design process used by the authors to create an online tutorial that provides technical communicators at a medical technology company the information they need to help them write and…

The Rhetoric of Campus Architecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Cynthia Duquette

2016-01-01

The group activity described in this article was originally designed for an upper-division undergraduate course on Rhetoric and Architecture, but would also be well suited for courses in Persuasion, Rhetorical Criticism, or Visual Rhetoric. Any undergraduate course related to communication and design (including Advertising) could make excellent…

The Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) - building the STEM workforce by providing exciting, multi-disciplinary, student-led suborbital flight projects.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dingwall, B. J.

2015-12-01

NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) recognizes that suborbital carriers play a vital role in training our country's future science and technology leaders. SMD created the Undergraduate Student Instrument Project (USIP) to offer students the opportunity to design, build, and fly instruments on NASA's unique suborbital research platforms. This paper explores the projects, the impact, and the lessons learned of USIP. USIP required undergraduate teams to design, build, and fly a scientific instrument in 18 months or less. Students were required to form collaborative multidisciplinary teams to design, develop and build their instrument. Teams quickly learned that success required skills often overlooked in an academic environment. Teams quickly learned to share technical information in a clear and concise manner that could be understood by other disciplines. The aggressive schedule required team members to hold each other accountable for progress while maintaining team unity. Unanticipated problems and technical issues led students to a deeper understanding of the need for schedule and cost reserves. Students exited the program with a far deeper understanding of project management and team dynamics. Through the process of designing and building an instrument that will enable new research transforms students from textbook learners to developers of new knowledge. The initial USIP project funded 10 undergraduate teams that flew a broad range of scientific instruments on scientific balloons, sounding rockets, commercial rockets and aircraft. Students were required to prepare for and conduct the major reviews that are an integral part of systems development. Each project conducted a Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review and Mission Readiness review for NASA officials and flight platform providers. By preparing and presenting their designs to technical experts, the students developed a deeper understanding of the technical and programmatic project pieces that were necessary for success. A student survey was conducted to assess the impact of USIP. Over 90% of students reported a significant improvement in their technical and project management skills. Perhaps more importantly, 88% of students reported that they have a far better appreciation for the value of multi-disciplinary teams.

Communicator Style as a Predictor of Cyberbullying in a Hybrid Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dursun, Ozcan Ozgur; Akbulut, Yavuz

2012-01-01

This study aimed to describe the characteristics of undergraduate students in a hybrid learning environment with regard to their communicator styles and cyberbullying behaviors. Moreover, relationships between cyberbullying victimization and learners' perceived communicator styles were investigated. Cyberbullying victimization was measured through…

How Do We Teach Usability? An Investigation of Usability Instruction in Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chong, Felicia

2013-01-01

This dissertation investigates the curricular implementation of usability instruction in technical communication. Though there are a plethora of publications and studies on usability in technical communication, little discussion focuses on usability instruction in the classroom or its implementation in the curriculum. Thus, this exploratory…

Evaluating Technical Communication Faculty: Some Empirically-Based Criteria and Guidelines. Draft.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, Dwight W.

As technical communication is a young academic discipline, evaluating technical communication faculty for promotion, tenure, and merit purposes requires special awareness and care. To determine reasonable expectations of faculty achievement, a study documented the range, types, and frequency of activities of 12 professors and 12 associate…

Moving International Technical Communication Forward: A World Englishes Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bokor, Michael Jarvis Kwadzo

2011-01-01

This article explores how the English language contributes to cross-boundary communication failure and establishes that there is an "English language problem" that has not been adequately addressed in preparing United States native English-speaking students for international technical communication tasks. For example, U.S. technical communication…

My Career and the "Rhetoric of" Technical Writing and Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schuster, Mary Lay

2015-01-01

This article traces the history of Mary Schuster's career in technical writing and communication from 1968 when she took a position in the Publications Department at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to her work at "Technical Communication Quarterly" ("TCQ") in 2003 and forward. She discusses the…

Technical Communication in the 21st Century: Where Are We Going?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Killingsworth, M. Jimmie

1999-01-01

Explores how technical communicators arrive at their attitudes toward the future and the effects of such attitudes toward current practice. Argues for a critically informed, open-minded approach to the future, an approach that encourages an honest self-criticism within the discipline of technical communication. (SC)

The Technical Communicator as Corporate Spokesperson: A Public Relations Primer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Troester, Rod; Warburton, Terrence L.

2001-01-01

Examines the changing role of the technical communication professional in the rapidly evolving environment of organizational life. Presents five principles that serve as an initial step in laying a foundation for the preparation of technical communicators for the challenges and opportunities awaiting in contemporary organizations and the…

Helping Students to Prepare a Technical Communications Portfolio.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ware, Elaine

1988-01-01

Stresses the importance of teaching prospective technical writers to develop, organize, and present a technical communications portfolio. Provides a checklist on portfolio construction for students. (ARH)

Access Barriers to Distance Education Perceived by Inservice and Preservice Career and Technical Education Majors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkle, Chris

The access barriers to distance education faced by inservice and preservice career and technical education (CTE) majors were examined through a survey of 76 students enrolled in undergraduate- and graduate-level CTE education programs. Completed questionnaires were received from 60 students (response rate, 78.9%). Forty respondents worked…

A Study of College Professors' Perceptions of International Students in STEM Classrooms at a Technical University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abendschein, Barbara Feeney

2017-01-01

This study investigated the perceptions of STEM professors at a Southeastern technical college about the international students in their undergraduate classrooms, including impact on the learning environment, academic abilities and proficiency in meeting course goals, contribution to class activities and recommendations for improved preparation.…

Teaching Technical Writing in a Lab Course in Chemical Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lombardo, Stephen J.

2010-01-01

Techniques are presented for improving the technical writing of chemical engineering students enrolled in an undergraduate laboratory course. The principles of writing covered are adopted from the book, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace, by Joseph M. Williams: General examples of writing are taken from this book and then are recast into examples…

Lincoln Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement (LASER) program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Willie E.

1989-01-01

Lincoln University, under the Lincoln Advanced Science and Engineering Reinforcement (LASER) Program, has identified and successfully recruited over 100 students for majors in technical fields. To date, over 70 percent of these students have completed or will complete technical degrees in engineering, physics, chemistry, and computer science. Of those completing the undergraduate degree, over 40 percent have gone on to graduate and professional schools. This success is attributable to well planned approaches to student recruitment, training, personal motivation, retention, and program staff. Very closely coupled to the above factors is a focus designed to achieve excellence in program services and student performance. Future contributions by the LASER Program to the pool of technical minority graduates will have a significant impact. This is already evident from the success of the students that began the first year of the program. With program plans to refine many of the already successful techniques, follow-on activities are expected to make even greater contributions to the availability of technically trained minorities. For example, undergraduate research exposure, broadened summer, and co-op work experiences will be enhanced.

The Communications of Influence through Technology-Enabled Media

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

participants, a constituency of undergraduate and graduate students was solicited for participation in the focus group portion of the study. There was no...were undergraduates ; the rest were masters and Ph.D. students . Average age was just over 28 years. C. Focus GROUP PROCEDURES Each of the two focus groups...were male; average age was 25. Forty-two percent of the participants were undergraduates , 46 percent were graduate students , and 8 percent were

The Accounting Undergraduate Capstone: Promoting Synthesis, Reflection, Transition, and Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Grace F.; Halabi, Abdel K.

2011-01-01

The authors review 24 midwestern institutions that have an undergraduate capstone course. Specifically they focus on accounting capstone courses, discovering that these are used to promote personal and functional skill development in 8 areas: research, problem solving, critical thinking, reflection, synthesis, teamwork, communication, and…

Social Intelligence and Communication Competence: Predictors of Students' Intercultural Sensitivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosuwon, Takwa

2017-01-01

This study investigated the level of intercultural sensitivity of foreign international undergraduates and its possible predictors. Sample participants included 269 foreign international undergraduates of both government and private universities in Thailand. The research instrument was the three-page survey constructed questionnaire based on the…

Cheating Behaviours, the Internet and Education Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trushell, J.; Byrne, K.; Simpson, R.

2012-01-01

This paper describes an illuminative small-scale study that piloted an initial survey instrument intended to investigate correspondences between 47 undergraduate Education final year students' use of information and communications technology (ICT), including the Internet, and--within the context of their adoption of tactics intended to impress…

Facilitating awareness of philosophy of science, ethics and communication through manual skills training in undergraduate education.

PubMed

Kordahl, Hilde Lund; Fougner, Marit

2017-03-01

Professional health science education includes a common theoretical basis concerning the theory of science, ethics and communication. Former evaluations by first-year students of the bachelor physiotherapy program at Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences (HiOA) show that they find it hard to understand the relation between these particular topics and future professional practice. This challenge is the starting point for a pedagogical development project that aims to develop learning contexts that highlight the relevance of these theoretical concepts. The aim of the study is to explore and present findings on the value of using Sykegrep manual skills classes as an arena in which students can be encouraged to think about, reflect on and appreciate the role and value of the philosophical perspectives that inform their practice and contributes to practise knowledge. A qualitative study with data collection through focus groups was performed and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Eighteen first-year undergraduate students, who had completed the manual skills course, participated in the study. Analysis of the data yielded three categories of findings that can be associated with aspects of philosophy of science, ethics and communication. These are as follows: 1) preconceived understanding of physiotherapy; 2) body knowledge perspectives; and 3) relational aspects of interactions. Undergraduate students' understanding and experience of philosophy of science, ethics and communication may be facilitated by peer collaboration, reflection on intimacy and touch and the ethical aspects of interaction during manual skills training. Practical classes in Sykegrep provide a basis for students' discussions about the body as well as their experiences with the body in the collaborative learning context. The students' reflections on their expectations of manual skills in physiotherapy and experiences of touch and being touched can facilitate an awareness of philosophy of science, ethics and communication. Our study will be an incitement to further develop a manual skills teaching program that incorporates philosophy of science, ethics and communication in undergraduate education.

Teaching Small Group Communication: The Do Good Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Minei, Elizabeth M.

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on the parameters of a semester-long project called the "Do Good" project, geared towards developing small group communication skills in undergraduate students. This project highlights participation in a social engagement project that allows students to bridge concepts learned in small group communication lectures…

Persuading Investors: Emphasizing Communication in a Finance Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yest, Michael T.; Grant, Kelly A.

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a unique project to faculty seeking an interdisciplinary activity that exposes students to the necessary art of persuasive communication in the field of finance. Specifically, we have designed a multi-stage simulation in which undergraduate business students apply both finance and communication skills, specifically…

Idioms and Back Translation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Frank

2004-01-01

The challenges of intercultural communication are an integral part of many undergraduate business communication courses. Marketing gaffes clearly illustrate the pitfalls of translation and underscore the importance of a knowledge of the culture with which one is attempting to communicate. A good way to approach the topic of translation pitfalls in…

Technical communications in aerospace - An analysis of the practices reported by U.S. and European aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.; Glassman, Myron

1990-01-01

The flow of scientific and technical information (STI) at the individual, organizational, national, and international levels is studied. The responses of U.S and European aerospace engineers and scientists to questionnaires concerning technical communications in aerospace are examined. Particular attention is given to the means used to communicate information and the social system of the aerospace knowledge diffusion process. Demographic data about the survey respondents are provided. The methods used to communicate technical data and the sources utilized to solve technical problems are described. The importance of technical writing skills and the use of computer technology in the aerospace field are discussed. The derived data are useful for R&D and information managers in order to improve access to and utilization of aerospace STI.

Undergraduate students' development of social, cultural, and human capital in a networked research experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Jennifer Jo; Conaway, Evan; Dolan, Erin L.

2016-12-01

Recent calls for reform in undergraduate biology education have emphasized integrating research experiences into the learning experiences of all undergraduates. Contemporary science research increasingly demands collaboration across disciplines and institutions to investigate complex research questions, providing new contexts and models for involving undergraduates in research. In this study, we examined the experiences of undergraduates participating in a multi-institution and interdisciplinary biology research network. Unlike the traditional apprenticeship model of research, in which a student participates in research under the guidance of a single faculty member, students participating in networked research have the opportunity to develop relationships with additional faculty and students working in other areas of the project, at their own and at other institutions. We examined how students in this network develop social ties and to what extent a networked research experience affords opportunities for students to develop social, cultural, and human capital. Most studies of undergraduate involvement in science research have focused on documenting student outcomes rather than elucidating how students gain access to research experiences or how elements of research participation lead to desired student outcomes. By taking a qualitative approach framed by capital theories, we have identified ways that undergraduates utilize and further develop various forms of capital important for success in science research. In our study of the first 16 months of a biology research network, we found that undergraduates drew upon a combination of human, cultural, and social capital to gain access to the network. Within their immediate research groups, students built multidimensional social ties with faculty, peers, and others, yielding social capital that can be drawn upon for information, resources, and support. They reported developing cultural capital in the form of learning to think and work like a scientist—a scientific habitus. They reported developing human capital in the forms of technical, analytical, and communication skills in scientific research. Most of the students had little, direct interaction with network members in other research groups and thus developed little cross-institutional capital. The exception to this trend was at one institution that housed three research groups. Because proximity facilitated shared activities, students across research groups at this institution developed cross-lab ties with faculty and peers through which they developed social, cultural, and human capital. An important long-term concern is whether the capital students have developed will help them access opportunities in science beyond the network. At this point, many undergraduates have had limited opportunities to actually draw on capital beyond the network. Nevertheless, a number of students demonstrated awareness that they had developed resources that they could use in other scientific contexts.

Using case studies to teach an engineering technology technical writing class

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, M. M.

1981-01-01

The use of the case method in teaching various technical communication skills is described. Features of the method considered include: solving communication problems, identifying an audience, planning written communications, presenting written communications, and using visual aids.

Editing in Technical Communication: Theory and Practice in Editing Processes at the Graduate Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masse, Roger E.

At New Mexico State University, technical communication teachers have developed a course to teach editing processes to graduate students who take the advanced workshop in technical and professional communication. In this seminar group, students work on writing processes; editing processes; written, edited, and tested products; and oral processes…

Introducing Heuristics of Cultural Dimensions into the Service-Level Technical Communication Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schafer, Robert

2009-01-01

A significant problem for practitioners of technical communication is to gain the skills to compete in a global, multicultural work environment. Instructors of technical communication can provide future practitioners with the tools to compete and excel in this global environment by introducing heuristics of cultural dimensions into the…

Rethinking Technical Communication Pedagogy: A Poststructuralist View of Program and Course Design.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolever, Kristin R.

Technical communication specialists today really have to be technology experts as well as effective writers--even their titles have changed to "information designers, information engineers, or document developers." Teachers of technical communication should be up to date in the classroom to meet the changing needs of the workplace.…

A Basic Unit on Ethics for Technical Communicators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markel, Mike

1991-01-01

Describes a basic unit on ethics for technical communicators and offers suggestions on how to go about teaching the unit. Includes a brief definition of ethics, an explanation of the employee's three basic obligations, ways to analyze common dilemmas in technical communication, the role of the code of conduct, and a case study. (SR)

A Study on the Impact of Collective Feedback in the Online Technical and Professional Communication Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singleton, Meredith

2016-01-01

This dissertation study seeks to determine whether feedback in the online Technical and Professional Communication classroom impacts student performance. This dissertation proposes that online Technical and Professional Communication instructors consider adopt such a feedback methodology in order to engage students with writing practices that…

Technical Communicator: A New Model for the Electronic Resources Librarian?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hulseberg, Anna

2016-01-01

This article explores whether technical communicator is a useful model for electronic resources (ER) librarians. The fields of ER librarianship and technical communication (TC) originated and continue to develop in relation to evolving technologies. A review of the literature reveals four common themes for ER librarianship and TC. While the…

Technical Communication Internship Requirements in the Academic Economy: How We Compare among Ourselves and across Other Applied Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Savage, Gerald J.; Seible, Marcea K.

2010-01-01

This article reports a study of internship requirements in technical communication programs compared with three established professions and one emerging profession that have certification or licensing requirements for practitioners. The study addresses three questions about technical communication internship programs: 1) Are internships offered as…

Teaching communications skills to medical students: Introducing the fine art of medical practice.

PubMed

Choudhary, Anjali; Gupta, Vineeta

2015-08-01

Like many other people based professions, communications skills are essential to medical practice also. Traditional medical teaching in India does not address communication skills which are most essential in dealing with patients. Communication skills can be taught to medical students to increase clinical competence. To teach basic communication and counseling skills to fourth-year undergraduate students to increase their clinical competence. A total of 48, fourth-year MBBS students participated in the study. They were given training in basic communication and counseling skills and taught the patient interview technique according to Calgary-Cambridge guide format. Improvement in communication was assessed by change in pre- and post-training multiple choice questions, clinical patient examination, and Standardized Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (SPSQ) scores. About 88% of the students in the sample were convinced of the importance of learning communication skills for effective practice. Almost 90% students were communicating better after training, as tested by improved SPSQ. As judged by Communication Skill Attitude Scale, student's positive attitude toward learning communication skill indicated that there is a necessity of communication skill training during undergraduate years. The ability to communicate effectively is a core competency for medical practitioners. Inculcating habits of good communications skill during formative years will help the medical students and future practitioners. Regular courses on effective communication should be included in the medical school curriculum.

Transforming the advanced lab: Part I - Learning goals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwickl, Benjamin; Finkelstein, Noah; Lewandowski, H. J.

2012-02-01

Within the physics education research community relatively little attention has been given to laboratory courses, especially at the upper-division undergraduate level. As part of transforming our senior-level Optics and Modern Physics Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder we are developing learning goals, revising curricula, and creating assessments. In this paper, we report on the establishment of our learning goals and a surrounding framework that have emerged from discussions with a wide variety of faculty, from a review of the literature on labs, and from identifying the goals of existing lab courses. Our goals go beyond those of specific physics content and apparatus, allowing instructors to personalize them to their contexts. We report on four broad themes and associated learning goals: Modeling (math-physics-data connection, statistical error analysis, systematic error, modeling of engineered "black boxes"), Design (of experiments, apparatus, programs, troubleshooting), Communication, and Technical Lab Skills (computer-aided data analysis, LabVIEW, test and measurement equipment).

How to Teach Emotional Intelligence Skills in IT Project Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connolly, Amy J.; Reinicke, Bryan

2017-01-01

High emotional intelligence ("EQ") is considered one of the greatest strengths of an alpha project manager, yet undergraduate project management students are not directly trained in EQ soft skills such as communication, politics and teamwork. This article describes examples of active learning exercises implemented in an undergraduate IT…

Transition from Traditional to ICT-Enhanced Learning Environments in Undergraduate Chemistry Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barak, Miri

2007-01-01

This paper describes a three-year study conducted among chemistry instructors (professors and teaching assistants) at a post-secondary institution. The goal was to explore the integration process of information and communication technologies (ICT) into traditional teaching. Four undergraduate chemistry courses incorporated a course website, an…

Benefits of Undergraduate Research in Family and Consumer Sciences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Nancy; Labhard, Lezlie

2005-01-01

Faculty and graduate students traditionally have conducted most research in higher education. Recently, the benefits of undergraduate research have been acknowledged. The Boyer Commission (1988) called for research-based learning including a thesis that would demonstrate a student's ability to think clearly and to communicate ideas in an…

Development of a Teaching Methodology for Undergraduate Human Development in Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodriguez, Maria A.; Espinoza, José M.

2015-01-01

The development of a teaching methodology for the undergraduate Psychology course Human Development II in a private university in Lima, Peru is described. The theoretical framework consisted of an integration of Citizen Science and Service Learning, with the application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), specifically Wikipedia and…

What They Learned: Using Multimedia to Engage Undergraduates in Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Artello, Kristine

2014-01-01

Today's employers seek high levels of creativity, communication, and critical thinking, which are considered essential skills in the workplace. Engaging undergraduate students in critical thinking is especially challenging in introductory courses. The advent of YouTube, inexpensive video cameras, and easy-to-use video editors provides…

Factors Influencing Student Gains from Undergraduate Research Experiences at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniels, Heather; Grineski, Sara E.; Collins, Timothy W.; Morales, Danielle X.; Morera, Osvaldo; Echegoyen, Lourdes

2016-01-01

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) confer many benefits to students, including improved self-confidence, better communication skills, and an increased likelihood of pursuing science careers. Additionally, UREs may be particularly important for racial/ethnic minority students who are underrepresented in the science workforce. We examined…

Sexty Southerners: Sexting Content and Behaviors among Selected Southern Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudson, Heather K.; Marshall, S. Alexandra

2016-01-01

Sexting is defined as sending/posting/sharing sexually explicit messages or nude/semi-nude images via electronic communication. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess and determine relationships of sexting behavioral intentions, sexting behaviors, and sexting content among selected Southern undergraduate students. Methods: Survey…

Skills in Clinical Communication: Are We Correctly Assessing Them at Undergraduate Level?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamora Cervantes, Alberto; Carrión Ribas, Carme; Cordón Granados, Ferran; Galí Pla, Bibiana; Balló Peña, Elisabet; Quesada Sabate, Miquel; Grau Martin, Armand; Castro Guardiola, Antoni; Torrent Goñi, Silvia; Vargas Vila, Susanna; Vilert Garrofa, Esther; Subirats Bayego, Enric; Coll de Tuero, Gabriel; Muñoz Ortiz, Laura; Cerezo Goyeneche, Carlos; Torán Monserrat, Pere

2014-01-01

Traditional learning and assessment systems are overwhelmed when it comes to addressing the complex and multi-dimensional problems of clinical communication and professional practice. This paper shows results of a training program in clinical communication under Problem Based Learning (PBL) methodology and correlation between student…

Business Communication: Present, Past, and Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinsch, N. Lamar, Jr.

1996-01-01

Notes that business communication has a long history, stretching back to the origins of rhetoric as a scholarly endeavor and to the origins of business practice. Adds that today, business communication exists in the United States at university level, emphasizing writing instruction for undergraduates. States that it should continue in this vein,…

An Investigation of Parent/Child Communication about Sexuality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Angera, Jeffrey J.; Brookins-Fisher, Jodi; Inungu, Joseph N.

2008-01-01

This study investigated the communication and initial sexuality education between parents and children as it relates to later sexual activity. The study asked 192 undergraduate college students from a Midwestern state university their perceptions about past communication with their parents regarding sexuality. The students completed a 180-item…

Impact of Technology-Mediated Communication on Student Evaluations of Advising

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Junco, Reynol; Mastrodicasa, Jeanna M.; Aguiar, Alicia Vance; Longnecker, Elizabeth Mae; Rokkum, Jeffrey Nils

2016-01-01

The field of academic advising lags behind other similar fields in the use of technologically mediated communication modalities shown to improve academic outcomes. We investigated student satisfaction with undergraduate advising by examining the ways communication methods, such as social media, between student and advisor relate to student…

Assessing Students' Communication Skills: Validation of a Global Rating

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scheffer, Simone; Muehlinghaus, Isabel; Froehmel, Annette; Ortwein, Heiderose

2008-01-01

Communication skills training is an accepted part of undergraduate medical programs nowadays. In addition to learning experiences its importance should be emphasised by performance-based assessment. As detailed checklists have been shown to be not well suited for the assessment of communication skills for different reasons, this study aimed to…

Analysing ESL Students' Perceptions towards Oral Communication for Social and Occupational Purposes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Husain, Fauzilah Md; Ganapathy, Malini; Mohamed, Akmar

2015-01-01

Fundamental principles of public speaking and appropriate organisational structure of ideas for occupational and social communication are vital aspects for undergraduates as a pathway to overcome employers' grievances on graduates' lack of communication skills (Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2015). This study was undertaken to explore the…

Course Sequencing in the Communication Curriculum: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Adam S.

2012-01-01

This case study of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland demonstrates the need to consider course sequencing in the communication curriculum. The investigation assessed whether the order in which undergraduates took courses predicted grade performance. Students' (N = 6,166) grade data from earlier courses were used to…

Computer-Mediated Communication Effects on Disclosure, Impressions, and Interpersonal Evaluations: Getting To Know One Another a Bit at a Time.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tidwell, Lisa Collins; Walther, Joseph B.

2002-01-01

Examines how computer-mediated communication partners (undergraduate students) exchange personal information in initial interactions, focusing on the effects of communication channels on self-disclosure, question-asking, and uncertainty reduction. Illuminates some microstructures previously asserted but unverified within social information…

#Nomoretextbooks? The impact of rapid communications technologies on medical education.

PubMed

Farooq, Ameer; White, Jonathan

2014-08-01

This paper was selected as the 2013 student essay winner by the Canadian Undergraduate Surgical Education Committee. The essay was in response to the question "How does rapid communications technology affect learning?"

CPTSC 2001: Managing Change and Growth in Technical and Scientific Communication. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (28th, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 11-13, 2001).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maylath, Bruce, Ed.

This proceedings presents 43 papers delivered at the 2001 annual meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Papers in the proceedings include the following: "Act IV: On Being Less Invisible" (Bill Karis); "Building a Community of Professional Communicators by Mapping Needs and Assets"…

Undergraduate environmental health education: preparing for the future.

PubMed

Adams, W; Davis, T; Rossignol, A; Silverman, G; Simmons, T; Smith, G; Stern, B

2001-03-01

Attendees indicated that the workshop was beneficial and that the opportunity to communicate with faculty representing 23 programs accredited by EHAC and nine programs not accredited by EHAC was extremely useful. There was general agreement on a number of points: There is a need for undergraduate environmental health programs to collaborate on matters related to distance learning. Topics related to women, gender, diversity, ethics, and international environmental health should be incorporated into the environmental health curriculum. There are no major problems with current EHAC curricular guidelines, but the guidelines should be evaluated on a regular basis. Field experience or internship is an essential component in the academic preparation of undergraduate environmental health students. There is a significant need for increased funding for undergraduate environmental health programs. There is a need to increase the visibility and recognition of environmental health programs. There is a need to solidify ties with traditional partners and to establish new linkages at the local, regional, and national levels in the government, community, and private sector. It is essential that undergraduate faculty communicate with each other on matters relating to the preparation of environment health practitioners. There is a need for an association of undergraduate academic programs to provide leadership and a focal point for identification and resolution of issues common to all. The establishment of an association was viewed as the most practical and effective way to address these issues and to pursue related opportunities.

The nurse-patient communication: voices from nursing students.

PubMed

Chan, Zenobia C Y; Lai, Claudia K Y

2016-07-02

Effective communication skills have been found to be one of the pivotal factors in building positive interpersonal relationships. Little is known about nursing undergraduates' perspectives on communicating with patients. This study aimed to explore nursing students' perspectives and experiences of nurse-patient communication in their clinical placement. The participants included 21 second-year undergraduates and 21 first-year master's students. Interviews were conducted in Cantonese and then transcribed in Chinese and translated into English. A content analysis approach was adopted to analyze the data. Five themes emerged from the interview data. 'The necessity of nurse-patient communication' reveals why the students valued nurse-patient communication. 'The conversation contents' describes the content of the conversations that students typically had with patients. The third theme is 'self-reflection on the nurse-patient communication'. The last two themes, 'the communication pattern in different hospital settings' and 'the obstacles impeding nurse-patient communication', are about the students' communication styles in different hospitals and the barriers they encounter. To improve students' communication skills, educators and clinical staff should listen to students, enhance students' reflective skills and strengthen their confidence. Through understanding students' difficulties in the nurse-patient communication experience and the skills that they lack, educators can provide them with helpful recommendations to improve their communication skills in clinical practice. The results of this study reveal that students' nurse-patient communication skills need to be improved.

Agency, Socio-Cultural Context, and the Role of the Technical Communicator during IT Adoption: A Case Study in Innovation Diffusion across Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coggio, Grace Leinbach

2010-01-01

This dissertation examines the diffusion of an innovative information technology system across multiple cultures between 2000 and 2006. Developed and implemented by technical communicators in the technical communication department of a global medical device company, the Advanced Single-Source Authoring and Publication System (ASAPS) brought…

Moving towards Ethnorelativism: A Framework for Measuring and Meeting Students' Needs in Cross-Cultural Business and Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Junhua

2013-01-01

Scholars in business and technical communication have continuously made efforts to look for effective teaching approaches for cross-cultural business and technical communication; however, little research has been conducted to study the process by which students develop intercultural competence; fewer studies have been conducted to assess learners'…

Technical Communication: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," January 1975 through December 1983 (Vols. 37 through 44).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murdock, Phil, Comp.

Compiled from responses to a survey of 36 universities offering doctorates in rhetoric, composition, language, or technical communication, and updated using research and dissertation indexes and bibliographies, this bibliography summarizes doctoral research in technical communication since 1975. The 35 titles deal with a variety of topics,…

Charles Morris's Semiotic Model and Analytical Studies of Visual and Verbal Representations in Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fan, Jiang-Ping

2006-01-01

In this article, the author demonstrates that the semiotic model proposed by Charles Morris enables us to optimize our understanding of technical communication practices and provides a good point of inquiry. To illustrate this point, the author exemplifies the semiotic approaches by scholars in technical communication and elaborates Morris's model…

The Five Improvisation "Brains": A Pedagogical Model for Jazz Improvisation at High School and the Undergraduate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monk, Augusto

2012-01-01

The learning of jazz improvisation is often treated as the incorporation of stylistic vocabulary and development of technical dexterity. Although this methodology is effective, considering other aspects of jazz improvisation can make the learning process a more holistic and less technical endeavour. My experience teaching improvisation has led me…

The Great Instauration: Restoring Professional and Technical Writing to the Humanities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Di Renzo, Anthony

If you wish to start an undergraduate professional and technical writing (PTW) program at a small liberal arts college, you will find good arguments for your project in the educational writings of Sir Francis Bacon. This paper gathers some of Bacon's educational ideas from various writings and applies them to the five stages of undergraduate…

Challenges and Opportunities: Two Weeks of Teaching Technical Communication at Suzhou University, China.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ding, Daniel; Jablonski, John

2001-01-01

Relates the authors' experience teaching technical writing for two weeks at Suzhou University in China. Discusses activities; examines four technical writing textbooks purchased there; and offers suggestions about how technical communication might be established as a separate academic discipline in Chinese universities. Discusses technical…

The "art" of science communication in undergraduate research training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatemi, F. R.; Stockwell, J.; Pinheiro, V.; White, B.

2016-12-01

Student creation of well-designed and engaging visuals in science communication can enhance their deep learning while streamlining the transmission of information to their audience. However, undergraduate research training does not frequently emphasize the design aspect of science communication. We devised and implemented a new curricular component to the Lake Champlain NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Vermont. We took a holistic approach to communication training, with a targeted module in "art and science". Components to the module included: 1) an introduction to environmental themes in fine art, 2) a photography assignment in research documentation, 3) an overview of elements of design (e.g., color, typography, hierarchy), 4) a graphic design workshop using tools in Powerpoint, and 5) an introduction to scientific illustration. As part of the REU program, students were asked to document their work through photographs, and develop an infographic or scientific illustration complementary to their research. The "art and science" training culminated with a display and critique of their visual work. We report on student responses to the "art and science" training from exit interviews and survey questions. Based on our program, we identify a set of tools that mentors can use to enhance their student's ability to engage with a broad audience.

Laser Communication--An Ideal Student Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leung, W. P.; And Others

1980-01-01

Describes a project on the application of the laser which aims to stimulate the interest of undergraduate students in applied physics and to demonstrate the interaction between light and ultrasonic waves by building a simple laser communication system. (SK)

Political Communication and Women: A Course Proposal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trent, Judith S.

1981-01-01

Presents a course proposal for an undergraduate course entitled "Political Communication and Women." Includes six units with instructional objectives, bibliographies, and student activities. The course is designed to identify the special needs of women in elective politics. (JMF)

Teaching Intracultural and Intercultural Communication: A Critique and Suggested Method.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeVoss, Danielle; Jasken, Julia; Hayden, Dawn

2002-01-01

Summarizes recent literature about the importance of paying attention to intercultural communication. Analyzes the productive approaches in popular business and technical communication textbooks. Presents five challenges for business and technical communication teachers to consider. Includes teaching modules that address these challenges. Notes…

Audit to assess the quality of communication between operators and technicians in a fixed prosthodontic laboratory: educational and training implications.

PubMed

Dickie, J; Shearer, A C; Ricketts, D N J

2014-02-01

This audit aimed to assess the quality of communication between dental students/qualified dentists and dental technicians, increase the percentage of satisfactorily completed laboratory prescriptions and reduce the number of errors that can result from poor communication. A subsidiary aim was to educate students and staff in this respect. An audit of laboratory prescription completion was conducted within Dundee Dental Hospital. Four hundred and eighteen prescriptions for indirect fixed restorations completed by dental undergraduates and qualified staff were audited over a three month period (first audit cycle). Educational reminders on laboratory prescriptions were then provided to undergraduates and qualified staff, a further three hundred and twenty-two prescriptions were audited (second audit cycle) and compared with the first cycle. Satisfactorily completed prescriptions increased from 28% to 43% following basic educational intervention. However, this percentage still signifies a poor level of completion and the need for improvement. Some aspects of the prescription were completed better than others, but overall the standard remained poor with a significant number failing to comply with guidelines set by the UK General Dental Council, the European Union's Medical Devices Directive and the British Society for Restorative Dentistry (BSRD). Further undergraduate and staff training on laboratory prescription writing will be necessary through staff training events and developments in the undergraduate curriculum. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Technical communication: Notes toward defining discipline

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rubens, P. M.

1981-01-01

In the field of technical communication, definitions posited in virtually any major text violate every major rule of definitions. The most popular method for defining the field is to state that technical writing is any writing that supports technology or technological activities. There is a need for a nice yardstick for measuring what "technology" is. Some ways in which the field can be defined in a tightly structured empirical way and some implications of technical communication for a humanistic education in a technological age are suggested.

Women and Feminism in Technical Communication: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Journal Articles Published in 1989 through 1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Isabelle

1999-01-01

Identifies 40 articles about women and feminism published in five technical communication journals in a period of nine years. Notes major themes, all concerning inclusion. Concludes that although research about women and feminism has been accepted as part of the scholarly purview of technical communication, the ways in which this research has…

Collaborative Online Teamwork: Exploring Students' Satisfaction and Attitudes with Google Hangouts as a Supplementary Communication Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

He, Jinxia; Huang, Xiaoxia

2017-01-01

This study examined differences in student satisfaction and perceptions of online teamwork in two cohorts of an undergraduate educational technology course: one delivered fully asynchronously and the other incorporating synchronous Google Hangouts sessions in student online teamwork. Participants included 50 undergraduate students at a large…

Using "Facebook" to Improve Communication in Undergraduate Software Development Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charlton, Terence; Devlin, Marie; Drummond, Sarah

2009-01-01

As part of the CETL ALiC initiative (Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning: Active Learning in Computing), undergraduate computing science students at Newcastle and Durham universities participated in a cross-site team software development project. To ensure we offer adequate resources to support this collaboration, we conducted an…

Student and Faculty Perceptions of ICT Use in Undergraduate Agriculture Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Donald M.; Edgar, Leslie D.; Cox, Casandra K.

2013-01-01

Students and faculty in a land-grant college of agriculture were surveyed to determine their perceptions of current and future Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use in undergraduate agriculture courses. There was a large, positive relationship (r = 0.83) between student and faculty perceptions of the extent to which 40 specific ICT…

Factors Influencing Knowledge Sharing among Undergraduate Students: A Malaysian Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ong, Hway-Boon; Yeap, Peik-Foong; Tan, Siow-Hooi; Chong, Lee-Lee

2011-01-01

Knowledge sharing can enhance learning and help to build the knowledge workforce. This paper reports on a study of knowledge sharing behaviour among undergraduate students in Malaysia. Knowledge sharing was found to be influenced by the mechanisms used, various barriers to communication and the motivations behind knowledge sharing. The mechanisms…

Factors Influencing Undergraduates Attitudes towards ICT: An Empirical Study in Kheis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meerza, Alyya; Beauchamp, Gary

2017-01-01

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher education has been explored largely in relation to undergraduate's attitude towards the usage of ICT in the universities. However, the success of ICT in any learning institution including Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) depends on the attitudes of undergraduates…

Computer-Mediated Communication in Undergraduate Teaching: Web-based Conferencing with Lotus Notes/Domino.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vincent, Peter

2000-01-01

Examines the outcomes of a two-year trial of computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) conducted at a British university during the final-year undergraduate course in glacial and periglacial geomorphology. Discusses the issues related to CMC and describes the experience over the last two years of using CMC conferencing. (CMK)

A Problem-Sorting Task Detects Changes in Undergraduate Biological Expertise over a Single Semester

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoskinson, Anne-Marie; Maher, Jessica Middlemis; Bekkering, Cody; Ebert-May, Diane

2017-01-01

Calls for undergraduate biology reform share similar goals: to produce people who can organize, use, connect, and communicate about biological knowledge. Achieving these goals requires students to gain disciplinary expertise. Experts organize, access, and apply disciplinary knowledge differently than novices, and expertise is measurable. By asking…

I Drink, Therefore I'm Man: Gender Discourses, Alcohol and the Construction of British Undergraduate Masculinities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dempster, Steve

2011-01-01

This article provides insights into the discourses that legitimate and perpetuate male undergraduate drinking cultures and considers the role of alcohol in communicating hegemonic masculinity within one British university. Taking laddishness as a template of hegemonic masculinity, the article contends that male students' heavy alcohol use is…

Having the Balls, Having It All? Sport and Constructions of Undergraduate Laddishness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dempster, Steve

2009-01-01

This article investigates the role of sport in framing and communicating hegemonic masculinity among male undergraduates within one British university. The data were collected through questionnaires and one-to-one interviews with 24 male students who were asked to consider their relationship with laddish masculinities. The evidence indicates that…

Documenting the Aspiration Gap in Institutional Language about Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Vicki L.; Greer, Jane; Lunsford, Laura G.; Pifer, Meghan J.; Ihas, Dijana

2017-01-01

We conducted a content-analysis of the websites of 100 institutional members of the Council of Undergraduate Research in order to examine the relationship between messages communicated on websites as compared to messages expressed within institutional procedures and policies. Findings show that public research institutions were more likely than…

Teaming introductory biology and research labs in support of undergraduate education.

PubMed

Heitz, Jean G; Giffen, Cynthia J

2010-09-01

Numerous studies have indicated the need to improve the general level of science literacy among students and to increase the number of students electing science as a career. One mechanism for doing this is to involve undergraduates in research. This article reports how our Introductory Biology 152 course has worked synergistically with mentors in research labs on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to increase undergraduate retention in research and at the same time improve their higher order inquiry and communication skills.

Developing Communication Competence Using an Online Video Reflection System: Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bower, Matt; Cavanagh, Michael; Moloney, Robyn; Dao, MingMing

2011-01-01

This paper reports on how the cognitive, behavioural and affective communication competencies of undergraduate students were developed using an online Video Reflection system. Pre-service teachers were provided with communication scenarios and asked to record short videos of one another making presentations. Students then uploaded their videos to…

Deliberation as Communication Instruction: A Study of a Climate Change Deliberation in an Introductory Biology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drury, Sara A. Mehltretter

2015-01-01

The author argues that deliberation is an innovative method for teaching communication skills, particularly group communication, in the undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curriculum. A case study using a deliberation activity on global climate change in an introductory biology course demonstrates how deliberative…

Learning Intercultural Communication through Group Work Oriented to the World beyond the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Shuang; Dall'Alba, Gloria

2012-01-01

Competence in intercultural communication has become a necessity for functioning effectively in our increasingly globalised and multicultural society. This study reports the use of a group project to enhance students' learning of intercultural communication. Participants were from a large undergraduate class in an Australian university. The aim of…

Communication Apprehension among Black Students on Predominantly White Campuses.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrd, Marquita L.; Sims, Anntarie L.

1987-01-01

A study of 114 Black undergraduates in two predominantly White midwestern universities demonstrates that communication apprehension (CA) among Blacks appears to be an audience-based phenomenon. Black females scored lower than Black males on the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension-24 (PRCA-24). The higher the CA score, the higher the…

The Use of Computer-Mediated Communication To Enhance Subsequent Face-to-Face Discussions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dietz-Uhler, Beth; Bishop-Clark, Cathy

2001-01-01

Describes a study of undergraduate students that assessed the effects of synchronous (Internet chat) and asynchronous (Internet discussion board) computer-mediated communication on subsequent face-to-face discussions. Results showed that face-to-face discussions preceded by computer-mediated communication were perceived to be more enjoyable.…

More than a Picture: Helping Undergraduates Learn to Communicate through Scientific Images

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Fiona L.; Lom, Barbara

2008-01-01

Images are powerful means of communicating scientific results; a strong image can underscore an experimental result more effectively than any words, whereas a poor image can readily undermine a result or conclusion. Developmental biologists rely extensively on images to compare normal versus abnormal development and communicate their results. Most…

Are Students Prepared to Communicate? A Case Study of an Australian Degree Course in Biotechnology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edmondston, Joanne; Dawson, Vaille; Schibeci, Renato

2010-01-01

Public concerns about biotechnology have resulted in greater attention being paid to the mechanisms by which biotechnology is communicated with non-scientists, including the provision of science communication training. As undergraduate and postgraduate courses form the foundation of the biotechnology sector by providing a pipeline of university…

Teaching Epidemiology at the Undergraduate Level: Considerations and Approaches.

PubMed

Goldmann, Emily; Stark, James H; Kapadia, Farzana; McQueen, Matthew B

2018-06-01

The rapid growth in undergraduate public health education has offered training in epidemiology to an increasing number of undergraduate students. Epidemiology courses introduce undergraduate students to a population health perspective and provide opportunities for these students to build essential skills and competencies such as ethical reasoning, teamwork, comprehension of scientific methods, critical thinking, quantitative and information literacy, ability to analyze public health information, and effective writing and oral communication. Taking a varied approach and incorporating active learning and assessment strategies can help engage students in the material, improve comprehension of key concepts, and further develop key competencies. In this commentary, we present examples of how epidemiology may be taught in the undergraduate setting. Evaluation of these approaches and others would be a valuable next step.

Using Scientific and Industrial Films in Teaching Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veeder, Gerry

A film course especially designed for technical communication students can illustrate basic film concepts and techniques while showing how film effectively communicates ideas in an industrial and scientific communication system. After a basic introduction to film terms, the study of actual scientific and industrial films demonstrates the following…

Technically Speaking: On the Structure and Experience of Interaction Involving Augmentative Alternative Communications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engelke, Christopher Robert

2013-01-01

Technically Speaking: On the Structure and Experience of Interaction Involving Augmentative Alternative Communications examines the ways that communication is structured and experienced by looking at interactions involving augmented communicators--people with severe speech disabilities who use forms of assistive technology in order to communicate…

25 CFR 547.15 - What are the minimum technical standards for electronic data communications between system...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... data communications between system components? 547.15 Section 547.15 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING... AND EQUIPMENT § 547.15 What are the minimum technical standards for electronic data communications between system components? (a) Sensitive data. Communication of sensitive data must be secure from...

25 CFR 547.15 - What are the minimum technical standards for electronic data communications between system...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... data communications between system components? 547.15 Section 547.15 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING... AND EQUIPMENT § 547.15 What are the minimum technical standards for electronic data communications between system components? (a) Sensitive data. Communication of sensitive data must be secure from...

Clinical informatics in undergraduate teaching of health informatics.

PubMed

Pantazi, Stefan V; Pantazi, Felicia; Daly, Karen

2011-01-01

We are reporting on a recent experience with Health Informatics (HI) teaching at undergraduate degree level to an audience of HI and Pharmacy students. The important insight is that effective teaching of clinical informatics must involve highly interactive, applied components in addition to the traditional theoretical material. This is in agreement with general literature underlining the importance of simulations and role playing in teaching and is well supported by our student evaluation results. However, the viability and sustainability of such approaches to teaching hinges on significant course preparation efforts. These efforts consist of time-consuming investigations of informatics technologies, applications and systems followed by the implementation of workable solutions to a wide range of technical problems. In effect, this approach to course development is an involved process that relies on a special form of applied research whose technical complexity could explain the dearth of published reports on similar approaches in HI education. Despite its difficulties, we argue that this approach can be used to set a baseline for clinical informatics training at undergraduate level and that its implications for HI education in Canada are of importance.

Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (24th, Austin, Texas, October 16-18, 1997).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication.

Based on the theme of connections in technical and scientific communication, this proceedings presents 47 papers delivered at the 1997 annual meeting of the Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication (CPTSC). Papers in the proceedings are divided into 10 sections: (1) Theoretical Connections; (2) Legal and Ethical Connections;…

The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication Proceedings (5th, Troy, New York, April 19-21, 1978).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, David L., Ed.

Prepared by representatives of industry, government, and the educational community, the papers in this collection were drawn from a conference that addressed a variety of issues of interest to the field of technical communication. Specific topics discussed in the papers are as follows: (1) the role of the Society for Technical Communication in…

Bridging the Vocabulary Gap for EFL Medical Undergraduates: The Establishment of a Medical Word List

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Wenhua

2013-01-01

This study created a medical word list (MWL) to bridge the gap between non-technical and technical vocabulary. The researcher compiled a corpus containing 155 textbooks across 31 medical subject areas from e-book databases (totaling 15 million running words) and examined the range and frequency of words outside the most frequent 3,000-word…

To Slideware or Not to Slideware: Students' Experiences with PowerPoint vs. Lecture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amare, Nicole

2006-01-01

This study analyzes the performance and attitudes of technical writing students in PowerPoint-enhanced and in non-PowerPoint lectures. Four classes of upper-level undergraduates (n = 84) at a mid-sized, Southern university taking a one-semester technical writing course were surveyed at the beginning and end of the course about their perceptions of…

A Combined Corpus and Systemic-Functional Analysis of the Problem-Solution Pattern in a Student and Professional Corpus of Technical Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flowerdew, Lynne

2003-01-01

Reports on research describing similarities and differences between expert and novice writing in the problem-solution pattern, a frequent rhetorical pattern of technical academic writing. A corpus of undergraduate student writing and one containing professional writing consisted of 80 and 60 recommendation reports, respectively, with each corpus…

AGU Activities to Promote Undergraduate Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grove, K.; Johnson, R.; Giesler, J.

2001-05-01

A primary goal of the AGU Committee on Education and Human Resources (CEHR) is to significantly increase the participation of undergraduate students at AGU meetings. Involving students in scientific meetings at this level of their education helps them to better prepare for graduate school and for a career in the geophysical sciences. Ongoing CEHR activities to promote undergraduate participation include: (1) sponsoring technical sessions to showcase undergraduate research; (2) sponsoring sessions about careers and other topics of special interest to students; (3) sponsoring workshops to inform faculty about doing research with undergraduates; (4) sponsoring meeting events to partner graduate student mentors with first-time undergraduate attendees; (5) working with sections to create situations where undergraduates and section scientists can interact; (6) creating a guide for first-time meeting attendees; (7) sponsoring an Academic Recruiting Forum at meetings to connect undergraduates with geophysical graduate programs; (8) running a Career Center at meetings to connect students and employers; (9) raising funds for more travel grants to provide more student support to attend meetings; (10) developing a listserve to inform AGU members about opportunities to do research with undergraduates and to involve more members in mentoring activities; and (11) collecting data, such as career outcomes and demographic characteristics of recent Ph.D. recipients, that are of interest to students.

The awareness and attitudes of students of one indian dental school toward information technology and its use to improve patient care.

PubMed

Jathanna, Vinod R; Jathanna, Ramya V; Jathanna, Roopalekha

2014-01-01

Many obstacles need to be overcome if digital and electronic technologies are to be fully integrated in the operation of dental clinics in some countries. These obstacles may be physical, technical, or psychosocial barriers in the form of perceptions and attitudes related to software incompatibilities, patient privacy, and interference with the patient-practitioner relationship. The objectives of the study are to assess the perceptions of Indian dental students of one school toward the usefulness of digital technologies in improving dental practice; their willingness to use digital and electronic technologies; the perceived obstacles to the use of digital and electronic technologies in dental care setups; and their attitudes toward Internet privacy issues. The study population consisted of 186 final year undergraduate dental students from the A. B. Shetty Memorial institute of Dental Sciences, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Mangalore, India. Survey data were analyzed descriptively . Most students indicated that information technology enhances patient satisfaction, the quality of dental record, diagnosis, treatment planning, and doctor-doctor communication. Cost of equipment and need for technical training were regarded as major obstacles by substantial proportions of respondents. Most dental students at our school feel that the information technology will support their decision making in diagnoses and devising effective treatment plans, which in turn increase patient satisfaction and quality of care. Students also perceived that lack of technical knowledge and the high cost of implementation are major barriers to developing information technology in India.

Communication Sciences and Health Sciences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Shelley D.

1981-01-01

Technical skills and interpersonal communication contribute to diagnosing diseases, and evidence suggests that the quality of the interpersonal relationship can significantly influence the outcome of treatments that appear to depend solely on technical factors. Because communication directly influences health-related outcomes, communication…

Communication Requirements of Employees of Business and Industry Represented by Areas of Technological Study at Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cary, Penny J.; Sweeney, Kevin F.

A study examined the need and demand for communication skills for employees in the technical fields for which Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute offers programs of academic preparation. Two members of the Institute's English Department interviewed representatives of organizations that have hired technical program graduates. Further…

The core content of the undergraduate curriculum in Manchester.

PubMed

O'Neill, P A; Metcalfe, D; David, T J

1999-02-01

To identify the core content for the new undergraduate medical curriculum in Manchester. The initial step was to produce a list of 'index clinical situations' (ICSs), for which a newly graduated doctor must have a required level of competence. Using repeated consultation with consultants and general practitioners involved in medical education in the North-West of England, a list of 215 ICSs was agreed. Specialists and generalists were then asked to identify the components of the knowledge base and the performance (skills) base for each ICS. The knowledge base was divided into technical (biomedical facts/concepts) and contextual (effect/management of disease within the individual, family and society) domains. The performance base was divided into intellectual (problem solving and decision making) and interpersonal (history, examination, communication and procedural skills) domains. Forty specialties were consulted and 11,021 items (defined as a piece of knowledge, a concept or a skill) were identified. There was considerable overlap in the items listed, such that when the returns for each ICS were amalgamated, the 215 ICSs contained 6434 items with a mean of 34 +/- 14.2 per situation (range 6-85). UTILISATION: We have used the defined ICSs in the design of the trigger material used in the weekly problem-based learning sessions. Over 4 years almost all (207/215, 96%) of the ICS are covered, with many being revisited at several points in the curriculum.

Investigating Undergraduate Students' Ideas about the Fate of the Universe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conlon, Mallory; Coble, Kim; Bailey, Janelle M.; Cominsky, Lynn R.

2017-01-01

As astronomers further develop an understanding of the fate of the Universe, it is essential to study students' ideas on the fate of the Universe so that instructors can communicate the field's current status more effectively. In this study, we examine undergraduate students' preinstruction ideas of the fate of the Universe in ten semester-long…

Communication, and Team-Working Skills in Second-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mc Goldrick, Niamh B.; Marzec, Bartosz; Scully, P. Noelle; Draper, Sylvia M.

2013-01-01

Since 2002, a multidisciplinary program has been used to encourage science students to build on their chemical knowledge and to appreciate how it applies to the world around them. The program is interactive and instills a new set of core learning skills that are often underrepresented in undergraduate curricula, namely, cooperative learning,…

Student Comprehension of Primary Literature is Aided by Companion Assignments Emphasizing Pattern Recognition and Information Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shannon, Sarah; Winterman, Brian

2012-01-01

Primary literature is our main mode of communication in the sciences. As such, it is important for our undergraduates in the discipline to learn how to read primary literature. Incorporating primary literature into undergraduate science courses is often difficult because students are unprepared to comprehend primary articles. Learning to read and…

Social Issues and Problem-Based Learning in Sociology: Opportunities and Challenges in the Undergraduate Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eglitis, Daina S.; Buntman, Fran L.; Alexander, Dameon V.

2016-01-01

This article discusses the use of problem-based learning (PBL) in the undergraduate sociology classroom. PBL shifts students from the role of passive listeners and learners to active knowledge builders and communicators through the use of concise and engaging social problem cases. PBL creates opportunities for building substantive area knowledge,…

Crossing the Atlantic: Integrating Cross-Cultural Experiences into Undergraduate Business Courses Using Virtual Communities Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luethge, Denise J.; Raska, David; Greer, Bertie M.; O'Connor, Christina

2016-01-01

Today's business school academics are tasked with pedagogy that offers students an understanding of the globalization of markets and the cross-cultural communication skills needed in today's business environment. The authors describe how a virtual cross-cultural experience was integrated into an undergraduate business course and used as an…

Factors Influencing Academic Performance in Quantitative Courses among Undergraduate Business Students of a Public Higher Education Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yousef, Darwish Abdulrahamn

2017-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the impacts of teaching style, English language and communication and assessment methods on the academic performance of undergraduate business students in introductory quantitative courses such as Statistics for Business 1 and 2, Quantitative Methods for Business, Operations and Production Management and…

How (and Whether) to Teach Undergraduates about the Replication Crisis in Psychological Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chopik, William J.; Bremner, Ryan H.; Defever, Andrew M.; Keller, Victor N.

2018-01-01

Over the past 10 years, crises surrounding replication, fraud, and best practices in research methods have dominated discussions in the field of psychology. However, no research exists examining how to communicate these issues to undergraduates and what effect this has on their attitudes toward the field. We developed and validated a 1-hr lecture…

Undergraduate Students' Ability to Revise Text Effectively: Relationships with Topic Knowledge and Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Anne-Marie; Simmons, Fiona; Willis, Catherine; Pawling, Ralph

2010-01-01

In order to communicate understanding, students are often required to produce texts which present an explicit, coherent argument. This study examined the extent to which individual differences in undergraduates' topic knowledge and working memory skills were related to their ability to revise texts to better fulfil these goals. Forty-seven…

Impact of Media on Major Choice: Survey of Communication Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoag, Anne; Grant, August E.; Carpenter, Serena

2017-01-01

Popular and news media sources may play a key role in influencing undergraduate choice of major, yet their unique impact has not been investigated. Most research has focused on the influence of unmediated salient referents, such as parents, on students' major choices. Therefore, we developed a scale to examine the role of media professionals and…

In the Field: Increasing Undergraduate Students' Awareness of Extension through a Blended Project-Based Multimedia Production Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loizzo, Jamie; Lillard, Patrick

2015-01-01

Undergraduate students at land-grant institutions across the country are often unaware of the depth and breadth of Extension services and careers. Agricultural communication students collaborated with an Extension programmatic team in a blended and project-based course at Purdue University to develop online videos about small farm agricultural…

The Undergraduate as Researcher: Selected Studies in Mass Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felsenthal, Norman A.

Reporting on a group of class projects undertaken by a series of his college-level "Broadcasting and Society" courses, the author concludes that there is great value in encouraging undergraduates to do their own original research. Among the topics researched by the students are the effect of television on nuns, television news viewing habits of…

Student Engagement in First Year of an ICT Degree: Staff and Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheard, Judy; Carbone, Angela; Hurst, A. J.

2010-01-01

This article reports on a study of student engagement in the first year of their undergraduate information and communication technology (ICT) degree at an Australian university. The study was conducted at Monash University in the four undergraduate ICT degrees of the Faculty of Information Technology. The study draws on data collected from staff…

Improving Undergraduate Online Retention through Gated Advisement and Redundant Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clay, Melanie N.; Rowland, Stacey; Packard, Abbot

2009-01-01

The University of West Georgia implemented a successful research-based initiative, Project DEW (Developing eCore Winners) to improve retention in its eCore courses. eCore courses are those offered through a collaborative University System of Georgia program, and includes courses required to complete the first two years of an undergraduate degree.…

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.…

Who Really Answers the Questions? Using Glasser's Quality School Model in an Undergraduate Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Logan, Jennifer; Plumlee, Gerald L.

2012-01-01

The authors discuss the effectiveness of the Quality School model and active learning in an undergraduate classroom setting. They compare performance levels of students in two course sections of Principles of Macroeconomics and two sections of Managerial Communications. Students are given an opportunity to help shape the structure of the…

"It Was at the Library; Therefore It Must Be Credible": Mapping Patterns of Undergraduate Heuristic Decision-Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGeough, Ryan; Rudick, C. Kyle

2018-01-01

In this study, we explore the heuristic decision-making skills of undergraduate students as they incorporate information into their persuasive speeches. We interviewed 26 students enrolled in an introductory communication course to ascertain their information literacy for vetting sources for their public speeches. From their responses, we…

Dialogue across Lines of Difference: Acknowledging and Engaging Diverse Identities in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De La Mare, Danielle M.

2013-01-01

Social identity is central to communication and culture, and while many intercultural communication textbooks devote much more space to the topic than they have in the past, undergraduate students continue to understand social identity in largely superficial terms. In order for them to grasp its complexity and its relationship to communication,…

Combining Chemical Information Literacy, Communication Skills, Career Preparation, Ethics, and Peer Review in a Team-Taught Chemistry Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Mary Lou Baker; Seybold, Paul G.

2016-01-01

The widely acknowledged need to include chemical information competencies and communication skills in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum can be accommodated in a variety of ways. We describe a team-taught, semester-length course at Wright State University which combines chemical information literacy, written and oral communication skills,…

The Art of Talking about Science: Beginning to Teach Physiology Students How to Communicate with Nonscientists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petzold, Andrew M.; Dunbar, Robert L.

2018-01-01

The ability to clearly disseminate scientific knowledge is a skill that is necessary for any undergraduate student within the sciences. Traditionally, this is accomplished through the instruction of scientific presentation or writing with a focus on peer-to-peer communication at the expense of teaching communication aimed at a nonscientific…

Academic Advisee Motives for Pursuing Out-of-Class Communication with the Faculty Academic Advisor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leach, Rebecca B.; Wang, Tiffany R.

2015-01-01

This study examined advisee communication motives for engaging in out-of-class communication (OCC) with the faculty academic advisor. Undergraduate students (n = 21) were interviewed about their motives for engaging in OCC with their faculty academic advisors. In a thematic analysis, six motives emerged for engaging in OCC with faculty academic…

Perceptions and Problems of English Language and Communication Abilities: A Final Check on Thai Engineering Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajprasit, Krich; Pratoomrat, Panadda; Wang, Tuntiga

2015-01-01

English language and communication abilities are an essential part of the global engineering community. However, non-native English speaking engineers and students tend to be unable to master these skills. This study aims to gauge the perceived levels of their general English language proficiency, to explore their English communicative problems,…

The SocWoC Corpus: Compiling and Exploiting ESP Material for Undergraduate Social Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jane Helen

2017-01-01

Successful social work is based on communication (Clark, 2000; Pierson & Thomas, 2000; Thompson, 2010), yet there is little consensus in the field as to what exactly constitutes proper communication (Richards, Ruch, & Trevithick, 2005; Trevithick et al., 2004) and where models of good communication might be found. It is therefore not…

What Consultation and Freelance Writing Can Do for You and Your Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muller, John A.

1978-01-01

Urges teachers of technical writing and graduate students in English to get off campus and engage in giving businesses advice intended to solve problems in technical communication, editing technical communication publications, and researching and writing such publications. (GW)

Commentary: Sexism, Sex Stereotyping, and the Technical Writer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veiga, Nancy E.

1989-01-01

Discusses the impact of possible sex-based differences in communication styles on the technical writer's job. Argues that technical writers can choose to use both male and female communication styles to acknowledge multiple audiences and to improve the quality of their documents. (KEH)

Survivability Enhancements for Military Communications Satellites

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

Communications Agency, Jan 1984. Townley , Ralph K., David W. Brown, Martin 0. Bernet, and Bernard L. Pankowski. "Selected Issues in DCS Integration...K. Townley , David W. Brown, Martin 0. Bernet, and Bernard L. Pankowski, "Selected Issues in DCS Technical Integration," Technical paper prepared by...34 Technical Note 11-82. Defense Communications Agency, Jan 1984. Townley , Ralph K., David W. Brown, Martin 0. Bernet, and Bernard L. Pankowski. "Selected

Strategy-Based Technical Instruction: Development and Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-01

scripts dependant on target tasks and the outcomes desired, and to the use of node-link knowledge maps as communications props. In addition, we have...information "on the job" - communicate with others in the task environment; - monitor, diagnose, and correct problems associated with critical tasks... communicated . Technical Training Goals The individual in a technical training scenario is expected to achieve a wide variety of goals. These goals can

76 FR 7870 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Cybersecurity and Communications Technical Assistance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-02-11

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY [Docket No. DHS-2010-0006] Agency Information Collection Activities: Cybersecurity and Communications Technical Assistance Request and Evaluation AGENCY: National... Programs Directorate (NPPD), Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C), Office of Emergency...

The Current Use of Social Media in Undergraduate Nursing Education: A Review of the Literature.

PubMed

Ross, Jennifer Gunberg; Myers, Shannon Marie

2017-07-01

Social media, including blogs, Twitter, wikis, Facebook, YouTube, and Ning, provides an opportunity for nurse educators to engage undergraduate nursing students who are members of the millennial generation in active learning while enhancing knowledge and fostering communication. Despite the rise of social media usage in undergraduate nursing education, there is a significant deficiency of empirical evidence supporting the efficacy and outcomes of these teaching strategies. This article provides an overview of social media use in undergraduate nursing education and a review of the existing research related to social media use in prelicensure nursing education. Overall, undergraduate nursing students respond positively to social media use in nursing education; however, no outcome measures are available to determine the effect of these teaching strategies on student learning.

Annual Enrollment Report: Growth in Number of Students Studying Journalism and Mass Communication Slows.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Lee B.; Vlad, Tudor; Huh, Jisu; Daniels, George L.

2002-01-01

Provides the key findings of the 2001 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Enrollments. Shows that undergraduate enrollments continued to grow while graduate enrollments declined. Discusses degrees granted and race, ethnicity, and gender factors. (PM)

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 37: The impact of political control on technical communications: A comparative study of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Flammia, Madelyn; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

Until the recent dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party exerted a strict control of access to and dissemination of scientific and technical information (STI). This article presents models of the Soviet-style information society and the Western-style information society and discusses the effects of centralized governmental control of information on Russian technical communication practices. The effects of political control on technical communication are then used to interpret the results of a survey of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the time devoted to technical communication, their collaborative writing practices and their attitudes toward collaboration, the kinds of technical documents they produce and use, and their use of computer technology, and their use of and the importance to them of libraries and technical information centers. The data are discussed in terms of tentative conclusions drawn from the literature. Finally, we conclude with four questions concerning government policy, collaboration, and the flow of STI between Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

Psychometric properties of the Calgary Cambridge guides to assess communication skills of undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Simmenroth-Nayda, Anne; Heinemann, Stephanie; Nolte, Catharina; Fischer, Thomas; Himmel, Wolfgang

2014-12-06

The aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the short version of the Calgary Cambridge Guides and to decide whether it can be recommended for use in the assessment of communications skills in young undergraduate medical students. Using a translated version of the Guide, 30 members from the Department of General Practice rated 5 videotaped encounters between students and simulated patients twice. Item analysis should detect possible floor and/or ceiling effects. The construct validity was investigated using exploratory factor analysis. Intra-rater reliability was measured in an interval of 3 months, inter-rater reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient. The score distribution of the items showed no ceiling or floor effects. Four of the five factors extracted from the factor analysis represented important constructs of doctor-patient communication The ratings for the first and second round of assessing the videos correlated at 0.75 (p<0.0001). Intraclass correlation coefficients for each item ranged were moderate and ranged from 0.05 to 0.57. Reasonable score distributions of most items without ceiling or floor effects as well as a good test-retest reliability and construct validity recommend the C-CG as an instrument for assessing communication skills in undergraduate medical students. Some deficiencies in inter-rater reliability are a clear indication that raters need a thorough instruction before using the C-CG.

Undergraduate interprofessional education using high-fidelity paediatric simulation.

PubMed

Stewart, Moira; Kennedy, Neil; Cuene-Grandidier, Hazel

2010-06-01

High-fidelity simulation is becoming increasingly important in the delivery of teaching and learning to health care professionals within a safe environment. Its use in an interprofessional context and at undergraduate level has the potential to facilitate the learning of good communication and teamworking, in addition to clinical knowledge and skills. Interprofessional teaching and learning workshops using high-fidelity paediatric simulation were developed and delivered to undergraduate medical and nursing students at Queen's University Belfast. Learning outcomes common to both professions, and essential in the clinical management of sick children, included basic competencies, communication and teamworking skills. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation was undertaken using published questionnaires. Quantitative results - the 32-item questionnaire was analysed for reliability using spss. Responses were positive for both groups of students across four domains - acquisition of knowledge and skills, communication and teamworking, professional identity and role awareness, and attitudes to shared learning. Qualitative results - thematic content analysis was used to analyse open-ended responses. Students from both groups commented that an interprofessional education (IPE) approach to paediatric simulation improved clinical and practice-based skills, and provided a safe learning environment. Students commented that there should be more interprofessional and simulation learning opportunities. High-fidelity paediatric simulation, used in an interprofessional context, has the potential to meet the requirements of undergraduate medical and nursing curricula. Further research is needed into the long-term benefits for patient care, and its generalisability to other areas within health care teaching and learning. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010.

Astrobites: The Online Astronomy Research Digest for Undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faesi, Christopher; Astrobites Collaboration

2013-06-01

Astrobites (http://astrobites.org) is an innovative science education initiative developed by graduate students in astrophysics for an undergraduate audience. Our goal is to help undergraduates make the transition from the classroom to careers in research by introducing them to the astronomical literature in a pedagogical, approachable, and comprehensible way. Every day we select one new journal article posted to the astrophysics preprint server (http://arXiv.org/astro-ph) and prepare a brief summary describing methods and results, explaining jargon, and providing context. We also write regular blog posts containing career advice, such as tips for applying for graduate school, how to install astronomical software, or demystifying the publishing process. The articles are written by a team of about 30 graduate students in astrophysics from throughout the US and Europe. Since its founding in 2010, Astrobites has grown dramatically, now reaching more than 1000 daily readers in over 100 countries worldwide. Our audience includes not only undergraduates, but also interested non-scientists, educators, and professional researchers. More broadly, Astrobites is interested in fostering the development of vital communication skills that are crucial to a successful science career, yet not formally taught in most astronomy PhD programs. In addition to providing our graduate student authors with valuable opportunities to practice these skills through writing and editing articles, we organize events such as the upcoming workshop Communicating Science 2013, at which graduate students in all science fields from around the country will learn from and interact with panelists who are experts in science communication.

Radiological clinical trials: Proposal of a problem-finding questionnaire to improve study success.

PubMed

Valdora, Francesca; Bignotti, Bianca; Calabrese, Massimo; Houssami, Nehmat; Tagliafico, Alberto

2016-12-26

To develop a survey to help define the main problems in radiological clinical trials. Since 2006, we have managed seven different radiological clinical trials recruiting patients in academic and non-academic centres. We developed a preliminary questionnaire using a four-round Delphi approach to identify problems occurring in radiological clinical trials run at our centre. We investigated the recruitment experience, involvement of all multi-disciplinary team members and main obstacles to completing the projects. A final round of Delphi processes elucidated solutions to the identified problems. Among 19/20 (95%) respondents, 10 (53%) were young physicians (under 35 years old), and the respondents included non-faculty members, fellows, residents, and undergraduate students. Ninety-four percent (18/19) of respondents showed interest in conducting clinical trials. On a scale of 1 to 10, the problems with higher/worse scores (8-9) were related to technical or communication problems. The most frequent problems across all studies were technical problems related to clinical trial equipment, insufficient willingness to participate, obstacles to understanding the design of electronic-case report form and extra work. The developed questionnaire identified the main recurring problems in radiological clinical trials as perceived by end-users and helped define possible solutions that are mostly related to having dedicated clinical trial research staff.

The Voices of English Women Technical Writers, 1641-1700: Imprints in the Evolution of Modern English Prose Style.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tebeaux, Elizabeth

1998-01-01

Examines the style of early women technical writers to show that plain English existed before Sir Francis Bacon and received its impetus from the utilitarian attitude that pervaded the 1475-1700 period. Finds that technical communication studied from this historical perspective deepens students' awareness of technical communication's roots in the…

Interpretive Discourse and Other Models from Communication Studies: Expanding the Values of Technical Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Sean D.

2010-01-01

This article argues that in spite of some attempts to expand the diversity of approaches in Technical Communication, the field remains rooted in an expedient, managerial, techno-rational discourse, where discourse is understood as the values that guide research, practice, and teaching. The article draws on approaches from Communication Studies,…

Plastic surgery in the undergraduate curriculum: the importance of considering students' perceptions.

PubMed

Burd, Andrew; Chiu, Tor; McNaught, Carmel

2004-12-01

As the undergraduate medical curriculum becomes increasingly crowded the competition for time inevitably increases and surgical specialties have decreasing representation. Plastic surgery is regarded with some confusion in terms of its relevance to the generic doctor. Plastic surgeons have no doubt about the relevance of the specialty to undergraduates. Others see this as a very technical specialty dealing with complex reconstructions and surgical interventions or, as a rather indulgent specialty focusing mainly on glamour and cosmesis. This study focuses on students' perceptions of an undergraduate teaching program in plastic surgery. The reality is that highly pressured undergraduates do not have the luxury of time to consider the finer details of the specialties to which they are exposed. Their priority is to pass their examinations and, having addressed that concern, further information becomes an acceptable bonus. The conclusion is that if plastic surgeons are going to gain greater involvement in the undergraduate curriculum they must start with involvement in examinations and assessments. The students will then ensure that adequate and appropriate teaching time is allocated.

Factor structure of the Communicator Styles Measure (CSM) when used with undergraduate health science students.

PubMed

Brown, Ted; Boyle, Malcolm; Williams, Brett; Molloy, Andrew; McKenna, Lisa; Palermo, Claire; Molloy, Liz

2013-06-01

It is important for educators to consider the communication skills of students enrolled in health science programmes. To date, research into this area is limited, and having measures that are valid and reliable would assist educators and researchers to complete high-quality investigations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of Communicator Styles Measure. Data from the Communicator Styles Measure completed by 860 undergraduate health science students enrolled in eight different courses at an Australian university (response rate of 59%) were analysed using principal component analysis with varimax rotation and a cluster analysis using elementary linkage analysis. The Communicator Styles Measure is a self-report scale consisting of 40 items designed to assess ten communication styles and one's perception of his/her ability to communicate. Communicator Styles Measure items loaded onto five new viable factors labelled personable, energetic, confident, open and confronting. Six items of the original 40 from the Communicator Styles Measure did not load onto any factor and were therefore considered redundant. The original factor structure proposed by the Communicator Styles Measure's author was not supported, which calls into question its construct validity. However, the five new factors identified in this study may be useful for researchers and educators when assessing the communication skills of students and practitioners. Further investigation into the construct validity and reliability of the five new Communicator Styles Measure factors is recommended. © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.

A "CASE" Study on Developing Science Communication and Outreach Skills of University Graduate Student Researchers in Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tedesche, M. E.; Conner, L.

2015-12-01

Well rounded scientific researchers are not only experts in their field, but can also communicate their work to a multitude of various audiences, including the general public and undergraduate university students. Training in these areas should ideally start during graduate school, but many programs are not preparing students to effectively communicate their work. Here, we present results from the NSF-funded CASE (Changing Alaska Science Education) program, which was funded by NSF under the auspices of the GK-12 program. CASE placed science graduate students (fellows) in K-12 classrooms to teach alongside of K-12 teachers with the goal of enhancing communication and teaching skills among graduate students. CASE trained fellows in inquiry-based and experiential techniques and emphasized the integration of art, writing, and traditional Alaska Native knowledge in the classroom. Such techniques are especially effective in engaging students from underrepresented groups. As a result of participation, many CASE fellows have reported increased skills in communication and teaching, as well as in time management. These skills may prove directly applicable to higher education when teaching undergraduate students.

Basic Writing Concepts for Scientists and Engineers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, John H.

1980-01-01

Notes the differences between poetry and technical communication. Charges English teacher/humanists with confusing students about emotional writing, style, and effective technical communication. Offers five concepts that technical writing teachers can use to place "style" on a rational basis and to make students understand the true purposes of…

Learning within Incoherent Structures: The Space of Online Discussion Forums.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, Matthew J. W.

2002-01-01

Presents results from a study of undergraduate students' learning outcomes and patterns of interaction within an online discussion forum. Topics include social dynamics of computer-mediated communication versus face-to-face communication; cognitive engagement; critical and reflective thinking; and student interaction. (Author/LRW)

Patterns of Change in Willingness to Communicate in Public Speaking Contexts: A Latent Growth Modeling Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodis, Georgeta M.; Bardhan, Nilanjana R.; Hodis, Flaviu A.

2010-01-01

This study offers a comprehensive analysis of change in willingness to communicate (WTC) in public speaking contexts (i.e., PS-WTC). The proposed conceptualization of change was tested using longitudinal data collected from a sample of 706 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory communication course in a US university. Results of latent…

Facilitating Interdisciplinary Competence: Collaboration between Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Students and Graduate Students Specializing in Communication Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillan, Libba Reed; Burrus, Embry; Willis, Laura; Grabowsky, Adelia

2016-01-01

The fast-paced nature of the healthcare setting, coupled with the number of allied professionals involved, demands accurate and concise written communication. It is imperative that written communication between nursing and allied professionals be clear to ensure that the highest quality of care is provided and that patient safety is maintained.…

Communications and Alumni Relations: What Is the Correlation between an Institution's Communications Vehicles and Alumni Annual Giving?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levine, Wendy

2008-01-01

This paper examines the relationship between colleges' communications pieces and their undergraduate alumni giving. In order to test the question, 250 surveys were mailed to annual giving and development directors at private US colleges that were members of the Council of Advancement and Support of Education. Fifty-eight surveys were returned. The…

Team Knowledge Sharing Intervention Effects on Team Shared Mental Models and Student Performance in an Undergraduate Science Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sikorski, Eric G.; Johnson, Tristan E.; Ruscher, Paul H.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shared mental model (SMM) based intervention on student team mental model similarity and ultimately team performance in an undergraduate meteorology course. The team knowledge sharing (TKS) intervention was designed to promote team reflection, communication, and improvement planning.…

How Do People Think about the Science They Encounter in Fiction? Undergraduates Investigate Responses to Science in "The Simpsons"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orthia, Lindy A.; Dobos, Amy R.; Guy, Tristan; Kan, Shanan Z.; Keys, Siân E.; Nekvapil, Stefan; Ngu, Dalton H. Y.

2012-01-01

In this study, students and staff involved in an undergraduate science communication course investigated people's responses to a science-rich episode of the animated sitcom "The Simpsons". Using focus groups, we sought to find out if and how the episode influenced our 34 participants' perceptions of science, but our results problematised…

Education, Learning, and Communications, Ecology and the Undergraduate Curriculum, Session 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darnell, Rezneat M.; And Others

This set of two audio cassette tapes was recorded at the 1969 AAAS meeting on Ecology and the undergraduate curriculum. Four papers were presented each followed by a question and answer session. Dr. Darnell presented a paper titled "The New Ecology." The paper outlined the historical roots of ecology and defined the new perspectives of ecology,…

Exploring Awareness of Online Reading Strategies Used by EFL Learners in a Developing Country: A Study on Undergraduate Students in Bangladesh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Islam, Mohammad Shahedul; Rahman, Mohammad Shamsur; Haque, Enamul

2015-01-01

Information and Communication Technology plays an increasingly important role in the lives of learners around the world. The opportunity to seek information through computer has made reading an important language skill. In this hi-tech era, students of undergraduate programs should have high reading ability to comprehend knowledge available online…

Effective Utilization of ICT in English Language Learning--The Case of University of Botswana Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Umunnakwe, Ngozi; Sello, Queen

2016-01-01

The study investigates the effective utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by first year undergraduates of the University of Botswana (UB) in their reading and writing skills. The first year students are not first language (L1) learners of English. They have not utilized computers for learning reading and writing in their…

Undergraduate Biology Students' Attitudes towards the Use of Curriculum-Based Reader's Theater in a Laboratory Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, Chrissy J.

2017-01-01

In the undergraduate biology laboratory, many freshmen are apathetic towards the content of the course. Curriculum based reader's theater (CRBT) is an instructional method that can increase interest the students in the content of the course while improving student communication, collaboration and understanding. This research is an examination of…

Advice and Identity in Institutional Talk: A Conversation Analytic Study of Academic Advising at the Undergraduate Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norris, Alda M.

2011-01-01

Despite the importance of advising experiences, very little is known about the interpersonal communication dynamics of these interactions. This study addresses that knowledge gap by providing an analysis of audio recordings of advising sessions as they occurred in the offices of five academic advisors who met with undergraduate advisees (n= 28).…

Incorporation of Cross-Disciplinary Teaching and a Wiki Research Project to Engage Undergraduate Students' to Develop Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Communication Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crist, Courtney A.; Duncan, Susan E.; Bianchi, Laurie M.

2017-01-01

A Wiki research project was created in the Functional Foods for Health (FST/HNFE 2544) as an instructional tool and assignment for improving undergraduate students' proficiency in evaluating appropriate information sources for rapidly evolving science and research. The project design targeted improving students' information literacy skills…

Attitudes and Discourse: Spanish Practitioners' and Undergraduates' Survey Results (Actitudes y discurso: resultados de encuestas a profesionales y estudiantes de medicina)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herrando-Rodrigo, Isabel

2015-01-01

The emergence of English as the international language of communication has increased the attention and concern given its teaching and learning. This survey-based study explores the attitudes of Spanish practitioners and undergraduate students towards English as the vehicular language in the field of medicine and towards Medical Electronic…

The experience of educational quality in undergraduate nursing students: a phenomenological study.

PubMed

Macale, Loreana; Vellone, Ercole; Scialò, Gennaro; Iossa, Mauro; Cristofori, Elena; Alvaro, Rosaria

2016-01-01

The evaluation of academic education has become crucial in the European Union since the Bologna Process encouraged all European universities to reach high quality standards in education. Although several studies have been conducted on the quality of undergraduate nursing education, few studies have explored this topic from the students' perspective. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of educational quality in undergraduate nursing students. The phenomenological method was used to study 55 students (mean age 24 years; 73% female) pursuing a baccalaureate degree in nursing in three universities in central Italy. The following five themes emerged from the phenomenological analysis: 1) quality of faculties: teaching skills, preparation, sensitivity to students, self-discipline; 2) theory-practice integration and communication between teaching and clinical area; 3) general management and organization of the programme; 4) quality of infrastructures: libraries, classrooms, information technology, services, administration, and communication; and 5) clinical tutorship: humanity, relationships and ability of the clinical tutor to guide and support. This study's novel finding was a deeper understanding of the educational quality's meanings among undergraduate nursing students. Students thought educational quality consisted of the faculty members' sensitivity towards their problems and the clinical tutors' humanity, interpersonal skills, guidance and support.

Integrating psychology with interpersonal communication skills in undergraduate nursing education: addressing the challenges.

PubMed

McCarthy, Bridie; Trace, Anna; O'Donovan, Moira

2014-05-01

The inclusion of the social, behavioural and bio-sciences is acknowledged as essential to the development of the art and science of nursing. Nonetheless, the literature highlights on-going debate about the content and delivery of these subject areas in undergraduate nursing education. The bio-sciences and social sciences in particular have received much attention but more recently the inclusion of psychology in nursing curricula is gaining momentum. Studies conducted on nursing students' views of these supporting sciences have also highlighted problems with their understanding, relevance and application to nursing practice. Although broad guidelines are given as to what should be included, no detail is given as to how much detail or at what level these subjects should be taught. Subsequently, approved institutions are responsible for their own course content. This has resulted in inconsistent and varied approaches to integrating the sciences in undergraduate nursing curricula. Following a recent review of the undergraduate nursing curriculum in one university in the Republic of Ireland a decision was made to combine the teaching, learning and assessment of Applied Psychology with Interpersonal Communication skills. This paper will describe the developmental process and evaluation of the integrated module. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Student Perceptions of Their Biology Teacher's Interpersonal Teaching Behaviors and Student Achievement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madike, Victor N.

Inadequate student-teacher interactions in undergraduate courses have been linked to poor student performance. Researchers have noted that students' perceptions of student-teacher relationships may be an important factor related to student performance. The administration of a Mid-Atlantic community college prioritized increasing undergraduate biology student performance. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between students' biology achievement and their perceptions of interpersonal teaching behaviors and student-teacher interactions in introductory biology courses. Leary's theory on interpersonal communication and the systems communication theory of Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson served as the theoretical foundation. The Wubbel's Likert-scale questionnaire on student-teacher interactions was administered to 318 undergraduate biology students. Non-parametric Spearman's rank correlations revealed a significant direct correlation between students' grades and their perceptions of teachers' interpersonal teaching behaviors. The relationship between student achievement and students' perceptions of student-teacher interactions prompted the recommendation for additional study on the importance of student-teacher interactions in undergraduate programs. A recommendation for local practice included faculty development on strategies for improving student-teacher interactions. The study's implications for positive social change include increased understanding for administrators and instructors on the importance of teacher-student interactions at the community college level.

Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest For Undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Nathan; Newton, E. R.; Czekala, I.; Rosenfeld, K.; Dressing, C. D.; Gifford, D.; Suresh, J.; Schneider, E.; Morley, C.; Kohler, S.

2011-05-01

Do you know an undergraduate embarking on a career in research in astronomy or a related field? Point them to Astrobites, a daily astrophysical literature blog for undergraduates written by graduate students (http://astroph.wordpress.com). Our goal is to present one interesting paper per day in a brief format that is accessible to undergraduate students in the physical sciences who are interested in active research. We not only try to summarize new work, but also to provide valuable context for readers not yet familiar with the astrophysical literature. For example, our posts discuss the long term goals motivating the field, astronomical jargon, and how the technical methods work. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. how to select a graduate school) and detail personal experiences (e.g. observing at a Chilean telescope or attending a AAS meeting). We present sample Astrobites posts, readership statistics, and the results of our periodic reader surveys from our first semester of blogging (Spring 2011).

Quad Charts in the Classroom to Reinforce Technical Communication Fundamentals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Julie Dyke; Wei, Tie

2015-01-01

Quad charts are a genre frequently used in scientific and technical environments, yet little prior work has evaluated their potential for reinforcing technical communication fundamentals. This article provides background information about quad charts and notes the benefits of implementing quad charts in the classroom. In particular, introducing…

Progress in Scientific and Technical Communications, 1968 Annual Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Federal Council for Science and Technology, Washington, DC. Committee on Scientific and Technical Information.

This sixth annual report describes progress achieved by the Federal Government in improving the communication of scientific and technical information to support and enhance national science and technology. Included in the report are details regarding the scientific and technical activities of individual Federal Agencies, such as the Atomic Energy…

A Profile of In-House Teachers of Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mazzatenta, Ernest

To develop a profile of inhouse, company teachers of technical communication, a six-page questionnaire was administered to technical writing teachers. Of the 52 respondents, 24 offered both formal inhouse courses and informal training while 22 conducted only formal courses. Titles, course outlines, and other survey comments revealed that many…

"You Will": Technology, Magic, and the Cultural Contexts of Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitalong, Karla Saari

2000-01-01

Provides some background on the use of magical language in technical contexts, gives examples of magical discourse in technology advertisements and newsmagazine articles, and proposes a technical communication pedagogy of media analysis. Notes that the proposed pedagogy involves students conducting diagnostic critiques of media texts and affords…

In Pursuit of a Rewarding Career

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murphy, Avon J.

2015-01-01

Avon Murphy has been a college professor, a technical communications program director, a government technical writer, a freelancer, a contract editor at Microsoft and other firms, and owner of Murphy Editing and Writing Services. An STC (Society for Technical Communication) Fellow, he was for 17 years book review editor for "Technical…

New Perspectives on the Technical Communication Internship: Professionalism in the Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bourelle, Tiffany

2014-01-01

This article argues for developing linked courses in technical communication where the instructor facilitates a service-learning curriculum and then serves as faculty advisor within subsequent internships. In these linked courses, students write technical documents before moving into internships where they write similar documents. Specifically,…

An Overview of Clarkson's Technical Communications Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barkman, Patricia R.

The technical communications program at Clarkson College (New York) offers students 23 courses in subjects ranging from interpersonal behavior to engineering and scientific report writing to computer documentation and the development of technical manuals. With the help of an advisor, each student works out a course of study appropriate to his or…

The Role of Communication in the Professional Socialization Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, George A.; Carson, David L.

To explore the professional socialization of technical writers and communicators, 98 professional technical communicators were administered a questionnaire identifying key concepts in the field. On seven occasions, professionals, teachers, and graduate students were asked to estimate how greatly these concepts, together with four additional terms…

Application of Theory to a Technical Assistance Experiment: Development Communication Theory and the Basic Village Education Project in Guatemala.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, James D.

This paper attempts to assess the influence of development communication theory on the planning and implementation of technical assistance projects in the Third World that utilize mass communication as an agent of change. Like political development theory, communication theory has often been applied in an ethnocentric manner in less developed…

Communicating to Influence Drug Development and Regulatory Decisions: A Tutorial

PubMed Central

Mehrotra, S

2016-01-01

Pharmacometricians require three skills to be influential: technical, business (e.g., drug development), and soft skills (e.g., communication). Effective communication is required to translate technical and often complicated quantitative findings to interdisciplinary team members in order to influence drug development or regulatory decisions. In this tutorial, we highlight important aspects related to communicating pharmacometric analysis to influence decisions. PMID:27299706

Program for the Division of Chemical Education: Chicago, March 25 29, 2007

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Middlecamp, Catherine H.; Bodner, George M.; Jones, Wayne E., Jr.

2007-03-01

Program for the Division of Chemical Education March 2007 meeting in Chicago. All CHED technical sessions including the High School Program will be held in the McCormick Place Convention Complex North, 2301 South Lake Shore Drive. Exceptions are the Undergraduate Program (in the Westin Hotel Michigan Avenue), the Undergraduate Research Poster Sessions (in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel), and any evening programs. Unless otherwise noted, morning sessions begin at 8:30 a.m., afternoon sessions at 1:30 p.m.

Statistical Methods for Protecting Personally Identifiable Information in the Disclosure of Graduation Rates of First-Time, Full-Time Degree- or Certificate-Seeking Undergraduate Students by 2-Year Degree-Granting Institutions of Higher Education. Technical Brief. NCES 2012-151

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Xianglei; Bersudskaya, Vera; Cubarrubi, Archie

2011-01-01

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) requires that Title IV degree-granting institutions disclose annually the graduation rates of first-time, full-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students, disaggregated by gender, each major racial/ethnic subgroup, and receipt or non-receipt of a federal Pell grant or subsidized…

Resource Letter SPE-1: Single-Photon Experiments in the Undergraduate Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galvez, Enrique J.

2014-11-01

This Resource Letter lists undergraduate-laboratory adaptations of landmark optical experiments on the fundamentals of quantum physics. Journal articles and websites give technical details of the adaptations, which offer students unique hands-on access to testing fundamental concepts and predictions of quantum mechanics. A selection of the original research articles that led to the implementations is included. These developments have motivated a rethinking of the way quantum mechanics is taught, so this Resource Letter also lists textbooks that provide these new approaches.

The application of the Practitioners in Applied Practice Model during breaking bad news communication training for medical students: a case study.

PubMed

Dunning, Rose; Laidlaw, Anita

2015-11-01

Breaking bad news is a key skill within clinical communication and one which can impact outcomes for both the patient and practitioner. The evidence base for effective clinical communication training in breaking bad news is scarce. Frameworks have been found to assist the practitioner, such as SPIKES; however, the pedagogical approach used alongside such frameworks can vary. This study sought to examine the impact of utilising the Practitioners in Applied Practice Model (PAPM) alongside the SPIKES framework for training undergraduate medical students in breaking bad news. A case study approach is used to highlight the impact of training based on the PAPM and SPIKES on patient-centred communication and simulated patient satisfaction with the clinical communication behaviour. Results showed that following training, both patient-centred behaviour and patient satisfaction improved. With detailed communication behaviour changes, a balance was established between rapport building behaviour, lifestyle and psychosocial talk alongside biomedical information. This case study shows how the PAPM could be utilised alongside the SPIKES framework to improve breaking bad news communication in medical undergraduate students and describes the behavioural basis of the improvement. Further research is required to show the generalisability of this training intervention. © The Author(s) 2015.

Engaging Students in a Service-Learning Community through Computer-Mediated Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bair, Beth Teagarden

2017-01-01

In 2015, a university in rural Maryland offered an undergraduate service-learning leadership course, which collaborated with a service-learning community of practice. This interdisciplinary leadership course initiated and sustained personal and critical reflection and social interactions by integrating Computer-Medicated Communication (CMC)…

Embracing Tensions in Feminist Organizational Communication Pedagogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Linabary, Jasmine R.; Long, Ziyu; Mouton, Ashton; Rao, Ranjani L.; Buzzanell, Patrice M.

2017-01-01

Feminist pedagogies hold potential to create more inclusive and transformative classrooms. Adopting a tension-centered approach, we draw on our individual and collective reflections on the design and instruction of a multi-section undergraduate organizational communication course to build an autoethnographic account of the tensions associated with…

Communicating Test Results: A Training Guide. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phelps, William R.

This training guide is prepared primarily for the professional practitioner; however, academicians may find the guide to have considerable value in both graduate and undergraduate courses in the helping services. The material presents techniques and methods for communicating test results of a psychometric nature, suggested standards for…

Determinants of Effective Communication among Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anvari, Roya; Atiyaye, Dauda Mohammed

2014-01-01

This study aims to investigate the relationship between effective communication and transferring information. In the present correlational study, a cross-sectional research design was employed, and data were collected using a questionnaire-based survey. 46 students were chosen based on random sampling and questionnaires were distributed among…

Adapting to the Job Market: Graduate Programs in Speech Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berg, David M.

The percentage of speech communication doctoral graduates employed full time and the percentage working in academic institutions have declined considerably since 1968. The glut of humanities doctorates appears to present three courses of action: increase undergraduate enrollments, decrease graduate enrollments, or increase nonacademic employment…

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 33: Technical communications practices and the use of information technologies as reported by Dutch and US aerospace engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Tan, Axel S. T.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (The Netherlands), and NASA ARC (U.S.), and NASA LaRC (U.S.). This paper presents responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions concerning four of the seven project objectives: determining the importance of technical communications to aerospace engineering professionals, investigating the production of technical communications, examining the use and importance of computer and information technology, and exploring the use of electronic networks.

The Elusiveness of Workplace Culture: Response to "Technical Communication: The Cultural Context."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Gerald M.

1987-01-01

Responds to C. Lipson's article on the cultural context of technical communication by criticizing her lack of definition of the term "corporate culture," and suggesting that analyzing corporations as cultures is naive, simplistic, and would probably have little value for students of business communication. (SKC)

Aristotelian Rhetorical Theory as a Framework for Teaching Scientific and Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Sara

1999-01-01

Describes an upper level rhetorical theory course for Scientific and Technical Communication majors (developed and taught by the author) that is grounded in Aristotle's "On Rhetoric" and in his understanding that effective communication is a systematic "tekhne"/art. Describes how the course uses Aristotle's work as a…

Cosmopolitanism: Extending Our Theoretical Framework for Transcultural Technical Communication Research and Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmer, Zsuzsanna Bacsa

2013-01-01

The effects of globalization on communication products and processes have resulted in document features and interactional practices that are sometimes difficult to describe within current theoretical frameworks of inter/transcultural technical communication. Although it has been recognized in our field that the old theoretical frameworks and…

Developing virtual REU cohorts: Reflections from the IRIS Undergraduate Internship Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hubenthal, M.; Taber, J.; Aster, R.; Frassetto, A.

2007-12-01

Beginning in 2006, the IRIS Education and Outreach program received funding from the National Science Foundation (EAR-0453427) to explore a novel approach to the traditional Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) model. This model blends the spirit of an REU program, which traditionally hosts participants in one location with successful prior IRIS experience hosting students at widely separated institutions to participate in summer research. A unique feature the IRIS Undergraduate Internship Program is that throughout the summer, interns form and sustain a virtual community, offering assistance, sharing ideas, asking questions, and relaying life experiences while conducting their research at diverse institutions. Key to IRIS's REU model is a combination of: one-on-one mentoring by researchers at IRIS institutions across the US, developing a strong unity among interns through both face-to-face and on-line interactions, participation of an IRIS REU alumni mentor to provide both group and intern-specific guidance developing interns' abilities to self-evaluate and work independently, through carefully designed web-based tools, and increasing interns' awareness of the IRIS and broader Earth Science community; demonstrating the role they will play in this larger community. Virtual interaction is facilitated by 1) bringing students together for face-to-face contact, through a week long orientation held annually at the IRIS PASSCAL Instrument Center on the campus of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and 2) the community enabling web infrastructure at http://www.iris.edu/internship/. During the orientation students engage in classes in geophysics basics, career preparation, as well as training to communicate virtually. Our experiences and evaluations from the 2006 and 2007 field seasons have:shown the increasing demand for electronic advertising of REU programs, provided support for several assumptions of the model including the key role of both the orientation week and the alumni mentor, revealed the important role of blogs and discussion forums in the mentoring and self-reflection process, as well as additional technical enhancements to improve the virtual cohort, produced concrete examples of the model applied at its best, and helped the program identify challenges the model faces, e.g communicating during remote fieldwork and sustaining intern's attention and participation in the virtual community.

Teaching 3D computer animation to illustrators: the instructor as translator and technical director.

PubMed

Koning, Wobbe F

2012-01-01

An art instructor discusses the difficulties he's encountered teaching computer graphics skills to undergraduate art students. To help the students, he introduced an automated-rigging script for character animation.

Feasibility Study for a Computerized Serials Control System in the Defense Communications Agency Technical and Management Information Center.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-20

AD-A162 ±88 FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR A COMPUTERIZED SERIALS CONTROL 1/1 SYSTEM IN THE DEFENS (U) DEFENSE COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY WASHINGTON DC TECHNICAL...NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS- 1963-A 0FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR A COMPUTERIZED SERIALS CONTROL SYSTEM IN THE DEFENSE COMMUNICATIONS 0AGENCY TECHNICAL AND...ABSTRACT 21. ABSTRACT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION UNCLASSIFIED/UNLIMITED R1 SAME AS RPT. 0 DTIC USERS 0 UNCLASSIFIED 22&. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE INDIVIDUAL 22b

Exposing Hidden Relations: Storytelling, Pedagogy, and the Study of Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Kristen

2013-01-01

Within a Technical Communication classroom, policywork has been used to teach students the vital discursive and conceptual skills valued by technical fields. However, given the move of technical communicators into the public sphere, these skills can and should be expanded to include diverse practices and modes of thought. As such, this article…

Computer Programs for Technical Communicators: The Compelling Curriculum. Working Draft.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selfe, Cynthia L.; Wahlstrom, Billie J.

A series of computer programs have been developed at Michigan Technological University for use with technical writing and technical communications classes. The first type of program in the series, CURIE II, includes process-based modules, each of which corresponds to one of the following assignments: memoranda, resumes, feasibility reports,…

Is the Fear of "Being Wrong" a Barrier for Effective Communication between Students and Professors? A Survey Study at Babes-Bolyai University Romania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florescu, Mihaela Hrisa; Pop-Pacurar, Irina

2016-01-01

The aim of this paper is to identify the students' and faculty members' perspective on teaching communication aspects and dynamics, and also to predict pattern changes that may improve communication effectiveness at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Particularly, we were interested to find out to what extent the "fear of giving the wrong…

A Case Study for Evaluating the Diffusion of Computing Technology in Teaching Undergraduates by a Faculty in a Journalism and Mass Communication Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Terry, Janet L.; Geske, Joel

A case study investigated how journalism and mass communication faculty members diffused and used computing technology in teaching. Subjects, 21 tenured and tenure-track faculty members in a mid-sized journalism and mass communication department, completed an indepth questionnaire designed to measure the general attitude of the faculty towards…

Enhancement of Global Communication Skill at the School of Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morimura, Kumiko

Globalization is one of the most important challenges for universities. Especially for the School of Engineering, it is crucial to foster researchers or engineers with broader perspective. International communication competency is essential for them in order to deal with other professionals from overseas. Center for Innovation in Engineering Education established in the School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo in 2005 started two programs for graduate and undergraduate students to enhance their international communication competency and to increase international competitiveness. ‘English for Scientists and Engineers A, B’ are for the graduate students to learn how to write papers in English and how to make good presentations. Special English Lessons are for the undergraduate students to have a chance to practice English conversation or prepare for TOEFL test. In this paper, the authors discuss the details of the programs, their purpose and the future tasks.

Bridging the Gap: Embedding Communication Courses in the Science Undergraduate Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jandciu, Eric; Stewart, Jaclyn J.; Stoodley, Robin; Birol, Gülnur; Han, Andrea; Fox, Joanne A.

2015-01-01

The authors describe a model for embedding science communication into the science curriculum without displacing science content. They describe the rationale, development, design, and implementation of two courses taught by science faculty addressing these criteria. They also outline the evaluation plan for these courses, which emphasize broad…

Developing Discourse of Renewal during a Campus Crisis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boatwright, Brandon; Mazer, Joseph P.

2017-01-01

Course: This assignment is a unit activity designed for use in a skills-focused undergraduate public relations, organizational communication, or crisis communication course. Objective: The goal of this activity is to increase students' understanding of and ability to apply discourse of renewal in a crisis scenario. Students will work…

Training Communication Graduates for Singapore's Media Research Market.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolfe, Billy; Ying, Angeling Sim Zhi

2000-01-01

Presents preliminary findings from a needs assessment study of undergraduate communication and media training in Singapore. Content analyzes 372 relevant employment ads for 1998 and 1999. Finds nearly 60% were for marketing research, public opinion polling or other kinds of applied research. Suggests an exploding demand for graduates with…

The Effects of Intercultural Communication on Viewers' Perceptions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pohl, Gayle M.

Three studies explored the impact of the controversial television docudrama "Death of a Princess" on viewers' attitudes, comprehension, and desire to continue viewing the film. Sixty students in undergraduate communication classes participated in Study I, which measured attitude change induced by the film, relative to the viewers' prior…

Interrelationships Between Mass and Interpersonal Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brownell, Judith

Academic departmentalization, especially at the undergraduate level, can result in the isolation of subject areas. The two purposes of this paper are to make a case for the interrelationships between mass and interpersonal communication becoming an integral aspect of mass media study, and to stress the importance of presenting this material in…

Promoting Active Learning of Ethical Issues in Marketing Communications Using Debates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Donald P.

2012-01-01

Expectations from the business world and business school accreditation bodies to create learning outcomes that enhance students' understanding of ethical concepts call for marketing educators to integrate ethics into their pedagogy. This paper summarizes a debate activity used in an undergraduate marketing communications course. Debates engage…

Drinking Parties and Learning: A Tale from Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suchan, Jim

2007-01-01

In spring of 2006, the author spent a semester teaching undergraduate and graduate business and managerial communication courses at Chuo University, with intent to challenge his US-centric habits of mind about interaction and communication by immersing himself in a cultural and work environment fundamentally different from his own. Although…

Effective Teaching of Business Communications: Responding to Reported Business Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Thomas E.

Research indicates that skills in listening to and motivating people need to be emphasized more in undergraduate business communication courses. Three theories of motivation--Maslow's hierarchy of needs, McClelland's achievement motive, and Hersberg's motivation-hygiene theory--can introduce students to the systems perspective, an approach…

An Empirical Assessment of the Communication Components Inventory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keaton, Shaughan A.; Bodie, Graham D.

2012-01-01

This article attempts to demonstrate the psychometric properties and evidence of validity for a measure recently proposed in this journal, the Communication Components Inventory (CCI). Across two studies, a total of 903 undergraduate students completed one of the two response formats--dichotomous and scaled--of the CCI and the Multiple…

Karaoke and Interpersonal Communication in East Asia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Ringo

An exploratory study investigated the interpersonal meaning of karaoke to its participants in East Asia. Current research suggests that the popularity of karaoke in East Asia is associated with the cultural value of harmony and the indirect mode of communication in this region. Subjects, 51 East Asian undergraduate-level students who had…

Examining Education and Newsroom Work Experience as Predictors of Communication Students' Perceptions of Journalism Ethics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Detenber, Benjamin H.; Cenite, Mark; Malik, Shelly; Neo, Rachel L.

2012-01-01

This study examines education and work experience in newsrooms as predictors of ethical perceptions among communication undergraduates at a large Singaporean university (N = 826). Results indicate that education is associated with ethical ideologies, perceived importance of journalism ethics codes, justifiability of using contentious news…

Opportunity Realized: Undergraduate Education within Departments of Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Dan P.; Kernisky, Debra A.

1999-01-01

Offers three models for educating future public-relations practitioners from a communication point of view: a macro-approach that integrates outcomes, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment at the program level; a micro-approach that adds specifics of outcomes, pedagogy, and assessment strategies for each of five core course-content areas; and a…

Goofy Guide Game: Affordances and Constraints for Engagement and Oral Communication in English

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enticknap-Seppänen, Kaisa

2017-01-01

This study investigates tourism undergraduates' perceptions of learning engagement and oral communication in English through their experiences of testing a pilot purpose-designed educational digital game. Reflecting the implementation of digitalization strategy in universities of applied sciences in Finland, it examines whether single instances of…

Teaching across the Great Divide

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, K. Kathleen

2010-01-01

In this article, the author illustrates the significant role that communication plays in the success of team-teaching where her co-teacher is nearly 12,000 miles and two continents away. The author teaches business communication to female undergraduates in the College of Business Sciences at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, while…

Preparing Students for 21st Century Teamwork: Effective Collaboration in the Online Group Communication Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Messersmith, Amber S.

2015-01-01

Facilitating meaningful interaction among students is a significant challenge of teaching in the online environment. This paper presents a semester-long approach that enables quality interaction among group members within undergraduate online group communication courses while experiencing the challenges of working with geographically dispersed…

Blogging in the Communication Technology Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Platt, Carrie Anne

2011-01-01

This article describes an assignment that was developed for an undergraduate course on communication technologies taught at a public university in the Upper Midwest. The course focuses on the impact of new media technologies on traditional media industries and contemporary culture, and is taken by students majoring in journalism, public relations,…

Instructor Socio-Communicative Style, Argumentativeness, and Verbal Aggressiveness in the College Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Myers, Scott A.

A study examined the relationship among instructor socio-communicative style, argumentativeness, and verbal aggressiveness in the college classroom. Participants were 139 undergraduate students enrolled at a small southern university who completed the Assertiveness-Responsiveness Measure (Richmond and McCroskey, 1995), as well as modified versions…

Clinical audit training improves undergraduates' performance in root canal therapy.

PubMed

Fong, J Y M; Tan, V J H; Lee, J R; Tong, Z G M; Foong, Y K; Tan, J M E; Parolia, A; Pau, A

2017-12-20

To evaluate the effectiveness of clinical audit-feedback cycle as an educational tool in improving the technical quality of root canal therapy (RCT) and compliance with record keeping performed by dental undergraduates. Clinical audit learning was introduced in Year 3 of a 5-year curriculum for dental undergraduates. During classroom activities, students were briefed on clinical audit, selected their audit topics in groups of 5 or 6 students, and prepared and presented their audit protocols. One chosen topic was RCT, in which 3 different cohorts of Year 3 students conducted retrospective audits of patients' records in 2012, 2014 and 2015 for their compliance with recommended record keeping criteria and their performance in RCT. Students were trained by and calibrated against an endodontist (κ ≥ 0.8). After each audit, the findings were reported in class, and recommendations were made for improvement in performance of RCT and record keeping. Students' compliance with published guidelines was presented and their RCT performances in each year were compared using the chi-square test. Overall compliance with of record keeping guidelines was 44.1% in 2012, 79.6% in 2014 and 94.6% in 2015 (P = .001). In the 2012 audit, acceptable extension, condensation and the absence of mishap were observed in 72.4, 75.7% and 91.5%; in the 2014 audit, 95.1%, 64.8% and 51.4%; and in 2015 audit, 96.4%, 82.1% and 92.8% of cases, respectively. In 2015, 76.8% of root canal fillings met all 3 technical quality criteria when compared to 48.6% in 2014 and 44.7% in 2012 (P = .001). Clinical audit-feedback cycle is an effective educational tool for improving dental undergraduates' compliance with record keeping and performance in the technical quality of RCT. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Collaboration for Education with the Apple Learning Interchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, Patrick A.; Zimmerman, T.; Knierman, K. A.

2006-12-01

We present a progressive effort to deliver online education and outreach resources in collaboration with the Apple Learning Interchange, a free community for educators. We have created a resource site with astronomy activities, video training for the activities, and the possibility of interactive training through video chat services. Also in development is an online textbook for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in stellar evolution, featuring an updatable and annotated text with multimedia content, online lectures, podcasts, and a framework for interactive simulation activities. Both sites will be highly interactive, combining online discussions, the opportunity for live video interaction, and a growing library of student work samples. This effort promises to provide a compelling model for collaboration between science educators and corporations. As scientists, we provide content knowledge and a compelling reason to communicate, while Apple provides technical expertise, a deep knowledge of online education, and a way for us to reach a wide audience of higher education, community outreach, and K-12 educators.

Internships in Public Science Education program: a model for informal science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zenner, Greta

2005-03-01

The NSF-funded Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program provides a unique opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students with varied academic background to experience learning and teaching science--specifically nanotechnology--to the general public and middle-school students. The program is in collaboration with Discovery World Museum of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. IPSE interns have created a number of classroom activities ranging from understanding the scale of a nanometer to experimenting with liquid crystal sensors to critically examining the societal implications of nanotechnology. In a new phase of the program, the interns are developing a museum exhibit on nanotechnology to be housed at the Discovery World Museum. Through this experience, intern teams learn about nanotechnology, brainstorm ideas, present and receive feedback on their ideas, and create an exhibit prototype to explain nanotechnology and related science concepts. The program also focuses on professional development, during which interns learn techniques for presenting to non-technical audiences, strategies for assessing their materials, and work on their skills in teamwork, project design, leadership, and science communication.

An Assessment of Information Literacy Instruction in Physics Curricula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fosmire, Michael

1999-10-01

Although the information landscape in scientific and technical fields in general and physics in particular is becoming increasingly complicated, a survey of physics librarians found that information literacy instruction for undergraduate and graduate physics students is almost nonexistent. The rise of electronic (and often unrefereed) communication, through websites, electronic discussion lists, and eprint servers, has made the system of information dissemination even more complex. Despite this increased complexity, in physics curricula formal instruction on navigating and intelligently consuming information resources is minimal. The limited instruction that is done appears to be very pragmatic training on how to use specific resources and does not address issues of information literacy. Research literature indicates that students with immediate and concrete information needs (e.g., course assignments) are most receptive to information literacy instruction. Thus, faculty and librarians need to work together to co-ordinate instruction efforts in a way that is not currently being done, so students with information needs have the appropriate skills to fill those needs.

Case study of a problem-based learning course of physics in a telecommunications engineering degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macho-Stadler, Erica; Jesús Elejalde-García, Maria

2013-08-01

Active learning methods can be appropriate in engineering, as their methodology promotes meta-cognition, independent learning and problem-solving skills. Problem-based learning is the educational process by which problem-solving activities and instructor's guidance facilitate learning. Its key characteristic involves posing a 'concrete problem' to initiate the learning process, generally implemented by small groups of students. Many universities have developed and used active methodologies successfully in the teaching-learning process. During the past few years, the University of the Basque Country has promoted the use of active methodologies through several teacher training programmes. In this paper, we describe and analyse the results of the educational experience using the problem-based learning (PBL) method in a physics course for undergraduates enrolled in the technical telecommunications engineering degree programme. From an instructors' perspective, PBL strengths include better student attitude in class and increased instructor-student and student-student interactions. The students emphasised developing teamwork and communication skills in a good learning atmosphere as positive aspects.

Psychometric properties of the Calgary Cambridge guides to assess communication skills of undergraduate medical students

PubMed Central

Simmenroth-Nayda, Anne; Heinemann, Stephanie; Nolte, Catharina; Fischer, Thomas; Himmel, Wolfgang

2014-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse the psychometric properties of the short version of the Calgary Cambridge Guides and to decide whether it can be recommended for use in the assessment of communications skills in young undergraduate medical students. Methods: Using a translated version of the Guide, 30 members from the Department of General Practice rated 5 videotaped encounters between students and simulated patients twice. Item analysis should detect possible floor and/or ceiling effects. The construct validity was investigated using exploratory factor analysis. Intra-rater reliability was measured in an interval of 3 months, inter-rater reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: The score distribution of the items showed no ceiling or floor effects. Four of the five factors extracted from the factor analysis represented important constructs of doctor-patient communication The ratings for the first and second round of assessing the videos correlated at 0.75 (p < 0.0001). Intraclass correlation coefficients for each item ranged were moderate and ranged from 0.05 to 0.57. Conclusions: Reasonable score distributions of most items without ceiling or floor effects as well as a good test-retest reliability and construct validity recommend the C-CG as an instrument for assessing communication skills in undergraduate medical students. Some deficiencies in inter-rater reliability are a clear indication that raters need a thorough instruction before using the C-CG. PMID:25480988

Shuttle ku-band communications/radar technical concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Griffin, J. W.; Kelley, J. S.; Steiner, A. W.; Vang, H. A.; Zrubek, W. E.; Huth, G. K.

1985-01-01

Technical data on the Shuttle Orbiter K sub u-band communications/radar system are presented. The more challenging aspects of the system design and development are emphasized. The technical problems encountered and the advancements made in solving them are discussed. The radar functions are presented first. Requirements and design/implementation approaches are discussed. Advanced features are explained, including Doppler measurement, frequency diversity, multiple pulse repetition frequencies and pulse widths, and multiple modes. The communications functions that are presented include advances made because of the requirements for multiple communications modes. Spread spectrum, quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), variable bit rates, and other advanced techniques are discussed. Performance results and conclusions reached are outlined.

The role of tablets in accessing information throughout undergraduate medical education in Botswana.

PubMed

Witt, Rachel E; Kebaetse, Masego B; Holmes, John H; Littman-Quinn, Ryan; Ketshogileng, Dineo; Antwi, Cynthia; Kovarik, Carrie; Nkomazana, Oathokwa

2016-04-01

Mobile learning (mLearning) uses wireless networks and mobile devices to expand physician trainees' and healthcare providers' access to and exchange of medical information. Opportunities to increase implementation and expand use of mobile devices to support health care information access and delivery in Africa are vast, but the rapid growth of mLearning has caused project implementation to outpace objective measurement of impact. This study makes a contribution to the existing body of literature regarding mLearning implementation in Africa through its focus on the use of smart devices (tablets) in undergraduate medical education and medical students' perceptions of the effects on their learning environment. The population of this prospective mixed-methods study consisted of 82 undergraduate medical students (45 third year and 37 fourth year) at the University of Botswana Faculty of Medicine. They received tablets in the earliest phase of the mLearning project implementation (between November 2012 and January 2013), when they were in the third and fourth year of their medical training. Usage of the tablets was assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively, through both application usage tracking and focus groups. Based on application usage data and coding and analysis of focus group discussions, undergraduate medical students indicated that tablets were useful in their medical education, allowing them continual access to information and opportunities for communication. Participants noted that the primary barrier to use of tablets was the lack of mobile cellular Internet beyond the Wi-Fi zones at the training sites. Moreover, participants offered suggestions for improvements to the implementation process. Even in resource-limited settings where Internet access can be unreliable and intermittent, the adoption of tablets can have benefits to medical education by providing consistent access to extensive and current medical information resources. This study highlights the value of clinical resources with offline functionality, with or without consistent access to the Internet. There is also the potential for optimizing the use of tablets through improved training and technical support. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: A Model for Undergraduate Participation and Outreach in Large Research Collaborations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, A. M.; Koopmann, R.; Higdon, S.; Balonek, T. J.; Haynes, M. P.; Giovanelli, R.; Adams, E. A. K.; Kent, B. R.; Stierwalt, S.

2011-09-01

The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) blind neutral hydrogen survey is an ongoing project that includes an innovative undergraduate outreach component promoting the participation of students and faculty at undergraduate-focused institutions in a large, multi-year research collaboration. The survey, which will ultimately detect ˜30,000 gas-rich galaxies, provides resources and authentic opportunities for undergraduates and faculty, including a high fraction of women and minorities, through the Undergraduate ALFALFA Team (UAT), an NSF-sponsored consortium of 18 participating institutions. The UAT experience features annual workshops at the Arecibo Observatory with hands-on experience for undergrad participants and their faculty mentors. Graduate students on the Cornell ALFALFA Team help plan and facilitate UAT activities and benefit by developing their own skills as mentors, project supervisors, and science communicators. The UAT is developing online lesson plans and activity guides that make use of the ALFALFA online data archive and of innovative learning techniques supported by the findings of astronomy education research.

Technical Communication Competence and Projected Teacher Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powers, William G.; Lowry, David N.

Technical Communication Competence (TCC)is the competence involved in communicating mental images to others in such a manner as to result in their constructing comparable mental images, a process similar to the primary task demanded of teachers at all levels. In a study designed to discover the extent to which a positive relationship existed…

Challenges and Rewards of Teaching Intercultural Communication in a Technical Writing Course: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cardenas, Diana L.

2012-01-01

Community-based projects immerse technical writing students in intercultural communication, addressing local needs and shaping documents in human terms. Students at a South Texas university work to establish communication with clients in a city-county health department to create effective documents and disseminate family health legislation. To…

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. XXXIII - Technical communications practices and the use of information technologies as reported by Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Tan, Axel S. T.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (The Netherlands), and NASA Ames Research Center (U.S.), and the NASA Langley Research Center (U.S.). This paper presents responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions about four of the seven project objectives: determining the importance of technical communications to aerospace engineering professionals, investigating the production of technical communications, examining the use and importance of computer and information technology, and exploring the use of electronic networks.

Teaching Intercultural Communication in a Basic Technical Writing Course: A Survey of Our Current Practices and Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matveeva, Natalia

2008-01-01

This research article reports the results of an online survey distributed among technical writing instructors in 2006. The survey aimed to examine how we teach intercultural communication in basic technical writing courses: our current practices and methods. The article discusses three major challenges that instructors may face when teaching about…

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study.

PubMed

Mellis, Birgit; Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M; Jayasekare, Rasitha

2018-01-01

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004-2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students.

SPIN-UP and Preparing Undergraduate Physics Majors for Careers in Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howes, Ruth

2011-03-01

Seven years ago, the Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics (SPIN-UP) Report produced by the National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics identified several key characteristics of thriving undergraduate physics departments including steps these departments had taken to prepare students better for careers in industry. Today statistical data from AIP shows that almost 40% of students graduating with a degree in physics seek employment as soon as they graduate. Successful undergraduate physics programs have taken steps to adapt their rigorous physics programs to ensure that graduating seniors have the skills they need to enter the industrial workplace as well as to go on to graduate school in physics. Typical strategies noted during a series of SPIN-UP workshops funded by a grant from NSF to APS, AAPT, and AIP include flexible curricula, early introduction of undergraduates to research techniques, revised laboratory experiences that provide students with skills they need to move directly into jobs, and increased emphasis on ``soft'' skills such as communication and team work. Despite significant success, undergraduate programs face continuing challenges in preparing students to work in industry, most significantly the fact that there is no job called ``physicist'' at the undergraduate level. supported by grant NSF DUE-0741560.

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study

PubMed Central

Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D.; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M.; Jayasekare, Rasitha

2018-01-01

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004–2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students. PMID:29698502

Student participation and interactivity using asynchronous computer-mediated communication for resolution of an undergraduate capstone management case study.

PubMed

Miller, Paulette J

2012-01-01

Online discussion activities are designed for computer-mediated learning activities in face-to-face, hybrid, and totally online courses. The use of asynchronous computer-mediated communication (A-CMC) coupled with authentic workplace case studies provides students in the protected learning environment with opportunities to practice workplace decision making and communication. In this study, communication behaviors of transmitter and receiver were analyzed to determine participation and interactivity in communication among small-group participants in a health information management capstone management course.

Teaching and assessment of communication skills in undergraduate dental education - a survey in German-speaking countries.

PubMed

Rüttermann, S; Sobotta, A; Hahn, P; Kiessling, C; Härtl, A

2017-08-01

Teaching communication is perceived to be of importance in dental education. Several reports have been published worldwide in the educational literature describing modifications of the dental curriculum by implementing the teaching of communication skills. Surveys which evaluate the current state of training and assessment of communication skills in dental education in different countries exist already in some countries, but little information is available about German-speaking countries. In a cross-sectional study with the aim of a census, all 36 dental schools in Germany (30), Austria (3), and Switzerland (3) were surveyed. The present survey revealed that at 26 of the 34 dental schools (76%), communication skills training has been implemented. Training of communication skills mainly takes place between the 6th and the 9th semester. Ten schools were able to implement a partly longitudinal curriculum, while the other sites only offer stand-alone courses. Of the 34 dental schools, six assess communication skills in a summative way. Three of those schools also use formative assessments for their students. Another seven sites only use formative assessment. From the various formats of assessment, OSCE is mentioned most frequently. The necessity to train and assess communication skills has reached German-speaking dental schools. The present survey allows an overview of the training and assessment of communication skills in undergraduate dental education in German-speaking Europe. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluating the effectiveness of case method instruction in technical communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feinberg, S. G.

1981-01-01

The effectiveness of the case method as an instructional technique in improving technical writing was evaluated. The development of a self-report instrument that attempts to measure changes in attitude toward technical communication and the presentation results change are the purpose of this paper. Standards for developing a case set forth by Goldstein and Couture, were used to design an evaluation instrument to measure the effect instruction on student attitude toward technical communication. This self-report instrument is based on model developed and tested by Daly and Miller who studied writer attitude and apprehension toward writing. It was the most important objective of any evaluation is to provide information for improving the program.

Active listening: more than just paying attention.

PubMed

Robertson, Kathryn

2005-12-01

Communication skills courses are an essential component of undergraduate and postgraduate training and effective communication skills are actively promoted by medical defence organisations as a means of decreasing litigation. This article discusses active listening, a difficult discipline for anyone to practise, and examines why this is particularly so for doctors. It draws together themes from key literature in the field of communication skills, and examines how these theories apply in general practice.

An Integrated Communication Skills Package for Undergraduate Chemists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerr, W. J.; Murray, R. E. G.; Moore, B. D.; Nonhebel, D. C.

2000-02-01

Positive feedback and evaluations were provided by students, graduates, academic staff in the department, and industrial contacts and employers. The funding council (Scottish Higher Education Funding Council), in the report on the Teaching Quality Assessment visit, identified this communication skills package as one of the Department's strengths in teaching. These positive evaluations suggest that the package is an effective means of developing the communication skills of students in chemistry.

Mentoring Undergraduate Students through the Space Shuttle Hitchhiker GoldHELOX Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moody, J. Ward; Barnes, Jonathan; Roming, Peter; Durfee, Dallin; Campbell, Branton; Turley, Steve; Eastman, Paul

2015-01-01

In the late 1980s a team of four BYU undergraduate students designed a space-based telescope to image the sun in soft x-rays from 171-181 Angstroms to gain information on microflares and their relation to the corona-chromosphere transition region. The telescope used a near-normal incidence multi-layered mirror imaging onto film through a micro-channel plate. The system was capable of 1.0 sec time resolution and 2.5 arcsec spatial resolution. Aided by a NASA grant in 1991, a system was built and successfully tested in 1998 at Marshall Space Flight Center. Originally designed to be deployed from a Get-Away-Special (GAS) canister in the bay of a space shuttle, the good results of this test elevated GoldHelox to greater-priority Hitchhiker status. Even so technical and procedural difficulties delayed a launch until after 2003. Unfortunately after the Columbia re-entry break-up in February 2003, the Hitchhiker program was cancelled and the GoldHelox project ended.Well over 200 undergraduate students worked on GoldHelox. Many of these have since earned advanced degrees in a variety of technical fields. Several have gone on to work in the space industry, becoming NASA scientists and engineers with one becoming a PI on the Swift satellite. The broad range of talent on the team has included students majoring in physics, astronomy, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, design engineering, business and even English majors who have written technical and public relations documents. We report on lessons learned and the pitfalls and successes of this unique mentoring experience.

Making space part of general education

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horan, Stephen

1992-01-01

General education reform is on-going at many universities to, in part, make undergraduate students more technically literate. The space program provides an area of study that is still exciting to students, provides technical content, and can incorporate the other goals. Additionally, human space activity contains international and interdisciplinary dimensions that can reach students outside of the technical disciplines. The development and contents of a space education course to become part of the university's general education program open to all students is presented. Included in the presentation is a listing of the course materials to be used by the students.

Visual Literacy in Bloom: Using Bloom's Taxonomy to Support Visual Learning Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arneson, Jessie B.; Offerdahl, Erika G.

2018-01-01

"Vision and Change" identifies science communication as one of the core competencies in undergraduate biology. Visual representations are an integral part of science communication, allowing ideas to be shared among and between scientists and the public. As such, development of scientific visual literacy should be a desired outcome of…

Top Management Team Crisis Communication after Claims of Sexual Harassment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bull Schaefer, Rebecca A.; Crosswhite, Alicia M.

2018-01-01

Both sexual harassment and managerial crisis communication are important topics in undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs. This article describes a group role-play exercise that engages students in the process of responding to a public claim of workplace sexual harassment and requires small groups to share their reactions within a press…

Uses and Perceptions of E-Mail for Course-Related Communication between Business Faculty and Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costello, Robert

2011-01-01

Technological advancements have facilitated the learning process by offering faculty members and students better access to resources, while increasing the potential for more interaction and communication flexibility (Firmin & Miller, 2005). Among these technologies is electronic mail or e-mail. The uses and perceptions of e-mail between business…

Effectiveness of Immediate Verbal Feedback on Trainer Behaviour During Communication Training with Individuals with Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Vonderen, A.

2004-01-01

The effect of immediate verbal feedback on trainer behaviour during communication training sessions with individuals with intellectual disability (ID) was assessed. Trainers were six undergraduate university students majoring in psychology. The procedure consisted of interrupting the sequence of trials of training by the supervisor and then giving…

Messages Are Everywhere: Reading Perceptions, Habits, and Preferences of Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nadelson, Louis S.; Villagómez, Amanda; Konkol, Danielle; Haskell, Chris; McCulley, Meleah; Campbell, Denise

2013-01-01

As society continues to evolve, so do the methods that are used for text-based communication. Electronic books, mobile phone text messaging, and an array of internet-based texts are now combined with traditional print forms of text, broadly expanding text-based communication. However, student perceptions of reading may still be limited to…

College Students' Use of Behavioral Alteration Techniques as a Function of Aggressive Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy-Lightsey, Carrie D.; Myers, Scott A.

2009-01-01

This study examined the associations between students' self-reported verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness and their perceptions of student BATs (Golish, 1999) as appropriate and effective as well as how likely they were to use each BAT. Participants were 187 undergraduate students enrolled in communication courses at a large Mid-Atlantic…

Communication Scaffolds for Project Management in PBL

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sasaki, Shigeru; Arai, Masayuki; Takai, Kumiko; Ogawa, Mitsuhiro; Watanabe, Hiroyoshi

2017-01-01

In this study, the role-playing situation and the system requirement list are adopted into project-based learning classes to develop web applications. In the classes, the third-year undergraduate project managers communicate with the client of the project rolled by teachers on the Web bulletin board. These are expected to act as scaffolds to…