A national CASC course

AimsThere was understandable anxiety from trainees about the transition to the online format of the CASC due to the pandemic. There is also significant variability between trusts in the availability of lectures tailored specifically to the CASC exam. Having recent experience of the CASC exam, including the online format, we developed a free online lecture series. We aimed to address common questions relating to the exam, and selected topics that trainees may find daunting or had less experience with through clinical care. The topics covered were: An Introduction to the CASC, Mental State Examinations, Psychological Therapies, Pharmacology and a Q&A Session.MethodThe course was designed to tackle areas that trainees often find difficult based on our own experiences as well as surveying course attendees. Prior to the course, we liaised with consultant site tutors & junior doctor representatives to integrate the course into the local academic programme, and to facilitate promotion of the session to trainees across sites. We subsequently offered registration to trainees nationally. The course was planned and delivered by the organisers through interactive lecture-based presentations with handouts, ahead of the January 2021 examinations. Content was based on national guidelines and published research. 5 sessions were delivered with the final session including guest consultant panellists to answer trainee questions. Quantitative and qualitative feedback was collected from the attendees.Result172 doctors registered onto the course, with 44 NHS trusts represented. Doctors from a variety of grades attended, with 55% CT3s, 17% Specialty Doctors, 16% CT2s, 8% CT1s, 4% in other roles. 100% of attendees stated that they would recommend the course to any doctor sitting the CASC. 97% of attendees rated the course as either ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’. Qualitative feedback was positive and 3 themes were identified- communication, content and the online format.ConclusionThe CASC course provided an opportunity to deliver national teaching to trainees based on national guidelines and peer-reviewed research, with a focus on addressing areas that trainees may feel less confident with. The course received significant positive feedback from attendees. The significant number of pre-CT3 trainees attending the course suggests that there may be an interest from this group for further support in developing the complex communication skills that ultimately are assessed by the CASC exam.

Rapid Orientation of Students for Emergency Remote Learning during the Covid‑19 Lockdown

In response to the spread of the Covid‑19 pandemic, the President of South Africa declared a national lockdown that commenced on 27 March 2020. This posed numerous challenges to the higher education sector, one of which was the preparation of students forced to stay at home to be able to study remotely under unique and often unfavourable circumstances. This article outlines and reflects on the conceptualisation, development, and implementation of an online orientation programme aimed at preparing students to rapidly move to emergency remote learning as a result of a nationwide lockdown. Teaching and Learning Centre staff in the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at a South African university rapidly created a short online orientation programme in the institutional Learning Management System, using Salmon’s five-stage model as a conceptual framework. The objective was to enable students to acquire the skills and knowledge required for continuing with the university academic programme from 20 April 2020 via emergency remote learning. The orientation programme covered the priority areas of how to get started in emergency remote learning, broad study skills, how to use the required technologies for learning, and managing personal well‑being during social isolation and emergency remote learning. In this article, the conceptualisation and development of the orientation programme is analysed, before reflecting on its implementation, challenges, mitigating measures, and lessons learned. Feedback from students indicates that the majority of students felt more prepared for continuing the academic programme, although they still reported feeling anxious about the many uncertainties. The intervention emerges as a useful strategy for helping students transition during a crisis and contributes to the understanding of how to prepare students for rapid transition to Emergency Remote Learning.

Implementing Continuous Assessment in an Academic Programme for More Effective Learning

Many universities, including open distance education institutions, are currently investigating the introduction of a continuous assessment framework. When introducing continuous assessment in an academic department, it is necessary to ensure that all participants understand all concepts related to such framework and the implications of introducing such a framework. This paper investigates studies on continuous assessment in the literature to identify the advantages and disadvantages of such a framework. The lessons learned are used to identify guidelines regarding the importance of feedback and to develop a model that can be used to plan and introduce continuous assessment, considering all the different environmental factors that will affect the introduction.

Moodle and Problem-Based Learning: Pedagogical Designs and Contradictions in the Activity System

This paper presents an empirical study and related activity system analysis regarding the implementation and use of Moodle specifically, and learning management systems in general, in problem-based learning. The research involved an exploration of the characteristics that defined use of Moodle at a Danish university, the reasons why Moodle was or was not used in specific contexts and the way in which Moodle use was perceived by students. Some of the obstacles and challenges identified through this study highlighted the need for a deeper analysis of the elements that characterised the activity system(s) and their contradictions in this contextual setting, leading to a consideration of possible implications for change processes. The investigation consisted of a literature review, a survey of 345 students regarding their experiences with Moodle in conjunction with a nomination for the best Moodle course, an analysis of the 178 nominated courses and interviews with four university teachers about their use of Moodle. This examination revealed that many existing Moodle activities at Aalborg University focus more on sharing information and teaching materials and less on the students’ problem-based learning activities and projects. This finding is intriguing, as use of Moodle does not reflect that problem-based learning comprises the pedagogical foundation of Aalborg University’s academic programme. The investigation uncovered several reasons for the lack of focus on problem-based learning in Moodle structures and content and explored them through the contradictions identified within the activity systems and between the double contextual frame surrounding the interacting activity system.

Efficiency of university education: A partial frontier analysis

This article investigates the efficiency of the university education using two linked databases (Saber Pro and Saber 11) from the Colombian Institute for Evaluation of Education (ICFES) corresponding to 2014. We use a non-parametric frontier approach that combines the “order m” technique with the concept of a meta-frontier to disaggregate students’ total efficiency in generic skills in quantitative reasoning, critical reading, and written communication, into the parts attributable to the students themselves and the university. The analysis is performed by academic programme and by education sector (public vs. private). Results indicate that most of the inefficiency of students in the assessment of generic skills in higher education is attributable to the students themselves and a significant number of students could improve their performance in the assessment in each of the academic programmes if they performed as efficiently as those located on the frontier. Furthermore, the inefficiency share of students varies between academic programmes and university sectors, with students in the private sector more inefficient than those in the public sector in some and less inefficient in others. This research constitutes the first application of the technique of “order m” with the approach of the meta-frontier for the analysis of educational efficiency using data at the student and university levels.

Mr Administration of Science Programme in Nigerian Higher Institutions: Issues, challenges and Way Forwards

The article discussed the challenges facing the administration of science program in higher institutions in Nigeria. Secondary data was used to support the points raised in the article. The secondary data were sourced from print material and online publication by recognized institutions and individual author. There are many challenges facing the administration science programme in Nigerian higher institutions. Some of the challenges include; inadequate funding, inadequate lecturers, inadequate infrastructural facilities, brain-drain and strike actions. To solve this challenges, this article recommends the following: government should increase the funding of science programme in higher institutions, provide adequate infrastructural facilities, ensure stable academic programme employment of more science lecturers and motivation of lecturers to prevent brain-drain.

On the Significance of Students’ Appraisals of Their Language Learning Experiences at University: A Phenomenological Approach

This study focusses on students’ appraisals of their language learning experiences at university. Forty students in the third and final academic English course at a university in the UAE participated in the study. The participants completed a written survey which was developed based on Scherer’s (1987, 2001, 2011, 2013) framework of appraisals, i.e. pleasantness, novelty, goal-conduciveness, coping potential and self-compatibility checks. The analysis of the qualitative data indicates that almost all of the participants evaluate their language learning experiences positively and consider the programme to be of great value in enabling them to achieve their academic and professional goals. On the other hand, some participants do not see much novelty in terms of the materials presented to them and believe this reduces the level of challenge and motivation for them. Almost all of the participants feel strongly about the use of their first language, i.e. Arabic and the fact that learning English should not affect their use of the first language negatively. One important pedagogical implication of the study is that students’ positive appraisals of the course are largely attributed to the teacher’s method of teaching. Another important pedagogical implication of the study is that correct placement of the students in an academic programme can create the proper level of challenge and hence motivation for the students.

Academic preference based on students’ personality analysis through k-means clustering

It is believed that the education quality increases in line with the knowledge and understanding of students’ personality. The theory and techniques associated with measurement of skills, abilities, attitudes and psychological traits are studied under the field of psychometrics. The students’ psychometric scores and their academic programme of choice from a local university in Malaysia are analysed using k-means. It is found that there are distinctive clusters to differentiate the students’ personality traits and the differences can influence them in choosing certain programmes. Hence, the results are useful to determine the suitable methods to increase the students’ academic performance.

Effectiveness of delivery methods in the transfer of soft skills

Accounting education has in recent years increasingly emphasised the need for developing soft skills. To this end, various delivery methods have been advocated other than the conventional lecture format during the academic programme. This paper reports on a study of the perceptions of graduates on the effectiveness of delivery methods during the academic programme in transferring soft skills. A questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions was administered. Graduates reported that soft skills were most effectively developed when using case studies, followed by collaborative learning. Surprisingly, graduates also indicated lectures as an effective method in soft skills development, by ranking this method after collaborative learning. However, the method of computer-based activities, was reported as the least effective method in developing soft skills. This is a concern, given the prevalence and use of computers and technology in the accounting profession. Educators need to do more in inculcating soft skills, by using additional methods such as mentorship programmes and self-assessment.

Task-based Approach in Teaching Translation: A Case Study in Jouf University

Task-based approach is commonly used in second language teaching and it has been adopted in translation teaching too. However, driven by the lack of studies on task-based approach in translation especially in the very early stages of teaching translation, Saudi universities are no exception, this study focuses on the significance of implementing this approach in teaching the first practical translation course in a translation academic programme. It mainly examines the development of translation competence through task-based approach. A case study at English language department in Jouf University has been carried out where 39 students were taught using this method in their first practical translation course. Li’s (2013) customized model, namely task-based teaching in translation, is adopted here and the tasks were specifically selected to develop students’ translation competence in general and their bilingual competence in particular. The results drawn from this study found tangible development of students’ translation competence as well as bilingual competence.