EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES
Year:2010 | Volume:3 | Issue:2|Papers Count:9

Aims: For successful implementation of e-learning, it’s necessary for learners to be familiar with technology and wants to be educated by electronic facilities, the organization perceives individual and professional advantages of e-learning and provides needed supportive structure. The goal of this study was evaluation of managers’ and employees’ perceptions of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) about e-learning implementation. Methods: In 2008, 56 managers and 100 employees participated in this cross-sectional study. Sampling was based on consensus and stratified randomized, respectively for managers and employees. In a pilot study, content validity of the researcher-made questionnaire, consist of 20 questions, was assessed. The reliability of the questionnaire was measured by cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Descriptive statistical tests applied for data analysis.Results: 57 employees (70.3%) and 25 managers (83.3%) believed that current traditional training must be revised. 60 employees (74%) and 28 managers (93.3%) found e-learning can solve their on-the-job-training problems. 60 employees (74%) and 20 managers (66.7%) believed that employees’ computer literacy was adequate for participation in e-learning courses.Conclusion: Considering the studied factors including managers’ support, the access to technology and employees’ ability in using it, and TUMS’ cultural atmosphere is ready for establishing e-learning staff inservice trainings.

Aims: Undoubtedly the power, development and real independency of countries have a straight relationship with their ability to produce science and developing research activities. This research was performed to determine the research barriers from the view point of Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences faculty members and employees.Methods: In this descriptive analytic cross-sectional study which was carried out on in 2006-07, 480 of the faculty members and employees of on Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences were selected by census (for faculty members) and randomize cluster (for employees) sampling methods. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire consisting of 3 individual characteristics, organizational barriers and individual barriers in Likert scale. Data analysis was done by student’s T, Chi square and variance analysis tests.Results: 452 questionnaires were returned. The most important barriers of research were “inadequate incentives in researchers”, “inadequate time and lots of work”, “too much official red tapes”, “not using the research results” and “inability to translate Persian articles to other languages”, respectively. The least important barriers were “not interesting in research”, “difficulties in computer usage” and “limited benefit of research to patients”. The mean of organizational barriers was more than personal barriers (p<0.0001). There was a significant difference between the mean of organizational and individual barriers of research among faculty members and employees (p<0.0001).Conclusion: Removing these barriers by the research officials & hospital managers is necessary.

Aims: Log book is one of the common methods for evaluation of clinical skills in medical students. Log book of medical students of Shahed University includes papers for registration of clinical education, grand round and student history taking and out patient’s visits. This study was performed to evaluate the reason of discrepancy between professors and medical students answering log book questions.Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study in 2008-9 educational year in Shahed University, 6 professors and 28 students of internal medicine ward were selected by census sampling method and have been studied. Fulfilled log book of these 34 were studied during one year and results was analyzed by SPSS 13 statistical software.Results: in general questions, the two groups’ answers were different; but in precise questions, there were no such difference and the professors and medical students’ answers were the same.Conclusion: To maintain the uniformity of registering, more precise questions must be used in log book and internal medicine ward log book must be modified.

Introduction: With the advancement of technology and the rate of change of working practices it is seen as essential to future employees to be flexible and adaptable in the approach to the working environment. This article will introduce the concept of the task-based learning, which is a unique method of learning aimed at developing transferable skills in undergraduates. This mode of learning allows the student to contextualize knowledge and helps develop critical appraisal and adaptability. This article aims to discuss the issues surrounding the acquisition of transferable skills in the curriculum. It outlines the current thinking with regard to transferable skills and the Government’s emerging agenda for a highly skilled workforce.Conclusion: Task-based learning, strategies for teaching offers that focuses on educational structures and this thinking that supports learning in medicine is more effective when the real practical situation and is presented by an expert.

Introduction: Curriculum evaluation is historically as rich as education. The evaluation concept is so comprehensive that contains several evaluation activities with the common function of investigating a certain curriculum in a given administrative context. Therefore, the evaluation methods and strategies are different. In this study, the differences in evaluation studies are classified on the basis of six factors; curriculum development stage, the evaluation subject, criteria, the types of data, data summarization method and function. In each stage, the development team focuses on a particular task; hence, certain types of evaluation are presented at each stage in order to ensure a successful administration of the new curriculum.Conclusion: There is no accepted theoretical base for the amount of stored experiments needed to determine the least evaluation essences that must be used in recognizing the effectiveness of expand usage of new curriculum in educational system and every system should determine its evaluation standards according to its conditions.

Introduction: Recognition of the important factors in creating effective learning is necessary for successful teaching. One of these factors is student learning style. According to scholars’ opinion, there are different learning styles such as dependent and independent to the field, contemplative, reflective and etc. that has referred in this paper. Knowing of learning styles can help to train reserved nurses. Thus, the purpose of writing this review was familiarity with learning styles and their application in nursing education. Conclusion: Rising awareness of learning style make learning more efficient and cause to appropriate using of environmental factors along individual learning and removal of inappropriate activities. Teacher should adapt his/her communication and educational approaches with learning and thinking styles of learners as far as possible to achieve better and deeper learning.

Introduction: Nowadays, intense competition and technology changes make an increasing pressure to organizations and their various ways for increasing manpower productivity. Human resources are expected at this time to have greater impact on their products and services. This is the exact thing that caused competency to become an important factor in competitive environment. Competency term is used for describing the complex of behaviors that reflect the single composition of knowledge, skills, abilities and motives that are related to organizational role. The goal of this review article was a comprehensive introduction of competency and its application in designing training programs.Conclusion: The advantage of using competency for designing training programs in one aspect is the exact diagnosis of educational needs and increasing the efficiency of education and on the other aspect is applicability of learning and avoiding from just knowledge transferring.

Introduction: Medical ethics being described as considering the values and basic principles in medical decisions, that should be a definite criteria in all decisions related to public health. Medical ethics has imposed its effects in planning, education, research and service preparations, while its role is being developed in a daily manner. Ethics history commences nearly 2500 years ago and Hippocrates for the first time mixed ethical principles with medicine. There has seen such a mixture in Iran too; specifically in a variety of books and papers issued by Muslim physicians.Conclusion: Ethics is important for both students and teachers of medical sciences. The role of ethics will be highly delighted when in addition to medicine, the significance of medical education and considering ethics in medical education be highlighted. Considering the over lasting history of ethics in Iran and all over the world, it is hoped that medical ethics cooperate with education as an inseparable part and respective teachers to magnify ethics in medical education.