Improving science literacy is crucial amidst global challenges like climate change, emerging diseases, AI, and rampant disinformation. This is vital not only for future STEM generations but for all, ...to make informed decisions. Informal science communication efforts such as podcasts, popular science articles, and museum events are an essential part of the infrastructure for mobilizing knowledge and nurturing science literacy. However, in this Perspective , we emphasize the need to grow our capacity for STEM outreach in the formal K-12 classroom. While the majority of informal outreach mechanisms require audience members to seek out content, classrooms include those hard-to-reach target audiences that are not already STEM-engaged. We contrast the multitude of resources that have been developed to support informal outreach in recent decades with a relative paucity of such efforts in the K-12 formal classroom realm. We advocate for a more balanced deployment of resources and efforts between these two vital components of our knowledge mobilization and STEM engagement infrastructure. In particular, we highlight the key role of K-12 teachers as conduits for knowledge dissemination and the need for greater collaboration between scientists and teachers at individual and organizational levels. We also advocate for greater collaboration across programs in both the informal and formal outreach space, and dedicated effort to construct dissemination networks to share outreach materials at scale across disparate programs. The aim of our piece is to generate discussion about how we might refocus goals, funding mechanisms, and policies to grow the science-engaged society necessary to confront future challenges.
Although business English is a major branch of ESP, published reports showing how business English learners' needs were first identified and then addressed are rare, and even rarer are reports ...illustrating how existing research can inform needs analysis and syllabus design. The present paper proposes a research-informed approach to curriculum development for specific business English topics. It illustrates the approach by reporting the key stages in the curriculum development process, namely, needs analysis, syllabus design, course implementation and course evaluation. Specifically, it shows how the curriculum development of a module on business meetings for undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong was informed by both the findings from an in-house needs analysis and insights from existing research, in particular, studies related to business English discourse and second language pedagogy. This research-informed approach to identifying and addressing needs helped to determine the linguistic content of the module and to derive a pedagogical model for the topic of business meetings. Data from course evaluations and learners' reflections show the effectiveness of the module. The approach to curriculum development illustrated in this paper can be applied to other ESP topics. It is recommended that more topic-specific, research-informed curriculum innovations in ESP be published to strengthen the link between research and curriculum development.
•A topic-specific, research-informed approach to ESP curriculum design is proposed.•Existing research and an in-house needs analysis informed a module on meetings.•Linguistic and pedagogical research was consulted and applied to the module design.•The module entailed experiential learning, reflection and language focus/feedback.•The paper shows the value of topic-specific reports on ESP curriculum development.
•This study highlights the deficiencies perceived by educators and trainees in trauma education for general surgery residents.•Multiple deficiencies are noted within the domains of operative injury ...management, non-technical skills, and trauma-specific knowledge.•There is strong support for the use of educational initiatives such as journal clubs, trauma rounds, simulation, and interactive case reviews.•This data will be used to inform the development of a national trauma training curriculum for general surgery residents.
Clinical exposure to operative trauma cases for general surgery residents has decreased over recent decades. However, trainees are still expected to demonstrate competency in trauma care and injury management.
A prospective survey based on preliminary qualitative analysis and a trauma education conceptual framework was distributed to general surgery educators, trauma surgeons, and general surgery residents across the country. Participants were asked to describe their trauma training experience, the educational resources available at their training programs, and their level of support for potential curriculum components.
45% (31/69) of educators and 14% (58/405) of trainees responded to the survey. Perceived deficiencies were identified in the operative management of thoracic (educators 13%, trainees 28%), mediastinal (3%, 14%), neck (16%, 33%), and vascular (26%, 47%) injuries. Additional educational deficiencies were also identified in the domains of trauma systems and epidemiology, research and quality improvement, and injury prevention. Educators identified more inadequacies in training than trainees. Both groups supported participation in radiology (77%, 85%) and guideline (74%, 90%) reviews, journal clubs (84%, 81%), education rounds (90%, 88%), leading trauma resuscitations (94%, 98%), and trauma resuscitation simulations (90%, 95%) as valuable educational initiatives.
Trauma training in Canada is currently perceived to be inadequate to support resident education. The development and implementation of competency-based curricular components will be essential to address the identified deficiencies. This data will be used to inform the development of a national trauma training curriculum and initiatives to enhance resident education.
Teachers' practices and interactions with curriculum materials are influenced by a host of factors, which include their values. The mechanisms of this influence may benefit from elucidation. Here, we ...describe a case of a teacher enacting an inquiry-based learning unit (LU) as part of a school science enrichment programme. The teacher's interactions with the LU appear to be influenced by her self-stated idea of giving students 'freedom'. We track these influences through the course of the teacher's planning, enactment, and reflection of the LU. Because of how 'freedom' guides her actions, we argue that it serves the function of a value. Furthermore, we contend that the teacher's commitment to 'freedom' represents an exercise of her deliberative agency. This commitment to 'freedom' is supported by her interactions with her context, which include labelling of her preliminary ideas with the term 'freedom', being asked to choose between curriculum materials, reflective conversations with the researcher, and reframing the site of enactment. We also describe challenges that the teacher faces with respect to student guidance, resulting from her commitment to 'freedom'. From this work, we suggest implications for the design of curriculum materials and teacher professional development.
Résumé : Les musiciens éducateurs de partout dans le monde doivent offrir un programme d'éducation musicale plus mondialisé en raison de la diversité croissante des élèves, des mandats relatifs aux ...programmes d'études ou des initiatives sociétales. Cet article examine les défis de huit musiciens éducateurs au Canada et en Chine, alors qu'ils tentent d'enseigner un programme de musique plus mondialisé à leurs élèves des écoles publiques. Par le biais d'entrevues semi-structurées, quatre enseignants de Shandong, en Chine, et quatre enseignants de l'Alberta, au Canada, ont participé à cette étude. Les défis identifiés touchent à la fois les aspects contraignant et libre de leurs programmes d'études, puis l'accessibilité aux ressources disponibles en musique du monde ainsi qu'au développement professionnel, notamment le temps et le financement nécessaires.
A responsibility of faculty at liberal arts colleges is to help students make connections between bodies of knowledge through interdisciplinary programs. One opportunity for faculty to create ...interdisciplinary learning opportunities is with a short-term study abroad course. The purpose of this article is to provide a model of an interdisciplinary course that brought together two disparate non-language disciplines--biochemistry and communication--to study human longevity in a short-term study abroad experience. Providing course design and three overarching guidelines as they bridged the science of diet and nutrition and relational communication, the authors offer an interdisciplinary model for those interested in creating more meaningful short-term study abroad courses.
A number of Emerging issues on education in Papua have been trending topic in national education for years. The objective of this research was to describe the curriculum development of inclusive ...education for Indigenous Students of Papua. The research was carried out in three integrated schools(Sekolah Satu Atap) where inclusive education has been successfully provided. Those schools are integrated school of Boven Digoel, Integrated School of Wasur, and SMA Negeri 1 Merauke. This was a descriptive research design by applying qualitative approach in analyzing the data. The data were collected through observation, interview, and documentation. The secondary data were collected through library study. The schools in Merauke Region and Boven Digoel Region became the object of the research. The result showed that those three integrated schools developed a special curriculum for inclusive education on Indigenous students of Papua. A large number of local wisdoms were internalized into special curriculum to support contextual learning for indigenous students of Papua. Those integrated schools can be benchmark for other regions outside Papua to develop special curriculum for inclusive education.
A 4-week summer preceptorship offered first-year medical students early exposure to anesthesiology following their preclerkship courses in pharmacology and cardiopulmonary physiology. The main ...objective was to provide students with clinical skills and prepare them for rotations while immersing them in a unique experience, introducing a specialty not covered in core rotations.
Participants were selected via their responses to an application. In addition to shadowing anesthesiologists, curriculum components included weekly faculty lectures on core aspects of anesthesiology (introductory basics, perioperative drugs, airway, and crisis management); multiple simulation labs (workstation setup, intubation clinics, intravenous and central line placement, ultrasound techniques); research opportunities; and mentorship from physicians and senior medical students. The program culminated in each student successfully leading a simulated case to receive a certificate of completion.
A survey of 15 participants revealed significant improvements in ability to intubate (
< 0.05), ability to perform a transthoracic echocardiogram (
< 0.05), interest in anesthesiology as a specialty (
< 0.05), and preparedness for future rotations (
< 0.05).
This program accelerates clinical exposure for preclerkship students, providing insights into anesthesiology early in their medical journey. It provides research and mentorship, fosters professional growth, and enhances individual competitiveness for residency program applications.
Many students struggle within an Animal Science curriculum, even when prerequisites are required as preparation. Placing minimum grade requirements on prerequisites (for example, requiring a grade of ...B or better in a prerequisite course) may improve student success by ensuring that well-prepared students can progress further, while identifying students who should consider alternate majors early in their undergraduate program. To determine effective grade restrictions, performance in prerequisite freshman-level courses was analyzed in conjunction with performance in Animal Anatomy and Physiology (ANSC220; expressed on a grade point scale of 0-4.0, where 2.0 is considered satisfactory). Prerequisite Biology courses are BIOL101 and BIOL102 (a sequence for non-Biology majors), or BIOL150 and BIOL160 (designed for Biology majors). Freshman-level Animal Science courses include ANSC100 and ANSC160. Grades in ANSC220 were compared using separate ANOVAs (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) for students who received grades of A vs. <A, >B vs. <B, and >C vs. <C in each prerequisite. A dataset containing information on over 700 non-transfer students was utilized; each analysis utilized data only from students who took both the prerequisite course and ANSC220 at the University of Tennessee. The comparisons that determined satisfactory vs. unsatisfactory performance in ANSC220 were identified (see Table 1). Students with less than an A in BIOL101, BIOL 102, ANSC100 or ANSC160 performed (on average) unsatisfactorily in ANSC220. Students who received less than a B in BIOL150 or BIOL160 also averaged an unsatisfactory grade in ANSC220. For all prerequisite courses examined, the data suggest that a minimum grade of C would ensure successful progress in ANSC 220. Freshmen who do not reach that benchmark are at high risk of not successfully progressing and should be advised accordingly. These analyses are informative when considering minimum grade requirements to increase student success in challenging majors such as Animal Science.
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