This case study reviewed the collaborative efforts of university engineers, teacher educators, and middle school teachers to advance sixth-and seventh-grade students' learning through a series of project-based engineering activities. This two-year project enriched regular school curricula by introducing real-world applications of science and mathematics concepts that expanded opportunities for creativity and problem-solving, introduced problem-based learning, and provided after-school programming (for girls only) led by engineering students from the local university. This engineering education initiative showed significant impact on students' (1) confidence in science and mathematics; (2) effort toward science and mathematics; (3) awareness of engineering; and (4) interest in engineering as a potential career. With regard to gender, there were no significant differences between boys' and girls' responses. The girls' confidence in their own skills and potential, however, was significantly more positive than the boys' confidence in the girls. These results gave rise to new questions regarding mentor/mentee relationships and the overall effect of "girls only" mentoring.
Introduction The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19) has quickly accelerated into a pandemic. As COVID-19 has swept across the globe, health systems have adapted, including the cessation of routine surgery and the re-deployment of staff to critical care settings. Prompt interventions such as endotracheal (ET) intubation, are deemed essential in patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Intubation requires a coordinated approach and effective teamwork, as it is a high-risk procedure not least because it is an aerosol-generating intervention with increased infection risk. As a result, teams responsible for performing ET intubation are required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which in turn hinders communication and situational awareness, and can hamper team work. Method This review considers the effects of wearing PPE on performance and situational awareness in a healthcare environment. Drawing on literature from the fire service and military, the review will explore approaches to improving communication and situational awareness for teams who, at times, are unfamiliar with one another. The review will consider human factors and, identify approaches that assist teams, including teams that are unfamiliar with one another, to adapt to new ways of working while performing high-risk procedures. Conclusion Literature indicates that standardisation, pre-brief and training are important elements of developing improved situational awareness and team working in individuals whose senses may be affected by PPE. In addition, checklists provide a useful way of standardising procedures and can form the basis of a structured pre-brief. Checklists exist for both intubation and patient proning, which, alongside simulation-based team training, provide a useful method of preparing an often unfamiliar workforce for their roles during an epidemic or pandemic. The multi-phase nature of most pandemics provides an opportunity to review processes and implement such procedures, and to develop staff using team-based training during the post-peak period.
A significant contribution that teacher education can make is to prepare preservice teachers to integrate. This action research addressed four questions: Will integrating Classroom Management and Wednesday Field Experience increase teacher knowledge and their ability to connect theory with practice? Will preservice teachers develop strong "teacher voices" and explain why they will or will not use certain strategies, activities and/or ideas in their own classrooms? Will preservice teachers begin to understand the importance of Action Research and how it can be used to improve their own teaching? Will the Action Research Form, that was developed help these preservice teachers become more knowledgeable about themselves and the teaching profession, work? This was a qualitative action research study. Twenty-seven preservice teachers wrote weekly reflections on topics they observed while in their assigned elementary classrooms. The results demonstrate the applicability of this approach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.