No description available.

This project describes the development of a curriculum for an infection control liaison program to be implemented in a large, regional health care institution. A curriculum module was designed to both support and challenge practising nurses to utilize critical thinking skills to guide their decision making regarding infection control practices. The author describes the process of curriculum development and presents a final curriculum product. The implementation is presented to demonstrate that the teaching of factual knowledge and skills can be integrated with higher level skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. Throughout this project, emphasis is placed on educational theory and on the practising health professional as the learner. / Thesis / Master of Science (Teaching)

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / As individuals, we rely on the expertise of professionals to help us navigate the complex problems of modern life in areas such as medicine, accounting, social work, teaching, and the law. Although each profession has its own unique knowledge base, lexicon, and culture, they all share the need to keep members’ knowledge and skills current through continuing professional education. Driven by concerns like frequent law change, increasingly complex clients, and eroding public opinion, 46 states have instituted mandatory continuing legal education (MCLE) requirements for attorneys. The Kansas Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Commission administers MCLE in the state of Kansas by monitoring attorney compliance and accrediting CLE programs. In this study, the researcher used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate two existing data sets--survey outputs and focus groups transcripts--that were captured during the Kansas CLE Commission’s Education Initiative. The 260 CLE providers completing the survey and 22 focus group members varied demographically by structure (for-profit, nonprofit) and size (number of employees or course offerings). Using quantitative statistical tools and qualitative grounded theory methods, the researcher identified the current program planning and design, delivery, and evaluation practices of CLE providers in Kansas and evaluated these practices against best practices for any learning effort, as established by CPE research and theory. Study findings indicated that most Kansas providers plan, deliver, and evaluate CLE programs using more traditional, didactic, update-oriented approaches. Most participants reported CLE curricula that were focused on keeping attorneys up-to-date, delivering classes in traditional formats using speaker presentations, and evaluating programs with Level 1 reaction methods. Only some evidence existed of providers determining attorney needs using methods such as competency models or performance evaluations, refining course delivery according to learning styles, or evaluating programs at higher levels. Still, evidence was found of providers using creative ways to incorporate some best practices into their programs, such as partnering with the other stakeholders in the Kansas MCLE space (attendees, employers, and regulators) to plan and evaluate programs. Similarly, some providers are finding new ways to incorporate more interactive learning methods into their classrooms such as discussion groups, Q&A sessions, panels, mock trials, and networking. This research also provided important insights into the contextual realities and limitations that influence MCLE provider capabilities, priorities, or choices. Cultural norms of the legal profession such as a preference for traditional educational experiences, fierce opposition to any form of testing, and a focus on billable hours affect which best practices the providers are able to implement. Likewise, the diversity that exists across learning events, law practices, and providers in this space creates challenges to implementing new practices consistently across all programs. Finally, the fragmented, multistakeholder ownership of all Kansas MCLE processes means that providers alone are not able to implement fully the recommended best practices without the help of employer partners. This study added to the general body of knowledge concerning CLE programs with contemporary research, a new focus on providers as the source of data, and a context-specific assessment of current best practices application.

Educational programs are typically guided by complex overarching aims that demark broad expectations for program graduates. In practice, these aims tend to become operationalized into specific, measurable learning objectives, which form the basis for assessment of student learning. Research suggests that this practice limits the accuracy and validity of overarching program aims and may result in misrepresentation of student competency. This limitation is in part due to the use of traditional assumptions of measurement that operate on a validity of correspondence that is linear, singular, and value-free. Accordingly, through this research, I construct a framework for understanding the validity of complex program aims by drawing on contemporary validity theory. Specifically, I use an interpretive, argument-based approach to validation to connect, analyse, and evaluate multiple interpretations towards a program’s overarching aims. Methodologically, I draw on hermeneutics to collect validity evidence for the construction of a multiple perspective validity argument. I contend that this framework for validation results in a complex articulation of the quality of program coherence between program users’ interpretations of complex aims and their practices. In this dissertation, I apply this validation framework to one teacher education program and its aim to promote inclusivity as a fundamental pedagogical principle. In doing so, I provide a complex description of the multiple ways inclusivity is interpreted by diverse program users (i.e., senior program administrators, faculty members, and teacher candidates) and through various program structures. Thus in addition to articulating a validity argument for one teacher education program, this work also contributes a framework of inclusivity towards broader educational discourse. / Thesis (Ph.D, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-08-19 20:41:24.683

The main goal of main thesis is to analyze the impact of specific training course, which is focused on project management for employees of the company XY. I will focus on the analysis of one component of evaluating the effectiveness of training. This component examines whether there is a transfer of knowledge, understanding and taught practices in the common business practice. The work includes a theoretical part, which introduce the theory of corporate training, adult education and project management. In the methodological part is the specification of whole research process, including the research hypotheses. The following section summarizes the concrete results of the research.

No description available.

The distress thermometer (DT) is a screening tool designed to measure the level of stress in oncology patients. Clinical oncology nurses (CONs) at the local site lacked knowledge and training on how to administer and apply the DT. Because of this practice gap, patients were not receiving referrals to the necessary support services. The purpose of this project was to design and validate a CON staff education program on the use of the DT. The diffusion of innovation theory along with the theory of interpersonal relations served as the conceptual framework for the project. The project was organized into a 5-step process, consisting of interviewing stakeholders, conducting a literature review, developing a staff education module on the DT, validating the content of the DT module, and creating an implementation. Five local experts with at least 5 years of experience in oncology nursing participated in the validation of the staff education program. All the participants strongly agreed or agreed that the educational module provided CONs the necessary knowledge to use the DT to identify and refer patients in distress. Module changes made after expert responses were the following: separating the slides to ensure that the slides were not overwhelming for the readers, inserting screenshots of the questions from the electronic health record into the educational module, adding a distressed patient scenario, and adding test questions after each DT question. Implementation of these changes may help CONs to better understand module content. Stakeholders support the module implementation for all CONs in the oncology clinic, which may result in less distress among oncology patients. Module implementation has the potential to promote social change through increased staff knowledge on the use of the DT for the identification of patient distress and the required support service referrals

Sepsis causes major health care problems in the United States, resulting in long hospitalizations, complications, and even patient death. Lack of nursing knowledge regarding sepsis signs and symptoms is a significant problem at a hospital in the northeast. Local hospital data showed a high patient mortality rate for patients diagnosed with sepsis. The purpose of this project was to develop an educational module on sepsis for intensive care nurses. The educational module was developed using current sepsis evidence-based guidelines. The practice-focused question for the project asked whether an educational module on sepsis would increase the intensive care nurse's knowledge on sepsis recognition and treatment guidelines. The adult learning theory was used as a conceptual model to guide project development. After development, the educational module was evaluated by a panel of 8 experts, including a nurse educator, infection control nurse, a charge nurse, a staff nurse, and an infectious disease physician. Program content evaluations included a 10-question pretest/posttest questionnaire completed by each panel member. Program content was modified based on pretest/posttest results. Results of the panel evaluation indicated agreement that the sepsis module content would benefit nurses on sepsis recognition and management for patients. Improving nursing knowledge on sepsis can provide a positive social change to improve patient outcomes, including mortality rates and complications from sepsis.

The current nationwide shortage of registered nurses is a growing problem impacting patient care and hospital operations. The operating room is the area most affected by the nursing shortage. Reasons cited for this shortage include ineffective nursing orientation programs and a decline in job satisfaction. The purpose of this project was to develop a best practice succession planning educational program to provide novice operating room nurses with an introduction to the operating room. The Dreyfus model of skills acquisition and Benner's novice to expert theory guided this project. A 2-step process was used to assess and validate the content and quality of the educational program. In Phase 1, the educational program was distributed to 10 operating room nurse stakeholders for formative review. There was agreement from these reviewers that the educational program covered key concepts important for novice operating room nurses. Two recommendations were made for additional clarification. In Phase II, the educational program was revised and distributed to a group of 10 perioperative professionals for summative review using the AGREE II instrument. The summative review group found the educational program to be clear and concise. The overall summative approval of 100% and recommendations of both review groups guided the final development of the best practice educational module. This best practice educational module will provide a standardized program for educating novice operating room nurses. This project will contribute to positive social change by empowering these nurses while supporting safe care for all surgical patients. Dissemination will occur first within the organization and then to local and national organizations targeting operating room nurses.

Norint mokiniams palengvinti teorinės medžiagos suvokimą, suteikti galimybę dirbti savarankiškai, kilo sumanymas sukurti mokomąją priemonę. Ji padės mokytojui vaizdžiai pateikti dėstomą medžiagą, įvertinti mokinių pasiekimus. Darbo tikslas. Sukurti informacinėms technologijos mokymo priemonę teoriniam kursui mokyti ir mokytis, bei ištirti priemonės tinkamumą. Sukurtoje mokymo priemonėje pateikiama kurso teorinė medžiaga, naudojimosi StudentTool programa aprašas, uždavinių pavyzdžiai, bei keturių temų mokymo/si užduotys. Mokant sukurta mokymo priemone, mokytojas yra konsultantas, o ne paskaitos skaitytojas; mokinys – ne teorijos klausytojas, o aktyvus pamokos dalyvis. Atliktas eksperimentas patvirtino sukurtos mokymo priemonės IT mokymui svarbą bei praktinę naudą. Tyrimo metu buvo nustatyta, kad programa lengva naudotis, medžiaga suprantama ir lengviau išmokstama. Tačiau net 76% respondentų nepatenkinti lėtu programos darbu. Mokantis IT teorinį kursą neužtenka tik šios mokymo priemonės, reikalingas ir mokytojo aiškinimas - konsultavimas. Taip mano net 90% respondentų. / In order to make easier the comprehension of theoretical material and to give an opportunity for students to work individually, there occurred an idea to prepare educational program. It will be as a help for the teacher to present the material figuratively and to assess the achievements of students. The aim of paper: to create the educational program of social and ehtic aspects for ICT and to do the experimental research in order to determine the usefulness and the efficiency of it. This educational program consists of theoretical stuff, description of Student tool program, examples of exercises and tasks of four learning / teaching themes. Using this program, the teacher is not a lecturer but a consultant while a student is not a listener but an active participant of the lesson. Made experiment confirmed the practical benefit and the importance of prepared educational program for IT teaching. During the research it was discovered that it is simple to use this program and the material is clear and easier to learn. However 76% of respondents are disappointed of slow program work. According to 90% of respondents it is insufficient to use this program for learning theory of IT, the explanation and consultations of the teacher are necessary too.