The Role Of Cooperative Learning In USMLE Reviews
Posted by in Cooperative Learning on November 16, 2011
Cooperative learning encompasses a wide variety of strategies to promote academic learning through peer cooperation and communication. It implies that medical students help each other, share ideas and resources, and plan cooperatively on what and how to study. There are varied reasons why cooperative learning technique will prove to be useful in helping medical students prepare for the USMLE, many of which are highly useful in the medical profession namely:
Cooperative learning is best for activities that demand cooperative thoughts. Included in this are solutions where long-term retention is desired, USMLE review lessons that require decision-making, tasks where solutions are not readily apparent, and review lessons that need higher-level reasoning strategies and critical thinking. All of these are required to answer USMLE questions.
Cooperative learning can also be used in open-ended problem solving activities that call for clarification and a range of strategies for finding the solution. Included in this are tasks that require generating assumptions, and estimating and research. All these are best for practice decision-making in prescribing treatment regimens for medical or clinical diagnosis. It can also be used for activities where there are limited resources and lessons that provide opportunities for medical students to apply and extend skills and concepts.
This technique sees the development of individual in reference to his group’s completion of a task, and provides collective group performance which is the essence of working with various allied health professions in the actual practice of medicine. Seeing both of these, the group of medical students is rewarded according to how much all the group members learned.
It can also create a positive impact on the individual’s self-esteem, helping behavior, interest, personal liking, mutual concern among colleagues, cooperation, and attitude toward learning. Medical students learn to negotiate and to be more tolerant of others – a virtue that is highly desirable for the medical profession.
Such technique leads to greater cohesiveness, susceptibility to colleague’s influence and an unwillingness to risk disagreement. It provides a forum in which medical students ask questions, discuss ideas, make mistakes, learn to listen to others’ ideas and offer constructive criticism. Read the rest of this entry »
Classroom Management Supplies
Posted by in Classroom Management on November 16, 2011
Are you a new teacher, just starting out with the daunting task of keeping track of twenty or thirty students? The first thing you have to do is keep their names straight so you don’t accuse one child of the nasty prank that another child pulled. Then you have to keep track of absences, assignments, grades, and birthdays, plus various and sundry miscellaneous pieces of information about all of your students. So how do you do it? If you can invest just a small amount for classroom management supplies, your life will become much much easier. Here are a few of the things you should consider purchasing so you stay on top of your daily tasks.
First, get a good Lesson Plan and Record book. Some people can keep track of everything with just a plain spiral bound book, but I like the structure provided with a good plan and record book. There are a lot of different ones on the market and most of them are good. Just make sure that it has enough lines for all of your students. Bigger class sizes make this most important. Also, look closely at the different sections that it contains. You will want some pages for your miscellaneous notes in addition to the regular sections that are in most of the books.
Second, if you are teaching the lower grades, invest in some desk name plates. It makes learning children’s names so much easier and everyone likes to have their name known. If you’re teaching upper grades, here’s a trick that I use when necessary. First, get your class roster as early as possible and spend a little time memorizing the names. Then, on the first day have everyone sit alphabetically. You can rearrange them or let them sit where they want later, but initially, have them sit alphabetically. You will find it much easier to put the faces with the names when there is some logic to the seating arrangement. Once you know everyone’s face, let them move around.
Third, I always find it easier to use a grader to score my tests and assignments. When I teach upper grades I use one of the ones that you can use to weight different assignments. I just find that it cuts down amazingly on the amount of time that I spend grading papers and tests. The nice thing about graders is that they are really quite inexpensive. Read the rest of this entry »
Case Methods in Management Education
Posted by in Case Method on November 16, 2011
What is a Case?
A case is a written account of real or simulated managerial problems, dilemmas, and situations calling for Solutions. Analysis of cases is an exercise in critical understanding of concepts and causes of problems and events.
The case method of teaching was introduced by Langdell in 1871 as an alternative to the lecture method of legal education. Later when Harvard University set up its business school in 1908, it was adopted by them in their classes.
Types of Case
A case can be a) Theoretical or b) Factual.
Theoretical Cases
Case studies which are meant for reading and clarifying theoretical concepts of a discipline, such as management, involving the study of marketing, human realtions, communication, and so on are academic case studies. They are used as examples to concretise the abstract concepts of a discipline.
The interplay of ideas is presented in the form of action, interaction, and conflict among persons involved in a life-like situation described by the case.
It uses the principle of oral, non-verbal and written communication to demonstrate the dynamics of effective communication.
Factual Cases
Case studies which describe and illustrate an organisation’s experience and efforts to overcome different problems and situations are real cases. These cases are based on the facts.
They present the critical management issues with full details of facts and figures.
Their analysis requires a systematic approach to identification of the main problem, alternative solutions, and finally the best solution.
Such factual case studies project corporate problems belonging to any functional area of management, such as marketing, production or human relations.
A significant aspect of a factual case study is that it presents a problem or event in its entirety, resulting from several reasons.
Requirements for a Case Analysis
1. Through knowledge of the concerned subject
2. Ability to be analytical – Go deeper into the case and search and seek answers for questions.
3. Ability to do critical thinking – The ability to think critically is to go beyond the obvious and look for the truth underlying the conflicts, and statements that meet our eyes. It is an attitude of mind to question and accept things only after examining the basis of our belief in them.
4. Ability to evaluate – It is a part of critical thinking. When we exercise judgment to establish the correctness or incorrectness of our view of things, we are being evaluative.
5. Ability to infer – You should be able to finally view the whole program from a certain perspective. Read the rest of this entry »
Authentic Assessment in the Classroom
Posted by in Authentic Assessment on November 11, 2011
Day 28 – Your last new learning day! The last new topic of the 30-day process is authentic assessment and rubrics. Authentic assessment is basically any type of assessment that is not paper-and-pencil type of testing. It can include projects, portfolios, or running records. I first really used authentic assessment when I student taught in a preschool program for my undergraduate degree. It was used mostly because traditional assessment becomes much more difficult for that age bracket. But now, as I work mostly in elementary and middle school levels, I realize that many assessments in the classroom can also be authentic, though it is rarely used.
Most teachers would justify the idea of not using authentic assessment more because of time constraints. Another big decision for not using this type more is the argument that standardized testing is very traditional. I agree with both statements, especially the standardized testing argument. I do feel that students should be trained how to take traditional types of tests in order to be successful at them. With that being said, I also feel as though there is adequate time to occasionally include alternate assessments, and the benefits make up for the time allotted.
The trick to authentic assessment is not to take on too much at one time. One type of authentic assessment per chapter or unit is fine to begin. As long as the project sheet and rubric are kept in a safe place for retrieval, adding another the following year is simple. Eventually as more is added to your toolbox, portfolios will be available to be included as a culminating assessment.
When starting out, think of the essential learning goals for the chapter or unit (or just look at the state standards being taught). Always have the end in mind first. After knowing that the project is geared toward those end goals, begin by creating a project that will reflect a student having knowledge of those end goals. Great ideas to keep in mind include using multiple intelligences, Bloom’s taxonomy, as well as a variety of learning style formats to present the end result. Always leave an option for the student to create a project of choice, with teacher permission, as long as the project matches the learning goals set for all. Another fantastic idea is to create a sample project that shows students the level to which is expected, or keep exceptional projects from the previous years (with permission) to show current students examples of grades at each level so all are more acutely aware of expectations. Read the rest of this entry »