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Increasing Students' Academic Involvement: Chilean Teacher Engagement with Learners in Blended English as a Foreign Language CoursesLearning English as a foreign language (EFL), a highly valued skill in the Chilean marketplace, is an arduous and complex personal endeavor requiring high student motivation. Reflecting this challenge is the heightened anxiety among EFL students, whose work has been associated with historically meager results. Blended learning, the fusion of face-to-face and online content delivery and assessment, offers a promising solution to EFL learner reticence. Evidence suggests that an active online teacher presence in a blended EFL course can enhance student engagement. The purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions of EFL instructional specialists concerning (a) student involvement and engagement in online portions of blended courses, (b) marginal teacher presence in the online portions of blended courses, and (c) ways to improve student involvement in the online portions of the blended courses. Results of a systematic qualitative analysis, employing constant comparative data analysis of individual interviews with a sample of 10 voluntary EFL instructional specialists, indicated teachers need to take part in design of blended EFL courses to address these issues. The findings, coupled with theoretical frameworks of social-constructivism, transactional distance, diffusion of innovation, and universal design for instruction, served as the background for a proposed teacher training project resulting from this study. The study can contribute to positive social change by inviting EFL teachers to become more involved in blended course design, increasing their sense of ownership, sharing best practices for blended EFL teaching and learning, and creating conditions for more successful upward social mobility opportunities for Chilean university students who have acquired certifiable English language skills.
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Continuing professional development programmes for rural nurses involved in palliative care delivery: an integrative reviewPurpose To review published studies evaluating the impact of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes on rural nurses palliative care capabilities in order to inform the development of targeted learning activities for this population. Design An integrative review. Methods Searches of key electronic databases and the World Wide Web was undertaken using key words, followed by hand searching for relevant articles. All studies were reviewed by two authors using a critical appraisal tool and level of evidence hierarchy. Results The search strategies generated 74 articles, with 10 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. All of these studies evaluated palliative care CPD programmes involving rural nurses which focused on increasing palliative care capabilities. The evidence generated by this review was limited by the absence of randomised controlled trials. A level III-1 study, with a small sample size provided the highest level of evidence, but the lack of control negated the investigators' capacity to confirm causality. Few studies measured the impact of CPD on the quality of care or utilised novel technology to address the tyranny of distance. Despite, these limitations valuable insights into the barriers and facilitators to engaging rural nurses in palliative care learning opportunities were identified.
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Issues regarding sustainable agriculture as perceived by upper level undergraduate students involved in a student managed farm at Iowa State UniversityThe purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of agriculture students regarding sustainable agriculture practices, issues related to sustainable agriculture and learning/teaching processes. These students were enrolled in a capstone course that involved managing a 2000-acre operation. Fifty-seven students participated in this census study. Participants completed a survey questionnaire and a select group of students answered questions in a focus group interview.;The participants in this study perceived that the sustainable agriculture movement promotes environmental concerns about farming more than economic concerns. The participants were mildly interested in learning more about practicing sustainable agriculture practices and how to use them. The participants in this study were most concerned about expansion of large farms, urban use of farmland, soil erosion, and dependence on seed and chemical companies. Overall, the participants in this study were concerned about economic, environmental and social aspects of agriculture. Participants in this study indicated that they had long-term experiences using crop rotation practices while frequently using cultivation, leguminous plants and integrated pest management practices on their farms.;Participants in this study perceived that hands-on activities represent the most effective teaching and learning method. Demonstrations, field visits, face-to-face consultations and discussion represent effective methods for teaching and learning. Using a variety of teaching methods was considered effective. Family members and relatives were considered primary sources for agricultural information. Magazines, colleagues, seed and chemical companies and the Internet were frequently used sources for agricultural information. The Extension service was not perceived as a primary source of agricultural information for these respondents. Magazines were the second most frequently used source of agricultural information for the respondents. Younger respondents tended to use the Internet, magazines, seed and chemical companies and family members more for agricultural information than older participants in the study do.;Overall, the participants in this study were concerned about economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainable agriculture, and they like to see equal emphasis be given to all aspects of sustainable agriculture. Agricultural educators should give equal emphasis to the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainable agriculture curriculum design and delivery. Educators should also use hands-on teaching/learning methods and new computer technologies to enhance learning opportunities for students.