Search

Art school curriculums in institutional settings are often irrelevant to the lived experiences, pathways, and histories of Black students. In this context, in Summer 2021 and 2022, Artspace gallery manager Joshua Vettivelu stewarded a series of projects centring Black students, creating space for open exploration through residencies and research supported by peer mentorship. These projects mobilized a durational approach, pairing small groups of students with slightly more experienced peer mentors over an extended period, in an environment underscored with care and self-direction. In 2021, the it’s real because it happened residency and exhibit allowed participants to explore questions of self-portraiture and perception in collaboration. In 2022, The Black Creative Research Residency (BCRR) project paired a working artist, Shaya Ishaq, with three students to explore questions of optical allyship and Black resistance, culminating in the Knowable Archives, Unknowable Vessels exhibit. This exploration of optical allyship raised questions about allyship communicated through (sometimes shallow) visual signifiers, and in particular explored the works of David Drake – an enslaved potter working in the Antebellum South known for engraving his pots with poetry and his signature – and Josiah Wedgwood – a British potter who made abolitionist pendants for The Society for Effecting the Abolition of Slave Trade. This paper highlights the best practices that emerged from these residencies, such as providing both material resources and immaterial – that is to say, intellectual and relational – support through caring mentorship and relationship building. Furthermore, we explore the tension between both possibilities and limitations of radical care and Black creative practices within institutional constraints.

With more personal devices being connected to the internet, individuals are becoming increasingly concerned about privacy. Therefore, it is important to develop machine learning algorithms that can use customer data to create personalized models while still adhering to strict privacy laws. In this paper, we propose a robust solution to this problem in a distributed, asynchronous environment with a verifiable convergence rate. Our proposed framework trains a Convolutional Neural Network on each client and sends the feature embeddings to other clients for data aggregation. This allows each client to train a deep-learning model on feature embeddings gathered from various clients in a single communication cycle. We provide a detailed description of the architecture and execution of our suggested approach. Our technique's effectiveness is evaluated by comparing it to the top central training and federated learning (FL) algorithms, and our tests on diverse datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms FL in terms of accuracy and is comparable to central training algorithms. Our findings also show that our proposed method reduces data transfer by over 75% compared to FL, resulting in significant bandwidth savings. As a result, model training can assist companies with high security and data protection concerns in setting up reliable collaboration platforms without requiring a central service provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital revolution is affecting all aspects of life, radically transforming everyday tasks and routines. The ability to cope with new challenges in life, including new forms of learning are key skills in the 21st-century, however, education systems often struggle with tackling digital inequalities. A digital learning platform developed by the KIDS4ALLL educational project, implemented in face-to-face student interactions, aims tomitigate the divide and the resulting social disadvantages among children with and without migration/ethnic minority background. Analyzing data collected during the pilot phase of the project in two of the participating countries, Italy and Hungary, this paper examines how students and teaching staff adapt to a newly introduced digital learning tool based on peer-to-peer workflows. Firstly, it examines the role of educators' interpersonal competences in navigating the innovative learning activities and delves into how they use them and how they manage resources. Secondly, the study explores what attitudes and behaviors are observed among students engaged in the proposed peer-led activities, in particular in terms of their ability to cope with uncertainty and complexity. The analytical framework of the paper is based on two cultural dimensions offered by Hofstede, the index of uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and power distance (PDI), and it utilizes the personal, social and learning-to-learn competence of the eight LLL Key Competences as defined by the European Commission to conceptualize the skills of educators and students. Interpreting data from Italy and Hungary in their respective social and educational contexts, the study finds that the most important features that proved to be effective and useful during the pilot phase were the democratic power-relations between students and educators, the peer-to-peer scheme and its further development to the peer-for-peer approach. The child-friendly and real-life-related new curriculum and its appealing digital learning platform, embedded into a flexible, playful and child-centered pedagogical approach, were also successful. These are all complementing the traditional, formal school environment and pedagogy which, despite all developments in formal education in the past decades, can be characterized as teacher-centered and frontal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin of Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL: Series 'Pedagogical Sciences' is the property of Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations & World Languages and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The management of transboundary water resources presents a complex challenge involving multiple stakeholders and countries. Negotiating a single rule for managing these resources can take years due to various factors, including political, socioeconomic, cultural, and historical backgrounds. To assist transboundary water practitioners worldwide, the GWP and GEF IW:LEARN have developed a free-access educational platform, the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Governance for Transboundary Freshwater Security. The MOOC attracted 3855 learners from 166 countries and included 14 interactive online sessions to facilitate discussions among practitioners. In response to learners' desire for increased interaction and networking opportunities, the Transboundary Water Knowledge Exchange Hub was established. This global online community enables members to share knowledge and engage in direct peer-to-peer learning through an online knowledge management platform. The effort evolved from online course and interactive sessions into an online community, promoting knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning through an online knowledge management platform. Through examining this evolution and analysing key survey results, this paper analyses the role of MOOC and knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning for building capacity for improved transboundary water governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Faculty Conversation Series at North Carolina State University, offered by the Office for Faculty Excellence, is a virtual option to connect faculty across campus to discuss topics immediately relevant to the unique teaching needs that we are currently experiencing, ranging from technical aspects of teaching online to mental health needs of faculty and students. The purpose is to engage faculty in discovery and discussions that will be helpful to their teaching practice. To this end, we provide the attendees with reading materials, invite a subject matter expert, and facilitate a confidential conversation among interested faculty members in a secure online learning environment. In this article, we discuss the outcomes of the first year of this program, both qualitatively and quantitatively, including a content analysis of written faculty comments collected during the sessions, as well as best practices to organize similar meetings and to facilitate this kind of inclusive faculty engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engagement in citizen science can result in participant outcomes including increased science and environmental literacy and civic action. One factor which may increase the likelihood of these outcomes is facilitation by groups such as employers, schools, or other organizations. We examined how a partnership between SciStarter and Girl Scouts of the USA facilitated participation in citizen science to shape participants' learning and civic engagement. Between July 2017 and February 2020, participants from over 200 Girl Scout troops completed the Think Like a Citizen Scientist Journey, consisting of science learning activities, participation in an environmental citizen science project on SciStarter, and a Take Action Project (TAP). Troop leaders provided open-ended descriptions of TAPs which we analyzed qualitatively. Responses provided evidence of learning outcomes spanning informal science learning goals, Girl Scout Leadership Experience outcomes, and Girl Scout STEM outcomes. Participants' TAPs overwhelmingly related to science and environmental topics (81%) and the majority sought to educate and inspire others (66%), reaching audiences of peers, adults, the general public, and civic leaders. This program demonstrates the potential for facilitator organizations to leverage existing citizen science projects to promote learning outcomes, civic science education, and community action with participants as young as 4–5 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As countries transition from external assistance while pursuing ambitious plans to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), there is increasing need to facilitate knowledge sharing and learning among them. Country-led and country-owned knowledge management is foundational to sustainable, more equitable external assistance for health and is a useful complement to more conventional capacity-building modalities provided under external assistance. In the context of external assistance, few initiatives use country-to-country sharing of practitioner experiences, and link learning to receiving guidance on how to adapt, apply and sustain policy changes. Dominant knowledge exchange processes are didactic, implicitly assuming static technical needs, and that practitioners in low- and middle-income countries require problem-specific, time-bound solutions. In reality, the technical challenges of achieving UHC and the group of policymakers involved continuously evolve. This paper aims to explore factors which are supportive of experience-based knowledge exchange between practitioners from diverse settings, drawing from the experience of the Joint Learning Network (JLN) for UHC—a global network of practitioners and policymakers sharing experiences about common challenges to develop and implement knowledge products supporting reforms for UHC—as an illustration of a peer-to-peer learning approach. This paper considers: (1) an analysis of JLN monitoring and evaluation data between 2020 and 2023 and (2) a qualitative inquiry to explore policymakers' engagement with the JLN using semi-structured interviews (n = 14) with stakeholders from 10 countries. The JLN's experience provides insights to factors that contribute to successful peer-to-peer learning approaches. JLN relies on engaging a network of practitioners with diverse experiences who organically identify and pursue a common learning agenda. Meaningful peer-to-peer learning requires dynamic, structured interactions, and alignment with windows of opportunity for implementation that enable rapid response to emerging and timely issues. Peer-to-peer learning can facilitate in-country knowledge sharing, learning and catalyse action at the institutional and health system levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this qualitative study, the researcher was interested in understanding the kind of content knowledge students attained after participating in a social justice writing project. The study, underpinned by the theory of social constructivism, involved thirty students who worked on a group research paper. Data was collected through an online survey that asked students to reflect on their writing experience. The results indicated that collaborative writing facilitated peer learning, which was partly attributed to the active dialogues and group discussions centered around students' research findings. Students reported acquiring content knowledge about the historical backdrop of their social justice issue, the key individuals involved, and prevalent terms commonly linked to the issue, among other aspects. In terms of writing-related knowledge, students indicated that they learned various skills, including synthesizing sources, creating an annotated bibliography, and citing in MLA/APA formats, among other things. The study suggests that writing instructors should design projects that foster collaboration because this collaborative approach not only enhances students' understanding of course content but also contributes to developing their writing skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital revolution is affecting all aspects of life, radically transforming everyday tasks and routines. The ability to cope with new challenges in life, including new forms of learning are key skills in the 21st-century, however, education systems often struggle with tackling digital inequalities. A digital learning platform developed by the KIDS4ALLL educational project, implemented in face-to-face student interactions, aims to mitigate the divide and the resulting social disadvantages among children with and without migration/ethnic minority background. Analyzing data collected during the pilot phase of the project in two of the participating countries, Italy and Hungary, this paper examines how students and teaching staff adapt to a newly introduced digital learning tool based on peer-to-peer workflows. Firstly, it examines the role of educators' interpersonal competences in navigating the innovative learning activities and delves into how they use them and how they manage resources. Secondly, the study explores what attitudes and behaviors are observed among students engaged in the proposed peer-led activities, in particular in terms of their ability to cope with uncertainty and complexity. The analytical framework of the paper is based on two cultural dimensions offered by Hofstede, the index of uncertainty avoidance (UAI) and power distance (PDI), and it utilizes the personal, social and learning-to-learn competence of the eight LLL Key Competences as defined by the European Commission to conceptualize the skills of educators and students. Interpreting data from Italy and Hungary in their respective social and educational contexts, the study finds that the most important features that proved to be effective and useful during the pilot phase were the democratic power-relations between students and educators, the peer-to-peer scheme and its further development to the peer-for-peer approach. The child-friendly and real-life-related new curriculum and its appealing digital learning platform, embedded into a flexible, playful and child-centered pedagogical approach, were also successful. These are all complementing the traditional, formal school environment and pedagogy which, despite all developments in formal education in the past decades, can be characterized as teacher-centered and frontal.

Climate change-related challenges faced by forest managers are ecological, economic, and social in nature. While several past assessments have looked at the climate-related perceptions and needs of foresters working in rural contexts, urban foresters are not often included in these assessments. Examining foresters’ risk perceptions, adaptation interests and intentions, and need for information/support in rural and urban contexts side-by-side reveals unique opportunities for learning across the rural-to-urban gradient. Through two surveys targeting both rural and urban foresters, we have identified key learning opportunities that support climate-adaptive forest management.Our analysis shows that many foresters are seeking to maintain current forest conditions or restore forest conditions following a disruption or change, though some see value in transitioning forests to be more resistant and resilient to future climates. We also show a difference in confidence between urban and rural foresters when it comes to addressing climate change through specific adaptation strategies. Based on our findings, we propose facilitated learning opportunities across the rural-to-urban gradient. This would allow urban foresters to learn from rural foresters on topics such as establishment and maintenance of long-term, large, ecologically complex forested areas within cities. Rural foresters could gain insights from their urban counterparts on planting strategies and other approaches that are common in urban settings but novel in rural settings, including stock sourcing and species selection.To better enable foresters to implement climate adaptation strategies, we suggest: (1) facilitating learning across the rural-to-urban gradient, (2) public engagement trainings and opportunities targeting foresters, (3) workforce development programing, and (4) programs that limit the financial risk that foresters, landowners, and municipalities face when applying forest adaptation strategies to rural or urban lands.

Continuing medical education (CME) plays a critical role in healthcare, helping to ensure patients receive the best possible care and optimal disease management. Considering the obstacles to engaging in CME activities faced by the clinical community, as well as employing learning theory, Liberum IME developed Classroom to Clinic™ – a bespoke, accredited learning format that can be tailored to individuals' educational needs and time constraints. Through monitoring use, and incorporating qualitative and quantitative feedback, we continuously evaluate the usability, value and accessibility of this programme and adapt subsequent iterations accordingly. An example of this is the way we adapted our engagement of facilitators. Originally this was accomplished by targeting individuals for train-the-trainer events, but it was clear this was more effective in some countries than in others. To address this variability, we piloted launching a new module at a relevant large international congress. This aimed to instigate a cascade in education sharing, from congress attendees to peers at their clinics and across departments and hospitals. So far, the programme has reported encouraging improvements in uptake, as well as knowledge, competence and clinical practice, while qualitative feedback has allowed for the identification of further educational needs and continued evolution of the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores undergraduate students' experiences and perceptions of group discussions facilitated by eStudentMentors in WhatsApp or Telegram groups in the context of German language learning. eStudentMentors are senior peers who volunteer to support novice language learners. The study was conducted with 159 students enrolled in German Language Level 1 and German Language Level 2 at a university in Singapore. Each of the language classes comprises 15-21 students and are assigned an eStudentMentor to facilitate online learning and discussions in a dedicated WhatsApp or Telegram group. With considerations to information-sharing behaviour, the study examines how receptive students are to online information-sharing in this context. As such, a combined quantitative and qualitative online survey questionnaire was used to collect data, with survey questions examining information-sharing behaviour governed by personality traits and based on the Social Exchange Theory, Social Capital Theory, and theory of instinctive information-sharing behaviour. Overall, 55.97% of the students who completed the survey used the WhatsApp or Telegram groups created by their eStudentMentor to ask or answer questions and share information at least once throughout the semester. In comparison, the other 44.13% were completely inactive in their chat groups. This analysis examined the reasons behind this group of students' inactivity and found that a major factor for individual inactivity was the overall inactivity of the chats, which makes the active facilitation of the eStudentMentor a crucial element for success. The lack of social bonds appears to be another main reason for inactivity. Additional factors are class size, unfamiliarity with their classmates, fear of judgement, feeling awkward, having negative assumptions, and low commitment levels. The findings counter the Social Exchange Theory (SET) propositions, as the greater benefits of information sharing are overshadowed by the seemingly trivial cost. Yet, these costs in the form of social perceptions and pressures appear to accumulate and collectively outweigh the rationally perceived benefits to the users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amidst competing priorities for allocating finite health resources, using evidence-informed priority setting is a valuable tool for achieving population-level health goals. The paper by Baltussen et al comprehensively reports on the development of practical guidance for evidence-informed deliberative processes (EDPs) which will help with sustainability of programs aimed at universal health coverage (UHC). The authors’ experience with the Joint Learning Network for UHC’s (JLN) peer-to-peer learning platform on evidence-informed priority setting offers insights on the practical challenges faced by countries in health benefits package (HBP) design, especially to draw in actors to advocate for the priorities and values across the health system. Lessons harvested from JLN countries that have established such advisory committees can provide practical insights for countries in earlier stages of establishing a systematic process for HBP design. Peer-to-peer learning modalities among countries offer viable and effective approaches to institutionalizing EDPs and systematic priority setting.

Teaching technology when technology moves at the speed of light can be a challenging task. In addition to the fast-paced changes in this field, students possess a range of skills, experiences, and attitudes about technology such that there is no common baseline for content and activities. This article reflects on a technology-related crowdsourcing exercise implemented in a graduate professional course. The collaborative learning exercise fosters autonomy and peer-to-peer learning and has resulted in the exploration of more technology tools than could be shared by one instructor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporating writing into an economics course is a beneficial goal of economic educators. The potential benefits of using writing to enhance learning among economics students have been emphasized in the literature. Writing to Learn (WTL) is an act of using writing activities to help students think through key concepts presented in a course. The authors' objective in this article is to describe WTL activities that promote engagement, peer-to-peer learning, and active listening. This WTL strategy was born out of a desire to help students focus and learn in an online format during a particularly stressful time of the COVID-19 global pandemic. However, this strategy can be applied in all teaching formats: face-to-face, online or hybrid, and to both graduate and undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the results of research conducted from collaborative work by peers, with student profiles based on a model of thinking preferences, personal skills, and their grouping in different combinations in the development of the course Programming I of systems engineering and computer science. A methodological path based on educational research with qualitative analytics was used within the academic perspective in the framework of technology training. In the data collection, formats designed based on the 4Q model of thinking preferences were implemented, and direct observation and qualitative and quantitative analysis were used, using spreadsheet software as support. The results favor learning in specific combinations of collaborative work by peers based on the thinking preferences model and the characterization of the students as a motivational basis for such learning, to the point of promoting a certain level of autonomy that benefits students in these training processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of social networks has increased in recent decades, yet the use of social learning in higher education is nascent. Little is known how to foster high levels of social learning discourse among students in higher education classrooms. To address this gap, the present study analyses the use of a mobile application (Soqqle) for sharing student-generated content and peer-to-peer communication. Students from Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Indonesia uploaded videos linked to assessments and received feedback from their instructors and peers through social engagement features (e.g., comments, likes). The majority of students reported that the social learning experience promoted idea generation, increased creativity, and improved attention. These results indicate that integrating online platforms and mobile applications can promote social learning. The findings have important implications for educational practice because many educational institutions have adopted online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Background The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most relied upon tool for cardiovascular diagnosis, especially in low-resource settings because of its low cost and straightforward usability. It is imperative that internal medicine (IM) and emergency medicine (EM) specialists are competent in ECG interpretation. Our study was designed to improve proficiency in ECG interpretation through a competition among IM and EM residents at a teaching hospital in rural central Haiti in which over 40% of all admissions are due to CVD. Methodology The 33 participants included 17 EM residents and 16 IM residents from each residency year at the Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM). Residents were divided into 11 groups of 3 participants with a representative from each residency year and were given team-based online ECG quizzes to complete weekly. The format included 56 ECG cases distributed over 11 weeks, and each case had a pre-specified number of points based on abnormal findings and complexity. All ECG cases represented cardiovascular pathology in Haiti adapted from the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine evaluation list. The main intervention was sharing group performance and ECG solutions to all participants each week to promote competition and self-study without specific feedback or discussion by experts. To assess impact, pre- and post-intervention assessments measuring content knowledge and comfort for each participant were performed. Results Overall group participation was heterogeneous with groups participating a median of 54.5% of the weeks (range 0–100%). 22 residents completed the pre- and post-test assessments. The mean pre- and post-intervention assessment knowledge scores improved from 27.3% to 41.7% (p = 0.004). 70% of participants improved their test scores. The proportion of participants who reported comfort with ECG interpretation increased from 57.6% to 66.7% (p = 0.015). Conclusion This study demonstrates improvement in ECG interpretation through a team-based, asynchronous ECG competition approach. This method is easily scalable and could help to fill gaps in ECG learning. This approach can be delivered to other hospitals both in and outside Haiti. Further adaptations are needed to improve weekly group participation.

Abstract Background To support the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization and its partners developed an interactive virtual learning initiative through which vaccination stakeholders could receive the latest guidance, ask questions, and share their experiences. This initiative, implemented between 9 February 2021 and 15 June 2021, included virtual engagement between technical experts and participants during a 15-session interactive webinar series as well as web and text-messaging discussions in English and French. Methods This article uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze survey data collected following each webinar and a post-series survey conducted after the series had concluded. Participant data were tracked for each session, and feedback surveys were conducted after each session to gauge experience quality and content usability. Chi-square tests were used to compare results across professions (health workers, public health practitioners, and others). Results The COVID-19 Vaccination: Building Global Capacity webinar series reached participants in 179 countries or 93% of the WHO Member States; 75% of participants were from low- and middle-income countries. More than 60% of participants reported using the resources provided during the sessions, and 47% reported sharing these resources with colleagues. More than 79% of participants stated that this initiative significantly improved their confidence in preparing for and rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations; an additional 20% stated that the initiative “somewhat” improved their confidence. In the post-series survey, 70% of participants reported that they will “definitely use” the knowledge derived from this learning series in their work; an additional 20% will “probably use” and 9% would “possibly use” this knowledge in their work. Conclusion The COVID-19 Vaccination: Building Global Capacity learning initiative used a digital model of dynamic, interactive learning at scale. The initiative enhanced WHO’s ability to disseminate knowledge, provide normative guidance, and share best practices to COVID-19 vaccination stakeholders in real time. This approach allowed WHO to hear the information needs of stakeholders and respond by developing guidance, tools, and training to support COVID-19 vaccine introduction. WHO and its partners can learn from this capacity-building experience and apply best practices for digital interactive learning to other health programs moving forward.

With COVID‐19 compelling some countries to close their schools, e‐learning has now become the primary mode of learning. Researchers have renewed their interest in users' acceptance of e‐learning via different platforms, given the possibility of different results relative to what was known pre‐pandemic. However, e‐learning still poses issues such as isolation, demotivation and learning attrition, which may be counterbalanced by peer‐to‐peer (P2P) learning. On this basis, this study surveyed 417 Indian students on their acceptance of P2P e‐learning with the extended Technology Acceptance Model. The data analysis confirmed that perceived ease of use was positively associated with the perceived usefulness of and students' attitude towards P2P e‐learning. Credibility was also found to be positively associated with perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude towards P2P e‐learning. However, the study could not confirm the association between perceived usefulness and attitude towards P2P e‐learning. Additionally, self‐efficacy displayed a weak, but significant association with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of P2P e‐learning. Internet self‐efficacy was found to have a positive association on the intention to use P2P e‐learning, but not its perceived ease of use. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic E‐learning which poses issues such as isolation, demotivation and learning attrition became the primary means of education due to the COVID‐19 pandemic.Issues with e‐learning can be counterbalanced by peer‐to‐peer (P2P) learning.There is a renewed interest in user acceptance of e‐learning via different platforms, as the sudden and prolonged shift to e‐learning is revealing different results relative to what was known pre‐pandemic.What this article adds Usage of the extended TAM model to predict users' acceptance of P2P e‐learning platforms during a pandemic.Extending the TAM model with a renewed focus on the importance of self‐efficacy and Internet self‐efficacy in accepting P2P e‐learning during a period of complete remote learning.Extending the TAM model with credibility as a factor: because P2P platforms allow any user to provide answers, students may struggle with choosing which answer to accept.Credibility was discovered to have a positive association with perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and attitude towards P2P platforms.A positive association between perceived usefulness and attitude could not be confirmed—a discovery we consider related to the supplementary way the P2P platform was utilised.Perceived ease of use had a larger association with the intention to use P2P e‐learning than perceived usefulness, thus suggesting that students are more concerned with the ease of finding an answer than the usefulness obtained from it.Implications for practice and/or policy P2P e‐learning platforms should consider means through which an answer's credibility can be increased in order to bolster the ATT towards them.At a macro level, schools should consider the self‐efficacy and Internet self‐efficacy of students to ensure they are able to partake in e‐learning and provide training and resources to those who are lacking.P2P e‐learning platforms need to improve their user interface design and user experience to increase the Perceived ease of use for their users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Infant and under-five mortality rates in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) can be reduced by encouraging behaviours such as sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets, exclusive breast-feeding for the first 6 months, regular handwashing, etc. Community-based volunteer or peer-to-peer mechanisms are cost-effective ways of promoting these lifesaving practices. However, the sustainability and reach of community-based behaviour change promotion remains a challenge. Our inquiry focuses on the utilisation, by non-governmental organisations (NGO), of Care Groups, a peer-to-peer behaviour change intervention. We asked: What are the mechanisms and contexts by which Care Groups achieve social and behavioural change in nutrition, health and other sectors? Design: Realist synthesis reviewing forty-two texts that contained empirical evidence about Care Group interventions. Setting: LMIC. Participants: We held consultations with a research reference group, which included Care Group and nutrition experts, and Care Group – implementing NGO staff in Malawi. Results: Different types of motivation drive the establishment and the sustainability of peer group interventions. A certain amount of motivation was derived from the resources provided by the NGO establishing the Care Groups. Subsequently, both volunteers and neighbourhood group members were motivated by the group dynamics and mutual support, as well as support from the wider community. Finally, volunteers and group members alike became self-motivated by their experience of being involved in group activities. Conclusions: When designing and implementing community-based behaviour change interventions, awareness of the multi-directional nature of the motivating drivers that are experienced by peer- or community group members is important, to optimise these groups' reach and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federated learning has generated significant interest, with nearly all works focused on a “star” topology where nodes/devices are each connected to a central server. We migrate away from this architecture and extend it through the network dimension to the case where there are multiple layers of nodes between the end devices and the server. Specifically, we develop multi-stage hybrid federated learning (MH-FL), a hybrid of intra-and inter-layer model learning that considers the network as a multi-layer cluster-based structure. MH-FL considers the topology structures among the nodes in the clusters, including local networks formed via device-to-device (D2D) communications, and presumes a semi-decentralized architecture for federated learning. It orchestrates the devices at different network layers in a collaborative/cooperative manner (i.e., using D2D interactions) to form local consensus on the model parameters and combines it with multi-stage parameter relaying between layers of the tree-shaped hierarchy. We derive the upper bound of convergence for MH-FL with respect to parameters of the network topology (e.g., the spectral radius) and the learning algorithm (e.g., the number of D2D rounds in different clusters). We obtain a set of policies for the D2D rounds at different clusters to guarantee either a finite optimality gap or convergence to the global optimum. We then develop a distributed control algorithm for MH-FL to tune the D2D rounds in each cluster over time to meet specific convergence criteria. Our experiments on real-world datasets verify our analytical results and demonstrate the advantages of MH-FL in terms of resource utilization metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most relied upon tool for cardiovascular diagnosis, especially in low-resource settings because of its low cost and straightforward usability. It is imperative that internal medicine (IM) and emergency medicine (EM) specialists are competent in ECG interpretation. Our study was designed to improve proficiency in ECG interpretation through a competition among IM and EM residents at a teaching hospital in rural central Haiti in which over 40% of all admissions are due to CVD. Methodology: The 33 participants included 17 EM residents and 16 IM residents from each residency year at the Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM). Residents were divided into 11 groups of 3 participants with a representative from each residency year and were given team-based online ECG quizzes to complete weekly. The format included 56 ECG cases distributed over 11 weeks, and each case had a pre-specified number of points based on abnormal findings and complexity. All ECG cases represented cardiovascular pathology in Haiti adapted from the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine evaluation list. The main intervention was sharing group performance and ECG solutions to all participants each week to promote competition and self-study without specific feedback or discussion by experts. To assess impact, pre- and post-intervention assessments measuring content knowledge and comfort for each participant were performed. Results: Overall group participation was heterogeneous with groups participating a median of 54.5% of the weeks (range 0–100%). 22 residents completed the pre- and post-test assessments. The mean pre- and post-intervention assessment knowledge scores improved from 27.3% to 41.7% (p = 0.004). 70% of participants improved their test scores. The proportion of participants who reported comfort with ECG interpretation increased from 57.6% to 66.7% (p = 0.015). Conclusion: This study demonstrates improvement in ECG interpretation through a team-based, asynchronous ECG competition approach. This method is easily scalable and could help to fill gaps in ECG learning. This approach can be delivered to other hospitals both in and outside Haiti. Further adaptations are needed to improve weekly group participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To support the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization and its partners developed an interactive virtual learning initiative through which vaccination stakeholders could receive the latest guidance, ask questions, and share their experiences. This initiative, implemented between 9 February 2021 and 15 June 2021, included virtual engagement between technical experts and participants during a 15-session interactive webinar series as well as web and text-messaging discussions in English and French.Methods: This article uses a mixed-methods approach to analyze survey data collected following each webinar and a post-series survey conducted after the series had concluded. Participant data were tracked for each session, and feedback surveys were conducted after each session to gauge experience quality and content usability. Chi-square tests were used to compare results across professions (health workers, public health practitioners, and others).Results: The COVID-19 Vaccination: Building Global Capacity webinar series reached participants in 179 countries or 93% of the WHO Member States; 75% of participants were from low- and middle-income countries. More than 60% of participants reported using the resources provided during the sessions, and 47% reported sharing these resources with colleagues. More than 79% of participants stated that this initiative significantly improved their confidence in preparing for and rolling out COVID-19 vaccinations; an additional 20% stated that the initiative "somewhat" improved their confidence. In the post-series survey, 70% of participants reported that they will "definitely use" the knowledge derived from this learning series in their work; an additional 20% will "probably use" and 9% would "possibly use" this knowledge in their work.Conclusion: The COVID-19 Vaccination: Building Global Capacity learning initiative used a digital model of dynamic, interactive learning at scale. The initiative enhanced WHO's ability to disseminate knowledge, provide normative guidance, and share best practices to COVID-19 vaccination stakeholders in real time. This approach allowed WHO to hear the information needs of stakeholders and respond by developing guidance, tools, and training to support COVID-19 vaccine introduction. WHO and its partners can learn from this capacity-building experience and apply best practices for digital interactive learning to other health programs moving forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many community-based English language learning programs rely on volunteers to lead classes. While some of these volunteers have some teacher training, the majority are not professional educators. The question of how non-professionals understand what constitutes facilitation of language learning in an adult education context remains underexplored. This paper presents the findings of a small-scale study conducted within a community-based language learning program with four volunteer facilitators. Volunteer facilitators were interviewed on a range of topics related to their role in the program, peer-to-peer interaction, and the impacts of volunteering in their lives. An analysis of facilitator interviews, with reference to program’s guiding educational principles, reveals the following positive factors related to the program: the informal nature of the community, the flexible design of the program, peer-to-peer interaction, and support from program staff. However, the findings also highlight that facilitators’ perspectives and practices varied significantly due to their different lived experiences, motives for volunteering, and linguistic background. This study highlights promising practices, which could serve to design sustainable community-based English language learning programs for adults.

The paper focuses on exploring the influence of structural and functional characteristics of demonstrations on their effectiveness. In the framework of AgriDemo-F2F project, we analysed the responses to 345 post-demonstration questionnaires filled out by the attendees of 31 demo events held in 12 EU countries. Factor analysis was employed and on a subsequent step a linear regression to predict general effectiveness. Results indicate that the very first steps in the organisation of on-farm demonstration are of critical importance for the successful delivery of their objectives, particularly decisions relating to relevance to farmers' needs and the structure of the event. Moreover, the paper offers first evidence that when/if on-farm demonstrations are appropriately structured and delivered they can meet their objectives regardless of the status and strength of the corresponding AKIS. Demonstration organisers should take special care with regard to the relevance of the topic and the group (demonstrator and attendees) as well as of the structure of the event. The various elements influencing the success of on-farm demonstrations are examined together and ranked. The study generates important (theoretical and practical) insights concerning the success of a widely used technique of advisory/extension services, that is on-farm demonstrations, based on a large data-set from demonstration events through out Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to undertake an in-depth exploration of how structural characteristics of on-farm demonstration events impact the effectiveness of the demonstration as perceived by participants. An explanatory mixed-methods approach was used based on the responses to 356 post-demonstration questionnaires filled out by the attendees of 31 demonstration events held in 12 EU countries in 2018, together with the qualitative data from an observation tool, interviews and case study reports relating to the same 31 events. Factor analysis was employed to predict general effectiveness, complemented with a qualitative analysis of participants' responses to improve the understanding of the quantitative results. Results indicate that peer-to-peer learning activities and good facilitation increase participants' perception of the effectiveness of a demonstration event. Furthermore, characteristics such as the structure of the day, the suitability of the host farm, a trustworthy demonstrator, and group size add much to the effectiveness of a demo event. Group dynamics – including group connectedness and composition – have the potential to impact perceived effectiveness. The paper contains clear messages for practitioners when designing a demonstration event. Our results connect with theories on motivation and adult learning in the context of farmer learning during on-farm demonstration. The paper is based on a rich empirical dataset. It reveals that group size and learning methods are crucial to achieve effective learning outcomes during demonstration events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the accessibility of flipped learning from the perspective of two people: one with dyslexia and the other who identifies as being on the autistic spectrum. The paper draws on the continuing evaluation of a course on which all students are part-time work-based learners. The course is designed to showcase how participants might develop their own practice through interaction and practical application. All students are either teaching or supporting learning at a university. The evaluation looks at both teacher and student perspectives on two different flipped learning environments: online and face-to-face. The online environment offers a design model that allows for individual learning and has been appreciated by all participants; however, the face-to-face environment, focusing on peer-to-peer learning, has raised issues. The paper offers two different perspectives on peer-to-peer group work within a work-based environment and concludes with recommendations for those involved in the design and delivery of inclusive work-based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how Peer-to-Peer learning can level-up students' understanding of computer-aided design (CAD) with Autodesk Auto- CAD programme for Interior Design Year 1 students. As students come from different knowledge backgrounds, they approach the module with different understanding levels, with the weaker students unable to follow the live demonstration tutorials. A peer tutoring assignment using a student-led peer-to-peer learning pedagogy, was introduced to advance students' understanding and internalise content better by reinforcing their learning. Each group has an equal proportion of students with different levels of knowledge and capabilities, and each group member conducted self-research on a topic segment, shared their knowledge and findings within their group, and thereafter curated a 15-minute lecture and facilitation workshop for peers. Tutors provided consultation and mediation, encouraging students’ participation. The assignment’s results showed that the peer-to-peer learning approach efficaciously empowered students and motivated learning, enabling them to be self-directed learners.