Navigating Performance-Based Assessments in Unprecedented Times

This chapter focuses on the implementation of performance-based assessments (PBAs) at the Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy (AUHSOP) during the COVID-19 pandemic, when shifts were made to a fully remote delivery of the pharmacy curriculum in March 2020 and then altered to a hybrid delivery in the fall semester in which students returned to campus in a limited capacity. In addition to describing adaptations made due to curriculum delivery changes for each professional year, the chapter will provide specific challenges encountered while planning and implementing PBAs with a focus on factors related to students, standardized persons (SPs), and logistics. Student and SP perceptions of remote PBA delivery will be presented as well as strategies for improvement of future PBA events.

Change Management as a requirement in introducing ICT in curriculum delivery – The Gauteng Experience

The main objective of this study is to establish the role that change management plays in introducing ICT in curriculum delivery with special reference to Gauteng Province. A desktop literature review was adopted to gather information on how change management can impact on the effectiveness of ICT integration, not only in the South African context but also on the global and African context. Support for ICT integration in education is overwhelmingly positive; ICT is seen as having made a positive contribution to education; More training is required to improve teachers’ competencies in ICT usage and More support needs to be provided to the principals, School Management Teams (SMTs) and School Governing Bodies (SGBs) in terms of training. In order to optimise the results of the change management process in ICT integration into the curriculum, the researcher recommended the following: Establish a change management committee whose sole mandate is to ensure an effective integration of ICT projects; Ensure sufficient and effective continuous training support to the educators, principals, SMTs and SGBs before, during and after launch of the ICT project; Continuous evaluation of the change process to assess if intended objectives are being achieved; Ensure undivided buy-in and support from the district and top management and Ensure funding is made available to increase the provision of ICT equipment in schools and to invest in the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the infrastructure.

Exploring the Adoption and Usage of Learning Management System as Alternative for Curriculum Delivery in South African Higher Education Institutions during Covid-19 Lockdown

This study adopted a discursive approach to review the use of the Learning Management System (LMS) popularly known as 'Moodle’ in most South African universities. Moodle as fondly called is one of the online tools that can be effectively used to deliver learning activities as well as online learning assessments to implement curriculum delivery without borders or disruptions during the COVID-19 lockdown across the globe. The author highlights various extant studies on the usage and adoption of LMS into teaching and learning for effective implementation in higher institutions of learning. LMS is a global online tool that has been in use for decades in various higher institutions of learning across the developed countries. It has proved to be an efficient learning platform that has impacted significantly the education sector in these developed countries, as learning experiences are provided to diverse students at their comfort zones. With the break of the COVID-19 pandemic that affects the global world, teaching and learning in most parts of the developed countries continue to be facilitated through various online approaches that include LMS in the developed countries. Unfortunately, the pandemic lockdown in many developing countries like South Africa grossly impacted the delivery of curriculum and educational activities in various learning institutions for several months. The continuous presence of COVID-19 led the South African Department of Higher Education and Training to review approaches to curriculum delivery to salvage academic activities. Thus, declared online learning as an alternative to face-to-face curriculum delivery in higher institutions. The adoption of LMS results as the best approach to engage students in full teaching and learning activities.

Teachers’ and middle managers’ experiences of principals’ instructional leadership towards improving curriculum delivery in schools

Background: This study was designed to explore teachers’ and middle managers’ experiences regarding their principals’ instructional leadership practices aimed at improving curriculum delivery in schools. Literature on instructional leadership indicates how failing schools can be turned around to become successful if principals consider instructional leadership to be their primary role within schools. The authors, therefore, argue that it is the responsibility of principals to ensure that learners’ results are improved through intervention and support provided by the principals to capacitate teachers and middle managers in delivering the curriculum effectively. Globally, literature promotes the significance of the continued professional development of teachers, and many scholars allude to the pivotal role principals or school heads play in teachers’ skills advancement.Aim: The aim of this article was to identify principals’ instructional practices that improve curriculum delivery in schools, which are examined through the experiences of teachers and middle managers.Setting: The study was conducted in two schools in the Gauteng province of South Africa.Method: The researchers employed a qualitative approach, utilising three domains of instructional leadership as its framework, and these are defining the school mission statement, managing the instructional programme and promoting a positive school learning climate. Four teachers and four middle managers were purposefully selected at two schools for data collection conducted through semi-structured individual interviews, which were analysed using thematic content analysis.Results: Three themes emerged, namely, understanding good instructional leadership practices, teacher development as an instructional practice and instructional resource provisioning.Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of teachers and middle managers in understanding that principals are merely not school managers or administrators, but rather instructional leaders whose primary role is to direct teaching and learning processes in schools. Principals need to create time within their constricted schedules to become instructional leaders, which is their main purpose in schools. If the roles and responsibilities of middle managers are not explicit, their ability to simultaneously perform the dual task of being teachers and middle managers will be compromised.

Do PGY-1 residents in Emergency Medicine have enough experiences in resuscitations and other clinical procedures to meet the requirements of a Competence by Design curriculum?

Background: With the transition to a Competence by Design (CBD) curriculum, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Emergency Medicine (FRCP-EM) training has created guidelines on experiences residents should have before progressing. We sought to quantify adult medical resuscitations and clinical procedures completed by PGY1 FRCP-EM residents to compare them to CBD requirements with the aim to identify areas of limited exposure requiring curriculum revisions prior to nation-wide CBD implementation. Methods: Twenty-two PGY1 residents from four FRCP-EM programs recorded their activities from July 2017 to June 2018 in an online log that tracked resuscitations and procedures along with role assumed, supervision, and level of comfort. Results: In total 515 resuscitations were logged with the median number per resident 15 (range 0 to 98). The most frequent resuscitation was altered mental status and the least was unstable dysrhythmia. 557 total procedures were logged with the median number 75 (range 8 to 273). The most frequent procedure done was simple laceration repair and the least frequent was intraosseous access. Conclusions: Unstable dysrhythmias and cardiorespiratory arrest along with intraosseous access and arthrocentesis are low event clinical exposures. In the era of CBD, the misalignment of entrustrable professional activity (EPA) targets and curriculum delivery should be monitored/reviewed to ensure expectations are realistic and that sufficient exposures are available.

 Ethics Education in Human Services: Curriculum Approach, Faculty Characteristics, and Evaluation of Students

This article discusses three aspects of the context of ethics education, which are external to course content but affect the development of the ethical student and, later, the ethical professional. This article presents the available perspectives for the following: one course versus whole curriculum delivery of ethics education, the influence of faculty and supervisors, and the assessment of student ethical thinking and behavior. Professional literature is used to support consideration of each perspective in the ethics education of human services students.

Alternation of Curriculum Delivery Mode in Primary Schools

This investigation aimed to explore the mode of curriculum delivery in Primary School in Tshwane South District during the Covid-19 pandemic because there is insufficient research on this subject. A case study of a Primary School was used to obtain in-depth information about the mode of curriculum delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic. Using a case study was also practical because the pandemic's restrictions posed a challenge to research many schools. Data was gathered through document analysis. A qualitative approach was employed to analyze and identify categories and emerging themes from the data. An interpretive paradigm was used while connectivism theory was employed as a lens. The findings revealed that schools used face-to-face mode of curriculum delivery during the lockdown and after schools re-opened during Covid-19, resulting in a challenge with content coverage that led to revising the annual teaching plans and trimming the curriculum.