Ian Willis

The authors review research literature on coherent theoretically based approaches to the use of reflective processes within programmes of initial professional education for new academic staff. Employing a novel methodology that incorporates practitioner perspectives, they establish a framework that highlights the role of personal and social factors, and also pedagogic and theoretical considerations, in shaping reflective processes. The included studies identified participants who had engaged in certain categories of reflection. Certain fundamental outcomes, however, such as changes in professional commitment, were never seen across an entire cohort. The article thus discusses the intended learning outcomes that programmes might legitimately seek to meet.

The application of educational research to practice remains an issue of concern, and yet there has been relatively little consideration of this in relation to reviews of research. While the professional user review hitherto represents the most relevant approach, this involves users applying the findings of an earlier review rather than carrying out an original review. Through a case study, we propose an interpretive approach to reviewing research literature that is fully rooted in practitioner perspectives. We argue that our review methodology maintains a balance between contributions from the research literature and from practitioner perspectives; with both extracted data and practitioner commentary incorporated into our synthesis, alongside a dialogue incorporating alternative voices. Our methodology thus represents a novel way to develop applicable forms of understanding within the field.

Objective: To investigate the impact of associating classroom learning of medical physiology with a Facebook group page in an all-women medical college of a conservative small city in Pakistan.
Study Design: Qualitative interpretivist study using semi-structured interviews.
Place and Duration of Study: Women Medical College Abbottabad, Pakistan, from March to December 2014.
Methodology: A closed Facebook study group was established at a local medical college in Pakistan. It was used to upload learning resources and initiate discussions, coordinated with classroom lectures of physiology. Thirteen semistructured interviews were conducted with volunteer students according to a standard protocol.
Results: Five major themes were identified. Facebook group is something new and exciting; it motivated self-study, research, collaborative learning and improved class attendance. Convenience of easily accessible resources allowed the students to concentrate on the lecture rather than note taking. It was easier to communicate with the instructor through Facebook than face to face. Lurkers were also learning. High achievers who had adapted to the current didactic system of teaching were less receptive of the collaborative learning and favored teaching geared towards exam preparation.
Conclusion: Using social media for e-learning in undergraduate medical education can enhance the student learning experience, especially in resource-limited regions where Information and communication technology is not an integrated part of the teaching process.

In Higher Education Focus Groups and Nominal Group Technique are two well-established methods for obtaining student feedback about their learning experience. These methods are regularly used for the enhancement and quality assurance. Based on small-scale research of educational developers’ practice in curriculum development, this study presents the use of a combined approach that potentially offers more benefits than the use of Focus Groups alone. It proposes a combined method, ‘Nominal Focus Group’, which includes the benefits of in-depth discussion of a Focus Group and the prioritising of results of Nominal Group Technique. These benefits include questions for further exploration, initial data analysis and increased ownership of the process by students. In practice, the method gave rise to rich data and actionable outcomes that were used to make informed curriculum enhancements for the programme teams. DOI:10.1080/14703297.2015.1058721