Browsing by Author "Chikte, U. M. E."

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    Exploration of supervisor and student experiences during master’s studies in a health science faculty
    (HESA, 2016) Chikte, U. M. E.; Chabilall, J. A.
    Significant growth in postgraduate student numbers with seemingly little change in staff composition and supervision capacity have prompted the need for research into the experiences of supervisors in a diverse interdisciplinary health sciences department. This article contends that supervision strategies form an important facet of institutional knowledge sharing in an interdisciplinary context especially in developing the capacity of postgraduate students to apply competencies later within the macro society in a sustainable manner. The article addresses one of the research questions of a larger study: What are the experiences of supervisors during the supervisory process of master’s students in a Health Science Faculty? Supervisors were of the view that they were committed to their supervision duties. Their multiple roles meant that they had to be encouraging, understanding, empathetic, set boundaries, be supportive while they act as guides and mentors who are expected to provide timeous and continuing feedback. To provide a comprehensive appreciation of the study, the article also presents significant findings from the qualitative component pertaining to student-views of the supervision process. Recommendations relate to the workload of supervisors, faculty development and greater access to resources including funding that would generally influence postgraduate supervision.
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    Optimising cognitive load and usability to improve the impact of e-learning in medical education
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2015) Davids, M. R.; Halperin, M. L.; Chikte, U. M. E.
    E-learning has the potential to support the development of expertise in clinical reasoning by being able to provide students with interactive learning experiences, exposure to multiple cases, and opportunities for deliberate practice with tailored feedback. This review focuses on two important but underappreciated factors necessary for successful e-learning, i.e. the management of the learner’s cognitive load and the usability of the technology interface. Cognitive load theory views learning as involving active processing of information by working memory via separate visual and auditory channels. This system is of very limited capacity and any cognitive load that does not directly contribute to learning is considered extraneous and likely to impede learning. Researchers in cognitive load theory have provided evidence-based instructional design principles to reduce extraneous cognitive load and better manage the cognitive processing necessary for learning. Usability is a concept from the field of human-computer interaction which describes how easy technology interfaces are to use, and is routinely evaluated and optimised in the software development industry. This is seldom the case when e-learning resources are developed, especially in the area of medical education. Poor usability limits the potential benefit of educational resources, as learners experience difficulties with the technology interface while simultaneously dealing with the challenges of the content presented. Practitioners in the field of human-computer interaction have provided guidelines and methods for evaluating and optimising the usability of e-learning materials. The fields of cognitive load theory and human-computer interaction share a common goal in striving to reduce extraneous cognitive load. The load induced by poor usability of e-learning materials can be viewed as a specific component of extraneous cognitive load, adding to any load resulting from poor instructional design. The guidelines from these two fields are complementary and, if correctly implemented, may substantially improve the impact of our e-learning resources on the development of the clinical reasoning skills of students.
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    A situational mapping overview of training programmes for community-based rehabilitation workers in Southern Africa : strategies for strengthening accessible rural rehabilitation practice
    (Frontiers Media, 2020) Ned, Lieketseng; Tiwari, Ritika; Hess-April, Lucia; Lorenzo, Theresa; Chikte, U. M. E.
    In 2018, the United Nations global report showed that people with disabilities, who make up 15% of the worlds' population, have poorer health and rehabilitation access (SDG 3). Without improving the needed person-centered health and rehabilitation services at household level, SDG 3 cannot be achieved. This includes addressing human resource shortages through training multi-skilled community based rehabilitation workers (CRWs) to build rural workforce capacity and enhance the lives of people with disabilities, particularly in LMICs where the need is higher but resources are lower. However, to date, there is no documentation and analysis of existing training and its scope for this workforce in LMICs. A situational mapping overview was undertaken to review the current status of rural rehabilitation training programs offered in Southern Africa for CRWs. CRWs are rehabilitation personnel, based in the home/community, who are not professionals (without a bachelor qualification) but render non-institutional rehabilitation and inclusive development in communities, under the supervision of rehabilitation practitioners. Information on these programs was obtained using a two-step process. Firstly, a descriptive list of university courses for rehabilitation workers offered in the Southern African countries was collected via an internet and literature search. Secondly, detailed information about the disability and rural rehabilitation courses was collected from the respective institutions and their designated websites. There are six training courses targeted at CRWs or disability practitioners with a disability focus being offered at universities in Southern Africa, five of these in South Africa and one in Zimbabwe. Additionally, four training courses are offered as online/open resources by global organizations and are self-directed with no accreditation. While other key competencies feature, none of these programmes' learning outcomes make direct reference to the rural practice context and its complexities in relation to disability and poverty. The situational mapping overview shows limited training targeted at CRWs in Southern Africa, to effectively facilitate rural rehabilitation, poverty reduction and social inclusion. There is a need for an articulated community-orientated rural training to respond to the unmet needs. This may require a different set of competencies and assessment standards for trainees as well as additional competencies for their supervisors and mentors.