Background: Resistance to change is customary and is expected in any organization. However, most of the downsides of change can be avoided if the organization/individual prepares for the change by acknowledging guided strategies. In healthcare, change is the state of nature, which has also translated to medical education (ME). ME in the current era has undergone a shift from a traditional content-based curriculum to a competency-based curriculum. Recently, however, the broader social-accountability movement has accelerated this rate of transformation. One of the key challenges to educators harbingering this transformation to competency-based medical education (CBME) is to redesign the processes of teaching. Aim: Here we define a framework designed using Mento’s model of change that will totally agree with introducing positive change in teaching in an institution undergoing transformation from a traditional content-based curriculum to a competency-based curriculum. Methodology: Using Schein’s “unfreezing” as a guide term we critically reflected on the popular change-management models, to home in on Kotter’s model of change to transform organizations. However, Kotter’s change-model draws from Situational and Contingency Leadership Theories, which may not agree with academic organizations involved in ME. As such organizations adhere to Transactional and Transformational Leadership archetypes, where Leadership is constructively executed by “The Leader Team”, we decided to adopt Mento’s change-model for our study. Mento’s model not only draws from the precepts of Kotter’s model, but also incorporates axioms of Jick’s and GE’s change-models. Results: Using Mento’s model a framework was blueprinted to implement active learning (AL) strategies in CBME. Here we have elaborated on the framework using the exemplar of flipped teaching. The development of this framework required the design and execution of a faculty development program, and a step by step guidance plan to chaperon, instruct and implement change in teaching to harbinger CBME. Further, we have also reflected on the change process using Gravin’s framework. Conclusion: To our knowledge this is the first report of the use of Mento’s model of change in medical education. Also, the blueprinted framework is supported by acknowledged leadership theories and can be translated to implement any curricular change in CBME.

Designers of undergraduate medical education (UME) need to address the exponentially expanding volume and variability of scientific knowledge, where by didactic teaching techniques need to be augmented by innovative student-centric pedagogical strategies and implementation of milieus, where information, communication and technology-enabled tools are seamlessly integrated, and lifelong information gathering, assimilation, integration and implementation is the ultimate goal. In UME, the basic sciences provide a solid scaffold allowing students to develop their personal critical decisional framework as well as define the understanding of normal human physiology, pivotal for the identification, categorization and management of pathophysiology. However, most medical schools confine themselves to “stagnant curricula”, with the implementation of traditional “teacher centered” pedagogical techniques in the dissemination of the courses pertaining to basic sciences in UME. To tackle the above paucity, we present a novel “6D-Approach” for the dissemination of concepts in basic sciences through mentored journal-clubs. The approach is informed by a teaching principle derived from Constructivism. The technique in which the 6D-approach can be implemented in UME, is shown using an example from a first-year course of Molecular Biology and Principles of Genetics at our medical school. A reflection on the impact of 6D-Approach for students as well as instructors is also presented. The 6D-approach was positively received by the students and the formal feedback for the course: Molecular Biology and Principles of Genetics, where the approach was repeatedly employed, indicated that students expressed satisfaction with the teaching strategies employed in the course, with ~ 89% of the students in the cohort strongly agreeing with the highest grading score “extremely satisfied”. Further, the approach through the use of mentored journal clubs encourages retention of knowledge, critical thinking, metacognition, collaboration and leadership skills in addition to self-evaluation and peer feedback. Hence, through the 6D-Approach, our attempt is to initiate, advance and facilitate critical thinking, problem-solving and self-learning in UME, demonstrated by graduating accomplished, competent and safe medical practitioners.

One of the fundamental problems facing providers and commissioners of health services is how to maintain the skills and knowledge of the workforce during the initial development and implementation of home care services. This small-scale project sought to ascertain if it was possible to use human patient simulation scenarios to educate community nurses about how to recognize when care at home is appropriate and when it is not. A series of scenarios were developed and delivered to small groups of community nursing staff. A total of 18 qualified nurses took part in the project. Participants were asked to report their level of confidence in the diagnosis, management and recognition of patient deterioration for each of the scenarios prior to and after the session. The results show increased confidence across all participants in each of the scenarios.

As higher education looks to continue on its path of digital transformation to support pedagogical approaches such as online and blended learning, lessons must be taken from the emergency distance learning response, during Covid-19, and steps implemented to move towards a more thoughtfully designed strategic approach to digital education.This case study examines an Australian university’s global campus in the United Arab Emirates, a traditionally teacher-led institution, that aims to address ‘what’ post-pandemic education will look like by articulating an approach to the digital transformation of learning and teaching, specifically related to educator professional development. The specific focus of this research considers the ‘how’ by proposing a Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework to guide the learning design of a faculty training pilot that supports educators in the development and implementation of a specific pedagogical model, namely flipped learning. The TPACK framework was used to inform the design of the flipped learning faculty training pilot and was used in the analysis coding of participants’ feedback to determine what domains of knowledge were touched and what domains require further attention.The study found that the TPACK framework can be a useful learning design tool for the development of faculty training programs that look to digitally transform learning and teaching, however, while the framework prompts explicit consideration of pedagogical and technological knowledge development, it can be found lacking in the fostering of community elements for a more impactful approach. The author believes this study will provide valuable insight for researchers and policymakers concerned with the digital transformation of learning and teaching in the post-pandemic higher educational landscape, specifically those interested in the development of teaching practice for blended learning approaches.Keywords: digital transformation; higher education; professional development; educator competencies; blended learning; flipped learning; TPACK; learning designPart of the Special Issue Teaching practices in times of digital transformation

This study examines the use of gamification as an innovative assessment approach to foreign language learning with 12–14-year-old students. A mixed methodology has been applied. Quantitative data have been collected from formative non-gamified and gamified assessments. Qualitative data was collected from a student questionnaire. The results were obtained from an international middle school where four groups of students, two in Grade 7 and two in Grade 8, engaged with gamified formative assessment. Findings show that gamification can provide a useful support mechanism in assessment success, and also on an emotional level as it lowers the affective filter, allowing the students to reduce potential anxiety and face the assessment with greater confidence. However, gamification had a small negative impact on otherwise high-performing students in the study, suggesting that gamification may not be appropriate in all contexts. Request access from your librarian to read this article's full text.