The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19 as pandemic across the world. With its alarming surge of affected cases throughout the world, lockdown, and awareness (social distancing, use of masks etc.) among people are found to be the only means for restricting the community transmission. In a densely populated country like India, it is very difficult to prevent the community transmission even during lockdown without social awareness and precautionary measures taken by the people. Recently, (...) several containment zones had been identified throughout the country and divided into red, orange and green zones, respectively. The red zones indicate the infection hotspots, orange zones denote some infection and green zones indicate an area with no infection. Contact tracing is known to be an effective technique for detecting and monitoring persons who may have been exposed to individuals infected with any communicable disease. While a good number of contact tracing schemas are existent today (eg., in-person and phone interviews, paper forms, email and web based questionnaires and smartphone apps), they often require active user participation and might miss certain COVID-19 transmission. The Android application updates the locations of the areas in a Google map which are identified to be the containment zones. The application also notifies the users if they have entered a containment zone and to achieve all these functionalities, many tools, and APIs from Google like Firebase and Geofencing API are used in this application. Therefore, this application can be used as a tool for creating further social awareness about the arising need of precautionary measures to be taken by the people of India. (shrink)

Background: Besides regulatory learning skills, learning also requires students to relate to their social context and negotiate it as they transition and adjust to medical training. As such, there is a need to consider and explore the role of social and cultural aspects in student learning, particularly in problem-based learning, where the learning paradigm differs from what most students have previously experienced. In this article, we report on the findings of a study exploring first-year medical students’ experiences during the first (...) semester of an undergraduate problem-based learning medical program at an African medical school. Method: We employed a qualitative case study approach using in-depth interviews with 23 first-year medical students. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 25 years. All students were bi/multilingual (some spoke three to five languages), with English as the learning language. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis to systematically identify and analyze patterns in the data using the Braun and Clarke framework. Results: Before medical school, students worked hard to compete for admission to medical school, were primarily taught using a teacher-centered approach, and preferred working alone. At the beginning of medical school, students found it challenging to understand the problem-based learning process, the role of the case, speaking and working effectively in a group, managing a heavy workload, and taking increased responsibility for their learning. By the end of the first semester, most students were handling the workload better, were more comfortable with their peers and facilitators, and appreciated the value of the problem-based learning approach. Conclusions: Our study highlights the importance of interrogating contextual sociocultural factors that could cause tension when implementing problem-based learning in non-western medical schools. Adjustment to problem-based learning requires a conceptual and pedagogic shift towards learner-centered practice, particularly concerning self direction, the role of the case, and collaborative learning. As such, there is a need to develop and implement research informed learning development programs that enable students to reflect on their sociocultural beliefs and practices, and enhance their regulatory learning competence to optimize meaningful and early engagement with the problem based learning process. (shrink)

Preparing students for the real challenges in life is one of the most important goals in education. Constructivism is an approach that uses real-life experiences to construct knowledge. Problem-Based Learning (PBL), for almost five decades now, has been the most innovative constructivist pedagogy used worldwide. However, with the rising popularity, there is a need to revisit empirical studies regarding PBL to serve as a guide and basis for designing new studies, making institutional policies, and evaluating educational curricula. This need has (...) led the researchers to do a meta-analysis to analyse the effectiveness of PBL on secondary students’ achievement in different scientific disciplines. Following the set of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 studies in Eurasia, Africa, and America conducted from 2016 to 2020 have qualified for this study. Six of which focused on JHS (n = 1047) and five on SHS (n = 375). Studies were obtained from various meta-search engines including Google, ERIC, and JSTOR. Further, the researchers used Harzing’s Publish and Perish software to exhaust the search process. Sample size, mean, and standard deviation were analysed using the Comprehensive MetaAnalysis version 3 to determine the effect sizes (Hedge’s g) and the results of moderator analysis, forest plot, funnel plot, and Begg-Mazumdar test. Findings have shown that PBL, as an approach to teaching science, had a large and positive effect (ES = .871) on the achievement of secondary students. However, grade levels and various scientific disciplines did not influence students’ learning achievement. The conduct of more studies on the different factors affecting PBL implementation and specific effects of PBL on various student domains is recommended to facilitate comparative educational research in the future. (shrink)

The investigation of the degree of amotivation and subsequent intervention towards the motivation of undergraduate vocational and technical education (VTE) students has not received the same amount of attention as other disciplines. Despite the negative impact of a lack of volitional drive on students' practical skills learning, there is scarcity of literature on amotivation among VTE undergraduate students. This study aimed to demonstrate the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) in transitioning undergraduate students from a state of being amotivated to motivated. (...) The study utilized a quasi-experimental research design and selected 168 students in their penultimate and final years majoring in agricultural education, business education, computer education, home economics, and industrial technical education who met the study's inclusion criteria. The intervention consisted of eight weeks of treatment and four weeks of follow-up meetings. An existing academic motivation scale was adapted for use, and data was collected through a self-report questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using independent sample t-tests, and paired sample t-tests. The findings revealed that the level of amotivation among the students was high, and PBL had a significant impact on transitioning VTE students from being amotivated to motivated in the treatment group compared to those in the control group. Furthermore, the positive gains were maintained by the treatment group at follow-up. The study suggests that a PBL program can effectively address students' lack of volitional drive to engage in academic activities among undergraduate students majoring in agricultural education, business education, computer education, home economics, and industrial technical in Nigeria. (shrink)