Experiential Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Reflective Process

Engagement of Higher Education Students in Live Online Classes: Scale Development and Validation

This study aimed to develop and validate the Live Online Classes Engagement Scale (LOCES) to measure higher education (HE) students' live online classes (LOCs) engagement levels. The scale items were created after reviewing the studies focusing on engagement and those developing engagement scales. For validity and reliability, data were collected from 1039 students (Female = 749, Male = 290) who were receiving distance education via LOCs in 34 different departments of 21 universities in Turkey. As a result of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a structure with six factors (social, instructional, technological, emotional, behavioral, and withdrawal) and 46 items was obtained. The total variance explained was 63.45%. As a result, the LOCES met the criteria necessary for validity and reliability. In conclusion, the LOCES can be used to measure the engagement levels of HE students in LOCs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11528-023-00849-7.

Pharmacy education and workforce: strategic recommendations based on expert consensus in Lebanon

Pharmacy in Lebanon has been taught for years, and the profession has known the golden ages in previous years. However, with the recent graduation of hundreds of pharmacists, without prior workforce planning, the oversupply of non-specialized pharmacists caused a mismatch with the needs of the market. The context of severe socioeconomic and sanitary crises has further exacerbated the situation, with hundreds of pharmacists leaving the country. A group of pharmacy experts joined to suggest strategic solutions to face such challenges, suggesting a clear strategy for education and the workforce, overarched by educational and professional values and based on six main pillars: (1) implement a national competency framework (including the core and specialized competency frameworks) to be used as a basis for licensure (colloquium); (2) implement a national pharmacy program accreditation, encompassing standards related to competencies adoption and assessment, curricula, teaching methods, research and innovation, instructors' and preceptors' skills, and experiential training; (3) organize training for students and early-career pharmacists; (4) optimize continuing education and implement continuous professional development, fostering innovation and specialization among working pharmacists; (5) develop and implement a pharmacy workforce strategy based on pharmacy intelligence, job market, and academic capacities; (6) develop and implement a legal framework for the above-mentioned pillars in collaboration with ministries and parliamentary commissions. Under the auspices of the relevant authorities, mainly the Order of Pharmacists of Lebanon and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the suggested strategy should be discussed and implemented for a better future for the pharmacy profession.

A digital module-based experiential learning in protein biochemistry during the COVID-19 pandemic paradigm

Experiential learning is compromised in meeting the educational demands of our students during the challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic. A more inclusive, flexible, and objective-oriented experiential learning environment is required. In this context, module-based experiential learning that is executable on a digital platform was designed. The learning module focused on protein biochemistry, contained a combination of asynchronous and synchronous activities categorized into 'Knowledge Hub' and 'Lab-based Movie', across 5 weeks. Digital and module-based experiential learning provides equitable, inclusive, and flexible access to students at remote locations. Furthermore, it is an objective-oriented and highly organized experiential learning framework that encourages students to engage and participate more in the learning process.

Online Teaching Self-efficacy of Group Counseling Instructors during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many counseling-related programs switched to online teaching modalities. Group counseling instructors may face various challenges in teaching group counseling courses online. With a mixed-method design, this study explored group counseling instructors' online teaching self-efficacy by collecting survey responses from 39 group counseling instructors and interviewing eight instructors from the programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The instructors demonstrated a general high teaching self-efficacy with concerns about students' engagement. Facilitating and hindering factors related to online teaching self-efficacy are identified. Implications and recommendations for instructors, counseling-related programs, and the counseling profession are also discussed.