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Teaching Tool in Classroom Environment

Min-Shik Kim, DrPH,CS,APRN, Associate Professor, Gannon University, Erie, PA Chiyeon Park, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Kwan-Dong University, Korea Wook-Sung Yoo, Ph.D, DDS, Associate Professor, Gannon University, Erie, PA

ABSTRACT

Teaching Tool is a stand-alone application that promotes an effective teaching and learning classroom environment for instructors. It also improves students’ test-taking skills. Currently instructors rely on CDs, books, and other materials to teach students and conduct tests. These materials are useful for the instructors but they cannot be used in the classroom environment effectively. Teaching Tool uses a database-driven technology to provide an easy to use and flexible tool for the classroom environment.

Teaching Tool provides a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for instructors to edit questions of a question bank and create tests out of the test bank. In addition, the instructors can use sample questions from the test bank to make a connection between theory and its application in a classroom environment to enhance the teaching techniques and improve test-taking skills of students.

This tool stores subjects, units, and chapters in a single database, thus making it flexible for instructors to access questions. Use of this tool reduces the tedious effort made by instructors to prepare a lecture and test. The instructors are provided with questions of all subjects in a single database, which helps them to prepare a test that covers one or more subjects.

Use of this tool saves time for instructors by reducing all the manual processes to prepare a test and improves teaching and learning in the classroom environment, allowing flexibility to prepare a question bank and test without using the Internet.

1. INTRODUCTION

Up to and including the present day, instructors have often relied on CD’s, books and other materials to teach students and conduct tests. These materials are useful for the instructors but they cannot be used effectively in the classroom environment. Each individual student has a different learning style and thinking pattern. Technology can promote teachers’ teaching skills as well as students’ learning (Schell, 2000).

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The authors have designed Teaching Tool allows teachers to reach students with more variations of learning and thinking patterns. Also the Teaching Tool can improve the test taking skills for standardized national exams for licensure such as the National Council Licensure Examination for the Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). This tool reduces the manual process involved in preparing a lecture and a test.

Currently instructors at Gannon University use books, compact discs, and other tools to prepare students’ tests. These tools have lecture material and questions. Often instructors are not satisfied with these questions, and the material is insufficient. Often these tools are limited or inflexible; questions cannot be edited or deleted, and new questions cannot be added. Thus, instructors are bound to select the questions from the material provided to them.

Lecture slides that are provided are not often appropriate or sufficient. The instructors often prepare lecture slides by entering new data from the material. The instructors have to manually enter each question. Assuming a chapter has 25 questions, instructors need to prepare 25 hyperlinks to explain questions of one particular chapter. This is a monotonous effort to explain questions, and it reduces the lecture time involved in explaining questions. These questions are not in proper format to explain in the classroom. Interaction between students and instructors is less when explaining questions. The instructors read the questions and ask the students about the answer.

2. TEACHING TOOL Teaching Tool consists of three modules: (1) Teaching Module (2) Question Bank Module (3) Test Module.

Teaching Tool Application

Teaching Module

Question Bank Module

Test Module

Teaching Tool

Database

Instructor

add/modify/ delete questions in database

Retrieve data from database

Select questions from database

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Figure 1: Top Level Diagram

Teaching Module

The Teaching Module displays questions in a proper format. Using this tool can promote interactions between students and instructors during lecture. This tool can display questions and possible answers in a proper format. The instructor can ask a question in the classroom and select the answer according to students’ answers. This tool will show if the student has answered correctly or not, and it displays the explanation to the answers. This tool is flexible for the instructor and can access questions easily, thereby saving time during the lecture. In particular the instructors can make a connection between theory and its application during the lecture through the aid of this tool. Consequently students can comprehend and organize the knowledge in an applicable way.

Question Bank Module

The Question Bank Module can store questions of various subjects in a single database. Using GUI provided by this tool, the instructor has the ability to add subjects, edit subjects’ names, delete subjects, add units, edit units’ names, delete units, add chapters, edit chapters’ names, delete chapters, add questions, delete questions, and edit questions. Question Bank Module is further divided into Subject, Unit, Chapter, and Question modules.

Test Module This tool has a test module where instructors can select different questions from the question bank. Since the question bank can be updated frequently, the test questions will not be repeated. The instructors can conduct a test of a chapter, unit, and a subject. 3. MAJOR FEATURES OF THE SYSTEM

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Figure 2: Front Screen The Figure 2 shows a front screen of the “Testing Tool” with the 3 modules displayed. Details of the different modules are given in following subsections. 3.1 TEACHING MODULE Teaching Module is used to explain the questions of a chapter. The Teaching module allows the instructor to select a particular question and provide the students with the appropriate answers for the same along with the explanation.

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Figure 3: Teaching Module Screen

Source: Varcarolis, E. M. (2002), Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (4th ed.) (Test Bank). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. The Figure 3 is a Teaching Module screen shot to show how the instructor uses the tool to prepare the lecture for each class. The instructor chooses the particular subject and selects a question from it by clicking on the appropriate question number. When the instructor clicks on a particular answer, the text box displays whether the selected option is the correct or incorrect answer. The “Explanation” button on the bottom of the screen gives the instructor the opportunity to explain the validity of the correct answer chosen. It can also show sample questions or an analogy to support complex lecture contents. 3.2 Question Bank Module

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The instructor uses this module to add a subject, edit the subject name, delete a subject, add a unit in a subject, edit the unit name of a subject, delete a unit of a subject, add a chapter in a unit, edit a chapter name of unit, delete a chapter of a unit, add questions in a chapter, edit questions of a chapter, delete questions of a chapter. 3.2.1 Add Subject The instructor enters the subject name in text field; subject will be added into the database and will be displayed on the subject module screen. The option is also provided for the user to edit the subject name or delete the entered subject.

Figure 4: Question Bank Module Screen The Figure 4 is the screen shot of the first step in the “Question Bank Module” where the instructor adds the subject name. There are also other options displayed such as edit subject and delete subject. The “Edit Subject” option allows the instructor to change the name of the subject if he wishes to. The “Delete Subject,” option as the name indicates, allows the instructor to delete the subject. This option needs to be used carefully, as deleting the Subject will delete the units, chapters and the questions added in that particular subject. When the instructor clicks the “Delete” button an alert

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message pops up asking the instructor to confirm whether he wants to delete the particular subject. 3.2.2 Add Unit This Sub-Module comes under the “Add Subject” where the instructor adds the units for a particular subject. The instructor enters the unit name in the text field; the unit will be added into the database and will be displayed on the unit module screen. The feature to edit and delete the unit name is also provided. This sub-module comes under “Add Subject”. The instructor adds the units to the subject added earlier. The Add Unit also comes with the two options of “Delete” and “Edit” Unit option. 3.2.3 Add Chapter The “Add Chapter” sub-module comes under the “Add Unit” where the instructor adds the chapters under a particular unit. The instructor enters the chapter name in the text field; the chapter will be added into the database and will be displayed on the chapter module screen. The feature to edit and delete the chapters is also provided to the user. In the “Add Chapter” Sub-module, the instructor is allowed to add chapter names under a unit. This Module also comes with the option of Edit “Chapter Name” and “Delete Chapter”. 3.2.4 Add Question This is a sub-module which follows the “Add Chapter” where the instructor adds the Questions, Possible Answers and also explanations for the same questions. The instructor enters the Questions, possible answers and explanations for the same in the add question module. The feature to edit and delete a particular question is also provided for the user. In the “Add Question” sub-module, the instructor enters the required information and then clicks on the “Submit” button to add the question under a particular chapter. This Sub-Module also gives the user the opportunity to change the question or to delete the same. 3.3 TESTING MODULE Test Module class is used to select the questions and prepare a test. The test module allows the instructor to select the questions from various units and chapters and also to print in paper format. In the “Testing Module”, the user chooses questions from the required subject, unit and chapter and prepares question paper for the test. The left hand side of the screen displays the subject->unit->chapter on clicking which we can access the questions under that chapter. The instructor selects the question from the menu and then prints them in the paper format, which is shown below. In the testing module the following operations takes place. 3.3.1 Selection of Questions The instructor selects the questions and clicks select button to select the required question.

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Source: Varcarolis, E. M. (2002), Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (4th ed.) (p. xiii-xx & Test Bank). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. The questions are selected by clicking on the radio button beside the questions. 3.3.2 Print After the questions have been selected the instructor can print the selected questions in paper format.

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Source: Varcarolis, E. M. (2002), Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (4th ed.) (Test Bank). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. By clicking on the “Print Questions” button the question selected by the instructor is printed in a paper format. 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Teaching Tool represents a significant approach in improving the teaching techniques of instructors as well as test-taking skills of the students. The tool promotes an effective teaching and learning classroom environment for instructors. In particular, this Teaching Tool can be used effectively in courses that are clinically related and in which the students need to take the national license exams. Complex medical theory can be explained by using examples of clinical cases (Hackney, McMaster, & Harris, 2003) and sample questions. This method enhances the students’ critical thinking and allows students make good practical clinical applications (Greenlaw & DeLoach, 2003). Consequently it improves students’ test-taking skills. Teaching Tool is a database-driven technology that provides an easy and flexible tool for the classroom environment.

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Use of this tool saves time for instructors by reducing all the manual processes to prepare a test. It improves teaching and learning in the classroom environment, allowing flexibility in preparation of a question bank and test without using the Internet. REFERENCES Dietel, H.M. (2000). Java How to Program (3rd ed.): Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Elmasri, R. & Navathe, S. (2000). Fundamentals of Database Systems (3rd ed.): Upper

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Greelaw, S., & DeLoach S. (2003). Teaching critical thinking with electronic discussion. Journal of Economic Education: 34,1. Hackney, R., McMaster, T., & Harris, A. (2003). Using cases as a teaching tool in IS education. Journal of Information Systems Education:14,3. Schell, L.A. (2004). Teaching learning styles with technology. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: 75,1. Varcarolis, E. M. (2002), Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (4th ed.): Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co. Zero G. Software. (Enterprise Edition (v6.1)). InstallAnywhere: San Francisco: Author.

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