Higher education institutions have invested in career counselling services to facilitate students' transition from university to the workforce by developing employability skills. Career services increasingly offer technology-driven services that support specific competencies but face challenges in helping students reflect on their goals and create comprehensive plans that foster overall employability. This design-based mixed-method study focused on designing, implementing, and evaluating features of an online career services platform that supports stages of reflective practice for competence development: awareness, analysis, goal setting, action, and reflection. Participants in the design phase were 7 students and 4 career counsellors, whereas 9 students participated in a formative evaluation. This paper presents the results of the first cycle of this design-based research. This study supports the pedagogical value of organising online career services platforms as reflective practices that foster competence development. The iterative design-based research process enabled a structured integration of pedagogical principles with educational technology. The findings show that students perceive the online platform as effective and usable. In addition, the study also underscores the importance of usability, institutional integration, and ongoing guidance, such as prompts, feedback mechanisms, and collaborative features, to further enhance the platform's potential in fostering employability competences in higher education.

Graduates require employability competences, such as flexibility and team working skills, to gain and maintain employment. Online learning platforms (OLPs) can provide students with resources for reflection, which is a key competence for employability. However, little is known about the design of OLPs meant to provide reflective practices that foster students’ employability competences. This research study aims to identify design principles of OLPs providing reflective practices that foster the development of employability competences. Five design principles were derived from thematic analysis following two focus group interviews with students and educational experts in this qualitative study: 1) Embed the OLP in curricular and institutional activities that foster competence development; 2) Facilitate the analysis of students’ current state regarding employability competences; 3) Provide recommendations and a repository with learning activities that help students to formulate goals and plan activities; 4) Facilitate the undertaking and recording of learning activities, supported by a blend of three forms of interaction (instructor-student; student–student or student-content); and 5) Foster reflection in and on action via opportunities for applying newly learned knowledge in different settings and reviewing activities via reflective journaling and knowledge sharing. This study is the first to conceptualise design principles for an OLP that is organised to provide reflective practices for the development of employability competences. The design principles were based on students’ and teachers’ experiences and are grounded in theory. They can inform future research as well as practitioners developing OLPs.

For predicting and improving the quality of essays, text analytic metrics (surface, syntactic, morphological, and semantic features) can be used to provide formative feedback to the students in higher education. In this study, the goal was to identify a sufficient number of features that exhibit a fair proxy of the scores given by the human raters via a data-driven approach. Using an existing corpus and a text analysis tool for the Dutch language, a large number of features were extracted. Artificial neural networks, Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, and backward elimination were used to reduce the number of features automatically. Irrelevant features were eliminated based on the inter-rater agreement between predicted and human scores calculated using Cohen's kappa ( $\kappa$ ). The number of features in this study was reduced from 457 to 28 and grouped into different categories. The results reported in this article are an improvement over a similar previous study. First, the inter-rater reliability between the predicted scores and human raters was increased by tweaking the corpus for overfitting for average scores. The resulting maximum value of $\kappa$ showed substantial agreement compared to moderate inter-rater reliability in the prior study. Second, instead of using a dedicated training and test set, the training and testing phases in the new experiments were performed using $k$ -fold cross validation on the corpus of texts. The approach presented in this research article is the first step toward our ultimate goal of providing meaningful formative feedback to the students for enhancing their writing skills and capabilities.

Since the introduction of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR), there has been much interest in the medical and health community to adapt this technology into medical and health professions education. The skills and qualities that come with this technology aim to improve student learning and ultimately patient care; however, the usage and its potential benefits in different fields of health professions education, and especially medical education, have not yet been systematically summarized in the literature. Therefore, this review seeks to update our knowledge about the use of AR/VR/MR in Medical, Biomedical and Health Sciences education and training.

AbstractProviding and receiving feedback requires a certain openness in individuals which is referred to as feedback orientation. Although this openness is also required in peer-feedback processes personal factors that influence student’s openness (i.e. peer-feedback orientation) are less researched. Inspired by feedback orientation studies in a workplace setting we investigated personal factors that influence students’ peer-feedback orientation. As part of an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design, qualitative data on personal factors influencing student’s peer-feedback orientation was collected. Semi-structured interviews with students, teachers and researchers (N = 13) revealed a broad range of personal factors influencing their peer-feedback orientation. Thematic analyses of the data showed that the most prominent factors were related to the perceived usefulness of receiving and providing peer-feedback, the social bond between students, fairness and skills. The importance of existing feedback orientation dimensions (utility, accountability, social awareness and self-efficacy) by (Linderbaum and Levy, Journal of Management 36:1372–1405, 2010) was confirmed in a higher education setting. Interestingly, different interpretations of the dimensions were found which should lead to the development of a peer-feedback orientation scale for higher education.

Although VPs have been applied in various medical and dental education programmes, it remains uncertain whether their design was based on specific instructional design (ID) principles, and therefore, how to improve on them. In this study, we evaluated the extent to which ID principles have played a role in the development of VPs for clinical skills training purposes in dental education. First, as frame of reference we mapped key ID principles identified in VPs and medical simulations on the widely used four-component instructional design (4C/ID) model. Next, a literature search was conducted using Libsearch, a single search tool accessing databases such as MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycInfo and Scopus. Following the PRISMA framework for systematic reviews, we selected 21 studies that used screen-based VP simulations for undergraduate dental students. The data analysis consisted of a review of each study analysing the key instructional design features connected to the components of the 4C/ID model. Overall, the results indicate that a structured approach to the design and implementation of VPs likely will have a positive effect on their use. While some ID-principles are shared such as the importance of clinical task variation to improving the transfer of learning. Others, however, such as the choice of learning mode or the use of cognitive feedback are ambiguous. Given its impact on students’ ability to establish effective cognitive schemas and the option to compare and study designs we recommend a more rigorous approach such as 4C/ID for the design of VPs.

Purpose In a fast evolving labour market, higher education graduates need to develop employability competences. Key in becoming employable is the ability to reflect on learning experiences, both within a curriculum as well as extra-curricular and work placements. This paper wants to conceptualise how an online learning platform might entail a reflective practice that systematically supports students in reflecting on their learning experiences. Design/methodology/approach When studying online learning platforms for developing students' employability competences, it became clear that the effectiveness of the platform depends on how the platform guides students' reflective practice. In turn, the authors studied which features (tools, services and resources) of the online learning platform are guiding the reflective practice. Findings This resulted in the introduction of an online learning platform, containing a comprehensive set of online learning tools and services, which supports students' reflective practice and, in turn, their employability competences. The online platform facilitates both feedback from curricular and work-related learning experiences and can be used as a start by students for showcasing their employability competences. The reflective practice consists of a recurrent, systematic process of reflection, containing various phases: become aware, analyse current state, draft and plan a solution, take action and, finally, reflect in and on action. Research limitations/implications Future research revolves around studying the features of online learning platforms and their role in fostering students' reflection and employability competences. Practical implications The conceptual model provides concrete indicators on how to implement online learning platforms for supporting students' reflection and employability competences. Originality/value This is the first article that analyses an online learning platform that guides students' reflective practice and fosters their employability competences. The authors provide concrete suggestions on how to model the online platform, building further on reflective practice theory.

Self-directed learning is generally considered a key competence in higher education. To enable self-directed learning, assessment practices increasingly embrace assessment for learning rather than the assessment of learning, shifting the focus from grades and scores to provision of rich, narrative, and personalized feedback. Students are expected to collect, interpret, and give meaning to this feedback, in order to self-assess their progress and to formulate new, appropriate learning goals and strategies. However, interpretation of aggregated, longitudinal narrative feedback has been proven to be very challenging, cognitively demanding, and time consuming. In this article, we, therefore, explored the applicability of existing, proven text mining techniques to support feedback interpretation. More specifically, we investigated whether it is possible to automatically generate meaningful information about prevailing topics and the emotional load of feedback provided in medical students' competence-based portfolios (N = 1500), taking into account the competence framework and the students' various performance levels. Our findings indicate that the text-mining techniques topic modeling and sentiment analysis make it feasible to automatically unveil the two principal aspects of narrative feedback, namely the most relevant topics in the feedback and their sentiment. This article, therefore, takes a valuable first step toward the automatic, online support of students, who are tasked with meaningful interpretation of complex narrative data in their portfolio as they develop into self-directed life-long learners.

This study reports on the quantitative findings of an exploratory sequential mixed methods study in which the underlying factor structure of students' peer-feedback orientation (i.e. openness to provide and receive peer-feedback) was investigated. Building on the qualitative findings of a previous study in which the 'peer-feedback orientation' concept was introduced, an online survey was developed to collect data among higher education students (N = 148). An exploratory factor analysis produced a five-factor solution including the dimensions: accountability, communicativeness, utility, self-efficacy and receptivity. The practical value of the results lies in having a measure of students' peer-feedback orientation that provides teachers and researchers with an instrument for understanding students' dispositions toward receiving and providing peer-feedback.

Objectives: Students would like to see more creativity and flexibility in the performance of problem-based learning (PBL). Therefore, we applied flipped classroom formats in a course of the Bachelor European Public Health at Maastricht University to investigate the experiences of the students. The main objective was to stimulate interaction between students mutual, and between students and teachers. Methods: 304 first-year students following the course on "Ageing in Europe" in three academic years, were asked to fill out questions focussing on prior knowledge, preparation work, and group session parameters, e.g., duration, content, extent of interaction and format group session. Results: In-class activities, such as debate, making a mind map, giving a pitch, role-play e.g., were highly appreciated by students, especially the interactivity and discussions with the experts during these sessions. Students felt they applied knowledge. Conclusion: Flipped classroom formats can be used to extend the Maastricht University PBL design and students do recommend this. It can be a relevant and challenging answer on the articulated request for more creativity and flexibility in the regular PBL format.

This study aims to reveal insights into the educational design of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in particular on their educational scalability: How do MOOCs provide interaction and formative feedback to high student numbers without being highly depending on the capacity of the teacher? We have applied a design analysis instrument that was specifically developed for large-scale online courses to analyse fifty MOOCs in a qualitative way. The goal of the analysis was to detect scalable best practices of formative feedback and interaction and focused on when, how and from whom students received formative feedback. To get more insight into the scalable best practices we also investigated on which complexity level they were provided. The analysis indicated scalable best practices on various complexity levels and across different learning activities. This shows that scalable formative feedback and interaction can be provided in MOOCs through different formats such quizzes, peer-feedback and simulations. The majority of the MOOCs in our sample provide student-content interaction during knowledge transfer activities (‘knows’). A selection of design examples is discussed as potentially best practices for educational scalability, not only for MOOCs but also for online education in general. While the study shows examples of scalable design choices in (open) online education, it also indicates a need for more elaborate interactions and feedback in MOOCs in order to improve their educational value and quality.

Various studies advocate training students prior to a peer-feedback activity to ensure high quality of feedback. Next to investing in students' peer-feedback skills, it is important to focus on the underlying perceptions since perceptions influence learning behavior. We implemented an online peer-feedback training session in a massive open online course and examined students' perceptions of peer-feedback and training focusing on their willingness, perceived usefulness, perceived preparedness, and general attitude; and students' peer-feedback experience and its relation to their perception. Analysis of a perception survey from 259 students revealed that the amount of prior experience results in significant differences in students' perception. Students without prior peer-feedback experience scored higher on willingness, usefulness, preparedness, and general attitude compared to students with some prior experience. Those with a lot of experience showed the strongest positive perception scores. No significant differences for the effect of training on perception could be measured with the available data.

INTRODUCTION:In dental education, students must learn to integrate and coordinate complex knowledge, skills and attitudes and to transfer this learning to clinical practice. One major issue of concern in education in general and dental education, in particular, is to fill the gap between knowledge and practice.METHODS:The purpose of this study was to explore the problems that dental students have in transferring knowledge from the classroom to the real clinical setting. More specifically, we investigated the factors that complicate clinical management and clinical reasoning for these novices, including their common errors, in order to design an educational simulation programme in primary teeth pulpotomy. To this end, we conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with experts and novices, performing a thematic analysis of the data obtained. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim.RESULTS:For each major skill-clinical management and clinical reasoning-we identified complicating factors and common errors that related to the child (the patient), parents and dental student (the three main themes). For each theme, we identified further sub-themes.CONCLUSION:The data obtained provided valuable insights into the factors that affect dental students' performance on clinical management and clinical reasoning in primary teeth pulpotomy.

Het aantal ouderen groeit. Zij wonen langer thuis, waardoor de wijkverpleging zal moeten uitbreiden. Het is daarom van belang dat in gezondheidsonderwijs aandacht wordt besteed aan wijkverpleging. Niet alleen verplegend en verzorgend personeel, maar ook beleidsmakers (gezondheidswetenschappers) moeten weten hoe in de wijkverpleging gewerkt wordt. Om een levensechte situatie te ervaren, is vanuit de Academische Werkplaats Ouderenzorg Zuid-Limburg (AWO-ZL) in samenwerking met MeanderGroep Zuid-Limburg een 360 gradenvideo over wijkverpleging door twee universitaire (hoofd-) docenten van Maastricht University gemaakt. In dit artikel wordt de ontwikkeling van dit onderwijsmateriaal beschreven met daarbij een evaluatie onder deeltijd-hbo-v-studenten van Zuyd Hogeschool in Heerlen. De evaluatie onder de bachelorstudenten van Maastricht University wordt buiten beschouwing gelaten.

Background. Programming is a challenging and highly important topic for introducing learners to our digital world. Research has shown that motivation plays a key role in programming performance. Gamification using digital badges has the potential to influence motivation, provide social recognition and encourage learner participation. More research is recommended to evaluate its motivational impact in different contexts. Intervention. This research explores the effects of badges on the intrinsic motivation levels of introductory programming students within a higher education institution. The course is offered during the first year of the programme. We report the results of a baseline study without badges and four subsequent badge experiments of different designs over a four-year period. Methods. This quasi-experimental study followed a pre-test/post-test design to measure the effects of badges on the intrinsic motivation levels of university-level introductory programming students. Badges were designed and implemented. Feedback via focus groups and a post-badge survey was collected. Results. Findings are inconclusive as the quantitative results suggest that badges did not increase intrinsic motivation scores. Contrastingly, badge survey and qualitative data indicate that badges were received more positively on average. Discussion. We analyse and discuss the results within the context of motivation and the programming discipline, and discuss external factors that may impact the relationship between gamification and motivation. Conclusion. Further research is necessary to investigate whether gamification, through the use of digital badges, can foster positive intrinsic motivational results, particularly in the well-known challenging domain of introductory programming.

For predicting and improving the quality of essays, text analytic metrics (surface, syntactic, morphological and semantic features) can be used to provide formative feedback to the students. In this study, the intent was to find a small number of features that exhibit a fair proxy of the scores given by the human raters. Using an existing corpus and a text analysis tool for the Dutch language, a large number of features were extracted. Artificial neural networks, Levenberg Marquardt algorithm and backward elimination were used to reduce the number of extracted features automatically. Irrelevant features were eliminated based on the inter-rater agreement between predicted and human scores calculated using Cohen’s Kappa ( κ ). By using our algorithm, the number of features in this study was reduced from 457 to 23. The selected features were grouped into six different categories. Of these categories, we believe that the features present in the groups “Word Difficulty” and “Lexical Diversity” are most useful for providing automated formative feedback to the students. The approach presented in this research paper is the first step towards our ultimate goal of providing meaningful formative feedback to the students for enhancing their writing skills and capabilities.

Digital badges, touted as a gamification tool that can potentially influence learner motivation, engagement and participation, are being used increasingly in a variety of educational domains to facilitate and motivate learning. Using a badge system design implemented in the Moodle learning management platform, data was collected from four experiments from 2015 to 2017 to examine the effects of gamification with the use of digital badges on introductory programming students' intrinsic motivation. This paper provides an in-depth examination of seldomly discussed technological and implementation issues we encountered in implementing our Moodle-based badge system, worthy of exploration to support future gamification studies in this area. Our gamified implementation is analyzed according to five main factors primarily adopted from an IT implementation framework: (1) assessment of needs, (2) choice of technology, (3) technological infrastructure, (4) system and environmental factors and (5) evaluation. The findings highlight enabling and challenging factors associated with the technology and badge implementation. Our experience shows that badge systems may be influenced by contextual factors such as cost and scale of implementation. We provide recommendations to guide educational stakeholders, particularly those considering Moodle as their badge implementation platform.

There is scarcity of research on scalable peer-feedback design and student’s peer-feedback perceptions and therewith their use in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). To address this gap, this study explored the use of peer-feedback design with the purpose of getting insight into student perceptions as well as into providing design guidelines. The findings of this pilot study indicate that peer-feedback training with the focus on clarity, transparency and the possibility to practice beforehand increases students willingness to participate in future peer-feedback activities and training, increases their perceived usefulness, preparedness and general attitude regarding peer-feedback. The results of this pilot will be used as a basis for future large-scale experiments to compare different designs.

Educational practitioners have stressed the relevance of providing learners with a set of 21th century skills that will allow them to face current life challenges. Among others this includes communication and social skills such as public speaking, argumentation, negotiation, etc. Besides the acquisition of knowledge and techniques, these skills have the special characteristic that their performance is usually conducted under emotionally charged and stressful situations. Recent advances in technology have allowed the creation of digital applications to support learners with the development of techniques for this type of skills. However, supporting learners on the preparation of a mindset that allows them to perform well under emotionally charged circumstances is an area that technology enhanced learning has practically overlooked. To examine this gap, we developed the Booth, an application designed to get learners into a powerful and resourceful emotional state. In this article we present a twostep user study. Results of the first evaluation show that the use of the Booth induced a positive emotional state on users. Results from the second step suggest that using the Booth helps learners to emotionally prepare for public speaking.