Background: Scientific education aims to be inclusive and to improve students learning achievements, through appropriate teaching and learning. Problem Based Learning (PBL) system, a student centered method, started in the second half of the previous century and is expanding progressively, organizes learning around problems and students learn about a subject through the experience of solving these problems.Objectives:To assess the opinions of undergraduate medical students regarding learning outcomes of PBL in small group teaching and to explore their views about the role of tutors and methods of evaluation. Type of the study: A cross-sectional study.Methods: This study was conducted in Kerbala Medical Colleges among second year students. A self-administered questionnaire was prepared to evaluate the newly applied teaching system. The study analysis included simple descriptive analysis and determining association through t-test, chi square test and regression analysis and using structural equation models to determine simultaneous association between different students’ demographic characteristics and potential predictors using SPSS-20 and Amos software at a significance level of < 0.05.Results:A total of 131 undergraduate medical students participated in the study with a response rate of 94%. The majority (93%) have indicated that PBL strategy contributed effectively to their knowledge development with a similar majority (92%) considering PBL successful new teaching method. About 86% reported that would choose PBL rather than conventional method and also 86% would advise PBL for others. Similarly, high majority indicated that various PBL activities are essential. Regarding the tutors’ role in PBL, the majority (92%) indicated that this role was positive and fundamental. According to two thirds (68%) of participants PBL application in Kerbala Medical college was very good application while a higher majority described various PBL sessions as successful and positive and fundamental role of tutors was stressed by most students.Conclusions: This study highlighted the benefits of soliciting student impressions of effective small group teaching. The students’ emphasized group atmosphere and facilitation skills of tutor in learning.Key words: Problem Based Learning, Medical Education, Small Group Teaching, Team Based Learning, Kerbala Medical College
In this paper a modified approach have been used to find the approximate solution of ordinary delay differential equations with constant delay using the collocation method based on Bernstien polynomials.
Fuzzy logic is used to solve the load flow and contingency analysis problems, so decreasing computing time and its the best selection instead of the traditional methods. The proposed method is very accurate with outstanding computation time, which made the fuzzy load flow (FLF) suitable for real time application for small- as well as large-scale power systems. In addition that, the FLF efficiently able to solve load flow problem of ill-conditioned power systems and contingency analysis. The FLF method using Gaussian membership function requires less number of iterations and less computing time than that required in the FLF method using triangular membership function. Using sparsity technique for the input Ybus sparse matrix data gi
... Show MoreOptical Mark Recognition (OMR) is the technology of electronically extracting intended data from marked fields, such as squareand bubbles fields, on printed forms. OMR technology is particularly useful for applications in which large numbers of hand-filled forms need to be processed quickly and with a great degree of accuracy. The technique is particularly popular with schools and universities for the reading in of multiple choice exam papers. This paper proposed OMRbased on Modify Multi-Connect Architecture (MMCA) associative memory, its work in two phases: training phase and recognition phase. The proposed method was also able to detect more than one or no selected choice. Among 800 test samples with 8 types of grid answer sheets and tota
... Show MoreIn this article, we design an optimal neural network based on new LM training algorithm. The traditional algorithm of LM required high memory, storage and computational overhead because of it required the updated of Hessian approximations in each iteration. The suggested design implemented to converts the original problem into a minimization problem using feed forward type to solve non-linear 3D - PDEs. Also, optimal design is obtained by computing the parameters of learning with highly precise. Examples are provided to portray the efficiency and applicability of this technique. Comparisons with other designs are also conducted to demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed design.
A remarkable correlation between chaotic systems and cryptography has been established with sensitivity to initial states, unpredictability, and complex behaviors. In one development, stages of a chaotic stream cipher are applied to a discrete chaotic dynamic system for the generation of pseudorandom bits. Some of these generators are based on 1D chaotic map and others on 2D ones. In the current study, a pseudorandom bit generator (PRBG) based on a new 2D chaotic logistic map is proposed that runs side-by-side and commences from random independent initial states. The structure of the proposed model consists of the three components of a mouse input device, the proposed 2D chaotic system, and an initial permutation (IP) table. Statist
... Show MoreTwelve compounds containing a sulphur- or oxygen-based heterocyclic core, 1,3- oxazole or 1,3-thiazole ring with hydroxy, methoxy and methyl terminal substituent, were synthesized and characterized. The molecular structures of these compounds were performed by elemental analysis and different spectroscopic tequniques. The liquid crystalline behaviors were studied by using hot-stage optical polarizing microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. All compounds of 1,4- disubstituted benzene core with oxazole ring display liquid crystalline smectic A (SmA) mesophase. The compounds of 1,3- and 1,4-disubstituted benzene core with thiazole ring exhibit exclusively enantiotropic nematic liquid crystal phases.
The novel groups of organic chromophores containing triphenylamine (TPA) (ATP-I to ATP-IV) have been constructed by structural modification of electron donors with substitution biphenyl and bipyridine rings inserting a π-linkage. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent type of it (TD-DFT) have been operated to study results of donating ability of TPA and spacer on absorption, geometrical, photovoltaic, and energetic attributes of these sensitizers. Structural attributes have been revealed that incorporation of TPA, acceptor and π bridge include a perfect coplanar conformation in TPA-III. Based on frequency computations and ground-state optimization, bandgap (Eg) energy, ELUMO, EHOMO have been determined. For enlightening maximu
... Show MoreFinding communities of connected individuals in complex networks is challenging, yet crucial for understanding different real-world societies and their interactions. Recently attention has turned to discover the dynamics of such communities. However, detecting accurate community structures that evolve over time adds additional challenges. Almost all the state-of-the-art algorithms are designed based on seemingly the same principle while treating the problem as a coupled optimization model to simultaneously identify community structures and their evolution over time. Unlike all these studies, the current work aims to individually consider this three measures, i.e. intra-community score, inter-community score, and evolution of community over
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