Effectiveness of a training program based on maker education for baccalaureate nursing students: A quasi-experimental study

Objectives:Maker education is a dominant force in education reform and is viewed as a revolutionary way to learn.As innovative pedagogy is continuously explored in the field of nursing,the emerging role of maker education must be examined.This research aims to build a nursing bachelor education program based on maker education and to evaluate the effectiveness of this program.Methods:Forty volunteer junior students majoring in nursing from a college were the subjects for this quasi-experiment.The training program for nursing students based on maker education was developed and implemented as an additional class for a period of 12 weeks.Before and after the experiment,two measures including the"Williams Creative Scale"and"Current Status Questionnaire of Nursing Students'Learning"were adopted for investigation,and corresponding statistical methods were used for analysis.The degree of satisfaction with this training program was investigated after the experiment.Results:The average scores of creativity,learning interest,cooperative learning skill,scientific research ability,and information attainment of the nursing students after the implementation of maker education all improved.The differences in the above points before and after the experiment were all statistically significant(P<0.05).Most of the students expressed satisfaction with this training program(72.5%were very satisfied,15.0%were partially satisfied,and 12.5%were not satisfied).Conclusion:Implementing the training program based on maker education enhanced student creativity,learning interest,cooperative learning skill,scientific research ability,and information attainment.Comprehensive nursing talents were also cultivated.Our data suggested the importance of improving this program,adopting the method,and pursuing research in nursing education.

Polysaccharide Elicitor from the Endophyte Bionectria sp.Fat6 Improves Growth of Tartary Buckwheat under Drought Stress

Drought can limit the growth and reduce the yield of crops,but the safe and effective bio-approach to improve the drought resistance of crops is very little.We conducted an experiment in which we monitored the effects of polysaccharide from the endophyte Bionectria sp.Fat6 on the growth of Tartary buckwheat(Fagopyrum tataricum(L.)Gaertn)seedlings under control and drought-stressed conditions by determining gas exchange,photosynthesis parameters,photosynthetic pigment contents,and metabolite accumulation.Results indicated that the polysaccharide from endophyte stimulated plant growth and increased the aboveground biomass,root mass,and root/shoot ratio of Tartary buckwheat.Application of the polysaccharide to drought-stressed plants resulted in a significant increase in the net photosynthetic rate,stomatal conductance,and transpiration rate of Tartary buckwheat and decreased the intercellular CO_(2) concentration.The contents of chlorophyll a,chlorophyll b,chlorophyll a+b,and carotenoids in leaves were higher in polysaccharide-treated seedlings than that in control.Polysaccharide notably increased the soluble protein and proline content and decreased the malondialdehyde content in Tartary buckwheat leaves.The endophytic polysaccharide may protect Tartary buckwheat against drought by improving leaf gas exchange and photosynthetic capacity,and altering concentrations of protective metabolites.Together,these changes may compensate for the negative impacts of drought stress on the growth of Tartary buckwheat.Thus,the polysaccharide from the endophyte Bionectria sp.Fat6 may be an effective biotic elicitor and a promising bio-approach to improve Tartary buckwheat production worldwide.