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San Diego Zoo Global Academy

Efficacy Spotlight: Why Are San Diego Zoo Global Academy Courses Effective?

At the AZA Conference in September, we announced the preliminary results of our efficacy testing. For that study, an evaluation was conducted to assess the efficacy of the Academy training. The study involved the first four animal care courses. Professionals from four organizations across the United States served as the study participants. A total of 155 individuals completed one or more of the Academy courses. Tests aligned with each course’s designated outcomes were administered just prior to and immediately following training. A follow-up assessment was also administered to a smaller group to gauge knowledge retention.

What the results told us is that knowledge gains were significant and retention of that information was also very strong. Gains in knowledge were recorded for each of the four tested courses. Average gains ranged from a low of 7 percentage points to a high of almost 23 percentage points. In all cases, the difference between pre- and post-test means was statistically significant—indicating little to no probability that the observed mean differences were the result of random chance. While pretest scores varied by course, recorded post-test score means all clustered in the mid-90% range—between 93.8% and 96.8%. This indicates a high degree of mastery, regardless of the individual’s performance level when the course began.

Retention of learned skills and knowledge over time is an equally important factor for determining the efficacy of the Academy courses. Two of the pilot testing organizations agreed to conduct a follow-up assessment. Participants completed a follow-up test for the Zoonosis course 90 days after posttest administration. Results indicate that, following an initial gain of 15.7 percentage points and achieving a posttest mean of 96.5%, students maintained 10.2 of the original percentage 15.7-point gain. This equates to 67% retention of the gained knowledge, relative to post-test performance.

We have been asked why the results of this eLearning program are so significant. A new study published in The Journal of Applied Instructional Design (www.jaidpub.org ∙ October 2013 ∙ ISSN: 2160-5289) outlines the reason why the instructional design approach used in the Animal Care Courses is so effective in producing results. Instructional Designers at CypherWorx, San Diego Zoo Global Academy’s eLearning partner, focused on the following design aspects to bring world-class content to life when building the courses:

  • Using case studies to attain and maintain the learner’s attention and make learning relevant
  • Using rich visuals to convey content
  • Building confidence through illustration of facts and concepts Maintaining attention with variability
  • Building confidence and ensuring satisfaction with feedback
  • Learning guidance through examples and non-examples, advance organizers and mnemonics.
  • Using elaboration theory and advance organizers to motivate
  • Establishing relevance with examples and non-examples.

To read the complete published paper and learn more about the design approach utilized to produce these significant results, click here:

Read the full study results here.

Would you like to hear more about San Diego Zoo Global Academy in general? Please contact Linda Duca at (516) 815-2886, or LDuca@Cypherworx.com

Global Academy Updates

Course Highlight: Harassment Prevention Training 

A new course that is now available in the Academy is about the important topic of Harassment Prevention Training. This course is now included in the catalog and available with your subscription. Please click the link below to learn more about the course and to view a sample.

Harassment Prevention Training Course

Global Academy News

The San Diego Zoo Global Academy Welcomes the Brevard Zoo!  

The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida has joined the Global Academy and with Brevard Zoo branded collaborative learning environments for their employees and volunteers. Welcome!

Partner Spotlight  

We are pleased to spotlight a new Academy partner this month, the Animal Behavior Management Alliance (ABMA). ABMA is a membership organization of animal care professionals and others interested in enhancing animal care through training and enrichment. We are proud to partner with them to develop new content for their members and zoo and aquarium professionals and provide a collaborative learning environment for resource sharing and professional enhancement. Look for new courses from ABMA in the San Diego Zoo Global Academy in 2014.

Webinars

New Webinar for November
Noninvasive Steroid Hormone Monitoring through Fecal and Urine Sampling
This topic is an important component of animal health care and management in the zoo environment. While each sample type can be collected without much effort, fecal samples are the easiest. However, when done improperly, fecal sample collection, processing, and hormone extraction present challenges that may affect the quality of the final data. This webinar addresses these challenges and demonstrates proper collection, processing, and hormone extraction using the aqueous ethanol boil technique.

Last Month’s Webinar for October
Universal Design: Equal Access for All
Our final webinar in our ADA series was Universal Design: Equal Access for All. We learned about the how products and the built environment need to be designed in such a way that no matter a person’s age or ability, everyone would be able to use it. Designing in this manner is not only intended for a person with a disability but also for a child or shorter adult to easily be able to use it in an inclusive way. We reviewed the history of Universal Design, what makes it different and more effective than present accessibility codes, and examples of how these can be included into zoo, aquarium, and museum designs.

For more information about webinars, or to be added to our webinar notification list, please contact: Debbie DiBacco at DDiBacco@Cypherworx.com.

Zoo & Conservation News Highlights

Scan through all of the Zoo & Conservation News compiled by the San Diego Zoo Global Library this week at the library website.

Not a Member Yet?

Contact Linda Duca
516-815-2886
LDuca@Cypherworx.com

San Diego Zoo Global Academy
 

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