TIME-ITEM
Encyclopedia
TIME-ITEM is an ontology
of Topics that describes the content of undergraduate medical education
. TIME is an acronym for "Topics for Indexing Medical Education"; ITEM is an acronym for "Index de thèmes pour l’éducation médicale." Version 1.0 of the taxonomy has been released and the web application
that allows users to work with it is still under development. Its developers are seeking more collaborators to expand and validate the taxonomy and to guide future development of the web application.
in 2006. It was initially developed to act as a content index
for a curriculum map
being constructed there. After its initial presentation at the 2006 conference of the Canadian Association for Medical Education, early collaborators included the University of British Columbia
, McMaster University
and Queen's University
.
(such as MeSH
or SNOMED CT
) but more entries relating to the medico-social concepts of communication, collaboration, professionalism, etc.
Topics within TIME-ITEM are arranged poly-hierarchically, meaning any Topic can have more than one parent
. Relationships are established based on the logic that learning about a Topic contributes to the learning of all its parent Topics.
In addition to housing the ontology of Topics, the TIME-ITEM web application can house multiple Outcome frameworks
. All Outcomes
, whether private Outcomes entered by single institutions or publicly available medical education Outcomes (such as CanMeds 2005) are hierarchically linked to one or more Topics in the ontology. In this way, the contribution of each Topic to multiple Outcomes is made explicit.
The structure of the XML
documents exported from TIME-ITEM (which contain the hierarchy of Outcomes and TIME-ITEM Topics) is being developed alongside the MedBiquitous Competency standards.
The taxonomy currently exists in English only but translation to Canadian French is in progress.
. It has two primary potential applications:
The possibility of expanding or modifying TIME-ITEM for use in postgraduate/continuing medical education and in nursing education is currently being explored.
Ontology (computer science)
In computer science and information science, an ontology formally represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain, and the relationships between those concepts. It can be used to reason about the entities within that domain and may be used to describe the domain.In theory, an ontology is...
of Topics that describes the content of undergraduate medical education
Medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor or additional training thereafter ....
. TIME is an acronym for "Topics for Indexing Medical Education"; ITEM is an acronym for "Index de thèmes pour l’éducation médicale." Version 1.0 of the taxonomy has been released and the web application
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
that allows users to work with it is still under development. Its developers are seeking more collaborators to expand and validate the taxonomy and to guide future development of the web application.
History
The development of TIME-ITEM began at the University of OttawaUniversity of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
in 2006. It was initially developed to act as a content index
Index (publishing)
An index is a list of words or phrases and associated pointers to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document...
for a curriculum map
Curriculum mapping
Curriculum Mapping is a procedure for reviewing the operational curriculum as it is entered into an electronic database at any education setting. It is based largely on the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs in Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12 and Getting Results with...
being constructed there. After its initial presentation at the 2006 conference of the Canadian Association for Medical Education, early collaborators included the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
and Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
.
Features
The TIME-ITEM ontology is unique in that it is designed specifically for undergraduate medical education. As such, it includes fewer strictly biomedical entries than other common medical vocabulariesControlled vocabulary
Controlled vocabularies provide a way to organize knowledge for subsequent retrieval. They are used in subject indexing schemes, subject headings, thesauri, taxonomies and other form of knowledge organization systems...
(such as MeSH
Medical Subject Headings
Medical Subject Headings is a comprehensive controlled vocabulary for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences; it can also serve as a thesaurus that facilitates searching...
or SNOMED CT
SNOMED CT
SNOMED CT , is a systematically organised computer processable collection of medical terminology covering most areas of clinical information such as diseases, findings, procedures, microorganisms, substances, etc...
) but more entries relating to the medico-social concepts of communication, collaboration, professionalism, etc.
Topics within TIME-ITEM are arranged poly-hierarchically, meaning any Topic can have more than one parent
Tree (data structure)
In computer science, a tree is a widely-used data structure that emulates a hierarchical tree structure with a set of linked nodes.Mathematically, it is an ordered directed tree, more specifically an arborescence: an acyclic connected graph where each node has zero or more children nodes and at...
. Relationships are established based on the logic that learning about a Topic contributes to the learning of all its parent Topics.
In addition to housing the ontology of Topics, the TIME-ITEM web application can house multiple Outcome frameworks
Curriculum framework
A curriculum framework is an organized plan or set of standards or learning outcomes that defines the content to be learned in terms of clear, definable standards of what the student should know and be able to do....
. All Outcomes
Outcome-based education
Outcome-based education is a recurring education reform model. It is a student-centered learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance, which are called outcomes. OBE contrasts with traditional education, which primarily focuses on the resources that are available...
, whether private Outcomes entered by single institutions or publicly available medical education Outcomes (such as CanMeds 2005) are hierarchically linked to one or more Topics in the ontology. In this way, the contribution of each Topic to multiple Outcomes is made explicit.
The structure of the XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
documents exported from TIME-ITEM (which contain the hierarchy of Outcomes and TIME-ITEM Topics) is being developed alongside the MedBiquitous Competency standards.
The taxonomy currently exists in English only but translation to Canadian French is in progress.
Applications
TIME-ITEM is intended to be a general-use ontology for medical education informaticsEducation informatics
Education Informatics is a sub-field of informatics. The primary focus is on computer applications, systems and networks that support research in and delivery of education. Education informatics is based upon information science, computer science and education but particularly addresses the...
. It has two primary potential applications:
- Inclusion in curriculum mapsCurriculum mappingCurriculum Mapping is a procedure for reviewing the operational curriculum as it is entered into an electronic database at any education setting. It is based largely on the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs in Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12 and Getting Results with...
. By mapping learning objects or sessions to TIME-ITEM Topics in a curriculum map, the map becomes searchable for both granular and broad concepts. If one or more Outcome frameworks are included with the Topic ontology, then the contribution of each curricular element to one or more Outcomes is made explicit. This also facilitates curriculum evaluationEvaluationEvaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...
in terms of one or more outcome frameworks. - Indexing learning, assessment and portfolio objects. Metatagging learning objectLearning objectA learning object is "a collection of content items, practice items, and assessment items that are combined based on a single learning objective". The term is credited to Wayne Hogins when he created a working group in 1994 bearing the name though the concept was first described by Gerard in 1967...
s or assessment objects with a controlled vocabulary enhances the organization and retrieval of objects from a repositoryRepository (publishing)A repository in publishing, and especially in academic publishing,is a real or virtual facility for the deposit of academic publications, such as academic journal articles....
. Metatagging electronic portfolioElectronic portfolioAn electronic portfolio, also known as an e-portfolio or digital portfolio, is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web. Such electronic evidence may include inputted text, electronic files, images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks...
entries allows one to show how multiple entries "add up" to a demonstration of competence with respect to certain educational outcomes.
The possibility of expanding or modifying TIME-ITEM for use in postgraduate/continuing medical education and in nursing education is currently being explored.
See also
- Curriculum mappingCurriculum mappingCurriculum Mapping is a procedure for reviewing the operational curriculum as it is entered into an electronic database at any education setting. It is based largely on the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs in Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12 and Getting Results with...
- Outcome-based educationOutcome-based educationOutcome-based education is a recurring education reform model. It is a student-centered learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance, which are called outcomes. OBE contrasts with traditional education, which primarily focuses on the resources that are available...
- :Category:Medical classification
- Ontology (computer science)Ontology (computer science)In computer science and information science, an ontology formally represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain, and the relationships between those concepts. It can be used to reason about the entities within that domain and may be used to describe the domain.In theory, an ontology is...
- Controlled vocabularyControlled vocabularyControlled vocabularies provide a way to organize knowledge for subsequent retrieval. They are used in subject indexing schemes, subject headings, thesauri, taxonomies and other form of knowledge organization systems...
- Education informaticsEducation informaticsEducation Informatics is a sub-field of informatics. The primary focus is on computer applications, systems and networks that support research in and delivery of education. Education informatics is based upon information science, computer science and education but particularly addresses the...