Instructional teacher job resources and student achievement in mathematics.

Research shows that teachers who are supported with job resources are more engaged regardless of the level of demands (Klusmann et al., 2008). Additionally, teachers who are engaged with their work are less likely to report their intention to leave the teaching profession (Klassen et al., 2012), which is particularly important for mathematics teachers who are in high demand (Sutcher, Darling-Hammond, & Carver-Thomas, 2016). Supporting employees with job resources is a commonly accepted practice in many professional fields (e.g., Christian, Garza, & Slaughter, 2011), yet is not a common practice in education (e.g., Bidwell, 2013; Gewertz, 2014; Layton, 2015; Rentner & Kober, 2014a). Current research on teacher work engagement and job resources has focused on big ideas like access to information and supervisory support (e.g., Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2006). However, a more specific set of instructional job resources that support educators’ engagement on a day-to-day basis needs to be examined, as well as their relationship to student achievement. This quantitative study examined indicators of instructional teacher job resources (ITJR) and the relationship between those resources and student mathematics achievement in grades 4-9. Data from The Gates Foundation’s MET Project were used to conduct Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses. With the survey questions that were available in the dataset, the factors for mathematics ITJR that were identified were curriculum, professional development, instructional autonomy, and time to collaborate with colleagues. The relationship between teacher instructional autonomy and student achievement in mathematics for grades 4-8 was statistically significant, but not for grade 9. Relationship between student achievement and the other ITJR for all grades were not statistically significant. This study provides validity evidence for a 4-factor model of ITJR, which may provide administrators an operationalized understanding of how to support teachers. Specifically, administrators should look for ways to offer, communicate, and encourage instructional autonomy for their teachers given its relationship with achievement. Finally, if a model for teacher merit pay is being considered, teacher job resources such as ITJR, or at least instructional autonomy, need to be considered. Suggestions for future studies are included

Elements of Engagement for Successful Learning

In this research we sought to understand student practices, beliefs, and behaviors that led to positive engagement on campus. More specifically, we studied student engagement as a function of the individual within the contexts of classroom and university environment using a basic interpretive approach. First year students from a medium-sized, public, Midwestern university participated in interviews on engagement, the classroom, university, and community contexts. Results suggest that both personality and a sense of self influence students\u27 levels of engagement. Students who had identified life goals and who sought related activities and relationships made greater use of university resources and felt more engaged. We propose ways in which instructors and universities can make simple changes that may help enhance the experience of all students

Optional elements and variant structures in the productions of bei2 to give dative constructions in Cantonese-speaking adults and three-year-old children

To express object transfer, Cantonese-speakers use a ditransitive ([V-R-T] or [V-T-R] where V=Verb, T=Theme, R=Recipient), or a more complex prepositional/serial-verb (P/SV) construction. Clausal elements in Cantonese datives can be optional (resulting in full versus non-full forms) or appear in variant orders (full non-canonical and full canonical). We report on usage of dative constructions with the word bei2 to give in 86 parents and 53 three-year-old children during conversations. The parents used more P/SV than ditransitive bei2-datives, and vice versa for the children. Both groups showed a similar usage pattern of optional elements and variant structures in their ditransitive and P/SV bei2-datives. The roles of multiple construction types, optional elements and variant structures in children's learning of bei2-dative constructions are described. Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press.published_or_final_versio

Assessing Quality Simulated Participant Programs: A Case Study of Bond University’s Simulated Participant Program

Assessing the quality of Simulated Participant Programs (SPPs) has long been a challenge for health professions faculty. A number of frameworks exist to determine markers of quality in SPPs, such as the Association of Standardised Patient Educators (ASPE) Standards of Best Practice (SOBP) and the UK Simulated Patient Common Framework (Lewis et al, 2017; Gough et al., 2015). Both frameworks present domains for assessing quality in the areas of working environments, program management, training, risk assessment and other quality assurance issues. This abstract presents the review of the Bond UniversitySimulated Participant Program in 2021 and 2022, which utilised the UK Simulated Patient Common Framework.ResultsOver the course of the review, the Bond University Participant Program demonstrated significant improvement between the first and second reviews. In 2021, the 5 domains (Resource considerations, recruitment and selection process, training requirements, risk assessments and quality assurance procedures) were either not met or partially met. In 2022, 4 out of 5 domains were met, with one area remaining partially met - challenges remain with regards to issues of ensuring staff diversity and minimising stereotypes.ConclusionsThe framework was a useful tool for evaluating the quality benchmarks of an SPP, however, there were gaps in the framework that present opportunities for the simulation and health professions community to explore

Just Brass

Kemp Recital Hall Tuesday Evening November 2, 1993 8:00p.m

Just Brass

Kemp Recital Hall Tuesday Evening November 17, 1992 8:00p.m

Combining survey and remotely sensed environmental data to estimate the habitat associations, abundance and distribution of breeding thin-billed prions Pachyptila belcheri and Wilson’s storm-petrels Oceanites oceanicus on a South Atlantic tussac island

Small petrels are the most abundant seabirds in the Southern Ocean. However, because they breed in burrows on remote and often densely vegetated islands, their colony sizes and conservation status remain poorly known. To estimate the abundance of these species on Bird Island in the Falkland archipelago, we systematically surveyed their breeding burrow density and occupancy across this near-pristine tussac (Poa flabellata)-covered island. By modelling burrow density as functions of topography and Sentinel 2 satellite-derived Normalised Difference Vegetation Index data, we inferred habitat associations and predicted burrow abundance of the commonest species—Thin-billed Prions (Pachyptila belcheri) and Wilson’s Storm-petrels (Oceanites oceanicus). We estimate that there are 631,000 Thin-billed Prion burrows on the island (95% CI 496,000–904,000 burrows). Assuming that burrow occupancy lies between 12 and 97%, this equates to around 76,000–612,000 breeding pairs, making Bird Island the second or third largest P. belcheri colony in the world, holding approximately 3–27% of the species’ breeding population. We estimate that 8200–9800 (95% CI 5,200–18,300 pairs) pairs of Wilson’s Storm-petrels also breed on the island. Notably, the latter burrowed predominantly under and within tussac pedestals, whereas they are usually assumed to breed in rock cavities. Thin-billed Prions are declining in the Kerguelen archipelago, but their population trends in the Falklands are unknown. Given the wide confidence intervals around our own and other population estimates for these cryptic species, we recommend that their populations should be monitored regularly, at multiple sites.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCTinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Versatile, Cheap, Readily Modifiable Sample Delivery Method for Analysis of Air-/Moisture-Sensitive Samples Using Atmospheric Pressure Solids Analysis Probe Mass Spectrometry

A cheap, versatile, readily modified, and reusable glass probe system enabling delivery of solid air-/moisture-sensitive samples for mass spectrometric (MS) analysis using an Atmospheric pressure Solids Analysis Probe (ASAP) is described. The simplicity of the design allows quick and easy ASAP MS analyses of sensitive solid and liquid samples without the need for any modifications to commercially available vertically loaded ASAP mass spectrometers. A comparison of ASAP mass spectra obtained for metal complexes under air and an inert atmosphere is given

The dark side of technological advances in analysis of microbial ecosystems

Recent technological advances mean that samples from animal experiments may be analysed more cheaply, more easily and with a much greater return of data than previously. Research groups are frequently faced with a choice of continuing to use established technology in which they may have made a significant investment of time and resources, and have significant amounts of reference data, or switching to new technology where reference data may be limited. Apart from cost, the choice needs to be based on a comparison between the increase in data available from future experiments by switching and the value of comparison with reference data from historical experiments analysed with earlier technology. One approach to this problem is to ensure that sufficient quantity and variety of samples are taken from each experiment and appropriately stored to allow re-establishment of a sufficiently large reference set and to avoid the need to repeat animal experiments. The establishment of 'biobanks' of experimental material will require funding for infrastructure, consistent storage of metadata and, importantly, horizon-scanning to ensure that samples are taken appropriately for techniques which will become accessible in future. Such biobanks are a recognised resource in human medicine, where the value of samples increases as more analysis is carried out and added to the metadata.</p