An Examination of Student Performance in Pre-Requisite Coursework and Upper Division Nursing Coursework

Admission and retention of qualified nursing students are essential in meeting the demands of a rapidly changing health care environment and nursing shortage. The purpose of this exploratory correlational study was to determine the relationship between student performance in quantitative pre-requisite coursework and student performance in upper division nursing coursework in order to identify students at-risk for attrition. A series of descriptive and correlational analyses were conducted using pre-existing institutional data. A moderate relationship existed among the chemistry II and first-year upper division nursing courses (r = .21 to r = .40). These results suggest that prerequisite chemistry course performance could be a reliable predictor of academic success

Cultural Engagement in California's Inland Regions

Cultural Engagement in California's Inland Regions explores patterns of cultural engagement in the San Joaquin Valley and the Inland Empire. Two major data collection efforts were undertaken. The first was a door-to-door intercept survey of more than 1,000 randomly selected households in six distinctly different neighborhoods, three in the Fresno area and three in Riverside and San Bernardino. The second was a self-administered survey of more than 5,000 residents of the two regions, promoted as the "California Cultural Census" and conducted online and through intercept work at various locations and events. It is important to note that this second data set aggregates multiple samples, including respondents who were selected at the convenience of outreach organizations. Although weighted to reduce potential biases, these data are not representative of all adults in the two regions. Results paint a detailed picture of the breadth and depth of cultural engagement in the two regions and reveal a range of activity in music, theater and drama, reading and writing, dance, and visual arts and crafts -- much of which occurs off the radar" of the traditional infrastructure of nonprofit arts organizations and facilities. The study identifies specific types of activities which, if supported at higher levels, might equitably raise participation levels and achieve higher levels of cultural vitality in millions of homes and hundreds of communities. It concludes that cultural providers and funders should look deeper into the fabric of their communities for new partners, new settings and innovative approaches to drawing residents into cultural experiences. This briefing provides a high level summary of the study's key findings, as well as discussion questions for cultural providers and funders. Comprehensive results are available at www.irvine.org, including an executive summary and detailed results by artistic discipline

Getting In On the Act: How Arts Groups are Creating Opportunities for Active Participation

Arts participation is being redefined as people increasingly choose to engage with art in new, more active and expressive ways. This movement carries profound implications, and fresh opportunities, for the nonprofit arts sector.We are in the midst of a seismic shift in cultural production, moving from a "sit-back-and-be-told culture" to a "making-and-doing-culture." Active or participatory arts practices are emerging from the fringes of the Western cultural tradition to capture the collective imagination. Many forces have conspired to lead us to this point. The sustained economic downturn that began in 2008, rising ticket prices, the pervasiveness of social media, the roliferation of digital content and rising expectations for self-guided, on-demand, customized experiences have all contributed to a cultural environment primed for active arts practice. This shift calls for a new equilibrium in the arts ecology and a new generation of arts leaders ready to accept, integrate and celebrate all forms of cultural practice. This is, perhaps, the defining challenge of our time for artists, arts organizations and their supporters -- to embrace a more holistic view of the cultural ecology and identify new possibilities for Americans to engage with the arts.How can arts institutions adapt to this new environment?Is participatory practice contradictory to, or complementary to, a business model that relies on professional production and consumption?How can arts organizations enter this new territory without compromising their values r artistic ideals?This report aims to illuminate a growing body of practice around participatory engagement (with various illustrative case studies profiled at the end) and dispel some of the anxiety surrounding this sphere of activity

Program Evaluation For The Classroom Teacher

https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/textbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Development of curriculum for Next Generation Science Standards in high school chemistry

The aim of this project is to develop a unit relevant to students, aligned with three-dimensional performance expectations, and beneficial to teachers in helping students to meet those standards. To effectively meet those goals, an understanding of what curriculum is and how to develop it is needed. Curriculum is “the high-quality delivery system for ensuring that all students achieve the desired end – the attainment of their desired grade- or course-specific standards” (Ainsworth, 2010, p. 4). Without a clear goal for student performance and a detailed plan for how to get them there, lasting, meaningful learning is not likely to happen

Preliminary Pages

Preliminary Pages for Volume 20, Issue

Brown\u27s Useful Guide: Where Theory Becomes Applicable to Classroom Practice

3rd Georgia Editionhttps://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/textbooks/1002/thumbnail.jp

Discrepancies in the Ideal Perceptions and the Current Experiences of Special Education Teachers

The field of special education continues to have lower teacher retention rates compared to general education. As a result, concerns over the quality of special education teachers’ professional experiences have risen. Both general and special education teachers have their ideal views of the profession, including ample classroom facilities, available resources, and supportive administration; however, many factors can cause teachers to have less than ideal experiences in the field. The purpose of this study was to examine special education teachers’ ideal perception of teaching compared to their current experiences. The researchers conducted a causal comparative research study using the Perceptions of Success Inventory for Beginning Teachers (Corbell, Osborne, & Reiman, 2010; Corbell, Reiman, & Nietfeld, 2008). The study included a sample of 14 participants employed as special education teachers in one school system located in the southeastern United States. A series of paired sample t-test analyses were conducted. The results revealed special education teachers’ current experiences were rated significantly lower than their ideal perceptions in 7 out of 8 scales (i.e., colleagues, administration, classroom, success, resources, workload, and parents). This research could provide administrators with insight into what special education teachers view as essential, or ideal, for effective teaching. Then, administrators can better determine how teachers’ current experiences are or are not meeting the teachers’ expectations

Stellar Polarimetry: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

On the final day of the Stellar Polarimetry conference, participants split up into three "breakout sessions" to discuss the future of the field in the areas of instrumentation, upcoming opportunities, and community priorities. This contribution compiles the major recommendations arising from each breakout session. We hope that the polarimetric community will find these ideas useful as we consider how to maintain the vitality of polarimetry in the coming years.Comment: 7 pages, published in proceedings of "Stellar Polarimetry: From Birth to Death" (Madison, WI, June 2011