The Influence of Classroom Instruction and Test Preparation on School Accountability Levels

Federal and state educational agencies provide guidelines for public schools across the United States to follow (Linn, 2008; Levy, 2008). During a time of highstakes testing fueled by school accountability standards, educators strive to meet requirements for academic growth in order to maintain a successful accountability level and avoid being labeled as a school under improvement (Behrent, 2009; Hardman & Dawson, 2008). Some argue that the demands of accountability standards pressure administrators and teachers to provide less than adequate instruction in order to focus on the content of mandatory state tests (Abrams & Madaus, 2003; Anderson, 2009; Behrent, 2009; Hamilton, 2003; Neill, 2003; Pedulla, 2003). This study examined the instructional strategies prevalent in public schools across the state of Mississippi. The study compared instructional strategies supported by research with test practice activities and the relationships of each to school accountability levels. Other components under investigation included school poverty levels, instructional materials, test prep materials, and teacher opinions about mandatory state testing. The results indicated that for the sample in this study, instructional strategies did not predict accountability levels, but the results identified three other variables that possibly predicted accountability. A higher percentage of students in a school below the poverty level and the use of curriculum pacing guides predicted a lower accountability level for the sample in this study. Evidence of a variety of test prep materials also predicted a higher accountability. Waiting until near the end of a course to begin test prep activities, also slightly predicted accountability levels to increase for the sample in this study. Further investigation revealed that most teachers surveyed spent several days per week on test practice rather than engaging students in activities supported by research. The frequency of test prep activities by most of the teachers surveyed revealed that mandatory state tests place an astounding level of influence on public school education. Although most surveyed teachers confirmed that they frequently engaged students in test prep activities, the high performing schools that participated in the study portrayed a balance of test prep activities and more effective instructional strategies. In contrast, almost all of the participating schools under academic watch stated that test prep activities occurred at least four days a week from the beginning of the course

Stakeholder Engagement in Nursing Curriculum Development and Renewal Initiatives: A Review of the Literature

Stakeholder engagement remains a critical endeavour in nursing curriculum development and renewal. Engaging stakeholders such as patients and families, students, and frontline clinicians in the development process is necessary to ensure that curricula meet the current needs of patients and are responsive to a changing healthcare environment. To inform strategies for effective stakeholder engagement a literature review was conducted to identify: 1) common roles and functions of stakeholders across nursing curricular projects, and 2) factors that promote positive stakeholder engagement in nursing curriculum development or renewal. Twelve papers were included in this review. Texts were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Common roles and functions were classified according to formalized leadership roles or on an informal, as needed basis, with varying levels of engagement. Four themes emerged pertaining to factors that promote positive stakeholder engagement: positive leadership, empowerment, sense of ownership, and a culture of equality. Optimizing stakeholder contributions to nursing curricular projects can be fostered by an understanding of strategies to positively engage these partners and identifying productive and meaningful stakeholder roles. Résumé La mobilisation des parties prenantes demeure une étape cruciale du processus d’élaboration et de renouvellement des programmes d’études en sciences infirmières. Il est nécessaire de mobiliser les parties prenantes, comme les patients et les familles, les étudiantes et les cliniciennes de première ligne pour veiller à ce que les programmes d’études respectent les besoins actuels des patients et tiennent compte de l’environnement changeant des soins de santé. Pour orienter les stratégies en matière de mobilisation des parties prenantes, nous avons réalisé une recension des écrits afin d’identifier : 1) les fonctions et les rôles courants des parties prenantes dans l’ensemble des projets de programmes d’études en sciences infirmières, et 2) les facteurs qui favorisent une mobilisation positive des parties prenantes dans le processus d’élaboration ou de renouvellement des programmes d’études en sciences infirmières. Douze articles ont fait l’objet d’une analyse thématique qualitative dans le cadre de cette étude. Les fonctions et les rôles courants ont été classés selon qu’ils soient officiels et décisionnels ou de façon informelle, selon les besoins, menant à divers degrés de mobilisation. Quatre thèmes se sont dégagés relativement aux facteurs qui favorisent une mobilisation active des parties prenantes : un leadership positif, une habilitation, un sentiment d’appartenance et une culture d’égalité. Pour encourager l’optimisation des contributions des parties prenantes aux projets de programmes d’études en sciences infirmières, il est important de comprendre les stratégies qui permettent de mobiliser positivement ces partenaires et de cerner des rôles productifs et significatifs pour eux

An analysis of the foot in turnout using a dance specific 3D multi-segment foot model

Introduction: Recent three-dimensional (3D) kinematic research has revealed foot abduction is the strongest predictor of standing functional and forced turnout postures. However, it is still unknown how the internal foot joints enable a large degree of foot abduction in turnout. The primary purpose of this study was to use a dance specific multi-segment foot model to determine the lower leg and foot contributions to turnout that female university-level ballets use to accentuate their turnout. Methods: Eighteen female dance students (mean age, 18.8 ± 1.6 years) volunteered for this study. Retro-reflective markers were attached to the dancers\u27 dominant foot. Each dancer performed three repetitions of functional turnout, forced turnout and ten consecutive sautés in first position. Repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni adjustments for the multiple comparisons were used to determine the kinematic adjustments, hindfoot eversion, midfoot and forefoot abduction, navicular drop (i.e. lowering of the medial longitudinal arch) and first metatarsophalangeal joint abduction between natural double leg up-right posture and the first position conditions. Results: Hindfoot eversion (4.6°, p \u3c 0.001) and midfoot abduction (2.8°, p \u3c 0.001) significantly increased in functional turnout compared to the natural double leg up-right posture. Thirteen dancers demonstrated increased first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) abduction in forced turnout, however no statistically significant increase was found. Navicular drop during sautés in first position significantly increased by 11 mm (p \u3c 0.001) compared to the natural double leg up-right posture. Conclusion: Our findings suggest dancers do pronate, via hindfoot eversion and midfoot abduction in both functional and forced turnout, however, no immediate association was found between forced turnout and first MTPJ abduction. Foot pronation does play a role in achieving turnout. Further prospective research on in situ measures of the lower limb in turnout and injury surveillance is required to improve our understanding of the normal and abnormal dance biomechanics. © 2019 The Author(s)

Are there any known health risks to early introduction of solids to an infant's diet?

Few studies support an association between early introduction of solid food and atopic conditions, obesity, or any other illness (strength of recommendation [SOR]: B, cohort studies with mixed results). Very weak evidence suggests an increased risk of atopic dermatitis. A single cohort study found an association between early gluten exposure and increased risk of celiac disease in high-risk infants, who carry the HLA-DR3 or DR4 allele (SOR: B, single cohort study)

Light thresholds to prevent dredging impacts on the great barrier reef seagrass, Zostera muelleri ssp. capricorni

© 2016 Chartrand, Bryant, Carter, Ralph and Rasheed. Coastal seagrass habitats are at risk from a range of anthropogenic activities that modify the natural light environment, including dredging activities associated with coastal and port developments. On Australia's east coast, the tropical seagrass Zostera muelleri ssp. capricorni dominates intertidal mudbanks in sheltered embayments which are also preferred locations for harbors and port facilities. Dredging to establish and maintain shipping channels in these areas can degrade water quality and diminish light conditions that are required for seagrass growth. Based on this potential conflict, we simulated in-situ light attenuation events to measure effects on Z. muelleri ssp. capricorni condition. Semi-annual in situ shading studies conducted over 3 years were used to quantify the impact of prolonged light reduction on seagrass morphometrics (biomass, percent cover, and shoot density). Experimental manipulations were complimented with an assessment of 46 months of light history and concurrent natural seagrass change at the study site in Gladstone Harbour. There was a clear light-dependent effect on seagrass morphometrics during seagrass growing seasons, but no effect during senescent periods. Significant seagrass declines occurred between 4 and 8 weeks after shading during the growing seasons with light maintained in the range of 4-5 mol photons m-2 d-1. Sensitivity to shading declined when applied in 2-week intervals (fortnightly) rather than continuous over the same period. Field observations were correlated to manipulative experiments to derive an applied threshold of 6 mol photons m-2 d-1 which formed the basis of a reactive light-based management strategy which has been successfully implemented to ensure positive ecological outcomes for seagrass during a large-scale dredging program

Critiquing Protein Family Classification Models Using Sufficient Input Subsets.

In many application domains, neural networks are highly accurate and have been deployed at large scale. However, users often do not have good tools for understanding how these models arrive at their predictions. This has hindered adoption in fields such as the life and medical sciences, where researchers require that models base their decisions on underlying biological phenomena rather than peculiarities of the dataset. We propose a set of methods for critiquing deep learning models and demonstrate their application for protein family classification, a task for which high-accuracy models have considerable potential impact. Our methods extend the Sufficient Input Subsets (SIS) technique, which we use to identify subsets of features in each protein sequence that are alone sufficient for classification. Our suite of tools analyzes these subsets to shed light on the decision-making criteria employed by models trained on this task. These tools show that while deep models may perform classification for biologically relevant reasons, their behavior varies considerably across the choice of network architecture and parameter initialization. While the techniques that we develop are specific to the protein sequence classification task, the approach taken generalizes to a broad set of scientific contexts in which model interpretability is essential

Leadership Styles of Park and Recreation Professionals in GRPA

Undergraduates in the Park and Recreation program at Columbus State University conducted a temperament survey using the Keirsey Temperament Sorter II to identify the temperaments/leadership styles of 50 randomly chosen Park and Recreation professionals within GRPA (Georgia Recreation and Park Association). The Keirsey divides individuals into four main temperaments: Guardian, Artisan, Idealist, and Rational. It is the duty of every leader to evaluate himself or herself in recognizing strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and limitations. Of the 33 respondents, 73% tested as Guardians, 12% as Artisans, 6% as Idealists, and 3% as Rational. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are more specifically described as Guardian Supervisors. According to http://www.keirsey.com, Guardian Supervisors are squarely on the side of rules and procedures, and they can be quite serious about seeing to it that others toe the mark or else face the consequences. They do not hesitate to give their stamp of approval, nor do they withhold their directions or suggestions for improvement

A report card approach to describe temporal and spatial trends in parameters for coastal seagrass habitats

Report cards that are designed to monitor environmental trends have the potential to provide a powerful communication tool because they are easy to understand and accessible to the general public, scientists, managers and policy makers. Given this functionality, they are increasingly popular in marine ecosystem reporting. We describe a report card method for seagrass that incorporates spatial and temporal variability in three metrics—meadow area, species and biomass—developed using long-term (greater than 10 years) monitoring data. This framework summarises large amounts of spatially and temporally complex data to give a numeric score that provides reliable comparisons of seagrass condition in both persistent and naturally variable meadows. We provide an example of how this is applied to seagrass meadows in an industrial port in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area of north-eastern Australia