783 research outputs found

    Elaborate thinking from reading in the primary grades

    Full text link
    Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston UniversityElaborative thinking is an aspect of thought, a significant area in which creative minds are most active. Primary grade children often have vivid imaginations and elaborate on certain ideas. This ability sometimes may be lost as children grow and are taught adult methods of thought processes. It is the authors' hope to cultivate this ability of children to think imaginatively and creatively. Exercises in elaborative thinking have been constructed and successfully tried on intermediate grade children. No such exercises have been available to children in primary grades. The purpose of this study is to construct exercises in elaborative thinking for children in the primary grades, and to conduct an informal evaluation of them

    Innovative Professional Network Echo Method Improves Recruitment of Diverse and Multicultural Students to Health Administration

    Get PDF
    Health administration professions do not reflect US demographic and economic structure. Pragmatically, new programs are resource-limited. Novel, reliable and valid recruitment and admission strategies are needed to address this gap. We aimed to create replicable, low-cost recruitment to support multicultural diversity at the graduate level and subsequently, in healthcare leadership. A pilot survey of healthcare leaders and students identified top trends, hiring needs and sustainable opportunities. Health data analytics, outcomes research and process improvement were consistently identified by both groups. The new MS in Health Economic and Clinical Outcomes Research program emphasized these areas, ensuring upward mobility of graduates. Following standard process improvement methodologies, recruitment processes were mapped and gaps identified. The innovative Professional Network Echo Method (PN ECHO) increased the percent of multicultural and racially diverse students by 32% and 46%, respectively, using a targeted systems approach flowchart of LinkedInā„¢, Slateā„¢ enrollment management software, with strategies to connect, funnel and evaluate diverse potential students. To support students of vastly variable backgrounds, professional skills were emphasized throughout the program, with 100% retention. Consistent processes and forms support measurable inclusivity and a sustainable open network, with minimal training. PN ECHO improves potential for increased diversity and multicultural leadership in the executive suite

    A Virtual Community of Practice to Introduce Evidence-based Pedagogy in Chemical, Materials, and Biological Engineering Courses

    Get PDF
    This paper describes a model for a virtual community of practice (VCP) to support faculty efforts to adopt research-based instructional strategies in Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering courses. The VCP was built on published recommendations for successful faculty development programs. The VCP program began with a 10 week virtual training period for five pairs of VCP leaders, during which they acquired the skills and knowledge needed to lead the faculty VCP. The faculty VCPs focused on one of five technical disciplines and were led by a pair of leaders having expertise in a specific technical focus area as well as in engineering pedagogy. Workshops were held using Internet conferencing software: the first 8 weekly workshops provided training in research-based pedagogy, and the second 8 biweekly workshops supported faculty efforts to implement chosen strategies in their courses. The participants were full-time faculty members with a range of teaching experience and pedagogical expertise, ranging from novice to expert. Improvement was measured via pre/post survey in the areas of familiarity and use of research-based pedagogy, as well as in perceived student motivation. The second part of the paper focuses on the translation of faculty participant experiences from the VCP into the classroom as they implemented a variety of instructional methods in their courses. We describe their approaches and preliminary results using different instructional methods such as flipping the classroom, using game-based pedagogy, promoting positive interdependence in cooperative-learning teams, peer instruction, small group discussion, Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL), and using Bloomā€™s Taxonomy to structure a course

    Using iron oxide nanoparticles to diagnose CNS inflammatory diseases and PCNSL

    Get PDF
    Abstract OBJECTIVE: The study goal was to assess the benefits and potential limitations in the use of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles in the MRI diagnosis of CNS inflammatory diseases and primary CNS lymphoma. METHODS: Twenty patients with presumptive or known CNS lesions underwent MRI study. Eighteen patients received both gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) and 1 of 2 USPIO contrast agents (ferumoxytol and ferumoxtran-10) 24 hours apart, which allowed direct comparative analysis. The remaining 2 patients had only USPIO-enhanced MRI because of a renal contraindication to GBCA. Conventional T1- and T2-weighted MRI were acquired before and after contrast administration in all patients, and perfusion MRI for relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) assessment was obtained in all 9 patients receiving ferumoxytol. RESULTS: USPIO-enhanced MRI showed an equal number of enhancing brain lesions in 9 of 18 patients (50%), more enhancing lesions in 2 of 18 patients (11%), and fewer enhancing lesions in 3 of 18 patients (17%) compared with GBCA-enhanced MRI. Four of 18 patients (22%) showed no MRI enhancement. Dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion MRI using ferumoxytol showed low rCBV (ratio <1.0) in 3 cases of demyelination or inflammation, modestly elevated rCBV in 5 cases of CNS lymphoma or lymphoproliferative disorder (range: 1.3-4.1), and no measurable disease in one case. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that USPIO-enhanced brain MRI can be useful in the diagnosis of CNS inflammatory disorders and lymphoma, and is also useful for patients with renal compromise at risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis who are unable to receive GBCA

    The relationship between processing speed and verbal and non-verbal new learning and memory in progressive multiple sclerosis

    Get PDF
    Objective: Processing speed (PS) deficits are the most common cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis (MS), followed by learning and memory deficits, and are often an early cognitive problem. It has been argued that impaired PS is a primary consequence of MS, which in turn decreases learning. The current analysis examined the association between PS and learning in a large cohort of individuals with progressive MS. Methods: Baseline data from a randomized clinical trial on rehabilitation taking place at 11 centers across North America and Europe were analyzed. Participants included 275 individuals with clinically definite progressive MS (primary, secondary) consented into the trial. Results: Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) significantly correlated with California Verbal Learning Test-II (CVLT-II) (r = 0.21, p = 0.0003) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Testā€“Revised (BVMT-R) (r = 0.516, p < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of the SDMT z score to distinguish between impaired and non-impaired CVLT-II performance demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.61 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55ā€“0.68) and a threshold of āˆ’1.62. ROC analysis between SDMT and BVMT-R resulted in an AUC of 0.77 (95% CI: 0.71ā€“0.83) and threshold of āˆ’1.75 for the SDMT z score to predict impaired BVMT-R. Conclusion: Results indicate little ability beyond chance to predict CVLT-II from SDMT (61%), albeit statistically significant. In contrast, there was a 77% chance that the model could distinguish between impaired and non-impaired BVMT-R. Several potential explanations are discussed
    • ā€¦
    corecore