Instructional supervision of student teachers in agricultural education

The principal purpose of this dissertation was to explore supervision in agricultural education settings. The dissertation was divided into three specific papers that focused on some aspect of the supervisory process. The first paper presented the Escalation model for the supervision of agricultural instruction. The model is a growth continuum that consists of three levels. The supervisory models included in each level are placed along a continuum of structure and reward and risk. As the supervisor matures in the supervisory process, it is proposed that the model of supervision used should change. As their professional maturity increases and as the circumstances dictate, the supervisor will progress in an upward direction on the continuum and facilitate more teacher-directed models of supervision. With teacher-directed models of supervision, the teacher and supervisor may experience greater reward from the supervisory process.;The second paper focused on the extent to which teacher educators in agricultural education used selected models of supervision and the relationship between the level of supervision and supervisor maturity. The supervisors (N =145) who participated in the study devoted considerable time to supervision. The majority of them had received formal training supervision, had been a university supervisor for an average of 13 years, and had served, on average, as a cooperating teacher for two student teachers. There were no statistically significant relationships between selected indicators of supervisor maturity and the type of supervisory model used.;The purpose of this study was to explore student teachers\u27 professional concerns. Agricultural education student teachers at Iowa State University communicated about non-teaching concerns, teaching concerns, gave advice, responded to questions, and shared lesson plans or ideas using an Internet based communication tool. Student teachers were mostly concerned with self-adequacy. Self-adequacy is primarily concerns related to subject matter knowledge, discipline, and administrative rules. In addition, the teaching concerns expressed by student teachers majoring in agricultural education were not dependent upon students\u27 gender. Findings of this study were consistent with previous studies (Adams & Martray, 1981; Fuller, 1974) on student teacher concerns

A Community Centered Culturally Responsive Evaluation of Our Behavioral Health Team Using Program Theory

The purpose of this research was to conduct a culturally responsive evaluation of our behavioral health team using program theory. This team consists of both school-based employees and community partners. The goal of this project was to evaluate our current behavioral health team practices to determine if we are improving the mental health of students at our school by intentionally connecting them with services. Program theory was used to design the evaluation, and members of the team engaged in six focus groups to create and evaluate the program. The team evaluated three areas of our work: organizational structures, resources, and collaboration. The team determined that some of these areas are supported by our work and that we have space for continued growth and improvement

Comparing the yield of Staphylococcus aureus recovery with static versus agitated broth incubation

Given the lack of standardization of methodologies for microbial recovery from built environments, we sought to compare the yield of Staphylococcus aureus with a broth enrichment method when incubated in agitated versus static conditions. Five unique strains of S. aureus at five different concentrations were cultured to compare direct plating, agitated broth enrichment, and static broth enrichment culture methods. All samples were incubated at 35° in ambient air. The lowest concentration recovered across three replicates and five strains did not differ between culture methods (Fisher’s exact test, p=0.50); notably, recovery of S. aureus was equivalent between static and agitated broth incubation. When broth enrichment was used (both static and agitated), the burden of S. aureus growth was higher (by semiquantitative assessment of 4-quadrant streaking) compared to the direct plating culture method. Optimizing strategies for microbial recovery is essential, particularly in areas of lower biomass, given the paucity of research concerning microbial communities of built environments. The results of this study, in conjunction with other experiments investigating microbiomes of built environments, can help inform protocols for standardizing culturing methods within built environments

Integrating Diabetes Self-Management into Daily Life: Exploring Process, Habit, and Occupation

The incidence of type II diabetes continues to increase worldwide. Individuals diagnosed with diabetes must engage in diabetes self-management (DSM), which involves developing health promoting behaviors. At issue is that scholars do not yet fully understand the key dynamics that lead to long term engagement in such behaviors. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the process by which low income women with type II diabetes integrate DSM into daily life, the conditions through which integration occurs, and the role of habit and occupation in the process. The Transactional Perspective was the theoretical framework that guided the study. A multi-methods approach, using semi-structured interviews, photography, Time Geographic Diaries, and a standardized assessment, was used to collect data on ten low income women, ages 45-64, with type II diabetes. A Grounded Theory approach to data analysis facilitated the development of the Transactional Model of Diabetes Self-Management Integration, which depicts the theorized process of DSM integration. Based on the data, the following primary phases of DSM integration emerged: Potential Uptake, Inquiry, Practice, Contingent Integration, and Reconfiguration. These five phases describe the process whereby individuals accept aspects of diabetes education and training as congruent with their circumstances, act on them, and practice with them until they become a more integrated part of their daily lives. Individuals then continue to modify their habits, change their situations, and develop strategies to further facilitate DSM integration. Once habituated, these components may remain an integrated part of daily life until destabilizing life events necessitate reconfiguration. The integration process is a temporally contiguous process that unfolds through time, and is influenced by individuals' past life experiences, habits, and situations. Key findings demonstrate that individuals develop the skills and abilities to modify their habits and the corresponding aspects of their situation that support those habits through inquiry and practice, and this leads to integration. The study findings also suggest the importance of occupation in DSM integration because inquiry and practice are situated within occupational engagement. The implications of this work for both occupational therapy and occupational science are discussed.Doctor of Philosoph

Topical decolonization does not eradicate the skin microbiota of community-dwelling or hospitalized adults

Topical antimicrobials are often employed for decolonization and infection prevention and may alter the endogenous microbiota of the skin. The objective of this study was to compare the microbial communities and levels of richness and diversity in community-dwelling subjects and intensive care unit (ICU) patients before and after the use of topical decolonization protocols. We enrolled 15 adults at risk for Staphylococcus aureus infection. Community subjects (n = 8) underwent a 5-day decolonization protocol (twice daily intranasal mupirocin and daily dilute bleach-water baths), and ICU patients (n = 7) received daily chlorhexidine baths. Swab samples were collected from 5 anatomic sites immediately before and again after decolonization. A variety of culture media and incubation environments were used to recover bacteria and fungi; isolates were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry. Overall, 174 unique organisms were recovered. Unique communities of organisms were recovered from the community-dwelling and hospitalized cohorts. In the community-dwelling cohort, microbial richness and diversity did not differ significantly between collections across time points, although the number of body sites colonized with S. aureus decreased significantly over time (P = 0.004). Within the hospitalized cohort, richness and diversity decreased over time compared to those for the enrollment sampling (from enrollment to final sampling, P = 0.01 for both richness and diversity). Topical antimicrobials reduced the burden of S. aureus while preserving other components of the skin and nasal microbiota

Conditions of distance learning and teaching and their relation to elementary school children's basic number skills after the suspension of face-to-face teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

The suspension of face-to-face teaching, due to the COVID-19 social distancing regulations, raised serious concerns about the impacts on children’s academic learning. Because the implementation of distance education in Germany was entirely the responsibility of individual schools, and because the home learning environments varied across households, school children had very different learning conditions during the pandemic. This fact raises questions whether the conditions of distance learning has impacted children’s development of basic number skills. In this paper, descriptive information on children’s home learning conditions and teachers’ distance teaching approaches during the pandemic, socio-cultural capital, and basic number skills of 484 third and fourth grade students (51.2% girls) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) are assessed. The data revealed risk factors such as not having a tablet/laptop, lack of access to the internet, or a learning environment with siblings without an adult family member present. A negative association was found between multiple risk factors (at-risk levels) in home learning and basic number skills. This link was partially mediated by socio-cultural capital and moderated by teachers’ distance teaching approach. Children whose teachers applied a more personalized teaching approach showed fewer negative relations between at-risk levels and basic number skills. While no evidence was observed for positive effects of videoconferencing, school-based emergency classes, or private tutoring on basic number skills, children whose learning was supported by learning management systems showed better skills than their peers. The findings highlight the differential impact of home-based learning conditions during the pandemic and provide practical implications for realization of distance teaching

Workplace Incivility and Employee Sleep: The Role of Rumination and Recovery Experiences

This study examines the role of negative work rumination and recovery experiences in explaining the association between workplace incivility and employee insomnia symptoms. Drawing on the perseverative cognition model of stress and the effort–recovery model, we hypothesize a moderated mediation model in which workplace incivility is associated with insomnia symptoms via negative work rumination. This indirect effect is proposed to be conditional on employees’ reported level of recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment from work and relaxation during nonwork time). In examining this model, we further establish a link between workplace incivility and sleep and identify one pathway to explain this relationship, as well as resources that may be used to halt the negative spillover of workplace incivility on sleep. Based on a sample of 699 U.S. Forest Service employees, we find support for a moderated mediation model in which the association between workplace incivility and increased insomnia symptoms via increased negative work rumination was weakest for employees reporting high levels of recovery experiences during nonwork time. Findings from the current study contribute to our understanding of why workplace incivility is associated with nonwork outcomes, as well as point to implications for interventions aimed at promoting employees’ recovery from work