Development and Design of a Merged Secondary and Special Education Teacher Preparation Program

As middle and secondary classrooms become increasingly inclusive, some special educators may not be prepared to teach content, and some general educators may not be prepared to address diverse learning needs. This mismatch between the reality of today\u27s schools and traditional teacher preparation has led to the development of new models for teacher education that integrate or merge special education and general education. Integrated and merged models are two approaches to combining special and general education pedagogy for teacher education. In merged programs, faculty in general and special education collaborate to develop one program in which all candidates receive licensure in both general and special education. Merged programs are developed through the extensive and deliberate collaboration of general and special educationfaculty to redesign the teacher education curriculum and field experiences. However, while several merged programs have been developed to prepare elementary candidates, programs for middle/secondary candidates are scarce. When faculty from Curriculum and Instruction and Special Education consider creating a merged secondary program, many questions and issues arise. These questions and issues were addressed in the development and implementation of the Secondary Dual Educator\u27s Program (SDEP). The overall purpose of SDEP is to develop strategic teachers with the versatility to meet the learning needs of all secondary students. This article describes the process used by cross-department faculty to develop the program design and components and how program evaluation led to revisions that strengthened the program

Exploring Predictors of Sense of Belonging in Trinidad and Tobago

Over the past two decades, Trinidad and Tobago has promoted explosive expansion of tertiary education. As with many growing postsecondary education systems, this increase in tertiary enrollment has led to the development of student support services (Haddad & Altbach, 2009). The field of student services is growing throughout the Caribbean (Reynolds, 2008), but there is currently little research on the role of student services in fostering students’ sense of belonging specific to the Caribbean cultural context. Using data from over 900 students at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, we examined students’ sense of belonging in the context of T&T. Findings point to the key role that student services professionals play in promoting students’ sense of belonging, but the limited interactions that students are having with student services staff and key differences by students’ race, religion, program level, and major should be noted. We also identified the indirect role of cocurricular engagement in promoting sense of belonging and the main barriers that prevent students from participating in more cocurricular activities. These findings have important implications for the work of student services professionals in T&T and also expand our understanding of constructs, such as student engagement and sense of belonging, ideas that have been well-researched in the US to a very different tertiary education system

Patients' Choices for Return of Exome Sequencing Results to Relatives in the Event of Their Death

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116009/1/jlme12290.pd

Using Genetic Technologies To Reduce, Rather Than Widen, Health Disparities

Evidence shows that both biological and nonbiological factors contribute to health disparities. Genetics, in particular, plays a part in how common diseases manifest themselves. Today, unprecedented advances in genetically based diagnoses and treatments provide opportunities for personalized medicine. However, disadvantaged groups may lack access to these advances, and treatments based on research on non-Hispanic whites might not be generalizable to members of minority groups. Unless genetic technologies become universally accessible, existing disparities could be widened. Addressing this issue will require integrated strategies, including expanding genetic research, improving genetic literacy, and enhancing access to genetic technologies among minority populations in a way that avoids harms such as stigmatization

Recommendations for ethical approaches to genotype-driven research recruitment

Recruiting research participants based on genetic information generated about them in a prior study is a potentially powerful way to study the functional significance of human genetic variation. However, it also presents significant ethical challenges that, to date, have received only minimal consideration. We convened a multi-disciplinary workshop to discuss key issues relevant to the conduct and oversight of genotype-driven recruitment and to translate those considerations into practical policy recommendations. Workshop participants were invited from around the U.S., and included genomic researchers and study coordinators, research participants, clinicians, bioethics scholars, experts in human research protections, and government representatives. Discussion was directed by experienced facilitators and informed by empirical data collected in a national survey of IRB chairs and in-depth interviews with research participants in studies where genotype-driven recontact occurred. A high degree of consensus was attained on the resulting 7 recommendations, which cover informed consent disclosures and choices, the process for how and by whom participants are recontacted, the disclosure of individual genetic research results, and the importance of tailoring approaches based on specific contextual factors. These recommendations are intended to represent a balanced approach—protecting research participants, yet avoiding overly restrictive policies that hinder advancement on important scientific questions

Getting Genetic Ancestry Right for Science and Society

There is a scientific and ethical imperative to embrace a multidimensional, continuous view of ancestry and move away from continental ancestry categorie

Closing the gap between science and management of cold-water refuges in rivers and streams

Human activities and climate change threaten coldwater organisms in freshwater eco-systems by causing rivers and streams to warm, increasing the intensity and frequency of warm temperature events, and reducing thermal heterogeneity. Cold-water refuges are discrete patches of relatively cool water that are used by coldwater organisms for thermal relief and short-term survival. Globally, cohesive management approaches are needed that consider interlinked physical, biological, and social factors of cold-water refuges. We review current understanding of cold-water refuges, identify gaps between science and management, and evaluate policies aimed at protecting thermally sensitive species. Existing policies include designating cold-water habitats, restricting fishing during warm periods, and implementing threshold temperature standards or guidelines. However, these policies are rare and uncoordinated across spatial scales and often do not consider input from Indigenous peoples. We propose that cold-water refuges be managed as dis-tinct operational landscape units, which provide a social and ecological context that is relevant at the watershed scale. These operational landscape units provide the founda-tion for an integrated framework that links science and management by (1) mapping and characterizing cold-water refuges to prioritize management and conservation actions, (2) leveraging existing and new policies, (3) improving coordination across jurisdictions, and (4) implementing adaptive management practices across scales. Our findings show that while there are many opportunities for scientific advancement, the current state of the sciences is sufficient to inform policy and management. Our proposed framework pro-vides a path forward for managing and protecting cold-water refuges using existing and new policies to protect coldwater organisms in the face of global change. behavioral thermoregulation, climate change adaptation, lotic ecosystem management, refugia, salmonids, temperature, thermal heterogeneity, thermal refugespublishedVersio

Has the biobank bubble burst? Withstanding the challenges for sustainable biobanking in the digital era

Biobanks have been heralded as essential tools for translating biomedical research into practice, driving precision medicine to improve pathways for global healthcare treatment and services. Many nations have established specific governance systems to facilitate research and to address the complex ethical, legal and social challenges that they present, but this has not lead to uniformity across the world. Despite significant progress in responding to the ethical, legal and social implications of biobanking, operational, sustainability and funding challenges continue to emerge. No coherent strategy has yet been identified for addressing them. This has brought into question the overall viability and usefulness of biobanks in light of the significant resources required to keep them running. This review sets out the challenges that the biobanking community has had to overcome since their inception in the early 2000s. The first section provides a brief outline of the diversity in biobank and regulatory architecture in seven countries: Australia, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, the UK, and the USA. The article then discusses four waves of responses to biobanking challenges. This article had its genesis in a discussion on biobanks during the Centre for Health, Law and Emerging Technologies (HeLEX) conference in Oxford UK, co-sponsored by the Centre for Law and Genetics (University of Tasmania). This article aims to provide a review of the issues associated with biobank practices and governance, with a view to informing the future course of both large-scale and smaller scale biobanks