An inclusive Research and Education Community (iREC) model to facilitate undergraduate science education reform

Funding: This work was supported by Howard Hughes Medical Institute grants to DIH is GT12052 and MJG is GT15338.Over the last two decades, there have been numerous initiatives to improve undergraduate student outcomes in STEM. One model for scalable reform is the inclusive Research Education Community (iREC). In an iREC, STEM faculty from colleges and universities across the nation are supported to adopt and sustainably implement course-based research – a form of science pedagogy that enhances student learning and persistence in science. In this study, we used pathway modeling to develop a qualitative description that explicates the HHMI Science Education Alliance (SEA) iREC as a model for facilitating the successful adoption and continued advancement of new curricular content and pedagogy. In particular, outcomes that faculty realize through their participation in the SEA iREC were identified, organized by time, and functionally linked. The resulting pathway model was then revised and refined based on several rounds of feedback from over 100 faculty members in the SEA iREC who participated in the study. Our results show that in an iREC, STEM faculty organized as a long-standing community of practice leverage one another, outside expertise, and data to adopt, implement, and iteratively advance their pedagogy. The opportunity to collaborate in this manner and, additionally, to be recognized for pedagogical contributions sustainably engages STEM faculty in the advancement of their pedagogy. Here, we present a detailed pathway model of SEA that, together with underpinning features of an iREC identified in this study, offers a framework to facilitate transformations in undergraduate science education.Peer reviewe

Models of classroom assessment for course-based research experiences

Course-based research pedagogy involves positioning students as contributors to authentic research projects as part of an engaging educational experience that promotes their learning and persistence in science. To develop a model for assessing and grading students engaged in this type of learning experience, the assessment aims and practices of a community of experienced course-based research instructors were collected and analyzed. This approach defines four aims of course-based research assessment—(1) Assessing Laboratory Work and Scientific Thinking; (2) Evaluating Mastery of Concepts, Quantitative Thinking and Skills; (3) Appraising Forms of Scientific Communication; and (4) Metacognition of Learning—along with a set of practices for each aim. These aims and practices of assessment were then integrated with previously developed models of course-based research instruction to reveal an assessment program in which instructors provide extensive feedback to support productive student engagement in research while grading those aspects of research that are necessary for the student to succeed. Assessment conducted in this way delicately balances the need to facilitate students’ ongoing research with the requirement of a final grade without undercutting the important aims of a CRE education

Hearing loss, quality of life, and academic problems in long-term neuroblastoma survivors: A report from the Children\u27s Oncology Group

OBJECTIVES. Among a cohort of long-term neuroblastoma survivors, our aims were to (1) assess the association between treatment intensity and parent-reported hearing loss in the child, (2) evaluate the strength of the association between hearing loss and parent-reported academic and psychosocial difficulties in the child, and (3) examine the association between parent-reported academic and psychosocial difficulties in the child and the child\u27s self-reported quality of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Through a mailed survey that included the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 and an outcomes questionnaire for parents, we evaluated 137 children (aged 8-17 years) who were previously enrolled in 1 of 2 Children\u27s Cancer Group neuroblastoma clinical studies. RESULTS. Childhood survivors of neuroblastoma who had prevalent hearing loss, as reported by their parents, had at least twice the risk of an identified problem with reading skills, math skills, and/or attention and a similarly higher risk of a general learning disability and/or special educational needs than did neuroblastoma survivors without hearing loss. Consistent with this finding, hearing loss was associated with a 10-point-lower mean score in the school-functioning scale of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0. We also observed a clear pattern of poorer self-reported quality-of-life scores among children with parent-reported academic and psychosocial problems compared with those without such problems, particularly with school functioning, even after controlling for reported hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS. We found evidence that long-term neuroblastoma survivors, especially those with hearing loss, are at elevated risk for academic learning problems and psychosocial difficulties. We also found strong concordance between parent-reported learning problems in the child and indications of distress in the child\u27s self-reported quality of life. Copyright © 2007 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

Discordant parent reports of family functioning following childhood neuroblastoma: A report from the children\u27s oncology group

This study examined whether late effects and poor survivor quality of life (QOL) characterize discordant parent dyads and unhealthy family functioning in neuroblastoma survivors. Parents of 135 neuroblastoma survivors (78 two-parent dyads) completed measures of late effects and family functioning, and survivors completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL). Although average family functioning scores were healthy, parent concordance was lower for family functioning than late effects reports. Parent concordance did not differ by late effects or QOL. Family functioning scores were poorer when survivors had more late effects and low physical QOL scores. Parent data should be considered separately when examining child cancer outcomes. © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Examination of risk factors for intellectual and academic outcomes following treatment for pediatric medulloblastoma

Background The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the effects of hearing loss and posterior fossa syndrome (PFS), in addition to age at diagnosis and disease risk status, on change in intellectual and academic outcomes following diagnosis and treatment in a large sample of medulloblastoma patients. Methods Data from at least 2 cognitive and academic assessments were available from 165 patients (ages 3-21 years) treated with surgery, risk-adapted craniospinal irradiation, and 4 courses of chemotherapy with stem cell support. Patients underwent serial evaluation of cognitive and academic functioning from baseline up to 5 years post diagnosis. Results Serious hearing loss, PFS, younger age at diagnosis, and high-risk status were all significant risk factors for decline in intellectual and academic skills. Serious hearing loss and PFS independently predicted below-average estimated mean intellectual ability at 5 years post diagnosis. Patients with high-risk medulloblastoma and young age at diagnosis (\u3c7 years) exhibited the largest drop in mean scores for intellectual and academic outcomes. Conclusions Despite a significant decline over time, intellectual and academic outcomes remained within the average range at 5 years post diagnosis for the majority of patients. Future studies should determine if scores remain within the average range at time points further out from treatment. Patients at heightened risk should be closely monitored and provided with recommendations for appropriate interventions. © The Author(s) 2014

Comparison of Military and Civilian Methods for Determining Potentially Preventable Deaths: A Systematic Review.

IMPORTANCE: Military and civilian trauma experts initiated a collaborative effort to develop an integrated learning trauma system to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality. Because the Department of Defense does not currently have recommended guidelines and standard operating procedures to perform military preventable death reviews in a consistent manner, these performance improvement processes must be developed. OBJECTIVES: To compare military and civilian preventable death determination methods to understand the existing best practices for evaluating preventable death. EVIDENCE REVIEW: This systematic review followed the PRISMA reporting guidelines. English-language articles were searched from inception to February 15, 2017, using the following databases: MEDLINE (Ovid), Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews (Ovid), PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Articles were initially screened for eligibility and excluded based on predetermined criteria. Articles reviewing only prehospital deaths, only inhospital deaths, or both were eligible for inclusion. Information on study characteristics was independently abstracted by 2 investigators. Reported are methodological factors affecting the reliability of preventable death studies and the preventable death rate, defined as the number of potentially preventable deaths divided by the total number of deaths within a specific patient population. FINDINGS: Fifty studies (8 military and 42 civilian) met the inclusion criteria. In total, 1598 of 6500 military deaths reviewed and 3346 of 19 108 civilian deaths reviewed were classified as potentially preventable. Among military studies, the preventable death rate ranged from 3.1% to 51.4%. Among civilian studies, the preventable death rate ranged from 2.5% to 85.3%. The high level of methodological heterogeneity regarding factors, such as preventable death definitions, review process, and determination criteria, hinders a meaningful quantitative comparison of preventable death rates. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The reliability of military and civilian preventable death studies is hindered by inconsistent definitions, incompatible criteria, and the overall heterogeneity in study methods. The complexity, inconsistency, and unpredictability of combat require unique considerations to perform a methodologically sound combat-related preventable death review. As the Department of Defense begins the process of developing recommended guidelines and standard operating procedures for performing military preventable death reviews, consideration must be given to the factors known to increase the risk of bias and poor reliability

Documenting Social Media Engagement as Scholarship: A New Model for Assessing Academic Accomplishment for the Health Professions.

BACKGROUND The traditional model of promotion and tenure in the health professions relies heavily on formal scholarship through teaching, research, and service. Institutions consider how much weight to give activities in each of these areas and determine a threshold for advancement. With the emergence of social media, scholars can engage wider audiences in creative ways and have a broader impact. Conventional metrics like the h-index do not account for social media impact. Social media engagement is poorly represented in most curricula vitae (CV) and therefore is undervalued in promotion and tenure reviews. OBJECTIVE The objective was to develop crowdsourced guidelines for documenting social media scholarship. These guidelines aimed to provide a structure for documenting a scholar's general impact on social media, as well as methods of documenting individual social media contributions exemplifying innovation, education, mentorship, advocacy, and dissemination. METHODS To create unifying guidelines, we created a crowdsourced process that capitalized on the strengths of social media and generated a case example of successful use of the medium for academic collaboration. The primary author created a draft of the guidelines and then sought input from users on Twitter via a publicly accessible Google Document. There was no limitation on who could provide input and the work was done in a democratic, collaborative fashion. Contributors edited the draft over a period of 1 week (September 12-18, 2020). The primary and secondary authors then revised the draft to make it more concise. The guidelines and manuscript were then distributed to the contributors for edits and adopted by the group. All contributors were given the opportunity to serve as coauthors on the publication and were told upfront that authorship would depend on whether they were able to document the ways in which they met the 4 International Committee of Medical Journal Editors authorship criteria. RESULTS We developed 2 sets of guidelines: Guidelines for Listing All Social Media Scholarship Under Public Scholarship (in Research/Scholarship Section of CV) and Guidelines for Listing Social Media Scholarship Under Research, Teaching, and Service Sections of CV. Institutions can choose which set fits their existing CV format. CONCLUSIONS With more uniformity, scholars can better represent the full scope and impact of their work. These guidelines are not intended to dictate how individual institutions should weigh social media contributions within promotion and tenure cases. Instead, by providing an initial set of guidelines, we hope to provide scholars and their institutions with a common format and language to document social media scholarship