An examination of outcome-based education practices, standards, and factors that enhance implementation of OBE

This study sought to determine the extent to which selected Iowa schools that had made a sustained effort to implement outcome-based education (OBE) were successful. The study also attempted to determine change factors that enhanced the implementation of OBE and teacher perceptions of the effects of OBE implementation. A total of 303 teachers from 21 schools volunteered to participate in this study about OBE implementation and completed the 64-item questionnaire. In particular, the study assessed the degree of implementation of 36 specific OBE practices. These results determined the degree of implementation of nine OBE standards defined by the Network for Outcome-Based Schools;Results showed that: (1) six of the 21 schools successfully implemented OBE; (2) four of the nine OBE standards were successfully implemented across all schools--developing a mission statement that reflects success for all students and for which there is strong staff support, developing an OBE culture that promotes high achievement for students and staff, using an OBE system of instructional decision making and delivery, and using OBE assessment strategies; (3) factors rated successful as enhancing OBE implementation were all related to effective leadership; (4) teachers in successful implementation schools observed many positive results including higher expectations for ALL students, strong curriculum focus, more appropriate assessment strategies, more relevant curriculum and improved student motivation and achievement;Six key conclusions drawn from this study were: (1) successful implementation of OBE, results in certain observable positive effects for students and staff; (2) mastery learning is used extensively and represents the heart of OBE; (3) effective curriculum alignment is taking place as teachers develop a better defined curriculum focus--teach what they test and test what they teach; (4) assessment is changing with the use of more criterion standards, performance measures, and authentic assessment strategies; (5) schools lack adequate computer management systems to produce assessment materials and report student achievement; (6) effective leadership is perhaps the most important element needed to successfully implement OBE

Performance of a Brief Assessment Tool for Identifying Substance Use Disorders

Objective: Evaluation of the performance of a brief assessment tool for identifying substance use disorders. The Triage Assessment for Addictive Disorders (TAAD) is a triage instrument that provides professionals with a tool to evaluate indications of current substance use disorders in accordance with the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria. The TAAD is a 31-item structured interview that addresses both alcohol and other drug issues to discriminate among those with no clear indications of a diagnosis, those with definite, current indications of abuse or dependence, and those with inconclusive diagnostic indications. Methods: Employing a sample of 1325 women between the ages of 18 and 60, reliability estimates and problem profiles produced by the TAAD were evaluated. Results: The Cronbach alpha coefficients for internal consistency for both the alcohol and drug dependence scales were .92. The alpha coefficients for the alcohol and drug abuse scales were .83 and .84 respectively. The diagnostic profiles elicited from the TAAD indicate that alcohol and drug dependences are the more definitive and distinct syndromes compared with the abuse syndromes. Conclusions: The diagnostic profiles from this sample are consistent with previous research. The Cronbach alpha coefficients suggest that the TAAD provides an internally consistent index for alcohol and drug dependence and abuse. Implications for use in clinical practice and the need for further research regarding the psychometric properties of the TAAD are discussed

Phenology, Within-Vineyard Distribution, and Seasonal Movement of Eastern Grape Leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) in New York Vineyards

Seasonal changes in within-vineyard distribution and abundance of Erythroneura comes (Say) adults and nymphs were investigated from 1989 to 1992. Trap catches of adults were highest in May and were concentrated in wooded areas next to vineyards. In 1989 and 1990 surveys, nymphal densities did not decline as distance from the vineyard edge increased. In 1991, however, nymphal densities were significantly higher at vineyard edges than in vineyard interiors in July, suggesting that oviposition initially was aggregated at vineyard edges. Subsequently, nymphal densities at vineyard edges and interiors were similar. Cumulative degree days (DD) for mean observation of first nymphs, first-generation, and second-generation peak populations, sampled at 14 vineyards in 1989, 1990, and 1991, were 390 ± 71, 648 ± 86, and 1,190 ± 154 DD (mean ± SD; base 10°C), respectively. Nymphal densities exceeded a provisional threshold of five per leaf in only 2, 25, 13, and 8% of vineyards untreated with insecticides in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992, respectively. These results show that leafhoppers do not cause economic injury in most New York vineyards in most years. Reduced insecticide strategies recently implemented for grape berry moth control will not greatly increase the need for insecticide applications directed at leafhoppers in New Yor

Environmental Effects on Remating in \u3ci\u3eDrosophila melanogaster\u3c/i\u3e

The effects of density and food on remating were investigated using Drosophila melanogaster. The frequency of remating was unaffected by density for some combinations of fly strains but was reduced at low relative densities for other combinations. Until females had used most of their stored sperm, remating was less likely when food was absent or contact with food was prevented. Food availability had little effect on the incidence of remating once stored sperm were depleted and had no effect on initial virgin mating frequency. This study indicates that environmental factors can have a substantial direct influence on the frequency of remating in populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Lithostratigraphy, Hydrothermal Alteration, and Lithogeochemistry of Neoarchean Rocks in the Lower and Soudan Member of the Ely Greenstone Formation, Vermilion District, Northeastern Minnesota: Implications for Volcanogenic Massive Sulfides

A Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota by Adam Timothy Hoffman in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, January 2007. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signatures present. Plate 1 referenced in the thesis is also attached to this record