Prism Intro Student\u27s Book with Online Workbook Listening and Speaking, and Reading and Writing

Prism Intro books use American English along with international and American topics to teach reading, writing, listening and speaking in English. Videos and American college life sections keep student interest

Student-directed ESOL Family Literacy Program Design

ESOL Family Literacy programs for Hispanic immigrants have proliferated over past decades to serve the increasing population of ELs needing services. Several factors can disrupt or prevent participation in ESOL Family Literacy programs designed to enhance the academic success of Latin American adult and child immigrants. This qualitative case study set in the Deep South examined a student-directed design process to gain understanding of what would constitute an ideal program for the participating ELs, their families and their community. Emergent categories identified areas of design importance including site locations, time and frequency of class scheduling, curricular design, instructional materials, instructor training and program evaluation) that can determine successful family literacy programs

Language Policy and the Preparedness of Mainstream Teachers for Serving ELs in K-12 Classrooms

English language learners (ELs) numbers are increasing steadily in classrooms across the United States. Some southeastern states have seen more than a 200% EL student increase in recent years (Migration Policy Institute, 2010). Since the inception of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and especially since Title I “flexibility” revisions, responsibility for educating ELs has shifted from ESOL and bilingual teachers to primarily mainstream teachers. States that have opted out of NCLB under flexibility revisions are no longer as accountable to the U. S. Department of Education for the education of ELs. States and school districts are no longer required to include some EL test scores in accountability measures. Mainstream classroom teachers may no longer receive quality support from ESOL professionals in educating mainstreamed ELs. Are mainstream teachers prepared to educate ELs? This study examines the perceptions that mainstream classroom teachers have regarding their preparedness in serving the ELs in their classrooms. Findings indicated four emergent categories of mainstream teachers: 1) teachers who knew virtually nothing about serving ELs, 2) teachers who presumed they would send ELs out of their classroom for instruction and assessment, 3) teachers who sought instructional and assessment assistance, and 4) teachers who were familiar with best practices for teaching ELs. Mainstream teachers in this study who were being held accountable for EL student achievement overall lacked knowledge or had misconceptions about the strategies used to teach and assess ELs. Current policy shaping the education of ELs is unlikely to assure they receive an adequate education

Employing Cueing Systems to Decode Text and Negotiate Text-Meaning in a Second Language

Many educators state that teaching English-Language Learners (ELLs) is just a matter of good teaching. While effective teaching is something that all children deserve, there are some differences between the approach a teacher may have to take with ELLs and with other students. One aspect of this difference is the fact that, while children go through the same stages of language development, ELLs may be at stages typically not found in other students. Based on a case study of an EL and his teacher, this article explains cueing systems and their role in literacy for ELs

The lens SW05 J143454.4+522850: a fossil group at redshift 0.6?

Fossil groups are considered the end product of natural galaxy group evolution in which group members sink towards the centre of the gravitational potential due to dynamical friction, merging into a single, massive, and X-ray bright elliptical. Since gravitational lensing depends on the mass of a foreground object, its mass concentration, and distance to the observer, we can expect lensing effects of such fossil groups to be particularly strong. This paper explores the exceptional system J143454.4+522850 (with a lens redshift zL = 0.625). We combine gravitational lensing with stellar population synthesis to separate the total mass of the lens into stars and dark matter. The enclosed mass profiles are contrasted with state-of-the-art galaxy formation simulations, to conclude that SW05 is likely a fossil group with a high stellar to dark matter mass fraction (0.027 ± 0.003) with respect to expectations from abundance matching (0.012 ± 0.004), indicative of a more efficient conversion of gas into stars in fossil groups

Changing Preferences for Survival After Hospitalization With Advanced Heart Failure

ObjectivesThis study was designed to analyze how patient preferences for survival versus quality-of-life change after hospitalization with advanced heart failure (HF).BackgroundAlthough patient-centered care is a priority, little is known about preferences to trade length of life for quality among hospitalized patients with advanced HF, and it is not known how those preferences change after hospitalization.MethodsThe time trade-off utility, symptom scores, and 6-min walk distance were measured in 287 patients in the ESCAPE (Evaluation Study of Congestive Heart Failure and Pulmonary Artery Catheter Effectiveness) trial at hospitalization and again during 6 months after therapy to relieve congestion.ResultsWillingness to trade was bimodal. At baseline, the median trade for better quality was 3 months' survival time, with a modest relation to symptom severity. Preference for survival time was stable for most patients, but increase after discharge occurred in 98 of 145 (68%) patients initially willing to trade survival time, and was more common with symptom improvement and after therapy guided by pulmonary artery catheters (p = 0.034). Adjusting days alive after hospital discharge for patients' survival preference reduced overall days by 24%, with the largest reduction among patients dying early after discharge (p = 0.0015).ConclusionsPreferences remain in favor of survival for many patients despite advanced HF symptoms, but increase further after hospitalization. The bimodal distribution and the stability of patient preference limit utility as a trial end point, but support its relevance in design of care for an individual patient

Nuggets, Pearls, and Vignettes of Master Heart Failure Clinicians

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73696/1/j.1527-5299.2001.00307.x.pd