Reflective Diary for Professional Development of Novice Teachers

Many starting teachers of computer science have great professional skill but often lack pedagogical training. Since providing expert mentorship directly during their lessons would be quite costly, institutions usually offer separate teacher training sessions for novice instructors. However, the reflection on teaching performed with a significant delay after the taught lesson limits the possible impact on teachers. To bridge this gap, we introduced a weekly semi-structured reflective practice to supplement the teacher training sessions at our faculty. We created a paper diary that guides the starting teachers through the process of reflection. Over the course of the semester, the diary poses questions of increasing complexity while also functioning as a reference to the topics covered in teacher training. Piloting the diary on a group of 25 novice teaching assistants resulted in overwhelmingly positive responses and provided the teacher training sessions with valuable input for discussion. The diary also turned out to be applicable in a broader context: it was appreciated and used by several experienced university teachers from multiple faculties and even some high-school teachers. The diary is freely available online, including source and print versions

Five hundred microsatellite loci for Peromyscus

Mice of the genus Peromyscus, including several endangered subspecies, occur throughout North America and have been important models for conservation research. We describe 526 primer pairs that amplify microsatellite DNA loci for Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii, 467 of which also amplify in Peromyscus polionotus subgriseus. For 12 of these loci, we report diversity data from a natural population. These markers will be an important resource for future genomic studies of Peromyscus evolution and mammalian conservation.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Immune response to enzyme replacement therapies in lysosomal storage diseases and the role of immune tolerance induction.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Organization for Rare Disease (NORD) convened a public workshop titled "Immune Responses to Enzyme Replacement Therapies: Role of Immune Tolerance Induction" to discuss the impact of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) on efficacy and safety of enzyme replacement therapies (ERTs) intended to treat patients with lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). Participants in the workshop included FDA staff, clinicians, scientists, patients, industry, and advocacy group representatives. The risks and benefits of implementing prophylactic immune tolerance induction (ITI) to reduce the potential clinical impact of antibody development were considered. Complications due to immune responses to ERT are being recognized with increasing experience and lengths of exposure to ERTs to treat several LSDs. Strategies to mitigate immune responses and to optimize therapies are needed. Discussions during the workshop resulted in the identification of knowledge gaps and future areas of research, as well as the following proposals from the participants: (1) systematic collection of longitudinal data on immunogenicity to better understand the impact of ADAs on long-term clinical outcomes; (2) development of disease-specific biomarkers and outcome measures to assess the effect of ADAs and ITI on efficacy and safety; (3) development of consistent approaches to ADA assays to allow comparisons of immunogenicity data across different products and disease groups, and to expedite reporting of results; (4) establishment of a system to widely share data on antibody titers following treatment with ERTs; (5) identification of components of the protein that are immunogenic so that triggers and components of the immune responses can be targeted in ITI; and (6) consideration of early ITI in patients who are at risk of developing clinically relevant ADA that have been demonstrated to worsen treatment outcomes

The Vermont Family Based Approach in Primary Care Pediatrics: Effects on Children’s and Parents’ Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Parents’ Health-Related Quality of Life

This randomized controlled trial tested the Vermont Family Based Approach (VFBA) in primary care pediatrics. The VFBA is a model of healthcare delivery that shifts the focus from the individual to the family, emphasizes emotional and behavioral health, and uses evidence-based health promotion/prevention along with the treatment of emotional and behavioral problems. Participants were 81 families of 3–15-year-olds. For children, the VFBA was associated with greater reductions than the Control condition on the Child Behavior Checklist Emotionally Reactive, Withdrawn, Sleep Problems, Aggressive Behavior and Total Problems scales. For parents, the VFBA was associated with greater reductions than the Control condition on the Adult Self-Report Anxious/Depressed, Rule-Breaking Behavior, Internalizing Problems and Total Problems scales. The VFBA was also associated with greater improvement than the Control condition in the parents’ health-related quality of life, as indicated by all scales of the Medical Outcomes Study Health Survey

The Representation of Teachers in Taiwanese Children’s Literature, 1960–2012

[[abstract]]This study investigates the images of teachers presented in Taiwanese children’s books published between 1960 and 2012 using the narrative theory outlined by Nikolajeva (Child Lit Assoc Q, 28(1):5–16, 2003). A purposive sample based upon the portrayal of school life is applied. One hundred and one books were identified as texts in which cultural messages about teachers were embedded. With respect to the depiction of teachers, three salient characteristics emerged from these texts: most images are positive; the teacher is often portrayed as a powerful animal; and the teacher is typically Han Chinese. Additionally, the modes of discourse that these writers used show their preference for realism, the first-person male perspective, and humor. As these findings attest, writing children’s books portraying teachers and school lives is a practice regulated by pedagogical and didactic intent. These findings provide insight into the ways that teachers see themselves and their profession, in addition to how they are seen by others.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]A&HCI[[cooperationtype]]國