Increasing Self-Efficacy And Quality Lesson Planning Using Lesson-Study With Elementary Preservice Teachers

This qualitative, quasi-experimental study examined if lesson-study could be a successful approach in improving lesson plan quality and increasing self-efficacy levels toward teaching science at the preservice elementary teacher level in North Mississippi. Lesson-Study can be defined as a cycle of instructional improvement in which small groups work together to design and teach a lesson, revising again as needed over the course of a semester. This study described the experiences of two sections of preservice teachers enrolled in a science methods course as they engaged in lesson-study at a comprehensive university in Northeast Mississippi. One section of the class served as the control group while the other section, as the treatment group, received lesson-study over the course of the semester. Data was gathered in the form of interviews, observations, and a self-efficacy survey (STEBI-B). Lesson plans were also graded using a rubric to determine quality level. Findings indicated that, while not statistically significant, the treatment groups scores on the self-efficacy instrument increased more on average than the control groups\u27 scores. There were also positive comments about the lesson study process from the teacher candidates in the treatment group as well as positive behaviors recorded by the researcher. Additionally, according to the external evaluators who graded the final drafts of the lessons, the treatment group had greater gains than the control class on average. These conclusions suggested the lesson study process implemented during the preservice teaching level can be beneficial

A novel counterbalanced implementation study design : methodological description and application to implementation research

Background: Implementation research is increasingly being recognised for optimising the outcomes of clinical practice. Frequently, the benefits of new evidence are not implemented due to the difficulties applying traditional research methodologies to implementation settings. Randomised controlled trials are not always practical for the implementation phase of knowledge transfer, as differences between individual and organisational readiness for change combined with small sample sizes can lead to imbalances in factors that impede or facilitate change between intervention and control groups. Within-cluster repeated measure designs could control for variance between intervention and control groups by allowing the same clusters to receive a sequence of conditions. Although in implementation settings, they can contaminate the intervention and control groups after the initial exposure to interventions. We propose the novel application of counterbalanced design to implementation research where repeated measures are employed through crossover, but contamination is averted by counterbalancing different health contexts in which to test the implementation strategy. Methods: In a counterbalanced implementation study, the implementation strategy (independent variable) has two or more levels evaluated across an equivalent number of health contexts (e.g. community-acquired pneumonia and nutrition for critically ill patients) using the same outcome (dependent variable). This design limits each cluster to one distinct strategy related to one specific context, and therefore does not overburden any cluster to more than one focussed implementation strategy for a particular outcome, and provides a ready-made control comparison, holding fixed. The different levels of the independent variable can be delivered concurrently because each level uses a different health context within each cluster to avoid the effect of treatment contamination from exposure to the intervention or control condition. Results: An example application of the counterbalanced implementation design is presented in a hypothetical study to demonstrate the comparison of 'video-based' and 'written-based' evidence summary research implementation strategies for changing clinical practice in community-acquired pneumonia and nutrition in critically ill patient health contexts. Conclusion: A counterbalanced implementation study design provides a promising model for concurrently investigating the success of research implementation strategies across multiple health context areas such as community-acquired pneumonia and nutrition for critically ill patients. © 2019 The Author(s). **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Jennifer Martin" is provided in this record*

A Description of the Development and Architecture of an SMS-Based System for Dealing With Depression

AbstractDepression is one of the leading mental health disorders in the world. With an exponential rate of growth the disease will soon surpass the ability for health care professionals to monitor and treat individuals with the disease. This paper describes a software system that continuously monitors an individual's emotional state through SMS and responds to the individual with supportive text messages. The development of the queries and responses is described along with the functioning hardware and software for the system

The Iowa Homemaker vol.23, no.14

Winter in Iowa, page 2 Keeping Up With Today, Mary Elizabeth Lush, page 2 Presenting Martha Duncan, D. Jean Merrill, page 3 Students Create Furniture, Marjorie Lund, page 4 Describe Food in South Pacific, Gertrud Ortgies, page 5 Vicky Previews a New Year, Josephine Ahern, page 6 Teaches Homemaking in India, Mrs. Edgar Vestal, page 7 What’s New in Home Economics, Marilyn Mitchell, page 8 Thoughtful Reading, Jo Ann Reeves, page 10 Across Alumnae Desks, Harriet Keen, page 12 Alum Chooses Food Publicity, Rowena Lincoln, page 14 Betty Heileman Feeds Trainees, Ann Turner, page 1

The Iowa Homemaker vol.21, no.2

Rejuvenation, Editor, page 1 The Union Way, Dorothy Ann Klein, page 2 Spices Feel War’s Sting, Clara Collar, page 4 The Institution Management Department, Margaret Read, page 5 Food for 5000, Margaret Mitchell, page 6 Sally’s Ready for Play, Dorothy Roost, page 8 Food Work Proves Intriguing, Ruth Kunerth, page 10 What’s New in Home Economics, page 12 Speaking of Veishea, Virginia Daley, page 14 Novelties in Dining Out, Elizabeth Murfield, page 15 Aluminum Is Drafted, Stuart Swensson, page 16 Alums in the News, Mary Sather, page 19 Campers Must Eat, Doris Plagge, page 20 Behind Bright Jackets, Julie Wendel, page 21 Journalistic Spindles, Mary Schmidt, page 2

The Bulletin, School of Nursing Diploma Program Alumni Association, 1979

Alumni Calendar Recognition Plaque A Letter from the President Officers and Chairpersons The Future of Nursing Education at Jefferson Annual Reports Alumni Benefits Memo from Your President Resume of Alumni Association Meetings Committee Reports The Nursing Alumni Office Serves You Profiles in Courage Special Reports Ways and Means Committee Report 38th General Hospital Reunion College of Allied Health Sciences Achievement Award Class News Marriages Births In Memoriam Alumni Notices School of Nursing Notice

From cheek swabs to consensus sequences : an A to Z protocol for high-throughput DNA sequencing of complete human mitochondrial genomes

Background: Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies have made huge impacts in many fields of biological research, but especially in evolutionary biology. One area where NGS has shown potential is for high-throughput sequencing of complete mtDNA genomes (of humans and other animals). Despite the increasing use of NGS technologies and a better appreciation of their importance in answering biological questions, there remain significant obstacles to the successful implementation of NGS-based projects, especially for new users. Results: Here we present an ‘A to Z’ protocol for obtaining complete human mitochondrial (mtDNA) genomes – from DNA extraction to consensus sequence. Although designed for use on humans, this protocol could also be used to sequence small, organellar genomes from other species, and also nuclear loci. This protocol includes DNA extraction, PCR amplification, fragmentation of PCR products, barcoding of fragments, sequencing using the 454 GS FLX platform, and a complete bioinformatics pipeline (primer removal, reference-based mapping, output of coverage plots and SNP calling). Conclusions: All steps in this protocol are designed to be straightforward to implement, especially for researchers who are undertaking next-generation sequencing for the first time. The molecular steps are scalable to large numbers (hundreds) of individuals and all steps post-DNA extraction can be carried out in 96-well plate format. Also, the protocol has been assembled so that individual ‘modules’ can be swapped out to suit available resources

Integrating tropical research into biology education is urgently needed

Understanding tropical biology is important for solving complex problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and zoonotic pandemics, but biology curricula view research mostly via a temperatezone lens. Integrating tropical research into biology education is urgently needed to tackle these issues. The tropics are engines of Earth systems that regulate global cycles of carbon and water, and are thus critical for management of greenhouse gases. Compared with higher-latitude areas, tropical regions contain a greater diversity of biomes, organisms, and complexity of biological interactions. The tropics house the majority of the world’s human population and provide important global commodities from species that originated there: coffee, chocolate, palm oil, and species that yield the cancer drugs vincristine and vinblastine. Tropical regions, especially biodiversity hotspots, harbor zoonoses, thereby having an important role in emerging infectious diseases amidst the complex interactions of global environmental change and wildlife migration [1]. These well-known roles are oversimplified, but serve to highlight the global biological importance of tropical systems. Despite the importance of tropical regions, biology curricula worldwide generally lack coverage of tropical research. Given logistical, economic, or other barriers, it is difficult for undergraduate biology instructors to provide their students with field-based experience in tropical biology research in a diverse range of settings, an issue exacerbated by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Even in the tropics, field-based experience may be limited to home regions. When tropical biology is introduced in curricula, it is often through a temperate- zone lens that does not do justice to the distinct ecosystems, sociopolitical histories, and conservation issues that exist across tropical countries and regions [2]. The tropics are often caricatured as distant locations known for their remarkable biodiversity, complicated species interactions, and unchecked deforestation. This presentation, often originating from a colonial and culturally biased perspective, may fail to highlight the role of tropical ecosystems in global environmental and social challenges that accompany rising temperatures, worldwide biodiversity loss, zoonotic pandemics, and the environmental costs of ensuring food, water, and other ecosystem services for humans [3]