Miss Marks Is Dead

Fiction by Shirley Swartz

Principles and Practices Fostering Inclusive Excellence: Lessons from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Capstone Institutions

Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes principles of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones represent a range of institutional missions, student profiles, and geographical locations. Each successfully directed activities toward persistence of STEM students, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, through a set of common elements: mentoring programs to build community; research experiences to strengthen scientific skill/ identity; attention to quantitative skills; and outreach/bridge programs to broaden the student pool. This paper grounds these program elements in learning theory, emphasizing their essential principles with examples of how they were implemented within institutional contexts. We also describe common assessment approaches that in many cases informed programming and created traction for stakeholder buy-in. The lessons learned from our shared experiences in pursuit of inclusive excellence, including the resources housed on our companion website, can inform others’ efforts to increase access to and persistence in STEM in higher education

Football face-mask removal with a cordless screwdriver on helmets used for at least one season of play

Context: The Inter-Association Task Force for the Appropriate Care of the Spine-Injured Athlete recommends leaving a football player\u27s helmet in place and removing the face mask from the helmet as quickly as possible and with as little movement of the head and neck as possible. Although 2 groups have studied face-mask removal from new equipment, to our knowledge no researchers have investigated equipment that has been previously used. A full season of play may have a significant effect on football equipment and its associated hardware. Countless impacts, weather, playing surfaces, sweat, and other unforeseen or unknown variables might make the face-mask removal process more difficult on equipment that has been used. Objective: To determine the percentage of face masks that we could unscrew, with a cordless screwdriver, from football helmets used for a full season. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Three New England high schools. Patients or Other Participants: All football helmets used at 3 local high schools were tested (n = 222, mean games, 9.7 +/- 1.2; mean practice weeks, 13.7 +/- 1.2). Intervention(s): Each helmet was secured to a board, and a cordless screwdriver was used to attempt to remove all 4 screws attaching the face mask to the helmet. Main Outcome Measure(s): Variables included overall success or failure, time required for face-mask removal, and success by screw location. Data were analyzed with chi(2), analysis of variance, and Tamhane post hoc tests. Results: Overall, 832 (94%) of 885 screws were unscrewed, and 183 (82.4%) of 222 face masks were removed. Mean removal time was 26.9 +/- 5.83 seconds. Face-mask removal success was significantly different between school 1 (24 [52.2%] of 46) and schools 2 (84 [91.3%] of 92) and 3 (75 [89.3%] of 84; F-2.219 = 24.608; P \u3c .001). The removal success rate was significantly higher at top screws (98%) than at screws adjacent to ear holes (90%) (P \u3c .001). Conclusions: Based on our results and previous findings that demonstrated quicker access time and reduced head movement associated with the use of the screwdriver compared with cutting tools, the former may be a good tool for face-mask removal. However, an appropriate cutting tool must be immediately available should the screwdriver fail. Helmet hardware adjacent to ear holes was more vulnerable to failure, perhaps because it is protected by less padding than the top hardware. Possible causes of the higher failure rate at school 1 are the use of hardware materials subject to rust and corrosion and differences in helmet brand; these areas warrant future research and rules consideration

Football Face-Mask Removal With a Cordless Screwdriver on Helmets Used for at Least One Season of Play

Context: The Inter-Association Task Force for the Appropriate Care of the Spine-Injured Athlete recommends leaving a football player's helmet in place and removing the face mask from the helmet “as quickly as possible and with as little movement of the head and neck as possible.” Although 2 groups have studied face-mask removal from new equipment, to our knowledge no researchers have investigated equipment that has been previously used. A full season of play may have a significant effect on football equipment and its associated hardware. Countless impacts, weather, playing surfaces, sweat, and other unforeseen or unknown variables might make the face-mask removal process more difficult on equipment that has been used. Objective: To determine the percentage of face masks that we could unscrew, with a cordless screwdriver, from football helmets used for a full season. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Three New England high schools. Patients or Other Participants: All football helmets used at 3 local high schools were tested (n = 222, mean games, 9.7 ± 1.2; mean practice weeks, 13.7 ± 1.2). Intervention(s): Each helmet was secured to a board, and a cordless screwdriver was used to attempt to remove all 4 screws attaching the face mask to the helmet. Main Outcome Measure(s): Variables included overall success or failure, time required for face-mask removal, and success by screw location. Data were analyzed with χ(2), analysis of variance, and Tamhane post hoc tests. Results: Overall, 832 (94%) of 885 screws were unscrewed, and 183 (82.4%) of 222 face masks were removed. Mean removal time was 26.9 ± 5.83 seconds. Face-mask removal success was significantly different between school 1 (24 [52.2%] of 46) and schools 2 (84 [91.3%] of 92) and 3 (75 [89.3%] of 84; F(2,219) = 24.608; P < .001). The removal success rate was significantly higher at top screws (98%) than at screws adjacent to ear holes (90%) (P < .001). Conclusions: Based on our results and previous findings that demonstrated quicker access time and reduced head movement associated with the use of the screwdriver compared with cutting tools, the former may be a good tool for face-mask removal. However, an appropriate cutting tool must be immediately available should the screwdriver fail. Helmet hardware adjacent to ear holes was more vulnerable to failure, perhaps because it is protected by less padding than the top hardware. Possible causes of the higher failure rate at school 1 are the use of hardware materials subject to rust and corrosion and differences in helmet brand; these areas warrant future research and rules consideration

A comparison of head movement during back boarding by motorized spine-board and log-roll techniques

Context. In a patient with a potential cervical spine injury, minimizing or eliminating movement at the head and neck during stabilization and transport is paramount because movement can exacerbate the condition. Any equipment or technique creating less movement will allow for a more effective and safe stabilization of an injured patient, reducing the likelihood of movement and potential secondary injury. Objective: To compare the amount of head movement created during the log-roll and motorized spine-board (MSB) stabilization techniques. Design: A 2-condition, repeated-measures design. Setting: Laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Thirteen certified athletic trainers, emergency first responders, and emergency medical technicians (6 men, 7 women). Intervention(s): Subjects rotated through 4 positions for the log roll and 2 positions for the MSB. Each subject performed 3 trials while maintaining manual, inline stabilization of the model\u27s head for each condition. Main Outcome Measure(s): Three-dimensional head movement was measured and expressed as degrees of motion. Results: The log roll created significantly more motion in the frontal and transverse planes compared with the MSB (P = .001 for both measures). No significant difference was noted for sagittal-plane motion (P = .028). Conclusions: The MSB created less movement at the head than did the log roll in 2 planes of motion and created slightly more motion in 1 plane, although this difference was not significant. The MSB may provide emergency responders with an appropriate alternative method for stabilizing and transporting a supine injured athlete without requiring a log roll

Principles and Practices Fostering Inclusive Excellence: Lessons from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Capstone Institutions

Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes prin- ciples of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones represent a range of institutional missions, student profiles, and geographical locations. Each successfully directed activities toward persistence of STEM students, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, through a set of common elements: men- toring programs to build community; research experiences to strengthen scientific skill/ identity; attention to quantitative skills; and outreach/bridge programs to broaden the stu- dent pool. This paper grounds these program elements in learning theory, emphasizing their essential principles with examples of how they were implemented within institutional contexts. We also describe common assessment approaches that in many cases informed programming and created traction for stakeholder buy-in. The lessons learned from our shared experiences in pursuit of inclusive excellence, including the resources housed on our companion website, can inform others’ efforts to increase access to and persistence in STEM in higher education