A FORMATIVE EXPERIMENT INVESTIGATING THE USE OF NONFICTION TEXTS IN WRITING WORKSHOP TO ASSIST FOURTH-GRADE READERS AND WRITERS

Using the methodology of a formative experiment (Reinking & Bradley, 2008), this study investigated how writing workshop using expository and informational texts could be implemented in a fourth-grade classroom to improve students\u27 reading and writing abilities and attitudes. Eighteen students from a fourth-grade class at a rural school in a large district participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected prior to and after implementation of the intervention to establish a baseline of performance and to determine progress toward the pedagogical goal. Additionally, qualitative data were collected throughout the intervention. Quantitative data were analyzed using a paired-samples t-test for the following measures: student prompted writing sample, Stieglitz informal reading inventory, and Heathington Intermediate Attitude Scale. Qualitative data were coded for recurring themes derived from the following sources: classroom observation and field notes, teacher reflective journal, student and teacher interviews, classroom artifacts, and informal discussions with teacher. Analyses revealed that the success of the intervention was related mainly to the teacher\u27s awareness of her students, her beliefs about her own self-efficacy, students\u27 shared vocabulary, and students\u27 use of strategies. Unanticipated effects and changes to the educational environment are also discussed

Chart Review to Compare Peripheral Nerve Blocks for Analgesia Following a Total Knee Replacement

Executive Summary A Retrospective Chart Review to Compare Two Peripheral Nerve Blocks for Analgesia Following a Total Knee Replacement Problem: Pain after a total knee replacement (TKR) can be severe. The most commonly used pain management 24 hours after surgery is administration of intravenous opioids, which by itself does not always provide adequate post op pain relief ( Otten, C. & Dunn, K. 2011; Kerr, D. 2008; Jenstrup, M.T et al 2011). With the current opioid crisis, controlling pain without opioids whenever possible is essential. Purpose: To analyze whether a combination block of an adductor canal block with intra-articular infiltration (AII) or an adductor canal block (ACB) alone can provide enough pain relief that there will be minimal or no need to use opioids for pain relief 24 hours TKR post-surgery. Goal: To decrease opioid requirement to relieve pain 24 hours post TKR surgery. Objective: To compare efficacy to reduce opioid requirement 24 hours post TKR surgery between an AII or an ACB alone. Plan: A quality improvement convenience sample retrospective chart review. Outcomes and Results: Sixty charts were reviewed, 30 for men and 30 for women and further divided by men and women that received AII or an ACB prior to undergoing TKR surgery block (N=15 men and 15 women for AII and for ACB). There was a significant decrease (p=0.015) in reported pain with the AII block (N=30) than with the ACB block (N= 30). All participants in the AII group had a recording of pain score of 0 compared to six participants in the ACB group with an initial pain score of two and 15 participants in ACB group with an initial pain score of three

Service Systems and Social Innovation: Exploring Service, Value and Innovation within the Social Enterprise

Service science, a growing multidisciplinary field concerned with the study of service systems and the value co-created within them, offers fresh perspectives, theories and analytical tools for understanding service innovation within businesses and organizations today. In recent years this emerging field has expanded considerably. However, despite significant advancements in developing a foundation of knowledge, methods, concepts and tools, a great deal of the existing scholarly contributions have focused on the study of service systems, service design and innovation within the context of competitive profit-seeking entities that focus on a single, financial bottom line. This paper aims to contribute to a relatively unexplored dimension of the service science literature through an investigation of a special type of business venture, the social enterprise

Partnering Pre-Service Teachers with First-Grade Writers: An Exploration of Giving Effective Feedback

Feedback is a critical component of teaching and learning (Black & William, 1998; Hattie, 2009). Thus, it is essential for pre-service teachers to have a clear understanding of how to give effective feedback, including on student writing. This article describes a collaborative partnership project between a first-grade teacher and a teacher educator focused on giving students feedback on their writing. Using the online tool Flipgrid, the project brought together 15 first graders and 27 pre-service teachers enrolled in a writing methods course in an effort to offer on-going feedback to the first graders as they were in the process of writing and publishing a class book. We examined what the pre-service teachers learned about giving effective feedback and found that the primary takeaway was affirming what a student was doing well, as well as giving them a specific way to improve. The pre-service teachers had difficulty in removing personal comments (e.g., “Amazing work”) from their feedback

Trends in treated problem cannabis use in the seven health board areas outside the Eastern Regional Health Authority, 1998 to 2002. Occasional Paper no. 14.

The data presented in this paper describe trends in treated problem cannabis use in seven health board areas, namely: the Midland, Mid-Western, North Eastern, North Western, Southern, South Eastern and Western Health Boards. The total numbers include 6,164 cases who lived and were treated in the seven health boards between 1998 and 2002. In this paper, treated problem cannabis use is described in relation to person, place and time. This paper will assist policy makers and service planners develop appropriate responses to problem cannabis use. The analysis presented in this paper is based on data reported to the National Drug Treatment Reporting System (NDTRS)

Building Bridges in Classrooms: Collaboration for Integration and Globalization

International students are missing out on an immersive campus experience because they have few meaningful interactions with American students. This article describes three class projects with different instructors across different areas of study that sought to more successfully integrate international students while building a more global mindset in American students. Both groups of students in each of the three projects expressed positive experiences and a new outlook on the possibilities for relationships between international and domestic students on campus

Camera trap arrays improve detection probability of wildlife: Investigating study design considerations using an empirical dataset.

Camera trapping is a standard tool in ecological research and wildlife conservation. Study designs, particularly for small-bodied or cryptic wildlife species often attempt to boost low detection probabilities by using non-random camera placement or baited cameras, which may bias data, or incorrectly estimate detection and occupancy. We investigated the ability of non-baited, multi-camera arrays to increase detection probabilities of wildlife. Study design components were evaluated for their influence on wildlife detectability by iteratively parsing an empirical dataset (1) by different sizes of camera arrays deployed (1-10 cameras), and (2) by total season length (1-365 days). Four species from our dataset that represented a range of body sizes and differing degrees of presumed detectability based on life history traits were investigated: white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), bobcat (Lynx rufus), raccoon (Procyon lotor), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana). For all species, increasing from a single camera to a multi-camera array significantly improved detection probability across the range of season lengths and number of study sites evaluated. The use of a two camera array increased survey detection an average of 80% (range 40-128%) from the detection probability of a single camera across the four species. Species that were detected infrequently benefited most from a multiple-camera array, where the addition of up to eight cameras produced significant increases in detectability. However, for species detected at high frequencies, single cameras produced a season-long (i.e, the length of time over which cameras are deployed and actively monitored) detectability greater than 0.75. These results highlight the need for researchers to be critical about camera trap study designs based on their intended target species, as detectability for each focal species responded differently to array size and season length. We suggest that researchers a priori identify target species for which inference will be made, and then design camera trapping studies around the most difficult to detect of those species

Carbon and nitrogen substrate utilization by archival Salmonella typhimurium LT2 cells

BACKGROUND: A collection of over 20,000 Salmonella typhimurium LT2 mutants, sealed for four decades in agar stabs, is a unique resource for study of genetic and evolutionary changes. Previously, we reported extensive diversity among descendants including diversity in RpoS and catalase synthesis, diversity in genome size, protein content, and reversion from auxotrophy to prototrophy. RESULTS: Extensive and variable losses and a few gains of catabolic functions were observed by this standardized method. Thus, 95 catabolic reactions were scored in each of three plates in wells containing specific carbon and nitrogen substrates. CONCLUSION: While the phenotype microarray did not reveal a distinct pattern of mutation among the archival isolates, the data did confirm that various isolates have used multiple strategies to survive in the archival environment. Data from the MacConkey plates verified the changes in carbohydrate metabolism observed in the Biolog™ system

Writing and Learning Online: Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Their Development as Writers and Teachers of Writing

This study examined the effect of an online graduate course in elementary and middle grades writing pedagogy on pre- and in-service teachers’ perceptions of themselves as writers and as teachers of writing. Eight graduate students enrolled in a summer online writing pedagogy course at a mid-sized regional university in the rural mountains of the southeastern United States participated in the study. Researchers collected qualitative data including reflections and blogs at the beginning and end of the 4.5-week course. Findings fell into four major themes in the data: (1)Past experience shapes perceptions of writing; (2)Perceptions shape writing instruction; (3)Perceptions are malleable; and, (4) Course design impacts students\u27 perceptions. We describe each of the four themes and give implications of our findings, including the need for further research on how the online format affects perceptions of writing and writing instruction