Developing a Systematic Subject Instruction Curriculum in Student Teaching Practice: Through the Development and Application of Rubrics

In the practical training at Hiroshima University, we provided practical training guidance using rubrics. Based on the appraisal of the apprentices based on the rubrics and analysis based on the descriptions in the questionnaire and the lesson plan, we found that the rubrics are an effective tool for clarifying the goals to be achieved in the initial stage of apprenticeship and the policies that apprentices should take

The Development and Assessment on the Social Studies Handbook for Supporting Teacher’s Lesson Planning and Improvement : A Content Structure of Handbook which can be Applied to Pre-service and In-service Teacher Education

The purposes of this paper are to develop the draft of handbook for planning, teaching and accessing the class of social studies and evaluate effects of the handbook for teacher training and their professional development. The structure of the first draft was designed based on Kolb’s learning theory. The present results suggested that the usefulness of the contents structure was perceived by (1) pre-service teachers and (2) in-service teachers, and the possibility for application was also recognized by the teacher educator as (3) university professor who teach methods courses, (4) senior supervisor who is in charge of designing the professional development programs and (5) younger supervisor who is in charge of tutoring the novice teacher, but they illustrated their different types of the significances, limits and utilization according to their purposes and as well as their responsibility. The authors implicated the alterative design of the handbook based on Korthagen’s reflective learning model for meeting their purposes and solving the structural problems inherit in the handbook

Associations between low body mass index and mortality in patients with sepsis: A retrospective analysis of a cohort study in Japan.

BackgroundThe distribution of body mass in populations of Western countries differs from that of populations of East Asian countries. In East Asian countries, fewer people have a high body mass index than those in Western countries. In Japan, the country with the highest number of older adults worldwide, many people have a low body mass index. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between a low body mass index and mortality in patients with sepsis in Japan.MethodsWe conducted this retrospective analysis of 548 patients with severe sepsis from a multicenter prospective observational study. Multivariate logistic regression analyses determined the association between body mass index and 28-day mortality adjusted for age, sex, pre-existing conditions, the occurrence of septic shock, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores. Furthermore, the association between a low body mass index and 28-day mortality was analyzed.ResultsThe low body mass index group represented 18.8% of the study population (103/548); the normal body mass index group, 57.3% (314/548); and the high body mass index group, 23.9% (131/548), with the 28-day mortality rates being 21.4% (22/103), 11.2% (35/314), and 14.5% (19/131), respectively. In the low body mass index group, the crude and adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for 28-day mortality relative to the non-low body mass index (normal and high body mass index groups combined) group were 2.0 (1.1-3.4) and 2.3 (1.2-4.2), respectively.ConclusionA low body mass index was found to be associated with a higher 28-day mortality than the non-low body mass index in patients with sepsis in Japan. Given that older adults often have a low body mass index, these patients should be monitored closely to reduce the occurrence of negative outcomes

A Report on Overseas Teaching Practicum by Graduate Students in Elementary/Secondary Schools in the United States (Ⅷ)

The present short paper reports on the 8th overseas teaching practicum in the United States by 13 graduate students of Hiroshima University, Japan, partly organized by Hiroshima University Global Partnership School Center (GPSC) since 2006. The participating students were those majoring in elementary/secondary school education and they observed and also conducted lessons in English in six local public/private schools in North Carolina. The aim of this project was threefold: 1) to self-develop practical instructional competence by teaching pupils with different cultural backgrounds; 2) to enhance the abilities in developing teaching materials through hands-on teaching experiences in English; and 3) to acquire the abilities to design, implement and evaluate programs for promoting global partnership. Furthermore, the school project was followed by cross-cultural field study visits to NC State Capitol, Raleigh and the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C. Among the major achievements through this project was enhanced global awareness and classroom communication skills of the future teachers. It is hoped that this short but intensive experience in diverse school settings will broaden the Japanese students’ personal horizons and confidence in teaching

Fatigue Is a Predictor for Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Background and objectives: Despite potential significance of fatigue and its underlying components in the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases, epidemiologic data showing the link are virtually limited. This study was designed to examine whether fatigue symptoms or fatigue's underlying components are a predictor for cardiovascular diseases in high-risk subjects with ESRD