Promoting STEM Teacher Reflection through Self-Evaluation

Evaluators face serious challenges assessing the impact of teaching practice on student outcomes, such as for assessing the impact of grant-funded teacher training programs. To overcome these barriers, the evaluators of an NSF-funded teacher scholarship program elected to coach teachers on conducting their own evaluations of student outcomes. To facilitate this process, we collaboratively developed templates and guidance for teachers’ measurement and reporting of student growth, provided training and technical assistance as teachers prepared student outcome data, and guided teachers in reflecting on results to improve their practice. The evaluators then aggregated fellows’ student outcome reports to assess the program’s overall impact. We discuss challenges that prompted the approach, explain how we improved it over time, and reflect on strengths and shortcomings. Beyond contributing to summative program evaluation, this model for teacher self-evaluation enhanced participating teachers’ capacity for self-reflection and ability to continuously improve their teaching practice beyond the fellowship

Promoting STEM Teacher Reflection through Self-Evaluation

Evaluators face serious challenges assessing the impact of teaching practice on student outcomes, such as for assessing the impact of grant-funded teacher training programs. To overcome these barriers, the evaluators of an NSF-funded teacher scholarship program elected to coach teachers on conducting their own evaluations of student outcomes. To facilitate this process, we collaboratively developed templates and guidance for teachers’ measurement and reporting of student growth, provided training and technical assistance as teachers prepared student outcome data, and guided teachers in reflecting on results to improve their practice. The evaluators then aggregated fellows’ student outcome reports to assess the program’s overall impact. We discuss challenges that prompted the approach, explain how we improved it over time, and reflect on strengths and shortcomings. Beyond contributing to summative program evaluation, this model for teacher self-evaluation enhanced participating teachers’ capacity for self-reflection and ability to continuously improve their teaching practice beyond the fellowship

Crystal Structure of the Ancient, Fe-S Scaffold IscA Reveals a Novel Protein Fold

IscA belongs to an ancient family of proteins responsible for iron-sulfur cluster assembly in essential metabolic pathways preserved throughout evolution. We report here the 2.3 Å resolution crystal structure of Escherichia coli IscA, a novel fold in which mixed β-sheets form a compact α-β sandwich domain. In contrast to the highly mobile secondary structural elements within the bacterial Fe-S scaffold protein IscU, a protein which is thought to have a similar function, the great majority of the amino acids that are conserved in IscA homologues are located in elements that constitute a well-ordered fold. However, the 10-residue C-terminal tail segment that contains two invariant cysteines critical for the Fe-S-binding function of a cyanobacterial (Synechocystis PCC) IscA homologue is not ordered in our structure. In addition, the crystal packing reveals a helical assembly that is constructed from two possible tetrameric oligomers of IscA

Aviation Managers’ Perspective on the Importance of Education

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that working adults with at least a four-year college degree earned an annual average salary of $63,400 compared to the$24,300 salary of high school graduates with no college. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental study was to survey managers in the U.S. aviation industry to describe their perspective on how education has impacted them. Following a robust review of the literature, we analyzed the responses from 103 managers’ and discovered that there is a significant association between degree importance and level of education among aviation managers that has application to professional practice. The resulting recommendations including the need for aspiring aviation managers to obtain degrees and the top three most preferred degrees for new hires to obtain. We also provide several recommended areas of future study for aviation, management, or education scholars to explore

\u3ci\u3eLissodelphis peroni\u3c/i\u3e

Order Cetacea, Suborder Odontoceti, Family Delphinidae. The subfamily Lissodelphinae has been proposed for this genus (Fraser and Purves, 1960), but it has not been universally accepted (Kasuya, 1973). There are two species in the genus: Lissodelphis peronii (southern right whale dolphin) and L. borealis (northern right whale dolphin). Lissodelphis peronii currently contains no subspecies

Estuarine Sediment Deposition during Wetland Restoration: A GIS and Remote Sensing Modeling Approach

Restoration of the industrial salt flats in the San Francisco Bay, California is an ongoing wetland rehabilitation project. Remote sensing maps of suspended sediment concentration, and other GIS predictor variables were used to model sediment deposition within these recently restored ponds. Suspended sediment concentrations were calibrated to reflectance values from Landsat TM 5 and ASTER using three statistical techniques -- linear regression, multivariate regression, and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), to map suspended sediment concentrations. Multivariate and ANN regressions using ASTER proved to be the most accurate methods, yielding r2 values of 0.88 and 0.87, respectively. Predictor variables such as sediment grain size and tidal frequency were used in the Marsh Sedimentation (MARSED) model for predicting deposition rates for three years. MARSED results for a fully restored pond show a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 66.8 mm (<1) between modeled and field observations. This model was further applied to a pond breached in November 2010 and indicated that the recently breached pond will reach equilibrium levels after 60 months of tidal inundation

An Inquiry into the Aviation Management Education Paradigm Shift

Working adults with four-year degrees from accredited colleges or universities earn, on average, almost three times more than individuals without a degree. This pay gap led Newcomer and his colleagues to study attitudes of aviation and aerospace managers towards education. That study found that managers valued education in new hires, even though they did not deem it critical to their own positions. That finding indicated a potential paradigm shift towards the perceived value of education in the industry. In the current qualitative, phenomenological research, we interviewed 14 managers from various capacities within the aviation and aerospace industries to determine the relative importance of education, certification, and experience when hiring or selecting new team members. The results indicated that managers value experience most when making staffing decisions. Next, they value certification or education, depending on the technical or managerial role. A majority of the managers did express that their attitudes towards the value of education had become stronger over their careers. The study has hiring implications for aviation and aerospace managers, as well as employees, in terms of what to focus on in interviews and in reviewing candidate credentials

Efficacy of Oral Administration of Sodium Iodide to Prevent Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex

Background: The prevention of bovine respiratory disease complex (BRD) in beef cattle is important to maintaining health and productivity of calves in feeding operations. Objective: Determine whether BRD bacterial and viral pathogens are susceptible to the lactoperoxidase/hydrogen peroxide/ iodide (LPO/H2O2/I-) system in vitro and to determine whether the oral administration of sodium iodide (NaI) could achieve sufficient concentrations of iodine (I) in the respiratory secretions of weaned beef calves to inactivate these pathogens in vivo. Animals: Sixteen weaned, apparently healthy, commercial beef calves from the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine teaching herd. Methods: In vitro viral and bacterial assays were performed to determine susceptibility to the LPO/H2O2/I- system at varying concentrations of NaI. Sixteen randomly selected, healthy crossbred beef weanlings were administered 70 mg/kg NaI, or water, orally in a blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Blood and nasal secretions were collected for 72 hours and analyzed for I- concentration. Results: Bovine herpesvirus-1, parainfluenza-3, Mannheimia haemolytica and Bibersteinia trehalosi were all inactivated or inhibited in vitro by the LPO/H2O2/I- reaction. Oral administration of NaI caused a marked increase in nasal fluid I concentration with a Cmax = 181 (1,420 mM I), T12, a sufficient concentration to inactivate these pathogens in vitro. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: In vitro, the LPO/H2O2/I- system inactivates and inhibits common pathogens associated with BRD. The administration of oral NaI significantly increases the I concentration of nasal fluid indicating that this system might be useful in preventing bovine respiratory infections