A Descriptive Case Study : The Implementation of a Field-Based Master\u27s Program

Purpose of study. This study focuses on the implementation of the Field-based Master\u27s Program at Midwestern Christian University. The three-step Adoption Change Model (Fullan, 1991) guided me through this innovation: (1) adoption, (2) implementation, and (3) institutionalization of the program. This 2-year study describes the program\u27s adoption and implementation stages. Institutionalization was not included as it takes 3-10 years to occur. Three research questions guided this study. Research questions. (1) What did the teacher training in the uses of processes look like during the initial summer session of the Field-based Master\u27s Program? (2) What did the transfer of training in the use of processes look like in the participants\u27 classrooms? (3) What were the teachers\u27 reactions, concerns, and recommendations throughout the implementation of the Field-based Master\u27s Program? Summary of research question answers. Initial teacher training was designed using the Joyce-Showers Training Model (1995). The participants were in a Workshop Design environment (Joyce, 1992) at the university that allowed the professors to model what the participants expected to learn. The Workplace Design (Joyce, 1992) facilitated transfer of training to the classroom. Cohort groups provided support during transfer of training the first year of implementation but discontinued during the second year. Four themes emerged when analyzing the teacher\u27s reactions: (a) Learning and Implementing Strategies, (b) Cohort Groups, (c) Unclear Communication and Expectations, and (d) Feeling Overwhelmed and Frustrated. Conclusions. This study confirmed much of the research on educational change. Its contributions to the literature include: (a) documentation of a Field-based Master\u27s Program affiliated with a religious institution of higher education and a parochial school system, and (b) presentation of a rationale for continued literature review as a guide throughout the process of change

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead