Web-Enhanced Instruction: A Mixed Bag of Contradictions and Possibilities for Doctoral Education

This article explores some of the contradictions and possibilities of web-enhanced learning through the qualitative analysis of a pedagogical experiment. The parameters for this study are, broadly, doctoral education and, specifically, one doctoral course. However, extrapolations beyond these lenses are ventured

Web-Enhanced Instruction: A Mixed Bag

Professionals are being expected to function in a progressively complex environment in all fields (Twale & Kochan, 2000). Technology plays a significant role in this challenge (Diem, 2002; Karlen, 2001), particularly for educational leaders (Mendis, 2002). Teaching and leading have become increasingly multifaceted art forms with the advent of learning technologies. University and school faculty are being expected to design, deliver, and assess successful online courses (Fuks, Gerosa, & de Lucena, 2002; Mendis, 2002), often without the necessary training and support (Walker, 2002). As face-to-face contact becomes reduced through online environments, effective communication becomes essential and barriers more pronounced (e.g., Creanor, 2002). It is important to note that distance education studies have associated high-quality interaction with satisfaction for remote learners (e.g., Sorensen & Baylen, 2000). The results that this study shares provide support for this important finding in the context of doctoral learning

Teacher Perceptions of Systems-Driven Quality Teaching Initiatives

Teacher Perceptions of Systems-Driven Quality Teaching Initiatives by Carol Mullen

Delivery Matters—or Does It? A Snapshot of Online Versus In-Person Instruction

Online instruction and computer-based innovations in brick-and-mortar institutions are here to stay, but the study of distance delivery is lacking. Areas needing more attention include instructional effectiveness and student satisfaction. Educational quality, especially in online classes, should be monitored and evaluated to ensure learning, collaboration, and success, as well as to gain knowledge and improve practice. The purpose of this paper is to encourage scholar–practitioner dialogue on and comparison of issues pertaining to online and in-person instruction for adult learners. The research question guiding this exploratory qualitative study was, Are there any differences in the learning performance of two graduate cohorts—one online, the other in-person—taking the same course in a given semester? Teaching professors committed to innovative technology that facilitates student success likely find themselves weighing the pros and cons of teaching electronically as opposed to in-person. The anticipated contribution of this study is to inform faculty who may be hesitant to teach graduate courses or who are seeking ways to enhance their curriculum for online delivery. Researchers of instructional practice may find the structure of inquiry, results, and recommendations useful for their own purposes

Mining From the Middle: Making Resources Count at Work

As strategic middle managers, department chairs are at the nexus between their academic unit and college, and they must contend with the competing priorities of these different domains. These leaders are not only change agents but also fiscal agents tasked with budget and personnel responsibilities that can be turned into opportunities for ensuring the best return on investment, even in financially lean times. This workshop will focus on how to capitalize on financial opportunities that extend beyond one’s operating account and other allocations. How can we maximize opportunities to support and develop faculty, students and staff, given the inevitable constraints within public state institutions? One way is to produce greater efficiencies within the academic unit and identify resources from an array of campus constituents and extramurally with community partners and funding agents. Discussions will focus on promoting faculty development using targeted incentives and strategies. Examples include mining institutional support, networking with fiscal agents, proposing matched funding, creating faculty development grants, providing seed funding, negotiating hiring packages, collaborating with development officers, fostering strategic graduate assistantships, rewarding faculty productivity and sponsoring revenue-generating courses. Initiatives such as faculty development grant programs that build upon the procurement of funds, grants and contracts will make connections evident among funds, initiatives and outcomes. The presenter will use specific examples from her experiences of leading a department and school. Question prompts and case scenarios will be provided and dialogue will be a goal

A View of Professional Learning Communities Through Three Frames: Leadership, organization, and culture

In this discussion of professional learning communities (PLCs) in North American public schools, we examine three theoretical frames – leadership, organization, and culture. Issues related to learning are infused throughout our presentation of the frames. Based on our analysis of the current literature on this topic, PLCs offer a promising tool for system-wide change and collaborative mentorship in public schools. Implications for collaborative mentorship within PLCs are uncovered in relation to the professional learning of teachers and leaders and their community development. We dovetail the literature on learning, learning communities, and mentoring in order to identify such expanded possibilities for school teams that are supported by practical examples of change.Au sein de cette discussion sur les communautés d’apprentissages professionnelles (CAPs) dans les écoles publiques nord-américaines, nous faisons l’examen du phénomène via trois cadres théoriques – le leadership, l’organisation et la culture. Les problématiques reliées à l’apprentissage sont également introduites à travers les mêmes cadres. Suite à notre analyse de la littérature courante sur le sujet, les CAPs semblent un outil prometteur pour faciliter des changements systémiques étendus et des initiatives de mentorats collaboratifs dans les écoles publiques. Les tenants et aboutissants du mentorat collaboratifs sont dévoilés en mettant en évidence leurs liens avec les apprentissages professionnels des enseignants et des leaders en regard du développement de leur communauté. Ce faisant, nous combinons la littérature sur l’apprentissage, les communautés d’apprentissages et le mentorat afin d’identifier de nouvelles possibilités pour les équipes-écoles qui sont appuyées par des expériences pratiques de changement

Innovative Use of Technology Media to Establish a Common Research Agenda in Educational Leadership

This study utilized innovative technologies toestablish a common research agenda among senior and juniorprofessors. The focus is the use of innovative technology-infusedmethodology by (1) individual blogging about leadership at midcenturyto six prompts, (2) collaborative analysis of the six blogprompts and other comments posted at the NCPEA TalkingPoints Blog, and (3) utilizing other media to encourage theresearch habits of these junior professors and advance the studyof educational leadership

Serum apoptosis markers related to liver damage in chronic hepatitis C: sFas as a marker of advanced fibrosis in children and adults while M30 of severe steatosis only in children

Background: Liver biopsy represents the gold standard for evaluating damage and progression in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC); however, developing noninvasive tests that can predict liver injury represents a growing medical need. Considering that hepatocyte apoptosis plays a role in CHC pathogenesis; the aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of different apoptosis markers that correlate with liver injury in a cohort of pediatric and adult patients with CHC. Methods: Liver biopsies and concomitant serum samples from 22 pediatric and 22 adult patients with CHC were analyzed. Histological parameters were evaluated. In serum samples soluble Fas (sFas), caspase activity and caspase-generated neoepitope of the CK-18 proteolytic fragment (M30) were measured. Results: sFas was associated with fibrosis severity in pediatric (significant fibrosis p=0.03, advanced fibrosis p=0.01) and adult patients (advanced fibrosis p=0.02). M30 levels were elevated in pediatric patients with severe steatosis (p=0.01) while in adults no relation with any histological variable was observed. Caspase activity levels were higher in pediatric samples with significant fibrosis (p=0.03) and they were associated with hepatitis severity (p=0.04) in adult patients. The diagnostic accuracy evaluation demonstrated only a good performance for sFas to evaluate advanced fibrosis both in children (AUROC: 0.812) and adults (AUROC: 0.800) as well as for M30 to determine steatosis severity in children (AUROC: 0.833). Conclusions: Serum sFas could be considered a possible marker of advanced fibrosis both in pediatric and adult patient with CHC as well as M30 might be a good predictor of steatosis severity in children.Fil: Valva, Pamela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez". Servicio de Anatomía Patológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Casciato, Paola. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lezama, Carol. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Galoppo, Marcela. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Gadano, Adrián Carlos. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Galdame, Omar. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Galoppo, María Cristina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Mullen, Eduardo. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: de Matteo, Elena Noemí. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez". Servicio de Anatomía Patológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Preciado, María Victoria. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez". Servicio de Anatomía Patológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Early inflammatory cytokine expression in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with spontaneous intraventricular hemorrhage

We investigated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) expression of inflammatory cytokines and their relationship with spontaneous intracerebral and intraventricular hemorrhage (ICH, IVH) and perihematomal edema (PHE) volumes in patients with acute IVH. Twenty-eight adults with IVH requiring external ventricular drainage for obstructive hydrocephalus had cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected for up to 10 days and had levels of interleukin-1α (IL-1α), IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), and C-C motif chemokine ligand CCL2 measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Median [IQR] ICH and IVH volumes at baseline (T0) were 19.8 [5.8–48.8] and 14.3 [5.3–38] mL respectively. Mean levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, and CCL2 peaked early compared to day 9–10 (p < 0.05) and decreased across subsequent time periods. Levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and CCL2 had positive correlations with IVH volume at days 3–8 whereas positive correlations with ICH volume occurred earlier at day 1–2. Significant correlations were found with PHE volume for IL-6, IL-10 and CCL2 at day 1–2 and with relative PHE at days 7–8 or 9–10 for IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. Time trends of CSF cytokines support experimental data suggesting association of cerebral inflammatory responses with ICH/IVH severity. Pro-inflammatory markers are potential targets for injury reduction