Developing a Performance Assessment System From the Ground Up: Lessons Learned From Three Linked Learning Pathways

This document is designed to offer practitioners -- teachers, principals, and central office administrators -- models, tools, and examples from the Linked Learning field for developing a performance assessment system. This document describes the challenges and successes practitioners encountered when developing and implementing authentic performance-based assessment practices and systems in Linked Learning pathways as well as the conditions that enabled this work. It is the product of a 1-year study of three grade-level teams, located in three different Linked Learning pathways across California. These teams participated in a 2-year performance assessment demonstration project led by ConnectEd and Envision

The Internet Pyramid

Many activity-based articles describe how the Internet can help develop higher level thinking skills. But these skills can be used and assessed only after students have a basic working knowledge of the Internet. This article presents a framework for teaching elementary students to use the Internet in the one-computer classroom

Using join.me to Help Library Patrons

Article describes the process used by an Informatics Librarian to test out and implement join.me, a screen sharing service. Join.me is fairly intuitive and has been invaluable in helping patrons resolve their password and login issues. It has also been useful in demonstrating searching strategies and helping patrons with problems downloading pdfs

The Adverse Effects of Long-Term Corticosteroid Use

Corticosteroids are an often prescribed anti-inflammatory medication. They are used to treat disease processes of every system of the body. Those disease processes or procedures for which corticosteroids are often prescribed are cancer, bone marrow transplants, collagenous diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus), rheumatoid arthritis, leukemia, and anemia. However, despite the therapeutic benefits of corticosteroids, many adverse effects are possible. Gastrointestinal difficulties, steroid myopathy, hyperglycemia, osteoporosis, impaired cellular immunity, decreased neuropsychological functioning, and avascular necrosis are just a few of the possible adverse effects. Patients receiving corticosteroids will often be seen by physical therapists for either their primary or secondary diagnoses. Physical therapists are not often instructed in the possible adverse effects of corticosteroids that may occur. The purpose of this study was to create an increased awareness for health professionals (specifically physical therapists) concerning the possible adverse effects of corticosteroids and how these adverse effects may influence patient evaluation, treatment, and progression. A review of the literature was done. The adverse effects covered were avascular necrosis, osteoporosis, impaired cellular immunity, GI disturbances, neuropsychological difficulties, and steroid myopathy. For each of the selected adverse effects, the physiologic mechanism, clinical research, and therapeutic intervention were discussed. Finally, precautions or suggestions for the physical therapist relative to working with the patient on corticosteroids was offered

A Handbook for Coaches of Women\u27s High School Basketball

In developing a successful basketball program there are certain components that must be present. Creating a philosophy based on the beliefs of the coach and the concept of expectations and goal setting are imperative to long-term success. Organization of the overall program including its philosophy, goals, and how to go about teaching the correct mechanics and ftmdamentals are essential in creating a handbook for women\u27s high school basketball coaches. The purpose of this project was to create a handbook of activities and strategies to be used by individuals who are seeking to coach basketball at the high school level. A review of related literature was conducted. Information from other high school and college basketball programs was gathered, analyzed, and then presented in a high school basketball coaches handbook

The Effects of Knowledge of Accrued Clinical Clock Hours on Supervisors\u27 Evaluations of Clinical Competence

Supervision in speech-language pathology is one facet of the field in which all speech-language pathologists have had to engage. The more that is known about the process of supervision the better future speech-language pathologists can be prepared to interact in a professional setting. Many variables are present in supervision related to the field of speech-language pathology. One variable which has received only minimal attention relates to the effect knowledge about a student clinician\u27s number of accrued clinical clock hours has on the evaluation of the clinician\u27s skills. The assumption is often made that a student clinician with more clinical clock hours will provide more efficacious services than a student clinician with fewer clinical clock hours. It has been found that during interactions with student clinicians, supervisors regularly regard all clinicians in a similar manner, and in evaluations, supervisors do not use the information of the amount of accrued clinical clock hours to determine the effectiveness of clinician\u27s interactions. The purpose of this study was, then, to determine if knowledge of student clinicians\u27 accrued clinical clock hours influenced supervisors\u27 evaluations of student clinicians. Subjects were 26 university supervisors from six midwestern states. Stimuli were videotapes of a beginning clinician with 19 accrued clinical clock hours interacting with a client and an advanced clinician with 225 accrued clinical clock hours interacting with a different client. Subjects rated the advanced and beginning clinicians\u27 performances on a nine-point Likert scale using the Cognitive Behavioral System (Leith, 1989). All data were group analyzed according to one of six treatment conditions by information versus no information and by one order effect versus the second order effect. Response similarities and response differences were calculated by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) procedures. The data revealed no significant difference in evaluations based on knowledge of accrued clinical clock hours. Implications for future research were reviewed

Improvisation, truth, and archetyping: Establishing the tools and precepts of comedic acting

This research set out to prove that truth and archetyping are the primary precepts of comedic acting, and that improvisation is justifiably the most prevalent pedagogical tool for instilling these precepts in the comedic actor. To prove this theory, a comprehensive study of the history of the genre was conducted

Maternity care: a human rights issue?

All women need the ability to access midwifery-led care at the primary or first level of care, enabling them to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly about, their reproductive health. In establishing women’s control of their own reproductive health, there is likely to be a reduction in reliance on unnecessary interventions in birth. The choices of maternity care provided in Australia are at present discriminatory. On the pretence of fundinglimitations, community based midwifery-led models of care are not widely available. Such options are limited to so called ‘alternative birthing’ arrangements for a limited number of women, mainly in low socio-economic groups or ‘at risk’ groups such as teenagers and Aboriginal women. Whilst the increased mortality and morbidity rates, and poor social circumstances, of women in these groups clearly demonstrate their need for better care, these women may be further marginalised by being identified as needing special attention. Furthermore, we argue that a strategic reallocation of present funding from mainstream medicalised care would enable all women to access midwifery-led models of care, which are not only generally more cost effective than standard care but importantly offer them the option of choosing one-to-one midwifery (Maternity Coalition 2002). Until Australian governments stop limiting the real maternity care choices available to women, and make a political commitment to provide care based on consumer needs, rather than health professionals’ preferences, Australian women will not be able to exercise their fundamental human right to decide freely on matters related to their reproductive health, for these decisions are currently strongly constrained by what governments are prepared or encouraged to provide