Part II: Professional Development Activities and Professional Learning Community in the Mid-America Region of the Association of Christian Schools International

Current trends in the education literature currently point to school leadership as responsible for the professional growth of the faculty (Fullan, 2010; Reeves, 2006) leading to the desired academic growth of the students. The Christian school community, however, has limited resources compared to those in the public sector. Unfortunately, the literature rarely includes the 400,000 teachers or the school leaders who have chosen to work in private education and their influence on the lives of over 5 million children (Broughman & Swaim, 2006). By examining effective professional development and its relationship to the development of professional learning communities specifically for Christian schools, this study’s findings provide much needed research for leadership in the private school community. Because participating in professional development is important to continued teacher growth and quality as well as student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2004; Haycock, 1998; National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 1996), it is hoped this study will lead to improved teacher and student performance under the guidance of school leadership. While Headley’s (2003) work surveyed 60 ACSI schools, providing an overview of professional activities most commonly provided for teachers in those schools, additional knowledge is needed about which activities are of most value to professional learning community development, leading to teacher growth and student success

An Examination of Professional Development Activities Available to Teachers in the Mid-America Region of the Association of Christian Schools International

The spotlight in education in recent years has been focused on the areas of professional development activities for teachers and the development of professional learning communities. However, the majority of research has omitted the Christian school community which requires its own body of research examining the unique conditions in which both private school students and educators learn and work. While the need for student achievement remains constant in both public and private schools, the social, philosophical, political, financial, and emotional contexts are quite dissimilar. The purpose of this study is to examine the availability and utilization of professional development activities in select schools in the Mid-America Region of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) that support the development of professional learning communities (PLC). By identifying effective and affordable professional development for Christian schools, this study provides usable information that can minimize teacher isolation and encourage the professional development necessary for continued teacher growth and quality as well as student achievement. The findings also support the need for teachers to become less isolated and confident in their craft through engagement in appropriate professional activities. As teacher quality and student achievement increase, this may also positively affect the future of the Christian school community, strengthening enrollment and stability

Equitable Student Engagement: a Correlation Between Personalized Learning, Student Engagement, and Poverty Level

The student population in classrooms across America is growing increasingly diverse in socio-economic background, schema, and learning styles; however, far too many academic programs are designed for a “one size fits all approach” that does not engage students. Educational leaders who promote new ways to personalize instruction in order to improve student engagement reap benefits far beyond what is expected. The researcher investigates the relationship of personalized learning and student engagement and socio-economic status. Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of student engagement as a means to improve academic achievement, school climate, and family and community involvement. The researcher includes peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate a positive correlation between personalized learning and student engagement; student engagement and academic achievement, faculty engagement and impacts on the student experience, and the long term effects of community and family engagement on student well-being. The researcher describes the findings as correlation coefficients measuring effect sizes. The greatest effect size presented in the study demonstrates the correlation of student engagement and poverty level

Beta Functions of 2d Adjoint QCD

We discuss the long-distance physics of 2d adjoint QCD when it is viewed as an effective field theory, and determine the beta functions for its two classically-marginal four-fermi operators. These four-fermion terms preserve the invertible symmetries of the kinetic terms, and they have important implications at long distances if they are generated at short distances. Our results are likely to be important for future numerical lattice Monte Carlo studies of 2d adjoint QCD.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; v3: added to lattice discussion in conclusio

Grandchildren in the Classroom: Student Teaching for the Next Generation

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) released the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) report on clinical preparation and partnerships for improved student learning, in November 2010. The report stresses the need for candidates to “blend practitioner knowledge with academic knowledge as they learn by doing” (NCATE, 2010, p. ii), stressing the importance of clinical preparation and P-12 partnerships in teacher preparation. The NCATE BRP Report calls for the transformation of teacher education through the application of clinical practice. Teacher candidates must have additional opportunities to “blend practitioner knowledge with academic knowledge as they learn by doing” (NCATE, 2010, p. ii). In order to ensure consistency in teacher preparation programs, the panel identified 10 design principles with clear strategies that facilitate the creation of clinically based teacher preparation programs. The 10 design principles for clinically based teacher preparation programs, as defined by NCATE (2010), are illustrated in the program that has been developed by the Education Division of the University of Pikeville, a private university situated in central Appalachia, in the east-most county in Kentucky. As clinical experiences –such as student teaching– are restyled, institutions must employ design principles and research to create learning experiences that focus on collaboration, co-teaching, and data-driven practice. This paper describes how these ideas have been implemented in the University of Pikeville’s education program and how they specifically relate to the ten principles laid out in the BRP Report (2010). The clinical elements of this program have evolved over several years in tandem with state regulations and current scholarship. The program is moving toward better serving teacher candidates in the program as it embraces new guidelines for teacher training. Co-teaching models, where both the cooperating teacher and teacher candidate share instructional responsibilities, provide greater opportunities for novices to learn from practice and increased student achievement

1-form symmetry versus large N QCD

We show that large N QCD does not have an emergent $\mathbb{Z}_N$ 1-form symmetry. Our results suggest that a symmetry-based understanding of (approximate) confinement in QCD would require some further generalization of the notion of generalized global symmetries.Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures. v2: extra reference, a couple of clarification

11th Annual Symposium of the School of Science, Engineering and Health

Welcome to the 11th Annual Symposium of the School of Science, Engineering and Health! This event continues a strong tradition of annual events designed to showcase student and faculty innovation, creativity and productivity in academic departments largely from within the School of Science, Engineering and Health. We look forward to incorporating new facets and improvements each year. For example, new this year: project posters will be presented by junior Engineering students during one large, multi- location, mid-afternoon poster session break that will include presentation by many other departments

Pediatric Influenza Prevention and Control

Global evaluation of influenza vaccination in children indicates that current recommendations are not followed. Most children at high risk for influenza-related complications do not receive the vaccine, and increased efforts are needed to protect them. Furthermore, immunizing healthy infants 6–23 months of age and their close contacts should be strongly encouraged. Vaccinations are recommended for children with recurrent acute otitis media or recurrent respiratory tract infections and possibly for healthy daycare and school-age children because of the potential socioeconomic implications of influenza. Issues that need to be addressed include educating physicians and parents concerning influenza-related illness and complications, cost-effectiveness and safety of licensed vaccines, adequate vaccine supply, and availability of intranasal products

The Effects of Access Restrictions and Communication Strategies for Divisive Environmental Management

In 2018, the U.S. National Park Service announced a controversial plan to translocate 20−30 gray wolves (Canis lupus) to Isle Royale National Park to increase genetic diversity and ultimately the dwindling wolf population. Media were restricted physical access during the translocations, citing safety concerns for the wolves and management team, as well as logistical challenges because of the remoteness of the park. Given these restrictions, we used interviews and quantitative analyses of news stories and press releases to examine what communication strategies the National Park Service and its partners deployed and how access restriction affected the way news outlets covered the events. By identifying source diversity groups, we found U.S. government sources were predominately featured with few other source types included, and that coverage heavily relied on press release information. We discuss the implications of this communication strategy and potential consequences for access restrictions when covering divisive events in remote locations