Search

Surveys of teacher preparation program (TPP) completers have become one widely used measure for program accountability and improvement, yet there is little evidence as to whether perceptions of preparation experiences predict the workforce outcomes of teachers. In the present study, we use statewide completer survey data from North Carolina to assess whether perceptions of preparation quality and opportunities to learn during teacher preparation predict completers’ value-added estimates, evaluation ratings, and retention. We perform multiple analyses to address validity concerns—that is, selection into TPPs, sorting into K-12 schools, simultaneity in survey and outcome measures, and differential survey response rates across TPPs. Results are not always consistent across these analyses; however, evidence suggests that completer perceptions are modestly associated with teacher effectiveness and retention. Continued research can further address validity concerns and build a body of evidence on completer perceptions and teacher outcomes.

Background/ContextIn response to a shortage of highly qualified teachers, states and school districts have enacted a number of policy innovations over the last two decades. While researchers have evaluated many of these reforms, little is known about the initial effectiveness of individuals with prior teaching assistant experience. We review existing literature related to teaching assistants and utilize administrative data to examine a number of characteristics of individuals who transition from work as teaching assistants to jobs as regular classroom teachers.Study PurposeIndividuals who become classroom teachers after having prior experience in schools working as teaching assistants may perform differently than other teachers due to additional exposure to classroom practices. The purpose of this study is to identify differences in the characteristics, effectiveness, and persistence of teachers who work as teaching assistants prior to entering the classroom as regular classroom teachers.PopulationWhile the population of focus varies somewhat across research questions, we generally focus on teachers with less than five years of experience working in elementary and middle school grades in all North Carolina public schools from 2005–2006 to 2009–2010. Additional data on teaching assistants employed from 2000–2001 to 2009–2010 in North Carolina public schools allows identification of individuals who had prior experience as teaching assistants in the state.Research DesignUsing administrative data records, we utilize quantitative descriptions of teacher characteristics and persistence to identify differences between teachers who entered the classroom with prior teaching assistant experience and other groups of teachers. For effectiveness comparisons, we estimate value-added models to compare the effectiveness of teachers in the identified groups of interest.Findings/ResultsOverall, we find that teachers who began as teaching assistants are (1) older, more racially diverse, lower-scoring on licensure exams, and more likely to enter the profession alternatively; (2) more effective in elementary-grades math and reading; and (3) more likely to remain as classroom teachers in North Carolina public schools.Conclusions/RecommendationsThese findings indicate that former teaching assistants represent a quality and highly persistent labor source and call for continued research to understand how additional exposure to classrooms benefits early-career teacher performance.

Objective: To explore treatment response to Osmotic Release Oral System®(OROS) methylphenidate in children with ADHD with and without comorbid learning disability (LD). Method: Data were analyzed from two 6-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover studies evaluating individually determined doses of OROS methylphenidate versus placebo in 135 children (ages 9 to 12 years) with ADHD with or without an LD in reading, math, or both. The sample was demographically diverse, with 31% females and more than 40% minority, predominantly African American and Hispanic. On two laboratory school days, participants received either OROS methylphenidate or placebo and were given a battery of cognitive and behavioral tests. Results: Treatment with OROS methylphenidate led to improvement in ADHD Rating Scale scores for participants with or without comorbid LD. Both groups performed better during treatment with OROS methylphenidate than placebo on measures of cognitive skills (i.e., Test of Variables of Attention, Finger Windows Backwards), academically related tasks (i.e., Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, Test of Handwriting Skills–Revised, Permanent Product Math Test), and observed classroom behavior (i.e., Swanson, Kotkin, Alger, M-Flynn, and Pelham Scale). Conclusion: In children with ADHD with or without comorbid LD, behavior and performance improved during treatment with OROS methylphenidate.

Objective: The authors evaluated the time course of the treatment effect of Osmotic-Release Oral System methylphenidate (OROS® MPH) HCl (Concerta®, Raritan, NJ) CII in children with ADHD. Method: Data were combined from two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over, analog classroom studies in children (9-12 years) with ADHD. Participants received an individualized dose of placebo or OROS® MPH on two laboratory school days. Permanent Product Math Test and Swanson, Kotkin, Agler, M-Flynn, and Pelham scores were evaluated 0.5 hr before dosing and 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, and 12.5 hr post dose. Analysis used a repeated-measures mixed model. Results: Treatment effects were present at all postdose assessment points ( p < .0001 for all comparisons, n = 139). Adverse events were similar to previous reports for OROS® MPH. Conclusion: A robust treatment effect occurred with OROS® MPH; onset was at 1 hr and persisted for at least 12.5 hr after dosing.

Objective. To assess effects of OROS methylphenidate on cognitive and academic tasks in 9 to 12 year olds with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods. A double-blind, within-subject, crossover design was used to compare OROS methylphenidate with placebo in a laboratory classroom setting on several cognitive and academic tasks for 68 children who met randomization criteria. Results. Performance on the following measures was significantly better when children received individually optimized OROS methylphenidate than placebo: math fluency and accuracy measured by the Permanent Product Math Test, ADHD symptoms observed in the laboratory setting, computerized indices of attention and impulsivity as measured by the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), and visual—spatial working memory (Finger Windows Backwards). Study medication was well tolerated; adverse events were generally consistent with previous reports. Conclusions. OROS methylphenidate improves performance on measures of attention and vigilance, behavior, and working memory in a laboratory school setting in 9 to 12 year olds with ADHD.

Occupational health professionals need to know more about the health, worklife, and family life of international business travelers (IBTs). This descriptive correlational study, in two parts, examines the physiological and psychosocial experiences associated with business travel for a sample of 140 employees from western Canada's oil and gas industry. Results for Part One show that 76% of IBTs report travel related health problems, 74% have jet lag, 45% have travelers' diarrhea and gastrointestinal complaints, 12% to 16% have climate adaptation problems, and 2% report accidents and minor injuries. High risk behaviors include not carrying a first aid travel kit (54%); drinking more alcohol than ordinarily (21%); and neglecting food, water, and antimalarial precautions (6% to 14%). Other risk factors include age, length of stay, destination, pre-travel medical examinations, pre-travel advice, and eating and accommodation facilities. Findings show that IBTs are at risk for travel related physiological health problems. Implications for practitioners call for increased occupational health expertise in pre-travel preparation, follow up post-travel and regular health surveillance for employees who travel on international business.

L, a 47-year-old female of Choctaw descent, was first identified as a potential synaesthete on the basis of self-report data regarding digit-colour associations. Upon completion of the identification procedures typified in the literature, it was concluded that L met the classic memory-performance criteria used to identify synaesthetic ability. A series of Stroop-type tasks were then performed to identify the dynamics of her synaesthetic experiences. The results of these analyses provided three findings of note. First, the clear pattern of response-time differences between L and the control group suggests that tasks designed to produce involuntary divisions of attention can be an effective means by which to demonstrate that synaesthetic experiences are involuntary but elicited. Second, the significantly slower performance by L on a negative-priming Stroop list shaped around her colour – digit associations indicates the presence of a lexical component in her synaesthetic experience. Third, the use of a manual colour-classification task for which a verbal response was not employed served to confirm the presence of a lexical component in L's synaesthetic experiences. The implications of these results for current synaesthetic theories are then discussed. Finally, a clustering solution of a portion of L's colour–digit experiences is presented, along with the ramifications of its results on the nature of L's perceptual experience.

This paper examines the technical and institutional factors leading to the 'fail ure' of a zaibatsu — a pre-World War II Japanese form of conglomerate organ ization that combined market and hierarchical elements. It suggests that coor dination and legitimacy problems can be particular threats to the survival of some intermediate organizational forms. Drawing on historical and archival materials, the paper chronicles the collapse of the Suzuki zaibatsu, a business empire with sales that at one point equalled 10 percent of Japan's GNP. Suzuki's coordination problems and resource misallocations were the outcome of three factors: (a) the lack of mechanisms to coordinate relations between operating units and the holding company, (b) the failure of the 'owners', in this case a merchant family, to correct managerial inadequacies and, (c) the parallel failure of the group's 'organ bank' to discipline managers. Suzuki's legitimacy problems included a shortage of support from political parties, the bureaucracy and the media. This jeopardized Suzuki's ability to compete with other zaibatsu for public resources and gain institutional support that might have allowed survival. The implications of the case study for future research on the 'failure' of intermediate organizational forms are discussed.

Arterial thrombosis of the upper extremity is an uncommon but well recognized result of recent arterial trauma. We describe an unusual case of upper extremity arterial thromboembolism which arose from a post-traumatic aneurysm ten years following the traumatic event. This report demonstrates the importance of inquiring about episodes of previous trauma in all cases of distal peripheral arterial embolism.

Phenytoin, known to cause hyperglycemia in diabetic and non-diabetic patients, was chronically administered to a chlorpropamide-controlled diabetic patient. Admitted to the hospital with a blood glucose of 461 mg/dL and a β-ketone level of 113 mg/dL, the patient's condition could not be controlled with increasing daily dosages of NPH insulin and regular insulin coverage. Within five days of discontinuing the phenytoin, the blood sugars began to decline, leading to decreasing insulin requirements. Prior to discharge, the patient was changed from insulin to chlorpropamide. Follow-up during subsequent clinic visits has revealed well-controlled blood sugar levels.