Search

Objectives: Research almost always culminates in the communication of findings. Despite the necessity of grant and manuscript writing throughout academic careers, scientific trainees often receive little guided practice in written communication. To fill this gap, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a voluntary writing initiative for biomedical students at a research-intensive (R1) university in the midwestern United States called Writing Initiative in Neuroscience (WIN). Method: WIN consisted of didactic and workshop components. The didactic component included discussions with topic-specific experts on writing grants and manuscripts for the public and for non-academic scientific careers. The workshop component consisted of small group-based peer review of participant writing samples. Student self-enrollment consistently filled all available seats over three separate cohorts, including those formed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student self-assessments were implemented to determine improvements quantitatively and qualitatively in writing and peer-review across 3 years of WIN programming. Results: Student self-assessment of writing skills before and after programming revealed improved scientific writing competency with medium or large effect sizes. Qualitative self-assessments indicated perceived improvements in writing competency and confidence. Collectively, students who participated in WIN improved their writing and communication skills and gained experience in providing and receiving feedback. Conclusions: Ultimately, peer-led writing initiatives, such as WIN, may enhance scholarly training and lay a foundation for future trainee writing success across scientific disciplines. Implications for Theory or Practice: These results support the utility of a student-centered writing workshop for biomedical students. Our study combined aspects of multiple existing resources, including peer feedback, interdisciplinary student backgrounds, and professional editing guidance. Together, these features formed a flexible and practical writing workshop, which can be used as a template for biomedical training programs.

This paper reports a pilot study to investigate four preservice teachers' reports of their impact on student learning while they completed a four-week professional experience block. We used Hiebert, Morris, Berk, and Jansen's (2007) framework for teacher preparation to analyse the how the participants planned, assessed and reflected on a lesson sequence. Data collected were the preservice teachers' learning diary entries completed during the four-week block and an online questionnaire and interview completed at the end of the teaching block. Results indicate that the pre-service teachers struggled to identify clear learning goals for students which adversely impacted their ability to plan their lessons and assess students' learning. Implications for teacher education programs are discussed.

In teacher education settings, the extent of collaboration is far less evident than in K-12 education. There is some evidence that suggests, however, that this may be changing. Teaming among higher education faculty has been identified as one way to provide teachers with greater exposure to diverse fields of knowledge and practice, as well as to model Association of Teacher Educator (ATE) standards. Some programs have created a common core of coursework for all education majors. Some ensure that general and special education preservice students work side by side during common training experiences. Some programs have been recreated and labeled as "unified" or "inclusive" and promote dual special education-general education licensure programs. With various forms of teacher education faculty teaming being forwarded as ways to better prepare teachers for a more diverse world of teaching, questions arise about how faculty engage in such teaming practices. This study describes the experiences and perspectives of six higher education faculty who team-taught courses to preservice general and special education students. Each team included one general education and one special education faculty member. (Contains 2 tables.)

Patient encounters are central to the provision of learning opportunities for medical students and their development as medical professionals. The primary aim of the study reported in this paper was to discover how partnering medical students with patients with chronic illness in undergraduate learning influenced the development of a patient centred professional identity and professionalism. An exploratory interpretive research design was used to address the research aim within a patient partner program (P3). Three qualitative data collection methods were used: (1) focus groups (2) extended response questionnaire and (3) semi-structured interviews. Data were coded and analysed thematically. The professional identity of medical students is constructed along traditional lines in the preclinical years. Patient-partnership offers a disruption to this development by way of an intersection with patients with chronic illness which potentially allows meaningful construction of what a patient-centred identity should be. This point of reflection provides an opportunity to engage at a higher level in medical identity development and professionalism. The findings discussed in this paper further stimulate the patient-centred agenda by understanding the conflict associated with the student-patient nexus in medical education and its potential for building professionalism and a patient-centred professional identity. To continue the drive for a patient-centred professional identity there must be ongoing engagement with patients in medical education, preferably commencing early in a student's journey so that it becomes the expected norm. This study has highlighted that a true patient-centred emphasis is being encountered too late in their socialisation process.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was first reported in September 2012 (1); since then, >1,600 confirmed cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/csr/ don/29-february-2016-mers-saudi-arabia/en). The role [...]

The critical role that leadership plays in student learning is documented in a six-year research study funded by The Wallace Foundation that examined the effect of leadership on learning. From that research, professional development emerges as a primary vehicle for authentic and sustainable school improvement. The voices in interviews of nearly 900 teachers, principals, and district staff in 167 schools across the U.S. tell the story of the actions that effective school leaders take to develop and support the context and processes leading to increased student achievement. Learning Forward's Leadership standard has three key contextual concepts that clearly link with the Learning From Leadership findings: (1) building capacity; (2) providing support; and (3) distributing responsibility. From all the data in the national leadership study, it was clear that context matters. When leaders attend to the context in which others around them learn, they strive to put in place structures and supports that are likely to be effective. This is true whether the leadership comes from the district level, or from a principal working with teachers in her school, or a teacher leading among his peers or with his students. High-quality leadership has no substitute, and high-quality professional development depends on such leadership.

This article reports on preliminary findings from a 2008 survey and telephone interviews with 27 directors of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services located in regional and rural districts of the Australian state of New South Wales. Data from the study suggests that some areas of safety education--most notably road/traffic safety and fire safety--are well-represented in early childhood curricula. However, areas such as water and farm safety are under-represented, despite statistics showing these to be significant areas of risk to young children. Findings suggest a need for a broader range of easily accessible and cost-effective child-centred safety education resources for use in ECEC settings. (Contains 2 tables.)

Urban schools, noted for their diverse student populations and variety of instructional resources and personnel, often are challenged in providing a coherent and differentiated instructional program for the wide array of learners served. In this article, we describe coteaching instructional models to support ELL students in elementary general education classrooms. ELL and general education teachers collaborated in planning, teaching, and reflecting on their instruction. Despite an expedited timeline for implementation and decreased personnel resources in the 2nd year of the study, collaborative teaching relationships were productive and rewarding. Of greatest importance, ELL student achievement increased substantially. Implications for practice include building the knowledge that supports collaboration, strategically allocating instructional personnel, and providing ongoing opportunities for collaborative learning and development. (Contains 2 figures, 2 tables and 1 footnote.) [Research for this article was supported by the Office of Special Education Programs.]

In recent years, education policies have focused on raising the standards for paraprofessional qualifications, supervision, and development. Given the increasingly problematic rates of paraprofessional turnover, focusing on the retention of effective paraprofessionals is of equal importance. In an effort to understand the reasons for and costs of turnover and to identify strategies that increase the likelihood of retention, 53 district and school employees from six schools in three school districts were interviewed. The findings indicated that the costs of turnover are felt at every level within a school district: central office, school, team, and student. Also suggested were strategies for increasing retention, including ensuring a threshold wage, focusing on job matching early in the employment process, providing ongoing support and direction, and developing a team culture in which paraprofessionals feel valued.

Schools today are increasingly market driven, and public schools are competing for students with numerous other educational options. Homeschool education continues to grow rapidly as one such option. Minnesota, considered a leader in school choice, has experienced rapid growth in the incidence of home-educated children. Such growth raises questions for school administrators about why parents choose to homeschool their children and about implications for school district policies and practices. A sample of 600 Minnesota home educators was surveyed to explore these questions. Reasons for homeschooling corroborated those reported in previous studies, including religious beliefs, family closeness, dissatisfaction with socialization in schools, opportunities for hands-on learning, and a flexible lifestyle. Interactions with local public school personnel were reported to be largely supportive, and ideas were offered for improving support. Implications are offered, focused on public school policies and practices. Specifically discussed are considerations for determining whether to assume inclusive or exclusive stances toward homeschool children and their families. (Contains 4 tables.)

Special education teachers are finding themselves in increasingly complex and demanding contexts of practice. Many are considering leaving the field or have already done so. These conditions suggest a decline in the appeal of professional practice as a special education teacher, with potentially deleterious short- and long-term effects on the lives of students with disabilities. Special education teachers identified as highly effective in serving students with low incidence disabilities in inclusive education settings were convened to understand better their realities of practice in inclusive education settings and to identify supports for such practice. Findings support and expand those presented in "Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners" (2001) a report published by the US Council for Exceptional Children. In addition to corroborating the complexity of practice, the special educators articulated a sophisticated understanding of how their schools and districts function organizationally and politically. This understanding resulted in access to and utilization of a wide array of resources for students. It is posited that the work of special educators in inclusive education settings is appropriately viewed as teacher leadership. Recommendations are offered for engaging local conversations that result in support for special educators in their central role as leaders of inclusive education. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)