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What professional development do assessment professionals need to succeed in higher education? To meet the rising demands in the field, assessment professionals seek ways to improve their skill sets. The current study utilized survey responses from over 200 higher education assessment professionals across the United States to assess the amount of training assessment professionals had when starting their position, the professional development they have sought since being in the position, and what training is still needed in the field. A thematic analysis of three open-ended survey questions revealed the eclectic backgrounds of assessment professionals, their preferred trainings while in the role, and the content and modalities requested for future professional development.

What skills and dispositions are most important for higher education assessment professionals to be successful in their work? Emerging professionals and their instructors must be cognizant of what skills and dispositions are necessary in order to be adequately prepared for this work. Utilizing a survey instrument that was developed based on recent research and validated by a panel of experts in higher education assessment, we surveyed 213 higher education assessment professionals from across the United States, assessing their perceptions on the importance of 92 skills and 52 dispositions. We analyzed responses by utilizing descriptive statistics for closed-ended items and thematic analysis of open-ended items. A discussion of the findings, including what skills and dispositions were deemed most important, as well as implications for future research and professional identity are discussed.

Additive manufacturing of hydrogels is a rapidly evolving field due to the unique properties of hydrogels and their potential applications in various sectors. However, the low production rate and coarse resolution of current additive manufacturing methods limit their use. This article proposes a Stencil Additive Manufacturing (SAM) method to produce agarose hydrogel structures with horizontal and vertical resolutions of 500 and 80 μm using a novel SAM printer. Compared to peer methods, the shape fidelity of printed structures was improved and errors resulting from the Barus effect were minimized to 1.7 % and 7.1 %, depending on stencil patterns. Mechanical and thermal properties of agarose hydrogels were investigated by considering chemical crosslinking and agarose concentration, and the gelation and melting temperatures were determined. The analysis of hydrogel microstructures illustrated the change in porosity by regulating agarose concentration and the gelation rate. Static bovine serum albumin binding tests were performed using printed structures with varying concentrations and resolutions to explore the protein adsorption capacity. The results indicated that structure resolutions affect the adsorption capacity dramatically, which was increased from 100.44 to 144.13 mg/ml as resolutions were improved from 500 to 350 µm. Therefore, SAM-printing agarose hydrogels with periodic structures demonstrates potential in applications.

Abstract Most mammals rely on vocal communication to increase survival and reproductive success. While the functions of audible vocalizations have been well‐studied across mammal species, ultrasonic vocalizations in small mammals outside of bats are less understood. North American flying squirrel species (Glaucomys spp.), including the newly described Humboldt's flying squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis), produce numerous call‐types that extend into the ultrasonic range. To investigate the potential function of ultrasonic call‐types in the Humboldt's flying squirrels, we used ultrasonic recorders to record squirrels in the wild across multiple seasons to determine if there are temporal and seasonal patterns in nightly vocal activity and rates of different call‐types. We recorded Humboldt's flying squirrels in two geographic locations ‐ Humboldt and San Bernardino counties—in California from 2018 to 2022 in the summer and winter across multiple study areas. We found that although seasonal weather conditions differ between locations, flying squirrels in Humboldt and San Bernardino had similar vocal activity patterns across nightly active periods between locations and between summer and winter. Nightly activity patterns of when the three main chirp‐like call‐types (arc chirps, tonal chirps, upsweeps) were given varied between seasons in both geographic locations, and these call‐types were given at greater rates in the summer in San Bernardino, but rates did not vary by season in Humboldt. Trills, the most structurally complex of the four main call‐types, were produced more in the summer than in winter, and also differed in their nightly activity patterns, in both geographic locations. Flying squirrels may use certain call‐types earlier or later in the nightly active period due to their potentially varying functions, and may produce more trills in the summer coinciding with the breeding season. Further understanding of the function of different call‐types can provide insight into social, foraging, and antipredator behavior of this nocturnal and elusive species.

Abstract Changes in leaf phenology from warming spring and autumn temperatures have lengthened the temperate zone growing “green” season and breeding window for migratory birds in North America. However, the fitness benefits of an extended breeding season will depend, in part, on whether species have sufficient dietary flexibility to accommodate seasonal changes in prey availability. We used fecal DNA metabarcoding to test the hypothesis that seasonal changes in the diets of the insectivorous, migratory black‐throated blue warbler (Setophaga caerulescens) track changes in the availability of arthropod prey at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. We examined changes across the breeding season and along an elevation gradient encompassing a 2‐week difference in green season length. From 98 fecal samples, we identified 395 taxa from 17 arthropod orders; 242 were identified to species, with Cecrita guttivitta (saddled prominent moth), Theridion frondeum (eastern long‐legged cobweaver), and Philodromus rufus (white‐striped running crab spider) occurring at the highest frequency. We found significant differences in diet composition between survey periods and weak differences among elevation zones. Variance in diet composition was highest late in the season, and diet richness and diversity were highest early in the season. Diet composition was associated with changes in prey availability surveyed over the green season. However, several taxa occurred in diets more or less than expected relative to their frequency of occurrence from survey data, suggesting that prey selection or avoidance sometimes accompanies opportunistic foraging. This study demonstrates that black‐throated blue warblers exhibit diet flexibility and track seasonal changes in prey availability, which has implications for migratory bird responses to climate‐induced changes in insect communities with longer green seasons.

IntroductionAtlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica, hereafter “puffin”) reproductive success in the Gulf of Maine (GoM) has declined following a recent oceanographic regime shift that has led to rapid warming and increasingly frequent marine heatwaves. Concurrent changes in both the regional forage fish community and puffin chick diets and provisioning rates suggest that inadequate prey resources may be driving this decline. Traditional, noninvasive methods of diet assessment, however, are unable to determine seabird diet at many age classes and breeding stages.MethodsTo determine what prey GoM puffins were feeding on during two years of marine heatwave conditions, we assessed puffin diet using two complementary methods: traditional, observational methods that utilize bill-load photography and emerging methods employing fecal DNA metabarcoding. We then examined the effect of methodology, age, breeding stage, and year on puffin diet composition. ResultsWe identified a strong correlation between the composition of chick diet as estimated through traditional and emerging methods, supporting the interpretation of DNA relative read abundance as a quantitative metric of diet composition. Both methods identified the same dominant prey groups yet metabarcoding identified a greater number of species and offered higher taxonomic resolution. Additionally, metabarcoding revealed adult puffin diet during the incubation period for the first time. Although puffin adults and chicks fed on many of the same prey types, adults consumed a greater variety of taxa and consumed more low quality prey types than they provisioned chicks.DiscussionFor both age classes, diet varied both between and within years, likely reflecting changes in the local forage fish community in response to environmental variability. Puffins exploited unusual abundances of typically-uncommon prey during these two years of marine heatwave conditions, yet low puffin productivity suggests the observed dietary plasticity was not fully able to compensate for apparent prey shortages. Continued refinement of molecular methods and the interpretation of the data they provide will enable better assessments of how seabirds of diverse ages and breeding stages are adapting to changing prey communities.

Despite the widely accepted recognition of the notion of self-respect and its importance for emotional well-being, it has received scant attention in the psychological literature. We report on the development and validation of a scale to measure trait (character-based) appraisal self-respect (ASR), conceptualised as a disposition to perceive or appraise oneself as being a respectworthy honourable person. We tested the factor structure, reliability, convergent, discriminant and criterion validity of the ASR scale in samples of adult individuals (combined N = 1910 across samples). The resulting ASR scale was found to be essentially unidimensional and showed good internal and acceptable test-retest reliability. Trait ASR was correlated with (yet distinct from) theoretically related measures of global self-esteem, moral self and principledness, and was distinct from other self-esteem facets not based on honourable character traits. Importantly, it related to well-being and prosocial behaviour over-and-above self-esteem. The validation work served to consolidate the theoretical boundaries and utility of this important concept., Author(s): Claudine Clucas [sup.1] , Philip Corr [sup.2] , Heather Wilkinson [sup.1] , Astrid Schepman [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.43710.31, 0000 0001 0683 9016, School of Psychology, University of Chester, [...]

This paper introduces a conceptual framework for overcoming common assessment challenges and supporting a positive assessment culture in higher education through fostering collaborative relationships with faculty and staff. By using a lens that integrates concepts from person-centered and solution-focused counseling, positive psychology, and motivational interviewing, assessment practitioners can better understand what guides the cultivation of inclusive and participatory relationships in assessment. The RARE model provides a common set of strategies for implementing principles of effective assessment practice, developed by two assessment professionals from universities located in different accrediting regions: WASC (Western Senior College and University Commission) and SACSCOC (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges). In calling attention to the influence of their practitioner training and background, this model also highlights the benefit of exploring the disciplinary diversity that exists within the assessment field. Through exploration of this reflexive, strengths-based approach to assessment practice, the authors contribute to the discourse about professional identity in higher education assessment.

Abstract High‐content image‐based cell phenotyping provides fundamental insights into a broad variety of life science disciplines. Striving for accurate conclusions and meaningful impact demands high reproducibility standards, with particular relevance for high‐quality open‐access data sharing and meta‐analysis. However, the sources and degree of biological and technical variability, and thus the reproducibility and usefulness of meta‐analysis of results from live‐cell microscopy, have not been systematically investigated. Here, using high‐content data describing features of cell migration and morphology, we determine the sources of variability across different scales, including between laboratories, persons, experiments, technical repeats, cells, and time points. Significant technical variability occurred between laboratories and, to lesser extent, between persons, providing low value to direct meta‐analysis on the data from different laboratories. However, batch effect removal markedly improved the possibility to combine image‐based datasets of perturbation experiments. Thus, reproducible quantitative high‐content cell image analysis of perturbation effects and meta‐analysis depend on standardized procedures combined with batch correction.

The RARE Model (Clucas Leaderman & Polychronopoulos, 2019) is a framework for nurturing collaborative relationships in assessment practice. The four components (R- relate, A- acknowledge, R- reflect, E- Empower), which are based in humanistic and postmodern counseling theories, outline interpersonal strategies to support and strengthen relationships with our faculty and staff colleagues. Previous experiences employing this approach with colleagues and clients were primarily in person. While reflecting upon our assessment practices throughout this time, we wondered: "how do these strategies translate to a virtual environment?" Throughout this experience, we have found ourselves prioritizing the strategies to Relate and Acknowledge; now more than ever, it is critical to focus on building and nurturing relationships with our assessment partners. A more detailed outline of adapted RARE Model strategies is forthcoming; here, we offer a few examples of what has worked so far, as we continue to navigate the remote environment.

In the original publication [...]

In the original publication [...]

In the original publication [...]

Background: Progress monitoring is a vital strategy for evaluating skill development of young children receiving disability related services. Few effective progress monitoring tools exist for infants and toddlers, and research is needed to examine feasibility as they become available. Objective: The current study examined the implementation of an assessment protocol for monitoring the developmental progress of children receiving Early Intervention (EI) services. Specifically, we examined the implementation of Infant/Toddler Individual Growth and Development Indicators (I/T IGDIs). Our questions were related to fidelity of implementation by examining learning and using I/T IGDIs in practice; and coaching support utilized by practitioners. Method: Fifty practitioners serving 92 participating families received training and coaching support to reliably administer and score up to 4 I/T IGDI assessments and use them in practice. Quantitative and qualitative implementation data revealed interesting results. Results: Practitioners needed relatively few sessions in order to become certified to administer and score I/T IGDIs. On average, practitioners used 1-2 I/T IGDIs with each child and children received a range of assessment frequency with the communication indicator being the most frequently used and the social indicator least frequent. Both supports and challenges related to time, organizational supports and research/technology were identified. Conclusions: EI practitioners are skilled at learning new assessment strategies and implementing them into practice given adequate time, organizational support and coaching for implementation. Practitioners expressed concerns with I/T IGDI use given time limitations during their visits. In addition, the inclusion of research activities into the implementation process may produce unintended challenges.