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This case study describes how leaders from three teacher education institutions utilized a technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) leadership diagnostic tool in the design, development, and implementation of technology rich initiatives. Participants were interviewed to find out how the diagnostic tool guided their decision making. Content analysis and a priori coding were used to analyze transcripts along with constant comparative methods to explore elements within the diagnostic tool and identify additional codes. Results indicate that education leaders utilized the TPACK leadership diagnostic tool in different ways to guide the design, development, and implementation of their technology initiatives. Participants also provided recommendations for how the diagnostic tool and its use might be enhanced in order to support change.

This study examined the teacher work samples of 197 student teachers to determine their level of technology integration during student teaching. Findings indicated that most student teachers planned to use some kind of technology, although only 40% planned to include computers and less than 20% planned for the use of computers by students. The barriers to technology integration were most often related to instruction (e.g., the technology did not serve the learning goals and the technology was not developmentally appropriate) rather than a lack of available resources and time. These findings may be explained in part by the unique character of the teacher work sample (TWS) data, which prompts student teachers to report on their technology use during a single unit of instruction. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

Teacher education faculty must incorporate and model effective use of Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) in the classroom and across the curriculum. Teacher education leaders have a responsibility to set direction, develop people, and redesign their teacher preparation programs into TPACK ready environments. As such, a change process may occur that may be challenging and difficult for some leaders and their faculty. In this article, the authors examine the process and product of creating a TPACK leadership diagnostic tool that provides leaders in teacher education with support and guidance for the process of developing TPACK ready teacher preparation programs. Suggestions for further development and usage of the diagnostic tool are discussed.

When preparing TPACK ready teacher candidates, faculty must incorporate and model TPACK within the teacher education curriculum, which often requires an ongoing change process. But for change to take place we must consider the role leadership plays in the innovation of change. Leaders, deans and department heads must be an integral part of this process. The challenge for innovation, change and education technology leaders is to transform teacher preparation programs into fully realized TPACK environments and determine the necessary learning opportunities and support necessary to motivate college leaders and faculty to fully embrace the change process. This article outlines a collaborative ongoing process and blueprint that leaders should consider as they make plans for the effective integration of TPACK into their colleges. "Tomorrow's teachers must be prepared to rethink, unlearn and relearn, change, revise, and adapt" (Niess, 2008, p.225). Leaders, deans and department heads must be an integral part of this process if it is to be successful. While technology can support changes in how teacher educators teach and future teachers learn to teach (Dilworth et al., 2012), teaching with technology is a "wicked problem" in that it has "incomplete, contradictory and changing requirements" (Koehler & Mishra, 2008, p.10). New and innovative ways of confronting this complexity must address core knowledge base components that include content, pedagogy, and technology. These components have been used as the foundation for a "technology, pedagogy , and content knowledge (TPACK)" framework known as technological pedagogical content knowledge, or TPCK (AACTE, 2008; Koehler & Mishra, 2008; Mishra & Koehler, 2006; Pierson, 1999). But what is the role of "leaders" where TPACK based processes are being implemented in university teacher preparation programs? Educational technology leaders often approach models for teacher preparation in collectives that examine them iteratively. The 2012 National Technology Leadership Summit brought together the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) and its Innovation and Technology Committee. Representatives from college administrations met and examined leadership issues facing deans, directors and chairs as they work to support college-wide change facilitating faculty and teacher candidates in the task of becoming TPACK proficient. This work built upon a CITE (Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education) journal editorial focused on initial conversations around leadership needs for effective TPACK implementation (Dexter, Herring, & Thomas, 2012). A presentation at AACTE 2013 extended this work with teacher preparation and education technology leaders sharing "what worked" in their colleges around these processes. A panel presentation at the 2013 Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) Conference also shared insights into a blueprint for key areas that leaders should consider as they make plans for the effective integration of TPACK into their colleges as well as several implementation case studies. This article compiles this iterative work from a leadership perspective. While the challenge is to transform teacher preparation programs into fully realized TPACK environments, leadership becomes the key in developing new ways of confronting this complex issue that must address core knowledge base components inclusive of content, pedagogy and technology. To accomplish this task, faculty are faced with incorporating modeling these ideas within a teacher education curriculum in concert with ongoing change processes. A solid understanding of the interactions of these components can result in effective teaching with technology in varied and diverse settings; but the critical role of leadership in making such changes must first be considered. The critical features of a "blueprint for leaders" is based upon the work of Leithwood and colleagues' framework comprised of three key leadership functions associated with improved student outcomes (Day, Sammons, Leithwood, Kington, 2008; Leithwood, Harris & Hopkins, 2008; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2008; Leithwood & Riehl, 2003). The three major component of the Leithwood "transformational leadership" model are: (1) Building vision and setting direction (2) Developing people through understanding people and (3) Developing the organization through redesigning it. Leithwood, Begley and Cousins (1994) define transformational leadership as follows: The term "transform" implies major changes in the form, nature, function and/or potential of some phenomenon; applied to leadership, it specifies general ends to be pursued although it is largely mute with respect to means. From this beginning, we consider the central purpose of transformational leadership to be the enhancement of the individual and collective problem-solving capacities of organizational members; such capacities are exercised in the identification of goals to be achieved and practices to be used in their achievement (p. 7). Transformational leaders can create significant change in both followers and the organization with which they are associated (Griffin, 2003). Transformational leaders also find common ground that allows them to enlist followers in processes of change. Fullan (2010) finds that for true reform to take place, resolute leadership that remains focused is critical when new ideas encounter serious difficulty, thereby sustaining and building on success. To achieve this task and create significant "change," transformational education leaders realize that true technology integration means understanding and negotiating the relationships between the three components of knowledge and going beyond a "business" organizational model to create change in teacher preparation programs. Too often organizations start down the road to change without being clear on key factors that influence the outcomes of the initiative. "Deans and educational leaders" must develop a model for change based upon both the organizational culture and the environments they need a set of resources to help and guide them to integrate a framework like TPACK. Through ongoing collaboration and discussion the focus has been around the development of a leadership module which would help leaders establish a vision and set a direction for addressing TPACK. The purpose of a "leadership module" would be to provide Deans and other educational leaders with the tools they need for full-scale implementation and motivate them to redesign their programs while continuing to improve and sustain a developing/changing curriculum.

In contemporary discourse, context matters for how people converse with one another about political topics. Discussion may occur face-to-face or online, topics of conversation may be controversial or less so, and gender dynamics may vary. We argue that men and women are affected differently by various contextual discussion factors. We employ a unique quasi-experiment that varies these factors and uses discourse analysis to examine patterns of gendered agreement and disagreement across seven exhaustive categories of response. These factors affect the likelihood of agreement by women and men, though gender-based differences are not dramatic. We do, however, find conditions that prompt men to be less agreeable than women. We also identify seven discrete rhetorical approaches to expressing agreement or disagreement in political discussion. Of these, three show evidence of gender-based patterns of usage. These findings have implications for how men and women use agreement strategies to cope with potential divisiveness in political discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to societal shifts, K-12 teachers are struggling to design effective learning environments. The advent of increased access to world-linking technology has extended the use of distance education to enrich and expand the learning landscape for students. A number of individuals have suggested that a body of learning theory, constructivism, supports technology-rich classrooms as a part of a vision of the twenty-first century. To support and facilitate teachers' responses to these changes in their classrooms, this project sought to identify a core of constructivist-based learning environment designs, experiences, or elements necessary for their implementation in a distance education setting. A panel of knowledgeable individuals in the areas of constructivism and technologically-mediated education participated in an electronic Delphi study. Findings indicated that teachers who wish to develop constructivist-based distance learning environments need training in the creation of authentic, student-centered lessons. (Contains 5 tables.)

Discusses performance-based standards for programs in Educational Communications and Instructional Technology (ECIT) as mandated by NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) and the AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) Accreditation Committee. Offers suggestions for adequate and appropriate performance assessment at the program level and at the candidate level. (LRW)

Previous research finds that when citizens discuss political topics, men tend to predominate. In this study, we investigate how discussion of political issues changes in different settings, using a design in which male and female participants discussed two political topics—one controversial, the other not—in in a variety of settings. We examine two aspects of discussion: the extent of participation and the style of participation. We find that women participate more extensively than men in general, but that this difference is conditioned on the gender composition of and the size of the group, and whether a topic is controversial. The discussion medium (online or face-to-face) exerts no impact on the extent of participation. Alternatively, whether discussants are agreeable in their comments is most influenced by the topic of discussion and, for men, whether the discussion occurs online or face-to-face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study examines the management of a trauma patient brought emergently to the operating room following a motor vehicle collision with concomitant oropharyngeal and carotid artery injuries caused by tree branches. The patient stated that he had used cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids a short time before the accident, and his behavior was dangerously erratic at the scene as well as upon arrival to the emergency room. Understanding the pharmacologic and physiologic effects of these illicit substances is key to managing any patient undergoing anesthesia, particularly when requiring emergent vascular repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The political allure of state-sponsored lotteries is simple: they are a voluntary, and therefore 'painless,' means of adding revenue to state treasuries at a time when new taxes politically are [...]

Possible reasons for the overrepresentation of whites on an at-large elected city council in a majority black city are explored using data from Detroit council elections of 1961 to 1989. Patterns of voter roll-off, own-race voting, and racial cross-over voting suggest that whites have become less willing to support black candidates while blacks have become more inclined to vote for white candidates. This is interpreted as evidence that race-conscious voting is higher among local racial minorities who perceive a threat from the racial majority. The data further imply that white perception of racial threat may be highest at the point where white control of government becomes endangered.

A "cannot ventilate, cannot intubate" scenario is a rare, high-risk anesthesia event. Cricothyrotomy is the final step, but anesthesia training and maintenance of surgical airway skills is variable. The ability to "cut to air" when one performs a cricothyrotomy may be all that prevents a patient from experiencing anoxic brain injury or death. Forty-three Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) performed emergency cricothyrotomies on a simulation manikin. Three techniques were available: (1) cricothyrotomy kit, (2) scalpel and tracheostomy, and (3) scalpel/bougie/endotracheal tube. Technique selection and performance were recorded until successful confirmation of placement was achieved in less than 2 minutes. Confidence levels performing cricothyrotomy were also measured before and after simulation. Most CRNAs (53.5%) selected the cricothyrotomy kit, and all but 1 completed the cricothyrotomy in under 2 minutes. The scalpel/bougie/endotracheal tube combination was the fastest, with an average completion time of 86.6 seconds. The confidence of CRNAs in performing a successful cricothyrotomy in less than 2 minutes was significantly increased (P ) .001). Simulating airway skills improved performance, speed, and confidence. Because not all CRNAs have had extensive education in performing surgical airways and practicing these skills, simulation may have additional value in developing and maintaining skills and confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]