Boyer in the Middle: Second Generation Challenges to Emerging Scholarship

This article reports on an examination of the distinctive second-generation challenges and opportunities faced by an early institutional adopter of the Boyer model of scholarship. Following the first cohort of faculty to be reviewed for tenure and promotion based on these criteria, we report the results of a survey designed to determine the perceptions of faculty and administrators of the degree to which emerging forms of scholarship had been integrated into the university culture including factors such as institutional identity, support structures, and faculty participation. This case study sheds light on the process of adaptation at this single institution and provides glimpses of how cultural change might occur across higher education.     

Teaching Problem-Posing and Inquiry to Teachers Using a Non-Traditional Operation

Teaching teachers to participate in mathematical inquiry has the potential to both transform belief systems about mathematics and to transform teachers from consumers of mathematics to producers of mathematics. The focus of this paper is to describe the use of a problem, based on a non-traditional binary operation, to encourage and teach pre-service and in-service teachers inquiry and problem-posing. We present a brief mathematical solution for the problem and we then discuss problem-posing activities and discussions of connections to the Standards of Mathematical Practice from the Common Core State Standards. We discuss several key aspects of the problem that make it well-suited for the purposes of teaching inquiry and problem-posing.     

Systematic educational change and teacher skill-building in developed and developing countries: the importance of teacher peer learning groups

Many developed and developing countries are seeking to systematically transform their education processes through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The aim of this paper is to present findings from one aspect of a larger ICT study in a particular location in a developing country, with the specific focus presented here being ICT professional development and impacts. Research methods in the study included teacher and school leader surveys, targeted interviews and also case studies. Findings at a systems level generally indicated insufficient coordination of training and minimal follow-up occurring. In case study situations in which the school leader ensured a schoolwide approach to the professional learning of teachers, ICT was more embedded into student learning processes in classrooms. Considering ICT and other professional learning relevant to education, this paper has relevance for policy developers and school leaders in developed and developing world contexts. The need exists for using coordinated professional development processes, with more centralised ‘one-off’ training supplemented by schools and districts. The establishment of peer learning groups or mentors to support skill-building over time is also needed. Through these ongoing processes, teachers can more effectively make changes in their teaching practices, with potential impacts on student learning.     

The Foodborne Outbreak Challenge—Using Experiential Learning to Foster Interdisciplinary Training Among Students on Foodborne Disease Outbreak Investigations

The Integrated Food Safety Centers of Excellence aim to develop novel learning methods to educate and train the future public health workforce to investigate foodborne outbreaks. The Foodborne Outbreak Challenge (FOC) was a one‐day event hosted by the Colorado Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence at the Colorado School of Public Health. The FOC incorporated experiential, problem‐based, and interdisciplinary pedagogies from case studies, simulation exercises, and public health case competitions, to deliver a novel learning experience that met the training needs of a multidisciplinary foodborne outbreak response team with diverse skills sets. The event received positive feedback, and participants demonstrated knowledge gain. Event materials are available for other institutions to use.     

Reducing prolonged sedentary time using a treadmill desk acutely improves cardiometabolic risk markers in male and female adults

This study evaluated the acute effects of interrupting prolonged sitting with an accumulated 2 h of light-intensity walking on postprandial cardiometabolic risk markers. In this randomised crossover trial, 24 participants (twelve males) aged 18–55 years took part in two, 6.5 h conditions: 1) prolonged sitting (SIT) and 2) sitting interrupted hourly with 20 min light-intensity treadmill desk walking at between 1.2–3.5 km/h^?1 (INT-SIT). Standardized meals were provided at 0 h and 3 h. Blood samples and blood pressure measures were taken hourly. Statistical analyses were completed using linear mixed models. Postprandial incremental area under the curve responses (mmol/L?6.5 h) for glucose (4.52 [3.47, 5.56] and 6.66 [5.62, 7.71] for INT-SIT and SIT, respectively) and triglycerides (1.96 [0.96, 2.96] and 2.71 [1.70, 3.71] for INT-SIT and SIT, respectively) were significantly lower in INT-SIT than SIT. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure responses were lower by 3% and 4%, respectively, in INT-SIT than SIT (P < 0.05). There was no significant condition x sex interaction effect for any outcomes (P > 0.05). These findings suggest that interrupting sitting with an accumulated 2 h of light-intensity walking acutely improves cardiometabolic risk levels in males and females compared with prolonged sitting.     

The Tao of Empowerment

After all the trendy approaches to improving performance have failed, where can we look for the wisdom we need to advise management on how to overcome employee apathy? The concept of employee empowerment is far from new. Five thousand years ago, the sages of ancient China first formulated the principles of Tao, the primal power that forges all phenomena in the universe. They believed that each individual was a microcosm of the universe. Twenty–five hundred years ago, gifted Chinese scholar Lao-tzu eloquently and concisely described the power that comes from being in harmony with the evolving force of nature. The principles Lao-tzu set forth in Tao Te Ching are as valid today as they were 26 centuries ago. They challenge us to use nature as our model, balancing the extremes in life and work, not causing them; to discover intellectual independence, relying on our own inspiration and instincts; to practice simplicity; to build personal power through awareness and knowledge, and to direct events without resorting to force.