IMPACT OF A RESTORATIVE CARE PROGRAM IN THE NURSING HOME

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a progressive mobility restorative program on nursing home residents' ability to perform selected activities of daily living (ADLs) and the amount of staff assistance needed to help residents complete these ADLs. A one group repeated measures design study was conducted in a 255-bed university affiliated geriatrics center. A certified nursing assistant (CNA) specially trained in restorative mobility techniques worked with residents individually for at least 15 minutes per day, five days per week to achieve their individualized mobility goals. Items on ADL Self-Performance and ADL Support Provided from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) were collected at baseline, three months, and six months. Thirty-eight of 42 residents (90%) were included in the analyses and 31 residents (82%) completed at least 25 days of restorative activities. Some residents improved their ADL self-performance at three and six months (15% and 33%, respectively) and decreased in the amount of ADL support provided at three and six months (26% and 31%, respectively). Total ADL self-performance and support provided did not change significantly over the six-month period. Most residents maintained their baseline ADL self-performance and level of ADL support provided over the six-month study. A progressive mobility restorative program implemented by a certified nursing assistant specially trained in restorative techniques resulted in most residents maintaining their baseline ADL self-performance abilities and the level of assistance provided by staff. Studies are needed to determine if these types of programs can actually improve functional abilities and decrease the level of staff assistance needed to complete ADLs or if they are effective in maintaining or delaying functional loss and staff burden.     

Social effects on spatial choice in the radial arm maze

Social memory was investigated in the context of a spatial working memory task. Pairs of rats were tested in an eight-arm radial maze. Under most conditions, there was a tendency to choose maze locations that had been visited earlier by the other rat. The possibility that this tendency is produced by common preferences for particular maze locations was ruled out. An opposite tendency to avoid visits to locations that had been visited earlier during the trial by another rat was found only when the maze location contained two pellets (rather than an undepletable supply), the rats’ ability to see each other in the maze was restricted to the central arena, and the maze location had been previously visited by the focal rat. The amount of food available in maze locations did not otherwise modulate social influences on spatial choice. The results indicate that memory for a rat’s own previous choices is combined with memory for the choices made by another rat.     

Early Childhood Teachers' Ideas about Including Children with Disabilities in Programmes Designed for Typically Developing Children

This study examined the influence of information about children's disabilities on preschool teachers' responses toward integrating children with disabilities in their classroom. Of particular interest was whether the severity of the child's educational needs and information about diagnosis were related to teachers' responses. Data were collected from 155 preschool teachers in two Midwest states in the United States to examine their responses in terms of levels of comfort, classroom adaptation, and need for support. Results showed that teachers responded differently to the types of disability regardless of the diagnostic labels; that is, teachers responded more positively to children with mild disabilities (e.g., children with Down syndrome) and those with physical disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy). In addition, compared with children with diagnostic labels, teachers responded more positively to those with no diagnostic labels. Teachers' education and experience working with children with disabilities were associated with their levels of comfort. Implications and recommendations for service delivery and teacher training are discussed.     

Effective pedagogical practices for online teaching: Perception of experienced instructors

Institutions have focused on providing faculty with technological training to enhance their online teaching, but many online instructors would like to learn more effective pedagogical practices. This phenomenological study determines what experienced, award-winning South Dakota e-learning instructors perceive to be effective pedagogical practices. This study identified effective pedagogical practices for online teaching that are reflective of theories and practices referenced in the college teaching literature.     

Bones,boys, bombs and booze: an exploratory study of the reliability of marking dissertations across disciplines

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the University’s Masters’ level (M‐level) generic assessment criteria when used by lecturers from different disciplines. A further aim was to evaluate if subject‐specific knowledge was essential to marking these dissertations. Four senior lecturers from diverse disciplines participated in this study. The University of Teesside’s generic M‐level assessment criteria were used and formatted into a grid. The assessment criteria related to the learning outcomes, the depth of understanding, the complexity of analysis and synthesis and the structure and academic presentation of the work. As well as a quantitative mark, a qualitative statement for the reason behind the judgement was required. Each lecturer provided a dissertation that had previously been marked. All participants then marked each of the four projects using the M‐level grid and comments sheet. The study found very good inter‐rater reliability. For any one project, the variation in marks from the original mark was no more than 6% on average. This study also found that subject‐specific knowledge was not essential to marking when using generic assessment criteria in terms of the reliability of marks. The authors acknowledge the exploratory nature of these results and hope other lecturers will join in the exploration to test the robustness of generic assessment criteria across disciplines.