Navigating Policy and Trying out New Ways of Teaching: Teachers and Children Becoming Experts

How can teachers engage in new ways of teaching that demonstrate student achievement beyond required standardized testing? This article by teachers for teachers shares one team's experience engaging in documentation with children via ongoing projects. Teachers shifted how they viewed assessment, used assessment tools and negotiated the curriculum and standards to which they must adhere in their district. Teachers found that, when they provided children with learning experiences that extended over the course of several days and incorporated time for inquiry-based exploration and child-initiated activities, they saw expertise where they had not seen it before. In addition, this article considers the challenges of alternative forms of assessment in a climate of high-stakes testing and curriculum implementation. Teachers as a group are particularly susceptible to the pressures of testing policy. Thinking about navigating policy as a necessary part of teaching might be a way for professionals to frame their work as they adopt new stances towards teaching and learning.     

Books to Bytes at the Speed of Light: A Rapid Health Sciences Collection Transformation

To meet the evolving demands of health care delivery, University of Utah Health Care is transforming at an unprecedented pace. The Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library is supporting this transformation through strategic sharing of physical space and critical evaluation of the collection. Key partners have been invited to share library space. To accommodate these new partners, the library had to quickly eliminate most of its print collection. The de-accessioning of print materials afforded an opportunity to evaluate the way in which the library provides content to users and to explore creative alternatives that continue and enhance library services.     

Getting In (and Staying In) When Everyone Else Wants to Get Out: 10 Lessons Learned from Conducting Research with Inmates

The current study aims to provide researchers interested in conducting research using inmates with information and recommendations based on our experiences studying jail inmates. While prior research has begun to identify lessons learned about obtaining access to criminal justice agencies and lessons about establishing positive researcher–practitioner relationships during the process, little is known about the specific challenges associated with data collection efforts after obtaining access to facilities. Therefore, this article aims to provide researchers with information and recommendations primarily on the issues and challenges of studying inmates after gaining entry to correctional facilities. Ten lessons are offered that highlight a variety of challenges that arise from conducting research with inmate populations.     

An Examination of Psychosocial Correlates of Eating Disorders Among Female Collegiate Athletes

With female collegiate athletes, we examined the relationship of eating pathology to body image concerns, weight pressures, sociocultural internalization, and mood state. Multivariate analyses revealed that the symptomatic and eating disorder groups were similar on seven of eight weight pressures, three of four mood states, on internalization, and on five of six body image measures; in all instances, these two groups reported more pathological scores than the asymptomatic athletes. Except for pressures from coaches, the psychosocial variables differentiated the groups, correctly classifying 79% of the cases. These findings suggest that athletes symptomatic of eating disorders report similarly high levels of disturbance across a wide range of psychosocial risk factors, and both groups warrant prevention and treatment efforts.     

The role of genetic counseling in the elective termination of pregnancies involving fetuses with disabilities

In this study, 69 women were surveyed who, as a result of a prenatal screening knew they were at risk for carrying a fetus with a disability. Results indicated that most women were referred by their physicians for genetic counseling either because of their age or because of an abnormal blood test. The majority of women indicated they would choose to terminate a pregnancy that tested positive for a disability, but the type of disability of the fetus, either Down syndrome or spina bifida, made no difference in the decision that women believed they would make. The women's intention to terminate a pregnancy appeared to be unrelated to their overall knowledge about disabilities but was negatively related to their knowledge of disability-related services. Although women reported that genetic counseling was helpful, they revealed that they were not given information about future-quality-of-life issues for individuals with disabilities nor provided with the positive as well as the negative aspects of giving birth to a child with disabilities.