Faculty needs, doctoral preparation, and the future of teacher preparation programs in the education of deaf and hard of hearing students

The purposes of the study were to obtain and analyze data on the need for, and desired characteristics of, faculty in deaf education at American institutions of higher education (IHEs), and to assess the present and projected status of doctoral-level teacher preparation programs in deaf education at American IHEs. Program directors and coordinators provided information on current and projected faculty openings, the number of active doctoral students, faculty research interests, program strengths, and needs in the field. Results indicated a pending shortage due to faculty retirements and a paucity of doctoral-level graduates. Most faculty listed literacy and language as a primary research interest as well as a program strength. The ability to generate new knowledge through research was found to be less desirable for future faculty than teaching ability. Suggestions for improving doctoral preparation and moving the field to evidence-based practices are provided.     

Reaching in-service primary teachers with research innovations: the role of dissemination events in stimulating download activity

Education researchers want to influence classroom practice, but in-service primary teachers are hard to reach. Thus, many researchers disseminate their innovations online. Dissemination by event may be a more effective means, but little is known about its relative value in a dissemination strategy, nor potential influence upon research innovation downloads.This quantitative study analysed the influence of dissemination events on downloads of a research innovation called the TAPS Pyramid over one year. The location, size and date for dissemination events were mapped against location data for downloads during the same time period. Downloads were significantly higher in regions where dissemination events were held and positively correlated with dissemination event frequency. Event size was not found to be significant.By demonstrating the value of dissemination events in stimulating downloads of educational research innovations online, these results also show the centrality of social learning opportunities to a successful bimodal dissemination strategy.     

Peer-group mentoring as a tool for teacher development

Peer-group mentoring (PGM) is a new model designed to support the professional development of teachers in Finland. This study examines the experiences of mentees participating in PGM and potential differences in the experiences of teachers in general education and vocational education. It also addresses the mentees’ perceptions of the results of PGM with regard to the professional, personal and social dimensions of professional development. Quantitative research methods were used. An online survey was completed by 69 teachers in general education and 47 teachers in vocational education (n = 116). The results showed that the participants saw PGM as an important tool for professional development throughout the entire teaching career. In general, there were few significant differences between vocational teachers and their colleagues in general education in their perceptions of PGM. The study further suggests an alternative conceptualisation of professional development based on the following components: development of skills and knowledge, strengthening professional identity and self-confidence, and development of a work community.     

Paraprotein interference with turbidimetric gentamicin assay

Introduction

Gentamicin due to its low level of resistance and rapid bactericidal activity is commonly used to treat gram-negative bacteria. However, due to its toxic effects it needs to be monitored. To date, no interference has been reported with gentamicin assays.

Materials and methods

A patient with leg cellulitis and sepsis received a single dose of gentamicin and a sample was sent for gentamicin analysis. The sample showed high blank absorbance readings on Beckman DxC800 and DC800 analysers with various dilutions. A second sample was received and analysed on a Roche Cobas system to obtain a result. A third sample was received 107 hours later with the same results and this sample was then analysed neat and post ethanol precipitation on all the turbidimetric assays available on the DxC800 analyser.

Results

The high blank absorbance was observed upon addition of the reactive reagents due to protein precipitation. Although not obvious from the patient protein results, it was shown the presence of high IgM paraprotein, 18.9 g/L (reference range 0.4-2.3 g/L) was the cause of precipitation, giving high blank readings. Of all the other turbidimetric assays, only vancomicin and valproate showed similar high blank absorbance readings. To be able to provide more rapid results it was shown ethanol could be used as a precipitant of proteins in both calibrators and patient samples with acceptable recovery.

Conclusion

IgM paraprotein was identified as the cause of interference with the gentamicin, vancomicin and valproate assays. Protein interference in these assays can be overcome by precipitation with ethanol.Key words: turbidimetry, IgM, paraprotein, interference     

Assessing journal author guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: findings from an institutional sample

Objectives:Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (SRs/MAs) are designed to be rigorous research methodologies that synthesize information and inform practice. An increase in their publication runs parallel to quality concerns and a movement toward standards to improve reporting and methodology. With the goal of informing the guidance librarians provide to SR/MA teams, this study assesses online journal author guidelines from an institutional sample to determine whether these author guidelines address SR/MA methodological quality.Methods:A Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate) search identified SRs/MAs published in 2014–2019 by authors affiliated with a single institution. The AMSTAR 2 checklist was used to develop an assessment tool of closed questions specific to measures for SR/MA methodological quality in author guidelines, with questions added about author guidelines in general. Multiple reviewers completed the assessment.Results:The author guidelines of 141 journals were evaluated. Less than 20% addressed at least one of the assessed measures specific to SR/MA methodological quality. There was wide variation in author guidelines between journals from the same publisher apart from the American Medical Association, which consistently offered in-depth author guidelines. Normalized Eigenfactor and Article Influence Scores did not indicate author guideline breadth.Conclusions:Most author guidelines in the institutional sample did not address SR/MA methodological quality. When consulting with teams embarking on SRs/MAs, librarians should not expect author guidelines to provide details about the requirements of the target journals. Librarians should advise teams to follow established SR/MA standards, contact journal staff, and review SRs/MAs previously published in the journal.     

Preschool Teacher Well-Being: A Review of the Literature

Much is changing in preschool education. Current reform primarily emphasizes standardized practice, academic outcomes, and accountability. Little attention has been given to how these changes are impacting the well-being of teachers. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current literature on preschool teacher well-being and identify directions for future research. Accordingly, a thorough search of the literature was conducted and 30 articles attending to issues of preschool teacher well-being were identified and analyzed. The literature was found to be deeply fragmented, rather narrow and limited. One conclusion is that more research is needed that attends more broadly to preschool teachers’ well-being, including self-efficacy, life satisfaction, financial stability, emotional and physical health, and autonomy.     

Cross-language transfer of phonological and orthographic processing skills from Spanish L1 to English L2

Previous cross-language research has focused on L1 phonological processing and its relation to L2 reading. Less extensive is the research on the effect that L1 orthographic processing skill has on L2 reading and spelling. This study was designed to investigate how reading and spelling acquisition in English (L2) is influenced by phonological and orthographic processing skills in Spanish (L1) in 89 Spanish-English bilingual children in grades 2 and 3. Comparable measures in English and Spanish tapping phonological and orthographic processing were administered to the bilingual children. We found that cross-language phonological and orthographic transfer occurs from Spanish to English. Specifically, the Spanish phoneme deletion task contributed a significant amount of unique variance to English word reading and spelling, for both real words and pseudowords. The Spanish homophone choice task predicted English reading, but not spelling. Taken together, these results suggest that there are shared phonological and orthographic processes in bilingual reading; however, orthographic patterns may be language specific, thereby not likely to transfer to spelling performance.     

Cognitive complexity,the first year of teaching,and mentoring

Drawing on data from a US study of nine mentors and mentees, including mentee scores on the Reasoning about Current Issues (RCI) Test, which offers a measure of cognitive complexity, the authors explore how differences in cognitive complexity were related to role expectations, conceptions of teaching problems, and the use of evidence for justifying beliefs. Growing out of the Reflective Judgment Model developed by King and Kitchner [(2002). The reflective judgment model: Twenty years of research on epistemic cognition. In B. Hofer, & P. Pintrich (Eds.), Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing (pp. 37–61). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates] the RCI defines cognitive complexity in terms of how individuals reason—make judgments and use evidence—about ill-structured, controversial, problems. The authors argue that differences in how individuals reason when problem solving may help explain some aspects of how relationships between mentees and mentors form and suggest that greater attention needs to be given to cognitive complexity when designing induction and mentor programs.     

Development and Evaluation of a Multi‐Institutional Case Studies‐Based Course in Food Safety

Developing novel, engaging courses in food safety is necessary to train professionals in this discipline. Courses that are interactive and case‐based encourage development of critical thinking skills necessary for identifying and preventing foodborne disease outbreaks. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a case study module‐based course for upper division undergraduate and graduate students interested in food safety. Four independent case study modules were developed and implemented by 4 universities working in tandem over a semester course. All case studies incorporated molecular and epidemiological methods employed by professionals in food safety in outbreak investigations. Each case study was based on a (i) suspect foodborne pathogen, (ii) identification tools including biochemical test variations and pulsed field gel electrophoresis, multiplex PCR and/or whole genome sequencing, and (iii) suspect location and company type from farm to production site to restaurant. Pre‐ and postinstruction evaluations revealed significant increases in understanding of the concepts introduced through each module as demonstrated by overall mean normalized gain of 0.32 ± 0.35 (15% ± 19%; n = 60). Institution, role of instructor, prescore, and learning environment all played a significant role in the effects of overall learning. This study provides a successful model for a case study‐based course in food safety. The guidelines and materials developed by our group are available for use by other institutions.     

The Self-Study as an Information Literacy Program Assessment Tool

ABSTRACT

The J. Paul Leonard Library at San Francisco State University is engaged in a number of information literacy efforts. The library's new information literacy coordinators had many questions about the library's current activities and how to further develop its information literacy program. In the 2006–2007 academic year, the Library Education Committee obtained a more accurate understanding of the library's information literacy efforts through a self-study process. A survey instrument was created and distributed to all teaching librarians. The results of this study were contrasted with the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) Characteristics of Programs of Information Literacy That Illustrate Best Practices: A Guideline in order to facilitate program assessment and long-term planning.