COMPASS-AIM: A University/P–12 Partnership Innovation for Continuous Improvement

COMPASS-AIM is a set of processes and tools used by participants in a research–practice partnership (RPP) to improve organizational capacities and individual and team competencies for organizational learning and improvement. The “COMPASS” team includes teams of teachers and school leaders who work with a university researcher and expert professional developers. Improvement teams begin by COMParing practices in their own setting to those in higher performing schools identified through research. The next few phases involve Assessing priorities based on those comparisons, Selecting levers (i.e., drivers) to improve a priority area, and Setting a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal or goals designed to address the priority area. Once a “COMPASS” team establishes a goal or goals, the process has it take AIM at Action planning, Implementation, and Monitoring progress through periodic “check the pulse” meetings. Throughout these phases, participants use self-assessment tools, case studies, and a variety of other research reports to inform their work. This research utilization-focused approach bridges research and practice, while accommodating for variability in desired outcomes, affordances, and constraints for change in different school and district contexts.     

Comparison of examination methods used in the evaluation of prepubertal and pubertal female genitalia: a descriptive study

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of three different examination methods in their ability to help the examiner detect both acute and non-acute genital injuries in prepubertal and pubertal girls suspected of having been sexually abused. METHODS: Forty-six prepubertal and 74 pubertal girls, whose ages ranged from 4 months to 18 years, were evaluated to determine the relative effectiveness of three different examination methods. RESULTS: All the girls had sustained a recent genital injury from various causes. The mean time between an injury and the first examination was 24h for the prepubertal girls and 27h for the pubertal girls. The three "multimethod" examination approaches used were the supine labial separation method; the supine labial traction technique; and the prone knee-chest position. The supine labial separation method was useful in identifying an injury on the external portion of the genitalia in both groups of girls. Injuries within the vestibule, on the hymenal surface, or in the fossa navicularis required greater separation of the labia. This was accomplished through the use of either the supine labial traction technique or the prone knee-chest position. The prone knee-chest position was the most successful method for identifying hymenal lacerations in both groups of girls. Of the 10 hymenal lacerations detected in the prepubertal girls 20% were identified during the use of the supine labial separation method, 60% with the supine labial traction technique, and 100% with the prone knee-chest position approach. Of the 49 hymenal lacerations detected in the pubertal girls 24% were identified with the supine labial separation method, 65% with the supine labial traction technique, and 90% with the prone knee-chest position approach. The data from this study has shown that the results of a medical examination will vary by the method employed. CONCLUSIONS: While no single technique detected all the injuries, the use of the multimethod examination approach did prove to be a valuable adjunct in the evaluation of both the prepubertal and the pubertal girl's genitalia, particularly in the identification of a hymenal laceration. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This approach uses three different examination methods: the supine labial separation method, the supine labial traction technique, and the prone knee-chest position. According to the results of this study, without the combined use of these three methods a significant number of injuries, particularly hymenal lacerations, could be missed in both the child and the adolescent.     

Opening Doors: Understanding School and Family Influences on Family Involvement

Family involvement in schooling can benefit young children, teachers, and families. Family involvement in schools can be influenced by both school-related and family-related factors. School-related factors include teachers’ attitudes toward families, and school and teacher expectations. Family-related factors include ethnicity, prior school experiences, and family work schedules. Teachers who recognize and understand these influences can employ a variety of strategies to facilitate the involvement of families in the school experience of young children.     

Managing schools and training school managers: some concepts

The role of theory is to tell us the way things are rather than how they ought to be or how we would like them to be. (Thomas Barr Greenfield, 1980)     

Electroplating for high aspect ratio vias in PCB manufacturing： enhancement capabilities of acoustic streaming

This paper considers the copper electrodeposit ion processes in microvias and investigates whether the quality of the electroplating process can be improved by acoustic streaming using megasonic transducers placed into a plating cell. The theoretical results show that acoustic streaming does not take place within the micro-via （either through or blind-via＇ s）, however it does help improve cupric ion transport in the area close to the mouth of a via. This replenishment of cupric ions at the mouth of micro-via leads to better quality filling of the micro-via through diffusion compared to basic conditions. Experiments showing the improved quality of the filling of vias are also presented.     

Developing the capacity of teacher‐librarians to meet the diverse needs of all schoolchildren: Project ENABLE

US school libraries are required to ensure that schoolchildren and school staff with disabilities have equal opportunity to use and benefit from library facilities and information services under federal law. However, evidence indicates teacher‐librarians (TLs) often lack the training, knowledge and skills to provide programmes and services that meet the needs of students with disabilities. Project ENABLE (Expanding Nondiscriminatory Access by Librarians Everywhere) was created to respond to this shortfall by designing, implementing and evaluating a professional development programme in New York State. The project applies a social model of disability to help 100 TLs, special educators and general educators further develop their skills and resources by teaming together to create an inclusive environment for all students. This is achieved through the use of universal design principles, appropriate assistive and other technologies, an emphasis on person‐first language and sensitivity simulations, a focus on inclusive lesson planning, and by developing collaboration capacity among participant teams. Curriculum development, data collection and analyses are presented. The effect of the Project ENABLE trainings was significant in terms of higher levels of skill and knowledge reported by participants for creating accessible library programmes, advancing inclusive education and building effective collaborations. Drawing from their workshop learning and resources, participant teams developed action plans to implement during the 2011–2012 school year. This project underscores the importance of TLs in the education of all students, including those with disabilities. Higher education and local professional development programmes must place greater emphasis on preparing TLs to perform this role effectively and confidently.     

Family Routines and School Readiness During the Transition to Kindergarten

Research Findings: Using data from 3,250 participants in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, we used structural equation modeling to investigate whether family routines (e.g., bedtime routine, reading routine) established in preschool predict children’s school readiness (i.e., academic skills, social-emotional skills, and physical health) in kindergarten, a foundational year for establishing children’s academic trajectories. Analyses revealed that higher levels of routines in preschool were associated with greater declines in teacher-reported conduct problems and hyperactive/inattentive behavior and greater gains in prosocial behaviors from preschool to kindergarten. Higher routines also predicted greater gains in both reading and mathematics scores as well as greater improvements in physical health. Telling stories appears to be the most salient routine for children’s social-emotional outcomes, whereas bedtime routines most strongly predicts differences in children’s academic skills and health outcomes. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that family routines may be an important tool for preparing and supporting children and parents for the kindergarten transition even before school entry.     

Physics Metacognition Inventory Part II: Confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis

The Physics Metacognition Inventory was developed to measure physics students’ metacognition for problem solving. In one of our earlier studies, an exploratory factor analysis provided evidence of preliminary construct validity, revealing six components of students’ metacognition when solving physics problems including knowledge of cognition, planning, monitoring, evaluation, debugging, and information management. The college students’ scores on the inventory were found to be reliable and related to students’ physics motivation and physics grade. However, the results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the questionnaire could be revised to improve its construct validity. The goal of this study was to revise the questionnaire and establish its construct validity through a confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, a Rasch analysis was applied to the data to better understand the psychometric properties of the inventory and to further evaluate the construct validity. Results indicated that the final, revised inventory is a valid, reliable, and efficient tool for assessing student metacognition for physics problem solving.     

Making the right connections: Differential effects of reading intervention for subgroups of comprehenders

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different types of questioning interventions on students' reading comprehension. Fourth-grade students (n = 246) were identified as struggling, average, or good readers and assigned randomly within school to one of three questioning interventions: two inferential conditions (Causal or General) or one literal condition (“Who, What, Where, When” or W-questioning). Teachers delivered the interventions for 20–30 min, 2–4 times per week, for 8–10 weeks. All readers made reliable pre- to posttest comprehension gains as measured by story recall (ps < .001 to .04). Differential effects for intervention were found between two subgroups of struggling comprehenders—elaborators and paraphrasers. Elaborators benefited more than paraphrasers from Causal questioning (d = .86) whereas paraphrasers benefited more than elaborators from General questioning (d = 1.46). These findings suggest that identifying subgroups is important in developing and evaluating the effectiveness of reading comprehension interventions.     

C2STEM: a System for Synergistic Learning of Physics and Computational Thinking

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Synergistic learning combining computational thinking (CT) and STEM has proven to be an effective method for advancing learning and understanding in a...