Assessing the impact of the Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction: A post‐degree survey

There are few graduate programs available for pursuing a doctorate in anatomy where students gain specific training in gross anatomy dissection and the responsibilities of a medical educator. In light of this fact, the University of Kentucky created a Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction in 2006. This 12‐credit hour curriculum includes detailed training in gross anatomy and/or neuroscience courses, practicum experiences, a seminar class in pedagogical literature, and a course in educational strategies for the anatomical sciences. The award of certificate completion affirms that the candidate has demonstrated faculty‐supervised proficiency in anatomy dissection, instruction in anatomy topics, and teaching strategies for anatomy. Seventeen graduate students have earned the certificate since its inception; nine students accepted teaching positions in anatomy following their graduate training and currently nine certificate graduates have assistant (six) or associate (three) professor positions in academia. In 2016, an anonymous survey including Likert‐style and open‐ended questions was emailed to all certificate graduates. Graduates favorably responded (each question averaged 4.4 or greater out of 5) that the certificate increased their awareness of teaching‐faculty responsibilities, adequately prepared them for teaching‐related duties, and positively contributed toward their first employment. Graduates indicated that the lecturing and dissection experience, awareness of faculty responsibilities, and job preparation (e.g., teaching philosophy development) were the most helpful aspects of the certificate. These results indicate that the Graduate Certificate in Anatomical Sciences Instruction is viewed by its graduates and their employers as a valuable teaching credential that can be attained alongside a basic science degree. Anat Sci Educ 11: 516–524. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

A New Twist on Studying the Development of Dynamic Spatial Transformations: Mental Paper Folding in Young Children

The relation of spatial skills to academic success in areas such as math and science has sparked discussion in early education around how spatial thinking skills might be included in early schooling. Planning and evaluating new curricula or interventions requires understanding these skills and having the means to assess them. Prior developmental research focused primarily on one aspect of dynamic spatial transformations (DST), namely mental rotation. This study broadens our knowledge by addressing another important DST, namely mental folding. We devised a new test suitable for young children. Performance of 180 children between 4 and 7 years suggests that mental folding appears at around 5.5 years of age, although there were also marked individual differences. These data on the emergence of DST suggest that educational programs targeting this skill could start in preschool or kindergarten and provide a means to assess the effectiveness of such efforts.     

A measure of emergent literacy for students with severe developmental disabilities

This study examined the underlying structure of the Nonverbal Literacy Assessment (NVLA), an instrument designed to measure emergent literacy for K–fourth‐grade students with severe developmental disabilities. The NVLA was conceptualized as having six constructs that reflected emergent literacy skills: (a) phonemic awareness, (b) phonics, (c) comprehension, (d) vocabulary, (e) listening comprehension, and (f) text awareness. Confirmatory factor analysis using data from 207 student administrations was used to examine the six‐factor model and two alternative models. Results suggested that all three models fit the data, but the high corrections coefficients among the constructs suggested that a one‐factor model of emergent literacy was the best‐fitting model. Implications and limitations are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Preferences for teaching styles matter in academic achievement: scientific and practical implications

The two primary objectives of this study were: to identify the preferred teaching styles of secondary‐school students and to compare these preferences with those of university students from past research; and to examine the contributions of students’ preferred teaching styles to their academic achievement. A sample of 298 students from a Catholic boys’ school completed the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory and the Self‐rated Ability Scale. Participants’ achievements in 12 school subjects were obtained. Results indicated great similarities between the preferred teaching styles of the present sample and those of university students in previous studies. Achievement scores in all 12 subjects were predicted by students’ preferred teaching styles beyond their self‐rated abilities. Some of these predictive relationships were domain‐specific, while others were not. The findings’ scientific and practical implications are discussed.     

Teachers’ Workplace Learning and the Learning Portfolio

During the years 1994‐1996 the Federal Government of Australia conducted the National Professional Development Program (NPDP) for teachers. This paper reports on a project concerned with investigating the views of significant stakeholders about the issue of accreditation of teacher learning in NPDP projects and developing a means by which such accreditation could take place. The project was carried out in the final year of the NPDP and sought to provide a vehicle for teachers to gain university credit for their workplace learning in many of the projects conducted during the three years of the NPDP.     

Tasks and trajectories in learning to teach

University‐based teacher‐education programmes in the USA confront mounting pressure to demonstrate that graduates will have a significant and positive impact on student achievement. Such pressure has forced teacher educators to wrestle with the question of what constitutes compelling evidence that teacher candidates will indeed have such an impact. This paper presents the deliberations and resulting investigation of a team of university faculty members seeking to account for preservice elementary‐school teachers’ learning and development. It offers a preliminary articulation of a trajectory of learning, and a critique of the tasks and the programmatic experiences from which this trajectory is constructed.