Practitioner Perceptions of the A3 Method for Process Improvement in Health Care

The focus of this article is to present students' perceptions of the recently developed A3 method, a structured problem-solving approach based on lean concepts and tools that have been adapted to the health care environment. The students were all employees of a large health care provider and were enrolled in a customized health care executive MBA Program. Each student was required to complete an individual A3 Project in order to improve a process at the department for which they worked. At the end of the semester the students presented their A3 projects to their peers who voted on the best projects. A survey measuring perceptions of the A3 method for problem solving in health care was administered and from it we present propositions for A3 implementation. These propositions are applicable both to health care practitioners and to academic researchers.     

Investigating changes in pedagogical knowledge and skills from pre-service to the initial year of teaching

This study examined the levels of pedagogical knowledge and skills as perceived by student teachers who were enrolled in the Post Graduate Diploma in Education program at the National Institute of Education, Singapore, from the beginning of their initial teacher preparation program to the end of their first year of teaching. Their perceptions were assessed using the Pedagogical Knowledge and Skills in Teaching (PKST) survey which comprised six factors, namely, Student Learning, Lesson Planning, Instructional Support, Accomodating Diversity, Classroom Management, and Care and Concern. A sample of 812 student teachers participated in the study. The MANOVA conducted showed that there were significant increases in both their pedagogical knowledge and skills in teaching in all six factors from the start of their initial teacher preparation (ITP) program till the end of their first year of teaching. However, between the exit from the program to the end of the first year of teaching, they only perceived that their level of pedagogical knowledge in classroom management and care and concern continued to increase significantly. In the case of self-perceived skills, their level increased significantly between entry and exit of the program for all factors, except for care and concern, while the increase between the exit and first year of teaching was significant for all six factors. These results may have implications for preservice teacher education and this will be discussed in this article.     

Graphing as a Means to Improve Middle School Science Learning and Mathematics-Related Affective Domains

Research in Science Education - This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Mathematics Infusion into Science Project (MiSP), which integrated science and mathematics in an engaging middle school...     

Privileged Identity Exploration: Examining Counselor Trainees' Reactions to Difficult Dialogues

In this qualitative study, the authors examined master's‐level counselor trainees' reactions to difficult dialogues in the classroom regarding racism, heterosexism/homophobia, and ableism over a 3‐year period. Using the Consensual Qualitative Research method as introduced by C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, and E. N. Williams (1997), the data analysis team analyzed narrative and reaction papers submitted during a didactic course on multiculturalism. Behavioral reactions were identified that form the basis for this study: denial, deflection, rationalization, intellectualization, principium, false envy, minimization, and benevolence.     

How academics manage individual differences to team teach in higher education: a sociocultural activity theory perspective

Higher Education - In the higher education (HE) landscape worldwide, team teaching has become increasingly common. The growing prevalence of team teaching in HE has mainly been driven by the...     

Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness

Faculty members at a research extensive university who had been recognized as outstanding teachers stated that they enjoyed teaching and expressed a strong preference for actively engaging students in the learning process and placing a high degree of importance on receiving student feedback. They stressed the importance of setting clear expectations and goals, providing timely feedback, and using a variety of presentation and instructional approaches and emphasized that their teaching and research were interconnected and synergistic.     

Social-Emotional Development,School Readiness,Teacher–Child Interactions,and Classroom Environment

This article investigates the effectiveness of a statewide 6-month early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) model on teachers’ emotional support of children and classroom organization. We provide a brief historical and theoretical background of the field of ECMHC, present the logic model for our ECMHC intervention, and discuss the existing research that supports this logic model. Research Findings: Participants included 445 teachers from 158 child care centers statewide. The mental health consultation improved the quality of early childhood teachers’ interactions (e.g., emotional support and classroom organization) with children in their care. Teachers with more experience and more than a high school degree tended to score higher on many of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (R. C. Pianta, K. M. La Paro, &; B. K. Hamre, 2008 Pianta , R. C. , La Paro , K. M. , &; Hamre , B. K. ( 2008 ). Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) manual, Pre-K . Baltimore , MD : Brookes . [Google Scholar]) dimensions. Practice or Policy: This study demonstrates that mental health consultants can partner successfully with early childhood educators and provide support that enhances classroom variables associated with high-quality care and positive child outcomes. Even with a high rate of teacher turnover (35%), significant differences were found; this demonstrates the robustness of the ECMHC model in that the effectiveness of this model was not undermined by the chronic problem of staff turnover.     

Classroom studies into cognitive style in mathematics for pupils with dyslexia in special education in the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK

The project reported here was designed to explore the cognitive style used by pupils with dyslexia when answering a range of mathematical questions. The research involved 132 pupils aged between 9 and 13 years, including 66 pupils in mainstream and 66 pupils in specialist schools, in three countries in Europe.
Detailed studies of the methods used by pupils attempting the given questions on a test of cognitive style suggested that they fell into two main categories. These pupils were observed when completing the test and their responses were categorised accordingly. The resulting numerical data were then analysed for differences between pupils within each country and between their non-dyslexic counterparts.
The results showed significant differences in the balance of cognitive styles employed by pupils with dyslexia as opposed to their non-dyslexic counterparts. Also there were interesting differences occurring between the pupils with dyslexia within the three countries on initial testing. Further differences were established after a six-month intervention period, suggesting that the characteristics of different curriculum models do have an impact upon pupils' flexibility as learners.