A qualitative assessment of human cadavers embalmed by Thiel's method used in laparoscopic training for renal resection

Human cadaveric tissue is the fundamental substrate for basic anatomic and surgical skills training. A qualitative assessment of the use of human cadavers preserved by Thiel's method for a British Association of Urological Surgeons-approved, advanced laparoscopic renal resection skills training course is described in the present study. Four trainees and four experienced laparoscopic surgeons participated in the course. All participants completed a five-point Likert scale satisfaction questionnaire after their training sessions. The quality of cadaveric tissue and the training session were assessed with particular emphasis placed on the ease of patient positioning, the ease of trocar placement, the preservation of tissue planes, the ease of renal pedicle dissection, and the quality of tissue preservation. All of the participants highly rated the quality of the cadaveric tissue embalmed by Thiel's method (mean scores for quality on the five-point Likert scale were 4.5 and 4.3 by the trainees and experienced laparoscopic surgeons, respectively). All of the steps of laparoscopic renal resection were rated 4.0 or more on the Likert scale by both trainees and faculty members. The initial response rates for using a human cadaver embalmed by Thiel's method as a training tool for laparoscopic nephrectomy showed encouraging results. The performance of a laparoscopic nephrectomy on a human cadaver embalmed by Thiel's method bears close resemblance to real laparoscopic nephrectomy procedures, and thus demonstrates added advantages to the previously reported models.     

Primary grade student reports for teacher evaluation

The improvement of teacher evaluation is an important theme in current public school reform efforts. One change, suggested by a number of researchers, is to gather more lines of evidence or perspectives of teacher performance for decision making. Student views, commonly used in higher education, are advocated as one data source about teacher quality. Although it is clear that students of all ages can provide some perspective on teacher performance, substantial questions remain about using the views of young pupils.The purpose of this study was to empirically examine a sample of student reports of teacher performance from kindergarten through second grade. The analysis used procedures developed for student rating forms in higher education. The objective was to advance understanding and practice about effective teacher evaluation, specifically in the use of pupil report data.     

The development,trial and evaluation of a constructivist teaching and learning approach in a preservice science teacher education program

This paper reports on the use of a constructivist teaching/learning approach to improve first year pre-service primary teachers' confidence in, and attitude to, teaching science. The two-semester program was based on allowing the students to explore science concepts in detail during the first semester and then developing constructivist pedagogy in the second semester. There were many benefits reported by students including ownership of knowledge, the development of pedagogic skills and the use of group work to develop ideas. However, a number of concems were raised such as uncertainty of knowing what to do when exploring knowledge for themselves and the lack of note taking which occurred. A number of issues that need to be considered when re-implementing the program are discussed.     

Higher education's role in educating the older worker

Educational programs for mature adults have become widespread in the past few years but still attract only a small minority of the potential older population. One approach to increasing enrollment is to gain access to older people through their place of employment. This offers the advantages of a captive group, clear objectives for the instructional experience, a supportive environment, and a substantial experience base on which to plan the instruction. European industrial training of older workers offers substantial insight and application to the U.S. and may prove a boon to both educators and employers.     

Pitfalls in the evaluation of principals

This paper describes the characteristics of a statewide principal evaluation system. Present empirical knowledge of the ways school principals are evaluated is almost nonexistent (Harrison, 1985); because of this we will employ a design drawn from studies of evaluation in other settings (Dornbusch and Scott, 1975), of teachers (Natriello and Dornbusch, 1981) and control of principals (Peterson, 1984). A questionnaire was used to gather information about the ways principals are evaluated as reported by principals and superintendents. The authors find that even when an evaluation system is detailed, specific, and statewide, inconsistencies develop because of the special nature of principals' work. The systems appear to break down in the sampling of performance and outputs and in the communication of negative feedback-key areas if principals are to improve their performance. Suggestions for research and practice are presented.Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Francisco, 1986.     

Securitisation and/or Westernisation: dominant discourses of Australian values and the implications for teacher education

Debates concerning the nature, purpose and importance of Australian values have resurfaced in Australia following the election of the Liberal-led Coalition Government in September 2013. Two dominant discourses on Australian values have emerged within recent government rhetoric and public policy, both of which have included a demand for changes to how Australian values are taught and encountered within Australian education and schooling. In our analysis, we suggest that the two dominant discourses, one focusing on securitisation and one on Westernisation, have to this point operated separately, but have both focused on narrow, fixed and forced understandings of Australian values. Exploring the key themes of these two discourses, some important issues for teacher educators are set out, including the need to mediate these discourses against research evidence which suggests the importance of holistic and co-operative pedagogical relationships based on trust and humility for effective values education. Though our analysis focuses on the Australian context, the arguments made are likely to be of interest elsewhere given current debates about national values in education across a range of jurisdictions.     

Developmental changes in ideas about lying

Videotaped stories depicting deliberate lies and unintentionally untrue statements were presented to 200 subjects evenly divided into the following age groups: 5, 8, 9, and 11 years and adult. Definitions of lying were seen to change gradually over this age range. Adults were more lenient than children in their moral evaluations of all the statements. All age groups rated a guess that did no harm as better than one that caused trouble, and they all judged selfishly motivated lies to be worse than both unintended falsehoods and "jocose" lies that aimed to please the listener. 11-year-olds tended to justify the prohibition against lying in terms of trust and fairness, whereas younger children cited authority's punitive sanctions.