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What would it look like to engage in more humanizing assessment practices, practices that support the positive development of students' identity, agency, and belonging? In a Southern California school district, a group of teachers have been working toward doing exactly that. One of the first things the teachers did was to recognize that the curriculum-embedded assessments were too long and were not providing evidence of student learning that was helpful to the formative process. Together they crafted shorter assessments aligned to major mathematical takeaways that provided more robust ways for students to show their thinking. These educators also needed to shift their own views about how and why they were using assessments to begin with. Assessment had morphed into a practice of compliance--sorting students and reporting their progress--rather than a process in which student thinking was elicited in multiple ways, interpreted, and used to inform further teaching and learning. If the goal is to elicit student thinking in ways that recognize and embrace their humanity, how do the assessments used do this? How is student thinking made visible in ways that foster a positive mathematical identity? What information can be gleaned from the tasks provided to students and the ways in which we listen to them?

When museums commission green buildings, those buildings are often covered in the press. To understand the educational potential of green building press coverage, we qualitatively analyzed 96 articles about eight U.S. green science museums. We found that journalists who cover green buildings highlight green roofs, material choices, site/landscaping, and plant choices most often. Additionally, analyses showed that green building coverage catalyzed discussion of broader sustainability issues such as ecosystems, climate change, and water issues. Press coverage of sustainable architecture sets an agenda of sustainability and contributes to the larger aim of public science education.

The choice to create or renovate museum buildings to green building standards is a growing trend for science museums. With access to green facilities comes the potential to extend informal science learning into the three-dimensional architectural environment. To examine how and if museums with green buildings interpret their buildings for the public, this study used photographs systematically taken by researchers in eight science museums across the United States. Results show that recycling, water, energy, green materials, and eco-landscaping were the top five green building themes interpreted by museums. Moreover, all museums use the passive strategy of educational signage to communicate green building themes, though several museums attempted to provide more active, hands-on learning opportunities. The analysis additionally uncovered a series of distinct strategic choices museums made concerning centralized versus decentralized displays, media types, passive versus active engagement, and targeting a range of visitor outcomes from green knowledge to behaviors. The potential for enhancing green building education in museums with certified green buildings is discussed.

Top-down accountability policies have arguably had very limited impact over the past 20 years. Education stakeholders are now contemplating new forms of bottom-up accountability. In 2013, policymakers in California enacted a community-based approach that creates the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) process for school finance to increase flexibility. The reform also seeks to involve stakeholders at the local level by creating a Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). We conducted a statutory analysis of the state's new funding formula in comparison to its predecessor. We also analyze the state's new system of district implementation, support, and intervention. We then discuss the implications of California's reforms for future K-12 funding and accountability policy.

Integrating organizationally targeted wellness strategies into the routine conduct of business has shown promise in engaging captive audiences at highest risk of obesity and obesity-related health consequences. This paper presents a process evaluation of the implementation of the University of California, Los Angeles, Working Out Regularly Keeps Individuals Nurtured and Going (WORKING) pilot study. WORKING focuses on integrating physical activity and nutrition practices into workplace routine during non-discretionary paid work time. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the quality of implementation and to understand factors that facilitated or hindered organizations' full uptake of the intervention. Fifteen worksites were randomly assigned to an intervention condition. Qualitative data were gathered through routine site visits and informant interviews conducted throughout each worksite's intervention period. Worksites were classified into one of four implementation success categories based on their level of adoption and maintenance of core intervention strategies. Six key factors emerged that were related to implementation success: site layout and social climate, wellness infrastructure, number and influence of Program Champions, leadership involvement, site innovation and creativity. This pilot study has informed the conduct of WORKING II; a cluster randomized controlled trial aimed at enrolling 60-70 worksites in Los Angeles County.

The Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) argues that the most valid judgments of the creativity are those of the combined opinions of experts in the field. Yet who exactly qualifies as an expert to evaluate a creative product such as a short story? This study examines both novice and expert judgments of student short fiction. Results indicate a need for caution in using non-expert raters. Although there was only a small (but statistically significant) difference between experts' and novices' mean ratings, the correlation between the two sets of ratings was just 0.71. Experts were also far more consistent in their ratings compared to novices, whose level of inter-rater reliability was potentially problematic. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Several thousand subjects completed self-report questionnaires about their own creativity in 56 discrete domains. This sample was then randomly divided into three subsamples that were subject to factor analyses that compared an oblique model (with a set of correlated factors) and a hierarchical model (with a single second-order, or hierarchical, factor subsuming all of the first order factors). After model refinement, both models were then tested on a confirmation sample. The hierarchical model had a better fit with the data than the oblique model, providing support for theories that have proposed a hierarchical structure to creativity, such as the Amusement Park Theoretical Model. The analysis provided evidence of both an over-arching general factor and seven more specific General Thematic Areas of creative performance (Artistic-Verbal, Artistic-Visual, Entrepreneur, Interpersonal, Math/Science, Performance, and Problem-Solving). (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Increasing enrollment and decreasing budgets have caused many public universities, such as San Fransisco State University (SFU), to offer mega-sections of courses to hundreds of students. Yet the needs of many students are at odds with the large enrollments, inflexible times, and inconvenient locations of these classes. Jason Cole and Bruce Robertson look at an alternative to traditional courses in this context--a hybrid online-offline course designed to accomodate a diverse student population. In designing their Web-enhanced Introductory Marketing course at SFU, the authors adopted a market-segmentation approach that identified the different needs of different student groups, which in this case included working and non-working students as well as native English speakers and students who learned English as a second language. After describing the methods they used to develop their course and illustrating its distinctive features, the authors provide an assessment of their redesign with regard to student performance and student satisfaction. (Contains 6 exhibits and 1 table.)

This study investigated the benefits of using a Web-based reading curriculum program featuring music and video, on struggling readers' performance and motivation. A sample of 36 third grade students from low socioeconomic backgrounds was randomly assigned to receive Web-based or traditional reading instruction. Analyses of performance indicated basic reading skills improved significantly for students who received Web-based rather than traditional instruction. Results also showed a significant correlation between reading performance and motivation among struggling readers. Qualitative differences in motivation and engagement were observed across ethnicity among students who received Web-based instruction. The results and educational implications are discussed in relation to the cultural relevance of computer and non-computer-based learning environments. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.)

Rural health services are difficult to maintain because of low patient volumes, limited numbers of providers, and unfavorable economies of scale. Rural patients may perceive poor quality in local health care, directly impacting the sustainability of local health care services. This study examines perceptions of local health care quality in 7 rural, underserved communities where telemedicine was implemented. This study also assesses factors associated with travel outside of local communities for health care services. Community-based pretelemedicine and posttelemedicine random telephone surveys were conducted in 7 northern California rural communities assessing local residents' perceptions of health care quality and the frequency of travel outside their community for health care services. Five-hundred rural residents were interviewed in each of the pretelemedicine and posttelemedicine surveys. Between surveys, telemedicine services were made available in each of the communities. Residents aware of telemedicine services in their community had a significantly higher opinion of local health care quality (P = .002). Satisfaction with telemedicine was rated high by both rural providers and patients. Residents with lower opinions of local health care quality were more likely to have traveled out of their community for medical care services (P = .014). The introduction of telemedicine into rural communities is associated with increases in the local communities' perception of local health care quality. Therefore, is it possible that telemedicine may result in a decrease in the desire and need for local patients to travel outside of their community for health care services.

On the basis of extensive research on university-community collaborative education projects in southern California and southern Sweden, this article proposes two roles and a research strategy and approach as elements essential to sustained collaboration. Recognition and fulfillment of the roles of "spider" and "firesoul," while "leading with the little finger," contribute to educational anthropology by linking qualitative and ethnographic research with university and community learning, practice, and service in a process of involvement. (Contains 1 note.)

Examines whether the type of pictorial stimulus affects the quality of an individual's written expression. Compared a pictorial stimulus to a conventional line drawing stimulus in its ability to evoke writing samples. Results of 50 respondents, ages 13 to 46, indicated that the type of prompt used in an assessment of written expression makes a critical difference. (RJM)

A critical approach to the application of research by developmental psychologists is proposed, using a concept of culture derived from agricultural metaphors in the English language. The approach is illustrated in a study of afterschool activities for California children. (SLD)

A collection of 30 Phytophthora cactorum and 12 P. pseudotsugae (subclade 1a) strains isolated from several recent surveys across California was phylogenetically compared to a worldwide collection of 112 conspecific strains using sequences from three barcoding loci. The surveys baited P. cactorum from soil and water across a wide variety of forested ecosystems with a geographic range of more than 1000 km. Two cosmopolitan lineages were identified within the widespread P. cactorum, one being mainly associated with strawberry production and the other more closely associated with apple orchards, oaks and ornamental trees. Two other well-sampled P. cactorum lineages, including one that dominated Californian restoration outplantings, were only found in the western United States, while a third was only found in Japan. Coastal California forest isolates of both Phytophthora species exhibited considerable diversity, suggesting both may be indigenous to the state. Many isolates with sequence accessions deposited as P. cactorum were determined to be P. hedraiandra and P. ×serendipita, with one hybrid lineage appearing relatively common across Europe and Asia. This study contains the first report of P. pseudotsugae from the state of California and one of the only reports of that species since its original description. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional timeouts done ineffectively before surgical procedures can result in late blood product requests, inadequate preparation of needed intraoperative apparatus, improper administration of required antibiotics, and operating room (OR) time delays. This clinical concern is important to address because based on current evidence, implementing a Standardized Surgical Checklist (SSC) during timeout can impact patient safety by reducing complications following surgery and can promote good communication and teamwork among the care team. This quality improvement project is aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of SSC on communication and teamwork among an interdisciplinary surgical care team at Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center (LAC + USC). The design of this project was a pre- and postinnovation survey. The participants were the members of the interdisciplinary care team who participated in the surgical timeout before and after the innovation was implemented. The surveys consisted of 219 participants. Results from an independent t test demonstrated that the mean improvement score for both communication (t = -3.704, df = 190, p < .001) and teamwork (t = -3.028, df = 184, p = .003) were significantly higher in the postinnovation group than in the preinnovation group. These results indicate that SSC can improve communication and teamwork among providers inside the OR which can potentially lead to a safer delivery of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we take a closer look at a developing universitv-conzmunitv engagement project being undertaken between Calijbrnia State University Fresno, and the City of Fresno. A history of the project is provided, along with a review of the relevant literature and a summary of what pieces of the puzzle we feel should be in place for a successful collaboration of this sort. These include what structures should he institutionalized for successful collaboration at the university, in the partnering organizations, and in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at legislation which affects the water management of the Upper and Lower Klamath Basins in Oregon. The author comments on how the ecology of the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge may be affected, focusing on the proposition of the Klamath Restoration Agreement. Provisions of the Klamath Restoration Agreement are reviewed, including aspects of hydropower, fisheries, and tribal interests. It is noted that the cost of pumping water from Tule Lake in California to the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge will be shared by the refuges.