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The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare the Texas school accountability approach used from 2004 to 2011 based on a status-based model to a model that incorporates academic growth and student demographic variables. Information from three large urban school districts in Texas was analysed considering data from 398 elementary schools and the reading and mathematics TAKS test scores of 24,065 fourth and fifth grade students. Results indicated that the average school growth did not present significant differences between institutions with different accountability rating defined by TEA in 2011. Statistical differences were found when the average school growth was analysed disaggregating the students’ population by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and English language proficiency. A systemic approach must prevail for designing an accountability system used to judge the quality of education delivered at an elementary school. This research was an analysis of how an accountability system could be useful to evaluate school effectiveness based on standard-based assessment results. However, the use of only one measurement to judge a school’s efficacy regarding the quality education provided to students may be a reductionist and narrow approach. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.12.14

Background Conflicts in medical settings affect both team function and patient care, yet a standardized curriculum for conflict management in clinical teams does not exist. Objectives To evaluate the effects of an educational intervention for conflict management on knowledge and perceptions and to identify trends in preferred conflict management style among intensive care unit workers. Methods A conflict management education intervention was created for an intensive care team. The intervention was 1 hour long and incorporated the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument as well as conflict management concepts, self-reflection, and active learning through discussion and reviewing clinical cases. Descriptive statistics were prepared on the participants’ preferred conflict management modes. A pretest/posttest was analyzed to evaluate knowledge and perceptions of conflict before and after the intervention, and 3 open-ended questions on the posttest were reviewed for categories. Results Forty-nine intensive care providers participated in the intervention. The largest portion of participants had an avoiding conflict management mode (32%), followed by compromising (30%), accommodating (25%), collaborating (9%), and competing (5%). Pretest/posttest data were collected for 31 participants and showed that knowledge (P < .001) and perception (P = .004) scores increased significantly after the conflict management intervention. Conclusions The conflict management educational intervention improved the participants’ knowledge and affected perceptions. Categorization of open-ended questions suggested that intensive care providers are interested in concrete information that will help with conflict resolution, and some participants understood that mindfulness and awareness would improve professional interactions or reduce conflict.

Transformational leadership is well documented in organizational and business literature. Classroom and faith-based applications are more recent phenomena. The authors of this mixed-methods study e...

Despite the collaborative nature of medicine, most medical professionals are not taught or trained to lead collaboratively. Even when leadership skills and content are incorporated into the curriculum, rarely is the content focused on relationship management and trust, both of which are imperative to collaborative and team leadership in medicine. Resonant leadership is a leadership framework centered on emotional and social intelligence. Emotional intelligence, a concept involving skills that can be taught and improved, has proven to be important in leadership. Resonant leaders, or leaders with social and emotional intelligence, develop positive relationships and environments, engaging team members to work toward a common goal through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. This article examines the current state of leadership education and development and proposes resonant leadership as a viable framework for education. A leadership framework heavy on emotional and social intelligence is ideal for the team environment of medicine, and there is literature to back up the positive outcomes of leading with this framework in a clinical setting, including reduction of burnout, building team trust, and better relationship management.

Instructional models such as Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) reflect changes in traditional methods of teaching. CBL, developed by Apple, promotes problem-based learning, where collaboration and hands-on learning are key elements in the process (Larmer, Ross, & Mergendoller, 2009). Today's learners must develop information literacy and media literacy skills to communicate by way of 21st century tools, and new instructional models reflect these changes. The integration of technology in the classroom has affected education models in elementary and secondary schools across the nation. This chapter presents a mixed-methods study of a middle school involved in a one-to-one iPad initiative. In order to promote student-centered instruction through the use of technology, the middle school adopted a CBL model of instruction. This examination of teachers' concerns with pedagogy and technology depicts readiness for integration and implications of new innovations. The process of change and technology integration is addressed in this chapter.

Does using technology as a supplemental resource in today's classroom sufficiently complement current practices or can technology form an integral component of instruction and learning? Traditionally, the American education system consisted of classroom learning with the teacher as the primary source of content delivery and textbooks as the chief resource. Presently, technology influences instruction, and its impact will only increase. Many students have constant access to technology via the Internet at home and mobile devices. Therefore, today's learners must develop information literacy and media literacy skills to communicate by way of 21st Century tools. Whereas the availability of technology in the classroom varies among states and districts, instructional strategies, such as problem-based learning, can frame technology as an integral component of education. This chapter will focus on project-based learning, problem-based learning, and challenge-based learning as pedagogies that readily integrate technology to promote new literacies.

Today’s children enter classrooms with technology skills influenced by Internet surfing, blogging, texting, messaging, networking, and gaming. Educators should engage students with technology to teach them skills needed in the 21st century. Shifts in Web-based social practices call for changes to print-based pedagogies to include authentic digital forms of communication (Mills & Levido, 2011), as technology has changed communication in a global world. Web 2.0 technologies empower learners to participate in the location, production, sharing, and critical analysis of online text within an international, collaborative environment. The purpose of this chapter is to describe important Web 2.0 tools, the new literacies they reflect, and their applications for classroom use. The chapter will focus on current Web 2.0 practices and research on the use of these tools to improve literacy.

As colleges see their adult-student enrollments grow, it's imperative that those tasked with serving this population have a deep understanding of adults' learning needs. Fortunately, decades of research into adult learning provide some key strategies for serving adults.