Standards-based Environment Research Articles

Provocateur Piece*: Becoming Meddler

In this piece, I draw on Erica McWilliam’s model of Meddler in the Middle to disrupt familiar notions of teaching. The Meddler in the Middle provides an alternative to existing teaching models—the Sage on the Stage and the Guide on the Side—and foregrounds twenty-first-century skills such as problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking. I explore possibilities for meddling in the context of high school English classrooms and teacher education courses through my teaching experiences; then I contemplate how the Meddler might function in our current standards-based environment.

Tackling text types through grammar

This article addresses the challenge of writing instruction in a standards-based environment where students are accountable for mastering different genres and text types. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), now adopted by the majority of states in the USA, provide exemplars of successful papers in the different disciplines, but offer no guidelines for teaching, particularly to inexperienced writers or English language learners. Since a text in any genre can be developed in a limitless variety of ways, students need a methodology for analyzing effective texts, and for developing their own. This article proposes that focusing on grammatical choice offers an entry point into understanding the craft of Explanations and Arguments. To illustrate, four samples of high school writing are analyzed from the published CCSS exemplars: two Explanations and two Arguments, all with very different purposes and development. The analysis demonstrates the central role that grammar plays in constructing these differences. Specifically, the analysis focuses on information management across noun groups for the Explanations, and on verb choice and modality for the Arguments. Drawing on functional grammar insights, this article proposes a pathway for students from the analysis of model texts to the effective construction of their own.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Distributed Computing with Applications in Bioengineering

Biomedical Engineering, usually known as Bioengineering, is among the fastest developing and one of most important interdisciplinary fields today. It connects natural and technical sciences, for all of which biological and medical phenomena, computation, and data management play important roles in science and industry. Distributed computing and parallel algorithms have proved to be effective in solving the problem with high computational complexity in a wide range of domains, including areas of computational bioengineering. This special edition collects high-quality research papers in the field of application of distributed computing systems in bioengineering applications. This issue is the achievement of the developments of modern computer and biomedical technology. Most bioengineering or bioinformatics methods need to access and analyses large amounts of data. For that it is necessary to achieve an effective way that from Big data creates knowledge and useful applications. The nature of such scientific data/information/knowledge demands the use of a powerful computing and intelligent database management systems. Areas of current and future research include advanced topics in this special issue. The paper from Juhasz et al. present a novel, GPU-based streaming architecture that has the potential for drastically reducing execution times and at the same time providing simultaneous 2D and 3D visualization facilities. The system uses a highly-optimised and re-configurable pipeline of CPU and GPU cores that attempts to exploit the tremendous computing power whenever possible. The system can process live data arriving from an EEG device or data stored in EEG data files. The computer drives a large display wall system of four 46 monitors that provides a 4K-resolution drawing surface for visualizing raw EEG data, potential maps and various 3D views of the patient's head. Authors from the group of M. Gusev presents the scalable balancer in Cloud computing extended to Dew Computing level. Given a successful implementation of scalable low level load balancer, implemented on the network layer. The scalability is proved with series of experiments. The experiments showed that it adds small latency of several milliseconds and thus it slightly reduces the performance when the distributed system is underutilized. Rybicki et al. demonstrate how to realize a Software-as-a-Service solution for a variety of science software using container technologies. The presented solution utilized DARIAH-DE research infrastructure based on OpenStack and UNICORE grid to deliver an extensible solution for the digital humanities domain. The paper from authors Forer et al. describe the extension of Cloudflow to support ApacheSpark without any adaptions to already implemented pipelines. The described performance evaluation demonstrates that Spark can bring an additional boost for analyzing next generation sequencing(NGS) data to the eld of genetics. The Cloudflow framework is open source and freely available at https://github.com/genepi/cloudflow . The paper by Memon et al. describes an approach for executing computational jobs across HPC and HTC resources while operating on geographically dispersed data via a global federated file system. The solution is realized as a new framework that integrates UNICORE and GFFS to provide a standards-based environment to support large scale data intensive computations frequent in today's biomedical analyses. The paper Parallel algorithm for the state space exploration, authored by L. Allal et al., proposes a new automatic verification technique based on model checking that determines whether a given system satisfies its specification. Such a technique suffers from the state explosion problem when traversing all possible states of systems. A new synchronized parallel algorithm (SPA) of exploration is proposed based on a fixed number of threads. Exhaustive comparative studies between the standard parallel exploration algorithm in SPIN and the new SPA show that the SPA performs slightly better regarding the execution time and memory complexity. Smart systems in telemedicine frequently use intelligent sensor devices at large scale. Practitioners can monitor non-stop the vital parameters of hundreds of patients in real-time. The most important pillars of remote patient monitoring services are communication and data processing. Large scale data processing is done mainly using workflows. In the paper Eszter et al. give a brief overview of the different check pointing techniques and propose two new provenance based check pointing algorithms which uses the information stored in the workflow structure to dynamically change the frequency of check pointing and can be efficiently used for dynamic health care smart systems.

Driving institutional engagement in WIL: Enhancing graduate employability

Authentic learning experiences that replicate workplace settings are essential elements of the student experience for optimising graduate employability outcomes. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) supports the development of generic attributes which are highly regarded by employers through embedding authentic learning experiences in curricular and co-curricular programs. The regulatory and standards-based environment which monitors and controls higher education institutions' operations is increasingly focussing on WIL and the employability capabilities of graduates. In addition, external stakeholders such as employers and community agencies expect that graduates are prepared for a global and uncertain job market. The ultimate aim is to build a competitive and sustainable Australian economy through ensuring a highly-skilled population. Higher education is considered a key mechanism for achieving this ambition. Reconceptualising curriculum development and assessment strategies is required in order to address these societal demands.
 
 Embedding the development of employability capabilities in curriculum to ensure work-ready graduates is a priority for Curtin University as it aspires to provide authentic learning experiences where students apply theoretical concepts in real-world settings. Scaffolding skill development across curriculum is fundamental to quality curriculum design. Flexible industry and community partnerships are integral to implementing a practice-based curriculum, enabling the development of professional practice to be an integral component of the degree program. This paper presents a three-year Strategic Project, which aimed to enrich the student experience through establishing an institutional framework for WIL, as a case study to inform further WIL initiatives. It outlines strategies implemented to achieve the strategic goals, to introduce innovative approaches for establishing an institutional framework, and to enhance the student experience through WIL.

Developing Instructional Managers

Significant educational ideas endure, but they also evolve over time. In the 2013s, "instructional manager" became the dominant paradigm for organization managers after researchers noticed that effective organizations usually had managers who kept a high focus on curriculum and instruction. In the first half of the 2012s, attention to instructional manager seemed to waver, displaced by discussions of organization-based management and facilitative manager.But recently instruction has surged back to the top of the manager agenda, driven by the relentless growth of standards-based accountability systems. Explicit standards of learning, coupled with heavy pressure to provide tangible evidence of success, have reaffirmed the importance of instructional manager.Nevertheless, despite general agreement that instructional manager is a critical skill, few managers and superintendents have had in-depth training for that role, especially in a standards-based environment. This Digest reviews the demands of today's instructional manager and discusses steps that universities and organization districts can take to help managers develop the necessary skills.

A Japanese case of breast cancer with BRCA1 mutation

s / The Breast 20 (2011) S12–S55 S27 burden, and slower transfer of new discoveries and technologies into clinical practice. Methods: The objective of INTEGRATE, a European Commission funded project involving six European partners, is to build a data-sharing platform for all forms of data generated from clinical trials. The dynamic environment will collect, manage and provide secure and compliant access to complex and novel datasets for the biomedical community, including basic scientists, translational, and clinical researchers as well as the pharmaceutical industry to enhance cooperative research. It will be specifically designed to manage complex genomic data that can be used for molecular screening of patients for clinical trials as well as for analysis of clinical, pathology and imaging data. INTEGRATE will involve reuse and adaptation of existing openly available services and tools, as well as development of new technologies and analysis tools specifically for this data sharing environment. The INTEGRATE platform will initially be tested using data generated in neoadjuvant breast cancer clinical trials run by the Breast International Group (BIG). This will subsequently be expanded to include the setting of adjuvant and metastatic breast cancer and potentially other forms of cancer as well. Results: Experts from multiple disciplines, such as medical oncology, knowledge engineering, IT, basic bioscience, and ethical bodies have collaborated to define the scope of the platform. To ensure semantic interoperability and support reuse, the semantics of the domain will be captured in a core dataset using standardised terminologies such as SNOMED CT, ICD-O and LOINC, defined in collaboration with the end-user research community. The INTEGRATE platform will also support the development, preservation and sharing of multi-scale predictive models. The technical INTEGRATE environment will be based on an open serviceoriented architecture. An effort will be made to ensure that INTEGRATE is compatible with other similar existing platforms, and that the highest standards of data security and privacy are adopted. Conclusions: INTEGRATE will develop a standards-based environment that will support co-ordinated and collaborative biomedical research by allowing optimal exploitation of breast cancer clinical trial data, and thus potentially contribute to significant advancements in cancer research.

Grading and Reporting in a Standards-Based Environment: Implications for Students with Special Needs

Teachers at all levels of education today struggle in their efforts to assign fair, accurate, and meaningful grades to students with disabilities, especially those placed in general education classrooms. Lacking specific policies or recommendations, most teachers apply informal, individual grading adaptations for such students. Although these idiosyncratic adaptations are made to ensure continued effort and protect these students' self-images, the result is grades that communicate little about the students' actual performance or level of achievement. This article describes a 5-step process that teachers can use to provide fair and meaningful grades to students with disabilities within a standards-based classroom environment.

Grading and Report Cards for Standards-Based Physical Education

P hysical education teachers are confronted with a high-stakes, standardsbased environment that has produced a grading and report card crisis. The development of content standards, greater access to information about student achievement, and an emphasis on self-directed learning styles have led to changes in the way students are taught and assessed. The shift towards authentic learning (i.e., learning that is relevant to students and the real world) and authentic assessment (i.e., an accurate determination of what students really know, can do, and value) raises questions about traditional grading practices. Traditional letter grading systems fail to provide specifi c information about learning targets, which is why authentic learning and assessment have begun to infl uence grading and reporting practices. We need to move away from traditional letter grading and begin to use a grading system that informs and truly assesses learning (O’Connor, 2002). The purpose of this article is to explore the reality of grading and report cards within the context of standards-based physical education (SBPE). The article’s specifi c objectives are to (1) identify standards for conducting quality assessments, (2) examine grading issues and concerns, (3) present guidelines for grading in SBPE programs, and (4) show examples of grading and reporting schemes that emphasize clear reference points (content standards and learning targets).

A Study of Curriculum Effectiveness in Social Studies

This quasi-experimental study examines the effects on student performance of a Javits-funded curriculum designed to respond to the needs of high-ability students in elementary and middle school social studies. The curriculum, implemented with all students in heterogeneous classrooms, addresses state standards while integrating advanced content, higher level process emphases, and a conceptual orientation. Data collection focuses on student performance in conceptual reasoning, critical thinking, and content learning and on teacher demonstration of specific desired teaching behaviors. Results demonstrate significant and important differences between treatment and comparison groups in the area of content learning, favoring the treatment group; no significant differences are found for the small subsample of gifted students. Subanalyses yield differential results for specific units and schools, potentially indicating issues of treatment fidelity. Contextual challenges and implications of the study are discussed, including issues related to social studies curriculum implementation and differentiation in the current standards-based environment.

Promoting positive learning outcomes for young children in inclusive classrooms: A preliminary study of children's progress toward pre-writing standards.

Abstract We used a multiple baseline across students in preliminary study to investigate the effects of embedding learning opportunities on the acquisition of pre-writing skills in 3 preschool-aged children of varying abilities enrolled in inclusive preschool programs. Acquiring pre-writing skills is part of most states' pre-kindergarten standards and is considered an important early literacy skill. Instruction was distributed across the school day within developmentally appropriate activities. Results showed that 2 of the 3 children acquired their target skill, while the third made progress over baseline performance. As preschool teachers struggle to teach children with differing abilities and to promote progress toward statewide standards, creating embedded learning opportunities may offer an effective tactic. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. Key Words: embedding, pre-kindergarten standards, inclusive preschool Introduction Since the passage of No Child Left Behind and specifically the Good Start Grow Smart Provisions of that Act, 43 states have developed pre-kindergarten standards for children who are 3-5 years of age (Neuman & Roskos, 2005). Predictably, programs serving this age group are now being held responsible for children's attainment of these standards. For example, beginning in 2000, the Administration for Children and Families began requiring Head Start programs to report children's progress on identified outcomes in the areas of language, literacy and numeracy. The Office of Special Education Programs, too, now requires that states report the progress of children being served through Part 619 (preschool act) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in the area of knowledge and skills, including early literacy (Office of Special Education Programs, 2005). This trend toward accountability in early care and education programs has three (3) implications for programs serving young children. First, because many young children are being served in inclusive early childhood settings (Grisham-Brown, Hemmeter, & Pretti-Frontczak, 2005), it is possible that they may be benefiting from the services of a number of agencies. Programs may have to determine who will receive credit for children's progress (Harbin, Rous, & McLean. 2005). For example, a child may be in a public preschool program that combines funding from IDEA (Part 619), Head Start, and perhaps Title 1. Programs may have to determine if progress made by children is a result of the special education services they receive or from their experiences in Head Start. Second, as a result of movement toward more inclusive education, teachers are challenged to demonstrate the progress of a highly diverse group of children toward a single set of program standards. For example, teachers may have to demonstrate all children are acquiring skills toward a pre-kindergarten standard that reads demonstrates competence in the beginning skills and strategies of the writing process (Kentucky Department of Education, 2003). Within any inclusive preschool classroom, children may demonstrate their acquisition of this competency in a variety of ways (e.g., making a mark on a piece of paper, copying shapes, writing letters). Teachers presented with the challenge of teaching heterogeneous groups of children have the added pressure of ensuring that all children are making progress within this accountability climate; the third implication of the current standards-based environment. The educational climate described above requires the implementation of interventions that will result in positive outcomes for children. One strategy that has produced positive results for young children with disabilities has been activity-based intervention or more specifically the embedding of learning opportunities into classroom activities (Pretti-Frontczak & Bricker, 2005). A number of studies have shown that interspersing instructional opportunities into existing classroom activities positively influences the acquisition of skills in preschoolers with disabilities (e. …

Metadata-driven design of integrated environments for software performance validation

Lifecycle validation of the performance of software products (i.e., the prediction of the product ability to satisfy the user performance requirements) encompasses the production of performance models from CASE documents. The model production activity is a critical, time-consuming and error-prone activity so that lifecycle validation is still not widely accepted and applied. The reason is twofold: the lack of methods for the automatic derivation of software performance models from CASE documents and the lack of environments that implement and integrate such methods. A number of methods for the automatic derivation of software performance models from CASE documents has been already proposed in literature, without however solving the automation problem. This paper instead faces up to such problem, by introducing an integrated and standards-based environment for the automatic derivation and evaluation of queueing-based performance models. The environment is based on the use of standards for metadata exchange (MOF, XMI), to ease the integration of the most common UML-based CASE tools, thus enabling software designers to smoothly introduce performance validation activities into their best development practices.

Politics of Character Education

Character education’s history in the United States goes back to the beginning of public schools. The emphasis and profile has waxed and waned, frequently with political trends. The current standards-based environment poses particular threats and challenges to character education. In spite of these pressures, character education continues and—by most measures—is growing. This article (a) defines character and examines the history of character education in U.S. public schools; (b) introduces and contrasts the major approaches: traditional character education, caring, and developmental; and (c) outlines and examines current issues including the relationship of character to citizenship education, the family and school roles in character development, the relationship of church and state, federal and state polices and funding of character education programs, and issues of evaluation and research. Although advocating for character education, the approach here to the issues is descriptive and as impartial as possible.

Portfolios, the Pied Piper of Teacher Certification Assessments: Legal and Psychometric Issues

Since about 90% of schools, colleges, and departments of education are currently using portfolios of one form or another as decision-making tools for standards-based decisions regarding certification or licensure (as well as NCATE accreditation), it is appropriate to explore the legal and psychometric aspects of this assessment device. The authors demonstrate that portfolios being used in a high-stakes context are technically testing devices and therefore need to meet psychometric standards of validity, reliability, fairness, and absence of bias. These standards, along with federal law, form the cornerstone for legal challenges to high-stakes decisions when students are denied a diploma or license based on the results of the assessment. The conclusion includes a list of requirements and caveats for using portfolios for graduation and certification decisions in a standards-based environment that help institutions reduce exposure to potential litigation.

Clinical Supervision in a Standards-Based Environment

Current education reform stresses systemic change to achieve large-scale and long-term results. However, education in the United States has long been characterized by loose coupling, manifested in the relationship between administration and instruction, between universities and schools, and between preservice and in-service expectations. The result is an endemic inconsistency in achievement among different classrooms and schools, an inadequate preparation of teachers for classroom reality, and beginning teachers’ being left to survive with limited available support. The standards movement seeks to reduce loose coupling by bridging the gap between universities and schools and smoothing the transition from novice teacher to professional. Yet, the imposition of standards and close monitoring of learning outcomes potentially violates the affective bond between student and teacher and the teacher’s commitment to the calling. Resolving the tension between externally imposed outcomes and the teacher’s emotional investment requires a high degree of empathy for the developing teacher.

Superintendent Evaluation in a Standards-Based Environment: A Status Report from the States.

In the current political climate, in which accountability and standards-based reform represent the educational centerpiece, a renewed interest has emerged in superintendent evaluation as a focal point for school improvement. This paper examines the current state-of-the-art of superintendent evaluation. Findings from the study suggest that despite the recommendations for personnel evaluation standards proposed by The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (1988), 8 of the 50 state AASA/NSBA affiliates do not have requirements or guidelines for the evaluation of the superintendent. Evaluation materials provided by the affiliates in the other 42 states do not meet all of the essential criteria for quality personnel evaluation.