Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Checking In: Learner Perceptions Of The Value Of Language Study In College, Julian Ledford, Tijá Odoms

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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An understanding of the products that Generation Z students value the most from their college-level language study is essential for instructors who must effectively unpack second language theories within the context of their classroom instruction. This preliminary study examines the value system regarding language study as revealed in the language-learning perceptions of a group of current language learners (n = 53) and recent college graduates (n = 49) at a small, private, liberal arts college in the southeast. Through qualitative analysis of student responses, the following emerged as language-learning …

Technology In Teacher Education: Student Perceptions Of Instructional Technology In The Classroom, Jennifer Zakrzewski, Brianne Newton

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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Instructional technology continues to become more prevalent in classrooms around the globe. However, it is unclear whether teachers are prepared and have the self-efficacy to incorporate instructional technology into the classroom. This study reviews an instructional technology course for preservice teachers and whether student comfort increased with instructional technology throughout the course. In addition, data were collected regarding preferences pertaining to instructional technology. The data shows preservice teachers’ comfort increased throughout this course in terms of instructional technology. In addition, the data show preservice teachers are more comfortable working with instructional …

Draw A Picture Of Yourself Learning Math: What Pre-Service Teachers’ Self-Portraits Illustrate About Their Complex Relationships With Mathematics, Samantha Sommers, Michelle Unigarro, Danielle Vantassel, Claudia M. Bertolone-Smith, Alison Puliatte

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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The purpose of this study was to examine factors that may influence pre-service teachers’ relationships with mathematics. Elementary pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a mathematics methods course (n = 52) wrote a letter to math and drew a picture of themselves learning math. The self-portraits were analyzed by a team of undergraduate student researchers and teacher educators to identify themes related to the types of emotions, experiences, and situations displayed. The results of the self-portrait analysis indicated a higher percentage of negative emotions as compared to positive and neutral …

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 6, Issue 1, Spring 2022

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length 2022 Special Issue (Volume 5, Issue 3) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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The Spring 2022 issue begins with research that explores the perceptions of pre-service teachers relative to learning mathematics and science, with suggestions for how findings can impact curriculum and further research. The focus on pre-service teachers continues with research into their sense of self-efficacy with instructional technologies and whether specific techniques increase comfort level with technologies. Next, researchers explore the products that Generation Z students value most in their learning of a second language, …

Changing Pace And Recognizing Relationships: The Pandemic And Beyond, Carole Shook

TFSC Publications and Presentations

The pandemic brought out the importance of relationships and active learning. The presentation describes games, email communications, classroom communications, and making class more enjoyable to engage students.

Variation In Thiopurine Metabolism In Hispanic Children, Kayeleigh Higgerson Do

Research Days

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. Overall survival rate is > 90% in the United States. However, ethnic and racial disparities remain. Hispanic patients have an inferior overall survival compared to non-Hispanics. The reasons for these differences remain unclear. Mercaptopurine (6MP) is a crucial drug in ALL treatment. Variations in the TMPT and NUDT15 genes lead to altered 6MP metabolism and accumulation of toxic metabolites (6TGN or 6MMPN). Each metabolite is associated with specific dose-limiting toxicities. The accumulation of 6TGN causes myelosuppression, and increased 6MMPN causes GI toxicity. While variants in these genes have been identified …

Potassium Status In Pediatric Chronic Kidney Disease, Katherine L. Kurzinski

Research Days

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Background: Potassium trends are well described in adult chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hyperkalemia is known to be associated with increased disease progression, morbidity, and mortality. Large scale studies assessing potassium trends and the prevalence of hyperkalemia in pediatric CKD have not been performed.

Objectives/Goal: We aimed to characterize median serum potassium levels and the prevalence of hyperkalemia for each CKD stage using the CKiD cohort. The relationship of serum potassium and hyperkalemia with patient demographics, CKD etiology (glomerular or non-glomerular), presence of acidosis, and degree of proteinuria was also evaluated.

Methods/Design: Median serum potassium …

Association Of Rare Variants In Kidney Developmental Genes With Hypertension And Ckd: A Uk Biobank Study, Benjamin L. Spector

Research Days

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Background: Prior studies show chronic kidney disease (CKD) is heritable but only a few common variants have been associated with CKD and kidney dysfunction. Much of CKD heritability remains unknown and limited studies have explored the role of rare genetic variants in this missing heritability.

Objectives/Goal: Identify rare genetic variants in renal developmental genes associated with hypertension and CKD.

Methods/Design: We examined the association between rare variants in 58 candidate genes from five renal developmental compartments and presence of CKD and elevated blood pressure (BP) in 49,989 individuals using whole exome sequencing and phenotypic data …

Treatment Of Recurrent Wilms Tumor With Irinotecan/Temozolomide, Meagan Vacek

Research Days

Background: Despite improvement in relapse free survival (RFS) in recurrent Wilms tumor, the 4- year RFS rate for patients treated with vincristine/dactinomycin/doxorubicin is approximately 40%. Ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide are commonly used in relapsed solid tumors but have significant toxicities and require hospital admission for administration. Our patient focused on quality of life, and this led to exploration of other treatment options.

Objectives/Goal: Describe a case of multiply relapsed Wilms tumor with management on oral chemotherapy for improved quality of life and remission for almost 1 year.

Methods/Design: Case Report

Results: The patient is an 11-year-old female diagnosed with Wilms …

Increasing Incentive Spirometry Use In Patients With Sickle Cell Disease Admitted To Children’S Mercy Hospital, Thomas Cochran, Alexandra Prosser

Research Days

Background: Acute chest syndrome is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with sickle cell disease. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides specific recommendations for providing ten breaths of incentive spirometry (IS) every two hours while awake for patients with sickle cell disease to help prevent development of acute chest syndrome.

Problem Statement: We reviewed provision of incentive spirometry at Children’s Mercy between 08/01/2021 and 11/01/2021. Data was collected and the target population was identified via a report generated from the electronic medical records with specific criteria. Of those patients admitted with sickle …

Wilms Tumor Presenting With Spontaneous Necrosis And Clostridium Perfringens Co-Infection, Ronald Palmen, Abbey Elsbernd, Kristin Palmen

Research Days

Background: Wilm’s Tumor (WT) is the most common renal malignancy of childhood. The initial presentation of WT may mimic infection or other malignancies with nonspecific symptoms including fever, abdominal/flank pain, or hematuria. This poses a diagnostic challenge for providers, particularly when both infection and malignancy are observed. We describe a case of WT with spontaneous necrosis initially obscured by overlying Clostridium perfringens infection, making diagnosis of the cancer difficult.

Case Description: A previously healthy 5-year-old girl presented to the emergency department with a two-day history of left flank pain and fevers. In the emergency department, she was tachycardic (130 bpm), …

Acute Complications In Pediatric Patients With Diabetes Admitted With Isolated Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Isolated Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar State, And Mixed Hyperosmolar Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Erica Zarse

Research Days

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS), and mixed DKA and HHS (hyperosmolar DKA) are hyperglycemic emergencies for which children with diabetes mellitus (DM) are admitted to the hospital. To date, there is little evidence to guide the management of pediatric diabetic patients with hyperosmolarity.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare the in-hospital complications at our institution in patients who have isolated DKA to those with a component of hyperosmolarity.

Methods: We reviewed medical records of patients from 01/2019 through 12/2020 admitted with DKA (serum bicarbonate ≤16 mEq/L) and/or HHS (blood glucose ≥600 mg/dL and osmolality …

Memory T Cell Populations In Human Leukemia, Sara Mcelroy

Research Days

Background: Incorporating the immune system into cancer management is an area of robust research. Treatment modalities aimed at activating cytotoxic T cells against malignancies include immune checkpoint inhibitors, bispecific T-cell engagers, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) tumor-specific T cells. Most anti-cancer T cell research is narrowly focused, but knowledge about the nature of diverse sub-populations of T cells in cancer, particularly memory T cells, is vital prior to potential incorporation into therapies. T memory stem cells (Tscm) are of interest due to their longevity and powerful abilities of self-renewal and creating the full spectrum of memory CD8+ T cells, including …

Quality Improvement Project To Improve Provider-To-Nursing Communication During Daily Rounds, Kayeleigh Higgerson Do, Sara Mcelroy Md

Research Days

Problem Statement/Question: We aim that by June 2021, our Heme/Onc resident service daily table rounds will include 80% of bedside nurses to improve communication between the provider team and bedside nurse.

Background/Project Intent (Aim Statement): Daily rounds on our Heme/Onc resident service include table rounds (discussion of overnight events and daily plan) and bedside rounds (team goes to see patients and relay daily plan). These rounds infrequently include the bedside nurse caring for the patient, leading to poor communication of the plan from the provider team. This is a problem, because it has the potential to lead to medical errors …

Acute Kidney Injury In Youth With Diabetes Admitted With Isolated Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Isolated Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar State, And Hyperosmolar Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Single Center Experience, Erica Zarse

Research Days

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS) are hyperglycemic emergencies for which children are admitted to the hospital.

Objectives/Goal: Our objective was to compare acute kidney injury (AKI) between youth with isolated DKA to those with hyperosmolarity and explore associations to risk of AKI.

Methods/Design: Charts were reviewed from 01/2019 through 12/2020 for youth admitted with DKA (serum bicarbonate ≤16 mEq/L) and/or HHS (blood glucose ≥600 mg/dL and osmolality ≥320 mOsm/kg). Isolated HHS youth were combined with hyperosmolar DKA for analysis. AKI was defined as elevated creatinine level for age. The total amount of isotonic fluids administered was …

Engagement Strategies For Online Students: Use Of Technology To Enhance Learning, Jim Maddox

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Teaching students in an online program requires being intentional with how the course is constructed and how space is created for students to fully engage. Face-to-face courses provide the means of this interaction that creates a challenge for online learning. The following are some innovative and creative ways I am using technology to engage my online students and enhance their learning. I utilize Zoom to hold optional Live Chats via Zoom. These are also recorded for students to watch later as well. I use breakout rooms for small group discussions (pair-and-share, triads, and larger groups), we have Q & A …

Teaching Innovation Learned From The 2022 Amte Conference: Prepare Future Mathematics Educators, Yi-Jung Lee

TFSC Publications and Presentations

The role of mathematics has transformed from gatekeeper to launchpad in K-12 schools and been considered as a critical factor in career readiness in a diverse society (CDE, 2022). Therefore, teacher education programs must adopt effective teaching approaches with cultural awareness while preparing future mathematics teachers. I shared a revised teaching design framework (Rhodes, 2021) along with the Culturally Responsive Mathematical Modeling perspectives to help educators integrate a) productive disposition, b) the instructional design with modeling tasks, and c) equity-minded practice into their teaching preparation and practices.

Photovoice Gives Students A Voice, Lynne Meade

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Students often struggle with ways to turn their experiences into meaningful stories. Photovoice is a way to use photography for positive social change and to help people tell their stories. I used Photovoice to help students process the uncertainty of moving back home when the university switched to remote in Spring 2020. Since I teach public speaking, I used those stories to teach public speaking skills as well.
For example, one prompt I used was “an unexpected use of something.” I showed them a small hand weight that I used as a doorstop. I took creative pictures of the weight …

The Racial And Ethnic Makeup Of The Asthma Clinical Trials Informing The 2020 Nhlbi Asthma Guidelines Update, Esosa Adah

Research Days

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Rationale: Black/African American and Hispanic people in the United States are disproportionately impacted by asthma with increased prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. However, these groups are often under-represented in asthma clinical and translational research studies which is a barrier to achieving health equity. We describe the racial/ethnic makeup of participants included in clinical trials which informed the recent 2020 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute(NHLBI) asthma management guidelines focused update.

Methods: We identified clinical trials included within the 2020 NHLBI asthma management guidelines focused update. We determined the frequency (%) of studies reporting study participant racial/ethnic …

Improving Advanced Therapeutic Endoscopy Performance At An Academic Children's Hospital, Julia Snodgrass, Thomas M. Attard, Donna Ditsch, John Colgan, Amanda Weston, Jessica Koch, Nadia Ibrahimi, Pang Krasaelap, Voytek Slowick, Laura Shroyer

Research Days

Problem Statement/Question: Advanced therapeutic endoscopy is infrequently needed but critical in the management of children with complex gastroenterology disorders. Hands-on experience in specific advanced techniques, set up of endoscopy equipment and familiarity with new ancillary equipment for use during endoscopy have been intra-departmentally identified as potential areas for improvement.

Background/Project Intent: Our aim is to improve provider scoring on an endoscopy practice test based on technical aspects of therapeutic techniques, indications and set up of standard and new endoscopic equipment by 20% over pre-practice session testing.

Methods: The Model for Improvement framework was utilized. A multidisciplinary team was created including …