What I'm Working On: Managing a Classroom

Posted by Randall Hall

My Classroom at Carver High School

Prior to September 2014, I had literally no experience managing a classroom. Since then, I have completed a Classroom Management course through my Master's Program at UAB and spent more than 150 hours teaching and managing students in my new career as a full-time English Language Arts teacher at Carver High School.

The three main learning points I have taken from my experiences are that teachers who are effective classroom managers (1) possess excellent organization skills, (2) communicate expectations clearly, and (3) "model" appropriate skills and behavior for their students on a consistent basis.

As to (1), all teachers - but especially new teachers - must maintain an organized classroom in order to promote a productive learning environment. Aspects of this element of good teaching include creating a student-centered classroom through desk arrangement, ensuring student work is promptly graded and placed in each student's separate portfolio, and meticulously recording information about each student's performance and behavior. Without documentation and data, a teacher cannot assess their students' academic and behavioral performance, so it is imperative that teachers maintain a highly organized classroom in order to be as efficient and effective as possible.

As to (2), I have concluded that communication of expectations to students (and their parents) is critical when it comes to both their academic work and their behavior. I did not do a good enough job of making my expectations clear when I was a student teacher, and - as a result - I dealt with behavior problems that were caused by students being unaware their actions - while perhaps considered appropriate in other teachers' classrooms - would not be considered acceptable in my class (for example, use of cell phones or eating during class). After I was hired at Carver, I spent the entire first day informing my students of my expectations and the consequences for falling short of them, and I have been pleased with both their behavior and academic performance thus far.

Finally, as to (3), the major thing I have learned this year as a student and new teacher is that teachers must "model" everything for their students. This idea is evidenced in my use of the "I Do, We Do, You Do" method of instruction, but it also extends to behavioral lessons as well. Just as I model for my students how to write a well-organized essay if I expect them to be able to do it, I must also model respectful, responsible, and resourceful behavior if I expect them to display it. I must hold myself to the highest standard of professionalism and be a "role model" for them both inside the classroom and in the community in large.

In sum, I have made it my career goal to not just instruct my students in a manner that improves their reading and writing skills, but to also inspire them to make good decisions so they can one day independently improve their future - both academic and professional. By modeling for them the skills and behaviors they will need to succeed in life, I can hopefully mold my students into compassionate citizens who exhibit a lifelong love of learning.

Writing for the Public: Crafting a Story

Posted by Lesley McCollum

There are plenty of issues to tackle for writing a journal article manuscript, but structure is not one of them. We are all too familiar with the IMRAD structure. If you want to write about your research for the public though, go ahead and throw those rules out the window. Academics read journal articles to learn information - it doesn’t matter the article is dull and tedious to read, its purpose isn’t to entertain. The rest of the public however, has plenty of sources for information, and will stick with one that is both informative and entertaining. So while a story for the public doesn’t have the rigid rules of the IMRAD format, structure is still key to a story’s success. Here are a few ideas for structuring your story:

Inverted pyramid

The inverted pyramid is the most traditional structure for news stories and can be applied to telling a science story. The style starts with the big picture, then narrows to more specific detail. It’s efficient for providing readers with the most interesting and important information up front, then expanding into further detail as the article progresses. It lets readers get the information they are looking for, then decide if they

want to learn more or move on.

Zig zag or Parallel stories

Reading about scientific research can be dense. Try alternating between details of a study and anecdotes from the researchers. Were multiple people working on the same question which led to an interesting collaboration or competition? Structure your article as two parallel stories that meet later on. You’ll hear more about incorporating narrative in a future post, but this style helps connect readers to your story and keep them interested.

Chronological

Writing a story in chronological order may sound boring, but it makes sense and is easy for readers to follow. This could be from a historical perspective, or the researcher’s individual story. Often in research, one experiment leads to another that ultimately leads to the findings that you are writing about. Or a conversation sparked an idea that led to the important experiments. Use that progression of events to structure your story.

What story structure do you find most effective for writing about science for the public?

[Image from Flickr user ClaraDon used under Creative Commons Licensing]

What I’m Working On: How Microbes Contribute to Health

Posted by Katie Alexander

Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) labeled bacteria

As a member of the Elson lab at UAB, I examine the relationships between a certain cell type, regulatory T cells (Tregs), and the microbiota. Tregs are major players in immune tolerance and homeostasis, the policemen of the immune response. They are essential in anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Recently, researchers have shown that certain species of bacteria effectively induce Tregs and anti-inflammatory responses (1). Conversely, other types of bacteria encourage pro-inflammatory cells to thrive and can damage the immune system. During IBD, the microbiota becomes unbalanced, and the bacterial species associated with inflammation tip the scales in their favor, ousting the beneficial bacteria. This is also what happens when a person is infected with the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C.diff).

Additionally, bacteria can interact with components of our food directly. A recent report by Suez et al. (2) outlined the relationship between non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) and the microbiota. NAS are ubiquitous in the Western diet, with saccharin and aspartame being some of the most commonly used. Interestingly, our bodies do not recognize NAS and therefore cannot absorb or use them as energy sources. For that reason, numerous health officials have considered these sweeteners harmless, or in the case of a person with diabetes, beneficial. Suez and colleagues demonstrated that NAS interact closely with intestinal bacteria, causing shifts in the balance of good and bad bacteria. In fact, mice subjected to a diet supplemented with NAS were susceptible to increased glucose intolerance. This finding was recapitulated in a small-scale human study. It is obvious that microbes affect countless aspects of human health, and therefore further research into understanding how to maintain a healthy population of microbes will contribute profoundly to overall human wellbeing.   

References:

  

Atarashi K. et al. Induction of colonic regulatory T cells by indigenous Clostridium species. Science. 2011. Jan 21:331(6015):337-41.

Suez J. et al. Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota. Nature. 2014 Oct 9:514 (7521):181-6.

What I'm Working On: Better Health, Better Care, at Lower Costs for our Veterans

Posted by Tonya L. Breaux-Shropshire

As recent media coverage has shown, few issues are as important to this country as healthcare for veterans. What most people don’t see, however, when they read the headlines, is the research that takes place behind the scenes on new solutions to our vets’ most common medical problems. For example, hypertension is the number one reason for a primary care visit, and that is one of my areas of research as a Veterans Administration (VA) Quality Scholar Fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine. In particular, I facilitated first steps in how to boost blood pressure control in hypertensive veterans by using quality improvement tools, such as a process map, SWOT analyses, check sheets, and evidence-based interventions like “a hypertension bundle.” This bundle, which has been successful in one patient aligned care team (PACT) in the Primary Care Clinic at our VA Hospital, employs the electronic medical record, medication adherence assessment, and appropriate nontraditional care visits to achieve greater patient engagement, hence superior care for vets. What is more, the bundle could potentially lower costs by helping vets avoid expensive emergency room visits for what could be routine care.

Research into hypertension is not new for the VA system, which has led the way to blood pressure treatment and control. As early as the 1960’s, for example, the VA conducted pioneering studies to determine that blood pressure was a disease that needed to be treated to prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, and death. In addition, VA conducted one of the first studies that determined that step care, or medication intensification starting with one medication, is required for blood pressure (BP) control. Admittedly, much more needs to be done to improve primary care and access to care for vets. Yet, on many fronts, we are making real progress, including the availability of user-friendly resources, such as the My Healthy Vet program (https://www.myhealth.va.gov/index.html), TeleHealth (http://www.telehealth.va.gov/ccht/), and the Get Well Network (http://www.getwellnetwork.com/). Today, VA blood pressure control rates and target goals are higher than national goals, and I think that make sense, given the strategic and human importance of keeping our vets healthy. In fact, at the Birmingham VA, we recently improved blood pressure control over and above the VA target goal rate within 6 months. You might not read about that in the headlines, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t working 24/7, for better health, better care, at lower costs, for our veterans.