The South African government intends to overhaul the entire public health system by introducing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. The implementation of the NHI has created concerns amongst the majority of South African citizens who have a poor image of the quality of services provided by the public sector. One of the major questions that this study attempted to address was whether one of the largest clinics in Soweto could deliver quality healthcare in terms of the proposed NHI system. The study conducted is quantitative in nature and two-pronged. The first part of the study involved a survey conducted amongst staff members at the Soweto clinic to determine their awareness of the National HeaIth Insurance (NHI) and their knowledge of the National Core Standards (NCS). The second part of the study used an assessment questionnaire to determine compliance of the Soweto clinic to the six ministerial priority areas. The results of the survey conducted among the Soweto clinic’s staff members in all staff categories, showed that there is general awareness amongst staff members of National HeaIth Insurance and they have some knowledge of the NCS; however, more education on NHI and NCS is needed for staff working in specialised or isolated departments who are unaware of NHI and have no knowledge of the NCS. The Soweto clinic showed some advancement with regard to the vital measures compliance scores compared to those of the rest of the Gauteng province in the three priority areas. The Soweto clinic has, however, failed to comply under the other four ministerial priority areas, with ratings of less than 80%. This study has shown a disconnect between knowledge of the NCS and the NCS’s implementation by staff members, as staff members have failed to implement or comply with four of the ministerial priority areas, with sub-standard ratings of less than 80%. The Non-NHI clinic is still very far from ensuring the provision of basic quality health service for its clients and it is, thus, not ready to implement NHI. Recommendations from the study: - Managers must drive the quality improvement agenda for their facilities. - Awareness campaigns and more knowledge on NHI and quality improvement (NCS) must be communicated to all staff categories in the health establishments to ensure a deeper understanding of these concepts. - Workshops must be conducted for all staff members in the Soweto clinic, to support the creation of a culture of excellence, with emphasis in providing quality care to clients. Similar future studies need to be conducted on a large scale such as in the whole of Gauteng to determine staff at health establishments’ knowledge of the quality NCS. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This session presents a researched curriculum for middle school students with significant disabilities (including early symbol users and/or those nonverbal) that aligns English/language arts instruction and content to Common Core Standards; it will include demonstrations of evidence-based teaching procedures (including use of AAC) and age-appropriate content.

In 1 urban Tennessee school, students in Grades 3 through 5 had not met adequate yearly progress in reading for the past 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of current district-recommended teaching practice in reading. The research questions related to current instructional strategies, teaching practices, challenges, and perceptions of current instructional strategies and changes needed to improve students' reading achievement. This study was grounded in the constructivist theoretical framework of Vygotsky. Twelve educators from Grades 3 through 5 and a reading specialist participated in this study. The data were collected from interviews, minutes from professional learning community meetings, and the district guidelines for instruction. Data analysis included open coding to determine common patterns and development of common themes. Findings indicated that teachers described the district learning strategies and guidelines as aligned with the reading curriculum map, and they saw the reading specialist as a valuable resource. Teachers specified that although they were trained in district-recommended strategies, they needed more professional development and support to implement the reading strategies effectively. Teachers wanted job-embedded professional development (PD) to help them develop expertise in implementing effective reading instruction to increase student achievement. To address this, a professional learning community PD project was created. Participation in the PD project may help teachers to implement reading instruction using research-based strategies in accord with district guidelines to improve student reading achievement.

The goal of this study was to examine the professional development experiences of two participants while they were creating standards-based individualized education plan (IEP) goals using a virtual world called TeacherSim. The focuses of the study were how did special educators engage with the task of creating standards-based IEP goals using TeacherSim and how did TeacherSim support or hinder this? This research used a descriptive case study selecting two participants from the larger data set of seven participants. The data was analyzed using qualitative coding which compared the observed experiences with the case propositions. This case study demonstrated that special education professionals can work at a distance to learn the process of creating standards-based IEP goals while using the technology of a virtual world. Similarly, the use of virtual world technology appeared to facilitate feelings of physical and social presence, which aided in online collaborative activities.

Four studies demonstrate student gains in Common Core Standards in English Language Arts for middle school students with significant disabilities.

Auditory graphs and active point estimation provide an inexpensive, accessible alternative for low vision and blind K-12 students using number lines and coordinate graphs. In the first phase of this research program, a series of four psychophysics studies demonstrated an interactive auditory number line that enables blind, low vision, and sighted people to find small targets with a laptop, headphones, and a mouse or a keyboard. The Fitts' Law studies showed that, given appropriate auditory feedback, blind people can use a mouse. In addition, auditory feedback can generate target response patterns similar to when people use visual feedback. Phase two introduced SQUARE, a novel method for building accessible alternatives to existing education technologies. The standards-driven and teacher-directed approach generated 17 graphing standards for sixth grade mathematics, all of which emphasized point estimation. It also showed that how only few basic behavioral components are necessary for these graphing problems. The third phase evaluated active point estimation tools in terms of training, classroom situations, and a testing situation. This work shows that students can learn to graph in K-12 environments, regardless of their visual impairment. It also provides several technologies used for graphing, and methods to further develop education accessibility research.

Teaching Artists are an important component of the Utah Shakespearean Festival's Education Department's outreach touring program that visits K-12 schools throughout Utah each year. However, the Education Department could be using Teaching Artists in different and better ways to help K-12 teachers infuse theatre into their curriculum. This work looks carefully at the outreach offered by the Utah Shakespearean Festival's Education Department and then compares it to the outreach work being done by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Based on the analysis of the three festivals, assessment benchmarks are identified to aid the Education Department in evaluating their use of Teaching Artists and suggestions are made to help them strengthen their outreach programs through the creation of a Teaching Artist training program that would allow more Teaching Artists to work in Utah K-12 schools. The work concludes with ideas for lesson and unit plans for Teaching Artists of various levels to use in the K-12 classroom that align with the State Common Core Standards for Language Arts that were adopted by Utah in August, 2010.

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