How to Create a Student‐Generated Database,in a Large Nutrition Class,to Illustrate the Analysis of Nutrient and Food Intakes

The completion of a 3‐d food record, using commonly available nutrient analysis software, is a typical assignment for students in nutrition and food science programs. While these assignments help students evaluate their personal diets, it is insufficient to teach students about surveys of large population cohorts. This paper shows how the Test, Survey, and Pools tool in the learning management system Blackboard? (Blackboard Inc.) was used to collect the individual food and nutrition intake data from the 3‐d food records of students in a large introductory nutrition class. This student‐generated database was then used to illustrate population level analyses. Examples of the types of analyses include (a) use of the Estimated Average Requirement cut point method to identify nutrients of concern; (b) the use of food intakes to determine the proportion of students consuming the recommended servings of foods from each food group; (c) the analysis of intakes of nutrients that are overconsumed such as salt, saturated fat, and trans fat; and (d) correlations between macronutrients (for example, as fat intake increases, carbohydrate intake decreases). The use of a database, derived from the students own food intakes, connects with student interests, and the analysis of such a database illustrates an authentic task in the nutritional sciences.     

Benefits of the Comprehensive Child Development Program as a function of AFDC receipt and SES

The benefits for children at the Pittsburgh site of the federal Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) were examined as a function of family welfare status (Aid to Families with Dependent Children; AFDC) and SES. The CCDP was the largest attempt by the federal government to provide two-generation, case-managed, comprehensive services to low-income families. Participating families could set their own goals and choose services to achieve them, but relatively few services were directed specifically at children. Results showed that more Pittsburgh families in the CCDP treatment group (N = 120) left AFDC than in the control group (N = 120), consistent with results from a national evaluation of the CCDP. Children whose families were on AFDC regardless of treatment group had lower mental test scores, even after controlling for family SES, a result suggesting that AFDC receipt over and above income level was associated with poorer child mental performance. The CCDP was associated with higher children's mental scores plus improvements over time in achievement scores only for children in families who were not on AFDC, even after controlling for SES. Such parents were more likely to choose parenting and child goals and services, which in turn were associated with higher child mental scores. In contrast, parents who were on AFDC tended to choose adult-centered goals and services, which did not benefit children. Therefore, in contrast to the national evaluation, which found no benefits of the CCDP for children, these analyses showed that the CCDP did produce benefits for children whose parents were not on AFDC, who tended to choose parenting and child services.     

Developing Embedded Signature Assessments for Continuous Improvement in Teacher Education

The development and use of assessment systems to measure the performance and progress of teacher candidates and inform the continuous improvement of teacher education programs has been a longstanding priority in teacher education for the past 30 years. Teacher educators in the School of Education at a small public midwestern university revised and improved their assessment system by developing seven Embedded Signature Assessments (ESAs). ESAs are formative performance assessments that are implemented in professional education courses to measure a teacher candidate’s performance prior to student teaching and readiness for student teaching. This article describes the development and implementation of ESAs at one university, with attention to the benefits and challenges.     

Associations between peer victimization and school climate: The impact of form and the moderating role of gender

The purpose of the present study is to examine whether physical and relational victimization negatively impacts indicators of school climate–students’ perceptions of school safety, their attachment to school, and their help‐seeking behavior–and whether gender moderates these associations. Using a sample of 361 third through fifth‐grade students recruited from six public elementary schools, results reveal that relational and physical victimization were both uniquely associated with lower levels of school safety and school attachment, with stronger associations between school attachment and relational victimization. However, only physical victimization was negatively associated with help‐seeking, suggesting that physical victimization is more influential on help seeking as compared with relational victimization. Gender moderated the relationships between victimization and school attachment and help‐seeking with differences by form noted. No gender differences were evident in associations between the forms of peer victimization and school safety. Implications for prevention and intervention in schools are discussed.     

Ethnicity-based cultural differences in implicit managerial knowledge usage in three Australian organizations

This study was interested in determining whether ethnicity-based cultural differences affected knowledge usage in today's multicultural organizations. Our empirical study uses a psychology-based approach to measure what we refer to as implicit managerial knowledge of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) workers within three Australian organizations. The research instrument captures responses to various ICT workplace scenarios in order to determine and compare the different ways in which people make use of the implicit knowledge they use to manage themselves and others. Using the culture-based literature to assist with interpretation of the data, we have identified a number of themes and their characteristics and brought these together to provide a comprehensive model for understanding cultural influences. This model can be used to better appreciate why and perhaps anticipate how an individual's implicit managerial knowledge will be used in responding to everyday workplace situations. Such an understanding will assist organizations to develop appropriate and effective knowledge management strategies.     

The effects of a rational-emotive affective education program for high-risk middle school students

This study investigated the effects of participation in a developmentally appropriate affective education program. The independent variable was the rational-emotive curriculum Thinking, Feeling, Behaving: An Emotional Education Curriculum for Adolescents (Vernon, 1989), and the dependent variables were self-concept measured with the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and end-of-year report card grades. Twenty-three middle school students who were identified as high risk for dropping out prior to completion of high school and also as learning disabled or emotionally disturbed were randomly assigned to experimental (n = 12) and control (n = 11) conditions. Participants in the affective education group met for approximately 45 minutes a week for 15 weeks. Self-concept and grades did not differ between the two groups.     

Enhancing resident morning report with "daily learning packages"

The daily "Morning Report" is a fixture in many residency programs. In the past, librarians have attended this meeting and, in various ways, worked to enhance the resident learning experience. At the academic children's hospital discussed in this study, the concept was taken a step further. Together with the chief residents, the librarian provided a complete "learning package" consisting of the case write-up along with relevant, librarian-filtered, evidence-based information. The learning package was then e-mailed to all residents and some of the attending physicians. This program led to a huge increase in the use of library resources and services as well as a renewed recognition of the value of the library and the librarians.     

English Language Proficiency and Early School Attainment Among Children Learning English as an Additional Language

Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience lower academic attainment than monolingual peers. In this study, teachers provided ratings of English language proficiency and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for 782 children with EAL and 6,485 monolingual children in reception year (ages 4–5). Academic attainment was assessed in reception and Year 2 (ages 6–7). Relative to monolingual peers with comparable English language proficiency, children with EAL displayed fewer social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in reception, were equally likely to meet curriculum targets in reception, and were more likely to meet targets in Year 2. Academic attainment and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in children with EAL are associated with English language proficiency at school entry.