What ISPI and performance improvement mean to me

This year, the International Society for Performance Improvement celebrates its 50th anniversary. Over the past half‐century, our field has moved from programmed learning to programmed instruction to performance improvement. This new column reflects on 50 years of member, industry, and Society memories and what it has meant to each of this column's contributors. If you would like to add to the discussion, please contact the PI journal editor: joandessinger@ispi.org.     

Use of big-screen films in multiple childbirth education classroom settings

Although two recent films, Orgasmic Birth and Pregnant in America, were intended for the big screen, they can also serve as valuable teaching resources in multiple childbirth education settings. Each film conveys powerful messages about birth and today's birthing culture. Depending on a childbirth educator's classroom setting (hospital, birthing center, or home birth environment), particular portions in each film, along with extra clips featured on the films' DVDs, can enhance an educator's curriculum and spark compelling discussions with class participants.     

Classroom contexts for creativity

Various factors influence the development of creative potential, including everything from individual differences to the kinds of experiences and opportunities that creators experience throughout the lifespan. When it comes to nurturing creativity in the classroom, the learning environment is one of the most important factors – determining, in large part, whether creative potential will be supported (or suppressed). In short, classroom context matters. It is one thing to recognize that the classroom environment impacts the development of creative potential, it is quite another to understand just what it takes to develop an optimally supportive creative learning environment. This is because many of the features of optimal learning environments are quite subtle and even counterintuitive. In this paper, we discuss insights from the research on how teachers might establish a creativity-supportive learning environment in their classroom.     

In Praise of Clark Kent: Creative Metacognition and the Importance of Teaching Kids When (Not) to Be Creative

Despite creativity's many benefits and positive outcomes, there are still both explicit and implicit teacher biases against creative students. We argue that teachers do not dislike creativity but rather dislike inappropriate creativity that can come from students at poorly chosen times. After reviewing the literature on metacognition and creativity, we propose the adapted construct of creative metacognition (CMC), a combination of self-knowledge (knowing one's own creative strengths and limitations) and contextual knowledge (knowing when, where, how, and why to be creative). We end with ways that teachers can raise students’ CMC.     

Becoming your own leader: From leader to possible failure and back again—A pragmatic approach

Many people resign themselves to play “follow the leader” and allow others to make decisions that have major impact on their professional and personal lives. Nevertheless, we can, if we choose, take control of our own future and become our own leader and thus decide what we will do and accomplish. This article provides the concepts and tools to take control of your own life and become your own leader. It is built on the performance accomplishments in organizations and in the rest of life.     

Meditative Training Improves Undergraduate Executive Functioning

The experience of attending college can be a stressful experience for many students, one that college and university counseling centers may have limited resources of time and finances to assuage. For instance, decision making may deteriorate during times of stress and result in a narrowed perceptual set. The present study sought to determine through a novel design whether meditative training could effectively address the situation. Results indicated that classroom-based meditative training improved executive functioning among college students regarding stress, cognitive flexibility, and insight. Such an approach to intervention may provide college and university counseling centers with greater opportunities to better meet student emotional and academic needs.     

Curative role of pantothenic acid in brain damage of gamma irradiated rats

Radiation induced brain damage is associated with impairment of mitochondrial functions, variations in the level of neurotransmitters, and oxidative stress. Mitochondrial function is closely linked to the level of neurotransmitters since the precursors are supplied by the Kreb’s cycle intermediates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of pantothenic acid, an essential component in the synthesis of Coenzyme A (CoA), on the activity of the Krebs cycle enzymes, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (α-KGDH), and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH); the level of aspartic, glutamic and GABA; the activity of transaminases, and oxidative stress, in the cerebrum of γ-irradiated rats. Pantothenic acid (26 mg/Kg) was orally administered to the rats, 2 h after irradiation and during the following 5 days. Animals were sacrificed the 7th day post-irradiation. The exposure of male albino rats to γ-rays (5 Gy) has triggered oxidative stress notified by a significant elevation in the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation, associated to a significant decrease in the content of phospholipids, and the antioxidant compound glutathione (GSH). The activity of IDH, α-KGDH, and SDH, has significantly decreased, while the level of aspartic, glutamic and GABA has significantly increased. In parallel to these changes, the activity of alanine and aspartate transaminase has significantly increased, compared to their values in the control rats. Pantothenic acid treatment, has significantly attenuated oxidative stress; enhanced the activity of IDH, α-KGDH, and SDH; minimized the increase in the level of amino acids and the activity of transaminases, compared to their values in the cerebrum of irradiated rats. In conclusion, pantothenic acid could improve the level of neurotransmitters amino acids, which depends on the enzymatic activities of Krebs cycle and linked to oxidative stress.     

Warmth and Demand: The Relation Between Students' Perceptions of the Classroom Environment and Achievement Growth

Theory suggests that African American students benefit from warm and demanding teachers. This study examines the relation between students' perceptions of 634 teachers' warm demander characteristics and achievement growth in fourth and fifth grades (M_{student age} = 9–11.5 years). Analyses explored whether relations were moderated by the proportion of African American students in the classroom or the ethnic match or mismatch between African American students and their teachers. Results indicated that students' perceptions of teachers' demand (challenge and control) related to student achievement growth. Findings showed a stronger relation between challenge and academic growth in classrooms with more African American students, but no significant findings were identified for ethnic match or mismatch.