An analysis of motivation strategies used within the small-group Accelerating Mathematics Performance through Practice Strategies (AMPPS-SG) program

More than half of students in the USA perform below a proficient level in math. Although evidence suggests that intervention in elementary school is critical to supporting struggling learners, and there are several research-supported instructional practices to support students with math difficulties, the existing research is limited with regard to the impact of motivational strategies designed to improve students’ math skills. This study examined the effectiveness of specific motivational strategies used in the small-group Accelerating Mathematics Performance through Practice Strategies (AMPPS-SG) intervention program. A multiple baseline design was used with three instructional groups of second grade students to compare the relative effectiveness of three different conditions on students’ math computation skills. Condition 1 included all of the AMPPS-SG instructional components. Condition 2 included all instructional procedures as well as goal-setting, performance feedback, and reinforcement for performance. Condition 3 included all components used in Condition 2, as well as a group-based reward contingency. Results showed that students’ performance during Condition 3 was significantly better than performance during Conditions 1 and 2.     

Feasibility,acceptability, and potential efficacy of a childcare-based intervention to reduce sitting time among pre-schoolers: A pilot randomised controlled trial

The aim of this study was to test the feasibility, acceptability and potential efficacy of a childcare-based intervention to reduce total and prolonged sitting time in pre-schoolers. Four centres and 115 pre-schoolers (44 % boys; 4.1y) participated in a 3-month, 2-arm pilot cluster randomised controlled trial. Feasibility and acceptability were assessed through observations and semi-structured interviews. Sitting time, and breaks and bouts of sitting during childcare were assessed using an activPAL accelerometer over a one-week period at pre- and post-test (12wks). EF (inhibition, working memory and shifting) was assessed using the Early Years Toolbox. Intervention fidelity was high for both intervention centres (77 % vs 70 %) and educators reacted positively to the intervention. Proportion of sitting time per day reduced significantly at post-test in both intervention (?5.3%/day,[2.13, 8.50]) and control centres (?6.45 %,[4.20, 8.71]), resulting in a non- significant between-group difference (p = 0.51[2.4, 4.9]). EF scores did not significantly differ between groups (p > 0.05). Modifications to the childcare environment to reducing sitting, particularly the standing workstations, were feasible and acceptable to educators and children. No differences in sitting time between groups were seen; additional changes and longer-term trials are needed to reduce sitting time in pre-schoolers.     

The impact of badminton on health markers in untrained females

The purpose of the study was to examine the health effects of 8 weeks of recreational badminton in untrained women. Participants were matched for maximal oxygen uptake (V?O_2max) and body fat percentage and assigned to either a badminton (n = 14), running (n = 14) or control group (n = 8). Assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention with physiological, anthropometric, motivation to exercise and physical self-esteem data collected. Post-intervention, V?O_2max increased (P < 0.05) by 16% and 14% in the badminton and running groups, respectively, and time to exhaustion increased (P < 0.05) by 19% for both interventions. Maximal power output was increased (P < 0.05) by 13% in the badminton group only. Blood pressure, resting heart rate and heart rate during submaximal running were lower (P < 0.05) in both interventions. Perceptions of physical conditioning increased (P < 0.05) in both interventions. There were increases (P < 0.05) in enjoyment and ill health motives in the running group only, whilst affiliation motives were higher (P < 0.05) for the badminton group only. Findings suggest that badminton should be considered a strategy to improving the health and well-being of untrained females who are currently not meeting physical activity guidelines.     

Developing a web-based toolkit for new mothers about postpartum pelvic floor health in collaboration with a professional medical association

Background:Few electronic resources are available for new mothers with concerns about changes in their pelvic floor following childbirth. Patients may struggle when seeking authoritative information regarding pelvic floor conditions online given the sensitivity of the topic as well as the inadvertent connection to obscene or demeaning content found online. A health sciences librarian partnered with the Motherhood and Pelvic Health Study, an interdisciplinary research group, to provide expert searching skills for a particularly challenging health condition that patients struggle to find useful information on.Case Presentation:A custom rubric was developed to evaluate existing information products, which included criteria for cultural sensitivity, conflicts of interest, and other red flags. This evaluation process enabled the research team to identify top-tier evidence-based materials that were culturally congruent. This collaborative evaluation process led to the creation of a web-based toolkit resource for new mothers concerned about changes in their pelvic floor. The toolkit connects women to pertinent information on a national health organization''s patient portal, supplemented by videos created by the team to serve as models of communication for women and health care providers.Conclusion:When developing a web-based resource, health sciences libraries can partner with research teams to find, evaluate, and disseminate information. Culturally congruent toolkits such as this one can improve access to health information and lead to improved health outcomes. To ensure that the information highlighted in toolkits is both culturally congruent and authoritative, research teams should form advisory committees and partner with relevant professional medical associations.     

Teacher education policy‐making in British Columbia: 1872‐1994

This paper presents the results of an investigation of policy‐making (from 1872 to 1994) about teacher education in British Columbia, Canada. Its primary focus is threefold. First, it outlines the administrative structures established for the administration of teacher education. Second, it identifies the major issues and concerns considered by the major commissions and reviews of teacher education and the changes which have resulted over time. Finally, it distills the lessons which might be learned from the past. Major conclusions include: that a clearly articulated philosophy of teacher education has taken second place to the mechanics of teacher education; that political control sublimated the need for the development of clearly stated policy, and change over time appears to have been mandated by legislation rather than developed from local and institutional initiatives.     

BOOK REVIEWS

No abstract available for this article.     

The Use of Projective Drawings to Determine Visual Themes in Young Kuwaiti Women Impacted by the Iraqi Invasion

This study is part of a larger qualitative research project which examines visual imagery created through projective art tasks undertaken by young Kuwaiti women who were resident in Kuwait during the 1990 Saddam‐Hussein‐led Iraqi invasion of their country. The purpose of this article is to present evidence from the study as it is evolving. This study uses projective drawing tasks to elicit and examine the mental schema (i.e. colours, images and symbols [CIS]) of women between the ages of 20 and 22, who lived in Kuwait during the invasion. Piaget's model of the preoperational stage of childhood development is referred to when connecting nonverbal cognitive structures associated with the projective drawing tasks. The focus of this study was to determine if CIS themes could be generated through projective drawing tasks by individuals who had experienced a similar traumatic event. Visual data collected during research sessions bore this out. While thematic CIS did occur, further interpretation of the visual data was not a goal of the study.     

Developing Oral Language in Primary Classrooms

The development of oral language in classrooms has been an incidental occurrence historically. The amount of oral language that children have is an indicator of their success or struggle in school. To meet the needs of these children, teachers can make oral language development a primary focus for instruction. This article examines ways that teachers can both implicitly and explicitly teach children about language and its functions in primary classrooms through the environment, connections to literature, developmentally appropriate oral language activities, and engaging curricula.     

A transfer of control test for contextual associations

A transfer of control experiment measured the associative properties of contextual stimuli from three standard classical conditioning paradigms. After baseline training on a Sidman avoidance schedule, dogs received aversive conditioning using excitatory, inhibitory, or truly random conditioning procedures in the presence of a manipulable background stimulus. As predicted by current theory (Rescorla & Wagner, 1972; Wagner & Rescorla, 1972), the contextual stimulus was excitatory after serving as the background during conditioning of a CS? and was neutral when it had been part of the background for conditioning of a CS+. The background to the truly random procedure was also neutral. This last result contrasts with Rescorla and Wagner’s theory.