‘Motivate’: the effect of a Football in the Community delivered weight loss programme on over 35-year old men and women’s cardiovascular risk factors

The purpose of this study was to examine whether an innovative, inclusive and integrated 12-week exercise, behaviour change and nutrition advice-based weight management programme could significantly improve the cardiovascular risk factors of overweight and obese men and women over the age of 35. One hundred and ninety-four men and 98 women (mean age?=?52.28?±?9.74 and 51.19?±?9.04) attending a community-based intervention delivered by Notts County Football in the Community over one year, took part in the study. Height (m), weight (kg), fitness (meters covered during a 6?min walk) and waist circumference (cm) were measured at weeks 1 and 12 as part of the intervention. Changes in body weight, waist circumference and fitness for men and women were measured by a 2-way repeated measures ANOVA, with significance set to p?<?0.05.Weight, waist circumference and fitness significantly improved over time in both men (4.96?kg, 6.29?cm, 70.22?m; p?<?0.05) and women (4.26?kg, 5.90?cm, 35.29?m; p?<?0.05). The results demonstrated that the FITC lead weight loss intervention was successful in significantly improving cardiovascular risk factors in both men and women. In particular, the weight loss reductions achieved were comparable to those seen in similar, more costly men-only programmes. This is the first study to demonstrate the efficacy of such an intervention in an inclusive, mixed gender programme and more specifically, in women.     

Factors that influence teachers learning to do interviews to understand students' mathematical understandings

Understanding students' understanding of mathematical ideas can inform mathematics teaching, and task-based interviews are one way in which teachers can learn more about their students' understandings. The CIME project was designed to empower mathematics teachers to use interviews to understand their students' mathematical understandings as well as to prepare teachers to use technology-intensive curricula. This study examined the influences on three high school mathematics teachers as they learned to use task-based interviews to understand students' mathematical understandings. The areas of teacher knowledge and conceptions that influenced the teachers we studied were: teachers' mathematical understandings and knowledge of technology and the perceived importance of curriculum topics; teachers' views of knowing mathematics; teachers' perceptions of students' characteristics and needs; and teachers' perceptions of interviewing and the role of questioning in interviews. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Finding a Golden Mean in Education Policy: Centering Religious and Public Schools

The separation between Church and State, private and public education, is blurring, and coming together, as the government gives families vouchers to attend private and religious schools. Religious groups are starting and supporting their own charter schools, and local jurisdictions (cities and counties) are providing free transportation and food services to children attending private schools. What emerges, and is the focus of this analysis, is the new “middle ground,” a “golden mean,” by which public schools learn diversity and choice while private/religious schools are helped by public programs and funds. The oldest, perhaps, was Lyndon Johnson's compromise with the Catholics to get Title 1 passed as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that sends public school teachers into private schools to help children in need. This study examines the emergence of a middle group in public–private education, and how the policies are working and what's changing. It argues that the child is the center of education, and government and private agencies are changing and should come together to serve the clients, the children.     

Interpreting Scores from Standardized Tests

This essay seeks to establish a metaphor of the professional practice of teaching to the attributes and training of an offensive lineman in the game of American football. Effective classroom instruction does not rely exclusively on a rare set of talents but rather rests on the commitment to the work of teaching. Like the position of offensive lineman, the profession of teaching is one of service. And more, it is one in which the person's performance can blossom through intense determination. An invitation is offered to serve as an effective teacher.     

A Bibliography for Philosophy and Constructivism in Science Education

The research literature on educational constructivism is voluminous (see the Carmichael (1990) Pfundt & Duit (1994) and Driver et al. (1994b) bibliographies cited below). The research - in both the Piagetian and Alternative Conception traditions - covers children's learning, cognitive development, curriculum development, classroom practices, teacher education, and much else. There is a further enormous literature on constructivism in philosophy of science (see Leplin (1984) and Churchland & Hooker (1985)), and on constructivism in the sociology of science (see Brown (1984), McMullin (1988, 1992). In turn these latter literatures overlap with the ocean of writing on post-modernist theory of knowledge and cognition (see Gross & Levitt (1994)). The following references relate mostly to educational constructivism, and then, with some exceptions, to articles that address epistemological and philosophical matters in science education. Even so it is not an exhaustive list, but hopefully it will be useful for teachers and researchers in the field. The author welcomes additions or omissions being brought to his attention.     

Advancing Diversity in STEM

Although progress has been made, greater efforts are needed to promote faculty diversity at the college and university levels, especially in STEM fields. Thus, it is important to elucidate best practices both for increasing awareness of diversity issues pertaining to higher education and for implementing change. This article focuses on the outcomes of a diversity workshop for college and university faculty hosted by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Division of Science and Research. More specifically, it elucidates how participation in the workshop translated into practice at the faculty participants’ home institutions.