Physical activity and sedentary behaviour during outdoor learning and traditional indoor school days among Finnish primary school students

In this study, we aimed at comparing Finnish primary school students’ physical activity and sedentary time during outdoor-learning and traditional school days. Outdoor learning is defined as purposeful and planned learning experiences in the outdoors . The study population consisted 20 students in grades 1–6 at one primary school. Physical activity was measured objectively by hip-worn accelerometers. The amounts of physical activity and sedentary time were compared for the same students between five school days with outdoor learning and four traditional school days. The study’s main findings show that, moving from traditional classroom teaching to an outdoor-learning environment decreases students’ sedentary time and increases light- and moderate-intensity physical activity during the school day. No differences were observed in leisure-time physical activity on school days with or without outdoor learning. Thus, outdoor learning is an effective complement to traditional classroom teaching in promoting physically active children.     

The role of the working memory and language skills in the prediction of word problem solving in 4- to 7-year-old children

The aim of this study was to analyse the role of verbal and visuo-spatial working memory (WM) and language skills (vocabulary, listening comprehension) in predicting preschool and kindergarten-aged children’s ability to solve mathematical word problems presented orally. The participants were 116 Finnish-speaking children aged 4–7?years. The results showed that verbal WM (VWM) did not have a direct effect on word problems in young children but was indirectly related to word problems through vocabulary and listening comprehension. These results suggest that in young children, VWM resources support language skills which, furthermore, contribute to variation in solving orally presented word problems. The results also showed that visuo-spatial WM had a direct effect on performance in word problems, suggesting that it plays an important role in word problem solving among this age group.     

From anxiety to enthusiasm: emotional patterns among student teachers

Studying to become a teacher is a highly emotional experience. Nevertheless, little is known about emotional patterns and emotional change. The aim of this study is to enhance the understanding of student teachers’ academic emotions by exploring patterns of emotions experienced in emotionally loaded episodes. A total of 19 primary school student teachers were interviewed. The qualitative content analysis revealed five different emotional patterns: positive, negative, ascending, descending and changing. Most of the emotional patterns were positive or changing in nature. Yet all the emotional patterns were highly focused on studying and learning. Moreover, the patterns were experienced equally in short, medium-length and long episodes. Our study showed that emotional patterns were triggered by various task-related elements of teacher education: most commonly, fulfilled or unfilled expectations, sufficient or insufficient abilities, and experiences of social support received or not received.     

Biographical Sketch of Frederick G. Kilgour Librarian,Educator, Entrepreneur, 1914–2006

The article traces the career of Frederick G. Kilgour (1914–2006), who is widely recognized as one of the leading figures in 20^th-century librarianship. He founded the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC) and from 1967 to 1981 was its first president and chief executive officer, presiding over OCLC's rapid growth from an intrastate network to an international network. In 1971, under Kilgour's leadership, OCLC introduced an online shared cataloging system and an online union catalog (WorldCat) that is today the world's foremost bibliographic database. In 1978, he created the OCLC Office of Research, and in 1979, under his direction, OCLC launched its online interlibrary loan system. The author of 205 scholarly papers, Kilgour received numerous awards and honors over the course a career that took him from Harvard University Library, to the Office of Strategic Services in World War II, to Yale Medical Library, to OCLC, and finally, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he spent his final years on the faculty of the School of Information and Library Science as a Distinguished Research Professor.     

Oxidative Stress Correlates with Complications Among Diabetic Patients Attending a Diabetic Clinic in Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

In diabetes, persistent hyperglycemia results in increased production of free radicals especially oxygen free radicals, which can cause cell destruction and tissue injury resulting in cell dysfunction. With the premise that oxidative stress is a major cause of diabetic complications, we conducted a controlled laboratory based investigation on level of lipid peroxide levels in the serum of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients attending Muhimbili National Hospital. From our clinical data it was observed that majority of the patients had higher waist to hip ration and body mass index, which suggests that the patients were either overweight or obese. The enrolled diabetic patients had higher lipid peroxide levels than controls and also Type 2 patients had higher lipid peroxide levels than Type 1 patients. Moreover, patients with known complications had higher lipid peroxide levels than patients without complications. The lipid peroxide levels in the diabetic patients were significantly different from that of the control subjects enrolled in the study. A majority of the diabetic patients had a poorly controlled blood sugar. Our finding hints that despite the fact that diabetic patients in our clinic are on follow up, they are at a risk of developing coronary heart diseases, neuropathy and other secondary diabetic complications.     

Educator understanding of childhood traumatic brain injury: a New Zealand perspective

ABSTRACT

Approximately 15% of New Zealand children will experience a traumatic brain injury during their school years. Given that educators play an important role in facilitating the successful school re-entry and recovery of these students, it is paramount that educators have adequate knowledge of childhood traumatic brain injury. This study used an online questionnaire to assess knowledge traumatic brain injury among 20 New Zealand educators. It also identified what services educators were aware of within their schools and communities that could assist with the management of students with brain injury, and what further training or information educators required to feel confident in supporting these students in the school environment. Results indicated that although educators possessed sound general understanding of traumatic brain injury, they had some misconceptions regarding the implications and recovery trajectories of these injuries during childhood. Educators reported the need for training relating to diagnostic criteria and strategies for supporting students with traumatic brain injury in the classroom. Providing educators with information and training on how to identify traumatic brain injury and manage the needs of students with traumatic brain injury will allow them to facilitate inclusive and supportive educational opportunities, leading to improved outcomes for these students.     

Narratives as a tool when working for equality in action research: a description and discussion of the researcher’s experiences from a school development project in Norway

Action research as a form of professional development encourages teachers to participate in cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting, thereby creating possibilities for change and transformation. Equally important are the transformations and professional growth experienced by the facilitator in an action research context. In recent literature, the epistemological and methodological foundations of action research have come under scrutiny. Part of this debate emerges from the experience of those who actually attempt to facilitate action research with groups of teachers. In this paper I critically examine my participation (as a university‐based facilitator and researcher) in an action research group in science, technology and society (STS) education to illustrate: (a) how a second‐order inquiry enhanced my understanding of the nature of action research, while (b) simultaneously allowing me to explore and develop strategies for facilitating the process.     

The Role of Executive Functions in Socioeconomic Attainment Gaps: Results From a Randomized Controlled Trial

The socioeconomic attainment gap in mathematics starts early and increases over time. This study aimed to examine why this gap exists. Four-year-olds from diverse backgrounds were randomly allocated to a brief intervention designed to improve executive functions (N = 87) or to an active control group (N = 88). The study was preregistered and followed CONSORT guidelines. Executive functions and mathematical skills were measured at baseline, 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year posttraining. Executive functions mediated the relation between socioeconomic status and mathematical skills. Children improved over training, but this did not transfer to untrained executive functions or mathematics. Executive functions may explain socioeconomic attainment gaps, but cognitive training directly targeting executive functions is not an effective way to narrow this gap.