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Background: With the growing integration of technology in education, the adoption of blended learning (b‐learning) has gained attention. B‐learning combines traditional classroom teaching with online components, holding potential to enhance student outcomes and educational efficiency. Yet, current research predominantly concentrates on higher education institutions in urban areas, creating a void in understanding its impact on K‐12 education, particularly in rural settings. Objectives: This qualitative study aims to propose recommendations for successful implementation of blended learning in rural K‐12 areas by addressing the key stakeholders influencing its adoption and identifying the main factors affecting its success. Methods: We performed a content analysis of grey literature documents detailing the implementation of b‐learning in K‐12 education. Additionally, interviews with crucial stakeholders such as teachers, principals, and experts in rural schools in South America provide insights into the challenges and prospects of b‐learning adoption in these contexts. Results and Conclusions: The study identifies pivotal stakeholders for effective b‐learning implementation, outlining their roles and addressing challenges inherent in rural settings. Recommendations for enhancing b‐learning's implementation in developing countries are also proposed. The research underscores the significance of involving diverse stakeholders such as governmental bodies, school leaders, educators, students, and families to ensure a holistic and efficient approach to blended learning. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Blended Learning Definition and Benefits: Blended learning combines face‐to‐face and online instruction, enhancing student engagement and personalization by providing diverse learning pathways.Growth in K‐12 Implementation: Blended learning gained traction in K‐12 education, boosting academic outcomes, driven by recognition of learner diversity and potential in meeting students' needs.Contextual Challenges: Implementation challenges arise in low‐income households and rural areas, including limited access to technology and internet connectivity, impacting student engagement and success. What does this paper add: Focusing on Rural Dynamics: This study helps to fill a gap by investigating blended learning in rural K‐12 settings, spotlighting key players and success drivers in these unique contexts.Recommendations from Various Sources: By combining interviews and grey literature, this research generates comprehensive, practical recommendations grounded in both empirical insights and real‐world perspectives.Insights into Rural Hurdles: This paper extends the discussion on blended learning by addressing specific rural barriers, proposing family involvement, private sector partnerships for training, and tailored pedagogical strategies. Implications for practice or policy: Leadership and Collaboration: Effective school leadership and collaboration with local governments are pivotal for fruitful blended learning implementation, ensuring defined roles, responsibility, and accountability.Adaptable Curriculum Design: An adaptable, centralized curriculum aligns with recommendations, fostering efficient tracking of student progress and enabling customized learning.Engagement‐Centric Pedagogies: Recommendations spotlight interactive, student‐centered teaching methods, tailored to diverse student needs, nurturing active participation and elevated learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with aphasia (PWA) can experience functional numeracy difficulties, that is, problems understanding or using numbers in everyday life, which can have numerous negative impacts on their daily lives. There is growing interest in designing functional numeracy interventions for PWA; however, there are limited suitable assessments available to monitor the impact of these interventions. Existing functional numeracy assessments lack breadth and are not designed to be accessible for PWA, potentially confounding their performance. Additionally, they do not include real‐life demands, such as time pressure, which may affect their ecological validity. Thus, there is a crucial need for a new assessment to facilitate further research of PWA's functional numeracy. Aims: To develop, validate and pilot a wide‐ranging, aphasia‐friendly functional numeracy assessment to investigate how functional numeracy is impacted by aphasia severity and time pressure demands, and to explore predictors of PWA's functional numeracy. Methods & Procedures: To develop the Functional Numeracy Assessment (FNA), 38 items inspired by the General Health Numeracy Test (GHNT) and Excellence Gateway were adapted for suitability for PWA and entered in a computerized psychometric‐style test. The final 23 items (FNA23) were selected based on 213 neurotypical controls' performance, and controlled for difficulty, response modality and required numeracy skills. Aphasia‐friendly adaptations of the GHNT and Subjective Numeracy Scale were used to examine the FNA23's concurrent validity. Internal consistency reliability and interrater reliability (for spoken responses) were also examined. A novel Time Pressure Task was created by slight adaptation of seven FNA23 questions to explore the effects of time pressure on functional numeracy performance. A total of 20 PWA and 102 controls completed all measures on an online testing platform. Outcomes & Results: The FNA23 demonstrated acceptable internal consistency reliability (KR‐20 = 0.81) and perfect interrater reliability (for spoken responses). FNA23 and GHNT scores were positively associated, suggesting satisfactory concurrent validity. PWA demonstrated poorer functional numeracy than controls and took longer to complete assessments, indicating that aphasia impacts functional numeracy. Time pressure did not significantly impact performance. PWA demonstrated a wide range of functional numeracy abilities, with some performing similarly to controls. Conclusions & Implications: The FNA23 is a wide‐ranging, valid and reliable assessment which, with further development, will be a useful tool to identify and monitor PWA's functional numeracy difficulties in research and clinical practice. Considering PWA's widespread functional numeracy difficulties evidenced by this study, all PWA would likely benefit from routine evaluation for functional numeracy difficulties as part of their neurorehabilitation journeys. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: Few studies have investigated functional numeracy difficulties in PWA. No published functional numeracy assessments exist that have been specifically designed to be accessible for PWA. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: The newly developed FNA23 is a valid and reliable tool to extensively assess PWA's functional numeracy. This study confirmed previous findings of widespread functional numeracy difficulties in PWA that are related to their aphasia severity. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: The FNA23 can be used to assess PWA's functional numeracy to inform areas of strengths and difficulties to target in intervention, and to monitor progress towards achieving intervention objectives. All PWA should be routinely evaluated for functional numeracy difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The substantial growth in gamification research has connected gamified learning to enhanced engagement, improved performance, and greater motivation. Similar to gamification, personalized learning analytics dashboards can enhance student engagement. Objectives: This study explores the student experiences and academic achievements using a gamified dashboard in a large, introductory STEM course. Methods: We examined two groups of students enrolled in different sections of a one‐semester‐long physical geology course with a total enrollment of 223 students. The only difference between the groups was that one had access to the dashboard. The data collection included students' assignments, overall performances, and exam scores. Students in both sections completed a Science Literacy Concept Inventory survey at the beginning and end of the term. Additionally, students completed an end‐of‐term survey containing open‐ended questions on their experience and interactions with specific elements. Results: Students shared mostly positive comments about their experience with the dashboard, and the final grade of students with access to the dashboard was 13% higher, on average, compared to their peers in the non‐dashboard section. Conclusion: With low costs and little time invested, gamified dashboards could have a significant impact on student performance in large STEM lecture courses. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Leaner dashboards that provide personalized feedback are linked to improved student performance in undergraduate STEM courses. However, students may be reticent to adopt dashboards, especially students in the middle range of the performance distribution, for whom the impact of the dashboard may be most significant.Prior research on gamification in STEM courses suggests that adding gameful elements like progress trackers, badges, and rewards can increase students' engagement in undergraduate coursework.The combination of personalized learning in dashboards and the motivational experience of gamification should boost student engagement, dashboard adoption, and ultimately foster academic achievement. What this paper adds: In this paper, we examine the differences in academic performance between students with and without access to a gamified learning dashboard in an undergraduate Geology course.We observe that students with access to the dashboard (the treatment group), outperform students without access (the control group). The greatest benefit is observed for students who use the dashboard more frequently.Students reported that the progress tracker, the badges, and the rewards all incentivized their use and provided useful feedback about their performance. Students who did not adopt the dashboard expressed a need for more detail about the tool and its purpose. Implications for practice and/or policy: Instructors and instructional designers for large enrollment undergraduate STEM courses should consider the affordances of gamified learner dashboards for increasing engagement and for providing synchronous feedback about learners' strategies in the course.Aligning the dashboard to the content of the curriculum—by ensuring that badges reflect key concepts‐ encouraged participation and helped students identify the utility of the tool. Dashboards should be personalized to individuals and to the course.Adding gameful elements in a low‐cost intervention for increasing adoption and engagement of dashboards in large enrollment introductory courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Game‐based learning can frame problem‐solving as a sense‐making experience with domain‐specific tasks for school students. However, multiple challenges arise when trying to support learners in such a complex, problem‐oriented learning environment. Objectives and Methods: With an architecture‐themed mathematics learning game, we conducted two mixed‐method studies to explore the impact and design of game‐based mathematical experience on the math problem‐solving performance of middle school students. Results and Conclusions: The study findings suggested a positive impact of game‐based math experience on math problem‐solving for middle school students. Problematization‐oriented game‐based math tasks with structuring features enhanced students' reasoning with problems and channelled it to doing mathematics. Takeaways: The current research findings support the initiative to frame learning as a sense‐making experience with domain‐specific tasks and inform the design of game‐based mathematical experience and learning support. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Realistic mathematical practices frame learning as a sense‐making experience.Challenges arise when involving learners in realistic mathematical experiences driven by domain‐specific tasks. What this paper adds: Game‐based simulation of math tasks framed learning as sense‐making experience.Game‐based math experiencing promoted math contextual problem‐solving performance.Structuring features enhanced problematized experiencing with math tasks. Implications for practice and/or policy: Teachers can integrate and facilitate game‐based math experiencing in class.Efforts should be made to make game‐based math tasks meaningful for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Study: The effects of the flipped classroom (FC) on students' academic performance remain ambiguous, and the use of pre‐class videos may be one of the main factors hindering students' progress. A software package called GeoGebra has been proposed as a substitute for pre‐class videos to aid students' learning. Objective: This study investigates the effect of the FC using GeoGebra (FCG) on mathematical performance and memory among senior secondary students. Methods: One hundred and sixty students of a senior high school in China were selected. A quasi‐experimental design was implemented in which the classes were split into the intervention group (FCG), control group A (FCV) and control group B (TL) by random assignment. Pretest, Post‐test 1 and Post‐test 2 were introduced. Results and Conclusion: The results indicate that both the FCG and the FC with pre‐class videos (FCV) were more effective than traditional lectures in enhancing students' academic test scores, and that the effect of the FCG was comparable to its video counterpart, F(2, 136) = 3.752, ρ = 0.026, η2 = 0.052. Although their effects were similar, the qualitative results revealed some hidden benefits associated with the replacement of pre‐class video with GeoGebra. Furthermore, although they were equally effective in promoting students' performance in the short‐term, the long‐term effects on academic performance of both forms of FC were non‐significant when compared with traditional lectures. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Flipped classroom is an effective strategy in teaching mathematics.Among those challenges, video may be one of the main factors hindering the effect of flipped classroom. What this paper adds: GeoGebra could be an effective alternative to video.Effect between the flipped classroom using GeoGebra and the flipped classroom using video were similar.Both the flipped classroom with GeoGebra and the flipped classroom with videos were more effective than traditional lectures. Implications for practice and/or policy: Students' short‐term performance could be enhanced by visualisation provided by flipped classroom.To enhance students' long‐term performance, an appropriate amount of homework is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To increase the likelihood of research responding to societal needs, intermediary structures such as Science Shops are being created. Science Shops respond to research needs identified and prioritized through participatory processes involving civil society. However, these are not mainstream structures, and most research needs addressed by the scientific community are not defined by a diversity of stakeholders (including citizens) but are mostly prioritized by researchers and funders. Literature shows this often leads to bias between the research topics investigated and the research needs of other relevant stakeholders. This study analyses how 14 Science Shops contribute to decreasing bias in health research agenda setting. Methodology: We compare the research priorities identified through participatory processes by the Science Shops, which participated in the European Union‐funded project InSPIRES (2017–2021), to the available research addressed in the literature (identified in Web of Science), which we use as a proxy for current research priorities. Results: Science Shop projects contributed to decreasing the existing bias in health research agenda setting: (1) between drug and nondrug treatments and (2) between clinical trials of treatments for illnesses affecting high‐income versus middle‐ and low‐income countries, which leads to a lack of local strategies for high disease burdens in nonhigh‐income regions. Conclusion: This study provides the first evidence of Science Shops' effectiveness in addressing current biases in health research agenda setting. We conclude they could play a key role in shaping local, national and international research policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides guidance for researchers with some mathematical background on the conduct of time-to-event analysis in observational studies based on intensity (hazard) models. Discussions of basic concepts like time axis, event definition and censoring are given. Hazard models are introduced, with special emphasis on the Cox proportional hazards regression model. We provide check lists that may be useful both when fitting the model and assessing its goodness of fit and when interpreting the results. Special attention is paid to how to avoid problems with immortal time bias by introducing time-dependent covariates. We discuss prediction based on hazard models and difficulties when attempting to draw proper causal conclusions from such models. Finally, we present a series of examples where the methods and check lists are exemplified. Computational details and implementation using the freely available R software are documented in Supplementary Material. The paper was prepared as part of the STRATOS initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the perceptions and experiences of a teacher and students in a Shanghai public primary school when digital games were used in a second‐grade math class. The participants included one teacher and 45 students. Data collection methods included classroom observation, focus‐group and individual interviews, and document analysis. Digital gameplay, when used once daily over a 6‐day period, was found to enhance student engagement and interest in learning; many students, however, were concerned about its effect on academic achievement and eyesight. The teacher employed a "making thinking visible" approach using pencil and paper and problem‐solving strategies to help students understand the game's mathematical principles and master mathematical knowledge. Obstacles included large class size, difficulty evaluating learning outcomes, balancing fun and learning, and effective game–classroom integration. This study found that exam‐oriented education and traditional teacher‐centred teaching in China influenced participants' perceptions and experiences of digital game‐based learning. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Digital game‐based learning is effective and leads to a more relaxed learning environment that promotes students' engagement, interest, motivation, and confidence.Learning with digital games helps students acquire mathematics knowledge more effectively than traditional classroom lectures.Digital game‐based learning is helpful in math class as it makes students feel challenged and more capable, thereby improving self‐efficacy and task persistence. What this paper adds: Mathematics teachers and students have a contradictory attitude that shows both approval and concern towards game‐based learning.In the Chinese context, exam‐oriented culture is an important factor that influences the teacher's and students' perceptions and experiences of digital game‐based learning.While digital game‐based learning helps students' engagement and interest in math, it also faces numerous challenges such as large class size, balancing fun and learning, and effective game–classroom integration. Implications for practice and/or policy: Digital game‐based learning may be more effective when combined with pencil and paper to write down the process and make thinking visible.Fun and learning should be balanced in digital game‐based learning.Teachers need training and support for digital game‐centred programmes to succeed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of mobile technologies, well‐designed fraction apps can be used to help children gain fraction knowledge, a challenging topic for both teachers and students. The present pilot study adopted a quasi‐experimental design to investigate whether children can learn fraction concepts equally well if half of the lesson time (20 min) is replaced with game‐based learning. Keeping the total lesson time (40 min) identical, the control group (N = 33) received traditional instruction, and the experimental group (N = 32) was presented with a blended learning approach spending half of the class time (20 min) playing tablet‐based fraction games, where each of the learners had their own tablet. The results suggested that in the posttest, the experimental group achieved similar learning gains to the control group and appear to have achieved better performance in the transfer test than the control group. This paper also discusses the efficiency of game‐based learning, the mechanism of how fraction games might enhance learning, and the potential of integrating game‐based learning in educational settings. Lay Description: What is already known about this topicAs a significant mathematical concept in daily life, fractions are crucial for later success in math learning.As a promising new technology, educational games show a great potential for improving learning.Well‐designed fraction apps can be used to help children gain fraction knowledge.What this paper addsGame‐based fraction learning can be combined with formal learning in school education.Game‐based fraction learning might provide a more efficient approach to increasing students' conceptual knowledge of fractions.The result showed that the experimental group achieved a similar cognitive level as the control group although they spent half of the time playing a game, suggesting that children can gain knowledge from the experiences of playing games.What are the implications for practice and/or policyThe result suggests that the proper use of educational games in teaching fractions can make learning more efficient.Further research needs to be done to determine whether the fraction understanding gained through playing these games will have an impact on students' future learning of more complicated fraction concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mobile learning studies often focus on teachers' perspectives. This study instead considers students' experiences of learning with mobile devices (i.e., m‐learning) in secondary school mathematics and science. Objectives: The research aims to describe the m‐learning experiences of secondary mathematics and science students, and to determine the extent to which distinctive pedagogical dimensions impact students' perceived learning. Methods: A survey instrument using the iPAC mobile pedagogical framework as a theoretical lens is developed and validated. This framework highlights three pedagogical dimensions: personalization, authenticity, and collaboration. Structural equation modelling is used to investigate how each dimension predicts students' perceived improvement in learning, whilst accounting for usage context, among a sample of students in schools where mobile devices are used extensively. Results and Conclusions: Students were in agreement that personalization was a characteristic of their m‐learning experiences, but authentic and collaborative learning were not as strongly featured. M‐learning activities fostering personalization were most important for improving perceived learning; authenticity and collaboration were also significant, but no differences in perceived learning improvement due to location were found. Authentic m‐learning and perceived improvement in learning with mobile devices were significantly higher in science than mathematics subjects. Implications: When teachers design m‐learning tasks that enhance personalization, collaboration, and authenticity, students are predicted to perceive improvements in their learning. The findings suggest that teachers should consider designing technology‐enhanced tasks that improve students' experiences of collaborative and authentic learning, particularly in mathematics for greatest gains in students' perceived improvement in learning. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic:Mobile learning studies often focus on teachers' perspectives and practices or expert commentaries.Issues of usability, access, engagement, motivation, and potential risk are often highlighted rather than pedagogical factors.Mobile technologies provide students with opportunities for more personalized and autonomous seamless experiences across learning contexts.Science teachers frequently use authentic and project‐based m‐learning opportunities, whilst mathematics teachers prefer didactic, drill and practice approaches.What this paper adds:This study focuses on students' m‐learning in secondary mathematics and science.A multi‐item scale considering aspects of authenticity, personalization, collaboration and context is developed and validated.Personalization in m‐learning activities are most important for perceived learning, followed by authenticity and collaboration.Science students report greater authenticity and perceived learning in m‐learning than mathematics students.Implications for practice and/or policy:Highlighting the student perspective is a valued lens to evaluate m‐learning pedagogy and outcomes in student learning.Efforts should be made to develop mobile pedagogies, particularly with respect to authenticity and collaboration.Teachers in mathematics would benefit most from examining practices that improve authenticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tingir et al. (2017) concluded from their meta‐analysis that the subject areas taught through mobile devices had significantly higher achievement scores (d = 0.48) than the ones taught with traditional teaching methods. Given the relatively high positive effect of mobile devices on student achievement, we carefully analysed the selected research in this meta‐analysis. We reviewed Tingir et al.'s (2017) meta‐analysis based on analysis of the methodology of the selected research, while drawing on the work of Slavin (2003), Cheung and Slavin (2016), and Sung et al. (2019). Twelve of the 14 (86%) studies included in the meta‐analysis done by Tingir and his team (2017) present such major methodological flaws that they should not have been included. Our analysis leads us to believe that the conclusion of Tingir et al. (2017) is not justified. It is recognized that duration of experiment is negatively correlated with effect size: the shorter the duration, the higher the effect (Burston, 2015; Slavin & Lake, 2009). Although demanding more effort, the field of education must raise the bar if it is to have knowledge of acceptable value. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: Tingir et al. (2017) concluded from their meta‐analysis that: "the subject areas taught through mobile devices had significantly higher achievement scores than the ones taught with traditional teaching methods" (p. 366). What this paper adds?: We therefore reviewed the meta‐analysis by Tingir et al. (2017) and the underlying research. Our analysis leads us to believe that the conclusion of Tingir et al. (2017) is not justified.The data on reading used in the meta‐analysis by Tingir et al. (2017) do not make it possible to calculate a legitimate effect size for reading or to make a judgment about the effectiveness of mobile devices in the classroom.With respect to mathematics, the weakness and biases of the studies selected in the meta‐analysis by Tingir et al. (2017) should not have allowed them to calculate an effect size and do not provide a clear answer on the effectiveness of mobiles devices in the classroom.The studies in science selected by Tingir et al. (2017) demonstrate a set of methodological flaws that cannot provide a sound basis for determining a convincing effect of mobile device in the classroom on student achievement. Implications for practice and/or policy: Tingir and associates (2017) calculated an overall mean effect of 0.48 for mobiles devices on student achievement by combining research in reading (effect = 0.666; N = 3), mathematics (effect = 0.16; N = 3) and science (effect = 0.528; N = 8). The authors did not do a school‐level analysis (elementary, high school) in their school subject groupings due to the small number of studies, particularly in reading and mathematics.Twelve of the 14 (86%) studies included in the meta‐analysis done by Tingir and his team (2017) present such major methodological flaws that they should not have been included. As mentioned in the introduction, Slavin and his colleagues found different results in a related field. Slavin et al. (2009) found an effect size of 0.11 for the use of technology in the classroom, in computer‐assisted and computer‐based instruction, and an effect size of 0.05 for the use of digital tools 10 years later (Slavin, 2019). Given all the above, it is our opinion that the meta‐analysis by Tingir et al. (2017) cannot be used to justify the use of mobile devices in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using dynamic geometry software (GeoGebra) on the eighth‐grade students' conceptual understanding and the retention of learning regarding linear equations and slope. In this study, a quasi‐experimental design with pre‐test, post‐test and delayed post‐test was employed. This study was conducted with 52 eighth‐grade Turkish students (experimental group, n = 25; control group, n = 27). While GeoGebra software‐supported instruction was carried out in the experimental group, textbook‐based direct instruction was continued in the control group. Data were collected with the conceptual understanding test (CUT) which consists of 38 questions including open‐ended, multiple choice and fill in the blanks. CUT was applied to the experimental and control groups as a pre‐test and post‐test at both the beginning and the end of the instruction, respectively. Seven weeks after the instruction, CUT was applied to both groups as a retention test. Data were analysed through SPSS 17.0 statistical software by using a t‐test and ANCOVA test. It was indicated in the study results that GeoGebra software‐supported instruction for eighth‐grade students regarding linear equations and slope did significantly improve both their conceptual understanding and retention of learning in comparison to textbook‐based direct instruction. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: The subject of functions and their graphs are the basis of many mathematical concepts and subjects such as logarithm, limit, derivative and integral.It is indicated in many studies that middle‐grade students have some misconceptions and difficulties in learning the concept of a straight line and slope.It was determined in previous studies conducted at different grade level that using dynamic geometry software (DGS) increases students' mathematics achievement according to traditional instruction.There is a need for research investigating the effect of using GeoGebra software on eighth grade students' conceptual understanding and retention of learning regarding linear equations and slope. What this paper adds?: A quasi‐experimental design with pre‐test, post‐test and delayed post‐test was conducted.Using GeoGebra software had positive effects on eighth‐grade students' conceptual understanding regarding linear equations and slope.The learning environment with GeoGebra software increased the retention of learning. The implications of study findings for practitioners: This research provided evidence regarding the effects of using GeoGebra software on eighth‐grade students' conceptual understanding and retention of learning in mathematics.In future studies, the long‐term effects of GeoGebra on other mathematics topics and other learning outcomes within similar settings should be examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on an examination of how type, quality and children's awareness of design features in digital math games, along with an awareness of the mathematics goals of the game, were related to learning outcomes. We conducted a parallel conversion mixed methods study with 45 students in Grades 3 and 4 (ages 9–10). Students participated in clinical interviews using three digital math games. The results suggest a moderated mediation relationship in which the quality of the design features moderated the mediating impact of children's awareness of the game's design features, specifically when the child was aware of the mathematics content learning goal (MCLG) of the game. These findings show how important it is that design features are of high quality in a digital math game, and how this is intertwined with children's awareness of the features and the MCLG. When these variables intertwined in just the right way, the interactions between the children and the digital math game afforded mathematical learning growth. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter: Some game features, and the types of representations designed into the games, may have a greater impact than others.Some design features provide general learning support, and some provide specific mathematics support.There is a relationship between the subject (i.e., a child), the artefact (i.e., a digital math game) and the object (i.e., the mathematics).Understanding that relationship is complex because there are no clear‐cut variables that can be isolated; rather, these variables need to be considered together. What our paper adds to this subject matter: Seven classifications of design feature types were coded in digital math games.Children's awareness of the mathematics content learning goal (MCLG) matters in conjunction with their awareness of the design features.High‐quality features, that are directly related to the MCLG, matter.The complex variable interactions help explain children's learning outcomes. Implications of study findings for practitioners: Even if a child had an awareness of the MCLG and high feature awareness, if the movements (either physically or mentally) associated with those features were of low‐quality with respect to the MCLG, this did not afford growth.Understanding these relationships can help practitioners select high‐quality digital math games for children's use in both classroom settings and at home.Understanding these relationships can also help game designers create more high‐quality digital math games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching goal of this research project is to develop a set of theoretical and empirical based design principles to support student engagement in flipped mathematics learning. We used a design‐based research approach in which a series of studies was conducted in a secondary school. First, an analysis of practical problems was performed via exploratory studies (Studies 1A and 1B), randomized experiments (Studies 2A and 2B), and a literature review (Study 3). Second, a basic flipped lesson prototype was developed based on our empirical findings and relevant theoretical work of student engagement and self‐determination theory. Third, we refined and evaluated our practice with two empirical studies (Studies 4 and 5). Finally, we reflected on each stage of our research project to produce a set of design principles for future practice. This study thus contributes to our knowledge of methods to support student engagement in flipped mathematics learning. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Flipped learning can increase student achievement in mathematics education.After flipping, studies reported non‐significant or even negative results in terms of student engagement.Little work has been done to support student engagement in flipped learning. What this paper adds: This study investigated methods to support student engagement in flipped mathematics learning.A 2‐year design‐based research was conducted consisting of a series of five studies.Theoretical work of student engagement and self‐determination theory were drawn. Implications for practice and/or policy: The use of group competitions increased student engagement in flipped mathematics learning.Peer interaction inside the classroom fostered students' cognitive engagement.Design principles are proposed to support student engagement in future practice.The principles cover five major instructional activities of flipped learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of E‐learning (EL), blended learning (BL) and flipped learning (FL) approaches on the mathematics achievement, self‐regulation and mathematics self‐efficacy. Participants consist of 163 first‐year students attending an associate degree program (a 2‐year program) of a state university. The EL, BL and FL settings in the research were designed based on Merrill's 'First Principles of Instruction Design Theory'. In the research in which a quasi‐experimental pre‐test–post‐test research design was used, the data were obtained by means of mathematics achievement test, self‐regulation and self‐efficacy questionnaires. The experimental results showed that the mathematics achievement post‐test scores of FL students were significantly higher than those of the students of EL and BL. No significant difference was found between BL and EL settings. In addition, FL students showed significantly higher self‐regulation and mathematics self‐efficacy than the other groups' students. According to these results, it can be said that the usage of FL approach in mathematics courses has a positive effect on the learning process of students. It is expected that the findings will be helpful in the future design and implementation of mathematics courses at vocational colleges. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: The flipped learning approach has the potential to develop mathematics teachingThe ability of student's own learning regulation becomes one of the key concepts of flipped learning setting.Little is known about the design and implementation of flipped learning settings in mathematics courses. What this paper adds: This study investigates the effect of E‐Learning (EL), Blended Learning (BL) and Flipped Learning (FL) approaches on the mathematics achievement, self‐regulation and mathematics self‐efficacy.The EL, BL and FL settings in the research were designed based on Merrill's 'First Principles of Instruction Design Theory'.The usage of FL approach, developed in line with Merrill's First Principles of Instruction design theory, improves the mathematics achievement, self‐regulation and mathematics self‐efficacy levels of students. Implications for practice and/or policy: This research provided evidences for effects of Merrill's "First Principles of Instruction Design Theory" on online learners.The FL approach, developed in line with Merrill's First Principles of Instruction design theory, may serve as a reference for improving students' learning performance.It is expected that the findings will be helpful in the future design and implementation of mathematics courses at vocational colleges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have shown that educational robotics (ER) may impact student learning, especially in relation to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) areas. In the STEM framework, particularly for younger children, the "E" and the "T" are considered to be missing letters, because few studies have concentrated on teaching and evaluating technology and engineering through ER activities. This study aimed to develop and test the efficacy of an ER protocol to teach robotics in a sample of 389 students, hypothesizing that girls would be as successful as boys. A Robotics Questionnaire assessing the basics of robotics was developed for this study. A Wilcoxon nonparametric test was performed in order to evaluate improvements (p < 0.05). A Mann–Whitney nonparametric test was performed in order to test the presence of gender differences (p < 0.05). Data indicated significant improvements for all the age ranges considered. No gender differences were found. In order to evaluate the efficacy of a didactic intervention utilizing ER, it is important to assess the impact on children's technological and engineering (robotics, in particular) knowledge. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Studies have shown that educational robotics (ER) has a potential impact on student learning.In the STEM framework, the "E" and the "T" are considered the STEM missing letters.What this paper adds: This study aims at developing and testing the efficacy of an ER protocol to teach robotics.The hypothesis that girls will be equally successful than boys is explored too, and no gender differences were found.Implications for practice and/or policy: Our results suggest that ER can be utilized to learn robotics, bringing technology in the schools.ER could be considered as a tool able to contribute to girl's involvement in STEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore how undergraduate nursing students are assessed on nursing numeracy and medication calculations from the perspective of Australian nurse education leaders. Design: A qualitative study. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 17 nurse education leaders between November 2022 and January 2023. Braun and Clarke's six phases of thematic analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: Five key themes were identified: (i) high expectations to keep the public safe, (ii) diverse assessment formats, (iii) different ways of managing assessment integrity, (iv) assessment conditions incongruent to the clinical setting and (v) supporting struggling students. Conclusion: Nurse education leaders set high standards requiring students to achieve 100% in numeracy and medication calculation assessments, thus maintaining the reputation of nursing and patient safety. However, students struggled to meet this expectation. Diverse assessment formats were implemented, with some examination conditions contrary to clinical practice. Currently, there is no benchmark or independent point of registration examination in Australia, hence the problem is each university had a different standard to judge students' competence. Gaining insight into how these assessments are conducted provides an opportunity to work towards an evidence‐based model or benchmark for the assessment of numeracy. Implications for the Profession: Dosage errors in clinical practice threaten patient safety and the reputation of the nursing profession. The accuracy rate of calculations by undergraduate and registered nurses is deficient worldwide. This research highlights a major educational issue, that being the wide variation in how numeracy assessments are conducted with no clear pedagogical rationale for a standardised method. Such assessments would establish a national standard, contributing to quality assurance, the development of the nursing profession and improve patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Investment in mobile devices to support primary or elementary education is increasing and must be informed by robust evidence to demonstrate impact. This systematic review of randomised controlled trials sought to identify the overall impact of mobile devices to support literacy and numeracy outcomes in mainstream primary classrooms. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to understand how mobile devices are used in primary/elementary education around the world, and in particular, determine how activities undertaken using mobile devices in the primary classroom might impact literacy and numeracy attainment for the pupils involved. Within this context, mobile devices are defined as tablets (including iPads and other branded devices), smartphones (usually those with a touchscreen interface and internet connectivity) and handheld games consoles (again usually with touchscreen and internet‐enabled). The interventions of interest were those aimed at improving literacy and/or numeracy for children aged 4–12 within the primary/elementary school (or equivalent) classroom. Specifically, the review aimed to answer the following research questions: ‐What is the effect of mobile device integration in the primary school classroom on children's literacy and numeracy outcomes?‐Are there specific devices which are more effective in supporting literacy and numeracy? (Tablets, smartphones, or handheld games consoles)‐Are there specific classroom integration activities which moderate effectiveness in supporting literacy and numeracy?‐Are there specific groups of children for whom mobile devices are more effective in supporting literacy and numeracy? (Across age group and gender).‐Do the benefits of mobile devices for learning last for any time beyond the study?‐What is the quality of available evidence on the use of mobile devices in primary/elementary education, and where is further research needed in this regard? An Expert Advisory Group supported the review process at key stages to ensure relevance to current practice. Search Methods: The search strategy was designed to retrieve both published and unpublished literature, and incorporated relevant journal and other databases with a focus on education and social sciences. Robust electronic database searches were undertaken (12 databases, including APA PsychInfo, Web of Science, ERIC, British Education Index and others, and relevant government and other websites), as well as a hand‐search of relevant journals and conference proceedings. Contact was also made with prominent authors in the field to identify any ongoing or unpublished research. All searches and author contact took place between October and November 2020. The review team acknowledges that new studies will likely have emerged since and are not captured at this time. A further update to the review in the future is important and would build on the evidence reflected here. Selection Criteria: The review included children within mainstream primary/elementary/kindergarten education settings in any country (aged 4–12), and interventions or activities initiated within the primary school classroom (or global equivalent) that used mobile devices (including tablets, smartphones, or hand‐held gaming devices) to intentionally support literacy or numeracy learning. In terms of study design, only Randomised Controlled Trials were included in the review. Data Collection and Analysis: A total of 668 references were identified through a robust search strategy including published and unpublished literature. Following duplicate screening, 18 relevant studies, including 11,126 participants, 14 unique interventions, and 46 relevant outcome measures were synthesised using Robust Variance Estimation and a random effects meta‐analysis model. Risk of Bias assessment was undertaken by three reviewers using the ROB2 tool to assess the quality of studies, with 13 studies rated as having some concerns, and 5 as having high risk of bias. Qualitative data was also extracted and analysed in relation to the types of interventions included to allow a comparison of the key elements of each. Main Results: A positive, statistically significant combined effect was found (Cohen's d = 0.24, CI 0.0707 to 0.409, p < 0.01), demonstrating that in the studies and interventions included, children undertaking maths or literacy interventions using mobile devices achieved higher numeracy or literacy outcomes than those using an alternative device (e.g. a laptop or desktop computer) or no device (class activities as usual). However these results should be interpreted with caution given the risk of bias assessment noted above (5 studies rated high risk of bias and 13 rated as having some concerns). As the interventions and classroom circumstances differed quite widely, further research is needed to understand any potential impact more fully. Sensitivity analysis aimed to identify moderating factors including age or gender, screen size, frequency/dosage of intervention exposure, and programme implementation features/activities (based on Puentedura's [2009] SAMR model of technology integration). There were too few studies identified to support quantitative analysis of sufficient power to draw robust conclusions on moderating factors, and insufficient data to determine impact beyond immediate post‐test period. Sensitivty analysis was also undertaken to exclude the five studies identified as having a high risk of bias, to identify any impact they may have on overall findings. Authors' Conclusions: Overall, this review demonstrates that for the specific interventions and studies included, mobile device use in the classroom led to a significant, positive effect on literacy and numeracy outcomes for the children involved, bringing positive implications for their continued use in primary education. However given the concerns on risk of bias assessment reported above, the differing circumstances, interventions and treatment conditions and intensities, the findings must be interpreted with caution. The review also supports the need for further robust research to better understand what works, under what circumstances, and for whom, in the use of mobile devices to support learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the interest and potential of multi touch devices, there are limited published studies researching their effectiveness and usability specifically with children with Down syndrome, one of the most common groups of children with an intellectual disability. This is particularly true for mathematical learning, an area in which many experience particular difficulty. Objectives: The study set out to evaluate a bespoke digital game in which children learned to select which was "more," a foundational skill for understanding magnitude. Methods: A mixed methods approach was adopted with eight single case studies of children aged 9–14 years. Probes (untaught examples) were introduced to examine progress and the impact on performance in non‐digital contexts. Results: Five pupils improved their performance on the digital games and this was sustained at the time of the delayed post‐test. Four pupils showed improved performance in non‐taught, non‐digital contexts for both taught and untaught ratios. Disaggregated data reveals the variability in performance, with peak performances occurring at different points of the intervention. The introduction of a two‐player version improved performance for five pupils through promoting sustained attention and strategic responses to winning. One child performed at chance level on the digital game throughout but made gains in non‐digital settings. Conclusions: Bespoke learning tools have good potential to promote attention to numerosity. However, progress in digital contexts does not automatically transfer to non‐digital contexts. The study reveals the individual nature of the learning affordances of different pedagogic tools and the place of bespoke games within teachers' repertoires. Lay Description: Research suggests that it is important to tailor intervention to the particular strengths and needs of children with Down syndrome but there are few bespoke games in the field of mathematics.This study focuses on the ability to discriminate between quantities, a foundation for mathematical learning.Children's discrimination of "which is more" improved during the period of intervention and at follow‐up. They did not however automatically transfer these skills to other contexts. Many attended best when playing the game with another person. Additionally, one pupil performed better on non‐digital activities.The study emphasizes the importance of practitioners looking carefully at each pupil's performance in a range of digital and nondigital contexts, to identify which best meets their current learning needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Improving the academic achievement of youth in the United States is an area of interest and a critical indicator of the future success of the youth. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a comprehensive school physical activity and healthy eating program on 5th‐grade students' academic achievement, specifically reading and math. METHODS: Overall, 628 (intervention: 377, 54% girls; comparison: 251, 49% girls) 5th‐grade children participated across the 6 schools in a year‐long comprehensive health intervention, completing curriculum‐based academic achievement measures at 2 time‐points. RESULTS: Results showed that even after controlling for class clustering, age, sex, race, and T1 reading and math variables, students' T2 reading and math achievement were significantly higher in the intervention group than the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive health programming can enhance the health and academic achievement of youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the longitudinal associations between children's early mathematics and their home numeracy environment (HNE). Chilean children from families who varied widely in socioeconomic status were assessed at the beginning and end of prekindergarten in 2016 (N = 419, Mage  = 4:7 [years:months]), and at the end of kindergarten in 2017 (N = 368, Mage  = 5:10). Children whose parents provided frequent operational numeracy activities (e.g., learning simple sums) at prekindergarten showed better arithmetic performance and growth in nonsymbolic and symbolic number comparison at the end of kindergarten. Parents' knowledge of number-related games predicted children's arithmetic skills and growth in nonsymbolic number comparison. These findings underscore the persistent relations between the HNE and the development of children's mathematical skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined how colored educational tools improve children's numerosity ("number sense") and/or mathematics. We tested children 6-10 years (n = 3,236) who had been exposed to colored numbers from the educational tools Numicon (Oxford University Press, 2018) or Numberjacks (Ellis, 2006), which map colors to magnitudes or Arabic numerals, respectively. In a free association task pairing numbers with colors, a subset of children spontaneously provided colors matching one of these schemas. These children, who had internalized Numicon (colored magnitude), showed significantly better numerosity but not mathematics compared to peers. There was no similar benefit from internalizing Numberjacks (colored numerals). These data support a model in which colored number tools provide benefits at different levels of numerical cognition, according to their different levels of cross-modal mappings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stigma against people living with HIV (PLWH) seriously affects their quality of life. Moreover it can lead them to hide their HIV status from others, which in turn endangers public health. Many studies dealing with HIV‐related stigma focus on the consequences of this phenomenon and pay less attention to the social conditions which affect different types of HIV‐related stigma (anticipated, internalized and enacted stigma [ES]). Therefore, in this study, we tried to achieve more understanding about effective causal conditions of various types of experienced stigma. First of all, data were collected from 19 PLWH, using semi‐structured interviews from those who had visited the Counseling Center for Behavioral Diseases in Mashhad. Secondly, the data were analyzed by applying a mixture of two methods: thematic analysis and qualitative comparative analysis (Boolean Algebra). The analysis of the data reveals that a combination of informing family members about HIV status, lack of family support, and medical support lead to anticipated stigma; a combination of religious beliefs and poor self‐esteem results in internalized stigma and a combination of lack of family support, mistreatment by community, poor self‐esteem, poverty and no religious beliefs lead to ES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This daily diary study examined how adolescents' institutional and teacher-specific trust predicted classroom behavioral engagement the day after being disciplined by that teacher. Within mathematics classrooms, adolescents (N = 190; Mage  = 14 years) reported institutional and teacher-specific trust and then completed a 15-day diary assessing teacher discipline and behavioral engagement. The results indicated that, among adolescents with low teacher trust, discipline was unrelated to next-day behavior. Contrastingly, adolescents with high teacher but low institutional trust became less engaged following discipline, whereas those with high teacher and institutional trust became more engaged. These findings suggest that adolescents interpret discipline within the social context of trust, and adolescents' trust in the institution and teacher are important for discipline to improve behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purely nonparametric methods are developed for general two-sample problems in which each experimental unit may have an individual number of possibly correlated replicates. In particular, equality of the variances, or higher moments, of the distributions of the data is not assumed, even under the null hypothesis of no treatment effect. Thus, a solution for the so-called nonparametric Behrens-Fisher problem is proposed for such models. The methods are valid for metric, count, ordered categorical, and even dichotomous data in a unified way. Point estimators of the treatment effects as well as their asymptotic distributions will be studied in detail. For small sample sizes, the distributions of the proposed test statistics are approximated using Satterthwaite-Welch-type t-approximations. Extensive simulation studies show favorable performance of the new methods, in particular, in small sample size situations. A real data set illustrates the application of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social disruption caused by natural disasters often interrupts educational opportunities for children. However, little is known about children's learning in the following years. This study examined change in academic scores for children variably exposed to a major bushfire in Australia. Comparisons were made between children attending high, medium, and low disaster-affected primary schools 2-4 years after the disaster (n = 24,642; 9-12 years). The results showed that in reading and numeracy expected gains from Year 3 to Year 5 scores were reduced in schools with higher levels of bushfire impact. The findings highlight the extended period of academic impact and identify important opportunities for intervention in the education system to enable children to achieve their academic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assessment of early childhood development programme effectiveness in South Africa is hampered by a lack of suitable measures that account for variations in cultural and socio‐economic backgrounds and can be administered by non‐professionals. This contribution reports the standardisation of the South African Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM), an instrument designed for population level monitoring of the developmental status of children aged 50–69 months and for evaluation of early learning programmes. Methods: The development of the ELOM was informed by South Africa's National Curriculum Framework from Birth to Four and its National Early Learning and Development Standards. ELOM items were drawn from reliable and valid instruments, particularly those used in Africa and other developing regions and were clustered in five domains: gross motor development, fine motor coordination and visual motor integration, emergent numeracy and mathematics, cognition and executive functioning, emergent literacy and language. The ELOM was standardised on a sample of 1,331 children aged 50–69 months, from five South African official languages and five socio‐economic strata. Item Response Theory techniques were used to establish reliability, validity, and differential item functioning. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis established that ELOM domains are unidimensional and internally consistent. Items discriminate reliably between more and less able children and do not discriminate unfairly between children of the same ability from different language backgrounds. Socio‐economic gradients were evident in children's performance. South African Early Learning Development Standards (ELDS) based on standard scores were developed and set at the 60th percentile of the sample standard score distribution. Conclusions: This research produced the first South African, age‐validated population‐level standardised instrument that can be administered relatively cheaply by trained non‐professionals. This will facilitate the assessment of the efficacy of early learning programmes in enabling children to reach ELDS prior to entering Grade R and track progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4.2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A prevailing theory of mathematical problem solving predicts that children will be less accurate solving a + b = c + __ problems versus a + b = __ + c. However, this has never been tested directly. Because of low base rates, information combined from multiple studies can help improve estimation accuracy and precision. This study compared meta-analysis and individual person data (IPD) analysis using raw data from 14 studies (N = 1,414; ns = 30-232; Mage reported = 8;7). Substantive results challenge the prevailing theory. Methodological results demonstrate the advantages of using meta-analysis and IPD over single-study analysis. Moreover, IPD can be more powerful than meta-regression for detecting between-study moderation effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using nationally representative data from the Family and Child Experiences Survey 2009 cohort (n = 2,842), this study examined the implications of 3- and 4-year-old's absences from Head Start for their early academic learning. The findings from this study revealed that children who missed more days of school, and especially those who were chronically absent, demonstrated fewer gains in areas of math and literacy during the preschool year. Moreover, excessive absenteeism was found to detract from the potential benefits of quality preschool education and was especially problematic for the early learning of children who entered the Head Start program with a less developed skill set. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Functional selectivity describes the ability of ligands to differentially regulate multiple signalling pathways when coupled to a single receptor, and the operational model is commonly used to analyse these data. Here, we assess the mathematical properties of the operational model and evaluate the outcomes of fixing parameters on model performance.Experimental Approach: The operational model was evaluated using both a mathematical identifiability analysis and simulation.Key Results: Mathematical analysis revealed that the parameters R0 and KE were not independently identifiable which can be solved by considering their ratio, τ. The ratio parameter, τ, was often imprecisely estimated when only functional assay data were available and generally only the transduction coefficient R ( τKA) could be estimated precisely. The general operational model (that includes baseline and the Hill coefficient) required either the parameters Em or KA to be fixed. The normalization process largely cancelled out the mean error of the calculated Δlog (R) caused by fixing these parameters. From this analysis, it was determined that we can avoid the need for a full agonist ligand to be included in an experiment to determine Δlog (R).Conclusion and Implications: This analysis has provided a ready-to-use understanding of current methods for quantifying functional selectivity. It showed that current methods are generally tolerant to fixing parameters. A new method was proposed that removes the need for including a high efficacy ligand in any given experiment, which allows application to large-scale screening to identify compounds with desirable features of functional selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: As more attention is placed on designing digital educational games to align with schools' academic aims (e.g., Common Core), questions arise regarding how professional development (PD) may support teachers' using games for instruction and how such integration might impact students' achievement. This study seeks to (a) understand how teachers use PD resources (e.g., technology personnel and game‐use workshops) for integration; (b) determine how teachers integrate games into their instruction; and (c) examine how those teaching practices are associated with student achievement. This mixed method study used survey and interview responses from elementary school teachers (n = 863) with access to PD resources for implementing a math game intervention and standardized math‐test scores from their second‐ through sixth‐grade students (n = 10,715). Findings showed few teachers sought PD assistance for integration, but many desired such support. Some reported using integrative practices (i.e., referencing game and using game‐generated progress reports) to identify struggling students, whereas several found integration challenging. Teachers' reordering of game objectives to align with lessons and viewing of game‐based PD videos were associated with increased student math achievement in our OLS‐analysis. However, this result was no longer statistically significant within a school fixed‐effects model, suggesting school differences may influence how strongly teachers' practices are associated with student achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A short, reliable and valid tool to measure snack and beverage consumption in adolescents, taking into account the correct definitions, would benefit both epidemiological and intervention research. The present study aimed to develop a short quantitative beverage and snack food frequency questionnaire ( FFQ) and to assess the reliability and validity of this FFQ against three 24-h recalls. Methods Reliability was assessed by comparing estimates of the FFQ administered 14 days apart ( FFQ1 and FFQ2) in a convenience sample of 179 adolescents [60.3% male; mean (SD) 14.7 (0.9) years]. Validity was assessed by comparing FFQ1 with three telephone-administered 24-h recalls in a convenience sample of 99 adolescents [52.5% male, mean (SD) 14.8 (0.9) years]. Reliability and validity were assessed using Bland-Altman plots, classification agreements and correlation coefficients for the amount and frequency of consumption of unhealthy snacks, healthy snacks, unhealthy beverages, healthy beverages, and for the healthy snack and beverage ratios. Results Small mean differences ( FFQ1 versus FFQ2) were observed for reliability, ranking ability ranged from fair to substantial, and Spearman coefficients fell within normal ranges. For the validity, mean differences ( FFQ1 versus recalls) were small for beverage intake but large for snack intake, except for the healthy snack ratio. Ranking ability ranged from slightly to moderate, and Spearman coefficients fell within normal ranges. Conclusions Reliability and validity of the FFQ for all outcomes were found to be acceptable at a group level for epidemiological purposes, whereas for intervention purposes only the healthy snack and beverage ratios were found to be acceptable at a group level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the development of spatial skills is important for promoting school readiness and improving overall success in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields (e.g., Wai, Lubinski, Benbow, & Steiger, 2010). Children use their spatial skills to understand the world, including visualizing how objects fit together, and can practice them via spatial assembly activities (e.g., puzzles or blocks). These skills are incorporated into measures of overall intelligence and have been linked to success in subjects like mathematics (Mix & Cheng, 2012) and science (Pallrand & Seeber, 1984; Pribyl & Bodner, 1987). This monograph sought to answer four questions about early spatial skill development: 1) Can we reliably measure spatial skills in 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds?; 2) Do spatial skills measured at 3 predict spatial skills at age 5?; 3) Do preschool spatial skills predict mathematics skills at age 5?; and 4) What factors contribute to individual differences in preschool spatial skills (e.g., SES, gender, fine‐motor skills, vocabulary, and executive function)? Longitudinal data generated from a new spatial skill test for 3‐year‐old children, called the TOSA (Test of Spatial Assembly), show that it is a reliable and valid measure of early spatial skills that provides strong prediction to spatial skills measured with established tests at age 5. New data using this measure finds links between early spatial skill and mathematics, language, and executive function skills. Analyses suggest that preschool spatial experiences may play a central role in children's mathematical skills around the time of school entry. Executive function skills provide an additional unique contribution to predicting mathematical performance. In addition, individual differences, specifically socioeconomic status, are related to spatial and mathematical skill. We conclude by exploring ways of providing rich early spatial experiences to children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In the general population, a higher Alternate Healthy Eating Index ( AHEI)-2010 score is related to decreased cardiovascular disease ( CVD) risk. Few studies have described the dietary patterns that reduce the risk of CVD or coronary heart disease ( CHD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2 DM) patients. In the present study, the association between the American Diabetes Association ( ADA)-recommended dietary pattern, AHEI-2010 , and CVD risk factors and the CVD incidence over 52 months in T2 DM patients was evaluated. Methods The ADA score was developed from the ADA dietary recommendations. In this prospective study, the 24-h dietary recall of 124 adult T2 DM patients without nephropathy or chronic kidney disease was collected. The CVD risk factors were collected at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Results Compared with lower ADA and AHEI-2010 score participants, the higher score participants exhibited a significantly lower waist circumference, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and 10-year risk of CHD. Participants with higher ADA dietary scores had a significantly reduced risk of central obesity and systolic blood pressure >140 mmHg. Higher AHEI-2010 scores were significantly related to a reduced risk of serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol > 100 mg dL-1. Seven participants had their first-ever CVD during the follow-up period, although neither ADA score, nor AHEI-2010 score could predict CVD incidence. Conclusions The ADA-recommended dietary pattern and a higher AHEI-2010 score might both exhibit reduced risk factors of CVD in T2 DM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practices of effective primary school teachers including students with Down syndrome in their mathematics classes are largely unexplored and many teachers feel unprepared to teach students with an intellectual disability. The authors sought to find out what these specific professional learning (PL) needs were and if they changed over time. A mixed methods study was undertaken to investigate the practices of primary mathematics teachers including students with Down syndrome in regular class lessons in two Australia educational jurisdictions. A variety of approaches was used to gain an understanding of their practices. Findings are based on responses to a questionnaire administered to teaching teams at the beginning and end of the school year. There was a strong endorsement of inclusion as an appropriate practice in primary mathematics. The PL needs of teaching teams changed across the teaching year. Early requirements concerned understanding Down syndrome and its impact on learning and behavior. As the school year progressed, PL needs changed toward a greater focus on the need for specific resources and strategies for teaching mathematics. The PL requirements of teachers included the need for 'in-time' support. The authors conclude that even if it may be infrequent when a teacher has a student with Down syndrome in a mathematics class, teachers still need access to PL that evolves across the school year, from less focus on syndrome-specific information to greater emphasis on teaching mathematics through adjusting learning outcomes and teaching approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a quasi-experimental design, the effects of a student support intervention were estimated for the math and reading achievement of first-generation immigrant children (n = 667, M = 11.05 years of age) attending high-poverty, urban elementary schools. The intervention was designed to help schools identify developmental strengths and barriers to learning and, in turn, connect children to community and school supports aligned with their strengths and needs. By exploiting within-school changes in the implementation of the intervention, the present study revealed statistically and practically significant treatment effects indicating improvements in math and reading achievement at the end of elementary school. In addition, the intervention appears to considerably narrow achievement gaps between English language learners and immigrant children proficient in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the etiology of individual differences in early drawing and of its longitudinal association with school mathematics. Participants (N = 14,760), members of the Twins Early Development Study, were assessed on their ability to draw a human figure, including number of features, symmetry, and proportionality. Human figure drawing was moderately stable across 6 months (average r = .40). Individual differences in drawing at age 4½ were influenced by genetic (.21), shared environmental (.30), and nonshared environmental (.49) factors. Drawing was related to later (age 12) mathematical ability (average r = .24). This association was explained by genetic and shared environmental factors that also influenced general intelligence. Some genetic factors, unrelated to intelligence, also contributed to individual differences in drawing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze sources of racial and gender disparities in adolescent obesity prevalence in the United States using Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition.Methods: Data were obtained from the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study, a 2010 nationally representative study of 9th-12th grade students. Obesity status was determined from objective height and weight data; weight-related behaviors and school, home, and environmental data were collected via questionnaire. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was used to independently analyze racial and gender obesity prevalence differences (PD), i.e., comparing Black girls to White girls, and Black girls to Black boys.Results: Overall, measured characteristics accounted for 46.8% of the racial PD but only 11.9% of the gender PD. Racial PD was associated with Black girls having less fruit/vegetable access at home, obtaining lunch at school more often, and playing fewer sports than White girls. Gender PD was associated with differential associations between physical activity (PA) measures-including total activities in the past year and days of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in the past week-and obesity.Conclusions: School lunch and home food environmental variables accounted for racial disparities, but not gender disparities, in obesity prevalence. Gender differences in mechanisms between PA and obesity should be explored further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND An intervention was designed that combined physical activity with learning activities. It was based upon evidence for positive effects of moderate to vigorous physical activity ( MVPA) on academic achievement. The aim of this study was to describe the program implementation and effects on academic achievement after 1 year. METHODS Second- and third-grade classes of 6 elementary schools were included in the study. The intervention group participated in physically active academic lessons and the control group in regular classroom lessons. Implementation measures were obtained and the children were pretested and posttested on mathematics and reading. RESULTS Teacher observations and self-reports indicated that the lessons were implemented as planned. Classroom observations showed that children's on-task behavior during the lessons was above 70%. On the basis of heart rate measures, on average 64% of the lesson time was spent in MVPA. Posttest mathematics and reading scores of third-grade children who participated in the intervention were significantly higher in comparison with control children. Posttest mathematics scores of second-grade children in the intervention condition were significantly lower in comparison with control children. CONCLUSIONS The intervention program was successfully implemented and the lessons contributed to the academic outcomes of third-grade children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has suggested that simply providing each child with a computer does not lead to an improvement in learning. Given that dozens of countries across the world are purchasing computers for their students, we ask which elements are necessary to improve learning when introducing digital resources into the classroom. Understood the orchestration as the coordination of conventional and digital resources, we examine whether effective resource orchestration improves student learning. To do so, an 8-month study was undertaken across 17 schools in Uruguay, involving 544 fourth grade students. A treatment group worked under an orchestrated strategy, while a control group followed the national strategy, which includes the One Laptop per Child Computer ( XO). Our study confirmed that the national strategy alone is capable of producing significant progress in student learning. However, we also found that the orchestration produces a statistically significant improvement in the results when compared to the control group. The main finding indicates that when teachers have an orchestrated strategy to integrate digital and non-digital resources, student learning is enhanced in relation to the curricular objectives. Finally, we discovered that learning is improved in the treatment group when there is systematic use of resources, and when the school's infrastructure facilitates the use of the technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This two-group, pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental study compared secondary students' learning of Algebra II materials over a 4-week period when identical instruction by the same teacher was delivered through either embedded blended learning (treatment group; n = 32) or a live-lecture classroom (control group; n = 24). For both groups, instruction was delivered in a normal classroom setting. A math test and a student survey were used to measure students' learning of Algebra II and satisfaction with the instruction. Students in the treatment group showed significantly greater gains in Algebra II test scores and evaluated their learning experiences significantly more positively than did the control group. The great majority (80%) of students in the treatment group preferred the embedded blended learning over traditional live lectures for future learning of math. Students' responses to open-ended survey questions suggested that students in the treatment group appreciated the: (a) ability to control the pace of instruction; (b) new role of the classroom teacher; (c) lack of distraction in the blended learning environment; and (d) accessibility of the embedded multimedia lessons outside the classroom. This study suggests that screen-capture instructional technology can be used towards establishing a teacher-based, embedded blended learning environment within a secondary algebraic classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Widespread subclinical iodine insufficiency has recently been reported in Europe, based on urinary iodine using World Health Organization/ Food and Agriculture Organization criteria, in particular among young women. Although urinary iodine concentration ( UIC) is a useful measurement of the iodine status in a population, it does not provide an insight into the habitual iodine intake of this population. This is compounded by the fact that very few iodine-specific food frequency questionnaires ( FFQ) have been validated so far. The present study aimed to develop and validate a new, simple, rapid survey tool to assess dietary iodine exposure in females of childbearing age. Methods Iodine was measured in a duplicate 24-h urine collection. Iodine intake was measured with duplicate 4-day semi-quantitative food diaries and the FFQ. Correlation, cross-classification and Bland-Altman analyses were used to estimate agreement, bias and the reliability of the method. The triangular (triad) method was used to calculate validity coefficients. Results Forty-three women, aged 19-49 years, took part in the validation of the 17-items FFQ. Median ( interquartile range) UIC was 74 (47-92) μg L−1, which is indicative of mild iodine insufficiency. The FFQ showed good agreement with food diaries with respect to classifying iodine intake (82% of subjects were classified in the same or adjacent quartile). The FFQ was moderately correlated with the food diaries ( rs = 0.45, P = 0.002) and urinary excretion in μg L−1 ( rs = 0.34, P = 0.025) but not in μg day−1 ( P = 0.316). The validity coefficients were 0.69, 0.66 and 0.52 for the food diaries, FFQ and urinary iodine excretion, respectively. Conclusions The FFQ provides a rapid and reliable estimate of dietary iodine exposure to identify those population subgroups at risk of iodine deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Obesity has been regarded as a single best predictor and major controllable contributor to hypertension. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between body compositional and nutritional parameters with blood pressure in rural Bengalee adults. Methods Anthropometric measures, blood pressure and nutritional parameters were measured in 522 rural Bengalee adults using standard protocols. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was carried out to identify cut-off values of body mass index ( BMI) and percentage of body fat ( BF%) as associated factors of hypertension and hypotension. Results Most of the subjects were normotensive. However, a notable percentage had hypertension (males: 21.86%; females: 15.27%), although the prevalence of hypotension was low (males: 10.53%; females: 8.73%). Obesity indicators were significantly higher in hypertensive individuals than hypotensive and normotensive individuals. All anthropometric parameters and obesity indicators were significantly correlated ( P < 0.001) with blood pressure. Blood pressure increased steadily from being underweight through to normal and then to overweight/obese individuals. There were significant differences in the percentage of hypertension and hypotension between nutritional categories. Blood pressure had significant positive correlation with energy, carbohydrate and fat intake, whereas protein and calcium were negatively associated with blood pressure. The suggested cut-off values of BMI and BF%, which were taken as associated factors of hypertension, were 21.86 kg m−2 and 20.31%, and those of hypotension were 18.18 kg m−2 and 13.3%, respectively. Conclusions In lean rural Bengalee populations, high BMI levels may be associated with an increased risk of hypertension. The cut-off values of BMI and BF% in the present study suggested associated factors for cardiovacular risk factors and these values may be of help with respect to reducing mean population blood pressure levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]