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This study examines the perceptions of first-year, mathematics graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) participating in a six-week summer course designed to deepen their knowledge of collegiate mathematics teaching practices before being assigned to instruct undergraduate students in the subsequent fall semester. Through hybrid deductive-inductive thematic analysis, GTAs' written reflections were analyzed and matched against changes in their self-efficacy assessed along two conceptual dimensions: self-improvement and stimulation of student learning. Results suggest that GTAs' conceptualization of teaching practice informs changes in self-efficacy along both conceptual dimensions, with efficacy in self-improvement changing more than that of their ability to stimulate student learning. Therefore, the strength of the efficacy changes may be moderated by features of the professional development course. We explore defining features of the professional development course employed in this study, describing implications for the education and development of novice collegiate mathematics instructors, and the potential to optimize change along both conceptual dimensions of self-efficacy.

We introduce this two-part special issue that celebrates David Heise and his pathbreaking theories: affect control theory (ACT), affect control theory of the self (ACTS), and affect control theory of institutions (ACTI). These interlocking, multi-level, mathematically based theories explain a range of social processes, including impression formation, social interaction, trait and mood attributions, emotional experiences, emotion management, and identity adoption, and they do so in multiple languages and cultures. The 15 articles in this two-part issue test, apply, and develop the theories in new and innovative ways. After briefly summarizing each theory and Bayesian affect control theory (BayesACT), we highlight the key findings from each of the articles that follow.

In this study, we sought to identify how feedback about classroom observations affected novice university mathematics instructors' (UMIs) teaching practices. Specifically, we examined how a Red-Yellow-Green feedback system (RYG feedback) affected graduate student instructor (GSI) scores on an observation protocol (GSIOP). The protocol was developed specifically for this population, and both the GSIOP and RYG feedback were used within a peer mentoring program for GSIs, wherein novice GSIs were mentored by more experienced GSIs. Mentors observed novices' classrooms using the GSIOP and provided RYG feedback as part of observation-feedback cycles. We analyzed 100 sets of scores, each collected over the course of a semester containing on average three observation-feedback cycles. Analyzing the semester-long datasets longitudinally provided insight into what types of feedback informed and influenced observed teaching. After qualitatively coding the feedback provided to the GSIs by their mentors along multiple dimensions, we found certain forms of feedback were more influential for observable changes in GSIs' teaching. For example, pedagogical feedback that included contextualization (context and focal events) demonstrated a more positive change in GSIOP score than feedback that lacked contextualization. Our results suggest that contextual formative feedback has a positive change to student-focused and teacher-focused observations.

The European Union (EU) developed a market-based approach to prevent, deter, and end illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Its carding scheme highlights countries that lackadequate measures to combat IUU fishing and introduces a trade sanction that prevents “red-carded” countries from exporting their seafood products to the EU. Before a trade sanction, the European Commission warns countries with a “yellow card”. Delisting from a red or yellow card results in a "green card". The Republic of Panama (Panama) was the first country that received a yellow card twice. This allowed us an opportunity to examine how the yellow card impacted Panama’s seafood trade. We used publicly available datasets—the United Nations Comtrade Database and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fish statistical software—to quantify changes in the EU’s seafood imports from Panama following carding decisions and to examine whether a yellow card impacted Panama’s seafood trade. Between 2010 and 2020, we observed very little change in the imports of Panama’s seafood products to the EU.In the EU, Spain and Portugal were the biggest importers of Panama’s seafood commodities, mainly importing frozen, non-filleted seafood products. We expected that Spain and Portugal, as EU member states, would decrease imports from Panama to distance the EU from carded countries. However, we found that Spain and Portugal responded inversely over the course of the decade that the IUU Regulation has been in place and that Panama received its carding decisions. Our study aligns with and IUU Watch report (Mundy 2018) that suggested that Portugal may be an entry-point for high risk, IUU products into the EU. From our study, we could not determine if it was the yellow card alone that accounted for Spain’s, and the EU’s, overall decrease in Panama’s seafood imports. Instead, it may be partially due to Panama’s overall catch decline or other factors not measured that also impact fisheries trade. Conversely, we were not expecting to find Portugal’s increased imports from Panama and recommend that the EU ensures its member states are implementing the IUU Regulation within its own countries. We recommend that the EU continues to collaborate with and listen to Panama to create better fisheries management practices and IUU strategies. We agree with Sumaila (2019) that suggested if countries, like the United States and Japan, enact similar carding schemes to incentivize countries like Panama, this may place greater effort on preventing IUU fishing.

This paper presents the development and validation of the 17-item mathematics Graduate Student Instructor Observation Protocol (GSIOP) at two universities. The development of this instrument attended to some unique needs of novice undergraduate mathematics instructors while building on an existing instrument that focused on classroom interactions particularly relevant for students' development of conceptual understanding, called the Mathematical Classroom Observation Protocol for Practices (MCOP[superscript 2]). Instrument validation involved content input from mathematics education researchers and upper-level mathematics graduate student instructors at two universities, internal consistency analysis, interrater reliability analysis, and structure analyses via scree plot analysis and exploratory factor analysis. A Cronbach-Alpha level of 0.868 illustrated a viable level for internal consistency. Crosstabulation and correlations illustrate high level of interrater reliability for all but one item, and high levels across all subsections. Collaborating a scree plot with the exploratory factor analysis illustrated three critical groupings aligning with the factors from the MCOP[superscript 2] (student engagement and teacher facilitation) while adding a third factor, lesson design practices. Taken collectively, these results indicate that the GSIOP measures the degree to which instructors' and students' actions in undergraduate mathematics classrooms align with practices recommended by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) using a three-factor structure of teacher facilitation, student engagement, and design practices.

Scholars of teaching and learning in sociology have argued that introductory courses should teach toward foundational learning goals instead of providing an exhaustive review of the discipline. Nevertheless, prior research has provided far more guidance on what instructors ought to teach than how they can cohesively support learning across the goals advocated. Additionally, few studies have considered whether introductory course designs adequately address students' diverse reasons for enrolling. To address this gap in the literature, we offer insights from our experiences with a redesigned introductory course tailored to support student learning in the areas recommended by earlier work. After describing our learning goals and the elements of our course design, which are grounded in empirical findings from the literature, we present evidence for the efficacy of this design in achieving key disciplinary learning goals, serving students' personal learning goals, and attracting new and existing majors and minors.

Background: Financial toxicity contributes to psychosocial distress among cancer patients and survivors. Yet, contextual factors unique to rural settings affect patient experiences, and a deeper understanding is needed of the interplay between financial toxicity and health care team communication and its association with psychosocial well‐being among rural oncology patients. Purpose: We examined associations between financial toxicity and psychosocial well‐being among rural cancer patients, exploring variability in these linkages by health care team communication. Methods: Using data from 273 rural cancer patients who participated in Cancer Support Community's Cancer Experience Registry, we estimated multivariable regression models predicting depression, anxiety, and social function by financial toxicity, health care team communication, and the interplay between them. Results: We demonstrate robust associations between financial toxicity and psychosocial outcomes among our sample of rural cancer patients and survivors. As financial toxicity increased, symptoms of depression and anxiety increased. Further, financial toxicity was linked with decreasing social function. Having health care team conversations about treatment costs and distress‐related care reduced the negative impact of financial toxicity on depressive symptoms and social function, respectively, in rural cancer patients at greatest risk for financial burden. Conclusions: Financial toxicity and psychosocial well‐being are strongly linked, and these associations were confirmed in a rural sample. A theorized buffer to the detrimental impacts of financial toxicity—health care team communication—played a role in moderating these associations. Our findings suggest that health care providers in rural oncology settings may benefit from tools and resources to bolster communication with patients about costs, financial distress, and coordination of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Various mass shooters have explained their violent actions as a response to failing at dominant forms of masculinity, including rejection from women and negative social comparisons to other men. The affect control theory of self (ACT-Self) posits that interactions that violate one's sense of self cause inauthenticity. This disequilibrium motivates behaviors that restore self-meanings, which may partially explain the link between challenges to the self and compensatory violence. Methodology In Study 1, we use ACT-Self to examine the relationship between inauthenticity, violent fantasies, and physical aggression in the autobiography of one mass shooter. We quantify self-sentiments and inauthenticity using ACT-Self measures and methods, and perform a thematic analysis of the shooter's interpretations of and responses to disconfirming events. In Study 2, we examine the relationship between these same concepts in a survey of 18-to-32-year-old men (N = 847). Findings Study 1 shows that the shooter's inability to achieve popularity, wealth, sex, and relationships with beautiful women (compared to other men) produced inauthenticity that he resolved through violent fantasies, increasingly aggressive behavior, and ultimately, mass violence. Study 2 finds that inauthenticity arising from reflected appraisals from women predicts self-reported violent fantasies and physical aggression in a convenience sample of men in emerging adulthood. Implications This work leverages a formal social psychological theory to examine the link between self-processes and violence. Our findings suggest that men's inauthenticity, particularly produced by reflected appraisals from women, is positively associated with violent fantasies and acts. Further work is needed to assess whether this relationship is causal and for whom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graduate teaching assistants serve as instructors of record for numerous undergraduate courses every semester, including serving as teachers for mathematics content courses for elementary preservice teachers. In this study, we examine 6 teaching assistants' teaching practices in the context of a geometry content course for preservice teachers by focusing on their enactment of reasoning-and-proving tasks. Results indicate that teaching assistants engaged preservice teachers in a variety of reasoning-and-proving activities. For 42 of 82 tasks observed, preservice teachers' engagement in reasoning-and- proving processes decreased relative to the potential for reasoning and proving in mathematical tasks. This investigation into teaching assistants' teaching practices identifies factors associated with their enactment of reasoning-and-proving tasks (e.g., generating student participation). This research has implications for professional development to support college mathematics instructors' teaching.

Interesting and engaging mathematics problems can come from anywhere. Sometimes great problems arise from interesting contexts. At other times, interesting problems arise from asking "what if" questions while appreciating the structure and beauty of mathematics. The intriguing problem described in this article resulted from the second context, where trying to create an interesting example to support student thinking produced a rich investigation in its own right. The main purpose of the activity presented in this article is for students to find cases of triangles where the three heights and the lengths of the three sides are all integers. The task is intended to focus primarily on the Common Core State Standard for Mathematical Practice (SMP) 1--"Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them"--while also following SMP 5--"Use appropriate tools strategically." In addition to being an interesting mathematical problem in its own right, this problem about finding at least one triangle with integer values for all the lengths of its bases and heights can help students see the need to persevere in looking for an existence case and not simply apply empirical reasoning to support why no such cases exist. Providing opportunities for students to observe that the area of specific triangles remains consistent regardless of the base and height pair chosen is important and can then lead to further discussions about why these calculations are equivalent for any triangle. Using these triangles can be productive to illustrate whether it matters which side is chosen as the base so that students establish the equivalence of the three ways to calculate the area of a triangle.

In the context of a Capstone course for prospective secondary teachers (PSTs) of mathematics, this paper examines how a journal assignment was implemented and how it can help us understand PSTs' views of mathematics and mathematics teaching. First, the course design and specifics of the assignment are described. Then, details about implementation of the assignment are included. Finally, affordances of incorporating this type of assignment are discussed with examples of PSTs' responses. The identified benefits include PSTs: (a) connecting new mathematical ideas to their prior knowledge; (b) identifying what they do not know; and (c) articulating the importance of reasoning and proving in mathematics teaching and learning. These benefits support the notion that using a journal assignment in mathematics content courses designed for PSTs can help them develop a profound understanding of mathematics content and practices.