Transforming Schools: The Power of Teachers’ Input in Professional Development

Recent legislative actions have mandated the professional development of teachers in hopes of improved student achievement. However, research has shown that mandated professional development most usually does not lead to a positive outcome. This article describes three aspects that have been identified as contributing to the transformation of instruction in schools: school context, role of the administrator, and cohesion between professional development and needs of students/teachers. Mezirow’s adult learning theory supports these important aspects of school reform and has implications for planning and developing educators’ professional development

Malaria, malnutrition, and birthweight: A meta-analysis using individual participant data.

BACKGROUND: Four studies previously indicated that the effect of malaria infection during pregnancy on the risk of low birthweight (LBW; <2,500 g) may depend upon maternal nutritional status. We investigated this dependence further using a large, diverse study population. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We evaluated the interaction between maternal malaria infection and maternal anthropometric status on the risk of LBW using pooled data from 14,633 pregnancies from 13 studies (6 cohort studies and 7 randomized controlled trials) conducted in Africa and the Western Pacific from 1996-2015. Studies were identified by the Maternal Malaria and Malnutrition (M3) initiative using a convenience sampling approach and were eligible for pooling given adequate ethical approval and availability of essential variables. Study-specific adjusted effect estimates were calculated using inverse probability of treatment-weighted linear and log-binomial regression models and pooled using a random-effects model. The adjusted risk of delivering a baby with LBW was 8.8% among women with malaria infection at antenatal enrollment compared to 7.7% among uninfected women (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91, 1.42]; N = 13,613), 10.5% among women with malaria infection at delivery compared to 7.9% among uninfected women (aRR 1.32 [95% CI: 1.08, 1.62]; N = 11,826), and 15.3% among women with low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC <23 cm) at enrollment compared to 9.5% among women with MUAC ≥ 23 cm (aRR 1.60 [95% CI: 1.36, 1.87]; N = 9,008). The risk of delivering a baby with LBW was 17.8% among women with both malaria infection and low MUAC at enrollment compared to 8.4% among uninfected women with MUAC ≥ 23 cm (joint aRR 2.13 [95% CI: 1.21, 3.73]; N = 8,152). There was no evidence of synergism (i.e., excess risk due to interaction) between malaria infection and MUAC on the multiplicative (p = 0.5) or additive scale (p = 0.9). Results were similar using body mass index (BMI) as an anthropometric indicator of nutritional status. Meta-regression results indicated that there may be multiplicative interaction between malaria infection at enrollment and low MUAC within studies conducted in Africa; however, this finding was not consistent on the additive scale, when accounting for multiple comparisons, or when using other definitions of malaria and malnutrition. The major limitations of the study included availability of only 2 cross-sectional measurements of malaria and the limited availability of ultrasound-based pregnancy dating to assess impacts on preterm birth and fetal growth in all studies. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women with malnutrition and malaria infection are at increased risk of LBW compared to women with only 1 risk factor or none, but malaria and malnutrition do not act synergistically

Phonological awareness and print concepts : analysis of skill acquisition by kindergarten children utilizing computer-assisted-instruction

This study proposed to answer research questions about the efficacy of using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to augment kindergarten emergent reading skills. Five assessment instruments were used to measure kindergarten students' emergent reading skills. In this quasi-experimental design (experimental school vs. control school), repeated measures were used (pretest and posttest). Change scores (posttest minus pretest) were calculated to run analyses. Morrow's Story Retelling was significant for the experimental group, p=.006. The Woodcock-Johnson Passage Comprehension (WJPC) subtest was significant for the interaction of group and type of kindergarten program, p=.005, meaning more children in full day programs and using CAI were reading and understanding passages. Unrelated to the hypotheses that were tested, the Phonological Awareness Test (PAT) was significant for culture, p=.006. Post Hoc results demonstrated significance between white students and English Language Learners (ELL) on the PAT, p=.003. The Concepts About Print Test was not found to be significant. No significances were found for the Woodcock-Johnson Letter/Word Identification subtest, either. In conclusion, CAI did have a positive impact on several measures of emergent reading skills. A Home Literacy Survey was completed by the parents of all participants. This survey provided extensive information about the type and frequency of literacy activities done in the students' homes to answer the research question concerning the value of home literacy activities in preparation for formal schooling. Significance was found for pretest scores on the WJPC, p=.004. The results were significant for Morrow's Story Retelling for change scores, p=.005. Conclusions can be drawn that literacy activities done in the home before coming to school do have an impact on reading/listening comprehension as measured by the WJPC and Morrow's Story Retelling. Finally, teachers in the experimental school were asked their opinions about CAI. They unanimously agreed that CAI was beneficial to students, especially low performing students. But reservations included the loss of class time to do computer lessons and the availability of a variety of CAI programs. There were also several complaints directed at the PLATO program examined in this study. The program was not user friendly for kindergarten children to operate independently, and there were reliability problems.College of ArchitectureDepartment of Elementary EducationThesis (Ph. D.

Phonological awareness and print concepts : analysis of skill acquisition by kindergarten children utilizing computer-assisted-instruction

This study proposed to answer research questions about the efficacy of using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to augment kindergarten emergent reading skills. Five assessment instruments were used to measure kindergarten students' emergent reading skills. In this quasi-experimental design (experimental school vs. control school), repeated measures were used (pretest and posttest). Change scores (posttest minus pretest) were calculated to run analyses. Morrow's Story Retelling was significant for the experimental group, p=.006. The Woodcock-Johnson Passage Comprehension (WJPC) subtest was significant for the interaction of group and type of kindergarten program, p=.005, meaning more children in full day programs and using CAI were reading and understanding passages. Unrelated to the hypotheses that were tested, the Phonological Awareness Test (PAT) was significant for culture, p=.006. Post Hoc results demonstrated significance between white students and English Language Learners (ELL) on the PAT, p=.003. The Concepts About Print Test was not found to be significant. No significances were found for the Woodcock-Johnson Letter/Word Identification subtest, either. In conclusion, CAI did have a positive impact on several measures of emergent reading skills. A Home Literacy Survey was completed by the parents of all participants. This survey provided extensive information about the type and frequency of literacy activities done in the students' homes to answer the research question concerning the value of home literacy activities in preparation for formal schooling. Significance was found for pretest scores on the WJPC, p=.004. The results were significant for Morrow's Story Retelling for change scores, p=.005. Conclusions can be drawn that literacy activities done in the home before coming to school do have an impact on reading/listening comprehension as measured by the WJPC and Morrow's Story Retelling. Finally, teachers in the experimental school were asked their opinions about CAI. They unanimously agreed that CAI was beneficial to students, especially low performing students. But reservations included the loss of class time to do computer lessons and the availability of a variety of CAI programs. There were also several complaints directed at the PLATO program examined in this study. The program was not user friendly for kindergarten children to operate independently, and there were reliability problems.College of ArchitectureThesis (Ph. D.)Department of Elementary Educatio

Sycamore Readers: A Successful Model to Improve Student Learning

Abstrac

Malaria, malnutrition, and birthweight: A meta-analysis using individual participant data.

BackgroundFour studies previously indicated that the effect of malaria infection during pregnancy on the risk of low birthweight (LBW; &lt;2,500 g) may depend upon maternal nutritional status. We investigated this dependence further using a large, diverse study population.Methods and findingsWe evaluated the interaction between maternal malaria infection and maternal anthropometric status on the risk of LBW using pooled data from 14,633 pregnancies from 13 studies (6 cohort studies and 7 randomized controlled trials) conducted in Africa and the Western Pacific from 1996-2015. Studies were identified by the Maternal Malaria and Malnutrition (M3) initiative using a convenience sampling approach and were eligible for pooling given adequate ethical approval and availability of essential variables. Study-specific adjusted effect estimates were calculated using inverse probability of treatment-weighted linear and log-binomial regression models and pooled using a random-effects model. The adjusted risk of delivering a baby with LBW was 8.8% among women with malaria infection at antenatal enrollment compared to 7.7% among uninfected women (adjusted risk ratio [aRR] 1.14 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91, 1.42]; N = 13,613), 10.5% among women with malaria infection at delivery compared to 7.9% among uninfected women (aRR 1.32 [95% CI: 1.08, 1.62]; N = 11,826), and 15.3% among women with low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC &lt;23 cm) at enrollment compared to 9.5% among women with MUAC ≥ 23 cm (aRR 1.60 [95% CI: 1.36, 1.87]; N = 9,008). The risk of delivering a baby with LBW was 17.8% among women with both malaria infection and low MUAC at enrollment compared to 8.4% among uninfected women with MUAC ≥ 23 cm (joint aRR 2.13 [95% CI: 1.21, 3.73]; N = 8,152). There was no evidence of synergism (i.e., excess risk due to interaction) between malaria infection and MUAC on the multiplicative (p = 0.5) or additive scale (p = 0.9). Results were similar using body mass index (BMI) as an anthropometric indicator of nutritional status. Meta-regression results indicated that there may be multiplicative interaction between malaria infection at enrollment and low MUAC within studies conducted in Africa; however, this finding was not consistent on the additive scale, when accounting for multiple comparisons, or when using other definitions of malaria and malnutrition. The major limitations of the study included availability of only 2 cross-sectional measurements of malaria and the limited availability of ultrasound-based pregnancy dating to assess impacts on preterm birth and fetal growth in all studies.ConclusionsPregnant women with malnutrition and malaria infection are at increased risk of LBW compared to women with only 1 risk factor or none, but malaria and malnutrition do not act synergistically

Flow diagram of studies included in the individual participant meta-analysis of the interaction between malaria infection and maternal malnutrition on birthweight.

<p>M3, Maternal Malaria and Malnutrition Initiative.</p