Empowering Teacher Leadership to Address Math Anxiety in Today’s Schools

Math anxiety is an uneasiness or worry when dealing with doing mathematics, ranging from slight nervousness, nausea, to complete panic. It prevents students from learning math and makes them more likely to give up. Math anxiety is common in many math classrooms today. Teachers can work together and take a real leadership role in addressing this problem to build math confidence. Solutions range from undergoing therapy to changing teaching styles to being more inclusive of students with math anxiety. This paper looks at ways teachers as leaders can work together to address math anxiety in their schools. School leaders can empower math teachers to work together to prevent and reduce math anxiety with a goal of improved math achievement school-wide while addressing math anxiety by teachers taking on active leadership roles in their schools and classrooms. This paper gives many recommendations to address math anxiety

WOODLAND POND SALAMANDER ABUNDANCE IN RELATION TO FOREST MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN

Woodland ponds are important landscape features that help sustain populations of amphibians that require this aquatic habitat for successful reproduction. Species abundance patterns often reflect site-specific differences in hydrology, physical characteristics, and surrounding vegetation. Large-scale processes such as changing land cover and environmental conditions are other potential drivers influencing amphibian populations in the Upper Midwest, but little information exists on the combined effects of these factors. We used Blue-spotted (Ambystoma laterale Hallowell) and Spotted Salamander (A. maculatum Shaw) monitoring data collected at the same woodland ponds thirteen years apart to determine if changing environmental conditions and vegetation cover in surrounding landscapes influenced salamander movement phenology and abundance. Four woodland ponds in northern Wisconsin were sampled for salamanders in April 1992-1994 and 2005-2007. While Bluespotted Salamanders were more abundant than Spotted Salamanders in all ponds, there was no change in the numbers of either species over the years. However, peak numbers of Blue-spotted Salamanders occurred 11.7 days earlier (range: 9-14 days) in the 2000s compared to the 1990s; Spotted Salamanders occurred 9.5 days earlier (range: 3 - 13 days). Air and water temperatures (April 13- 24) increased, on average, 4.8 oC and 3.7 oC, respectively, between the decades regardless of pond. There were no discernible changes in canopy openness in surrounding forests between decades that would have warmed the water sooner (i.e., more light penetration). Our finding that salamander breeding phenology can vary by roughly 10 days in Wisconsin contributes to growing evidence that amphibian populations have responded to changing climate conditions by shifting life-cycle events. Managers can use this information to adjust monitoring programs and forest management activities in the surrounding landscape to avoid vulnerable amphibian movement periods. Considering direct and indirect stressors such as changing habitat and environmental conditions simultaneously to better understand trends in space and time can help improve monitoring programs for this taxa, which is at major risk of continued declines

Propensities by Grade of Math Anxiety Levels K-12: Addressing Mathematics Dispositions and How Manipulatives May Help

Math anxiety remains a critical issue affecting student performance and confidence across grade levels throughout the world today. This paper looks at the impact of math anxiety and how students’ dispositions toward math from a leadership perspective and the real hinderance for them as learners in life in a STEM world. The paper shares data from a K-12 school on math anxiety levels and offers insights from a school principal who has served K-12 levels where math anxiety and discomfort levels of math are seen across the spectrum. This paper provides much research and recommendations of best practices for teaching math, leadership responsibility, and the use of math manipulatives to address the reality of math anxiety as we prepare our young people to compete for jobs in a STEM world. Research, best practices for teaching, strategies, and a survey are included

Dementia assessment and management in primary care settings: a survey of current provider practices in the United States.

BACKGROUND:Primary care providers (PCPs) are typically the first to screen and evaluate patients for neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), including mild cognitive impairment and dementia. However, data on PCP attitudes and evaluation and management practices are sparse. Our objective was to quantify perspectives and behaviors of PCPs and neurologists with respect to NCD evaluation and management. METHODS:A cross-sectional survey with 150 PCPs and 50 neurologists in the United States who evaluated more than 10 patients over age 55 per month. The 51-item survey assessed clinical practice characteristics, and confidence, perceived barriers, and typical practices when diagnosing and managing patients with NCDs. RESULTS:PCPs and neurologists reported similar confidence and approaches to general medical care and laboratory testing. Though over half of PCPs performed cognitive screening or referred patients for cognitive testing in over 50% of their patients, only 20% reported high confidence in interpreting results of cognitive tests. PCPs were more likely to order CT scans than MRIs, and only 14% of PCPs reported high confidence interpreting brain imaging findings, compared to 70% of specialists. Only 21% of PCPs were highly confident that they correctly recognized when a patient had an NCD, and only 13% were highly confident in making a specific NCD diagnosis (compared to 72 and 44% for neurologists, both p < 0.001). A quarter of all providers identified lack of familiarity with diagnostic criteria for NCD syndromes as a barrier to clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS:This study demonstrates how PCPs approach diagnosis and management of patients with NCDs, and identified areas for improvement in regards to cognitive testing and neuroimaging. This study also identified all providers' lack of familiarity with published diagnostic criteria for NCD syndromes. These findings may inform the development of new policies and interventions to help providers improve the efficacy of their decision processes and deliver better quality care to patients with NCDs

The MAGEC System for Spinal Lengthening in Children with Scoliosis: A NICE Medical Technology Guidance

Scoliosis—structural lateral curvature of the spine—affects around four children per 1,000. The MAGEC system comprises a magnetically distractible spinal rod implant and an external remote controller, which lengthens the rod; this system avoids repeated surgical lengthening. Rod implants brace the spine internally and are lengthened as the child grows, preventing worsening of scoliosis and delaying the need for spinal fusion. The Medical Technologies Advisory Committee at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) selected the MAGEC system for evaluation in a NICE medical technologies guidance. Six studies were identified by the sponsor (Ellipse Technologies Inc.) as being relevant to the decision problem. Meta-analysis was used to compare the clinical evidence results with those of one conventional growth rod study, and equal efficacy of the two devices was concluded. The key weakness was selection of a single comparator study. The External Assessment Centre (EAC) identified 16 conventional growth rod studies and undertook meta-analyses of relevant outcomes. Its critique highlighted limitations around study heterogeneity and variations in baseline characteristics and follow-up duration, precluding the ability to draw firm conclusions. The sponsor constructed a de novo costing model showing that MAGEC rods generated cost savings of £9,946 per patient after 6 years, compared with conventional rods. The EAC critiqued and updated the model structure and inputs, calculating robust cost savings of £12,077 per patient with MAGEC rods compared with conventional rods over 6 years. The year of valuation was 2012. NICE issued a positive recommendation as supported by the evidence (Medical Technologies Guidance 18)

Individual differences in chimpanzee reconciliation relate to social switching behaviour

In recent years, the presence of stable individual variation in animal behaviour has been corroborated by studies across a wide variety of taxa and research disciplines. Reconciliation, or postconflict affiliation between former opponents, is a behavioural domain in which individual differences have not been systematically studied. Using a long-term data set comprising over 2000 conflict and postconflict observations in two groups of outdoor-housed chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes, we provide evidence for stable individual variation in reconciliation and test several hypotheses on how this postconflict mechanism relates to social switching behaviour. Results of generalized multilevel models revealed that individual differences remained a substantial source of variation in reconciliation after controlling for a number of situational variables (e.g. the nature of the relationship between opponents) shown by previous research to influence its occurrence. We further demonstrated a positive association between an individual’s conciliatory tendency and three separate indices of social switching behaviour, proposing that individual differences in reconciliation may reflect a more fundamental motivation to switch between different social states. In addition to a discussion of potential motivational underpinnings, we provide an impetus for future work to consider how reconciliation relates to the broader constructs and themes identified within animal personality research. To the extent that individual differences in other aspects of conflict and postconflict repertoires exhibit temporal and cross-situational consistency, they too should inform our understanding of animal personalities. Delineating how these and other dimensions of sociality are in part driven by stable individual variation not only has implications for how social interactions themselves unfold, but ultimately for the fitness of the individuals therein

Heterologous effects of infant BCG vaccination: potential mechanisms of immunity

The current antituberculosis vaccine, BCG, was derived in the 1920s, yet the mechanisms of BCG-induced protective immunity and the variability of protective efficacy among populations are still not fully understood. BCG challenges the concept of vaccine specificity, as there is evidence that BCG may protect immunized infants from pathogens other than Mycobacterium tuberculosis – resulting in heterologous or nonspecific protection. This review summarizes the up-to-date evidence for this phenomenon, potential immunological mechanisms and implications for improved childhood vaccine design. BCG induces functional changes in infant innate and adaptive immune compartments, encouraging their collaboration in the first year of life. Understanding biological mechanisms beyond heterologous BCG effects is crucial to improve infant protection from infectious diseases.MRC; IMmunising PRegnant women and INfants neTwork (IMPRINT); GCRF Networks in Vaccines Research and Development; BBSRC; the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO); Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Novavax, GSK; Janssen; European Commission; Horizon2020 TBVAC2020 (Grant No. H2020 PHC-643381); GCRF Networks in Vaccines Research and Development VALIDATE Network which was co-funded by the MRC and BBSRC (Grant No. MR/R005850/1)

The utility of diagnostic selective nerve root blocks in the management of patients with lumbar radiculopathy: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Lumbar radiculopathy (LR) often manifests as pain in the lower back radiating into one leg (sciatica). Unsuccessful back surgery is associated with significant healthcare costs and risks to patients. This review aims to examine the diagnostic accuracy of selective nerve root blocks (SNRBs) to identify patients most likely to benefit from lumbar decompression surgery. DESIGN: Systematic review of diagnostic test accuracy studies. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Primary research articles using a patient population with low back pain and symptoms in the leg, SNRB administered under radiological guidance as index test, and any reported reference standard for the diagnosis of LR. INFORMATION SOURCES: MEDLINE (Ovid), MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, EMBASE, Science Citation Index, Biosis, LILACS, Dissertation abstracts and National Technical Information Service from inception to 2018. METHODS: Risk of bias and applicability was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. We performed random-effects logistic regression to meta-analyse studies grouped by reference standard. RESULTS: 6 studies (341 patients) were included in this review. All studies were judged at high risk of bias. There was substantial heterogeneity across studies in sensitivity (range 57%-100%) and specificity (10%-86%) estimates. Four studies were diagnostic cohort studies that used either intraoperative findings during surgery (pooled sensitivity: 93.5% [95% CI 84.0 to 97.6]; specificity: 50.0% [16.8 to 83.2]) or 'outcome following surgery' as the reference standard (pooled sensitivity: 90.9% [83.1 to 95.3]; specificity 22.0% [7.4 to 49.9]). Two studies had a within-patient case-control study design, but results were not pooled because different types of control injections were used. CONCLUSIONS: We found limited evidence which was of low methodological quality indicating that the diagnostic accuracy of SNRB is uncertain and that specificity in particular may be low. SNRB is a safe test with a low risk of clinically significant complications, but it remains unclear whether the additional diagnostic information it provides justifies the cost of the test.National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme grant (project number 09/111/01)