Early Childhood Educators’ and Teachers’ Early Mathematics Education Knowledge, Beliefs, and Pedagogy

In the spring of 2017, an educational needs assessment of early mathematics education in Ontario was conducted using an online survey for early childhood educators, kindergarten teachers, and Grade 1 teachers. The purpose of the needs assessment was to acquire a brief account of the state of early mathematics education in the province and to identify any potential gaps between current and desired early mathematics education practices. Educators’ responses (n = 130) about their early mathematics knowledge, beliefs, and pedagogy revealed four critical areas that need to be addressed to improve the quality of early mathematics education.  Au printemps 2017, une évaluation des besoins éducatifs de l’éducation mathématique précoce en Ontario a été réalisée en utilisant un sondage en ligne pour les éducateurs de la petite enfance, les enseignants de la maternelle et les enseignants de première année. Le but de L’évaluation des besoins avait pour but d’obtenir un bref compte rendu de l’état de l’éducation précoce en mathématiques dans la province et d’identifier tout écart potentiel entre les pratiques actuelles et futures d’éducation en mathématiques. Les réponses des éducateurs (n = 130) au sujet de leurs connaissances, de leurs croyances et de leur pédagogie en mathématiques ont révélé quatre domaines critiques qui doivent

'Science Rendezvous' - Promoting STEM Education

This session describes the implementation of Science Rendezvous (SR) Kingston, a community outreach event targeted to people of all ages. The Queen’s University Community Outreach Centre (QCOC) situated in the Faculty of Education, provides Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education through public outreach. This session details how the QCOC partners with community organizations, museums, artists, the City of Kingston and other university and college faculties to collaboratively provide an annual large-scale, one-day event that showcases hands-on activities, demonstrations, experiments, and scientific research to promote public interest, engagement, and understanding of STEM education and careers. The presenters in this session will share their findings from a two-year study aimed at (a) determining the strengths and challenges of community-university partnerships in the context of SR, (b) providing a set of actionable recommendations for future iterations of SR, and (c) refining outreach models that attempt to clarify the phenomena which occur in the process of adopting and implementing a STEM-based community initiative through collaborative partnerships. The research involved 42 interviews with community partners and an online survey completed by 43% of SR participants over 18 years of age. The findings revealed that first-order barriers (e.g., cost, access, advertisement, and schedules) were easier to address than the second-order barriers that emerged from the analysis. The study found that intrinsic beliefs towards public education events such as public perceptions about STEM careers, faculty beliefs about the role of universities in public outreach, and authentic collaborative community-university partnerships were barriers associated with engagement, organizational structures, and sustainability. The data analysis assisted in understanding the importance of community-university partnerships when engaging in sustainable public outreach events that aim to showcase STEM education through teaching, research and knowledge mobilization. During the session, participants will be provided with resources designed in collaboration with all 25 participating community partners

Second asymptomatic carotid surgery trial (ACST-2) : a randomised comparison of carotid artery stenting versus carotid endarterectomy

Background: Among asymptomatic patients with severe carotid artery stenosis but no recent stroke or transient cerebral ischaemia, either carotid artery stenting (CAS) or carotid endarterectomy (CEA) can restore patency and reduce long-term stroke risks. However, from recent national registry data, each option causes about 1% procedural risk of disabling stroke or death. Comparison of their long-term protective effects requires large-scale randomised evidence. Methods: ACST-2 is an international multicentre randomised trial of CAS versus CEA among asymptomatic patients with severe stenosis thought to require intervention, interpreted with all other relevant trials. Patients were eligible if they had severe unilateral or bilateral carotid artery stenosis and both doctor and patient agreed that a carotid procedure should be undertaken, but they were substantially uncertain which one to choose. Patients were randomly allocated to CAS or CEA and followed up at 1 month and then annually, for a mean 5 years. Procedural events were those within 30 days of the intervention. Intention-to-treat analyses are provided. Analyses including procedural hazards use tabular methods. Analyses and meta-analyses of non-procedural strokes use Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN21144362. Findings: Between Jan 15, 2008, and Dec 31, 2020, 3625 patients in 130 centres were randomly allocated, 1811 to CAS and 1814 to CEA, with good compliance, good medical therapy and a mean 5 years of follow-up. Overall, 1% had disabling stroke or death procedurally (15 allocated to CAS and 18 to CEA) and 2% had non-disabling procedural stroke (48 allocated to CAS and 29 to CEA). Kaplan-Meier estimates of 5-year non-procedural stroke were 2·5% in each group for fatal or disabling stroke, and 5·3% with CAS versus 4·5% with CEA for any stroke (rate ratio [RR] 1·16, 95% CI 0·86-1·57; p=0·33). Combining RRs for any non-procedural stroke in all CAS versus CEA trials, the RR was similar in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients (overall RR 1·11, 95% CI 0·91-1·32; p=0·21). Interpretation: Serious complications are similarly uncommon after competent CAS and CEA, and the long-term effects of these two carotid artery procedures on fatal or disabling stroke are comparable