Characterizing the Realistic-ness of Word Problems in Secondary Mathematics Textbooks

Word problems are an integral part of any secondary mathematics curriculum and one purpose has been to prepare students for the real-world – for everyday events as well as workplace problem-solving. Prior literature suggests that word problems have not met this objective, in part, because the textbook problems do not mirror the kinds of problems commonly found in real life situations. In this dissertation, I investigate a sample of word problems from two contemporary non-traditional textbooks to uncover the aspects that may influence if and how the problems might be used in the classroom. I utilize a qualitative content analysis with a directed approach, using the literature to guide my initial codes and categories, and allowing other categories and subcategories to emerge during the analysis. I also conduct a numerical analysis of the data to reveal aspects which may be a common thread between the two books. These analyses allow me to answer the research question: Given that the two books chosen for this study have different approaches, what aspects of realistic-ness exist in the textbooks’ word problems that encourage students to use their real-world knowledge of the context of the problems? This study suggests that changes to the manner in which problems are presented can be beneficial to re-negotiating the didactical contract. Textbook word problems should be posed in a variety of ways, breaking from the tradition of the three-component structure. Additionally, secondary mathematics textbooks should use scaffolding throughout the curricula to afford students the opportunities to grapple with problems as they would in the real world. This study recommends a digital database to organize and update problems with a real-world context

O currículo de Hollywood: quem é o "bom " professor, quem é a "boa" professora?

In this article 26 motion pictures (distributed widely in the USA over the past 60years) are analysed to construct a theory of currículum in the movies. Hollywood's "ideal" teachers are defined as those who share a set of character traits found consistently in these films, traits that cut across traditional film genres and remain intact throughtout the eras studied. Those "good" teachers in the movies also operate from a distintive curricular approach identified as "broadly aesthetic-ethical-political", a term explored in the context of Huebner's five value frameworks of curricular thought.Neste artigo, 26 filmes (amplamente distribuídos nos Estados Unidos nos últimos 60 anos) são analisados para construir uma teoria do currículo no cinema. Os/as professores/as "ideais" de Hollywood são definidos como aqueles/as que compartilham de um conjunto de características consistentemente encontradas nestes filmes, características que atravessam os tradicionais gêneros de filme e se mantêm intactas ao longo das épocas estudadas. Estes "bons" professores e "boas" professoras nos filmes também atuam a partir de uma abordagem curricular distinta identificada como "largamente estético-ético-política", uma expressão explorada no contexto dos cinco quadros de valores do pensamento currícular de Huebner

Cotton: From Farm to Market - Bringing Ag into Elementary

As a rural Elementary School striving for STEM certification in South Georgia, we bring real-life and real-world experiences into our instruction. Being from Colquitt County, where farming is the largest industry and home of the Ag EXPO, we decided to incorporate Agriculture into our classrooms in all subject areas. Our students attend Ag as one of their connection times each week. Each grade has some form of continual agricultural project contributing to our long term STEM project of providing food to our local senior center. In this session, we plan to share how we bring Agriculture to Elementary school and engage our audience by giving them a small glimpse of an Agricultural STEM activity called “Cotton: From Farm to Market.

Updated meta-review of evidence on support for carers

Objective To update a 2010 meta-review of systematic reviews of effective interventions to support carers of ill, disabled, or older adults. In this article, we report the most promising interventions based on the best available evidence. Methods Rapid meta-review of systematic reviews published from January 2009 to 2016. Results Sixty-one systematic reviews were included (27 high quality, 25 medium quality, and nine low quality). The quality of reviews has improved since the original review, but primary studies remain limited in quality and quantity. Fourteen high quality reviews focused on carers of people with dementia, four on carers of those with cancer, four on carers of people with stroke, three on carers of those at the end of life with various conditions, and two on carers of people with mental health problems. Multicomponent interventions featured prominently, emphasizing psychosocial or psychoeducational content, education and training. Improved outcomes for carers were reported for mental health, burden and stress, and wellbeing or quality of life. Negative effects were reported in reviews of respite care. As with earlier work, we found little robust evidence on the cost-effectiveness of reviewed interventions. Conclusions There is no ‘one size fits all’ intervention to support carers. There is potential for effective support in specific groups of carers, such as shared learning, cognitive reframing, meditation, and computer-delivered psychosocial support for carers of people with dementia. For carers of people with cancer, effective support may include psychosocial interventions, art therapy, and counselling. Carers of people with stroke may also benefit from counselling. More good quality, theory-based, primary research is needed. </jats:sec

The Hollywood curriculum : teachers and teaching in the movies

Fifty-one motion pictures (distributed widely in the United States over the past 60 years) are analyzed to construct a theory of curriculum in the movies grounded in the emerging field of cultural studies with particular ties to critical pedagogy. The social curriculum of Hollywood implicit in popular films is based on individual rather than collective action and relies on that carefully plotted action rather than meaningful struggle to ensure the ultimate outcome leaving educational institutions, which represent the larger cultural status quo, intact and in power. This dissertation ties Huebner's five frameworks for valuing curriculum with the author's interpretations of a number of commercial films to ground a discussion of the meaning of popular culture and its importance in a democratic vision for education. The films are viewed through four sets of interpretive lenses: viewing the "good" teacher through three of Huebner's value frameworks; viewing the "bad" teacher through Huebner's two remaining value frameworks; viewing the "gendered" teacher through the lens of feminist literature; and, viewing students through the lens of critical pedagogy. The author contends that popular culture constructs its own curriculum in the movies, a popular curriculum that remains largely unchallenged. The film texts are interrogated using the concepts of critical pedagogy. Interrogating the "Hollywood Curriculum" is to ask what it means as a culture to be responsive at both social and personal levels and to engage these films as both entertaining and potentially transformative

Designing prenatal care for low-income, black patients in urban settings using human centered design

Objective: Black and low-income pregnant patients face significant inequities in health care access and outcomes in the United States. Yet, these patients’ voices have been largely absent from designing improved prenatal care models. Our objective was to use Human Centered Design to examine patients’ and health care workers’ experiences with prenatal care delivery in a largely low-income, Black population, to inform future care innovations to improve access, quality, and outcomes. Study Design: Using snowball sampling, we conducted Human Centered Design-informed interviews with low-income, Black patients and health care workers in a large, urban setting. Interview questions addressed the first two Human Centered Design phases: 1) observation: understanding the problem from the end-user’s perspective, and 2) ideation: generating novel potential solutions. We assessed these questions for the three key components of prenatal care: medical care, anticipatory guidance, and psychosocial support. Results: Nineteen patients and 19 health care workers were interviewed. All patients were Black, and the majority had public insurance (17/19, 89.5%). Health care workers included doctors, midwives, breastfeeding counselors, doulas, and social workers. Participants affirmed the three goals of prenatal care. Participants reported failures of current prenatal care delivery and potential solutions for each of the three goals (medical care, anticipatory guidance, and psychosocial support) and two overarching categories: maternity care professionals and care structure. Participants reported in an ideal model, patients would have strong relationships with their maternity care professional who would be at the center of all prenatal care services. Additionally, care would be tailored to individual patients and use care navigators, flexible models, and colocation of services, to reduce barriers. Conclusion: Current prenatal care delivery fails to meet low-income, Black patients’ needs. Ideal prenatal care delivery includes more comprehensive, integrated services tailored to patients’ medical needs and preferences

Experiences With Prenatal Care Delivery Reported by Black Patients With Low Income and by Health Care Workers in the US: A Qualitative Study

IMPORTANCE: Black pregnant people with low income face inequities in health care access and outcomes in the US, yet their voices have been largely absent from redesigning prenatal care. OBJECTIVE: To examine patients\u27 and health care workers\u27 experiences with prenatal care delivery in a largely low-income Black population to inform care innovations to improve care coordination, access, quality, and outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this qualitative study, human-centered design-informed interviews were conducted at prenatal care clinics with 19 low-income Black patients who were currently pregnant or up to 1 year post partum and 19 health care workers (eg, physicians, nurses, and community health workers) in Detroit, Michigan, between October 14, 2019, and February 7, 2020. Questions focused on 2 human-centered design phases: observation (understanding problems from the end user\u27s perspective) and ideation (generating novel potential solutions). Questions targeted participants\u27 experiences with the 3 goals of prenatal care: medical care, anticipatory guidance, and social support. An eclectic analytic strategy, including inductive thematic analysis and matrix coding, was used to identify promising strategies for prenatal care redesign. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Preferences for prenatal care redesign. RESULTS: Nineteen Black patients (mean [SD] age, 28.4 [5.9] years; 19 [100%] female; and 17 [89.5%] with public insurance) and 17 of 19 health care workers (mean [SD] age, 47.9 [15.7] years; 15 female [88.2%]; and 13 [76.5%] Black) completed the surveys. A range of health care workers were included (eg, physicians, doulas, and social workers). Although all affirmed the 3 prenatal care goals, participants reported failures and potential solutions for each area of prenatal care delivery. Themes also emerged in 2 cross-cutting areas: practitioners and care infrastructure. Participants reported that, ideally, care structure would enable strong ongoing relationships between patients and practitioners. Practitioners would coordinate all prenatal services, not just medical care. Finally, care would be tailored to individual patients by using care navigators, flexible models, and colocation of services to reduce barriers. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this qualitative study of low-income, Black pregnant people in Detroit, Michigan, and the health care workers who care for them, prenatal care delivery failed to meet many patients\u27 needs. Participants reported that an ideal care delivery model would include comprehensive, integrated services across the health care system, expanding beyond medical care to also include patients\u27 social needs and preferences

Conversations about children when an important adult is at end of life : an audit

Purpose: Health and social care professionals report it challenging to have conversations with families when an important adult in the life of a child is at end of life, often feeling this aspect of care is the responsibility of other colleagues. This study aimed to understand professionals' perceived role in family-centered conversations as part of routine care at end of life, and how to promote this element of care in clinical practice. Methods: An audit was completed with 116 professionals who work in palliative care including doctors and nurses that attended a 2-day virtual congress. Results: Professionals (73.2%) felt confident about starting a conversation with adult patients at end of life about important children. However, enquiring about relationships with children was largely dependent on the age of the patient. 64.7% of respondents reported signposting families to websites and services that provide family support. Most professionals (76.7%) wanted training to equip them with the skills and confidence to having family-centered conversations at end of life, with videos demonstrating how to provide these elements of care the most preferred option. Conclusions: Short training resources should be developed to equip professionals with the necessary skills toward having conversations about children with patients and relatives in clinical appointments. There is a need for professionals to ask every patient about important relationships with children