Let’s Talk About Math: Exploring How Elementary Teachers Plan And Implement Mathematical Discourse In The Classroom

Mathematical discourse is a critical component of effective mathematics instruction, but it remains one of the least implemented strategies in mathematics classrooms. This exploratory case study examined how elementary teachers understand, plan, and implement mathematical discourse practices, with a particular focus on connections to the curriculum. Participants included three kindergarten teachers in an urban-situated elementary school. Data were collected through: two sets of documents, including the provided curriculum and teacher-created lesson plans; two individual, semi-structured interviews with each participant; and two classroom observations of each participant’s mathematics instructional practices. The data were analyzed through the constant comparative method. Interview data were coded through a three-stage coding cycle, resulting in emergent themes. Data collected through documents and observations were categorized and compared to the interview codes created through the coding cycle to determine themes. The findings show teachers had a desire to engage in mathematical discourse but there were barriers to implementation such as time, academic language, and COVID-19 protocols. Additionally, there was no appreciable influence of the written curriculum on the enacted curriculum. However, the utilization of a curriculum with supports for classroom discourse may give teachers tools to engage students in more high press lines of questioning. In the context of a stressed work environment, teachers did alter the curriculum to simplify and lessen the cognitive load of the discourse for students. The findings illuminate how teachers would benefit from practice with mathematical discourse in the classroom within the contexts that already exist for them, such as collaborative planning sessions where teachers can become more comfortable anticipating lines of questioning. Additionally, teachers may benefit from attending to the types of questions with which they engage students during the lesson planning process

Male frequent attenders of general practice and their help seeking preferences

Background: Low rates of health service usage by men are commonly linked to masculine values and traditional male gender roles. However, not all men conform to these stereotypical notions of masculinity, with some men choosing to attend health services on a frequent basis, for a variety of different reasons. This study draws upon the accounts of male frequent attenders of the General Practitioner's (GP) surgery, examining their help-seeking preferences and their reasons for choosing services within general practice over other sources of support. Methods: The study extends thematic analysis of interview data from the Self Care in Primary Care study (SCinPC), a large scale multi-method evaluation study of a self care programme delivered to frequent attenders of general practice. Data were collected from 34 semi-structured interviews conducted with men prior to their exposure to the intervention. Results: The ages of interviewed men ranged from 16 to 72 years, and 91% of the sample (n= 31) stated that they had a current health condition. The thematic analysis exposed diverse perspectives within male help-seeking preferences and the decision-making behind men's choice of services. The study also draws attention to the large variation in men's knowledge of available health services, particularly alternatives to general practice. Furthermore, the data revealed some men's lack of confidence in existing alternatives to general practice. Conclusions: The study highlights the complex nature of male help-seeking preferences, and provides evidence that there should be no 'one size fits all' approach to male service provision. It also provides impetus for conducting further studies into this under researched area of interest. © 2011 WPMH GmbH

G313.3+00.3: A New Planetary Nebula discovered by the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Spitzer Space Telescope

We present a new planetary nebula, first identified in images from the Australia Telescope Compact Array, although not recognized at that time. Recent observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope during the GLIMPSE Legacy program have rediscovered the object. The high-resolution radio and infrared images enable the identification of the central star or its wind, the recognition of the radio emission as thermal, and the probable presence of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons in and around the source. These lead to the conclusion that G313.3+00.3 is a planetary nebula. This object is of particular interest because it was discovered solely through radio and mid-infrared imaging, without any optical (or near-infrared) confirmation, and acts as a proof of concept for the discovery of many more highly extinguished planetary nebulae. G313.3+00.3 is well-resolved by both the instruments with which it was identified, and suffers extreme reddening due to its location in the Scutum-Crux spiral arm.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX (aastex), incl. 8 PostScript (eps) figures and 1 table. Accepted by ApJ (Part 1

An evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Indicator of Relative Need (IoRN) instrument

BACKGROUND: The Indicator of Relative Need (IoRN) instrument is designed for both health and social care services to measure function and dependency in older people. To date, the tool has not undergone assessment of validity. We report two studies aimed to evaluate psychometric properties of the IoRN. METHODS: The first study recruited patients receiving social care at discharge from hospital, those rehabilitating in intermediate care, and those in a rehabilitation at home service. Participants were assessed using the IoRN by a single researcher and by the clinical team at baseline and 8 weeks. Comparator instruments (Barthel ADL, Nottingham Extended ADL and Townsend Disability Scale) were also administered. Overall change in ability was assessed with a 7 point Likert scale at 8 weeks. The second study analysed linked routinely collected, health and social care data (including IoRN scores) to assess the relationship between IoRN category and death, hospitalisation and care home admission as a test of external validity. RESULTS: Ninety participants were included in the first study, mean age 77.9 (SD 12.0). Cronbach’s alpha for IoRN subscales was high (0.87 to 0.93); subscales showed moderate correlation with comparator tools (r = 0.43 to 0.63). Cohen’s weighted kappa showed moderate agreement between researcher and clinician IoRN category (0.49 to 0.53). Two-way intraclass correlation coefficients for IoRN subscales in participants reporting no change in ability were high (0.88 to 0.98) suggesting good stability; responsiveness coefficients in participants reporting overall change were equal to or better than comparator tools. 1712 patients were included in the second study, mean age 81.0 years (SD 7.7). Adjusted hazard ratios for death, care home admission and hospitalisation in the most dependent category compared to the least dependent IoRN category were 5.9 (95 % CI 2.0–17.0); 7.2 (95 % CI 4.4–12.0); 1.1 (95 % CI 0.5–2.6) respectively. The mean number of allocated hours of care 6 months after assessment was higher in the most dependent group compared to the least dependent group (5.6 vs 1.4 h, p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Findings from these analyses support the use of the IoRN across a range of clinical environments although some limitations are highlighted

SPFC: a tool to improve water management and hay production in the Crau region

Correspondance: [email protected] ; UMR SYSTEM équipe CONSYSTThis article deals with the development and application of SPFC, a model used to improve water and grassland production (HC) in this region of France. This model is composed of two sub-models: an irrigation model and a crop model. As the fields are border irrigated, these two sub-models are coupled. The crop model simulates dry matter, Leaf Area Index (LAI) and soil water reserve (SWR) variations. LAI and SWR are both used for border model updating: SWR for the deficit of saturation required by the infiltration equation and LAI for the roughness coefficient n. After calibration and validation, SPFC is then used to identify realistic management strategies for the irrigation and production system at the plot level. By scheduling irrigation when SWR is 50% depleted, would result in a low Dry Matter DM production loss (around 10%), reduced labour (8 irrigation events instead of 11) and in significant water saving compared with farmers' practices, on the basis of an average climatic scenario. Furthermore, this improvement of irrigation efficiency is not incompatible with groundwater recharge used for the potable water supply of the region

Mechanism of aortic medial matrix remodeling is distinct in patients with bicuspid aortic valve

ObjectivesPatients with bicuspid aortic valves (BAV) are predisposed to developing ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAA) at an earlier age than patients who develop degenerative TAAs and have a tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). The hypothesis tested is that BAV-associated aortopathy is mediated by a mechanism of matrix remodeling that is distinct from that seen in TAAs of patients with tricuspid aortic valves.MethodsAortic specimens were collected during ascending aortic replacement, aortic valve replacement, and heart transplants from nonaneurysmal (NA) donors and recipients. Matrix architecture of the aortic media was assessed qualitatively using multiphoton microscopy followed by quantification of collagen and elastin fiber orientation. α-Elastin was determined and matrix maturity was assessed by quantifying immature and mature collagen and lysyl oxidase (Lox) expression and activity in aortic specimens. Matrix metalloproteinase-2/9 activity was quantified in aortic smooth muscle cells.ResultsElastin and collagen fibers were more highly aligned in BAV-NA and BAV-TAA cases than in TAV-TAA cases, whereas TAV-TAA cases were more disorganized than TAV-NA cases. α-Elastin content was unchanged. Immature collagen was reduced in BAV-NA and BAV-TAA cases when compared with TAV-NA and TAV-TAA cases. Mature collagen was elevated in TAV-TAA cases compared with TAV-NA and BAV-TAA cases. There was a trend toward elevated Lox gene expression and activity and matrix metalloproteinase-2/9 activity for TAV-TAA, BAV-NA, and BAV-TAA specimens.ConclusionsThe highly aligned matrix architecture in patients with BAVs indicates that wall remodeling is distinct from TAV-TAA. Altered matrix architecture and reduced collagen maturity suggest that the effector molecules mediating the remodeling of TAAs are different in BAV and TAV cases