An evaluation of the Australian 'reconceptualising early mathematics learning' project: key findings and implications

The Pattern and Structure Mathematics Awareness Project (PASMAP) has investigated the development of patterning and early algebraic reasoning among 4 to 8 year olds over a series of related studies. We assert that an awareness of mathematical pattern and structure (AMPS) enables mathematical thinking and simple forms of generalization from an early age. This paper provides an overview of key findings of the Reconceptualizing Early Mathematics Learning empirical evaluation study involving 316 Kindergarten students from 4 schools. The study found highly significant differences on PASA scores for PASMAP students. Analysis of structural development showed increased levels for the PASMAP students; those categorised as low ability developed improved structural responses over a short period of time

Number learning in the primary years

This chapter provides an overview of recent Australasian research on number learning in the primary years - that is, research pertaining to the number learning of 5- to 12-year old children. The research has been categorised using the headings of (a) developmental frameworks in number, (b) counting, (c) place value and the number system, (d) addition and subtraction, (e) multiplication and division, (f) mental computation, (g) number sense, and (h) fractions and decimals

Workshop: Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers

All governments are investing in improving STEM education. There is significant activity underway across the country in schools and education systems, by industry and universities to lift student engagement and attainment in STEM and to support teachers to improve student outcomes. The Chief Scientist’s report Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics: Australia’s Future highlighted the trends that our system is grappling with including the declining performance of Australian students against international benchmarks and the decline in participation in senior secondary sciences and advanced mathematics. As acknowledged in The National STEM School Education Strategy, reversing the trends in STEM performance will take time and considerable, collaborative effort. But what of the role of Universities in addressing this challenge? In 2013, 12 million dollars of federal grant funding was awarded to five major projects over three years that committed to take a lead role in Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers (ETMST). These projects sought to identify where significant change and impact can be made - going beyond traditional approaches that have involved providing more content, method and resources, and reconceiving what is possible through renewed collaborations between practising scientists, mathematicians and teacher educators - as we prepare the next generation of our nation’s science and mathematics teachers. http://www.olt.gov.au/maths-and-science-teachers Objectives Discuss shifts in higher education practice that can effect and support change through our preparation of the next generation of mathematics and science teachers nationally Explore key findings and implications of Enhancing the Training of Mathematics and Science Teachers projects nationall

Topic Study Group No. 1: Early Childhood Mathematics Education (Up to Age 7)

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. The book presents the Proceedings of the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13) and is based on the presentations given at the 13th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-13). ICME-13 took place from 24th- 31st July 2016 at the University of Hamburg in Hamburg (Germany). The congress was hosted by the Society of Didactics of Mathematics (Gesellschaft für Didaktik der Mathematik - GDM) and took place under the auspices of the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI). ICME-13 brought together about 3.500 mathematics educators from 105 countries, additionally 250 teachers from German speaking countries met for specific activities. Directly before the congress activities were offered for 450 Early Career Researchers. The proceedings give a comprehensive overview on the current state-of-the-art of the discussions on mathematics education and display the breadth and deepness of current research on mathematical teaching-and-learning processes. The book introduces the major activities of ICME-13, namely articles from the four plenary lecturers and two plenary panels, articles from the five ICMI awardees, reports from six national presentations, three reports from the thematic afternoon devoted to specific features of ICME-13. Furthermore, the proceedings contain descriptions of the 54 Topic Study Groups, which formed the heart of the congress and reports from 29 Discussion Groups and 31 Workshops. The additional important activities of ICME-13, namely papers from the invited lecturers, will be presented in the second volume of the proceedings

Engaging teachers of the future through ‘opening real science: Authentic mathematics and science education for Australia’

Opening Real Science is a 3-year Australian Government project of the Office for Learning and Teaching. Led by Macquarie University, the project is a unique collaboration between teacher educators, scientists, mathematicians and ICT designers to bring, relevant, authentic science into teacher education programs. The partnership includes seven Australian universities and global experts in science, mathematics and technology. The project will develop innovative teacher education program modules in mathematics and science education and a unique professional experience model. An innovative ‘real science’ approach will be developed including assessing learning using rich scientific investigations related to specific areas: • Mathematics (e.g., Financial Literacy, Statistics and data modelling) • Earth and space sciences (e.g., Conceptions of weather and climate) • Astronomy (e.g., Indigenous astronomy, Planetary Nebulae) • Physics (e.g., Sound, Light) • Chemical Sciences (e.g., Pseudo Science, Visual Chemistry) • Biological sciences (e.g., Biology in Action, Big Theories in Biology) The professional experience (practicum) model will enable groups of pre-service teachers to work collaboratively with trained school-based teacher mentors and practising scientists. Evaluation data will include empirical evidence of the project’s impact on pre-service teacher knowledge, pedagogy and attitudes

Association of β-amyloid level, clinical progression and longitudinal cognitive change in normal older individuals

Objective To determine the effect of β-amyloid (Aβ) level on progression risk to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia and longitudinal cognitive change in cognitively normal (CN) older individuals. Methods All CN from the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle study with Aβ PET and ≥ 3 years follow-up were included (n = 534; age 72 ± 6 years; 27% Aβ positive; follow-up 5.3 ± 1.7 years). Aβ level was divided using the standardized 0–100 Centiloid scale: \u3c 15 CL negative, 15–25 CL uncertain, 26–50 CL moderate, 51–100 CL high, \u3e 100 CL very high, noting \u3e 25 CL approximates a positive scan. Cox proportional hazards analysis and linear mixed effect models were used to assess risk of progression and cognitive decline. Results Aβ levels in 63% were negative, 10% uncertain, 10% moderate, 14% high, and 3% very high. Fifty-seven (11%) progressed to MCI or dementia. Compared to negative Aβ, the hazard ratio for progression for moderate Aβ was 3.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3–7.6; p \u3c 0.05), for high was 7.0 (95% CI 3.7–13.3; p \u3c 0.001), and for very high was 11.4 (95% CI 5.1–25.8; p \u3c 0.001). Decline in cognitive composite score was minimal in the moderate group (−0.02 SD/year, p = 0.05), while the high and very high declined substantially (high −0.08 SD/year, p \u3c 0.001; very high −0.35 SD/year, p \u3c 0.001). Conclusion The risk of MCI or dementia over 5 years in older CN is related to Aβ level on PET, 5% if negative vs 25% if positive but ranging from 12% if 26–50 CL to 28% if 51–100 CL and 50% if \u3e 100 CL. This information may be useful for dementia risk counseling and aid design of preclinical AD trials

In Vitro Cellular Adaptations of Indicators of Longevity in Response to Treatment with Serum Collected from Humans on Calorie Restricted Diets

Calorie restriction (CR) produces several health benefits and increases lifespan in many species. Studies suggest that alternate-day fasting (ADF) and exercise can also provide these benefits. Whether CR results in lifespan extension in humans is not known and a direct investigation is not feasible. However, phenotypes observed in CR animals when compared to ad libitum fed (AL) animals, including increased stress resistance and changes in protein expression, can be simulated in cells cultured with media supplemented with blood serum from CR and AL animals. Two pilot studies were undertaken to examine the effects of ADF and CR on indicators of health and longevity in humans. In this study, we used sera collected from those studies to culture human hepatoma cells and assessed the effects on growth, stress resistance and gene expression. Cells cultured in serum collected at the end of the dieting period were compared to cells cultured in serum collected at baseline (before the dieting period). Cells cultured in serum from ADF participants, showed a 20% increase in Sirt1 protein which correlated with reduced triglyceride levels. ADF serum also induced a 9% decrease in proliferation and a 25% increase in heat resistance. Cells cultured in serum from CR participants induced an increase in Sirt1 protein levels by 17% and a 30% increase in PGC-1α mRNA levels. This first in vitro study utilizing human serum to examine effects on markers of health and longevity in cultured cells resulted in increased stress resistance and an up-regulation of genes proposed to be indicators of increased longevity. The use of this in vitro technique may be helpful for predicting the potential of CR, ADF and other dietary manipulations to affect markers of longevity in humans

Levetiracetam versus phenytoin for second-line treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus (EcLiPSE): a multicentre, open-label, randomised trial

Background Phenytoin is the recommended second-line intravenous anticonvulsant for treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus in the UK; however, some evidence suggests that levetiracetam could be an effective and safer alternative. This trial compared the efficacy and safety of phenytoin and levetiracetam for second-line management of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus.Methods This open-label, randomised clinical trial was undertaken at 30 UK emergency departments at secondary and tertiary care centres. Participants aged 6 months to under 18 years, with convulsive status epilepticus requiring second-line treatment, were randomly assigned (1:1) using a computer-generated randomisation schedule to receive levetiracetam (40 mg/kg over 5 min) or phenytoin (20 mg/kg over at least 20 min), stratified by centre. The primary outcome was time from randomisation to cessation of convulsive status epilepticus, analysed in the modified intention-to-treat population (excluding those who did not require second-line treatment after randomisation and those who did not provide consent). This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN22567894.Findings Between July 17, 2015, and April 7, 2018, 1432 patients were assessed for eligibility. After exclusion of ineligible patients, 404 patients were randomly assigned. After exclusion of those who did not require second-line treatment and those who did not consent, 286 randomised participants were treated and had available data: 152 allocated to levetiracetam, and 134 to phenytoin. Convulsive status epilepticus was terminated in 106 (70%) children in the levetiracetam group and in 86 (64%) in the phenytoin group. Median time from randomisation to cessation of convulsive status epilepticus was 35 min (IQR 20 to not assessable) in the levetiracetam group and 45 min (24 to not assessable) in the phenytoin group (hazard ratio 1·20, 95% CI 0·91–1·60; p=0·20). One participant who received levetiracetam followed by phenytoin died as a result of catastrophic cerebral oedema unrelated to either treatment. One participant who received phenytoin had serious adverse reactions related to study treatment (hypotension considered to be immediately life-threatening [a serious adverse reaction] and increased focal seizures and decreased consciousness considered to be medically significant [a suspected unexpected serious adverse reaction]). Interpretation Although levetiracetam was not significantly superior to phenytoin, the results, together with previously reported safety profiles and comparative ease of administration of levetiracetam, suggest it could be an appropriate alternative to phenytoin as the first-choice, second-line anticonvulsant in the treatment of paediatric convulsive status epilepticus

Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk

The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project-imputed genotype data in up to similar to 370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P <5 x 10(-8)) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain similar to 7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to similar to 25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate similar to 250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility

Mutational spectrum in a worldwide study of 29,700 families with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

The prevalence and spectrum of germline mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 have been reported in single populations, with the majority of reports focused on White in Europe and North America. The Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA) has assembled data on 18,435 families with BRCA1 mutations and 11,351 families with BRCA2 mutations ascertained from 69 centers in 49 countries on six continents. This study comprehensively describes the characteristics of the 1,650 unique BRCA1 and 1,731 unique BRCA2 deleterious (disease-associated) mutations identified in the CIMBA database. We observed substantial variation in mutation type and frequency by geographical region and race/ethnicity. In addition to known founder mutations, mutations of relatively high frequency were identified in specific racial/ethnic or geographic groups that may reflect founder mutations and which could be used in targeted (panel) first pass genotyping for specific populations. Knowledge of the population-specific mutational spectrum in BRCA1 and BRCA2 could inform efficient strategies for genetic testing and may justify a more broad-based oncogenetic testing in some populations