School-Based Screening: A Population-Based Approach to Inform and Monitor Children’s Mental Health Needs

School-based mental health professionals often conduct assessments and provide interventions on an individual basis to students with significant needs. However, due to increasingly limited resources and continuing high levels of need, a shift in service delivery is warranted. Efforts to move school psychological services from reactive and individual, to preventive and universal are ongoing. To further service delivery change, school-based mental health professionals can engage in systematic periodic mental health screening of all children. This article will (a) discuss screening for risk of emotional and behavior problems from a population-based approach, (b) describe how screening data can identify and monitor the needs of students, schools, and communities, and (c) provide future directions for screening practices. As continued changes to service delivery are imminent, information on how to utilize school-based screening data will be particularly valuable to mental health professionals working with or within schools

Successful White Mathematics Teachers of African American Students

In the United States, a growing disparity exists between the racial composition of teachers and the students they teach. In 2006, 43.1% of K–12 public school students were reported as non-White—in 1990, 32.4% (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). Teachers, however, are predominantly White, 83.3% (U.S. Department of Education, 2007a). Exacerbating this disparity, it has been noted that fewer African Americans are choosing education as a profession (see, e.g., Irvine, 1989; Ladson-Billings, 1994). This growing disparity motivates a crucial question: Can White teachers be successful with “other people’s children” (Delpit, 1995)? This study explores this question by examining the life histories of four White mathematics teachers who have experienced success with other people’s children, specifically, with African American children. The purpose of the study was to better understand what led each of the participants to teach African American children, and what factors may have led to her or his success as a White teacher of African American students. A qualitative, collective case study methodology (Stake, 1995) was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using an eclectic theoretical framework (Stinson, 2009) which included critical theory, critical race theory, and Whiteness studies. Analysis of the data revealed the participants incorporated into their own teaching many of the same characteristics of culturally relevant pedagogy identified by Ladson-Billings (1994). Nevertheless, three strategies were identified as being essential to the teachers’ success with African American students: (a) forming meaningful relationships with students, (b) engaging students in racial conversations, and (c) reflecting both individually and with colleagues. The findings suggest a need for “spaces” in which pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and teacher educators can discuss and openly debate issues of race, and challenge racial hierarchies found in schools and society at large. The findings also suggest developing a sharp focus on multicultural anti-racist education in teacher preparation programs as well as incorporating it into professional development plans for in-service teachers. Moreover, the findings highlight a need for school districts to provide teachers with professional development in three “How to” areas: (a) build teacher–student relationships, (b) connect to the local community, and (c) develop as reflective practitioners

The Impact of Manipulatives on Students’ Performance on Money Word Problems

Jaye K. Luke Numeracy skills are needed for daily living. For example, time management and budgeting are tasks that adults face on a frequent basis. Instruction for numeracy skills begins early and continues throughout childhood. Obtaining numeracy skills is difficult for some students. For example, there may be an inadequate fit between the student’s knowledge and the design of the instruction, the student may be unable to select an appropriate strategy for solving the problem, or the student may have a learning disability. Students with a learning disability comprise approximately 40% of identified children with disabilities who receive special education services (U.S. Department of Education, 2005). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics helps teachers mediate the difficulties students may have in math. The council recommends problem solving and representation with physical objects as a teaching method. Chapter 1 presents a literature review on children with a learning disability, the use of manipulatives, and problem solving. The literature review indicates that children with a learning disability are poor problem solvers, but that further research is needed to investigate best instructional strategies. Chapter 2 presents a study on the impact of manipulatives on the accurate completion of money word problems. Three populations were included: adults who struggle with numeracy (n = 20), children with a learning disability (n = 20), and children who are typically developing (n = 23). Participants were administered a measure of 10 money word problems and were asked to solve them without the use of manipulatives. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of two groups: perceptually rich and perceptually bland manipulatives. Results indicate that none of the participants performed better with manipulatives than they performed without manipulatives. There was an interaction of Condition x Type of participant with the participants with a learning disability in the bland condition performing significantly worse than the other participants. More research is warranted to understand the impact of manipulative use in mathematics instruction for adults who struggle with numeracy, children with a learning disability, and children who are typically developing

Correlating Global Gene Regulation to Angiogenesis in the Developing Chick Extra-Embryonic Vascular System

International audienceBACKGROUND: Formation of blood vessels requires the concerted regulation of an unknown number of genes in a spatial-, time- and dosage-dependent manner. Determining genes, which drive vascular maturation is crucial for the identification of new therapeutic targets against pathological angiogenesis. METHOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We accessed global gene regulation throughout maturation of the chick chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM), a highly vascularized tissue, using pan genomic microarrays. Seven percent of analyzed genes showed a significant change in expression (>2-fold, FDR<5%) with a peak occurring from E7 to E10, when key morphogenetic and angiogenic genes such as BMP4, SMO, HOXA3, EPAS1 and FGFR2 were upregulated, reflecting the state of an activated endothelium. At later stages, a general decrease in gene expression occurs, including genes encoding mitotic factors or angiogenic mediators such as CYR61, EPAS1, MDK and MYC. We identified putative human orthologs for 77% of significantly regulated genes and determined endothelial cell enrichment for 20% of the orthologs in silico. Vascular expression of several genes including ENC1, FSTL1, JAM2, LDB2, LIMS1, PARVB, PDE3A, PRCP, PTRF and ST6GAL1 was demonstrated by in situ hybridization. Up to 9% of the CAM genes were also overexpressed in human organs with related functions, such as placenta and lung or the thyroid. 21-66% of CAM genes enriched in endothelial cells were deregulated in several human cancer types (P<.0001). Interfering with PARVB (encoding parvin, beta) function profoundly changed human endothelial cell shape, motility and tubulogenesis, suggesting an important role of this gene in the angiogenic process. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study underlines the complexity of gene regulation in a highly vascularized organ during development. We identified a restricted number of novel genes enriched in the endothelium of different species and tissues, which may play crucial roles in normal and pathological angiogenesis