A Narrative Inquiry Into the Lived Experiences of Early Childhood Teachers Who Implemented Garden-Based Learning

The purpose of this narrative study was to investigate the lived experiences of early childhood teachers working in preschool settings who have implemented gardenbased learning for more than one year. The seven preschool teachers who agreed to participate in the study were asked to describe significant life experiences that influenced them to implement gardening into their curriculum. Additionally, the teachers were asked to describe the bridges and barriers to implementing garden-based learning and how school gardening has impacted their students’ learning and development. The data collection process included semi-structured interviews and teacher journal entries over a two-month period. The interviews were transcribed by the researcher and returned to the participants for their review. Initially, the interview transcriptions and journal entries were manually coded and analyzed by the researcher. Then, each transcription and journal entry was thematically coded using NVivo v12 software. Findings from the study showed: (a) Childhood gardening experiences and professional work experiences shaped the teacher’s decision to implement garden-based learning, (b) Support from family members enabled implementation, (c) Funding, time, space, and teacher knowledge impeded implementation, (d) Multiple student developmental domains are impacted by garden-based learning. In light of these findings, this study resulted in several implications for childcare administrators and teachers

Modulating human brain responses via optimal natural image selection and synthetic image generation

Understanding how human brains interpret and process information is important. Here, we investigated the selectivity and inter-individual differences in human brain responses to images via functional MRI. In our first experiment, we found that images predicted to achieve maximal activations using a group level encoding model evoke higher responses than images predicted to achieve average activations, and the activation gain is positively associated with the encoding model accuracy. Furthermore, aTLfaces and FBA1 had higher activation in response to maximal synthetic images compared to maximal natural images. In our second experiment, we found that synthetic images derived using a personalized encoding model elicited higher responses compared to synthetic images from group-level or other subjects' encoding models. The finding of aTLfaces favoring synthetic images than natural images was also replicated. Our results indicate the possibility of using data-driven and generative approaches to modulate macro-scale brain region responses and probe inter-individual differences in and functional specialization of the human visual system

No. 01 November, 2020

1. Approximately one-half of the students enrolled in a rural dropout-recovery school had experienced child maltreatment, which is generally higher than comparable national estimates. 2. Nearly 90% of these students had experienced household challenges (e.g., parental separation, incarceration, mental illness, and family violence), a percentage that is several times higher than national estimates. 3. Over 70% of students were exposed to three or more Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs), a percentage that far exceeds national estimates. 4. The COVID-19 pandemic and measures to contain it present serious mental and behavioral health challenges for at-risk youths such as those in the current sample