Dietetic Students’ Changes in Attitudes after Participating in Online Interprofessional Education

Interprofessional education (IPE) is an accreditation requirement and an important component of training for future registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) and access to quality IPE is often limited in online programs. An online IPE module was developed to provide dietetics students the opportunity to build collaborative skills with students in other healthcare training programs. A research study was designed to answer the following research question: How and to what extent does participation in an online IPE module impact online dietetics students’ attitudes of interprofessional practice? Participants were dietetics students enrolled in an upper-division online dietetics course. Data gathered included a retrospective pre-post survey, reflection journal entries, and focus group interviews. Results suggested that the online IPE intervention had a positive impact on dietetics students’ attitudes of interprofessional practice and enhanced their understanding of the roles of members of the interprofessional team. The opportunity for participants to work on a final project as part of an interprofessional team likely contributed to the positive shared learning experiences and overall growth in interprofessional collaboration

Using anchored instruction to evaluate mathematical growth and understanding

Anchored instruction is designed to present problems in a meaningful context to allow for investigations into real life environments. The Jasper Project was created to allow students to investigate mathematical dilemmas using anchored instruction techniques. This study uses case study methods to examine the perceptions that preservice teachers have toward the use of anchored instruction after having the opportunity to investigate and evaluate a Jasper predicament as a group. The guiding research questions are: (1) Through exploration and evaluation, are preservice teachers able to determine significance of using anchored instruction with their future students? And if they see significance (2) How do preservice teachers envision student learning and mathematical growth using anchored instruction? Four individual cases are described, specifically examining the features of anchored instruction each preservice teacher described. The preservice teachers were optimistic about the utilization of anchored instruction and described features that support student learning and growth

Helping a Young Child Connect Fact Family Addition and Subtraction using Tools

In order to help children become effective at addition and subtraction, it is important to provide them with an opportunity to investigate and discover the interconnectedness of the two operations. Fact families are one method teachers use to try and help children develop and understand how the operations relate to one another. This paper documents a strategy that was used with a seven year old boy to help him connect addition to subtraction. The strategy incorporated flash card tools to help him create logical problems to discover the mathematical relationship of fact families. With just a few trials, the child was able to create and explain problems that demonstrated the interconnectedness of fact families through addition and subtraction. The model was successful in helping the child advance his understanding. Additionally, it can be extended to more complex addition and subtraction problems as well as multiplication and division fact families

Helping a Young Child Connect Fact Family Addition and Subtraction using Tools

In order to help children become effective at addition and subtraction, it is important to provide them with an opportunity to investigate and discover the interconnectedness of the two operations. Fact families are one method teachers use to try and help children develop and understand how the operations relate to one another. This paper documents a strategy that was used with a seven year old boy to help him connect addition to subtraction. The strategy incorporated flash card tools to help him create logical problems to discover the mathematical relationship of fact families. With just a few trials, the child was able to create and explain problems that demonstrated the interconnectedness of fact families through addition and subtraction. The model was successful in helping the child advance his understanding. Additionally, it can be extended to more complex addition and subtraction problems as well as multiplication and division fact families

Using assessment to individualize early mathematics instruction.

Accumulating evidence suggests that assessment-informed personalized instruction, tailored to students' individual skills and abilities, is more effective than more one-size-fits-all approaches. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of Individualizing Student Instruction in Mathematics (ISI-Math) compared to Reading (ISI-Reading) where classrooms were randomly assigned to ISI-Math or ISI-Reading. The literature on child characteristics X instruction or skill X treatment interaction effects point to the complexities of tailoring instruction for individual students who present with constellations of skills. Second graders received mathematics instruction in small flexible learning groups based on their assessed learning needs. Results of the study (n=32 teachers, 370 students) revealed significant treatment effects on standardized mathematics assessments. With effect sizes (d) of 0.41-0.60, we show that we can significantly improve 2nd graders' mathematics achievement, including for children living in poverty, by using assessment data to individualize the mathematics instruction they receive. The instructional regime, ISI-Math, was implemented by regular classroom teachers and it led to about a 4-month achievement advantage on standardized mathematics tests when compared to students in control classrooms. These results were realized within one school year. Moreover, treatment effects were the same regardless of school-level poverty and students' gender, initial mathematics or vocabulary scores

Using assessment to individualize early mathematics instruction.

Accumulating evidence suggests that assessment-informed personalized instruction, tailored to students' individual skills and abilities, is more effective than more one-size-fits-all approaches. In this study, we evaluate the efficacy of Individualizing Student Instruction in Mathematics (ISI-Math) compared to Reading (ISI-Reading) where classrooms were randomly assigned to ISI-Math or ISI-Reading. The literature on child characteristics X instruction or skill X treatment interaction effects point to the complexities of tailoring instruction for individual students who present with constellations of skills. Second graders received mathematics instruction in small flexible learning groups based on their assessed learning needs. Results of the study (n=32 teachers, 370 students) revealed significant treatment effects on standardized mathematics assessments. With effect sizes (d) of 0.41-0.60, we show that we can significantly improve 2nd graders' mathematics achievement, including for children living in poverty, by using assessment data to individualize the mathematics instruction they receive. The instructional regime, ISI-Math, was implemented by regular classroom teachers and it led to about a 4-month achievement advantage on standardized mathematics tests when compared to students in control classrooms. These results were realized within one school year. Moreover, treatment effects were the same regardless of school-level poverty and students' gender, initial mathematics or vocabulary scores