Down the road: teacher’s perceptions and uptake of PD after several years

This study captured middle and high school teachers’ perceptions of what they learned from professional development 3-4 years after participating in one of three NSF funded year-long professional development (PD) projects. We surveyed teachers (n=66) from three different PD projects on the types of content, pedagogy, and resources that they remembered learning and continue to use when teaching mathematics. Results indicate that teachers remember and use many aspects from PD experiences 3-4 years down the road especially those they find relevant to their current teaching position. Most residual learnings from PD also appear to be highly aligned with the goals and intentions of the PD developers and researchers and these learnings have evolved through colleague collaboration and other PD opportunities

Teachers’ PD uptake: how visual representations impacted mathematics teaching

This study provides an in-depth examination of two teachers who participated in a mathematics professional development project that focused on linguistically responsive teaching and what the teachers took up and used in their classrooms 3-4 years after their participation in the project. Survey, interview and classroom video data were analysed in order to explore the ways in which the teachers’ learning from the PD endured over time. Results indicate that the teachers remembered, continued to use and hone their use of visual representations as a strategy to provide access to English learners. These strategies and implementation use were aligned to the goals and intention of the PD. Furthermore, they extended and transferred this knowledge to other content areas and to remote teaching settings

Evaluation of a health promotion program in children: Study protocol and design of the cluster-randomized Baden-Württemberg primary school study [DRKS-ID: DRKS00000494]

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing prevalences of overweight and obesity in children are known problems in industrialized countries. Early prevention is important as overweight and obesity persist over time and are related with health problems later in adulthood. "Komm mit in das gesunde Boot - Grundschule" is a school-based program to promote a healthier lifestyle. Main goals of the intervention are to increase physical activity, decrease the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and to decrease time spent sedentary by promoting active choices for healthy lifestyle. The program to date is distributed by 34 project delivery consultants in the state of Baden-Württemberg and is currently implemented in 427 primary schools. The efficacy of this large scale intervention is examined via the Baden-Württemberg Study.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The Baden-Württemberg Study is a prospective, stratified, cluster-randomized, and longitudinal study with two groups (intervention group and control group). Measurements were taken at the beginning of the academic years 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. Efficacy of the intervention is being assessed using three main outcomes: changes in waist circumference, skinfold thickness and 6 minutes run. Stratified cluster-randomization (according to class grade level) was performed for primary schools; pupils, teachers/principals, and parents were investigated. An approximately balanced number of classes in intervention group and control group could be reached by stratified randomization and was maintained at follow-up.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>At present, "Komm mit in das Gesunde Boot - Grundschule" is the largest school-based health promotion program in Germany. Comparative objective main outcomes are used for the evaluation of efficacy. Simulations showed sufficient power with the existing sample size. Therefore, the results will show whether the promotion of a healthier lifestyle in primary school children is possible using a relatively low effort within a school-based program involving children, teachers and parents. The research team anticipates that not only efficacy will be proven in this study but also expects many other positive effects of the program.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS-ID: DRKS00000494</p

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Teachers’ perceptions and uptake of professional development overtime

This study captured middle and high school teachers’ perceptions of what they learned from professional development (PD) 3–4 years after participating in one of three National Science Foundation funded year-long PD projects. We surveyed 66 teachers from three different PD projects on the types of content, pedagogy, and resources that they remembered learning and continue to use when teaching mathematics. Results indicate that teachers remember and use many aspects from their PD experiences 3–4 years down the road. Most residual learnings from PD also appear to be highly aligned with the goals and intentions of the PD developers and researchers and may be related to the kind of PD design on the adaptive-specified continuum