The Relationship of Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematical Beliefs, and Instructional Practices of Elementary School Teachers

Since the early 1960s, mathematics education researchers have considered the affective domain (attitudes, beliefs, opinions, motivation) as an important aspect of teaching and learning mathematics (Goldin, 2002; Mcleod, 1992). It is suggested that the affective characteristics may be the missing variable that links teachers’ instructional practices to students’ learning (Ernest, 1989a). Two affective variables strongly related to teachers’ instructional practices are mathematics anxiety and mathematical beliefs (see, e.g., Beswick, 2006; Jong & Hodges, 2013; Philipp, 2007; Wilkins, 2008). The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to explore the relationships among mathematics anxiety, mathematical beliefs, and instructional practices of practicing elementary teachers as they relate to the mathematics reform efforts promoted by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (see, e.g., 1989, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2014). The study was grounded, theoretically, in Ernest’s social constructivism as a philosophy of mathematics and mathematics teaching and learning (1998) and in his model of relating teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes, instructional beliefs, and instructional practice (1989). The study included 153 practicing elementary teachers who teach mathematics to students in Pre-K–5. These teachers completed the following online surveys: Mathematics Anxiety Scale, the Teaching Beliefs Survey and the Self-Report: Elementary Teachers Commitment to Mathematics Education Reform Survey. Quantitative data analysis methods included descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, and multiple regression analysis. Results indicated statistically significant correlational relationships between mathematics anxiety, mathematical beliefs, and instructional practices. Regression analyses were conducted to identify mathematics anxiety and mathematical beliefs as predictors of instructional practices. Results were significant for mathematical beliefs as a predictor, but not significant for mathematics anxiety as a predictor of instructional practices. Implications and recommendations for further study are discussed

Tamsulosin for patients with ureteral stones?

Tamsulosin for patients with ureteral stones? Yes, but only for some. Find out which of your patients can benefit. PRACTICE CHANGER: Prescribe tamsulosin for stone expulsion in patients with distal ureteral stones 5 to 10 mm in size.Authors: Pamela Hughes, MD; Corey Lyon, DO Nellis AFB Family Medicine Residency, Las Vegas, Nev (Dr. Hughes); University of Colorado Family Medicine Residency, Denver (Dr. Lyon)

Ruling out PE in pregnancy

Can clinical probability and a high-sensitivity D-dimer test reliably and safely rule out pulmonary embolism during pregnancy? PRACTICE CHANGER: Use a clinical probability score to identify patients at low or intermediate risk for pulmonary embolism (PE) and combine that with a high-sensitivity D-dimer test to rule out PE in pregnant women. STRENGTH OF RECOMMENDATION: Prospective diagnostic management outcome study

Association Between Athlete Burnout and Athletic Injury

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between athlete burnout and athletic injury in a sample of Division I, varsity sport student-athletes. Participants completed an Internet-based survey that assessed demographics, self-reported perceptions of athlete burnout and athletic injury history. A significant association was not found between the number of athletic injuries and athlete burnout. There was an association between sustaining multiple athletic injuries at any given body segment and the burnout dimension of reduced sense of sport accomplishment. Dimension burnout scores on emotional and physical exhaustion were higher in currently injured when compared to uninjured student-athletes while global athlete burnout scores of student-athletes that sustained at least one athletic injury were higher compared to student-athletes that did not sustain any athletic injuries. This study informs clinician knowledge and ultimately more efficient care for the physical and psychological concerns of collegiate student-athletes.Master of Art

The Albia Research Farm

Born in the Great Depression, it first provided labor for unemployed workers. Since then, it has spearheaded southern Iowa research efforts in pasture improvement and brush control, birdsfoot trefoil, and beef cattle breeding

Levels of Arousal in Positive Moods: Effects on Motor Performance

Background: The use of simple preparatory methods, such as listening to relaxing music, may decrease negative emotions and enhance performance. The purpose of this research was to explore whether certain types of music, as a preparatory task, could enhance motor performance. Method: Fifty-six participants were randomly assigned to a condition before completing a pre and postdexterity test using the Purdue Pegboard Test (PPT). Performance was assessed with the PPT and arousal of mood was assessed with the Affect Grid. During the postdexterity test, the participants heard no music or specific music based on their condition. The experimental conditions included listening to an up-tempo Mozart sonata to elicit a high arousal, positive valence mood, or a down-tempo version of the same sonata to achieve a low arousal, positive valence mood. Results: ANOVAs showed a significant increase between pre and posttests over time in participant arousal and performance. In addition, there was a significant interaction term between performance and gender, where women improved significantly more than men. Conclusion: The results suggest that the up-tempo and down-tempo Mozart sonatas do not play a significant role in motor performance, yet gender significantly affects performance, regardless of the type of music

Ecological and genetic correlates of long-term population trends in the Park Grass Experiment

The Park Grass Experiment (PGE) is the longest observed set of experimental plant communities in existence. Although the gross composition of the vegetation was at equilibrium over the 60-yr period from 1920 to 1979, annual records show that individual species exhibited a range of dynamics. We tested two hypotheses to explain why some species initially increased nd why subsequently some of these (the outbreak species) decreased gain. The study was designed around eight phylogenetically ndependent contrasts (PICs), each containing related species with ifferent dynamics. Our first hypothesis was that persistent increasers and utbreakers have higher intrinsic rates of natural increase than ontrol species (species without trends), allowing them to spread hen interspecific competition is reduced by drought. This was tested by measuring establishment and seed production of species in ield experiments, with and without interspecific competition. Seed production in outbreak species responded more strongly to release from interspecific competition than it did in either of the ther groups of species. Our second hypothesis was that outbreak species eventually declined because they lacked the genetic variation ecessary to adapt to the novel habitats to which they had initially spread. We tested this by measuring mating systems and genetic diversity in persistent and outbreak species in the PGE. In seven out of seven PICs tested, the outbreak species was more selfing than its persistent relative. There was a significant positive correlation between outcrossing rate and gene diversity. These results support roles for both ecological and genetic traits in long-term dynamics

Postcategorical auditory distraction in short-term memory: Insights from increased task load and task type

Task-irrelevant speech impairs short-term serial recall appreciably. On the interference-by-process account, the processing of physical (i.e., pre-categorical) changes in speech yields order cues that conflict with the serial-ordering process deployed to perform the serial recall task. In this view, the post-categorical properties (e.g., phonology, meaning) of speech play no role. The present study reassessed the implications of recent demonstrations of auditory post-categorical distraction in serial recall that have been taken as support for an alternative, attentional-diversion, account of the irrelevant speech effect. Focusing on the disruptive effect of emotionally valent compared to neutral words on serial recall, we show that the distracter-valence effect is eliminated under conditions—high task-encoding load—thought to shield against attentional diversion whereas the general effect of speech (neutral words compared to quiet) remains unaffected (Experiment 1). Furthermore, the distracter-valence effect generalizes to a task that does not require the processing of serial order—the missing-item task—while the effect of speech per se is attenuated in this task (Experiment 2). We conclude that post-categorical auditory distraction phenomena in serial short-term memory are incidental: they are observable in such a setting but, unlike the acoustically driven irrelevant speech effect, are not integral to it. As such, the findings support a duplex-mechanism account over a unitary view of auditory distraction

Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2000

The projects described in this report represent the Laboratory's investment in its future and are vital to maintaining the ability to develop creative solutions for the scientific and technical challenges faced by DOE and the nation. In accordance with DOE guidelines, the report provides, a) a director's statement, b) an overview of the laboratory's LDRD program, including PNNL's management process and a self-assessment of the program, c) a five-year project funding table, and d) project summaries for each LDRD project