Learning in Motion: Teachers‟ Perspectives on the Impact of Stationary Bike Use in the Classroom

The potential of physical activity to support self-regulated learning in the classroom has encouraged the implementation of stationary bicycles across Canada and the United States. Positive testimonials suggest that their use by students has positive outcomes, but there is limited empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of this pedagogical practice. The current study analyzes teachers‟ perceptions of the use and impact of stationary exercise bicycles in classrooms as part of a community running program initiative through a nationwide survey of 107 participants. Key findings identify teacher perceptions of positive outcomes in students‟ social, emotional, and cognitive development, as well as to the learning environment. A small set of unique challenges were posed by the bike integration, including limited distraction and some scheduling difficulties. Teachers approached the integration of the bikes on a spectrum of control from “student-regulated” to “teacher-regulated” with some combination of both, and movement from teacher-directed use to more student-initiated use after the bike was in use for some time. The implications for the use of stationary bikes as a tool for self-regulated learning in an active classroom are discussed and future research measuring learning outcomes is suggested

Human Capital Accounting in the United States: 1994 to 2006

This paper presents measures of the human capital stock and of investment in human capital for the United States between 1994 and 2006. When both market and non-market production are included, the stock of human capital was equal to about three quarters of quadrillion dollars in 2006, of which about 70 percent was non-market. The account breaks down human capital investment among the effects of births, deaths, aging, and education on human capital, as well as a residual effect attributed to (unmeasured) migration. Measures of gross investment in education are found to be very sensitive to counterfactual assumptions; consequently, investment in education is measured net of aging.

A Convolutional Neural Network Approach for Half-Pel Interpolation in Video Coding

Motion compensation is a fundamental technology in video coding to remove the temporal redundancy between video frames. To further improve the coding efficiency, sub-pel motion compensation has been utilized, which requires interpolation of fractional samples. The video coding standards usually adopt fixed interpolation filters that are derived from the signal processing theory. However, as video signal is not stationary, the fixed interpolation filters may turn out less efficient. Inspired by the great success of convolutional neural network (CNN) in computer vision, we propose to design a CNN-based interpolation filter (CNNIF) for video coding. Different from previous studies, one difficulty for training CNNIF is the lack of ground-truth since the fractional samples are actually not available. Our solution for this problem is to derive the "ground-truth" of fractional samples by smoothing high-resolution images, which is verified to be effective by the conducted experiments. Compared to the fixed half-pel interpolation filter for luma in High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), our proposed CNNIF achieves up to 3.2% and on average 0.9% BD-rate reduction under low-delay P configuration.Comment: International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) 201

Strategies to Improve Physical Activity Involvement for Children with Exceptionalities: Exploring Teachers' and Parents' Perceptions and Experiences

In this thesis, the focus is on the specific strategies parents and educators are using to encourage children with exceptionalities, particularly children with a learning disability, intellectual disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder, to be involved in physical activity. As defined by Caspersen et al. (1985), physical activity is any bodily movement by skeletal muscles that expends energy. Recent statistics have reported the recommended amounts of physical activity for children compared to what they are actually engaging in. The Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (2016) recommends that children aged 5-17 accumulate 60 minutes of physical activity per day, meaning moderate-to-vigorous physical activity involving aerobic activities, coupled with light physical activity involving a range of structured and unstructured physical activities. In comparison, a recent health report shows that only one-third of children are able to meet this recommendation (Colley et al., 2017). Further research shows that children with exceptionalities are participating in physical activity even less than children without exceptionalities, and as a result, are overweight, less physically fit, less motor proficient, fatigued, and in pain (Carlon et al., 2013; Davis et al., 2010; Frey & Chow, 2006; Frey, Stanish & Temple, 2008; Rimmer, 2005). Children with exceptionalities participating infrequently in physical activity is a major problem, as physical activity can have a key impact on the overall health and well-being of a child, designated by five health and well-being indicators: cognitive development, which includes facets such as the acquisition of reading, writing, and numeracy skills; physical health and well-being, which focuses on the absence of disease through markers such as good eating habits and having opportunities for recreational activities; social relationships, defined by the relationships that the child engages in with parents, teachers, coaches, and teachers that are close, trusted, caring, and accepting; mental and emotional health and well-being, where a child possesses characteristics such as optimism, positive self-worth, and a stability; and economic and material health and well-being, where a child has access to nutritious food, adequate housing and clothing (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2013). Although numerous studies demonstrate the importance of physical activity for all children, including those with exceptionalities, in relation to these five health and well-being indicators (Bell et al, 2019; Chang et al., 2012; Davis & Jowett, 2014; Dunton et al., 2014; Gapin & Etnier, 2010; Kang et al., 2011; Kiluk et al., 2008; MacMahon & Gross, 1987; McMahon et al. 2019; Nakutin et al., 2019; Pan, 2010; Pastula et al., 2012; Ratey, 2008; Wilk et al., 2018; Wouters et al., 2019; Yilmaz et al., 2004), there is limited current research exploring how educators and parents are engaging children with exceptionalities in physical activity (Davis et al., 2010; Norris & Columna, 2016; Ratey, 2008; Rauworth et al., 2003; Seidler et al., 1993; Walker et al., 2019). Discovering specific strategies that parents and educators are implementing on a consistent basis is a must in order to engage children with exceptionalities in physical activity and, as a result, improve their overall health and well-being

Physical Activity and Time-on-Task

This action research project explored the effects of physical activity to time-on-task. The participants in this study were 24 sixth grade students in a language arts classroom at a PK-8 Christian elementary school in the mid-western states. Students were observed to determine time-on-task for the first twenty-five minutes of class. A no-treatment period was observed in order to create a baseline, followed by a treatment period to demonstrate any increase or decrease in overall time-on-task. Three-minute activity breaks were implemented at the beginning of the class time during the treatment period. These breaks included a combination of cardio- and skill-based exercises. A trained observer used a running record to note time-on-task data for each student. The students were also surveyed following the observation period. The survey results reflected a positive attitude toward the activity breaks. The results of this study indicated an improvement to overall time-on-task as a result of implementing the activity breaks. Due to the positive results, both quantitative and qualitative, the teacher in this study continued the implementation of activity breaks following the observation period

Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Students with Attention Deficit Disorders

Attention Deficit Disorders (ADHD/ADD) are rapidly becoming an important educational issue. Currently, ADHD/ADD is the most frequently diagnosed condition found in school age children. Educators, unlike other professionals, have a unique opportunity to observe students on a daily basis and over extended periods of time within a setting where the deficits associated with this disorder are perhaps most visible. As a result, teachers have long served as the catalysts for suggesting the diagnosis of ADHD/ADD in their students. They have also been responsible for implementing strategies within the classroom to assist students with ADHD/ADD in being successful. However, teachers\u27 experience with this diagnosis has yet to be recognized or explored by the medical or psychological professions. The purpose of this study was to explore teachers\u27 perceptions of students with ADHD/ADD. Two important findings emerged from this study; first, teachers need more training on specific strategies, and second, more collaboration is needed between systems that impact students