MyPlate, Children, and Lack of Formative Evaluation: A Systematic Review

Beginning at the critical preschool level, preventing childhood obesity is a multifaceted challenge with health, economic, ethical, and social implications. In particular, increasing emphasis will be placed upon educating children and their caregivers about the USDA’s MyPlate model of good nutrition. To date, evidence-based efforts to teach preschool children nutrition facts and appropriate behaviors are limited, and developers of evidence-based practices do not appear to use formative-evaluation to an adequate extent. Crucial among these evaluations is assessing what the preschool child already knows about the MyPlate components (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy). University researchers along with graduate students in nutrition and psychology conducted a review of current research regarding the use of MyPlate in early childhood education settings. Minimal empirical studies were found, indicating a need to expand the literature in the areas of MyPlate, early childhood nutrition education, and formative evaluation. In the current article, authors present the systematic review process of the scant knowledge that exists regarding formative evaluation research to document what preschool-age children already know about nutrition, suggest ways that this research base might be expanded, and advocate for the increased use of formative evaluation in both research and curriculum development

“Miss, I Am Not Being Fully Prepared”: Student - Teachers’ Concerns About Their Preparation at a Teacher Training Institution in Jamaica

The issue of teacher preparation continues to occupy academic discourse relating to student outcomes and student achievement (Stronge, Ward & Grant, 2011). Research has supported the view that there is an inextricable connection between student outcomes, quality of teaching and teachers, and teacher preparation (Darling-Hammond 2005; Grover 2002). Similarly, theories about students’ self efficacy beliefs (e.g. Bandura, 1977; Dweck, 2000) and Institutional Habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) have been advanced in relation to students’ study experience, motivation and coping mechanisms. Using data from a focus group comprising 30 third year students enrolled in a four year teacher training pogramme in Jamaica, this paper discusses student-teachers’ concerns about their training. The main findings from this small scale exploratory study indicated that student teachers’ concerns were about the quality of teaching and teachers, curriculum organisation, content and delivery, and resources

Value Orientation Of Jamaicans Compared To Students In The United States Of America

This study investigates differences in the value orientation of Jamaican students who live and study in the US for an extended period compared to Jamaican students in Jamaica and US students to see if there is support for the theories of convergence, divergence and crossvergence given the effects of globalization on different countries. Dorfman and Howel’s (1988) scale, which measures Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Collectivism, Masculinity and Paternalism, assessed value orientation in this study.  The results reveal that there are no differences between Jamaican students in Jamaica and those in the US that suggests strength in the Jamaican culture as Jamaicans live in the US.  However, there was only one significant difference between Jamaican students in the US and the US students; uncertainty avoidance was significantly higher for the former.  This supports divergend or retaining one’s distinctive cultural orientation despite ongoing interaction over time.  There was no difference between US students, Jamaicans in US and Jamaican universities on all other dimensions. This lends support to convergence or merging of cultures

Co-operating Teachers, School Placement and the Implications for Quality

It is widely understood by teacher educators and administrators responsible for the practicum of student teachers that co-operating teachers play a critical role in student teacher development. This research sought to examine student teachers perception of their co-operating teachers during practicum and ascertain the extent to which subject specialisation, gender and school placement influenced their perception. Through the use of a questionnaire, data were collected from 195 student teachers during the final week of their practicum. The results indicated that student teachers had a positive perception of their co-operating teachers and perceived their co-operating teachers to be providing developmental and instructional supervision. Additionally a significant finding was that student teachers perception of their co-operating teachers was based on the type of school at which they were placed. In light of these findings, attention needs to be given to the establishment of policies regarding student teacher placement and training of co-operating teachers as means of positively influencing quality teaching practicum experience

The Effect of the Business Cycle on the Performance of Socially Responsible Equity Mutual Funds

The current study applies a two-state switching regression model to examine the behavior of a hypothetical portfolio of ten socially responsible (SRI) equity mutual funds during the expansion and contraction phases of US business cycles between April 1991 and June 2009, based on the Carhart four-factor model, using monthly data. The model identified a business cycle effect on the performance of SRI equity mutual funds. Fund returns were less volatile during expansion/peaks than during contraction/troughs, as indicated by the standard deviation of returns. During contraction/troughs, fund excess returns were explained by the differential in returns between small and large companies, the difference between the returns on stocks trading at high and low Book-to-Market Value, the market excess return over the risk-free rate, and fund objective. During contraction/troughs, smaller companies offered higher returns than larger companies (ci = 0.26, p = 0.01), undervalued stocks out-performed high growth stocks (hi = 0.39, p i = 0.01, p = 0.02). The hypothetical SRI portfolio was less risky than the market (bi = 0.74, p i = -0.01, p = 0.03). The hypothetical SRI portfolio exhibited similar risk as the market (bi = 0.93,

Interprofessional Education in the Context of Feeding and Swallowing

INTRODUCTION Speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, and registered dietitian nutritionists are intricately involved in the management of feeding and swallowing disorders. An interprofessional education (IPE) event was held with graduate level students from these disciplines as an opportunity to practice professional collaboration around the topic of food intake. The purpose of this study was to assess the change in these healthcare students’ perceptions of interprofessional collaboration following the interactive IPE event to determine the benefits of incorporating IPE into the curriculum. METHODS 128 students, across three healthcare disciplines (speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and dietetics), participated in an online survey before and after the IPE event regarding their attitudes toward interprofessional healthcare teams. The IPE event focused on feeding and swallowing, included lectures from professors representing each discipline, and an interactive lab portion highlighting the role each discipline plays in the treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders. RESULTS Overall, students’ perceptions of interprofessional collaboration across all three departments significantly increased after the IPE event suggesting that students considered the IPE event to be a beneficial experience. Considerable improvement was noted on questions regarding the individual role and others’ roles in an interdisciplinary setting. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that formal IPE events improve students’ perceptions and understanding of how a collaborative team works together using each discipline’s scope of practice

Project-based Learning for Environmental Sustainability Action

The quest for social and economic development coupled with a growing population has led to complex and unsustainable interactions between humans and the natural resources of planet Earth. One approach to addressing complex, ‘wicked’ problems involves closing the gap between the sustainability knowledge of individuals and the competencies for positive environmental behaviours. Projectbased learning is one teaching-learning strategy which provides opportunities for cultivating a wide range of sustainability competencies to close this gap. Two cases are presented in this paper in which project-based learning was used for fostering environmental competencies and advancing sustainability. One relates to teachers in a graduate course, and the other, to students using an online learning platform. Evaluation of various qualitative documents and artefacts produced by participants revealed that i) teachers and students were motivated and enabled to take action on environmental and sustainability issues through project-based learning ii) participants’ environmental knowledge and sustainability competencies such as communication and collaboration skills were enhanced. School administrators should therefore encourage a culture where project-based learning is infused into the curriculum, and teachers’ collaborative efforts regarding projects are supported

Original Research-Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Biocompatibility Comparison of Novel Soft Tissue Implants vs Commonly Used Biomaterials in a Pig Model

Abstract Objective. To develop a model to evaluate biocompatibility, integration, and substrate independence of novel porous bioscaffolds for maxillofacial and plastic reconstruction using spheretemplated angiogenic regeneration technology compared with currently available synthetic and biologic soft tissue implants. Study Design. A prospective pilot study using animals. Setting. Military medical center. Subjects and Methods. Five pigs underwent dorsal subcutaneous implantation of a polypropylene-based material coated with precision pore silicone granules (sphere-templated scaffold), expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, human dermis, and porcine dermis. Sham and undissected sites were also used as controls. Specimens were harvested 7, 21, 90, and 180 days after surgery and evaluated histologically for inflammation, neovascularization, and collagen deposition. Results. All materials and sham sites induced a mild to moderate inflammation that decreased over time, except for human dermis, which elicited a moderate to severe inflammatory response. The responses were varied and measurable using subjective scoring methods. The sphere-templated scaffold demonstrated numerous foreign body giant cells adjacent to the silicone granules, which were not seen in any of the other specimens. Conclusion. Subjective scoring of pathology slides and measurement of capsule thickness appeared to show differences between the materials, but these differences require a larger number of subjects and proper statistical analysis to assess. The robust foreign body reaction elicited by the polypropylene/ silicone-based scaffold argues against the use of this material in future studies. The authors advocate using inert biodegradable substances for future bioscaffold constructs