An Examination Of Print Awareness When Using Electronic And Printed Books With Preschool-Aged Children

With growing numbers of online and electronic learning formats, it has become increasingly more crucial to consider literacy development and written language exposure in preschool-aged students. Emergent literacy, which includes print awareness, is a key element of future reading success. The following study aimed to examine children’s print awareness skills through dialogic reading using both printed and ebook formats. During this study, five participants were selected from a local, private preschool and participated in a weeklong study in which they were read to dialogically with specific prompts concerning print awareness skills for a one-on-one intervention. During the initial session, a series of 10 print awareness prompts were introduced and baseline data were collected based on the participants’ answers when given an ebook format and printed book format. The following days consisted of intervention by dialogic reading in both formats during individual sessions with the lead investigator. The final day of the study served as end of intervention data collection where the participants were asked the same 10 prompts as the initial session within both formats. Data revealed that dialogic reading served as a successful intervention and that preschool age students may perform print awareness tasks slightly better with printed books

Augustana Softball as a Means to Connect People from Different Cultures

In December of 2016, the Augustana Softball team traveled to Capetown, South Africa to share their love for the game of softball to the developing communities. While there, the team came in contact with Noel Soko, one of South Africa\u27s very own youth ministry directors. Soko designates his life\u27s work to guiding troubled children to follow their faith through the involvement of sports. Augustana Softball continues to help advance this program through donations and support from across the globe

The Impact Of E-Learning On Physical Therapy Students’ Clinical Skill Development

Purpose: The purpose of this special interest report is to review the effectiveness of e-learning in comparison to traditional classroom learning by exploring different methods of implementation of e-learning into PT curriculum Description: Education delivery via e-Learning is becoming a common teaching mode that appeals to students because it can be completed asynchronously at a self-directed pace and reviewed anytime, anywhere and as often as necessary for understanding. Translating knowledge from eLearning materials to skill performance is important to consider for PT students due to the requirements of psychomotor performance and demonstration of appropriate affective professional behaviors. Literature review: A literature search was conducted through PubMed and Scopus utilizing the following key terms: e-learning, blended learning, physical therapy, practical examination and clinical skills. The search resulted in eight studies, in which four were chosen for critical review as they most closely aligned with the question of interest and compared the use of adjunctive e-learning methods to a control group who received only traditional, face to face lecture, lab, and access to textbooks. In each study, at least one outcome measure assessed clinical skill performance based on a practical examination. No study reported negative impacts of e-Learning. Summary of Use: In each study, students who utilized e-learning to enhance their understanding of the material performed slightly higher on the practical exam, but not all findings were statistically significant. However, e-Learning was well-received and physical therapy students reported having more confidence, less anxiety and better understanding of grading standards prior to the practical exam. Since most students entering physical therapy school are digital natives the utilization of e-learning may relate well to their learning styles. E-learning may be more sustainable over time than traditional teaching methods and affords the learner individualization, self-paced learning and instructional consistency. Importance to Members: This review supports the idea that e-learning could be successfully utilized in a DPT curriculum as the results show clinical skills performance outcomes with e-learning are at least as good as traditional classroom instruction. Because clinical skills require professional interactions and psychomotor demonstration, e-learning is likely best utilized as a complementary means of learning, but not as a stand-alone source of instruction. Educational institutions may be able to extrapolate this information to achieve long-term cost savings and resource management within their educational programs. Overall, students continue to value in-class time to discuss material at a higher level, work through clinical cases, and ask questions for clarification of course content and objectives

The story of a physiclal science curriculum: transformation or transmutation?

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education on 20 Aug 2013, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/10288457.2012.10740745.Recently Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) were introduced in South Africa in response to confusion precipitated by previous curriculum documents. The purpose of this paper is to explore that confusion in the subject 'Physical Sciences' and consider the nature of the transformation from the previous curriculum by looking at curriculum documents and examination papers. We present a two phase curriculum change model which suggests that congruency between curriculum documents and examinations is critical for effective curriculum change. We analyse the pre-CAPS curriculum, the National Curriculum Statement (NCS), on its own terms by using the stated outcomes as our reference point. Our analysis reveals that the weighting and conceptualization of the outcomes shifted through successive documents, which undermined congruency between the documents and meant that content-oriented science masqueraded as inquiry-oriented science. This led to a retreat from the original vision of weighting skills and relevance equally with content. The examinations took this retreat a step further. Evidence of the retreat is that the nature of the questions asked in the 2008 examinations on the NCS was similar to that of the 2007 examinations on the previous curriculum which had not changed since apartheid. However, in the NCS examinations there was a small shift towards contextualisation and inquiry oriented science. The retreat means the vision of transformation which was the rationale for the NCS curriculum was eroded – instead of transformation, there was transmutation back to the old apartheid curriculum. The Physical Sciences CAPS cements the retreat and creates new confusion by changing the syllabus again without signposting the change

Reframing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Studying Culture to Identify Communication Challenges and Opportunities

Implicit cultural understandings challenge those working to increase public awareness and support for programs to prevent and address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Understanding these cultural beliefs reveals key challenges that communicators face; it also helps identify opportunities to foster public engagement and build support for policies and programs that are important for reducing the prevalence of FASD as a public health issue. Through a series of interviews with members of the public in Manitoba, Canada, we identify the cultural models that members of the Manitoban public draw on to make sense of this issue. These models and their implications are used to create a set of recommendations that can improve understanding of the issue, increase issue salience, and generate support for solutions. While the research presented is specific to Manitoba, findings have significance for those working on FASD in other areas and for those working on other public health and science translation projects

GVSU Honors College: A More Distinctive Experience

In the later summer of 2017, our team was assembled from six individuals in the HNR 313 Design Thinking class at Grand Valley State University. In time, we would learn each other’s names, personalities, assign roles for the task ahead, and come to share life experiences. Alexis Ellis became our team writing lead, Darius Youngblood became the team leader, Lynn Doherty volunteered to be the scribe and recorder, Marisa Kahnt became a co-reporter and manager of human resources, Pierce Henderson became co-reporter and researcher, and Taylor Kooy became co-presenter and task manager. With our team finalized, we were able to now tackle our challenge of creating a more distinctive Honors College at Grand Valley State University. Without a notion of where to begin, we started by reflecting on the local community and ourselves. Immediately, it was evident that there was a sharp contrast between the demographics of our team and the surrounding populous. Half of our team does not follow the standard Caucasian Grand Valley makeup. This is radically different from the population of GVSU in which roughly 83% of students are Caucasian. This statistic became a cornerstone of our project, it inspired us to research diversity within the Honors College. Unfortunately, our following research manifested into the discovery that there is even less diversity in the Frederik Meijer Honors College than the general student population. Our team thus determined that this compelling issue was worth tackling, inspiring us to come up with our problem statement: we will shine light on the lack of diversity in the Honors College and promote a more well-rounded learning experience by bringing in a more diverse group of Honors students. Revolving around this problem statement, our team began using the Design Thinking process to come up with a solution, with diversity at its core, to make the Honors College here at Grand Valley more distinctive

Improving Newborn Hearing Screening Through Collaboration and Communication

Purpose: Hearing loss is the number one birth defect among children. There are significant consequences of delayed diagnosis and failure to obtain timely intervention, particularly for a child’s speech and language development. Design and implementation of successful newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate improved efficiency and effectiveness of a large NHS program through the implementation of a team approach engaging both ambulatory and hospital services. Methodology: A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was used to develop an improved NHS program focused on improving patient care. The SWOT analysis outcomes were used to determine several key factors to be implemented, including dedicated technicians solely assigned to the NHS program and purchase of new equipment to improve accuracy and reduce disposable costs. In addition, a two-tiered approach was implemented whereby the dedicated technicians performed initial screenings, with all rescreens performed by an audiologist. Results: Implementation of the new NHS program demonstrated numerous successes including a significant reduction in the failure rate, improved care coordination, and increased communication between ambulatory and hospital services

The Relationship Between Shoulder Range of Motion and Arm Stress in College Pitchers: A MOTUS Baseball Study

The Relationship Between Shoulder Range of Motion and Arm Stress in College Pitchers: A MOTUS Baseball Study Abstract Predictors of Elbow Torque Among College Baseball Pitchers Purpose: To investigate the relationship of shoulder range of motion (ROM) conditions, such as glenohumeral internal rotation deficiency (GIRD) and external rotation gain (ERG), to torque across the medial elbow in college pitchers. Methods: Pitchers were recruited from three local college baseball teams. Exclusion criteria included injury or restricted activity due to pain. They were evaluated within two weeks before their first game of the season. Pitchers completed an intake survey at the time of shoulder ROM and upper extremity length measurements. Pitchers were fitted with a MOTUS sensor baseball sleeve (Motus Global, Massapequa, NY). The sensor placed at the medial elbow reported elbow torque, arm speed, arm slot, and shoulder rotation for each pitch, while a radar gun measured peak ball velocity. After adequate warmup, pitchers threw 5 fastballs in a standardized manner off the mound at game-speed effort. The primary outcome was to evaluate the relationship between shoulder ROM and medial elbow torque. Additional outcomes evaluated pitcher characteristics, demographics, and outcome scores in the context of shoulder ROM. Outcomes were assessed via a multivariable model, which controlled for possible covariates. Results: Twenty-eight pitchers were included in the preseason analysis with an average (SD) age of 20.1 (1.3) years and playing experience of 15.3 (1.8) years, 2.5 (1.2) of those years at collegiate level. The dominant shoulder demonstrated decreased internal rotation (54.5+/-10.6 vs 65.8+/-9.1) and increased external rotation (ER, 94.1+/-10.4 vs 88.4+/-9.2) relative to the non-dominant side (p \u3c 0.001), while total rotational range of motion (TRROM) was significantly decreased in the dominant arm (148.6+/-12.4 vs 154.1+/-10.6, p \u3c 0.001). The average GIRD was 11.3 (9.87) and average ERG was 4.4 (8.87). External rotation was found to be a predictor of arm stress, with an increase in 0.35 Nm of elbow torque for every degree increase in ER (beta = 0.35+/-0.06, p = 0.003); there was moderate correlation between ER and arm stress (r = .45, P\u3c.001). Pitchers demonstrated significantly greater arm stress with the following shoulder ROM measurements: GIRD \u3c 20 as compared to greater than 20 degrees (46.6 +/- 0.5 versus 43.5 +/- 1.1, P=.011), ERG \u3e 5 as compared to \u3c 5 degrees (47.4 +/- 0.7 versus 45.1 +/- 0.6, P=.014), and loss of total rotational ROM \u3c 5 as compared to \u3e 5 degrees (46.6 +/- 0.5 versus 43.6 +/- 1.1, P=.013). Conclusions: College pitchers with external rotation gain produced greater medial elbow torque during the pitching movement. These findings indicate that pitchers with increased external rotation of their throwing arm may experience greater elbow stress while pitching, placing their medial elbow at risk of injury. Level of Evidence: Level II prospective observational study Key Words: UCL, Ulnar Collateral Ligament, Pitching, Tommy John, Laxity, Pain, Elbow, Injur