Teenagers just seem to get bad press

Guest blogger Diane Levine looks at the delicate and often sensitive balance between prying or protection, and offers some useful tips for how parents and their teenagers can journey together in the online world. Diane has worked in government research on technology in education, and recently completed her PhD in the Centre for Education Studies at the University of Warwick. She is a mother of two

The Impact of Children\u27s Public Health Insurance Expansions on Educational Outcomes

This paper examines the impact of public health insurance expansions through both Medicaid and SCHIP on children\u27s educational outcomes, measured by 4th and 8th grade reading and math test scores, available from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We use a triple difference estimation strategy, taking advantage of the cross-state variation over time and across ages in children’s health insurance eligibility. Using this approach, we find that test scores in reading, but not math, increased for those children affected at birth by increased health insurance eligibility. A 50 percentage point increase in eligibility is found to increase reading test scores by 0.09 standard deviations. We also examine whether the improvements in educational outcomes can be at least partially attributed to improvements in health status itself. First, we provide further evidence that increases in eligibility are linked to improvements in health status at birth. Second, we show that better health status at birth (measured by rates of low birth-weight and infant mortality), is linked to improved educational outcomes. Although the methods used to support this last finding do not completely eliminate potentially confounding factors, we believe it is strongly suggestive that improving children\u27s health will improve their classroom performance

The Impact of Children's Public Health Insurance Expansions on Educational Outcomes

This paper examines the impact of public health insurance expansions through both Medicaid and SCHIP on children's educational outcomes, measured by 4th and 8th grade reading and math test scores, available from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). We use a triple difference estimation strategy, taking advantage of the cross-state variation over time and across ages in children’s health insurance eligibility. Using this approach, we find that test scores in reading, but not math, increased for those children affected at birth by increased health insurance eligibility. A 50 percentage point increase in eligibility is found to increase reading test scores by 0.09 standard deviations. We also examine whether the improvements in educational outcomes can be at least partially attributed to improvements in health status itself. First, we provide further evidence that increases in eligibility are linked to improvements in health status at birth. Second, we show that better health status at birth (measured by rates of low birth-weight and infant mortality), is linked to improved educational outcomes. Although the methods used to support this last finding do not completely eliminate potentially confounding factors, we believe it is strongly suggestive that improving children's health will improve their classroom performance.

The inhibitors and enablers of emerging adult COVID-19 mitigation compliance in a township context.

Young adults are often scapegoated for not complying with COVID-19 mitigation strategies. While studies have investigated what predicts this population’s compliance and non-compliance, they have largely excluded the insights of African young people living in South African townships. Given this, it is unclear what places young adult South African township dwellers at risk for not complying with physical distancing, face masking and handwashing, or what enables resilience to those risks. To remedy this uncertainty, the current article reports a secondary analysis of transcripts (n=119) that document telephonic interviews in June and October 2020 with 24 emerging adults (average age: 20 years) who participated in the Resilient Youth in Stressed Environments (RYSE) study. The secondary analysis, which was inductively thematic, pointed to compliance being threatened by forgetfulness; preventive measures conflicting with personal/collective style; and structural constraints. Resilience to these compliance risks lay in young people’s capacity to regulate their behaviour and in the immediate social ecology’s capacity to co-regulate young people’s health behaviours. These findings discourage health interventions that are focused on the individual. More optimal public health initiatives will be responsive to the risks and resilience-enablers associated with young people and the social, institutional, and physical ecologies to which young people are connected.Significance:• Emerging adult compliance with COVID-19 mitigation strategies is threatened by risks across multiple systems (i.e. young people themselves; the social ecology; the physical ecology).• Emerging adult resilience to compliance challenges is co-facilitated by young people and their social ecologies.• Responding adaptively to COVID-19 contagion threats will require multisystem mobilisation that is collaborative and transformative in its redress of risk and co-championship of resilience-enablers

UpToDate Use as a Predictor of Medical Student Success

Background Both practicing physicians and student learners prioritize speed of access and ease of use over most other criteria in choosing how to look up clinical information, with electronic resources far outpacing books for these reasons. While there are many variations of electronic reference materials available, UpToDate is one of, if not the most, frequently referenced clinical knowledge resources. It is professionally written and edited by practicing clinicians with frequent updates as new information or studies become available to inform care, allowing the learner to answer clinical questions rapidly, correctly, and fully. Given its proven popularity, the usefulness of UpToDate as a teaching tool must now be assessed against commonly agreed upon measures of medical student clinical competency. Methods We will measure the relationship between UpToDate usage, tracked as time logged as well as mouse clicks during each third-year clerkship, and several benchmarks commonly used to indicate medical student clinical competence. The four measures that will be used are (1) NBME clinical subject exam scores for each clerkship, reported as percent correct; (2) RIME score assigned at the end of each clerkship, which rate clinical skills on a scale from R (reporter) to I (interpreter) to M (manager) to E (educator); (3) USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills score (if available), reported as pass/fail; and (4) USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge score, reported on a scale from 1 to 300. We will control for pre-existing biomedical knowledge by using USMLE STEP 1 score as a control variable. UpToDate usage data is currently being matched to these datapoints for each student and anonymized before further analysis. Conclusion Assessing the utility of UpToDate as a teaching tool to reach validated endpoints of clinical skill will assist in curriculum design and instruction in medical schools and lead to a better prepared future physician workforce, thus benefiting both medical educators and society more broadly

The Application of Exercise Prescription Education in Medical Training

Objective: Physical inactivity is a significant contributor to many acute and chronic medical conditions. While the dangers of physical inactivity are well understood and physicians have a desire to address them, a lack of education in exercise prescription (ERx) may be a barrier to properly prescribing exercise to patients. The aim of this research was to explore the need for ERx education amongst students and physicians in training and determine the effectiveness of ERx didactic. Methods: A one hour curriculum was developed based on the American College of Sports Medicine principles of ERx. Pre- and post-surveys were administered immediately before and after curriculum session to Wayne State School of Medicine medical students and residents to assess perceived ERx education level and confidence levels for prescribing aerobic and anaerobic exercise to patients. Virtual curriculum sessions were held over Zoom. Results: A total of 144 pre-survey and 119 post-survey results were analyzed. Mean perceived ERx education level significantly increased from 4.67/10 + 1.98 to 7.35/10 + 1.56 (P\u3c.001). Mean confidence level discussing PA with patients, ability to answer exercise related questions, confidence level in ability to prescribe aerobic exercise, and ability to prescribe anaerobic exercise significantly increased in all groups and overall (P\u3c.001) Conclusion: A one-hour session to educate medical students and residents on how to write an ERx improved perceived knowledge and confidence in this subject matter. Further study is needed to determine long term knowledge retention and the impact on ERx behavioral practice in a patient care setting

Adolescent girls, social cognition and technology

Technology is almost ubiquitous among adolescents in contemporary British society. Despite this, we do not have a meaningful understanding of the interplay between adolescent girls’ developing social cognition and their use of digital devices. This study aims to address this gap in understanding. Four pre-­pubescent and eleven pubescent young women based in the Midlands and from across the socio-economic spectrum participated between 2012-­2013. Participant completed six research tools and eleven of them participated in a face-­to-­face interview. Three tools were adapted from the existing psychology literature, and the remainder were developed specifically for this study. The tools explored technology-­mediated attachment and relationships, self and identity, attribution and Theory of Mind. The findings suggest that the moral panics surrounding technology use in adolescence are misplaced; rather, adolescent girls with a good range of personal and situational resources are likely to exert considerable choice in their uses of technology, and social media in particular. Valsiner’s Zones and life course perspectives were used to conceptualise the emerging understanding of technology-­mediated social cognition in adolescent girls. This theoretical framework made it possible to do four things. Firstly, to recognize adolescents’ active choice and agency. Secondly, to articulate development opportunities within individuals, relationships and technological environments. Thirdly to locate physiological and psychological development within the broader socio-­technical realm. And finally, to see technology as neither positive nor negative but as shaping, rather than defining adolescent perspectives, behaviours and relationships. These possibilities suggest that, rather than attempting to shoehorn adolescent experience into a single paradigm or model we need to ask ourselves key questions about the interplay between the individual adolescent and the technology they choose to use

Digital storytelling with South African youth : a critical reflection

PURPOSE : In this paper the authors share, and reflect critically on, the experience of using digital storytelling (DS) methods in a South African township. We interrogate the innovations prompted as we operationalized DS in a context that has historically prized collectivist values and that experiences chronic resource constraints. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : The authors ask: How can DS be optimally used to understand youth resilience in a collectivist, developing context? The authors worked with 18 older adolescents (aged 18–24) during two day-long events. The authors provide detailed descriptions of the method used, and offer reflections focusing on narrative, visuals and technology-mediation. FINDINGS : This study concludes by sharing four key lessons learned during the project. First, revisit the definition of “story” for your context, participant group and time. Second, a slower process yields more meaningful product. Third, facilitator competence matters. Finally, advance and deeper thinking about the ways in which technology will be used leads to richer research outcomes. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : The paper reflects on the interplay between the transactional nature of contemporary digitally-mediated methods in a low-resource setting and with a seldom-heard population, and it's relationship with the ancient local traditions of story-making and audiencing.The British Academy Newton Mobility Fund.https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/1443-9883hj2023Educational Psycholog