Effects of Single-Gender and Coeducational Learning Environments on Middle School Mathematics Achievement

As a result of the increased number of schools failing to meet adequate yearly progress (AYP), school districts are searching for innovative ways to raise student achievement and meet the rigorous performance standards set by state governments. Using the theoretical framework provided by brain research and the theory of multiple intelligences, the purpose of this quantitative study was to compare 2 middle school classroom structures for differences in mathematics achievement among students. The study examined whether a significant difference existed in mathematics achievement scores on the state-mandated mathematics test for 2 groups (single gender classes versus coeducational classes) in 6 middle schools during a 3-year period. Mean scores from the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards (PASS) performance statistics in mathematics were used to determine achievement levels of single-gender and coeducational instruction. Study results indicated a statistically significant difference in academic performance for students in single-gender mathematics classes compared with academic performance for students in coeducational mathematics classes. Further, girls outperformed boys. These findings led to a project consisting of implementing a professional learning community and a series of professional development sessions for Algebra I teachers. The results of this study may contribute to social change by identifying an academic program structure in which all students can be supported academically while providing teachers with ongoing opportunities to collaborate and build their capacities with the goal of improving student performance

Lessons Learned from the LiFEsports Initiative: Facilitators and Barriers to Successful Community Partnerships

The Learning in Fitness and Education through Sports Initiative at The Ohio State University (Ohio State LiFEsports) fosters community positive youth development (PYD). Youth growing up in urban settings are disproportionally confronted with a wide range of risk factors and need more opportunities for healthy development. Due to encountering such risk factors, urban youth are more likely to develop behavioral health problems that may compromise their long-term development. Community PYD programs are often designed to promote psychological, social and physical health outcomes. Furthermore, community PYD programs partner with other community partners to provide additional program support and development. Established in 2006 through a unique partnership between the College of Social Work and the Department of Athletics, LiFEsports aims to promote health and wellness for Columbus city youth. Each year, LiFEsports serves more than 900 youth through programs such as the LiFEsports summer camp and the LiFEsports clinics. The success of the program would not be possible without collaborations with more than 20 key university and community partnerships. Key university partnerships with Recreational Sports and Transportation and Traffic Management help to provide facilities and transportation to 23 zip codes. Community partners such as Dannon provide support for 10,500 meals for the 600 youth who participate in the LiFEsports camp during the summer months. Marathon Kids helps campers track the mileage of each group, some completing more than 104 miles. Additionally, community partnerships have been established with After-School All-Stars Ohio, Pickerington School District, and the YMCA. These partnerships have allowed the LiFEsports model to expand into 13 before- and after-school programs where an additional 1,100 youth are served throughout the school year. LiFEsports has been able to positively impact the health and wellness for Columbus city youth due to valuable partnerships. Specifically, LiFEsports youth have demonstrated significant growth in life skills such as self-control, effort, teamwork, and social responsibility as well as physical activity, self-efficacy, and cardiovascular fitness. At the conclusion of LiFEsports summer camp, 74.8 percent of youth indicated it was "pretty true" or "really true" that because of LiFEsports they were more likely to engage in at least one hour of physical activity each day. In sum, this poster will discuss the facilitators and barriers to developing community partnerships as well as highlight the contribution such partnerships have had on youth health and wellness, while also giving an outline of community partners that LiFEsports has been or is currently engaged with. This poster serves to enlighten an audience of student, colleagues and community partners about what it takes to charter successful community partnerships.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Professor, College of Social Work, LiFEsports, CAYCI, [email protected] (Corresponding Author); Jerry Davis, Executive Director of Service and Outreach, LiFEsports Intiative; Tasha Henderson, Student Research Assistant, CAYCI, LiFEsports Initiative; Carly Kimiecik, Student Research Assistant, CAYCI, LiFEsports Intiative; Tarkington Newman, Graduate Research Associate, LiFEsports Intiative; Stephen Moore, Program Coordinator, LiFEsports Initiative.The Learning in Fitness and Education through Sports Initiative at The Ohio State University (LiFEsports) fosters community positive youth development (PYD). Each year, LiFEsports serves more than 900 youth through programs such as the LiFEsports summer camp and the LiFEsports clinics. Due to valuable partnerships, LiFEsports has been able to positively impact the health and wellness of Columbus city youth. University partners, such as the department of Athletics, Recreational Sports and the College of Nursing, provide resources that directly impact youth outcomes. Community partners including Dannon and Marathon kids help showcase the important of healthy lifestyle choices and habits that begin in childhood. Sharing the experiences of LiFEsports, the poster will assist the audience in fostering partnerships in relation to their own organizations and programs. Partnerships will highlight a range of impact on the health and well-being of 900+ youth each year

Tailoring Supports to Youth in Schools: One Approach to Identifying Needs and Targeting Intervention

Youth experiences intersect along their race, gender, language and socioeconomic status, schools must consider the intersectionality in order to improve outcomes. The current study sought to understand if, and to what extent, different clusters of youth in one large urban high school perceive their psychosocial behaviors as well as social and interpersonal skills. Cross-sectional survey data from 1,164 high school youth were collected using four valid scales: Internalizing Behaviors, Externalizing Behaviors, Peer Relationships, and Social Skills. The analytic strategy was twofold. Cluster analysis was used to form homogeneous clusters of the 1,147 complete responses based on a combination of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, English language learner status, and gender. Next, a multivariate analysis of variance (MANCOVA) was used to compare cluster profiles on the aforementioned measures. The cluster analysis revealed a 5-factor solution. Findings of the MANCOVA showed that the clusters differed significantly on the set of psychosocial behaviors, social skills, and peer relationships variables (p\u3c0.05, η2= 0.08), with significant univariate differences (p \u3c 0.05) emerging on all four variables. Results point to cluster analysis as an emerging way to identify needs and tailor supports to youth in schools. Youth with identified needs could receive more specialized Tier II and III interventions aligned with their intersecting cultural and personal experiences, in addition to universal interventions to meet school wide priorities

The LiFEsports Initiative Service Learning Course: A University-Community Partnership

The Learning in Fitness and Education through Sport (LiFEsports) Initiative at Ohio State aims to enhance youth development, social skills, and physical well-being through sport. The initiative works to create and maintain unique partnerships within Columbus to improve sports-based youth development (SB-PYD) programs. LiFEsports serves 900 youth each year through programming such as a summer camp, and strategic community partnerships to implement before- and after-school programs. One partnership example is the LiFEsports service learning course, a pilot implementation model in a neighboring Columbus school district. The LiFEsports service learning course involves multiple partners such as LiFEsports, the school district, and the YMCA. The collaboration among LiFEsports, the YMCA, and a local school district, allows for multiple levels of learning and serving through SB-PYD. In the model, social work interns and the district social worker oversee the implementation of a service learning course at the high school level. Throughout the year, high school service learners develop leadership skills, learn about SB-PYD, increase community engagement, and serve as co-facilitators of LiFEsports curricula in elementary before-school programs. Service learning, a form of experiential learning, improves academic motivation, develops stronger social skills, and promotes stronger community involvement (Conway, Amel, & Gerwein, 2009). Moreover, academic motivation and school connectedness are strong predictors of academic achievement (Chase, Hilliard, Geldhof, Warren, & Lerner, 2014) and protective factors against high school dropout. Although programming occurs in school settings, the program also aims to positively influence the surrounding community. As such, the service learners complete a culminating event at the end of the year where they present their work to the community through the Healthy Kids Day (HKD) hosted at the YMCA. Here, high school youth practice presentation and leadership skills as they lead activities and present their work to HKD participants. Sustaining the successful implementation of the program involves sharing of resources and responsibilities for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders. The intended audience of the poster are current leaders in the community and the university who seek to enhance the well-being and resiliency of at-risk youth in the community, or who want to better understand the intricacies of a complex collaboration among three stakeholders, including students, professors, community members, or directors at community-based organizations. After engaging with the poster, the audience will understand an overview of the partnership, mutual benefits of the program for the high school service learners and elementary school participants, and for all key stakeholders, and how existing resources can work to positively influence youth of various ages and the surrounding community.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Erica Magier, doctoral student, Ohio State College of Social Work, [email protected] (Corresponding Author); Tasha Henderson, gradaute student, Ohio State College of Social Work; Rebecca Wade-Mdivanian, director of operations for the LiFEsports Initiative, Ohio State College of Social Work; Dawn Anderson-Butcher, professor, Ohio State College of Social WorkThe Learning in Fitness and Education through Sport (LiFEsports) Initiative at Ohio State has partnered with a local school district and YMCA to create a high school service learning course. Alongside YMCA site leaders, high school students implement sports-based positive youth development (SB-PYD) curricula created by the LiFEsports Initiative at the before-school program at two local elementary schools. Through this model, youth of varying ages are able to benefit from SB-PYD through growth in leadership, sport skills, and social skills such as self-control, effort, teamwork, and social responsibility (SETS). The poster will outline the unique partnership created and how it works to foster health and wellness and create resilient youth in the Columbus community

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Breast cancer management pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the UK ‘Alert Level 4’ phase of the B-MaP-C study

Abstract: Background: The B-MaP-C study aimed to determine alterations to breast cancer (BC) management during the peak transmission period of the UK COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of these treatment decisions. Methods: This was a national cohort study of patients with early BC undergoing multidisciplinary team (MDT)-guided treatment recommendations during the pandemic, designated ‘standard’ or ‘COVID-altered’, in the preoperative, operative and post-operative setting. Findings: Of 3776 patients (from 64 UK units) in the study, 2246 (59%) had ‘COVID-altered’ management. ‘Bridging’ endocrine therapy was used (n = 951) where theatre capacity was reduced. There was increasing access to COVID-19 low-risk theatres during the study period (59%). In line with national guidance, immediate breast reconstruction was avoided (n = 299). Where adjuvant chemotherapy was omitted (n = 81), the median benefit was only 3% (IQR 2–9%) using ‘NHS Predict’. There was the rapid adoption of new evidence-based hypofractionated radiotherapy (n = 781, from 46 units). Only 14 patients (1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during their treatment journey. Conclusions: The majority of ‘COVID-altered’ management decisions were largely in line with pre-COVID evidence-based guidelines, implying that breast cancer survival outcomes are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the pandemic. However, in this study, the potential impact of delays to BC presentation or diagnosis remains unknown

A turn in the river : revitalizing planning with Seabird Island

As graduate students in the Indigenous Community Planning specialization at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning, we completed an eight-month practicum placement working in partnership with the Seabird Island Indian Band (SIB) in British Columbia’s beautiful Fraser Valley region. This portfolio showcases the highlights of our planning efforts over the course of our time working alongside SIB, drawing from the 13 trips and over 1000 hours of work completed between September 2014 and May 2015. Supported by key community members and building upon the work done by previous ICP practicum students and the Nation, we were tasked to design, implement, and document a housing, communications, and visioning planning process. We began the practicum with the creation of a Workplan, Community Engagement Strategy, Student Partnership Agreement and a Community Learning Agreement. These documents outlined our work together as students, with our community and staff planning teams, and with the greater SIB community. Beginning work at SIB, it was essential to agree on shared planning principles and values. We re-visited these planning values throughout the duration of the practicum as they served as a reminder of what underlies our project work. Throughout the practicum we strived to develop a process that was: inclusive, community-driven and participatory, transparent, and ethical.Applied Science, Faculty ofCommunity and Regional Planning (SCARP), School ofUnreviewedGraduat