Classroom Materials Research Articles

Impact of Hockey Fans in Training Program on Steps and Self-rated Health in Overweight Men

Football Fans in Training (FFIT) is an effective, gender-sensitized, weight loss and healthy living program for overweight/obese men, delivered via professional football clubs. Hockey Fans in Training (Hockey FIT) is a new program adapted from FFIT for Canadian hockey. PURPOSE: To examine the impact of Hockey FIT on steps, self-esteem, mood, and self-rated health, 12 weeks after baseline (post program). METHODS: 80 male fans [35-65 years; body mass index (BMI) ≥ 28 kg/m2] of 2 Ontario Junior A hockey clubs were randomized to either intervention (Hockey FIT) or comparator (wait-list control), within a pilot, pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT). Hockey FIT involved 12 weekly, 90-minute group sessions delivered by trained coaches using club facilities. Each session combined classroom material, including evidence- based behaviour change techniques (e.g., self-monitoring, goal setting) and healthy eating advice (e.g., reducing portion size), with physical activity sessions. Prescriptive exercise (e.g., individualized target heart rates and pedometer-based incremental step targets) was incorporated throughout. We examined between-group differences in mean steps/day (7-day pedometer monitoring), self-esteem (Rosenberg scale), positive and negative affect (I-PANAS-SF scale), and self-rated health (EQ-5D-3L VAS score) using linear mixed effects regression models that accounted for club and age. RESULTS: Groups were similar at baseline [median (interquartile range): age: 48.0 (17.0) years; BMI: 35.1 (6.3) kg/m2]. 75% of men in the intervention group attended ≥ 6 sessions. At 12 weeks, the intervention group increased their daily steps to a greater extent than the comparator [difference between groups in mean change: 3127 (95% confidence interval: 1882 to 4372) steps/day, p <0.001]. The intervention group also improved their self-rated health (scale 0 to 100; 100 = best) to a greater extent than the comparator [difference between groups in mean change: 7.0 (2.1 to 11.9) points, p = 0.005]. There were no differences between groups in self-esteem or positive/negative affect post program. CONCLUSION: Hockey FIT has the potential to help overweight/obese men increase their physical activity levels and improve their self-rated health. Long-term follow-up and a full-scale pragmatic RCT is warranted.

Men’s Experiences With The Hockey Fans In Training Physical Activity And Healthy Living Program

Increasing rates of chronic disease (CD) have led to an increased effort to implement lifestyle interventions aimed at healthy eating, healthy weight and physical activity. While male CD risk exceeds that of women, men are often highly underrepresented in lifestyle programs. This may in part be due to the fact that men consider programs inherently feminine, serving as a barrier for participation. Some studies have observed that men prefer lifestyle programs that incorporate an element of competition and occur in the company of other men. Additionally, programs situated in the context of sports may have lower drop-out rates and higher levels of satisfaction due to feelings of affiliation. PURPOSE: To review men’s feedback regarding their motivation for joining and their experience in a 12-week lifestyle intervention in the context of professional hockey clubs, in London and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. METHODS: Participants who completed at least 6 of the 12 weekly sessions (n=30) were asked to fill out an online questionnaire after their completion of the intervention. The questionnaire was designed to elicit why they joined the program, what changes they saw following their participation, as well as what program components they found useful and not useful in helping them make those changes. RESULTS: A total of 27 men completed the questionnaire. Weight loss and a desire to increase physical activity were the two main reasons cited for joining the program. After the 12-week intervention, 100% of the men reported eating a healthier diet and 78% reported having increased their activity level. Satisfaction with the program elements was high with 96% of men believing both the classroom and exercise components were useful. Most suggestions for improvement involved decreasing the repetition of classroom material and increasing the proportion of physical activity during each session. CONCLUSION: Our results support previous research showing increased levels of satisfaction in men when lifestyle interventions are run in a sporting context and incorporate both an educational component (with a large focus on healthy eating and physical activity) and an exercise component. This information will be used to support the refinement of the Hockey FIT program prior to conducting future studies.

Relative Effects of a Comprehensive Versus Reduced Training for Head Start Teachers Who Serve Spanish-Speaking English Learners

ABSTRACTWith increased demand for improved early childhood education services, it is important to better understand the essential professional development resources that have the greatest impact on both teacher and child outcomes. This study compared the effectiveness of two teacher-training models in bilingual Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and Head Start classrooms. Both conditions included the use of a technology-based student progress-monitoring tool. The progress monitoring provided detailed feedback on students’ progress 15 across the academic year and helped organize instructional groupings. The comprehensive treatment condition included biweekly professional development sessions, in-class mentoring, and provision of classroom materials, whereas the treatment-control condition included only the provision of a limited set of classroom materials. Across multiple sites in Texas, 49 pretest and posttest teacher observations and bilingual child assessments were collected on a subsample of students (n = 387). Research Findings: Improvements in teaching behaviors were observed in both experimental conditions; no significant differences were observed between teachers across conditions. Three measures of child language and literacy growth differed significantly, favoring the comprehensive treatment model, but most outcomes did not differ significantly between groups. Practice or Policy: Implications of these mixed findings and future research directions are discussed.

The Impact of Mobile Phones on English Language Learning: Perceptions of EFL Undergraduates

Researchers across the world are examining the educational value and effectiveness of integrating the latest electronic gadgets with teaching-learning activities in the classroom. In spite of the availability of latest electronic gadgets like iPods, tablets, and smartwatches, researchers are more interested in the educational value of the mobile phones for the teaching-learning of English. In a technologically advanced country like Saudi Arabia, the third and fourth generation (3G, 4G) mobile devices are available at affordable prices, and people of all streams find it necessary to own a mobile phone for connecting with their friends and relatives. Moreover, it has become a common trend among undergraduates to carry a mobile phone to the classroom as well. The present study examines the impact of mobile phones on students’ English language learning. A field study was conducted on fifty-two undergraduate male students majoring in English language and literature at Aljouf University, Saudi Arabia. The methodology of data collection included a self-report for students and a teacher questionnaire. Findings of the study are significant for EFL teachers and researchers for introducing innovative methods and resourceful materials for the English classroom.

Thank You, ABT Publication Team Members

It will be clear to our those reviewing this list that a large number of people have assisted with the journal this past year. It takes a huge team to keep the ABT train running smoothly. In 2015 we received 145 submissions and each of these articles was extensively evaluated. Once an article passes the initial editorial review, it is generally examined by three additional individuals who provide useful feedback to authors and the editorial team. Therefore, I extend my profound thanks to the 273 reviewers listed here but also to reviewing editors, Peggy Ward, Kim Murie, Kevin Bonney, Emily Weigel (who recently earned her Ph.D.!) and Assistant Editor Kathy Westrich who work with me daily to process the articles and interact with authors. Kathy has the additional responsibility of selecting the images that grace the cover of American Biology Teacher. We are also very well served by our department editors Elizabeth Cowles (Book Reviews), Remy Dou (Classroom Materials and Media) and Douglas Allchin who authors the column Sacred Bovines . Other unsung heroes of the ABT team include Managing Editor Mark Penrose, Copyeditor Richard Earles, graphic designer Michelle Finney and the team at University …

Making Them Fit: Examining Teacher Support for Student Questioning

Social studies research has long advocated inquiry as a desired instructional practice, but the increasing emphasis on the role students’ questions should play in inquiry requires research into what social studies teachers can do to elevate the place of student questioning in classrooms. This study examined the attitudes and actions of two secondary social studies teachers who self-identified as advocates of student questioning and who desired to incorporate more student questioning into their instruction. This study used qualitative research methods and generated data through multiple interviews and classroom observations with each participant along with content analysis of classroom materials. Findings suggest that even though the participants approached student questioning in unique ways, they shared a need for curricular control, often triggered by the pressures of standardized assessments, which influenced how they incorporated student questioning into their classrooms. This study provides valuable insight into the promise of student questioning and factors that must be addressed if teachers are to incorporate student questioning in ways that foster meaningful inquiry.

Development and evaluation of a service-learning model for preclinical student education in cardiovascular disease prevention

BackgroundCardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the USA. Medical schools must prepare trainees to address prevention, including improving ability in counseling patients to modify lifestyle risk factors. Most medical students do not receive significant training or clinical experience in preventive medicine until the clinical years of medical school. To enhance student education in disease prevention and lifestyle counseling, and simultaneously target cardiovascular disease prevention in high-risk Chicago neighborhoods, the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Chicago Department of Public Health with support from the GE Foundation, developed the Keep Your Heart Healthy program.MethodsMedical students participated in intensive faculty-led training. They subsequently screened local residents to identify and counsel for cardiovascular disease risk factors. Fifty-one predominantly preclinical medical students screened residents of the Humboldt Park and North Lawndale neighborhoods in Chicago, IL, at 31 screening events from August to December 2013. Fifty students (98% response rate) completed a survey assessing the educational value of various program components following the pilot.ResultsOf all respondents, 92% of students reported improved knowledge of cardiovascular disease prevention and 94% reported improved knowledge of vulnerable populations and health equity. The majority (88%) reported that their participation supplemented material they learned in the classroom. Eighty-six percent of students reported that their encounters with community participants were of educational value. Integration of this program into the medical school curriculum was supported by 68% of students.ConclusionKeep Your Heart Healthy educates primarily preclinical medical students in cardiovascular disease prevention and prepares them to apply this knowledge for patient counseling. Results from student surveys demonstrate that this service-learning initiative enhances medical student knowledge in cardiovascular disease prevention, supplements classroom material, and provides students a valuable opportunity to apply interviewing and counseling skills in a real patient encounter.

The relationship between passibility, agency and social interaction and its relevance for research and pedagogy

The interaction analysis presented by Kim and Roth examines nine students, their teachers, the learning task and materials in a mixed second and third grade science classroom during the school day. In the research narrative readers are introduced to two resourceful and creative groups of students as they work on a task assigned by their teacher—to cantilever a pizza box over the edge of a student desk. Readers are given glimpses (through images and transcripts) of the inventive ways each group solved the cantilever problem. Sometimes the children disregarded the design constraints, but even after compliance they managed to successfully solve the problem. The point of the learning task was not clearly stated, but readers are told the unit focused on investigating forces, forces in equilibrium, and structures as well as different forces (push, pull, etc.), properties of materials, and the relations between weight and balance while building structures. Kim and Roth were specifically interested in using this session to investigate and resolve the problem of learning as described by socio-cultural theorists as, how does a learner orient toward a learning outcome when they cannot do that until they have learned it? To answer this question Kim and Roth argued that learners (in engineering design) learn when and because: (1) they are open to be affected by the responses of materials to student action (i.e. student and material agency and physical touch) (2) their bodies are endowed with the capacity to be affected (i.e. passibility), and (3) knowledge and understanding emerge as and in social relations first. In their analysis, Kim and Roth argued that knowledge and knowing-how depend on these three universal processes. The authors further theorized the concept of passibility. Included in their theory of passibility was the claim that passibility is necessary for agency. After reading this paper we found we had many questions about Kim and Roth’s analysis, context, and assertions, but we decided to focus this forum response on the problem of the learner and the solutions posed by Kim and Roth as well as the proposed relationship between passibility and agency.

Connect with ‘real life’ reading and writing

Dawn Francis-Pester outlines how to bring languages alive and meet curriculum requirements by using a range of authentic materials in your classroom.

Cartophilia: Maps and the Search for Identity in the French-German Borderland by Catherine Dunlop

Reviewed by: Cartophilia: Maps and the Search for Identity in the French-German Borderland by Catherine Dunlop Kory Olson Catherine Dunlop. Cartophilia: Maps and the Search for Identity in the French-German Borderland. Chicago: Chicago UP, 2015. 257 pp. Catherine Dunlop’s Cartophilia provides a thorough political and historical examination into the borderland and the shifting jurisdictional authority of Alsace-Lorraine in the decades around the Franco-Prussian War. Dunlop focuses her work on the creation of the man-made border between France and Germany along with its cartographic constructions and portrayals. Dunlop divides her book into two sections. The first half, “Mapping Borders,” examines the State’s role in the creation of international borders, most particularly the one established after French defeat in 1871. Her first three chapters provide a useful summary of state-based cartography in France and Germany throughout the nineteenth century, as the two nations began to map their domestic territories. For example, German states benefited considerably from French surveyors who followed Napoleonic military campaigns into their conquered lands. Dunlop also devotes energy to the general understanding of international boundaries prior to the Franco-Prussian War, where any demarcation of a French/German divide would extend well beyond the official state-sanctioned border. As for the period directly following the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt, Dunlop excellently describes the collaborative approach between French and German officials as they marked, measured, and described the French-German border in the Vosges Mountains. We also learn more about the actual construction of the border itself. For countries such as France that traditionally referred to “natural” borders, such as mountains or water, the establishment of this artificial one (especially upon defeat to a neighbor) pleased few. Other examples of cartography appear in this first half of Dunlop’s volume as well. Maps of language zones created symbolic ruptures between European peoples, suggesting to viewers a correlation between linguistic divides and national borders (52). This trend took place primarily in Germany, where the idea of uniting German speakers even had its own vocabulary for language-specific divisions: Sprachgebeit (language area). [End Page 147] Furthermore, in the nineteenth-century desire for German unification, language maps became idealized spaces for nationalists to visualize how far the future borders of the German state should extend (75). So “seeing” Alsace and German-speaking Lorraine as part of a greater German Empire was more or less expected outre-Rhin. The second half of Dunlop’s book, Borderland Maps for Everyday Life, turns away from scientific maps in favor of “everyday use” ones that constructed up-close, experimental, and emotional views of land. Located far from the “center” of both the France republic and German empire, residents in Alsace-Lorraine related much more to their own medieval villages than to Paris or Berlin. So to be successful, new cartographers needed to acknowledge this mentality. Dunlop demonstrates how mapmakers transformed villages into positive picturesque locations through the use of cadastral maps, which included illustrations and cartouche boxes (text boxes) containing decorative images of the Alsatian countryside, while both nations were creating government-sanctioned visual representations of Alsatian hometowns. Wall maps, too, took on new importance during this time. In contrast to France, which tended to promote the nation or its capital city on classroom walls or in texts such as Le Tour de la France par deux enfants, Germany championed the local in its wall maps, which placed the student’s hometown within the territorial units of the German Empire. In addition to being able to situate their villages visually in relation to other provinces, students were given the opportunity to draw maps themselves in order to familiarize themselves with the shape of the region and to recognize their village’s role within that region. Beyond classroom materials, hiking maps and visual panoramas also help shed new light on the physical changes that the French and Germans imposed on their border territories during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (133). On the French side, private civil societies helped catalogue the historical and picturesque sites in the Vosges as part of their inclusion into national patrimony. Although the government provided funds, private societies did the work and documented what they found...

The Use of Language Learning Strategies in Course Books

Language Learning Strategies (LLS) are some kind of techniques that help students with learning a second or foreign language. Green and Oxford (1995) defines language learning strategies as specific actions or techniques that students use, often intentionally, to improve their progress in developing second language skills. LLS became the subject matter in the field of language learning in 1970s, and it has been understood that Language Learning Strategies have a crucial role in the language learning and teaching process. Course books are one of the most important teaching materials in language classrooms and they play an important role to apply language learning strategies to the classroom activities. This study aims to investigate the use of language learning strategies in the English language course books in Turkey. 2nd to 8th grade course books have been chosen from state schools and language learning strategies used in the course books have been defined according to Chamot and O'Malley's language learning strategy classifications. The study is intended to provide answers to the following questions: Which language learning strategies are used in the English language course books in primary and secondary schools? Are there any differences between the language course books as for the strategy use

The ELT Preparatory Class Students’ Strategy Using Profiles and Attitudes towards Foreign Language Learning: Amasya University Sample

The unsatisfactory language performance of L2 is among very common complaints voiced by the language teachers and educators for many years. These complaints push the applied researchers in the field of learning and teaching L2 searching for the causes of these kinds of problems and offering recommendations for solutions. Therefore, the need for this attempt dates back to the early years of 1970s as the majority of the research focused on developing the teaching methods and instructional materials. Parallel to the great efforts to understand the nature of the learning and teaching, since the early years of 1970s, great emphasis has been placed on social, psychological and affective factors that enhance or inhibit L2 success and achievement. Motivation, personality, learning style is among these variables that sound important places in different research. Taking a further step, this research aims to investigate the role of strategies and attitudes in L2 learning and teaching settings where English language has a role of foreign language as well. For this purpose, this research seeks the answers of what strategies the ELT preparatory class student use, whether the students’ achievement differs according to the strategy they use or not, what the students’ attitudes towards foreign language learning are, whether the students’ achievement differs according to the attitudes towards foreign language learning and there is a meaningful relation between the students’ strategy using profiles and attitudes towards foreign language learning or not. 22 Amasya University ELT preparatory class students, enrolling in 2014- 2015 academic year, consist the scope of this research. The data provide basis for this research have been collected via two different data collection instruments which are labelled as SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) and a questionnaire on attitudes towards learning a foreign language. The strategy inventory for Language Learning (SILL) is for the students of a second language developed by Oxford (1990). This inventory consists of 5 parts aimed to define the students strategy profiles in terms of remembering more effectively, using all mental process, compensating for missing, organizing and evaluating, managing emotions, learning with others. The inventory comprises 50 items each of which is labelled with the options that range from ‘‘1= Never or almost never true for me’’, ‘‘2= Usually not true of me’’, ‘‘3= Somewhat true of me’’, ‘‘4= Usually true of me’’ and ‘‘5= Always or almost always true of me’’. The questionnaire on attitudes towards foreign language learning was adopted by Tuncok (2010) from Horwitz’s (1988) Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and the Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) by Gardner (1985) adding eight more items. The questionnaire consists of 31 items and the answers are labelled as 7 point likert-type format sequencing from 1(totally disagree) to 7 (totally agree). In the study, both qualitative and quantitative research methods were applied together. For the data analysis of this study, SPSS 17.00 package program for social sciences was used throughout the whole process. According to the findings, this research shares the information and insight that learners’ strategy using profiles and attitudes towards foreign language learning should be kept in mind during the applications of all classroom activities especially in the foreign language learning settings. Moreover, the findings have significant implications for research on classroom instruction, material design and teacher education as well

Evidence of Critical Thinking in High School Humanities Classrooms

Critical thinking skills (CTS) are a group of higher order thinking abilities related with complex processes of learning like contextualization or problem solving. This exploratory research study identified whether critical thinking skills were present in high school humanities classrooms. The study was carried out in a private school in Bogotá, Colombia through qualitative methods and content analysis. The study sought to identify CTS in students’ actual learning processes. Data collection techniques included classroom observations, document analysis and focus groups to identify skills in teachers and eighth grade students from a humanities-focused high school curriculum. Results demonstrated the presence of argumentation in written and oral classroom material. Analysis was also evidenced through questioning, inferencing and other exercises. Motivation was also an observable element, reflected in explicit expressions and gestures, and in the use of extra material in the classes.

From spectator to composer: The roses and rocks in the life of a language teacher

The growing need for professional development requires the language teachers not to be mere consumers of commercial instructional materials or implementers of sets of mandated or recommended techniques, but to attempt to generate their own classroom materials, seek innovative pedagogical approaches, explore the contexts in which their designed practice is embedded, and become self-critics of their own personal and professional lives. The present article is a self-narrative of moments of epiphanies that an Iranian English teacher and materials developer began to experience over a period of 18 months during which she could see herself moving from a spectatorship position to that of a composership. Benefiting from the guidance and consultations of English Language Teaching (ELT), Persian Literature, and Islamic History advisors, the teacher commenced a journey towards abandoning text-book defined routine practices and attempted for adapting literary works of art (mainly the ones deriving their roots in Persian classic mystic and epic literature) and designing reflective classroom activities instead. Reflecting on self and documenting the events narratively made the teacher come face to face with a number of long-held teaching assumptions and practices (or even nostrums) that she had overlooked or avoided in the past. In light of interplay of internal driving forces and external forces she began to see herself transforming from being an orchestrator in classroom conduct to a self-vocalist. This was accompanied by moving from the domain of words to the realm of non-words and worlds, and from fragmented practices to more interconnected ones. It is hoped that the narrated experiences and overt or covert challenges embedded within them would be instrumental to those other teachers interested in similar expeditions of self-inquiry.

Handling knowledge: Using classroom materials to construct and interpret information requests

This article contributes to the recent conversation analytic interest in exploring the mechanisms of action formation and ascription by investigating how embodied interactional practices involving material objects relate to the organization of social action. Using as data information request sequences in student–student interaction, the study highlights the material nature of an interactional context and examines how students orient in talk and by bodily-visual means to their and their co-conversants’ textual documents during individual task work. Sequential analyses illustrate how the manual handling of such everyday learning materials as handouts and tasks sheets is not only an important resource for constructing the social actions of requesting and asserting information, but is also oriented as a basis for drawing inferences about the participants’ relative epistemic statuses. The article concludes by considering how embodied action and joint activities contribute towards action formation and ascription. Finally, it is also suggested that investigating the interactional use of learning materials is central if we wish to understand how they may support students’ task work by organizing epistemic practices specific to classrooms and, through those practices, construct particular institutional identities for students.

Exploring gender disparities in science and mathematics classrooms in the basic education

The present study assessed gender equality in science and mathematics classrooms in terms of instructional language, classroom materials, teaching aids, textbooks, curriculum, activities, and interactions as well as classroom management. Mixed methods research was 7 employed in the study. Quantitative data were gathered using the Observation Protocol for Gender Equity in Classroom (Espinosa & Morales, 2015). Interviews, focus group discussions and classroom observations generated the qualitative data in the study. Participants in the study were conveniently selected by the researchers. Analysis of the interview transcripts showed agreement and disagreement with the observation reports. However, in most instances, participants believed that equality in gender should always prevail in the classroom and that if disparity manifests, both the student and the teacher are responsible in maintaining equality in the classroom.

Designing a materials development course for EFL student teachers: principles and pitfalls

ABSTRACTThis article presents an overview of a newly designed course in materials development at a teacher education institute in the Netherlands. It also includes an evaluation of the course by its participants, student teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Dutch secondary schools. The course overview describes the aims and objectives of the course, its practical organisation, structure and contents, and details of assessment procedures. The course evaluation consists of student teachers’ written responses to a questionnaire. The purpose of this small-scale study is to explore (1) whether this materials development course facilitates innovative designs by EFL student teachers, (2) the principles behind the course which appear to be most successful in doing so, and (3) the potential pitfalls for teacher educators who design and develop a materials development course in their own context. Findings indicate that students generally consider their classroom materials to be innovative, and that the elements of the course that facilitate the creation of these innovative materials are the contribution of theoretical perspectives through compulsory reading assignments, the execution of a small-scale research project alongside the materials development project, and the requirement to use ICT. Recommendations are made to inform the debate on the responsibility of teacher education in preparing teachers for a role as materials developers.

Action research to support teachers’ classroom materials development

ABSTRACTLanguage teachers constantly create, adapt and evaluate classroom materials to develop new curricula and meet their learners’ needs. It has long been argued (e.g. by Stenhouse, L. [1975]. An Introduction to Curriculum Research and Development. London: Heinemann) that teachers themselves, as opposed to managers or course book writers, are best placed to develop context-specific materials that effectively and affectively engage learners. However, a systematic approach is required for materials development, and one practical option is through action research. Action research enables teachers to investigate learners’ reactions to new materials, and work with them to develop engaging context-specific materials. To illustrate how action research can successfully support materials development, this paper reports on a classroom-based project the first author (Emily) conducted at her college in Australia. The project was part of an innovative national programme for the Australian English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) sector, initiated and facilitated by the second author (Anne) and the ELICOS peak body English Australia. An Assessment for Learning (AfL) theoretical framework was adopted to integrate lesson materials and assessment, based on learner needs. At the college, previous assessment preparation materials had been ad hoc, so Emily explored what materials would best support her learners in preparing for written assessments and feedback. Innovative classroom materials were developed in negotiation with learners, who were actively involved in the process through interviews, focus groups and surveys. Findings included improved AfL classroom materials and new self-study resources, as well as increased learner motivation. The paper concludes with analysis of the implications of using action research for materials development.

Flipping Out! A Case Study on How to Flip the Principles of Economics Classroom

The benefits of active learning are well established. Nevertheless, many instructors are unable to implement active learning in the classroom due to pressures to cover many core topics in a principles course. This paper discusses a pedagogical tool that addresses this problem: the flipped classroom. In a flipped classroom, students are asked to study classroom material prior to class, allowing more class time to be used for active learning activities such as group discussion, problem solving, and experiments. This paper reports on our experience “flipping” a large enrollment (900+ students) microeconomic principles classroom using a methodology that was enhanced over the course of several years. Students were assigned to watch multimedia pre-lectures which included embedded questions prior to attending each lecture which then focused on active learning activities. Using empirical data collected from our semester-long case study, we provide an argument for best practices aimed at improving the effectiveness of a flipped classroom model to increase student learning outcomes.

Assessing the Difficulty Level of Math Board Games for Young Children

This study investigated differences in difficulty among three types of math board games used as curricular materials in some preschool classrooms. Difference in performance between low- and middle-income children on the three types of games was also explored. Children drew cards containing one to five large dots; they then attempted to place an equivalent number of counters on a bingo-type board or move an equivalent number of spaces along a short or a long path. The sample consisted of 86 children of diverse race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, age 3 to 5 years, enrolled in a licensed, urban preschool in the Midwest United States. A mixed-methods design was employed. Repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc testing showed that children scored significantly higher (p < .0001) on grid and short-path games than on longer path games. Head Start children scored significantly lower than middle-income children at age 3, but not at age 4 or 5. Qualitative data revealed mathematical behaviors that indicate when a child is ready to move to a more difficult level of game, as well as common error sources on long-path games.