Sarah Irvine Belson

Associations between Grades and Physical Activity and Food Choices: Results from YRBS from a Large Urban School District.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between television viewing time, physical activity level, food consumption patterns, and academic performance of adolescents in a large urban school district in the USA where health disparities are prevalent, particularly among minority residents. Design/methodology/approach – The 2010 Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used to analyze the relationship between academic grades and physical activity patterns and food consumption in a large urban school district serving over 77,000 students. Findings – Results indicated that students who self-reported grades of As and Bs had higher levels of physical activity and less screen time compared to students who reported grades of Ds and Fs. Further, as grades decreased the consumption of soda and fast food increased. Originality/value – Higher grades track significantly with improved physical activity and lower intake of soda and fast food. These findings provide additional support for the role of regul...

Field-based technology education: teaching teachers

This paper outlines the current status of technology integration in schools from the perspective of researchers and policy makers. The focus of the paper then turned to how teacher education programs in the U.S. have been preparing future teachers to use technology. In order to illustrate the complex issues that must be addressed when preparing teachers to use technology, this paper reports on and summarized the past seven years of an intensive field-based course given at American University in Washington, DC. This course has provided students with an opportunity to experience technology within a real-life school setting while providing local teachers with knowledge and practical skills on integrating technology into their classrooms.

Teachers as role models in solving childhood obesity

The rise in childhood obesity has led policymakers to target schools and school districts to take a leadership role in addressing this epidemic. As such, teachers must be prepared to address the complex nature of childhood obesity through nu- trition and health education. This paper outlines how teachers have the potential to be agents of change in schools thereby cre- ating a culture of health within the school environment. Through professional development workshops and employee wellness programs, teachers have the opportunity to learn the knowledge and skills needed to promote health resulting in teachers being role models of healthy behaviors and integrating health concepts into daily instruction. The purpose of this study was to assess the beliefs and self-efficacy of classroom teachers before and after a professional development program focused on aligning nutrition lessons with district learning standards in an urban middle school. The school faculty was exposed to a minimal in- tervention designed to align nutrition and health standards to core curriculum learning standards. As a result of this program, teachers showed significant changes in their beliefs in the intersection of health and learning and improved their self-efficacy for delivering health and nutrition education aligned to existing learning standards. This project presents the promise that teachers can develop the confidence and conviction to include health across the curriculum and positively impact student and teacher health outcomes.

Translating school health research to policy. School outcomes related to the health environment and changes in mathematics achievement

This paper describes an exploration of the relationship between mathematic achievement and the school health environment relative to policy-driven changes in the school setting, specifically with regard to physical education/physical activity. Using school-level data, the authors seek to understand the relationship between mathematics achievement and the school health environment and physical education minutes. This work provides a description of the aspects of the school health environment, an exploration of the interrelationships between school health and student achievement, and an assessment of the effects of the school health policy and practice on student performance and health status. Based on these findings, we identify additional research necessary to describe the relationship between obesity and learning in children.

Measuring the Implementation of a School Wellness Policy.

BACKGROUND With the rise in childhood obesity, school policies related to nutrition and physical activity have been written and implemented. In this paper, we present a model to evaluate the degree to which state legislation for school health policies are implemented at the school level. METHODS Using Washington, DCs Healthy Schools Act (HSA) and a self-report measure of the implementation of the HSA, we illustrate the process of developing a composite score that can be used to measure compliance with the provisions of the law. RESULTS We calculated elementary and middle school composite scores based on the provisions within the HSA. Schools have been successful in implementing nutrition provisions; however, more resources are needed for schools to achieve the minutes of health and physical education. We found statistically significant differences between public charter and traditional public schools on the implementation of the provisions of the HSA. CONCLUSIONS Understanding how schools are complying with school wellness policies is a next step to determining where additional resources or support are needed in order to support school-wide adoption of healthy policies.

Using interactive blackboard chats to promote student learning in physics

The Blackboard Learning System/spl trade/ is widely used on many college and university campuses today. This paper will explore the use of this system as a teaching and learning tool in introductory physics. Particular emphasis will be placed on the online chat feature available through blackboard. During the fall 2002 pilot semester, students enrolled in an introductory physics course for non-majors at American University made extensive use of live, interactive, online chats when completing homework assignments. These chats were peer-led and instructor-moderated. A Socratic dialogue approach was utilized to help promote deeper understanding of key topics and concepts. To address, in part, the question of whether deeper understanding was actually achieved, results from the force concept inventory (FCI), a widely used multiple-choice, survey-type instrument to assess student understanding of basic mechanics concepts in physics, was used. Pre-/post-test gains are compared for active participants in the online chats and the class as a whole to help ascertain student understanding. In addition, links to student learning styles are explored to determine whether learning style may be a factor in terms of active participation in the online discussions. Highlights of student perceptions regarding the use of blackboard technologies, particularly the online chats was shared.