Search

Background Previous reviews show a favourable relationship between physical activity (PA) and brain health in children and youth. The purpose of this systematic review was to extend the generalizability of previous findings using only studies that employed randomized controlled designs in a wider age range. Methods After registration in PROSPERO, PRISMA guidelines were followed. Studies must have used a randomized controlled design; manipulated PA once (i.e., acute) or more (i.e., chronic) in apparently healthy children (1 month-17.99 years); and examined cognitive function, brain function, or brain structure as outcomes. Articles were reviewed for inclusion and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Results Overall, 84 studies from 83 papers with 12,600 unique participants were included (nrange = 10–1,224, Mrange = 0.77–17 years). Studies were mostly rated as low risk of bias. The majority of studies (n = 52) reported at least one favourable cognitive function outcome associated with a PA intervention. Few studies (n = 6) reported an unfavourable outcome. Examining the multiple cognitive function outcomes within each study, PA had mostly no effect (nacute = 29, nchronic = 47) or a mix of favourable and no effects (nacute = 20, nchronic = 27). For brain function, acute PA was associated with no change (n = 2) whereas chronic PA was associated with a mix of increases, decreases, or no change (n = 3). For brain structure, two overlapping studies found either favourable or no effects of chronic PA. Discussion PA is unlikely to harm brain health in children and youth and may confer some benefits. More research is needed to examine the relationship between PA and brain structure and function.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the interrater reliability of the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) using consistent movement speeds guided by a metronome when measuring wrist flexor and ankle plantar flexor spasticity in patients with an upper motor neuron (UMN) lesion. The MAS has been found to have inconsistent interrater reliability for scoring the degree of spasticity. Method: This quantitative cross-sectional pilot study occurred in the outpatient spasticity clinic of a community rehabilitation hospital. Participants were a convenience sample of 20 patients with UMN lesions receiving botulinum toxin type A injections for focal spasticity. For each of the muscle groups tested, different pairs of evaluators scored spasticity on the MAS at a velocity of 130° per second. Evaluators were physical therapy students trained by an experienced physical therapist in MAS assessment. Weighted κ values were calculated to measure interrater reliability for each muscle group. Results: The weighted κ values for the wrist flexors and ankle plantar flexors were, respectively, moderate (κw = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.87) and slight (κw = 0.08; 95% CI: −0.34, 0.50). Conclusion: Using consistent movement velocity, novice evaluators were able to score spasticity with reasonable interrater reliability when assessing the wrist flexors but not the ankle plantar flexors.

A key aspect of supporting teachers’ learning on a large scale concerns mathematics leaders’ practices in designing for and leading high-quality professional development. We report on a retrospective analysis of an initial design experiment aimed at supporting the learning of three math leaders who were charged with supporting the learning of middle-grades mathematics teachers across a large US school district. Initial goals for the math leaders’ learning included: (a) viewing teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a progression; (b) designing supports for teachers’ learning that were informed by assessments of teachers’ current practices, were oriented towards long-term goals for teachers’ practices, and would enable teachers to attain short-term goals that constituted reasonable next steps; and (c) facilitating professional development by pressing on teachers’ ideas differentially and building on their contributions. Findings suggest that the math leaders increasingly viewed teachers’ improvement of their classroom practices as a developmental progression and began to design connected sequences of activities. However, they struggled to facilitate the activities in ways that would meet their ambitious goals for teachers’ learning. Based on our findings, we indicate potential improvements to our design for supporting math leaders’ learning. More generally, we provide the field with a set of potentially revisable learning goals for math leaders’ learning, a set of principles to guide the design of supports for their learning, and a provisional design to support the development of their practices.

In this chapter, we delineate the prototypical characteristics of the design research methodology and describe what is involved in conducting a design study to investigate either students’ learning in a particular mathematical domain or teachers’ development of increasingly sophisticated forms of practices. In addition, we discuss some of the common limitations of design studies, thereby identifying areas for attention in future studies of this type.