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BackgroundParent training programs are traditionally delivered in face-to-face formats and require trained facilitators and weekly parent attendance. Implementing face-to-face sessions is challenging in busy primary care settings and many barriers exist for parents to attend these sessions. Tablet-based delivery of parent training offers an alternative to face-to-face delivery to make parent training programs easier to deliver in primary care settings and more convenient and accessible to parents. We adapted the group-based Chicago Parent Program (CPP) to be delivered as a self-administered, tablet-based program called the ezParent program. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to (1) assess the feasibility of the ezParent program by examining parent satisfaction with the program and the percent of modules completed, (2) test the efficacy of the ezParent program by examining the effects compared with a control condition for improving parenting and child behavior in a sample of low-income ethnic minority parents of young children recruited from a primary care setting, and (3) compare program completion and efficacy with prior studies of the group-based CPP. MethodsThe study used a two-group randomized controlled trial (RCT) design with repeated measures follow up. Subjects (n=79) were randomly assigned to an intervention or attention control condition. Data collection was at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks post baseline. Parents were recruited from a large, urban, primary care pediatric clinic. ezParent module completion was calculated as the percentage of the six modules completed by the intervention group parents. Attendance in the group-based CPP was calculated as the percentage of attendance at sessions 1 through 10. Satisfaction data were summarized using item frequencies. Parent and child data were analyzed using a repeated measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) with simple contrasts to determine if there were significant intervention effects on the outcome measures. Effect sizes for between group comparisons were calculated for all outcome variables and compared with CPP group based archival data. ResultsezParent module completion rate was 85.4% (34.2/40; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 78.4%-93.7%) and was significantly greater (P

This study examined associations between four indicators of social determinants of health (SDOH; parent education, poverty, material hardships, and child health problems), chronic school absence, and teachers' ratings of parents' engagement in their children's education. Surveys were collected from 304 parents and 26 teachers from eight Baltimore City Public Schools. Results revealed that teachers' ratings of parent engagement were consistently lower among families experiencing adverse SDOH and/or whose children were chronically absent; however, there was no significant relationship between teachers' ratings of parent engagement and child health problems. Additionally, chronic absence partially mediated the relationship between three SDOH indicators (total material hardships, parent education level, and child health problems) and teacher-rated parent engagement. Poverty was excluded from mediation analysis due to evidence of multicollinearity suppressive effects. Addressing the SDOH assessed in this study may be an effective strategy to reduce chronic absence, promote parent engagement, and foster equity in education.

The purpose of this study was to identify indicators of parent engagement in early learning that would be relevant for children's academic success; equitable for all families regardless of social, educational, or economic backgrounds; and actionable for urban school districts seeking to promote parent engagement with limited resources. Using a Delphi technique, a panel of parents, school staff, and researchers rated 106 parent engagement indicators extracted from stakeholder interviews. After multiple Delphi rounds and panel discussion, 30 indicators were retained. Retained indicators focused on home-based activities and home-school relationships/communication; no school-based activities met criteria for relevance, feasibility, and actionability.

Young children first develop the social-behavioral skills needed to succeed in school from parents. However, most school-based interventions designed to bolster children's social-behavioral skills have focused on strengthening teachers' skills. This study examined the extent to which a 12-session group-based program for strengthening parenting skills, the Chicago Parent Program (CPP), could be implemented with fidelity in 12 urban schools serving a large population of young children (>95% African American or Latino) living in poverty. Parents of 380 prekindergarten students enrolled in the CPP. Data were collected on child behavior problems; parent satisfaction, attendance, and weekly practice completion; and implementation adherence and competence. Results indicated that CPP group leaders were highly adherent and competent; parents rated groups highly and attended an average of 8 sessions indicating CPP was implemented with high fidelity. Barriers and supports to implementation are reviewed, and implications for long-term sustainability of school-based interventions like CPP are discussed.

Time-resolved luminescence lifetime measurements are an important photophysical technique. However, access to this technique at the undergraduate level is limited by the expense of the instrumentation needed to create the well-defined light pulses required to measure the luminescence decay of an excited state molecule. We present here an inexpensive, improved light emitting diode (LED) circuit that is capable of supplying bright light pulses. Our circuit is designed to overdrive the LED resulting in a bright excitation light source with a well-defined square wave pulse shape. This allows for the facile measurement of luminescent molecules with decay lifetimes in the hundreds of nanoseconds to microsecond range. Data are presented for five UV, violet, and blue LEDs as driven by the improved circuit that can be used as a guide for selecting the best excitation light source for a particular molecule of interest. Our students have studied the quenching of aqueous tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride with ferric ion using an overdriven blue LED as an excitation source. While ferric ion is not an efficient quencher compared to molecular oxygen, it is much easier to handle, allowing for the preparation of accurate standard solutions free of dissolved oxygen.

This sequential mixed methods study evaluated the impact of the Chicago Parent Program (CPP) in 12 Baltimore Title I PreK programs on parent engagement and student outcomes from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Phase 1 (quasi-experiment; N = 11,996) compared PreK students whose parents enrolled in CPP with those whose parents did not enroll in CPP on measures of kindergarten readiness, chronic absenteeism, suspensions/expulsions, and grade retention. Phase 2 (qualitative; n = 20) explored the perceptions of school-based staff, principals, and district and community leaders on CPP's impact on parents, students, and parent engagement, and why they sought to continue CPP in the schools. Research Findings: No effects on student outcomes were found using administrative data. However, all of those interviewed described observed improvements in parent and student behavior and parent engagement and all schools have continued implementing CPP. Practice or Policy: Qualitative results highlight the importance of stakeholder perspectives and the limitations of administrative data for evaluating brief interventions serving families with complex needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grand challenges such as energy, water, and food scarcity limit our growing population's ability to live sustainably on Earth. Such complex societal challenges, which interconnect many human and natural systems, will require today's students to apply approaches that go beyond simple cause and effect. To help instructors teach students how to develop their ability to work with complex systems that do not always behave in linear or intuitive ways, we created an instructional module called "Systems Thinking." The six-unit module is available online for free through InTeGrate. Using the context of sustainability, "Systems Thinking" begins with terminology and conceptual models and proceeds to quantitative modeling with an emphasis on metacognition--a key aspect of developing systems thinking. Before publication, the module was reviewed for pedagogy and content and piloted in three undergraduate courses in environmental science, oceanography, and climate science. External evaluators scored student work from the pilots and found that students met the stated learning goals. Students who completed the entire "Systems Thinking" module scored significantly higher on assessments of systems thinking skills than students who completed only one of the six units. The materials are broadly adaptable and instructors from a variety of disciplines can incorporate the "Systems Thinking" module into existing courses to help undergraduate students develop complex approaches to complex problems.

Background: Parents' involvement in their children's education is integral to academic success. Several education-based organizations have identified recommendations for how parents can best support their children's learning. However, executive functioning (EF), a high-ordered cognitive skill set, contributes to the extent to which parents can follow through with these recommendations. Method: This integrative review of the literature describes how executive function can affect parents' ability to facilitate and actively participate in their child's education and provides strategies for all school staff to strengthen parent-school partnerships when parents have limitations in EF. Results: EF skills are fluid and influenced by several factors, including parental age, sleep, stress, and mood/affect. Despite possible limitations in parental EF, there are strategies school personnel can employ to strengthen partnership with parents to support their children's academic success. Conclusions: As reforms in education call for increased customization and collaboration with families, parental EF is an important consideration for school personnel. Awareness and understanding of how parents' EF affects children's learning will help schools better support parents in supporting their children's academic success.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common mental health issue in resource‐limited settings that negatively affects the well‐being of mothers and children. However, PPD often remains untreated, leading to long‐term consequences for families. Therefore, we examined the prevalence and determinants of PPD among adolescent and adult mothers in northwest Ethiopia. Data were collected from 374 adolescent (10–19 years) and 760 adult (20–34 years) mothers 6 weeks after childbirth. Data were analyzed using binary and multiple logistic regression. Adolescent mothers had a significantly higher proportion of PPD (37.4%) than adult mothers (20.1%) and were more likely to report low self‐esteem (13.1% vs. 8.2%) and low social support (28.3% vs. 23.3%). Factors associated with PPD differed between adolescent and adult mothers. Adolescent mothers with PPD were more likely to report household food insecurity, low self‐esteem, low knowledge of postpartum complications, and working in agriculture or professional/technical occupations. For adult mothers, factors associated with PPD included distance to the nearest health facility, medium social support, inadequate dietary diversity, and food insecurity. Results suggest that targeted interventions by age group are needed to reduce the burden of PPD in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes principles of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones represent a range of institutional missions, student profiles, and geographical locations. Each successfully directed activities toward persistence of STEM students, especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups, through a set of common elements: mentoring programs to build community; research experiences to strengthen scientific skill/identity; attention to quantitative skills; and outreach/bridge programs to broaden the student pool. This paper grounds these program elements in learning theory, emphasizing their essential principles with examples of how they were implemented within institutional contexts. We also describe common assessment approaches that in many cases informed programming and created traction for stakeholder buy-in. The lessons learned from our shared experiences in pursuit of inclusive excellence, including the resources housed on our companion website, can inform others' efforts to increase access to and persistence in STEM in higher education.

This article describes two cohort programs that were used to support students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields at Carleton College. These programs were designed to support three aspects of student development: students' drive to succeed in STEM fields; students' sense of belonging in their student cohorts, in the college, in the STEM departments at the college, and in STEM disciplines more broadly; and students' learning in STEM courses (e.g., mentoring, advising, and research experiences).

Background: Parent training interventions support and strengthen parenting practices and parent-child relationships and improve child behavior. Between March 2018 and February 2020, a community-based parenting program conducted 38 in-person Chicago Parent Program (CPP) groups. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we modified the delivery of the in-person CPP to hybrid delivery using the self-administered, web-based version of the CPP (ez Parent) paired with web-based, videoconferenced group sessions. Objective: This study aims to describe the delivery transition and implementation outcomes of the hybrid delivery of the CPP (ezParent+group) during community-based dissemination. Methods: This single-group, mixed methods retrospective evaluation examined the implementation outcomes using the RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework. We report on data from hybrid ez Parent delivery between September 2020 and August 2022. Parents completed pre- and postprogram surveys that included motivation to participate and perceived changes in parent-child behavior. Digital analytics captured ez Parent completion. Facilitators completed fidelity assessments and participated in postintervention interviews. Results: In total, 24 hybrid ez Parent groups (n=240 parents) were delivered by 13 CPP-trained facilitators. Parents reported high levels of satisfaction with the program and improvements in their feelings of parenting self-efficacy and their child's behavior following their participation in hybrid ez Parent. On average, parents completed 4.58 (SD 2.43) 6 ez Parent modules. The average group attendance across the 4 sessions was 71.2%. Facilitators found the hybrid delivery easy to implement and reported high parent engagement and understanding of CPP strategies. Conclusions: Using the hybrid ez Parent intervention is a feasible and effective way to engage parents. Lessons learned included the importance of academic and community-based organization partnerships for delivering and evaluating robust programs. Implementation facilitators and barriers and future research recommendations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is a powerful tool for examining the charge of proteins in solution. The charge can be manipulated through choice of solvent and pH. Furthermore, solution-accessible, protonated lysine side chains can be specifically tagged with 18-crown-6 ether to form noncovalent adducts. Chemical derivatization of a protein in this fashion followed by "soft" ionization can provide a wealth of specific information regarding side chain identity, location, and surface chemistry. A variety of proteins are examined with ESI-MS under a range of conditions in this self-guided experiment, and the results are compared with those predicted from structural information available in the protein data bank.