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Narrative Corruptions Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative Peter Brooks New York, NY: New York Review Books, 2022. 'A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one [...]

This study describes an intervention that introduced a period of solving non-routine problems into tertiary STEM lectures. The aim was twofold: to attempt to increase student engagement and to introduce them to the kind of domain-free abstract reasoning that involves critical, creative and innovative thinking. The study involved over 600 STEM participants in five lecture classes from three tertiary institutions. The results show that a style of lecture delivery that utilises the inherent engagement effect of non-routine problems can have a positive influence on student engagement -- the effect that extends to a group of students who are conformed to type on many measures, including low-achievement. This is supported by evidence from different sources, including data from naturalistic observations conducted in lectures before, during, and after the intervention delivery; cross-sectional survey data at the start and the end of the semester; and interview data from the participant lecturers. The intervention is amenable to scaling up with a relatively small development investment and easily transferable to other tertiary STEM courses.

Asthma outcomes remain suboptimal, despite effective pharmacotherapy. Psychological dysfunction (such as anxiety) is common, and associated with poorer outcomes. We evaluated a digital mindfulness programme as an intervention to improve asthma-related quality of life for primary care patients, in a prospectively registered randomized-controlled feasibility study. We offered 'Headspace', a widely-used digital mindfulness intervention, to adults with asthma through 16 UK GP practices. Participants were randomized on a 2:1 basis to the mindfulness intervention, or waitlist control. Participants completed questionnaires (including asthma symptom control, asthma-related quality of life, anxiety, depression) at baseline, 6-week and 3-month follow-up. 116 participants completed primary outcomes at 3-month follow-up: intervention 73 (79%), control 43 (84%). Compared to baseline, the intervention group but not the control group reported significantly improved asthma-related quality of life, with a between-group difference favoring the intervention group that was not significant (Mean difference = 0.15, 95%CI - 0.13 to 0.42). Intervention use varied (ranging from 0 to 192 times) but was generally high. Digital mindfulness interventions are feasible and acceptable adjunct treatments for mild and moderate asthma to target quality of life. Further research should adapt 'generic' mindfulness-based stress-reduction to maximize effectiveness for asthma, and validate our findings in a fully-powered randomized controlled trial. Trial registration Prospectively registered: ISRCTN52212323., Author(s): Ben Ainsworth [sup.1] [sup.2] , Sabina Stanescu [sup.3] , Beth Stuart [sup.4] , Daniel Russell [sup.5] , Megan Liddiard [sup.4] , Ratko Djukanovic [sup.2] [sup.6] , Mike Thomas [sup.4] [...]

A crucial step in improving the use of digital technology (DT) for learning mathematical concepts in the classroom appears to be increasing teacher involvement in task development. Hence, this research considered the effect of a professional development (PD) programme designed to assist teachers with DT task production for implementation in their classrooms. Four groups of three Sri Lankan teachers were observed and guided as they designed and implemented DT tasks. We examine the effectiveness of the PD programme in terms of the richness of the tasks produced by the groups before and after the PD. The results suggest the intervention led to richer, more student-centred tasks. The reasons behind this improvement are analysed, along with factors that might have influenced the DT task development. The findings have implications for the design of secondary school PD programmes and may help educators to facilitate the training of mathematics teachers in the use of DT.

In this survey paper, we describe the state of the field of research on teaching mathematics with technology with an emphasis on the secondary school phase. We synthesize themes, questions, results and perspectives emphasized in the articles that appear in this issue alongside the relevant foundations of these ideas within the key journal articles, handbooks and conference papers. Our aim is to give an overview of the field that provides opportunities for readers to gain deeper insights into theoretical, methodological, practical and societal challenges that concern teaching mathematics with technology in its broadest sense. Although this collection of articles was developed prior to the global coronavirus pandemic, we have taken the opportunity to survey the contributing authors to provide some country perspectives on the impact the pandemic has had on mathematics teaching with technology in the period January-July 2020. We conclude the survey paper by identifying some areas for future research in this increasingly relevant topic.

'Never send to know for whom the bell tolls...' my high school English teacher intoned at the end of the school day, but we hardly heard him, already halfway out [...]

Despite great advancements in the treatment of chronic airway diseases, improvements in morbidity and mortality have stalled in recent years. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are complex and heterogeneous diseases that require tailored management based on individual patient characteristics and needs. The Treatable Traits (TTs) approach aims to personalise and improve patient care through the identification and targeting of clinically relevant and modifiable pulmonary, extra-pulmonary and behavioural traits. In this article, we outline the rationale for TTs-based management and provide practical guidance for its application in primary care. To aid implementation, seven potential 'prime' traits are proposed: airflow obstruction, eosinophilic inflammation, adherence, inhaler technique, smoking, low body mass index/obesity and anxiety and depression—selected for their prevalence, recognisability and feasibility of use. Some of the key questions among healthcare professionals, that may be roadblocks to widespread application of a TTs model of care, are also addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]