scholarly journals The Smartphone-Assisted Intervention Improved Perception of Nutritional Status among Middle School Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 5932
Author(s):  
Yan-Hui Shen ◽  
Zheng Liu ◽  
Wen-Hao Li ◽  
Shuang Zhou ◽  
Jin-Hui Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Parental Perception ◽  
School Students ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
Accurate Perception

Misperception of nutritional status is common and hinders the progress of childhood obesity prevention. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a smartphone-assisted intervention to improve student and parental perception of students’ nutritional status (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese). We conducted a parallel-group controlled trial with a non-randomized design in three junior middle schools of Beijing, China in 2019. One school was allocated to the intervention group and two schools to the control group. A total of 573 students (aged 13.1 ± 0.4 years) participated in the trial. The 3-month intervention included three components: health education sessions for students and parents, regular monitoring of students’ weight, and the provision of feedback via a smartphone application. Schools in the control group continued their usual practice. Primary outcomes included the student and parental accurate perception of students’ nutritional status. The percentage of students’ accurate perception of their own nutritional status in the intervention group increased from 49.0% to 59.2% from baseline to three months, whereas it decreased from 64.1% to 58.1% in the control group; the adjusted odds ratio (OR) between the two groups was 1.71 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13, 2.59). The intervention did not significantly improve parental perception of students’ nutritional status (p > 0.05). The study findings provided a brief approach for improving perception of nutritional status among middle school students.

scholarly journals Developing middle school students’ English pronunciation using educational videos in the classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (29) ◽  
pp. 54-64
Author(s):  
Lorena Reinoso Illescas ◽  
Esteban Heras Urgiles
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Facial Movements ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Correct Pronunciation ◽  
Educational Videos

This study examines the extent to which middle school students improved their pronunciation through the use of educational videos and what their perceptions were about this technique. The study was carried out at a public educational institution in Cuenca – Ecuador. Sixty-five ninth-graders participated: 33 students (15 boys and 18 girls) were part of the intervention group, and 32 students (15 boys and 17 girls) were part of the control group. The study used a mixed-method approach, so both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The students took a pre- and a post-test based on a reading aloud activity to measure their level of pronunciation. Furthermore, at the end of the study, they were invited to complete a questionnaire with open-ended questions about the use of videos in class. During the ten weeks of the treatment, the intervention group received classes that included the regular use of videos, while the control group received their usual classes with the researcher; no videos were used at all. The final results showed that students’ perceptions in the intervention group regarding the use of videos in the class were mostly positive; they considered videos useful for the improvement of pronunciation because they heard the correct pronunciation and could observe facial movements, which helped to acquire better pronunciation. Further, the statistical analysis of the scores given in the pre- and post-test by both evaluators (researcher and inter-rater) showed that there was an improvement in the students’ pronunciation skills in the intervention group.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF SPORTS LOAD FOR PRIMARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (08) ◽  
pp. 1840028
Author(s):  
QI LUO ◽  
LIN YANG ◽  
SONG ZHANG ◽  
JUN SU ◽  
DONGMEI HAO
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Vital Capacity ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Exercise Time ◽  
Training Impulse

In recent years, the physical fitness of primary and middle school students in China has been declining. In addition to the unbalanced nutrition, the main reason is the insufficient load of physical exercise. The aim of this study is to explore the quantitative methods of sports load of primary and middle school students by means of training impulse (TRIMP), and to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of this method. In the study, 297 students (168 boys, 129 girls) were divided into intervention group and control group. All of students were tested with height, weight, vital capacity, sit-and-reach, 50[Formula: see text]m running, 50[Formula: see text]m [Formula: see text] 8 round trip, one-minute sit-up, one-minute skip and other physical indicators in gym class, the change of resting heart rate, sport heart rate, exercise time were collected before and after by independent development of the heart-rate wrist belt. The mean sport heart rate, mean exercise time (the cumulative time of the heart rate between 120 and 200[Formula: see text]bpm), the time of different intensity exercise and the TRIMP were calculated. The results of correlation analysis showed that the change of TRIMP was positively correlated with the change of vital capacity and one-minute sit up, and increasing sports load could improve the physical health, verifying the feasibility of using the TRIMP to quantify the sports load. At the same time, the TRIMP was expressed in scores to make the understanding easy for the teachers and students or any audience in general.

Effectiveness of Cyber Bullying Sensitization Program (CBSP) to Reduce Cyber Bullying Behavior Among Middle School Children

2021 ◽  
pp. 504-513
Author(s):  
Surabhi Negi ◽  
Sunita Magre
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Cyber Bullying ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Experimental Group

Cyber bullying is the unwise use of technology to harm and humiliate an individual or group over the Internet. The purpose of this article is to test the effectiveness of the cyber bullying sensitisation program (CBSP) to reduce the level of cyber bullying behaviour among middle school students. The sample was restricted to adolescents as they are the ones who are most exposed and vulnerable in the cyber space. A quasi-experimental pre-post design with intervention was adopted for the study. The participants of the study were comprised of 186 middle school students from two private schools in India. The experimental group had 94 participants while control groups had 92 participants. Statistical analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between pre- and post-test scores in the experimental group. No significant difference was found between the experiment and control group before the program, suggesting that the program was effective in helping students in reducing cyber bullying behaviour. The implications for prevention and intervention programs were discussed.

Effects of the Rango Cards game intervention on food consumption, nutritional knowledge and self-efficacy in the adoption of healthy eating practices of high school students: a cluster randomised controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (13) ◽  
pp. 2424-2433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Martins dos Santos Chagas ◽  
Giselle Rhai-Sa Melo ◽  
Raquel Braz Assunção Botelho ◽  
Natacha Toral
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Nutritional Knowledge ◽  
School Students ◽  
Eating Practices

AbstractObjective:The study aimed to assess the impact of a game-based nutritional intervention on food consumption, nutritional knowledge and self-efficacy in the adoption of healthy eating practices.Design:This cluster randomised controlled trial included both male and female high school students from private schools in the Federal District, Brazil. Four schools were randomly selected for each group. Investigated variables were age, sex, monthly family income, maternal education level, dietary perceptions and practices, nutritional knowledge and self-efficacy in the adoption of healthy eating practices.Setting:Intervention group participants were instructed to play Rango Cards, a digital game developed for the study, on their own, for a period of 7–17 d, while the control group was not provided with any game or material during the study.Participants:The study included 319 adolescents (mean age = 15·8 (sd 0·7) years).Results:Significant reductions were observed in the intervention group compared with the control group for the following variables: habit of eating while watching TV or studying and having meals at fast food restaurants. The intervention group showed increased knowledge of the effects of fruit and vegetable consumption as well as improved self-efficacy in the adoption of healthy eating practices such as reducing Na intake and preparing healthy meals.Conclusions:The design of Rango Cards is potentially capable of effecting positive changes. Therefore, the digital game promotes autonomy and self-care among adolescents with regard to healthy eating.

Cognitive Effects of a Logo-Enriched Mathematics Program for Middle School Students

1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra V. Turner ◽  
Michael L. Land
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Minimal Amount ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mathematical Concepts ◽  
Logo Programming

This study investigated the effect of learning Logo on middle-school students' understanding of specific mathematical concepts and on their level of cognitive development. Students in the Logo Group ( n = 91) learned Logo for one hour a week for sixteen weeks as part of their regular mathematics curriculum. The Control Group ( n = 90) did not participate in the Logo program but received the full allotted time for their regular mathematics curriculum. No significant differences were found between the two groups in their understanding of mathematics concepts or in their growth in cognitive development. However, among the students in the Logo Group, those who learned the most Logo gained significantly more than those who learned a minimal amount of Logo both in their understanding of the mathematics concepts and in their level of cognitive development. When the High Logo group was compared to the Control Group, and also to a matched subset of the Control Group, there were large differences in favor of the High Logo group, but the results were not significant. The findings of this study suggest that cognitive development, achievement in mathematics, and achievement in Logo programming all share a common factor and that students who do well in one area are also likely to do well in the other two areas.

scholarly journals Technology in action: Ascertaining the impact of cell phone calls on middle school students placed at risk of drop out

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (40) ◽  
pp. 4224-4233
Author(s):  
Naseem Hyder Rajput
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Cell Phone ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
School Level ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
The Impact

Background/Objectives: Regular attendance at school is essential for allround development of students. The fundamental objective of this study was to utilize low-cost technology of cell phones to report to parents/guardians about the attendance of their children at schools and ascertain the impacts of cell phone calls on the attendance of Middle School students placed at risk of Drop out. Methods/Statistical analysis: This study was Experimental with a PretestPosttest Control Group by design and descriptive by purpose. The participants were 30 eight graders belonging to a Public Middle School of District Shaheed Benazirabad in Pakistan. These participants were then randomly assigned to Control and Experimental Groups (15 each). For intervention of making cell phone calls to parents/guardians to inform and ask them about the reason for the absence of their child, a teacher in each participating school was assigned this responsibility. The intervention lasted for 3 months. The data was analyzed using SPSS repeated measure t-test to calculate the significance of the impact of intervention. Findings: Results of the present study indicated that the attendance of Experimental Group on Posttest (75.07 %) was significantly higher than that on Pretest (62.87%). Novelty : This study utilizes existing technology available to almost everyone and bridges the parents and school administration to get the best outcome quickly; mobile-based intervention is simple and docile to regulate students’ performance at school level; it also improves the safety of the students.

scholarly journals Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School Promotes Student STEM Interest

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-128
Author(s):  
Pauline Mosley ◽  
Gerald Ardito ◽  
Lauren Scollins
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
School Students ◽  
Stem Interest ◽  
Experimental Group

The principal purpose of this investigation is to study the effect of robotic cooperative learning methodologies on middle school students’ critical thinking, and STEM interest. The semi-experimental inquiry consisted of ninety four six-grade students (forty nine students in the experimental group, forty five students in the control group), chosen by their principals. A critical thinking test was administered to evaluate the cognitive skills and STEM interest of the students. Instruction was implemented in two formats: cooperative learning and problem-based learning. The experimental group utilized robotic cooperative learning while the control group utilized problem-based learning.  After four sessions of both instruction types with both groups the findings reveal that critical thinking of students is enhanced significantly by robotic cooperative learning (P<0.01).

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