Education and Interpretation on Public Lands: Lessons from Research and New Directions

Decades of research confirm that interpretation and environmental education on public lands can accomplish a wide variety of positive outcomes for participants, ranging from personal learning and growth to stewardship behaviors both onand off-site. This research note offers a brief summary of the state-of-the-field of interpretation and environmental education research as applied to public lands. It highlights the general state of knowledge and identifies opportunities for researchers to further enhance our understanding about education on public lands to maximize benefits for visitors and managers alike. In particular, we emphasize the value of large-scale comparative studies as well as collaborative approaches to adaptive management, in which researchers support active experimentation through iterative data collection and analysis within a learning network of multiple program providers. This latter approach promotes evidenced-based learning within a larger community practice in which participants can benefit from the diverse knowledge, experiences, and data that each brings into the network.

Project PROBE (Providing Research- Based Opportunities for Better Education): Addressing Gaps through Research in Education

This research determined the effectiveness of Project PROBE (Providing Research-Based Opportunities for Better Education) in addressing gaps on teachers’ research capabilities and utilization. Parameters were based on the School PPA Evaluation Tool from a total population of 25 teachers who were the recipients of the project. Through descriptive research design, findings from the evaluation of Project PROBE for the school year 2020 – 2021 were collected and interpreted using weighted mean and analysis of emerging themes. Data suggested that Project PROBE is highly evident as it obtained the overall mean score of 4.92 for Goals and Objectives; 4.99 for Relevance; 5.00 for Time Management; 4.96 for Student Participation; 4.92 for Internal and External Stakeholders Participation; 5.00 for Management of Resources; 4.95 for Effectiveness to Learning Outcomes Results; and 5.00 for Documentation/Accomplishment Report. Further, this is validated by the comments and suggestions provided by the respondents in the assessment of GFINHS PPA Evaluation Tool. Relatively, the outcome is consistent with a multitude of research that suggested that despite the pandemic, educators continuously seek resiliency and education reform. They acknowledged that research skills are critical to sustainable and lifelong learning. Hence, being teachers as researchers, they are innovators, curriculum drivers, agents of school transformation, and directors of their own professional growth. It can also be suggested that this study is vital for opening a better and greater avenue to recognize teachers’ efforts and contributions to the field of research. It will also help in bolstering education environment that spearheads innovations and practices which are evidenced-based for a wider community of greater benefit. you can type your own text. Keywords: teacher-research, research capabilities, research utilization, education research

A Programmatic Evaluation of School Preparedness for Latinx Children and Families: A Partnership Program

Introduction: Latinx children are the fastest-growing ethnic minority of children under the age of 5 years in a tri-county area in the Southeastern United States (US Census, 2018). There are limited culturally and linguistically appropriate school preparedness initiatives in this geographic region. Methods: A cultural and linguistic appropriate program was developed in coordination with the state's largest Latinx advocacy organization and two patient-centered pediatric medical homes (PCPMHs) after securing extramural grant funding for an evidenced-based home visitation program using skilled community health workers (CHWs) aimed at Latinx children at the age of 0–5 years and their caregivers. The program includes developmental screenings using the Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3), CHW role modeling of developmentally appropriate play, early literacy, connection to resources, oral health, nutrition, and physical activity. Results: Of the 103 unique children represented in this programmatic evaluation that received an initial and follow-up ASQ®-3 developmental screening, paired t-tests indicate statistically significant improvement in mean scores from the first to second ASQ®-3 in all five major developmental domains with the largest gains represented in the communication and fine motor skill domains. Conclusion: This evaluation suggests that low-frequency home visits from skilled CHWs can have a beneficial effect on development in early childhood. PPCMHs can serve as a hub for these community-based programs.

Pharmacological Management of Pattern Hair Loss

Pattern hair loss (PHL) is a condition that worsens with time and the only way it can be slowed down is with pharmacological intervention. Pharmacological treatments for PHL, from an evidenced-based perspective with respect to safety and efficacy, are limited to only two drugs, minoxidil and finasteride. However, there are a host of drugs being used, off-label with limited evidence. This article attempts to review the literature on this topic, and the authors add to this, with their experience of over two decades on incorporating pharmacologic treatments along with hair transplantation in their management of PHL.

An Evidence-based General Anesthesia and Prone Position Nursing Checklist: Development and Testing

Background and Aim: Prone positioning during general anesthesia is one of the most difficult practices for the perioperative nurse. Patients in this position are vulnerable to many preventable complications. However, no studies have developed an evidenced-based tool to improve nursing practice during general anesthesia and prone positioning. This study aimed to develop and test a general anesthesia and prone position nursing checklist for use by the circulating nurse. Methods: The WHO checklist development model and evidence-based methods guided the checklist development process. A prospective pre-post study was performed between November 2020 and March 2021. We prospectively observed circulating nurses that attended to prone general anesthesia during posterior lumbar spine surgery for three months before and after the introduction of the general anesthesia and prone position nursing risk checklist. The main outcomes were successful delivery of essential prone positional nursing practices during each surgery and the nurse's opinion of the checklist’s efficacy and utility. Results: A general anesthesia and prone position nursing checklist comprised of 4 pause points and 22 necessary nursing practices was developed. Seventy-two nurses participated in this study. Use of the checklist significantly increased the average performance of essential practices during each surgery from 72.72% to 95.45%. Three measures had a compliance rate of 100%. The delivery rate of 14 measures was significantly improved, 91.7% of nurses considered the checklist easy to use, and 94.4% nurses would want the checklist to be used if they underwent a prone position and general anesthesia operation. Conclusions: A general anesthesia and prone position nursing checklist was developed. The instrument was found to be an effective and positively received tool for facilitating key measures of prone positioning during nursing care, translating evidence into practice, and standardizing the nursing process.

The African Immigrant Dementia Education Project: A Community-University Partnership

The African Immigrant Dementia Education project is a community-university partnership with the goal of developing a culturally tailored dementia education program with African immigrants in Minnesota. In collaboration with our community partner (African Career, Education & Resource, Inc.), a project advisory board that features professionals and family members from the African immigrant community was assembled and its first meeting was held in February 2021. Preliminary discussions about content, mode of delivery and cultural considerations of an eventual dementia education intervention have begun. This presentation will offer details on the process of working with an advisory board and community partner to identify and culturally tailor an evidenced-based dementia education curriculum for a unique cultural group. Also, we will present challenges encountered during this process and offer suggestions and strategies to promote successful researcher-community partnerships.