Northern Lights Collaborative, partners, host computer science learning event in Duluth

March 12, 2024

On February 22, the Northern Lights Collaborative for Computing Education hosted an event to share and discuss the 2024 report titled “Informal K12 Computer Science Learning in Duluth.”

The Informal K12 Computer Science Learning in Duluth report is a collaboration among Northern Lights staff, members of the CSforALL Accelerator program, and community leaders in Duluth. Research for the report began in September 2023 with the goal of documenting and analyzing informal Computer Science (CS) learning in Duluth, aiming to raise awareness, foster community connections, and serve as a resource for existing programs. The 2024 report’s lead author is Paul Schonfeld of the Northern Lights Collaborative, with co-authors Jennifer Rosato and Justin Cannady.

On February 22, a total of 20 participants representing 13 youth-serving organizations gathered at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth to discuss the report and guide next steps for the project. Guest speaker Emily Saed, director of the MN STEM Ecosystem, presented about the purpose, current projects, and goals for the organization. Participants at the event discussed topics related to the report and recorded ideas on paper to help inform next steps for the project. A summary of the discussions is captured below:

How to gauge participation in computer science

Participants shared ideas of collecting data about CS participation at events like Duluth’s Unity in the Community Event, FIRST robotics events, the Duluth Air Show, youth conferences, or business exposition events. Several organizations highlighted in the report have successful strategies for collecting data about student participation and could be modeled for future efforts. A few model organizations that collect data about participation include STARBASE, Duluth Public Library, and Duluth Public Schools.

How to identify and prevent barriers to participation

Discussions highlighted the need to address transportation challenges for youth to participate in informal CS learning offerings, especially for lower-income populations. Offering CS to all students during school time can help make it more accessible. There are opportunities to integrate CS with other areas including music, art, and as a part of lunch or clubs to help increase participation and help students realize the relevance of CS and how it can be used in creative and useful ways in a variety of contexts.

Desired professional development opportunities

Participants noted that they would like to see professional development offerings that help staff members and volunteers get started with some of the basics of CS, including education around what CS is and introductory experiences to help staff gain confidence. Having time to experiment with CS products would be a helpful component of PD. PD that involves connections to math or other subject-area learning targets would be helpful. Community Education programs may be an avenue for professional development for the broader community.

Visions or hopes for collaborations

75 percent of attendees who responded to a post-event survey on February 22 indicated that they would prioritize the report recommendation to “facilitate collaboration among organizations.” Other visions and hopes from discussions included inviting youth and industry leaders to future events and organizing a lending library that could include tools, resources, and materials from the various organizations in attendance. The second priority of survey respondents was to address geographic and transportation challenges faced by youth participants (56 percent or respondents said this was a priority).

Which report recommendations do you think we should prioritize?

Figure 1: Recommendation priorities: Event participants highlighted continued collaboration and addressing transportation challenges as areas of focus to be prioritized for this project.

The mission of the Northern Lights Collaborative for Computing Education is to develop evidence-based programs and resources in collaboration with educators and partners that support inclusive K-16 computing education. Northern Lights is coordinating with participants from the February event to help organize more events that support inclusive and equitable computer science learning. The next event for this project will be held in May.

Please email District Support Coordinator, Paul Schonfeld at schon172@umn.edu for more information about this project and report.

Greising presents at the Orthopaedic Research Society Annual Meeting

February 7, 2024

Sarah M. Greising, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), attended and presented research at the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Annual Meeting. The meeting was held in Long Beach, CA, over February 2-6, 2024. The primary goal of this meeting is accelerating musculoskeletal discovery. Dr. Greising presented a poster titled, “In Sequence Anti-fibrotic Treatment And Rehabilitation For Volumetric Muscle Loss Injury.” Contributions to the work included lab member and current medical student Peter Nicholson and other members of the lab Christiana Raymond-Pope, PhD, and Thomas Lillquist, MS, as well as collaborator Jarrod Call, PhD, from the University of Georgia.

Additionally, Dr. Greising, in collaboration with her fellow member of the ORS Women’s Leadership Forum, organized and participated in a career development session titled, “Pearls for navigating career transitions, across career stages”. Collectively, all sessions supported by the Women’s Leadership Forum are developed to mentor, foster, encourage, and inspire women in orthopaedic research at all stages of their career, and to advise and support women on career and leadership opportunities in orthopaedic-related organizations.

Stoffregen co-authors article published to Frontiers

February 6, 2024

Tom Stoffregen, PhD, professor of perceptual-motor control and learning in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL), was recently a co-author on an article with Chih-Hui Chang, PhD, a former doctoral student of the School of Kinesiology. The article, titled, “Effects of decades of physical driving experience on pre-exposure postural precursors of motion sickness among virtual passengers,” was published in Frontiers in Virtual Reality. The article examines the relationship between real life driving experience and postural precursors to motion sickness in virtual settings, finding that real life experience affected the postural precursors, but not the motion sickness itself.

Dengel presents to Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation Group

January 25, 2024

Donald R. Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), spoke to the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation Minnesota/Western Wisconsin Support Group on January 18, 2024. The title of Dr. Dengel’s talk was “Designing Effective Exercise Programs For Waldenstrom’s Patients”.

Dengel writes blog on Soft Tissue-to-Bone Ratio

January 25, 2024

Donald R. Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), is the author of a recent blog post titled “What Is the Soft Tissue-To-Bone Ratio?” In this blog Dr. Dengel describes recent research from his laboratory on a body composition measure termed the soft tissue-to-bone ratio (SBR). The SBR is determined by dividing the soft tissue masses (i.e., lean mass + fat mass) by bone mass and may be useful in analyzing body composition in athletes. In addition, recent research from Dr. Dengel’s laboratory suggests that the SBR may also provide insight to the development of cardiovascular risk. This blog explores what the SBR is, and its importance.

Read the full blog feature: https://www.dexalytics.com/news/what-soft-tissue-bone-ratio/

HSCL publishes on ankle proprioception in children with cerebral palsy

December 28, 2023

Researchers for the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab (HSCL), led by director Jürgen Konczak, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology, recently published an article titled, “Ankle proprioception in children with cerebral palsy,” to the Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often have gait abnormalities that are associated with impaired body awareness, specifically reduced proprioception at the ankle joint. However, there is no established clinical standard to evaluate ankle proprioception. To address this shortcoming, researchers from the HSCL and Gillette Children’s hospital in St. Paul investigated ankle position sense in children with CP. The results provide first knowledge to understand the degree of ankle proprioceptive dysfunction in cerebral palsy. Liz Boyer, PhD from Gillette Children’s is the lead author. Former doctoral students Qiyin Huang, PhD and Jinseok Oh, PhD from HSCL were instrumental in conducting the study.

Stoffregen quoted in MarketWatch article

December 28, 2023

Tom Stoffregen, PhD, professor of perceptual-motor control and learning in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL), was recently quoted in a MarketWatch article about first time flying tips by Bradford Cuthrell, titled, “A Guide for First-Time Flyers: What To Expect and How To Prepare.” Stoffregen lent advice for managing flight anxiety and motion sickness, recommending that travelers stick to bland foods and clear liquids.

Dengel inducted into Academies for Excellence

December 22, 2023

Don R. Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), has been inducted into the University of Minnesota’s Academies for Excellence in Team Science. The award was given to a team of University of Minnesota researchers for facilitating research to discover new treatments that improve the physical and emotional health of children who are affected by obesity and obesity-related conditions.

Evaluating student learning beyond the basics

December 13, 2023

Educational leaders across the country are catching on to the idea that traditional grading practices and standardized tests do not adequately capture the scope of what young people know and can do. With funding from The Civic Affairs Trust, education researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed two resources to rethink and improve the evaluation of student learning in schools.

“Academic learning isn’t the only outcome of a public education that matters to families and communities,” says Sara Kemper, Research Associate at the UMN Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI). “By the time they graduate, we want our young people to be able to navigate college and the workplace, solve complex problems, and contribute to their communities, among other skills.”

Beyond the Basics: Lessons from Innovative Schools on Evaluating Student Learning identifies ways to evaluate student learning that more thoroughly reflect the breadth and specificity of learning outcomes that our society expects from schools, and that students want for themselves. Kemper and her co-authors looked at case studies of five U.S. schools and districts currently implementing innovative student evaluation systems. A companion guide, Evaluating Student Learning “Beyond the Basics” is intended for PreK-12 leaders interested in exploring innovative approaches to evaluating student learning. Specifically, it identifies practices in evaluating learning beyond academics, including career readiness skills, social and emotional competencies, and other important outcomes.

For more information and to access the resources, visit carei.umn.edu/beyond-the-basics.

About CAREI — The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) is a research center within the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities College of Education and Human Development that serves as the link between research and practice in Minnesota schools, PreK-16, and other agencies interested in applied educational research. They are experts in research, evaluation, literacy, and assessment with a wealth of diverse and interrelated experience.

Contact: Sara Kemper, Research Associate, CAREI | 612-624-7235 | skemper@umn.edu

Dengel writes blog on muscle-to-bone ratio by football position in NFL players

December 5, 2023

Don Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), is the author of a recent blog post titled “The Muscle-to-Bone Ratio in NFL Players By Position-Part II.” This is the second in a two-part blog series that examined the muscle-to-bone ratio (MBR) determined using dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in National League Football Players (NFL). The first blog compared total as well as regional measures of MBR in NFL players to a healthy male control group. While this second blog examined total as well as regional MBR in the NFL players by position. The NFL players were into one of nine position categories: defensive backs (DB: n=64), defensive lineman (DL: n=47), linebackers (LB: n=48), offensive lineman (OL: n=38), quarterbacks (QB: n=21), running backs (RB: n=29), tight ends (TE: n=27) and wide receivers (WR: n=55). Punters and place kickers were combined into one category named punters/kickers (PK: n=17). Although no differences in total MBR were noted across position leg MBR varied greatly among NFL players by position. It is possible that regional differences in MBR in the NFL players may be related to the demands of that position.

To read the full blog go to: https://www.dexalytics.com/news/the-muscle-to-bone-ratio-in-nfl-players-by-positio/

Goorevich co-authors chapter in Handbook of Sport and International Development

November 28, 2023

Anna Goorevich, MSc, doctoral student and researcher with the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, co-authored a chapter alongside Sarah Zipp, PhD, and Lombe Mwambwa, PhD, in the Handbook of Sport and International Development titled “Sport, development and gender: Expanding the vision of what we can be and do.” In the chapter, the authors reflect on the evolution of the sport for development (SFD) and gender field and seek to understand how SFD for girls and women has grown while charting a direction for future research and practice in a world transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greising contributes to publication in Scientific Reports

November 27, 2023

Sarah M. Greising, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), contributed to a collaborative manuscript published in Scientific Reports titled, “Development of a proteomic signature associated with severe disease for patients with COVID-19 using data from 5 multicenter, randomized, controlled, and prospective studies.” The collaborative work is co-authored by colleagues across the University of Minnesota and overseen by Christopher Tignanelli, MD.

From CEED: CEED, Department of Applied Economics win $1.4 million federal grant for study of child care assistance

November 13, 2023

Researchers at the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) and the Department of Applied Economics were awarded a $1.4 million grant for Coordinated Evaluation of Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Payment Policies, a research project evaluating child care subsidies in Minnesota. The grant for the four-year project was awarded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Co-principal investigators Ann Bailey, PhD, director of CEED, and Elizabeth E. Davis, PhD, professor of applied economics, will lead the project to measure the effects of child care subsidy policies on families’ access to high quality child care.

Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) provides subsidies to low-income families with funding from the federal Child Care and Development Fund. About 30,000 children and 15,000 families receive child care assistance each month in Minnesota through CCAP. The purpose of the Child Care and Development Fund is to ensure that families who receive child care assistance have “equal access to child care services comparable to those provided to families not eligible” for such assistance. Having equal access means that families should be able to find care that meets several criteria. It should be:

Reasonably affordable
Reasonably convenient in terms of hours of operation and location
High quality; i.e., supportive of child development

“Quality child care opens doors to employment, education, and training for parents. It also supports children’s healthy growth and academic achievement,” says Bailey. “Its importance to the functioning of our society and our economy, as well as to individual opportunity, can’t be overstated. Yet so many families have a tough time finding quality child care that they can afford. That’s especially true for our communities of color, immigrant communities, and rural communities. CCAP is designed to address that issue.”

Since 2014, Minnesota’s Department of Human Services has made several major updates to CCAP. These updates create natural experimental conditions, representing an opportunity to evaluate CCAP’s impact before and after implementation of the changes. Bailey, Davis, and their research team will look primarily at changes to subsidy payment rates. Other policies of interest include family copays, payment for enrollment versus attendance, speed of payment, and the administrative burden of participation.

The researchers will partner with Minnesota’s Department of Human Services to compile and analyze data related to families who enroll in CCAP, such as demographic and geographic information. They will model the number of families eligible for CCAP and compare that with participation rates and county-level waitlists. They will also look at providers’ participation in CCAP as well as their participation and rating in Parent Aware, Minnesota’s voluntary child care quality rating and improvement system. In addition, the research team plans to measure CCAP’s effects on parents’ employment and children’s school success.

The project will also include a large-scale qualitative study. The researchers will survey and interview providers and families who participated in CCAP as well as those who did not. This will allow for a better understanding of how policies influence providers’ decisions to accept subsidies and families’ decisions to obtain subsidies. It will also shed light on families’ decision-making process as they choose providers.

“We believe that our evaluation methodology will result in actionable findings for Minnesota and for other states as well,” says Davis. “For example, some states use a market price approach to setting subsidy payment rates. Other states use a cost modeling approach. Our study will determine how an increase in payment rates affects families’ access to care regardless of the approach used to set rates. There is so much to learn about the policy levers that states can use to maximize the effectiveness of programs like CCAP.”

In addition to Bailey and Davis, the project team will include Jonathan Borowsky, JD, PhD (Department of Applied Economics); Alyssa S. Meuwissen, PhD (CEED); Mary McEathron, PhD (CEED); Meredith Reese (CEED); Aaron Sojourner, PhD (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research); and Barbara Vang (CEED).

Goorevich presents research at NASSS annual conference

November 9, 2023

Anna Goorevich, MSc, doctoral student and researcher with the Tucker Center for Research on Girls and Women in Sport, attended the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS) annual conference in New Orleans. She presented a research paper entitled “Mediated Narratives of Health at the 2023 Women’s World Cup”, where she examined media representations of gender and health topics like ACL injuries and menstruation during the 2023 Women’s World Cup. She also co-presented alongside Dr. Anna Baeth, Director of Research at Athlete Ally, in a presentation entitled “Softer when Applied to Women, Harder when Applied to Men, Hardest when Applied to Transgender Women: Mediated, Essentialist Narratives of Athletes in 2021”.

Raymond-Pope, Greising, and colleagues publish in International Journal of Molecular Sciences

November 3, 2023

Christiana Raymond-Pope, PhD, researcher in the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), led by Sarah M. Greising, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, contributed to a manuscript published in International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The work led by Emily Pendleton, PhD, a recent graduate and colleague at the University of Georgia is entitled, “Compromised Muscle Properties in a Severe Hypophosphatasia Murine Model.” This work is part of a collaborative project directed by Luke Mortensen, PhD, at the University of Georgia.

Greising and colleagues publish in Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle

October 26, 2023

Sarah M. Greising, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), contributed to a manuscript published in Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. The work led by Jun-Won Heo, a graduate student and colleague at the University of Georgia is entitled, “Differential effects of Western diet and traumatic muscle injury on skeletal muscle metabolic regulation in male and female mice.” The work is part of a collaborative project directed by Jarrod Call, PhD, at the University of Georgia.

Dengel named Faculty Athletics Representative to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association

October 24, 2023

Don Dengel, PhD, professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology (LIHP), has been named the Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) for the University of Minnesota to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The WCHA is home to the University of Minnesota Women’s Ice Hockey Team. As the FAR to WCHA, Dr. Dengel serves as the University’s delegate and reviews all legislation and polices of these organizations and works with athletics and faculty to assure the academic integrity and welfare of the University of Minnesota’s student-athletes.

Taiwanese biomedical engineering researcher visits the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory

October 19, 2023

Dr. Fong-Chin Su, professor of biomedical engineering of National Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan recently visited the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSCL) and interacted with graduate students and research staff. Dr. Su is a specialist in hand biomechanics and is involved in medical device development. He presented his innovative research and development work on how to measure finger forces in clinical populations to the Center for Clinical Movement Science colloquium.

HSCL Director, Dr. Jürgen Konczak (left) & Dr. Fong-Chin Su (right)

Hoffman receives Image of Distinction award from Nikon Small World Competition

October 19, 2023

Daniel Hoffman standing in lab — Daniel Hoffman, MS

Dan Hoffman, MS, a PhD candidate in Kinesiology and member of the Skeletal Muscle Plasticity and Regeneration Laboratory (SMPRL), led by Sarah Greising, PhD, associate professor in the School of Kinesiology, received an Image of Distinction Award from the 2023 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. Dan submitted an image of skeletal muscle fibers with associated neuromuscular junctions that was taken in part of his dissertation studies. The Nikon Small World Competition first began in 1975 as a means to recognize and applaud the efforts of those involved with photography through the light microscope. Since then, Small World has become a leading showcase for photomicrographers from the widest array of scientific disciplines.

*Rat skeletal muscle fibers with associated neuromuscular junctions (white)*, Daniel B. Hoffman

ICD’s Stephanie Carlson awarded $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

October 16, 2023

Stephanie Carlson, Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the
Institute of Child Development, has been awarded $2.8 million by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The grant aims to
align measures of personal attributes that best predict physical and mental
health outcomes in youth.

Carlson’s research focuses on Executive Function (EF) skills – which include attention, working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and reflection. Together with students and colleagues, she has been studying EF measurement, development, and social, economic, and cultural influences. This new grant will not only investigate the role of EF in children’s health, but also will incorporate measures of personality and risky decision-making to help inform (a) the alignment of measures of these personal attributes in early adolescence, and (b) how well they independently and collectively predict health outcomes in youth by age 17. One deliverable of this research could be a streamlined set of measures for school-age children that best predicts individual differences in their later physical and mental health.

The research team plans to enroll 1,200 families with youth ages 9-13 years old to measure these personal attributes along with family information. They will be followed annually for four years. Project leadership also includes James J. Heckman of the University of Chicago, Patrick Kyllonen of the Educational Testing Service, and Thomas Dohmen of the University of Bonn. Previous data sets involving similar measures of youth in China and Germany will be analyzed in relation to the new data collected at the University of Minnesota to address potential cultural variation in the measures of interest.

Congratulations Stephanie!

CEHD News Research

CEHD News Research