Abstract: PurposeInadequate literacy is common among patients with diabetes and may lead to adverse outcomes. The authors reviewed the relationship between literacy and health outcomes in patients with diabetes and potential interventions to improve outcomes.MethodsWe reviewed 79 articles covering 3 key domains: (1) evaluation of screening tools to identify inadequate literacy and numeracy, (2) the relationships of a range of diabetes-related health outcomes with literacy and numeracy, and (3) interventions to reduce literacy-related differences in health outcomes.ResultsSeveral screening tools are available to assess patients’ print literacy and numeracy skills, some specifically addressing diabetes. Literacy and numeracy are consistently associated with diabetes-related knowledge. Some studies suggest literacy and numeracy are associated with intermediate outcomes, including self-efficacy, communication, and self-care (including adherence), but the relationship between literacy and glycemic control is mixed. Few ...

Abstract: In Do You Want Your Students to Be Job-Ready With 21 st Century Skills? Kivunja (2014a) draws on the work by the Partnership For Teaching 21 st Century Skills (P21) reported by Trilling and Fadel (2009), to articulate that the skills that young people need to succeed as individuals, citizens and workers in the 21 st century fall into four domains. As reported by Trilling and Fadel (2009) those four domains are the Traditional Core subjects and Skills domain, the Learning and Innovations Skills domain, the Career and Life Skills domain, as well as the Digital Literacies Skills domain. The pedagogical move from teaching the traditional core skills of literacy and numeracy to include these additional themes and skills of the 21 st century is characterized by Kivunja (2014a) as the pedagogical shift that is needed to ensure that on graduation, students will be job-ready with the skills most in demand in the 21 st century workplace. Arguing that the components of the Traditional Core Skills domain such as the orthodoxy 3Rs of reading, -riting and rithmentic are well known, Kivunja (2014b) in Innovative Pedagogies in Higher Education to Become Effective Teachers of 21 st Century Skills, draws on the excellent work of the Partnership for 21 st Century Skills (P21, 2008) and on the Framework for 21 st Century Learning (P21, 2011) to unpack the skills of the Learning and Innovations Skills domain (LIS). In that discussion, Kivunja (2014b) argues strongly that it is essential that students be explicitly taught the skills of critical thinking and problem solving, effective communication, collaboration, as well as creativity and innovation, so as to make sure that they are well equipped with the Learning and Innovation Skills (LIS). This article, builds on the work of Kivunja cited above, (Kivunja, 2014a and 2014b), to extend an understanding of the new learning paradigm by discussing its Career and Life Skills (CLS) domain. The article explains what the skills in this domain involve and discusses how the relevant skills can be taught to help prepare students for success in whatever workplaces, trades, occupations or professions they will join on their graduation into the 21 st century Digital Economy.

Abstract: Debates continue about how high-stakes testing regimes influence schools at all levels: their impact on teaching practices, distribution of resources and curriculum provision, and whether they achieve the intended increases in student achievement in targeted areas. In 2008, the Australian government introduced a national testing scheme, the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), in which all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are required to participate, and a national website, MySchool, was established in 2010 to publish the results of all schools. This paper reports on the first national study of educators’ views on the impact of NAPLAN on Australian schools and students. Over 8000 educators from all states and territories participated in the study, and the findings indicate that the testing regime is leading to a reduction in time spent on other curriculum areas and adjustment of pedagogical practice and curriculum content to mirror the tests. The findings suggest that th...

Abstract: Young children interact with touch screen tablets at home and this may impact upon emergent literacy. The present study examined home access and use of touch screen tablets, as reported by parents,...

Abstract: Creativity is also core to progress in knowledge societies.Work is increasingly carried out in non-permanent project-oriented teams, with each member taking on significant responsibilities.Workers need to regularly adapt to new situations and new approaches to problem solving. In their personal lives, individuals have more opportunities to tailor services and products to suit their own needs in ways that were not possible in societies that emphasised mass production and consumption of standardised goods, calling on their creative capacities (Miller & Bentley, 2003). Leaders in the public, private and social sectors are more frequently required to respond to new strategic challenges. Individuals and societies that embrace creativity and experimentation are more likely to realise the benefits of knowledgeintensive societies (Michalski, 2011). It is therefore not surprising that, across continents, creativity is a priority for education and is central to the discourse on 21st century learning. The OECD emphasises the importance of preparing learners for the unknown: jobs that do not yet exist, technologies that are yet to be invented, and problems that have not yet been anticipated (OECD, undated).The OECD’s Innovation Strand also includes a strong emphasis on nurturing creativity in education.The European Reference Framework on Key Competences identifies creativity as a transversal theme that is important for the development of basic skills of language, literacy, numeracy and information and communication technologies (ICT).The EU declared 2009 the ‘Year of Creativity and Innovation’, with a strong focus on the role of culture and diversity in European society and, in education, on barriers as well as good practices (Banajiet al., 2010; Cachiaet al., 2010). Beyond Europe, ministries and departments of education in Australia, Canada, England, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the US are among the countries that have developed policy initiatives to support learner creativity (Craft, 2007; the US President’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities, 2011; the Ministry of Education website, Singapore, undated; the Ministry of Education website,Taiwan, undated). In this article, we explore how a greater focus on creativity changes the dynamics of teaching and learning.We are concerned with how teachers nurture everyday creativity and how they themselves develop more creative approaches to teaching. We also explore the themes of ‘closed’ and ‘open’ learning, as defined by Miller, Looney and Siemens (2011).‘Closed’ learning refers to learning where the knowledge to be acquired is already well defined and goals are clear. ‘Open’ learning bs_bs_banner

Abstract: Mathematical competencies are important not only for academic achievement at school but also for professional success later in life. Although we know a lot about the impact of “Home Literacy Environment” on the development of early linguistic competencies, research on “Home Numeracy Environment” (HNE) and the assessment of its influence on the development of mathematical abilities is in its infancy. We still lack studies analysing this relationship and simultaneously controlling for other variables concerning the individual and the environment. Thus, in this article, we focussed on the development of mathematical competencies in a sample of 609 German children from the end of kindergarten until the end of Grade 1. In particular, we were interested in the role HNE plays in regard to this development while controlling for age, sex, intelligence, rapid naming, number span, linguistic competencies, kindergarten attendance and socioeconomic status. Moreover, HNE was compared between families with or without a history of mathematical disability. HNE was not only an important predictor of mathematical abilities at the end of kindergarten, but it also influenced the further development of mathematical competencies above and beyond its initial impact. Families with a history of dyscalculia provided a more unfavourable HNE than families with no such problems. Results are shown in a structural equation model, which highlights the importance of HNE. The findings indicate that those involved in policy and intervention should focus more on the learning environments in families to improve children's achievement.

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between working memory and early numeracy. It aimed to explore the possibility of training young children's working memory and to investigate the effects of such training both on working memory and on the specific domain of early numerical skills. Measures of working memory and numeracy were used with low-performing children in kindergarten. A total of 51 five-year-old children received one of two different versions of working memory training or no training at all. The two versions differed in the type of information the children were given to practice: non-numerical or numerical. After a pretest, 4 weeks of intervention took place, followed by a posttest. Children who participated in one of the working memory interventions significantly improved their working memory skills. Furthermore, their early numeracy skills also improved. Differences between both experimental conditions were small.

Abstract: In the few years since its release, Apple's iPad has generated much discussion about its potential to support student learning at all levels of the education system. Much of this has focused on its physical and technical attributes, such as portability, touch-display, connectivity, and large array of apps. However, a few studies have begun to explore possible advantages of iPads being used as public work spaces, enabling students to interact more collaboratively when creating learning outputs. These studies point to other affordances such as the iPad's ability to lay flat on a desk or be propped at a convenient angle, its wide viewing range and multi-user accessible interface, as being particularly relevant in supporting collaboration. Between June and November 2013, researchers from the University of Waikato used a specifically developed ‘observeware’ app to capture display and audio data while young students (5 year olds) were using iPads in pairs for developing numeracy, literacy and problem-solving/decision-making skills. The study used Mercer's (1994) talk types framework to explore the nature of talk students engaged in while they were using the iPads and interacting with each other and their teacher, and also how features of the device may have influenced this. Results indicated exceptionally high levels of on-task talk, but that this was mostly of an affirming and non-critical nature and unsupportive of outcome improvement or refinement. While the iPad offered unique potential as a shared, public learning device, the pedagogical role of the teacher in realising this by helping students learn appropriate ‘ground rules’ to raise talk quality, was critical. This article details the methodology used and the results of the study. It discusses the important role teachers play in helping young students build oral-interaction strategies to capitalise on high levels of learning engagement, and the unique features of these devices.

Abstract: Objective Low health literacy predicts poor health, but the underpinnings of the associations are yet to be understood. This study tested the associations between health literacy and three objective health outcomes in older people and investigated the extent to which general (not health-related) cognition and earlier life-course factors such as childhood cognitive ability, educational level and occupational class accounted for these associations. Method Participants were 730 community-dwelling older people (350 women; mean age 72.50 years, SD = 0.71). Physical fitness (defined by walk time, lung function, and grip strength), body mass index, and count of natural teeth were used as health outcomes. Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), Shortened Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA), and Newest Vital Sign (NVS) were used to measure health literacy. Age 11 and concurrent general cognitive ability, educational level, and occupational social class were used as covariates. Results Lower REALM, S-TOFHLA and NVS scores were associated with worse scores on all health outcomes (β = .09 to .17). However, cognitive ability in old age and childhood and educational and occupational levels accounted for the majority of these associations: After adjusting for these covariates, only physical fitness was significantly associated with REALM and S-TOFHLA (β = .06 and .11). Conclusions Low health literacy was associated with poorer health largely because it reflected general cognitive ability, educational and/or occupational levels. These variables plays some role in health beyond their association with the reading and numeracy skills captured by common health literacy measures.

Abstract: High-stakes testing is changing what it means to be a ‘good teacher’ in the contemporary school. This paper uses Deleuze and Guattari's ideas on the control society and dividuation in the context of National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing in Australia to suggest that the database generates new understandings of the ‘good teacher’. Media reports are used to look at how teachers are responding to the high-stakes database through manipulating the data. This article argues that manipulating the data is a regrettable, but logical, response to manifestations of teaching where only the data counts.

Abstract: This paper explores how the strong policy push to improve students’ results on national literacy and numeracy tests – the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) – in the Australian state of Queensland influenced schooling practices, including teachers’ learning. The paper argues the focus upon improved test scores on NAPLAN within schools was the result of sustained policy pressure for increased attention to such foci at national and state levels, and a broader political context in which rapid improvement in test results was considered imperative. However, implementation, (or what this paper describes more accurately as ‘enactment’) of the policy also revealed NAPLAN as providing evidence of students’ learning, as useful for grouping students to help improve their literacy and numeracy capabilities, and as a stimulus for teacher professional development. Drawing upon the sociology of Pierre Bourdieu, the paper argues that even as more political concerns about comparing NAPLAN results ...

Abstract: Patient portals, which allow patients to access their health record via the Internet, are becoming increasingly widespread and are expected to be used by diverse consumer populations. In addition to technology skills, numeracy skills are also likely to be critical to performing health management tasks, as much of the data contained in the portal are numeric. This study examined how factors such as Internet experience, numeracy, and education impacted the performance of common tasks using a simulated patient portal among a sample of older adults. In addition, information was gathered on the ability of older adults to estimate their numeracy skills. Results indicated that numeracy and Internet experience had a significant impact on their ability to perform the tasks and that older adults tended to overestimate their numeracy skills. Results from this study can help to identify interventions that may enhance the usability of patient portals for older adults.

Abstract: The relationship between basic oral language and early numeracy has been studied extensively, but results hardly include kindergartners’ math language, which might mediate this relationship. The aim of this study was to investigate the development of basic language skills—specifically, math language and low early numeracy. Dutch children (4–5 years old; N = 1,030) were screened for having low early numeracy skills, and low performers (n = 199) were followed for 2 years and tested four times throughout kindergarten. The development of general language skills and early numeracy were investigated with latent growth modeling, revealing a significant mutual relationship. Further, the relationship between basic language and early numeracy was mediated by kindergartners’ specific math language, suggesting that specific math language has a key role in the early numeracy learning process.

Abstract: Background: Increasing numbers of patients have direct access to laboratory test results outside of clinical consultations. This offers increased opportunities for both self-management of chronic conditions and advance preparation for clinic visits if patients are able to identify test results that are outside the reference ranges. Objective: Our objective was to assess whether adults can identify laboratory blood test values outside reference ranges when presented in a format similar to some current patient portals implemented within electronic health record (EHR) systems. Methods: In an Internet-administered survey, adults aged 40-70 years, approximately half with diabetes, were asked to imagine that they had type 2 diabetes. They were shown laboratory test results displayed in a standard tabular format. We randomized hemoglobin A 1c values to be slightly (7.1%) or moderately (8.4%) outside the reference range and randomized other test results to be within or outside their reference ranges (ie, multiple deviations). We assessed (1) whether respondents identified the hemoglobin A 1c level as outside the reference range, (2) how respondents rated glycemic control, and (3) whether they would call their doctor. We also measured numeracy and health literacy. Results: Among the 1817 adult participants, viewing test results with multiple deviations increased the probability of identifying hemoglobin A 1c values as outside the reference range (participants with diabetes: OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.12-1.92, P =.005; participants without diabetes: OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.13-2.00, P =.005). Both numeracy and health literacy were significant predictors of correctly identifying out-of-range values. For participants with diabetes, numeracy OR 1.32 per unit on a 1-6 scale (95% CI 1.15-1.51, P <.001) and literacy OR 1.59 per unit of a 1-5 scale (95% CI 1.35-1.87, P <.001); for participants without diabetes, numeracy OR 1.36 per unit (95% CI 1.17-1.58, P <.001) and literacy OR 1.33 per unit (95% CI 1.12-1.58, P =.001). Predicted probabilities suggested 77% of higher numeracy and health literacy participants, but only 38% of lower numeracy and literacy participants, could correctly identify the hemoglobin A 1c levels as outside the reference range. Correct identification reduced perceived blood glucose control (mean difference 1.68-1.71 points on a 0-10 scale, P <.001). For participants with diabetes, increased health literacy reduced the likelihood of calling one’s doctor when hemoglobin A 1c =7.1% (OR 0.66 per unit, 95% CI 0.52-0.82, P <.001) and increased numeracy increased intention to call when hemoglobin A 1c =8.4% (OR 1.36 per unit, 95% CI 1.10-1.69, P =.005). Conclusions: Limited health literacy and numeracy skills are significant barriers to basic use of laboratory test result data as currently presented in some EHR portals. Regarding contacting their doctor, less numerate and literate participants with diabetes appear insensitive to the hemoglobin A 1c level shown, whereas highly numerate and literate participants with diabetes appear very sensitive. Alternate approaches appear necessary to make test results more meaningful. [J Med Internet Res 2014;16(8):e187]

Abstract: Human capital is key for economic growth. Not only is it linked to aggregate economic performance but also to each individual’s labour market outcomes. However, a skilled population is not enough to achieve high and inclusive growth, as skills need to be put into productive use at work. Thanks to the availability of measures of both the proficiency and the use of numerous types of skills, the Survey of Adult Skills offers a unique opportunity to advance knowledge in this area and this paper presents and discusses evidence on both these dimensions with a particular focus on their implications for labour market policy. This paper explores the role played in the labour market by skill proficiency in the areas of literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments. It also shows how skills use, not only proficiency, affects a number of key labour market phenomena, such as the gender wage gap. Finally, the paper combines information on skill proficiency, educational attainment, skill use and qualification requirements to construct indicators of qualification and skills mismatch and to explore their causes and consequences.

Abstract: People overweigh small and underweigh large risks, resulting in probability weighting functions with an inverted S-shape. This bias is stronger for affect-rich outcomes: For two outcomes of the same monetary value, people are less sensitive to probability variation for affect-rich than for affect-poor outcomes (e.g., winning a $100 voucher toward a romantic dinner versus an electricity bill). In the current research, we investigated the interactive influence of affect and cognitive skills on probability weighting. Participants decided about buying insurance against the loss of an object, given various probabilities of loss. The description of the object was neutral, affect-rich, or affect-rich followed by an affective reappraisal task. The reappraisal task consisted of thinking about effective coping strategies and possible positive consequences of the loss. We also investigated the effect of numeracy on probability weighting. In particular, we investigated whether people have different affective responses to risks depending on their numerical abilities. Participants showed more overweighting of small probabilities for an affect-rich than for a neutral outcome. This effect was mediated by fear. When participants were given the opportunity to reappraise the loss of the affect-rich object, the effect disappeared. After reappraisal, participants' decisions were influenced by both fear and hope and were more in line with expectations based on normative models. The latter applied in particular to participants who had higher numeracy; they showed more emotional sensitivity to risks and assigned weights closer to linearity. Implications for the role of emotions and numeracy in risk communication are discussed.

Abstract: Little research has examined the association of health literacy and numeracy with patients' preferred involvement in the problem-solving and decision-making process in the hospital. Using a sample of 1,249 patients hospitalized with cardiovascular disease from the Vanderbilt Inpatient Cohort Study (VICS), we assessed patients' preferred level of involvement using responses to two scenarios of differing symptom severity from the Problem-Solving Decision-Making Scale. Using multivariable modeling, we determined the relationship of health literacy, subjective numeracy, and other patient characteristics with preferences for involvement in decisions, and how this differed by scenario. The authors found that patients with higher levels of health literacy desired more participation in the problem-solving and decision-making process, as did patients with higher subjective numeracy skills, greater educational attainment, female gender, less perceived social support, or greater health care system distrust (p<.05 for each predictor in multivariable models). Patients also preferred to participate more in the decision-making process when the hypothetical symptom they were experiencing was less severe (i.e., they deferred more to their physician when the hypothetical symptom was more severe). These findings underscore the role that patient characteristics, especially health literacy and numeracy, play in decisional preferences among hospitalized patients.

Abstract: Health literacy skills are cognitive and social skills which determine the motivation and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand, and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health’. Patients use these literacy skills to critically analyze information; to allow them to exert greater control over life events and situations. An understanding of health literacy is also important for those developing and delivering healthcare programmes, especially vaccination programmes, as both the information and the actions required to use the information are complex requiring sophisticated health literacy skills beyond the capacity of a significant proportion of the population. There are simple steps which can be taken to make the information in vaccination materials easier to understand and use. The complex concepts of reading and numeracy skills in relation to health will be discussed and strategies described which can improve access to healthcare information for all patients, whatever the...

Abstract: Using census-based data on the ability to recall one's age, we show that low levels of nutrition impaired numeracy in industrializing England, 1780 to 1850: cognitive ability declined among those born during the Napoleonic wars. The effect was stronger in areas where grain was expensive and relief for the poor, an early form of welfare support was limited. Nutritional shortages had a nonlinear effect on numeracy, with, severe shortages impairing numeracy more. Nutrition during childhood also mattered for labor market outcomes: individuals born in periods or counties with low numeracy typically worked in occupations with lower earnings.

Abstract: Current adolescent literacy rates cause concerns at the number of students who graduate high school with basic or below-basic reading skills. The Common Core State Standards promote disciplinary literacy, which presents advanced literacy skills embedded in content area instruction. Disciplinary literacy is argued as a way to raise adolescent literacy rates. This literature review examines how Discourse theory frames disciplinary literacy as an apprenticeship model, and how instruction in mathematical Discourses focuses on communication and reasoning at the secondary level. Mathematical standards are analyzed for literacy features, and then studies of secondary mathematics classrooms are reviewed in light of these features. The review is offered to help mathematics teachers and literacy specialists build a shared knowledge base of mathematical literacy in secondary classrooms.

Abstract: Knowledge that teachers bring to the teaching context is of interest to key stakeholders in improving levels of numeracy attained by learners. In this regard, the centrality of, and the need to investigate, the quality of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching mathematics has been gaining momentum in recent years. There is a general consensus that teachers need a robust body of content and pedagogical knowledge related to mathematics and that one impacts on the other. However, in current debates about this interconnection between content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, there is limited analysis about the procedural-conceptual nature of content knowledge that, we argue, has significant impact on the development of pedagogical content knowledge. In this report, this issue is investigated by examining the state of procedural and conceptual knowledge of two cohorts of pre-service teachers and analyzing the impact of a representational reasoning teaching and learning (RRTL) approach aimed at supporting a balanced development of these two dimensions of Content Knowledge.

Abstract: This paper aims to discuss the emergence, form and likely effects of international surveys of adults’ skills by locating them in the global context of policies on education and Life Long Learning (LLL). It focuses on adults’ numeracy and discusses its conceptualisation and assessment in the Project for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), which is the most recent survey. Drawing on critical theoretical resources about new forms of governance in education and transformations in the pedagogic discourse, the paper further substantiates existing critiques of global policy trends, namely that they are motivated by human capital approaches to education and LLL. In particular, we show that the apparently commonsensical appeal of evaluative instruments like PISA and PIAAC is based on a competency model of knowledge, which embodies a narrow notion of competence. Relatedly, the notional curricula promoted by such surveys potentially articulate a more radical idea of LLL, captured by Bernstein’s conception of trainability as the mode of socialisation into a Totally Pedagogised Society. The paper presents a dual approach to understanding international adult performance surveys in general—in that, besides deploying the theoretical resources already indicated, it also raises a number of methodological issues relevant to the valid interpretation of these studies’ results. Ultimately, it argues for the importance of mobilising resources from critical educational perspectives to support the development of potentially powerful knowledge like numeracy and to prevent its being reduced to a narrow competency.

Abstract: In a large three week longitudinal study, we investigated the efficacy of framed messages for promoting condom use in sexually active young adults. We also investigated the influence of key risk literacy skills (i.e., numeracy and graph literacy) and visual aids (i.e., icon arrays) on the efficacy of framed messages. Finally, we investigated the underlying psychological mechanisms of behavioral change on the ability of icon arrays to improve message effectiveness. Results showed that framed messages including icon arrays increased adherence to self-reported condom use by giving rise to enduring changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions, which influenced behavior. Icon arrays were found to be most beneficial among young adults with relatively low numeracy as long as they had high graph literacy. These findings build on the previous research in risk communication and extend psychological theories of health-related decision making such as the theory of planned behavior. These findings also map the conditions under which well-constructed visual aids can be among the most effective, transparent, and ethically desirable means of risk communication. Implications for risk communication and informed medical decision making are discussed.

Abstract: In organizational settings, options evaluation requires managers to express value judgments on multiple criteria. This research investigates the influence of decision makers' numeracy (ability to use appropriate numerical principles) and fluency (ability to express oneself in words) on their subjective experience of value elicitation as supported by two different techniques: direct rating and MACBETH. The former asks for value judgments to be expressed numerically, the latter non-numerically. The results of our experiment indicate that the two techniques are not psychologically equivalent: decision makers with higher numeracy express values more easily when assisted by the numerical technique whereas decision makers with higher fluency find value elicitation easier with the non-numerical technique. These findings highlight the importance of tailoring value elicitation to decision makers' numeracy and fluency. Implications for decision scientists and analysts are discussed.