Extending Curriculum‐based Assessment to Early Writing

Early writing interventions can help students develop the writing skills they need to experience positive educational and postsecondary outcomes, but effective intervention requires instructionally relevant assessment data. Shapiro's curriculum‐based assessment (CBA) model integrates related yet distinct CBA approaches into a model that informs intervention. Extending this model to early writing poses challenges only recently addressed by research. On the basis of a review of relevant early writing research, this article outlines an instructionally relevant assessment model for early writing. Within the proposed model, the instructional hierarchy is suggested to directly connect early writing assessment with intervention. A discussion of potential limitations as well as future directions for research is included.     

Using a Conceptual Understanding and Procedural Fluency Heuristic to Target Math Interventions with Students in Early Elementary

The study examined the use of a conceptual and procedural framework for identifying math deficits and delivering appropriate interventions. Participants were two first‐grade students and one third‐grade student, who were identified as struggling with the grade‐appropriate content in math. The first‐grade students focused on addition and the third‐grade student focused on multiplication. Each student's conceptual understanding was assessed, and students who lacked conceptual understanding received an intervention that addressed underlying concepts. Students with acceptable understanding of the underlying concepts received an intervention that focused on the procedure. The study used a single‐case, multiple‐baseline design, but the contra‐indicated intervention was administered for the first 2 weeks following baseline, with the prescribed intervention for the final 2 weeks. Each student showed more growth during the prescribed intervention phase when compared to the contra‐indicated phase.     

Validation of a wireless shoe insole for ground reaction force measurement

Ground reaction force measurements are a fundamental element of kinetic analyses of locomotion, yet they are traditionally constrained to laboratory settings or stationary frames. This study assessed the validity and reliability of a new wireless in-shoe system (Novel Loadsol/Pedoped) for field-based ground reaction force measurement in hopping, walking, and running. Twenty participants bilaterally hopped on a force plate and walked (5 km/hr) and ran (10 km/hr) on an instrumented treadmill on two separate days while wearing the insoles. GRFs were recorded simultaneously on each respective system. Peak GRF in hopping and peak GRF, contact time (CT), and impulse (IMP) in walking and running were compared on a per-hop and step-by-step basis. In hopping, the insoles demonstrated excellent agreement with the force plate (ICC: 0.96). In walking and running, the insoles demonstrated good-to-excellent agreement with the treadmill across all measures (ICCs: 0.88–0.96) and were reliable across sessions (ICCs within 0.00–0.03). A separate verification study with ten participants was conducted to assess a correction algorithm for further agreement improvement but demonstrated little meaningful change in systemic agreements. These results indicated that the Novel Loadsol system is a valid and reliable tool for wireless ground reaction force measurement in hopping, walking, and running.     

Effects of 72-h of exercise abstinence on affect and body dissatisfaction in healthy female regular exercisers

In this study, we compared the effects of a 72-h exercise abstinence period and normal exercise on the affect and body dissatisfaction of 58 healthy women (mean age 26.1 years, s = 8.2) who exercised at least four times per week, and explored the relationship between the changes in affect and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the UWIST-MACL and Body Dissatisfaction Scale to assess affect and body image, and were randomized to an abstinence or control group. Affect and body image for both groups were re-assessed following the 72-h abstinence period. Compared with the control group, the abstinence group had a significant decrease in hedonic tone and energetic arousal, and a significant increase in tense arousal and body dissatisfaction from pre-intervention to post-intervention. There were no significant relationships between the changes in body dissatisfaction and the components of affect. A 72-h exercise abstinence period resulted in increased affect disturbance and body dissatisfaction in regularly active women.     

Characterizing the Achievement Motivation Orientation of Children From Low- and Middle-Income Families

Research Findings: The current study examined achievement motivation orientation in preschool-age children from low- and middle-income families. Participants were 126 children who were attending an urban Head Start site or a private preschool. Children's motivation orientation was assessed as being performance oriented or mastery oriented using a challenging puzzle task (Smiley &; Dweck, 1994 Smiley , P. A. , &; Dweck , C. S. ( 1994 ). Individual differences in achievement goals among young children . Child Development , 65 , 1723 – 1743 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Children's verbalizations during the task were coded into performance concern, disengaged, and negative self-evaluation categories. Logistic regression and Mann-Whitney U analyses were conducted to examine differences between income groups in motivation orientation and verbalizations. Patterns of motivation orientation in preschool-age children from low- and middle-income families did not differ after controlling for differences in age and puzzle-solving ability. However, children from low-income families made a significantly higher proportion of performance-related verbalizations while working on the task. Practice or Policy: The findings support the examination of children's private speech as a way to assess cognitive processes underlying achievement motivation. In addition to providing a novel way to identify differences in achievement motivation that may be useful for teachers and researchers, the findings suggest the potential utility of designing interventions that promote positive private speech as a way of supporting mastery-oriented motivation in young children.     

A single session of treadmill running has no effect on plasma total ghrelin concentrations

Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates hunger. Intense exercise has been shown to temporarily suppress hunger after exercise. In the present study, we investigated whether post-exercise hunger suppression is mediated by reduced plasma total ghrelin concentrations. Nine men and nine women participated in the study. Their mean physical characteristics were as follows: age 24.8 (s(x) = 0.9) years, body mass index 22.9 (s(x) = 0.6) kg x m(-2), maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2max)) 57.7 (s(x) = 2.2) ml x kg(-1) x min(-1). The participants completed two 3-h trials (exercise and control) on separate days in a randomized balanced design after overnight fasts. The exercise trial involved a 1-h treadmill run at 73.5% of VO(2max) followed by 2 h of rest. The control trial consisted of 3 h of rest. Blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 h. Total ghrelin concentrations were determined from plasma. Hunger was assessed following blood sampling using a 15-point scale. The data were analysed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Hunger scores were lower in the exercise trial than in the control trial (trial, P = 0.009; time, P < 0.001; trial x time, P < 0.001). Plasma total ghrelin concentrations did not differ between trials. These findings indicate that treadmill running suppresses hunger but this effect is not mediated by changes in plasma total ghrelin concentration.