Toward Effective Teaching and Learning: stories of primary schools'environmental science interest and action

This article provides some stories of primary school teachers' and students' experiences of implementing new science teaching and learning strategies through an action research process that have also led to more environmental education occurring in the schools' curriculum. The stories have been constructed from the coordinators' journals, observations and interviews with the teachers and students in the schools. The teachers in the schools are consciously engaged in an action research-based model of curriculum change in science teaching and learning. The stories also acknowledge the critiques of critical theory in environmental education and the possibilities for a socially critical approach in environmental education within a context of the limited opportunities for both science and environmental education in primary schools.     

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport Survey

Many changes have taken place in the format and operation of the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (RQES) in recent years. The purpose of this study was to survey the section editors, reviewers, authors, and subscribers of the RQES to determine their perceptions of its quality. An inventory was developed for each of the four groups. The content validity of the instrument was established in three stages, the last stage occurring during a pilot study. The return rate for the four groups ranged from 61% to 80%. In many respects, the RQES was rated positively. However, several problem areas were identified. One was the difficulty in adequately representing all areas of specialization in physical education. Another was the perception of the quality of research published in the journal. In some areas, the best research was viewed as being published in other journals. The new section editor format has been well-received, as have many other changes made over the past decade. The issue of primary concern is whether the journal can maintain academic respectability by attempting to represent all subdisciplines in the field.     

The Validity and Reliability of the Back Saver Sit-and-Reach Test in Middle School Girls and Boys

The purpose of this article was to highlight important research needs related to physical activity in 3- to 5-year-old children. We identified research needs in 3 major categories: health effects, patterns of physical activity, and interventions and policies. The top research needs include identifying the health effects of physical activity, the effects of physical activity on the development of healthy weight, the effects of physical activity on learning and behavior, and the health implications of sedentary behavior. Research questions concerning patterns of physical activity include determining the prevalence of 3- to 5-year-olds meeting the current physical activity guidelines; the social and environmental factors that influence physical activity in home, preschool, and community settings; and how physical activity tracks into later childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Research questions about interventions and policies include identifying the most effective strategies to promote physical activity in home, child care, and community settings and to reach diverse populations of young children, identifying effective intervention implementation and dissemination strategies, and determining the effectiveness of national, state, local, and institutional policies for increasing physical activity. In conclusion, research is needed to establish a full understanding of the health implications of physical activity in 3- to 5-year-old children, to better understand the nature of physical activity behavior in this group, and to learn how to promote physical activity in young children.     

Two physiotherapists, one librarian and a systematic literature review: collaboration in action

AIM: This paper explores the processes of collaboration between a librarian and two academic physiotherapists working on a systematic review jointly funded by the University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases (RNHRD), Bath, UK. The aim of this paper is to describe and evaluate some of the processes of collaboration between the three authors in their work in progress on a funded systematic literature review on the topic of hydrotherapy and pain. METHODS: The vehicle for describing and analysing these processes is a joint (National Health Service Trust and University) funded systematic literature review currently in progress on the topic of hydrotherapy and pain. RESULTS: Systematic review methodology is becoming increasingly complex and is rapidly developing its own research base. Librarian input is a key element in a successful systematic review. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic reviews play a critical role in informing healthcare delivery and research in the UK. The individual nature and inherent complexity of each review demands close collaboration between librarians, academics and clinicians. In addition to enhancing the reviews themselves, there are many other personal and institutional benefits of collaborative working. Consideration may need to be given to library staff structures and roles if these benefits are to be maximized and sustained.     

Shifting relations with the more-than-human: six threshold concepts for transformative sustainability learning

Using the iterative process of action research, we identify six portals of understanding, called threshold concepts, which can be used as curricular guideposts to disrupt the socially constituted separation, and hierarchy, between humans and the more-than-human. The threshold concepts identified in this study provide focal points for a curriculum in transformative sustainability learning which (1) acknowledges non-human agency; and (2) recognizes that the capacity to work with multiple ways of knowing is required to effectively engage in the process of sustainability knowledge creation. These concepts are: there are different ways of knowing; we can communicate with non-human nature and non-human nature can communicate with us; knowing is relational; transrational intuition and embodied knowing are valuable and valid ways of knowing; worldview is the lens through which we view reality; and the power of dominant beliefs (represented in discourse) supports and/or undermines particular ways of knowing and being as in/valid.     

A Case Study of Teacher Beliefs on Students' Beliefs about Multiple Representations

The mathematics education community, in its call for reform, underscores the importance of mathematics instruction emphasizing the use of multiple representations in the presentation of concepts. The focus of the study was how teacher beliefs affect their ability to implement a multiple representations curriculum. The novice instructor's attitude remained neutral while the experienced instructor's attitude remained somewhat positive. Of the eight students in the study, six of them showed a more positive attitude towards technology use and multiple representations by the end of the semester. The students increased their calculator use in both classes, particularly in the experienced teacher's class. Implications for further research were that teacher training is essential if reform curricula are to be properly implemented.     

The Rise and Fall of Innovative Education: An Australian University Case Study

From 1980 to 1995, the University of Western Sydney at Hawkesbury (formerly Hawkesbury Agricultural College) in Richmond, New South Wales, Australia, pioneered an innovative undergraduate degree in Systems Agriculture based on experiential education, systems thinking, and adult learning theory. Today this program is in trouble and has reverted back to a more traditional teacher-directed approach. This article discusses the rise of the innovative education paradigm at Hawkesbury, the unique Systems Agriculture program itself, and its eventual decline. Reasons for both the shift to innovative education and its eventual downfall are explored. Implications for institutions of higher education contemplating innovative educational approaches are suggested.