A Card Trick for Improving Writing Skills and Attendance

This paper describes an innovative way of randomly collecting handwritten homework in calculus classes with approximately 50 students using a standard deck of cards, which does not place an excessive burden on faculty with regard to grading. In addition to the increased awareness students develop in structuring a mathematical solution, the strategy has been successful in increasing classroom attendance, which the literature suggests leads to increased attainment. Along with personal observations and empirical data indicating that the scores from the randomly collected homework assignments strongly correlate with exam performance, perceptions of students are included, which show that students are strongly supportive of the method used.     

Differences in the Intensity and Duration of Adolescents' Sports and Exercise Across Physical and Social Environments

We used data from the American Time Use Survey (years 2003–06) to analyze whether the intensity and duration of high school students' (ages 15–18 years) sports and exercise bouts differed across physical and social environments. Boys' sports and exercise bouts were more likely to reach a vigorous intensity when taking place at school and with friends/acquaintances/other people; whereas girls' sports and exercise bouts were more likely to reach a vigorous intensity when outdoors and alone. For boys and girls, bout durations were greater at school and with friends/acquaintances/other people than in other environments. Overall, environmental influences on the intensity but not duration of sports and exercise bouts appear to differ between boys and girls.     

A physiological and biomechanical comparison of over-ground,treadmill and ergometer wheelchair propulsion

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine which laboratory-based modality provides the most valid physiological and biomechanical representation of over-ground sports wheelchair propulsion. Fifteen able-bodied participants with previous experience of wheelchair propulsion performed a 3-minute exercise trial at three speeds (4, 6 and 8 km ? h^–1) in three testing modalities over separate sessions: (i) over-ground propulsion on a wooden sprung surface; (ii) wheelchair ergometer propulsion; (iii) treadmill propulsion at four different gradients (0%, 0.7%, 1.0% and 1,3%). A 0.7% treadmill gradient was shown to best reflect the oxygen uptake (7.3 to 9.1% coefficient of variation (CV)) and heart rate responses (4.9 to 6.4% CV) of over-ground propulsion at 4 and 6 km ? h^–1. A 1.0% treadmill gradient provided a more valid representation of oxygen uptake during over-ground propulsion at 8 km ? h^–1 (8.6% CV). Physiological demand was significantly underestimated in the 0% gradient and overestimated in the 1.3% gradient and wheelchair ergometer trials compared to over-ground trials (P<0.05). No laboratory-based modality provided a valid representation of the forces applied during OG (≥ 18.4% CV). To conclude, a 0.7% treadmill gradient is recommended to replicate over-ground wheelchair propulsion at lower speeds (4 and 6 km ? h^–1) whereas a 1.0% gradient may be more suitable at 8 km ? h^–1.     

A cross-national mixed-method study of reality pedagogy

This mixed-methods cross-national study investigated the effectiveness of reality pedagogy (an approach in which teachers become part of students’ activities, practices and rituals) in terms of changes in student perceptions of their learning environment and attitudes towards science. A questionnaire was administered to 142 students in grades 8–10 in the Bronx, New York City and Dresden, Germany. The questionnaire combines learning environment scales from the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey and the What Is Happening In this Class? Questionnaire with attitude scales from the Test of Science-Related Attitudes. Student interviews were used to support questionnaire findings. Quantitative data analyses revealed that reality pedagogy had a greater impact on students in the Bronx than in Dresden, with qualitative data clarifying differences in how reality pedagogy was enacted in each geographic area. Overall, our findings add to the body of evidence concerning the effectiveness of reality pedagogy as an approach to teaching and learning science across a variety of contexts.     

Variables related to career commitment,mastery motivation,and level of career aspiration among college students

The authors wish to express appreciation for the statistical help provided by James Wardrop and Ya-Mei Chen; and for the support provided by the Bureau of Educational Research and the Campus Research Board, University of Illinois. Also several persons helped with the development of the measures and data collection including Carole Ames, Mary Z. Anderson, Cindy Glidden, Fu-lin Y. Lee, Kirsten Peterson, and Barbara Powell. Requests for reprints may be addressed to the first author at the Educational Psychology Department, University of Illinois, 1310 South Sixth St., Champaign, IL 61820.     

Differential Effectiveness of Computer-assisted Instruction for Boys and Girls

A sample of 671 secondary school students in 24 classes of nominally slow learners was involved in investigating not only the relative efficacy of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and traditional expository teaching, but particularly the differential effectiveness of the two teaching methods for boys and girls. Both achievement and attitude outcomes were investigated. The difference in mean scores between CAI and traditional classes overall was 3.5 standard deviations for achievement and 1.4 standard deviations for attitude. However, although there was no overall effect of gender on either outcome, a significant treatment-gender interaction occurred for the achievement outcome (but not for the attitude outcome). Boys achieved better than girls in the CAI groups, but boys and girls achieved similarly in the control group.     

Relationship between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science-related attitudes

Relationships between perceived levels of classroom individualization and science-related attitudes were explored for a sample of 712 junior high school science students. Five dimensions of perceived individualization (personalization, participation, independence, investigation, and differentiation) were measured with the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire (ICEQ), while seven distinct attitudes were measured with the Test of Science-Related Attitudes (TOSRA). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the set of individualization variables accounted for a significant increment in end-of-year attitude scores, beyond that attributable to corresponding beginning-of-year attitude scores, for four of the seven attitudes considered. Significant associations between an individual individualization variable and an attitudinal dimension were positive in all cases. The study also provided support for the reliability and validity of the ICEQ and TOSRA and for their general usefulness in science education research.     

Burkean transcendence and ultimate terms in rhetoric by and about James Watt

The essay examines some Burkean theory to show how governments should rhetorically manage the distribution of scarce resources. Interior Secretary James Watt's rhetoric is shown to be flawed because it is based on dialectical rather than ultimate frames of acceptance, and because his persona is inconsistent with his rhetoric.