Accuracy of pacing during breaststroke swimming using a novel pacing device,the Aquapacer

Generally, swimmers pace themselves using their own judgement and the poolside clock during swimming training, fitness testing protocols or scientific investigation. The Aquapacer is a new pacing device that can be used to pace the swimming speed or stroke rate of the swimmer. The aims of this study were to determine if breaststroke swimmers could pace accurately during submaximal swimming using a poolside clock (Study 1) and the Aquapacer (Study 2), at swimming speeds at, just above and just below maximal 200 m time-trial speeds (using the Aquapacer, Study 3) and under three different race pacing conditions (using the Aquapacer, Study 4). Between 8 and 15 male national or club standard 200 m breaststroke swimmers participated in each of the studies. The swimmers in Study 2, despite being less well trained than the swimmers in Study 1 and part of a more heterogeneous group in terms of swimming performance, repeatedly demonstrated less random error in pacing, suggesting that the Aquapacer may be preferable to the poolside clock when swimmers are being required to pace accurately. The Aquapacer also enabled swimmers to pace accurately at race-specific swimming speeds (until fatigue precluded them from holding pace) (Study 3), and through a change in pace at race-specific speeds (Study 4), which suggests that it may be of use in entraining racing strategies.     

Clarity,consistency and communication: using enhanced dialogue to create a course-based feedback strategy

This article examines the outcomes of a study across four discipline areas in order to develop course-based assessment strategies in closer cooperation with students. Second-year students (n = 48) from different disciplines were engaged in two phases of activity-orientated workshops. Phase 1 sought their perceptions of feedback. Phase 2 saw students design a proposed strategy to present to the respective staff teams. We discuss the emerging themes which appeared to be very similar amongst this diverse cross section of students: a lack of faith in marking consistency; the need for clear guidelines and criteria; the greater use of positive feedback language; and a close association with tutors. The emergence of strategies specific to each course is discussed, along with the alignment of the outcomes of this approach with pedagogic knowledge. It is suggested that enhanced dialogue enabled staff and students to develop a common understanding, and gave impetus to improving assessment feedback practices. Outcomes recommended here include changes to practice such as a team approach to feedback development, the content and style of feedback, developing the usefulness of feedback for future work and the need for teams to periodically revisit staff development in this area.     

Using technology to explore mathematical relationships: a framework for orienting mathematics courses for prospective teachers

The technological revolution that has finally permeated K-12 education has direct implications for modern teacher educators whose “Hippocratic oath” is to best prepare future teachers for twenty-first-century classrooms. The goal of this article is to suggest that the heart of sound technological implementation is to encourage students to use whatever tools are available to explain the mathematical relations that underlie what they observe on the screen. We suggest ways in which Mishra and Koehler’s construct of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge may be customized to provide a framework for guiding prospective teachers’ efforts to develop and assess lesson plans that use technology in novel and effective ways. Data are presented in the form of two contrasting case studies to illustrate the differing degrees to which prospective mathematics teachers leveraged technology to teach themselves and their future students to explain the mathematics behind various topics.     

Developing a competency framework for the initial training of educational psychologists working with young people aged 16–25

The Children and Families Act (2014) extends statutory protections for young people with special educational needs and disabilities until age 25. Consequently the core curriculum for trainee educational psychologists (TEPs) needs to be developed beyond the current focus of work with early years and school-age children. In order to define requisite professional competencies for working with young people aged 16–25 with learning difficulties and disabilities, and mental health needs, the Delphi Technique was employed to obtain consensus amongst an expert reference group. Two rounds of an online questionnaire and a face-to-face meeting with educational psychologists (EPs) reporting expertise in working with post-16 learners enabled the identification of areas to be added to, or extended within, existing training curricula. A competency framework for EPs working with young people aged 16–25 is proposed and implications for both TEPs and practitioner EPs explored.     

Evaluating WISC-R change scores

Bauman (1991) evaluated the stability of WISC-R IQs in a sample of children with learning difficulties. It is argued that some of his procedures produced magnified estimates of instability. An attempted reanalysis of Bauman's data, based on information reported in his article, suggested that although stability coefficients were high, approximately 25% of the sample (as opposed to the 40% reported by Bauman) obtained significantly different IQs on second administration of the WISC-R.     

Collaboration: That Awful “C” Word

Variables such as free will, experience, reflection, and self-beliefs have consistently emerged over the last two decades as factors affecting collaboration. The purpose of this article was to help confirm the evidence and, more important, to emphasize the power of self-reflection in successful collaboration. Dewey (1933) knew about the power of thinking, and willingly relinquished his claim on reflectivity in a way that others might consider its significance in educational change. The major premise of this article, in fact, is that reflection guides free will and the personality traits involved in collaboration—the purported change agent of the new century.In addition, the acculturation process is negotiated as a possible resolution to the social, political, cultural, and linguistic conflict embedded in collaboration. Toward that end, Bruffee's (1993) model of acculturation, which suggests a radical reordering of majority to minority perspectives, provides a possible resolution to the constituent empowerment delemma that continues to haunt both proponents and opponents of collaborative reform.     

The Slosson as a predictor of Wide Range Achievement Test performance

This study investigated the efficacy of predicting academic achievement as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test, using the Slosson Intelligence Test For Children and Adults as the predictor. Ninety-five children referred for psychological evaluations in a five-county area in southeastern Nebraska were given both instruments, and a regression analysis was conducted where the Slosson IQ scores were separately regressed on Reading, Spelling and Arithmetic standard scores from the Wide Range Achievement Test. The results indicated that the Slosson IQ significantly predicts Wide Range standard scores. Derived regression equations are reported.