Learning action learning: a journey

The action learning set (ALS) is an often-used tool in practice development to facilitate group reflection. As such, its use evolves in the hands of the participants as they become more comfortable with the process and as trust develops amongst group members. This paper aims to discuss the journey of one ALS over a 2-year period. It seeks to highlight the process of learning through an ALS and the complexity of making the process meaningful for the participants. The role of trust within an ALS cannot be overstated. This was an imperative factor in the overall effectiveness of the set.     

The Zoo Science Program: A Successful Zoo/University Partnership

In 1988, Friends University and the Sedgwick County Zoo, both located in Wichita, Kansas, began a cooperative undergraduate program in zoo science. This program combines a modified biology curriculum offered through a medium‐sized, private university, with the specialized instruction and practical experience provided by curators and keepers at a zoo. Students who complete the zoo science curriculum meet the needs of zoos seeking to fill entry‐level positions. The program has grown in size, and now has more than 50 majors. About one‐half of all zoo science students come from outside Kansas, and about one‐half enter the program as transfer students. Graduates find entry‐level positions in zoos, aquariums, nature and environmental centers, and veterinary clinics; others go on to graduate or veterinary schools.     

The strength of ideas in construction projects: A teacher's window of perception

The benefits for a teacher in researching their own classroom have been well documented, but few reports have focused on how teachers make sense of what they see and hear during open-ended technology construction projects. This interpretive study has such a focus. It traces aspects of my learning trajectory as a teacher researcher in my Year Six classrooms, and aspects of improved classroom outcomes. In narrative voice I describe how my initial thinking about the building of acceptable scientific knowledge is modified through exploring the research literature and the strength of my students' ideas. My interpretation of videotape data of the collaboration process within group learning identifies the social dynamics which can influence the evolving nature of student's ideas in designing engineering structures. I describe how this research experience has influenced my planning and interaction with my students in the process of helping them to construct viable scientific knowledge.     

The Effect of In-Season Traditional and Explosive Resistance Training Programs on Strength,Jump Height,and Speed in Recreational Soccer Players

Purpose: Resistance training is often performed in a traditional training style using deliberate relatively longer repetition durations or in an explosive training style using maximal intended velocities and relatively shorter repetition durations. Both improve strength, “power” (impulsivity), and speed. This study compared explosive and traditional training over a 6-week intervention in 30 healthy young adult male recreational soccer players. Method: Full body supervised resistance training was performed 2 times a week using 3 sets of each exercise at 80% of one repetition maximum to momentary failure. Outcomes were Smith machine squat 1 repetition maximum, 10 meter sprint time, and countermovement jump. Results: Both groups significantly improved all outcomes based on 95% confidence intervals not crossing zero. There were no between-group differences for squat 1 RM (TRAD = 6.3[5.1 to 7.6] kg, EXP = 5.2[3.9 to 6.4] kg) or 10 meter sprint (TRAD = ?0.05[?0.07 to ?0.04] s, EXP = ?0.05[?0.06 to ?0.03] s). Explosive group had a significantly greater increase in countermovement jump compared to the traditional group (TRAD = 0.7[0.3 to 1.1] cm, EXP = 1.3[0.9 to 1.7] cm). Conclusion: Both the traditional training and explosive training performed to momentary failure produced significant improvements in strength, speed, and jump performance. Strength gains are similar independent of intended movement speed. However, speed and jump performance changes are marginal with resistance training.     

The improvement in walking speed induced by resistance training is associated with increased muscular strength but not skeletal muscle mass in older women

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to analyze whether improvements in fast walking speed induced by resistance training (RT) are associated with changes in body composition, muscle quality, and muscular strength in older women. Methods: Twenty-three healthy older women (69.6?±?6.4 years, 64.95?±?12.9?kg, 1.55?±?0.07?m, 27.06?±?4.6?kg/m²) performed a RT program for 8 weeks consisting of 8 exercises for the whole body, 3 sets of 10–15 repetitions maximum, 3 times a week. Anthropometric, body composition (fat-free mass [FFM], skeletal muscle mass [SMM], legs lean soft tissue [LLST], fat mass), knee extension muscular strength (KE1RM), muscle quality index (MQI [KE1RM/LLST]), and 10-meter walking test (10-MWT) were performed before and after the intervention. Results: Significant (P?<?.05) changes were observed from pre- to post-training for FFM (+1.6%), MQI (+7.2%), SMM (+2.4%), LLST (+1.8%), KE1RM (+8.6%), fat mass (?1.4%), and time to perform 10-MWT (?3.7%). The percentage change in 10-MWT was significantly associated with percentage change in MQI (r?=??0.46, P?=?.04) and KE1RM (r?=??0.45, P?=?.04), however not associated percentage of changes in SMM (r?=?0.01, P?=?.97), LLST (r?=??0.22, P?=?.33), and body fat (r?=?0.10, P?=?.66). Conclusion: We conclude that the improvement in the 10-MWT after an 8-week RT program is associated with increases in lower limb muscular strength and muscle quality, but not with muscle mass or body fat changes in older women.     

An investigation of the ability of selected instruments to discriminate areas of exceptional class designation

Ninety exceptional children—30 emotionally handicapped (EH), 30 learning disabled (LD), and 30 educable mentally retarded (EMR)—attending public, self-contained classrooms in the Southeast were systematically selected from a master list of all exceptional students (1,355) who had been referred for placement within the last 4 years. All available data used in the placement process, i.e., WISC-R profiles, Key Math scores, and teacher rating scale scores, were obtained by a search of the children's permanent records. To determine the relative effectiveness of the assessment devices in contributing to appropriate placement decisions, a MANOVA with subsequent univariate analyses and multiple discriminant function analyses was employed. Results indicated that both the LD and the EH groups differed significantly from the EMR group, and that classification results for all groups were inadequate.