Broadening the horizons of research on discovery-based learning

In reviewing the six articles within this Instructional Science special issue, we are reminded of Schoenfeld’s (Educ Res 45(2):105–111, 2016) review of American Educational Research Association president-authored papers for the centennial celebration of AERA. There, he succinctly unveiled the content focus of AERA research in the first half of the twentieth century: “there is content to be mastered; it is the schools’ job to help students master it” (p. 106). Yet, like Schoenfeld says, “A century later, we hear the echoes of this functionality in the calls for ‘21st-century skills,’” (p. 106), and the “skills” of the twentieth and twenty-first century would hardly know each other. Twentieth century skills, as represented in the accounts from past AERA presidents, were product-oriented, like accurate copying and precise handwriting. Twenty-first century skills are focused on creativity, ingenuity, critical thinking, and the like. In our primary research space, mathematics education, problem solving, sense making, and conceptual understanding dominates in the twenty-first century, whereas procedures dominated teaching and learning mathematics in the twentieth century.     

Democratic and Anti-Democratic Regulators of the Internet: A Framework

We employ Lessig's framework of regulation to conceptualize the relationship between the Internet and democracy. Lessig defines four classes of regulators, forces that control and define systems such as the Internet. They are markets, architectures, norms, and laws. We propose that a “democratic regulator” is a force that serves to enhance civil or political liberties. And we argue by example that there are democratic (and, indeed, anti-democratic) regulators that control aspects of cyberspace. Expressing the democratic effects of the Internet in this manner may prove useful for future comparisons across existing Internet and democracy theories, especially in the realm of quantitative analyses.     

Interpretative Responses to English Educational Television

The paper is concerned with the need to stimulate and evaluate pupils’ responses to educational television broadcasts in English. In particular, it presents a comparative assessment of written follow‐up work during a series of broadcasts. Case study methods are used within one comprehensive school and involve 49 15‐year‐old pupils. Results suggest that those pupils consistently engaging in small‐group discussion are likely to produce better written work and to develop greater independence in formulating their ideas.     

Teacher evaluation in Illinois: school leaders’ perceptions and practices

The aim of the current study is to assess school leaders’ perceptions and practices in the context of a new policy that emphasizes teacher evaluation. The study draws from survey data of 606 K-12 school leaders in the USA in a state implementing a new teacher evaluation model under Race to the Top. Findings illustrate that school leaders spent significant time on teacher evaluation. Some felt this was a good investment of time (e.g., rich conversations with teachers), increasing the ability for evaluations to improve instruction. Most, however, perceived the time demands as a cost (e.g., spending longer hours on the job, delegating more tasks to others). School leaders felt very confident in their ability to conduct observations and provide feedback to teachers. The opposite was found for student achievement data. Administrators’ reported preparedness, confidence, and beliefs suggest that barriers exist to using student achievement data to evaluate teachers. Findings suggest that school leaders need resources to build capacity, particularly in accommodating the new time demands of teacher evaluation. Administrators could benefit from professional development that addresses the use and value of student achievement if this measure continues to be a substantial component in teacher evaluation models.     

Beyond the Repository: A Mixed Method Approach to Providing Access to Collections Online

After providing access to over 100 video interviews conducted by a professor with notable entertainers and personalities from film through an institutional repository, an experiment was conducted to discover whether a larger audience could be gained by adding a subset of 32 of these videos to YouTube. The results, over 400,000 views, indicate that libraries should cultivate a mixed method approach to providing access to digital content.     

Survey of attitudes toward statistics: Factor structure and factorial invariance for women and men

White undergraduate students enrolled in introductory statistics courses completed the Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics (SATS). Student responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to determine the validity of several alternative models of the structure of attitudes toward statistics. A four‐factor structure composed of Affect, Cognitive Competence, Value, and Difficulty provided the best model fit. Responses of women and men to the SATS were then examined to explore scale invariance across gender. Invariance tests of factor structure, factor‐variable correlations, factor correlations, and variable uniquenesses showed that the four‐factor model fit well for both female and male responses. Only two significant differences in model fit were found: the Value variance was greater for women and the correlation between Affect and Value was greater for men. Generally, the study provided evidence for the appropriateness of a four‐factor structure of the SATS.     

Comparison of physiological responses to graded exercise test performance in outrigger canoeing

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish a graded exercise test protocol for determining the peak physiological responses of female outrigger canoeists. Seventeen trained female outrigger canoeists completed two outrigger ergometer graded exercise test protocols in random order: (1) 25 W power output for 2 min increasing by 7.5 W every minute until exhaustion; and (2) 25 W power output for 2 min increasing by 15 W every 2 min to exhaustion. Heart rate and power output were recorded every 15 s. Expired air was collected continuously and sampled for analysis at 15-s intervals, while blood lactate concentration was measured immediately after and 3, 5, and 7 min after exercise. The peak physiological and performance variables examined included peak oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2peak), minute ventilation, tidal volume, ventilatory thresholds 1 and 2, respiratory rate, respiratory exchange ratio, heart rate, blood lactate concentration, power output, performance time, and time to [Vdot]O_2peak. There were no significant differences in peak physiological responses, ventilatory thresholds or performance variables between the two graded exercise test protocols. Despite no significant differences between protocols, due to the large limits of agreement evident between protocols for the peak physiological responses, it is recommended that the same protocol be used for all comparison testing to minimize intra-individual variability of results.     

Technical determinants of tackle and ruck performance in International rugby union

The most frequently occurring contact events in rugby union are the tackle and ruck. The ability repeatedly to engage and win the tackle and ruck has been associated with team success. To win the tackle and ruck, players have to perform specific techniques. These techniques have not been studied at the highest level of rugby union. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify technical determinants of tackle and ruck performance at the highest level of rugby union. A total of 4479 tackle and 2914 ruck events were coded for the Six Nations and Championship competitions. Relative risk ratio (RR), the ratio of the probability of an outcome occurring when a characteristic was observed (versus the non-observed characteristic), was determined using multinomial logistic regression. Executing front-on tackles reduced the likelihood of offloads and tackle breaks in both competitions (Six Nations RR 3.0 Behind tackle, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.9–4.6, effect size [ES] = large, P < 0.001); Championship RR 2.9 Jersey tackle, 95% CI: 1.3–6.4, ES = moderate, P = 0.01). Fending during contact increased the chances of offloading and breaking the tackle in both competitions (Six Nations RR 4.5 Strong, 95% CI: 2.2–9.2, ES = large, P = P < 0.001; Championship RR 5.1 Moderate, 95% CI: 3.5–7.4, ES = large, P < 0.001). For the ruck, actively placing the ball increased the probability of maintaining possession (Six Nations RR 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1–4.3, ES = moderate, P = 0.03); Championship RR 4.0, 95% CI: 1.3–11.8, ES = large, P = 0.01). The techniques identified in this study should be incorporated and emphasised during training to prepare players for competition. Furthermore, these techniques need to be added to coaching manuals for the tackle and ruck.