Exploring classroom assessment practices: the case of teachers of English as a foreign language

The research investigated the factors which underlie the perceptions and usage of alternative assessment procedures among EFL teachers in Israel. The research was conducted within the framework of an earlier model by Hargreaves and colleagues comprising four perspectives – technological, cultural, political and postmodern – to account for teachers’ assessment practices and beliefs. The sample included 113 EFL teachers who responded to a self‐report questionnaire. The model’s four perspectives were validated using a two‐stage factor analysis. Results show that the predominant factor related to the usage of alternative assessment is the technological one, followed by the cultural and postmodern perspectives. The political perspective yielded mixed results. The findings highlight the complexity of teachers’ assessment practices reflecting not merely a testing approach but a social and educational paradigm encompassing micro constraints (technological), macro influences (political), ideologies and commonly‐held beliefs (cultural) as well as evidence of critical pedagogy (postmodern).     

Facilitating small-group learning: A comparison of student and staff tutors' behavior

This study focused on students' observations of student and staff tutors' behavior during two academic courses, using a thirtynine-item rating scale. The study took place within an integrated problem-based law curriculum. Six major factors in tutors' behavior were identified. Differences between student and staff tutors' performance were investigated. The results showed that student tutors were better at understanding the nature of the problems students face in attempting to master the subject-matter. Student tutors were also more interested in students' daily lives, study experiences and personalities. In addition, student tutors referred to end-of-course examinations more frequently than staff tutors to direct student learning. Alternatively, staff tutors used their subject-matter expertise more often and displayed more authoritarian behavior than student tutors. No differences were found with respect to tutors' focus on cooperation among group members. The results are interpreted in terms of the nature of the knowledge and experiences of students and staff with regard to problem-based learning and its requirements.     

Caregiver perceptions of inclusive playgrounds targeting toddlers and preschoolers with disabilities: has recent international and national policy improved overall satisfaction?

The purpose of the current study was to survey and interview caregivers of children with disabilities (ages 2–5 years) to obtain their input as to whether current playground equipment meets their child's needs. A total of 149 participants agreed to participate. Caregivers (i) indicated that their child with a disability could not fully participate in the playground's offerings, (ii) felt that the playground was not appropriate for their child with a disability and (iii) dreamed of a fully inclusive playground that met their child's needs. The results also demonstrate that social participation barriers continue to remain for families who have children with disabilities despite the passing of international human rights standards targeting individuals with disabilities and a global focus in improving the overall well‐being of children with disabilities.     

PROSPECTIVE MEMORY TRAINING IN OLDER ADULTS

This study evaluates the results of a training program for prospective remembering. The goal of the training was to improve prospective memory by associating cues from the retrieval situation with the to be remembered information. The training group consisted of 20 participants, aged between 45 and 81 years. The effects of strategy training were compared with those of an educational training group (N = 23 , age range 45-84) directed at reducing worries about forgetfulness, and a retest control group (N = 22 , age range 46-74). The educational training and retest control groups did not differ in demographic characteristics and test performance and were combined into one control group. Subjective evaluations revealed that subjects were very satisfied with the effects of training. This also was true for subjects in the educational training condition. The objective effects of training were evaluated with a telephone task which had to be performed in the daily life situation, and a prospective categorization task performed in the laboratory. Despite the low reliabilities of the prospective tasks, a significant but small effect of training compared to the combined control group was found on the sum score of prospective tests. The training effect was not related to age or pretraining performance level. At the three months follow-up, however, performance of the control group had increased to the level of the trained group. As expected, training effects did not generalize to other memory measures (assessed with tests for remembering names) or control measures (assessed with visuo-motor reaction time tests).     

A Little Autonomy Support Goes a Long Way: Daily Autonomy-Supportive Parenting,Child Well-Being,Parental Need Fulfillment,and Change in Child,Family, and Parent Adjustment Across the Adaptation to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the effects of daily parental autonomy support on changes in child behavior, family environment, and parental well-being across 3 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Day-to-day associations among autonomy-supportive parenting, parental need fulfillment, and child well-being were also assessed. Parents (longitudinal N = 469; M_age = 42.93, SD_age = 6.40) of school children (6–19 years) reported on adjustment measures at two measurement occasions and completed up to 21 daily online questionnaires in the weeks between these assessments. Results from dynamic structural equation models suggested reciprocal positive relations among autonomy-supportive parenting and parental need fulfillment. Daily parental autonomy support, parental need fulfillment, and child well-being partially predicted change in adjustment measures highlighting the central role of daily parenting for children’s adjustment during the pandemic.     

Special Deliveries: Towards a Methodology for Generous Fulfillment of Special Collections Interlibrary Loan Requests

This article explores the implementation of special collections interlibrary loan policies and procedures at the University of South Florida (USF), focusing particularly on the development of policies related to physically loaning published materials, and traces the development of these policies through a pilot project to routinized implementation. Particular attention is paid to developing mutually beneficial workflows between special collections and interlibrary loan departments, creating transparent policies for the criteria under which requests are or are not filled, and technical considerations for implementing special collections loans. Through this case study, we highlight the potential for collaboration in the fulfillment of special deliveries.     

Changes in tibiofemoral contact forces during running in response to in-field gait retraining

We evaluated the efficacy of an in-field gait retraining programme using mobile biofeedback to reduce cumulative and peak tibiofemoral loads during running. Thirty runners were randomised to either a retraining group or control group. Retrainers were asked to increase their step rate by 7.5% over preferred in response to real-time feedback provided by a wrist mounted running computer for 8 routine in-field runs. An inverse dynamics driven musculoskeletal model estimated total and medial tibiofemoral joint compartment contact forces. Peak and impulse per step total tibiofemoral contact forces were immediately reduced by 7.6% and 10.6%, respectively (P < 0.001). Similarly, medial tibiofemoral compartment peak and impulse per step tibiofemoral contact forces were reduced by 8.2% and 10.6%, respectively (P < 0.001). Interestingly, no changes were found in knee adduction moment measures. Post gait retraining, reductions in medial tibiofemoral compartment peak and impulse per step tibiofemoral contact force were still present (P < 0.01). At the 1-month post-retraining follow-up, these reductions remained (P < 0.05). With these per stance reductions in tibiofemoral contact forces in mind, cumulative tibiofemoral contact forces did not change due to the estimated increase in number of steps to run 1 km.     

Implementing Experiential Learning Activities in a Large Enrollment Introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition Course

ABSTRACT:  Experiential learning activities are often viewed as impractical, and potentially unfeasible, instructional tools to employ in a large enrollment course. Research has shown, though, that the metacognitive skills that students utilize while participating in experiential learning activities enable them to assess their true level of understanding and mastery of the subject matter. The objectives of this study were to (1) create and implement 2 experiential learning activities in our introductory, large enrollment course and (2) evaluate their cognitive and affective impact on student learning. For the 1st activity, completed in class during the nutrition and health section, the instructional team asked the students to complete a dietary intake assessment. For the 2nd activity, completed via the course website, the instructional team asked the students to complete a food safety survey prior to the commencement of the food microbiology and processing section to assess the students' own personal food safety behaviors. The students were asked to evaluate both the cognitive and affective aspects of the experiential learning activities by completing a reflective questionnaire after participating in each activity. The majority of the students that participated in the experiential learning activities reported that the activities helped them learn the course material (97% for the dietary intake activity and 77% for the food safety activity) and that they liked participating in the activity (85% for the dietary intake activity) or were engaged by the activity (77% for the food safety activity). These results indicate that experiential learning activities can be successfully created for and implemented in large enrollment courses.