Discrimination of Visual Linear Velocities

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine velocity discrimination characteristics of subjects in a difference threshold paradigm. After recruitment, 180 male and female subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 groups differentiated by the length of the stimulus runway and the subjects' orientation to the stimulus. Stimulus velocities were presented on a modified Bassin Anticipation Timer with presentation rate controlled by a programmed timer. The criterion velocities were 134.11, 268.22 and 402.33, cm/sec with variable velocities ranging 44.7 cm/sec above and below the criterion in 8.94 cm/sec increments. The method of constant stimuli was used with 198 trial pairs presented (constant 7 second stimulus presentation interval). The results indicated that the discrimination of horizontal linear velocity follows a prothetic continuum. That is, the just noticeable difference increased in proportion to the increase in the criterion velocity. In addition, the subjects' orientation to the stimulus and the viewing distance (length of runway) seemed to play little or no role in the discrimination process.     

What spurs curriculum making in physical education? Four narratives of experienced teachers

Anchored in the narrative inquiry tradition, this paper examines commonly held motives about curriculum making from the perspectives of four experienced physical education teachers in Korea. Field texts were collected throughout by employing narrative research tools such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, class observations and documents analyses, and transformed into research texts using broadening, burrowing, and storying and restorying as suggested by Connelly and Clandinin. For experienced physical educators, this paper illuminates what motivates curriculum making as a narrative phenomenon storied and restoried over time. Different stories produced different motives of curriculum making, and a number of issues related to teacher development for curriculum making emerged.     

INVENTING THE CHARTERED TEACHER

ABSTRACT:  This paper explores the effects of enacting a collaborative and enquiry based model of teacher professionalism in the UK. Based on work with Chartered Teachers in Scotland, it indicates that the barriers to changing the basis of teacher professionalism are complex and multi-faceted because of the contested nature of teachers' work identities. Chartered Teacher status is achieved by qualification against an occupational standard which positions those who attain it as leading teachers, exerting a significant influence with their colleagues to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. This paper looks at some of the conceptual and practical difficulties faced by Chartered Teachers as they try to enact what this new 'status' means. It argues that those with an interest in the professional development of teachers need to position themselves as knowing agents in the complex systemic and political aspects of changing practice in schools.     

A web-based breastfeeding education program

Two Web-based breastfeeding programs were developed to provide new parents with necessary information on proper breastfeeding techniques. One version was plain text and the other version combined text with graphics. The computer was viewed as a valuable learning tool. The breastfeeding program that contained graphics was preferred over the text-only program. Educators are encouraged to use Web-based graphic programs to provide breastfeeding education to new parents.     

Critical Race Parenting: Understanding Scholarship/Activism in Parenting Our Children

Parenting is often discussed in the field of education, but frequently in terms of family or community deficiency, rather than strengths (Bonilla Silva, 2006; Few, 2007), particularly when communities of color are being examined. In this conceptual article, we advocate for the use of critical race theory (CRT) in discussions of parenting and utilize counterstorytelling to validate the lived experiences of parents like ourselves, who are critical race scholars as well as mothers of children of color. Our counterstories will be embedded throughout the discussion as a way to highlight the relationships between academic research and lived experience. Through reviews of academic research and counterstorytelling, we explain the relevance of critical race parenting and the ways in which the inclusion of CRT can support more historically situated, contextual, and complex engagements with the interplay between race and parenting of children of color.     

Curriculum development through Delphi

This article reports on the use of the Delphi method for curriculum design in higher education. The basic Delphi methodology is outlined along with possible goals and objectives in a Delphi study. The results of an actual case study in the use of the Delphi method for curriculum development are reported. Attention is given to the problem of selecting participants for a Delphi exercise, followed by recommendations for future research.     

Mapping the social side of pre-service teachers: connecting closeness,trust, and efficacy with performance

This exploratory study foregrounds the important, but often understudied social side of pre-service teacher development and its relation to teaching performance in one university-based teacher preparation program in the US. We examine the extent to which pre-service elementary teachers’ social relationships and perceptions of peer trust and efficacy are associated with performance on a high stakes mathematics teaching assessment. Findings suggest that social and emotional support through close social ties, peer trust, and self-efficacy are significantly and positively associated with pre-service teachers’ teaching performance. Our work further contributes to the development and discourse about teacher education in university-based teacher preparation programs.     

Teaching the Use of Complex IT in Specific Domains: Developing, Assessing and Refining a Curriculum Development Framework

Information technology holds the promise of increased productivity. However, rapidly evolving tools require a professional able to incorporate these tools into their careers effectively, which signals the need for IT curriculum development initiatives that incorporate the use of complex, domain-specific IT applications in specific professional fields. This paper reports on a study that addresses this need, by developing, assessing and refining a curriculum development framework. The Information Technology Fluency (ITF) framework is a methodology for constructing components (case studies) for inclusion into existing or newly proposed courses to help students develop the skills needed for this challenge. Results obtained using the framework are reported, compared to similar work at a different institution, and used to suggest improvements to the framework.     

Peer victimization and depression in children with and without motor coordination difficulties

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a chronic disability that impacts children's performance of everyday motor‐based activities and is associated with the development of secondary social and mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate peer victimization and depression in children who were and were not at risk for DCD. Selected from a population‐based sample, 159 at‐risk fifth graders were matched for age and gender to 159 controls. Children completed measures of depression and frequency of peer victimization. Results showed that children at risk for DCD reported more symptoms of depression and more frequent verbal and relational victimization than their peers. Being at risk for DCD and being bullied more frequently, especially relationally, significantly predicted increased depression symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of school psychologists remaining aware that children with DCD are at increased risk of experiencing bullying and depression. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using student notebooks to measure opportunity to learn in Botswana and South African classrooms

This article describes how a detailed notebook analysis was used to assess and compare the opportunity to learn of a sample of grade 6 students from 126 classes in South East Botswana and North West Province, South Africa. Students’ mathematics notebooks provided the main data source for estimating how much time is spent on the subject during the 6th grade year, and what mathematics is covered relative to what the study’s student test asked the sample of students. The notebook analysis shows that in sample classes in both countries, most teachers were giving an average number of mathematics lessons that was considerably lower than the number officially programmed under each country’s ministry guidelines. It also reveals that, on average, teachers in both samples of classes covered just over a third of the possible topics related to the test items between the pre-test and post-test. Nevertheless, substantial differences in students’ opportunities to learn in the two countries are evident.