Hiring Good Colleagues: What You Need to Know about Interviewing New Teachers

Employers need a systematic approach for sorting and selecting the best new hires, and hiring may be enhanced by the use of teachers in the process. This article discusses information-rich job advertisements, behavior-based interview questions, and how to objectively evaluate candidates in preliminary and on-site interviews. Candidates' past behavior is the best predictor of their future performance, and developing an approach to hiring that evaluates applicants' preparation, experience, and expertise is the best way to ensure the hire of a strong new colleague. The article specifically addresses what teachers need to know when involved in hiring their colleagues.     

Development and evaluation of a biomechanics concept inventory

To help instructors in evaluating innovations in biomechanics instruction, a standardised test of the key concepts taught in the introductory biomechanics course was developed. The Biomechanics Concept Inventory (BCI) consists of 24 questions that test four prerequisite competencies and eight biomechanics competencies. Three hundred and sixty seven students from ten universities throughout the United States took the test at the beginning and the end of the introductory biomechanics course. Analysis of a sub‐sample of the students showed that the BCI was reliable with typical errors in internal consistency and test‐retest conditions of 1.4 and 2.0 questions, respectively. Mean pre‐test scores (8.5 ± 2.0) significantly (p < 0.0001) improved to 10.5 ± 3.2 in the post‐test (n = 305). Typical biomechanics students could correctly answer half of the prerequisite questions on the pre‐test. Instruction resulted in a mean normalised gain (g) of 13.0% of maximum possible improvement that was consistent with research on traditional instruction in introductory physics courses. It was concluded that the BCI could be an effective tool to evaluate the overall effect of pedagogical strategies on student learning of key biomechanical concepts in the introductory biomechanics course.     

Complex and nonlinear pedagogy and the implications for physical education

There is increasing support to describe and examine the teaching of game skills in physical education from a complex and nonlinear perspective. The emergence of game behaviours as a consequence of the dynamic interactions of the learner, the game environment and the task constraints within the game context highlights the nonlinear and complex nature of how learning of game skills can occur. While there is increasing recognition that teaching and learning should be seen from a complex and nonlinear perspective, the challenge is to provide teachers with ideas on how to deliver lessons and activities that are underpinned by specific pedagogical practices from this perspective and in alignment with emerging curricular guidelines. In this paper, key features of complex and nonlinear pedagogy are discussed and exemplified through a Singaporean PE context. Practical implications are shared on how lessons/activities (soccer) based on aspects of complex and nonlinear pedagogy can be delivered in the school.     

Providing Subscale Scores for Diagnostic Information: A Case Study When the Test is Essentially Unidimensional

Although reliability of subscale scores may be suspect, subscale scores are the most common type of diagnostic information included in student score reports. This research compared methods for augmenting the reliability of subscale scores for an 8th-grade mathematics assessment. Yen's Objective Performance Index, Wainer et al.'s augmented scores, and scores based on multidimensional item response theory (IRT) models were compared and found to improve the precision of the subscale scores. However, the augmented subscale scores were found to be more highly correlated and less variable than unaugmented scores. The meaningfulness of reporting such augmented scores as well as the implications for validity and test development are discussed.     

The complex task of leading educational change in schools

The leadership of educational change in schools is a complex task, particularly at a time when schools are being granted greater autonomy but are also under greater scrutiny through the publication of high stakes test results. This paper examines the complexity of the task of changing a school culture and the challenges faced by leaders engaged in this task. It is informed by case studies of two principals involved in a project designed to bring long-term change. The study provides insight into the qualities which make change leaders effective, and the different ways that leaders manage the task. The paper concludes with implications for the management and sustainability of change in schools.     

Addressing issues of religious difference through values education: an Islam instance

The article’s main focus is on exploring ways in which modern forms of values education are being utilized to address major issues of social dissonance, with special focus on dissonance related to religious difference between students of Islamic and non‐Islamic backgrounds. The article begins by appraising philosophical and neuroscientific research relevant to the underpinning concepts behind such forms of education. It then explores evidence from the federally funded Australian Values Education Program, and its various related research projects, that suggests that values education has potential to impact on a range of educational measures, including those related to enhancing understanding and tolerance across lines of religious difference.