Motor-skills in Language*

Languages are systems of communication based on disturbances of the air which are caused by physiological operations in one person—the speaker—and apprehended by means of physiological operation in a second person—the listener. Everything about this happening is observable and measureable, and can be repeated mechanically or in experiment.     

Mwalimu Julius Nyerere: a critical review of his contributions to adult education and postcolonialism

Despite being one of Africa's greatest postcolonial thinkers, implementing an award winning national literacy campaign and writing extensively on adult education and development, the contributions of Julius Kambarage Nyerere remain relatively unknown within mainstream adult education. This paper critically examines the contributions of Nyerere to adult education and postcolonial theory. The paper makes two assumptions. First, it assumes that there is a relationship between the discourses of postcolonialism and the project of constructing a more inclusive knowledge base of adult education. Second, that postcolonial theory provides a relevant framework for understanding the politics of adult education and development. Through a comprehensive and critical textual analysis of Nyerere's major works on adult education and development, the paper concludes that Nyerere's philosophy of adult education and lifelong learning was very progressive if not radical. Nyerere's ideas on education for liberation and development resonate with those of Paulo Freire. By linking the principles of education for liberation to the goal of building an egalitarian, socialist society based on the philosophy of Ujamaa, Nyerere provided an innovative and yet ‘localized’ theory of social change. Finally, Nyerere provided a sustained critique of colonialism and racism, and was a committed advocate of equality, unity and economic and social justice for the postcolonial world.     

Quiet eye predicts goaltender success in deflected ice hockey shots†

Abstract

In interceptive timing tasks, long quiet eye (QE) durations at the release point, along with early tracking on the object, allow performers to couple their actions to the kinematics of their opponent and regulate their movements based on emergent information from the object's trajectory. We used a mobile eye tracker to record the QE of eight university-level ice hockey goaltenders of an equivalent skill level as they responded to shots that deflected off a board placed to their left or right, resulting in a trajectory with low predictability. QE behaviour was assessed using logistic regression and magnitude-based inference. We found that when QE onset occurred later in the shot (950?±?580?ms, mean?±?SD) there was an increase in the proportion of goals allowed (41% vs. 22%) compared to when QE onset occurred earlier. A shorter QE duration (1260?±?630?ms) predicted a large increase in the proportion of goals scored (38% vs. 14%). More saves occurred when QE duration (2074?±?47?ms) was longer. An earlier QE offset (2004?±?66?ms) also resulted in a large increase in the number of goals allowed (37% vs. 11%) compared to a later offset (2132?±?41?ms). Since an early, sustained QE duration contributed to a higher percentage of saves, it is important that coaches develop practice activities that challenge the goaltender's ability to fixate the puck early, as well as sustain a long QE fixation on the puck until after it is released from the stick.     

Changing practice by changing practice: Toward more authentic science and science curriculum development

Recent policy documents from the Ontario Ministry of Education called for teachers to present a more authentic view of the nature of scientific practice at all levels of education. Sadly, this call for substantial curriculum change coincided with severe cuts in the education budget. The authors describe how two teachers collaborated with a university‐based researcher/teacher educator to design and implement more authentic science in a Grade 7 classroom. The ways in which the teachers changed their views about science and science teaching, the anxieties they experienced, and the institutional constraints that impacted on their practice are discussed, and some more general features of the action research experience are described. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 521–539, 1999     

The Use of Epidemiological Methodology as a Means of Influencing Public Policy

To best influence policymakers, researchers need to provide information and measures of effects that reflect the nature of policy decisions. Specifically, policymakers are often interested in factors associated with changes in the number of cases or rate of disorders in a community. Regression/analysis of variance (ANOVA) models, which focus on the prediction of means, slopes, and variances, do not directly address such questions. In contrast, epidemiological statistics, which focus on differences in proportions of cases, do provide such information. Three epidemiological measures of effect (the risk-ratio, the odds-ratio, and the population attributable fraction) are reviewed; their value as tools for informing public policy is discussed; and examples are provided illustrating their use. Researchers are encouraged to consider adopting an epidemiological perspective as part of their work.     

Theories underlying perceived changes in teaching and learning after installing a computer network in a secondary school

This paper discusses the theoretical links between motivation and learning and the use of information technology that arose during the evaluation, by both teachers and pupils, of the effects upon teaching and learning of the installation of an extensive new computer network in their secondary school.
The school was visited throughout the 1996/7 academic year, and two questionnaire surveys were carried out during this time. The initial questionnaire was completed by 69 (73%) of the staff and a stratified, random sample comprising 161 (11%) of the pupils. Those originally surveyed were sent a follow up questionnaire at the end of the year. Responses to the questions were grouped by similarity into categories and these categories were related to theories of motivation and learning.
It is concluded that the installation of a computer network in a secondary school results in improved teaching and learning and increased enjoyment of learning in the school with both pupils and teachers viewing the use of IT as beneficial to learning.
Where such positive effects of using IT are noted they can be justified theoretically using Behaviourist, Cognitive and Social Constructivist theories of motivation and learning. The wide range of ways in which use of a computer can be both extrinsically and intrinsically motivating explains the increased motivation observed in the pupils.