Musculoskeletal injuries in physical education versus non-physical education teachers: a prospective study

Physical education (PE) teachers have a physically demanding job, putting them at a considerable risk for musculoskeletal injuries. To structurally develop tailored injury prevention programmes for PE teachers, a clear understanding of the extent, characteristics and underlying factors of their musculoskeletal injuries compared to referents is necessary. Therefore, the current study prospectively followed 103 PE teachers and 58 non-PE teachers, who registered musculoskeletal injuries and time of exposure to sports participation during one school year. Pearson χ²-tests and independent samples t-tests determined significant differences between PE and non-PE teachers regarding demographics and variables possibly related to injury occurrence. PE teachers had 1.23 and non-PE teachers 0.78 injuries/teacher/school year. This difference was significantly different after adjustment for hours spent weekly on intracurricular teaching during the career and for injury history during the preceding six months (P = 0.009; OR = 0.511; 95% CI = 0.308–0.846). PE teachers’ most affected body parts were the knee and the back. PE teachers had a more extensive injury history (P < 0.001), a higher work- (P < 0.001) and sport index (P < 0.001), practiced more sports (P < 0.002) and taught more extracurricular sports (P = 0.001). Future injury prevention programmes should take account for the great injury history and heavy physical load in PE teachers.     

Discovery learning: zombie,phoenix, or elephant?

Discovery learning continues to be a topic of heated debate. It has been called a zombie, and this special issue raises the question whether it may be a phoenix arising from the ashes to which the topic was burnt. However, in this commentary I propose it is more like an elephant—a huge topic approached by many people who address different aspects. What is needed in the discussion about discovery learning and related approaches, I argue, is sublation: the kind of lifting up from the one-dimensional discussion between two extremes (minimal guidance vs. direct instruction) that puts an end to the everlasting tug of war by integrating justified concerns from both opposite positions. I evaluate how the different contributions to the special issue help to sublate the discussion about discovery learning. In particular, the case study presented by Trninic illustrates how strong guidance and repetition may be needed for the discovery of something that cannot be told. I further suggest scaffolding, inferentialism, and design research as potential theoretical and methodological ways forward.     

Relative importance of professional practice and engineering management competencies

Problem: The professional practice of engineering always involves engineering management, but it is difficult to know what specifically to include in the undergraduate curriculum. Approach: The population of New Zealand practising engineers was surveyed to determine the importance they placed on specific professional practice and engineering management competencies. Findings: Results show that communication and project planning were the two most important topics, followed by others as identified. The context in which practitioners use communication skills was found to be primarily with project management, with secondary contexts identified. The necessity for engineers to develop the ability to use multiple soft skills in an integrative manner is strongly supported by the data. Originality: This paper is one of only a few large-scale surveys of practising engineers to have explored the soft skill attributes. It makes a didactic contribution of providing a ranked list of topics which can be used for designing the curriculum and prioritising teaching effort, which has not previously been achieved. It yields the new insight that combinations of topics are sometimes more important than individual topics.     

Using electronic technology in the dynamic testing of young primary school children: predicting school achievement

Educational technology research and development - This study aimed to combine the use of electronic technology and dynamic testing to overcome the limitations of conventional static testing, and...     

Soziale Unterstützung beim Berufseinstieg ins Lehramt

This study investigates the support that novice teachers receive from their mentors and peers during the teacher induction phase in Germany. It examines the relationship between the support of these two groups and the development of new teachers’ professional competencies. The sample comprises 551 novice teachers in mathematics, who were surveyed twice within one year during their induction period. Results show that both mentors and peers are perceived as providing important support, but that the two groups support different aspects of teaching competencies. Structural equation models indicate that informational and emotional support provided by mentors is associated with an increase in the teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and a decline in their emotional exhaustion, whereas the support of peers has both positive and negative effects.     

Preservice Biology Teachers’ Conceptions About the Tentative Nature of Theories and Models in Biology

In research on the nature of science, there is a need to investigate the role and status of different scientific knowledge forms. Theories and models are two of the most important knowledge forms within biology and are the focus of this study. During interviews, preservice biology teachers (N = 10) were asked about their understanding of theories and models. They were requested to give reasons why they see theories and models as either tentative or certain constructs. Their conceptions were then compared to philosophers’ positions (e.g., Popper, Giere). A category system was developed from the qualitative content analysis of the interviews. These categories include 16 conceptions for theories (n _tentative = 11; n _certain  = 5) and 18 conceptions for models (n _tentative = 10; n _certain = 8). The analysis of the interviews showed that the preservice teachers gave reasons for the tentativeness or certainty of theories and models either due to their understanding of the terms or due to their understanding of the generation or evaluation of theories and models. Therefore, a variety of different terminology, from different sources, should be used in learning-teaching situations. Additionally, an understanding of which processes lead to the generation, evaluation, and refinement or rejection of theories and models should be discussed with preservice teachers. Within philosophy of science, there has been a shift from theories to models. This should be transferred to educational contexts by firstly highlighting the role of models and also their connections to theories.     

Critical materials: a reason for sustainable education of industrial designers and engineers

Developed economies have become highly dependent on a range of technology metals with names such as neodymium and terbium. Stakeholders have warned of the impending scarcity of these critical materials. Difficulties in materials supply can affect the high-tech industries as well as the success of sustainable innovation strategies that are based on sophisticated technology. Industrial designers and engineers should therefore increase their awareness of the limits in availability of critical materials. In this paper, it is argued that materials’ criticality can give a fresh impetus to the higher education of industrial design engineers. It is important to train future professionals to apply a systems perspective to the process of technology innovation, enabling them to thrive under circumstances of constrained material choices. The conclusions outline ideas on how to weave the topic into existing educational programmes of future technology developers.