Effects of Mobility Patterning Techniques upon Selected Motor Skills of Primary School Educable Mentally Retarded Children

Abstract

This study compared the effects of mobility patterning techniques to the effects of special physical education activities upon selected motor skills of primary school educable mentally retarded children. The experimental group received the appropriate mobility patterns in creeping, crawling, and walking, which later were practiced in game situations. The control group received special physical education activities. Both groups received daily 30-minute classes, Monday through Friday, from September 1966 to December 1966. Based on the differences in leg power as measured by the hurdle jump and the standing broad jump, it appeared that the special physical education activities contributed more to the development of the subjects. However, neither program was more effective than the other in terms of dynamic balance, agility, or fine manual motor coordination.     

Biology in Community Education: a Philippine Scenario for Lifelong Education

Summaries

English

This paper describes the various activities undertaken by an educational institution as it seeks through a R & D project to improve the quality of life (and learning) in a rural community in The Philippines. Although the subject matter focus is on science education (biology), the project staff became involved in several activities which were only remotely related to biological education, but more closely related to the immediate concerns of the community; these concerns were mainly related to the economic and individual welfare. Efforts to bridge the gap between the community and classroom are described, including educational activities for adults of the community, identifying topics for in‐service seminars of teachers, educational activities for children. Some major principles of lifelong education are then reviewed, and implications to educators are then drawn.     

IDENTIFYING INFLUENTIAL FACILITATORS OF MATHEMATICS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A SURVEY ANALYSIS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

This paper builds on results from a previous phenomenological study examining characteristics of influential facilitators of elementary mathematics professional development. The current study utilized a survey design where results from the qualitative investigation were quantitized to develop an instrument that allowed participants to identify qualities of facilitators that are necessary to motivate teachers to be engaged in professional development sessions related to mathematics at the elementary level. This paper describes the instrument development process and results when implemented to a sample of teachers in the USA (n = 565). Findings from this research indicate that participants share the same perceptions of what it means to be an influential facilitator as participants from the phenomenological investigation of facilitator characteristics.     

Intelligence assessment: Gardner multiple intelligence theory as an alternative

In the multiple intelligence framework, newer and more contextualized cognitive tasks are suggested as alternative to more traditional psychometric tests. The purpose of this article is to examine whether or not these two types of instruments converge into a general factor of cognitive performance. Thus, the Battery of General and Differential Aptitudes (BADyG: reasoning, memory, verbal aptitude, numerical aptitude and spatial aptitude) and a set of Gardner's multiple intelligence assessment tasks (linguistic, logical, visual/spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, naturalistic and musical intelligences) were administered to 294 children aged 5 to 7. The confirmatory factor analysis points out the absence of a common general factor considering both batteries, indicating instead the existence of two general factors, which gather the tests that encompass them. Also, these two general factors correspond to traditional and multiple intelligence assessments and show a statistically moderate correlation between them. These results challenge Gardner's original position on refusing a general factor of intelligence, especially when considering the cognitive dimensions measured which do not coincide with the more traditional tests of intelligence.     

Comparison of dynamic visual acuity between water polo players and sedentary students

In this study, we examined differences in dynamic visual acuity between elite and subelite water polo players and sedentary students. To measure dynamic visual acuity binocularly, we asked participants to indicate the orientation of a broken ring, similar to the Landolt C, which increased in size as it moved across a computer screen. Two different speeds, three possible trajectories, and two different levels of contrast were evaluated. There were statistically significant differences between elite players and sedentary students for each combination of speed, contrast, and trajectory. Elite players achieved better dynamic visual acuity scores, and results also improved for some combinations of speed, contrast, and trajectory. Comparison between elite and subelite groups failed to reveal any     

Parent–Child Portfolios: “Look—This Book Is All About Us!”

A team of facilitators describe the process and content of portfolios they create for families attending weekly playgroup sessions based on the philosophy and practices of the Parents Interacting with Infants (PIWI) model. The parent–child portfolios are a form of authentic assessment and highlight children’s development within the context of parent–child relationships. Facilitators complete weekly observations of parent–child interactions, which allow them to monitor children’s progress on goals set by parents, evaluate their own practices, and plan future playgroup sessions.     

LEARNING POTENTIAL ASSESSMENT AND ADAPTATION TO THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT: THE USEFULNESS OF THE ACFS FOR ASSESSING IMMIGRANT PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The objective of this study was to test the usefulness of dynamic assessment for determining cognitive abilities such as classification, auditory and visual memory, pattern sequences, perspective taking, verbal planning, learning potential, and metacognition in immigrant preschool children with and without competence in the dominant language (Spanish). One hundred seventy‐six preschool‐children were distributed in three groups according to the cultural background of their parents (native Spanish/Spanish‐speaking immigrants/non‐Spanish speaking immigrants). The children were assessed by means of the K‐BIT, the Application of Cognitive Functions Scale (ACFS), and metacognition, language competence and academic performance estimates. The results show that although there are initial differences in execution between the two groups (Spanish/immigrants), there are no differences with regard to learning potential. The study also demonstrates the importance of behavioral, attitudinal, and metacognitive variables in children's test execution and academic performance.