Performance Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Science Teachers

Research in Science Education - Information on students’ development of science skills is essential for teachers to evaluate and improve their own education, as well as to provide adequate...     

And the ground gives way: Looking again atStig of the Dump and the National Curriculum in English

Ed Marum is a senior lecturer teaching in English and education at Derbyshire College of Higher Education. His previous posts have included those of General Inspector of Education for the London Borough of Merton and English Adviser for Liverpool. He is currently researching provision for and perceptions of narrative in the school curriculum.     

Young children's attitudes toward the disabled: A classroom intervention using children's literature

With the increasing inclusion of special needs children in regular classrooms, experiences which encourage positive attitudes toward the disabled are essential. The purpose of this project was: 1) to examine the thinking and attitudes of young children regarding the capabilities of disabled children and the potential for friendship and 2) to assess the effectiveness of children's literature and related activities in influencing attitudes toward the disabled. Results suggested that children's attitudes were generally positive and realistic regarding the capabilities and the potential for friendship with the disabled. The use of selected children's books and book related activities positively influenced children's attitudes.     

Development of the process conception of function

Our goal in this paper is to make two points. First, college students, even those who have taken a fair number of mathematics courses, do not have much of an understanding of the function concept; and second, an epistemological theory we have been developing points to an instructional treatment, using computers, that results in substantial improvements for many students. They seem to develop a process conception of function and are able to use it to do mathematics. After an introductory section we outline, in Section 2, our theoretical epistemology in general and indicate how it applies to the function concept in particular. In Sections 3, 4, and 5 we provide specific details on this study and describe the development of the function concept that appeared to take place in the students that we are considering. In Section 6 we interpret the results and draw some conclusions.     

Specificity of a Maximal Step Exercise Test

To adhere to the principle of “exercise specificity” exercise testing should be completed using the same physical activity that is performed during exercise training. The present study was designed to assess whether aerobic step exercisers have a greater maximal oxygen consumption (max VO₂) when tested using an activity specific, maximal step exercise test (SET; arms and legs) versus a maximal running test (legs only). Female aerobic step exercisers (N=18; 20.7 ± 1.5 years) performed three maximal graded exercise tests (GXTs): 2 SETs; 1 treadmill test (TMT). The SET consisted of six 3-min progressive stages of alternate lead, basic step, basic step with biceps curls, knee raise with pull-down, repeater knee with pull-down, lateral lunge with pull-down, and side squat with shoulder presses. Stepping rate was 32 steps· min^?1 on an 8-in (20.32 cm) step for stages 1–3, and a 10-in (25.4 cm) step for stages 4–6. Submaximal and maximal heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (VO₂) were recorded at the end of each stage. Test–retest reliability for the first five stages of the SET ranged from .91 to .97 for HR, and from .84 to .96 for VO₂. Maximal HR was significantly greater (p =.0001) for the SET (200 ± 6.2 beats·min^?1) as compared to the TMT (193 ± 7.9 beats·min^?1). No significant difference was found for max VO₂ (42.9 ± 8.5, 41.2 ± 5.9 ml·kg^?1·min^?1, p =.14). The SET was a valid and reliable protocol for assessing responses of these aerobic step exercisers; however, max VO₂ from a TMT did not differ significantly from the SET. Conversely, max HR obtained from the criterion TMT was 7 beats·min^?1 lower than from the SET. If a training HR for step exercise (arms and legs exercise) is prescribed based on the max HR from treadmill exercise (legs only), then the training HR should be calculated from a TMT max HR that has been increased by 7 beats·min^?1 to obtain an intensity of step exercise comparable to that of running.     

Dyslexia and sequential order errors in reading

This paper reports a study of the antecedent-consequent model of reading dysfunction and possible relationships between verbal spatial order memory and sequence errors in word reading. It provides data on the nature and frequency of such errors. Performance by normal and dyslexic readers on a number of tasks was compared. The study supports the hypothesis that sequence errors of dyslexic readers are related to a developmental lag. This research was carried out in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ed.D. at the University of Rochester. The author would like to express appreciation to Drs. Keith Rayner, Harry Reis, Ellsworth Woestehoff, Frank Greene and Achilles de Berardinis for their advice and assistance in the study.     

Index for Volume 56 (1985)

Abstract

This study was a staff experiment carried out in 1953 as a follow-up to several preliminary experiments by graduate students at the University of Illinois, School of Physical Education. The studies were carried out in the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory. The preliminary studies as well as the staff experiment of 1953 and the reversal experiment of 1954 all showed some advantage for supplementary feedings of wheat germ oil (WGO) administered during or immediately following physical conditioning periods of conditioning exercises and swimming in an indoor pool with water temperature 74°-76° F. The subjects were adult men, 26–60 years of age, mainly sedentary, volunteers from the nonphysical education staff.

The WGO capsules (20 capsules per day, 3 minims each, and each containing 175 mg. of WGO and 0.44 mg. of mixed tocopherol) were fed for eight weeks in connection with the progressive physical training experiment. Two groups of eight men each were matched in treadmill-running time, the brachial pulse wave and age. Two other inactive control groups of 5 men each were tested at the beginning (T₁) and at the end (T₂) of the eight week period. The group results show significant advantage for the experimental subjects who took WGO over those who did not in both performance (willpower dominated) tests and in naive (non-willpower) tests.

The physiological advantage is shown in terms of running endurance in “all-out” treadmill runs, T-wave of the ECG (CR_iv-vlead), lower systolic blood pressure, the Schneider Index and the Illinois total body reaction-time test in response to light, sound, and combined signals. Individual differences in response are shown and some of the factors which cause such variations are identified.