Next generation crosscutting themes: Factors that contribute to students' understandings of size and scale

This study examined the degree to which individual differences in students' (N = 232) concepts of size and scale are explained by factors such as students' innate sense of number, out‐of‐school science experiences, exposure to size and scale instruction, gender identities, and racial/ethnic identities. There is increasing emphasis being placed on the use of crosscutting concepts to promote deep learning in science. A multiple linear regression indicated students' racial/ethnic identities, experiences with scale outside of school, and exposure to size and scale instruction significantly added to the prediction model. Results from this study can both inform the movement toward incorporating crosscutting concepts into pedagogy as well as inform educators, administrators, and other stakeholders of the factors that may shape students' understanding of the cross‐cutting concept of scale, proportion, and quantity.     

Effects of a Brief Mindfulness Based Group Intervention On College Students

Increases in the number of college students seeking mental health services require counseling centers to explore innovative strategies to provide effective and efficient treatments. Group interventions offer an alternative to traditional individual counseling, allowing centers to serve more students with fewer clinical staff (Burlingame et al., 2016). Of current group modalities, mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been growing in popularity as an effective approach for addressing college students’ increasingly complex needs. This study describes the evaluation of a three-session mindfulness-based intervention on students’ mindfulness, symptoms, and stress. Compared to a comparison group of 109 students not seeking counseling center services, 78 students who received the intervention reported increased mindfulness, and decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress at the end of the group. Furthermore, improvements in mindfulness mediated intervention effects on symptoms of depression and anxiety. These gains were generally maintained 3 weeks later. These findings support the benefits of brief group interventions for college students. Suggestions for modifications to the intervention and for future research are discussed.     

Impact of a pedometer-based goal-setting intervention on children’s motivation,motor competence,and physical activity in physical education

Background: School physical education (PE) programs provide a prime environment for interventions that attempt to develop school-aged children’s motor competence and overall physical fitness, while also stimulating competence motivation to engage in physical activity during childhood. It is generally recognized that a pedometer-based intervention strategy combined with a goal-setting strategy may be effective in increasing physical activity participation among school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an 8-week pedometer-based goal-setting intervention on children’s motivation in PE, motor competence, and physical activity.

Methods: A pretest–posttest comparison group design was used with the 8-week intervention (3 days/week for 24 sessions). Participants were 273 (boys?=?136, girls?=?137) students recruited from 3 elementary schools in the US. Classes in each school were randomly allocated to three experimental conditions: (1) an intervention group with a personalized pedometer weekly target to reach in their PE class (N?=?110), (2) an intervention group with the fixed pedometer target range to reach in each PE class based on the recommended criteria (N?=?90), or (3) a control group without intervention (N?=?73).

Analysis/results: The factorial repeated measures MANOVA indicated significant multivariate effects for the group [F(6, 528)?=?12.954, p?Post hoc analyzes showed that both experimental groups had significantly higher expectancy-value beliefs, motor competence, and physical activity compared to the control group (p?Conclusions: Health practitioners should be aware that goal-directed action can contribute to school students’ PE-related achievement motivation, motor competence, and achieving the recommended 60?min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.     

Investigating Strategies for Pre-Class Content Learning in a Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom model, learning of basic content is shifted before class while in-class time is used for concept application. Empirical and controlled research studies are lacking on the best strategies to provide the necessary pre-class content instruction. In this study, we tested three methods of pre-class content learning—interactive online tutorials, video lectures, and textbook-style readings—while holding the content and the in-class application activities constant. Identical introductory, non-majors biology classes were manipulated at both a public, open-enrollment institution and a private, highly selective institution. We found that video lectures offer a small advantage to overall student learning over interactive tutorials or textbook-style readings. Although our two populations differed in their ability to effectively learn from pre-class activities, through a student-centered flipped classroom approach, students at both institutions demonstrated equal learning gains by the final assessment. Potential reasons for some observed differences are suggested.     

Reconsidering vulnerability in higher education

Vulnerability appears to be increasing in the neoliberal and corporate authoritarian university, but few articles have explored vulnerability in depth in higher education. This paper provides a systematic understanding of vulnerability and considers its implications for academics. First, the author examines vulnerability as conceptualized within psychological and philosophical lenses. The author posits that vulnerability has positive potential and is not just a cause for concern. Next, the paper explores vulnerability in terms of relationality and afect in the context of diferent professional and social positions, and the rise of managerialism in diverse national and disciplinary environments. That vulnerability circulates through interrelations suggests that it is not a problem that can be ameliorated through giving academics more resources as individuals. Rather, vulnerability stems not from individual neediness or fragility, but from interactive operations and processes within communities. The essay concludes by considering the implications of reconceptualizing academic vulnerability alternatively as a positive learning disposition in higher education.

     

Shifting Lenses to Deepen Reflection and Connection in Human Sexuality Education

Photovoice, a participatory action research method, supports deep, personal reflection through the use of photography, personal narrative development, and group discussion. This lesson plan describes the use of Photovoice as a pedagogical tool in an undergraduate human sexuality course. The goal of this activity is to encourage students to 1) think beyond the texts presented in class, 2) make critical connections to their own lived experience and community context, and 3) deepen reflection through sharing and discussing with others. The lesson plan describes the process of bringing Photovoice into the classroom as well as student insights on the activity.     

An Analysis of the Validity of the Three-Mile Run as a Field Test of Aerobic Capacity in College Males

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the concurrent and construct validity of the three-mile (4.83 km) run as afield test of aerobic capacity. Subjects included 109 college-aged males whose three-mile run time (M = 1310.31 ± 184.48 s) was measured. Fifty of the subjects were given a maximal treadmill stress test, and their peak oxygen consumption (VO₂peak) (M = 54.23 ± 7.08 ml.kg^?1.min^?1) was measured. The three-mile run was conducted on an outdoor 0.25 mile (0.425 km) track, and split tunes were recorded each 110 yds (100.32 m) for the first and last laps and total time was recorded for laps 2 through 11. The correlation coefficient between the run time and VO₂peak was -.58, indicating only moderate concurrent validity for the run as afield test for aerobic capacity. A factor analysis conducted on the split time data revealed a three-factor structure of a stable pace phase, an initial sprint, and a final sprint with the stable pace factor accounting for most of the common factor variance (69%). The three-mile run time was used to discriminate successfully between two known groups of subjects in aerobic capacity. These data provide a degree of support for the construct validity of the three-mile run as afield test of aerobic capacity.     

Active Transportation to School

Abstract

Cinematographical analysis was used to compare spatial and temporal relationships of ten skilled and ten non-skilled performances of the standing broad jump. Means of the extent and duration of major joint action for the two levels of skill were represented graphically. Characteristic likenesses appeared in the general patterns of movement of limbs and in proportion of time consumed by the phases of the movement. Characteristic differences were found in angles of take-off and of landing and in extent and duration of specific joint actions. Greater extent of movement occurred in the skilled performances. The latter characteristically used more time in hip flexion and less time in knee extension.     

Age,Physical Activity,Physical Fitness,Body Composition,and Incidence of Orthopedic Problems

Abstract

The incidence of orthopedic problems was examined in 5, 582 men and women who attended the Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas between 1974 and 1982. The effects of age, physical activity, physical fitness, and body mass index (EMI) on the occurrence of these problems were examined using a proportional hazards approach. The expected risk of orthopedic problems per person-year was 0.045 for men and 0.046 for women. For men, physical fitness, BMI, and physical activity were associated with orthopedic problems, while for women, physical activity was the main predictor. Age was not a factor for either gender. The effect of change in physical fitness, physical activity, and BMI was examined in a subset of 2, 325 persons with more than one visit to the clinic. For women, physical activity and a decrease in BMI were associated with orthopedic problems, while for men none of those factors were significant. Again, age was not a factor in either group. The absence of any age effect on the occurrence of problems suggests that with regard to orthopedic problems, moderate amounts of physical activity in generally healthy persons may be recommended without special consideration as to age.