Bridging scientific reasoning and conceptual change through adaptive web‐based learning

This study reports an adaptive digital learning project, Scientific Concept Construction and Reconstruction (SCCR), and examines its effects on 108 8th grade students' scientific reasoning and conceptual change through mixed methods. A one‐group pre‐, post‐, and retention quasi‐experimental design was used in the study. All students received tests for Atomic Achievement, Scientific Reasoning, and Atomic Dependent Reasoning before, 1 week after, and 8 weeks after learning. A total of 18 students, six from each class, were each interviewed for 1 hour before, immediately after, and 2 months after learning. A flow map was used to provide a sequential representation of the flow of students' scientific narrative elicited from the interviews, and to further analyze the level of scientific reasoning and conceptual change. Results show students' concepts of atoms, scientific reasoning, and conceptual change made progress, which is consistent with the interviewing results regarding the level of scientific reasoning and quantity of conceptual change. This study demonstrated that students' conceptual change and scientific reasoning could be improved through the SCCR learning project. Moreover, regression results indicated students' scientific reasoning contributed more to their conceptual change than to the concepts students held immediately after learning. It implies that scientific reasoning was pivotal for conceptual change and prompted students to make associations among new mental sets and existing hierarchical structure‐based memory. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 91–119, 2010     

Sacrificial girls: a case study of the impact of streaming and setting on gender reform

This article reports on research funded by the Australian Research Council to investigate school responses to gender equity. It addresses the efforts of a disadvantaged school to tackle what they perceived to be gender inequalities, but in the process of constructing a top‐set and bottom‐set/stream class they are developing new forms of old inequalities and new forms of inequalities. This research indicates that despite popular assertions that girls' education has become the priority of schools and education systems, girls are being further disadvantaged through attempts to implement market strategies coupled with gender reform agendas grounded in liberal notions of equity and relying on unsophisticated notions of affirmative action. In addition, this study highlights the extent to which a media‐driven debate about boys' education has influenced the constitution of boys as the ‘new disadvantaged’ with the capacity to determine the nature of gender reform agendas and programmes in schools.     

Preparing pre‐service teachers for inclusive classrooms: revising lesson‐planning expectations

The purpose of this article is to explore the use of a lesson‐planning template designed to support and scaffold pre‐service teachers’ lesson‐planning techniques for a wide range of learners in inclusive classrooms. This template is currently used across the final three semesters of a dual certification inclusive elementary and special education teacher preparation programme. This article reports on an empirical study using a mixed methodology that addresses the following question: How do pre‐service teachers, university faculty, supervising teachers and field supervisors perceive their experiences using this template? Addressing that question led to revising the original template. This article concludes with that revised lesson‐planning template.     

Telecommunications (other than broadcasting)

Judith M. and Douglas P. Brush's Private Television Communications: An Awakening Giant: An Industry Report and Planning Guide (Herman Publishing, 45 Newberry St., Boston, Mass. 02116— $40.00, paper)

Kenneth C. Laudon's Communications Technology and Democratic Participation (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1977—$15.00)

John Sunier's The Handbook of Telephones and Accessories (Blue Ridge Summit, Pa.: TAB Books, 1978—$14.95/9.95)

James D. Scott's Bringing Premium Entertainment into the Home via Pay-Cable TV (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Graduate School of Business Administration (Division of Research), University of Michigan, 1977— $3.50, paper)

Robert E. Jacobson's Municipal Control of Cable Communications (New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1977—$16.95)     

A Six‐Year Longitudinal Study of Texting Trajectories During Adolescence

This study examined growth trajectories of texting (and other media) over a 6‐year time period. Participants were 425 adolescents from Washington, USA (age 13 at Time 1, age 18 at Time 6; 48% male, 68% European American). Analyses suggested a curvilinear pattern for texting and social media use, with rates peaking during midadolescence. There was also considerable heterogeneity in trajectories of texting. A growth mixture model revealed four distinct classes of individuals: perpetuals (14%), decreasers (7%), moderates (68%), and increasers (11%). Higher levels of depression, being a male, and coming from a single‐parent family predicted being a “perpetual” texter. Perpetuals had the most problematic outcomes compared to other classes, including higher depression, anxiety, aggression, and poor relationships with fathers.     

Understanding policy: why health education policy is important and why it does not appear to work

Drawing on research investigating the impact of health imperatives around obesity, diet and exercise on the actions of teachers and pupils in schools, this paper offers a reflexive account of the relationships between the ‘noise’ of obesity discourse in the public domain, policies forged to tackle health issues and the realities of teaching in schools. Our analyses suggest that intersections of bio‐policies, body pedagogies and human agents forge assemblages of meaning that frame and regulate but cannot determine either teachers' or young people's lives. Teachers and pupils experience the capriciousness of policies as they flow through specific school contexts and intersect with ‘local’ institutional cultures, expectations and interests. We suggest that Basil Bernstein's concepts and poststructural social theory prove useful when addressing how the aforementioned processes are emplaced, enacted and embodied.     

How to respond to the demands set by the communicative approach? New challenges second‐language (L2) teachers face in the classroom

This study investigates prospective teachers' language needs in L2 teacher training programmes. A questionnaire was constructed and administered to a total of 79 first, second and third year students in the teaching training school at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB). The questionnaire attempted to elicit student teachers' views on the following aspects: a) L2 teachers' qualities; b) Relevance of a Methodology, a Theory and a Language Improvement component in training courses; c) Perceived command of the English language and d) Potential use of English in future classes. The results confirm the value of including a Language Improvement component in teacher training courses to better meet the needs of future teachers and help them respond to the new demands set by the communicative approach. Results also suggest that a more balanced approach between both a Language Improvement and a Methodology component can play a crucial role in the successful implementation of the communicative approach in L2 contexts.

Ce travail étudie les besoins linguistiques des futurs professeurs de seconde langue dans les programmes des professeurs des écoles. Pour ce faire, un questionnaire a été élaboré et administré à un total de70 élèves de première, seconde et troisième année de formation des professeurs à l'Université des Îles Baléares.

Le questionaire aspirait à obtenir l'opinion des étudiants au sujet de: a) Qualités des professeurs de L2; b) Pertinence de la composante méthodologique, théorique, et de Formation Linguistique dans les curricula (programmes) de ces études; c) Perception de l'autorité de la langue anglaise et d) Utilisaton potentielle de la langue anglaise en classe dans le futur.

Les résultats confirment l'importance de l'inclusion d'une composante de Formation Linguistique dans le curricula des études de professeurs pour mieux répondre aux besoins des futurs professeurs et, en conséquence, les aider à s'adapter aux nouvelles exigences mises en place par l'approche communicative.

Les résultats suggèrent aussi qu'une approche plus équilibrée entre les composantes méthodologique et de Formation Linguistique peut jouer un rôle capital dans la mise en oeuvre de l'approche communicative dans le contexte de L2

Este estudio investiga las necesidades lingüísticas de los futuros profesores de segundas lenguas en los programas de formación del profesorado de primaria. Para ello se elaboró un cuestionario y se administró a un total de 70 alumnos de primer, segundo y tercer curso de magisterio en la Universitat de les Illes Balears. El cuestionario pretendía recoger la opinión de los estudiantes sobre los siguientes aspectos: a) cualidades del profesorado de segundas lenguas; b) relevancia del componente Metodológico, Teórico y de Formación Lingüística en los programas de formación del profesorado; c) presunto dominio de la lengua inglesa y d) uso potencial del inglés en clases futuras. Los resultados del estudio demuestran la importancia de incluir un componente de Formación Lingüística en los cursos de formación del profesorado de magisterio para poder responder mejor a las necesidades del futuro profesorado de primaria de modo que puedan enfrentarse a las nuevas exigencias planteadas por el enfoque comunicativo. Los resultados del estudio también sugieren que un balance equilibrado entre los componentes Metodológicos y de Formación Lingüística puede desempeñar un papel primordial en la implementación efectiva del enfoque comunicativo en el contexto de segundas lenguas.

In der folgenden Untersuchung werden die Sprachbedürfnisse der auszubildenden Fremdsprachenlehrer der Primarstufe ermittelt. Dafür wurde einen Fragekatalog entwickelt, der von 70 Studenten im ersten, zweiten und dritten Jahr des Lehrerstudiums an der Universität der Balearen ausgefüllt wurde. Das Ziel der Befragung war, die Meinung der Studenten über folgende Aspekte ihrer Ausbildung zu erfahren: a) Fähigkeiten der Fremdsprachenlehre; b) Bewertung der methodologischen, theoretischen und sprachlichen Inhalte in der Lehrerausbildung; c) Einschätzung über die Beherrschung des Englischen und d) Möglichkeiten über den Gebrauch des Englischen im zukünftigen Unterricht.

Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen die Notwendigkeit einer sprachlichen Weiterbildung der Lehrer während des Studiums, damit sie auf die zukünftigen Anforderungen der kommunikativen Methode in ihrer Lehrertätigkeit besser reagieren können.

Die Ergebnisse deuten auch darauf, dass das Gleichgewicht zwischen methodologischen Inhalten und sprachlicher Fortbildung eine zentralle Rolle in der effektiven Umsetzung der kommunikativen Methode im Fremdsprachenunterricht spielen kann.     

Changes in respiratory muscle and lung function following marathon running in man

Respiratory muscle fatigue has been reported following short bouts of high-intensity exercise, and prolonged, moderate-intensity exercise, as evidenced by decrements in inspiratory and expiratory mouth pressures. However, links to functionally relevant outcomes such as breathing effort have been lacking. The present study examined dyspnoea and leg fatigue during a treadmill marathon in nine experienced runners. Maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure, peak inspiratory and expiratory flow, forced vital capacity, and forced expiratory volume in one second were assessed before, immediately after, and four and 24 hours after a marathon. During the run, leg effort was rated higher than respiratory effort from 18 through 42 km (P < 0.05). Immediately after the marathon, there were significant decreases in maximal inspiratory pressure and peak inspiratory flow (from 118 +/- 20 cm H(2)O and 6.3 +/- 1.4 litres x s(-1) to 100 +/- 22 cm H(2)O and 4.9 +/- 1.5 litres x s(-1) respectively; P < 0.01), while expiratory function remained unchanged. Leg maximum voluntary contraction force was significantly lower post-marathon. Breathing effort correlated significantly with leg fatigue (r = 0.69), but not inspiratory muscle fatigue. Our results confirm that prolonged moderate-intensity exercise induces inspiratory muscle fatigue. Furthermore, they suggest that the relative intensity of inspiratory muscle work during exercise makes some contribution to leg fatigue.