Read-Think-Aloud Protocols: A New Data-Source for Formative Evaluation

Traditional approaches to formative evaluation include one-to-one trials which provide some information about revisions that are needed in instructional materials, but typically fail to provide sufficient information about the learner's cognitive processing problems while studying the materials. Read-think-aloud methods are a viable alternative to traditional one-to-ones and provide valuable information about the learner's cognitive processing while reading instructional text. In this paper we describe the read-think-aloud method of formative evaluation and offer suggestions for its use.     

Curriculum Development for Business and Industry

Curriculum development is usually associated with educational institutions. As a result, there are few curriculum development models that have been specifically created for the business and industrial setting. Those that have been published tend to adopt a “let's begin at the beginning” approach. They prescribe starting as though nothing previously existed within the organization to provide personnel training and development. The Professional Development Curriculum (PDC) model presented in this article starts with what already exists organizationally. It adopts a convergence strategy. It begins by systematically matching known needs with known resources and then, over a series of generations, creates closer fits between needs and resources. The model has been applied to two very different settings in General Motors: all GM wholesale divisions and GM's Latin American retail and wholesale operations. The results have been positive in creating coherent curricula tied to career path progressions for all employees in these organizations. Evolutionary and practical, this PDC model can be applied to any business or industry to build competency-based curricula that not only provide personnel development support systems for today's needs, but for tomorrow's as well.     

Relationships between scores on Stanford-Binet IV and Wechsler preschool and primary scale of intelligence

A kindergarten class of 9 boys and 11 girls took the 1986 Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Fourth Edition) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Of 6 correlations of total scores and subtest pairs, only the correlation of total scores was statistically significant (p<.01).     

Metabolic cost of running is greater on a treadmill with a stiffer running platform

Exercise testing on motorised treadmills provides valuable information about running performance and metabolism; however, the impact of treadmill type on these tests has not been investigated. This study compared the energy demand of running on two laboratory treadmills: an HP Cosmos (C) and a Quinton (Q) model, with the latter having a 4.5 times stiffer running platform. Twelve experienced runners ran identical bouts on these treadmills at a range of four submaximal velocities (reported data is for the velocity that approximated 75–81% VO_2max). The stiffer treadmill elicited higher oxygen consumption (C: 46.7 ± 3.8; Q: 50.1 ± 4.3 ml·kg^?1 · min^?1), energy expenditure (C: 16.0 ± 2.5; Q: 17.7 ± 2.9 kcal · min^?1), carbohydrate oxidation (C: 9.6 ± 3.1; Q: 13.0 ± 3.9 kcal · min^?1), heart rate (C: 155 ± 16; Q: 163 ± 16 beats · min^?1) and rating of perceived exertion (C: 13.8 ± 1.2; Q: 14.7 ± 1.2), but lower fat oxidation (C: 6.4 ± 2.3; Q: 4.6 ± 2.5 kcal · min^?1) (all analysis of variance treadmill comparisons P < 0.01). This study confirms that caution is required when comparing performance and metabolic results between different treadmills and suggests that treadmills will vary in their comparability to over-ground running depending on the running platform stiffness.     

Guideposts and Roadblocks to the Career-Long Scholarly Engagement of Physical Education Teacher Education Faculty

Purpose: Scholarship is essential for the growth and development of the physical education field. Over time, scholarship expectations have changed, forcing faculty members to alter time spent for research, teaching, and service. Social-cognitive career theory (SCCT) presents a model for understanding performance and persistence in an occupational environment. The interconnected aspects of SCCT have different emphasis related to self-efficacy, outcome expectations, or personal goals pursuit. This study explored physical education teacher education (PETE) faculty members’ continuing engagement in scholarly activity through SCCT. Method: Data collection included interviews with 9 senior PETE faculty members who met the criteria for “productive scholars over time.” Curriculum vitae were collected to verify productivity. Results: Data analysis revealed guidepost themes that included collaborating, finding balance, defining a research process, and maintaining a strong work ethic. Roadblocks encountered included other obligations and lack of support for research. Conclusions: Participants demonstrated strong self-efficacy; held high, positive expectations for success; and set very specific, clear, and deliberate goals. Participant behavior was moderated by their personal attributes (capacity to build relationships, set goals, and maintain interest and passion) and was tempered by the environments in which they worked. Fostering similar behaviors has the potential to guide future and current PETE faculty members in creating supportive and encouraging atmospheres for sustained productivity. The lack of literature relating to this topic warrants the need for more research exploring the influential factors and benefits gained from sustained scholarly productivity over time for PETE faculty members.     

‘The Master is the Mistress’: women and fox hunting as sports coaching in Britain

This paper explores the relationship between equestrianism and sport coaching at the turn of the twentieth century. Women were avid and admired participants in fox hunting and other mounted field sports by the mid-nineteenth century, and they expanded on this success by attaining positions of leadership in many hunts throughout Britain, specifically as Masters of Hounds. Women thus attained positions of supreme authority over, and therefore equality with, peers of both sexes well before they obtained wartime jobs after 1914 or achieved the vote in 1918. As Masters, women were teachers, trainers, mentors, managers and bosses; they were some of the first female sport coaches, advancing and revolutionising sport in a variety of ways, though such participation has yet to be fully studied or recognised. By examining the position of Master of Hounds and women’s involvement in these leadership roles, we can see how advances in sport shaped changes in social, cultural, and gender perceptions before and after the First World War.