Birth in an ordinary instant

Our daily lives are a series of ordinary moments and unnoticed thresholds-times that define us in ways we often do not give much attention. While we consider childbirth to be one of life's extra-ordinary events, the hours of labor and birth need not be dramatic (or traumatic) ones. I describe a quiet, well-supported birth in the Netherlands that is cause for celebration of the beauty of an ordinary instant that can define and enrich the human experience.     

DO SCHOOLS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THEIR STUDENTS’ ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AND AWARENESS? EVIDENCE FROM PISA 2006

The environmental agenda is gaining momentum as an international policy issue. This is reflected in an increase in environmental education research focussing on children’s awareness and attitudes toward the environment. In this study, we focused on this issue from a school effectiveness perspective and evaluated (a) which student characteristics predict environmental attitudes and awareness, (b) whether schools make a difference in their students’ environmental attitudes and awareness and (c) if school effects are different for students with varying levels of science ability. The cross-sectional Flemish data of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment 2006 (4,999 students in 156 schools) were re-analysed using a multivariate multilevel model to address these issues. Results show that gender, immigrant status, socioeconomic status and educational track are important in explaining students’ environmental attitudes and awareness. Furthermore, the results show that schools do matter; schools in which science is taught in a more hands-on manner are associated with higher student environmental awareness whilst environmental learning activities are associated with more pro-environmental attitudes amongst students. After controlling for student characteristics, these school effects do not differ between more science-literate children and their less or average science-literate peers.     

Influence of motivational beliefs and strategies on recall task performance in elementary, middle and high school students

In the present study, we propose a model describing how motivational beliefs and strategies influence study performance of students at three different school levels: elementary (age 8-10), middle (11-14), and first year high school (15). Participants were administered the AMOS 8-15 instrument (Cornoldi et al. 2005) designed for measuring the influence of motivational beliefs and strategies on recall task performance. Results of multigroup analysis confirmed the relations proposed in our model between motivational beliefs and strategies for all three groups, the largest difference being in how these aspects influenced performance on recall tasks: in elementary and middle school, motivational beliefs have direct influence on performance, whereas in high school they influence performance through strategy use.     

Self‐determined blended learning: a case study of blended learning design

Higher education has been actively encouraged to find more effective and flexible delivery models to provide all students with access to quality learning experiences yet also meet institutional imperatives for efficiency and accountability. Blended learning, commonly defined as an integration of traditional face‐to‐face and online approaches to instruction (Garrison & Kanuka, 2004 Garrison, D.R. and Kanuka, H. 2004. Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. Internet and Higher Education, 7(2): 95–105.  [Google Scholar]; Graham, 2006 Graham, C.R. 2006. “Blended learning systems: Definition, current trends and future directions”. In Handbook of blended learning: Global perspectives, local designs, Edited by: Bonk, C.J. and Graham, C.R. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.  [Google Scholar]; Macdonald, 2008 Macdonald, J. 2008. Blended learning and online tutoring , (2nd ed.), Hampshire, UK: Gower.  [Google Scholar]), is now proposed as one solution that addresses both student learning and higher education organisational needs. Successful blended learning, however, is more than a simple integration of information and communication technologies with face‐to‐face approaches. This paper proposes, describes and evaluates a pedagogical approach to blended learning focused on learners and learning. First, we interrogate the literature related to blended learning to show how various constructions of blended learning may be driven by teacher‐centric or learner‐centric conceptions. Next, planning a learner‐centric blended learning design for a core unit in a first year higher education course is described. The design is then evaluated using a mixed methodology in which the students’ voices illuminate their experiences of blended learning unit design with regards to engagement, learning and self‐determination.     

青少年速滑运动员训练及比赛中的心理障碍与消除

运用运动心理学相关知识,采用理论分析的方法,对青少年速滑运动员在训练和比赛中产生心理障碍的原因进行分析。同时提出一些消除心理障碍的训练方法和手段,提高青少年速滑运动员训练与比赛中的心理水平,降低和消除心理障碍对运动成绩的负面影响。     

Book Review

The following book is reviewed.     

高等医药院校体育师资队伍现状调查结果分析

运用调查法、访谈法、文献资料法、数理统计等研究方法 ,对全国 5 3所高等医药院校的 70 4名体育教师现状进行分析研究。其结果显示思想政治素质、业务素质较好、队伍稳定 ;但学历结构、职称结构、年龄结构、性别结构不尽合理 ,工作环境较差。提出加强师资队伍薄弱环节建设的思路和建议 ,为领导决策提供依据 ,旨在建设一支跨世纪的体育名师队伍 ,以适应全面推进素质教育 ,培养高水平的医药专业人才的需要。