Scholarly Honesty,Textbooks and Teaching

Three teacher educators recount cautionary tales to serve as a catalyst for -discussion and share their collective musings about teaching, accountability, and assessment. From ongoing reflection and conversations, three themes emerged: expertise, certainty, and orthodoxy. They begin by clarifying their understandings of these three areas and then provide commentary about each one.     

Hochschulinternes Fernsehen an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Heidelberg

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Expectancy theory outcomes and student evaluations of teaching

As student evaluation of teaching (SET) instruments are increasingly administered online, research has found that the response rates have dropped significantly. Validity concerns have necessitated research that explores student motivation for completing SETs. This study uses Vroom's [(1964). Work and motivation (3rd ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons] expectancy theory to frame student focus group responses regarding their motivations for completing and not completing paper and online SETs. Results show that students consider the following outcomes when deciding whether to complete SETs: (a) course improvement, (b) appropriate instructor tenure and promotion, (c) accurate instructor ratings are available to students, (d) spending reasonable amount of time on SETs, (e) retaining anonymity, (f) avoiding social scrutiny, (g) earning points and releasing grades, and (h) being a good university citizen. Results show that the lower online response rate is largely due to students’ differing feelings of obligation in the 2 formats. Students also noted that in certain situations, students often answer SETs insincerely.     

Using the Illinois test of psycholinguistic ability with bilingual and monolingual language‐impaired children

The current popular case against the use of standardised ability tests in bilingual assessment is not as unequivocal as may be commonly assumed. Evidence currently available indicates that such tests generally measure the same constructs, with equal accuracy, regardless of language backgrounds. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this debate by presenting a detailed comparison of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Ability (ITPA) profiles of monolingual language‐impaired children who have received the diagnosis ‘specifically language‐impaired’ (SLI) (N = 95) and ITPA profiles of bilingual children who are referred for assessment of their language problems (N = 43). It is concluded that most bilingual children suffer from a ‘knowledge‐based’ problem, while most monolingual children suffer from a more fundamental ‘processing‐based’ problem. By presenting this analysis, we hope to contribute to the general debate about whether this commonly used test can be used in the assessment of bilingual children.     

Anorexia athletica in pre-professional ballet dancers

Abstract

Competitive sport has been under increasing discussion as a possible favourable factor in the development of eating disorders among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of sport-specific eating disorders, in line with the concept of anorexia athletica. This prospective field study included one experimental group and two control groups (disease and healthy). Fifty-two pre-professional ballet dancers aged 13–20 years were tested for clinical eating disorders, anorexia athletica criteria, eating disorder related psychopathology and self-concept, and were compared with 52 patients with anorexia nervosa and 44 non-athletic controls of the same age. The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews as well as self-report questionnaires. A clinical eating disorder diagnosis was made in 1.9% of the ballet dancers versus 0% of the high school students; anorexia athletica was diagnosed in 5.8% of the dancers versus 2.3% of the students. Ballet dancers scored lower than patients with anorexia nervosa with regard to eating disorder related psychopathology and higher than the patients with regard to self-concept. We conclude that more sensitive tools to differentiate between sport-specific (eating) patterns, anorexia athletica and clinically relevant eating disorders are needed, especially for aesthetic sports such as ballet. It remains an important goal to identify athletes with symptoms of anorexia athletica irrespective of their physique and/or sport.     

THE LIFE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL MODEL

The question of what is uniquely possible for the older adult learner is seldom asked by adult educators. Dealing with a population whose educational experiences are largely pedogogical, instructional programs have often attempted to continue this model of teacher‐selected content and methodology. This paper is a review of an experimental educational program designed to provide experiential activities related to learning needs and potentials of the older adult. The nature of the format allowed participants maximum opportunity to. identify and achieve personal learning goals. Evaluation procedures were designed to test the hypothesis that older adults respond meaningfully to programs designed to meet their needs rather than the educator's preconceptions. Results of the study indicate successful achievement of the goals of the project and an expanded level of psychosocial functioning of the older adults.     

The Challenges in the Development of Graduate Programs

In order to protect the integrity of graduate degrees, the basic objectives of graduate study must be examined and interpreted in the widest sense, taking into consideration changing social conditions. This paper traces the development of graduate engineering education from World War I, with its original attachment to the established pattern of graduate study in university science departments. It considers the place of research in graduate study and the problems arising from the need for research sponsorship today. Also, attention is focused upon the classification problems arising from the large number of parttime graduate students enrolled in engineering schools today.     

Seated versus standing position for maximization of performance during intense uphill cycling

It is not known whether the seated or standing position favours performance during intensive bouts of uphill cycling. The following hypotheses were therefore tested: (1) the standing position results in better performance at a high power output, while (2) the seated position is best at a moderate power output. We also assessed the seated-standing transition intensity, above which seated cycling should be superseded by standing cycling for maximization of performance. Ten male cyclists (mean age 27 years, s = 3; height 1.82 m, s = 0.07; body mass 75.2 kg, s = 7.0; VO2max 70.0 ml.kg(-1).min(-1), s = 5.2) performed seated and standing treadmill cycling to exhaustion at 10% grade and at four power outputs ranging from 86% to 165% of their power output at maximal oxygen uptake (Wmax). Power output at maximal oxygen uptake was obtained during determination of VO2max. There was no difference in time to exhaustion between the two cycling positions at 86% of Wmax (P = 0.29). All participants performed best at the highest power output (165% of Wmax) when standing (P = 0.002). An overall seated-standing transition intensity of 94% of Wmax was identified. Thus, in general, cyclists may choose either the standing or seated position for maximization of performance at a submaximal intensity of 86% of Wmax, while the standing position should be used at intensities above 94% of Wmax and approaching 165% of Wmax.