Exploring alternative assessments for signing deaf candidates

Attitudes to sign languages or language policies are often not overtly discussed or recorded but they influence deaf young people's educational opportunities and outcomes. Two qualitative studies from Scotland investigate the provision of British Sign Language as accommodation in public examinations. The first explores the views of deaf pupils and staff about the official system for face-to-face interpretation of exam papers. The second investigates a centrally translated digital paper with embedded video questions. Discussion focuses on contrasts between the USA and UK approaches to accommodations, raising issues of standardized technical terms in signed languages, the right to respond in sign, and candidate choice.     

Trends in school psychology as demonstrated by content analysis of school psychology textbooks

This investigation was undertaken to determine if there were general and specific trends within school psychology between the years 1960 and 1975 as reflected by both the content presented and the chaning amount of emphasis given to specific topics within school psychology texttooh. Content analysis was chosen as the method of analysis. Seventeen school psychology textbooks separated into three consecutive time periods of five years each, were used in the research. The data indicated that trends in publication emphasis were present. While the types of content presented remained relatively constant, the overall trend was toward decreasing publication of text type materials. Assessment had remained consistently the highest emphasized category of content, whereas clinical issues and personality have shown clear trends toward decreasing emphasis. Both special education and therapy issues maintained high and stable levels of emphasis. Neither consulting activities nor community activities demonstrated trends toward increasing emphasis. Ethics and legal issues were discussed in less than half the textbooks examined. Group assessment, curriculum development, sex education, teaching psychology, and group therapy received very little content emphasis. Behavior modification future trens, and remediation activities demonstrated clear trends toward increased emphasis, whereas areas of administration and organization, research issues, and working with special populations demonstrated clear trends toward decreasing emphasis.     

Acute effects of walking on inflammatory and cardiovascular risk in sedentary post-menopausal women

Biochemical markers of inflammation are emerging as new predictors of risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may alter acutely with exercise. Few studies have been conducted on the effects of walking on these markers or whether different walking intensities elicit varied effects. As there is growing interest in modifiable lifestyle factors such as walking to reduce CVD risk, these inflammatory responses warrant investigation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of walking at 50% versus 70% of predicted maximal heart rate on C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma fibrinogen, and triglycerides in sedentary post-menopausal women. Twelve post-menopausal women (mean age 58 years, s +/-6; stature 1.62 m, s+/-0.06; body mass 66.8 kg, s +/-6.2) completed two 30-min treadmill walks in a randomized cross-over design. Fasted blood samples were taken (for the determination of plasma fibrinogen, CRP, and lipids) before, immediately after, and 1 and 24 h after exercise. Triglyceride concentrations decreased from pre-exercise to 24 h post exercise at both walking intensities (time x group interaction, P < 0.05). No significant effects were observed for plasma fibrinogen, CRP, total cholesterol, low-density or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (time x group interaction, P > 0.05). The results of this study suggest that fasting plasma triglycerides are decreased on the morning after 30 min of brisk walking at either 50% or 70% of maximal heart rate (moderate and vigorous intensity).     

Utility of international normative 20 m shuttle run values for identifying youth at increased cardiometabolic risk

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of international normative centiles for the 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) to identify youth at increased cardiometabolic risk. This was a cross-sectional study involving 961 children aged 10–17 years (53% girls) from the United Kingdom. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determined the discriminatory ability of cardiorespiratory fitness percentiles for predicting increased cardiometabolic risk. ROC analysis demonstrated a significant but poor discriminatory accuracy of cardiorespiratory fitness in identifying low/high cardiometabolic risk in girls (AUC = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.54–0.63; p = 0.04), and in boys (AUC = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.54–0.63; p = 0.03). The cardiorespiratory fitness cut-off associated with high cardiometabolic risk was the 55^th percentile (sensitivity = 33.3%; specificity = 84.5%) in girls and the 60^th percentile (sensitivity = 42.9%; specificity = 73.6%) in boys. These 20mSRT percentile thresholds can be used to identify children and adolescents who may benefit from lifestyle intervention. Nonetheless, further work involving different populations and cardiometabolic risk scores comprising of different variables are needed to confirm our initial findings.     

Musculoskeletal demands of progressions for the longswing on high bar

Kinetic analyses of the chalked bar longswing on high bar and its associated progressions were used to explain musculoskeletal contributions during the performance of these skills. Data on four international male gymnasts performing three series of chalked bar longswings and eight progressions were recorded. Customized body segment inertia parameters, two-dimensional kinematics (50 Hz), and bar forces (1000 Hz) were used as input to inverse dynamic modelling. The analysis focused on the relative contributions of the knees, hips, and shoulders with root mean squared differences between the chalked bar longswing and the progressions being used to rank the progressions. Seventy per cent of the total work occurred between 200 degrees and 240 degrees of angular rotation in the longswing, 67% of which was contributed by the shoulders. The shoulders were also dominant in all progressions, with the largest such contribution occurring in the looped bar longswing with "no action". The least similar progression was the looped bar pendulum swing, while the most similar was the chalked bar bent knee longswing. This study provides a useful means for ranking progressions based on their kinetic similarity to the chalked bar longswing and builds on earlier research in identifying that progressions can be classified into those similar in physical demand (kinetics) and those similar in geometry (kinematics).     

A Framework for Naming the Scope and Nature of Teacher Candidate Supervision in Clinically-Based Teacher Preparation: Tasks,High-Leverage Practices,and Pedagogical Routines of Practice

Abstract

This study introduces the scope and nature of teacher candidate (TC) supervision in an era of clinically-based teacher preparation. The findings emerged from a qualitative meta-analysis of 82 articles related to TC supervision published between 2001 and 2017. The study recognizes core supervision concepts drawn from decades of empirical literature yet moves the field substantially forward by identifying a framework that includes: (1) tasks, (2) high-leverage practices, and (3) pedagogical routines of supervisory practice. This framework defines a new understanding of how supervisors support TC learning throughout their clinical experiences. By naming the scope and nature of TC supervision, the framework of tasks, high-leverage practices, and pedagogical routines of supervisory practice can help supervisors become more conscious and more skilled about their practice to develop their professional vision of supervision. The framework can also guide the evaluation and re-design of TC supervision within clinically based teacher preparation.     

Factors of Professional Learning Community Implementation and Effect on Student Achievement

ABSTRACT

Professional learning communities (PLCs) promote collaboration among school personnel in an effort to stimulate student learning. Using data obtained from a larger statewide initiative in Missouri, the current study examined data from 181 schools (102 elementary schools, 32 middle schools, 41 high schools, and 6 other schools, average of 428.76 students) to determine (a) the factors that can be used to assess the effects of PLCs, (b) how well PLCs relate to student achievement, and (c) the extent to which teams differentially implement the factors. An exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in two broader constructs that represented PLC attributes, collaborative leadership process and data-driven systems for learning, both of which correlated with student achievement and together provided unique variance in mathematics beyond school variables and achievement scores from before the PLC began. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Strategic Global Advantage: The Career Academy/Technical College State Initiative

Georgia's legislators have approved a plan whereby public school districts in the state could convert to charter schools to tailor programs for local educational communities. The state has authorized funds for five secondary-level charter career academies that are to be positioned regionally and partnered with a postsecondary community or technical college on-site. This is a model of seamlessness that is predicated upon physical placement near one of the strategic industry clusters in the state. Yet, assignment of these academies is matched not only to geographical targets as designated in the governor's global industry and innovation initiative. Career academies also serve the function of early colleges in that they become a transitioning model between two very distinct educational institutions. This includes close articulation with technical college instructors, curriculums, and workforce and economic development programs—an arrangement that is much more likely to amplify and improve the pool of trained workers for cluster-based firms. Drawing technical colleges and career academies together for an agenda of educational reform signifies that a state is tooling-up both to accommodate new business growth and firm relocations, and also to equip young people with the skills and know-how needed in 21st century workplaces.