Developing teachers’ knowledge of students as learners of mathematics through structured interviews

A structured interview process is proffered as an effective means to advance prospective teachers’ understandings of students as learners of mathematics, a key component of pedagogical content knowledge. The interview process is carried out in three phases with the primary objective of developing listening skills for accessing students’ mathematical thinking. The interviews adhere to clinical interview procedures for discovering cognitive activities and, accordingly, are initiated by presenting an open-ended mathematics task. Three rounds of interviews were completed by undergraduates enrolled in a middle school mathematics methods course. Anecdotal data generated by their interview reports suggest that the structured interview process engenders an interpretive orientation to listening to students and furthers awareness of how students make sense of mathematics. Features of the interview process that may limit its potential benefits are discussed; recommendations for further study are proposed.     

Documentation for institutional repositories

The documentation of seven academic institutional repositories (IRs) was compared and contrasted. This was followed by semi‐structured interviews with six practitioners experienced in the set‐up, management and maintenance of IRs, including representatives of three JISC FAIR projects. The aim was to identify the requirements of policy documentation provided by IRs. Although many issues were found to be handled differently, several common factors emerged. These included the importance of developing documentation in collaboration with academics, departments and senior management. Policies should be formulated only when the aims of the IR have been clearly defined and the documentation itself should be concise and understandable, with the rights and responsibilities of stakeholders clearly presented.     

Effect of the movement speed of resistance training exercises on sprint and strength performance in concurrently training elite junior sprinters

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of 7 weeks of high- and low-velocity resistance training on strength and sprint running performance in nine male elite junior sprint runners (age 19.0+/-1.4 years, best 100 m times 10.89+/-0.21 s; mean +/- s). The athletes continued their sprint training throughout the study, but their resistance training programme was replaced by one in which the movement velocities of hip extension and flexion, knee extension and flexion and squat exercises varied according to the loads lifted (i.e. 30-50% and 70-90% of 1-RM in the high- and low-velocity training groups, respectively). There were no between-group differences in hip flexion or extension torque produced at 1.05, 4.74 or 8.42 rad x s(-1), 20 m acceleration or 20 m 'flying' running times, or 1-RM squat lift strength either before or after training. This was despite significant improvements in 20 m acceleration time (P < 0.01), squat strength (P < 0.05), isokinetic hip flexion torque at 4.74 rad x s(-1) and hip extension torque at 1.05 and 4.74 rad x s(-1) for the athletes as a whole over the training period. Although velocity-specific strength adaptations have been shown to occur rapidly in untrained and nonconcurrently training individuals, the present results suggest a lack of velocity-specific performance changes in elite concurrently training sprint runners performing a combination of traditional and semi-specific resistance training exercises.     

INDIRECT EFFECTS IN THE PEER VICTIMIZATION‐ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT RELATION: THE ROLE OF ACADEMIC SELF‐CONCEPT AND GENDER

Peer victimization is a concern because victimized youth are more likely to have social, emotional, and academic difficulties. The current study examined the link between peer victimization and academic achievement by exploring the indirect effect of academic self‐concept on two variables. The sample consisted of 140 middle school students (40% male, 60% female). Using structural equation modeling, a mediation model revealed a significant indirect effect of victimization on academic achievement through academic self‐concept; however, when tested for gender differences, the indirect effect was only significant for girls. Interpretation of these results and suggestions for future studies are discussed.     

Repeated high-intensity exercise in professional rugby union

The aim of the present study was to describe the frequency, duration, and nature of repeated high-intensity exercise in Super 14 rugby union. Time-motion analysis was used during seven competition matches over the 2008 and 2009 Super 14 seasons; five players from each of four positional groups (front row forwards, back row forwards, inside backs, and outside backs) were assessed (20 players in total). A repeated high-intensity exercise bout was considered to involve three or more sprints, and/or tackles and/or scrum/ruck/maul activities within 21 s during the same passage of play. The range of repeated high-intensity exercise bouts for each group in a match was as follows: 11-18 for front row forwards, 11-21 for back row forwards, 13-18 for inside backs, and 2-11 for outside backs. The durations of the most intense repeated high-intensity exercise bouts for each position ranged from 53 s to 165 s and the minimum recovery periods between repeated high-intensity exercise bouts ranged from 25 s for the back row forwards to 64 s for the front row forwards. The present results show that repeated high-intensity exercise bouts vary in duration and activities relative to position but all players in a game will average at least 10 changes in activity in the most demanding bouts and complete at least one tackle and two sprints. The most intense periods of activity are likely to last as long as 120 s and as little as 25 s recovery may separate consecutive repeated high-intensity exercise bouts. The present findings can be used by coaches to prepare their players for the most demanding passages of play likely to be experienced in elite rugby union.     

Relationships between physiological, anthropometric, and skill qualities and playing performance in professional rugby league players

In this study, we investigated the relationship between physiological, anthropometric, and skill qualities and playing performance in professional rugby league players. Fifty-eight high-performance rugby league players underwent measurements for anthropometry (height, body mass, sum of seven skinfolds), physiological (speed, change of direction speed, lower body muscular power, repeated-sprint ability, prolonged high-intensity intermittent running ability, and estimated maximal aerobic power), technical skill (tackling proficiency, draw and pass proficiency), and perceptual skill (reactive agility, pattern recall, pattern prediction) qualities. National Rugby League matches were coded for attacking (e.g. line breaks, try assists, etc.) and defensive (e.g. missed tackles, tackling efficiency, etc.) statistics commonly used to assess rugby league playing performance. The number of line break assists was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with greater playing experience (r = 0.36), dual-task draw and pass proficiency (r = 0.54), reactive agility (r = 0.29), and pattern recall (r = 0.32) and prediction (r = 0.28) ability, while faster speed over 40 m (r = -0.42) was associated (P < 0.05) with a higher number of tries scored. Greater age and playing experience, better lower body muscular power, and faster 10 m and 40 m speed were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with the number of tackle attempts (positive), tackles completed (positive), and proportion of missed tackles (negative). These findings demonstrate that well-developed physical and skill qualities are associated with effective playing performance in National Rugby League players.     

No place to call home: Cultural homelessness, self-esteem and cross-cultural identities

This study examined relations between a cross-cultural geographically mobile childhood and adulthood cultural homelessness, attachment to cross-cultural identities, and self esteem. Cross-cultural identities are loosely defined identities (e.g., third culture kids, military brats, missionary kids) that describe some individuals’ childhood cross-cultural experience. The 475 participants spent at least two years before age 18 in a country different from their parents’ home culture, then returned to the latter. They completed an online survey which included general demographic information regarding cross-cultural experiences in childhood, as well as the Cultural Homelessness Criteria, the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, and items that evaluated the strength of affirmation, belonging, and commitment to a self-labeled cross-cultural identity. Cultural homelessness was related to lower self esteem scores; higher affirmation, belonging and commitment to any cross-cultural identity was related to higher self esteem and lower cultural homelessness. Furthermore, such affirmation, belonging, and commitment buffered the cultural homelessness-self esteem association, whereas just having a cross-cultural identity did not.