A Study of Sensori-Motor and Conceptual Thinking in Children between the Ages of Nine and Eighteen

In this research, the author addresses whether the application of unidimensional item response models provides valid interpretation of test results when administering items sensitive to multiple latent dimensions. Overall, the present study found that unidimensional models are quite robust to the violation of the unidimensionality assumption due to secondary dimensions from sensitive items. When secondary dimensions are highly correlated with main construct, unidimensional models generally fit and the accuracy of ability estimation is comparable to that of strictly unidimensional tests. In addition, longer tests are more robust to the violation of the essential unidimensionality assumption than shorter ones. The author also shows that unidimensional item response theory models estimate item difficulty parameter better than item discrimination parameter in tests with secondary dimensions.     

Code-Switching and Competition: An Examination of a Situational Response

Code switching is primarily a linguistic term that refers to the use of two or more languages within the same conversation, or same sentence, to convey a single message. One field of linguistics, sociocultural linguistics, is broad and interdisciplinary, a mixture of language, culture, and society. In sociocultural linguistics, the code, or language that is selected, can be triggered by a social situation or setting in which the speaker is placed. Code-switching can also apply to behavior. In physical education, teachers may communicate in the language of sport. When teaching a competitive activity in physical education class, the environment changes, becomes competitive, and the teachers often code switch and switch instructional choices unconsciously. This article examines the occurrence of code-switching during competitive activities.     

Faculty Incentives for Online Course Design, Delivery, and Professional Development

This quantitative study investigated the types and frequency of incentives for online instruction at non-profit institutions of higher education with an established teaching and learning development unit. While up to 70 % of institutions offer incentives, this support is not universal and varies by incentive type and purpose.     

Impaired motor control after sport-related concussion could increase risk for musculoskeletal injury: Implications for clinical management and rehabilitation

This review presents a conceptual framework and supporting evidence that links impaired motor control after sport-related concussion(SRC)to increased risk for musculoskeletal injury.Multiple studies have found that athletes who are post-SRC have higher risk for musculoskeletal injury compared to their counterparts.A small body of research suggests that impairments in motor control are associated with musculoskeletal injury risk.Motor control involves the perception and processing of sensory information and subsequent coordination of motor output within the central nervous system to perform a motor task.Motor control is inclusive of motor planning and motor learning.If sensory information is not accurately perceived or there is interference with sensory information processing and cognition,motor function will be altered,and an athlete may become vulnerable to injury during sport participation.Athletes with SRC show neuroanatomic and neurophysiological changes relevant to motor control even after meeting return to sport criteria,including a normal neurological examination,resolution of symptoms,and return to baseline function on traditional concussion testing.In conjunction,altered motor function is demonstrated after SRC in muscle activation and force production,movement patterns,balance/postural stability,and motor task performance,especially performance of a motor task paired with a cognitive task(i.e.,dual-task condition).The clinical implications of this conceptual framework include a need to intentionally address motor control impairments after SRC to mitigate musculoskeletal injury risk and to monitor motor control as the athlete progresses through the return to sport continuum.