Japanese Elementary Teachers’ Learning Experiences of Physical Education Professional Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate Japanese elementary teachers’ professional development experiences in physical education in Japan. Participants were nine teachers from four public elementary schools. Data sources included semi-structured face-to-face interviews and annual physical education professional development portfolios. Three themes emerged from the data analyses: (a) the importance of mentoring for teachers’ growth, (b) annual in-house physical education portfolios as a professional development tool, and (c) the dilemma of being an independent learner in collective culture. The findings suggest that having access to past portfolios developed by previous teachers helped the Japanese elementary teachers to conceptualize the contents of professional learning that facilitated their transitions when they changed their teaching settings. To continuously grow as a teacher, they need to become independent learners who can make decisions about their instruction, identify the weaknesses of their instruction, and understand the impact of their pedagogy on their students’ learning.     

"周鲁时代"的终结与《吕氏春秋》的登场

本文欲阐明《吕氏春秋》撰写可能的动机以及其论述内容对战国末期当时的历史、思想角色上之固有意义.本文的论述内容可分成如下三点:(1)概述在前256年周室灭亡后产生的"后周鲁"时代的秦王之动态.(2)《吕氏春秋》的撰写目的是将治理天下人民的统治理论提供给秦王.就《吕氏春秋》作者(们)而言,借由此统治理论的实践,秦王从当今"实际上"(de facto)的"天子"能够提升为真正的天子.(3)关于《吕氏春秋》的内容是否受到《荀子》思想的影响这一点,笔者认为,《荀》《吕》两书的论述内容基本上是独自展开的,只是吕不韦可能继承了荀子的基本问题意识(即如何治理天下人民),并且将这样的论述转换成专为秦主实践的一种"行动计划"(action plan).总之,《吕氏春秋》所提出的治理天下的理论,对从前240—前230年代的秦廷以"间接支配周边诸侯和天下人民"的模式来与对外诸侯互动的政策应该发挥了某种影响力.     

Family risk as a predictor of initial engagement and follow-through in a universal nurse home visiting program to prevent child maltreatment

Objective

As nurse home visiting to prevent child maltreatment grows in popularity with both program administrators and legislators, it is important to understand engagement in such programs in order to improve their community-wide effects. This report examines family demographic and infant health risk factors that predict engagement and follow-through in a universal home-based maltreatment prevention program for new mothers in Durham County, North Carolina.

Methods

Trained staff members attempted to schedule home visits for all new mothers during the birthing hospital stay, and then nurses completed scheduled visits three to five weeks later. Medical record data was used to identify family demographic and infant health risk factors for maltreatment. These variables were used to predict program engagement (scheduling a visit) and follow-through (completing a scheduled visit).

Results

Program staff members were successful in scheduling 78% of eligible families for a visit and completing 85% of scheduled visits. Overall, 66% of eligible families completed at least one visit. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses indicated that high demographic risk and low infant health risk were predictive of scheduling a visit. Both low demographic and infant health risk were predictive of visit completion.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that while higher demographic risk increases families’ initial engagement, it might also inhibit their follow-through. Additionally, parents of medically at-risk infants may be particularly difficult to engage in universal home visiting interventions. Implications for recruitment strategies of home visiting programs are discussed.     

Measuring Knowledge Integration Learning of Energy Topics: A two-year longitudinal study

Although researchers call for inquiry learning in science, science assessments rarely capture the impact of inquiry instruction. This paper reports on the development and validation of assessments designed to measure middle-school students’ progress in gaining integrated understanding of energy while studying an inquiry-oriented curriculum. The assessment development was guided by the knowledge integration framework. Over 2 years of implementation, more than 4,000 students from 4 schools participated in the study, including a cross-sectional and a longitudinal cohort. Results from item response modeling analyses revealed that: (a) the assessments demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in terms of reliability and validity; (b) both the cross-sectional and longitudinal cohorts made progress on integrating their understanding energy concepts; and (c) among many factors (e.g. gender, grade, school, and home language) associated with students’ science performance, unit implementation was the strongest predictor.     

Development of the Physical Educators’ Judgments about Inclusion Instrument for Japanese Physical Education Majors and an Analysis of their Judgments

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Physical Educators’ Judgments about Inclusion (PEJI) survey for analysing the judgments of Japanese (361 male, 170 female) physical education teacher education majors. A secondary purpose was to examine group differences in judgments as a function of gender and past experiences. Data were collected and psychometrical properties of the PEJI were assessed using a maximum-likelihood extraction method. Confirmatory factor analysis resulted in salient loadings for all items on three hypothesised dimensions, resulting in 47% explained variance for measuring judgments about: Inclusion versus Exclusion, Acceptance of Students with Disabilities, and Perceived Training Needs. Supported by the three interpretable factors that emerged, construct validity evidence is presented. Although most of the physical education teacher education majors sampled had yet to teach students with disabilities, they had formed preliminary judgments about doing so.     

Key motion characteristics of side-step movements in hip-hop dance and their effect on the evaluation by judges

In hip-hop dance, the elements of motion that discriminate the skill levels of dancers and that influence the evaluations by judges have not been clearly identified. This study set out to extract these motion characteristics from the side-step movements of hip-hop dancing. Eight expert and eight non-expert dancers performed side-step movements, which were recorded using a motion capture system. Nine experienced judges evaluated the dancers’ performances. Several parameters, including the range of motion (ROM) of the joint angles (neck, trunk, hip, knee, and face inclination) and phase delays between these angular motions were calculated. A quarter-cycle phase delay between the neck motion and other body parts, seen only in the expert dancers, is highlighted as an element that can distinguish dancers’ skill levels. This feature of the expert dancers resulted in a larger ROM during the face inclination than that for the non-expert dancers. In addition, the experts exhibited a bottom-to-top segmental sequence in the horizontal direction while the non-experts did not demonstrate any such sequential motion. Of these kinematic parameters, only the ROM of the face inclination was highly correlated to the judging score and is regarded as being the most appealing element of the side-step movement.     

Developing Online Graduate Coursework in Adapted Physical Education Utilizing Andragogy Theory

Graduate adapted physical education (APE) courses have typically been taught using face-to-face formats where the instructor and learners physically meet in a classroom and engage in discussions and experiential exercises. However, because in-service physical educators have time demands associated with teaching, coaching, and family commitments, face-to-face meetings may not be feasible. Therefore, online learning may provide a more efficient and effective method for training in-service physical educators to become APE specialists. The purpose of this article is to disseminate guidelines for developing and implementing online coursework in APE within the theoretical framework of andragogy (adult learning). In this article, the authors describe characteristics and implementation of an online APE graduate course for in-service physical educators based on andragogy theory. Andragogy theory addresses the particular needs of adult learners and is based on the idea that there are significant differences in learning characteristics between children and adults (Knowles, 1989). This article first describes four components fundamental to andragogical instruction: experiential learning, self-directed learning, engagement, and transformative learning. The narratives provide information and characteristics about online APE course development for PE teachers’ professional development and how andragogy approach is a useful and beneficial approach to enhance learning.     

Prediction of visceral fat area at the umbilicus level using fat mass of the trunk: The validity of bioelectrical impedance analysis

The aims of this study were to determine the validity of fat mass of the trunk as a predictor for visceral fat area at the umbilicus level and to develop equations to predict visceral fat mass at the umbilicus level using fat mass of the trunk measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The participants were 121 normal Japanese adults (69 males, 52 females). Another 60 volunteer adults (34 males, 26 females) were recruited for examination of cross-validity. Altogether, 41 adults (15 males, 26 females) in the original group and 19 adults (7 males, 12 females) in the cross-validity group received BIA measurement. We measured fat mass by DXA and the BIA system, which was a single-frequency BIA with 8-point contact electrodes, and visceral fat area by computed tomography. We observed significant correlations for visceral fat area in waist circumference (0.56) and fat mass of the trunk measured by DXA (0.64). There was no significant difference in fat mass of the trunk between the DXA and BIA systems, but the BIA system tended to provide an underestimate compared with DXA. With combined fat mass of the trunk measured by DXA and waist circumference as predictors, visceral fat area was estimated by equation (1) (R = 0.87, R(2) = 0.76, standard error of the estimate = 20.9 cm(2)). When substituting fat mass of the trunk measured by BIA into equation (1), there was no significant difference in visceral fat area between the reference and predicted values. An equation using fat mass of the trunk measured by BIA (equation 2) was obtained (R = 0.89, R(2) = 0.78, standard error of the estimate = 20.7 cm(2)), but a systematic error was found for the males. There was cross-validity in both equations. In conclusion, fat mass of the trunk is an effective predictor for the visceral fat area at the umbilicus level. Fat mass of the trunk measured by BIA might be a valid method to predict visceral fat, although further studies with larger samples taking into account the extent and type of obesity are required.     

Ankle taping can reduce external ankle joint moments during drop landings on a tilted surface

Ankle taping is commonly used to prevent ankle sprains. However, kinematic assessments investigating the biomechanical effects of ankle taping have provided inconclusive results. This study aimed to determine the effect of ankle taping on the external ankle joint moments during a drop landing on a tilted surface at 25°. Twenty-five participants performed landings on a tilted force platform that caused ankle inversion with and without ankle taping. Landing kinematics were captured using a motion capture system. External ankle inversion moment, the angular impulse due to the medio-lateral and vertical components of ground reaction force (GRF) and their moment arm lengths about the ankle joint were analysed. The foot plantar inclination relative to the ground was assessed. In the taping condition, the foot plantar inclination and ankle inversion angular impulse were reduced significantly compared to that of the control. The only component of the external inversion moment to change significantly in the taped condition was a shortened medio-lateral GRF moment arm length. It can be assumed that the ankle taping altered the foot plantar inclination relative to the ground, thereby shortening the moment arm of medio-lateral GRF that resulted in the reduced ankle inversion angular impulse.