Investigating the effectiveness of three-dimensionally printed anatomical models compared with plastinated human specimens in learning cardiac and neck anatomy: A randomized crossover study

Three-dimensional printing (3DP) technology has been increasingly applied in health profession education. Yet, 3DP anatomical models compared with the plastinated specimens as learning scaffolds are unclear. A randomized-controlled crossover study was used to evaluate the objective outcomes of 3DP models compared with the plastinated specimens through an introductory lecture and team study for learning relatively simple (cardiac) and complex (neck) anatomies. Given the novel multimaterial and multicolored 3DP models are replicas of the plastinated specimens, it is hypothesized that 3DP models have the same educational benefits to plastinated specimens. This study was conducted in two phases in which participants were randomly assigned to 3DP (n = 31) and plastinated cardiac groups (n = 32) in the first phase, whereas same groups (3DP, n = 15; plastinated, n = 18) used switched materials in the second phase for learning neck anatomy. The pretest, educational activities and posttest were conducted for each phase. Miller's framework was used to assess the cognitive outcomes. There was a significant improvement in students' baseline knowledge by 29.7% and 31.3% for Phase 1; 31.7% and 31.3% for Phase 2 plastinated and 3DP models. Posttest scores for cardiac (plastinated, 3DP mean ± SD: 57.0 ± 13.3 and 60.8 ± 13.6, P = 0.27) and neck (70.3 ± 15.6 and 68.3 ± 9.9, P = 0.68) phases showed no significant difference. In addition, no difference observed when cognitive domains compared for both cases. These results reflect that introductory lecture plus either the plastinated or 3DP modes were effective for learning cardiac and neck anatomy.     

CLASSROOM QUALITY AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR TRAJECTORIES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Student behavioral concerns are a top priority for school psychologists. This project took an ecological systems perspective by examining the contribution of students’ initial externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the quality of their classroom environments to their behavioral outcomes across one school year. Participants included 322 elementary students and their 32 teachers. Results suggested that externalizing and internalizing behaviors were stable over time. However, the correlation between fall and spring internalizing behavior was accentuated if students also had high externalizing behavior in the fall. Poor spring behavioral engagement was predicted by students’ fall internalizing (but not externalizing) behavior. Importantly, classrooms high in emotional support attenuated the stability of students’ internalizing behavior. In addition, students’ fall externalizing behavior appeared to be associated with reduced spring internalizing behavior in classrooms high in emotional support or classroom organization. Findings underscore the importance of considering both student‐ and classroom‐level factors when predicting elementary students’ behavioral outcomes.     

CLASSROOM VICTIMIZATION: CONSEQUENCES FOR SOCIAL AND ACADEMIC ADJUSTMENT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Peer victimization is a well‐established risk factor for children's adjustment, but it has rarely been studied as a feature of classroom climate. This study examines the consequences of classroom victimization for children's social and academic adjustment. Classroom victimization, social functioning, and academic adjustment were assessed in two subsamples taken from a full sample of 523 children nested in 28 classrooms, followed over the course of a school year. Results from a subsample of 213 students suggested that higher classroom levels of victimization predicted attenuated growth in children's reading achievement as well as greater stability of reading achievement over the course of the year. Results from a subsample of 490 children suggested that lower levels of classroom victimization predicted reduced stability of peer social preference and mitigated the trajectory between children's externalizing behavior and poor social preference. Implications for prevention of and interventions targeting peer victimization are discussed.     

Development of a short form of the attitudes toward mathematics inventory

Existing instruments designed to measure mathematics attitudes were too long, dated, or assessed with only western samples. To address this issue, a shortened version of the Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (short ATMI) which measures four subscales??enjoyment of mathematics, motivation to do mathematics, self-confidence in mathematics, and perceived value of mathematics??was created. Its factor structure, reliability, and validity were assessed with 1,601 participants from Singapore. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the original four-factor structure. Within this structure, however, several items were found to correlate highly with others. Their removal either improved or did not impact the properties of the instrument. As a result, these items were removed to produce the short ATMI. Furthermore, a very high correlation (r?=?.96) was found between the enjoyment and motivation subscales. Results of further analysis suggested the removal of the motivation subscale. The short ATMI exhibited strong correlations with the original scale (mean r?=?.96), good overall internal consistencies, both for the full short version (???=?.93) and for the individual subscales (mean ???=?.87), and satisfactory test?Cretest reliability over a 1-month period (mean r _xx ?=?.75). The validity of the short ATMI was further demonstrated through inter-correlations between its subscales, and through correlations with mathematics anxiety and achievement test scores. Participants were able to complete the short ATMI in less than 10?min, making it a viable option when survey administration time is limited. This time would reduce further with the removal of the motivation subscale.     

After inspection in special schools: action planning and making progress

As a high proportion of special schools 'fail' their inspections, the DfEE commissioned researchers from the University of the West of England (UWE) to examine post-inspection improvement. Can other schools learn from the 'best practice' identified? John Dwyfor Davies, John Lee, Keith Postlethwaite, Jane Tarr and Wan Ching Yee (all of whom lecture and research at UWE) and Gary Thomas, now Chair of Education at Oxford Brookes University, report on their findings, which point strongly to the need for good target-setting and monitoring, together with strong support.     

论武术与现代休闲生活

文章运用文献资料法对现代社会的休闲生活的必然性作了分析,通过追寻古代武术休闲的元素,分析其对当今社会的影响,总结出武术休闲对现代人们生活的有益价值,从而推动武术与休闲的相应发展。     

陈氏《太极拳十大要论》考析——兼论太极拳的理论研究

深入研究太极拳古典拳论对太极拳的理论建设具有重要的意义。文章运用文献资料法,对陈氏《太极拳十大要论》的结构内容及其来源的历史过程进行分析,认为该拳论来源于形意拳《岳武穆九要论》,其作者并非陈长兴。继而提出,要正确看待太极拳与形意拳之间的交流现象,对待部分传统太极拳理论不应过于迷信尊奉祖传;应科学合理地构建太极拳的理论体系。     

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006 (PIRLS): pedagogical correlates of fourth‐grade students in Hong Kong

Reading literacy of fourth‐grade students in Hong Kong showed a remarkable improvement from 2001 to 2006 as shown by international PIRLS studies. This study identified various aspects of the teacher factor contributing to the significant improvement among students. A total of 4,712 students and 144 teachers from 144 schools were randomly selected using probability proportional‐to‐size technique to receive the Reading Assessment Test and complete the Teacher's Questionnaire, respectively. A number of items pertaining to teachers' instructional strategies and activities, opportunities for students to read various types of materials, practices on assessment, and professional preparation and perception, were found to be significantly correlated with the outcome of students' reading literacy. Stepwise regression procedure revealed four significant predictors for students' overall reading achievement. The most powerful predictor was the use of materials from other subjects as reading resources. Suggestions to improve quality of teaching of reading and further studies are made.     

广告汉译英存在的问题及解决办法

本文就目前广告汉泽英中普遍存在的问题，从应用文写作的角度作了分折与探讨，并提出了一些有益的建设。