FROM “EXPLORING THE MIDDLE ZONE” TO “CONSTRUCTING A BRIDGE”: EXPERIMENTING IN THE SPIRAL BIANSHI MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

The spiral bianshi curriculum, an improvement on bianshi teaching developed by Gu (2000) and in line with Marton’s theory of variation (Marton & Booth, 1997), was tried out in a primary school in Hong Kong. This improved theoretical framework for the spiral bianshi curriculum comprises four types of bianshi problems—the inductive bianshi, the broadening bianshi, the deepening bianshi, and the applicative bianshi. Based on this framework, the research team developed a set of teaching materials on the three topics of division of fraction, speed, and volume. The materials were tried out in 21 Primary 6 classes (a total of 686 students) in a school. The effect was compared with a reference group using standard textbook materials in Hong Kong. A series of instruments, pre-tests, and post-tests were administered to gauge the effects on students’ performance in solving routine and non-routine problems, as well as the affective outcomes including self-concept, attitude towards learning mathematics, approaches to learning, and conceptions of mathematics. The intervention effects of the experimental design were examined by hierarchical regression analysis. The research reveals that students using spiral bianshi teaching materials performed significantly better than their counterparts using standard textbook materials. However, no significant differences were identified among affective learning outcome variables despite the positive results on cognitive learning outcomes. The findings indicate that spiral bianshi curriculum has high potential in enhancing students’ learning effectiveness. However, further studies are needed to map its strengths in detail.     

Direction dependence of displacement time for two-fluid electroosmotic flow

Electroosmotic flow that involves one fluid displacing another fluid is commonly encountered in various microfludic applications and experiments, for example, current monitoring technique to determine zeta potential of microchannel. There is experimentally observed anomaly in such flow, namely, the displacement time is flow direction dependent, i.e., it depends if it is a high concentration fluid displacing a low concentration fluid, or vice versa. Thus, this investigation focuses on the displacement flow of two fluids with various concentration differences. The displacement time was determined experimentally with current monitoring method. It is concluded that the time required for a high concentration solution to displace a low concentration solution is smaller than the time required for a low concentration solution to displace a high concentration solution. The percentage displacement time difference increases with increasing concentration difference and independent of the length or width of the channel and the voltage applied. Hitherto, no theoretical analysis or numerical simulation has been conducted to explain this phenomenon. A numerical model based on finite element method was developed to explain the experimental observations. Simulations showed that the velocity profile and ion distribution deviate significantly from a single fluid electroosmotic flow. The distortion of ion distribution near the electrical double layer is responsible for the displacement time difference for the two different flow directions. The trends obtained from simulations agree with the experimental findings.     

Lower-body compression garments worn following exercise improves perceived recovery but not subsequent performance in basketball athletes

ABSTRACT

This study examined the effects of lower-body compression garments on perceived recovery and subsequent performance in basketball athletes. In a parallel-group design, 30 recreational, male basketball athletes were randomly allocated to either a control (CON, n = 15, loose-fitting clothing) or experimental group (COMP, n = 15, compression garments) for 15 h following fatigue-inducing, basketball-specific exercise in the evening (1600-1800 h). Perceptual measures of fatigue and muscle soreness, as well as physical performance tests (sprints, jumps and agility), were performed pre-exercise, post-exercise, and post-recovery (15 h following exercise). Subjective and objective measures of sleep were recorded following the exercise trial. There were non-significant (p > 0.05), unclear-trivial differences between groups for all performance measures. Perceived post-recovery fatigue (d = ?1.27, large) and muscle soreness (d = ?1.61, large) were significantly lower in COMP compared to CON (p < 0.05). COMP exhibited better perceived sleep quality (d = 0.42, small, p = 0.18) than CON, with an unclear difference in sleep duration between groups (p > 0.05). Wearing lower-body compression garments overnight improved perceived fatigue and muscle soreness, but had negligible effects on subsequent physical performance in basketball athletes. Future research should focus on longer periods of compression wear following fatiguing exercise.     

Impact on mathematics self-beliefs from a mastery-based mathematics software

Abstract

Self-beliefs are important determinants of student choice and success (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000 Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy–value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 68–81. doi:10.1006/ceps.1999.1015[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and are informed by student educational experiences, such as prior success with a task (Bandura, 1986 Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. [Google Scholar]). The potential for Computer-Based Interventions as self-belief-supporting learning environments is examined in this study, focusing on the mathematics software, Spatial Temporal (ST) Math. ST Math includes elements theorized to support student self-beliefs, including informative feedback and a self-pacing structure. Using a randomized control trial, we find that students who play ST Math have higher mathematics self-beliefs than their control counterparts, and that ST Math operates through self-beliefs to positively influence achievement. ST Math’s impact on student self-beliefs is strongest for those students who had lower mathematics achievement scores.     

Early Childhood Technology Education: A Sociocultural Perspective

We are living in a fast-changing, technology-driven world, where technology affects the daily lives of every person, directly or indirectly. While the importance of providing young children with technological knowledge and experience has been well-recognized, how the curriculum should be developed deserves greater study. Using early childhood education in Hong Kong as a case study, this paper argues that to be successful in planning and implementing a technology curriculum, we cannot consider only the technological aspects. We also need to take into consideration the social and cultural factors. Among various social and cultural factors, this paper focuses on: (a) the background of the students and their parents, (b) society’s perceptions of technology, and (c) society’s expectations of children who learn about technology, and (d) the approach and method of teaching and learning technology.     

The Role of Mothers' Child-Based Worth in Their Affective Responses to Children's Performance

This research examined whether American and Chinese mothers' tendencies to base their worth on children's performance contributes to their affective responses to children's performance. Study 1 used daily interviews to assess mothers' warmth (vs. hostility) and children's school performance (N = 197; M_age = 12.81 years). In Study 2, such affect was observed in the laboratory following children's manipulated performance on cognitive problems (N = 128; M_age = 10.21 years). The more mothers based their worth on children's performance, the more their warmth (vs. hostility) decreased when children failed in Study 1. This pattern was evident only among Chinese mothers in Study 2. In both studies, child-based worth did not contribute to mothers' affective responses to children's success.     

Shoe collar height effect on athletic performance,ankle joint kinematics and kinetics during unanticipated maximum-effort side-cutting performance

Side-step cutting manoeuvres comprise the coordination between planting and non-planting legs. Increased shoe collar height is expected to influence ankle biomechanics of both legs and possibly respective cutting performance. This study examined the shoe collar height effect on kinematics and kinetics of planting and non-planting legs during an unanticipated side-step cutting. Fifteen university basketball players performed maximum-effort side-step cutting to the left 45° direction or a straight ahead run in response to a random light signal. Seven successful cutting trials were collected for each condition. Athletic performance, ground reaction force, ankle kinematics and kinetics of both legs were analysed using paired t-tests. Results indicated that high-collar shoes resulted in less ankle inversion and external rotation during initial contact for the planting leg. The high-collar shoes also exhibited a smaller ankle range of motion in the sagittal and transverse planes for both legs, respectively. However, no collar effect was found for ankle moments and performance indicators including cutting performance time, ground contact time, propulsion ground reaction forces and impulses. These findings indicated that high-collar shoes altered ankle positioning and restricted ankle joint freedom movements in both legs, while no negative effect was found for athletic cutting performance.     

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.     

State Policies for Standardized Achievement Testing of Limited English Proficient Students

To what extent have state departments of education developed policies for testing limited English proficiency students with standardized achievement tests? What are some of the relationships between the development of these testing policies and the establishment of bilingual education in the states? What work still lies ahead in standardized achievement testing of limited English proficient students?     

Parent–Child Shared Time From Middle Childhood to Late Adolescence: Developmental Course and Adjustment Correlates

The development and adjustment correlates of parent–child social (parent, child, and others present) and dyadic time (only parent and child present) from age 8 to 18 were examined. Mothers, fathers, and firstborns and secondborns from 188 White families participated in both home and nightly phone interviews. Social time declined across adolescence, but dyadic time with mothers and fathers peaked in early and middle adolescence, respectively. In addition, secondborns’ social time declined more slowly than firstborns’, and gendered time use patterns were more pronounced in boys and in opposite‐sex sibling dyads. Finally, youths who spent more dyadic time with their fathers, on average, had higher general self‐worth, and changes in social time with fathers were positively linked to changes in social competence.