Instructional guidelines based on conceptions of students and scientists about economic and population growth within planetary boundaries

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - The burden placed by human activities on Earth is ever-increasing. Global environmental changes have profoundly affected the...     

Fitness,physical activity and academic achievement in overweight/obese children

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the associations of fitness and physical activity with academic achievement in children with overweight/obesity. A total of 106 (10.0 ± 1.1y, 61 boys) children participated. The fitness components were assessed by field and laboratory-based tests. Physical activity was measured via accelerometry. The academic achievement was assessed by a standardised test and school-grades. Field-based cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with language skills (ß-standardised- ranging from 0.281 to 0.365, p < 0.01). The field-based muscular strength was associated with grade point average, natural and social sciences, and foreign language (ß = 0.280–0.326, all p ≤ 0.01). Speed-agility was associated with some language-related skills (ß = 0.325–0.393, all p ≤ 0.01). The laboratory-based muscular strength also showed an association with mathematics skills (ß = 0.251–0.306, all p ≤ 0.01). Physical activity did not show significant association with academic achievement (p > 0.01). Overall, the significant associations observed for muscular strength and speed/agility were attenuated and disappeared in many cases after additional adjustments for body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness, indicating that these associations are inter-dependent. Our study contributes by indicating that other fitness components apart from cardiorespiratory fitness, such as muscular strength and speed-agility, are positively associated with academic achievement. However, these associations appear to be dependent on body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness.     

Predictive value of coaches’ early technical and tactical notational analyses on long-term success of female handball players

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of technique and tactics for athlete performance, there has been surprisingly little research on the value of these skills in talent identification and development. This study investigated the relationship between coaches’ early notational analyses of female youth handball players and the long-term success of these athletes. Participants included sixty-eight female handball players involved in a talent selection camp in Germany when they were between 12 and 14 years of age (mean = 14.42, SD = 0.42). All subsequently ended up as non-, semi- or professional adult players. During the initial selection camp, participants were evaluated on a range of quantitative and qualitative measures of technical and tactical skill. Results indicated significant differences between the groups, but only for the number of actions taken, not for the quality of those actions. While this seems counterintuitive, it may reflect the likelihood that more skilled and/or talented players take more actions. Further work is necessary to explore the validity and implications of these findings.     

Conceptions of e‐learning and professional development for e‐learning held by tertiary educators in New Zealand

The conceptions an individual holds about a phenomenon can influence and determine associated behaviours and perspectives. Consequently, they have a bearing upon how learning about a phenomenon is undertaken and how that phenomenon is experienced and applied in context. A phenomenographic research approach was used to gather the expressed experiences of e‐learning and professional development for e‐learning held by teachers and support staff from institutions across New Zealand. Five conceptions of e‐learning (as tool and equipment; as a facilitator of interaction; as learning; as a reduction in distance; and as a collaborative enterprise) and four conceptions of professional development for e‐learning (as training; as opening up possibilities; as collaboration; and as relevant and purposeful) were discovered. In this report, we discuss the conceptions, and show how they are interrelated through outcome space. Implications for the professional development of tertiary teachers and teaching support staff are outlined. The study provides some insights for individuals, institutions and those responsible for planning and implementing professional development programmes to help them to support the development and progress of e‐learning in appropriate and rewarding directions.     

Videoconferencing in Math and Science Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Field Placements

This study was designed to examine benefits and challenges of teaching through videoconferencing in the context of students’ field placement experiences, particularly as it relates to an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning math and science. In the context of mathematics and science methods courses, preservice teachers, with the supervision of professors, field placement supervisors and cooperating teachers, taught a series of math and science lessons via video conferencing to 5th grade classes in a major urban public school. Two major results of this study indicate that: (1) teaching through videoconferencing highlights strengths and weaknesses in questioning skill techniques that are at the heart of an inquiry-based approach; (2) teaching through videoconferencing raises the intellectual challenge of teaching and allows preservice teachers to look face to face into their limited understanding of the content matter in math and science.     

The Cost-effectiveness of Preventive Conservation Actions

ABSTRACT

Two historic house museums, a municipal art gallery, and a provincial archive have had comprehensive risk and option assessments done by the Canadian Conservation Institute. For each institution, an average of 60 options addressing 40 risks was analyzed in terms of risk reduction, cost, and cost-effectiveness. A meta-analysis found that cost-effectiveness follows a strong economy of scale within each institution. By estimating valuation of each collection, cost-effectiveness was converted into benefit–cost ratio of dollar spent per dollar value saved and was found not to follow an economy of scale between small and large institutions. Optimization software was applied to see if precise maximization of risk reduction gave significantly different recommendations than those in the original reports which relied on the Pareto rule of addressing the largest risks first.     

Stories and statistics from library‐led publishing

Library‐led publishing is one of the new approaches to journal publishing and open access that has grown tremendously in the last few years. A 2010 IMLS‐funded survey found that 55% of respondents – from US academic libraries of all different types and sizes – were already implementing or developing a publishing program. Library‐led publishing has garnered such momentum because, by offering low‐ or no‐cost publishing to university scholars, it addresses needs that traditional publishing has not been able to meet. This article presents a series of small case studies to illustrate different journals that have benefited from the library‐publishing model: (i) a journal that struggled to find an affordable publisher in its emerging field; (ii) a small society journal that could no longer afford to support itself in print; (iii) society publications that go beyond the traditional journal format; and (iv) a student journal with a revolving editorial board.