Frequency Distributions and Standards of Anthropometric and Physical Performance Measures for College Women

Abstract

Frequency distributions of the records of a random selection of 200 college women in a nonmajor required program on anthropometric and physical performance measures commonly employed in physical education were compared with best-fitting normal curves for the same data. A table of random numbers was used to secure the sample. A percentile table for the various measurements was constructed. It was concluded that various measurements commonly employed by physical educators give a non-normal distribution. Hence, the obtained distribution as found on various measurements in this study does not warrant treating these data as normal.     

Physical activity in the lives of Hong Kong Chinese children

To understand the physical activity culture in the lives of Hong Kong Chinese children and their parents, 48 young people between the ages 9 and 16 and their parents, with different socio-economic backgrounds and geographical locations, were interviewed for this study. By applying Confucianism and postcolonialism, this study aimed to investigate the meaning of physical activity in the lives of Hong Kong children and their parents. The results showed that parents value physical activity as a factor which contributes to their children's well-being and provides balance to their life. There were differences though, in this attitude, for different age groups. Junior students (aged 9–12) expressed their interest in physical activities. However, older students (12 or above) in secondary school, think or are told that academic study is the most important aspect of their life and that physical activities are not a priority. When examining parents' and children's involvement in physical activity, the barriers to the parents' involvement in their children's physical activities included lack of time and a habitual sedentary lifestyle at home.     

TA training: From the TA's point of view

Teaching assistants (TAs) at a major university were surveyed about the annual campus-wide and departmental TA training programs in which they had participated. Responses from these TAs differ markedly from reports based on surveys conducted with the administrators of such training programs. Current training practices can be improved by considering more seriously the TA's point of view.Janet Lee Jones received her B. A. from Pomona College in 1984, concentrating in psychology and Chinese language. Her Ph.D. was awarded in 1989 in the area of cognitive science, with a specialization in psycholinguistics. She has supervised undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants for the past five years. Dr. Jones now teaches a wide variety of psychology courses and interdisciplinary seminars at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado.     

Further development in social reasoning revealed in discourse irony understanding

This study describes the development of social reasoning in school-age children. An irony task is used to assess 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds' (N= 72) and adults' (N= 24) recursive understanding of others' minds. Guttman scale analysis demonstrates that in order to understand a speaker's communicative intention, a child needs to recognize the speaker's belief, the detection of which depends on the ability to identify the discrepancy between the intended and the expressed meaning. Only children who understand these aspects of mind are able to reflect on the speaker's attitude. Theory of mind and language ability make unique contributions to children's interpretation of irony over and above the impact of age and memory, but attunement to expressive prosody does not.     

Teaching Kindergarten Children to Solve Word Problems

A kindergarten teacher's practice was investigated in order to understand her knowledge of her children's mathematical thinking, the ways in which she acquired that knowledge, and the uses she made of that knowledge in making instructional decisions. The focus of the investigation was the teacher's knowledge of her children's thinking about numbers, including counting and addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The teacher had attended Cognitively Guided Instruction workshops at which she had the opportunity to learn about research on children's mathematical thinking. She gathered information on her own children's thinking by posing word problems, listening to children as the described their strategies for solving the problems, and talking to other adults about her children. She used that information to select problems to pose in subsequent lessons.     

CyberConnect: Use the internet with Big6® skills to achieve standards

Conclusions Information seeking strategies can be taught more effectively in collaboration with a classroom teacher in conjunction with a specific assignment. The Big6 Skills(tm) help organize a long-term project into manageable pieces. Using the Internet for research can help students achieve information literacy and NETS standards.     

Prediction and prevention of child abuse and neglect

Utilizing an interview, a questionnaire, and observations during labor, delivery, and the postpartum period, a sample of one hundred mothers was identified as at high risk for abnormal parenting practices. These mothers were randomly divided into a “High-Risk Intervene” group (N=50) and a “High-Risk Nonintervene” group (N=50). The “Intervene” group received comprehensive pediatric follow-up by a single physician, a lay health visitor, and/or a public health nurse in the home. The “Non-intervene” group received routine care, although the results of these screening procedures were shared with the physicians and nurses responsible for their ongoing care. Another group of 50 mothers, who delivered during the same time period and who were assessed as low risk in terms of abnormal parenting practices, served as controls. When the children were approximately two years old (mean age 26.8 months), 25 families in each of the three groups were chosen at random for detailed evaluation.     

Learning Styles Among Mature‐Age Students: Some Comments on the Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI‐S)

The short form of Entwistle's (1981) Approaches to Studying Inventory (ASI‐S) was administered to 503 mature‐aged students, most of whom identified themselves as disadvantaged and were returning to study after many years absence. Analysis of the 503 responses showed that internal consistency estimates for the seven subscales of the ASI‐S were generally low, but that confirmatory factor analysis could recover two major dimensions corresponding to deep and surface orientations to learning. To examine the predictive validity of the ASI‐S with this population, results for a mathematics unit which they were studying were regressed on factor scores. Results of the structural analysis indicated that the deep orientation was unrelated to academic progression in mathematics but that high scores on the surface orientation were associated with poor academic performance ( = 0.092). These findings indicate that broad learning orientations are fundamental and can be identified in a group of students returning to study after a long absence. The study also emphasises the importance of examining the particular study context when evaluating the effect of learning orientations. The effect of deep and surface orientations may be positive or negative depending on the subject area and the learning context.     

Pathways to Undergraduate Research Experiences: a Multi-Institutional Study

The positive impact of undergraduate research experiences on students’ post-secondary success is well-documented. However, these conclusions are drawn from undergraduate students who already participate; very little research has explored the pathways by which students enter these experiences. Using data from a multi-institutional survey, we examined students’ reasons for participating and differences across institutions and demographic groups. Overall, students cited social and experiential reasons as key motivators for participation and a perceived lack of research readiness as a key barrier. Differences were also found across academic year. Implications from this study address issues of access, preparation, and institutional policies around undergraduate research.