Using and rejecting peer feedback in the science classroom: a study of students’ negotiations on how to use peer feedback when designing experiments

Background: Research on peer assessment has noted ambiguity among students in using peer assessment for improving their work. Previous research has explained this in terms of deficits in the student feedback, or differences in student views of what counts as high-quality work.

Purpose: This study frames peer assessment as a social process in the science classroom. The aim is to explore peer assessment in science education as social practice in order to contribute to an understanding of the affordances and constraints of using peer assessment as a learning tool in science education.

Design and Method: The study was conducted in four lower secondary school classes, school years 8 and 9, in two different schools. An intervention study was designed focussing on the topic of experimental design. It involved the students in a process of peer assessment where they designed experiments individually, and then exchanged their designs, conducted each other’s experiments, provided feedback to each other and revised their original design after discussing the feedback in groups. Data were collected in the form of audio recordings of student discussions and written work.

Results: The results show that, although not all peer feedback resulted in revisions, peer feedback was useful to the students in group interaction when negotiating quality in their work.

Conclusions: To conclude, the potential for using peer assessment in science education should not only be evaluated through the students’ revisions but also in terms of in what ways the feedback constitutes interactional resources for defining quality in student work.     

Adaptation During a Great Economic Recession: A Cohort Study of Greek and Immigrant Youth

This study examined how Greek and immigrant youth adapted to school life during the economic recession in Greece. Two cohorts of adolescents (M_age = 12.6 years) were compared, one assessed before the crisis and the other during the crisis (N = 1,057 and 1,052, respectively). Cohort findings were disaggregated by immigrant status, generation, and ethnic group. Crisis‐cohort youth experienced more economic problems, displayed worse conduct, higher levels of absenteeism, and lower self‐efficacy than precrisis youth. The cohorts did not differ in well‐being, school engagement, and academic achievement. Most crisis‐cohort groups showed a pervasive increase in conduct problems compared to the precrisis cohort. However, some of these groups also showed an increase in academic achievement.     

Parental family stress during pregnancy and cognitive functioning in early childhood: The Generation R Study

We investigated whether parental family stress during pregnancy is associated with cognitive functioning in early childhood in a population-based cohort (n = 3139). Family stress was assessed using the Family Assessment Device at the 20th week of pregnancy and was reported by mothers and fathers. Mothers completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, measuring children's verbal cognitive functioning, when children were 18 months and they completed the Parent Report of Children's Abilities, measuring nonverbal cognitive functioning, when children were 2 years old. Maternal prenatal family stress was related to children's low word comprehension and poorer nonverbal cognitive development independent of paternal reports. In a subset of 639 children, maternal prenatal family stress was also associated with observational assessments of poor effortful control at age 37 months. Paternal prenatal family stress was only related to poorer nonverbal cognitive development, independent of the mother. When both parents had high levels of prenatal family stress, children displayed particularly poor nonverbal cognitive development. These findings emphasize the significance of parental prenatal family stress for child developmental outcomes.     

Pre-service teachers’ meaning-making when collaboratively analysing video from school practice for the bachelor project at college

The study follows a group of student teachers (STs) facilitated in collaboratively analysing video recordings of their school practice experiences, required for their bachelor projects. Their meaning-making is examined in terms of what they experienced as outcomes, how they constructed understanding and how their interpretation of classroom experiences developed. The findings reveal that the structured collaborative analysis supported the STs in a more nuanced consideration of concrete incidents and in reconstructing their experiences with a focus on student learning. They noted the benefit of the peer support and had a positive view of the structured approach. Additionally, they emphasised insights gained by starting from a fine-grained analysis of concrete problems encountered in their school practice before applying theory. They did, however, resort to more general abstractions in their reports.     

Assessing what generates precompetitive emotions: development of the precompetitive appraisal measure

Athletes’ precompetitive appraisal determines which emotion they experience with regard to an upcoming competition. Such precompetitive emotions have powerful and potentially destructive consequences for performance. To control and optimise these consequences, it is important to examine precompetitive appraisal. Currently, such efforts are hampered by the lack of a valid measurement tool. The present study aimed to develop a novel measure of precompetitive appraisal. Specifically, the Precompetitive Appraisal Measure (PAM) was constructed by adapting an existing self-report scale. Female and male intercollegiate team sport athletes (N = 384) completed the PAM, along with a measure of intensity and interpretation of precompetitive anxiety symptoms (CSAI-2D) prior to competition. On these responses, (a) a Principal Component Analysis and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the PAM’s suggested two-factor structure (Primary and Secondary Appraisal), (b) cluster analyses indicated the measure’s ability to distinguish theoretically congruent appraisal profiles (Threat and Challenge) and (c) a MANOVA and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that PAM-responses predicted precompetitive symptom intensity and interpretation. Further, analyses revealed that the majority of athletes appraised the upcoming competition as a challenge.     

Flights to Empire: Australia's imperial engagement with the Olympic Games, 1900–1938

Imperialism was a key concern for Australia during its early engagement with the Olympic Movement. This engagement was marked by a tension between traditional British approaches to sport and more modern approaches that could stem the tide of American superiority that had been expressed at the Olympic Games since 1896. Australia used the Olympic Games to assert its centrality within the British Empire in a sporting context. These themes are observable in three sets of circumstances: the selection of Australian teams between 1900 and 1932, Australia's engagement with the British Empire Games and Australia's response to the development of state amateurism within the Olympic Movement.     

History and philosophy of science in physics education

Physics education in the Danish upper secondary school system has undergone a major reform, starting in August 1988. The earlier science‐centred physics curriculum has given way to a presentation of physics as a human activity, one way of obtaining this aim being through a compulsory introduction to elements of the history and philosophy of science. Following a brief presentation of the main reasons for including the historical‐philosophical dimension in physics teaching, this article describes how this dimension‐‐which was unfamiliar to most physics teachers‐‐was implemented in daily teaching practice. The implementation took place in three steps: (1) the development of a comprehensive teachers’ guide, (2) a nationwide in‐service teacher training programme, and (3) the publication of a number of students’ books written according to the guidelines of the committee responsible for all aspects of the implementation programme.     

Yacht type and crew-specific differences in anthropometric, aerobic capacity, and muscle strength parameters among international Olympic class sailors

Physical fitness and muscular strength are important performance factors for Olympic class sailors, but the physical demands vary greatly between yacht classes, and limited information is available regarding the physical demands for the different crew positions. In the present paper, strength and aerobic capacity data from elite Olympic sailors are presented and compared with previous findings. Furthermore, a system for classification of Olympic class sailors is suggested. Peak aerobic capacity (peak oxygen uptake, VO(2peak)) and maximal isometric and isokinetic muscle strength of the knee extensors and flexors were assessed, together with the hamstring/quadriceps strength ratio (H/Q ratio). Peak aerobic capacity (ml O(2) . min(-1) . kg(-2/3)) was as follows: males - static hikers (n = 5) 215, s = 7; dynamic hikers (n = 8) 252, s = 17; trapezing helmsmen (n = 6) 234, s = 15; trapezing crew (n = 10) 239, s = 16; females - dynamic hikers (n = 6) 194, s = 16; trapezing crew (n = 2) 200, s = 13. Strength data for hikers, presented as peak moments (normalized to body weight) obtained during eccentric, isometric, and concentric contraction (Nm . kg(-1)) respectively were as follows: males - quadriceps: 3.66 (s = 0.68), 3.97 (s = 0.66), 1.82 (s = 0.34); hamstrings: 1.93 (s = 0.22), 1.38 (s = 0.41), 1.05 (s = 0.21); females - quadriceps: 3.84 (s = 0.71), 3.81 (s = 0.58), 1.60 (s = 0.28); hamstrings: 1.75 (s = 0.23), 1.10 (s = 0.16), 0.84 (s = 0.13). The peak moment based H/Q ratios for slow eccentric and concentric contractions were 0.42 (s = 0.11) and 0.39 (s = 0.04) for males and 0.43 (s = 0.06) and 0.39 (s = 0.04) for females respectively. Elite Olympic class sailors demonstrated high VO(2peak) values comparable to those observed in other non-endurance sports. The strength data revealed very high quadriceps strength for hikers, which is likely a result of the high muscle forces encountered during sailing, and a low H/Q ratio. To ensure optimal knee joint stabilization during sailing and other training activities, it is suggested that hikers should counter this strength imbalance by performing additional strength training for the hamstrings muscle group.