The role of a vertical reference point in changing gait regulation in cricket run-ups

The need to identify information sources which facilitate a functional coupling of perception and action in representative practice contexts is an important challenge for sport scientists and coaches. The current study investigated the role of visual information in regulating athlete gait behaviours during a locomotor pointing task in cricket. Integration of experiential knowledge of elite coaches and theoretical understanding from previous empirical research led us to investigate whether the presence of an umpire would act as a vertical informational constraint that could constrain the emergent coordination tendencies of cricket bowlers’ run-up patterns. To test this idea, umpire presence was manipulated during run-ups of 10 elite medium-fast bowlers. As hypothesised, removal of the umpire from the performance environment did not result in an inability to regulate gait to intercept a target, however, the absence of this informational constraint resulted in the emergence of different movement patterns in participant run-ups. Significantly lower standard deviation values of heel-to-crease distances were observed in the umpire condition at multiple steps, compared to performance in the no-umpire condition. Manipulation of this informational constraint altered gait regulation of participants, offering a mechanism to understand how perception–action couplings can be varied during performance in locomotor pointing tasks in sport.     

A critical pedagogy of place: from gridlock to parallax 1

Differences of perspective, standpoint and subjectivity can help to enlarge the conceptual landscape of environmental education theory. Rejections of difference, on the other hand, can become an intolerance that narrows the scope of inquiry. This rejoinder argues that Bowers’ repeated rejections of critical pedagogy are based on a partial reading of the critical tradition, and that these critiques, including his current call to ‘avoid embracing’ a critical pedagogy of place, are unnecessarily dismissive and therefore counterproductive. Environmental education has benefited and will continue to benefit from the critical tradition of which critical pedagogy is a part. Relationships and/or antagonisms are constructed through human responses and interactions. Sameshima’s pedagogical theory of parallax is introduced as a way of seeing relationships between ideas that have been thought to be opposed. Moving toward relationship rather than rivalry, the rejoinder concludes by suggesting that Bowers’ and Freire’s criticality is actually more alike than different.     

Students as ‘catalysts’ in the classroom: the impact of co‐teaching between science student teachers and primary classroom teachers on children's enjoyment and learning of science

This study is an investigation of the impact of collaborative teaching by student‐teachers and classroom teachers on children’s enjoyment and learning of science. The paper describes findings from a project in which undergraduate science specialist student‐teachers were placed in primary schools where they ‘co‐taught’ investigative science and technology with primary teachers. Almost six months after the student placement, a survey of children’s attitudes to school science revealed that these children enjoyed science lessons more and showed fewer gender or age differences in their attitudes to science than children who had not been involved in the project. The authors discuss how this model of collaborative planning, teaching and evaluation can both enhance teacher education and improve children’s experience of science.     

IDEALS AND METHODS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR THE COMING WORLD ORDER∗

This article brings to bear on our understanding of learning many insights from the field of psychology

     

MEETING THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF SERVICE PROVIDERS: EFFECTS OF A CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM ON SELF‐REPORTED KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES ABOUT AGING

A variety of approaches are available for meeting the educational needs of professionals currently providing services to older adults. This article focuses on the development of the Professional Development Program in Gerontology offered through Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and examines the effectiveness of this program in educating regional service providers. The discussion is based on participants’ self‐reported before‐and‐after data on their knowledge and attitudes about aging and the aged. The importance of changing employers’ attitudes about the importance of gerontology education as a qualification for service providers is also discussed.     

Testing Alternative Hypotheses Regarding the Association Between Behavioral Inhibition and Language Development in Toddlerhood

Studies have reported an inverse association between language development and behavioral inhibition or shyness across childhood, but the direction of this association remains unclear. This study tested alternative hypotheses regarding this association in a large sample of toddlers. Data on behavioral inhibition and expressive and receptive language abilities were collected from 816 twins at ages 14, 20, and 24 months. Growth and regression models were fit to the data to assess the longitudinal associations between behavioral inhibition and language development from 14 to 24 months. Overall, there were significant associations between behavioral inhibition and expressive language, and minimal associations with receptive language, indicating that the association is better explained by reticence to respond rather than deficient language development.     

Student teachers’ prior experiences of history,geography and science: initial findings of an all-Ireland survey1

Research into student teachers’ perceptions, attitudes and prior experiences of learning suggests that these experiences can exert an influence on practice which can be relatively undisturbed by their initial teacher education. This article is based on the initial findings of an all-Ireland survey of all first-year students on B.Ed. courses in colleges in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. The survey is the first stage in a longitudinal study which will follow the same cohort of students for the duration of their initial teacher education, seeking to map and track the development of their ideas about teaching and learning in primary history, geography and science. Based on an analysis of the quantitative data in the entry questionnaire, the initial findings suggest that subject knowledge remains a problematic issue in initial teacher education and that both location and gender interact with knowledge, attitudes and subject area to produce a complex and challenging context for teacher educators in history, geography and science education.     

Implementing cycles of Assess,Plan, Do,Review: a literature review of practitioner perspectives

This article uses a literature review process to explore current literature on Response to Intervention (RtI), an approach to the identification of and provision for students with special educational needs introduced in the USA by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. Parallels are made between RtI and the graduated approach of successive cycles of Assess, Plan, Do, Review (APDR) outlined in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice introduced in England in 2014. Research concerning APDR is scarce, and therefore this review looks to research on RtI to inform current practice. Recurring themes throughout the literature relate to the ongoing professional development and learning for practitioners that is afforded by engagement in RtI, and an awareness that it takes time to accrue the benefits of such an approach. Further research is needed to ascertain the outworking of a reform such as RtI/APDR within the English context.     

Assessing preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills in English and Spanish with the Get Ready to Read! screening tool

This study investigated the ability of the English and Spanish versions of the Get Ready to Read! Screener (E-GRTR and S-GRTR) administered at the beginning of the preschool year to predict the oral language and phonological and print processing skills of Spanish-speaking English-language learners (ELLs) and English-only speaking children (EO) at the end of the year. The results revealed that the E-GRTR predicted the EO and ELL children’s English emergent literacy skills and the ELL children’s Spanish emergent literacy skills, and the S-GRTR predicted the ELL children’s English and Spanish emergent literacy skills. For both groups, the E-GRTR and the S-GRTR were better at predicting children’s print knowledge in English and Spanish compared to the other emergent literacy measures. The findings suggest that both screeners can be used effectively to assess preschool children’s emergent literacy skills.