Measurement error in short-term power testing in young people

The aim of this study was to examine the consistency or reproducibility of measuring cycling peak power in children and adults. Twenty-seven pre-pubertal girls and boys and 27 female and male physical education students (age 9.8±0.5 and 24.4±4.3 years, respectively; mean±s) participated in the study. All participants performed five tests over 15 days and underwent a habituation session before the study. Each test included four sprints against four different braking forces. We found that braking forces of 7.5% of body weight in children and 10% of body weight in adults were too high for most of the participants to elicit maximal cycling power. Unlike the children, the physical education students improved their performance between session 1 and session 2 (1025±219 vs 1069±243 W; P<0.001). Therefore, to obtain reproducible measures of cycling peak power, a habituation session including a complete test protocol (i.e. warm-up plus three sprints) is highly recommended. When the protocol included three sprints in children and at least two sprints in adults, measurement of cycling peak power was found to be highly reliable (test-retest coefficient of variation ～3%). Finally, to avoid performance fluctuations, especially over several consecutive evaluations (e.g. longitudinal studies), it is necessary to maintain high motivation in children.     

A Theater-Based Device for Training Teachers on the Nature of Science

Science & Education - This article presents and discusses an innovative pedagogical device designed for training pre-service teachers on the nature of science. We endorse an approach according...     

Utilising creative methodologies to elicit the views of young learners with additional needs in literacy

The research described in this article aimed to explore and examine the dominant ‘assessment’ and ‘participation’ stories of upper‐primary pupils with long‐standing and marked literacy learning needs, their views on how their level of participation in the assessment and remediation of their additional needs might be increased and also how they perceive themselves as literacy learners. This qualitative small‐scale study adopted a case study approach and utilised creative methodologies in the context of focus groups to investigate sensitively the views and experiences of Key Stage 2 pupils with additional needs in literacy. The findings discussed here are based on the outcomes from the four Northern Irish schools that participated in the original cross‐border (Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland) study. Findings are discussed in the context of strategies for promoting holistic and empowering pathways for learners with additional needs in literacy.     

L'Ingénieur et PEurope: une longue histoire

Two ancient traditions in Europe once dominated the engineering profession: the first guided the nomadic engineer who travelled freely from country to country and practised in various fields of scientific lore, the other pertained to the engineer who confined his activity to one geographical region and one specialty. Over the years, one or the other tradition dominated the development of science. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance engineers were general practitioners offering their services to various and sundry noblemen. They supplied the needs of the period for innovation in the production of goods. With the advent of the modern state, engineers joined the technical services of royal governments and gradually specialised their activities. A new golden age appeared with the industrial revolution. Engineers led the way in developing mechanical production and building the modem world. But with the coming of sophisticated technology engineers were transformed into specialists in the service of applied science. Engineers were no longer considered the counsellors of ruling powers, but in most cases became ordinary employees and consequently victims of the great depression of the 1930s. Today, in building a unified Europe, engineers are attempting to develop a new image for themselves, and to prepare the profession for the future.     

L'Expression Libre pour L'Acquisition des Langues

We all learn language. This does not mean, however, that we have a clear‐cut picture of how the language learning process takes place, nor what it looks like. Over the centuries implicitly or explicitly we have used theories of language learning and consequently theories of teaching them. One such theory which has its roots in the past is the basis of the free oral expression approach. In this approach, the learner and his acquisition process are the centre of the teacher's interventions. Logically such an approach entails consequences for the training and education of language teachers.     

A User Interface Design for a Video-on-demand Service Trial in an Educational Setting

Video-on-demand (VOD) is one of a series of emerging interactive broadband services. VOD provides users with the capability to access a vast variety of interactive programmes on demand, and give them full VCR-like control over their programme selections. This paper presents and describes a user interface that was designed for a business VOD service trial operated by Stentor, which began in January 1994, at two universities in Ottawa, Canada. It describes the service architecture and trial setting, as well as presents some trial results. Finally, some recommendations based on these results, and future enhancements to the VOD user interface, are described.     

On the importance of the relationship to knowledge in science education

Cultural Studies of Science Education - This forum paper is a reflection about the paper written by Valérie Frède and illustrates how it influences my work as a Ph.D. student in...     

Asking students to be active learners: the effects of totally or partially self-generating a graphic organizer on students’ learning performances

Instructional Science - We compared performances on a learning task in which students (N?=?81) viewed a pedagogical multimedia document without (control group) or with a readymade...     

Applying the ECTS System to the Childhood Education Teaching Degree in Andalusia

This article presents the research conducted as part of a Pilot Experiment regarding the application of the ECTS to the Childhood Education Teaching Degree taught at the University of Cordoba (Spain). It analyses the Experiment, which was carried out in the Education Faculty over the course of three academic years (2004/05, 2005/06 and 2006/07). The research questions were: (1) How much do the students taking part in the Pilot Experiment know about the different competences? (2) How much time do the students need to prepare each subject? and (3) What are the methodological skills used by lecturers as a means of improving autonomous learning? Several tools were used: Initial Student Assessment for the ECTS Pilot Experiment in Childhood Education, and three Likert Scales: a) Competence Assessment Scale for UCO's Childhood Education Teaching Degree, b) Competence Achievement Assessment Scale for UCO's Childhood Education Teaching Degree, c) Assessment Scale for Subject Methodology in relation to the Application of ECTS and the organisation of Focus Groups. The most important conclusions were: (1) The specific professional competences established in the educational profile of this degree course are very highly rated by the students; (2) According to the students, the workload for certain subjects, in terms of the number of hours devoted to them, is excessively high and not proportional to the number of credits they account for, and (3) There has been an acceptable level of exchange among teaching staff regarding the instruments and methodological strategies used to promote students' autonomous work.