Assessing Understanding of the Learning Cycle: The ULC

An 18-item, multiple choice, 2-tiered instrument designed to measure understanding of the learning cycle (ULC) was developed and field-tested from the learning cycle test (LCT) of Odom and Settlage (Journal of Science Teacher Education, 7, 123–142, 1996). All question sets of the LCT were modified to some degree and 5 new sets were added, resulting in the ULC. The ULC measures (a) understandings and misunderstandings of the learning cycle, (b) the learning cycle’s association with Piaget’s (Biology and knowledge theory: An essay on the relations between organic regulations and cognitive processes, 1975) theory of mental functioning, and (c) applications of the learning cycle. The resulting ULC instrument was evaluated for internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha, yielding a coefficient of .791.     

The role of the school psychologist in school desegregation: A plan for action

The research on the outcomes of school desegregation has been generally disappointing. This paper briefly reviews the historical role of social science in desegregation, and reviews some of the current research on cooperative learning in the desegregated classroom. A comprehensive role for the school psychologist is outlined, in which goals and subgoals, means for achieving them, and anticipated outcomes are clearly delineated. It is proposed that implementation of this role would lead to a much more positive school desegregation experience for all students.     

The effect of deloading tape on medial gastrocnemius muscle fascicle behaviour during dynamic exercise

This study examined the effect of diamond deloading tape on medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle behaviour during exercise in healthy adults (n = 27). A randomised cross-over trial assessed the effect of tape (no-tape, sham-tape and deload-tape) on ankle and MG fascicle kinematics during three heel raise-lower exercises [double leg (DL), single leg (SL) and loaded single leg (LSL)]. There was no effect of tape on standing fascicle length (FL) or pennation angle (PA), or ankle or knee joint angle. There was a significant effect of tape on ankle kinematics for all exercises. Both the deload-tape and sham-tape resulted in less ankle plantar flexion but had no effect on dorsiflexion. There was a significant effect of tape on FL change for the SL and LSL exercise. Compared to no-tape, the deload-tape resulted in less fascicle shortening during ankle plantar flexion, and more fascicle lengthening during ankle dorsiflexion. For the LSL exercise, deload-tape caused MG fascicles to operate at longer lengths, for a given joint angle. Diamond taping, with or without added tension, has only a small effect on ankle and MG fascicle kinematics during the heel raise-lower exercise. With the exception of the LSL exercise, both tape conditions resulted in similar changes in the FL-angle relations.     

Bodily knowledge beyond motor skills and physical fitness: a phenomenological description of knowledge formation in physical training

Bodily knowledge has attracted significant attention within the humanities and other related fields over the last two decades. Although theoretical discussion on bodily knowledge in the context of physical education has been active over the past 10 years, these discussions lack clear conceptual analyses of bodily knowledge. Using a phenomenological approach, the purpose of this paper is to clarify the notion of bodily knowledge, furthering epistemological discussions of the topic within reflective, embodied practices. Instead of seeing bodily knowledge inherently connected to the acquisition of motor skills or improving physical fitness, we will discuss physical training as a reflective, embodied process that can turn sensuous information about the moving body into knowledge. Using outdoor running as an example, we describe the process of forming bodily knowledge, which includes: (1) the exploring and identifying of movement qualities, (2) developing capabilities of registering changes in the body and (3) directing and modifying one's own training processes based on bodily findings. Contextualizing this epistemological discussion with adults’ recreational physical activity, this paper argues that bodily knowledge can cultivate individuals to trust their own body awareness and embodied responses to take more responsibility for their own physical exercise. When biomedical knowledge of the body in sport sciences tends to shrink the body to physiological attributes, such as muscle mass and fat percentage, our analysis stresses the agency of the lived body as a source of knowledge in physical activity.     

The Development of Teachers’ Intercultural Competence Using a Change Laboratory Method

Immigration is an integral phenomenon of our globalising world. The increasing flow of people creates new challenges for educational institutions and workplaces. The purpose of this article is to address challenges that vocational teachers face with diversity at colleges and workplaces. Two research questions are addressed: how do teachers prepare immigrant students for working life? What challenges related to intercultural competence do teachers preparing immigrant students for working life face? The theoretical background lies in cultural–historical activity theory, developmental work research and in the concept of intercultural competence. The change laboratory method used in study is a formative intervention method evolved within developmental work research. The data comprised two change laboratories organised at the same vocational college in 2001 and 2011. The results showed that teachers’ work with multicultural students and groups can be developed by following five perspectives: preparation, reflection, contribution, guidance and responding. Intercultural competence is constructed contextually and is intertwined with activities such as teaching, facilitating students’ learning and cooperating with workplaces. The participants of the change laboratories experienced it as a good instrument for their intercultural work. Based on the results, some implications are suggested.     

Bidirectionality in Self‐Regulation and Expressive Vocabulary: Comparisons Between Monolingual and Dual Language Learners in Preschool

Significant differences in language and self‐regulation skills exist among children when they enter formal schooling. Contributing to these language differences is a growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. Given evidence linking self‐regulatory processes and language development, this study explored bidirectional associations between English expressive vocabulary and self‐regulation skills for monolingual English and DLL preschool children (N = 250) from mixed‐income families in Los Angeles. Across three time points, findings provide initial support for bidirectionality between these developing skills for both monolinguals and DLLs. Results provide strong empirical support for vocabulary serving as a leading indicator of self‐regulation skills in preschool. Findings also suggest that early self‐regulation skills play a particularly important role for vocabulary development.     

‘It's all scientific to me’: focus group insights into why young people do not apply safe-sex knowledge

Despite rising levels of safe-sex knowledge in Australia, sexually transmitted infection notifications continue to increase. A culture-centred approach suggests it is useful in attempting to reach a target population first to understand their perspective on the issues. Twenty focus groups were conducted with 89 young people between the ages of 14 and 16 years. Key findings suggest that scientific information does not articulate closely with everyday practice, that young people get the message that sex is bad and they should not be preparing for it and that it is not appropriate to talk about sex. Understanding how young people think about these issues is particularly important because the focus groups also found that young people disengage from sources of information that do not match their own experiences.