A Field-Based Testing Protocol for Assessing Gross Motor Skills in Preschool Children: The CHAMPS Motor Skills Protocol (CMSP)

The purpose of the study was to develop a valid and reliable tool for use in assessing motor skills in preschool children in field based settings. The development of the CHAMPS (Children's Activity and Movement in Preschool Study) Motor Skills Protocol (CMSP) included evidence of its reliability and validity for use in field-based environments as part of large epidemiological studies. Following pilot work, 297 children (3-5 years old) from 22 preschools were tested using the final version of the CMSP and the TGMD-2. Reliability of the CMSP and interobserver reliability were determined using intraclass correlation procedures (ICC; ANOVA). Concurrent validity was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients to compare the CMSP to the original Test of Gross Motor Development (2(nd) Edition) (TGMD-2). Results indicated that test reliability, interobserver reliability and validity coefficients were all high, generally above R/r = 0.90. Significant age differences were found. Outcomes indicate that the CMSP is an appropriate tool for assessing motor development of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children in field-based settings that are consistent with large-scale trials.     

A note on glass and silica in oil paintings from the 15th to the 17th century

This articles reports new discoveries relating to ground glass and silica in European easel paintings from the 15th to the 17th centuries that were created by various German, Italian and Netherlandish artists. The earliest known additions of these extenders date to the early 1430s. Glass powder of varying fineness, prepared from vessel or window cullet, is often found in red lake glazes as well as in other colours or preparatory layers of paintings. SEM/EDX analyses of the glass particles reveal a variety of chemical compositions (soda ash, wood ash, wood ash-lime, wood ash-lead, mixed alkali), which are discussed with respect to the provenance of the paintings. Historical sources on painting techniques mention glass additions most frequently to accelerate drying of oil paints, but also occasionally to facilitate grinding of pigments. Another possible function of powdered glass and silica, especially in oil-bound red lake glazes, is that of a transparent filler, as will be here discussed based on paint trials.     

Taking an internet field trip

Teachers in today’s mathematics classrooms are confronted with the challenge of meeting the needs of students with diverse needs and backgrounds. The NCTM standards and the literature on diverse learners suggest that all students may benefit from strategies that promote cultural and historical connections and the use of technologies, such as Internet Field Trips, and manipulatives that focus on the active engagement of students through exploration and communications. In a passionate plea for bridging the culture gap in our classrooms, Moore (1994) proposes that, Mathematics is definitely not culture-free … no mathematics teacher could even contemplate seriously taking only the values of his culture and a textbook which is a product of his culture and imposing both himself and the textbook upon individuals possessed by a culture that diverges from his in any significant area. (p. 13)     

The role of knowledge in participatory and pluralistic approaches to ESE

The purpose of this article is to investigate in situ the functions that knowledge has when used by students in argumentative discussions. The study is based on Dewey’s pragmatic perspective of knowledge, which means that knowledge gets its meaning in the activity at hand. The analyses are conducted using Transactional Argumentation Analysis, which is a combination of pragmatic meaning analysis and Toulmin’s argument pattern. The empirical material consists of video-recorded lessons from two seminars in a Swedish upper secondary school. The results show that knowledge plays a crucial role in the discussions. Six different functions are identified: emphasising complexity, clarifying and correcting, highlighting conflicting interests, providing evidence in a counterargument, predicting the consequences and adding support to an earlier claim. Knowledge also has general functions, such as justifying a claim, and is part of a collective process aimed at understanding the issues discussed. Further, the students use knowledge from different disciplines, such as environmental studies, history, politics, biology and human geography.     

Hearing Where the Eyes See: Children Use an Irrelevant Visual Cue When Localizing Sounds

To reduce sensory uncertainty, humans combine cues from multiple senses. However, in everyday life, many co‐occurring cues are irrelevant to the task at hand. How do humans know which cues to ignore? And does this ability change with development? This study shows the ability to ignore cross‐modal irrelevant information develops late in childhood. Participants performed a sound discrimination task, with or without an irrelevant visual flash, presented synchronously in front of them. Adults ignored the irrelevant visual information, while 7‐ to 10‐year‐olds' responses were biased toward the flash location. The findings show that acquiring mature cue combination mechanisms is a multifaceted process that includes learning to ignore irrelevant cues, as well as to optimally combine relevant cues.     

Where did I come from? US parents' and preschool children's participation in sexual socialisation

This paper applies a sociology of childhood approach to the study of the sexual socialisation of young children in the USA. It examines both children's and parents' active participation in this dynamic and collaborative process through conversations between 49 parents and their 54 preschool children that were audio-recorded while they read books about ‘where babies come from’. Parents also participated in a brief survey. The authors found that, while parents do foreclose such conversations as previous research has indicated, they also use a variety of other tactics, including adding information and emotion management. These findings illustrate children's active engagement in their own sexual socialisation through their questions, confusions and distractions, which affected the amount and type of information that was elicited.