Schema theory (1975): retrospectives and prospectives

A brief commentary is provided on the theoretical assumptions, scholarly impact and continuing influence of the schema theory of motor learning (Schmidt, 1975). The traditional contrasts of schema theory to the coordinative structure or dynamical systems framework are reemphasized, and limitations of the variability of practice experiments noted. A central problem for theories of motor learning is change over time, the basis on which learning is typically defined. Most theories including schema have, however, undervalued the importance of the time-dependent nature of change in deference to the almost exclusive study of the amount of some averaged change in behavioral outcome. The persistent and transitory change(s) in movement and outcome that are observed in action are reflections of multiple time scales of change in a dynamical system.     

Personally driven professional development: reflective self-study as a way for teachers to take control of their own professional development

This article is about personally driven professional development through the use of reflective self-study. The argument that teachers need to take responsibility for their own learning while also taking decisions on how and in what areas to develop is strongly made throughout the article. Data for this article were gathered over a 10-year period where the author engaged in several studies using self-study as methodology. Between studies, the author kept using reflective self-study as a professional development tool, and it is these data between various studies that were analysed using thematic and reflective analysis. Such analysis resulted in various overarching themes that show how reflective self-study can be of benefit if used by teachers researching their own classrooms. Benefits include teachers taking full ownership of their learning, relevance of learning, learning that is ongoing and not restricted to specific times and places, taking problematic situations as learning opportunities and how other sources take on new relevance through reflective self-study. Some implications for teacher-education programmes and current school structures are also discussed.     

The effectiveness of university knowledge spillovers: Performance differences between university spinoffs and corporate spinoffs

While much prior research has focused upon how the Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) and other contextual characteristics shape the level of university spinoffs (USO), there is little research on entrepreneurial potential among individual academics, and to the best of our knowledge, no comparative studies with other types of spinoffs exist to date. In this paper we focus on an important but neglected aspect of knowledge transfer from academic research involving the indirect flow to entrepreneurship by individuals with a university education background who become involved in new venture creation by means of corporate spinoffs (CSO) after gaining industrial experience, rather than leaving university employment to found a new venture as an academic spinoff. We argue that the commercial knowledge gained by industry experience is potentially more valuable for entrepreneurial performance compared to the academic knowledge gained by additional research experience at a university. This leads us to posit that the average performance of CSOs will be higher than comparable USOs, but the gains from founder‘s prior experiences will be relatively higher among USOs whose founders lack the corporate context. We investigate these propositions in a comparative study tracking the complete population of USOs and CSOs among the Swedish knowledge-intensive sectors between 1994 and 2002.     

Kinematic changes during learning the longswing on high bar

The purpose of this study is to provide evidence of technique changes during learning a sports-specific skill, the looped bar longswing (LLS). Thirteen male participants with no previous high bar experience took part in a training study. Kinematic data were collected using a CODA motion analysis system (200 Hz) during eight weekly testing sessions. Analyses focused on the amplitude of swing and the functional phase (FP) actions, defined by the rapid flexion to extension of the shoulders and extension to flexion of the hips as the performer passed through the lower vertical. Three groups were identified based on the number of sessions it took each participant to perform the LLS (G1: most successful, G2: intermediate, and G3: least successful). All participants were able to significantly increase swing amplitude over the training period (p < 0.05). For each participant the hip FP started significantly: later for G1, earlier for G2, and did not change for G3. Extension actions at the shoulders were dissimilar to those reported for elite gymnasts performing the longswing. The FP of the hips provides a mechanism to distinguish between the learners of different skill levels. The study has provided support for a single-subject design when investigating technique changes during learning.