The outcomes of running a sport camp for children and youth with visual impairments on faculty members’ teaching,research, and service activities: a case study

Abstract

We explored the outcomes of running a sport camp for children and youth with visual impairment on faculty members’ roles. Seven adapted physical activity faculty members were interviewed. Questionnaires and documents were also analyzed and a variety of strategies were employed to ensure the study’s trustworthiness. Regarding the teaching role, disability knowledge and real life examples gave faculty more credibility in conducting their class. As for the research role, the outcomes were not shared by the majority of participants and seemed to rely on aspects such as camp maturity, directors’ aptitudes, and partnerships. In turn, running the camp was a means for faculty members to perform their external service roles. These potential outcomes may become a significant part of the process by which people enact their institutional roles and may serve as a framework for future studies with a more hypothesis-driven approach.     

Demographic profiling of British Olympic equestrian athletes in the twenty-first century

Analyses of the determinants for participation in specific sports have been neglected and the use of demographic profiling in equestrian sports is limited. The aim of this research was to compare demographic profiles of British Olympic equestrian athletes, across and within disciplines, and suggest implications for the national federation’s micro-level athlete development strategy. Data were collected about all Team GB equestrian competitors over the last five Olympic Games. Equestrian sports are not organised by sex segregation, however no female showjumping competitors have represented Team GB in the twenty-first century. Competitors ranged in age over five decades and support the unusual early start-late specialisation paradigm, introduced by the national federation in 2007. Horse ownership is unusual amongst competitors, although it is more common amongst male athletes. The inter-athlete variation and inter-discipline variation these athletes show post challenges to the single development strategy currently in use.     

The Queen and the Integer

Abstract

A sentence variety exercise, used to help student writers consciously consider and control the lengths and types of sentences in their essays, is discussed. Students revised paragraphs according to the method and reflected on whether they found the exercise useful in improving their writing. Reactions were mixed, although most students were able to reduce wordiness and make their work more concise. The author was able to recognize flaws in the exercise and refine it for future lessons.     

Challenges in Implementing Wellness Approaches in Childhood Disability Services: Views from the field

Despite increasing demand for wellness approaches from disability advocates and consumer groups, they are not implemented routinely in childhood disability services. Interviews were conducted with 23 allied health therapists and managers working within four Australian childhood disability services. They described attempts to embed wellness approaches into their policies and practices. The participants were challenged by professional and pragmatic issues arising from moving towards wellness approaches. The professional challenges concerned changing professional identity and working collaboratively with therapists from different disciplines. In addition, they were challenged by pragmatic issues of balancing quality of care with economic imperatives and the speed of change expected to adopt a new model of care. The findings have implications for the quality and delivery of services and support for children with disabilities and their families, for future research, and for the training of allied health professionals.     

Planning Improves Vocal Fluency and the Appearance of Concern When Communicating Emotional Support

Emotional support is often conveyed to people with cancer; however, not all support messages are effective, leading some potential supporters to fear appearing incompetent when communicating support. Additionally, nonverbal behaviors, such as vocal fluency, pitch variety, eye contact, and conveying concern, have previously been associated with support recipients’ outcomes and perceptions of speaker competence. This experiment determines whether these nonverbal behaviors can be increased through message planning. Participants were randomly assigned to either a planning condition or a distraction task condition before recording emotional support messages for a friend hypothetically diagnosed with cancer. Results showed that planners spoke with significantly more vocal fluency and conveyed significantly more nonverbal concern than nonplanners. Planners also used more eye contact and pitch variety than nonplanners, but these differences were not statistically significant. Results suggest that planning may improve some nonverbal aspects of communicating support, which may in turn improve perceptions of supporters’ competence.     

Approaches to teaching in higher education: the perspective of network analysis using the revised approaches to teaching inventory

Higher Education - Over time, the academics’ approaches to teaching (i.e., content- or learning-focused approach) were intensively studied. Traditionally, studies estimated the shared...     

Reflections as near‐peer facilitators of an inquiry project for undergraduate anatomy: Successes and challenges from a term of trial‐and‐error

Near‐peer facilitators (senior students serving as facilitators to their more junior peers) bring a unique student‐based perspective to teaching. With fewer years of teaching experience however, students who become involved in a facilitator role typically develop related skills quickly through a process of trial‐and‐error within the classroom. The aim of this paper is to report on the authors' own experiences and reflections as student near‐peer facilitators for an inquiry‐based project in an undergraduate anatomy course. Three areas of the facilitator experience are explored: (1) offering adequate guidance as facilitators of inquiry, (2) motivating students to engage in the inquiry process, and (3) fostering creativity in learning. A practical framework for providing guidance to students is discussed which offers facilitators a scaffold for asking questions and assisting students through the inquiry process. Considerations for stimulating intrinsic motivations toward inquiry learning are made, paying attention to ways in which facilitators might influence feelings of motivation towards learning. Also, the role of creativity in inquiry learning is explored by highlighting the actions facilitators can take to foster a creative learning environment. Finally, recommendations are made for the development of formalized training programs that aid near‐peer facilitators in the acquisition of facilitation skills before entering into a process of trial‐and‐error within the classroom. Anat Sci Educ. 7: 64–70. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.