The conflict between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom and its consequences for motivation and achievement

The relations between students’ value orientations, decisions in conflicts between on-task and off-task actions in the classroom, and experiences of motivational interference following these conflicts were investigated. It was expected that well-being value orientation was positively linked and achievement value orientation was negatively linked to decision for off-task behavior in such conflicts and that the higher students’ well-being value orientation, the higher their motivational impairment when deciding for the on-task behavior and the lower when deciding for the off-task behavior. For achievement orientation, the relationships were predicted to be reversed. The experience of motivational interference while performing on-task behavior was, in turn, expected to be related to worse grades. Data from 817 students (mean age 13.44) from 35 classrooms were collected using self-report questionnaires and analyzed in a series of hierarchical linear models. Analyses showed the relationships as predicted. All relationships found were comparable to the relationships found for a conflict between school and leisure actions after class. Results point out that even if students resist the off-task temptation in class, the mere possibility of off-task behavior can impair motivation and achievement.     

Kinematic differences of elite and high-performance tennis players in the cross court and down the line forehand

This study identified and compared the full body kinematics of different skill levels in the forehand groundstroke when balls were hit cross court and down the line. Forty-three three-dimensional retro-reflective marker trajectories of six elite and seven high-performance players were recorded using an eight-camera 400 Hz, Vicon motion analysis system. The six highest horizontal velocity forehands with reliable kinematics of all participants were analysed for each specific situation (a total of 156 analysed shots). Significant differences (p < 0.01) and large effect sizes were observed between elite and high-performance players in linear velocity of the shoulder (2.0 vs. 1.2 m/s), angular velocity of the pelvis (295 vs. 168 °/s), and angular velocity of the upper trunk (453 vs. 292 °/s) at impact. The elite group showed a tendency towards higher racquet velocities at impact (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found in angular displacement of the racquet, hip alignment, or shoulder alignment at the completion of the backswing; nor did angular displacement vary significantly at impact. Irrespective of the group, different shoulder, hip, and racquet angles were found at impact, depending on the situation. The results should assist coaches when striving to improve their players' forehand.     

A comparison of the Rescorla-Wagner and Pearce models in a negative patterning and a summation problem

In two experiments, we examined two related conditioning problems previously investigated by Red-head and Pearce (1995a) and Pearce, Aydin, and Redhead (1997). Experiment 1 involved an A+, B+, C+, AB+, AC+, BC+, ABC2 discrimination. The Rescorla-Wagner model predicts that response to AB, AC, and BC will be greater than that to A, B, and C at asymptote, whereas the Pearce model makes the opposite prediction. In Experiment 2, we investigated the responding to a novel ABC compound in groups trained with either A+, B+, C+ or AB+, AC+, BC+. The Rescorla-Wagner model predicts greater response to ABC in the group trained with A+, B+, C+ than in the group trained with AB+, AC+, BC+, whereas the Pearce model makes the opposite prediction. In contrast to the findings of Redhead and Pearce (1995a) and Pearce et al. (1997) in pigeon autoshaping, our findings in rabbit eyelid conditioning support the Rescorla-Wagner model.     

Using Student Journals for Course Evaluation

The evaluation of courses has become more important than ever in the higher education sector. Information is commonly collected from students on their perceptions of a course using questionnaires, discussions or interviews. This paper discusses the use of a student learning journal as a means of collecting data on the effectiveness of a course. Students in a graduate diploma course at the University of Technology, Sydney use learning journals to record and reflect on their development as a teacher/trainer over one semester. The evaluator of the course obtains qualitative data from the journals regarding students’ perceptions of the course content, structure, activities and assessment. The main advantages of this technique include the longitudinal perspective it gives on students perceptions of a course and also that it provides information on the whole course, particularly on whether whole course outcomes are being met. Collecting information from student journals also has the advantage that the data were not written specifically for course evaluation. Issues regarding validity, confidentiality and data analysis using student journals are addressed in this paper as is the place of this technique in a quality assurance scheme for a course.     

Exploring the relationship between school discipline referrals and delinquency

There is a growing concern about violent and destructive behaviors of youth that require intervention by juvenile justice and youth‐serving agencies. This concern has led many to conclude that schools and community agencies must increase efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency and to provide programs that will facilitate rehabilitation, education, and vocational training for youth already involved. A clear understanding of the nature and range of behaviors that result in juvenile crime is needed in order to develop programs and interventions that can be expected to lead to beneficial changes for youth and for society as a whole. The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between school behaviors and youth characteristics in school (e.g., discipline referrals, teacher nominations, nomothetic ratings) and referrals to juvenile authorities (e.g., illegal behaviors). We describe a strategy of using teacher nominations, school discipline referrals, and community arrest data to predict delinquent and violent behavior in youth. We outline data from a group of socially maladjusted middle school youth to illustrate the relationship between the two data sources and recommendations for identification and treatment of youth at risk for delinquency and antisocial behavior. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

华中神农架气候梯度上的维管束植物物种多样性

Ｆｒｏｍａｇｌｏｂａｌｖｉｅｗｐｏｉｎｔ ,ｔｈｅｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎｏｆｂｉｏｄｉ ｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｃａｎｂｅａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｅｄｗｉｔｈｃｌｉｍａｔｅ[1] .Ａｍａｊｏｒｉｔｙｏｆｐａｔｔｅｒｎｓｏｆｓｐｅｃｉｅｓｄｉｖｅｒｓｉｔｙｃａｎａｌｓｏｂｅｅｘｐｌａｉｎｅｄｉｎｔｅｒｍｓｏｆｃｌｉｍａｔｉｃｇｒａｄｉｅｎｔｓ[2 5] .Ｗｉｔｈｉｎａｇｉｖｅｎｍｏｕｎ ｔａｉｎｒａｎｇｅ ,ｃｌｉｍａｔｅｍａｙａｆｆｅｃｔｔｈｅｄｉｓｔｒｉｂｕｔｉｏｎａｎｄａｂｕｎｄａｎｃｅｏｆｐｌａｎｔｓｐｅｃｉｅｓｓｉ…     

Stichwort: Bildungsökonomie und Qualität der Schulbildung

Keyword: Education Economics and Quality of Schooling. With reference to an earlier keyword article from the same author, this contribution looks at recent developments in education economics. The focus is a critical review of the field‘s contribution to research on the necessary conditions for high quality schooling. Of particular interest at the moment are the institutional framework conditions in a school system, which set incentives for performance. These are judged to be better than resource-based strategies of quality assurance. The empirical basis is provided by estimates of production functions using data from international school performance studies. This article will point out the limited validity of evidence gained through these studies and the – in sum – contradictory empirical findings. For this reason, political recommendations on the basis of this approach should be more reserved.