Editorial

Initial teacher training courses throughout the United Kingdom at present have been or are being changed in various ways which enlarge the role of schools and make new demands on the school teachers who act as mentors to student teachers in the schools. Despite the size of this change, it can be quite difficult to find evidence about its effects. Edwards (1994) suggested that one reason for this lack of evidence is that there has been little government support for obtaining it. As Edwards points out, however, the government in one part of the United Kingdom, namely Scotland, did ensure that evidence about the mentor teacher idea was obtained before there was a decision about applying the scheme across the country. The decision that it should be nationally applied was reported in this journal's ‘Notes and News’ section in Spring 1995, under the heading of ‘Introduction of a mentor scheme in Scotland’. This paper summarises the main outcomes of the pilot study which informed that decision. The paper concentrates on the pilot's second and final year (Cameron‐Jones and O'Hara 1994).     

静水皮艇500 m供能特征

目的:研究静水皮艇500 m能量供应特征.方法:选取8名青少年女子皮艇运动员(年龄15士1岁,身高172±4 cm,体重65±5kg,训练年限15±10年)在Dansprint皮艇测功仪上进行多级测试和120 s的最大测试,结合测功仪和气体代谢数据,运用累积氧亏法(AOD)进行能量供应比例的计算.结果:静水皮艇500 m有氧供能的比例为59.6％±11.4％,最大心率为179±8 bpm,最高血乳酸为11.3±1.5 mM/L.全力运动的前5～10 s以磷酸原供能为主,第10～40 s期间糖酵解供能占据重要地位,40 s之后影响运动能力的主要为有氧供能.结论:静水皮艇500 m是一个以有氧供能为主的运动项目,国内对此项目供能特征的认识低估了有氧供能的作用;静水皮艇500 m能量供应的时序特征可以作为安排训练、发展不同供能系统的重要生物学基础.     

Plasma ß‐endorphin immunoreactivity: Response to resistance exercise

Previous research investigating the response of plasma ß‐endorphins (ß‐EP) to resistance exercise has resulted in equivocal findings. To further examine the effects of resistance exercise on ß‐endorphin immunoreactivity, six resistance‐trained athletes participated in a three‐set series of eight repetitions of isotonic exercise. All exercises were performed at 80% maximal effort. Blood was sampled from the group by venepuncture, both prior to and following the exercise bout, and ß‐endorphin concentration was determined by radioimmunoassay. The results indicated that mean ( ± S.E.) plasma levels of ß‐endorphins following exercise (18.04 ± 3.4 pg ß‐EP ml^‐1) were not significantly changed from pre‐exercise (control) levels (19.59 ± 2.4 pg ß‐EP ml^‐1), although there was considerable inter‐individual variability. Our results support previous research which has reported no significant changes in ß‐endorphin immunoreactivity following resistance exercise, as well as reported findings of considerable variability in the ß‐endorphin response to exercise.     

Crossing Borders, Breaking Boundaries: Collaboration Among Higher Education Institutions

Partnerships and collaboration have become popular in higher education; and partnerships with community agencies, K-12 schools, and businesses are common. However, formal and sustained partnerships among institutions of higher education are not nearly as widespread. This article presents a model for collaboration in higher education focused on a partnership among teacher preparation programs at three institutions. The article provides an overview of theoretical underpinnings for collaboration, the process and practices used, and lessons learned by Valley Partnership, as well as the stages of partnership development, the governance model, and key elements related to sustaining the partnership.     

THE CONFIDENCE TO TEACH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: EXPLORING COURSEWORK'S ROLE IN DEVELOPING PRESERVICE TEACHERS' EFFICACY

As our schools become increasingly diverse and the effects of immigration can be felt across the nation, some states have mandated that preservice teachers take endorsement courses that focus on teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) with the purpose of ensuring that teachers are able to meet ELLs' social and academic needs. A significant factor in improving instructional practices for ELLs is preservice teachers' confidence in their ability to teach ELLs successfully. What remains to be seen, however, is how best to organize and implement endorsement courses so that they have a positive effect on teachers' confidence to use their new knowledge to teach in effective ways. In this study, we discuss how endorsement curricula can build teachers' self-efficacy for teaching ELLs by not just covering the required content, but by being conscientious in how the curricula are organized and delivered. By providing teachers with the foundational knowledge through the use of meaningful and engaging pedagogical practices, preservice teachers' efficacy and beliefs about instructing ELLs will increase. This, in turn, will provide them with the confidence to teach those who may be very different culturally and linguistically from themselves.     

Discourse and the new didactics of scientific literacy

This study examines ways in which students’ experiences of a culturally‐sensitive curriculum may contribute to their developing sense of ethnic identity. It uses a narrative‐inquiry approach to explore students’ experiences of the interaction of culture and curriculum in a Canadian inner‐city, middle‐school context. It considers ways in which the curriculum may be interpreted as the intersection of the students’ home and school cultures. Teachers, administrators, and other members of the school community made efforts to be accepting of the diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds that students brought to the school. However, examination of students’ experiences of school curriculum events and activities revealed ways in which balancing affiliation to their home cultures while at the same time abiding by expectations of their teachers and peers in their school context could be difficult. The stories highlight ways in which curriculum activities and events may contribute to shaping the ethnic identity of students in ways not anticipated by teachers, administrators, and policy‐makers.     

A conceptual model and set of instruments for measuring student engagement in learning

This work has its origins with research into the effects of pedagogy on student engagement and learning outcomes. It summarises the development of self-report and observation instruments for measuring student engagement suitable for early years to senior secondary. The measures are sensitive to the context and experience of learning rather than, as is more common, a general disposition towards learning or school. The measures are distinctive in three ways: (1) they avoid the use of proxies such as attendance which link only weakly to learning outcomes; (2) they are designed to be sensitive to the effect of learning environments and quality of pedagogy on engagement; and (3) they do not assume that the learning environment involves conventional schooling. However, the use of the instruments has also revealed a deep structure to engagement which is a distinctive contribution and links prior research into learner dispositions and interest to the engagement construct.     

Self-Efficacy,Curriculum Content,Practicum Experience,and the Interest of Social Work Students in Gerontology

The present study examined the linkages among perceptions of self-efficacy, curriculum, and field experience on students’ attitudes and interest in working with older adults. Graduate level social work students were surveyed regarding perceived self-efficacy to intervene with older adult clients, the amount of aging content in the master of social work (MSW) curriculum, and practicum experience with older clients. Regression analysis showed a relationship between attitudes toward older adults and perceptions of self-efficacy. Pearson correlations revealed that self-efficacy was significantly related to levels of gerontology content in curriculum, as well as practicum opportunities to work with older adults. While both gerontology curriculum and practice experience significantly predicted self-efficacy, multiple regression analysis revealed that practice experience had the stronger influence.