Knowledge,nutrition and coaching pedagogy: a perspective from female Brazilian Olympic gymnasts

It is acknowledged that knowledge and knowledge bases are an important part of coach and athlete learning and that the coach – athlete relationship is crucial to knowledge created, shared and used. This said knowledge about nutrition as constructed by elite gymnasts would seem particularly important in a culture long associated with weight control practices and disordered eating. This paper provides an insight into the ways that 10 Brazilian Olympic gymnasts construct ideas pertaining to nutritional knowledge across generational periods (between 1980 and 2004) where significant organisational change in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics in Brazil occurred and included the introduction of dieticians. Drawing upon different knowledge types and paying attention to the coaching context, the life histories of 10 Olympic gymnasts were used to open a window on knowledge construction pertaining to nutrition by three generations of gymnasts. The findings draw attention to two main illustrative themes. Firstly, coaches’ personal knowledge, whilst perceived as incomplete by gymnasts, reinforced a narrative of weight loss for gymnasts regardless of generation. Secondly, the younger generations of gymnasts perceived that the introduction of dieticians into structured provision enabled them to use better structured knowledge, and with it a sense of increased autonomy and corporeal learning via the construction of tacit embodied knowledge leading to healthier practices. Reflections are given to the role of the coach, dieticians and pedagogical actions, and the continued reshaping of knowledge in elite gymnastics.     

Informal formative assessment: The role of instructional dialogues in assessing students’ learning

This paper focuses on an unceremonious type of formative assessment - informal formative assessment - in which much of what teachers and students do in the classroom can be described as potential assessments that can provide evidence about the students’ level of understanding. More specifically, the paper focuses on assessment conversations, or dialogic interactions or exchanges, which continuously happen in the classroom and that are at the center of informal formative assessment. It is argued that assessment conversations make students’ thinking explicit in an unobtrusive manner, and when students’ thinking is explicit, it can be examined, questioned, and shaped as an active object of constructive learning. The paper conceptualizes informal formative assessment at the center of effective instructional activities with the use of instructional dialogues as assessment conversations, a typical informal formative assessment practice. The paper then presents a discussion about the evidence on the effect of assessment conversations on student learning.     

Early Histories of School‐Aged Children With Attention‐Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder

In a prospective study of developmental outcomes in relation to early‐life otitis media, behavioral, cognitive, and language measures were administered to a large, diverse sample of children at 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9–11 years of age (N = 741). At 9–11 years of age, 9% of the children were categorized as having attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) based on parent report. Compared to the non‐ADHD group, the ADHD group had higher (i.e., less favorable) scores on parent and teacher versions of the Child Behavior Checklist at all ages. Children in the ADHD group also had lower scores on cognitive and receptive language measures in preschool. The findings support the concept that ADHD is a cognitive as well as a behavioral disorder.     

Does a perceptuomotor skills assessment have added value to detect talent for table tennis in primary school children?

ABSTRACT

Talent detection intends to support lifelong sports participation, reduce dropouts and stimulate sports at the elite level. For this purpose it is important to reveal the specific profile which directs children to the sports that connect to their strengths and preferences. This study evaluated a perceptuomotor skills assessment as part of talent detection for table tennis, a sport in which perceptuomotor skills are considered essential to cope with the difficult technical aspects. Primary school children (n = 121) and gifted young table tennis players (n = 146) were assessed using the Dutch perceptuomotor skills assessment measuring “ball control” and “gross motor function”. A discriminant function analysis confirmed the added value by identifying primary school children fitting the table tennis perceptuomotor profile of the young gifted table tennis players (28%). General linear model analyses for the assessment’s individual test items showed that the table tennis players outperformed their primary school peers on all “ball control” items (P < 0.001). In conclusion, the assessment appears to be of added value for talent detection in table tennis at this young age. Longitudinal studies need to reveal the predictive value for sports participation and elite sports.     

GendermRelated Differential Item Functioning on a Middle-School Mathematics Peformance Assessment

Will performance assessments in mathematics have gender DIF? Do male and female examinees provide similar solution strategies?