THE EFFECTS OF TEACHING PROBLEM SOLVING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION

A study of the effects of explicitly teaching a problem‐solving strategy on problem‐solving ability, course average, course success, and student retention is reported. Two classes of microeconomics principles were involved in a quasi‐experiment. The experimental class was explicitly taught the problem‐solving strategy and this strategy was then used to solve microeconomic problems in class. The control class was assigned, solved, and discussed the same problems without being taught the problem‐solving strategy. Multiple regression and analysis of variance show that while teaching problem solving did not significantly affect course average, student success in passing the course or problem solving ability, it did result in significantly higher student retention. Results indicate that teaching problem solving only affects those students with low problem solving abilities who would have dropped out of class, and that teaching this strategy helps them remain in the class and succeed.     

Evidence-Based Maternity Care: Can New Dogs Learn Old Tricks?

In this article, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator describes her efforts to change the culture of birth in a community hospital in a small Midwestern town. Her experience highlights the challenges and the frustrations involved in creating change. The authors reflect on ways to enhance the success of change and advocacy strategies.     

PERSPECTIVES ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEADERSHIP: TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING

Findings from a national study of community college administrative careers, examining issues of position, gender, and race / ethnicity are reported. Career path data also are compared with an earlier national study, showing that paths to the presidency have changed since 1985. Implications for recruitment into senior positions and leadership diversity are discussed.     

Interactive TV as an option in early childhood teacher education

Abstract

The qualitative study examined the processes and approaches to collaboration, reflection, and dialogue of preservice and mentoring teachers who were engaged in a yearlong internship experience. Within the context of a university course grounded in constructivism, social constructivism, and the concept of teacher as researcher, the study explored the social interactions of the teachers throughout the course of the school day. Teachers were observed in the process of planning and reflecting on daily classroom activities through collaborative meetings with a focus on the teaching and learning process. The preservice teachers were educated in the use of the main principles described by the Reggio Emilia Approach ‐ collaboration reflection, and dialogue (Edwards, Gandini &; Forman, 1998) and thus, served as a guide for the collaborative interactions with the mentoring teachers.     

Kemp-Vincent Rally Test of Tennis Skill

Abstract

The Kemp-Vincent Rally Test of tennis skill was constructed to overcome the criticisms of available tennis skills tests. The major criticisms have been that current tests do not measure skills under game conditions, require the use of special equipment or line markings, and the time involved in their administration is prohibitive. In the Kemp-Vincent Rally Test the students rally as in a game situation, a relatively short time period is involved, and no special equipment or court markings are needed. The validity of the Kemp-Vincent Rally Test was found to be .84 for beginners and .93 for intermediate players when correlated with round robin tournament rankings. When validated against the Iowa revision of the Dyer test, the validity coefficient was .80. Test-retest reliability coefficients were .86 for beginners and .90 for intermediate players.     

The effect of knee angle on the external validity of isometric measures of lower body neuromuscular function

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of varying knee angle (120° and 90°) on the external validity of an isometric leg press test with reference to vertical jump performance. Isometric peak force (PF 120 and PF 90 ), rate of force development (RFD 120 and RFD 90 ), and maximum height reached with a squat jump and counter-movement jump were measured in 14 males. Although RFD 120 was significantly correlated with squat jump and counter-movement jump performance ( r = 0.71 and 0.69), and the correlations with PF 120 approached statistical significance ( r = 0.53 and 0.50), neither PF 90 nor RFD 90 was significantly related to vertical jump performance. Furthermore, although both RFD 120 and PF 120 were significantly different between the best five and the worst five jumpers, RFD 90 and PF 90 did not differentiate between individuals' vertical jump performance. We conclude that the choice of joint angle affects the external validity of isometric strength testing. Based on our results, we recommend accurate control of biomechanical specificity and assessment at different angles to find the position at which isometric strength testing is most comfortable.     

Influence of the Diameter of the Hammer Head On the Distance of a Hammer Throw

Although a generally positive effect of acute exercise on cognitive performance has been demonstrated, the specific nature of the relationship between exercise-induced arousal and cognitive performance remains unclear. This study was designed to identify the relationship between exercise-induced arousal and cognitive performance for the central and peripheral components of a response time task at two different levels of task difficulty. Sixteen male participants performed both simple and choice response time tasks at eight different arousal levels (from 20% to 90% heart rate reserve). Performance on the simple and choice response time tasks was examined after fractionating the response time into its central component, premotor time, and peripheral components, motor, and movement time. A priori trend analysis was used to test both linear and quadratic relationships. Results indicated that exercise-induced arousal has a positive influence on the peripheral components of response time tasks; however, it has a limited impact on the central components of these tasks.     

Motor Performance of Girls from Twelve Through Eighteen Years of Age

Abstract

Three hundred girls in Georgia ranging from 12 through 18 years of age and enrolled in physical education from the seventh grade through the freshman year in college were given eight motor performance test items to measure running, jumping, throwing, speed, and agility. The study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that girls do not improve in motor performance after the age of 13.5 years, and also to investigate whether significant differences existed in motor skills according to age-grade level. Analysis of variance was used to test the significance of variation on each of the eight test items for the seven age-grade groups. Significance of differences in means for each test for each age-grade group was also calculated. Since ninth-grade girls, with a mean age of 14.4 years, scored highest on two items, tenth-grade girls scored highest on four items, and college girls scored highest on two tests, the hypothesis that girls generally do not evidence improvement in motor skills after the age of 13.5 was rejected.