Where practice and theory intersect in the chemistry classroom: using cogenerative dialogue to identify the critical point in science education

This paper argues for an inclusive model of science education practice that attempts to facilitate a relationship between “science and all” by paying particular attention to the development of the relationship between the teacher, students and science. This model hinges on the implementation of cogenerative dialogues between students and teachers. Cogenerative dialogues are a form of structured discourse in which teachers and students engage in a collaborative effort to help identify and implement positive changes in classroom teaching and learning practices. A primary goal of this paper is to introduce a methodological and theoretical framework for conducting cogenerative dialogue that is accessible to classroom teachers and their students. I propose that researchers must learn to disseminate their findings to teachers in ways that are practical, in that they provide teachers with information needed to make concrete connections between the research and their teaching, while continuing to make available the theories that support their findings. Using an integration research framework in conjunction with a temporality of learning model, I introduce a method of disseminating research findings that provides both classroom teachers and researchers with access to different forms of knowledge about cogenerative dialogues in the same paper. In doing so, this article examines the relationships between teacher knowledge and researcher knowledge by exploring the practical application of cogenerative dialogues for classrooms teachers and the theoretical implications of using cogenerative dialogues for researchers.

Eight-season epidemiological study of injuries in men’s international Under-20 rugby tournaments

The aim of this study was to define the incidence and nature of match injuries sustained in men’s international under-20 rugby. The study comprised an 8-season prospective study of 16 international under-20 rugby tournaments. Procedures complied with the consensus statement for epidemiological studies in rugby. Outputs included players’ mean age, stature and body mass and incidence, severity, location, type and cause of match injuries. The overall incidence of injury was 49.7 injuries/1000 player-match-hours (backs: 48.3; forwards: 50.9) with a mean severity of 32.2 days-absence (backs: 29.4; forwards: 34.4). There were no significant changes in incidence or severity of injury over the study period. Shoulder/clavicle (18.3%), head/face (16.4%), knee (13.7%) and ankle (13.7%) were the most common injury locations and ligament sprain (35.4%), haematoma/bruise (15.9%), concussion (12.5%) and muscle strain (11.2%) the most common types of injury. Being-tackled (29.2%), tackling (24.0%) and collisions (14.3%) were the most common events leading to injury. The results confirm that international under-20 rugby has a high incidence and severity of injury but the incidence is half that reported for senior international players. There was no significant change in the overall incidence of injury at the Under-20 level in the period 2008 to 2016.     

Perception of the Culture and Education Programme of the Youth Olympic Games by the Participating Athletes: A Case Study for Innsbruck 2012

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) were introduced and officially inaugurated in Singapore in 2010, constituting the first new Olympic event to be staged since the 1924 Winter Olympic Games. The structure of the YOG is based on the model of the European Youth Olympic Festival, which was introduced three decades ago. Being a new international sports event targeting young athletes, a major innovation of the YOG is its unique Culture and Education Programme (CEP). To date, very little literature deals with the CEP and its influence on the athletes' overall experience. Thus, the objective of this study was to give a deeper insight into the athletes' perception of the CEP. A survey of 662 participating athletes as well as 6 focus groups with 43 athletes was conducted during the first 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The results of the focus groups corroborated the results of the survey: young athletes participating in the CEP liked it very much; nevertheless, the tight training and competition schedule represented an issue for many athletes. The findings of this study underline the necessity to plan the CEP more carefully and to raise interest in the CEP among coaches and Chefs de Mission.     

French Adaptation of the Short Form Youth Experiences Survey for Sport and Life Skills Scale for Sport

ABSTRACT

Research on positive youth development and life skills in sport has gained considerable attention over the past decades. However, there is a lack of translated questionnaires examining youth development and life skills available to non-English researchers and practitioners. The purpose of this research project was to adapt in French two questionnaires and to accumulate validity evidence of these adaptations. The short form – Youth Experiences Survey for Sport and the Life Skills Scale for Sport were adapted using a procedure based on a transcultural validation methodology applied to psychological measures. This research comprises four studies, which led to the French adaptation and validation process of each questionnaire. In conclusion, the results obtained show that these adapted French questionnaires can now be used to evaluate the perceptions and lived experiences of French-speaking athletes regarding positive youth development and life skills in sport.     

The Interplay of Teacher and Student Actions in the Teaching and Learning of Geometric Proof

Proof and reasoning are fundamental aspects of mathematics. Yet, how to help students develop the skills they need to engage in this type of higher-order thinking remains elusive. In order to contribute to the dialogue on this subject, we share results from a classroom-based interpretive study of teaching and learning proof in geometry. The goal of this research was to identify factors that may be related to the development of proof understanding. In this paper, we identify and interpret students' actions, teacher's actions, and social aspects that are evident in a classroom in which students discuss mathematical conjectures, justification processes and student-generated proofs. We conclude that pedagogical choices made by the teacher, as manifested in the teacher's actions, are key to the type of classroom environment that is established and, hence, to students' opportunities to hone their proof and reasoning skills. More specifically, the teacher's choice to pose open-ended tasks (tasks which are not limited to one specific solution or solution strategy), engage in dialogue that places responsibility for reasoning on the students, analyze student arguments, and coach students as they reason, creates an environment in which participating students make conjectures, provide justifications, and build chains of reasoning. In this environment, students who actively participate in the classroom discourse are supported as they engage in proof development activities. By examining connections between teacher and student actions within a social context, we offer a first step in linking teachers' practice to students' understanding of proof.     

Definition and model of life skills transfer

For a sport skill to be considered a life skill, it must be successfully transferred and applied beyond sport. Life skills transfer is an essential process, but it has yet to be fully delineated within the sport psychology literature. The purpose of the current paper is to present a definition and model of life skills transfer and outline future research needs. A critical review of the literature within sport psychology and other learning-based disciplines is offered to assess our current understanding of learning transfer. A definition and model of transfer are then presented, focusing on the athlete learner’s experience of life skills transfer. Within the model, we first examine how athletes bring personal assets and autobiographical experiences to sport. Second, we explore how sport is a learning environment with distinctive demands, programme designs, and coach characteristics and strategies. Third, we explain how transfer contexts provide environmental conditions, which, depending on how they are interpreted or experienced, can help or hinder the transfer of life skills. Ultimately, we postulate that an individual experiences life skills transfer as an ongoing process whereby he/she continually interacts and interprets his/her environments to produce positive or negative life skills transfer outcomes.