A narrative across 28 years in academic development

ABSTRACT

This paper is a narrative across 28 years in academic development. Four phases are described, showing how initially naïve conceptions about academic development have been addressed, enabling a growth towards a more holistic understanding of how diversity, quality assurance, and community networks can productively interface. This narrative will, hopefully, assist reflection by other academic developers.     

Higher education coverage in Boston newspapers: A content analysis

The following content analysis examined for one month the quantity and type of higher education articles in the two Boston metropolitan daily newspapers. Articles were measured and assigned to eight major categories: sports, features, news, editorial pages, columns, news analysis, reviews, and photos with cutline only. Results of the study indicated that both newspapers had more spot news stories only a few inches in length rather than in-depth feature articles concerning the major issues and trends facing higher education today. Editorials, columns, news analysis articles, and reviews received little coverage. Data also showed that the most prestigious, well-known universities received the greatest amount of coverage.     

Addressing the challenge of legitimate international comparisons of classroom practice

In this article, we address the choice of suitable instructional units that might serve as the basis for cross-cultural analyses of classroom practice. Our argument draws on analyses undertaken as part of the Learner's Perspective Study (LPS). The database comprised a three-camera video record of sequences of 10 consecutive lessons in each classroom, supplemented by post-lesson video-stimulated interviews with teachers and students: a total of over 180 videotaped lessons, over 50 teacher interviews and almost 400 student interviews. The results of these analyses challenge the suitability of the lesson as the unit of comparative analysis. In particular, the location of the lesson in the topic sequence is seen to be a key influence on the lesson's structure, critically affecting the teacher's deployment of the constituent activities that we have called ‘lesson events.’ The lesson event is proposed as an alternative unit of international comparative analysis of classroom practice.     

Communication on a problem solving task in cooperative learning groups

Summary There is some evidence from this study that reflectivity within cooperative learning groups develops over time. Preliminary observations suggest that Slavin's third and fourth levels of skills, those of reflection and reasoning and reconception and reformulation and Kempa and Ayob's higher levels of explanation and insight appear more advanced in groups strategically managed by teachers for such outcomes. Later analyses will permit more detailed accounts of the relationships between the teacher's management strategies, and reflection within groups of different gender composition. Specializations: science teacher education. Specializations: studies in twentieth century science education in Australia, teacher education.     

A healthy start: promoting mental health and well-being in the early primary school years

Mental health problems in children represent a significant international health concern, with up to one in five children using mental health services during the course of any given year. Identifying the processes of what prevents social, emotional and behaviour difficulties (SEBD) and promotes healthy development from an early age can make a significant contribution to the promotion of positive mental health in children. This article describes a longitudinal study which sought to identify the risk and promotive factors as young children move from the early to junior years in primary school. Multilevel analysis was used to identify the individual, classroom, school, home and community factors that predict change in SEBD and in prosocial behaviour in the early school years. It also calculated the cumulative effect of the various risk and promotive factors on the pupils’ well-being and mental health. The article presents the windows of vulnerability and opportunity for young children’s healthy development, proposing a trajectory for healthy development in early and middle childhood.     

Energy system contribution to 400-metre and 800-metre track running

As a wide range of values has been reported for the relative energetics of 400-m and 800-m track running events, this study aimed to quantify the respective aerobic and anaerobic energy contributions to these events during track running. Sixteen trained 400-m (11 males, 5 females) and 11 trained 800-m (9 males, 2 females) athletes participated in this study. The participants performed (on separate days) a laboratory graded exercsie test and multiple race time-trials. The relative energy system contribution was calculated by multiple methods based upon measures of race [Vdot]O₂, accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), blood lactate and estimated phosphocreatine degradation (lactate/PCr). The aerobic/anaerobic energy system contribution (AOD method) to the 400-m event was calculated as 41/59% (male) and 45/55% (female). For the 800-m event, an increased aerobic involvement was noted with a 60/40% (male) and 70/30% (female) respective contribution. Significant (P <?0.05) negative correlations were noted between race performance and anaerobic energy system involvement (lactate/PCr) for the male 800-m and female 400-m events (r = ? 0.77 and ??0.87 respectively). These track running data compare well with previous estimates of the relative energy system contributions to the 400-m and 800-m events. Additionally, the relative importance and speed of interaction of the respective metabolic pathways has implications to training for these events.     

Energy system contribution to 1500- and 3000-metre track running

The aim of the present study was to quantify the contributions of the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems to 1500- and 3000-m track running events during all-out time-trials performed individually on a synthetic athletic track. Ten 3000-m (8 males, 2 females) and fourteen 1500-m (10 males, 4 females) trained track athletes volunteered to participate in the study. The athletes performed a graded exercise test in the laboratory and two time-trials over 1500 or 3000?m. The contributions of the energy systems were calculated by measures of race oxygen uptake, accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), race blood lactate concentration, estimated phosphocreatine degradation and some individual muscle metabolite data. The relative aerobic energy system contribution (based on AOD measures) for the 3000?m was 86% (male) and 94% (female), while for the 1500?m it was 77% (male) and 86% (female). Estimates of anaerobic energy expenditure based on blood lactate concentrations, while not significantly different (P?>?0.05), were generally lower compared with the AOD measures. In conclusion, the results of the present study conform with some recent laboratory-based measures of energy system contributions to these events.