A Prose Learning Strategy Training Program Based on Network and Depth-of-Processing Models

Relatively simple changes in cognitive activities during prose learning can have a substantial effect on how much and what kind of information is acquired, yet many students use relatively ineffective learning strategies. This paper describes a learning strategy training program which is based on network models of long-term memory structure and depth-of-processing theory. Evidence is presented which supports the effectiveness of the learning strategy training program in enhancing prose learning among college students.     

An analysis of prospective teachers’ knowledge for constructing concept maps

Background: Literature contends that a teacher’s knowledge of concept map-based tasks influence how their students perceive the task and execute the creation of acceptable concept maps. Teachers who are skilled concept mappers are able to (1) understand and apply the operational terms to construct a hierarchical/non-hierarchical concept map; (2) identify the legitimacy of the constructed concept map by verifying its graphical structure and its educational utility; and (3) determine the inherent ‘good’ and ‘poor’ qualities of the resulting graphical structure to reiterate the ‘good’ qualities and to coach and provide feedback to alleviate ‘poor’ qualities.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nature of prospective teachers’ knowledge underpinning the technique used to construct concept maps and thus, explicate their facility to construct concept maps.

Sample, Design and Methods: Data consisted of 200 concept maps constructed by prospective teachers in an elementary science methods course.

Results: Analysis revealed that the prospective teachers had predominantly constructed either hierarchical and/or non-hierarchical concept maps. It is likely that their maps reflect the teaching that they themselves would have experienced in their science classrooms during their own education. Additionally, most of these concepts maps only contained the root concept and subordinate concepts and lacked directional linking lines, linking phrases, labelled lines and propositions.

Conclusions: We argue that teacher educators need to assess their prospective teachers’ understanding of concept mapping in relation to the legitimacy (the nature and quality) of the end-products (graphical structures) of such practices. Prospective teachers also need to understand the educational utility of concept mapping in terms of how these end-products impact and/or effectuate learning.     

Teachers modify geometry problems: from proof to investigation

We explored transformations that teachers made to modify geometry proof problems into investigation problems and analyzed how these transformations differ in teachers who use a dynamic geometry environment (DGE) in their classes and those who do not. We devised a framework for the analysis of problem transformations and types of teacher-generated problems. We introduce distinctions between static and dynamic transformations of geometry problems. By observing differences in the transformations the teachers made and the types of problems they produced, we suggest that teachers who use DGE in their classes develop a better understanding of geometry investigation tasks and have no difficulty in transforming proof problems into investigation discovery problems through teaching. Furthermore, we suggest that working with DGE leads to more changes in the givens of the problems and to more dynamic transformations of a problem. From the differences we found in relation to the various problems used in this study, we conclude that problem transformations are problem dependent. Finally, we argue that problem transformation is teachable but requires special training.     

Ministry of Labour female training programmes between the wars: 1919-39

British Somaliland, a protectorate from which Christian missionaries were excluded, opened its first government‐run school in 1938. The intention of the new director of education, Randall Ellison, was to use written Somali in preference to Arabic. This drew intense criticism from local religious leaders, and had to be abandoned. Accused of being a missionary in disguise, Ellison’s work led to a riot in the town of Burao in 1939 in which three people were killed. Although the school at Berbera functioned for just two terms, the opposition it aroused forms a link in an anti‐Western chain of events that stretches from the 1899–1920 revolt of Sayyid Muhammad ‘Abdille Hassan up to the Al‐Qaeda‐linked killing of two British teachers in 2003. This paper is based on Ellison’s letters to his family and on official and other sources.     

Response of males and females to high-force eccentric exercise

It has previously been shown that females incur less muscle damage than males after strenuous exercise, but limited data are available for humans. To determine possible differences between the sexes in humans, the response to high-force eccentric exercise was examined in a large sample of women (n = 83) and men (n = 82). The participants performed a bout of eccentric exercise of the elbow flexors consisting of 70 maximal repetitions. Isometric strength, resting elbow angle and muscle soreness were measured before, immediately after (except soreness) and then daily for 7 days after exercise. There was a significant loss in strength among both groups (69% for women and 63% for men) (P?0.01) immediately after exercise; at 168 h post-exercise, women still had a 27% strength loss and men had a 24% strength loss. No significant difference in strength loss or recovery rate was found between men and women. Soreness reached peak values 32-48 h post-exercise (P?0.01), with no significant difference between men and women. Range of motion decreased significantly until 3 days after exercise (14.6° or 0.255 rad loss for women; 12.2° or 0.213 rad loss for men) (P?0.01); at 168 h post-exercise, the women and men still showed a loss of 4.8° (0.084 rad) and 4.0° (0.07 rad), respectively. There was a significant interaction of sex x time (P?0.01); a post-hoc test indicated that the women experienced a greater loss in range of motion at 72 h than men and this difference was maintained to 168 h post-exercise (P?0.01). Thus, our results do not support the contention that women have a lower response to eccentric exercise than men.     

Response to Fry and Kraemer

In general, women are well represented among sport participants and sport audiences but not in the media. Data show that women's sport is greatly underreported and trivialized in newspapers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to measure press coverage during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in the largest circulating Belgian, Danish, French, and Italian daily newspapers by: (a) number of articles, (b) size, (c) page placement, (d) accompanying photographs, and (e) photograph size. For each sport covered, the athletes' nationality and the gender were recorded. Compared to the 1996 Atlanta Games, there was an increase of 326 female athletes (+4%), and women competed in 25 sports and 132 events (44%) of the total 300 events. Although only 29.3% of the articles and 38% of photos were on women's sports, the newspaper coverage was similar to the distribution of participating athletes and events. No significant gender differences were found with respect to article size, page placement, accompanying photographs, or photograph size. The most covered sport was track and field, independent of national achievement. Other sports received different coverage in relation to national expectations, achievement, and participation. In conclusion, there was a trend to overcome gender inequities in media coverage during the Olympic Games, which may be due to the International Olympic Committee's actions to promote increased participation of women in sport activities and to publicize their achievements. Moreover, during the Olympic Games, a nationalistic fervor might affect the equality of gender coverage.     

Evaluation of Low-Cost,Objective Instruments for Assessing Physical Activity in 10–11-Year-Old Children

This study compared step counts detected by four, low-cost, objective, physical-activity-assessment instruments and evaluated their ability to detect moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to the ActiGraph accelerometer (AG). Thirty-six 10–11-year-old children wore the NL-1000, Yamax Digiwalker SW 200, Omron HJ-151, and Walk4Life MVP concurrently with the AG during school hours on a single day. AG MVPA was derived from activity count data using previously validated cut points. Two of the evaluated instruments provided similar group mean MVPA and step counts compared to AG (dependent on cut point). Low-cost instruments may be useful for measurement of both MVPA and steps in children's physical activity interventions and program evaluation.     

Analyzing the impact of sport infrastructure on sport participation using geo-coded data: Evidence from multi-level models

Sport policies aiming at increasing mass participation and club participation have stressed the importance of sport infrastructure. Previous research has mainly analyzed the influence of individual factors (age, income, etc.) on sport participation. Although a few studies have dealt with the impact of sport facilities on sport participation, some methodological shortcomings can be observed regarding the integration of sport infrastructure into the research design. Oftentimes, subjective measures of infrastructure are employed, leading to biased results, for example inactive people have a worse perception of the actual supply of facilities. In fact it is important to measure the available sport infrastructure objectively using a quantitative approach and integrate it into statistical models. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of individual and infrastructure variables on sport participation in general and in sport clubs using geo-coded data following a multi-level design. For this purpose, both primary data (individual level) and secondary data (infrastructure level) were collected in the city of Munich, Germany. A telephone survey of the resident population was carried out (n = 11,175) and secondary data on the available sport infrastructure in Munich were collected. Both datasets were geo-coded using Gauss–Krueger coordinates and integrated into multi-level analyses. The multi-level models show that swimming pools are of particular importance for sport participation in general and sport fields for participation in sport clubs. Challenges and implications for a more holistic modeling of sport participation including infrastructure variables are discussed.     

Improving emotional intelligence and emotional self-efficacy through a teaching intervention for university students

Emotional intelligence continues to receive a substantial amount of attention from researchers who argue that it is an important predictor of health, wellbeing and in particular, work-related outcomes. Emotional self-efficacy, which is concerned with beliefs in one's emotional functioning capabilities, has recently been shown to be important in relation to graduate employability. However, there are very few empirical studies which demonstrate that emotional functioning ability is something that it is possible to teach and develop. This study investigates whether it is possible to improve levels of emotional intelligence and emotional self-efficacy in university students through a teaching intervention. The findings show that it is possible to increase emotional self-efficacy and some aspects of emotional intelligence ability. These findings are considered within the framework of graduate employability, as improving emotional functioning may be particularly important to young people who will shortly join the graduate working population.