Physical education teachers’ self-reported use and perceptions of various teaching styles

Increasing recognition of the constructivist nature of learning as well as the diversity of student learning styles highlights the need for teachers to use different teaching styles. Unfortunately, little is known about teachers’ use and perception of various teaching styles. The purpose of this study was to explore physical education teachers’ self-reported use and perceptions of various teaching styles. Participants were 212 physical education teachers representing a variety of elementary and secondary school settings. Teachers had significantly different experiences in the use and perceptions of the different teaching styles. Their perceptions also differed according to self-rated teaching ability related to using the styles.     

Question‐posing and question‐responding: the heart of ‘Possibility Thinking’ in the early years

Drawing on research that sought to explore the characteristics of ‘Possibility Thinking’ as central to creativity in young children's learning, this paper considers question‐posing and question‐responding as the driving features of ‘Possibility Thinking’ (PT). This qualitative study employed micro‐event analysis of peer and pupil–teacher interaction. Events were sampled from two early years settings in England, one a Reception classroom (4‐ to 5‐year olds) and the other a Year 2 classroom (6‐ to 7‐year olds). This article arises out of the second stage of an ongoing research programme (2004–2007) involving the children and practitioners in these settings. This phase considers the dimensions of question‐posing and the categories of question‐responding and their interrelationship within PT. Three dimensions of questioning were identified as characteristic of PT. These included: (i) question framing, reflecting the purpose inherent within questions for adults and children (including leading, service and follow‐through questions); (ii) question degree: manifestation of the degree of possibility inherent in children's questions (including possibility narrow, possibility moderate, possibility broad); (iii) question modality, manifestation of the modality inherent in children's questions (including verbal and non‐verbal forms). The fine‐grained data analysis offers insight into how children engage in PT to meet specific needs in responding to creative tasks and activities and reveals the crucial role that question‐posing and question‐responding play in creative learning. It also provides more detail about the nature of young children's thinking, made visible through question‐posing and responding in engaging playful contexts.     

Mothers' Worries During Pregnancy: A Content Analysis of Reddit Posts

Qualitative investigations into maternal worries during pregnancy are limited. The aim of this study was to identify the content of women''s pregnancy-related worries by completing a content analysis of posts on Reddit. A total of 217 posts by 196 unique users were analyzed. Most worries related to infant factors (32.6%), individual factors (27.1%), and antenatal care factors, such as medical procedures (25.2%). The remaining worries related to situational factors (10.9%) and the partner relationship (4.3%). Although most fears related to fetal well-being, other concerns included problems with family members, women''s own mental health, and not being a “good mother.” These findings support calls for antenatal education to more adequately address women''s psychosocial concerns.     

Two-stage screening for math problem-solving difficulty using dynamic assessment of algebraic learning

The purpose of this study was to explore the utility of a dynamic assessment (DA) of algebraic learning in predicting third graders' development of mathematics word-problem difficulty. In the fall, 122 third-grade students were assessed on a test of math word-problem skill and DA of algebraic learning. In the spring, they were assessed on word-problem performance. Logistic regression was conducted to contrast two models. One relied exclusively on the fall test of math word-problem skill to predict word-problem difficulty on the spring outcome (less than the 25th percentile). The second model relied on a combination of the fall test of math word-problem skill and the fall DA to predict the same outcome. Holding sensitivity at 87.5%, the universal screener alone resulted in a high proportion of false positives, which was practically reduced when DA was included in the prediction model. Findings are discussed in terms of a two-stage process for screening students within a responsiveness-to-intervention prevention model.     

Development of an Online Orientation for an Instructional Technology Masters Program

Four graduate students were tasked with creating a real-world solution to a problem faced by the instructional technology masters program in which they were participating. While taking an online course in multimedia instructional product development, part of East Carolina University??s Masters of Science in Instructional Technology degree program, a team of students faced the challenges of being physically separated, lacking some software and hardware tools, and the relatively brief development period of a semester??s time, to produce supplemental instructional content for students new to the masters program. Working from locations scattered throughout North Carolina, the production team found the time and resources, and relied on the strengths of individual team members, to produce an online orientation for students new to the instructional technology masters program.