Facilitating metacognitive talk: a research and learning tool

This paper describes a research tool which aims to gather data about pupils' views of learning and teaching, with a particular focus on their thinking about their learning (metacognition). The approach has proved to be an adaptable and effective technique to examine different learning contexts from the pupils' perspective, while also acting as an aid to reflective dialogue between pupils and teachers as part of the teaching and learning process. A range of templates have been created as psychological or semiotic tools. They form the basis of a mediated interview by providing an image of the learning environment or activity on which the research is focused. The image then becomes the stimulus for a three‐way interaction between the researcher (or the teacher), the pupil and the template. This paper provides examples from a number of research projects where the technique has been used to gather data in classrooms.     

Effect of implicit theories on judgement of cheating acceptability in physical education: The mediating role of achievement goals

Abstract

We tested a hypothetical model that examined both the effects of implicit theories of ability on the judgement of cheating acceptability in a physical education context and the mediating role of the achievement goals defined in the social-cognitive model of achievement motivation. Data were collected from 477 middle-school students, who completed measures of implicit theories of ability, achievement goals, and judgement of cheating acceptability in team sports within a cross-sectional design. The results indicated that performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals mediated the relationships between entity theory and the judgement of cheating acceptability, and mastery-approach and mastery-avoidance goals mediated the relationships between incremental theory and the judgement of cheating acceptability. Further research is needed to determine whether these results would be replicated with other moral variables and other contexts.     

A Practical Tennis Serve Test: Measurement of Skill under Simulated Game Conditions

The Avery-Richardson Tennis Service Test was constructed to maximize the practical relationship between skills tests and playing situations. The test incorporates the game-like criteria of two balls per trial, service attempts to both right and left service courts, and comparable credit for flat, slice, and spin serves. In addition, norms were established for both college males and females at beginning and intermediate skill levels in tennis. Construct validity was established for the service test. There was a significant difference [F (1, 306) = 30.18, p < .00001] between beginning males and intermediate males, as well as a significant difference [F (1, 334) = 48.39, p < .00001] between beginning and intermediate females. To determine reliability, 93 males and 59 females were given the test on two separate occasions. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated with resulting reliability estimates which ranged from .64 to .80 for the groups studied.     

Student Interest in Activities in a Secondary Physical Education Curriculum: An Analysis of Student Subjectivity

Abstract

Previous studies that have examined self-efficacy–performance relationships have used novice performers. It is unclear if these findings would generalize to “experienced” performers. Based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory, this study was designed to investigate (a) the effects of false information feedback on self-efficacy beliefs and subsequent weightlifting performance, and (b) whether self-efficacy or past performance is most related to subsequent weightlifting performance. Experienced weightlifters engaged in six performance sessions, each consisting of a one-repetition-maximum bench press. Male subjects (N = 36) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: accurate performance information, false information that they lifted more than their actual lift, or false information that they lifted less than their actual lift. Before each session, subjects indicated the amount of weight they were 100%, 75%, and 50% confident they could lift. Results replicated existing research findings regarding deception and performance; false positive feedback increased future bench press performance. In addition, results indicated that past weightlifting performance accounted for nearly all of the variance in subsequent performance. This finding is discussed in light of the difficulty in extending the predictions of self-efficacy theory to sport settings where athletes have gained experience by undergoing repeated training trials.     

Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race

Abstract

Although the biomechanical properties of the various types of running foot strike (rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot) have been studied extensively in the laboratory, only a few studies have attempted to quantify the frequency of running foot strike variants among runners in competitive road races. We classified the left and right foot strike patterns of 936 distance runners, most of whom would be considered of recreational or sub-elite ability, at the 10 km point of a half-marathon/marathon road race. We classified 88.9% of runners at the 10 km point as rearfoot strikers, 3.4% as midfoot strikers, 1.8% as forefoot strikers, and 5.9% of runners exhibited discrete foot strike asymmetry. Rearfoot striking was more common among our sample of mostly recreational distance runners than has been previously reported for samples of faster runners. We also compared foot strike patterns of 286 individual marathon runners between the 10 km and 32 km race locations and observed increased frequency of rearfoot striking at 32 km. A large percentage of runners switched from midfoot and forefoot foot strikes at 10 km to rearfoot strikes at 32 km. The frequency of discrete foot strike asymmetry declined from the 10 km to the 32 km location. Among marathon runners, we found no significant relationship between foot strike patterns and race times.     

Students’ Perceptions of Priorities in Nurse Education: Research Findings and their Curriculum Implications

A credible assumption is that the success of any curriculum intended for adult students is a function of the match between the curriculum and the needs and aspirations of participating students. This assumption provided a basis for investigating the educational priorities of students undertaking nurse education programs in selected N.S.W. colleges of advanced education. The investigation involved a longitudinal study together with several comparative studies. The findings of the studies present a picture of groups of students who are ambivalent towards many of the objectives and priorities of their vocational programs. The origins of that ambivalence appear to reside both in a restricted view of the nurse's role and in anxieties and doubts which students have about their clinical experience and competence. The ambivalence experienced by the students appeared to be working to divert their attention, if not to alienate them altogether, from aspects of their programs and indeed from the vision of nursing which college curricula are intended to foster. Possible responses to the challenges presented by the findings of the studies are canvassed.     

Selective attention of impulsive and reflective children

Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test was used to select 36 impulsive and 36 reflective children at each of three grade levels: kindergarten, second, and fifth. An incidental learning paradigm was used to assess the child's recall of central and incidental information. Reflective subjects recalled more central and incidental information than impulsives, suggesting that impulsives have difficulty encoding information for storage. Central recall increased with grade level but incidental learning remained constant, a finding consistent with the developmental trend found in previous investigations. A task order effect was found in the recall of central information with more errors made when the central recall task was presented after the incidental. This order effect may account for the higher central recall scores found in previous investigations. Other problems with the incidental learning paradigms raise questions about the validity of the task for inferring selective attention. Despite the problems associated with the task, the results offer further evidence to support the notion that impulsive and reflective children differ on dimensions other than response latency.     

NASA Education: Using Inquiry in the Classroom So that Students See Learning in a Whole New Light

This article addresses how NASA uses inquiry in the classroom so that students can see learning in a whole new light. The goal is to increase scientific literacy among Americans and to entice a greater number of students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Although NASA offers a diverse array of programs that incorporate inquiry learning through a well-established distribution network, this article examines two programs: the Virtual Design Center (VDC), created by the Classroom of the Future^TM, and the NASA Explorer Schools program, one of four pathfinder initiatives that the Agency launched to inspire the next generation of space explorers.