Effectiveness of motor skill intervention varies based on implementation strategy

Background: Young children from disadvantaged settings often present delays in fundamental motor skills (FMS). Young children can improve their FMS delays through developmentally appropriate motor skill intervention programming. However, it is unclear which pedagogical strategy is most effective for novice and expert instructors.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a motor skill intervention delivered by expert and novice teachers via direct or indirect pedagogical strategy on the object control and locomotor skills of young children.

Participants and setting: Participants included children (N?=?109) aged 40–67 months (M_age?=?54 months, SD?=?7 months) enrolled in an early years center for children who are socioeconomically disadvantaged in the United States.

Data collection: Children participated in one of five instructional conditions (expert-led direct, expert-led indirect, novice-led direct, novice-led indirect, and control). Expert and preservice physical education teachers implemented the Successful Kinesthetic Instruction for Preschoolers (SKIP) motor skill program twice weekly for 6 weeks (360?min of instruction). Children in all experimental conditions (n?=?69) received ‘business as usual’ free play on nonintervention days. Children in the control condition (n?=?40) received the ‘business as usual’ free play 5 days weekly throughout the entirety of the intervention. Children completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 during the pretest and the posttest.

Data analysis: For object control and locomotor skills, we conducted two, separate, one-way ANOVAs at the pretest to determine condition differences. We then calculated two separate, five conditions × two times repeated-measures ANOVAs to determine the effects of SKIP on both object control and locomotor skills. Tukey post hoc analyses confirmed posttest differences among the conditions.

Findings: There were no significant differences among conditions at the pretest (locomotor, p?=?.347–.969; object control, p?=?.143–.918). For object control skills, there were significant main effects for time (F[1, 104]?=?83.92, p?.001, η²?=?.45) and condition (F[4, 104]?=?6.39, p?<?.001, η²?=?.20) as well as a significant time by condition interaction (F[4, 104]?=?22.36, p?<?.001, η²?=?.45). For locomotor skills, there was a significant main effect for time (F[1, 104]?=?41.25, p?<?.001, η²?=?.28) but not for condition (F[4, 104]?=?2.20 p?<?.074, η²?=?.08). There was a significant time by condition interaction (F[1, 104]?=?18.68, p?<?.001, η²?=?.42). Experts, regardless of strategy, showed significantly greater improvements (p?<?.001) than novice and control conditions for locomotor skills. For object control skills, experts (all conditions) and novice-direct demonstrated significantly (p?<?.001) greater gains than the control and novice-indirect conditions.

Conclusion: Young children from disadvantaged settings demonstrated developmental delays with FMS. Motor skill intervention was effective with remediating their delays. Novice teachers with limited physical education experience should begin teaching object control skills via direct instruction. Experts can choose either direct or indirect instructional strategies. Future research should investigate the implications of scaffolding locomotor skills and indirect pedagogical strategies for novice teachers.     

Optimized versus corrected peak power during friction-braked cycle ergometry in males and females

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare optimization and correction procedures for the determination of peak power output during friction-loaded cycle ergometry. Ten male and 10 female sports students each performed five 10-s sprints from a stationary start on a Monark 864 basket-loaded ergometer. Resistive loads of 5.0, 6.5, 8.0, 9.5, and 11.0% body weight were administered in a counterbalanced order, with a recovery period of 10 min between sprints. Peak power was greater and occurred earlier, with less work having been done before the attainment of peak power, when the data were corrected to account for the inertial and frictional characteristics of the ergometer. Corrected peak power was independent of resistive load (P > 0.05), whereas uncorrected peak power varied as a quadratic function of load (P < 0.001). For males and females, optimized peak power (971 ± 122 and 668 ± 37 W) was lower (P < 0.01) than either the highest (1074 ± 111 and 754 ± 56 W respectively) or the mean (1007 ± 125 and 701 ± 45 W respectively) of the five values for corrected peak power. Optimized and mean corrected peak power were highly correlated both in males (r = 0.97, P < 0.001) and females (r = 0.96, P < 0.001). The difference between optimized and mean corrected peak power was 37 ± 30 W in males and 33 ± 14 W in females, of which approximately 15 W was due to the correction for frictional losses. We conclude that corrected peak power is independent of resistive load in males and females.     

Māori science education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract    This article reports on the first two phases of a multiphase science education development project in predominantly Māori kura (school communities) in the central region of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The development project in its entirety employs an action research methodology and by so doing endeavors to support the improvement of science education delivery in accordance with school community aspirations. The full project (a) establishes the current situation in Year 1–8 science education in the communities; (b) identifies developmental aspirations for stakeholders within the communities and identifies potential contributors and constraints to these aspirations; (c) implements mechanisms for achieving identified aspirations; and finally; (d) evaluates the effectiveness of such mechanisms. In its focus on the first two phases, this article incorporates the analytical lenses of Kaupapa Māori Theory and Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model. It concludes by outlining some priorities to consider for science education development based on the outcomes of our preliminary discussions.

孟买的圣诞节

We arrived in Bombay early in December, all agog to see the wonders of one of India principal cities and looking ahead to visiting Delhi, Agra and the Taj Mahal, even the Khyber Pass, Afghanistan and Karachi. We accomplished only the first of these. After one night in Bombay we awoke to the news that India and Pakistan were at war.     

Factors influencing research performance of university academic staff

The application of performance based criteria in the allocation of resources and the targeting of substantial research funds to topics of national priority are two major features of the new research funding climate in Australian higher education. Successful competition for such funds will depend on universities developing and implementing appropriate research management plans and on the overall research performance of their academic staff. This paper reports the views of academic staff from one Australian university on such issues as the determinants of research performance and the importance of individual autonomy in the selection of research topics. One of the main findings is that research activity is highly variable and influenced by a number of factors including, personal characteristics; differences in research styles, methods and strategies both within and between disciplines; and dependence on funding. The findings show that academics firmly believe in freedom of inquiry in the choice of research topic.     

Enhancing postgraduate learning and development: a participatory action learning and action research approach through conferences

As supervisors who advocate the transformational potential of research both to generate theory and practical and emancipatory outcomes, we practice participatory action learning and action research (PALAR). This paper offers an illustrative case of how supervision practices based on action learning can foster emancipatory and lifelong learning within a university context that is becoming ever more focused on throughput of students, rather than on the quality of their learning. Conference attendance offers an excellent opportunity for postgraduate students to develop as researchers and lifelong learners, yet anxiety often prevents them from making the most of the learning experience. We explain how we encouraged the development of capabilities in students through a PALAR support programme that assisted postgraduate students prepare for a conference to make overall participation, presenting a paper and subsequent publication a true learning experience. We generated and analysed data from the written reflections of 11 postgraduate students who participated in the programme. The findings suggest that action learning, specifically PALAR, can be used to enable a rich learning experience for postgraduate students attending conferences through fostering relationships, building trust, a supportive environment, collaboration, communication and competence among them. Postgraduate students who experienced our PALAR support programme developed not only skills, knowledge, confidence and deeper appreciation of learning opportunities through conferences, but also understanding of the principles of PALAR that apply not just to the conference context but across all aspects of learning and research and life at large.     

The use of the interactive whiteboard for creative teaching and learning in literacy and mathematics: a case study

This paper considers the ways in which the interactive whiteboard may support and enhance pedagogic practice through whole‐class teaching within literacy and numeracy. Data collected from observations of whole‐class lessons, alongside individual interviews and focus group discussions with class teachers and Initial Teacher Education students, has provided opportunities to consider the potential of such technology to facilitate a more creative approach to whole‐class teaching. The data suggests that, in the first instance, the special features of information and communications technology such as interactivity, ‘provisionality,’ speed, capacity and range enhance the delivery and pace of the session. This research seems to indicate that it is the skill and the professional knowledge of the teacher who mediates the interaction, and facilitates the development of pupils' creative responses at the interface of technology, which is critical to the enhancement of the whole‐class teaching and learning processes.