Improving comprehension online: effects of deep vocabulary instruction with bilingual and monolingual fifth graders

This quasi-experimental study investigated the effects of an Internet-delivered universally designed depth of vocabulary intervention that targeted both English-speaking and Spanish–English-speaking students. Two hundred forty students, 49% of whom were Spanish–English bilinguals, participated in the 16-week intervention. Intervention students read eight multimedia texts with embedded instruction on 40 words and reading strategy support. Students could access all texts and activities in Spanish and English. In comparison to a control group, there were significant intervention effects on a standardized measure of vocabulary knowledge, but effects were non-significant for comprehension. Similarly, significant effects on researcher-developed measures of vocabulary depth were detected, but not for a researcher-developed measure of breadth.     

Pedagogical Content Knowledge and the 2003 Science Teacher Preparation Standards for NCATE Accreditation or State Approval

The 2003 National Science Teachers Association Standards for Science Teacher Preparation (NSTA-SSTP) were developed to provide guidelines and expectations for science teacher preparation programs. This article is the fourth in a special JSTE series on accreditation written to assist science teacher educators in meeting the NSTA-SSTP. In this article, the authors discuss pedagogical content knowledge and how this is expressed in the NSTA-SSTP. Included are competencies and examples needed for a science teacher preparation program to document developing pedagogical content knowledge in preservice science teachers.     

SPECIAL ISSUE INTRODUCTION: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Consultation in Gifted Education: An Overview

This article provides an overview of the purposes of this special issue, which focuses on consultation services for the gifted and talented. The special issue provides a forum within the professional literature to discuss the ways in which various professionals in the fields of education and psychology can provide consultation services of benefit to the gifted. The articles address the need to increase awareness about the gifted and to provide services that enhance the knowledge base of educational and psychological consultants.     

Focusing of visual attention at rest and during physical exercise in soccer players

In this study, we investigated the focus of visual attention in expert soccer players together with the effects of acute bouts of physical exercise on performance. In two discriminative reaction time experiments, which were performed both at rest and under submaximal physical workload, visual attention was cued by means of spatial cues of different size followed by compound stimuli with local and global target features. Soccer players were slower than non-athletes in reacting to local compared with global targets, but were faster in switching from local to global attending. Thus, soccer players appear to be less skilled in local attending, but better able than non-athletes to rapidly "zoom out" the focus of attention. Non-athletes generally showed faster performance under physical load, as expected according to the hypothesis of exercise-induced increases in arousal and/or activation and in resource allocation. In contrast, soccer players showed a more differentiated pattern of exercise-induced facilitation that selectively affects specific components of the attentional performance and is interpreted by referring to the role played by individual expertise and cognitive effort.     

Soccer-specific video simulation for improving movement assessment

The improvement of ecological validity of laboratory research studies has recently come to the forefront of technology with virtual reality scenarios. The purpose of this study was to assess differences between unanticipated and anticipated lower extremity biomechanics while performing a sidestep cutting task. A visualization software was developed for this purpose, which would recreate a soccer game situation for use in a laboratory setting. Thirteen participants volunteered for this study. Lower extremity biomechanical data were collected with a VICON motion analysis system and two force plates, under anticipated and unanticipated conditions while performing a sidestep cutting task. Paired t-tests were conducted to assess possible differences between conditions. Alpha level was set a priori at 0.05. We found an increased knee adduction angle (unanticipated: -7.2 +/- 5.30 degrees; anticipated: -4.0 +/- 5.3 degrees), and knee internal rotation (unanticipated: 8.1 +/- 4.7 degrees; anticipated: 5.2 +/- 6.5 degrees) when performing the unanticipated condition (p < 0.05). The methodological approaches for studies investigating the factors possibly associated with ACL injury may need to take into account the laboratory environment and how the task(s) are presented to the participants.     

Every word problem has a solution-The social rationality of mathematical modeling in schools

The focus of this paper is on sense-making and the use of real-world knowledge in mathematical modeling in schools. Arguments are put forward that classroom word problem solving is more—and also less—than the analysis of subject-matter structures. Students easily “solve” stereotyped, even unsolvable, problems without any regard to the constraints of factual reality. Mathematics learning in schools is inseparable not only from the materials employed, but from the macro- and microcultural web of practices within the social context of schooling. It represents, beyond the insightful activity of ideal problem solving, a type of socio-cognitive skill.The two experiments reported replicate and extend a study by Verschaffel, De Corte, and Lasure (1994). In the first experiment, a list of standard problems that could be solved by straightforward use of arithmetic operations, and a parallel list of problems which were problematic with respect to realistic mathematical modeling, were administered to fourth and fifth graders. In the second experiment, a similar list of problematic problems was presented to seventh graders under three socio-contextual conditions varying in the degree to which the pupils were told or signaled that the problems were more difficult to solve than it seemed at first or that they even could be unsolvable. The result of both studies was that most pupils “solved” a significant part of the unsolvable problems without evincing “realistic reactions”. This overall finding is discussed with respect to three issues:

• 1. 

  (i) the quality of word problems employed in mathematics education,

• 2. 

  (ii) the culture of teaching and learning, and

• 3. 

  (iii) the more general issue of social rationality in school mathematics problem solving.

     

“Did you do your homework?” Mathematics teachers’ homework follow‐up practices at middle school level

Teachers’ homework follow‐up practices, the in‐class strategies teachers use to monitor their students’ homework assignments, have an impact on their students’ homework behaviors and academic achievement. The current study explored the perspectives of middle school mathematics teachers on the three domains of homework follow‐up: the practices used in class, the purposes of each practice, and the aspects that may influence this process. Data were collected from two data sources (i.e., focus groups and classroom observations) and were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that teachers monitored homework either using a single strategy or a combination of strategies (e.g., checking homework completion and providing individual feedback) linked to a specific purpose (e.g., promote students’ involvement). The teachers also reported that they were under certain constraints when they delivered homework follow‐up practices (e.g., pressure to follow the curriculum), so their practices’ effectiveness sometimes can be compromised. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Scapulohumeral kinematic assessment of the forward kayak stroke in experienced whitewater kayakers

By understanding the normal humeral and scapular kinematics during the kayak stroke, inferences about the relationship of kayaking technique and shoulder injury may be established. The purpose of this study was to describe scapular and humeral kinematics and to compare dominant versus non-dominant symmetry in healthy whitewater kayakers performing the forward stroke. Twenty-five competent whitewater kayakers (mean age: 34.1 ± 9.4 years, mean height: 1.768 ± 0.093 m, mean mass: 78.2 ± 13.0 kg) underwent humeral and scapular kinematic assessment, using an electromagnetic tracking device, while kayaking on a kayak ergometer. Paired t-tests were used to determine symmetry. Scapular and humeral kinematic means and standard deviations at six time points during the kayak stroke were described. Scapular and humeral kinematics were shown to be similar upon bilateral comparison. The greatest potential for injury during the forward stroke may be at thrust paddle shaft vertical when the humerus is maximally elevated in internal rotation and adduction as subacromial structures may be mechanically impinged. The relationship between scapulohumeral kinematics related to injury at other time points are also described.     

Assessment co-creation: an exploratory analysis of opportunities and challenges based on student and instructor perspectives

In recent years, research and practice focused on academics and students working in partnership to co-design learning and teaching in higher education has increased [Deeley and Bovill 2017. ‘Staff student partnership in assessment: enhancing assessment literacy through democratic practices.’ Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 42 (3): 463–477. doi:10.1080/02602938.2015.1126551]. Student generation of content has been advocated as a means of fostering deep learning and high levels of students engagement, leading to enhanced conceptual understanding [Draper 2009. ‘Catalytic Assessment: Understanding how MCQs and EVS can Foster Deep Learning.’ British Journal of Educational Technology 40 (2): 285–293.]. However, within the discourse exploring staff-student co-creation, some concerns have been raised about whether students ought to, or indeed can, meaningfully act as partners in assessment [Cook-Sather, Bovill, and Felten 2014. Engaging Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.]. This paper describes the introduction of a co-creation assignment into an undergraduate tax module. Students’ and instructors’ perceptions of several aspects of the assignment were examined, facilitating the cataloguing and elucidation of the tensions involved in assessment co-creation. The paper suggests techniques to manage these challenges effectively, thereby providing a case study for others with an interest in implementing assessment co-creation within their own disciplinary context.