High-Tech Classrooms Need Highly Competent Instructors

The 21 st century classroom requires instructors with more advanced skills and competencies to deliver materials in a way that engages students both traditional and non-traditional. Traditional students have come to expect the incorporation of technology into their classrooms because they have grown up with it and can see its usefulness, while non-traditional students may need additional resources online in order to reinforce new concepts. By employing Web 2.0 technologies, like online video and discussion boards, into both the online and traditional on-campus classrooms, instructors can address both isolation and different learning styles, as well as address issues relating to problems with understanding concepts being taught and respond positively to feedback provided by both the students and administrators. In addition, utilizing Web 2.0 technology in the online classroom can reduce the isolation that many students feel in these classrooms by ensuring students can communicate with other students as well as the instructor.     

Learning from the experts: gaining insights into best practice during the acquisition of three novel motor skills

The amount and quality of practice predicts expertise, yet optimal conditions of practice have primarily been explored with novice learners. Ten expert musicians and ten novices practiced disc-throwing skills under self-regulated conditions. A third novice group practiced with the same schedule as the music experts (yoked). The groups did not differ in terms of the amount of contextual interference, only in terms of when in-practice interference was introduced. The music experts progressed from a more blocked to random schedule which was opposite to the novices. This resulted in more accurate performance in retention for the experts in comparison to both novice groups (self-scheduled and yoked). The music expert and yoked groups showed higher form scores than the novice self-scheduled group, which might be related to the greater frequency of augmented information for these groups. There was no evidence that non-task-domain experts choose a more random practice schedule than novices, but in accord with good practice principles, they gradually introduced high amounts of interference into their practice. This strategy was associated with less error in retention for the experts. Because the yoked group showed more error than the music experts, the advantage of this schedule was also performance dependent.     

The biomechanics of javelin throwing: a review

In this paper, the scientific literature and that on the sports sciences relevant to javelin throwing is critically reviewed. This is particularly timely because of the change in the specification of the javelin for the men's event, which was introduced by the IAAF in 1986. A full discussion of the aerodynamics of the javelin is presented with due consideration of the change in pitching moment characteristics that the rules change had brought about. The uses and limitations of current computer programs for simulating javelin flight, in order to estimate optimal release parameters, are profiled. Consideration is also given to the effects of wind velocity, air density, javelin weight and the flutter and spin of the javelin on its flight. The review further considers the optimization of release parameters, drawing upon computer simulations and field-based data. The effects of release speed, release height, release angle, release angle of attack and release pitch rate are assessed. The javelin throwing technique is discussed in relation to cinematographically derived data, including an evaluation of experimental procedures. The importance to successful performance of the grip, the run-up and transition phases, the cross over and delivery strides are each reviewed. Finally, some prognoses as to the direction of future research into this complex throwing skill are offered.     

Trends and Tensions in IT Policy in Universities

This paper charts developments in information technology policy in British universities from the creation of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils to the present day. Focusing on institutional issues, the various organizational tensions are examined in the context of quasi-collegial policy formulation and management. The impact of operational tensions, arising from a variety of external and internal influences on the implementation of policy, is similarly assessed. The paper concludes with an outline of likely future trends.     

The relationships among some components of student-centred inquiry methods and students' perceptions of the outcomes of biology teaching

Conclusions The results of this study suggest that an analytic approach to classroom research is worth pursuing. It was found possible to identify and measure components of “student-centred inquiry” teaching which were not highly intercorrelated. It was also found that these components were differentially related to student outcomes. It would be desirable to establish whether the same relationships hold in different educational situations or when different measures are used. In particular, the relationships between teacher-pupil relationships and affective outcomes and between student decision making and cognitive process outcomes seem worthy of further investigation. This paper is based on work done at The Ohio State University in partial fulfilment of requirements for the Ph.D. Particular acknowledgement is given to the author's advisor, Dr Robert W. Howe, for his encouragement and guidance.     

Democratic and Anti-Democratic Regulators of the Internet: A Framework

We employ Lessig's framework of regulation to conceptualize the relationship between the Internet and democracy. Lessig defines four classes of regulators, forces that control and define systems such as the Internet. They are markets, architectures, norms, and laws. We propose that a “democratic regulator” is a force that serves to enhance civil or political liberties. And we argue by example that there are democratic (and, indeed, anti-democratic) regulators that control aspects of cyberspace. Expressing the democratic effects of the Internet in this manner may prove useful for future comparisons across existing Internet and democracy theories, especially in the realm of quantitative analyses.     

On the front-line: Teachers as active observers of pupils’ mental health

There is a growing expectation that schoolteachers should not only act as educators by delivering the national curriculum, but also be more involved as tier one mental health professionals. In this role they are expected to assume some responsibility in the early identification of children's mental health problems and to refer these children for appropriate support as required [NHS Health Advisory Service. (1995). Together we stand: The commissioning, role and management of child and adolescent mental health services. London, UK: HMSO]. In this paper, we examine teachers’ experiences in light of these expectations and in the context of greater inclusion. We undertook in-depth interviews, to explore teachers’ views on competency and training in mental health management. Our findings indicate a widespread perception that teachers feel inadequately prepared to manage pupils with mental health needs. The findings are discussed with reference to the changing role of the teacher, current education policy and teacher training.     

Characteristics of the lithium-mediated proximal US-preexposure effect in flavor-aversion conditioning

Taste-aversion learning in rats is disrupted if the subjects are exposed to the unconditioned stimulus (US) shortly before the conditioning trial but not if this single US preexposure treatment occurs 1 day or more before conditioning. Several characteristics of this proximal US-preexposure phenomenon were explored. Experiment 1 showed that the time course of the interference with conditioning is directly related to the preexposure drug dose. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the interference effect is evident even if the test for aversion learning is conducted following a drug injection, thereby minimizing stimulus generalization decrement for the preexposed subjects. Finally, Experiment 3 showed that disruption of the contingent relationship between tastes and drug effects is probably not responsible for the proximal US-preexposure phenomenon because the interference with conditioning occurs regardless of whether or not the preexposure drug treatment is paired with a novel flavor. These findings, together with previous research, demonstrate the remarkably robust character of the proximal US-preexposure phenomenon.