Cross-Institutional Collaboration: (Co)Constructing Knowledge About Teaching and Learning in the Middle-Level Classroom

Utilizing technology to connect three geographically separate institutions within the same state and drawing on Bhabba, and Zeichner’s notions of third space, four teacher educators developed an opportunity for the middle-level teacher candidates from each university to simultaneously observe a live classroom teaching event virtually while participating in a backchannel conversation about the lesson. Upon completion of the live teaching event, candidates engaged in a debriefing session with the classroom teacher. This promising practice allowed candidates to discuss a lesson from multiple perspectives, broadening their views of teaching and learning at the middle level and enabling middle-level teacher educators an opportunity to scaffold (co)construction of knowledge about young adolescents and effective classroom practices.     

Kinematics and kinetics of youth baseball pitching with standard and lightweight balls

Because youth athletes are smaller and weaker than their adult counterparts, smaller equipment and fields are often used in youth sports. Previous research has shown that youth baseball pitchers use similar motions to older pitchers, but generate lower kinetics and angular velocities at the shoulder and elbow. The purpose of this study was to determine potential biomechanical benefits for youth pitchers to use lighter baseballs. Thirty-four youth (11.1 ± 0.7 years) pitchers pitched both standard [5 ounce (142 g)] and lightweight [4 ounce(113 g)] baseballs in a laboratory setting. Kinematic and kinetic parameters were measured with a six-camera high-speed motion analysis system. Three repeated measures MANOVAs were used to compare (p > 0.05) position, velocity, and kinetic parameters between the standard and lightweight baseballs. Subjective data were also collected. Pitching the lightweight ball produced no difference in arm position, but greater shoulder, elbow, and ball velocities. With the lightweight ball, pitchers produced decreased kinetics.Post-hoc analysis of the kinetic data revealed significant decreases in elbow varus torque and shoulder internal rotation torque. The data suggest that playing with lightweight baseballs may reduce the risk of overuse injury in the youth pitcher and also help develop arm speed. However, before introducing lightweight baseballs into the youth game, the effect of lighter, faster pitched balls for the batters and fielders should also be considered.     

A re‐examination of relational repair and reconciliation: Impact of socio‐communicative style on strategy selection

This study examines some of the reconciliation and repair/maintenance strategies in the relational communication literature. These strategies were compared with Bell and Daly's (1984) affinity‐seeking strategies. It was concluded that Bell and Daly's strategies could identify many of the same relational strategies with less contextual confusion. It is argued that affiliation strategies represent a true multiphasic relational communication typology that applies to the range of repair/reconciliation contexts. The study then looks at the degree to which assertiveness, and responsiveness predicts the use/non‐use of affinity seeking strategies in the context of relational repair. The study indicates that self perceived assertiveness and responsive play a role in strategy selection as well. Finally, how others are perceived in terms of assertiveness and responsiveness was found to predict the types of strategies used and not used in relational repair contexts.     

Interrupting the Pathway From Discrimination to Black Adolescents’ Psychosocial Outcomes: The Contribution of Parental Racial Worries and Racial Socialization Competency

Racial discrimination can lead to psychosocial problems for Black adolescents, including internalization (e.g., depression) and externalization (e.g., conduct problems). Black parents (N = 186; M_age = 42.9) of adolescents (ages 10–18) were assessed to investigate how parental worries and racial socialization competency (i.e., confidence, skills, and stress) contribute to the association between parental discrimination experiences and their adolescents’ psychosocial problems. Mediation analyses indicated that the total direct models with discrimination, worries, and problems had good fit, and that the addition of worry mediated the discrimination-problems association. Furthermore, racial socialization competency moderated the association between worry and problems, wherein greater competency was associated with less impact of worry on problems. Findings illuminate potential intervention targets for buffering discrimination’s influence on adolescents’ psychosocial functioning.     

Ice hockey skate starts: a comparison of high and low calibre skaters

The forward skating start is a fundamental skill for ice hockey players, yet extremely challenging given the low traction of the ice surface. The technique for maximum skating acceleration of the body is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate kinematic ice hockey skating start movement technique in relation to a skater’s skill level. A 10-camera motion capture system placed on the ice surface recorded “hybrid-V” skate start movement patterns of high and low calibre male ice hockey players (n = 7, 8, respectively). Participants’ lower body kinematics and estimated body centre of mass (CoM) movement during the first four steps were calculated. Both skate groups had similar lower body strength profiles, yet high calibre skaters achieved greater velocity; skating technique differences most likely explained the performance differences between the groups. Unlike over ground sprint start technique, skating starts showed greater concurrent hip abduction, external rotation and extension, presumably for ideal blade-to-ice push-off orientation for propulsion. Initial analysis revealed similar hip, knee and ankle joint gross movement patterns across skaters, however, further scrutiny of the data revealed that high calibre skaters achieved greater vertical CoM acceleration during each step that in turn allowed greater horizontal traction, forward propulsion, lower double-support times and, accordingly, faster starts with higher stride rates.     

Identity for Sale: The Limits of Racial Reform in Urban Schools

The Urban Review - When multicultural education emerges in urban schools, it usually addresses educational inequality by focusing on cultural histories, principles, and pedagogies. The fundamental...     

Text-Comprehension Strategies Based on Outlines

Prior to studying an instructional text, college students were given either a topically relevant outline or a topically irrelevant (control) outline and asked to generate propositions about the topics by drawing upon their existing knowledge. The results indicate that comprehension was highest among those students who activated relevant prior knowledge before text study, and who were again provided with an outline of that knowledge during testing. The measure of comprehension used here was total meaningful recall: It included text propositions plus valid elaborations based on the interaction of text information and students’ existing knowledge. The results of conceptual clustering analyses suggest that organization was one of the mechanisms by which topical outlines increased meaningful recall. Additional analyses conducted only on the elaborations indicate that students produced more of them during long-term (six week) recall than during immediate recall.