A REEXAMINATION OF THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE AGING SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAL USING A GENERALIZED SOCIAL OBJECT

During the past thirty years, gerontologists and educational professionals have attempted to determine the effects of teaching courses in gerontology and aging on the attitudes of students. The results of studies of attitude toward the elderly before and after such courses have been mixed. This study discusses some of the problems in assessing attitudes toward the elderly and reexamines the Aging Semantic Differential, an instrument developed in an attempt to clarify the factors accounting for attitudes toward the elderly and to provide a viable instrument for attitude measurement. The instrument was reported to consist of three underlying factors. It was reported that factor scales could be used to do profile analyses to determine variations in attitude toward different age groups. The original instrument was developed utilizing a social object of young, middle‐aged, and old men. In many of the studies conducted with the instrument, a more generalized social object such as old person has been used. The current study attempts to determine if three factors are appropriate, as originally reported, and whether the items reported to load on the original three factors are the same if a more generalized social object is used. Suggestions for appropriate use of the Aging Semantic Differential by educational professionals who wish to do a profile analysis of attitude and attitude change as a result of educational intervention are included.     

THE FIRST 20 YEARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON CENTER FOR GERONTOLOGY

At 20 years of age the University of Oregon Center for Gerontology is one of the oldest academic gerontology centers in the nation. The origins of the center and its accomplishments are highlighted in this paper. Also discussed are the center's current design, including both the continuities and the changes that have characterized its development.     

Optimising distribution of power during a cycling time trial

A simple mathematical model is used to find the optimal distribution of a cyclist’s effort during a time trial. It is shown that maintaining a constant velocity is optimal if the goal is to minimise the time taken to complete the course while fixing amount of work done. However, this is usually impractical on a non-flat course because the cyclist would be unable to maintain the power output required on the climbs. A model for exertion is introduced and used to identify the distribution of power that minimises time while restricting the cyclist’s exertion. It is shown that, for a course with a climb followed by a descent, limits on exertion prevent the cyclist from improving performance by shifting effort towards the climb and away from the descent. It is also shown, however, that significant improvement is possible on a course with several climbs and descents. An analogous problem with climbs and descents replaced by headwinds and tailwinds is considered and it is shown that there is no significant advantage to be gained by varying power output. Lagrange multipliers are used solve the minimisation problems.     

‘Disadvantaged Learners’: Who Are We Targeting? Understanding the Targeting of Widening Participation Activity in the United Kingdom Using Geo‐Demographic Data From Southwest England

This paper analyses the definition of the appropriate target group for widening participation activities advanced by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in their Targeting Disadvantaged Learners advice to Aimhigher and higher education providers. This definition includes components of area deprivation and higher education participation rates, which are apparently intended to act as a proxy to reach learners from lower socio-economic groups. Through statistical analysis of geo-demographical data from the Southwest region of England, this paper questions whether the HEFCE targeting guidance is likely to meet the policy aims that underpin it and reach the 'disadvantaged learners' of its title. It is found that the geographical proxy tends to miss learners from lower socio-economic groups in areas of wider affluence and those in rural areas. The paper concludes by questioning whether the areas identified by a rigorous application of the targeting guidance are likely to be the most fruitful locations for outreach activities in the short-term given the ingrained, multi-faceted and multi-generational challenges which they face.     

The Educational and Behavioral Impacts of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Charter School

The Kauffman School is a public charter school serving students from low-income neighborhoods in Kansas City, Missouri. This paper used a matched comparison group design to estimate the impacts of the Kauffman School on student achievement, attendance, and suspensions. We found that the Kauffman School had large positive impacts on student achievement in mathematics, reading, and science. This paper also used qualitative data to explore possible mechanisms for the school's effects. We found evidence that the Kauffman School's hallmarks are being implemented faithfully, and that stakeholders believe the school's methods are having a positive influence on students' attitudes and performance     

Learning to teach: pedagogical content knowledge in adventure-based learning

Background: Many alternative curricular models exist in physical education to better meet the needs of students than the multi-activity team sports curriculum that dominates in the USA. These alternative curricular models typically require different content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical CK (PCK) to implement successfully. One of the complexities of learning to teach these models for pre-service teachers (PTs) is understanding the different CK and PCK required which is compounded by their personal lack of experience of the model.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the PCK enacted by PTs learning to teach an alternative curricular model (adventure-based learning [ABL]) in urban middle schools.

Research design: Qualitative methods were used to explore how the PTs demonstrated their PCK while teaching an ABL unit to urban middle school students. The study took place at a major university and in three middle schools in a large urban school district in Midwestern USA.

Participants: Thirteen PTs enrolled in the secondary methods course and associated internship agreed to participate in this study. The PTs (five males and eight females) ranged in age from 21 to 26 years and all self-identified as white.

Data collection and data analysis: Three methods of data collection were employed in this study: interviews, daily reflections called critical friends, and stimulated recall reflection of teaching an ABL lesson. Data were analyzed using constant comparison. Trustworthiness was established through triangulation of the data using multiple data sources, peer debriefing, member checking, and negative case analysis.

Findings: Four themes represented the PTs' demonstration of PCK when learning to teach ABL in urban middle schools. The themes were (a) trusting the sequence, (b) knowing your students, (c) facilitate don't dictate, and (d) processing the experience. The findings provide further insight into the demonstration of PTs' PCK in secondary physical education, and specifically relative to teaching ABL in urban middle schools. To better equip PTs to be able to teach using these models, we recommend the following: (a) they have the opportunity to ‘live the curriculum' in their PETE programme, (b) developing the PTs' specific CK and student-centered pedagogical knowledge for specific alternative curricular models is imperative in developing the PCK for such model, (c) developing PTs' knowledge of students relative to the complexities of learning to teach each specific model, (d) observing an expert teach the model to K-12 students, and (e) recognizing that learning to teach these models is a developmental process and providing the PTs with an emotionally safe and caring space to explore teaching such models is crucial.