Using the SOLO taxonomy to analyze competence progression of university science curricula

During 2007 all Danish university curricula were reformulated to explicitly state course objectives due to the adoption of a new Danish national grading scale which stipulated that grades were to be given based on how well students meet explicit course objectives. The Faculties of Science at University of Aarhus and University of Southern Denmark interpreted “course objectives” as “intended learning outcomes” (ILO) and systematically formulated all such as competencies using the SOLO taxonomy that operates with five numbered progressive levels of competencies. We investigate how the formulation of ILOs using the SOLO taxonomy gives information about competence progression, educational traditions, and the nature of various science subjects. We use all the course curricula (in total 632) from the two faculties to analyze and compare undergraduate and graduate courses within each department, and different departments with each other.     

Teaching Independence

Examples are given which illustrate how independence enters into statistical problems and a demonstration of independence is presented. Coverage in statistical textbooks is examined     

Geometrical optimization of microstripe arrays for microbead magnetophoresis

Manipulation of magnetic beads plays an increasingly important role in molecular diagnostics. Magnetophoresis is a promising technique for selective transportation of magnetic beads in lab-on-a-chip systems. We investigate periodic arrays of exchange-biased permalloy microstripes fabricated using a single lithography step. Magnetic beads can be continuously moved across such arrays by combining the spatially periodic magnetic field from microstripes with a rotating external magnetic field. By measuring and modeling the magnetophoresis properties of thirteen different stripe designs, we study the effect of the stripe geometry on the magnetophoretic transport properties of the magnetic microbeads between the stripes. We show that a symmetric geometry with equal width of and spacing between the microstripes facilitates faster transportation and that the optimal period of the periodic stripe array is approximately three times the height of the bead center over the microstripes.     

Domain Differences in Early Social Interactions

Different social experiences help children develop distinctions between domains of norms. This study investigated whether mothers respond differently to moral, prudential, and pragmatic norms during the 2nd year, a period that precedes the time when children are able to make explicit distinctions between these norms. Sixty mothers of infants between 11 and 23 months were interviewed. Mothers' reports of their initial interventions, changes in intervention following noncompliance, and emotional reactions depended on normative domain. Initial interventions were less differentiated by domain for mothers of older than for mothers of younger children. These findings suggest that children have social experiences in the 2nd year that are associated with distinctions among normative domains.     

Norwegian teachers’ safety strategies for Friluftsliv excursions: implications for inclusive education

The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers in friluftsliv (the Scandinavian equivalent of outdoor education and outdoor recreation) reflect upon their safety strategies in relation to pupils’ friluftsliv abilities in the upper secondary school ‘Sport and Physical Education programme’. This article is based on six focus group interviews of friluftsliv teachers. The analysis of the empirical material is inspired by John Evans’s understanding of the concept of abilities as dynamic sociocultural constructs and processes. In the findings, different challenges related to teachers’ experiences of a general decline in pupils’ winter friluftsliv abilities are identified. Furthermore, the article identifies and discusses challenges related to teachers’ safety strategies, which led to both inclusion and exclusion of pupils. The findings in this study reveal a tension between important winter outdoor skills and inclusive friluftsliv.     

Key parameters of the swimming start and their relationship to start performance

The swimming start is typically broken into three sub-phases; on-block, flight, and underwater phases. While overall start performance is highly important to elite swimming, the contribution of each phase and important technical components within each phase, particularly with the new kick-start technique, has not been established. The aim of this study was to identify technical factors associated with overall start performance, with a particular focus on the underwater phase. A number of parameters were calculated from 52 starts performed by elite freestyle and butterfly swimmers. These parameters were split into above-water and underwater groupings, before factor analysis was used to reduce parameter numbers for multiple regression. For the above-water phases, 81% of variance in start performance was accounted for by take-off horizontal velocity. For the underwater water phase, 96% of variance was accounted for with time underwater in descent, time underwater in ascent and time to 10 m. Therefore, developing greater take-off horizontal velocity and focussing on the underwater phase by finding the ideal trajectory will lead to improved start performance.