The role of students’ questions in aligning teaching,learning and assessment: a case study from undergraduate sciences

The quality of teaching and learning has been one of the major concerns of foundation chemistry disciplines for science and engineering undergraduates at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Student‐centred approaches are being continuously developed, exploring ways of stimulating active and meaningful student learning by encouraging questioning by students. The development of questioning competences is regarded as fundamental, particularly in science education. In order to reinforce adequate alignment with teaching strategies, a new assessment method was implemented during the academic year of 2004–2005. This study is mainly aimed at exploring the use and integration of students’ questions as alternative assessment tools. Written formative and summative problem‐based cases were designed for these purposes. The questions raised by students during those assignments were analysed according to their cognitive level, relationship and orientation to the problem posed, herein considered to be quality indicators for learners’ questions. The findings suggest a deep engagement of students within these situations along the year, supporting the use of these alternative assessment tools as a way of fostering students’ questioning capability. Results also reveal that it is possible to achieve, with students’ questions placed at the centre of these processes, alignment between teaching, learning and assessment.     

Enhancing Knowledge Transfer in Classroom Versus Online Settings: The Interplay Among Instructor, Student, Content, and Context

This article integrates management education and organizational learning theories to identify the factors that drive the differences in student outcomes between the online and classroom settings. We draw upon theory on knowledge transfer barriers in organizations to understand the interlinking relationships among presage conditions, deep learning process, and product in the 3P model of student learning. We test our model in the context of undergraduate education and find that confidence in the instructor's expertise, perceived content relevance, and the social richness of the classroom learning environment enhance student enjoyment of the course. Confidence in instructor's expertise and perceived content relevance also contribute to greater understanding of causal relationships among course concepts. Enjoyment is positively associated with learning performance in the classroom, but not online, and student ability is positively associated with learning performance in the online context, but not in the classroom. Our results have implications for course designs in the traditional classroom context and the more innovative online environment.     

Scaling Constraints in Junior Tennis: The Influence of Net Height on Skilled Players’ Match-Play Performance

Purpose: The net height in tennis (0.91 m) is approximately 50% of a professional tennis player’s height. Children are also expected to play with this net height, even though it is approximately 70% of the average 10-year-old’s height. This study examined the immediate effect of lowering net height on the performance characteristics of skilled junior tennis players aged 10 years and younger. Method: Sixteen players were matched in 8 pairs of even tennis ability and same sex. Each pair played 25-min singles matches in 4 conditions that varied in net height (0.91 m, 0.78 m, 0.65 m, and 0.52 m). Match-play characteristics were analyzed via video replay. Results: Results showed that lowering the net height to 0.65 m and 0.52 m led to players adopting a more attacking style of play, as evidenced by a significant increase in the number of winners without a commensurate increase in errors and more shots struck inside the baseline. Lower nets also led to a greater percentage of successful first serves. The lowest net (0.52 m), however, reduced rally length significantly and therefore decreased hitting opportunities. Conclusion: These results offer support for equipment scaling to enhance match-play performance for skilled junior tennis players. We propose that current net height recommendations for junior tennis should be revised.     

A test-retest assessment of the effects of mental load on ratings of affect,arousal and perceived exertion during submaximal cycling

This study aimed to test the effects of mental (i.e. executive) load during a dual physical-mental task on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), affective valence, and arousal. The protocol included two dual tasks with matched physical demands but different executive demands (2-back and oddball), carried out on different days. The procedure was run twice to assess the sensitivity and stability of RPE, valence and arousal across the two trials. Linear mixed-effects analyses showed less positive valence (?0.44 points on average in a 1–9 scale; R_β² = 0.074 [CI90%, 0.052–0.098]), and heightened arousal (+0.13 points on average in a 1–9 scale; R_β² = 0.006 [CI90%, 0.001–0.015]), for the high executive load condition, but showed no effect of mental load on RPE. Separated analyses for the two task trials yielded best-fitting models that were identical across trials for RPE and valence, but not for arousal. Model fitting was improved by assuming a 1-level autoregressive covariance structure for all analyses. In conclusion, executive load during a dual physical-mental task modulates the emotional response to effort, but not RPE. The autoregressive covariance suggests that people tend to anchor estimates on prior ones, which imposes certain limits on scales' usability.     

The ‘Nature of Science’ and the Perils of Epistemic Relativism

Research in Science Education - There is an increasing demand in the field of science education for the incorporation of philosophical and sociological aspects that are related to the scientific...     

Growth and maturity status of elite British junior tennis players

Growth and maturation impact the selection, development and progression of youth athletes. Individual differences in the growth and maturity may afford a performance advantage, clouding coaches and practitioners’ perceptions regarding current ability and future potential. This may result in the exclusion of talented, yet less physically gifted athletes. Participants were 91 male (n = 47) and female (n = 44) elite British Junior tennis players, 8–17 years of age (12.5 ± 1.9 years). Height and body mass were measured and compared to growth charts; hand-wrist radiographs were taken. Skeletal age (SA) was estimated with the Fels method and contrasted to chronological age (CA). Mean height and body mass of individual players ranged between the 50th and 90th centiles for age and sex. Females were advanced in SA relative to CA (0.3–0.89 years.) from 8 years. Males were average to delayed in maturation from 8 to 12 years, but advanced in SA from 14 to 16 years (0.75–1.23 years). Individual differences in growth and maturation appear to contribute towards the selection of elite junior tennis players, with a bias towards males and females who are advanced in maturation and comparatively tall and heavy for their age. This has important implications for talent identification and development.     

‘Discipline Your Ladies … So They Become Independent’: A Discourse on the Beginnings of Women’s Skiing in the Black Forest,Germany

Abstract

The Black Forest is considered to be the cradle of skiing in Germany. In 2016, the 125th anniversary of the beginning of skiing in the Black Forest is being celebrated. Over the decades, skiing developed into a very popular sport for men and women in Germany and spread to the Alps. Presently, the German Ski Federation (Deutscher Skiverband, DSV) has over 500,000 members, about 40% being women. This paper will concentrate on the first decades of women’s skiing in the Black Forest until the First World War. To present a wider picture, in some sections, it will be necessary to relate to other parts of Germany. A special focus will be put on competitive skiing, skiing as a social event and the discourse about women’s ski clothes.     

Evaluation of farmer participatory extension programmes

Purpose: Participatory extension programmes are widely used to promote change in the agricultural sector, and an important question is how best to measure the effectiveness of such programmes after implementation. This study seeks to understand the current state of practice through a review of ex post evaluations of participatory extension programmes.

Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review of the peer-reviewed literature was undertaken to analyse the evaluations based on: (i) year of publication; (ii) location of the study; (iii) programme delivery; (iv) evaluation methods; (v) outcome variables; and (vi) inclusion of evaluation in initial programme design.

Findings: The review finds that almost all studies use an experimental or quasi-experimental research design (i.e. using a control group or counterfactual), but some studies do not account for endogeneity or selection bias. Furthermore, only a small number of the evaluations were planned as part of the original programme design, which causes difficulties in obtaining robust counterfactuals. The review also finds that relatively few evaluations, approximately 20%, measure the programme impact on environmental outcomes and only 15% of the evaluations have been undertaken for programmes in developed countries.

Practical implication: Limitations with current evaluation practice are identified, and recommendations are provided for improving practice, including better treatment of endogeneity, and the complementary use of qualitative data.

Theoretical implication: The review provides a contribution to the debate about the use of quantitative versus qualitative evaluation methods, by addressing the use of both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods in a complementary way.

Originality/value: Despite their widespread implementation, this is the first systematic literature review for published evaluations of participatory extension programmes in the agricultural sector.