Longitudinal literacy professional development in an urban elementary charter school

The authors describe a school-university professional development partnership in a high-needs urban elementary charter school. University and school partners collaborated to build instructional capacity to develop teachers’ understanding and implementation of effective literacy instruction. Design-based research revealed increased understanding and implementation of effective literacy practices among school leaders and teachers. Findings revealed the importance of administrative stability; coaching support; and a focused, school-wide instructional vision.     

Productive friction: How conflict in student teaching creates opportunities for learning at the boundary

Student teaching is contested ground for teacher candidates’ learning. Struggling to implement practises when expectations of university and schools are inconsistent, they experience conflicts between these two worlds. In this article, we conceptualise student teaching as a space where conflicts can be generative for candidates’ learning. We use the idea of productive friction—dissonance experienced by teacher candidates when two or more social worlds conflict that leads to more sophisticated practise—to consider student teaching as a potential boundary space that benefits from diverse perspectives. Drawing on ethnographic data, we contrast the cases of four candidates’ productive and unproductive friction during student teaching. Furthermore, we discuss the qualities of student teaching that can promote productive friction for learning.     

Study of Self: The Self as Designer in Online Teacher Education

In this article we describe our engagement in self-study as part of an examination of design-based research for education. We focus on graduate-level online teacher education as an example of how self-study provided a means of examining deeply our teaching and our roles as teacher and designer in the learning environment. We posit that online learning environments are particularly well suited for self-study to enhance design perspectives because the interactions between teacher and students are informed by personal context and mediated by technological tools. The graduate students in our courses were teacher leaders in literacy or mathematics who were learning how to support professional development for other teachers. Throughout our self-study research we found ourselves drawing upon our previous design research experiences, which aided our ability to engage in self-study: We were part of the classroom system, focusing on our roles within the teaching and learning process as designers of the online learning environment. Three key design principles resulted from our self-study process: focusing on systems of learning and teaching, designing pedagogical tools and products, and using iterative processes. Engaging in self-study enhanced our understanding and implementation of synchronous online instruction, particularly regarding our use of technological tools to enhance student learning and support learning communities.     

Effect of graded competition on student opportunities for participation and success rates during a season of Sport Education

Background: A guiding principle of Sport Education is that all students get equal opportunity to play, which is expedited through the use of small-sided contests. One element included within the philosophy of Sport Education is that of ‘graded competition.’ In graded competition, leagues are arranged that match students of similar skill level against one another, and in some cases, even the game forms are different across the competition levels. To date, there are no studies that have examined the utility of graded competition as promoting either student engagement or learning. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that using graded competition would increase opportunities for game involvement and success rates of both higher and lower skill level students. Participants and setting: The participants in this study were 106 fourth-grade students (51 boys and 55 girls, aged 10–11) from two physical education classes within an elementary school in the southeastern United States. The content was an 18-lesson season of mini-handball taught following the principles of Sport Education. While the overall season format for both classes was the same, the composition of teams varied between the two. In the first class, all teams were heterogeneous with a mix of higher and lower skilled players. These students were able to divide into their sub-teams in any combination they wished. In the second class, two homogeneous leagues were formed; one consisting of teams with all higher skilled students and the other with teams of all lower skilled students. There was no inter-league play. Rather, there were two parallel competitions and two championships. Methods: Digital video records were made of 76 games played during the seasons. Each time a player (a) made contact with the ball (a pass, catch, or interception), (b) was the target of a pass but did not receive it (overthrow or interception), or (c) was involved with a shot on goal (as shooter or goalkeeper), that activity was recorded. A 2 (skill: high/low)?×?2 (sex)?×?3 (grouping: all low/all high/mixed) full factorial mixed analysis of variance was conducted on the following dependent variables: (a) percent success, (b) ball engagement rate, and (c) efficiency, with the game being the unit of analysis. Findings: The key finding from this study was that in terms of success rates, engagement rates and playing efficiency, lower skilled students seemed to be at a disadvantage when they participated alongside higher skilled classmates. While less severe, there were also decrements in higher skilled student success rates and efficiency in these mixed-skill conditions. By consequence, while higher skilled boys could thrive in either homogenous or mixed level competitions, many girls and all students with lower skill levels benefitted from playing against students of similar skill levels. Conclusions: The grouping of students in terms of skill level has implications for their in-game behaviors, for the extent to which they can develop improved game performance, and potentially for their motivation to persist during play.     

Examining multidimensional sport-confidence in athletes and non-athlete sport performers

Sport-confidence is considered a critical success factor for sport performers at all levels. Researchers have suggested that sport-confidence is a multidimensional rather than a unidimensional construct, and the sport-confidence model identified three types of sport-confidence (i.e., physical skills and training, cognitive efficiency, and resilience) that are important for success in sport. However, such multidimensionality of sport-confidence and its measurement have not been fully examined. On a large sample of sport performers with varied skill levels and characteristics, the purpose of the present study was to examine the three-factor model of sport-confidence. We tested the measurement invariance of the Sport-Confidence Inventory across 512 athletes and 1170 non-athlete sport performers. Results from the multiple group model analysis showed that the three-factor model of sport-confidence fit better for the athlete sample than for the non-athlete sample. The results implicate that the three-factor model of sport-confidence model is suitable to athletes, though sport-confidence may appear more unidimensional for non-athletes. The use of the Sport-Confidence Inventory for non-athlete sport performers demands further consideration; however, the findings implicate that it could be a useful tool to assess sport-confidence of sport performers at any levels.     

Faculty in Transition: A Longitudinal Analysis of Perceived Control and Type of Institution in the Research Productivity of Newly Hired Faculty

The systemic changes facing postsecondary institutions today pose a threat to the quality of academic programs unless new faculty can be successfully attracted and retained. To be more competitive in the recruitment and retention of faculty, a better understanding is needed of the adjustment experiences of newly hired faculty. Our study examined the adjustment of new hires at the point of entry into their institutions using research productivity as one indicator of adaptation. It was expected that perceived personal control, age, gender, and type of institution would relate to research productivity. At the beginning of their first and second year, newly hired faculty in three different types of postsecondary institutions responded to a comprehensive questionnaire concerning their initial adjustment experiences. A path analysis indicated both direct and indirect linkages between the independent variables of interest and research productivity. Substantial direct paths were found between the institution type and research productivity, specifically for the research I and liberal arts/comprehensive institutions, and to a lesser degree, between age and research productivity. Age, the research I university, and the liberal arts/comprehensive universities had direct effects on two measures of perceived control and were linked indirectly to research productivity via perceived control. Perceived control resulting from the personal qualities of the faculty members was instrumental to research productivity, whereas perceived control resulting from activities initiated by faculty members were not related to productivity. Surprisingly, gender was not related to research productivity through either direct or indirect paths. If the adjustment of newly hired faculty is viewed in terms of research productivity, then these results suggest that perceived control, the milieu of research-oriented institutions, and age (to a limited extent), are important predictors of faculty performance.     

The components of the female athlete triad do not identify all physically active females at risk

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of the triad components (amenorrhoea, disordered eating, and osteoporosis) in identifying physically active women at risk of long-term health problems. Eighty-two females (mean age 31.1 years, s = 6.7; body mass 58.4 kg, s = 6.6; stature 1.65 m, s = 0.06) completed training, menstrual, and dietary questionnaires. Bone mineral density and size-adjusted bone mineral density were assessed at the femoral neck and lumbar spine using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Seventy-eight percent of participants were eumenorrhoeic, 20% were oligomenorrhoeic, and 2% were amenorrhoeic. Thirty-six percent and 55% reported disordered eating practices in the present and past respectively. Eighty-one percent, 17%, and 2% were classified as normal, osteopaenic, and osteoporotic at the femoral neck respectively; 92% were normal, 7% osteopaenic, and 1% osteoporotic at the lumbar spine. No significant differences in femoral neck size-adjusted bone mineral density were observed between eumenorrhoeic and oligo/amenorrhoeic participants (F(2,80) = 0.119, P = 0.73); eumenorrhoeic participants had significantly greater lumbar spine size-adjusted bone mineral density (F(2,80) = 9.79, P = 0.003). Disordered eating participants had significantly lower femoral neck size-adjusted bone mineral density than those reporting no disordered eating (F(2,80) = 13.816, P = 0.000). Twenty-two percent of participants fulfilled triad criteria, while 55% were "at risk" of long-term health problems. An accumulation of conditions resulted in lower lumbar spine size-adjusted bone mineral density (F(1,80) = 6.074, P = 0.004). The current triad components do not identify all women "at risk" and more appropriate criteria such as exercise-related menstrual alterations, disordered eating, and osteopaenia are suggested.