Psychometric Note on the Reliability of the Sport Competition Anxiety Test: Form C

Abstract

Data collected from 736 fourth, fifth, and sixth grade children using Martens SCAT-C yielded moderately high values of split half reliability. Internal consistency coefficients were relatively high (.81 to .85) and similar to the values reported in the Martens test manual when calculated using the appropriate test, eliminating use of the KR-20. The SCAT-C was also found to be generalizable to fourth grade populations even though originally its use was not intended with this age group.     

Development of reading skills from K-3 in Spanish-speaking English language learners following three programs of instruction

The development of English and Spanish reading and oral language skills from kindergarten to third grade was examined with a sample of 502 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) enrolled in three instructional programs. The students in the transitional bilingual and dual-language programs had significantly higher scores than the students in the English immersion program on the Spanish reading and oral language measures and significantly lower scores on the English reading comprehension and oral language measures. Multiple-group path models showed that the predictors of third grade English and Spanish reading comprehension did not differ across the three programs. Spanish phonological/decoding skill and oral language in first grade mediated the association between Spanish phonological/decoding skill and oral language in kindergarten and third grade Spanish reading comprehension. English phonological/decoding, Spanish phonological/decoding skill, and English oral language in first grade mediated the link between Spanish phonological/decoding skill in kindergarten and third grade English reading comprehension.     

Ethnographic perspectives on student-centeredness in an academic library

This ethnographic study, conducted by undergraduate student-researchers under the supervision of the author, investigates an academic library that has implemented best practices for learning commons design and embedded information literacy programs. Data from field observations, participant interviews, and artifact analysis revealed conflicting perceptions of student-centeredness as it relates to learning commons design and information literacy pedagogy. The author argues that while the learning commons has been successful in attracting students to the library, there are unintended negative consequences to cross-training librarians, library staff, and partner service personnel working at key service points, which contribute to students’ lack of library awareness.     

How users search and what they search for in the medical domain

The internet is an important source of medical knowledge for everyone, from laypeople to medical professionals. We investigate how these two extremes, in terms of user groups, have distinct needs and exhibit significantly different search behaviour. We make use of query logs in order to study various aspects of these two kinds of users. The logs from America Online, Health on the Net, Turning Research Into Practice and American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) GoldMiner were divided into three sets: (1) laypeople, (2) medical professionals (such as physicians or nurses) searching for health content and (3) users not seeking health advice. Several analyses are made focusing on discovering how users search and what they are most interested in. One possible outcome of our analysis is a classifier to infer user expertise, which was built. We show the results and analyse the feature set used to infer expertise. We conclude that medical experts are more persistent, interacting more with the search engine. Also, our study reveals that, conversely to what is stated in much of the literature, the main focus of users, both laypeople and professionals, is on disease rather than symptoms. The results of this article, especially through the classifier built, could be used to detect specific user groups and then adapt search results to the user group.     

Teacher Learning of Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment

This study examined the integration of technology enhanced formative assessment (FA) into teachers’ practice. Participants were high school physics teachers interested in improving their use of a classroom response system (CRS) to promote FA. Data were collected using interviews, direct classroom observations, and collaborative discussions. The physics teachers engaged in collaborative action research (AR) to learn how to use FA and CRS to promote student and teacher learning. Data were analyzed using open coding, cross-case analysis, and content analysis. Results from data analysis allowed researchers to construct a model for knowledge skills necessary for the integration of technology enhanced FA into teachers’ practice. The model is as a set of four technologies: hardware and software; methods for constructing FA items; pedagogical methods; and curriculum integration. The model is grounded in the idea that teachers must develop these respective technologies as they interact with the CRS (i.e., hardware and software, item construction) and their existing practice (i.e., pedagogical methods, curriculum). Implications are that for teachers to make FA an integral part of their practice using CRS, they must: 1) engage in the four technologies; 2) understand the nature of FA; and 3) collaborate with other interested teachers through AR.     

Examining the role of future time perspective (FTP) and affective commitment on the work engagement of aging Filipino professors: A structural equation model

This study examined the roles of future time perspective and affective commitment on the work engagement of a select group of aging Filipino professoriate. A total of 208 respondents aged 40–60 years old, teaching at the largest Catholic University in the Philippines, were requested to accomplish a multi-aspect questionnaire covering the variables of the study. Data gathered were processed through SPSS v.17 and AMOS v.19. The structural equation model reveals (i) a positive relationship between future time perspective and affective commitment (β = .485) and (ii) a positive relationship between affective commitment and dimensions of work engagement, namely, vigor (β = .986), dedication (β = .943), and absorption (β = .983). Also, of all the dimensions of work engagement, absorption has the biggest impact, while dedication has the smallest impact on work engagement. Findings yielded in this study provide valuable information in structuring human resource programs that can help address the aging workforce’s needs and concerns, thus improving their future orientation, commitment, and work engagement.     

Dissociation of the blocking of conditioned eyeblink and conditioned fear following a shift in US locus

Two experiments with rabbits investigated the concordance of two measures of conditioning, eyeblink and potentiated startle, during a blocking sequence with paraorbital shock reinforcement. In both, a shift in the locus of shock from one eye to the other between the conditioning of an element and a compound of that element and a new cue had differential effects on the two measures of conditioning to the new cue. When the shock was unchanged, diminished conditioning in relation to controls (i.e., blocking) was observed on both measures. When the shock was changed, little conditioning was observed in startle, but control-equivalent amounts were observed in eyeblink (i.e., blocking occurred on the former but not the latter). The results are interpreted as showing a dissociation of the associative learning involving the emotive features of Pavlovian reinforcers and that involving the remaining sensory-perceptual features, and more compatible with a diminished US-processing, than with a CSprocessing, view of blocking.     

Multiple perspectives for the study of teaching: Knowledge,reason, understanding,and being

This study analyzes the participation of secondary school teachers in a U.S. science education curriculum reform effort. All participating teachers agreed to implement the curriculum in their classrooms; however, the level at which it was implemented varied significantly among teachers. This article reviews the available perspectives used to account for the behavior of these teachers—reliance on a knowledge base, practical reasoning and reflective practice, and sociocultural views—and argues they are incomplete. A fourth perspective is developed in which teaching is viewed as a way of being and teachers as meaning makers immersed in educational situations. The remainder of the article is a cross‐case analysis of two teachers' use of the curriculum as seen from each of these perspectives on teaching. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 39: 1032–1055, 2002     

英国剑桥大学的管理及运行机制

剑桥大学作为世界著名大学,其管理和运行机制有独到之处。对其办学体制、招生情况、财政状况、管理体制等方面进行系统的分析,总结其成功经验,对中国高校的经营和管理有一定借鉴意义。     

教育与人的发展

从“教育”与“人的发展”这两个术语的定义，以及“人的发展”这一术语近来多次出现的背景及其所带来的对教育的不同规定，论述教育与个体发展的相互作用、个体发展的两个尺度，以及在这一问题研究方面所取得的成就与面临的挑战。鉴于目前人们对教育的看法过于狭隘，建议扩大教育的范围，将价值观念、性格、责任感和情感文化等也纳入教育的范畴。