A STUDY OF SPEEDEDNESS AS A SOURCE OF TEST BIAS1

Specially constructed “speeded” and “unspeeded” forms of a Reading Comprehension test were administered to both regular center and fee-free center LSAT candidates in an effort to determine: (1) if the test was more speeded for fee-free candidates, and (2) if reducing the amount of speededness was more beneficial to fee-free candidates. Results of the analyses show: (1) the test is somewhat more speeded for fee-free candidates than for regular candidates, (2) reducing the amount of speededness produces higher scores for both regular and fee-free center candidates, and (3) reducing speededness is not significantly more beneficial (in terms of increasing the number of items answered correctly) to fee-free than to regular center candidates. Lower KR-20 reliability was observed under speeded conditions in the fee-free sample.     

PREDICTING MULTIPLE CRITERIA OF CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS WITH MODERATOR VARIABLES1

A moderated regression technique was applied to two samples, one of males and one of females, each of which had multiple predictor, moderator, and criterion information. One moderator was found that consistently identified a group of predictable individuals regardless of both sex and the three creative achievement criteria. This moderator was a modification of the Drews sociability scale and it indicated that those individuals who had little or no inclination towards social functions tended to be considerably more predictable than the remainder of the sample or when the group was taken as a whole. Within the low social groups, girls appeared to be somewhat more predictable than boys on two of the three creative achievement criteria, however the greatest discrepancy appeared in the writing criterion where the girls were substantially more predictable. Finally, the low sociability groups were characterized by greater predictive accuracy regardless of whether subgroup or overall prediction equations were used.     

What pedagogical approaches can effectively include children with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms? A systematic literature review

This article reports on a three‐year systematic literature review funded by the UK Training and Development Agency for Schools. In order to begin to answer the question posed by the title of this article, the researchers systematically reviewed the literature with reported outcomes for the academic and social inclusion of pupils with special educational needs. This review process led to a focus upon peer‐group interactions, the nature of teacher and pupil interactions and whole‐class, subject‐based pedagogies. This series of reviews highlights that within the complexities of a diverse mainstream classroom teachers' effectiveness is strongly influenced by their recognition of their responsibility for all learners and the centrality of social interaction to learning, as well as having a shared understanding of characteristics, skills and knowledge associated with a subject. It is also strongly influenced by a facility to plan for and to encourage participation in a communal learning experience through flexible groupings and roles, offering diverse opportunities to engage with concepts and practices using activities the learner finds meaningful. Effective practices are not about the teacher alone, but are rooted in the community of learners – including other practitioners – with whom they work.     

Three-dimensional kinematics of the lower limbs during forward ice hockey skating

The objectives of the study were to describe lower limb kinematics in three dimensions during the forward skating stride in hockey players and to contrast skating techniques between low- and high-calibre skaters. Participant motions were recorded with four synchronized digital video cameras while wearing reflective marker triads on the thighs, shanks, and skates. Participants skated on a specialized treadmill with a polyethylene slat bed at a self-selected speed for 1 min. Each participant completed three 1-min skating trials separated by 5 min of rest. Joint and limb segment angles were calculated within the local (anatomical) and global reference planes. Similar gross movement patterns and stride rates were observed; however, high-calibre participants showed a greater range and rate of joint motion in both the sagittal and frontal planes, contributing to greater stride length for high-calibre players. Furthermore, consequent postural differences led to greater lateral excursion during the power stroke in high-calibre skaters. In conclusion, specific kinematic differences in both joint and limb segment angle movement patterns were observed between low- and high-calibre skaters.