Climate Education: Empowering Today's Youth to Meet Tomorrow's Challenges

This paper provides an introduction to the concept of pedagogical link‐making in the context of teaching and learning scientific conceptual knowledge. Pedagogical link‐making is concerned with the ways in which teachers and students make connections between ideas in the ongoing meaning‐making interactions of classroom teaching and learning. First of all we draw upon socio‐cultural perspectives to outline why we think that ‘link‐making’ is fundamental to science learning and consequently to science teaching and then we identify three main forms of pedagogical link‐making. The related research literature is then used to specify pedagogical link‐making approaches associated with each of the three main forms. Finally, the resultant framework of link‐making forms and approaches is applied in analysing a teaching sequence taken from a UK secondary school science classroom. Part of this analysis involves identifying specific pedagogical tools/strategies that might be employed in the classroom to support link‐making.     

Measuring Mastery Across Grades: An Application to Spelling Ability

The distinction between quantitative and qualitative differences in mastery is essential when monitoring student progress and is crucial for instructional interventions to deal with learning difficulties. Mixture item response theory (IRT) models can provide a convenient way to make the distinction between quantitative and qualitative differences in mastery. The use of latent groups, rather than focusing on manifest groupings like gender or grade, in these models is very informative to give a substantive interpretation to the qualitative differences. In the current study, mixture IRT modeling is applied to the mastery of two crucial rules in vowel duration spelling in Dutch by pupils in the four final grades of primary school. Results indicate that differences in mastery of the spelling rules are not strictly quantitative. Three latent groups of pupils can be distinguished that show qualitative differences in the mastery of one of the crucial spelling rules involved.     

Knowledge about the Greenhouse Effect and the Effects of the Ozone Layer among Norwegian Pupils Finishing Compulsory Education in 1989, 1993, and 2005—What Now?

The greenhouse effect and the effects of the ozone layer have been in the media and public focus for more than two decades. During the same period, Norwegian compulsory schools have had four national curricula. The two last‐mentioned prescribe explicitly the two topics. Media and public discourse might have been sources of information causing informal learning among pupils. The point of departure for this questionnaire‐based examination of the development of pupils’ knowledge about the greenhouse effect and the effects of the ozone layer from 1989 to 2005 is the changing curricula and formal and informal learning. In 2005 the trends seem to be that more pupils confuse the greenhouse effect with the effects of the ozone layer. At the same time, specific knowledge about the greenhouse effect is improving. This article will discuss some possible causes for these trends, and give some recommendations for teaching the topics in accordance with the last national curriculum implemented in 2006.     

Book reviews

The following books are reviewed.

Teaching Public Issues in the High School D. W. OLIVER & J. P. SHAVER (1966) Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Professional Experience and the Investigative Imagination: the ART of reflective writing RICHARD WINTER, ALYSON BUCK & PAULA SOBIECHOWSKA (1999) London: Routledge. 240 pp. ISBN 0 415 19542 X (hb) £50.00, ISBN 0 415 19543 8 (pb) £ 16.99     

Excellence for All: A Nietzschean-inspired approach in professional higher education

Europe’s objectives of economic growth and job creation require large numbers of professionals who are willing and able to innovate and rise above themselves. In this article, a concept of excellence is developed that can be broadly applied in professional higher education. This concept of excellence derives from three concepts which the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche developed in The Gay Science (2001/1887): self-transcendence, self-control and self-styling. By starting with Nietzsche’s radical thoughts, the author aims to grasp the probabilities and challenges of preparing all students for their professional future. Several proposals for educational practice are outlined based on this perspective of ‘excellence for all’.     

Changes in muscle activity with increasing running speed

Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the leg muscles and the ground reaction forces were recorded in 17 elite male middle-distance runners, who performed isometric maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) as well as running at different speeds. Electromyograms were recorded from the gluteus maximus, vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior. The results indicated that the averaged EMG (aEMG) activities of all the muscles studied increased (P?<?0.05) with increasing running speed, especially in the pre-contact and braking phases. At higher speeds, the aEMG activities of the gastrocnemius, vastus lateralis, biceps femoris and gluteus maximus exceeded 100% MVC in these same phases. These results suggest that maximal voluntary contractions cannot be used as an indicator of the full activation potential of human skeletal muscle. Furthermore, the present results suggest that increased pre-contact EMG potentiates the functional role of stretch reflexes, which subsequently increases tendomuscular stiffness and enhances force production in the braking and/or propulsive phases in running. Furthermore, a more powerful force production in the optimal direction for increasing running speed effectively requires increased EMG activity of the two-joint muscles (biceps femoris, rectus femoris and gastrocnemius) during the entire running cycle.     

Comparison of maximal anaerobic running tests on a treadmill and track

Abstract

To develop a track version of the maximal anaerobic running test, 10 sprint runners and 12 distance runners performed the test on a treadmill and on a track. The treadmill test consisted of incremental 20-s runs with a 100-s recovery between the runs. On the track, 20-s runs were replaced by 150-m runs. To determine the blood lactate versus running velocity curve, fingertip blood samples were taken for analysis of blood lactate concentration at rest and after each run. For both the treadmill and track protocols, maximal running velocity (v _max), the velocities associated with blood lactate concentrations of 10 mmol · l^?1 ( v _10 mM) and 5 mmol · l^?1 ( v _5 mM), and the peak blood lactate concentration were determined. The results of both protocols were compared with the seasonal best 400-m runs for the sprint runners and seasonal best 1000-m time-trials for the distance runners. Maximal running velocity was significantly higher on the track (7.57 ± 0.79 m · s^?1) than on the treadmill (7.13 ± 0.75 m · s^?1), and sprint runners had significantly higher v _max, v _10 mM, and peak blood lactate concentration than distance runners (P<0.05). The Pearson product – moment correlation coefficients between the variables for the track and treadmill protocols were 0.96 (v _max), 0.82 (v _10 mM), 0.70 (v _5 mM), and 0.78 (peak blood lactate concentration) (P<0.05). In sprint runners, the velocity of the seasonal best 400-m run correlated positively with v _max in the treadmill (r = 0.90, P<0.001) and track protocols (r = 0.92, P<0.001). In distance runners, a positive correlation was observed between the velocity of the 1000-m time-trial and v _max in the treadmill (r = 0.70, P<0.01) and track protocols (r = 0.63, P<0.05). It is apparent that the results from the track protocol are related to, and in agreement with, the results of the treadmill protocol. In conclusion, the track version of the maximal anaerobic running test is a valid means of measuring different determinants of sprint running performance.     

Relationships among training stress,mood and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate/cortisol ratio in female cyclists

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effect of rapidly increased training volume and intensity on hormonal responses (salivary cortisol [C] and urinary dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate [DHEA-S]) and recovery-stress state perceived by 12 female cyclists. Over the 4-day experimental period, there was an average increase in training load of approximately 122% compared with that during the previous 12 days. Scores on subscales of the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes increased for the somatic component of stress (Fatigue, Emotional Stress and Social Stress; P < 0.05) and decreased the factor indicating recovery (General Well Being; P < 0.05) after the heavy training period. The training programme increased resting concentrations of salivary cortisol (P < 0.05) and decreased the DHEA-S/C ratio (P < 0.05). The increase in training load of cyclists was correlated with this hormonal ratio (r = ?0.48, P < 0.05). Changes in resting cortisol concentration as a result of heavy training stress were positively related to the change in Physical Complaints (r = 0.69, P < 0.01). Negative relationships were also found between changes in the DHEA-S/C ratio and changes in the somatic component of stress. The present results suggest that there is a dose–response relationship between increased training load, resting DHEA-S/C ratio and subjective assessment of stress and recovery, implying that this ratio could be used as an indicator of training status in female athletes.     

Effect of postural changes on 3D joint angular velocity during starting block phase

Abstract

Few studies have focused on the effect of posture during sprint start. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of the modification of horizontal distance between the blocks during sprint start on three dimensional (3D) joint angular velocity. Nine trained sprinters started using three different starting positions (bunched, medium and elongated). They were equipped with 63 passive reflective markers, and an opto-electronic Motion Analysis® system was used to collect the 3D marker trajectories. During the pushing phase on the blocks, norm of the joint angular velocity (NJAV), 3D Euler angular velocity (EAV) and pushing time on the blocks were calculated. The results demonstrated that the decrease of the block spacing induces an opposite effect on the angular velocity of joints of the lower and the upper limbs. The NJAV of the upper limbs is greater in the bunched start, whereas the NJAV of the lower limbs is smaller. The modifications of NJAV were due to a combination of the movement of the joints in the different degrees of freedom. The medium start seems to be the best compromise because it leads, in a short pushing time, to a combination of optimal joint velocities for upper and lower segments.