Which Words? Words which 4 to 6 Year Old Children Use in Their Writing

The use of high frequency word lists has re-emerged recently as a useful part of the knowledge base of primary teachers of literacy. The National Literacy Project framework for teaching makes explicit use of such lists. In this article Laura Huxford and her colleagues examine the contents of word lists and make some useful observations about the words it appears important to teach children to read at Key Stage 1.     

Symmetrical and asymmetrical sources of variance in temporal generalization

Ten rats were trained in a temporal generalization task (the peak procedure) with variations in the time of reinforcement, the intertrial interval, and the mean and variance of the duration of nonfood trials. There were three types of asymmetry in the temporal generalization gradients: positive skew, secondary rise, and positive asymptote. Asymmetrical gradients can occur as a result of asymmetrical sources of variance, multiplicative combinations of symmetrical sources of variance, and effects of anticipation of the end of a trial and the conditions of the next trial. Ten additional rats were trained with a single time of reinforcement, a limited time of reinforcement availability, long and fixed durations of nonfood trials, and a nonresponse requirement for ending a trial. These conditions markedly reduced all asymmetrical sources of variance and led to very symmetrical gradients. These results demonstrate that none of the asymmetrical sources of variance necessarily has a substantial influence on observed temporal generalization gradients.     

Faculty orientations toward institutional goals: A broken front with implications for planned change

The formulation of institutional goals in higher education often involves input from various campus constituencies including faculty. The faculty's viewpoint is typically treated as though it were a uniform perception. The research reported here tested the uniform nature of the faculty's goal orientations. Statistical comparisons were conducted on mean ratings of five discipline groups of 207 faculty from a major public university on the scales of the Institutional Goals Inventory. Although discipline groups shared common viewpoints on the importance of academic instruction, intellectual pursuits, and research, major differences among groups were found for goals involving university service, off-campus instruction, accountability, intercollegiate athletics, and humanistic values. Institutional planners desiring a change in one of these latter areas should expect different levels of faculty support and resistance from different discipline groups.     

Students' estimates of knowledge gained as measures of the quality of teacher education

One set of measures of the quality of courses for the preparation of science teachers stems from the perceptions exit students have of their knowledge with respect to that teaching. The Discipline Review of Teacher Education in Mathematics and Science surveyed these students late in 1988 on three broad types of knowledge-science content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge. Some of these findings of the Review are described. In addition, the base for developing items to measure these three types of knowledge is discussed in this paper. The variety in the data that emerged is also presented and the consistency of the findings with other measures of quality is described. Specialisations: science and technology curriculum, environmental education, educational disadvantage. Specialisations: research and evaluation in teacher education, technical and further education and total quality management. Specialisations: research in educational systems.     

Community violence,school‐related protective factors,and psychosocial outcomes in urban youth

This study examined the relationship of two putative school‐based protective factors—student identification with school and perceived teacher support—to psychosocial outcomes in a sample of urban youth exposed to community violence. Participants were 175 high school students ages 14–19 in grades 9–12 from a large urban school district. Results indicated that exposure to violence was positively associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Additionally, identification with school and teacher support were related to higher hope and lower psychosocial distress. Adolescents who reported higher identification with school and higher teacher support reported higher hope, regardless of the level of violence exposure. Results emphasize the importance of school factors, particularly feeling connected to and supported in school, in promoting hope and minimizing psychosocial distress for youth exposed to community violence. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

In-season changes in ventricular morphology and systolic function in adolescent female athletes

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of physical maturity on the changes in ventricular morphology and function with sport training in female youth athletes.

Methods: Thirty-two female athletes (age 13–18 years) underwent height and weight measurement and 2-D echocardiographic evaluation immediately prior to, and following, a 20-week soccer season. Pre- and post-season left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), ejection fraction (LVEF), stroke volume (LVSV), mass (LVM), and posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), right ventricular end-diastolic diameter (RVEDD), end-diastolic area (RVEDA), and fractional area change (RVFAC), and interventricular septal thickness (IVST) were compared. In-season change in each variable was compared across pre-season hours of vigorous physical activity (0–1, 2–3, >3 hours).

Results: Significant increases were identified in LVEDV (51.3?±?10.4?v 56.4?±?9.6?ml/m², p?=?0.001) and RVEDA (10.5?±?1.9?v 11.3?±?2.5?cm²/m², p?=?0.040), but not LVEDD, LVM, LVPWT, LVSV, RVEDD, RVEDA, RVFAC, or IVST (p?>?0.05 for all). In-season changes in echocardiographic variables did not differ across hours of pre-season vigorous physical activity (p?>?0.05 for all).

Conclusion: Among female adolescent soccer players, in-season training elicits changes in resting ventricular volume, but not wall thickness or systolic function. These adaptations do not appear to be influenced by pre-season physical activity level.