“Mathematical knowledge for teaching”: adapting U.S. measures for use in Ireland

This article describes a study in which measures of mathematical knowledge for teaching developed in the United States were adapted to measure mathematical knowledge for teaching in Ireland. When adapting the measures it was not assumed that the mathematical knowledge used by Irish and U.S. teachers is the same. Instead psychometric and interview-based methods were used to determine a correspondence between the constructs being measured, and ensure the integrity of item performance in the Irish context. The study found overlap between the knowledge that is used to teach in both Ireland and the United States, and that the items tapped into this knowledge. However, specific findings confirm the usefulness of conducting extensive checks on the validity of items used in cross-national contexts. The process of adaptation is described to provide guidance for others interested in using the items to measure mathematical knowledge for teaching outside the United States. The process also enabled the authors to raise questions about the assumptions that lie behind the practice-based construct of mathematical knowledge for teaching.

Child Care for Children in Poverty: Opportunity or Inequity?

Data from a nationally representative survey of child care centers and a 5-site, observational study of centers were used to examine the quality of care provided to children from low-income families. Comparisons were made to a national sample of centers; among Head Start, public school-sponsored, and other community-based subsidized centers; and among centers that served families from differing socioeconomic groups. The quality of care in centers that served predominantly low-income children was adequate, but highly variable, with structural indices exhibiting higher quality than observations of global quality and of staff-child interactions. When compared to Head Start and public school-sponsored centers, the community-based centers had smaller groups and fewer children per teacher for preschoolers, but also had less well educated and compensated staff. Centers that predominantly served children from upper-income families provided the highest quality of care across multiple indices, and those that predominantly served children from middle-income families almost uniformly provided the poorest quality of care. The centers that served children from low-income families did not differ significantly in quality from the upper-income centers on most indices. However, the teachers in these programs were observed to be less sensitive and more harsh than teachers in the centers that served more advantaged families. The implications of the findings for research and policy are discussed.     

From letter names to word reading: The nascent role of sublexical fluency

Information processing theory suggests that sublexical fluency skills are important to word reading development, but there are few supportive data. This study investigated if sublexical fluency (letter name fluency, letter sound fluency, and phoneme segmentation fluency) contributed to the development of word reading and spelling in 92 kindergarten children. The pattern of findings suggests that, as early as kindergarten, sublexical fluency skills explain a small, but significant, amount of unique variance in literacy outcomes when also considering the influence of accuracy in these skills. Also, growth in sublexical fluency skills is related to both word reading and spelling proficiency at the end of kindergarten. We suggest that knowledge of early literacy skill development may be enhanced by attention to sublexical fluency and that these skills, specifically letter sound fluency, may provide the mechanism that supports early word reading and spelling.     

From career information to career knowledge: Self,search, and synthesis

Conclusion To say we are living in the information age is now a cliche, yet phrases often become cliches because they encapsulate a complex idea in an easily understood and remembered manner. Certainly, counselors have more information for their clients than ever before. Computer-based systems, video recorders, videodiscs, and fax machines greatly increase the power of the counselor to inform. However, the role of the counselor goes beyond informing to facilitating the growth of attitudes and behaviors associated with healthy, productive, autonomous lives. A crucial aspect of this facilitation is helping people use information so that for each individual it becomes the knowledge he or she needs in life.It is hoped that the model of self, search, and synthesis provides a way of looking at clients and information that is helpful to counselors. In the poem with which this article began, the seeker does have a fleeting moment of sight beyond the surface picture. Although it does not last, the seeker is able to conclude, perhaps triumphantly, For once, then, something.Deborah Perlmutter Bloch is Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Baruch College, City University of New York, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York, New York, 10010.     

Pre-exercise antioxidant enzyme activities determine the antioxidant enzyme erythrocyte response to exercise

Free radical production increases during exercise and oxidative damage occurs in several tissues. We examined the effects of three different exercise tests on the pattern of change of erythrocyte enzyme antioxidant activities. The tests were a short maximal exercise test, a submaximal prolonged exercise test and a cycling stage during competition. The participants were amateur and professional cyclists with different training statuses and different basal erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities. The maximal test produced no changes in the erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme activities of amateur sportsmen. The submaximal test, performed at 80% of maximal oxygen uptake, decreased erythrocyte catalase (12%), glutathione peroxidase determined with H2O2 (14%) and glutathione reductase (16%); superoxide dismutase activity increased by about 25%. The cycling stage performed by professional cyclists increased erythrocyte catalase (29%) and glutathione reductase (10%) activities. The in vivo changes in glutathione reductase activity were confirmed by in vitro measurements: hydrogen peroxide decreased and the presence of catalase increased the activity of this enzyme. In conclusion, we suggest that the different erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme responses to diverse exercise tests can be explained by the effects of hydrogen peroxide and the superoxide anion on the antioxidant enzyme activities in erythrocytes.     

Imagery use in sport: mediational effects for efficacy

The factors that influence whether an athlete chooses to engage in imagery are largely unknown. One reason may be the amount of confidence athletes have in their ability to image. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among efficacy in using imagery, imagery use and imagery ability. Consistent with Bandura's (1986, 1997) theory, it was hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between efficacy in using imagery and imagery use, and that efficacy in using imagery would mediate the relationship between imagery ability and imagery use. Participants were 74 female athletes from various sports. The instruments we used were the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (Hall & Martin, 1997) for imagery ability, the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998) for imagery use, and a modified version of the latter questionnaire for efficacy in using imagery. Correlations showed that the more athletes were confident in their ability to use a certain image, the more they used it. Efficacy in using imagery was found to mediate only the relationship between imagery ability and cognitive imagery use.     

The Birth of Particle Physics In Spain

Experimental high-energy and nuclear physics was created in Spain thanks to Joaquín Catalá de Alemany, who founded the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) at the University of Valencia in 1950. The physics of photographic emulsions, cheap and easy to manipulate, were well adapted to the depressed situation in Spain following the Civil War. This essay describes how, using these techniques, Catalá de Alemany created a group, established links with international laboratories, and fostered a tradition that continues today.     

A capacity theory of writing: Working memory in composition

The review examines ways in which working memory contributes to individual and particularly to developmental differences in writing skill. It begins with a brief definition of working memory and then summarizes current debates regarding working memory and capacity theories in the field of reading. It is argued that a capacity theory of writing can provide a framework within which to consider the development of writing skill, and relevant data are discussed. Effects of capacity limitations are documented in all three component writing processes: planning, translating, and reviewing.