Developing Your Own Simulation for Teaching Social Studies

Many students experience a personally significant loss of some nature during the school year. While some losses may appear trivial to adults, other losses are life-changing, such as the death of a loved one, and, compounded by normative developmental changes and transitions, may negatively impact students’ emotional well-being, behavior, and academic progress. In this article, the author discusses the issue of loss for children and adolescents and reviews possible approaches educators may use to provide support to loss-affected students.     

A 12-week Interdisciplinary Intervention Program for Children who are Obese

Childhood obesity is a growing problem, for which multi-disciplinary interventions are needed. Purpose: This interdisciplinary intervention program was designed to improve the health of children who were obese. Methods: Twenty-five children, mean age 8.1 (1.5) years; body mass index (BMI)> 98^th percentile, and their parents completed the 12-week (3 days/wk) intervention consisting of aerobic and resistance exercise appropriate to age and developmental levels. Baseline and posttest measures of blood values, fitness, and cardiovascular risk factors were performed. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests with significance accepted at P ≤ .05. Results: Significant differences between means (SD) for pre- and post-measurements were, respectively: BMI 30.31 (4.56), 27.80 (4.54), body-fat percent 43.7 (11.5), 40.7 (10.9), waist circumference 82.1 (7.1), 80.4(6.1) cm, calf circumference 34.2 (3.1), 35.2 (3.1) cm; step-test heart rate 137 (20), 126 (12) bpm, push-ups 1.0 (1.8), 5.6 (3.8), sit-ups 23.6 (12.7), 33.2 (13.8), sit-and-reach 35.1 (7.4), 41.2 (5.8) cm; systolic BP 102 (10), 108 (9) mmHg, glucose 4.9(0.3), 4.8 (0.4) mmol/L, total cholesterol 4.6 (1.0), 4.2 (0.8) mmol/L, ALT 41 (9), 35 (8) U/L, bilirubin 6.3 (2.4), 5.6 (2.1) μmol/L, and BUN 4.9 (1.1), 4.3 (0.9) mmol/L. Conclusions: This interdisciplinary intervention program positively affected the fitness and health status of children who were obese by involving the children and parents.Key Words: childhood obesity, cardiovascular risk factors, health, fitness     

Preventing radicalisation: a systematic review of literature considering the lived experiences of the UK’s Prevent strategy in educational settings

This article surveys relevant literature on experiences of the Prevent Strategy in the UK in order to explore the role of schools in preventing radicalisation. The first section explores the concept of radicalisation and how this is positioned within UK policy and legislation followed by a review and critical appraisal of seven relevant articles. The following section synthesises themes from this literature in relation to pedagogical inefficacies in relation to academic freedom and flawed fundamental British values, and the problematic focus of the Prevent strategy in terms of surveillance and securitisation, and having a focus on individual vulnerability and ends with a positive example of Prevent funding. The article closes with implications for school staff.     

Increasing employability by implementing a Work-Integrated Learning partnership model in South Africa – A student perspective

In South Africa, 70 per cent of the population is under 35 years old. South Africa has a vision to increase youth employment by focusing on education, training and skills development that will promote employment opportunities. A work-integrated learning (WIL) partnership model was developed to provide students with work experience and to increase their employability. this article presents the research on the perspectives of students subsequent to their WIL experience. the research method consisted of a structured questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. The study findings indicated that students were capable of seeking their own WIL placement and that over 90 per cent of students experienced WIL as rewarding, with multiple opportunities for employment. the article adds theoretical value by increasing the WIL body of knowledge from a student perspective, as well as strategic and practical value by presenting the WIL partnership model that may easily be implemented by lecturers in various disciplines across the continent of Africa and beyond to enable students to enter the workplace with confidence.     

Serving the gifted: A national survey of school psychologists

Gifted students are among the most underserved population in American schools and are some of the most underperforming in the world, ranking last in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, and Geometry among 13 other developed countries. To improve services for the gifted, possible gaps in training and service delivery must be identified. There is a lack of research addressing many of the practical aspects of the delivery of services to the gifted. There is also a lack of research examining how well school psychologists are prepared to provide services to gifted and talented students. We conducted a national survey of school psychologists to evaluate the amount of time school psychologists allocate for gifted assessment and consultation. We also collected information about graduate school and professional development on gifted topics, familiarity with prominent figures in the gifted field, and gifted assessment methods. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Conceptualizing Magnification and Scale: The Roles of Spatial Visualization and Logical Thinking

This study explored factors that contribute to students’ concepts of magnification and scale. Spatial visualization, logical thinking, and concepts of magnification and scale were measured for 46 middle school students. Scores on the Zoom Assessment (an assessment of knowledge of magnification and scale) were correlated with the Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) and a series of four spatial visualization tests. Results showed that the TOLT was significantly correlated with the Zoom Assessment. There was also a significant correlation between the TOLT and spatial visualization assessments MV1 (Shape Memory), MV2 (Building Memory), the Storage Test, and the Surface Development Test. The implications of this study for further research are discussed.     

Confusion about collusion: working together and academic integrity

An increasing emphasis on developing students' transferable skills, such as group working and IT, is creating challenges in ensuring the academic integrity of individually assessed coursework. This study investigated the frequency with which students engaged in a range of study behaviours for individual assignments, with a focus on the extent to which they exchanged information or worked in informal study groups. Over 1000 responses were gathered from students at pre‐ and post‐92 universities engaged in either business or psychology degrees. Four behavioural factors emerged from the data: trust, cooperation, use of IT and conscientious practices. Results indicated that students engage in practices relying on trust and cooperation less often than other practices, implying a concern with avoiding issues of academic misconduct. This was supported by focus group discussions where students described their strategies for working together whilst ensuring the quality and integrity of their own work. Comparisons between academic disciplines revealed that business students were more likely to engage in sharing and group‐work behaviours than psychology students, as were students at the post‐92 university. Comparisons between years found no significant differences. Recommendations are made for improving student understanding of collusion whilst still encouraging the development of skills important to employability.