Polychronicity: review of the literature and a new configuration for the study of this hidden dimension of online learning

Polychronicity is the natural tendency or preference for structuring time that has an influence on people’s behaviors. Highly polychronic individuals are involved in everything, doing many things at once because they value human relationships and interactions over arbitrary schedules and appointments. In contrast, highly monochronic individuals focus on one thing at a time, perceive other events as interruptions, and stress a high degree of scheduling, and promptness in meeting obligations and attending appointments. Although time is an important variable in educational contexts, and in particular in online learning, there is a lack of studies on polychronicity in educational research. This article reviews, summarizes, and extends the literature on polychronicity conceptualization and assessment; it discusses the limitations of the results and offers a multidimensional proposal for a polychronicity construct. Finally, the implications of students’ time differences and their impact on instructional situations are discussed.     

Engaging with Molecular Form to Understand Function

Understanding the relationship between form and function is critical for appreciating biology at the molecular level. This feature explores online materials that connect molecular structures with their functional relevance.Cells are bustling factories with diverse and prolific arrays of molecular machinery. Remarkably, this machinery self-organizes to carry out the complex biochemical activities characteristic of life. When Watson and Crick published the structure of DNA, they noted that DNA base pairing creates a double-stranded form that provides a means of accurately copying the genetic information. Understanding this link between form and function is important for understanding the basis of any biological activity. At the most basic level, a biomolecule''s function is dictated by its structure. The molecule''s shape and chemical properties facilitate interactions with other molecules and determine its role in the cell. Protein function depends on the precise folding of encoded linear stretches of amino acids into three-dimensional shapes. Protein misfolding can lead to various disease states. In this review, we explore engaging online resources that highlight the connection between structure and function in biomolecules. These resources are particularly relevant for instruction at the advanced high school and undergraduate biology levels.     

Fluid and electrolyte balance in elite male football (soccer) players training in a cool environment

There are few data in the published literature on sweat loss and drinking behaviour in athletes training in a cool environment. Sweat loss and fluid intake were measured in 17 first-team members of an elite soccer team training for 90 min in a cool (5°C, 81% relative humidity) environment. Sweat loss was assessed from the change in body mass after correction for the volume of fluid consumed. Sweat electrolyte content was measured from absorbent patches applied at four skin sites. Mean (?± s) sweat loss during training was 1.69?±?0.45 l (range 1.06?-?2.65 l). Mean fluid intake during training was 423?±?215 ml (44?-?951 ml). There was no apparent relationship between the amount of sweat lost and the volume of fluid consumed during training (r ² = 0.013, P = 0.665). Mean sweat sodium concentration was 42.5?±?13.0 mmol?·?l^?1 and mean sweat potassium concentration was 4.2?±?1.0 mmol?·?l^?1. Total salt (NaCl) loss during training was 4.3?±?1.8 g. The sweat loss data are similar to those recorded in elite players undergoing a similar training session in warm environments, but the volume of fluid ingested is less.     

PERSPECTIVES ON THE INSTRUCTION OF BIOLOGICAL AGING COURSES

Courses in biological aging are becoming increasingly common and necessary in college curricula for several reasons. At the same time, there is a lack of guidance for instructors regarding necessary content in such a course, which is in part perpetuated by uncertainty about the background of students who need this instruction and a lack of consistency in the content and style of human aging textbooks. In this article, the authors, as instructors who have taught undergraduate level human biological aging courses for many years, describe the areas of study and needs of students likely to enroll in such a course and also detail strategies and organizational methods found to be advantagous in teaching this material in a coherent and understandable manner to a largely nonscience major student cohort. Strategies discussed include alteration of course content, decompartmentalization of topics, relation of biological topics to social science reference points, and contrasting “universal” and pathological age‐related changes. Also included is an outline of the content and order of subjects that the authors have found through experience to be successful in the instruction of a biological aging course.     

多维互动，让每个幼儿获得多样化发展

伴随教育向人自身的回归,课程功能转向为儿童提供发展机会。儿童的需要成为课程开发的起点和归宿。本文以梅里课程、超市课程、助学课程的开发为案例,诠释了课程如何尊重和满足儿童的差异性特点和多样性需求,如何多维度地通过与儿童的对话和合作,为儿童提供更多的课程选择权利,从而使儿童的个性得到更充分更主动的发展。     

The Very Big Picture

It is argued that education systems are of considerable importance in the evolving worlds economic and social order. A range of policies are offered which it is argued will improve British educational practices and outcomes considerably. Further advances are argued to be necessary in the improvement of global knowledge management, extending international networks, rethinking public/private collaboration, learning the lessons of research on the human brain, embracing educational transformation and cherishing the ethical core of education.     

The role of child temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers

A study was performed to explore the role of temperament as a predictor of early literacy and numeracy skills in preschoolers. The participants in this study were 94 children (46 males, 48 females) enrolled in half-day junior kindergarten (M_age= 51.52,SD = 3.25 mos.). Parents completed theColorado Child Temperament Inventory (CCTI, Buss and Plomin 1984 and Plomin). Child interviews were conducted, and vocabulary, concepts about print, counting, and numeracy skills were assessed. Results from hierarchical regression analyses revealed that temperament contributed uniquely to the explanation of literacy and numeracy skills over and above well-established indicators of a child’s academic achievement (i.e., parental education, gender, vocabulary). Results are discussed in terms of educational and developmental implications.     

学生创新和实践能力考核在大学招生中的价值：美国“彩虹项目”的启示

“彩虹项目”是由美国大学委员会资助的大学招生研究项目,其目的是探索研究大学招生中考核学生创新和实践能力的必要性。研究结果表明测评这两项能力在大学招生中具有极其重要的意义和价值。增加这项评价有利于对申请学生的能力进行更加全面的考核,不仅可以提高对大学GPA的预测效度,而且可以削减由于弱势群体和其他学生在大学入学标准考试中的不同表现所造成的招生偏差,使招生更具有卓越性和公平性。本文扼要介绍和阐述“彩虹项目”研究的理论基础、考核创新和实践能力的内容、考试结果对大学GPA的预测效度以及在美国塔夫茨大学的实践经验。     

The profile and progress of neglected and abused children in long-term foster care

ObjectivesThis study compared the profile of neglected and abused children in the Australian foster care system as well as differences between maltreatment types in relation to parental contact, reunification and psychosocial progress in care.MethodThe case files of 235 children entering foster care were examined and their social workers were administered standardised questionnaires at the point of intake. All measures were repeated for those remaining in care 1 year and then again 2 years later.ResultsNeglected children were younger than non-neglected children, more likely to have a physical or mental disability, more likely to experience multiple forms of maltreatment and less likely to pose conduct problems for carers. Neglected children were more likely than non-neglected children to experience a decline in parental contact over time, and were less likely to be reunified with their families of origin. There was minimal difference between neglected and non-neglected in their psychosocial progress while in care. Aboriginal children were more likely to be reunified than non-Aboriginal children when neglect was attributable to transient factors (parental incapacity) but the reverse was true for non-neglected children.ConclusionsThe fact that neglected children more often require a second form of maltreatment before being removed from home suggests that children's services workers are less inclined to remove children for neglect than for other forms of maltreatment. As a consequence, those neglected children who are in care tend to come from more dysfunctional families than non-neglected children do, as evidenced by the relatively poorer parental contact and reunification results of neglected children.Practice implicationsNeglected children differ systematically from non-neglected children and suffer relative disadvantage in relation to multiple forms of maltreatment, parental contact, and reunification. The fact that declines in parental contact among neglected children in care occurred only when indirect contact was provided suggests that, wherever possible, care plans should include face-to-face visits and overnight stays rather than being restricted to less direct forms of contact. The difference in the success of reunification according to type of neglect (chronic or transient) also suggests that parental intervention programs need to focus their efforts on chronic factors rather than transient parental factors.     

Inclusive and accessible physical education: rethinking ability and disability in pre-service teacher education

This paper identifies and explores emergent themes in inclusive PE in the specific context of pre-service teacher preparation programs. Fully inclusive PE encompasses four areas: knowledge and curricula related to ability and disability, teacher attitudes, pre-service teacher education and a reframing of our understandings of multiple perspectives on physical literacy. Fully accessible PE involves material and attitudinal conditions configured to render these programs actually usable by all those whose ‘inclusion’ is intended. Access is, indeed, conceptually implied in ‘inclusion’, however, in practice the latter can easily become more of a slogan naming an aspiration than a realizable state of affairs. Unless an organization or individual brings a universal commitment to access, attitudinal barriers may prevent full inclusion from becoming a reality. The paper uses qualitative case study methodology to examine pre-service teacher education students’ preconceptions about ‘dis’ability and analyses heuristically how pre-service teachers pre-conceived notions of ability and disability may be challenged through an intervention. 21C PE programs can move towards an emphasis on inclusive activities which are not based on traditional conceptions of physical competence, size, shape, appearance and ability, but instead focus on how all bodies can develop fundamental movement skills, functional fitness and physical literacy. The author challenges pre-service students to address issues of accessibility, normative notions of ability, body equity, social justice and inclusion, as well as the need for multiple definitions of physical literacy. The paper is a case study of the specific phenomenon of ‘broadening student teachers’ understandings of ability and disability in PE’ as a necessary condition for preparing students to work in schools where full inclusion may not have been integral to PE policies, programs and practices.