Online self-assessment and peer-assessment as a tool to enhance student-teachers’ assessment skills

Self-assessment and peer-assessment are strategies employed to encourage students to take more responsibility for the learning process. Although the advantages are not obvious, the process has the potential to empower learning and to assist the development of assessment skills, which are so important for future teachers. The research aimed to identify student-teachers' attitudes concerning the contribution of self-assessment and anonymous peer-assessment to the quality of their assignments and improvement of their assessment skills, using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The sample included 300 students studying for bachelor’s or master’s degrees. Texts that were analysed included: responses to a questionnaire, self and peer-assessments, word comments on the assignments and written blog content relating to students’ activities and their performance of peer evaluations. The students noted that they significantly benefitted from the process, learned various methods of assignment and assessment performance and it positioned them in relation to others, noticing how others evaluated them. Anonymous evaluation allowed students to overcome inhibitions in evaluating peers' works and improved their assessment skills.     

Children’s Perspective on Learning: An International Study in Denmark,Estonia, Germany and Sweden

This article explores how some children in Denmark, Estonia, Germany and Sweden describe their perspective on learning. The aim of the international study is to gain knowledge of how preschool children in Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Germany reflect and perceive their learning in preschool and other surrounding social contexts. The results are based on 51 focus group interviews from 181 children. The results indicate that, in general, children from all four countries seem to be aware of their own learning. One can conclude that encouraging children to think about what they are doing and why they are doing it makes the activities more goal-oriented from the children’s perspective and thus more conscious. Children are able to describe their own perspectives on learning.     

Effects of evaluativevs. co-constructive interactions on learning in physics

We conducted an experimental study to assess the effects of two physics-learning situations that differed in the type of teacher-student interactions that took place: evaluative or co-constructive. As found in various studies on physics teaching and social psychology, the results showed that co-constructive interactions generated a more effective learning context for students than evaluative ones did.     

Seeking the Levers of Change: Participant Attitudes and School Improvement

In this paper we argue that to improve schools we must change the relationships between teachers, parents, and students to render these more satisfying to all parties. Using data collected as part of a long‐term project, we show that certain aspects of teacher practice have a strong impact upon student and parent attitudes, and hence upon their ratings of schools; we contend that improving schools requires attention to these powerful attitudinal levers of change.     

Older adults’ perceived sense of social exclusion from the digital world

ABSTRACT

A great deal of information and many services can now be accessed digitally. In order to make use of such services, however, it is necessary to have some form of Internet access. A lack of involvement in digital society may produce new forms of social exclusion. Older adults are particularly at risk of Internet-related social exclusion, since they tend to use the Internet less than younger adults. Little is known, however, about whether this lower level of Internet use among older people is in fact accompanied by a sense of social exclusion. In order to investigate the subjective sense of digital social exclusion resulting from a lack of Internet usage, we conducted a secondary analysis of a representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of 1,037 adults aged 65 years and over and living in Switzerland. We found that 33% of “onliners” reported that they would feel socially excluded were they to stop using the Internet, compared with 14% of “onliners” who felt socially excluded on account of their lack of Internet use. Our analyses show that onliners’ attitudes toward Internet use and the variety of online applications available were related to their sense of social exclusion. By contrast, offliners’ attitudes toward Internet use and their feelings of loneliness in general were predictors for their sense of social exclusion as a result of not using the Internet. The results of the study as well as its implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Predicting volleyball serve-reception at group level

In a group-serve-reception task, how does serve-reception become effective? We addressed “who” receives/passes the ball, what task-related variables predict action mode selection and whether the action mode selected was associated with reception efficacy. In 182 serve-receptions we tracked the ball and the receivers’ heads with two video-cameras to generate 3D world-coordinates reconstructions. We defined receivers’ reception-areas based on Voronoi diagrams (VD). Our analyses of the data showed that this approach was accurate in describing “who” receives the serve in 95.05% of the times. To predict action mode selection, we used variables related to: serve kinematics, receiver’s movement and on-court positioning, the relation between receiver and his closest partner, and interactions between receiver-ball and receiver-target. Serve’s higher initial velocities together with higher maximum height, as well as smaller longitudinal distances between receiver and target increased the chances for the use of the overhand pass. Conversely, decreasing alignment of the receiver with the ball and the target increased the chances of using the underhand-lateral pass. Finally, the use of the underhand-lateral pass was associated with lower quality receptions. Behavioural variability’s relevance for serve-reception training is discussed.     

Effect of swimming velocity on arm coordination in the front crawl: a dynamic analysis

We examined the preferred mode of arm coordination in 14 elite male front-crawl swimmers. Each swimmer performed eight successive swim trials in which target velocity increased from the swimmer's usual 3000-m velocity to his maximal velocity. Actual swim velocity, stroke rate, stroke length and the different arm stroke phases were then calculated from video analysis. Arm coordination was quantified by an index of coordination based on the lag time between the propulsive phases of each arm. The index expressed the three coordination modes in the front crawl: opposition, catch-up and superposition. First, in line with the dynamic approach to movement coordination, the index of coordination could be considered as an order parameter that qualitatively captured arm coordination. Second, two coordination modes were observed: a catch-up pattern (index of coordination= -8.43%) consisting of a lag time between the propulsive phases of each arm, and a relative opposition pattern (index of coordination= 0.89%) in which the propulsive phase of one arm ended when the propulsive phase of the other arm began. An abrupt change in the coordination pattern occurred at the critical velocity of 1.8 m. s(-1), which corresponded to the 100-m pace: the swimmers switched from catch-up to relative opposition. This change in coordination resulted in a reorganization of the arm phases: the duration of the entry and catch phase decreased, while the duration of the pull and push phases increased in relation to the whole stroke. Third, these changes were coupled to increased stroke rate and decreased stroke length, indicating that stroke rate, stroke length, the stroke rate/stroke length ratio, as well as velocity, could be considered as control parameters. The control parameters can be manipulated to facilitate the emergence of specific coordination modes, which is highly relevant to training and learning. By adjusting the control and order parameters within the context of a specific race distance, both coach and swimmer will be able to detect the best adapted pattern for a given race pace and follow how arm coordination changes over the course of training.     

Cortical and trabecular bone analysis of professional dancers using 3D-DXA: a case–control study

Given the lack of relevant data, the aim of this study was to examine femur cortical and trabecular bone in female and male professional ballet dancers. 40 professional ballet dancers and 40 sex- and age-matched non-exercising controls volunteered. Femoral bone density was scanned by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. A 3D-DXA software was used to analyse trabecular and cortical bone. Anthropometry, maturation (Tanner staging), menstrual parameters (age at menarche and primary amenorrhea), energy availability and nutritional analysis (3-day record) were also assessed.Compared to non-exercising participants, dancers exhibited significantly higher volumetric density for integral, cortical and trabecular bone, and thicker cortex at the femur. Ballet dancers demonstrated lower body weight compared to controls (p < 0.01). Female dancers had their menarche later than controls, and the prevalence of primary amenorrhea were significantly higher in dancers than controls (p < 0.01). Dancer’s energy availability was below the normal range (<30 kcal/kgFFM/day). Despite the presence of certain osteoporosis risk factors such as low energy availability, primary amenorrhoea and lower body weight, professional ballet dancers revealed higher bone density for both cortical and trabecular bone compartments compared to controls.     

The effects of ad libitum fluid ingestion on fluid balance during alpine skiing in recreational skiers

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of ad libitum water ingestion, using a back-mounted hydration system (BMHS), on fluid balance during alpine skiing. Fourteen skiers skied on two different days. On one day, seven skiers ingested water during skiing via the BMHS and the other seven skiers refrained from fluid ingestion during skiing until the midday break (NW trial). On the second day, the trials were reversed. Results indicated that when skiers used the BMHS they drank significantly more water than during the NW trials (2.0 +/- 0.9 vs. 0.78 +/- 0.4 litres). However, skiers drank significantly more at the midday break during the NW trials than during the BMHS trials (0.78 +/- 0.4 vs. 0.4 +/- 0.2 litres). Percent change in plasma volume was less during the BMHS trials than during the NW trials (-0.1 +/- 5.3 vs. -4.9 +/- 5.2%), urine osmolality was maintained in the BMHS trials but rose from 295 +/- 80 to 818 +/- 168 mOsm . kg(-1) at midday during the NW trials, and body mass loss was minimized during the BMHS trials compared with the NW trials (0.4 +/- 0.4 vs. 1.1 +/- 0.2 kg). Skiers reported that they felt significantly better when they ingested water during the BMHS trials. In conclusion, a back-mounted hydration system allowed the skiers to maintain hydration status.