Interrater Objectivity for Field-Based Fundamental Motor Skill Assessment

We recently published an article on arm coordination and performance level in 400-m front-crawl swimming in Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (Schnitzler, Seifert, &; Chollet, 2011). The index of coordination (IdC) was used to quantify interarm coordination. Our results showed that expert swimmers exhibited lower IdC than recreational swimmers over a 400-m trial. In addition to criticizing various methodological points, Havriluk (2012) challenged our conclusion that catch-up could be an efficient model of coordination and instead suggested that it might lead to injuries. An important point in this debate, however, is that our definition of catch-up coordination may differ from the one proposed by Havriluk (2012), which would explain why we consider catch-up coordination to be the dominant mode of coordination used by expert swimmers during training sessions.     

The preservice teachers are watching: Framing and reframing the field experience

In this article we employ Sizers’ (1999) school- and classroom-based lenses for observation and apply them to the events and interactions that teacher education students see during school-based field experiences. Our data include online reflections and discussions among 33 students enrolled in a teacher education program at a large, public university. Our findings show that participants engaged in a complex series of framing(s) and reframing(s) to make sense of their experience. Further, we show how computer-mediated communication tools can promote framing and reflection among preservice teachers and enhance the face-to-face instruction university teacher educators provide.     

Building reading resilience: re-thinking reading for the literary studies classroom

This paper introduces the concept of ‘reading resilience’: students’ ability to read and interpret complex and demanding literary texts by drawing on advanced, engaged, critical reading skills. Reading resilience is a means for rethinking the place and pedagogies of close reading in the contemporary literary studies classroom. Our research was across four Australian universities and the first study of its kind in the Australian context. We trialled three working strategies to support students to become consistent and skilled readers, and to equip teachers with methods for coaching reading: ‘setting the scene’ for reading, surveying students on their reading experiences and habits, and rewarding reading within assessment. We argue that the nature and pedagogy of close reading has not been interrogated as much as it should be and that the building of reading resilience is less about modelling or outlining best practice for close reading (as has traditionally been thought) and more about deploying contextual, student-centred teaching and learning strategies around reading. The goal is to encourage students to develop a broad suite of skills and knowledge around reading that will equip them long term (for the university and beyond). We measured the effectiveness of our strategies through seeking formal and informal student feedback, and through students’ demonstration of skills and knowledge within assessment.     

Measuring Pedagogy and the Integration of Engineering Design in STEM Classrooms

The present study examined changes in high school biology and technology education pedagogy during the first year of a three-year professional development (PD) program using the INSPIRES educative curriculum. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) calls for the integration of science and engineering through inquiry-based pedagogy that shifts the burden of thinking from the teacher to the student. This call is especially challenging for teachers untrained in inquiry teaching and engineering or science concepts. The INSPIRES educative curriculum materials and PD provided a mechanism for teachers to transform their teaching to meet the NGSS challenges. This study followed a longitudinal triangulation mixed methods design. Selected lessons were video recorded, scored on the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) rubric, and examined for qualitative trends. Year 1 results indicated that teachers had begun to transform their teaching and pointed to particular lessons within the INSPIRES curriculum that most facilitated the reform. Instructional practices of participants improved significantly as a result of the INSPIRES PD program and also aligned with previous, similar studies. These findings provide insights for rethinking the structure of professional development, particularly in the integrated use of an educative curriculum aligned with intended professional development goals.

     

A Comparison of Traditional versus Programed Methods of Learning Tennis

Abstract

Two college service classes, each containing 20 subjects, were taught beginning tennis skills. The traditionally taught Group (Group A), and the programed group (Group B), were first determined homogeneous in height, weight, the Hewitt Revised Dyer Backboard Tennis Test (HRDBTT), and the American College Test before the teaching methods were initiated. After 14 periods of instruction, the groups were compared on various measures. The results of the study indicated that: (1) the general skill level of the groups, as measured by the Hewitt Revised Dyer Backboard Tennis Test, and a single-elimination tournament, was not significantly different; (2) the traditionally taught group improved significantly in general skills while the programed group did not; and (3) the programed group received better subjective rating scores on form than did the traditionally taught group.     

A holistic measurement model of movement competency in children

Different countries have different methods for assessing movement competence in children; however, it is unclear whether the test batteries that are used measure the same aspects of movement competence. The aim of this paper was to (1) investigate whether the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2) and Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder (KTK) measure the same aspects of children’s movement competence and (2) examine the factorial structure of the TGMD-2 and KTK in a sample of Australian children. A total of 158 children participated (M age = 9.5; SD = 2.2). First, confirmatory factor analysis examined the independent factorial structure of the KTK and TGMD-2. Second, it was investigated whether locomotor, object control and body coordination loaded on the latent variable Movement Competency. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated an adequate fit for both the KTK and TGMD-2. An adequate fit was also achieved for the final model. In this model, locomotor (r = .86), object control (r = .71) and body coordination (r = .52) loaded on movement competence. Findings support our hypothesis that the TGMD-2 and KTK measure discrete aspects of movement competence. Future researchers and practitioners should consider using a wider range of test batteries to assess movement competence.