Effect of repeat-sprint training in hypoxia on post-exercise interleukin-6 and F2-isoprostanes

This investigation examined the oxidative stress (F₂-Isoprostane; F₂-IsoP) and inflammatory (interleukin-6; IL-6) responses to repeat-sprint training in hypoxia (RSH). Ten trained male team sport athletes performed 3(sets)*9(repetitions)*5?s cycling sprints in simulated altitude (3000?m) and sea-level conditions. Mean and peak sprint power output (MPO and PPO) were recorded, and blood samples were collected pre-exercise, and again at 8 and 60?min post-exercise. Both MPO and PPO were significantly reduced in hypoxia (compared to sea-level) in the second (MPO: 855?±?89 vs. 739?±?95?W, p?=?.006; PPO: 1024?±?114 vs. 895?±?112?W, p?=?.010) and third (MPO: 819?±?105 vs. 686?±?83?W, p?=?.008; PPO: 985?±?125 vs. 834?±?99?W, p?=?.008) sets, respectively. IL-6 was significantly increased from pre- to 1?h post-exercise in both hypoxia (0.7?±?0.2 vs. 2.4?±?1.4?pg/mL, p?=?.004) and sea-level conditions (0.7?±?0.2 vs. 1.6?±?0.3?pg/mL, p?d?=?0.80) suggesting higher IL-6 levels of post-hypoxia. F₂-IsoP was significantly lower 1?h post-exercise in both the hypoxic (p?=?.005) and sea-level (p?=?.002) conditions, with no differences between trials. While hypoxia can impact on exercise intensity and may result in greater post-exercise inflammation, it appears to have little effect on oxidative stress. These results indicate that team sport organisations with ready access to hypoxic training facilities could confidently administer RSH without significantly increasing the post-exercise inflammatory or oxidative stress response.     

Gifted Metaphors: Exploring the Metaphors of Teachers in Gifted Education and Their Impact on Teaching the Gifted

Metaphors are devices that people employ for both poetic purposes and rhetorical elaboration and belong to the realm of extraordinary language. Metaphors are used to connect abstract ideas and information to more concrete experiences, thus making these experiences more familiar and easier to understand. Moreover, metaphors are more than symbolic intellectual processes; they influence the conceptual understanding of our experiences and help define our everyday realities. For education, there is an important and relevant practical connection between the metaphors that teachers employ and their beliefs about teaching and classroom practices. This stems from the notion that metaphors guide one’s mental framework. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the metaphors influencing teachers in gifted education, this study specifically asked teachers to describe both their metaphors concerning gifted students as well as those influencing their teaching. In this study, nine different themes were identified. This research demonstrates a clear connection between reported metaphors and how gifted students receive their education from teachers. Participants’ answers demonstrate a strong connection between their metaphors and their classroom practices. However, strict adherence to one’s root metaphor increases the chance for dogmatism in the classroom and can lead to potentially incoherent classroom differentiation and a potential disconnect between classroom practices and the actual pedagogical needs of the gifted learner.     

Bernstein in the urban classroom: a case study

Despite a long-standing concern within the sociology of education for ameliorating educational inequality, the challenge of improving educational opportunities for disadvantaged students remains deeply entrenched. While ‘macro’ issues such as segregation and systemic inequalities in school funding and access to qualified teachers must be addressed as matters of social and educational justice, Basil Bernstein's novel focus on ‘relations within’ education as the site of pedagogic discourse offers teachers and those working inside school systems a particularly powerful vision for promoting more equitable outcomes for students. This paper examines this assertion through a case study of the ‘mixed’ pedagogical practice of a successful teacher in a fifth-grade urban classroom in the United States.     

Examining the Value of a Scaffolded Critique Framework to Promote Argumentative and Explanatory Writings Within an Argument-Based Inquiry Approach

This study investigated the value of using a scaffolded critique framework to promote two different types of writing—argumentative writing and explanatory writing—with different purposes within an argument-based inquiry approach known as the Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) approach. A quasi-experimental design with sixth and seventh grade students taught by two teachers was used. A total of 170 students participated in the study, with 87 in the control group (four classes) and 83 in the treatment group (four classes). All students used the SWH templates as an argumentative writing to guide their written work and completed these templates during the SWH investigations of each unit. After completing the SWH investigations, both groups of students were asked to complete the summary writing task as an explanatory writing at the end of each unit. All students’ writing samples were scored using analytical frameworks developed for the study. The results indicated that the treatment group performed significantly better on the explanatory writing task than the control group. In addition, the results of the partial correlation suggested that there is a very strong significantly positive relationship between the argumentative writing and the explanatory writing.     

Analysis of academic administrators’ attitudes: annual evaluations and factors that improve teaching

This article examines academic administrators’ attitudes towards the academic evaluation process in the US and those factors that are utilised to improve teaching. We use path regressions to examine satisfaction with evaluation procedures, as well as the direct and indirect effects of these factors on perceptions of whether the evaluation process facilitates quality instruction. With increased pressure for accountability being placed on higher education, it is important to ensure that we are meeting both public and academic expectations. The evaluation process is an important tool to ensure the university’s goals and values are articulated and that academics can be successful in their individual career paths. The problem is most research finds flaws with the current method of evaluation, and academics and academic administrators are sceptical about the process and results. We find there are environmental factors that influence academic administrators’ perceptions of academic evaluations and the ability to improve classroom instruction.     

Assisting College Students With Athletic Disengagement

This article examines college student disengagement from sports, presents a multidimensional concept of athletic identity, and introduces a new measure intended to assist college counselors in their work with disengaged athletes. The Multidimensional Athletic Identity and Engagement Scale (MAIES) is introduced (Cronbach alpha .98, with subscale alphas between .78 and .96), and the results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and convergent and divergent validity with 250 college student participants are presented. Using case examples, the authors discuss how counselors may use the MAIES in their work with students. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.