Reflections on the Visiting Professorship Programme for Senior International Scientists at CAS

<正>I first learnt about the Visiting Professorship Programme after visiting the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of     

Decision-Making Behaviour of Potential Higher Education Students

This paper examines the decision-making behaviour adopted by candidates hoping to gain entry into Higher Education. Whether or not the potential students operate a systematic process, thinking logically throughout each step and choosing the alternative with the most favourable ranking, is worthy of discussion. Secondary research confirms the many variables influencing this process, particularly within the USA. However, in-depth knowledge concerning the criteria that British students employ and their thoughts regarding decision-making is limited. Hence an exploratory study incorporating Sixth Form pupils of a High School in the NW of England and students from across the UK attending an open-day at a university also in the NW was undertaken. Results indicate that applicants do follow the sequential stages from 'problem recognition'to 'evaluation of alternatives' using parents' as well as teachers'advice throughout, although there seems to be a gap in the information needs of potential students, which many universities are not currently satisfying.     

Conflict of Learning Styles: University Science Lectures in the Sultanate of Oman

This article examines the differing learning styles found in western lecturers and Omani students in science lectures in the Sultanate of Oman. Oman is a country which modernized very recently, and students there were encountering western lecturers and lecturing methods for the first time. The western lecturers found the Omani approach to science, which they characterized as memorization deficient and wished to introduce a problem-solving approach. However, it is argued that some memorization occurs in all learning of science everywhere, that the Omani approach has its merits, and that a major problem in these lectures was the lack of knowledge of Omani and Arabic culture in the lecturers. It is argued that all learning takes place by matching new knowledge and methods with previous ones, and that to successfully lecture to the Omani students the lecturers would need to research further into ways in which their approach could have built on, rather than replaced entirely, the Omani approach. The article is based on interviews with the lecturers and extracts from the lectures, which were recorded and transcribed by the writer.     

Perceptual-cognitive expertise in sport: a meta-analysis

Research focusing on perceptual-cognitive skill in sport is abundant. However, the existing qualitative syntheses of this research lack the quantitative detail necessary to determine the magnitude of differences between groups of varying levels of skills, thereby limiting the theoretical and practical contribution of this body of literature. We present a meta-analytic review focusing on perceptual-cognitive skill in sport (N = 42 studies, 388 effect sizes) with the primary aim of quantifying expertise differences. Effects were calculated for a variety of dependent measures (i.e., response accuracy, response time, number of visual fixations, visual fixation duration, and quiet eye period) using point-biserial correlation. Results indicated that experts are better than nonexperts in picking up perceptual cues, as revealed by measures of response accuracy and response time. Systematic differences in visual search behaviors were also observed, with experts using fewer fixations of longer duration, including prolonged quiet eye periods, compared with non-experts. Several factors (e.g., sport type, research paradigm employed, and stimulus presentation modality) significantly moderated the relationship between level of expertise and perceptual-cognitive skill. Practical and theoretical implications are presented and suggestions for empirical work are provided.     

Old dogs, new tricks: training the perceptual skills of senior tennis players

The purpose of the study was to determine whether multidimensional perceptual-cognitive skills training, including situational awareness, anticipation, and decision making, improves on-court performance in older adults when compared with a physical training program, including stroke and footwork development. Senior tennis players (N = 27) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: perceptual-cognitive skills training, technique-footwork training, or no training. Results indicated that participants receiving perceptual-cognitive skills training had significantly faster response speeds, higher percentage of accurate responses, and higher percentage of performance decision making in posttest match situations. Findings provide clear evidence that perceptual-cognitive skills can be trained in aged individuals. Implications and suggestions for future research are offered.     

The Reporting and Analysis of Research Findings for Within–Subject Designs: Methodological Issues for Meta–Analysis

Abstract

The results of studying the older athlete provide inference to the possible physiological limits found at various ages and the effect of physical activity on the aging process. As a result of the increase in development of atherosclerosis with age and the high intensity effort involved in track competition, the importance of a maximal stress test prior to entering into competition was discussed. The results presented showed 40- to 75-yr-old champion track competitors to have excellent performance, cardiopulmonary function, and body composition characteristics when compared to sedentary and moderately trained subjects of similar ages. Although maximal performance and oxygen intake decreased with age, a dramatic reduction did not occur until after age 65. Body composition measures, maximal pulmonary ventilation, resting heart rate and blood pressure, and serum lipids were similar for subjects up to age 65, but showed a significant decrement thereafter. The causes of the decrement in performance and physiological function with age could not be determined, but were thought to result from a combination of factors, e.g., aging, quantity and quality of conditioning, and number of years in continuous training.     

Bidirectional relationships of physical activity and gross motor skills before and after summer break: Application of a cross-lagged panel model

Background:Gross motor skills are postulated to have a bidirectional relationship with physical activity(PA);however,no study has tested this relationship before and after a summer break.The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional relationships between school PA and gross motor skills in children before and after a summer break.Methods:Participants were a sample of 440 children recruited from 3 low-income schools(age=8.9±1.2 years,mean±SD).PA was assessed as average school-day step counts using Yamax DigiWalker pedometers(Yamasa Tokei Keiki,Tokyo,Japan)worn for 5 consecutive school days.Gross motor skills were assessed using the Test for Gross Motor Development,3 rd edition.Data were collected at 2 timepoints:at the end of spring semester(T1)and at the beginning of the subsequent fall semester(T2).An age-and body mass index-adjusted cross-lagged model was employed to relate T1 school step counts with T2 gross motor skills and T1 gross motor skills with T2 school step counts.Results:T1 gross motor skills significantly predicted T2 school step counts(β=0.24,95%confidence interval(95%CI):0.08-0.40,p=0.003);however,Tl school step counts did not predict T2 gross motor skills(β=0.04,95%CI:-0.06 to 0.14,p=0.445).The model explained 35.4%and 15.9%of the variances of T2 gross motor skills and T2 school step counts,respectively.Additional analyses indicated that these relationships were driven primarily by ball skills.Conclusion:The relationship between gross motor skills and school PA was not bidirectional;however,higher gross motor skills,specifically ball skills,predicted higher school PA after a 3-month summer break.     

EFFECTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON BEHAVIORAL ENGAGEMENT OF STUDENTS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

Student behavioral engagement is a key condition supporting academic achievement, yet student disengagement in middle and high schools is all too common. The current study used a randomized controlled design to test the efficacy of the My Teaching Partner‐Secondary program to increase behavioral engagement. The program offers teachers personalized coaching and systematic feedback on teachers’ interactions with students, based on systematic observation of videorecordings of teacher‐student interactions in the classroom. The study found that intervention teachers had significantly higher increases, albeit to a modest degree, in student behavioral engagement in their classrooms after 1 year of involvement with the program compared to the teachers in the control group (explaining 4% of variance). In exploratory analyses, two dimensions of teachers’ interactions with students—their focus on analysis and problem solving during instruction and their use of diverse instructional learning formats—acted as mediators of increased student engagement. The findings offer implications for new directions in teacher professional development and for understanding the classroom as a setting for adolescent development.     

Promoting the development of preschool children’s emergent literacy skills: a randomized evaluation of a literacy-focused curriculum and two professional development models

To date, there have been few causally interpretable evaluations of the impacts of preschool curricula on the skills of children at-risk for academic difficulties, and even fewer studies have demonstrated statistically significant or educationally meaningful effects. In this cluster-randomized study, we evaluated the impacts of a literacy-focused preschool curriculum and two types of professional development on the emergent literacy skills of preschool children at-risk for educational difficulties. Forty-eight preschools were randomly assigned to a business-as-usual control, a literacy-focused curriculum with workshop-only professional development, or a literacy-focused curriculum with workshop plus in-class mentoring professional development conditions. An ethnically diverse group of 739 preschool children was assessed on language and literacy outcomes. Results revealed significant and moderate effects for the curriculum and small, mostly nonsignificant, effects of professional development across child outcomes and classroom measures.