The Differential Effect of Indirect Instruction in the Teaching of Sport Skills on Critical Thinking and Self-esteem of Early Adolescent Boys Placed at Risk

The purpose of this study was to examine the differential effect of sport skills instruction (SSI) and sport skills instruction plus initiative games (SSI +) on the critical thinking (CT) and self-esteem scores of early adolescent boys placed at risk. Students in the SSI + group ( n = 36) participated in initiative games classes in addition to their sport skills activities. Students in the SSI group (n = 44) participated in the sport skills activities only. Since the boys were divided by age (10-11 & 12-13), the influence of age on the dependent variables was also investigated. Classes taught by the initiative games teacher were student-centered while the sport skills classes were teacher-centered. Significant differences between teacher behaviors occurred in interaction patterns, instructional strategies, and management concerns. There were no differences on self-esteem scores. The results supported the addition of initiative games to SSI to foster CT with this group of participants.     

Techniques and considerations for determining isoinertial upper‐body power

Power is an integral aspect of many sports. Although power output of the lower body is often measured during jumping and cycling movements, much less is known about power as pertains to the upper body musculature. Recently, isoinertial methods ‐ with constant gravitational load ‐ of power testing have become common, but little is known of the reliability and criterion validity of these tests as they pertain to sport performance. In addition, the varied methodology makes a lucid model more evasive. The aims of this review are to examine the various methods of assessing upper body power, to establish its role in predicting athletic performance, and to assess the body of literature that has assessed power output of the upper extremities by isoinertial methods. To our knowledge, only two studies on isoinertial upper‐body power have shown a direct correlation to sporting ability (Baker, 2001; Baker et al., 2001); therefore, many unanswered questions exist as to the efficacy of these tests as predictors of athletic ability or as a method to track athletes’ training over time. From this review we hope to allow the sport coach to assess the overall utility of these tests in terms of availability, safety and external validity.     

The moral obligation to preserve heritage through sport and recreation facilities

The preservation of heritage through renovation projects of sport and recreation facilities is a recent phenomenon. We are not generally prompted to think of sport and recreation venues as cultural objects to preserve or as hosts to heritage, yet, they appear to be significant sources of heritage for communities and fan nations (Mason et al., 2005, Rosentraub and Ijla, 2008). Noting facilities have the ability to preserve heritage, the aim of this paper is to review contemporary philosopher Peter Singer's (1993) perspective on moral obligation to highlight the potential to protect heritage through sport and recreation facility management practices. We argue that communities and constituents may have a moral obligation to preserve heritage through sport and recreation facilities due to the value they possess. Appropriately, preservation is defined and framed as a managerial activity to assure the survival social, political, and cultural records.     

Māori science education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract    This article reports on the first two phases of a multiphase science education development project in predominantly Māori kura (school communities) in the central region of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. The development project in its entirety employs an action research methodology and by so doing endeavors to support the improvement of science education delivery in accordance with school community aspirations. The full project (a) establishes the current situation in Year 1–8 science education in the communities; (b) identifies developmental aspirations for stakeholders within the communities and identifies potential contributors and constraints to these aspirations; (c) implements mechanisms for achieving identified aspirations; and finally; (d) evaluates the effectiveness of such mechanisms. In its focus on the first two phases, this article incorporates the analytical lenses of Kaupapa Māori Theory and Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological model. It concludes by outlining some priorities to consider for science education development based on the outcomes of our preliminary discussions.

Irish education and the legacy of O’Connell

In 1831, the British Government decided to become directly involved in the provision of elementary education in Ireland, a country over which it then had jurisdiction. By European standards of the time this was a highly unusual step. A number of scholars have interrogated the factors that led to this outcome as well as the role played by various individuals. Daniel O’Connell’s activities, at this time, have been described as relatively limited, which appears incongruous given that he is considered the most powerful Irish politician of this era and was then at the height of his powers. It is the central contention of this article that O’Connell was, in fact, intimately involved in bringing about a national system of elementary education. Of more lasting significance is the manner in which he defined the role of the politician vis-à-vis the Church authorities in educational policy-making. In this regard he established a pattern that remained unchanged for over a century and indeed, it could be argued, largely persists to this day.     

Modelling reality in mathematics classrooms: The case of word problems

An abundance of recent research, in many countries, has documented a very widespread tendency of children to answer school mathematics word problems with apparent disregard for the reality of the situations described by the text of these problems. Analysis of this behaviour strongly suggests that an explanation is not to be found in some cognitive deficit of the children, but rather in the culture of the classroom wherein word problems are presented in stereotyped fashion, with an implicit assumption that a solution involving the application of one or more of the basic arithmetical operations to the numbers mentioned in the text is appropriate and unproblematical. Taking such contextual influences into account, the observed behaviour of the children may be considered a reasonable response. An alternative conceptualisation of word problems, as situations calling for mathematical modelling taking into account real-world knowledge where appropriate, is proposed, with suggestions as to how it could be implemented.     

Predicting Operational Rater‐Type Classifications Using Rasch Measurement Theory and Random Forests: A Music Performance Assessment Perspective

The purpose of this study was to build a Random Forest supervised machine learning model in order to predict musical rater‐type classifications based upon a Rasch analysis of raters’ differential severity/leniency related to item use. Raw scores (N = 1,704) from 142 raters across nine high school solo and ensemble festivals (grades 9–12) were collected using a 29‐item Likert‐type rating scale embedded within five domains (tone/intonation, n = 6; balance, n = 5; interpretation, n = 6; rhythm, n = 6; and technical accuracy, n = 6). Data were analyzed using a Many Facets Rasch Partial Credit Model. An a priori k‐means cluster analysis of 29 differential rater functioning indices produced a discrete feature vector that classified raters into one of three distinct rater‐types: (a) syntactical rater‐type, (b) expressive rater‐type, or (c) mental representation rater‐type. Results of the initial Random Forest model resulted in an out‐of‐bag error rate of 5.05%, indicating that approximately 95% of the raters were correctly classified. After tuning a set of three hyperparameters (n_tree, m_try, and node size), the optimized model demonstrated an improved out‐of‐bag error rate of 2.02%. Implications for improvements in assessment, research, and rater training in the field of music education are discussed.     

Epistemic quality for equitable access to quality education in school mathematics

This paper reports on a study that aims to address the challenges of UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. The study focuses on school mathematics in particular. With regard to ensuring equitable access to quality education, it is argued that there is a need to consider the epistemic quality of what students come to know, make sense of and be able to do in school mathematics. Accordingly, the aim is to maximize the chances that all pupils will have epistemic access to school mathematics of high epistemic quality. The study is based on the theoretical framework of Joint Action Theory in Didactics (JATD). Associated research questions focus on the quality of teacher-student(s) joint action and on the epistemic quality of the content. The paper draws on empirical research findings of the Developing Mathematical Thinking in the Primary Classroom (DMTPC) project (2010–12) and also on the findings of a parallel study of mathematics teachers’ assessment practices in Ghana. One teacher’s action research project is used as an exemplar to illustrate how mathematics can become more accessible and inclusive thus leading to an evolution in mathematical thinking and high-quality epistemic access for all.