A program for excellence in physics and physical science teaching

Conclusion It seems reasonable to conclude that the impact of these projects has been extensive and that we have met our basic objectives regarding the improvement of science education for the target teachers and students. The long-term goal of improved scientific literacy of at least a part of the citizens of this country and world can only be assessed by some form of longitudinal study that is beyond the scope and funding for these projects. But our assessment of what has been accomplished in the short term efforts seems to indicate very positive gains in those areas of knowledge, confidence, and pedagogical capability that we believe will enable the participants to make contributions to the improvement of scientific literacy for the students with whom they work. In short, we believe we have had two successful and worthwhile programs that have been useful and effective.     

Prospective Elementary Mathematics Specialists’ developing instructional practices: support and mentorship during an authentic residency

Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education - This case study explored Prospective Elementary Mathematics Specialists’ (PEMSs) pedagogical practices during a K-5 Mathematics Endorsement (K-5 ME)...     

Narrative Capacity,Resistance Performance,and the “Shape” of New Social Movement Networks

The current research explored two new social movement networks in the United States in order to demonstrate the impact of narrative capacity on the “shape” of an activist network. In particular, we found that activists in a network that demonstrated efficient narrative capacity described the hub organization in positive terms, while activists in a network that demonstrated poor narrative capacity held mixed perceptions about the hub. Some activists in the second network held positive perceptions about the organization, while others held negative perceptions. The observations from these two research sites led us to conceptualize activists' differing perceptions about their respective hub organizations as “distance” that they experienced from that hub. Therefore, two different star shapes emerged from our research: a symmetrical star and elongated star. Such findings demonstrate the importance for narrative capacity in the construction and maintenance of effective activist networks.     

The Impact of an Obstacle Course Sport Education Season on Students' Aerobic Fitness Levels

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if factor patterns of selected sports skills were similar for two samples, a skilled sample and one consisting of a wide range of skills. Comparisons were also made with kinesiological evidence regarding the patterning of basic sports skills. Data consisting of performance scores on various sports skills were available for 166 high school girls. Out of this sample, a smaller sample was drawn consisting of 69 girls who were above average in skill. Two factor models, alpha and incomplete image analysis, were used in the analysis of this data. The factor pattern of selected sports skills performed by subjects above average in skill was similar in many respects to that of a sample which included a wide range of skill. The primary difference lay in the clustering of overarm skills which appeared in the above-average factor pattern. The overarm and push patterns of the above-average sample resembled the patterns of skill obtained through kinesiological analysis. The structure of kicking, underarm, and sidearm skills remained obscure, based on the results of factor analytic techniques.     

But I like PE: factors associated with enjoyment of physical education class in middle school girls

The current study examined associations between physical education (PE) class enjoyment and sociodemographic, personal, and perceived school environment factors among early adolescent girls. Participants included 1,511 sixth-grade girls who completed baseline assessments for the Trial of Activity in Adolescent Girls, with 50% indicating they enjoyed PE class a lot. Variables positively associated with PE class enjoyment included physical activity level, perceived benefits of physical activity, self-efficacy for leisure time physical activity, and perceived school climate for girls' physical activity as influenced by teachers, while body mass index was inversely associated with PE class enjoyment. After adjusting for all variables in the model, PE class enjoyment was significantly greater in Blacks than in Whites. In model testing, with mutual adjustment for all variables, self-efficacy was the strongest correlate of PE class enjoyment, followed by perceived benefits, race/ethnicity, and teachers' support for girls' physical activity, as compared to boys, at school. The overall model explained 11% of the variance in PE class enjoyment. Findings suggest that efforts to enhance girls' self-efficacy and perceived benefits and to provide a supportive PE class environment that promotes gender equality can potentially increase PE class enjoyment among young girls.     

Differential reactions to assertive and communicative acts of toddler boys and girls

34 children were observed in infant play groups. 2 sets of infant behaviors were coded: assertive acts and attempts to communicate with adults. No sex differences were observed at 13 to 14 months in any of these behaviors. However, adults attended to girls' assertive behaviors far less of the time than to boys' assertive behaviors. They attended more to girls' less intense communication attempts and to boys' more intense attempts. When 29 of the same children were observed in toddler play groups no more than 11 months later, there were sex differences in behavior. Boys were more assertive; girls talked to teachers more. Teachers no longer differentiated their responses to boys and girls. Peers reacted more to boys' assertive behavior than to girls.' We hypothesized that caregivers may use stereotypes to guide their reactions to infants because infant behavior is ambiguous. For the toddlers, behavior had become more defined, and caregivers reacted to the behaviors. By using the sex stereotype to guide their reactions to younger children, the caregivers may have perpetuated the stereotype.     

Effect of a semi electro-mechanical engine valve on performance and emissions in a single cylinder spark ignited engine

In this study, an electro-mechanical valve （EMV） system for the intake valve ofa fottr stroke, single cylinder, overhead valve and spark ignition （SI） engine was designed and constructed. An engine with the EMV system and a standard engine were tested to observe the effects of the EMV on engine performance and emissions at different speeds under full load. The EMV engine showed improved engine power, engine torque and break specific fuel consumption （BSFC）. A 66% decrease in CO emissions was also obtained with the EMV system, but hydrocarbons （HC） and NOx emissions increased by 12% and 13% respectively.     

Confirmatory factor analysis of word recognition and process measures in the Colorado Reading Project

Measures of word recognition (REC) and two component skills, phonological coding (PHON) and orthographic coding (ORTH), were subjected to multivariate behavioral genetic analysis. Data were obtained from a sample of identical and fraternal twin pairs wherein at least one member of each pair was reading disabled (RD), and from a sample of twins wherein both members of each pair read in the normal range. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to fit the genetic, common environmental, and specific environmental covariance components for REC, PHON, and ORTH within the RD and normal simples. The resulting heritability estimates for REC, PHON, and ORTH were 0.59, 0.41, and 0.05 in the RD sample, and 0.35, 0.52, and 0.20 in the normal sample. After dropping the nonsignificant common environment parameters from the models, the genetic correlations between REC and PHON and between REC and ORTH were respectively 0.81 and 0.45 in the RD sample, and 0.68 and 0.45 in the normal sample. Differences between the genetic correlations were significant in the RD sample (p<0.005), marginally significant in the normal sample (p<0.10), and highly significant in the combined sample (p<0.001), indicating that genetic influences on individual differences in REC are more strongly related to genetic variance in PHON than in ORTH. These results are consistent with previous demonstrations of substantial genetic covariance between the disabled group's deficits in REC and PHON, but not between REC and ORTH (Olson et al., 1989; Olson and Rack, 1990).