Instructional principles for self-regulation

The purpose of this article is to suggest principles for embedding support in instruction to facilitate self-regulation (SR) in less expert learners. The principles are based on an analysis of the growing body of research on the distinctive self-regulation differences between higher and lower achieving learners. The analysis revealed four instructional principles that designers should consider to provide support for self-regulation. Each principle is supported by research and instructional examples are included.     

Investigating digital video applications in distance learning

The paper gives a brief overview of the use of digital video in distance education, the background to The Open University's Digital Video Applications (DiVA) Project, the contexts in which the Digital Video Library system is being used and some evaluation findings. Through DiVA, the university is investigating how it can use its video assets effectively, to support reuse of existing materials in course production. The project team is also evaluating student use of the system. The paper reports on an observation study which revealed several usability issues and stakeholders' opinions about potential uses of the DiVA system. This is followed by findings from an evaluation of student use of the system at a residential school and its use as part of an online learning activity undertaken by students accessing the system remotely. Evaluation findings to date indicate some quality and workload issues but they also show opportunities that come to light when using the DiVA system.     

Executive function and language in deaf children

The relationship between language and executive function (EF) and their development in children have been the focus of recent debate and are of theoretical and clinical importance. Exploration of these functions in children with a peripheral hearing loss has the potential to be informative from both perspectives. This study compared the EF and language skills of 8- to 12-year-old children with cochlear implants (n = 22) and nonimplanted deaf children (n = 25) with those of age-matched hearing controls (n = 22). Implanted and nonimplanted deaf children performed below the level of hearing children on tests assessing oral receptive language, as well as on a number of EF tests, but no significant differences emerged between the implanted and nonimplanted deaf groups. Language ability was significantly positively associated with EF in both hearing and deaf children. Possible interpretations of these findings are suggested and the theoretical and clinical implications considered.     

Static and dynamic accuracy of a magnetic-inertial measurement unit used to provide racket swing kinematics

Magnetic-inertial measurement units (MIMUs) are becoming more prevalent in sports biomechanics and may be a viable tool to evaluate kinematic parameters. This study examined the accuracy of a MIMU to estimate orientation angles under static conditions and dynamically from a squash racket during a forehand drive shot. A MIMU was mounted onto a goniometer and moved through 0–90°, with static data collected at 10° increments during 10 repetitions of all three axes. Typical error analyses showed the MIMU to be very reliable (TE ≤ 0.03°). MIMU accuracy was determined via intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) (r > 0.999, p < 0.001). An ordinary least products regression showed no proportional bias and minimal fixed bias for all axes. Dynamic accuracy was assessed by comparing MIMU and optical motion capture data of squash racket swing kinematics. A MIMU was fixed onto a racket and 10 participants each hit 10 forehand shots. Mean orientation angle error at ball impact was <0.50° and ICC showed very high correlations (r ≥ 0.988, p < 0.001) for all orientations. Swing phase root mean squared errors were ≤2.20°. These results indicate that a MIMU could be used to accurately and reliably estimate selected racket swing kinematics.     

When Librarians Hit the Books: Uses of and Attitudes Toward E-Books

Librarians offer a unique perspective on e-books: on one hand they collect these resources and train users as part of their jobs, while on the other hand, they may be users of e-books themselves. With recent increases in research expectations for Canadian academic librarians, this study aimed to discover: when librarians do research, do they use e-books and how often are they using them? This study examines the results of a survey of 392 academic librarians from across Canada. The survey generated data on librarians' use of, and attitudes towards, e-books. While a number of studies examine the use and opinions of e-books among other user groups, this study examines how librarians search for or use e-books differently than other user groups. Results will help librarians to improve their liaison work and make more informed collection development decisions at their own institutions.     

The impact of relational markers on expository text comprehension in L1 and L2

This article reports on an experimentinvestigating the impact of causal discoursemarkers (connectives and signaling phrases) onthe comprehension of expository texts in L1 andL2. Although several psycholinguistic studieshave investigated the impact of connectives andlexical markers of text structure oncomprehension (i.e. off-line), there is noconsensus on the exact effect of explicitdiscourse markers on text understanding; threedifferent findings are reported in theliterature: markers would have a facilitatingeffect, an interfering effect or no effect atall. The first goal of this article is toclarify this problem of contradicting resultsby limiting the scope of the study to causalrelations, and to one specific text type:expository texts. Furthermore, the naturalnessof the experimental texts was controlled,readers did not need specific backgroundknowledge to understand the texts and theexperimental method consisted of open answerquestioning. Our second goal is to investigateto what extent a supposed effect of linguisticmarking depends on readers proficiency in afirst or second language.The experiment consisted in the reading of short expository texts in two languages, Dutchand French, which both functioned as L1 and L2.The results indicate that readers benefit fromthe presence of causal relational markers bothin L1 and in L2. Implications for (theoriesof) text processing are discussed, as well asfor the further insights in readingcomprehension in L1 and L2.     

Assignments as a Pedagogical Tool in Learning to Teach Science: A Case Study

Fostering student teachers' confidence and competence to teach science in early childhood settings is a complex and challenging task for teacher educators situated in university classrooms. The research reported in this paper is based on an analysis of 3rd-year early childhood student teachers' assignments. The assignment required them to interview young children in order to find out what the children knew about a specified science topic. Three themes emerged from a constant comparison analysis. The first was the artificiality of the situation as constrained by the task. The second was the importance of sound subject knowledge in being able to ask questions of the children that were not misleading or difficult to answer. The third theme encompassed the difficulties associated with engaging young children in meaningful conversations. As a result of this analysis, the assignment task was modified to enable student teachers to work in more pedagogically appropriate and authentic ways.     

Reliability and validity of field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players

This study aimed to establish between-day reliability and validity of commonly used field-based fitness tests in youth soccer players of varied age and playing standards, and to discriminate between players without (“unidentified”) or with (“identified”) a direct route to professional football through their existing club pathway. Three-hundred-and-seventy-three Scottish youth soccer players (U11–U17) from three different playing standards (amateur, development, performance) completed a battery of commonly used generic field-based fitness tests (grip dynamometry, standing broad jump, countermovement vertical jump, 505 (505COD) and T-Drill (T-Test) change of direction and 10/20 m sprint tests) on two separate occasions within 7–14?days. The majority of field-based fitness tests selected within this study proved to be reliable measures of physical performance (ICC?=?0.83–0.97; p?p?2 (7)?=?101.646, p?相似文献