Developing technical expertise in secondary technical schools: The effect of 4C/ID learning environments

In this study, the effectiveness of learning environments, developed in line with the specifications of the four components instructional design model (4C/ID model) and the additional effect of ICT for fostering the development of technical expertise in traditional Ghanaian classrooms, was assessed. The study had a one-by-one-by-two pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design. Three functionally equivalent classes of students from three similar (secondary technical) schools were randomly exposed to three different treatments. The sample consisted of 129 students. The treatment groups consisted of one control group with a regular method of teaching and two experimental groups: a 4C/ID learning environment with ICT; and a 4C/ID learning environment without ICT. The content for the treatments was selected from the secondary technical education syllabus. Technical teachers were trained to implement the interventions. After the pilot study, the materials were validated by experts and revised. Teachers were retrained. The main study, consisting of six sessions, was conducted in regular classrooms in three schools. Results indicated that a 4C/ID learning environment promotes the development of technical expertise in secondary technical education better than teaching designed in line with a regular method of teaching. Moreover, results reveal no significant difference in learning gains for the 4C/ID learning environment between the group with ICT and the group without ICT. In the final section, the theoretical, research and practical implications of the results for the instructional design and technology community as well as for educational practice, are discussed.     

Jewish culture,Chinese culture,and mathematics education

Educational Studies in Mathematics - In the past three decades, there has been increased attention on the influence of culture on the teaching and learning of mathematics. Jews and Chinese both...     

A Useful Example when Teaching Hypothesis Testing

This article describes an example which is useful when teaching hypothesis testing in order to highlight the interrelationships that exist among the level of significance, the sample size and the statistical power of a test. The example also allows students to see how what they learn in the classroom directly affects the content of some of the commercials that they watch on television.     

Role Balance and Depression Among College Students: The Moderating Influence of Adult Attachment Orientations

This study examined interrelationships among role balance perceptions, adult attachment orientations, and depression within an ethnically diverse, mixed‐gender sample of college students. Adult attachment orientations—and particularly attachment avoidance—significantly interacted with students' role balance levels to predict their depression scores. Implications and recommendations for college counseling centers are also discussed.     

Saving sea turtles: the evolution of the IUCN Marine Turtle Group

When Peter Scott became chairman of the Survival Service Commission of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in 1963, he invited Archie Carr to chair the Marine Turtle Group (MTG). A leading authority on the ecology and conservation of sea turtles, Carr believed that the MTG could be the first international forum for sea turtle research and conservation. The assembly of data for the IUCN Red Data Book revealed which species of turtles were threatened with extinction and the array of risks that they faced. Although Carr and Scott differed on what courses of action should be taken in light of this, the MTG did emerge as an important international congress that remains an inspiration to current marine protection efforts.     

Initial foot contact and related kinematics affect impact loading rate in running

This study assessed kinematic differences between different foot strike patterns and their relationship with peak vertical instantaneous loading rate (VILR) of the ground reaction force (GRF). Fifty-two runners ran at 3.2 m · s^?1 while we recorded GRF and lower limb kinematics and determined foot strike pattern: Typical or Atypical rearfoot strike (RFS), midfoot strike (MFS) of forefoot strike (FFS). Typical RFS had longer contact times and a lower leg stiffness than Atypical RFS and MFS. Typical RFS showed a dorsiflexed ankle (7.2 ± 3.5°) and positive foot angle (20.4 ± 4.8°) at initial contact while MFS showed a plantar flexed ankle (?10.4 ± 6.3°) and more horizontal foot (1.6 ± 3.1°). Atypical RFS showed a plantar flexed ankle (?3.1 ± 4.4°) and a small foot angle (7.0 ± 5.1°) at initial contact and had the highest VILR. For the RFS (Typical and Atypical RFS), foot angle at initial contact showed the highest correlation with VILR (r = ?0.68). The observed higher VILR in Atypical RFS could be related to both ankle and foot kinematics and global running style that indicate a limited use of known kinematic impact absorbing “strategies” such as initial ankle dorsiflexion in MFS or initial ankle plantar flexion in Typical RFS.