Analysis of the 5 iron golf swing when hitting for maximum distance

Most previous research on golf swing mechanics has focused on the driver club. The aim of this study was to identify the kinematic factors that contribute to greater hitting distance when using the 5 iron club. Three-dimensional marker coordinate data were collected (250 Hz) to calculate joint kinematics at eight key swing events, while a swing analyser measured club swing and ball launch characteristics. Thirty male participants were assigned to one of two groups, based on their ball launch speed (high: 52.9 ± 2.1 m · s(-1); low: 39.9 ± 5.2 m · s(-1)). Statistical analyses were used to identify variables that differed significantly between the two groups. Results showed significant differences were evident between the two groups for club face impact point and a number of joint angles and angular velocities, with greater shoulder flexion and less left shoulder internal rotation in the backswing, greater extension angular velocity in both shoulders at early downswing, greater left shoulder adduction angular velocity at ball contact, greater hip joint movement and X Factor angle during the downswing, and greater left elbow extension early in the downswing appearing to contribute to greater hitting distance with the 5 iron club.     

Increasing access to learning for the adult basic education learner with learning disabilities: evidence-based accommodation research

Accommodating adult basic education (ABE) learners with learning disabilities (LD) is common practice across many instructional, testing, and work settings. However, the results from this literature search indicate that very few empirically based studies are available to support or reject the effectiveness of a great deal of accommodation implementation. In addition, in light of the profound changes to literacy taking place in today's digital, networked, and multimodal world, technology is redefining traditional concepts of accessibility and accommodation.     

The attitudes of male student teachers towards a career in special education

This study considers the reasons why so few male student teachers are entering the special education sector. This comes as recent statistics reveal that the percentage of male teaching staff in special education in Northern Ireland is much lower than in England. The article first critically considers the international literature on male students’ perceptions of entering the teaching profession. The study then examines the opinions of the post‐primary student cohort at one major initial teacher education institution in Northern Ireland and contrasts male and female responses in terms of students’ confidence in their knowledge of special educational needs and their relative willingness to consider specialising in this area. The study reveals significant differences in the cohort between male and female students’ perceptions, and through individual interviews it explores further the reasons why male students are reluctant to specialise in special educational needs.     

Connections as a Focus for Model-Building Learning in Engineering

Learning to create and use models of real-world situations is an important goal for under-graduate engineers. Engineers today use computer models to explore design problems and test solutions before actually building anything. Learning to create and use models of real-world sit-uations is a challenging task. Most efforts to teach modeling are essentially a means of teach-ing students programming, which is recognized as difficult. In the approach described in this paper, we sought to simplify the task as much as possible away from programming, while still requiring students to learn to use the mathematical models necessary to understand a given sit-uation. We worked in the domain of Chemical Engineering with a tool called DEVICE (Dynamic Environment for Visualization in Chemical Engineering). What we found through an iterative development effort is that emphasizing connections between the real world and the mathematical model led to learning and transfer benefits.     

Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA): An Instructor’s Development and Evaluation of an Embedded Signature Assessment in an Early Childhood Literacy Course

As of May 2014, all candidates for teacher certification in New York State must successfully complete the teacher performance assessment (edTPA). This article describes an assignment piloted in an early childhood literacy class as an embedded signature assessment and has three goals: to explain the context that led to the development of the assignment, to describe how the assignment was created and piloted, and to describe the methodology and results of an action research project intended to collect data on candidates’ perceptions of the challenges and value of the assignment. Implications for candidates’ understanding and utilization of developmentally appropriate practice, academic language, and self-reflection, as well as for the design of embedded signature assessments are discussed.     

Preparing for Examinations: The interplay of memorising and understanding,and the development of knowledge objects

Two groups of students (N=28) were interviewed about their experiences of preparing for, and taking, final university examinations. The analysis examined the processes of learning used during revision, and, in particular, the ways in which understanding and memorising were described. A sequence of categories was identified through which to present a typical sequence of study activities in preparing for final examinations. One recurring aspect of the revision process involved the creation of "knowledge objects"--tightly structured, quasi-visual forms of understanding. The analysis showed that the distinction between "understanding" and "memorising" is not easy to delineate, with "committing to memory" and "rote learning of details" both contributing to the production of a knowledge object. The findings warn against too ready a linkage of intention to any specific process in student learning: a deep intention can involve rote memorisation, while a surface approach at university level will include understanding, even if it is reproduced from lecture notes. They also draw attention to the complexity of the interplay between different learning processes and so complement psychometric studies of memorisation and understanding.