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.     

An assessment of the minimum reading comprehension of prospective teachers as defined by a de facto standard

This study contrasts minimum reading comprehension of prospective teachers and average readability of required undergraduate textbooks. The Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) test represents student test scores and textbook readability measurements on the same scale. Over 2,274 teacher education program applicants at 21 institutions in one state participated. A representative sample of 237 books used in these schools was selected. Since the mean DRP test score for students (79.6) was much higher than the mean DRP readability for books (69.9), any difficulties in understanding the average text by the average student cannot be due to basic deficiencies in reading comprehension. However, 20% of the applicants scored below the average DRP value for all books and 33% below the average for the more difficult books. Minimum reading ability varied with plans for teaching at different grade levels and academic areas and with level of commitment to the teaching profession.     

Using Biomedically Relevant Multimedia Content in an Introductory Physics Course for Life Science and Pre-health Students

We will describe a one-quarter pilot algebra-based introductory physics course for pre-health and life science majors. The course features videos with biomedical experts and cogent biomedically inspired physics content. The materials were used in a flipped classroom as well as an all-online environment where students interacted with multimedia materials online and prior to engaging in classroom activities. Pre-lecture questions on both the medical content covered in the video media and the physics concepts in the written material were designed to engage students and probe their understanding of physics. The course featured group discussion and peer-lead instruction. Following in-class instruction, students engaged with homework assignments which explore the connections of physics and the medical field in a quantitative manner. Course surveys showed a positive response by the vast majority of students. Students largely indicated that the course helped them to make a connection between physics and the biomedical field. The biomedical focus and different course format were seen as an improvement to previous traditional physics instruction.     

LEARNING ABOUT TEACHING THE EXTRACURRICULAR TOPIC OF NANOTECHNOLOGY AS A VEHICLE FOR ACHIEVING A SUSTAINABLE CHANGE IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

This study focused on teachers’ transfer of a variety of teaching methods from a teaching module on nanotechnology, which is an example of a topic outside the science curriculum, to teaching topics that are part of the chemistry curriculum. Nanotechnology is outside the science curriculum, but it was used in this study as a means to carry out a change in the way chemistry teachers teach. The participants in the study included nine high school in-service chemistry teachers. Three research tools were used: (1) semistructured interviews that were conducted with the teachers, after they had finished teaching their nanotechnology module, and follow-up semistructured interviews that were conducted 2 years after the teachers had taught the nanotechnology module , and teachers’ assessment and evaluation of their own teaching method, determining how the nanotechnology modules influenced the students who learned according to this program. The data collection process continued for 5 years. Most of the teachers indicated that they continued teaching the nanotechnology module that they designed and all of them stated that they integrated the unique teaching methods into their teaching of chemistry. High efficacy beliefs were built based on the self-evaluation process that was part of the teachers’ professional development program. Teaching self-efficacy beliefs and organization efficacy beliefs was found to contribute to teachers’ sustainable changes. The findings in the current research are only limited to the topic of nanotechnology; however, we believe that similar results can be obtained for any modern scientific topic that is outside the high school science curriculum. We suggest that more research should be done to determine whether the same findings emerge by using the same approach but on another topic.     

First-grade cognitive abilities as long-term predictors of reading comprehension and disability status

In a sample of 195 first graders selected for poor reading performance, the authors explored four cognitive predictors of later reading comprehension and reading disability (RD) status. In fall of first grade, the authors measured the children's phonological processing, rapid automatized naming (RAN), oral language comprehension, and nonverbal reasoning. Throughout first grade, they also modeled the students' reading progress by means of weekly Word Identification Fluency (WIF) tests to derive December and May intercepts. The authors assessed their reading comprehension in the spring of Grades 1-5. With the four cognitive variables and the WIF December intercept as predictors, 50.3% of the variance in fifth-grade reading comprehension was explained: 52.1% of this 50.3% was unique to the cognitive variables, 13.1% to the WIF December intercept, and 34.8% was shared. All five predictors were statistically significant. The same four cognitive variables with the May (rather than December) WIF intercept produced a model that explained 62.1% of the variance. Of this amount, the cognitive variables and May WIF intercept accounted for 34.5% and 27.7%, respectively; they shared 37.8%. All predictors in this model were statistically significant except RAN. Logistic regression analyses indicated that the accuracy with which the cognitive variables predicted end-of-fifth-grade RD status was 73.9%. The May WIF intercept contributed reliably to this prediction; the December WIF intercept did not. Results are discussed in terms of a role for cognitive abilities in identifying, classifying, and instructing students with severe reading problems.     

Talking Smack: Verbal Aggression in Professional Wrestling

The current study presents the results of a content analysis of the verbal aggression found in 36 hours of televised professional wrestling. The coding scheme was adapted from the National Television Violence Study and past research on television verbal aggression. Results show that an abundance of verbal aggression occurs in televised professional wrestling, with swearing, competence attacks, and character attacks being the most common types. In addition, the primary motives for verbal aggression use are amusement and anger. Furthermore, verbal aggression tends to be communicated and received by White, male individuals with no clear dispositional characteristics. The results are discussed in terms of potential effects of exposure to the verbal aggression found in professional wrestling.