Beginning reading strategies in children experiencing contrasting teaching methods

Two groups of 4.5–5.5 year old children in their first year at school were examined; one taught by a whole word teaching method and one taught by a mixed whole word and phonological teaching method. The children were given a test to investigate their reading of normal words. The results of this test were subjected to a detailed error analysis and the two groups were examined in order to see if there were differences in the reading strategies they used. No evidence was found counter to the assumption that reading begins with a logographic stage. However, it was found that teaching method was having a significant impact on the reading strategies which the children adopted. In addition it was found that a number of children from the whole school appeared to exhibit letter by letter reading. This suggests that letter by letter dyslexia might in part be an extreme form of a strategy used by normal readers.     

Differences in activation patterns between eccentric and concentric quadriceps contractions.

Previous studies analysing electromyograms (EMGs) from indwelling electrodes have indicated that fast-twitch motor units are selectively recruited for low-intensity eccentric contractions. The aim of this study was to compare the frequency content of surface EMGs from quadriceps muscles during eccentric and concentric contractions at various contraction intensities. Electromyograms were recorded from the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles of 10 men during isokinetic (1.05 rad x s(-1)) eccentric and concentric knee extension contractions at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) for each contraction mode. Additionally, isometric contractions (70 degrees) were performed at each intensity. The mean frequency and root mean square (RMS) of the surface EMG were computed. Mean frequency was higher for eccentric than concentric contractions at 25% (P < 0.01), 50% (P < 0.01) and 75% (P < 0.05) but not at 100% MVC. It increased with increasing contraction intensity for isometric (P < 0.001) and concentric (P < 0.01) contractions but not for eccentric contractions (P = 0.27). The EMG amplitude (RMS) increased with increasing contraction intensity similarly in each contraction mode (P < 0.0001). Higher mean frequencies for eccentric than concentric contractions at submaximal contraction intensities is consistent with more fast-twitch motor units being active during eccentric contractions.     

Factors that influence university students’ intention to use Moodle: a study in Macau

Educational technology research and development - Moodle is widely used in higher education institutions in this digital age. With the growing popularity of Moodle use in education, this study...     

Assessing and tracking students’ problem solving performances in anchored learning environments

The purpose of this randomized experiment was to compare the performance of high-, average-, and low-achieving middle school students who were assessed with parallel versions of a computer-based test (CBT) or a paper-pencil test (PPT). Tests delivered in interactive, immersive environments like the CBT may have the advantage of providing teachers with diagnostic tools that can lead to instruction tailored to the needs of students at different achievement levels. To test the feasibility of CBT, students were randomly assigned to the CBT or PPT test conditions to measure what they had learned from an instructional method called enhanced anchored math instruction. Both assessment methods showed that students benefited from instruction and differentiated students by achievement status. The navigation maps generated from the CBT revealed that the low-achieving students were able to navigate the test, spent about the same amount of time solving the subproblems as the more advanced students, and made use of the learning scaffolds.

Applying the Own it,Learn it,Share it framework to the flexible Pink Time assignment to scaffold student autonomy online and in person

This response to Lee and Hannafin’s A design framework for enhancing engagement in student-centered learning: own it, learn it, and share it (OLSit) (Lee and Hannafin, Educational Technology Research and Development 64:707–734, 2016) discusses its helpful design guidelines from a practitioner’s perspective. OLSit provides a blueprint for chance-taking with student-centered learning. Here, I apply this blueprint to a flexible assignment colleagues and I designed to promote intrinsic motivation and engagement, called Pink Time (PT), which asks students to “skip class, do whatever you want, and grade yourself.” Together, OLSit and PT are well suited for this moment of disruption and pivot to remote learning. Students’ stereotypes about what is “valid” in the classroom may be important limitations. But iterative and effective communication can shape students’ perceptions and scaffold their efforts. In the future, scholars and practitioners should consider how grades undermine online SCL strategies like OLSit and PT.

     

Love Styles and Communication in Relationships: Partner Preferences,Initiation, and Intensification

The three exploratory studies reported here investigate the role of love styles in the early stages of romantic relationships. Study 1 (N = 108) had subjects rate and rank 14 characteristics of prospective romantic partners. As expected, individual's love style scores were related to the characteristics people report as desirable in a relational partner. Several of these effects, however, were moderated by sex. Study 2 (N = 173) revealed that scores on love styles were associated with ratings of opening lines and intensification strategies. None of these effects were moderated by sex. Study 3 (N = 137) investigated the association between love styles and ratings of secret tests among individuals currently involved in a romantic relationship. The results indicated that love styles were associated with ratings of secret tests. These data add to a growing body of literature suggesting that love styles are associated with individual differences in relational and communicative behavior across the life span of romantic relationships.     

The role of upper torso and pelvis rotation in driving performance during the golf swing

While the role of the upper torso and pelvis in driving performance is anecdotally appreciated by golf instructors, their actual biomechanical role is unclear. The aims of this study were to describe upper torso and pelvis rotation and velocity during the golf swing and determine their role in ball velocity. One hundred recreational golfers underwent a biomechanical golf swing analysis using their own driver. Upper torso and pelvic rotation and velocity, and torso-pelvic separation and velocity, were measured for each swing. Ball velocity was assessed with a golf launch monitor. Group differences (groups based on ball velocity) and moderate relationships (r > or = 0.50; P < 0.001) were observed between an increase in ball velocity and the following variables: increased torso-pelvic separation at the top of the swing, maximum torso-pelvic separation, maximum upper torso rotation velocity, upper torso rotational velocity at lead arm parallel and last 40 ms before impact, maximum torso-pelvic separation velocity and torso-pelvic separation velocity at both lead arm parallel and at the last 40 ms before impact. Torso-pelvic separation contributes to greater upper torso rotation velocity and torso-pelvic separation velocity during the downswing, ultimately contributing to greater ball velocity. Golf instructors can consider increasing ball velocity by maximizing separation between the upper torso and pelvis at the top of and initiation of the downswing.     

Rethinking fat as a fuel for endurance exercise

Abstract

A key element contributing to deteriorating exercise capacity during physically demanding sport appears to be reduced carbohydrate availability coupled with an inability to effectively utilize alternative lipid fuel sources. Paradoxically, cognitive and physical decline associated with glycogen depletion occurs in the presence of an over-abundance of fuel stored as body fat that the athlete is apparently unable to access effectively. Current fuelling tactics that emphasize high-carbohydrate intakes before and during exercise inhibit fat utilization. The most efficient approach to accelerate the body’s ability to oxidize fat is to lower dietary carbohydrate intake to a level that results in nutritional ketosis (i.e., circulating ketone levels >0.5 mmol/L) while increasing fat intake for a period of several weeks. The coordinated set of metabolic adaptations that ensures proper interorgan fuel supply in the face of low-carbohydrate availability is referred to as keto-adaptation. Beyond simply providing a stable source of fuel for the brain, the major circulating ketone body, beta-hydroxybutyrate, has recently been shown to act as a signalling molecule capable of altering gene expression, eliciting complementary effects of keto-adaptation that could extend human physical and mental performance beyond current expectation. In this paper, we review these new findings and propose that the shift to fatty acids and ketones as primary fuels when dietary carbohydrate is restricted could be of benefit for some athletes.     

Breaking the Cycle: Future Faculty Begin Teaching with Learner-Centered Strategies after Professional Development

The availability of reliable evidence for teaching practices after professional development is limited across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, making the identification of professional development “best practices” and effective models for change difficult. We aimed to determine the extent to which postdoctoral fellows (i.e., future biology faculty) believed in and implemented evidence-based pedagogies after completion of a 2-yr professional development program, Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST IV). Postdocs (PDs) attended a 2-yr training program during which they completed self-report assessments of their beliefs about teaching and gains in pedagogical knowledge and experience, and they provided copies of class assessments and video recordings of their teaching. The PDs reported greater use of learner-centered compared with teacher-centered strategies. These data were consistent with the results of expert reviews of teaching videos. The majority of PDs (86%) received video ratings that documented active engagement of students and implementation of learner-centered classrooms. Despite practice of higher-level cognition in class sessions, the items used by the PDs on their assessments of learning focused on lower-level cognitive skills. We attributed the high success of the FIRST IV program to our focus on inexperienced teachers, an iterative process of teaching practice and reflection, and development of and teaching a full course.