Special educational needs in mainstream secondary school physical education: learning support assistants have their say

Learning support assistants (LSAs) gained more political and academic attention in Britain after Estelle Morris announced that schools of the future would include more trained staff to support learning to higher standards. LSAs, thus, should form an integral part of the culture of all school departments in Britain, including physical education (PE). The paper uses Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony to explore the processes and practices that shape the views and experiences of LSAs and ultimately the extent to which they facilitate an inclusive culture in PE. A web survey gathered the views and experiences of LSAs vis-à-vis the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream secondary school PE in North-West England. A modified version of the tailored design method participant contact strategy resulted in 343 LSAs starting the web survey, with 154 (45%) following it through to completion. All quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft Excel whilst qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. This entailed the identification of recurring themes and patterns present in the data. The findings highlight the hegemonic status of English, maths and science when it comes to the allocation of SEN resources, which most LSAs support and often reinforce. PE is particularly disadvantaged in this hierarchy of subject priority. The majority of LSAs have not received PE-specific training, which brings into question their ability to facilitate inclusion in PE. Moreover, many schools do not appear to value the involvement of LSAs in the planning of differentiated lessons, which could have a negative impact on the PE experiences of some pupils with SEN given that LSAs are perhaps most aware of the specific learning needs of the pupils they support.     

Effects of power variation on cycle performance during simulated hilly time-trials

It has previously been shown that cyclists are unable to maintain a constant power output during cycle time-trials on hilly courses. The purpose of the present study is therefore to quantify these effects of power variation using a mathematical model of cycling performance. A hypothetical cyclist (body mass: 70?kg, bicycle mass: 10?kg) was studied using a mathematical model of cycling, which included the effects of acceleration. Performance was modelled over three hypothetical 40-km courses, comprising repeated 2.5-km sections of uphill and downhill with gradients of 1%, 3%, and 6%, respectively. Amplitude (5–15%) and distance (0.31–20.00?km) of variation were modelled over a range of mean power outputs (200–600?W) and compared to sustaining a constant power. Power variation was typically detrimental to performance; these effects were augmented as the amplitude of variation and severity of gradient increased. Varying power every 1.25?km was most detrimental to performance; at a mean power of 200?W, performance was impaired by 43.90?s (±15% variation, 6% gradient). However at the steepest gradients, the effect of power variation was relatively independent of the distance of variation. In contrast, varying power in parallel with changes in gradient improved performance by 188.89?s (±15% variation, 6% gradient) at 200?W. The present data demonstrate that during hilly time-trials, power variation that does not occur in parallel with changes in gradient is detrimental to performance, especially at steeper gradients. These adverse effects are substantially larger than those previously observed during flat, windless time-trials.     

Have a Legal Question Without the Resources to Get an Answer?

This article explores the Western New York's Library Resources Council's Ask the Lawyer Program. The program provides a timely model for local cultural heritage communities, such as archives, to collectively retain a lawyer in a non-representational capacity to answer both specific and hypothetical questions that arise as a result of their work.     

Enhancing Teaching and Learning: Libraries and Open Educational Resources in the Classroom

Academic libraries continually adjust services to adapt to the ever-changing landscape in higher education. In response to the broken textbook market, libraries are becoming actively involved in the open educational resources (OER) movement. Although there is not a formal program in place, librarians at Utah State University explored a collaborative approach to integrate OER in faculty members' courses. One goal of the effort was to work closely with faculty to consider course objectives and learning outcomes when evaluating and incorporating OER. This article identifies a streamlined process for targeting courses most suited for OER adoption and outlines a process of collaborating with teaching faculty to integrate relevant OER. The paper includes a detailed workflow that other libraries can easily adapt to make OER part of their faculty outreach toolkit.     

基于语义Web的教育资源模型相关技术研究

针对E-learning(电子学习)系统中实现教育资源智能搜索与整合的要求,对建立一个基于语义Web技术的教育资源语义模型涉及到的一些技术进行了分析研究。介绍了语义Web的体系结构,针对目前E-learning中存在的问题提出了相应的解决方案。     

男高音训练之我见

本文论述了训练男高音中声区、换声区,高声区的各种手法,结合教学实践,略述管见。     

科学哲学对科学教育理论建构的价值

探讨科学哲学与科学教育理论构建的关系,提出应重视科学哲学的理论观念、思想方法对科学教育理论革新发展的价值,并把科学哲学的一些原则、方法引入到科学教育理论的建构之中.     

高校学生思想政治工作中"拒教"现象探析

高校学生思想政治工作中,存在少数学生拒绝教育的现象。"拒教"现象具有原因多、现象复杂、方式微妙、不易察觉等特点,分析拒教现象是高校思想政治工作者的自觉要求,也是新时期进一步加强和改进思想政治工作的迫切需要。对拒教现象的种类、拒教的危害及控制和消除的研究,将有助于学生从"拒教"到"自教"的转变。     

学校经营的主体

学校是人才产品的基地，要顺利实现人才产品的生产经营，我们应该关注学校经营的主体，特别是学校经营的产权主体、经营主体、服务主体、消费主体、利益主体等，对其深入研究，明确认识，把握本质，这将有利于我国教育市场的开放和学校教育的健康发展。     

学科活动·单元主题活动·方案教学

在幼儿园教育改革过程中,许多幼儿园疲于追赶时代潮流,从学科活动到单元主题活动,再到热极一时的方案教学,变到最后却发现教育质量并没有得到多少提高.其中的症结是什么?本文在分析了学科活动、单元主题活动和方案教学的基础上,指出三者之间不再是泾渭分明,而是处于一种边缘状态,正在逐渐走向融合.幼儿园教育改革的核心不是表面的教育活动形式选择,而是教师教育观念的深层变革.