Scaling laws and forecasting in athletic world records

In this study, we analysed running world records and found that the mean speed of the race, μ, as a function of the record time, τ, can be described asymptotically by two well-defined scaling laws of the form u ?s τ - β. There is a break in the scaling laws (?1000m) between the shorter and the longer races at a characteristic time of around 150-170 s, after which a new scaling regime emerges. This is the first occasion that this characteristic time has been clearly found in physical terms; we interpreted it as the transition time between the anaerobic and the aerobic energy expenditure of athletes. This phenomenon is independent of the athletes' sex and is also found in swimming races with similar values of the characteristic time. We also investigated the forecasting of world records using historical data. Using an approach based on the identification of non-Poissonian events for a sequence of temporal point processes, we found that the sequence of improvements in all athletic records from 1900 to the present day cannot be considered as a sequence of completely random events.     

A peer-assisted teaching scheme to improve units with critically low student satisfaction: opportunities and challenges

This paper outlines a peer-assisted teaching scheme (PATS) which was piloted in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University, Australia to address the low student satisfaction with the quality of information and communication technology units. Positive results from the pilot scheme led to a trial of the scheme in other disciplines. The trial was supported by an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Teaching Fellowship grant. Specifically, this fellowship was designed to (a) improve the quality of student satisfaction within identified units and (b) build leadership capacity using currently recognised outstanding teachers. PATS builds on the current research that highlights the benefits of peer-assisted learning programmes and draws on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and Lave's situated learning literature but applies it to academic teaching staff. Data are collected via unit evaluation instruments and focus group sessions. The effectiveness of the scheme is measured via changes in unit evaluation ratings and a thematic analysis of the focus group data. Results show an overall improvement in student satisfaction of the quality of units and highlight both the opportunities and challenges PATS provides academics for teaching improvement.     

Formative observation of teaching: focusing peer assistance on teachers’ developmental goals

Peer observation of teaching can provide valuable insights into effective educational practices. By adopting a developmental focus, peer observation can also provide insights into how practices might be enhanced and, importantly, how enhancements in practices might be aligned to teachers’ development goals. However, a review of peer observation of teaching undertaken at Australian universities demonstrates that observation instruments and protocols typically do not explicitly afford alignment of peers’ observations with teachers’ developmental goals. Analysis of observers’ uses of popular peer observation instruments through the deployment of the Peer Assisted Teaching Scheme through multiple institutions across Australia has informed the development and trial of a novel observation instrument and protocol design that is aligned with observer use characteristics, and provides a focus on development goals. This study will be of interest to teachers and academic developers researching and implementing goal-oriented curricular and pedagogical development through peer observation.     

CURRICULUM DECISION MAKING AT THE TWO‐YEAR COLLEGE: THE TYPES OF DATA USED

After decades of rapid expansion, community colleges have begun to examine their internal academic processes; this study examines how curriculum is approved at one two‐year college. A previously developed classification system is utilized to examine data utilized by a college's curriculum committee in their deliberations preceding decision making. The system employs the use of three judges trained in the use of the system and also in the research technique of Content Analysis. The study classifies two groups of data—data sources and data subjects. It identifies some specific avenues in which data enter the curriculum deliberations; reveals some patterns of data usage; and develops a hierarchy of subjects, or topics, most often used in curriculum decision making at the college.     

Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool: An Innovative Way to Test Food Safety Skills among Individuals with Special Needs

Abstract: This article describes an innovative assessment tool designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a food safety skills curriculum for learners receiving special education services. As schools respond to the increased demand for training students with special needs about food safety, the need for effective curricula and tools is also increasing. A Food Safety Education for High School and Transition Special Needs Students curriculum served as the basis upon which our assessment tool was developed. The project was a collaborative effort by food safety and education professionals in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This USDA‐funded initiative emerged from teacher‐generated data that identified critical gaps in food safety knowledge and skills among students with disabilities (SWD) receiving special education services. As an adjunct to this curriculum, a Food Safety Practices Assessment Tool was developed to: 1) conduct observations of students as they demonstrate food safety practices, and 2) use this information to design classroom‐based learning activities that are aligned with students’ Individual Education Plans (IEP). Pilot data suggest that the tool is valid and reliable for use in a kitchen‐based setting. This is the first known tool of its kind to test food safety skills of individuals with special needs in a real‐world environment. Further testing is needed to determine the usefulness of the tool for broader audiences.     

Assessing Learning across Pedagogical Modalities and Learning Retrieval Conditions for College Learners in Introductory Psychology

The present study attempted to explore if learning is as effective in the web-based platform as it is in the traditional or web-enhanced modalities. Unlike prior studies that measured learning using course grades and subjective student reporting, this study used an empirical method to develop a valid and reliable measure of learning. Data from 346 college students participating in an introductory psychology course were compared across the three instructional modalities. Consistent with prior research, the results revealed no significant differences on a measure of learning effectiveness between the three learning modalities. Additional analysis of the results was conducted based on the ‘specificity of encoding’ model and indicated that students who retrieved the information in a context congruent with where encoding took place scored significantly lower than those who retrieved the information in an incongruent context. Whereas prior models of learning placed the encoding of information squarely in the classroom context, these results suggested that encoding takes place primarily in the cyber online context. This reconceptualization of the context of encoding suggests that congruous context for encoding and retrieval is when both processes reside in the cyber online context.