Research training takes many forms and is generally a part of graduate education. A common and important aspect of research training is the introductory research methods class offered by many departments. The purpose of this study was to examine the content, process, and instructors of introductory research methods classes in departments of kinesiology and physical education in the United States. A survey was designed and extensively pilot tested. The sample was selected from all departments offering graduate degrees in the United States. Among the many results, the data indicate that one book was required reading in more than half the classes and class size averaged about 19 students. A number of objectives were statedfor most classes, with understanding research, applying research to professional situations, critiquing the research literature, and planning research indicated most often. Quantitative design and analysis topics were emphasized more strongly than qualitative design and analysis topics. Professors indicated that more than half the class time was spent lecturing and most grades were based on exams, preparation of a research proposal, and regular assignments. The professors were relatively experienced, had a variety ofspecialty areas, and were reasonably productive researchers. The trends suggest that alternative research methodologies have not been quickly added to the research methods curriculum. 相似文献
This article reviews research on teaching in physical education. I first consider research methodology employed in this area and then examine research related to instructional effectiveness, classroom ecology, and cognition and decision making. Conclusions and future directions are then presented that have implications for researchers, teachers, and teacher educators. 相似文献
Children today are spending less time than ever outdoors, contributing to a culture of environmental apathy and separation from the natural world. In the growing field of environmental education, teachers are challenged to introduce the outdoors into their curriculum. In Vermont, some public school teachers have successfully implemented environmental education into their practice in a variety of interesting ways. This paper analyzes a series of teacher interviews and observations in Vermont public schools to identify successful strategies and pedagogies being utilized for environmental education. Several common themes emerged from this study, including place-based education, hands-on exploration, and free choice learning. 相似文献
Worldwide, body weight has risen dramatically in recent decades, raising the question of whether there were concomitant changes in physical fitness. Past research with children and adolescents has shown that body weight and grip strength are positively correlated. Therefore, it was predicted that grip strength had increased on average in children and adolescents over the past four or five decades. To test this prediction, relevant data were extracted from 18 studies for males (N = 5676 in total) and 17 studies for females (N = 5489 in total). The studies were conducted in Canada and the United States from about 1966 on, with participants' ages ranging from 6 through 19 years. Weighted least squares regression analyses showed that grip strength was significantly predicted by age but not by country. Male grip strength decreased significantly over the period covered, but the change was very small, accounting for far less than 1% of the variance in male grip strength. Discussion focuses on potential explanations for why grip strength did not change over time as predicted. 相似文献
Online collaborative and content-focused professional development (PD) is becoming an increasingly important setting for supporting mathematics teachers’ professional learning. The purpose of this study was to better understand the process by which a community emerges in such a PD setting by examining how the cohesiveness of 21 mathematics teachers’ social network evolves and associated shifts in the quality of mathematics teachers’ mathematical discourse. We employed social network analysis (SNA) to examine the evolving cohesiveness of mathematics teachers’ social network and coding procedures to examine teachers’ mathematical discourse. A key finding was the documentation of an emergent divide between participation in the core and periphery during initial weeks of the PD and then a reduced divide and emergence of a social network that resembles a community. We argue that the instructor’s pattern of participation that included distributing their interactions across the subgroups while sending a common message regarding expectations for mathematical discourse in the PD may have contributed to the community formation process. We propose the Interaction Assessment Model, which outlines an approach for PD facilitators to use SNA as a feedback mechanism to differentiate facilitation of online collaborative and content-focused PD and build online communities.
