Child development and the aims of road safety education

Pedestrian accidents are one of the most prominent causes of premature injury, handicap and death in the modern world. In children, the problem is so severe that pedestrian accidents are widely regarded as the most serious of all health risks facing children in developed countries. Not surprisingly, educational measures have long been advocated as a means of teaching children how to cope with traffic and substantial resources have been devoted to their development and provision. Unfortunately, there seems to be a widespread view at the present time that education has not achieved as much as had been hoped and that there may even be quite strict limits to what can be achieved through education. This would, of course, shift the emphasis away from education altogether towards engineering or urban planning measures aimed at creating an intrinsically safer environment in which the need for education might be reduced or even eliminated. However, whilst engineering measures undoubtedly have a major role to play in the effort to reduce accidents, this outlook is both overly optimistic about the benefits of engineering and overly pessimistic about the limitations of education. At the same time, a fresh analysis is clearly required both of the aims and methods of contemporary road safety education. The present report is designed to provide such an analysis and to establish a framework within which further debate and research can take place

Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome: Insights from eye movements

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mathematical difficulties in individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS) and in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are well-established. Perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing are domain-specific precursors of mathematical achievement in typically developing (TD) population. This study employed, for the first time, eye-tracking methodology to investigate subitizing abilities in WS and DS. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Twenty-five participants with WS and 24 participants with DS were compared to a younger group of TD children (n = 25) matched for mental age. Participants were asked to enumerate one to six dots arranged either in a dice or a random pattern. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Accuracy rates and analyses of reaction time showed no significant differences between the clinical groups (WS and DS) and the control group, suggesting that all participants used the same processes to perform the enumeration task in the different experimental conditions. Analyses of the eye movements showed that both individuals with WS and individuals with DS were using inefficient scanning strategies when counting. Moreover, analyses of the eye movements showed significantly shorter fixation duration in participants with DS compared to the control group in all the experimental conditions. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The current study provides evidence that individuals with WS and individuals with DS perform both perceptual subitizing and conceptual subitizing. Moreover, our results suggest a fixation instability in DS group that does not affect their performance when subitizing but might explain their low accuracy rates when counting. Findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the impact for intervention programmes to improve counting and symbolic mathematical abilities in these populations

The home learning environment of primary school children with down syndrome and those with williams syndrome

Background and aims: Research on typically developing (TD) populations has shown that the home learning environment plays a significant role in cognitive development and learning, but very little is known about the home learning environment of children with Down syndrome (DS) or children with Williams syndrome (WS). The present study examined and compared, for the first time, the home learning environment of children diagnosed with DS and children diagnosed with WS to investigate whether different cognitive profiles were reflected in their home literacy and number experiences. Methods and procedures: Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a web-based survey from 58 parents and one foster parent of primary school children with DS (n = 35) and WS (n = 24) mostly based in the UK. The survey targeted the children’s general level of functioning and academic skills; type, format, and frequency of home learning activities; parents’ expectations for their child’s academic outcomes; parents’ attitudes towards literacy and mathematics; children’s interest towards mathematics; and the use of technology to support home learning activities. Outcomes and results: Our results showed that, overall, the home learning environment of children with DS and children with WS were similar but changed based on the child’s cognitive profile. Comparative analyses showed that parents of children with DS engaged more often in activities supporting counting than parents of children with WS, despite both groups reporting difficulties with this skill. Moreover, our results indicated that literacy-based activities occurred more often than mathematics-based activities and that the home numeracy environment was characterized by activities supporting different mathematical skills such as counting, arithmetic, and numeracy. Parents in both groups engaged with their child in both formal and informal literacy and mathematics-based activities, but informal activities occurred more often when supporting counting and number recognition skills. Conclusions and implications: The current study provides evidence that the home learning environment of children with DS and children with WS include different literacy-and mathematics-based activities and that the home learning environment changes on the basis of the child’s strengths and weaknesses. The findings are discussed in relation to previous studies and the impact on parental interventions

The effects of peer influence on adolescent pedestrian road-crossing decisions

Objective: Adolescence is a high-risk period for pedestrian injury. It is also a time of heightened susceptibility to peer influence. The aim of this research was to examine the effects of peer influence on the pedestrian road-crossing decisions of adolescents. Methods: Using 10 videos of road-crossing sites, 80 16- to 18-year-olds were asked to make pedestrian road-crossing decisions. Participants were assigned to one of 4 experimental conditions: negative peer (influencing unsafe decisions), positive peer (influencing cautious decisions), silent peer (who observed but did not comment), and no peer (the participant completed the task alone). Peers from the adolescent’s own friendship group were recruited to influence either an unsafe or a cautious decision. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between peer conditions. Participants least often identified safe road-crossing sites when accompanied by a negative peer and more frequently identified dangerous road-crossing sites when accompanied by a positive peer. Both cautious and unsafe comments from a peer influenced adolescent pedestrians’ decisions. Conclusions: These findings showed that road-crossing decisions of adolescents were influenced by both unsafe and cautious comments from their peers. The discussion highlighted the role that peers can play in both increasing and reducing adolescent risk-taking

Complex cognition and individual variability: a mixed methods study of the relationship between creativity and executive control

One of the methodological challenges of educational neuroscience is understanding real world cognition in the multifaceted environment of the classroom. Complex cognition does not simplify to processes (which might be satisfactorily measured in the lab) but to sets of activities, likely to vary between individuals, which involve the iterative use of multiple processes, as well as the environment, over an extended period of time. As such, studying complex cognition requires methodological flexibility; any single method is unlikely to provide complete answers. We illustrate this idea with our research exploring the relationship between executive control (EC) and creativity in primary school age children; in it, we used both qualitative and quantitative tools and a novel approach to bringing both sets of findings together. Quantitative findings helped inform 'how much' a participant could deploy EC or creative thinking, while qualitative findings told us more about 'how' they deployed EC in their creativity. Through triangulating findings, we gained insights which would have remained obscure using either approach alone; namely, first, that wide variation in how children deploy EC in creativity means that the same creative results can be achieved with very different levels of EC involvement, and second, that high levels of EC can limit creativity. We argue that, beyond the specific findings of this study, there might be useful broader methodological lessons for educational neuroscience. We also attempt to demystify mixed methods by showing that a multi-pronged approach is more feasible than many assume; for example, by using existing, familiar tools in novel ways. In our work, we redeployed well-established quantitative tests used in creativity research as stimuli for qualitative investigation. For educational neuroscience to evolve its understanding of complex cognition, we suggest it might benefit from being innovative, open-minded and ambitious in how it exploits the diversity of methodological tools available

Effect of cadence selection on peak power and time of power production in elite BMX riders; a laboratory based study.

The aims of this study were to analyse the optimal cadence for peak power production and time to peak power in bicycle motocross (BMX) riders. Six male elite BMX riders volunteered for the study. Each rider completed 3 maximal sprints at a cadence of 80, 100, 120 and 140revs·min-1 on a laboratory Schoberer Rad Messtechnik (SRM) cycle ergometer in isokinetic mode. The riders’ mean values for peak power and time of power production in all three tests were recorded. The BMX riders produced peak power (1105±139W) at 100revs·min-1 with lower peak power produced at 80revs:min-1 (1060±69W, (F(2,15)=3.162; p=.266; η2 =0.960), 120revs·min-1 (1077±141W, (F(2,15)=4.348; p=.203; η2 =0.970) and 140revs·min-1 (1046±175W, (F(2,15)=12.350; p=0.077; η2 =0.989). The shortest time to power production was attained at 120revs·min-1 in 2.5±1.07s. Whilst a cadence of 80revs:min-1 (3.5±0.8s, (F(2,15)=2.667; p=.284; η2 =0.800) 100revs:min-1 (3.00±1.13s, (F(2,15)=24.832; p=.039; η2 =0.974) and 140revs:min-1 (3.50±0.88s, (F(2,15)=44.167; p=.006; η2 =0.967)) all recorded a longer time to peak power production. The results indicate that the optimal cadence for producing peak power output and reducing the time to peak power output are attained at comparatively low cadences for sprint cycling events. These findings could potentially inform strength and conditioning training to maximise dynamic force production and enable coaches to select optimal gear ratios

Hydrological and productive impacts of recent land-use and land-cover changes in the semiarid Chaco: Understanding novel water excess in water scarce farmlands

Over the last decades, the rapid replacement of native forests by crops and pastures in the Argentinean semiarid Chaco plains has triggered unprecedented groundwater level raises resulting from deep drainage increases, leading to the first massive waterlogging event on records (~25,000 Ha flooded in 2015 near Bandera, one of the most cultivated clusters of the Chaco). In this paper, we link this episode to the ongoing deforestation and cropping scheme shifts through the combined analysis of remote sensing data, agricultural surveys, local farmer information and hydrologic modelling. From 2000 to 2015, the agricultural area of Bandera increased from 21% to 50%, mostly at the expense of dry forests. In this period, agriculture migrated from more intensive (i.e., double-cropping) to more water-conservative (i.e., late-summer single crops) schemes as a general strategy to reduce drought risks. These changes reduced regional evapotranspiration and increased the intensity of deep drainage in wet years. Contrasting cropping schemes displayed significant evapotranspiration differences, but all of them experienced substantial drainage losses (~100–200 mm) during the wettest year (2014/2015), suggesting that cropping adjustments have a limited capacity to halt the generation of water excesses. Nearly 50% of the cropped area in Bandera could not be sown or harvested following the groundwater recharge event of 2014/2015. In the ongoing context of shallow and rising water tables, the introduction of novel cropping schemes that include deep-rooted perennials, to promote transpirative groundwater discharge, seems crucial to avoid the recurrence of water excesses and their associated dryland salinity risk in the region.Fil: Giménez, Raúl. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi"; ArgentinaFil: Mercau, Jorge Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional La Pampa-San Luis. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Luis. Agencia de Extensión Rural San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Bert, Federico Esteban. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Kuppel, Sylvain. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. University of Aberdeen; Reino UnidoFil: Baldi, Germán. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; ArgentinaFil: Houspanossian, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; ArgentinaFil: Magliano, Patricio Nicolás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Departamento de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Jobbagy Gampel, Esteban Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi". Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico, Matemáticas y Naturales. Instituto de Matemática Aplicada de San Luis "Prof. Ezio Marchi"; Argentin

Journal of In-service Education

Keywords: group work, primary school, continuing professional development for teachers Word count=6729 Journal of In-service Education (accepted for publication in second half of 2008) -2 -Effects of continuing professional development on group work practices in Scottish primary schools ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of a continuing professional development (CPD) initiative that provided collaborative group work skills training for primary school teachers. The study collected data from 24 primary school classrooms in different schools in a variety of urban and rural settings. The sample was composed of 332 pupils aged 9-12 years old, and 24 primary school teachers. Results indicated the CPD initiative had a significant impact on the attainment of pupils in science. In addition data indicated that the CPD promoted effective discourse and pupil dialogue during science lessons. Pre-post test observation scores were significantly different in terms of children giving of suggestions or courses of actions, offering of explanations, and telling someone to say something or carry out an action . Increases in effective dialogue were significantly correlated to increased science attainment and teacher evaluations of the impact of the CPD were positive. Significant correlations were found between teacher evaluation of impact upon pupil learning and increased attainment in science. The design and structure of CPD initiatives and the implications for practice, policy and future research are explored. Journal of In-service Education Acknowledgemen