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Skateboarding has become a common means of transportation and physical activity among adolescents and adults going to and from work or across college campuses, further highlighting why its implementation as a physical education unit makes sense. This article gives readers a more robust understanding of skateboarding, why it could be advantageous to include in physical education curricula, the general cost of equipment, and an example eight-day skateboarding unit. The aim is to encourage more educators to consider including it in their physical education curriculum.

The role of phonics instruction in early reading development has been the subject of significant conjecture. Recently, England implemented a phonics screening check to assess the phonetic decoding of 6-year-old students, to ensure that all students master this foundational literacy skill and attain adequate phonemic awareness in the early years of primary schooling. Students who fail this check are obliged to retake the assessment the following year. In this article, we compare the performance of students who initially pass this check ("pass") and students who fail the original assessment but pass the retaken assessment ("fail-pass"), with students who fail both the original and retaken assessments ("fail-fail"). Using data from the Key Stage 1 assessment of reading and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), we examined the reading comprehension performance of these students approximately 1 and 4 years after their first phonics screening. The results suggested that fail-pass students performed substantially better than fail-fail students, even after performance on the initial phonics check was controlled for. While fail-pass students do not appear to entirely catch up with pass students in reading comprehension, their relatively better performance underscores the importance of intervening for those students who are identified as having problems with phonetic decoding to increase their likelihood of success at reading comprehension in later schooling.

Teacher perceptions of student abilities can affect crucial placement decisions that, in turn, affect student opportunities to learn. The author's research shows that this is particularly the case with black students who have earned high scores on math assessments but who, on the basis of teacher judgment, have not been recommended for placement in algebra in 8th grade. The author suggests a "less-is-more" approach--that is, remove teacher judgment from placement decisions and use universally available academic achievement performance data. This will increase the true identification of high-performing students, thereby increasing the opportunity to learn among students of different demographic backgrounds and reducing achievement gaps.

This study is a longitudinal look at the different mathematics placement profiles of Black students and White students from late elementary school through 8th grade. Results revealed that Black students had reduced odds of being placed in algebra by the time they entered 8th grade even after controlling for performance in mathematics. An important implication of this study is that placement recommendations must be monitored to ensure that high-achieving students are placed appropriately, regardless of racial background.

Background: Quantifying diagnostic transitions across development is needed to estimate the long-term burden of mental illness. This study estimated patterns of diagnostic transitions from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to early adulthood. Methods: Patterns of diagnostic transitions were estimated using data from three prospective, longitudinal studies involving close to 20,000 observations of 3,722 participants followed across multiple developmental periods covering ages 9-30. Common DSM psychiatric disorders were assessed in childhood (ages 9-12; two samples), adolescence (ages 13-18; three samples), and early adulthood (ages 19 to age 32; three samples) with structured psychiatric interviews and questionnaires. Results: Having a disorder at an early period was associated with at least a threefold increase in odds for having a disorder at a later period. Homotypic and heterotypic transitions were observed for every disorder category. The strongest evidence of continuity was seen for behavioral disorders (particularly ADHD) with less evidence for emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. Limited evidence was found in adjusted models for behavioral disorders predicting later emotional disorders. Adult substance disorders were preceded by behavioral disorders, but not anxiety or depression. Conclusions: Having a disorder in childhood or adolescence is a potent risk factor for a range of psychiatric problems later in development. These findings provide further support for prevention and early life intervention efforts and suggest that treatment at younger ages, while justified in its own right, may also have potential to reduce the risk for disorders later in development. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study investigated the extent to which student performance and teacher perception of student performance affect placement in eighth-grade mathematics classes for students with disabilities. Authors used the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten dataset to investigate how each of the following factors predicted placement in eighth-grade algebra or above: (a) fifth-grade cognitive math performance, (b) fifth-grade teacher rating of student ability, and (c) student enrollment in special education services. When controlling for various student characteristics, including student mathematical performance, students who received special education services had reduced odds of being placed in algebra by the time they entered eighth grade. Teacher evaluations of student performance played a greater role for special education students (particularly those with individualized education programs who had inconsistently demonstrated high performance) than for their typically developing peers. (Contains 7 tables and 4 figures.)

Translation errors and conceptual misunderstandings made by students translating among graphical, tabular, and symbolic representations of linear functions were examined. The study situated student errors in the context of the "Translation-Verification Model" developed specifically for the purpose of explaining student behavior during the process of translating relationships from one mathematical representation to another. Three distinct error types were identified to explain student performance. An examination of the error types revealed that specific translation errors tend to occur at different stages of the translation process. Translation errors are also related to "attribute density," the amount of information inherently encoded in a given representation. The findings of the study have implications for teaching linear relationships--student weaknesses and strengths are identified.

A typical U.S. high school student today might be able to recite some milestones of civil rights history--the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-56; the Freedom Rides of 1961; and (some would add) the election of the first African American president in 2008. But how many students understand that these events, which historians call out as milestones, were reflections of struggles that ordinary citizens were waging in cities and small towns across the United States over decades? And how many students are aware that some of these "ordinary citizens" were young people? An oral history project is one way to expose students to this bigger picture of the civil rights movement. This paper discusses how to conduct an oral history project as demonstrated by the Robert Russa Moton Museum's Save Our History project. The students involved researched their community history by seeking out members of the "lost generation" (youth affected by Prince Edward County's closed school era, 1959-64) and interviewing them. (Contains 7 notes.)

According to the strength model, self-control is a finite resource that determines capacity for effortful control over dominant responses and, once expended, leads to impaired self-control task performance, known as "ego depletion". A meta-analysis of 83 studies tested the effect of ego depletion on task performance and related outcomes, alternative explanations and moderators of the effect, and additional strength model hypotheses. Results revealed a significant effect of ego depletion on self-control task performance. Significant effect sizes were found for ego depletion on effort, perceived difficulty, negative affect, subjective fatigue, and blood glucose levels. Small, nonsignificant effects were found for positive affect and self-efficacy. Moderator analyses indicated minimal variation in the effect across sphere of depleting and dependent task, frequently used depleting and dependent tasks, presentation of tasks as single or separate experiments, type of dependent measure and control condition task, and source laboratory. The effect size was moderated by depleting task duration, task presentation by the same or different experimenters, intertask interim period, dependent task complexity, and use of dependent tasks in the choice and volition and cognitive spheres. Motivational incentives, training on self-control tasks, and glucose supplementation promoted better self-control in ego-depleted samples. Expecting further acts of self-control exacerbated the effect. Findings provide preliminary support for the ego-depletion effect and strength model hypotheses. Support for motivation and fatigue as alternative explanations for ego depletion indicate a need to integrate the strength model with other theories. Findings provide impetus for future investigation testing additional hypotheses and mechanisms of the ego-depletion effect. (Contains 7 footnotes and 3 tables.)

This article challenges policymakers, school leaders, and teachers to implement wide-scale and systematic teaching of character education in every classroom. In support of the idea that student character development should be a priority in all classes, I explain that youth need "decision-filters" to negotiate life's challenges. Further, the article illustrates how character education can be taught through various courses. Several state-level academic standards are analyzed to (1) identify cognitive instructional emphases and (2) determine relevant affective teachings for character instruction. As I explain, the teaching of character education can be integrated naturally with and taught alongside any state's standards-based curriculum. Rather than adding a new course to an already overloaded school curriculum, character education should be integrated with other subject areas and routinely taught through all classes and by all teachers. (Contains 1 table.)

Demonstrates the usefulness of classroom assessment in reducing the number of underprepared students. Recommends that faculty use classroom assessment techniques very early in the semester to determine students' knowledge level. Maintains that a vast dichotomy exists between teachers' assumptions regarding students' knowledge and what they actually know. (MJP)

This study highlights two groups of students enrolled in a college mathematics of finance course using same textbook and instructor. Experimental group used menu-driven symbolic calculators, whereas control group used standard scientific calculators. Significant increases in favor of experimental group were found both with respect to students' attitudes toward mathematics and within achievement results. (12 references) (JJK)

Reported is the evidence of significant changes in a university faculty's practices and attitudes toward uses of instructional technologies and active learning strategies for undergraduate mathematics and science instruction after a one-year project. (JJK)

Examines the relative importance of verbal, nonverbal, and social normative information in judgments of honesty and deceit. Finds strong support for the nonverbal cue primacy model and no support for the social-normative model. Suggests additional research is warranted on the relative strength of these sources and the manner of combination to form judgments. (KEH)

Studies the effectiveness of an educational presentation and the influence of extreme attitudes toward gay men and lesbians on adolescent learning and retention of information about AIDS and HIV transmission. Finds (1) significant increases in knowledge and (2) students with extreme positive attitudes toward gay men and lesbians learn more than those with extreme negative attitudes. (SR)

Professional staff of colleges and universities usually do not have the kind of clearly defined paths for advancement that are available to the faculty. The results of a survey examining opportunities for professional staff are presented. Information given includes job classification, salaries, job evaluation, promotion, and incentives. (Author/MLW)

Reviews recent research on deceptive communication and presents a study to measure the influence of verbal cues, nonverbal cues, and interrogative probes on detectibility of deception. (MS)

Examines the relationships among different dimensions of empathy, communication, and prosocial behavior. Supports an altruistic interpretation of prosocial behavior and suggests that the egoistic model be reformulated. (JK)

Analyzes the appeal of horror films. Develops a model that finds that important factors in the horror film's appeal are the audience's desire to experience the satisfying resolutions and to see the destruction usually found in these films and the sensation-seeking personality traits of audience members for these films. (NKA)

Replies to the previous article's review of arguments against the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). Considers the effects-of-evidence-on-attitudes argument unconvincing and explains why. (NKA)

Analyzes the education of Black children in mathematics. The following factors influence mathematics achievement: (1) course enrollment patterns; (2) role models and significant others; and (3) attitudes toward mathematics. The following facets of field-dependent mathematics instruction are discussed: (1) identity; (2) security; and (3) validity. (BJV)

The effects of teaching strategy, relevant knowledge, and strategy length on high school students' mathematical learning ability were studied. Performance was found to increase as levels of relevant knowledge increased. Characterization strategies were found to be more effective than exemplification strategies for students with high relevant knowledge. (Author/DC)

Uses meta-analysis to test three models of the "sleeper" effect (a theory proposing that in the long term low credible sources may actually attain greater attitude change in message recipients than high credible sources). Concludes that the sleeper effect does exist, and offers suggestions for practitioners and theorists. (SR)

Problem solving by example is an intermediate step toward mastering problem-solving heuristics. Discussed are problem-solving processes by using two problem examples. Emphasized are heuristics cataloging in a problem-solving log, and approaches to solutions, not the solutions themselves. (YP)

Compared are the survey responses on practices and perceptions on computer uses in classroom between a faculty group involved in changing 10 undergraduate courses in mathematics and science education (n=25) and a group of regular faculty (n=60). There were no significant differences between two groups except on the use of inquiry and guided practice. (YP)

Directions are given for making comprehension guides to help students comprehend word problems. Samples for two problems are given, and uses are discussed. (MNS)

Poses six questions for administrators considering a year-round, multitrack school schedule. Discusses probable constraints concerning implementation levels, class organization, staff preparation, and impact on plant maintenance, summer school programs, and community relations. Classroom sharing and summer school present special difficulties; accommodating more students is the only positive feature. (MLH)

Discusses 10 misconceptions about writing, including (1) the theory of divine inspiration, (2) the theory of creative padding, (3) the theory of profound authorities, and (4) the theory of predestined puppetry. (EL)