Paper 2: Using TI-Nspire to Engage Preservice Mathematics Teachers in an Exploratory Geometry Module

In the mathematics classroom, most preservice mathematics teachers possess basic skills to use technology as an instructional strategy in communicating content standards. However, today’s demands for preservice teachers to engage in a variety of “best teaching practices” in their preservice teaching and edTPA requirements can oftentimes place the acquisition of technical skills and integration of new technology in content curriculum far from the forefront of their minds. Ertmer, Conklin, Lewandowski, Osika, Selo, and Wignall (2003) acknowledged preservice teachers’ desires to gain the adequate technical skills necessary to use technology in teachers’ daily tasks of facilitating and managing their classrooms. They suggested that “in order to translate these skills into practice, teachers need specific ideas about how to use these skills to achieve meaningful learning outcomes under normal classroom conditions” (p. 96). Preservice teachers need guidance and information about “how, as well as why, to use technology in meaningful ways” so they can “develop their own visions for, or ideas about, meaningful technology use” (p. 96). Thus, the instructional aid of technology integration in the mathematics classroom must look to address specific uses of technology to help preservice mathematics teachers build awareness and confidence to implement innovative teaching approaches to enhance student learning

Using TI-Nspire to Engage Preservice Mathematics Teachers in an Exploratory Geometry Module

In the mathematics classroom, most preservice mathematics teachers possess basic skills to use technology as an instructional strategy in communicating content standards. However, today’s demands for preservice teachers to engage in a variety of “best teaching practices” in their preservice teaching and edTPA requirements can oftentimes place the acquisition of technical skills and integration of new technology in content curriculum far from the forefront of their minds. Ertmer, Conklin, Lewandowski, Osika, Selo, and Wignall (2003) acknowledged preservice teachers’ desires to gain the adequate technical skills necessary to use technology in teachers’ daily tasks of facilitating and managing their classrooms. They suggested that “in order to translate these skills into practice, teachers need specific ideas about how to use these skills to achieve meaningful learning outcomes under normal classroom conditions” (p. 96). Preservice teachers need guidance and information about “how, as well as why, to use technology in meaningful ways” so they can “develop their own visions for, or ideas about, meaningful technology use” (p. 96). Thus, the instructional aid of technology integration in the mathematics classroom must look to address specific uses of technology to help preservice mathematics teachers build awareness and confidence to implement innovative teaching approaches to enhance student learning

The Rescue

Research Background : This public sculpture depicts the historic narrative of an 1897 sea rescue off Bunbury. Tensions in the story were highlighted in the design and demonstrate the contested nature of history. Sources are contradictory, with credit for rescuing the crew given to the ship\u27s dog by one source, and local authorities by another. The project was won through EOI and proposal to City of Bunbury, who funded the work ($31,000). The research group comprised Dr Mazza (CI), and honours students with advice from sculptor, Alex Mickle, on production and installation. The design was endorsed by Director of Bunbury Regional Art Galleries, the only A class gallery in WA outside Perth. Research Contribution : Design and development for this work required dedicated workshopping as a group, as well as for each discrete section of the work, which presented unique challenges to interpret local history as visual narrative. The group undertook archival research and workshopped a single design based on the research findings. The group then developed a technique based on the concept of a steel drawing and scaled up to use steel rod, modelled upon the initial drawn design. The group was advised by an eminent sculptor of major public works, with a national reputation for projects with positive social and artistic outcomes. The project also required ongoing liaison with community partners. Research Significance : Research outcomes include a permanent artwork at a major entry to Bunbury, which stretches 60m at a signalled intersection where 13,868 cars pass daily. The work was opened by the City Mayor and ECU Vice Chancellor. Local media offered an interpretation of the work and CI presented a research poster at E-Culture. Public art of this kind engages the community and contributes to regional identity, while enabling a broad audience to reflect on local history and art. The work will become a prominent landmark and contribute to sense of place for many years

Checkpoint effects and telomere amplification during DNA re-replication in fission yeast

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although much is known about molecular mechanisms that prevent re-initiation of DNA replication on newly replicated DNA during a single cell cycle, knowledge is sparse regarding the regions that are most susceptible to re-replication when those mechanisms are bypassed and regarding the extents to which checkpoint pathways modulate re-replication. We used microarrays to learn more about these issues in wild-type and checkpoint-mutant cells of the fission yeast, <it>Schizosaccharomyces pombe</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that over-expressing a non-phosphorylatable form of the replication-initiation protein, Cdc18 (known as Cdc6 in other eukaryotes), drove re-replication of DNA sequences genome-wide, rather than forcing high level amplification of just a few sequences. Moderate variations in extents of re-replication generated regions spanning hundreds of kilobases that were amplified (or not) ~2-fold more (or less) than average. However, these regions showed little correlation with replication origins used during S phase. The extents and locations of amplified regions in cells deleted for the checkpoint genes encoding Rad3 (ortholog of human ATR and budding yeast Mec1) and Cds1 (ortholog of human Chk2 and budding yeast Rad53) were similar to those in wild-type cells. Relatively minor but distinct effects, including increased re-replication of heterochromatic regions, were found specifically in cells lacking Rad3. These might be due to Cds1-independent roles for Rad3 in regulating re-replication and/or due to the fact that cells lacking Rad3 continued to divide during re-replication, unlike wild-type cells or cells lacking Cds1. In both wild-type and checkpoint-mutant cells, regions near telomeres were particularly susceptible to re-replication. Highly re-replicated telomere-proximal regions (50–100 kb) were, in each case, followed by some of the least re-replicated DNA in the genome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The origins used, and the extent of replication fork progression, during re-replication are largely independent of the replication and DNA-damage checkpoint pathways mediated by Cds1 and Rad3. The fission yeast pattern of telomere-proximal amplification adjacent to a region of under-replication has also been seen in the distantly-related budding yeast, which suggests that subtelomeric sequences may be a promising place to look for DNA re-replication in other organisms.</p

Diet of Juvenile Alabama Shad (Alosa alabamae) in Two Northern Gulf of Mexico Drainages

Understanding food-web ecology is valuable to conservation by linking interactions of multiple species together and illustrating the functionality of trophic exchange. Alosa alabamae (Alabama Shad), an anadromous species, reproduces in northern Gulf of Mexico drainages from February through May, and for this study, the Pascagoula and Apalachicola rivers were chosen to sample juvenile Alabama Shad. The age-0 fish mature within these rivers and have the potential to impact the food web of the systems in which maturation occurs. The focus was to determine if diet changes as Alabama Shad mature, and to identify diet differences between drainages. Diets of Alabama Shad (SL) consisted primarily of a dark, almost black material labeled as unidentifiable organics. while larger Alabama Shad. \u3e50 mm SL, fed almost exclusively on insects. Many groups of aquatic and terrestrial insects were found in the stomachs of this species. Alabama Shad diets also differed among drainages, with the Apalachicola River being dominated by terrestrial insects, and the Pascagoula River having both terrestrial and aquatic insects. Diet and trophic placement of Alabama Shad may allow managers to understand the importance of this fish within its natal rivers

First Record of \u3ci\u3eAgonostomus monticola\u3c/i\u3e (Family: Mugilidae) in Mississippi Freshwaters with Notes of its Distribution in the Southern United States

An individual of Agonostomus monticola (Mountain Mullet) was collected in southern Mississippi while conducting a series of community surveys on 7 November 2007. This is the first documented report of Mountain Mullet in Mississippi freshwaters, even though there are reports of three specimens collected in Mississippi estuarine waters in 1937. Given its life history and difficulties in sampling, it is likely that Mountain Mullet has a broader distribution and more frequently occurs in Gulf Coast drainages in the southern US than was previously thought

The C-type natriuretic peptide induces thermal hyperalgesia through a noncanonical Gβγ-dependent modulation of TRPV1 channel

Natriuretic peptides (NPs) control natriuresis and normalize changes in blood pressure. Recent studies suggest that NPs are also involved in the regulation of pain sensitivity, although the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Many biological effects of NPs are mediated by guanylate cyclase (GC)-coupled NP receptors, NPR-A and NPR-B, whereas the third NP receptor, NPR-C, lacks the GC kinase domain and acts as the NP clearance receptor. In addition, NPR-C can couple to specific Gα(i)-βγ-mediated intracellular signaling cascades in numerous cell types. We found that NPR-C is co-expressed in TRPV1-expressing mouse DRG neurons. NPR-C can be co-immunoprecipitated with Gα(i), and CNP treatment induced translocation of PKCε to the plasma membrane of these neurons, which was inhibited by pertussis toxin pre-treatment. Application of CNP potentiated capsaicin- and proton-activated TRPV1 currents in cultured mouse DRG neurons, and increased neuronal firing frequency, an effect that was absent in DRG neurons from TRPV1(−/−) mice. CNP-induced sensitization of TRPV1 activity was attenuated by pre-treatment of DRG neurons with the specific inhibitors of Gβγ, PLCβ or PKC, but not of PKA, and was abolished by mutations at two PKC phosphorylation sites in TRPV1. Further, CNP injection into mouse hind paw led to the development of thermal hyperalgesia that was attenuated by administration of specific inhibitors of Gβγ or TRPV1, and was also absent in TRPV1(−/−) mice. Thus, our work identifies the Gβγ-PLCβ-PKC-dependent potentiation of TRPV1 as a novel signaling cascade recruited by CNP in mouse DRG neurons that can lead to enhanced nociceptor excitability and thermal hypersensitivity