Enhancing university student engagement using online multiple choice questions and answers

For many education providers, student engagement can be a major issue. Given the positive correlation between engagement and good performance, providers are continually looking for ways to engage students in the learning process. The growth of student digital literacy, the wide proliferation of online tools and the understanding of why online gaming can be addictive have combined to create a set of tools that providers can leverage to enhance engagement. One such tool is Peerwise, https://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz/, an online, multiple choice question (MCQ) and answer tool in which students create questions that are answered by other students. Why use MCQs? Using MCQs tests knowledge, provides reassurance of learning, identifies gaps and makes this data available to student and provider. Students use this information to focus their time on areas requiring additional work [1], benefiting from the early feedback provided. Formative assess- ments using MCQs are beneficial in preparing students for summative testing and are appreciated and liked by students [2]. Providers can use this information to determine how the material is being received and react accordingly. Students use Peerwise to create MCQs that are answered, rated and commented on by their peers. Students’ engagement in Peerwise earns trophies for contributing regular use and for providing feedback, all of which act to stimulate further engagement, using the principles of gamification. Bournemouth University, a public university in the UK with over 18,000 students, has been embedding Peerwise in under-graduate and post-graduate units since 2014. The results experienced by Bournemouth University have been beneficial and correlate with other studies of using Peerwise [3] [4]. A statistically significant improvement was seen by one cohort of students compared to the previous year where Peerwise was not used. However, no correlation was found between Peerwise participation and a student’s unit mark. The processes followed by Bournemouth University and the advantages and disadvantages, backed by qualitative and quantitative data, will be presented so that other institutions can gain an informed view of the merits of Peerwise for their own teaching and learning environments

Reaction Steps in Heterogeneous Photocatalytic Oxidation of Toluene in Gas Phase—A Review

A review of the current literature shows there is no clear consensus regarding the reaction mechanisms of air-borne aromatic compounds such as toluene by photocatalytic oxidation. Potential oxidation reactions over TiO2 or TiO2-based catalysts under ultraviolet and visible (UV/VIS) illumination are most commonly considered for removal of these pollutants. Along the pathways from a model pollutant, toluene, to final mineralization products (CO2 and H2O), the formation of several intermediates via specific reactions include parallel oxidation reactions and formation of less-reactive intermediates on the TiO2 surface. The latter may occupy active adsorption sites and causes drastic catalyst deactivation in some cases. Major hazardous gas-phase intermediates are benzene and formaldehyde, classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as Group 1 carcinogenic compounds. Adsorbed intermediates leading to catalyst deactivation are benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, and cresols. The three most typical pathways of toluene photocatalytic oxidation are reviewed: methyl group oxidation, aromatic ring oxidation, and aromatic ring opening

INDOOR SPATIAL DATA CONSTRUCTION FROM TRIANGLE MESH

The 3D triangle mesh is widely used to represent indoor space. One of widely used methods of generating 3D triangle mesh data of indoor space is the construction from the point cloud collected using LIDAR. However, there are many problems in using generated triangle mesh data as a geometric representation of the indoor space. First, the number of triangles forming the triangle mesh is very large, which results in a bottleneck of the performance for storage and management. Second, no consideration on the properties of indoor space has been done by the previous work on mesh simplification for indoor geometric representation. Third, there is no research to construct indoor spatial standard data from triangle mesh data. For resolving these problems, we propose the a method for generating triangular mesh data for indoor geometric representation based in the observations mentioned above. First this method removes unnecessary objects and reduces the number of surfaces from the original fine-grained triangular mesh data using the properties of indoor space. Second, it also produces indoor geometric data in IndoorGML – an OGC standard for indoor spatial data model. In experimental studies, we present a case study of indoor triangle mesh data from real world and compare results with raw data

Downstream hydrochemistry and irrigation water quality of the Syr Darya, Aral Sea Basin, South Kazakhstan

New hydrochemical measurements from the Syr Darya provide insights into factors affecting the composition and quality of a major freshwater source replenishing the Aral Sea. This river is heavily used for power and irrigation and crosses territories of four Central Asia republics. It is intensely managed, draining several major tributaries, many reservoirs, and numerous irrigation distribution systems and canals. Analysis of seasonal changes in dissolved ion concentrations using geochemical diagrams, elemental ratios, statistical correlation, and equilibrium modeling allowed the characterization of mineral formation processes that control the dissolved chemical composition. Measured water hydrochemistry and composition type differs substantially from previous reports from the upper reaches of the Syr Darya in Kyrgyzstan. Element ratios, statistical correlation, and the presence of NO3- and NO2- suggest that the downstream trend of increasing total dissolved solids (TDS) from Zhetysay city to the Aral Sea in June is controlled by evaporation–crystallization processes, which contribute to the river dissolved load through soil runoff and return irrigation waters following leaching of secondary salts. Downstream sample composition during the growing season shows significant changes in magnesium-to-calcium ratios in the river water. Elevated magnesium levels in Syr Darya waters may pose a problem to sustainable uses for irrigation

‘The International Teacher Leadership project,’ a case of international action research.

Copyright CARNThe paper arises from the International Teacher Leadership project, a research and development project involving researchers and practitioners in 14 European countries. The paper provides a conceptual exploration of the idea of teacher leadership and its role in educational reform, central to which is the idea that teachers, regardless of their level of power and organisational position, can engage in the leadership of enquiry-based development activity aimed at influencing their colleagues and embedding improved practices in their schools. The paper provides an outline of the project’s methodology which builds on that used in the Carpe Vitam Leadership for Learning project (Frost, 2008a). It is a form of collaborative action research which is highly developmental and discursive. It seeks to identify principles, strategies and tools that can be applied in a range of cultural settings. The paper includes a thematic analysis of the cultural contexts and policy environments of the participating countries in order to identify the obstacles to teacher leadership and to inform the nature of the support strategies employed

Optimizing individual treatment outcomes in men with lower urinary tract symptoms using storage subscale score/total International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) as a new IPSS lratio

Background/aim: To evaluate the effects of the storage/total International Prostate Symptom Score (s/T) ratio on the selection and success of medical therapy in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).Materials and methods: A total of 54 men (>45 years of age) with moderate or severe LUTS were divided into 2 groups according to the s/T ratio: Group 1 at 0.43. Tamsulosin (0.4 mg to Group 1) and tolterodine ER (4 mg to Group 2) were administered. Patients were evaluated during the 1st and 3rd months of follow-up treatment.Results: Thirty-seven (68.5%) and 17 (31.5%) patients were in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The mean s/T ratios in Groups 1 and 2 increased to 0.38 ± 0.19 from 0.33 ± 0.08 (P = 0.03) and decreased to 0.54 ± 0.18 from 0.59 ± 0.1 (P = 0.17) during the 3rd month of follow-up, respectively. The treatment success rates of Groups 1 and 2 were 88.4% and 75.7%, respectively. Nine unsuccessful cases were treated with combination therapy and the treatment success was 86.6% at follow-up.Conclusion: The s/T ratio is effective to determine symptom dominance in men with LUTS and can guide medical treatment selection through better identification of symptoms. © TÜBİTAK