Investigation of feedback on student performance

Comparison of two types of cognitive feedback differing in specificity forms the basis of this study: one type presents the explanation of the problem (informational feedback) and the other presents the explanation plus a corrective statement identifying what the student did wrong (diagnostic feedback). To do this, we inserted an online quizzing and feedback system into an existing second-semester general chemistry course at a large southwestern university. A sample consisted of 95 college students deriving from one of the large lecture course sections, was randomly assigned to one of the two feedback conditions. The students participated in e-quizzes for the entire semester, receiving one of two feedback types after each question. Feedback type (specificity) and feedback count (number of “treatments”) comprised the independent variables while performance, motivation, and epistemological beliefs comprised the dependent variables. Analysis spanned 154 multiple-choice questions. Results show no significant difference between the two feedback types employed, but scatter plots and participation plots revealed interesting trends. Our results suggest that increasing specificity of feedback in the manner we employed and using a sample and environment similar to ours does not correspond with increased performance and does not correspond with significant changes in motivation or epistemological beliefs when compared to informational feedback that provides a detailed explanation.Chemistry and BiochemistryChemistr

Is the STEM Gender Gap Closing?

The Networking for Science Advancement (NSA) team's institutions consist of nine universities located in one large southwestern US state. This study evaluated students enrolled from Spring 2017 to Fall 2019 in firstand second-semester general chemistry. Over 90% of the students (n = 6,694) have been exposed to a secondary school isomorphic curriculum. The population studied, Chem I (n = 4,619) and Chem II (n = 2,075), met entry-level criteria and are therefore expected to succeed (i.e., earn grades of A, B or C). This study's focus is to disaggregate data based on binary gender (M/F) in hopes of revealing patterns that might remain hidden when studying an undivided population. In Chem I, the female population was 59.6% and increased to 64.5% for Chem II. The 15- min., diagnostic Math-Up Skills Test’s (MUST) scores identified about half of all students who were unsuccessful (grades of D and F). Results from the study support that males enter Chem I and II with better automaticity skills (what can be done without using a calculator) than females. However, females outperformed males on course averages in Chem I but not Chem II. Our data provide supporting evidence that the gender gap may be closing

Phenotypic expansion of CACNA1C-associated disorders to include isolated neurological manifestations

International audiencePurpose:CACNA1C encodes the alpha-1-subunit of a voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel expressed in human heart and brain. Heterozygous variants in CACNA1C have previously been reported in association with Timothy syndrome and long QT syndrome. Several case reports have suggested that CACNA1C variation may also be associated with a primarily neurological phenotype.Methods:We describe 25 individuals from 22 families with heterozygous variants in CACNA1C, who present with predominantly neurological manifestations.Results:Fourteen individuals have de novo, nontruncating variants and present variably with developmental delays, intellectual disability, autism, hypotonia, ataxia, and epilepsy. Functional studies of a subgroup of missense variants via patch clamp experiments demonstrated differential effects on channel function in vitro, including loss of function (p.Leu1408Val), neutral effect (p.Leu614Arg), and gain of function (p.Leu657Phe, p.Leu614Pro). The remaining 11 individuals from eight families have truncating variants in CACNA1C. The majority of these individuals have expressive language deficits, and half have autism.Conclusion:We expand the phenotype associated with CACNA1C variants to include neurodevelopmental abnormalities and epilepsy, in the absence of classic features of Timothy syndrome or long QT syndrome