An Evolved Method of Reporting Retention by Major

Higher education institutions face increased pressure from government and external funding sources to retain and graduate their students each year. Nationally, the federal government’s IPEDS report defines the standard measure of an institution’s retention and graduation success. When universities attempt to adapt this institutional standard to individual majors, they must proceed with caution. In this paper, researchers present the problems institutions can expect in directly adapting the IPEDS standard to measure a single academic major’s retention. They also propose an evolved means of reporting a major’s “student retention to graduation.” In doing so, they create a better depiction of the journey students take through a degree program. The modifications introduced in this evolved report make it more useful and more meaningful to university administrators and program faculty as it provides a clearer, truer retention picture. The evolved report thereby provides better support to decision makers seeking to identify retention problems, propose alternative solutions, and gauge undertaken initiatives

Analyzing Collaborative Note-taking Behaviors and Their Relationship with Student Learning through the Collaborative Encoding-Storage Paradigm

Note-taking is a ubiquitous learning strategy that learners employ when attempting to comprehend and remember information shared during lectures. However, the process of note-taking can be cognitively burdensome for learners. Research has shown a number of benefits to collaborative note-taking, including a reduction in the cognitive burden required to take notes, the creation of more comprehensive notes than those typically produced by an individual, and exposure to the varying perspectives from peers. However, research is needed into the effects of various types of collaborative note-taking behaviors on the quality of the notes and on subsequent learning outcomes. Therefore, the present research investigates the effects of collaborative note-taking behaviors of 357 students. To better conceptualize note-taking behaviors and their effects, the present dissertation introduces a theoretical framework called the collaborative encoding-storage paradigm, which extends the existing encoding-storage paradigm commonly used to explain individual note-taking behaviors. In the proposed framework, collaborative note-taking behaviors are viewed as forms of collaborative encoding and the completeness of the notes is viewed as a measure of storage quality. The following collaborative note-taking data were mined from the notes and analyzed: volume of words written, edits of others, writing sessions, and turn-taking. The storage produced by each group was assessed using a rubric to measure the completeness of the notes. Analysis at the level of the individual learner indicated that volume of words, edits of others, and turn-taking behaviors were all positively correlated with learning performance. Analysis at the level of the group indicated that turn-taking was positively correlated with learning performance, while edits of others was negatively correlated with learning performance. Further analysis at the group level revealed that volume of words and frequency of writing sessions were positively correlated with the completeness of group notes and that completeness of notes was positively correlated with learning performance. Overall, the results demonstrate meaningful relationships between the frequency of collaborative encoding behaviors and learning outcomes. These results suggest that collaborative encoding and storage have different effects on learning performance and that the effectiveness of collaboration differs according to the variables investigated and the level of analysis. The dissertation concludes with two recommendations for practitioners: 1) to increase recall of information, encouraging students to write more notes is beneficial, but encouraging them to write more frequently is not, and 2) for groups to take higher quality notes, they should be encouraged sustain their contributions to the document but need not interact much with the contributions of their group mates

University Student Experiences and Expectations In Regard To Technology

This paper reports the results of a study of both entering freshmen and graduating seniors concerning their experiences with and expectations of technology available to facilitate their learning. Based on 179 students surveyed from either university prep courses or senior capstone courses, students agree that technology helps them to collaborate effectively, achieve better grades, helps them feel more engaged in classes, improves their performance and is mostly not a distraction in class. They perceive that technology improves their educational and career opportunities and is preparing them for the workforce. When responses of freshmen were compared to those of seniors, however, statistically significant differences were foun

Improved Measurement of B(sub 22) of Macromolecules in a Flow Cell

An improved apparatus has been invented for use in determining the osmotic second virial coefficient of macromolecules in solution. In a typical intended application, the macromolecules would be, more specifically, protein molecules, and the protein solution would be pumped through a flow cell to investigate the physical and chemical conditions that affect crystallization of the protein in question. Some background information is prerequisite to a meaningful description of the novel aspects of this apparatus. A method of determining B22 from simultaneous measurements of the static transmittance (taken as an indication of concentration) and static scattering of light from the same location in a flowing protein solution was published in 2004. The apparatus used to implement the method at that time included a dual-detector flow cell, which had two drawbacks: a) The amount of protein required for analysis of each solution condition was of the order of a milligram - far too large a quantity for a high-throughput analysis system, for which microgram or even nanogram quantities of protein per analysis are desirable. b) The design of flow cell was such that two light sources were used to probe different regions of the flowing solution. Consequently, the apparatus did not afford simultaneous measurements at the same location in the solution and, hence, did not guarantee an accurate determination of B22

A PROTOCOL FOR ANALYZING REPEATED MEASURES OF ONLINE GROUP BEHAVIOR

In this article, we feature a novel protocol that enables the analysis of repeated measures of online group behavior. The protocol accounts for (1) the nested hierarchy of the data with weeks nested in persons, and persons nested in weeks, and (2) the temporal nature of the behavior at the early, mid, and late periods of each week. To manage and analyze such data in a general way, we first give an illustration of the data structure. Thereafter, we propose a five-step Courtney-Fanguy-Costley protocol that (1) considers the data structure, (2) defines the levels of data, (3) considers variable variation, timing, and necessary aggregation, (4) ensures necessary variation, and (5) specifies null and mixed-effects models. We also provide exemplary R code for readers to replicate our approach. •A general five-step protocol for analyzing repeated measures of online group behavior is offered. •A description of the complex nested data structure is offered. •Users can simulate data in R to run through the protocol

Photosystem II oxygen-evolving complex photoassembly displays an inverse H/D solvent isotope effect under chloride-limiting conditions

© 2019 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Photosystem II (PSII) performs the solar-driven oxidation of water used to fuel oxygenic photosynthesis. The active site of water oxidation is the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC), a Mn4CaO5 cluster. PSII requires degradation of key subunits and reassembly of the OEC as frequently as every 20 to 40 min. The metals for the OEC are assembled within the PSII protein environment via a series of binding events and photochemically induced oxidation events, but the full mechanism is unknown. A role of proton release in this mechanism is suggested here by the observation that the yield of in vitro OEC photoassembly is higher in deuterated water, D2O, compared with H2O when chloride is limiting. In kinetic studies, OEC photoassembly shows a significant lag phase in H2O at limiting chloride concentrations with an apparent H/D solvent isotope effect of 0.14 ± 0.05. The growth phase of OEC photoassembly shows an H/D solvent isotope effect of 1.5 ± 0.2. We analyzed the protonation states of the OEC protein environment using classical Multiconformer Continuum Electrostatics. Combining experiments and simulations leads to a model in which protons are lost from amino acid that will serve as OEC ligands as metals are bound. Chloride and D2O increase the proton affinities of key amino acid residues. These residues tune the binding affinity of Mn2+/3+ and facilitate the deprotonation of water to form a proposed μ-hydroxo bridged Mn2+Mn3+ intermediate

Analyzing collaborative note-taking behaviors and their relationship with student learning through the collaborative encoding-storage paradigm

The present study (n = 357) investigates the effects of collaborative note-taking behaviors on learning performance and note quality. To conceptualize collaborative note-taking, the present study introduces the collaborative encoding-storage paradigm, where collaborative writing behaviors are viewed as types of collaborative encoding and the completeness or comprehensiveness of the notes is viewed as a measure of storage. The following collaborative behaviors were analyzed: volume of words written, edits of others’ writing, frequency of writing sessions, and turn-taking. Storage was evaluated by measuring the completeness of the notes the groups produced. Given the complex nature of the data, with individuals nested within groups, we used a two-level correlation analysis to identify correlations among variables. Between-person analysis suggested that volume of words, edits of others, and turn-taking behaviors were all positively associated with learning performance. Between-groups analysis suggested that volume of words and frequency of writing sessions were associated with the completeness of group notes. Overall, the results demonstrate meaningful relationships between the frequency of collaborative encoding behaviors and learning outcomes, showing differences in the impact that encoding and storage behaviors have on learner performance and suggesting the effectiveness of collaboration varies depending on variables investigated as well as the level of analysis

Adoption of online teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic::A systematic analysis of changes in university teaching activity

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spring 2020, universities around the world have quickly adopted online teaching as an emergency measure. Informed by activity theory, the present qualitative case study aims to better understand the nature of the rapid institutional transition and its impact on academics’ pedagogical experiences during this period. A multiple set of qualitative data was collected in a national university in South Korea that rapidly made the online transition, following government directives in February 2020. This article provides useful accounts of the changes that occurred in interconnected teaching activity systems at the university while adopting online teaching, highlighting the complex factors underpinning individual academics’ experiences. The sudden shift in institutional teaching activities and conditions created a range of contradictions that were experienced as dilemmas by academics, the main subject of the activity systems. The results demonstrate that two groups of university faculty, separately identified as novice online teachers and expert online teachers, faced different dilemmas and challenges. An essential lesson learned from this analysis is the need for a more holistic, realistic, and sensitive approach to emergency teaching scenarios that may enable educational institutions to better respond to such emergencies in the future

A FENCING TECHNIQUE TO REDUCE RACCOON FEEDING DAMAGE TO SUGARCANE RESEARCH PLOTS

Damage caused by the feeding of raccoons (Procvon lotor) on stalks of sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) has occurred for several years on the 200-acre U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) research farm located near Houma, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. Damage begins when sugarcane mature internodes begin to from in late June and early July, and continues until the completion of harvest in late December. Raccoons appear to prefer varieties having low fiber and/or high sugar content and can severely damage these varieties (personal observation). Depredation by these animals frequently result in loss of data as preferred varieties are systematically removed from established experiments. In an effort to stop or reduce depredation, three sides of the research farm were protected with an electrified fence in 1988. Fencing was considered to be very successful because estimated sugarcane losses on certain varieties decreased from 80-90% in 1987 to less than 1% in 1988. A single block of standing sugarcane used to evaluate cold tolerance was kept free from raccoon damage three months past the normal harvest season by the fence