How Student Perceptions of the Online Learning Environment and Student Motivation Predict Persistence, Completion, and Retention in Developmental Mathematics Courses

Online developmental mathematics courses have high dropout rates. The focus of this study is to improve understanding of how students’ perceptions of the online learning environment and student motivation from course design predict student drop out. This understanding will benefit faculty and institutions on student support for online developmental mathematics students. The study included 330 undergraduate students enrolled in online developmental mathematics courses during the Fall 2018 semester at eight public universities and colleges in the Utah State Higher Education (USHE) system. Participants completed a survey with questions measuring their perceptions of the learning environment. They also completed a survey to measure student motivations toward their online mathematics coursework. Participants’ answers were tied to data measuring course persistence, completion, and retention. The researcher used statistical analysis methods to generate findings. The time-to-completion and regression analysis showed two things. The degree to which a student perceives that he or she can succeed at the coursework (self-efficacy) predicted student course persistence and completion in online developmental mathematics. Also, the ability of participants to identify with the online community (social presence) predicted student course persistence and completion in online developmental mathematics. The analysis on student retention did not show any significant results. This finding suggests that efforts and interventions geared towards building student self-efficacy and designing more social presence interactions may have the potential to increase course completion rates in online developmental mathematics coursework. Building self-efficacy in online developmental mathematics coursework,and a positive support group of fellow classmates through social presence, has the potential to give students the tools necessary to successfully navigate their own learning

Examining Math Instructors’ Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes of Student Learning Strategies in a Faculty Development Workshop

Access the online Pressbooks version of this article here. A faculty development workshop, focused on incorporating universal learning strategies into developmental mathematics courses, was created and utilized in a developmental mathematics department at an open-enrollment, mid-western university to ascertain the best methods for dissemination of essential learning strategies to developmental math students. Successful faculty development programs were studied and utilized in the design of the workshop. The attributes of the workshop were discussed. Faculty were surveyed and qualitative data was analyzed to determine the workshop’s efficacy. The research aimed to understand if participation in the workshop changed faculty knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes in the following areas: (a) willingness to include learning strategies during class time; (b) knowledge of learning strategies and the effect of those strategies on students; and (c) application of the learning strategies into their courses. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were given to instructors measuring their knowledge of learning strategies, application of these strategies in their courses, and willingness to incorporate learning strategies into their pedagogy. In the workshop, instructors participated in discussion boards and set goals. The researchers analyzed the discussions and goal statements using thematic coding. The participants’ comments revealed that, while the workshop changed all participants’ knowledge of learning strategies and potentially changed all participants’ attitudes and beliefs, the extent of the change in attitudes and beliefs depended upon the pre-workshop mindset of the instructor

Seasonal Genetic Influence on Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels: A Twin Study

Although environmental factors, mainly nutrition and UV-B radiation, have been considered major determinants of vitamin D status, they have only explained a modest proportion of the variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D. We aimed to study the seasonal impact of genetic factors on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations.204 same-sex twins, aged 39-85 years and living at northern latitude 60 degrees, were recruited from the Swedish Twin Registry. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was analysed by high-pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Genetic modelling techniques estimated the relative contributions of genetic, shared and individual-specific environmental factors to the variation in serum vitamin D. The average serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration was 84.8 nmol/l (95% CI 81.0-88.6) but the seasonal variation was substantial, with 24.2 nmol/l (95% CI 16.3-32.2) lower values during the winter as compared to the summer season. Half of the variability in 25-hydroxyvitamin D during the summer season was attributed to genetic factors. In contrast, the winter season variation was largely attributable to shared environmental influences (72%; 95% CI 48-86%), i.e., solar altitude. Individual-specific environmental influences were found to explain one fourth of the variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D independent of season.There exists a moderate genetic impact on serum vitamin D status during the summer season, probably through the skin synthesis of vitamin D. Further studies are warranted to identify the genes impacting on vitamin D status

Pioneers in Unknown Territory: Teacher Perceptions and Use of Non-Conventional Instructional Tools

In an ongoing effort to understand teacher adoption of innovative instructional practices and their consideration of non-conventional tools for teaching and learning we collected survey data from over 300 teachers. From the 44 teachers who participated in our research we found a lack of alignment between teacher personal use of technology for teaching, high levels of teacher-centered use of technology and low levels of student-centered access to technology for learning, and need for instructional technology professional development that is different than what the teachers are receiving. Our discussion includes possible explanations, implications, and directions for future research

Was kostet Guinea-Bissau? Per Geheimabkommen wird Guinea-Bissau zur Brüssler Kolonie

Oxidative stress has recently been identified as a pivotal pathogenetic factor of bone loss in mice, but its importance in humans is not clear. We aimed to investigate the association between urinary 8-iso-PGF(2 alpha) levels, a major F(2)-isoprostane and a reliable in vivo biomarker of oxidative stress, and bone mineral density (BMD), and to study whether vitamin E in the form of serum alpha-tocopherol, a scavenger of peroxyl radicals, modifies the association. In 405 men, urinary 8-iso-PGF(2 alpha) and serum alpha-tocopherol were measured at age 77 years and BMD at age 82 years. One SD increase in 8-iso-PGF(2 alpha) corresponded to an approximately 2-4% decrease in average adjusted BMD values of total body, lumbar spine, and proximal femur (all P<0.001). Serum alpha-tocopherol levels seemed to modify the association between urinary 8-iso-PGF(2 alpha) and BMD. Men with alpha-tocopherol levels below the median combined with high oxidative stress, i.e., 8-iso-PGF(2 alpha) above the median, had 7% (95% CI 3-11%) lower BMD at the lumbar spine and 5% (95% CI 2-9%) lower BMD at the proximal femur. In elderly men high oxidative stress is associated with reduced BMD, which is more pronounced in individuals with low serum levels of the antioxidant vitamin E

Dietary calcium intake and risk of fracture and osteoporosis: prospective longitudinal cohort study

Objective To investigate associations between long term dietary intake of calcium and risk of fracture of any type, hip fractures, and osteoporosis

Oxidative stress and bone mineral density in elderly men: Antioxidant activity of alpha-tocopherol

Oxidative stress and bone mineral density in elderly men: Antioxidant activity of alpha-tocopherol a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Oxidative stress has recently been identified as a pivotal pathogenetic factor of bone loss in mice, but its importance in humans is not clear. We aimed to investigate the association between urinary 8-iso-PGF 2α levels, a major F 2 -isoprostane and a reliable in vivo biomarker of oxidative stress, and bone mineral density (BMD), and to study whether vitamin E in the form of serum α-tocopherol, a scavenger of peroxyl radicals, modifies the association. In 405 men, urinary 8-iso-PGF 2α and serum α-tocopherol were measured at age 77 years and BMD at age 82 years. One SD increase in 8-iso-PGF 2α corresponded to an approximately 2-4% decrease in average adjusted BMD values of total body, lumbar spine, and proximal femur (all P b 0.001). Serum α-tocopherol levels seemed to modify the association between urinary 8-iso-PGF 2α and BMD. Men with α-tocopherol levels below the median combined with high oxidative stress, i.e., 8-iso-PGF 2α above the median, had 7% (95% CI 3-11%) lower BMD at the lumbar spine and 5% (95% CI 2-9%) lower BMD at the proximal femur. In elderly men high oxidative stress is associated with reduced BMD, which is more pronounced in individuals with low serum levels of the antioxidant vitamin E

Identification of incident poisoning, fracture and burn events using linked primary care, secondary care, and mortality data from England: implications for research and surveillance

Background: English national injury data collection systems are restricted to hospitalisations and deaths. With recent linkage of a large primary care database, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), with secondary care and mortality data we aimed to assess the utility of linked data for injury research and surveillance by examining recording patterns and comparing incidence of common injuries across data sources. Methods: The incidence of poisonings, fractures and burns was estimated for a cohort of 2,147,853 0-24 year olds using CPRD linked to Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mortality data between 1997-2012. Time-based algorithms were developed to identify incident events, distinguishing between repeat follow-up records for the same injury, and those for a new event. Results: We identified 42,985 poisoning, 185,517 fracture and 36,719 burn events in linked CPRD-HES-ONS data; incidence rates were 41.9 per 10,000 person-years (95% confidence interval 41.4–42.4), 180.8 (179.8–181.7) and 35.8 (35.4–36.1), respectively. Of the injuries, 22,628(53%) poisonings, 139,662(75%) fractures, and 33,462(91%) burns were only recorded within CPRD. Only 16% of deaths from poisoning (n=106) or fracture (n=58) recorded in ONS were recorded within CPRD and/or HES records. None of the 10 deaths from burns were recorded in CPRD or HES records. Conclusion: It is essential to use linked primary care, hospitalisation and deaths data to estimate injury burden, as many injury events are only captured within a single data source. Linked routinely-collected data offer an immediate and affordable mechanism for injury surveillance and analyses of population based injury epidemiology in England