3 research outputs found
Putting research into practice: Pedagogy development workshops change the teaching philosophy of graduate students.
Teaching competence is an important skill for graduate students to acquire and is often considered a precursor to an academic career. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a multi-day teaching workshop on graduate teaching philosophies by surveying 200 graduate students, 79 of whom had taken the workshops and 121 who had not. We found no difference between groups (workshop attendees versus non-attendees) in their beliefs that (a) it is important to focus on in-depth learning of core concepts when teaching and (b) âmemorizationâ is a poor learning strategy for students. On average, however, respondents who had taken the workshop allocated more in-class time for student-to-student discussions (interactive engagement) and placed less emphasis on lecturing. These results suggest that graduate students are generally aware of the importance of conceptual learning, but workshop attendees have clearer ideas on how to teach for effective learning.
La capacitĂ© dâenseigner est une compĂ©tence importante pour les Ă©tudiants en formation doctorale et est souvent considĂ©rĂ©e comme un attribut nĂ©cessaire Ă la poursuite dâune carriĂšre acadĂ©mique. Lors de cette Ă©tude, nous avons Ă©valuĂ© les effets dâun atelier de dĂ©veloppement pĂ©dagogique de plusieurs jours sur la philosophie dâenseignement des Ă©tudiants en thĂšse en interrogeant 200 sujets - 79 qui avaient assistĂ© aux ateliers et 121 qui nây avaient pas participĂ©. Nous nâavons trouvĂ© aucune diffĂ©rence entre les groupes (ceux qui ont participĂ© Ă lâatelier par rapport aux non-participants) dans leur croyance que (a) lors de lâenseignement, il est important de se concentrer sur lâapprentissage en profondeur des concepts principaux et (b) la «mĂ©morisation» est une mauvaise stratĂ©gie dâapprentissage pour les Ă©tudiants. Cependant, en moyenne, les rĂ©pondants qui avaient participĂ© Ă lâatelier ont consacrĂ© plus de temps Ă des discussions entre Ă©tudiants (engagement interactif) et ont accordĂ© moins dâimportance aux cours magistraux. Ces rĂ©sultats suggĂšrent que les Ă©tudiants de niveau doctoral sont gĂ©nĂ©ralement conscients de lâimportance de lâapprentissage conceptuel, mais que ceux qui ont participĂ© aux ateliers ont des idĂ©es plus claires pour faciliter un tel apprentissage
Patterns and processes of digit number reduction
Our knowledge of limb development has increased dramatically in the last decades. However, our understanding of how gene expression is translated into morphology remains very limited. Using a variety of experimental approaches, I attempted to uncover the mechanistic factors underlying variation of digit number in tetrapods during my dissertation research. Firstly, classical embryology experiments were used to better understand how anterior and posterior axes contribute to autopodial formation. These experiments have shown that from stage HH23 in the chick (Gallus gallus), both anterior and posterior axes contribute independently to skeletal elements in the manus, which opposes some models of the evolution of limb development. To complement our understanding of limb patterning, I have also observed the earliest stage of skeletal formation, mesenchymal condensation, in a taxonomically broad sample of amniotes. These observations have allowed me to record the developmental groundstate of crocodilians, the closest extant relatives of birds. It was previously shown that the chick initially develops five digital anlagen, two of which fail to ossify. This has now been shown as well in Alligator mississippiensis, excluding the possibility that the anteriormost condensation in the chick manus is a vestigial remnant from a polydactylous ancestor. The comparative analysis of initial limb patterning has also shed new light on previous accounts of skeletogenesis, mostly based on chondrification patterns. Early stages of limb formation follow a much more proximodistal course than subsequent chondrogenesis, which has been described as following a posterior to anterior sequence in the autopodium. Furthermore, skeletal elements seem to originate from a continuous mass of condensed mesenchyme, particularly uniform in the carpal area. Individual chondrification foci initiate within the pre-existing condensations, and do not follow patterns of branching as previously described. ThisMalgrĂ© que nos connaissances ne cessent d'augmenter sur le dĂ©veloppement des membres, notre comprĂ©hension de comment les interactions gĂ©nĂ©tiques et cellulaires donnent lieu a la morphologie reste limitĂ©e. A l'aide de diverses techniques expĂ©rimentales, j'ai explorĂ© les divers mĂ©canismes qui peuvent causer la rĂ©duction du nombre de doigts chez les tĂ©trapodes au cours de cette thĂšse. Tout d'abord, des expĂ©riences d'embryologie classique on testĂ© un modĂšle selon lequel les structures antĂ©rieures de l'autopode dĂ©pendent du dĂ©veloppement initial des structures postĂ©rieures. Ces expĂ©riences ont dĂ©montrĂ© qu'Ă partir du stade HH23 chez l'embryon de poulet (Gallus gallus), l'axe antĂ©rieur et postĂ©rieur se dĂ©veloppent indĂ©pendamment, puisque l'ablation de chacun de ces axes ne perturbe pas le dĂ©veloppement de l'autre. J'ai aussi observĂ© les patrons des stades prĂ©cĂ©dant la chondrification, lors de la condensation du mesenchyme, chez plusieurs espĂšces ayant un nombre diffĂ©rent de doigts. Ces observations ont permis d'Ă©tablir que cinq doigts Ă©taient prĂ©sents dans la configuration initiale de l'autopode chez les crocodiliens, les plus proches parents des oiseaux, comme il a Ă©tĂ© dĂ©montrĂ© chez l'embryon de poulet. Ceci permet d'Ă©liminer la possibilitĂ© que la condensation antĂ©rieure prĂ©sente dans le dĂ©veloppement initial de l'aile ne soit un vestige d'ancĂȘtres plus lointains, qui avaient plus de cinq doigts. Ces observations ont aussi permis de mieux comprendre comment s'Ă©tablissent les patrons initiaux de dĂ©veloppement des membres. Il a Ă©tĂ© trouvĂ© que la condensation du mĂ©senchyme progresse dans une sĂ©quence proximo-distale, ce qui est diffĂ©rent des sĂ©quences de chondrification prĂ©cĂ©demment dĂ©crites. Le dĂ©veloppement du carpe survient donc avant le dĂ©veloppement des doigts, ceux-ci prolongeant les zones de condensation Ă partir d'une masse cellulaire uniforme. Les blastĂšmes de chondrification se dĂ©veloppent Ă l'in
EDESIA: Plants, Food and Health: A crossâdisciplinary PhD programme from crop to clinic
In an era where preventive medicine is increasingly important due to an ageing population and rising obesity, optimised diets are key to improving health and reducing risk of ill health. The Wellcome Trustâfunded, EDESIA: Plants, Food and Health: a crossâdisciplinary PhD programme from Crop to Clinic (218â467/Z/19/Z) focuses on investigating plantâbased nutrition and health, from crop to clinic, drawing on the worldâclass interdisciplinary research expertise of partner institutions based on the Norwich Research Park (University of East Anglia, John Innes Centre, Quadram Institute and Earlham Institute). Through a rotationâbased programme, EDESIA PhD students will train in a wide range of disciplines across the translational pathway of nutrition research, including analyses of epidemiological datasets, assessment of nutritional bioactives, biochemical, genetic, cell biological and functional analyses of plant metabolites, in vitro analyses in tissue and cell cultures, investigation of efficacy in animal models of disease, investigation of effects on composition and functioning of the microbiota and human intervention studies. Research rotations add a breadth of knowledge, outside of the main PhD project, which benefits the students and can be brought into project design. This comprehensive PhD training programme will allow the translation of science into guidelines for healthy eating and the production of nutritionally improved food crops, leading to innovative food products, particularly for prevention and treatment of chronic diseases where age is a major risk factor. In this article, we summarise the programme and showcase the experiences of the first cohort of students as they start their substantive PhD projects after a year of research rotations