What\u27s Stalling Learning? Using a Formative Assessment Tool to Address Critical Incidents in Class

We report on the use of Brookfield’s (1995) formative assessment tool, the “Critical Incident Questionnaire” (CIQ) to help students and teachers identify and discuss key factors affecting learning. We offer insight into two major areas: 1) testing and adapting the existing tool to improve teaching and learning and 2) identifying moments of potentially productive tension between the learner and the learning process—moments that, once named, we can address more directly. We call these moments stasis points. Our research questions were: “Based on insights emerging from regular use of the CIQ, how might the tool be better worded to encourage productive student reflection?” and “What common stasis points do students identify when they reflect on their learning in the weekly CIQ?” This research was conducted within the context of a longitudinal, cross-institutional study of reflective practices in writing courses. Responses indicated a tendency to report challenges related to the pedagogical approaches of the class more than challenges concerning the understanding of course content. The study yields insights into the use of the CIQ itself, as well as into the kinds of “critical incidents” students considered most noteworthy

PLA2 promotes fusion between PMN‐specific granules and complex liposomes

Neutrophil stimulation results in the activation of a variety of phospholipases, including phospholipase A2 (PLA2), which releases arachidonic acid from the 2 position of membrane phospholipids, leaving a lysophospholipid. Because arachidonic acid is known to be a potent fusogen in vitro, we examined the effect of metabolism by PLA2 on the fusion of complex liposomes (liposomes prepared with a phospholipid composition similar to that found in neutrophil plasma membrane). We observed that PLA2 augmented the fusion of complex liposomes with each other as well as with specific granules isolated from human neutrophils, lowering the Ca2+ requirement for fusion by three orders of magnitude. Furthermore, although lysophospholipids inhibited fusion, the incorporation of arachidonic acid into liposome membranes overcame the inhibitory effects of the lysophospholipids. Thus with PLA2 and annexins we were able to obtain fusion of complex liposomes at concentations of Ca2+ that are close to physiological. Our data suggest that the activation of PLA2 and the generation of arachidonic acid may be the major fusion‐promoting event mediating neutrophil degranulation.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141645/1/jlb0663.pd

Design and Implementation of a Studio-Based General Chemistry Course

Most students taking general chemistry courses do not intend to pursue careers in chemistry; in fact, they are more likely to end up in positions where they fund, write, or vote for chemical research and policies. Our profession continues to ask how we can teach students scientific reasoning skills and chemical understanding in general chemistry that they are able to take beyond the classroom into their everyday lives. The emerging answer at this university is the studio teaching method, which incorporates the “best teaching and learning practices†recommended by chemical education research within an integrated lecture–lab technology-intensive environment. The design, implementation, and pedagogical rationale of studio general chemistry are described

What's Stalling Learning? Using a Formative Assessment Tool to Address Critical Incidents in Class

En: International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning, Vol. 5, No. 1The article reports on the use of Brookfield’s (1995) formative assessment tool, the “Critical Incident Questionnaire” (CIQ) to help students and teachers identify and discuss key factors affecting learning. It offers insight into two major areas: 1) testing and adapting the existing tool to improve teaching and learning and 2) identifying moments of potentially productive tension between the learner and the learning process—moments that, once named, the authors can address more directly. The authors said these moments stasis points. The research questions were: “Based on insights emerging from regular use of the CIQ, how might the tool be better worded to encourage productive student reflection?” and “What common stasis points do students identify when they reflect on their learning in the weekly CIQ?” This research was conducted within the context of a longitudinal, crossinstitutional study of reflective practices in writing courses. Responses indicated a tendency to report challenges related to the pedagogical approaches of the class more than challenges concerning the understanding of course content. The study yields insights into the use of the CIQ itself, as well as into the kinds of “critical incidents” students considered most noteworthy

Petrogenesis and provenance of distal volcanic tuffs from the Permian–Triassic Karoo Basin, South Africa: A window into a dissected magmatic province

We present zircon rare earth element (REE) compositions integrated with U-Pb ages of zircon and whole-rock geochemistry from 29 volcanic tuffs preserved in the Karoo Supergroup, South Africa, to investigate the history of magmatism in southern Gondwana. Whole-rock compositions suggest a subduction-driven magmatic arc source for early (before 270 Ma) to middle Permian (270-260 Ma) Karoo tuffs. After ca. 265 Ma, the magmatic source of the volcanic deposits transitioned toward intraplate shallow-sourced magmatism. Zircon U-Pb ages and REE chemistry suggest that early to middle Permian magmas were oxidizing, U- and heavy (H) REE-enriched, melts; middle Permian to Triassic zircons record HREE-depleted, more reduced magmatism. Middle Permian to Triassic tuffs contain increasingly large volumes of zircon cargo derived from assimilated crustal material; therefore magmas may have been zircon undersaturated, resulting in less zircon growth and increased inheritance in late Permian to Triassic Gondwanan volcanics. Zircon U-Pb ages and zircon REE chemistry suggest a shift from arc magmatism in the early Permian to extensional magmatism by the late Permian, which may be associated with development of a backarc magmatic system adjacent to western Antarctica that predates known extensional volcanism elsewhere in Gondwana. Opening of the Southern Ocean in the Jurassic-Cretaceous paralleled this extensional feature, which may be related to reactivation of this Permian-Triassic backarc. This study demonstrates the potential of zircon U-Pb age and REE compositions from volcanic tuffs preserved in sedimentary strata to provide a more complete record of magmatism, when the magmatic province has been largely lost to active tectonism

Screening for Interpersonal Violence: Missed Opportunities and Potential Harms

IntroductionScreening for interpersonal violence is used in healthcare settings to identify patients experiencing violence. However, using unvalidated screening tools may misclassify patients' experience with violence. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation adapted a previously validated intimate partner violence screening tool for use in assessing interpersonal violence and retained the tool's original scoring rubric, despite the new tool's broader scope. This study evaluates the scoring system for detecting safety concerns.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional survey of a convenience sample of adult patients and caregivers of pediatric patients at 7 primary care clinics and 4 emergency departments (2018-2019). Surveys included the adapted 4-item Hurt Insult Threat Scream tool. Questions are scored by frequency on a Likert scale (1=never; 5=frequently). Scores of 11-20 are considered positive for safety concerns. Two-sided Fisher's exact tests were used for descriptive analyses. Data analyses occurred in 2019-2020.ResultsOf 1,014 participants, 66 (6.5%) reported any frequency of physical violence. Of these, 54 (81.8%) did not reach the threshold score of 11. Of the 1,014 participants, 93 (9.2%) reported any frequency of physical violence or being threatened with harm; 76 of 93 participants (81.7%) scored <11.ConclusionsUsing the original scoring criteria for the adapted Hurt Insult Threat Scream, >80% of participants reporting physical violence did not screen positive for potential safety concerns. The scoring criteria did not reliably identify participants experiencing or at high risk for violence. To improve patient safety, the adapted Hurt Insult Threat Scream scoring rubric should be updated on the basis of stakeholder input and additional validation studies

e-Supplement 2: e-Tables and Figure e-1 and e-2 Legends

e-Supplement 2: e-Tables and Figure e-1 and e-2 Legend

Supplement e-1: Survey Instrument with MBI redacted

Supplement e-1: Survey Instrument with MBI redacte