Gauging Teachers' Needs with Regard to Technology- Enhanced Formative Assessment (TEFA) of 21st Century Skills in the Classroom

Several trends in society have led to a request towards schools to integrate 21st Century Skills and technology enhanced formative assessment (TEFA) in their curricula. Although there are frameworks defined at an international level, implementation of technology enhanced formative assessment of 21st century skills at school level is seldom. This paper explores the underlying reasons for this hampered implementation by consulting and collaborating with teachers. It provides an overview of these reasons and proposes a collaborative professionalization approach to overcome detected implementation barriers and challenges.We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the PREATY Project, that is funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, Project Number 526965-LLP-1-2012-1-GR-COMENIUS-CMP, which has part-funded this work

D.5.1:PREATY Dissemination plan and activities (version 2)

This document is framed within the European Lifelong Learning project “Proposing modern e-assessment approaches and tools to young and experienced in-service teachers” (PREATY). The aim of this document is to specify and explain the steps that the PREATY project team will undertake to ensure effective and efficient dissemination to develop awareness and knowledge about the project. Dissemination is seen as a targeted, systematic process that is not left for the end of a project, but as a continuous process. Therefore, this document will change and be updated during the project. The document comprises of three main parts and four attachments; Part 1: Contains a short description of the objectives of the PREATY project. Part 2: Provides an overview of the dissemination objectives of the PREATY project and presents the various target audiences towards whom the project’s dissemination efforts and formats are geared. Part 3: Describes the dissemination activities and achievements of the PREATY project and the derived conclusion Attachment 1: Presents a plan for reaching these target audiences and achieving the dissemination goals. The main dissemination tools, products and activities are outlined and scheduled. Attachment 2: Provides an overview of and logs dissemination activities carried out Attachment 3: Provides examples of third parties communicating about PREATY Attachment 4: Provides an overview of articles and facebook posts of Eurotraining The most important aims of our dissemination efforts was that our target audiences (primary/secondary teachers, pedagogical researchers and policy makers) became aware of, understand and where feasible, participated to the PREATY project (professionalization) activities and events on formative e-assessment of 21st century skills. Especially primary and secondary teachers needed to become aware of what the project could offer them that could be useful for their daily teaching practices. Looking at the dissemination table at least 1500 members of the intended target audiences were reached through the PREATY dissemination efforts.We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the PREATY Project, that is funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, Project Number 526965-LLP-1-2012-1- GR-COMENIUS-CMP, which has part-funded this work

D.2.1:Teacher Training Handbook (version 2)

The scope of this deliverable is to present the teacher professionalization approach around the theme of formative (e-)assessment of 21st century skills as adopted by the PREATY project. It is meant to inform teacher trainers that are active within primary and secondary schools settings as well as interested teachers on 21st century skills and formative (e-)assessment concepts, professionalization methods and activities as well as implementation opportunities within a school setting. Usable and feasible training resources around formative e-assessment are collected and/or developed and we describe how these training resources can be used for the need of local training workshops

Objectively measured physical activity and academic performance in school-aged youth: The UP&DOWN longitudinal study

To examine the longitudinal relationships between objectively measured total volume and specific intensities of physical activity (PA) with academic performance in a large sample of youth aged 6-18 years. A longitudinal study of 1046 youth (10.04 +/- 3.10 years) from Spain was followed over 2 years. PA (volume and intensity) was measured by accelerometry. Academic performance was assessed through grades reported on the transcript at the end of the academic year (Mathematics, Language, an average of these two core subjects, and grade point average [GPA]). Longitudinal relationships between PA and four indicators of academic performance were examined using covariance and regression analyses, adjusted for a variety of confounders. Youth Quartile 2 for PA volume at baseline obtained better scores than those who participated in Quartiles 1 or 4 volumes of PA in GPA 2 years later (p = 0.006). There were generally no longitudinal associations between specific PA intensities and any of the academic performance indicators (all p > 0.170). However, a change in light PA over 2 years was inversely associated with three academic indicators in youth (beta(range), -.103 to - 090; all P < 040). Findings suggest that participants in Quartile 2 volume of PA had a better GPA in comparison with Quartiles 1 and 4 volumes of PA during youth, but there was no association with changes in PA volume over time. PA intensity was generally unrelated to academic performance during youth. However, there was an inverted u-shape relationship between light PA changes and GPA.The authors gratefully acknowledge the youth, parents, and teachers who participated in this study. The UP&DOWN Study was supported by the DEP 2010-21662-C04-00 grant from the National Plan for Research, Development, and Innovation (R + D + i) MICINN. DM--G is supported by a 'Ramon y Cajal' contract (RYC--2016--20546). IE--C is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (RTI2018-095284-J-100). AM--M was a recipient of a Jose Castillejo Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (CAS19/00265). JS is supported by a Leadership Level 2 Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council Australia (APP 1176885). This research was partially funded by "Convocatoria extraordinaria de ayudas a la investigacion. Preparacion, ejecucion y transferencia de conocimiento (convocatoria 2020) de l'Institut de Recerca i Innovacio Educativa (IRIE)"

Selective Absorption Processes as the Origin of Puzzling Spectral Line Polarization from the Sun

Magnetic fields play a key role in most astrophysical systems, from the Sun to active galactic nuclei. They can be studied through their effects on atomic energy levels, which produce polarized spectral lines. In particular, anisotropic radiation pumping processes (which send electrons to higher atomic levels) induce population imbalances that are modified by weak magnetic fields. Here we report peculiarly polarized light in the He I 10830-\AA multiplet observed in a coronal filament located at the centre of the solar disk. We show that the polarized light arises from selective absorption from the ground level of the triplet system of helium, and that it implies the presence of magnetic fields of the order of a few gauss that are highly inclined with respect to the solar radius vector. This disproves the common belief that population imbalances in long-lived atomic levels are insignificant in the presence of inclined fields with strengths in the gauss range, and demonstrates the operation of the ground-level Hanle effect in an astrophysical plasma.Comment: 22 pages and 4 figure

Psychological type and prayer preferences: a study among Anglican clergy in the United Kingdom

This study applies the framework of Jungian psychological type theory to define eight aspects of prayer preference, namely: introverted prayer, extraverted prayer, sensing prayer, intuitive prayer, feeling prayer, thinking prayer, judging prayer, and perceiving prayer. On the basis of data provided by 1,476 newly ordained Anglican clergy from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, eight 7-item scales were developed to access these aspects of prayer preferences. Significant correlations were found between each prayer preference and the relevant aspect of psychological type accessed by the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. These data support the theory that psychological type influences the way in which people pray

Towards the Use of New Methods for Formative e-Assessment of 21st Century Skills in Schools

Rusman, E., Boon, J., Martínez-Monés, A., Rodríguez-Triana, M. J., & Retalis, S. (2013, 17-21 September). Towards the Use of New Methods for Formative e-Assessment of 21st Century Skills in Schools. Presentation at the Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment (TEFA) workshop (http://www.kbs.uni-hannover.de/tefa2013.html) at EC-TEL 2013 (http://www.ec-tel.eu/index.php), Paphos, Cyprus.Schools are in the process of reorienting their curricula to the development of 21st century skills and competences; however, their assessment methods have not yet been updated. The PREATY project aims to make teachers in primary and secondary schools aware of the use and benefits of modern e-assessment methods and tools. This presentation presents the preliminary work developed in the project.We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the PREATY Project, that is funded by the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme, Project Number 526965-LLP-1-2012-1- GR-COMENIUS-CMP, which has part-funded this work

From cheek swabs to consensus sequences : an A to Z protocol for high-throughput DNA sequencing of complete human mitochondrial genomes

Background: Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technologies have made huge impacts in many fields of biological research, but especially in evolutionary biology. One area where NGS has shown potential is for high-throughput sequencing of complete mtDNA genomes (of humans and other animals). Despite the increasing use of NGS technologies and a better appreciation of their importance in answering biological questions, there remain significant obstacles to the successful implementation of NGS-based projects, especially for new users. Results: Here we present an ‘A to Z’ protocol for obtaining complete human mitochondrial (mtDNA) genomes – from DNA extraction to consensus sequence. Although designed for use on humans, this protocol could also be used to sequence small, organellar genomes from other species, and also nuclear loci. This protocol includes DNA extraction, PCR amplification, fragmentation of PCR products, barcoding of fragments, sequencing using the 454 GS FLX platform, and a complete bioinformatics pipeline (primer removal, reference-based mapping, output of coverage plots and SNP calling). Conclusions: All steps in this protocol are designed to be straightforward to implement, especially for researchers who are undertaking next-generation sequencing for the first time. The molecular steps are scalable to large numbers (hundreds) of individuals and all steps post-DNA extraction can be carried out in 96-well plate format. Also, the protocol has been assembled so that individual ‘modules’ can be swapped out to suit available resources