Development and evaluation of open-ended learning activities to support chemical engineering students' development

There are myriad challenges in developing a stimulating yet supportive curriculum in many subject areas, and recent shifts in course entry demographics and employer expectations have made this especially challenging in chemical engineering. As a discipline, there has been a gender shift in recent years towards greater women student representation at undergraduate level and an increase in global industry sector demand for chemical engineering graduates. This has raised issues of inclusion, to allow women students to participate equally in learning activities and wider opportunities, as well as those of graduate skills development, tempered by reports from the Confederation of Business Industry, which indicate that employers are dissatisfied with the skill sets offered by graduates.;This work sets out to address these concerns through evaluation of active learning and makes recommendations regarding integrated learning, where group work is used to develop students' professional competencies in tandem with their transferable skills. Engineering education has developed over the years to include many instances of group based working that focusses on problem based learning, however, the full extent of the impact that this may have on students' development is little understood or studied. This thesis explores the role of problem-based learning in facilitating students' engagement with specific components of a chemical engineering degree within UK Higher Education, including surveys of staff and student perceptions of group working and skills development, statistical evaluation of student attainment and appraisal of course (re)design.;Despite significant group work and problem based learning focussed on developing openended working, teaching staff identified issues with students' abilities to deal with such problems in chemical engineering and to accept open-endedness itself. By identifying openendedness as a threshold concept, it has been possible to study the impact that the timeline of teaching has on student development and achievement. This work presents a strategy for vertical alignment of teaching within the chemical engineering degree to support student development and foster student confidence and autonomy.;Within this context, the use of group working is key and the thesis also investigates the role of tutors within this educational framework and how such activities impact on the inclusion of women in engineering subjects. Additional work to redevelop early years teaching to address the identified threshold concept and, specifically, its role in the capstone design project is reported and students' perceptions of skills development has been investigated to understand the impact that working in such an environment has on the transferable skill sets of these cohorts.;The insights gained show that tutor supported problem based learning can be key in nurturing critical evaluation skills in students, often requiring them to explain their reasoning and work with unknown quantities. The role of women students in group working changes with their increased awareness of social expectations to adapt to normalised views of women's roles; this happens early in their University career and sets working parameters for the remainder of their degrees, so addresses the early imbalance in role assignment that may be observed. The successful incorporation of problem based learning activities in early years helps students overcome the liminality that results from open-ended working, with wider impact, beyond the classroom, in providing advanced skill sets and working practices that will enhance employability.;Students demonstrate increased engagement, mitigated stress, bolstered confidence and reduced confusion, while student retention is also improved. By surveying current students and graduates, a link between experiential practice and high skills confidence is observed; hence, it is recommended that students are encouraged to reflect on their learning experiences and that integrated learning be promoted to develop all skills effectively. The work also indicates that using problem based learning in early year classes, to underpin advanced project working in later years, is worthy of consideration for chemical engineering teaching as well as the wider engineering discipline.There are myriad challenges in developing a stimulating yet supportive curriculum in many subject areas, and recent shifts in course entry demographics and employer expectations have made this especially challenging in chemical engineering. As a discipline, there has been a gender shift in recent years towards greater women student representation at undergraduate level and an increase in global industry sector demand for chemical engineering graduates. This has raised issues of inclusion, to allow women students to participate equally in learning activities and wider opportunities, as well as those of graduate skills development, tempered by reports from the Confederation of Business Industry, which indicate that employers are dissatisfied with the skill sets offered by graduates.;This work sets out to address these concerns through evaluation of active learning and makes recommendations regarding integrated learning, where group work is used to develop students' professional competencies in tandem with their transferable skills. Engineering education has developed over the years to include many instances of group based working that focusses on problem based learning, however, the full extent of the impact that this may have on students' development is little understood or studied. This thesis explores the role of problem-based learning in facilitating students' engagement with specific components of a chemical engineering degree within UK Higher Education, including surveys of staff and student perceptions of group working and skills development, statistical evaluation of student attainment and appraisal of course (re)design.;Despite significant group work and problem based learning focussed on developing openended working, teaching staff identified issues with students' abilities to deal with such problems in chemical engineering and to accept open-endedness itself. By identifying openendedness as a threshold concept, it has been possible to study the impact that the timeline of teaching has on student development and achievement. This work presents a strategy for vertical alignment of teaching within the chemical engineering degree to support student development and foster student confidence and autonomy.;Within this context, the use of group working is key and the thesis also investigates the role of tutors within this educational framework and how such activities impact on the inclusion of women in engineering subjects. Additional work to redevelop early years teaching to address the identified threshold concept and, specifically, its role in the capstone design project is reported and students' perceptions of skills development has been investigated to understand the impact that working in such an environment has on the transferable skill sets of these cohorts.;The insights gained show that tutor supported problem based learning can be key in nurturing critical evaluation skills in students, often requiring them to explain their reasoning and work with unknown quantities. The role of women students in group working changes with their increased awareness of social expectations to adapt to normalised views of women's roles; this happens early in their University career and sets working parameters for the remainder of their degrees, so addresses the early imbalance in role assignment that may be observed. The successful incorporation of problem based learning activities in early years helps students overcome the liminality that results from open-ended working, with wider impact, beyond the classroom, in providing advanced skill sets and working practices that will enhance employability.;Students demonstrate increased engagement, mitigated stress, bolstered confidence and reduced confusion, while student retention is also improved. By surveying current students and graduates, a link between experiential practice and high skills confidence is observed; hence, it is recommended that students are encouraged to reflect on their learning experiences and that integrated learning be promoted to develop all skills effectively. The work also indicates that using problem based learning in early year classes, to underpin advanced project working in later years, is worthy of consideration for chemical engineering teaching as well as the wider engineering discipline

Crustal Deformation In Alaska Measured Using The Global Positioning System

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2002Repeat observations using the Global Positioning System at sites on the Earth's surface enable the velocity of those sites to be estimated. These velocity estimates can be used to model the processes of the crust's deformation by faulting and folding. The focus of this study is crustal deformation in Alaska and in particular the region of interior Alaska within 300km of Fairbanks, including the Denali fault; the Fairweather fault and Yakutat block in southern Alaska; and the Semidi region of the Aleutian arc. This deformation is driven by the relentless northwestward motion of the Pacific plate relative to North America. The Yakutat block, an allocthonous terrane located in the 'armpit' of southern Alaska is shown to be moving at neither the Pacific Plate rate nor is it attached to North America. Instead it has a velocity parallel to the Fairweather fault, which means that some offshore structure, possibly the Transition Zone, must accommodate some of the Pacific-North American relative motion. The slip on the Fairweather fault is estimated to be 44 +/- 3 mm/yr with a locking depth of 8 +/- 1 km, which implies a recurrence time of ~80 years for an MS 7.9 earthquake. Using a model of southern Alaska block rotation with the Denali fault as the northern boundary, the slip rate on the McKinley segment of the Denali fault is estimated to be ~6--9 mm/yr for a locking depth of 12 km. Moving to the southwest, data from sites in the Semidi segment of the Alaska subduction zone, between the fully-coupled segment to the northeast and the slipping Shumagin segment to the southwest are studied. This region, which sustained a magnitude 8.2 earthquake in 1938, is determined to be highly coupled and accumulating strain. Finally, all of these pieces are connected in a quantitative model for southern Alaska. This model involves three crustal blocks, the Yakutat block, Fairweather block and southern Alaska block, which lie between North America and the Pacific plate and move relative to these major plates

Basic calculation proficiency and mathematics achievement in elementary school children

The relation between skill in simple addition and subtraction and more general math achievement in elementary school is well established but not understood. Both the intrinsic importance of skill in simple calculation for math and the influence of conceptual knowledge and cognitive factors (working memory, processing speed, oral language) on simple calculation and math are plausible. The authors investigated the development of basic calculation fluency and its relations to math achievement and other factors by tracking a group of 259 United Kingdom English children from second to third grade. In both grades the group did not retrieve the solutions to most problems, but their math achievement was typical. Improvement in basic calculation proficiency was partially predicted by conceptual knowledge and cognitive factors. These factors only partially mediated the relation between basic calculation and math achievement. The relation between reading and math was wholly mediated by number measures and cognitive factors

Patient-reported outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease:a measurement of effect in research and clinical care

The measurement of outcomes is key in evaluating healthcare or research interventions in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In patient-centred care, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are central to this evaluation. In this review, we provide an overview of validated, adult disease-specific PROMs developed for use in IBD. Our aim is to assist clinicians and researchers in selection of PROMs to measure outcomes in their patient cohort. The Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments database of systematic reviews was the primary resource used to identify PROMs used in IBD. Search terms were ‘Crohn’s disease’, ‘ulcerative colitis’, and ‘IBD’. Seven systematic reviews were identified from this search. In addition, the publication by the IBD Core Outcome Set Working Group was used to identify further PROMs. Three systematic reviews were excluded as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. From the five included systematic reviews, we identified 21 PROMs and their shortened versions. In conclusion, it does not appear that any one PROM is entirely suitable for both research and clinical practice. Overall, the IBDQ-32 is most widely used in research but has the limitation of cost, whereas the IBD-Control has been recommended in the clinical core outcome set

Vitamin D supplementation in patients with Crohn’s Disease and vitamin D deficiency: D-CODE feasibility study. An open label feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial

Introduction: Crohn’s Disease (CD) is one form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) characterised by severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and nutritional problems. Vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D<50nmol/L) is prevalent in CD, posing the risk of bone disease such as osteoporosis. However, studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency may also impact the symptoms of CD, and lead to poor health-related quality of life. Thus, detecting, treating, and preventing vitamin D deficiency in CD may improve patient outcomes. Nevertheless, current UK national guidance regarding the management of CD does not refer to vitamin D in this high-risk group. Methods: The method of investigation comprised three different studies: A, B and C. A – A web-based quantitative/qualitative survey investigating current clinical practice in vitamin D screening and treatment in CD, was distributed to members of the British Society of Gastroenterology IBD section. The survey was open for one month. Survey data was collected using the REDCap online tool. B – An observational, vitamin D screening study was carried out in the gastroenterology and infusion outpatient departments at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB). Vitamin D levels were measured by dried blood spot sample. Data regarding modifiable risk factors for vitamin D deficiency were collected including intake of vitamin D-containing foods, smoking and, sun exposure habits. C – The D-CODE feasibility study for an open label randomised controlled trial (RCT) determining the impact of vitamin D supplementation on health-related quality of life in CD was carried out at QEHB. Only participants identified from study B with identified vitamin D deficiency were recruited. Participants were randomised on a 1:1 ratio to vitamin D supplementation Arm A (400IU cholecalciferol daily for 24 weeks) or Arm B (3,200IU cholecalciferol daily for 12 weeks, followed by 800IU daily for 12 weeks). Patient-reported outcome measures included the IBDQ-32 and EQ-5D-5L. Results: A – In total 62 respondents completed the survey. Vitamin D screening was most likely to be carried out annually and in those with small bowel CD or surgery related to their CD. Treatments for vitamin D deficiency included increasing sunlight exposure, dietary changes, and supplementation. However, respondents reported a need for better evidence and national guidance in managing this group. B – In total 150 patients participated, 53.3% female, mean age 42.7 (SD16.7), ethnicity of participants was predominately white British (77.3%). Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (25(OH)D <50nmolL) was 53.3%, with CD patients unlikely to improve vitamin D status by alterations in diet or sun exposure. C – In total 24 patients were consented and 22 randomised. Males and females were evenly matched in both arms, with mean ages 37 (SD15.1) and 38.2 (SD17.5) respectively. Vitamin D levels increased in both arms but was more rapid in Arm B with normal levels achieved by week 12. There were no serious adverse events and doses of vitamin D supplements were safe in the context of this study. The study is feasible with modifications as a future RCT. Conclusion: This thesis follows a logical pathway in establishing current practice, adding to the body of evidence on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and confirming the feasibility of a future RCT to provide high-grade evidence for clinical management in CD

Exploring the figured worlds of teachers and pupils in the primary mathematics classroom: Five illustrative cases

The primary mathematics classroom can be a difficult and confusing place to be, generating feelings of puzzlement, or even anxiety, sometimes resulting in a reluctance to engage. This study sought to explore the overarching research question: How can reviewing the nature of learning in contrasting primary mathematics classrooms through the lens of a figured world illuminate significant and influential differences in pupils’ experiences. This study focuses on five distinct episodes in five different year 2 primary mathematics classrooms. Stimulated recall using video recordings, eliciting both teacher and pupil views, explore the learning from both of these perspectives. This approach builds on Mason’s (2002) discipline of noticing. Adopting a figured worldview of the mathematics classroom enables fresh insights from the pupil’s perspective. By developing an innovative analytical framework based on Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner & Cain’s (2001) figured world and their notions of; identity, dialogue and cultural artefacts, Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger & Tarule’s (1986) ways of coming to know and Sfard’s (1998) metaphors for learning, I was able to offer a new way of viewing the contrasting learning environments of these mathematics classrooms. These five illustrative cases demonstrate distinct pedagogical approaches and their impact on pupils’ mathematical identities. The implications of this research suggest that differently figured worlds could generate particular kinds of learning experiences. So pedagogically, teachers need to pay attention to aspects of learning beyond just the curricular imperatives, including the use of artefacts and other cultural elements associated with a mathematics environment. Pupils need opportunities to behaviour like thinking mathematicians for them to take on an identity of a confident mathematician

Examining the empathic voice teacher

Empathy enables successful communication and connection between teachers and their students, yet few studies have investigated its specific use in teaching singing. Addressing this gap, we interviewed voice teachers to discover how they articulate their pedagogy in terms of empathic practices and observed one-to-one lessons for evidence of the same. A sample of 27 classical and music theater voice teachers in Australia (70% females, 30% males), aged 35 to 75years old (M=55) were interviewed. Of this cohort, seven teachers were observed in their one-to-one teaching practices. Interviews and observations were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results indicated that voice teachers tailor their practices to the needs of students and demonstrate characteristics of teacher empathy identified in previous literature: effective communication, positive relationships, care, welcoming learning environment, trust, morality, and listening. Empathic teaching facilitates an individualized approach in which singing students are supported and motivated in their own autonomous learning environment. These findings have implications for voice pedagogy that features the use of empathy to benefit future students

"I ask them what they can feel": proprioception and the voice teacher’s approach

Background: Proprioception is considered essential to forming an aesthetic vocal experience, particularly musculoskeletal proprioception or the ability to accurately sense position, movement, effort, muscular tension, sensation of posture, and balance when singing. Research into singing reveals that proprioceptive awareness leads to better coordination and enhances the singer’s overall understanding of their vocal function. While proprioception is also considered useful in vocal pedagogy, few studies have examined if/how proprioception contributes to voice teaching in the one-to-one context. Aims: This project sought to understand in what way proprioception featured in the practices of tertiary classical and music theatre voice teachers. It specifically aimed to: 1) identify ways in which voice teachers demonstrate proprioceptive awareness when discussing their practices; and 2) observe how, and for what purpose, voice teachers engage proprioception when delivering voice lessons. Method: A multiple-case study design involved interviews with teachers and observations of their lessons. Voice teachers (N=7, all working in Australia), selected through purposive sampling, were interviewed face-to-face and each was observed delivering three lessons (N=21) to professionally focused singing students. Interview transcripts and observation field notes were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Results: Voice teachers revealed proprioceptive awareness when discussing their practices, such as sensing discomfort when a student sang with vocal tension. They also appeared to utilise proprioception as a diagnostic tool when addressing technical issues for their students. Further, teachers sought to develop proprioceptive awareness in their students through physical touch, verbal feedback, muscle release work, external tools (e.g., resistance bands), and breathwork. This was particularly evident where teachers focused students on how they felt when they were singing. Conclusions: Voice teachers adopted a proprioceptive style of teaching, literally adopting a ‘hands-on’ approach and also asking students to reflect on their own physical sensations rather than on the sounds they were making. Further, voice teachers were shown to be developing proprioceptive awareness in their students to aid in achieving the complex sensorimotor coordination required in singing. Implications: These findings have implications regarding vocal pedagogy courses training voice teachers to incorporate proprioceptive awareness in their practices

From DSM to DM-ID

ABSTRACTRecognizing the diagnostic challenges that clinicians face when attempting to arrive at an accurate psychiatric diagnosis for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) co-occurring with mental illness (MI), in 2007 the National Association for the Dually Diagnosed (NADD), in association with the American Psychiatric Association (APA), published Diagnostic Manual—Intellectual Disability (DM-ID): A Textbook of Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Persons with Intellectual Disability (Fletcher, Loschen, Stavrakaki, & First, 2007). The DM-ID was designed as a companion to the DSM-IV-TR and aimed to assist clinicians to arrive at a more accurate DSM-IV-TR diagnosis for individuals with IDD. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association published the DSM-5, thus necessitating revision of the DM-ID to incorporate the changes from the DSM-IV-TR to the DSM-5. The authors discuss the need for and development of the original DM-ID and changes in the DSM-5. The authors then offer insight ..