Practice schedule and cognitive style interaction in learning a maze task

In the present study the effects of contextual interference on the retention and transfer performance of reflectives and impulsives on a maze task were studied. Forty-seven subjects were randomly assigned to either a high contextual interference group or to a low contextual interference group. Within the two groups subjects were further classified according to their preferred modes of responding. Retention and transfer were measured immediately following practice and after a 4-week delay. The dependent variables were tracing time and errors. Reflectives made fewer errors and moved more quickly after practising under conditions of high contextual interference. Impulsives tended to have fewer errors after practising under conditions of high contextual interference but moved more slowly. Based on these results it was suggested that trainers consider individual differences in reflectivity-impulsivity before designing particular practice schedules

Maintaining Curriculum Consistency of Technical and Vocational Educational Programs through Teacher Design Teams

Maintaining the quality and relevance of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) curricula is a great challenge for TVET institutions in developing countries. One major challenge lies in the lack of curriculum design expertise of TVET academics. The purpose of this multiplecase study is to explore the potential of professionally supported Teacher Design Teams (TDTs), a group of department teachers working collaboratively on a curriculum (re)design task, as an institution-based strategy for improving the relevance of TVET programs to the needs of the concerned stakeholders, namely industry. The study describes how four TDTs from different TVET college departments redesigned their programs systematically and relationally to improve their internal and external consistency. The findings indicated that although the teams found the re-design task a challenge, they felt positive about the TDT experience and its outcomes. The teams also perceived the consistency of their programs to have improved. The criticality of the support offered to the teams and the variety of the teams’ design work were salient themes captured during the design process. It is concluded that professionally supported TDTs can be an efficient strategy for maintaining the consistency of the TVET curriculu

Collaboratively Learning How To Use Data: The Process of Knowledge Creation

Data-based decision making in education has become increasingly important. In the Netherlands, school leaders and teachers work together in data teams to collaboratively create knowledge on data use to improve their education. However, more insight into the process of knowledge creation is required to further support data use in schools. We used Nonaka and Takeuchi’s model of knowledge creation to study this. All (21 and 24) meetings of two data teams were transcribed, coded and analyzed in this qualitative micro-process case study. Results showed, for example, that over time, both data teams reflected more often on their work and increasingly discussed the use of data. Differences existed as one team evaluated the quality of their data more often and thoroughly

MEK and PI3K-AKT inhibitors synergistically block activated IL7 receptor signaling in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We identified mutations in the IL7Ra gene or in genes encoding the downstream signaling molecules JAK1, JAK3, STAT5B, N-RAS, K-RAS, NF1, AKT and PTEN in 49% of patients with pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Strikingly, these mutations (except RAS/NF1) were mutually exclusive, suggesting that they each cause the aberrant activation of a common downstream target. Expressing these mutant signaling molecules—but not their wild-type counterparts—rendered Ba/F3 cells independent of IL3 by activating the RAS-MEK-ERK and PI3K-AKT pathways. Interestingly, cells expressing either IL7Ra or JAK mutants are sensitive to JAK inhibitors, but respond less robustly to inhibitors of the downstream RAS-MEK-ERK and PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathways, indicating that inhibiting only one downstream pathway is not sufficient. Here, we show that inhibiting both the MEK and PI3K-AKT pathways synergistically prevents the proliferation of BaF3 cells expressing mutant IL7Ra, JAK and RAS. Furthermore, combined inhibition of MEK and PI3K/AKT was cytotoxic to samples obtained from 6 out of 11 primary T-ALL patients, including 1 patient who had no mutations in the IL7R signaling pathway. Taken together, these results suggest that the potent cytotoxic effects of inhibiting both MEK and PI3K/AKT should be investigated further as a therapeutic option using leukemia xenograft models.Leukemia advance online publication, 13 May 2016; doi:10.1038/leu.2016.83