Perceptions of university assessment and feedback among post-16 school pupils

The transition between school and university can be problematic for students. Understanding students’ expectations about the system they are entering into is crucial in effecting a smooth transition. The school system involves small classes, often with teachers who know their students well. In contrast university involves large class sizes and a degree of anonymity for the student. In the UK National Student Survey responses for universities show that students are generally less happy about feedback relative to most other issues. The current study investigates school students’ expectations about assessment and feedback practices at university. Students were surveyed across Great Britain in 2006 and 2013. There were some significantly different responses from students between the two years of study in how coursework would be handled, but there were also many areas of consistency, demonstrating a clear pattern of expectation. For example, in both years of study 80 % of students expected personal verbal feedback on their university assignments. This study discusses how student expectations may be based on their school experiences rather than considering the reality of the university system they are entering into. Misconceptions may be affecting students’ responses to the NSS surveys on assessment and feedback

Promoting Microbiology Education Through the iGEM Synthetic Biology Competition

Synthetic biology has developed rapidly in the 21st century. It covers a range of scientific disciplines that incorporate principles from engineering to take advantage of and improve biological systems, often applied to specific problems. Methods important in this subject area include the systematic design and testing of biological systems and, here, we describe how synthetic biology projects frequently develop microbiology skills and education. Synthetic biology research has huge potential in biotechnology and medicine, which brings important ethical and moral issues to address, offering learning opportunities about the wider impact of microbiological research. Synthetic biology projects have developed into wide-ranging training and educational experiences through iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machines competition. Elements of the competition are judged against specific criteria and teams can win medals and prizes across several categories. Collaboration is an important element of iGEM and all DNA constructs synthesised by iGEM teams are made available to all researchers through the Registry for Standard Biological Parts. An overview of microbiological developments in the iGEM competition is provided. This review is targeted at educators that focus on microbiology and synthetic biology, but will also be of value to undergraduate and postgraduate students with an interest in this exciting subject area

BiOutils: an interface to connect university laboratories with microbiology classes in schools

The contribution of microbiology to the scientific advances of modern experimental biology has very often made the difference. Despite this, its role as an independent discipline has slowly started to fade away. This situation has been worsening due to (i) a marginal role of microbiology in academic curricula and (ii) a low or misplaced interest by the public at large towards this field of study. In order to counter this phenomenon, microbiology researchers and passionate scientists have made several efforts to engage and inform the broad public and academic policymakers about the importance of microbiology as an independent discipline. One of the approaches used in this direction is to support the teaching of microbiology in schools. BiOutils, a science communication platform based within a microbiology lab, has been committed to this goal since its creation in 2007. In this article, we describe how the platform is able to work in synergy with school teachers, providing engaging activities that can be performed in schools' classrooms. Our aim is to provide a perspective on how every microbiology lab with little costs and efforts can support the teaching of a discipline that will remain independent thanks to the fascination that they will be able to transmi

Development and Evaluation of an Undergraduate Science Communication Module

This paper describes the design and evaluation of an undergraduate final year science communication module for the Science Faculty at the University of East Anglia. The module focuses specifically on science communication and aims to bring an understanding of how science is disseminated to the public. Students on the module are made aware of the models surrounding science communication and investigate how the science culture interfaces with the public. During the module they learn how to adapt science concepts for different audiences and how to talk confidently about science to a lay-audience. Student motivation for module choice centres on the acquisition of transferable skills and students develop these skills through designing, running and evaluating a public outreach event at a school or in a public area. These transferable skills acquired include communication, interaction with different organisations such as museums and science centres, developing understanding of both the needs of different audiences and the importance of time management. They also develop skills relating to self-reflection and how to use this as a tool for future self development. The majority of students completing the module go on to further study, either a PhD, MSc or teacher training. The module can be sustained in its present formed if capped at 40 students, however it is recognised that to increase cohort size, further investment of faculty time and resources would be required

‘Just Google It?’: Pupils’ Perceptions and Experience of Research in the Secondary Classroom

While numerous studies examine perceptions of research held by university researchers, studies examining perceptions held by school pupils are rare. To address this gap and following analysis of questionnaire data (N = 2634, KS3/4/5 pupils), we conducted 11 group interviews with 100 pupils in England to investigate their experiences of research during schooling and their perceptions of how research is conceived, conducted and where its utility and significance lie. Thematic analysis of the interview data – informed by Angela Brew’s 4-tier descriptor of perceptions of research (domino, trading, layer, journey), Jenni Stubb's and colleagues' elaboration of this descriptor, Jan Meyer's and colleagues' conceptions of research inventory (CoRI) and Diane Bills’ distinction between Research and research – led to seven themes. Here we elaborate the most significant of these themes: fact finding as research; who formulates and owns a research question; and the friction between uninformed opinion and informed view. We conclude that secondary pupils’ experiences and perceptions of research, while overall relatively rich, vary across different disciplines. We also conclude that pupils would benefit substantially from more comprehensive engagement with research processes, and we observe the role that qualifications such as the Extended Project Qualification can play in fostering said engagement

Sensing iron availability via the fragile [4Fe-4S] cluster of the bacterial transcriptional repressor RirA

Rhizobial iron regulator A (RirA) is a global regulator of iron homeostasis in many nitrogen-fixing Rhizobia and related species of α-proteobacteria. It belongs to the widespread Rrf2 super-family of transcriptional regulators and features three conserved Cys residues that characterise the binding of an iron–sulfur cluster in other Rrf2 family regulators. Here we report biophysical studies demonstrating that RirA contains a [4Fe–4S] cluster, and that this form of the protein binds RirA-regulated DNA, consistent with its function as a repressor of expression of many genes involved in iron uptake. Under low iron conditions, [4Fe–4S] RirA undergoes a cluster conversion reaction resulting in a [2Fe–2S] form, which exhibits much lower affinity for DNA. Under prolonged low iron conditions, the [2Fe–2S] cluster degrades to apo-RirA, which does not bind DNA and can no longer function as a repressor of the cell's iron-uptake machinery. [4Fe–4S] RirA was also found to be sensitive to O2, suggesting that both iron and O2 are important signals for iron metabolism. Consistent with this, in vivo data showed that expression of RirA-regulated genes is also affected by O2. These data lead us to propose a novel regulatory model for iron homeostasis, in which RirA senses iron via the incorporation of a fragile iron–sulfur cluster that is sensitive to iron and O2 concentrations

Mechanisms of iron- and O2-sensing by the [4Fe-4S] cluster of the global iron regulator RirA

RirA is a global regulator of iron homeostasis in Rhizobium and related α-proteobacteria. In its [4Fe-4S] cluster-bound form it represses iron uptake by binding to IRO Box sequences upstream of RirA-regulated genes. Under low iron and/or aerobic conditions, [4Fe-4S] RirA undergoes cluster conversion/degradation to apo-RirA, which can no longer bind IRO Box sequences. Here, we apply time-resolved mass spectrometry and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine how the RirA cluster senses iron and O2. The data indicate that the key iron-sensing step is the O2-independent, reversible dissociation of Fe2+ from [4Fe-4S]2+ to form [3Fe-4S]0. The dissociation constant for this process was determined as Kd = ~3 µM, which is consistent with the sensing of ‘free’ iron in the cytoplasm. O2-sensing occurs through enhanced cluster degradation under aerobic conditions, via O2-mediated oxidation of the [3Fe-4S]0 intermediate to form [3Fe-4S]1+. This work provides a detailed mechanistic/functional view of an iron-responsive regulator

Progress and prospects for event tourism research

This paper examines event tourism as a field of study and area of professional practice updating the previous review article published in 2008. In this substantially extended review, a deeper analysis of the field’s evolution and development is presented, charting the growth of the literature, focusing both chronologically and thematically. A framework for understanding and creating knowledge about events and tourism is presented, forming the basis which signposts established research themes and concepts and outlines future directions for research. In addition, the review article focuses on constraining and propelling forces, ontological advances, contributions from key journals, and emerging themes and issues. It also presents a roadmap for research activity in event tourism