Middle school student attitudes toward science, and their relationships with instructional practices: a survey of Chinese students’ preferred versus actual instruction

This study explored relationships between students\u27 attitudes toward science and their preferred versus actual experience of cooperative, constructivist-oriented, or direct instruction. The sample consisted of 1334 Chinese middle school students in physics and chemistry classrooms. Results showed that students report experiencing more direct instruction, very little constructivist-oriented instruction, and a moderate amount of cooperative instruction. Attitudes toward science were positively related to cooperative teaching strategies like group work in class or developing small-group projects. There was no significant effect of constructivist-oriented instruction or of direct instruction on students\u27 attitudes. Whereas previous studies demonstrated positive impacts of constructivist teaching on student understanding of science concepts, student attitude toward school science appears to be more related to social interaction or cooperation. Lack of any statistically significant differential effect from constructivist-oriented instruction might also be related to the overall low incidence of such instruction experienced by our sample

Deformable and Robust Core–Shell Protein Microcapsules Templated by Liquid–Liquid Phase‐Separated Microdroplets

Abstract: Microcapsules are a key class of microscale materials with applications in areas ranging from personal care to biomedicine, and with increasing potential to act as extracellular matrix (ECM) models of hollow organs, tissues, or biomolecular condensates. Such capsules are conventionally generated from non‐ECM materials including synthetic polymers. Here, robust microcapsules with controllable shell thickness from physically‐ and enzymatically‐crosslinked gelatin are fabricated, and a core–shell architecture is achieved by exploiting a liquid–liquid phase‐separated aqueous system in a one‐step microfluidic process. Microfluidic mechanical testing reveals that the mechanical robustness of thicker‐shell capsules could be controlled through modulation of the shell thickness. Furthermore, the microcapsules demonstrate environmentally‐responsive deformation, including buckling driven by osmosis and external mechanical forces. A sequential release of cargo species is obtained through the degradation of the capsules. Stability measurements show the capsules are stable at 37 °C for more than 2 weeks. Finally, through gel–sol transition, microgels function as precursors for the formation of all‐aqueous liquid–liquid phase‐separated systems that are two‐phase or multiphase. These smart capsules that can undergo phase transition are promising models of hollow biostructures, microscale drug carriers, and building blocks or compartments for active soft materials and robots

The Chromatin Regulator HMGA1a Undergoes Phase Separation in the Nucleus.

Funder: European Research Council (ERC)The protein high mobility group A1 (HMGA1) is an important regulator of chromatin organization and function. However, the mechanisms by which it exerts its biological function are not fully understood. Here, we report that the HMGA isoform, HMGA1a, nucleates into foci that display liquid-like properties in the nucleus, and that the protein readily undergoes phase separation to form liquid condensates in vitro. By bringing together machine-leaning modelling, cellular and biophysical experiments and multiscale simulations, we demonstrate that phase separation of HMGA1a is promoted by protein-DNA interactions, and has the potential to be modulated by post-transcriptional effects such as phosphorylation. We further show that the intrinsically disordered C-terminal tail of HMGA1a significantly contributes to its phase separation through electrostatic interactions via AT hooks 2 and 3. Our work sheds light on HMGA1 phase separation as an emergent biophysical factor in regulating chromatin structure