Assessment worlds colliding? Negotiating between discourses of assessment on an online open course

Using the badged open course, Taking your first steps into Higher Education, this case study examines how assessment on online open courses draws on concepts of assessment used within formal and informal learning. Our experience was that assessment used within open courses, such as massive open online courses, is primarily determined by the requirements of quality assurance processes to award a digital badge or statement of participation as well as what is technologically possible. However, this disregards much recent work in universities that use assessment in support of learning. We suggest that designers of online open courses should pay greater attention to the relationship of assessment and learning to improve participant course completion

Training and qualifying distance learning tutors

The UK Open University (www.open.ac.uk) is a large distance teaching university with some 200,000 students. The courses offered by the University are planned and written for the most part by the one thousand or so full-time academic staff of the University, working in course teams. Students are supported by face-to-face and on-line tutorial sessions and by feedback on their work. This tutoring and feedback are undertaken by part-time tutors, called Associate Lecturers (ALs), of whom there are currently some 7500. The Open University (OU) has, throughout some 35 years of operation, placed great emphasis on the importance of these ALs. The University has always provided staff development and training to help them in their work. However, until recently, the University has not in any systematic or large-scale way enabled these tutors to gain a qualification in teaching in higher education. Over the last fifteen years there has been a growing movement in the UK for those who teach in higher education to gain a suitable teaching qualification. In 2006 it will become a requirement for those new to teaching in higher education to gain an appropriate higher education teaching qualification. This teaching qualification will sit alongside their doctorate or other qualification in the discipline that they teach. (Some parts of this trend are also seen in countries other than UK, although this paper will not provide an international review of this topic.) In these institutional and national contexts, this paper describes and analyses the development, operation and evaluation of the OU’s Associate Lecturer Development and Accreditation Pathway (ALDAP) initiative. ALDAP was developed through wide consultation across the University. It is delivered through a mixture of on-line and face-to-face education and support similar to that used by ALs in their teaching. The paper uses research data on the effectiveness of the initiative to date. It also draws broader conclusions about appropriate forms of training and accreditation for those who teach in higher education, by distance learning and also face to face.peerreviewe

Unfit for purpose? Rethinking the language of assessment for Widening Participation students

This article explores learning from a scholarship project which sought to identify principles of best inclusive practice in the language of assessment. Our focus was on an Access Programme, aimed at preparing entry-level learners to succeed in HE. Drawing on assessment principles of fairness and equity (QAA, 2012), the project challenged the 'assimilation' required by non-traditional learners in current assessment practices (Hockings 2010, Williams et al, 2014). An iterative mixed methods approach was conducted to elicit student and tutor perceptions and analyse existing documentation. Findings highlighted important pragmatic and conceptual issues around the language of assessment. In practical terms our Programme Assessment Guides are being redesigned and re-written for greater clarity. More fundamentally, we argue the opportunity to re-think the purpose of assessment on Access to embed more inclusive language could offer the sector a holistic approach to retaining students from groups under-represented in HE, and supporting their success

The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey III. Chandra and HST Observations of Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries and Globular Clusters in M87

The ACIS instrument on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory has been used to carry out the first systematic study of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) in M87. We identify 174 X-ray point-sources, of which ~150 are likely LMXBs. This LMXB catalog is combined with deep F475W and F850LP images taken with ACS on HST to examine the connection between LMXBs and globular clusters in M87. Of the 1688 globular clusters in our catalog, f_X = 3.6 +- 0.5% contain a LMXB and we find that the metal-rich clusters are 3 +- 1 times more likely to harbor a LMXB than their metal-poor counterparts. In agreement with previous findings for other galaxies, we find that brighter, more metal-rich clusters are more likely to contain a LMXB. For the first time, however, we are able to demonstrate that the probability, p_X, that a given cluster will contain a LMXB depends sensitively on the dynamical properties of the host cluster. Specifically, we use the HST images to measure the half-light radius, concentration index and central density, \rho_0, for each globular, and define a parameter, \Gamma, which is related to the tidal capture and binary-neutron star exchange rate. Our preferred form for p_X is then p_X \propto \Gamma \rho_0^{-0.42\pm0.11} (Z/Z_{\odot})^{0.33\pm0.1}. We argue that if the form of p_X is determined by dynamical processes, then the observed metallicity dependence is a consequence of an increased number of neutron stars per unit mass in metal-rich globular clusters. Finally, we find no compelling evidence for a break in the luminosity distribution of resolved X-ray point sources. Instead, the LMXB luminosity function is well described by a power law with an upper cutoff at L_X ~ 10^39 erg/s. (abridged)Comment: 23 pages, 21 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Also available at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~pcote/acs/publications.htm

A mixed methods approach to advance the understanding of physical activity behaviour during pregnancy

An active pregnancy encompasses benefits that apply to both mother and baby. However, before investing resources in interventions aimed at changing or supporting expectant mothers’ physical activity behaviours, it is necessary to have a greater fundamental understanding of the modifiable factors influencing women’s decisions during this time. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-cognitive determinants of physical activity during pregnancy. A mixed methods research approach using a multiphase design framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1991, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211) guided the investigation. Following ethical approval and permission to carry out the study, participants were recruited from randomly selected antenatal clinics in the East Kent region of England. Application of the TPB required both qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional data to be collected. Study One (n = 18) involved the elicitation of pregnant women’s beliefs towards being physically active. The modal salient behavioural, normative and control beliefs were used to inform the development of a TPB questionnaire which was implemented during the next phase of the investigation. Study Two (n = 78) examined the predictive utility of the TPB in explaining pregnant women’s physical activity intentions and behaviour and scrutinised the role of past behaviour within this context. Finally, Study Three (n = 10) comprised semi-structured interviews involving community midwives. Meta-inferences maintained the function of improving the validity of the study and advancing the overall aim of the research project. Specifically, triangulation was used to ascertain convergence, corroboration, and correspondence of findings between studies. Whilst results of the individual studies hold merit, meta-inferences point towards the development of three main themes: (1) pregnant women lack access to the necessary information that would allow them to make informed decisions regarding their engagement in physical activities; (2) a co-ordinated effort involving interprofessional collaboration is required to support pregnant women in overcoming barriers associated with regular physical activity participation; and (3) profiling pregnant women according to motivation and behaviour status could serve as a useful and manageable starting point for intervening to produce positive changes in pregnant women’s physical activity behaviour. In normalising physical activity during pregnancy and achieving better health outcomes for mothers and babies, it is necessary to consider the modifiable factors involved in behaviour change, identify opportune moments to intervene, and involve a network of professionals in facilitating and supporting pregnant women’s engagement with physical activities

CIP2A- and SETBP1-mediated PP2A inhibition reveals AKT S473 phosphorylation to be a new biomarker in AML

Key Points PP2A inhibition occurs in AML by 2 different pathways: CIP2A in normal karyotype patients and SETBP1 in adverse karyotype patients. AKTS473 phosphorylation is a predictor of survival, and diagnostic levels of AKTS473 could be a novel biomarker in AML

The political process of constructing a sustainable London Olympics sports development legacy

This study attempts to develop a research agenda for understanding the process of constructing a sustainable Olympic sports development legacy. The research uses a social constructivist perspective to examine the link between the 2012 London Olympic Games and sustainable sports development. The first part of the paper provides justification for the study of sport policy processes using a constructivist lens. This is followed by a section which critically unpacks sustainable sports development drawing on Mosse’s (1998) ideas of process-oriented research and Searle’s conceptualisation of the construction of social reality. Searle’s (1995) concepts of the assignment of function, collective intentionality, collective rules, and human capacity to cope with the environment are considered in relation to the events and discourses emerging from the legacy vision(s) associated with the 2012 London Olympic Games. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for engaging in process oriented research and highlights key elements, research questions, and methodological issues. The proposed constructivist approach can be used to inform policy, practice, and research on sustainable Olympic sports development legacy