The Effects of Testing on Pre-University Science Students’ Academic Outcomes in an Electricity and Magnetism Course

Testing can influence student learning outcomes by influencing their approach to study and to learning. It is important tounderstand the influence of testing on students’ learning outcomes to optimize instruction. We examine the role that testing playedin a science course, to examine the effect of testing on retention and performance on a standardized final exam. This studycompared two sections—experimental condition with testing (N = 35) and comparison condition with homework (N = 39)—of anElectricity and Magnetism course in a pre-university program to explore the role of the testing effect, that is, whether taking a testaids subsequent learning and retention. Results indicated that the students in the experimental group had a higher final examaverage and greatest achievement gains. Our findings corroborate previous research and suggest that the traditional homework-based instructional strategy is a less effective approach for science learning or later retention compared to an instructionalapproach incorporating regular testing. Implications of these findings and the importance of testing in science instruction are alsodiscussed

Transition to Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background With the new pandemic reality that has beset us, teaching and learning activities have been thrust online. While much research has explored student perceptions of online and distance learning, none has had a social laboratory to study the effects of an enforced transition on student perceptions of online learning. Purpose We surveyed students about their perceptions of online learning before and after the transition to online learning. As student perceptions are influenced by a range of contextual and institutional factors beyond the classroom, we expected that students would be overall sanguine to the project given that access, technology integration, and family and government support during the pandemic shutdown would mitigate the negative consequences. Results Students overall reported positive academic outcomes. However, students reported increased stress and anxiety and difficulties concentrating, suggesting that the obstacles to fully online learning were not only technological and instructional challenges but also social and affective challenges of isolation and social distancing. Conclusion Our analysis shows that the specific context of the pandemic disrupted more than normal teaching and learning activities. Whereas students generally responded positively to the transition, their reluctance to continue learning online and the added stress and workload show the limits of this large scale social experiment. In addition to the technical and pedagogical dimensions, successfully supporting students in online learning environments will require that teachers and educational technologists attend to the social and affective dimensions of online learning as well

Exploring the Role of Testing in Student Outcomes: Evidence from a Mechanics Course

Assessments have become increasingly prevalent in education. While many affordances of assessments are offered in the literature, there is mixed evidence on how assessments affect students’ learning and performance. Moreover, a testing effect has been identified in lab-based studies where more testing is associated with better performance; however, less is known about the effects of testing on performance in situ. The present study employs data from two Mechanics courses to analyze the effects of testing on performance. We compare two sections—experimental condition with testing (N = 36) and control condition with homework (N = 38)—of the Mechanics course, to examine the relative importance of testing. We find a strong effect for regular testing on student mid-term and final exam performance. The findings have broad implications for the growing testing effect literature

Validation of the French version of the classroom assessment scoring system infant and toddler in Quebec

The objective of this study is to validate the French version of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) infant and toddler, as employed to assess the quality of interactions in groups of children under 3 years old, in childcare centers in Quebec where French is the official language. Indeed, when using a different language version of a standard-based tool outside its original context, an important step is to verify that it remains reliable and valid for measuring the research construct. This validation study was conducted in Montreal area (Quebec, Canada). The subjects were 154 classrooms (46 infant, 108 toddler) located within a representative sample of 68 childcare centers. Live classroom observations were conducted in the fall 2018 with the CLASS and other measures of process quality. Results replicate the factor structures of the original versions of the CLASS tool and provide evidence for the good reliability (inter-rater reliability, internal consistency) and validity (criterion and construct) of the French versions. The discussion highlights cross-cultural differences in the classrooms, childcare centers, and regulations that could explain some differences obtained in this research and, therefore, needs to be considered when using the CLASS in French to have a reliable and valid tool to measure the quality of interactions

Revue d'histoire du Bas-Saint-Laurent, vol. 14 (2)

Éditorial -- Enseignement -- Archéologie -- Mont Commis ou Mont Camille? -- Joachim Vautour, pêcheur résidant à Rimouski au XVIIIe siècle -- Les guerres du bois -- L'incorporation de Trois-Pistoles a donné lieu à une série de conflits (1916-1924) -- Chroniques rimouskoises -- Histoire orale -- Patrimoine -- Archives -- Des livres à lire! -- Photos ancienne

Lactation and neonatal nutrition: defining and refining the critical questions.

This paper resulted from a conference entitled "Lactation and Milk: Defining and refining the critical questions" held at the University of Colorado School of Medicine from January 18-20, 2012. The mission of the conference was to identify unresolved questions and set future goals for research into human milk composition, mammary development and lactation. We first outline the unanswered questions regarding the composition of human milk (Section I) and the mechanisms by which milk components affect neonatal development, growth and health and recommend models for future research. Emerging questions about how milk components affect cognitive development and behavioral phenotype of the offspring are presented in Section II. In Section III we outline the important unanswered questions about regulation of mammary gland development, the heritability of defects, the effects of maternal nutrition, disease, metabolic status, and therapeutic drugs upon the subsequent lactation. Questions surrounding breastfeeding practice are also highlighted. In Section IV we describe the specific nutritional challenges faced by three different populations, namely preterm infants, infants born to obese mothers who may or may not have gestational diabetes, and infants born to undernourished mothers. The recognition that multidisciplinary training is critical to advancing the field led us to formulate specific training recommendations in Section V. Our recommendations for research emphasis are summarized in Section VI. In sum, we present a roadmap for multidisciplinary research into all aspects of human lactation, milk and its role in infant nutrition for the next decade and beyond

IM Normae: The Death Spiral of a Cataclysmic Variable?

We present a study of the orbital light curves of the recurrent nova IM Normae since its 2002 outburst. The broad "eclipses" recur with a 2.46 hour period, which increases on a timescale of 1.28(16)x10^6 years. Under the assumption of conservative mass-transfer, this suggests a rate near 10^-7 M_sol/year, and this agrees with the estimated /accretion/ rate of the postnova, based on our estimate of luminosity. IM Nor appears to be a close match to the famous recurrent nova T Pyxidis. Both stars appear to have very high accretion rates, sufficient to drive the recurrent-nova events. Both have quiescent light curves which suggest strong heating of the low-mass secondary, and very wide orbital minima which suggest obscuration of a large "corona" around the primary. And both have very rapid orbital period increases, as expected from a short-period binary with high mass transfer from the low-mass component. These two stars may represent a final stage of nova -- and cataclysmic-variable -- evolution, in which irradiation-driven winds drive a high rate of mass transfer, thereby evaporating the donor star in a paroxysm of nova outbursts.Comment: PDF, 30 pages, 3 tables, 6 figures; accepted, in press, ApJ; more info at http://cbastro.org

Strand Transfer and Elongation of HIV-1 Reverse Transcription Is Facilitated by Cell Factors In Vitro

Recent work suggests a role for multiple host factors in facilitating HIV-1 reverse transcription. Previously, we identified a cellular activity which increases the efficiency of HIV-1 reverse transcription in vitro. Here, we describe aspects of the activity which shed light on its function. The cellular factor did not affect synthesis of strong-stop DNA but did improve downstream DNA synthesis. The stimulatory activity was isolated by gel filtration in a single fraction of the exclusion volume. Velocity-gradient purified HIV-1, which was free of detectable RNase activity, showed poor reverse transcription efficiency but was strongly stimulated by partially purified cell proteins. Hence, the cell factor(s) did not inactivate an RNase activity that might degrade the viral genomic RNA and block completion of reverse transcription. Instead, the cell factor(s) enhanced first strand transfer and synthesis of late reverse transcription suggesting it stabilized the reverse transcription complex. The factor did not affect lysis of HIV-1 by Triton X-100 in the endogenous reverse transcription (ERT) system, and ERT reactions with HIV-1 containing capsid mutations, which varied the biochemical stability of viral core structures and impeded reverse transcription in cells, showed no difference in the ability to be stimulated by the cell factor(s) suggesting a lack of involvement of the capsid in the in vitro assay. In addition, reverse transcription products were found to be resistant to exogenous DNase I activity when the active fraction was present in the ERT assay. These results indicate that the cell factor(s) may improve reverse transcription by facilitating DNA strand transfer and DNA synthesis. It also had a protective function for the reverse transcription products, but it is unclear if this is related to improved DNA synthesis

Phosphorylation of serine 225 in hepatitis C virus NS5A regulates protein-protein interactions.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) non-structural protein 5A (NS5A) is a phosphoprotein that plays key, yet poorly defined, roles in both virus genome replication and virion assembly/release. It has been proposed that differential phosphorylation could act as a switch to regulate the various functions of NS5A, however the mechanistic details of the role of this post-translational modification in the virus life cycle remains obscure. We previously reported (Ross-Thriepland et al, 2015) a role for phosphorylation at serine 225 (S225) of NS5A in the regulation of JFH-1 (genotype 2a) genome replication. A phosphoablatant (S225A) mutation resulted in a 10-fold reduction in replication and a perinuclear restricted distribution of NS5A, whereas the corresponding phosphomimetic mutation (S225D) had no phenotype. To determine the molecular mechanisms underpinning this phenotype we conducted a label-free proteomics approach to identify cellular NS5A interaction partners. This analysis 30 revealed that the S225A mutation disrupted the interactions of NS5A with a number of cellular proteins, in particular the nucleosome assembly protein 1-like protein 1 (NAP1L1), bridging integrator 1 (Bin1, also known as Amphiphysin II) and vesicle associated membrane protein-associated protein A (VAP-A). These interactions were validated by immunoprecipitation/western blotting, immunofluorescence and proximity ligation assay. Importantly, siRNA-mediated knockdown of NAP1L1, Bin1 or VAP-A impaired viral genome replication and recapitulated the perinuclear redistribution of NS5A seen in the S225A mutant. These results demonstrate that S225 phosphorylation regulates the interactions of NS5A with a defined subset of cellular proteins. Furthermore, these interactions regulate both HCV genome replication and the subcellular localisation of replication complexes. IMPORTANCE Hepatitis C virus is an important human pathogen. The viral nonstructural 5A protein (NS5A) is the target for new antiviral drugs. NS5A has multiple functions during the virus life cycle, but the biochemical details of these roles remain obscure. NS5A is known to be phosphorylated by cellular protein kinases, and in this study, we set out to determine whether this modification is required for the binding of NS5A to other cellular proteins. We identified 3 such proteins and show that they interacted only with NS5A that was phosphorylated on a specific residue. Furthermore, these proteins were required for efficient virus replication and the ability of NS5A to spread throughout the cytoplasm of the cell. Our results help to define the function of NS5A and may contribute to an understanding of the mode of action of the highly potent antiviral drugs that are targeted to NS5A