Potential relationship of epistemic games to group dynamics and learning orientations towards physics problem solving

Current investigations into pedagogical goals of introductory algebra-based physics students at the University of Central Arkansas, by learning orientation towards an in-class metacognitive group problem solving task, seek to determine possible relationships with attitudinal shifts and course performance. Students thus far have been untreated with known group-based learning pedagogies, so as to establish trends of common group habits, and ultimately to properly inform implementation of group-based pedagogies in reaction to these trends. However, students' group dynamics and learning orientations prove difficult to map to group-based measurements; an estimate of group learning orientation and preferred working group dynamic is here explored as a potential means of interpreting students' use of problem solving strategies. A means of "sampling" audiovisual data in a live classroom of several simultaneous groups is also presented as a way to estimate the frequency of chosen strategies to this end.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, conference proceeding

Consideration of learning orientations as an application of achievement goals in evaluating life science majors in introductory physics

When considering performing an Introductory Physics for Life Sciences course transformation for one's own institution, life science majors' achievement goals are a necessary consideration to ensure the pedagogical transformation will be effective. However, achievement goals are rarely an explicit consideration in physics education research topics such as metacognition. We investigate a sample population of 218 students in a first-semester introductory algebra-based physics course, drawn from 14 laboratory sections within six semesters of course sections, to determine the influence of achievement goals on life science majors' attitudes towards physics. Learning orientations that, respectively, pertain to mastery goals and performance goals, in addition to a learning orientation that does not report a performance goal, were recorded from students in the specific context of learning a problem-solving framework during an in-class exercise. Students' learning orientations, defined within the context of students' self-reported statements in the specific context of a problem-solving-related research-based course implementation, are compared to pre-post results on physics problem-solving items in a well-established attitudinal survey instrument, in order to establish the categories' validity. In addition, mastery-related and performance-related orientations appear to extend to overall pre-post attitudinal shifts, but not to force and motion concepts or to overall course grade, within the scope of an introductory physics course. There also appears to be differentiation regarding overall course performance within health science majors, but not within biology majors, in terms of learning orientations; however, health science majors generally appear to fare less well on all measurements in the study than do biology majors, regardless of learning orientations.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 5 table

Visualising disease progression on multiple variables with vector plots and path plots.

BACKGROUND: It is often desirable to observe how a disease progresses over time in individual patients, rather than graphing group averages; and since multiple outcomes are typically recorded on each patient, it would be advantageous to visualise disease progression on multiple variables simultaneously. METHODS: A variety of vector plots and a path plot have been developed for this purpose, and data from a longitudinal Huntington's disease study are used to illustrate the utility of these graphical methods for exploratory data analysis. RESULTS: Initial and final values for three outcome variables can be easily visualised per patient, along with the change in these variables over time. In addition to the disease trajectory, the path individual patients take from initial to final observation can be traced. Categorical variables can be coded with different types of vectors or paths (e.g. different colours, line types, line thickness) and separate panels can be used to include further categorical or continuous variables, allowing clear visualisation of further information for each individual. In addition, summary statistics such as mean vectors, bivariate interquartile ranges and convex polygons can be included to assist in interpreting trajectories, comparing groups, and detecting multivariate outliers. CONCLUSION: Vector and path plots are useful graphical methods for exploratory data analysis when individual-level information on multiple variables over time is desired, and they have several advantages over plotting each variable separately.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Drinking-Water Arsenic Exposure Modulates Gene Expression in Human Lymphocytes from a U.S. Population

Background: Arsenic exposure impairs development and can lead to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The mechanism underlying these effects remains unknown. Primarily because of geologic sources of contamination, drinking-water arsenic levels are above the current recommended maximum contaminant level of 10 μg/L in the northeastern, western, and north central regions of the United States. Objectives: We investigated the effects of arsenic exposure, defined by internal biomarkers at levels relevant to the United States and similarly exposed populations, on gene expression. Methods: We conducted separate Affymetrix microarray-based genomewide analyses of expression patterns. Peripheral blood lymphocyte samples from 21 controls interviewed (1999–2002) as part of a case–control study in New Hampshire were selected based on high- versus low-level arsenic exposure levels. Results: The biologic functions of the transcripts that showed statistically significant abundance differences between high- and low-arsenic exposure groups included an overrepresentation of genes involved in defense response, immune function, cell growth, apoptosis, regulation of cell cycle, T-cell receptor signaling pathway, and diabetes. Notably, the high-arsenic exposure group exhibited higher levels of several killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors that inhibit natural killer cell activity. Conclusions: These findings define biologic changes that occur with chronic arsenic exposure in humans and provide leads and potential targets for understanding and monitoring the pathogenesis of arsenic-induced diseases