Peer-assessment of group work in a large class: development of a staff and student friendly system

No abstract available

Developing e-assessment using the quiz activity within Moodle: empowering student learning

Using formative assessment within Moodle has been shown to encourage self-directed learning (Bromham & Oprandi, 2006). Our experience of using formative assessment quizzes as stand alone entities, as well as within Moodle lessons, has been used to introduce Moodle assessment quizzes over the past year in Level 1 and Level 2 Life Sciences courses. This experience has been distilled to inform the content of this workshop. Some advantages of incorporating assessments in the form of Moodle quizzes are that they allow for quick, reproducible and flexible assessment with a relatively small initial set-up cost, and substantial long-term staff and administration savings. One significant advantage is that staff and room pressures can be reduced as students can attempt the assessment at a time and location of their choice within a specified time period. This flexibility can help to reduce student stress associated with completion of a continuous assessment for their course. It is also a relatively simple process to account for students entitled to extra time during assessments. Providing clear instructions beforehand and at the start of the quiz ensures that students understand their responsibilities for completion of this assessment and ultimately the course. There are some disadvantages and limitations to the system as it currently exists, for example there is the perceived ability for students to “cheat” by completing the assessment as a group, accessing books and the internet. Strategies to account for these can be put in place and will be discussed in detail during the workshop. This workshop aims to take the participants through the initial set up of a quiz, highlighting the various question types and how these can be used to create a challenging assessment that can be quickly graded and prove informative for staff and course development. Reference Bromham L. & Oprandi P. (2006) Evolution online: developing active and blended learning by using a virtual learning environment in an introductory biology course. Journal of Biological Education 41 (1): 21-25

The Role of Teacher Education Experiences in Addressing the Concerns of Apprentice Teachers

This study investigated the role of a teacher education program in helping apprentice teachers to address their teaching concerns. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of program data were used to answer the following questions: What are the concerns of apprentice teachers? Do they differ between public and private school teachers? Do they differ between elementary and middle school teachers? How well did the teacher education program at Franciscan University help teachers to be prepared to address their concerns and does preparedness differ between public and private, and elementary and middle school teachers? What program experiences were perceived as most effective in helping teachers to address their concerns? What are the effects of situational change on teachers in regards to their concerns? A mixed methods approach was undertaken, focusing on the data obtained from surveys and a focus group discussion. The use of survey data allowed the researcher to identify the types of concerns, self, task, or impact(Fuller, 1969)of the apprentice teachers. The completion of ANOVA determined that apprentice teachers had significantly higher impact related concerns than self or task concerns, but no differences were found among the self and task related concerns. ANOVA also determined that teachers felt more prepared to be able to handle their impact and self related concerns than their task concerns. Results indicated no differences between public and private, and elementary and middle school teachers on their type of concerns or their level of preparedness. Qualitative analysis of open-ended survey questions and a focus group discussion consisted of determining apprentice teachers\u27 perceived experiences from their teacher education program that prepared them to handle their concerns. Experiences listed most frequently included student teaching, field experiences, and methods courses. A small number of participants commented on volunteer requirements, the Fellowship program, tutoring reading, liberal arts coursework, and Praxis III preparation. Finally, comments regarding the situational aspects influencing teacher concerns involved issues related to school administration and organization, curriculum, security, technology, and personal concerns. The various situational concerns demonstrate the importance of involving future teachers in teacher education programs with a myriad of organizational experiences in multiple contexts

Supporting graduate teaching assistants in two STEM areas

No abstract available

An investigation of homo and heterodimerization of the human delta opioid receptor

Homo and heterodimerization of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) is a concept which has gained credibility as another mechanism by which GPCR signalling can increase in complexity. The generation of Flag and c-myc N-terminally tagged forms of the human deltaOR, with and without GFP fused to the C-terminus, has allowed identification of each receptor form after transient transfection in HEK293 ceils. Stable cell lines expressing Flag-deltaOR or Flag-deltaOR-GFP were generated in HEK293cells. High affinity [3H]antagonist binding and agonist stimulated inhibition of adenylyl cyclase activity was observed. Agonist stimulated internalization of Flag-deltaOR-GFP was followed in live cells with a of 1/2< 10min. Constitutively formed (mouse) deltaOR homodimers were identified using co-immunprecipitation techniques (Cvejic and Devi 1997). The human deltaOR is demonstrated here to also form constitutive homodimers using co-immunoprecipitation techniques. Constitutive heterodimerization of human deltaOR with the deltaOR, IP prostanoid receptor, IP prostaniod receptor-GFP, beta1AR-GFP and beta2AR-GFP was also observed. Further investigations of the lysis procedures and antibodies used for immunoprecipitation indicated that the heterodimers were not a reflection of the experimental conditions used. Fluorescently labelled antibodies were used to specifically label N-terminally tagged GPCRs expressed at the cell-surface. The spectral overlap property of the fluorescent labels chosen allowed fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to be used to determine homo and heterodimerization of antibody-bound GPCRs. The fluorescent donor molecule, Europium, also has the property of long-lived fluorescence after excitation. Thus allowing the FRET to be time-resolved (TR-FRET) increasing the sensitivity of the developed assay. Constitutively formed cell-surface deltaOR homodimers were identified using TR- FRET. The presence of agonist was unable to modulate this interaction. Heterodimerization between the deltaOR and P2AR-GFP, which had been observed using co-immunoprecipitation techniques, was not evident using the cell-surface TR-FRET in intact cells. The presence of agonist for each receptor within the dimer or the presence of both agonists together did not generate any heterodimerization between the deltaOR and P2AR-GFP receptors. No significant level of heterodimers between the deltaOR and deltaOR was observed using TR-FRET. Optimisation of the TR-FRET assay has allowed the assay to be performed in a homogeneous format although this is less sensitive than the heterogeneous assay described

Association of hypoadiponectemia with smokeless/dipping tobacco use in young men

Background: Low levels of adiponectin, an adipocytokine with anti-diabetic, antiatherogenic and cardioprotective properties, is associated with increased risk of coronary disease in young men. Previous studies have demonstrated that smokeless tobacco is linked with a reduction of plasma adiponectin levels. However, the influence of smokeless tobacco (dipping tobacco) on plasma adiponectin levels still remains unknown. This study was conducted to assess the plasma adiponectin levels in young men who were using dipping tobacco. Methods: This was a community based study, which consisted of 186 young lean healthy males aged 20 to 35 years. Among these, 96 men were dipping tobacco users (BMI = 23.07 ± 2.68) and 90 were non-dipping tobacco users (BMI = 23.67 ± 1.46). Serum adiponectin levels were assessed by Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). Results: A statistically significant difference in the mean adiponectin level between tobacco dipper and non-dipper groups was observed (p = 0.0001). A significant difference between the two groups was also observed in baseline parameters including triglyceride and random blood sugar levels (p &lt; 0.05). However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in other clinical parameters. Conclusions: Findings of this study suggest that dipping tobacco use was significantly associated with low level of adiponetin in community dwelling young males. This emphasizes the importance of developing community intervention to reduce the use of dipping tobacco, which will reduce the tobacco associated disease burden in the community and will improve public health

Preparing Catholic Educators to Educate and Evangelize in 21st Century Schools, Action Research of an Analysis of Educator Preparation Program Requirements Including Professional and Pedagogical, Relational, Formational and Evangelistic Education for P-16 Students (PROFEss)

Abstract The preparation of effective, knowledgeable and caring educators whose mission is to serve society through direct contact with and instruction of students, is the topic of this action research. We sought to determine how we as a teacher preparation program within a dynamic Catholic university could ensure that our Catholic identity was truly evident and nurtured in our teacher candidates as they prepare to engage in the extremely important job of offering what is a universal right to an education to PK-12 students, in a variety of learning environments. The analysis of this teacher preparation program included a review of literature specific to Catholic teaching on education, qualitative data collection via interviews, and personal reflection and analysis of curriculum and pedagogy in order to make our Catholic identity explicit. Findings included the need for reinforcing Catholic Identity through professional, pedagogical, relational, formational and evangelistic education for students (PROFEss)

Supporting graduate teaching assistants in two STEM areas

No abstract available

Social Difficulties in Youth with Autism With and Without Anxiety and ADHD Symptoms

Social difficulties inherent to autism spectrum disorder are often linked with co‐occurring symptoms of anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study sought to examine the relation between such co‐occurring symptoms and social challenges. Parents of adolescents with autism (N = 113) reported upon social challenges via the social responsiveness scale (SRS) and anxiety and ADHD symptomatology via the Child Behavior Checklist. Results revealed differences in SRS scores across co‐occurring symptom subgroups (Anxiety, ADHD, Both, Neither)—namely, adolescents with autism and anxiety as well as those with autism, anxiety, and ADHD showed greater scores on the SRS than the other groups. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed and recommendations are offered. Lay Summary Anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are related to greater social challenges for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The present study found that autism with anxiety and autism with anxiety and ADHD, was related to greater social difficulties than autism alone. Findings provide further support for the intertwined nature of anxiety and ADHD symptoms in autism. What this may mean for research and clinical practice is considered and recommendations are suggested

Social Difficulties in Youth with Autism With and Without Anxiety and ADHD Symptoms

Social difficulties inherent to autism spectrum disorder are often linked with co‐occurring symptoms of anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study sought to examine the relation between such co‐occurring symptoms and social challenges. Parents of adolescents with autism (N = 113) reported upon social challenges via the social responsiveness scale (SRS) and anxiety and ADHD symptomatology via the Child Behavior Checklist. Results revealed differences in SRS scores across co‐occurring symptom subgroups (Anxiety, ADHD, Both, Neither)—namely, adolescents with autism and anxiety as well as those with autism, anxiety, and ADHD showed greater scores on the SRS than the other groups. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed and recommendations are offered. Lay Summary Anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms are related to greater social challenges for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The present study found that autism with anxiety and autism with anxiety and ADHD, was related to greater social difficulties than autism alone. Findings provide further support for the intertwined nature of anxiety and ADHD symptoms in autism. What this may mean for research and clinical practice is considered and recommendations are suggested