Puzzle-based versus traditional lecture: comparing the effects of pedagogy on academic performance in an undergraduate human anatomy and physiology II lab

BACKGROUND: A traditional lecture-based pedagogy conveys information and content while lacking sufficient development of critical thinking skills and problem solving. A puzzle-based pedagogy creates a broader contextual framework, and fosters critical thinking as well as logical reasoning skills that can then be used to improve a student’s performance on content specific assessments. This paper describes a pedagogical comparison of traditional lecture-based teaching and puzzle-based teaching in a Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab. METHODS: Using a single subject/cross-over design half of the students from seven sections of the course were taught using one type of pedagogy for the first half of the semester, and then taught with a different pedagogy for the second half of the semester. The other half of the students were taught the same material but with the order of the pedagogies reversed. Students’ performance on quizzes and exams specific to the course, and in-class assignments specific to this study were assessed for: learning outcomes (the ability to form the correct conclusion or recall specific information), and authentic academic performance as described by (Am J Educ 104:280–312, 1996). RESULTS: Our findings suggest a significant improvement in students’ performance on standard course specific assessments using a puzzle-based pedagogy versus a traditional lecture-based teaching style. Quiz and test scores for students improved by 2.1 and 0.4 % respectively in the puzzle-based pedagogy, versus the traditional lecture-based teaching. Additionally, the assessments of authentic academic performance may only effectively measure a broader conceptual understanding in a limited set of contexts, and not in the context of a Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, a puzzle-based pedagogy, when compared to traditional lecture-based teaching, can effectively enhance the performance of students on standard course specific assessments, even when the assessments only test a limited conceptual understanding of the material

A cross‐faculty simulation model for authentic learning

This paper proposes a cross‐faculty simulation model for authentic learning that bridges the gap between short group‐based simulations within the classroom and longer individual placements in professional working contexts. Dissemination of the model is expected to widen the use of authentic learning approaches in higher education (HE). The model is based on a cross‐faculty project in which UK HE students acted as professional developers to produce prototype educational games for academic clients from other subject areas. Perceptions about the project were obtained from interviews with project participants. The stakeholders believed the cross‐faculty simulation to be a motivating learning experience, whilst identifying possible improvements. To evaluate whether the authenticity of the student–client relationship could be improved, the interview data were compared to four themes for authentic learning described by Rule in 2006. The data supported Rule’s themes, whilst highlighting the added value gained from meta‐awareness of the simulation as a learning opportunity

Integration of family planning services into HIV care clinics: Results one year after a cluster randomized controlled trial in Kenya.

OBJECTIVES:To determine if integration of family planning (FP) and HIV services led to increased use of more effective contraception (i.e. hormonal and permanent methods, and intrauterine devices) and decreased pregnancy rates. DESIGN:Cohort analysis following cluster randomized trial, when the Kenya Ministry of Health led integration of the remaining control (delayed integration) sites and oversaw integrated services at the original intervention (early integration) sites. SETTING:Eighteen health facilities in Kenya. SUBJECTS:Women aged 18-45 receiving care: 5682 encounters at baseline, and 11628 encounters during the fourth quarter of year 2. INTERVENTION:"One-stop shop" approach to integrating FP and HIV services. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Use of more effective contraceptive methods and incident pregnancy across two years of follow-up. RESULTS:Following integration of FP and HIV services at the six delayed integration clinics, use of more effective contraception increased from 31.7% to 44.2% of encounters (+12.5%; Prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.39 (1.19-1.63). Among the twelve early integration sites, the proportion of encounters at which women used more effective contraceptive methods was sustained from the end of the first to the second year of follow-up (37.5% vs. 37.0%). Pregnancy incidence including all 18 integrated sites in year two declined in comparison to the control arm in year one (rate ratio: 0.72; 95% CI 0.60-0.87). CONCLUSIONS:Integration of FP services into HIV clinics led to a sustained increase in the use of more effective contraceptives and decrease in pregnancy incidence 24 months following implementation of the integrated service model. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01001507

Continuous Percolation Phase Transitions of Two-dimensional Lattice Networks under a Generalized Achlioptas Process

The percolation phase transitions of two-dimensional lattice networks under a generalized Achlioptas process (GAP) are investigated. During the GAP, two edges are chosen randomly from the lattice and the edge with minimum product of the two connecting cluster sizes is taken as the next occupied bond with a probability $p$. At $p=0.5$, the GAP becomes the random growth model and leads to the minority product rule at $p=1$. Using the finite-size scaling analysis, we find that the percolation phase transitions of these systems with $0.5 \le p \le 1$ are always continuous and their critical exponents depend on $p$. Therefore, the universality class of the critical phenomena in two-dimensional lattice networks under the GAP is related to the probability parameter $p$ in addition.Comment: 7 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.

Links Between Acceleration, Melting, and Supraglacial Lake Drainage of the Western Greenland Ice Sheet

The impact of increasing summer melt on the dynamics and stability of the Greenland Ice Sheet is not fully understood. Mounting evidence suggests seasonal evolution of subglacial drainage mitigates or counteracts the ability of surface runoff to increase basal sliding. Here, we compare subdaily ice velocity and uplift derived from nine Global Positioning System stations in the upper ablation zone in west Greenland to surface melt and supraglacial lake drainage during summer 2007. Starting around day 173, we observe speedups of 6-41% above spring velocity lasting approximately 40 days accompanied by sustained surface uplift at most stations, followed by a late summer slowdown. After initial speedup, we see a spatially uniform velocity response across the ablation zone and strong diurnal velocity variations during periods of melting. Most lake drainages were undetectable in the velocity record, and those that were detected only perturbed velocities for approximately 1 day, suggesting preexisting drainage systems could efficiently drain large volumes of water. The dynamic response to melt forcing appears to 1) be driven by changes in subglacial storage of water that is delivered in diurnal and episodic pulses, and 2) decrease over the course of the summer, presumably as the subglacial drainage system evolves to greater efficiency. The relationship between hydrology and ice dynamics observed is similar to that observed on mountain glaciers, suggesting that seasonally large water pressures under the ice sheet largely compensate for the greater ice thickness considered here. Thus, increases in summer melting may not guarantee faster seasonal ice flow

Teachers as leaders in a knowledge society: encouraging signs of a new professionalism

[Abstract]: Challenges confronting schools worldwide are greater than ever,and, likewise, many teachers possess capabilities, talents, and formal credentials more sophisticated than ever. However, the responsibility and authority accorded to teachers have not grown significantly, nor has the image of teaching as a profession advanced significantly. The question becomes, what are the implications for the image and status of the teaching profession as the concept of knowledge society takes a firm hold in the industrialized world? This article addresses the philosophical underpinnings of teacher leadership manifested in case studies where schools sought to achieve the generation of new knowledge as part of a process of whole-school revitalization. Specifically, this article reports on Australian research that has illuminated the work of teacher leaders engaged in the IDEAS project, a joint school revitalization initiative of the University of Southern Queensland and the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts

Feigenbaum graphs: a complex network perspective of chaos

The recently formulated theory of horizontal visibility graphs transforms time series into graphs and allows the possibility of studying dynamical systems through the characterization of their associated networks. This method leads to a natural graph-theoretical description of nonlinear systems with qualities in the spirit of symbolic dynamics. We support our claim via the case study of the period-doubling and band-splitting attractor cascades that characterize unimodal maps. We provide a universal analytical description of this classic scenario in terms of the horizontal visibility graphs associated with the dynamics within the attractors, that we call Feigenbaum graphs, independent of map nonlinearity or other particulars. We derive exact results for their degree distribution and related quantities, recast them in the context of the renormalization group and find that its fixed points coincide with those of network entropy optimization. Furthermore, we show that the network entropy mimics the Lyapunov exponent of the map independently of its sign, hinting at a Pesin-like relation equally valid out of chaos.Comment: Published in PLoS ONE (Sep 2011