Changing Mindsets: Effectiveness trial

The Changing Mindsets project aimed to improve attainment outcomes at the end of primary school by teaching Year 6 pupils that their brain potential was not a fixed entity but could grow and change through effort exerted. The programme, delivered by Portsmouth University, taught pupils about the malleability of intelligence through workshops. Teachers attended short professional development courses on approaches to developing a ‘growth mindset’ before delivering sessions to pupils weekly, over eight consecutive weeks. Teachers were encouraged to embed aspects of the growth mindset approach throughout their teaching—for example, when giving feedback outside of the sessions. They were also given access to digital classroom resources, such as a video case study of Darwin overcoming adversity in his own life, as a practical example of the importance of having a growth mindset. The project was a randomised controlled trial (RCT) and included 101 schools and 5018 pupils across England, assigned to either intervention or control groups. The trial ran from September 2016 to February 2017. The process evaluation involved interviews with teachers, focus groups with pupils receiving the intervention, lesson observations, and surveys of both treatment schools and control groups throughout the course of the intervention. Key conclusions 1. Pupils in schools that received the intervention did not make any additional progress in literacy nor numeracy—as measured by the national Key Stage 2 tests in reading, grammar, punctuation, and spelling (GPS), and maths—compared to pupils in the control group. This finding has high security. 2. This evaluation also examined four measures of non-cognitive skills: intrinsic value, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and selfregulation. The evaluation did not find evidence of an impact on these measures for pupils in schools that received Changing Mindsets. A positive impact was found for the intrinsic value measure, but the impact was small and was not statistically significant. 3. Among pupils eligible for free school meals (‘FSM pupils’), those in schools that received the intervention did not make any additional progress in literacy nor numeracy—as measured by the national Key Stage 2 tests in reading, GPS, and maths— compared to FSM pupils in schools that did not receive the intervention. 4. One explanation for the absence of a measurable impact on pupil attainment is the widespread use of the growth mindset theory. Most teachers in the comparison schools (that did not receive the intervention) were familiar with this, and over a third reported that they had attended training days based on the growth mindset approach

Staphylococcus aureus adaptation to aerobic low-redox-potential environments: implications for an intracellular lifestyle

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a 'superbug' that is responsible for extensive death and morbidity. Chronic S. aureus infections are associated with the presence of intracellular bacteria and the host cytosol is an aerobic low-redox-potential (Eh) environment. How S. aureus adapts to aerobic low-Eh environments is understudied. A low external Eh, imposed by the non-metabolizable reductant dithiothreitol, resulted in transcriptional reprogramming mediated by the redox-responsive transcription factors AgrA, Rex and SrrBA, resulting in a shift towards fermentative metabolism. Accordingly, in the presence of the host cytoplasmic reductant glutathione, the aerobic respiration of S. aureus was impaired, the intracellular NADH:NAD+ ratio increased, lactate dehydrogenase was induced, resistance to the aminoglycoside antibiotic gentamicin was enhanced and greater numbers of small-colony variants (SCVs) were detected. These observations suggest that entry of S. aureus into the aerobic low-Eh environment of the host cytosol could result in adaptive responses that promote the formation of SCVs

A model of superoutbursts in binaries of SU UMa type

A new mechanism explaining superoutbursts in binaries of SU UMa type is proposed. In the framework of this mechanism the accretion rate increase leading to the superoutburst is associated with formation of a spiral wave of a new "precessional" type in inner gasdynamically unperturbed parts of the accretion disc. The possibility of existence of this type of waves was suggested in our previous work (astro-ph/0403053). The features of the "precessional" spiral wave allow explaining both the energy release during the outburst and all its observational manifestations. The distinctive characteristic of a superoutburst in a SU UMa type star is the appearance of the superhump on the light curve. The proposed model reproduces well the formation of the superhump as well as its observational features, such as the period that is 3-7% longer than the orbital one and the detectability of superhumps regardless of the binary inclination.Comment: LaTeX, 20 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Astron. Z

Is it cheating or learning the craft of writing? Using Turnitin to help students avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is a growing problem for universities, many of which are turning to software detection for help in detecting and dealing with it. This paper explores issues around plagiarism and reports on a study of the use of Turnitin in a new university. The purpose of the study was to inform the senior management team about the plagiarism policy and the use of Turnitin. The study found that staff and students largely understood the university’s policy and Turnitin’s place within it, and were very supportive of the use of Turnitin in originality checking. Students who had not used Turnitin were generally keen to do so. The recommendation to the senior management team, which was implemented, was that the use of Turnitin for originality checking should be made compulsory where possible - at the time of the study the use of Turnitin was at the discretion of programme directors. A further aim of the study was to contribute to the sector’s body of knowledge. Prevention of plagiarism through education is a theme identified by Badge and Scott (2009) who conclude an area lacking in research is "investigation of the impact of these tools on staff teaching practices". Although a number of recent studies have considered educational use of Turnitin they focus on individual programmes or subject areas rather than institutions as a whole and the relationship with policy

Exploring rationales for branding a university: Should we be seeking to measure branding in UK universities?

Although branding is now widespread among UK universities, the application of branding principles in the higher education sector is comparatively recent and may be controversial for internal audiences who question its suitability and efficiency. This paper seeks to investigate how and whether the effectiveness of branding activity in the higher education sector should be evaluated and measured, through exploratory interviews with those who often drive it; UK University marketing professionals. Conclusions suggest that university branding is inherently complex and therefore application of commercial approaches may be over simplistic. Whilst marketing professionals discuss challenges they do not necessarily have a consistent view of the objectives of branding activity although all were able to clearly articulate branding objectives for their university, including both qualitative and, to some extent, quantitative metrics. Some measures of the real value of branding activity are therefore suggested but a key debate is perhaps whether the objectives and role of branding in higher education needs to be clarified, and a more consistent view of appropriate metrics reached? Various challenges in implementing branding approaches are also highlighted

Reprogramming of Escherichia coli K-12 Metabolism during the Initial Phase of Transition from an Anaerobic to a Micro-Aerobic Environment

Background: Many bacteria undergo transitions between environments with differing O2 availabilities as part of their natural lifestyles and during biotechnological processes. However, the dynamics of adaptation when bacteria experience changes in O2 availability are understudied. The model bacterium and facultative anaerobe Escherichia coli K-12 provides an ideal system for exploring this process. Methods and Findings: Time-resolved transcript profiles of E. coli K-12 during the initial phase of transition from anaerobic to micro-aerobic conditions revealed a reprogramming of gene expression consistent with a switch from fermentative to respiratory metabolism. The changes in transcript abundance were matched by changes in the abundances of selected central metabolic proteins. A probabilistic state space model was used to infer the activities of two key regulators, FNR (O2 sensing) and PdhR (pyruvate sensing). The model implied that both regulators were rapidly inactivated during the transition from an anaerobic to a micro-aerobic environment. Analysis of the external metabolome and protein levels suggested that the cultures transit through different physiological states during the process of adaptation, characterized by the rapid inactivation of pyruvate formate-lyase (PFL), a slower induction of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) activity and transient excretion of pyruvate, consistent with the predicted inactivation of PdhR and FNR. Conclusion: Perturbation of anaerobic steady-state cultures by introduction of a limited supply of O2 combined with time-resolved transcript, protein and metabolite profiling, and probabilistic modeling has revealed that pyruvate (sensed by PdhR) is a key metabolic signal in coordinating the reprogramming of E. coli K-12 gene expression by working alongside the O2 sensor FNR during transition from anaerobic to micro-aerobic conditions

Watson Brake, A Middle Archaic Mound Complex in Northeast Louisiana

Middle Archaic earthen mound complexes in the lower Mississippi valley are remote antecedents of the famous but much younger Poverty Point earthworks. Watson Brake is the largest and most complex of these early mound sites. Wry extensive coring and stratigraphic studies, aided by 25 radiocarbon dates and six huninescence dates, show that minor earthworks were begun here at ca. 3500 B.C. in association with an oval arrangement of burned rock middens at the edge of a stream terrace. The full extent of the first earthworks is not yet known. Substantial moundraising began ca. 3350 B.C. and continued in stages until some time after 3000 B.C. when the site was abandoned. All 11 mounds and their connecting ridges were occupied between building bursts. Soils,formed on some of these temporary surfaces, while lithics. fire-cracked rock. and,fired clay/loam objects became scattered throughout the mound fills. Faunal and floral remains from a basal midden indicate all-season occupation, supported by broad-spectrum foraging centered on nuts, fish, and deer All the overlying fills are so acidic that organics have not survived. The area enclosed by the mounds was kept clean of debris, suggesting its use as ritual space. The reasons why such elaborate activities first occurred here remain elusive. However some building bursts covary with very well-documented increases in El Nino/Southern Oscillation events. During such rapid increases in ENSO frequencies, rainfall becomes extremely erratic and unpredictable. It may be that early moundraising was a communal response to new stresses of droughts and flooding that created a suddenly more unpredictable food base

Graduate entry to medicine in Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Backgrounds</p> <p>In Iran medical students are selected from high school graduates via a very competitive national university entrance exam. New proposals have been seriously considered for admitting students from those with bachelor degrees. We assessed the opinions of different stakeholders on the current situation of admission into medicine in Iran, and their views on positive and negative aspects of admitting graduates into medicine.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted five focus group discussions and seven in-depth interviews with stakeholders including medical students, science students, university professors of basic sciences, medical education experts, and policy makers. Main themes were identified from the data and analyzed using content analysis approach.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Medical students believed "graduate admission" may lead to a more informed choice of medicine. They thought it could result in admission of students with lower levels of academic aptitude. The science students were in favor of "graduate admission". The education experts and the professors of basic science all mentioned the shortcomings of the current system of admission and considered "graduate admission" as an appropriate opportunity for correcting some of the shortcomings. The policy makers pointed out the potential positive influences of "graduate admission" on strengthening basic science research. They thought, however, that "graduate admission" may result in lengthening the overall duration of medical education, which is already long in Iran (over 7 years). On the whole, the participants thought that "graduate admission" is a step in the right direction for improving quality of medical education.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>"Graduate admission" has the potential to correct some of shortcomings of medical education. Unlike other countries where "graduate admission" is used mainly to admit students who are mentally mature, in Iran the main objective seems to be strengthening basic sciences.</p

Team Objective Structured Bedside Assessment (TOSBA) as formative assessment in undergraduate Obstetrics and Gynaecology: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Team Objective Structured Bedside Assessment (TOSBA) is a learning approach in which a team of medical students undertake a set of structured clinical tasks with real patients in order to reach a diagnosis and formulate a management plan and receive immediate feedback on their performance from a facilitator. TOSBA was introduced as formative assessment to an 8-week undergraduate teaching programme in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O\u26G) in 2013/14. Each student completed 5 TOSBA sessions during the rotation. The aim of the study was to evaluate TOSBA as a teaching method to provide formative assessment for medical students during their clinical rotation. The research questions were: Does TOSBA improve clinical, communication and/or reasoning skills? Does TOSBA provide quality feedback? METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted over a full academic year (2013/14). The study used 2 methods to evaluate TOSBA as a teaching method to provide formative assessment: (1) an online survey of TOSBA at the end of the rotation and (2) a comparison of the student performance in TOSBA with their performance in the final summative examination. RESULTS: During the 2013/14 academic year, 157 students completed the O\u26G programme and the final summative examination . Each student completed the required 5 TOSBA tasks. The response rate to the student survey was 68 % (n = 107/157). Students reported that TOSBA was a beneficial learning experience with a positive impact on clinical, communication and reasoning skills. Students rated the quality of feedback provided by TOSBA as high. Students identified the observation of the performance and feedback of other students within their TOSBA team as key features. High achieving students performed well in both TOSBA and summative assessments. The majority of students who performed poorly in TOSBA subsequently passed the summative assessments (n = 20/21, 95 %). Conversely, the majority of students who failed the summative assessments had satisfactory scores in TOSBA (n = 6/7, 86 %). CONCLUSIONS: TOSBA has a positive impact on the clinical, communication and reasoning skills of medical students through the provision of high-quality feedback. The use of structured pre-defined tasks, the observation of the performance and feedback of other students and the use of real patients are key elements of TOSBA. Avoiding student complacency and providing accurate feedback from TOSBA are on-going challenges