“These Questions are Kind of Weird”: Bilingual Learners’ Experiences with Large-scale, Standardized, Science, Technology, and Engineering Items

Thesis advisor: Lillie R. AlbertThe nation’s rapidly increasing bilingual student population has heightened the urgency behind longstanding policies and initiatives established to address systemically marginalizing education practices across academic fields, often through the use of standardized assessments. This qualitative case study explores the role of language in six fifth-grade BLs’ experiences interacting with large-scale, standardized, science, technology, and engineering (STE) open response items from a state assessment administered in English. Using student and teacher interviews, this study examines the opportunities available for BLs to display their science, technology, and engineering content knowledge when limited and specific modes of communication are validated as acceptable responses. This study draws on sociocultural theoretical research to understand the language-centered context of a state STE assessment and uses this perspective to examine the assessment as a language-based, “communicative tool” (Albert, 2000, p.2) or “communicative event” (Shaw, Geaney, & Bunch, 2010, p.914). The findings show that the assessment’s linguistic structures complicate bilingual learners’ interpretations of the open response text and ultimately reveal why these standardized measures fail to measure what bilingual learners actually know.Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018.Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education.Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction

Holding Teacher Preparation Accountable: A Review of Claims and Evidence

Teacher preparation has emerged as an acutely politicized and publicized issue in U.S. education policy and practice, and there have been fierce debates about the methods and reasoning behind it. Because of the importance of teachers and teacher education, policy should be driven by the best evidence based on high-quality research. In Holding Teacher Preparation Accountable: A Review of Claims and Evidence, four major national initiatives intended to improve teacher quality by “holding teacher education accountable” for arrangements and outcomes are explored. This policy brief scrutinizes each initiative in light of the research evidence

Remodeling protein complexes: Insights from the AAA+ unfoldase ClpX and Mu transposase

Multiprotein complexes in the cell are dynamic entities that are constantly undergoing changes in subunit composition and conformation to carry out their functions. The protein–DNA complex that promotes recombination of the bacteriophage Mu is a prime example of a complex that must undergo specific changes to carry out its function. The Clp/Hsp100 family of AAA+ ATPases plays a critical role in mediating such changes. The Clp/Hsp100 unfolding enzymes have been extensively studied for the roles they play in protein degradation. However, degradation is not the only fate for proteins that come in contact with the ATP-dependent unfolding enzymes. The Clp/Hsp100 enzymes induce structural changes in their substrates. These structural changes, which we refer to as “remodeling,” ultimately change the biological activity of the substrate. These biological changes include activation, inactivation (not associated with degradation), and relocation within the cell. Analysis of the interaction between Escherichia coli ClpX unfoldase and the Mu recombination complex, has provided molecular insight into the mechanisms of protein remodeling. We discuss the key mechanistic features of the remodeling reactions promoted by ClpX and possible implications of these findings for other biological reactions

Intrainsular functional connectivity in human

Objectives: The anatomical organization of the insular cortex is characterized by its rich and heterogeneous cytoarchitecture and its wide network of connections. However, only limited knowledge is available regarding the intrainsular connections subserving the complex integrative role of the insular cortex. The aim of this study was to analyze the functional connectivity within-and across-insular subregions, at both gyral and functional levels. Experimental design: We performed intracerebral electrical stimulation in 10 patients with refractory epilepsy investigated with depth electrodes, 38 of which were inserted in the insula. Bipolar electrical stimulation, consisting of two series of 20 pulses of 1-ms duration, 0.2-Hz frequency, and 1-mA intensity, was delivered at each insular contact. For each stimulated insular anatomical region, we calculated a rate of connectivity, reflecting the proportion of other insular contacts, showing significant evoked potentials. Results: Statistically significant evoked potentials were recorded in 74% of tested connections, with an average latency of 26 6 3 ms. All insular gyri were interconnected, except the anterior and posterior short gyri. Most connections were reciprocal, showing no clear anterior to posterior directionality. No connection was observed between the right and the left insula. Conclusions: These findings point to specific features of human insula connectivity as compared to non-Human primates, and remain consistent with the complex integration role devoted to the human insula in many cognitive domains