Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Changes in student motivation during online learning

ABSTRACT Self-directed e-learning (SDEL) refers to electronic learning environments where there are often no peer learners or instructors regularly available. Past studies suggest that lack of time and lack of motivation are primary causes of learner attrition in online settings. However, little is known about what influences motivational change during SDEL. We surveyed 368 adult learners from both higher education and corporate settings who had used commercial SDEL products. Results from stepwise regression analysis indicated that the best predictors of motivation to begin SDEL were perceived relevance, reported technology competence, and age. The best predictors of motivation during SDEL were perceived quality of instruction and learning (e-learning is right for me) and motivation to begin. Motivation during SDEL was the best predictor of positive change in motivation, which in turn predicted learner satisfaction with SDEL. Instructional design principles for sustaining learner motivation in SDEL are identified from the findings of the present study

Theory-based course evaluation: Implications for improving student success in postsecondary education

While student global ratings of college courses historically predict learning achievement, the majority of recent U.S. college graduates lack proficiency in desired skills. TALQ, a new course evaluation instrument, was developed from validated instructional theory that predicts student success. A survey of 193 students in 111 different courses at multiple institutions was conducted using TALQ. Results indicated strong associations (p < 0.0286) among student ratings of first principles of instruction, academic learning time, perceptions of learning gains, satisfaction with courses, perceived mastery of course objectives, and their overall evaluation of courses and instructors. Instructors can implement the theoretically-derived first principles of instruction by challenging students with real-world problems or tasks, activating student learning, demonstrating what is to be learned, providing feedback on student learning attempts, and encouraging student integration of learning into their personal lives

Improving course evaluations to improve instruction and complex learning in higher education

Recent research has touted the benefits of learner-centered instruction, problem-based learning, and a focus on complex learning. Instructors often struggle to put these goals into practice as well as to measure the effectiveness of these new teaching strategies in terms of mastery of course objectives. Enter the course evaluation, often a standardized tool that yields little practical information for an instructor, but is nonetheless utilized in making high-level career decisions, such as tenure and monetary awards to faculty. The present researchers have developed a new instrument to measure teaching and learning quality (TALQ). In the current study of 464 students in 12 courses, if students agreed that their instructors used First Principles of Instruction and also agreed that they experienced academic learning time (ALT), then students were about 5 times more likely to achieve high levels of mastery of course objectives and 26 times less likely to achieve low levels of mastery, according to independent instructor assessments. TALQ can measure improvements in use of First Principles in teaching and course design. The feedback from this instrument can assist teachers who wish to implement the recommendation made by Kuh et al. (2007) that universities and colleges should focus their assessment efforts on factors that influence student success

Models and Design Judgment: Conflicting Perspectives on Redesigning a Doctoral Readings Course

The purpose of this project was to document the redesign of an existing doctoral reading course for an online environment. Potential methods for actualizing the proposed course structure in an online environment, including technology tools and interactions are discussed. The design process began within the framework of the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model (van Merriënboer, 1997; van Merriënboer & Kirchner, 2007), which advocates a shift from topic-centeredness to a task-centered course organization, but quickly evolved into a flexible, iterative design process that was informed by prototyping, the judgment of the design team, and various theories of knowledge and knowing. The 4C/ID model represented our philosophical starting point, but our focus quickly shifted to a more flexible, eclectic process as we attempted to reconcile conflicting constraints on the final design. Along with the redevelopment of course objectives to meet strategic goals within the doctoral program came a focus on facilitating research thinking of the students rather than teaching isolated research tasks. The design process resulted in changes to the current residential course, which then provided an opportunity for further investigation

A Design Case: Developing an Enhanced Version of the Diffusion Simulation Game

In this paper, we present a design case describing the creation of a new online version of the Diffusion Simulation Game (DSG). The DSG is a serious game that teaches change management strategies aligned with Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory. The goal of the game is to promote the understanding of strategies that result in the adoption of an instructional innovation by the staff members of a fictional junior high school. The original board version of the game was created in the 1970s (Molenda and Rice, 1979) and was played as part of a course in the School of Education of a large Midwestern university. With the opening of a distance master’s program, the first online version of the game was developed in 2002 (Frick, Ludwig, Kim, & Huang, 2003). In order to overcome some of the limitations of the first online version, a new online version of the DSG was developed. This new version was rapidly prototyped first on paper and then in Flex Builder, ActionScript, PHP and MySQL. A rapid prototype approach (Tripp & Bichelmeyer, 1990) was utilized to iteratively design the user interface. In addition to describing the design process and rationale for design decisions, we also report results of play-tests and usability evaluations of seven recruited participants and how the information collected from these evaluations will help us to improve the current design