Policy and Practice: The Influence of Participation in the Vote Smart Challenge on Teacher Credential Candidates

This Roundtable Session allows participants to explore how teacher credential candidates may increase their knowledge of policy as it affects their profession, specifically through participation in the Vote Smart Challenge

Mobile Learning: Implementing a 1 to 1 iPad Project in a Teacher Preparation Program

This brief paper examines how a teacher preparation program implemented a 1-1 mobile learning initiative with faculty, teacher candidates and their fieldwork supervisors. The initiative proceeded through a three-tiered approach to effectively integrating instructional technology in and outside of the classroom. Researchers employed a mixed method approach to data collection and analysis, which indicated an increased rate of faculty, student teacher and supervisor competency levels in the use of instructional technology. This study fills a gap in research regarding 1-1 iPad initiatives in teacher preparation programs

Integration of Interactive Instructional Technology in the Teaching Credential Program: A Case Study

Teacher Education faculty present initial findings of a case study implementing interactive instructional technology in credential candidates’ course and fieldwork

Developing Digital Literacy Through Community Engagement

This case study describes how one department of education sought to increase knowledge of digital literacy amongst preservice teachers. Framed by the researchers’ Three-Tiered Model of instructional technology use, this project leveraged a community partnership and the implementation of “instructional rounds” to educate students in digital technologies. The mixed-methods study includes pre- and post-surveys results, structured observations, and student reflections. Initial findings indicate students’ enhanced digital literacy skills and a reciprocally beneficial partnership with teachers and administrators at a local high school. Ultimately, students who participated in this project led a community-wide professional development workshop

Integrating Instructional Technology into a Teacher Education Program: A Three-Tiered Approach

This project description examines how a teacher education program integrated new instructional technology through the creation of a Technology Facilitator position in the department. The project proceeded through a three-tiered system of learning literacy to establish a knowledge base amongst faculty members, augmenting required courses to model the use of instructional technology, and finally the transformation of the credential program where the activity of learning can only be accomplished through leveraging technology. As a professional program housed in a liberal arts institution, this project combines aspects of the essential learning outcomes of the 21st century with the professional skills required of K-12 teachers. Also included are initial data results from student and faculty pre- and post-surveys, observations of students using new technologies in the field, and implications for similar institutions in the implementation of a three-tiered approach to technology integration through the guidance of a Technology Facilitator

Developing and Modeling 21st-Century Skills with Preservice Teachers

Today’s youth face a rapidly changing world, requiring them to move beyond basic formulaic knowledge and skills. Current educational policy, such as the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), represents a shift away from rote learning and memorization of facts to the development of the 21st-century skills of creativity: critical thinking; communication; collaboration; and information, media, and technology skills (IMTS). Business and political leaders also recognize the necessity in addressing these core competencies for the 21st-century landscape (Ravitch, 2010). For students to be competent in a global society, K–12 teachers need to develop, model, and assess the 21st-century skills in their students (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices [NGA] & Council of Chief State School Officers [CCSSO], 2010; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2016; Rotherham & Willingham, 2009; Truesdell & Birch, 2013). As such, there is a call for teacher education programs to facilitate preservice teachers’ personal development of these skills as well as their application to educational settings (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2010; Michaels, Truesdell, & Brown, 2015)

College-Prep-For-All Curriculum: is It An Option for the North Bay?

The report concludes with suggestions for future research. Much of the current research details the successes of high school graduates in attending and completing post-secondary education, but there exists a need for longitudinal studies tracking students from an early age, through their elementary, middle and high school experience, and on to their college attendance and careers. In comparing schools that have implemented strides toward College-Prep-For-All policies versus those that remain status quo, what possible differences develop for students and the local economy? Furthermore, how can the North Bay glean aspects of successful college- and career-ready programs for their schools? The goal is to not only increase the economic health and well-being of the community, but also that of individual students‘ lives

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Structure of a class II TrmH tRNA-modifying enzyme from Aquifex aeolicus

The crystal structure of Aquifex aeolicus TrmH, a member of the a/b-knot superfamily responsible for O methylation of G18 of tRNAs, was determined to 1.85 Å resolution using the molecular-replacement method