The effects of precision teaching and self-regulation learning on early multiplication fluency

Fluent recall of basic facts is essential to the development of more complex math skills. Therefore, failure to develop fluency with basic facts may impede the development of these skills. The present study used a between groups experimental design to investigate whether a basic facts fluency program, implemented within a self-regulated learner (SRL) framework, could lead to increased fluency with multiplication facts for Year 5 and Year 6 New Zealand students (9–10 years old). This study also investigated the extent to which the SRL program altered students’ basic facts practice behavior outside of school hours. The study found that the SRL program resulted in rapid fluency development that was maintained over time. Nomothetic and idiographic analysis confirmed that the program was suitable for use within Tier 1 of the response to intervention framework. In addition, the study also found that students who received the program altered their practice behavior outside school hours. The results from this study show how elements of self-regulated learning and precision teaching can be successfully combined to enhance students’ mathematics achievement

Compensatory hydraulic uptake of water by tomato due to variable root-zone salinity

Trabajo desarrollado bajo la financiación del proyecto “Soil Hydrology research platform underpinning innovation to manage water scarcity in European and Chinese cropping Systems” (773903), coordinado por José Alfonso Gómez Calero, investigador del Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IAS).Plant root systems are exposed to spatial and temporal heterogeneity regarding water availability. In the long-term, compensation, increased uptake by roots in areas with favorable conditions in response to decreased uptake in areas under stress, is driven by root growth and distribution. In the short-term (hours–days), compensative processes are less understood. We hypothesized hydraulic compensation where local lowered water availability is accompanied by increased uptake from areas where water remains available. Our objective was to quantify instantaneous hydraulic root uptake under conditions of differential water availability. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants were grown in split-root weighing-drainage lysimeters in which each half of the roots could alternatively be exposed to short-term conditions of salinity. Uptake was quantified from each of the two root zone compartments. One-sided exposure to salinity immediately led to less uptake from the salt-affected compartment and increased uptake from the nontreated compartment. Compensation occurred at salinity, caused by NaCl solution of 4 dS m−1, that did not decrease uptake in plants with entire root systems exposed. At higher salinity, 6.44 dS m−1, transpiration decreased by ∼50% when the total root system was exposed. When only half of the roots were exposed, total uptake was maintained at levels of nonstressed plants with as much as 85% occurring from the nontreated compartment. The extent of compensation was not absolute and apparently a function of salinity, atmospheric demand, and duration of exposure. As long as there is no hydraulic restriction in other areas, temporary reduction in water availability in some parts of a tomato's root zone will not affect plant-scale transpiration.This research was primarily funded by the Chief Scientist of Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Grant number 20-16-0010). The project has also received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Project SHui, grant agreement No. 773903.Peer reviewe