Development of values and attitudes in General Studies through online inquiry project-based learning

Reflection in learning has been regarded as a useful technique in education for promoting analytical skills in higher order thinking. However, the majority of research in this area concentrates on the cognitive aspects and rarely mentions the affective domain. This study examined the development of values and attitudes in General Studies through the use of Wiki, a Web 2.0 technology as a platform for the implementation of Inquiry project-based learning IPjBL among Primary Five students in Hong Kong. Four schools were recruited and students (n=420) were given a project to work on. In order to foster affective reflection in learning, students were encouraged to create written reflections on their projects online. Instructions were provided to the students on how to write their reflections based on the five levels of affective domain in Bloom’s taxonomy. The outcomes were evaluated using the online survey, focused group interviews and content analysis of the written reflections. The findings illustrated that students, in general, had generated positive values and attitudes in their topics of research. Overall, this study showed that scaffoldings in reflection can be an effective way to enhance the development of values and attitudes in IPjBL.published_or_final_versio

Embryonic XMab21l2 expression is required for gastrulation and subsequent neural development

Cell fate determining gene mab-21 regulates the proper establishment of neural cell fate and sensory organ identity in nematode. Mammalian homologs of mab-21 have also been implicated to play critical roles in mid-, hindbrain and craniofacial differentiation. We report here the isolation of a mab-21 homolog, XMab21l2, from Xenopus. We showed that its expression in Xenopus was initiated at gastrulation and prominent signal was detected in neurulating embryos at the neural tube, the optic tissue, the developing midbrain, and the pharyngeal pouches. We demonstrated by RNA interference (RNAi), together with other antisense approaches, that XMab21l2 expression is required for the completion of gastrulation and subsequent neural development. © 2001 Academic Press.link_to_subscribed_fulltex