Innovative teacher education through personalised learning: designing teaching and learning scenarios

The growing diversity of the student population twinned with a shift towards more learner-centred education provides the impetus to develop innovative teaching approaches. Imagined as personalised learning (PL), this approach argues for greater flexibility for the learner and more opportunities to include students' voice in the design and enactment of learning. This paper distils the learning from the members of the INTERPEARL project consortium including Lithuanian Universities Siauliai University (SU), Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), and Vilnius University (VU) together with their international partners University of Iceland (UI), and University College Cork, Ireland (UCC). The paper is based on the theoretical assumptions of social construction and takes mixed method approach to uncover the learning from implementing a personalised learning process to encourage greater learner agency and co-creation of learning. This paper will introduce the PL framework developed by the INTERPEARL consortium and two related concepts, namely Learning Scenarios and Learning Design. The learning from the implementation of the PL Framework in Iceland, Ireland, and Lithuanian is uncovered, with a methodology of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (S-STEP), and student-teachers surveys providing a strong rationale for more PL approach

Ocean current connectivity propelling the secondary spread of a marine invasive comb jelly across western Eurasia

Aim: Invasive species are of increasing global concern. Nevertheless, the mechanisms driving furtherdistribution after the initial establishment of non-native species remain largely unresolved, especiallyin marine systems. Ocean currents can be a major driver governing range occupancy, but this hasnot been accounted for in most invasion ecology studies so far. We investigate how well initialestablishment areas are interconnected to later occupancy regions to test for the potential role ofocean currents driving secondary spread dynamics in order to infer invasion corridors and thesource–sink dynamics of a non-native holoplanktonic biological probe species on a continental scale.Location: Western Eurasia.Time period: 1980s–2016.Major taxa studied: ‘Comb jelly’ Mnemiopsis leidyi.Methods: Based on 12,400 geo-referenced occurrence data, we reconstruct the invasion historyof M. leidyi in western Eurasia. We model ocean currents and calculate their stability to match thetemporal and spatial spread dynamics with large-scale connectivity patterns via ocean currents.Additionally, genetic markers are used to test the predicted connectivity between subpopulations.Results: Ocean currents can explain secondary spread dynamics, matching observed range expansionsand the timing of first occurrence of our holoplanktonic non-native biological probe species,leading to invasion corridors in western Eurasia. In northern Europe, regional extinctions after coldwinters were followed by rapid recolonizations at a speed of up to 2,000 km per season. SourceJASPERS ET AL. | 815areas hosting year-round populations in highly interconnected regions can re-seed genotypes overlarge distances after local extinctions.Main conclusions: Although the release of ballast water from container ships may contribute tothe dispersal of non-native species, our results highlight the importance of ocean currents drivingsecondary spread dynamics. Highly interconnected areas hosting invasive species are crucial forsecondary spread dynamics on a continental scale. Invasion risk assessments should considerlarge-scale connectivity patterns and the potential source regions of non-native marine species

Koncentracja i zasobność metali ciężkich w glebach organicznych na obszarach popożarowych użytkowanych jako lasy i łąki

High concentration of heavy metals in organic soils may be the result of intensive, deep-seated fires causing high temperatures. This research has been carried in four postfire areas, located in forests or on meadows in Lower Silesia. The aim has been to determine the impact of some parameters on the content of heavy metals in soils under postfire meadows and forests. The concentration and pool of the analyzed heavy metals were determined in soils against the background of such parameters as the depth in a horizon, organic matter content, soil colour and soil reaction. Twenty Histosol soil profiles (85 soil samples) were analyzed, representing peat-muck, muck (MtIIc1, MtIIIc1) and mineral-mucky (Me11) and on-muck soils (according to the Polish taxonomy of soils). The soils were strongly desiccated. Some physicochemical and chemical properties of pyrogenic soils were analyzed in dry samples collected into plastic bags with an Instorfu auger. Heavy metals (Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr) were determined in HCl + HNO3. Pools of heavy metals were recalculated into g m–2 in 0-20 cm layers of soils and compared among forest and meadow soils. Due to intensive fires, the reaction of pyrogenic soils was slightly acid, neutral or alkaline. As a consequence of the high temperatures, a broad spectrum of soil colours was noticed. The results showed increased concentrations of heavy metals in the topmost and muddy soil horizons. The alkaline soil reaction favoured accumulation of heavy metals. Pools of heavy metals in soils were significantly lower in forest than in meadow areas, which could be attributed to different time periods which elapsed since the fires. The Hue tint of the colour of soil horizons containing ashes indicated the presence of oxidized iron forms and a low content of organic carbon. The accumulation of heavy metals in post-fire sites in Lower Silesia was negatively correlated with the soil’s strongly acid reaction. The determined concentrations of heavy metals did not exceed the threshold values set for unpolluted soilsWysoka koncentracja metali ciężkich w glebach organicznych może być wynikiem intensywnych, wysokotemperaturowych pożarów wgłębnych. Badania prowadzono na leśnych i łąkowych obszarach popożarowych Dolnego Śląska. W glebach określono koncentrację oraz zasoby wybranych metali ciężkich na tle: głębokości w profilu, zawartości materii organicznej, barwy gleby oraz odczynu środowiska glebowego. Łącznie przeanalizowano 20 profilów płytkich gleb: torfowo-murszowych, murszowych (MtIIc1, MtIIIc1), murszowatych (Me11) i namurszowych (85 próbek glebowych). Właściwości fizykochemiczne i chemiczne gleb popożarowych oznaczono w próbkach suchych pobranych świdrem Instorf do plastikowych woreczków. Zawartość metali ciężkich (Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr) w glebie oznaczano po mineralizacji w mieszaninie HCl+HNO3. Zasoby metali ciężkich w glebie przeliczano na g m–2 w 0-20 cm warstwie gleby i porównywano z glebami leśnymi i łąkowymi. Badania pokazały wzrost koncentracji metali ciężkich oraz ich zasoby w poziomach powierzchniowych 0-20 cm. Poziomy popożarowe gleb wykazywały odczyn lekko kwaśny, obojętny lub zasadowy. W konsekwencji temperatury pożarów można obserwować zróżnicowane spektrum kolorów gleb. Pożary na glebach leśnych i łąkowych wzbogaciły wiele poziomów w Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr. Koncentrację metali w glebach obserwowano głównie w powierzchniowych i zamulonych poziomach. Odczyn gleb sprzyjał koncentracji metali ciężkich. Zasoby metali ciężkich w glebach były wyraźnie niższe na obszarach leśnych niż łąkowych. Było to m.in. związane z czasem, jaki upłynął od zakończenia pożarów. Odcień barwy Hue w poziomach z popiołem był warunkowany intensywnym utlenianiem żelaza i niską zawartością węgla ogólnego. Gromadzenie się metali ciężkich na obszarach popożarowych Dolnego Śląska było negatywnie skorelowane z silnie kwaśnym odczynem środowiska. Nie obserwowano przekroczenia wartości granicznych metali ciężkich w przypadku gleb niezanieczyszczonych

Wpływ pożaru na zasoby węgla i retencję wodną łąkowych i leśnych gleb popożarowych

The research has aimed to determine the impact of fire on pools of soil organic matter and water retention in pyrogenic soil in meadow and forest areas. The following soil samples have been represented: moorsh, peat-moorsh, mineral moorsh and peat. The soil horizons represented: strongly dried peat-moorsh soil, medium-deep (MtIIc1 and MtIIIc1), mineral moorsh soil (Me11) and moorsh soil. Soil horizons have been determined on the basis of colour, decomposition of organic samples; bulk density and water retention have been analyzed in 100 cm³ stainless Kopecky metal rings. Bulk density was measured in undisturbed samples by the volumetric method. Soil water retention characterized by pF2.0 has been measured using sandbox analyzer. Soil organic carbon content was detected with Bushi analyzer. The lowest carbon content has been indicated by horizons with high ash content. As a consequence of various fire temperatures, we can observe different soil colour spectrum between N, 10YR and 5YR. Generally, the pools of water retention decreases because of the fire. We can observe differences between SOM pools and water retention pools in the meadow and forest soil. Water retention of pyrogenic soils drastically decreases in mineral-organic soils with angular sharply edged structure and peaty-ash or ash horizons