The Decision of Work and Study and Employment Outcomes

The paper studies factors that contribute to student's work study decision while attending postsecondary institutions using SLID and YITS data. It further tests that how the work decision can affect their future employment outcomes.postsecondary eduction;labour supply decisions;return to schooling

Immigrant and Refugee Hmong Parents: Parental Involvement in Their Children’s Schools

One of the largest Asian ethnic group in Minnesota are the Hmong. Its population has continuously increased since 1976. Many Hmong were not educated before they settled to the United States, as immigrants or refugees they encountered many barriers. Language and transportation was a problem for many, which hinder them from being involved in their child’s education. Therefore, the purpose of this research project is to examine Hmong immigrant and refugee parents’ perception and attitudes toward their child’s education, homework help, and school participation in K-12 education. The focused participants in this study include a sample of seven Hmong immigrant and refugee parents. Qualitative data collection methods included a face to face semi-structured interview in English or translated in Hmong as needed. The end results defined how parents perceive child’s education, educational experiences as an immigrant or refugee parent, barriers of parental involvement, and frequency in parental involvement

Examining the effectiveness of the Engineering Launch program for first-year engineering students

Motivation and Background: This COMPLETE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE PAPER examines whether participating in the Engineering Launch program at a large Midwestern land- grant university influences the academic readiness of engineering students before they enter Calculus I course. Many students enrolled in Calculus I are not prepared for it. The remedial program Engineering Launch aims to improve students’ math preparation in Trigonometry, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, and bridge the perceived gaps in math preparation to get students ready for Calculus I. Many universities around the country have implemented similar remedial programs. There are two common approaches. One is a workshop-style course which typically requires weekly class time in addition to regular lectures [1]. The other is to offer a bridge course before the semester starts, with duration from one-week long [2] to several weeks [3, 4] These programs have shown positive results by increasing student pass rates in Calculus. The Engineering Launch program takes the second approach by offering a summer bridge course prior to the fall semester. This course is offered as a zero-credit hour course, which consists of a three-week online component and several in-person events the week before classes start. The course combines both synchronous and asynchronous math instruction. All instruction and module content is provided and delivered by a seasoned Calculus I instructor, who has over 15 years of experience teaching courses in calculus sequence. The course also includes one-on-one tutoring from a GTA in the Department of Mathematics. Learning about the usefulness of the Engineering Launch program can inform researchers, instructors, and administrators how to improve the readiness of first year engineering students in Calculus I and make it an effective approach in helping engineering students succeed academically

Engineering Students’ Views on the Effectiveness of Peer Tutors in Scholars Assisting Scholars Program

In engineering education, retaining engineering students in the first two years of college is a critical issue when the attrition rate has been persistently high. Peer tutoring and supplemental instruction are widely used methods to help first year students and sophomores succeed in challenging courses in universities. Research has shown that peer tutoring improves academic outcomes such as achieving higher GPAs, higher retention rates, and improving student connectedness. In an earlier study we examined whether and to what degree a peer tutoring and supplemental instruction program called Scholars Assisting Scholars, SAS, implemented in a college of engineering facilitated student academic performance in a specific Calculus course. In this follow-up study, we focused on the impact of the peer tutoring and supplemental instruction program on students who utilized the peer tutoring program across a wide range of core courses

The expression of whirlin and Cav1.3α1 is mutually independent in photoreceptors

AbstractWhirlin is a gene responsible for Usher syndrome type II (USH2) and congenital deafness. In photoreceptors, it organizes a protein complex through binding to proteins encoded by other USH2 genes, usherin (USH2A) and G-protein-coupled receptor 98 (GPR98). Recently, Cav1.3α1 (α1D) has been discovered to interact with whirlin in vitro and these two proteins are localized to the same subcellular compartments in photoreceptors. Accordingly, it is proposed that Cav1.3α1 is in the USH2 protein complex and that the USH2 protein complex is involved in regulating Ca2+ in photoreceptors. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the interdependence of Cav1.3α1 and whirlin expression in photoreceptors. We found that lack of Cav1.3α1 did not change the whirlin distribution or expression level in photoreceptors. In the retina, several Cav1.3α1 splice variants were found at the RNA level. Among them, the whirlin-interacting Cav1.3α1 long variant had no change in its protein expression level in the absence of whirlin. The localization of Cav1.3α1 in photoreceptors, published previously, cannot be confirmed. Therefore, the mutual independence of whirlin and Cav1.3α1 expressions in photoreceptors suggests that Cav1.3α1 may not be a key member of the USH2 protein complex at the periciliary membrane complex