WHO’S ZOOMIN’ WHO? STUDENT ENGAGEMENT DURING A FACELESS PANDEMIC

COVID-19 brought about a faceless threat that impacted Higher Education, and the whole of Society, in a way that had not been seen in our lifetimes - faceless nanoscopic threat to humanity and to the way we facilitate learning as passionate educators. The impacts on students, especially those of international status, were substantial. Isolation, enforced by the Federal Government, was as new to us all as the coronavirus was to our species. As a social species, we had no prior ‘immunity’ to the experience and the scramble to adapt within the teaching and learning environment that raised many difficulties experienced by all participants. However, nowhere was this more adversely felt than in our Transitioning First Year Student (TFYS) cohort. Students, already having to adapt to the foreign experience of learning in a higher education landscape, were dealt the additional blow of doing so under Australian government enforced isolation. Most, far from home and from their social networks, found themselves living an experience devoid of the social experience that is expected during their first year of university. A time where many form peer groups which last beyond higher education; a time when you have the opportunity to ‘navigate your identity’ amongst peers, was taken from them. Regardless of the impact on grade distributions, the effects of isolation were seen in overt and distressing declines in mental health across the first-year cohort (pers obs.). But what about those that did not feel they could, or did not know how to, reach out and engage? Here we show how collegiality, honesty and a peer-like approach to Coordination helped lessen this. However, despite these efforts, many students remained ‘invisible’ – hiding behind the smokescreens of upheaval and workloads, and most evidently behind the black square of a faceless Zoom. We also explore alternate ways of fostering inclusion through the scaffolding of ‘social engagement’ amongst the students themselves

Two-stage Examinations in STEM: A Narrative Literature Review

  Written, invigilated examinations are valued for their reliability, economy and academic integrity. Nevertheless, examinations are problematic. Final, summative examinations can disadvantage students who experience assessment anxiety, and students may not receive useable feedback. An alternative is the two-stage examination, where a traditional examination is followed by a group examination with similar questions. Students gain peer feedback on their examination performance, and can meaningfully apply this feedback. Use of this format in tertiary STEM education in universities has indicated that students prefer the format, although it has been little studied in Australia. Furthermore, its effects on reducing stress and fostering deeper learning are not well understood. The COVID-19 pandemic and switch to online learning has provided us with an opportunity to review our assessment practices and has led to a new willingness to test different examination formats. Here we provide a narrative review of the results of previous studies on two-stage examinations and, based on this and our experience teaching in large-cohort introductory biology courses at an Australian university, we propose a formula for employing them in this context

Two-staging a comeback: A review of two-stage exams from 1996 to 2022

BACKGROUND Two-stage examinations are an alternative to a traditional examination, where an individual examination is followed by a group examination, often on the same questions. With pandemic remote learning leading to a re-assessment of examination formats, we investigated previous research on two-stage exams to understand how these assessments have been delivered and received by students, and we make suggestions based on this research and our own experience for how to deliver these exams in a large-cohort introductory biology unit. This research was published in the International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Educations (IJISME; Lee et al., 2022). AIMS We aimed to investigate trends in how two-stage exams were set, their discipline context, student performance and the student experience in studies published in the last ~25 years. DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a narrative literature review of research papers involving the use of two-stage examinations in STEM, from 1996 to 2022. We extracted from the 39 included studies data about the discipline, the weighting and timing of the group component, the type of questions asked, how groups were formed and the cohort size. We also extracted data on the student’s response: whether scores were higher in the group component, whether the exam improved understanding or retention, whether students favoured the format and whether stress was alleviated. RESULTS Trends were identified, with most surveyed exams using multiple-choice questions that were the same in the individual and the group component. Student feedback was very positive, and group component marks were almost always higher than individual component marks. However, results varied on improved understanding and reduction in stress, and few studies tested these factors. CONCLUSIONS Two-stage exams are well received by students, and group exams increase performance relative to individual exams. Further research is needed into measurable beneficial effects from the format. We provide our suggestions for implementing these examinations in a large introductory biology unit. REFERENCE Lee, T. R. C., Pye, M., Lilje, O., Nguyen, H. D., Hockey, S., de Bruyn, M. and can den Berg, F. T. (2022) Two-stage examinations in STEM: A narrative literature review. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education, 30(5), 73-90

Chemiluminescence detection with water-soluble iridium(III) complexes containing a sulfonate-functionalised ancillary ligand

The chemiluminescence from four cyclometalated iridium(III) complexes containing an ancillary bathophenanthroline-disulfonate ligand exhibited a wide range of emission colours (green to red), and in some cases intensities that are far greater than the commonly employed benchmark reagent, [Ru(bpy)3](2+). A similar complex incorporating a sulfonated triazolylpyridine-based ligand enabled the emission to be shifted into the blue region of the spectrum, but the responses with this complex were relatively poor. DFT calculations of electronic structure and emission spectra support the experimental findings

Correlated Genetic and Ecological Diversification in a Widespread Southern African Horseshoe Bat

The analysis of molecular data within a historical biogeographical framework, coupled with ecological characteristics can provide insight into the processes driving diversification. Here we assess the genetic and ecological diversity within a widespread horseshoe bat Rhinolophus clivosus sensu lato with specific emphasis on the southern African representatives which, although not currently recognized, were previously described as a separate species R. geoffroyi comprising four subspecies. Sequence divergence estimates of the mtDNA control region show that the southern African representatives of R. clivosus s.l. are as distinct from samples further north in Africa than they are from R. ferrumequinum, the sister-species to R. clivosus. Within South Africa, five genetically supported geographic groups exist and these groups are corroborated by echolocation and wing morphology data. The groups loosely correspond to the distributions of the previously defined subspecies and Maxent modelling shows a strong correlation between the detected groups and ecoregions. Based on molecular clock calibrations, it is evident that climatic cycling and related vegetation changes during the Quaternary may have facilitated diversification both genetically and ecologically

Rhodium(II) azavinyl carbenes and their recent application to organic synthesis

This highlight solely focusses on the synthetic applications of azavinyl rhodium(II) carbenes derived from N-sulfonyl triazoles. An overview of their use in intermolecular reactions to form a variety of heterocycles is examined, in addition to intramolecular annulations and rearrangements

A comparison of novel organoiridium(III) complexes and their ligands as a potential treatment for prostate cancer

A range of 1,4-substituted 2-pyridyl-N-phenyl triazoles were synthesised and evaluated for their antiproliferative properties against lymph node cancer of the prostate (LNCaP) and bone metastasis of prostate cancer (PC-3) cells. Excellent-to-low IC50 values were determined (5.6-250 μM), and a representative group of 4 ligands were then complexed to iridium(III) giving highly luminescent species. Re-evaluation of these compounds against both cell lines was then undertaken and improved potency (up to 72-fold) was observed, giving IC50 values of 0.36-11 μM for LNCaP and 0.85-5.9 μM for PC-3. Preliminary screens for in vivo toxicity were conducted using a zebrafish model showing a wide range of induced toxicity depending of the compound evaluated. Apoptosis and Caspase-3 levels were also determined and showed no statistical difference between some of the treated specimens and the controls. This study may identify novel therapeutic agents for advanced stage of prostate cancer in humans