The Flipped Classroom and its Impact on Student Engagement and Academic Performance in a Culinary Arts, Career and Technical Education Program

The purpose of this study was to gather evidence from a CTE culinary arts program to determine if students perform better academically and are more engaged in the flipped classroom using digital technology, than the traditional classroom. The study included 24 participants in a post-secondary, CTE culinary arts program who were divided into two groups of 12: a traditional, teacher-centered group and a flipped, student-centered group. Utilizing action-based research, surveys, journals, and an engagement matrix were created and used. Although not statistically significant, student grades in the flipped classroom were nearly 4% higher than those in the traditional classroom and were consistently higher throughout the semester. This study helps establish a foundation of evidence that student engagement and academic success improve in the flipped classroom for culinary arts CTE students

Using Experiential Learning to Enhance Student Outcomes in a Didactic Program in Dietetics Foodservice Management Course

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe student perceptions of their learning following experiential learning (EL) activities in a foodservice management course. Nutrition and dietetics education programs have a range of competencies students must learn and demonstrate throughout their curriculum. Learning styles differ amongst students and research has demonstrated they prefer to engage in EL (direct experience) activities to develop their knowledge. Foodservice management is one area of the curriculum that teaches students the basic functions of management; planning, organizing, directing, controlling, and staffing related to food, materials, facilities, and human resources. While this can be taught didactically, engaging in EL for this content may be a more valuable form of pedagogy to improve student understanding and use of content. Methods: After undergoing review and gaining approval from the Institutional Review Board, 196 nutrition and dietetic students from a regional comprehensive institution with an accredited undergraduate didactic program in dietetics were invited to participate in two experiential learning activities. At the conclusion of the activities, students completed an 8-question survey of their experiences. Results: Over 88% of students agreed EL activities promote better understanding of course content and 90% of students were in agreement that EL activities create an environment conducive to applying theory. Additionally, over 81% of students agreed that the activities encouraged the utilization of critical thinking skills, and 76% believed the activities promoted the value of teamwork and working independently. Finally, students were asked to respond to how the EL activity helped them understand course content and objectives. Two predominate themes emerged in the review of the open-ended responses. The first, EL helped connect and reinforce didactic theory to the real world ultimately assisting students to better prepare themselves for their career. The second focused on learning styles and students’ appreciation for the non-traditional way of learning, outside the classroom, with hands-on application. Conclusions: The results of the study provide support for the use of EL activities in foodservice management courses in a dietetics program. Participation in EL activities helped students close the loop between theoretical and applied learning. EL helped the development and utilization of skills employers are seeking such as critical thinking, teamwork, and independence. EL allows students to be hands-on in their learning and engage in activities aligned with theory and content necessary to meet competencies for entry-level practice in the field. Future research should include other types of foodservice establishments where a registered dietitian nutritionist is employed to determine if those environments have a positive impact on student learning

Akt substrate TBC1D1 regulates GLUT1 expression through the mTOR pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Multiple studies have suggested that the protein kinase Akt/PKB (protein kinase B) is required for insulin-stimulated glucose transport in skeletal muscle and adipose cells. In an attempt to understand links between Akt activation and glucose transport regulation, we applied mass spectrometry-based proteomics and bioinformatics approaches to identify potential Akt substrates containing the phospho-Akt substrate motif RXRXXpS/T. The present study describes the identification of the Rab GAP (GTPase-activating protein)-domain containing protein TBC1D1 [TBC (Tre-2/Bub2/Cdc16) domain family, member 1], which is closely related to TBC1D4 [TBC domain family, member 4, also denoted AS160 (Akt substrate of 160 kDa)], as an Akt substrate that is phosphorylated at Thr(590). RNAi (RNA interference)-mediated silencing of TBC1D1 elevated basal deoxyglucose uptake by approx. 61% in 3T3-L1 mouse embryo adipocytes, while the suppression of TBC1D4 and RapGAP220 under the same conditions had little effect on basal and insulin-stimulated deoxyglucose uptake. Silencing of TBC1D1 strongly increased expression of the GLUT1 glucose transporter but not GLUT4 in cultured adipocytes, whereas the decrease in TBC1D4 had no effect. Remarkably, loss of TBC1D1 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes activated the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin)-p70 S6 protein kinase pathway, and the increase in GLUT1 expression in the cells treated with TBC1D1 siRNA (small interfering RNA) was blocked by the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin. Furthermore, overexpression of the mutant TBC1D1-T590A, lacking the putative Akt/PKB phosphorylation site, inhibited insulin stimulation of p70 S6 kinase phosphorylation at Thr(389), a phosphorylation induced by mTOR. Taken together, our data suggest that TBC1D1 may be involved in controlling GLUT1 glucose transporter expression through the mTOR-p70 S6 kinase pathway

Comparing the Effectiveness of Flipped Classroom and Traditional Classroom Student Engagement and Teaching Methodologies

Studies exist on the effectiveness of learning in a flipped classroom learning setting; however, there is limited research available regarding the success or failure rates of flipped classroom learning in technical culinary arts programs. This study, using an action-based research approach, was designed to gather evidence from a technical education program to determine if students perform better in the flipped classroom or traditional classroom. Multiple instruments were designed to gather information about the culinary flipped classroom format. Instructor and student perceptions about the learning in each type of classroom were explored, levels of student engagement were recorded, and final course grades for the culinary classroom were gathered. Perceptions of the students and instructor indicated engagement in the flipped classroom were higher in the flipped classroom than the traditional classroom. The analysis of final course grades did not indicate a significant difference between the two teaching formats. While the focus of the study was on one culinary arts technical education program and cannot be generalized to other technical education programs, future research suggestions included conducting studies where the data are disaggregated to provide more specific answers. In addition, the suggestion was made to conduct further studies using more traditional research methods such as quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods

Students Ability to Self-Regulate in a First-Year Experience Health Sciences Course

Purpose: Research has shown students in general do better throughout their post-secondary education if they participated in a First Year Experience (FYE) course. Research questions whether first-year students peform better in face-to-face, online, or blended courses. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of first-year health science students in online and blended learning environments and self-regulation, in a FYE course. Methods: The study utilized educational design and research tools designed to create and improve teaching and learning practices. For the design of the learning environment, analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation (ADDIE) was implemented. Action-based research (ABR) was utilized for analyzing and improving instructional practices. A survey adapted to evaluate self-regulation was used to evaluate perceptions of self-regulation, goal setting, environment, task strategies, time management, help seeking, and self-evaluation and students’ perceptions of instructional modality. Results: A total of 657 students (online n=295 and blended n=362) consented and participated in the study. Majority of online participants (90%) somewhat agreed to strongly agreed in being efficient in goal setting compared to the blended group at 87%. In the area of environment for studying, 95% of online participants reported having a comfortable, distraction-free environment as compared to the blended group (85%). For the category of learning environment (online vs. blended), 94% of online participants reported being comfortable, compared to 85% in the blended. There was low confidence identified among participants (63%) in the categories of time management, environment, help seeking, and task strategies. Conclusions: Ways to help students improve and expand their self-regulation skills should be developed in the early years of higher education. The study revealed students were not accessing supplemental resources to aid their learning. Therefore, faculty may need to consider streamlining the supplemental resources made available to students, utilizing the ADDIE model to evaluate their course. Increasing faculty and peer face time, could improve self-regulation skills and make students feel a stronger connection to the learning process and potentially overall academic success

The ATLAS Forward Proton Real-Time Time-of-Flight Trigger and Trigger Decoder for LHC Run 3

This poster describes the in-line real time Digital Trigger Module (DTM) that provides a majority trigger decision for the ATLAS Forward Proton detector (AFP). A forward proton traverses a sequence of four successive Cherenkov radiators (a “Train”) connected to a fast multi-anode MCP Photomultiplier (PMT). Four such trains are mounted next to one another and subdivide the AFP acceptance for diffractive protons is “slices” with roughly equal occupancy. Every Train that passes the majority trigger encodes a “bit” in the 5-bit trigger word (the first bit is an “OR” of all trains firing) that is sent over a 265 m foam-core coax cable towards the ATLAS Central Trigger Processor (CTP). The fast real-time DTM is described, including the Trigger Decoder (TD) that interfaces with the CTP

Distinct polyphosphoinositide binding selectivities for pleckstrin homology domains of GRP1-like proteins based on diglycine versus triglycine motifs

GRP1 and the related proteins ARNO and cytohesin-1 are ARF exchange factors that contain a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain thought to target these proteins to cell membranes through binding polyphosphoinositides. Here we show the PH domains of all three proteins exhibit relatively high affinity for dioctanoyl phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate (PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3)), with K(D) values of 0.05, 1.6 and 1.0 micrometer for GRP1, ARNO, and cytohesin-1, respectively. However, the GRP1 PH domain was unique among these proteins in its striking selectivity for PtdIns(3,4, 5)P(3) versus phosphatidylinositol 4,5-diphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P(2)), for which it exhibits about 650-fold lower apparent affinity. Addition of a glycine to the Gly(274)-Gly(275) motif in GRP1 greatly increased its binding affinity for PtdIns(4,5)P(2) with little effect on its binding to PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3), while deletion of a single glycine in the corresponding triglycine motif of the ARNO PH domain markedly reduced its binding affinity for PtdIns(4,5)P(2) but not for PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3). In intact cells, the hemagglutinin epitope-tagged PH domain of GRP1 was recruited to ruffles in the cell surface in response to insulin, as were full-length GRP1 and cytohesin-1, but the PH domain of cytohesin-1 was not. These data indicate that the unique diglycine motif in the GRP1 PH domain, as opposed to the triglycine in ARNO and cytohesin-1, directs its remarkable PtdIns(3,4,5)P(3) binding selectivity

Signaling complexes of the FERM domain-containing protein GRSP1 bound to ARF exchange factor GRP1

GRP1 is a member of a family of proteins that contain a coiled-coil region, a Sec7 homology domain with guanosine nucleotide exchange activity for the ARF GTP-binding proteins, and a pleckstrin homology domain at the C terminus. The pleckstrin homology domain of GRP1 binds phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5) trisphosphate and mediates the translocation of GRP1 to the plasma membrane upon agonist stimulation of PI 3-kinase activity. Using a (32)P-labeled GRP1 probe to screen a mouse brain cDNA expression library, we isolated a cDNA clone encoding a GRP1-binding partner (GRSP1) that exists as two different splice variants in brain and lung. The GRSP1 protein contains a FERM protein interaction domain as well as two coiled coil domains and may therefore function as a scaffolding protein. Mapping experiments revealed that the interaction of GRP1 and GRSP1 occurs through the coiled coil domains in the two proteins. Immunodepletion experiments indicate that virtually all of the endogenous GRSP1 protein exists as a complex with GRP1 in lung. When co-expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing the human insulin receptor, both proteins display a diffuse, cytoplasmic localization. Acute translocation and co-localization of GRSP1 and GRP1 to ruffles in the plasma membrane was evident after insulin stimulation. These results identify GRSP1 as a novel member of GRP1 signaling complexes that are acutely recruited to plasma membrane ruffles in response to insulin receptor signaling

Signaling by phosphoinositide-3,4,5-trisphosphate through proteins containing pleckstrin and Sec7 homology domains

Signal transmission by many cell surface receptors results in the activation of phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinases that phosphorylate the 3\u27 position of polyphosphoinositides. From a screen for mouse proteins that bind phosphoinositides, the protein GRP1was identified. GRP1 binds phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate [PtdIns(3,4, 5)P3] through a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and displays a region of high sequence similarity to the yeast Sec7 protein. The PH domain of the closely related protein cytohesin-1, which, through its Sec7 homology domain, regulates integrin beta2 and catalyzes guanine nucleotide exchange of the small guanine nucleotide-binding protein ARF1, was also found to specifically bind PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. GRP1 and cytohesin-1 appear to connect receptor-activated PI 3-kinase signaling pathways with proteins that mediate biological responses such as cell adhesion and membrane trafficking