A personal journey of change: 20 years introducing technology inside and outside of the Organic Chemistry classroom.

Lectures lacking in student engagement have been shown to be largely ineffective with respect to learning and knowledge retention (Halloun, 1985) particularly with conceptually difficult courses such as organic Chemistry. Deeper learning and critical thinking skills are gained through active participation inside and outside of the classroom ( Crouch & Mazur, 2001; Flynn, 2015; Prince, 2004; Wieman et al., 2014). My first realization that there had to be a better way than passive lecture came in 1997. Students blindly copied reactions and mechanisms off the blackboard without comprehending. I wrote at such a fast pace, covering multiple black boards that sometimes students had not finished copying what I had written by the time I started erasing the first board. My first solution was to create course notes with blanks so that we could work on questions together. However, with increasing accessibility and affordability of digital devices the way people learn and expect to be taught has fundamentally changed. Thus, I gradually shifted to online assignments, in-class student response systems and online course material to facilitate flipping the classroom. The next step in my journey in utilizing technology for promoting student success and engagement was the development and use of an interactive online textbook with weekly reading assignments. We will discuss the gradual and then accelerated introduction of technology into and outside of the classroom. We will share student perceptions of the various course elements based on survey responses, the impact these changes have had on student success and discuss the changing expectations of students. Crouch & Mazur (2001). Am. J. Phys., 69, 970–977. Flynn (2015). Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 16, 198-211. Halloun (1985). Am. J. Phys., 53, 1043–1048. Prince (2004). J. Eng. Educ., 93, 223–23. Wieman et al. (2014). The Physics Teacher, 52, 51-53

Linking Scales in Stream Ecology

The hierarchical structure of natural systems can be useful in designing ecological studies that are informative at multiple spatial scales. Although stream systems have long been recognized as having a hierarchical spatial structure, there is a need for more empirical research that exploits this structure to generate an understanding of population biology, community ecology, and species-ecosystem linkages across spatial scales. We review studies that link pattern and process across multiple scales of stream-habitat organization, highlighting the insight derived from this multiscale approach and the role that mechanistic hypotheses play in its successful application. We also describe afrontier in stream research that relies on this multiscale approach: assessing the consequences and mechanisms of ecological processes occurring at the network scale. Broader use of this approach will advance many goals in applied stream ecology, including the design of reserves to protect stream biodiversity and the conservation of freshwater resources and services

Discipline-based educational development: examples from four Canadian universities

Discipline-based educational development , integrating the principles of teaching and learning with specific content knowledge of a discipline, is emerging as a complement to more traditional, centralized models of teaching support, bringing with it its own advantages and challenges. Partly, it is a question of belonging: it helps to be part of a team of people - possibly with a variety of specialties in areas like curriculum, pedagogy, educational technology - and operating from a centre offers this important support, but coming from a single unit across campus may make it harder to connect with those teaching in departments. Conversely, working in a department creates many opportunities to connect with faculty and students, but can be isolating as there is unlikely to be a team of any size at the department level doing similar work. This panel discussion will explore four examples of discipline-based educational development at Canadian universities, highlighting successful initiatives and challenges faced by educators in implementing this approach. In one case, teaching is transforming via graduate student projects within specific courses, and the others have variations on teaching centre models with different levels of connections to departments - in one case with staff members embedded in departments. We will also be interested to learn of other models from those who attend the discussion. Overall, this panel discussion aims to raise awareness of the value of discipline-based education development in STEM education and to provide a platform for dialogue and collaboration among educators and educational developers in Canadian post-secondary institutions

Cryptic Constituents: The Paradox of High Flux-Low Concentration Components of Aquatic Ecosystems

The interface between terrestrial ecosystems and inland waters is an important link in the global carbon cycle. However, the extent to which allochthonous organic matter entering freshwater systems plays a major role in microbial and higher-trophic-level processes is under debate. Human perturbations can alter fluxes of terrestrial carbon to aquatic environments in complex ways. The biomass and production of aquatic microbes are traditionally thought to be resource limited via stoichiometric constraints such as nutrient ratios or the carbon standing stock at a given timepoint. Low concentrations of a particular constituent, however, can be strong evidence of its importance in food webs. High fluxes of a constituent are often associated with low concentrations due to high uptake rates, particularly in aquatic food webs. A focus on biomass rather than turnover can lead investigators to misconstrue dissolved organic carbon use by bacteria. By combining tracer methods with mass balance calculations, we reveal hidden patterns in aquatic ecosystems that emphasize fluxes, turnover rates, and molecular interactions. We suggest that this approach will improve forecasts of aquatic ecosystem responses to warming or altered nitrogen usage

Exercise Increases Insulin Content and Basal Secretion in Pancreatic Islets in Type 1 Diabetic Mice

Exercise appears to improve glycemic control for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, the mechanism responsible for this improvement is unknown. We hypothesized that exercise has a direct effect on the insulin-producing islets. Eight-week-old mice were divided into four groups: sedentary diabetic, exercised diabetic, sedentary control, and exercised control. The exercised groups participated in voluntary wheel running for 6 weeks. When compared to the control groups, the islet density, islet diameter, and β-cell proportion per islet were significantly lower in both sedentary and exercised diabetic groups and these alterations were not improved with exercise. The total insulin content and insulin secretion were significantly lower in sedentary diabetics compared to controls. Exercise significantly improved insulin content and insulin secretion in islets in basal conditions. Thus, some improvements in exercise-induced glycemic control in T1D mice may be due to enhancement of insulin content and secretion in islets

Clades of huge phages from across Earth's ecosystems.

Bacteriophages typically have small genomes1 and depend on their bacterial hosts for replication2. Here we sequenced DNA from diverse ecosystems and found hundreds of phage genomes with lengths of more than 200 kilobases (kb), including a genome of 735 kb, which is-to our knowledge-the largest phage genome to be described to date. Thirty-five genomes were manually curated to completion (circular and no gaps). Expanded genetic repertoires include diverse and previously undescribed CRISPR-Cas systems, transfer RNAs (tRNAs), tRNA synthetases, tRNA-modification enzymes, translation-initiation and elongation factors, and ribosomal proteins. The CRISPR-Cas systems of phages have the capacity to silence host transcription factors and translational genes, potentially as part of a larger interaction network that intercepts translation to redirect biosynthesis to phage-encoded functions. In addition, some phages may repurpose bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems to eliminate competing phages. We phylogenetically define the major clades of huge phages from human and other animal microbiomes, as well as from oceans, lakes, sediments, soils and the built environment. We conclude that the large gene inventories of huge phages reflect a conserved biological strategy, and that the phages are distributed across a broad bacterial host range and across Earth's ecosystems