Investigating transparency in collaborative learning and its delivery through Scrum

Collaborative learning is widespread in higher education and all evidence points to it continuing to grow in importance as a teaching and learning strategy. Collaborative learning is central to constructive education, a paradigm with historical roots in Dewey (1929), Vygotsky (1962) and Piaget (1978) that focuses on student-centred learning, with the learner as an active agent in the process of knowledge acquisition. Its potential advantages have been widely reported, yet evidence suggests that many students are still finding collaborative learning a negative, rather than a positive experience. In searching for ways to address this, the concept of transparency was uncovered as a potential means for improving collaboration, a view also backed by students, though what was meant by transparency in this context was not explained, nor were there any suggestions for how it might improve collaborative learning processes or outcomes. Initial investigations suggested that transparency was an under-researched area in the domain of collaborative learning. At the same time, an examination of successful projects in the computing industry highlighted the central role of Agile processes, and particularly Scrum, in delivering these successes. Scrum promotes transparency and continuous improvement, and this prompted the question of whether it could be adopted for collaborative learning in Higher Education, in order to provide positive outcomes in this domain. The main aim of this thesis is therefore to investigate whether the outcomes of collaborative learning in Higher Education can be improved through transparency, and to examine whether using Scrum for the management of student collaborative learning can produce high levels of transparency and therefore better outcomes for students. The study used a mixed methods approach, drawing on the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative research. Research instruments included questionnaires, peer reviews and focus group discussions. An initial study used means-end analysis to define the attributes, consequences and higher order values that students associated with transparency in the context of collaborative learning. This was then followed by an exploratory study which introduced Scrum into the second part of a student group project to compare a cohort’s experience of using both ‘conventional’ and Scrum project management. Students reported high levels of transparency and a preference for using Scrum, however the results revealed that Scrum had only been partially implemented. The final empirical study then investigated the degree to which the student centric view of transparency obtained from the initial study was supported in a collaborative project using a full implementation of Scrum. In addition, the collaborative project was based on a creative task outside Scrum’s traditional domain of software engineering, to establish whether it could be used successfully for projects of any type and perhaps become a standard for managing collaborative learning in higher education. The findings showed transparency to be a complex and multi-dimensioned concept. Although universally concerned with information disclosure, providing too much information can be counterproductive, leading to a reduction in transparency, or ‘transparency paradox’. Appropriate visibility and awareness of information was found to be important in this context. The means-end analysis study provided a student view of transparency in the form of attributes that students associated with the concept. Scrum was found to provide high levels of support for these attributes, as well as visibility and awareness through its face-to-face meetings and Product Backlogs. Students rated the transparency provided by Scrum highly, but although it contributed to better process outcomes and more satisfied students, the effect on grades was limited. Nevertheless, the overall findings of this study confirm that Scrum has potential for improving groupwork transparency, student experience and outcomes. The thesis adds to the body of knowledge on efforts to improve collaborative learning, providing a rare empirical study showing how students perceive Scrum to contribute to overall transparency, and how Scrum can be used successfully in projects outside its traditional domain. A theoretical contribution of the study is an examination of a value-oriented approach to students’ perceptions of transparency in the context of collaborative learning

Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors

Background Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and nonfatal suicide attempts, which occur far more frequently, are a major source of disability and social and economic burden. Both have substantial genetic etiology, which is partially shared and partially distinct from that of related psychiatric disorders. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 29,782 suicide attempt (SA) cases and 519,961 controls in the International Suicide Genetics Consortium (ISGC). The GWAS of SA was conditioned on psychiatric disorders using GWAS summary statistics via multitrait-based conditional and joint analysis, to remove genetic effects on SA mediated by psychiatric disorders. We investigated the shared and divergent genetic architectures of SA, psychiatric disorders, and other known risk factors. Results Two loci reached genome-wide significance for SA: the major histocompatibility complex and an intergenic locus on chromosome 7, the latter of which remained associated with SA after conditioning on psychiatric disorders and replicated in an independent cohort from the Million Veteran Program. This locus has been implicated in risk-taking behavior, smoking, and insomnia. SA showed strong genetic correlation with psychiatric disorders, particularly major depression, and also with smoking, pain, risk-taking behavior, sleep disturbances, lower educational attainment, reproductive traits, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer general health. After conditioning on psychiatric disorders, the genetic correlations between SA and psychiatric disorders decreased, whereas those with nonpsychiatric traits remained largely unchanged. Conclusions Our results identify a risk locus that contributes more strongly to SA than other phenotypes and suggest a shared underlying biology between SA and known risk factors that is not mediated by psychiatric disorders.Peer reviewe

Using Big Data in collaborative learning

Big data emerged as a dominant trend for predictive analytics in many areas of industry and commerce. The study aimed to explore whether similar trends and benefits have been observed in the area of collaborative learning. The study looked at the domains in which the collaborative learning was undertaken. The results of the review found that the majority of the studies were undertaken in the Computing and Engineering or Social Science domains, primarily at undergraduate level. The results indicate that the data collection focus is on interaction data to describe the process of the collaboration itself, rather than on the end product of the collaboration. The student interaction data came from various sources, but with a notable concentration on data obtained from discussion forums and virtual learning environment logs. The review highlighted some challenges; the noisy nature of this data and the need for manual pre-processing of textual data currently renders much of it unsuitable for automated ‘big data' analytical approaches

A Bayesian reanalysis of the Standard versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal-Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial

Background Timing of initiation of kidney-replacement therapy (KRT) in critically ill patients remains controversial. The Standard versus Accelerated Initiation of Renal-Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury (STARRT-AKI) trial compared two strategies of KRT initiation (accelerated versus standard) in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury and found neutral results for 90-day all-cause mortality. Probabilistic exploration of the trial endpoints may enable greater understanding of the trial findings. We aimed to perform a reanalysis using a Bayesian framework. Methods We performed a secondary analysis of all 2927 patients randomized in multi-national STARRT-AKI trial, performed at 168 centers in 15 countries. The primary endpoint, 90-day all-cause mortality, was evaluated using hierarchical Bayesian logistic regression. A spectrum of priors includes optimistic, neutral, and pessimistic priors, along with priors informed from earlier clinical trials. Secondary endpoints (KRT-free days and hospital-free days) were assessed using zero–one inflated beta regression. Results The posterior probability of benefit comparing an accelerated versus a standard KRT initiation strategy for the primary endpoint suggested no important difference, regardless of the prior used (absolute difference of 0.13% [95% credible interval [CrI] − 3.30%; 3.40%], − 0.39% [95% CrI − 3.46%; 3.00%], and 0.64% [95% CrI − 2.53%; 3.88%] for neutral, optimistic, and pessimistic priors, respectively). There was a very low probability that the effect size was equal or larger than a consensus-defined minimal clinically important difference. Patients allocated to the accelerated strategy had a lower number of KRT-free days (median absolute difference of − 3.55 days [95% CrI − 6.38; − 0.48]), with a probability that the accelerated strategy was associated with more KRT-free days of 0.008. Hospital-free days were similar between strategies, with the accelerated strategy having a median absolute difference of 0.48 more hospital-free days (95% CrI − 1.87; 2.72) compared with the standard strategy and the probability that the accelerated strategy had more hospital-free days was 0.66. Conclusions In a Bayesian reanalysis of the STARRT-AKI trial, we found very low probability that an accelerated strategy has clinically important benefits compared with the standard strategy. Patients receiving the accelerated strategy probably have fewer days alive and KRT-free. These findings do not support the adoption of an accelerated strategy of KRT initiation