Supporting teachers’ collaboration in design teams to develop Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: the case of science teachers in Tanzania

This study assessed the effect of support on the teachers’ collaboration in design teams and development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). The study was carried out in two secondary schools in Tanzania: Chang’ombe and Jitegemee secondary schools. From each school 10 teachers participated in the professional development program intended to develop TPACK. Four supports were provided during the professional development program: collaboration guidelines, online learning materials, exemplary lessons and human support (an expert). The pre and post intervention assessment of teachers’ perceived and observed knowledge and skills of integrating technology in teaching was done through questionnaire and interview. Other data collection instruments were observation checklist and focus group discussion. Findings revealed a significant different between the pre and post intervention teachers’ TPACK. Through support, teachers’ discussions in the design teams were precise, focused to the goals of the meeting and time efficient

Research-practice interactions as reported in recent design studies: Still promising, still hazy

This study portrays recent research–practice connections found in 18 design research reports focusing on the creation of instructional solutions. Solutions in different stages of development varied greatly in duration, ranging from one lesson to a whole year curriculum, spanned all levels of education, many subjects (science, math, language, culture, teacher education, etc.). Close collaboration between researchers and practitioners was prominent in all of the 18 projects studied. Participants in primary and secondary education projects have quite distinct roles regarding the teaching and researching, but they design their instruction solutions often collaboratively. Nearly all projects reported on how designed solutions were anchored in research, either from literature or from in-house project data. All articles indicated that research fed (re-)design, but few specified how. Based on our findings, we call for increased research and reporting on the specific strategies employed by design research participants to facilitate the production of new theoretical understanding through design of instructional solution

Quality and standardization in blood component preparation with an automated blood processing technique

The use of automated blood processors in combination with bottom and top blood containers has been found to improve the standardization and quality of blood components. A study was performed to validate a new type of processor (Optipress® II) and compare its performance with a first generation processor (Optipress® I). Primary separation on the Optipress II was investigated on 570mL (± 10%) of anticoagulated blood in a nonpaired study. In addition, the quality of the products in routine production was compared between the results of the Optipress I and Optipress II. The whole blood units were kept overnight at room temperature (20 ± 2°C). Separation was performed under conditions to obtain 55mL buffy coats with a 50% haematocrit (ht). Platelet concentrate preparation was investigated in a paired study and compared to the routine manual method using PAS II additive solution. Parameters studied were volume, red cell, white cell and platelet counts, ht, haemoglobin (hb, total and free). Primary separation was more efficient in the Optipress II because the platelet count was lower in the erythrocyte concentrates (P<0.0001), platelets were lower in plasma (P<0.0001) and platelet counts were higher in buffy coats (P<0.0001). Buffy coat volume showed less variation (Optipress II VC=4%, Optipress I VC= 7.4%). Secondary separation did not show differences between the Optipress II and manual method but was advantageous because of the automatic termination of the procedure. Further improvement of standardization in blood component preparation is possible with an automated blood processor, leading to improvement of the quality of blood products for patient care

A Deficiency Problem of the Least Squares Finite Element Method for Solving Radiative Transfer in Strongly Inhomogeneous Media

The accuracy and stability of the least squares finite element method (LSFEM) and the Galerkin finite element method (GFEM) for solving radiative transfer in homogeneous and inhomogeneous media are studied theoretically via a frequency domain technique. The theoretical result confirms the traditional understanding of the superior stability of the LSFEM as compared to the GFEM. However, it is demonstrated numerically and proved theoretically that the LSFEM will suffer a deficiency problem for solving radiative transfer in media with strong inhomogeneity. This deficiency problem of the LSFEM will cause a severe accuracy degradation, which compromises too much of the performance of the LSFEM and makes it not a good choice to solve radiative transfer in strongly inhomogeneous media. It is also theoretically proved that the LSFEM is equivalent to a second order form of radiative transfer equation discretized by the central difference scheme