172 research outputs found
Identification of two alternate splice variants of a novel serine protease expressed in steroidogenic tissues
No full textDuring the search for the serine protease that cleaves pro-gamma-melatropin to stimulate adrenal growth, we identified another novel protease, which we called Adrenal mitochondrial protease (AmP). In situ hybridisation detected AmP transcripts in steroidogenic tissues such as the brain, testis, in ovarian follicles as well as in the adrenal cortex. Full length cloning identified two splice variants differing by a 222 nucleotide insertion in the 5' end of the short variant. The shorter variant codes for a 371 amino acid protein of 40.7 kDa and computer analysis predicts it to be targeted to the cytosol while the longer 445 amino acid protein of 48.4 kDa is mitochondrial. Cellular targeting was confirmed by tagging with GFP. The short variant was clearly cytosolic however, the cells expressing AmP-Long had large vacuoles, possibly as a result of distended (apoptotic?) mitochondria. Due to the mitochondrial localisation of the long variant of the protease and its expression in steroidogenic tissues, it may be expected to be involved in the steroidogenic pathway, possibly by cleaving steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR). We investigated this by co-transfecting AmP-Long with StAR and F2 plasmid into COS-1 cells and measuring the effect on pregnenolone production. It was found that AmP-Long has no effect on steroidogenesis nor cleaves StAR as was shown by western blot analysis using StAR antibody
Two novel mutations in RNU4ATAC in two siblings with an atypical mild phenotype of microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type 1
No full textSupporting the development of number fact knowledge in five- and six-year-olds
No full textThis paper focuses on children’s number fact knowledge from a study that explored the impact of using multiplication and division contexts for developing number understanding with 34 five- and six-year-old children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. After a series of focused lessons, children’s knowledge of number facts, including single digit addition, subtraction, and doubles had improved. However, they did not always apply this knowledge to relevant problem-solving situations. The magnitude of the numbers did not necessarily determine the difficulty level for achieving automaticity of number fact knowledge
Developing young children's understanding of place-value using multiplication and quotitive division
No full textThis paper focuses on selected findings from a study that explored the use of multiplication and division with 34 five- and six-year-old children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The focus of instructional tasks was on working with groups of ten to support the understanding of place value. Findings from relevant assessment tasks and children’s work highlighted the importance of encouraging young children to move from unitary (counting by ones) to tens-structured thinking
Exploring the transition into Year 3 of Year 2 students who use counting on to solve mathematics problems
No full textThis research project examined how five Year 2 students, at stage 4 on the Number Framework (counting on), experienced mathematics as they transitioned into a Year 3 and 4 classroom. It investigated the support structures put in place to shift students from counting on to part-whole thinking, as part of the Numeracy Development Projects (NDP) approach to teaching mathematics. An additional transition of two teachers into Year 3 and 4 (one up from Year 2 and one down from Year 5 and 6) provided evidence of teacher transition experiences when shifting teaching levels. The setting, role of the teacher, and external influences were examined.
This research was a qualitative investigation framed within a case study approach. The main source of data was classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The teachers’ interviews focused on their approach to teaching and learning, attitude, student ability, assessment, and knowledge of the mathematics curriculum from Level 1 to Level 2. The combination of classroom observation and student interviews demonstrated the current level students were operating at and any signs of shift in their knowledge, as well as attitude towards mathematical learning.
The thesis illustrates how classroom practices and teaching approaches encouraged students to count on instead of shifting into part-whole thinking. The findings highlight possible barriers, student experience, the importance of teacher knowledge and understanding, and the impact of teaching practices that support and undermine the shift. The findings also show that teachers are still following the NDP material very closely, without a full understanding of the pedagogy of number knowledge which can bridge Level 1 to Level 2 of the New Zealand Curriculum.
The findings also indicate that the NDP teaching model is not being fully incorporated into classroom teaching, with a decrease of manipulatives used over the transition, a limited use of visualisation through diagrams and pictures, and students experiencing abstract representations without a full understanding of their meaning. The findings also show that the current reform in mathematics is only operating at a surface level. Teacher practices reflected an instrumental, procedurally-based approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics.
The evidence contained within this thesis points to the link between knowledge and strategy not being made explicit, with limited experiences of exploring relationships between numbers and quantity. It considers a critical aspect of student understanding is to develop a full understanding of number relationships through the concept of subitising, part-whole relationships, and more-and-less relationships. Continuing Professional Learning and Development is needed for teachers to develop a deeper understanding of these relationships and how they support student shift from ‘counting on’ to part-whole thinking
Second Workshop on Educational A/B Testing at Scale
No full textThe emerging discipline of Learning Engineering is focused on putting into place tools and processes that use the science of learning as a basis for improving educational outcomes. An important part of Learning Engineering focuses on improving the effectiveness of educational software. In many software domains, A/B testing has become a prominent technique to achieve the software's goals. Many large companies (Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc.) run thousands of AB tests and present at the Annual Conference on Digital Experimentation (CODE), but that venue is too broad to address AB testing issues specific to EdTech platforms. We see a need to address issues with running large-scale A/B tests within the educational context, where the use of A/B testing lags other industries. This workshop will explore ways in which A/B testing in educational contexts differs from other domains and proposals to overcome current challenges so that this approach can become a more useful tool in the learning engineer's toolbox.Design Aesthetic
The mathematical content knowledge and attitudes of New Zealand pre-service primary teachers
No full textThis paper presents data on the mathematical content knowledge and attitudes of pre-service primary teacher education students. The assessment consisted of nine tasks, including 2-digit computations and proportional reasoning. Students rated their liking for mathematics at three time points: primary, secondary, .and when assessed. Fewer than half the students liked mathematics, currently. Those with positive attitudes tended to perform well on mathematics tasks, but some low scorers were positive and some high' scorers were negative about mathematics. Most students used algorithmic procedures to solve problems and several consistent misconceptions were identified. Performance was noticeably poor on adding common fractions and converting fractions to percentages using knowledge of common factors. The implications of these findings for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) providers are presented
Third Annual Workshop on A/B Testing and Platform-Enabled Learning Research
No full textLearning engineering adds tools and processes to learning platforms to support improvement research. One kind of tool is A/B testing, which is common in large software companies and also represented academically at conferences like the Annual Conference on Digital Experimentation (CODE). A number of A/B testing systems focused on educational applications have arisen recently, including UpGrade and E-TRIALS. A/B testing can be part of the puzzle of how to improve educational platforms, and yet challenging issues in education go beyond the generic paradigm. For example, the importance of teachers and instructors to learning means that students are not only connecting with software as individuals, but also as part of a shared classroom experience. Further, learning in topics like mathematics can be highly dependent on prior learning, and thus A or B may not be better overall, but only in interaction with prior knowledge. In response, a set of learning platforms is opening their systems to improvement research by instructors and/or third-party researchers, with specific supports necessary for education-specific research designs. This workshop will explore how A/B testing in educational contexts is different, how learning platforms are opening up new possibilities, and how these empirical approaches can be used to drive powerful gains in student learning. It will also discuss forthcoming opportunities for funding to conduct platform-enabled learning research.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Design Aesthetic
First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Lincoln
No full textThe photolithograph depicts an reenactment of Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation on July 22, 1862. The print is based on a painting completed by Francis B. Carpenter in 1864. The following individuals surround Lincoln (left to right): Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, President Lincoln, Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, Caleb B. Smith, Secretary of the Interior, William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General, and Edward Bates, Attorney General. Simon Cameron and Andrew Jackson. No creator information is noted for the print\u27s lithographer.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-prints/1150/thumbnail.jp
Fourth Annual Workshop on A/B Testing and Platform-Enabled Learning Research
No full textLearning engineering adds tools and processes to learning platforms to support improvement research. One kind of tool is A/B testing-common in large software companies and also represented academically at conferences like the Annual Conference on Digital Experimentation (CODE). A number of A/B testing systems focused on educational apps have arisen recently, including UpGrade and E-TRIALS. A/B testing can help improve educational platforms, yet challenging issues in education go beyond the generic paradigm. In response, a number of of digital learning platforms is opening their systems to learning-improvement research by instructors and/or third-party researchers, with specific supports necessary for education-specific research designs. This workshop will explore how A/B testing in educational contexts is different, how learning platforms are opening up new possibilities, and how these empirical approaches can be used to drive powerful gains in student learning. It will also discuss forthcoming opportunities for funding to conduct platform-enabled learning research.Design Aesthetic
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