scholarly journals The influence of active learning and submicrorepresentations on 14-year-old students’ understanding of the alkaline earth metal concepts

Author(s):  
Grm Wissiak ◽  
Iztok Devetak

This study aimed to examine the impact of two different approaches on students? understanding of selected chemical concepts. The first treatment group was taught by a method comprising guided active learning demonstrations, and the second treatment group was exposed to guided active learning demonstrations with explanations at the submicroscopic level. In a control group, the selected topic was taught without guided active learning demonstrations and without explanations at the submicroscopic level. The instruments used in this research included the test of logical thinking (TOLT), Knowledge Pre-Test (KPT), two achievement tests (AT-1 and AT-2) and a questionnaire for students. One hundred and seventy-one students (average age 13.9 years) participated in the study. The results indicate that both approaches (i.e. guided active learning demonstrations and guided active learning demonstrations with explanations at submicroscopic level) are more effective than only symbolic teaching. It can be concluded from the results that students? knowledge, obtained by either method that includes guided active learning, is retained in the students? long-term memory. Some suggestions for implications for the primary science curriculum are also discussed.

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 541-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Turner Parker ◽  
Nancy Leggett-Frazier ◽  
Pauline A. Vincent ◽  
Melvin S. Swanson

Nursing staffs from two long-term care facilities attended a multisession educational program about the care of residents with diabetes (treatment group). A control group consisted of the nursing staffs from two other similar facilities who did not participate in the educational program. Both groups were given a knowledge pretest and posttest. A chart review also was conducted following the educational intervention to determine any changes in the diabetes care provided by the treatment group. Following the educational program, the treatment group had a significant increase in their mean score on the knowledge test compared with the control group. However, a. review of the residents' charts revealed no significant increases in specific behaviors related to diabetes care. The findings suggest that, in addition to educational programs, more focused training concerning diabetes care is needed to improve the care of residents with diabetes in long-term care facilities. Implications for diabetes educators are discussed.


Author(s):  
Li-Tze Lee ◽  
Jason C. Hung

McCarthy (1985) constructed the 4MAT teaching model, an eight step instrument developed in 1980, by synthesizing Dewey’s experiential learning, Kolb’s four learning styles, Jung’s personality types, as well as Bogen’s left mode and right mode of brain processing preferences. An important implication of this model is that learning retention is improved in the whole brain treatment group and thus this model is effective in retaining learning information as long term memory. Specifically, when examine the effectiveness of student scoring levels (high, median, and low), the results indicated that retention improved across all levels in the treatment group while results were inconsistent in the control group. When examine academic achievement and attitudes, interaction factor of both school and method showed a statistically significant difference.


2019 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertrud Buchenrieder ◽  
Josephine Nguefo Gnilachi ◽  
Emmanuel Olatunbosun Benjamin

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of microcredit on per capita income of farm households in Cameroon. It discusses short- and long-term implications of access to microcredit on income poverty. Design/methodology/approach The authors interviewed rural households with agriculture being either their first or second income-creating activity. All sampled households are clients of a Cameroonian village bank. The authors used a balanced panel with a treatment and a control group, the latter not having had a village bank microcredit yet. The results were reaffirmed using bootstrapping. Findings This paper argues that microcredit has had a significant positive impact on per capita income in the short run, but the long-term effect was negative, albeit not significant. In the long run, absolute income poverty had further decreased in the treatment group, however, not as much as in the control group. Because the treatment group had been shifting back to the informal financial sector and had diverted part of the microcredit for consumption, this may have led to lower marginal income effects. Productivity of credit financed inputs by the treatment group remained constant, which also explains why the treatment group fell back over time. Research limitations/implications The balanced panel data set was relatively small due to attrition over time. This was accounted for using bootstrapping. Nevertheless, research results must be interpreted with care. Furthermore, the discussion is not exhaustive. Practical implications Despite tremendous methodological advancements regarding the impact analysis of microcredit on income poverty, findings remain controversial and inconsistent. Frequently, fungibility is a confounding issue. Microcredit policy ought to consider more long-term effects. Originality/value There is much discourse amongst development economists about the impact of microcredit on poverty. Research based on panel data may clarify some of the controversial issues. This research paper uses a rather unique panel data set from Cameroonian farm households that are clients of a private sector village bank. The issue of sample size limitation is dealt with using bootstrapping. The authors base the empirical analysis on a comprehensive and theoretically founded economic farm household model.


Author(s):  
Florian Arendt

A test was done to see if reading a newspaper which consistently overrepresents foreigners as criminals strengthens the automatic association between foreign country and criminal in memory (i.e., implicit cultivation). Further, an investigation was done to find out if reading articles from the same newspaper produces a short-term effect on the same measure and if (1) emotionalization of the newspaper texts, (2) emotional reactions of the reader (indicated by arousal), and (3) attributed text credibility moderate the short-term treatment effect. Eighty-five participants were assigned to one of three experimental conditions. Participants in the control group received short factual crime texts, where the nationality of the offender was not mentioned. Participants in the factual treatment group received the same texts, but the foreign nationality was mentioned. Participants in the emotionalized treatment group received emotionalized articles (i.e., texts which are high in vividness and frequency) covering the same crimes, with the foreign nationality mentioned. Supporting empirical evidence for implicit cultivation and a short-term effect was found. However, only emotionalized articles produced a short-term effect on the strength of the automatic association, indicating that newspaper texts must have a minimum of stimulus intensity to overcome an effect threshold. There were no moderating effects of arousal or credibility pertaining to the impact on the implicit measure. However, credibility moderated the short-term effect on a first-order judgment (i.e., estimated frequency of foreigners of all criminals). This indicates that a newspaper’s effect on the strength of automatic associations is relatively independent from processes of propositional reasoning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Chacko ◽  
A Martinez-Naharro ◽  
T Kotecha ◽  
R Martone ◽  
D Hutt ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cardiac involvement is the main driver of outcome in ATTR amyloidosis. Advances in therapeutics hold potential in transforming the course of the disease but the impact on cardiac amyloid load is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of patisiran, a new double stranded RNA based gene silencing therapy and a stabilizer, diflunisal, on cardiac amyloid load as measured by CMR and T1 mapping, in patients with ATTR amyloidosis. Methods and results Thirty-two patients with hereditary cardiac amyloidosis were studied. Sixteen patients received treatment with patisiran, and sixteen control subjects did not receive any disease modifying treatment. Patients were assessed with echocardiogram, CMR, NT-proBNP and six-minute walk time measurements at baseline and at 1 year (Mean interval 11.45±3.08 months in treatment group, mean interval 12.82±5.06 months in the control group). CMR analysis comprised LV volumes, T1 mapping to measure the extracellular volume (ECV) occupied by amyloid, T2 mapping and late gadolinium enhancement imaging. At 1-year follow-up, there was a substantial reduction in cardiac amyloid burden, in keeping with cardiac amyloid regression in 45% of patients on treatment. Overall the treatment group showed a reduction in ECV at 1 year follow up compared to an increase in ECV at 1 year in the control group (−1.37%, 95% CI: −3.43 to 0.68% versus 5.02%, 95% CI: 2.86% to 7.18% respectively, p<0.001). The treatment group also showed an improvement in change in 6MWT at 1 year follow up compared to 6MWT at 1 year in the control group (−8.12 meters, 95% CI: −50.8 to 34.6 meters in the treatment group versus −132.27 meters, 95% CI: −216 to −48.6 meters in the control group, p=0.002). The treatment group showed a reduction in BNP at 1 year follow up compared to an increase in the control group (−567.87, 95% CI: −1288.90 to 153.15 in the treatment group versus 2004, 95% CI: 12.82 to 3995.45 in the control group, p<0.001). There was no significant difference from baseline and 1-year data between the control and treatment groups for the difference in echocardiographic parameters, native T1, T2. There was a significant reduction in the percentage of injected dose by 99Tc-DPD scintigraphy in treated patients at 1 year compared to baseline. Conclusions These findings provide the first compelling evidence of substantial cardiac amyloid regression in ATTR amyloidosis, as well as the potential for CMR to be used to track response in treated patients with ATTR cardiac amyloidosis. Combination therapy with transthyretin knock down and stabilizing agents may well be synergistic given enhanced stoichiometry of stabilizers in the face of much reduced plasma transthyretin concentration. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


Trials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Ye ◽  
Dawei Zhu ◽  
Siyuan Chen ◽  
Xuefeng Shi ◽  
Rui Gong ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Hearing loss is quite prevalent and can be related to people’s quality of life. To our knowledge, there are limited studies assessing the efficacy of hearing interventions on quality of life in adults. Therefore, we aim to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine the impact and cost-effectiveness of community-based hearing rehabilitation on quality of life among Chinese adults with hearing loss. Methods/design In this two-arm feasibility study, participants aged 16 and above with some degree of hearing loss (n = 464) will be recruited from Linyi City, Shandong Province. They are randomly assigned to the treatment group or the control group. Those in the treatment group are prescribed with hearing aids, while those in the control group receive no intervention. Reinstruction in use of devices is provided for the treatment group during booster visits held 12 months post-randomization or unscheduled interim visits when necessary. Data are collected at baseline and the follow-up 20 months later. The primary outcome is changes in quality of life over a 20-month study period. Secondary outcomes include sub-dimensions in quality of life, physical functioning, chronic diseases, cognitive function, depression, social support, hospitalizations, falls, and healthcare costs. Finally, we will evaluate whether hearing aids intervention is cost-effective to apply in a large scale. Discussion The trial is designed to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of a community-based rehabilitation intervention on quality of life among Chinese adults with hearing loss. We hope that it would help improve the well-being for Chinese adults and provide references in policy and practice for China and other countries. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR1900024739. Registered on 26 July 2019.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Jin Cho ◽  
Michael R. Melloch ◽  
Chantal Levesque-Bristol

Abstract Background Active learning pedagogy has recently received a great deal of attention, and many universities have attempted to create student-centered learning environments to improve students’ academic success. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of concept-point-recovery (CPR) teaching sessions as an active learning strategy on students’ perceptions of the learning environment, motivation, and academic learning outcomes in an electrical engineering course. To investigate the effectiveness of CPR sessions, students’ perceptions of learning and their performance were compared to those of students in a control classroom. Finally, students’ written comments on the course and instructor were explored in further analysis. Results The quantitative findings revealed that there was a significant change in students’ perceptions of learning after the CPR teaching sessions, and there was an increase in students’ perceptions and learning outcomes compared with those of the control group. In addition, the qualitative findings from students’ written feedback demonstrated that students felt that the instructor cared about students’ learning and success and that they had a positive learning environment. Conclusions CPR teaching sessions can be an alternative model for instructors to connect with students and create supportive environments to help students achieve academic success, which in turn promotes the satisfaction of students’ basic psychological needs and self-determined motivation. Therefore, increasing students’ engagement in their learning processes and making connections with students through CPR teaching sessions can facilitate improvements in students’ motivation and academic success. How this new active learning technique can be applied to higher education is discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
L.A. Vaira ◽  
C. Hopkins ◽  
M. Petrocelli ◽  
J.R. Lechien ◽  
S. Cutrupi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The growing number of COVID-19 patients with long-lasting olfactory disorders makes it necessary to identify effective treatments that enhance the spontaneous recovery of olfactory function. METHODS: Multicentre randomised case-control study that involved 18 patients with COVID-19 related anosmia or severe hyposmia for more than 30 days. Nine patients were prescribed systemic prednisone and nasal irrigation with betamethasone, ambroxol and rinazine for 15 days. The other 9, untreated, patients were used as controls. The olfactory function was evaluated with CCCRC test at 20 and 40 days from the first evaluation. RESULTS: In the control group, a median olfactory score of 20 (IQR 30) was detected at baseline. At the 20-day control there was no significant improvement in olfactory function. The improvement in olfactory performance became significant at the 40-day follow-up compared to baseline scores [60 (IQR 60) versus 20 (IQR 30)]. In the treatment group, patients had a mean olfactory score of 10 (IQR 15) at initial control. At the 20-day control, a significant im-provement in the olfactory scores, compared to the baseline, was detected [70 (IQR 40) versus 10 (IQR 15)]. Olfactory function further improved at 40 days [median score 90 (IQR 50)]. Patients in the treatment group reported significantly higher improvements of the olfactory scores than the controls at both the 20-day [40 (IQR 45) versus 10 (IQR 15)] and 40-day [60 (IQR 40) versus 30 (IQR 25)] evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this study, the mix of drugs including steroids could represent a useful specific therapy to reduce the prevalence of this long-term morbidity.


Author(s):  
Sofia Ainonen ◽  
Mysore V Tejesvi ◽  
Md. Rayhan Mahmud ◽  
Niko Paalanne ◽  
Tytti Pokka ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) is widely used, but the evidence of the long-term effects on the gut microbiota and subsequent health of children is limited. Here, we compared the impacts of perinatal antibiotic exposure and later courses of antibiotic courses on gut microbiota. Methods This was a prospective, controlled cohort study among 100 vaginally delivered infants with different perinatal antibiotic exposures: control (27), IAP (27), postnatal antibiotics (24), and IAP and postnatal antibiotics (22). At 1 year of age, we performed next-generation sequencing of the bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene of fecal samples. Results Exposure to the perinatal antibiotics had a clear impact on the gut microbiota. The abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum was significantly higher in the control group, whereas the relative abundance of Escherichia coli was significantly lower in the control group. The impact of the perinatal antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition was greater than exposure to later courses of antibiotics (28% of participants). Conclusions Perinatal antibiotic exposure had a marked impact on the gut microbiota at the age of 1 year. The timing of the antibiotic exposure appears to be the critical factor for the changes observed in the gut microbiota. Impact Infants are commonly exposed to IAP and postnatal antibiotics, and later to courses of antibiotics during the first year of life. Perinatal antibiotics have been associated with an altered gut microbiota during the first months of life, whereas the evidence regarding the long-term impact is more limited. Perinatal antibiotic exposure had a marked impact on the infant’s gut microbiota at 1 year of age. Impact of the perinatal antibiotics on the gut microbiota composition was greater than that of the later courses of antibiotics at the age of 1 year.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 24-33
Author(s):  
Theresa Mangold ◽  
Erin Kinzel Hamilton ◽  
Helen Boehm Johnson ◽  
Rene Perez

Background Surgical site infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality following caesarean delivery. Objective To determine whether standardising intraoperative irrigation with 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate during caesarean delivery could decrease infection rates. Methods This was a process improvement project involving 742 women, 343 of whom received low-pressured 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate irrigation during caesarean delivery over a one-year period. Infection rates were compared with a standard-of-care control group (399 women) undergoing caesarean delivery the preceding year. Results The treatment group infection rate met the study goal by achieving a lower infection rate than the control group, though this was not statistically significant. A significant interaction effect between irrigation with 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate and antibiotic administration time existed, such that infection occurrence in the treatment group was not dependent on antibiotic timing, as opposed to the control group infection occurrence, which was dependent on antibiotic timing. Conclusion Intraoperative irrigation with 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate during caesarean delivery did not statistically significantly reduce the rate of infections. It did render the impact of antibiotic administration timing irrelevant in prevention of surgical site infection. This suggests a role for 0.05% chlorhexidine gluconate irrigation in mitigating infection risk whether antibiotic prophylaxis timing is suboptimal or ideal.


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