Literacy in a ‘broad and balanced’ primary school curriculum: the potential of a disciplinary approach in Irish classrooms

The prominence afforded to literacy in the Irish Primary School Curriculum has received considerable attention in recent years, spurred by Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings, governmental priorities, public commentary and academic debate. At times, this discourse has presented literacy as a separate and distinct entity to the other areas of the curriculum, including the arts, social and scientific education. The current paper proposes a more integrated view of literacy’s role in the curriculum. Recent research on the teaching of literacy in the content areas has emphasised the potential of a disciplinary approach, which embraces the key skills, dispositions and forms of knowledge connected with reading, writing, speaking and listening in different disciplines. This paper examines some of the key features of disciplinary literacy, including its underpinning rationale and learning implications. It also highlights the potential for a disciplinary literacy lens in the review of the Primary School Curriculum, as well as associated opportunities and challenges.     

Analysis of the Latin Square Task with linear logistic test models

The Latin Square Task (LST) was developed by Birney, Halford, and Andrews [Birney, D. P., Halford, G. S., & Andrews, G. (2006). Measuring the influence of cognitive complexity on relational reasoning: The development of the Latin Square Task. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66, 146–171.] and represents a non-domain specific, language-free operationalization of Relational Complexity (RC-)Theory. The current study investigates the basic cognitive parameters and structure of LST as defined by RC-Theory, using IRT-based linear logistic test models (LLTM). 850 German school students completed 26 systematically designed LST items. Results support the notion of Rasch-scalability. LLTM analyses reveal that both operation complexity and number of operations affect item difficulty. It is shown how LLTM and its variants can provide substantial insights into cognitive solution processes and composition of item difficulty in relational reasoning in order to make item construction more efficient.     

Utilising enterprise risk management strategies to develop a governance and operations framework for a new research complex: a case study

Enterprise risk management strategies were used to develop a regulatory and operational framework for a new multi-partner Research Institute that will house up to 900 staff from four different institutions in Queensland, Australia. The Institute will operate in a business environment while functioning as a research resource for the higher education sector. Enterprise risk management strategies were used to develop a regulatory and operational framework to support the Institute in achieving its vision, maximising opportunities, minimising risk and providing an environment conducive to research collaboration.     

Microfluidic trapping of giant unilamellar vesicles to study transport through a membrane pore

We present a microfluidic platform able to trap single GUVs in parallel. GUVs are used as model membranes across many fields of biophysics including lipid rafts, membrane fusion, and nanotubes. While their creation is relatively facile, handling and addressing single vesicles remains challenging. The PDMS microchip used herein contains 60 chambers, each with posts able to passively capture single GUVs without compromising their integrity. The design allows for circular valves to be lowered from the channel ceiling to isolate the vesicles from rest of the channel network. GUVs containing calcein were trapped and by rapidly opening the valves, the membrane pore protein α-hemolysin (αHL) was introduced to the membrane. Confocal microscopy revealed the kinetics of the small molecule efflux for different protein concentrations. This microfluidic approach greatly improves the number of experiments possible and can be applied to a wide range of biophysical applications.     

Using comparative genomics for inquiry-based learning to dissect virulence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Yersinia pestis

Genomics and bioinformatics are topics of increasing interest in undergraduate biological science curricula. Many existing exercises focus on gene annotation and analysis of a single genome. In this paper, we present two educational modules designed to enable students to learn and apply fundamental concepts in comparative genomics using examples related to bacterial pathogenesis. Students first examine alignments of genomes of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains isolated from three food-poisoning outbreaks using the multiple-genome alignment tool Mauve. Students investigate conservation of virulence factors using the Mauve viewer and by browsing annotations available at the A Systematic Annotation Package for Community Analysis of Genomes database. In the second module, students use an alignment of five Yersinia pestis genomes to analyze single-nucleotide polymorphisms of three genes to classify strains into biovar groups. Students are then given sequences of bacterial DNA amplified from the teeth of corpses from the first and second pandemics of the bubonic plague and asked to classify these new samples. Learning-assessment results reveal student improvement in self-efficacy and content knowledge, as well as students' ability to use BLAST to identify genomic islands and conduct analyses of virulence factors from E. coli O157:H7 or Y. pestis. Each of these educational modules offers educators new ready-to-implement resources for integrating comparative genomic topics into their curricula.     

SABCO—An experiential learning project for introductory managerial accounting

This teaching brief presents a capstone project designed to provide students with a contextual understanding of introductory management accounting theories through hands-on, experiential learning. It also exposes them to cross-disciplinary roles from operations management. Using this capstone approach, students quickly learn to prepare financial projections, either manually or in Microsoft Excel, to secure financing for their start-up business (Sand Art Brownie Company or SABCO) to produce and sell brownie mix during the holiday season. Students then assemble ingredients and create jars of brownie mix to gather the necessary data to evaluate initial projections and problem-solve for future production. This role play contextualizes the elements of direct and indirect labor, fixed and variable costs, and their impact on profit and borrowing. Postproduction reflection on the manufacturing activities and discussion of actual results of operations emphasizes the improvement and decision-making responsibilities in the management process. Feedback demonstrates that students find the exercise challenging and valuable and that it deepens their understanding of managerial accounting and its purpose in a company's management process.     

Supervision experiences of trans/gender expansive counselors-in-training: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Clinical supervisors should be culturally competent working with transgender or gender expansive (TGE) counselors-in-training; however, minimal research exists regarding TGE counselors’ experiences in supervision. This interpretative phenomenological analysis study explored the supervision experiences of five TGE counselors-in-training. Findings revealed four super-ordinate themes and two sub-themes, and implications are discussed.     

Correction to: Choose Your Evidence

Science & Education -