Assessment by Interview and Portfolio in a Graduate School Program

Assessment plays an integral role in teaching and learning in higher education and teachers have a strong interest in debates and commentaries on assessment as and for learning. In a 1-year graduate entry teacher preparation program, the temptation is to emphasize assessment in an attempt to ensure students “cover” everything as part of a robust preparation for the profession. The risk is that, for students, assessment drives curriculum, and time spent in the completion of assignments is no guarantee of either effective learning or authentic preparation for teaching. Interviews as assessment provide an opportunity for a learning experience as well as an authentic task, since students will shortly be interviewing for employment in a “real world” situation. This paper reports on a project experimenting with interview panels as authentic assessment with preservice early childhood teachers. At the end of their first semester of study, students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Education program at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia were required to participate in a panel interview where they were graded by a panel made up of three faculty staff and one undergraduate student enrolled in the 4-year Bachelor of Education program. Students and panel members completed a questionnaire on their experience after the interview. Results indicated that both students and staff valued the experience and felt it was authentic. Results are discussed in terms of how the assessment interview and portfolio presentation supports graduating students in their preparation for employment interviews, and how this authentic assessment task has benefits for both students and teaching staff.     

Physiological and Anatomical Characteristics Of Outstanding Female Junior Tennis Players

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological adaptations of resistance training (RT) in prepubertal boys. Methods: Eighteen healthy boys were divided into RT (n = 9, M_age = 10.4 ± 0.5 years) and control (CTR; n = 9, M_age = 10.9 ± 0.7 years) groups. The RT group underwent a resistance training during 12 weeks, 3 times per week, performing 3 sets of 6 to 15 repetitions at intensities ranging from 60% to 80% of maximal dynamic strength (1-repetition maximum [1-RM] values). Before and after the training, the groups were assessed in their body mass and composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), isokinetic dynamometry, 1-RM, and ergoespirometry. Moreover, force per unit of muscle volume was calculated by the quotient between 1-RM and lean mass. Results: Both groups presented statistically significant (p < .05) increases in the 1-RM and force per unit of muscle volume in the knee extension and elbow flexion, but these strength increases were statistically significantly greater in the RT group (effect size [ES] = 2.83–9.00) than in the CTR group (ES = 0.72–1.00). Moreover, both groups statistically significantly increased in lean body mass variables (ES = 0.12–0.38). However, increases in the fat mass variables occurred only in the CTR group (ES = ? 0.01–0.50), whereas no changes were observed in the RT group. Furthermore, there were statistically significant increases in all bone mineral content variables (ES = 0.13–0.43), without differences between groups. No cardiorespiratory changes were observed. Conclusion: Twelve weeks of RT was effective in improving strength and force per unit of muscle volume and prevented fat mass increases in boys.     

High yield fabrication of multilayer polydimethylsiloxane devices with freestanding micropillar arrays

A versatile method to fabricate a multilayer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) device with micropillar arrays within the inner layer is reported. The method includes an inexpensive but repeatable approach for PDMS lamination at high compressive force to achieve high yield of pillar molding and transfer to a temporary carrier. The process also enables micropillar-containing thin films to be used as the inner layer of PDMS devices integrated with polymer membranes. A microfluidic cell culture device was demonstrated which included multiple vertically stacked flow channels and a pillar array serving as a cage for a collagen hydrogel. The functionality of the multilayer device was demonstrated by culturing collagen-embedded fibroblasts under interstitial flow through the three-dimensional scaffold. The fabrication methods described in this paper can find applications in a variety of devices, particularly for organ-on-chip applications.