The Student Cheater

There is conflicting evidence on the effect of seat location on student performance and participation in the classroom. The two major hypotheses are (1) that seat location influences student behavior and (2) that seat preference and selection is associated with personality traits of students. This study evaluated both hypotheses within a 55 student senior nutritional biochemistry class. Alternating every other seat, half of the class was randomly assigned a permanent seat while the other half was randomly reassigned a different seat each class period. Students sitting in the front of the classroom in the stay group made significantly more comments per student per day than stay group students in the back, in agreement with other studies. The move group, however, showed increased overall participation with no significant difference between the front and back of the classroom. Findings suggest a more flexible explanation—that students may adopt or reject an implied social role in which seat location and personality traits are influential factors.     

Neutrophil CD64 as a sepsis biomarker

Neutrophilic granulocytes express their Fcgamma receptor, also known as the CD64 antigen, predominantly when they are activated. This makes neutrophil CD64 a potential biomarker for infection and sepsis. Indeed there is ample literature on the diagnostic utility of neutrophil CD64 in a variety of diseases. This review summarizes the literature on its application as a sepsis biomarker, in adults as well as in neonates and infants. The available data indicate that neutrophil CD64 seems to have high sensitivity (86%) and specificity (87%), but the methodological quality of most studies is questionable. Nevertheless, neutrophil CD64 appears to be a better diagnostic test than traditional hematological assays, C-reactive protein and probably even procalcitonin. Application of neutrophil CD64 in other conditions than sepsis is briefly presented. Finally, future clinical studies are discussed which are needed in order to confirm the diagnostic performance of this promising biomarker.     

Application of flipped classroom pedagogy to the human gross anatomy laboratory: Student preferences and learning outcomes

To improve student preparedness for anatomy laboratory dissection, the dental gross anatomy laboratory was transformed using flipped classroom pedagogy. Instead of spending class time explaining the procedures and anatomical structures for each laboratory, students were provided online materials to prepare for laboratory on their own. Eliminating in‐class preparation provided the opportunity to end each period with integrative group activities that connected laboratory and lecture material and explored clinical correlations. Materials provided for prelaboratory preparation included: custom‐made, three‐dimensional (3D) anatomy videos, abbreviated dissection instructions, key atlas figures, and dissection videos. Data from three years of the course (n = 241 students) allowed for analysis of students' preferences for these materials and detailed tracking of usage of 3D anatomy videos. Students reported spending an average of 27:22 (±17:56) minutes preparing for laboratory, similar to the 30 minutes previously allocated for in‐class dissection preparation. The 3D anatomy videos and key atlas figures were rated the most helpful resources. Scores on laboratory examinations were compared for the three years before the curriculum change (2011–2013; n = 242) and three years after (2014–2016; n = 241). There was no change in average grades on the first and second laboratory examinations. However, on the final semi‐cumulative laboratory examination, scores were significantly higher in the post‐flip classes (P = 0.04). These results demonstrate an effective model for applying flipped classroom pedagogy to the gross anatomy laboratory and illustrate a meaningful role for 3D anatomy visualizations in a dissection‐based course. Anat Sci Educ 11: 385–396. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Children's Increased Emotional Egocentricity Compared to Adults Is Mediated by Age‐Related Differences in Conflict Processing

This study investigated the cognitive mechanisms underlying age‐related differences in emotional egocentricity bias (EEB) between children (aged 7–12 years, n = 30) and adults (aged 20–30 years, n = 30) using a novel paradigm of visuogustatory stimulation to induce pleasant and unpleasant emotions. Both children and adults showed an EBB, but that of children was larger. The EEB did not correlate with other measures of egocentricity. Crucially, the developmental differences in EEB were mediated by age‐related changes in conflict processing and not visual perspective taking, response inhibition, or processing speed. This indicates that different types of egocentricity develop independently of one another and that the increased ability to overcome EEB can be explained by age‐related improvements in conflict processing.     

OTseeker helps library and allied health professionals to find quality evidence efficiently

Background: Research is essential for evidence‐based practice yet many health professionals do not have enough time to find research. Studies relevant to occupational therapists can be particularly difficult to find. Most search engines are broad and return a large number of irrelevant articles. Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence (OTseeker) is an occupational therapy database available at http://www.otseeker.com . Developed by Australian occupational therapists, the resource aims to increase access to research and support clinical decision making. This discipline‐specific database contains pre‐appraised information from a variety of sources and decreases the time required to locate best evidence. Objectives: The aims of this paper are to: (i) describe how health librarians can use OTseeker to help allied health students, researchers and practitioners, particularly in occupational therapy, to find quality evidence; (ii) provide a teaching resource for health librarians based around the OTseeker evidence database; and (iii) highlight new features contained on the OTseeker database. Methods: A case study is provided which focuses on searching for evidence on the effectiveness of upper limb rehabilitation after stroke using OTseeker. Conclusion: This paper may increase the knowledge, skills and competencies of health librarians, helping them to access evidence‐based databases, and educate other professionals.     

Australian occupational therapists' use of an online evidence-based practice database (OTseeker)

INTRODUCTION: Online databases can support the implementation of evidence-based practice by providing easy access to research. OTseeker (http://www.otseeker.com), an electronic evidence database, was introduced in 2003 to assist occupational therapists to locate and interpret research. OBJECTIVES: This study explored Australian occupational therapists' use and perceptions of OTseeker and its impact on their knowledge and practice. METHODS: A postal survey questionnaire was distributed to two samples: (i) a proportionate random sample of 400 occupational therapists from all states and territories of Australia, and (ii) a random sample of occupational therapists working in 95 facilities in two Australian states (Queensland and New South Wales). RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 213 participants. While most participants (85.9%) had heard of OTseeker, only 103 (56.6%) had accessed it, with lack of time being the main reason for non-use. Of the 103 participants who had accessed OTseeker, 68.9% had done so infrequently, 63.1% agreed that it had increased their knowledge and 13.6% had changed their practice after accessing information on OTseeker. CONCLUSION: Despite OTseeker being developed to provide occupational therapists with easy access to research, lack of time was the main reason why over half of the participants in this study had not accessed it. This exploratory research suggests, however, that there is potential for the database to influence occupational therapists' knowledge and practice about treatment efficacy through access to the research literature.     

Genetics and Neuroscience in Dyslexia: Perspectives for Education and Remediation

ABSTRACT— Our understanding of the causes of a developmental disorder like dyslexia has received recent input from both neuroscience and genetics. The discovery of 4 candidate genes for dyslexia and the identification of neuronal networks engaged when children read and spell are the basis for introducing this knowledge into education. However, the input from educational practitioners as well as empirical knowledge from research on learning also contribute significantly to our understanding of how children acquire the basic skills for learning to read and spell. It is imperative to merge the knowledge acquired from research in the fields of neuroscience, genetics, and empirical education, as well as to understand how the learning brain and instruction interact. Doing so can be seen as a major step in attaining an optimal approach for teaching, reading, and spelling and for finding the best suited and most effective treatment concepts for dyslexic children and adolescents.     

Flow experience and positive affect during hypermedia learning

In this study positive affective states, experienced by users of a one-hour learning program, in a hypermedia learning environment were assessed. It was expected that a positive mood would occur during learning that would be correlated with high training/learning success. Furthermore, the experience of flow was used to indicate whether the challenges and skills were balanced. The results showed that the users of the training program were put into a positive mood. About a quarter of the users experienced flow. Positive moods were associated with higher training success and positive affect was correlated with total knowledge and content knowledge. An association between flow and training success was not observed. The perceived probability of success did not influence learning but a high perceived probability of success was considered as comparably more pleasant than a low perceived probability of success. The results are discussed in the context of self-directed learning.     

Non-Didactic, a Culture of Peace, and “Some Cat from Brazil”: A Case Study of Negotiating a Dialogic Curriculum with Incarcerated Girls

HIPP Indy is a collaborative effort between the Indiana Department of Correction, the Peace Learning Center, and program facilitators in pursuit of implementing curriculum in peace education, conflict resolution, and self-efficacy with incarcerated, juvenile girls. The Center for Urban and Multicultural Education embarked on a program to partner a reservice teaching candidate with an urban social justice initiative in the hopes of reciprocal benefits for all involved. This study represents both qualitative data from multiple partners in designing and implementing the project, as well as the reflections of the participant-observer and co-author. The authors purport that listening to the stories of the diverse individuals involved in making the program possible offers an opportunity to understand curriculum in-the-making and the complexity of collaborative work. Revealed in this collaboration are new insights into the complexities of working with incarcerated students, attempts at creating a dialogic curriculum, and the ways in which academic discourse (i.e. Freirean praxis) gets translated into practical community-based, social justice work.