Search

Textbooks are traditional and useful learning resources for college students, but commercial texts books have been widely criticized for their high costs, restricted access, limited flexibility, and uninspiring learning experiences. Open Education Resources (OER) are an alternative to commercial textbooks that have the potential to increase college affordability, access, and instructional quality. The current study examined how an OER degree--or pathway of OER courses that meet the requirements for a degree program--impacted students' progress to degree at 11 US community colleges. We conducted quasi-experimental impact studies and meta-analysis examining whether OER course enrollment was associated with differences in credit accumulation and cumulative GPA over multiple terms. Overall, we found a positive effect of OER degrees on credit accumulation and no significant difference on cumulative GPA. Taken together, these results suggest students are maintaining their GPAs despite taking more courses, on average. This suggests that students taking OER courses were making faster progress towards degrees than their peers who took no OER courses.

There are few published studies investigating the effectiveness of hybrid formats at the program level in graduate legal education. A hybrid Juris Doctorate (J.D.) program launched by a Midwestern institution was the first ABA-accredited law degree program with a substantial online learning component. This study takes a mixed methods approach (both quantitative and qualitative) to evaluate student outcomes and the extent to which the hybrid program expands access to legal education. The study compares student outcomes in the hybrid program with full-time and part-time traditional, in-person programs at the same institution. After three terms of data collection, findings suggest that student outcomes and engagement are comparable across formats when controlling for student background characteristics and prior achievement. Evidence suggests that the hybrid option may increase access to legal education but is insufficient to determine whether the hybrid program will increase availability of legal services in underserved areas.

As organizing bodies for discipline communities, academic associations can help to galvanize, facilitate, and scale efforts to improve undergraduate STEM instruction. Rebecca Griffiths conducted a study exploring the ways in which academic associations have engaged with undergraduate education, how they are organized to pursue this part of their missions, and future opportunities to expand their impact. To learn about the disciplinary associations, 11 current and former association staff, seven elected association leaders, and two program officers from funding agencies were interviewed. Griffiths reviewed an array of publicly available documents (website materials, strategy papers, financial statements, committee bylaws, and charters, etc.). In this article, she describes three categories of significant variation in the approaches used by this set of associations related to engaging with undergraduate education: (1) their allocation of resources and organizational structures; (2) the extent to which they recognize achievement in education and education research and participate in training the next generation of faculty; and (3) their record of working to shape curriculum standards and disciplinary teaching practices.

Textbooks are traditional and useful learning resources for college students, but commercial texts books have been widely criticized for their high costs, restricted access, limited flexibility, and uninspiring learning experiences. Open Education Resources (OER) are an alternative to commercial textbooks that have the potential to increase college affordability, access, and instructional quality. The current study examined how an OER degree-or pathway of OER courses that meet the requirements for a degree program-impacted students' progress to degree at 11 US community colleges. We conducted quasi-experimental impact studies and meta-analysis examining whether OER course enrollment was associated with differences in credit accumulation and cumulative GPA over multiple terms. Overall, we found a positive effect of OER degrees on credit accumulation and no significant difference on cumulative GPA. Taken together, these results suggest students are maintaining their GPAs despite taking more courses, on average. This suggests that students taking OER courses were making faster progress towards degrees than their peers who took no OER courses., Author(s): Rebecca Griffiths [sup.1] , Jessica Mislevy [sup.1] , Shuai Wang [sup.2] [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.98913.3a, 0000 0004 0433 0314, SRI International, , Menlo Park, CA, USA (2) grid.16821.3c, [...]

To address the paucity of data on the use of MOOCs in "traditional" postsecondary institutions, Ithaka S+R and the University System of Maryland studied the feasibility of repurposing MOOCs for use in hybrid, credit-bearing courses. In this paper we will describe the design of a large-scale study undertaken to examine the use of MOOCs in fourteen campus-based courses, followed by two types of findings: First, we will share quantitative outcomes from students in hybrid sections, comparing students who took MOOCs with those who were taught in a traditional face-to-face manner; second, we will share qualitative findings on the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of MOOCs on campus. Finally, we will reflect on what would need to occur in order for these models to see widespread adoption in the future.

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death among people living with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). Although studies have documented lower cancer screening rates, there is limited epidemiological evidence quantifying potential diagnostic delays. This study explores the risk of metastatic cancer stage for people with IDD compared to those without IDD among breast (female), colorectal, and lung cancer patients in Canada. Methods: Separate population‐based cross‐sectional studies were conducted in Ontario and Manitoba by linking routinely collected data. Breast (female), colorectal, and lung cancer patients were included (Manitoba: 2004–2017; Ontario: 2007–2019). IDD status was identified using established administrative algorithms. Modified Poisson regression with robust error variance models estimated associations between IDD status and the likelihood of being diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Adjusted relative risks were pooled between provinces using random‐effects meta‐analyses. Potential effect modification was considered. Results: The final cohorts included 115,456, 89,815, and 101,811 breast (female), colorectal, and lung cancer patients, respectively. Breast (female) and colorectal cancer patients with IDD were 1.60 and 1.44 times more likely to have metastatic cancer (stage IV) at diagnosis compared to those without IDD (relative risk [RR], 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.20; RR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.24–1.67). This increased risk was not observed in lung cancer. Significant effect modification was not observed. Conclusions: People with IDD were more likely to have stage IV breast and colorectal cancer identified at diagnosis compared to those without IDD. Identifying factors and processes contributing to stage disparities such as lower screening rates and developing strategies to address diagnostic delays is critical. People with intellectual or developmental disabilities were more likely to be diagnosed with metastatic breast and colorectal cancer compared to those without. Action toward more timely cancer diagnoses is needed to avoid unnecessary morbidity and mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massively open online courses (MOOCs) have received a great deal of attention, but little research exists on how they might fit into the existing system of higher education. We studied the impacts on learning outcomes of hybrid courses redesigned using online materials from MOOCs created on the Coursera platform and digital materials created by the Open Learning Initiative (OLI), relative to existing versions of the same courses. We found that student performance was about the same in both sections, as measured by pass rates and scores on common assessments. This finding held across a variety of disciplines and subgroups of students. We found no evidence supporting the worry that disadvantaged or academically underprepared students were harmed by taking hybrid courses with reduced class time. Despite the similar student outcomes produced by the two course formats, students in the hybrid sections reported considerably lower satisfaction with their experience.

Every year many students enter college without the math preparation needed to succeed in their desired programs of study. Many of these students struggle to catch up, especially those who are required to take remedial math courses before entering college-level math. Increasing the number of students who begin at the appropriate level of math has become an important focus for educators and policymakers. We conducted randomized experiments of low-cost online summer math programs at three universities to test whether this type of intervention can increase access to math preparation, improve placement and enrollment in fall math classes, and improve performance in first-year math courses. Students who received the intervention engaged with the platform, though at relatively low rates, and were more likely to retake the placement test and improve their scores than students in the control group. However, these improved scores did not translate into enrolling in higher level math courses, obtaining more math credits, or improving grades in math-related courses during the first year of college. Thus, providing students access to this online tool did not improve their math skills.

BackgroundNovel therapeutic agents that selectively induce tumor cell death are urgently needed in the clinical management of cancers. Such agents would constitute effective adjuvant approaches to traditional chemotherapy regimens. Organosulfur compounds (OSCs), such as diallyl disulfide, have demonstrated anti-proliferative effects on cancer cells. We have previously shown that synthesized relatives of dysoxysulfone, a natural OSC derived from the Fijian medicinal plant, Dysoxylum richi, possess tumor-specific antiproliferative effects and are thus promising lead candidates.MethodsBecause our structure-activity analyses showed that regions flanking the disulfide bond mediated specificity, we synthesized 18 novel OSCs by structural modification of the most promising dysoxysulfone derivatives. These compounds were tested for anti-proliferative and apoptotic activity in both normal and leukemic cells.ResultsSix OSCs exhibited tumor-specific killing, having no effect on normal bone marrow, and are thus candidates for future toxicity studies. We then employed mRNA expression profiling to characterize the mechanisms by which different OSCs induce apoptosis. Using Gene Ontology analysis we show that each OSC altered a unique set of pathways, and that these differences could be partially rationalized from a transcription factor binding site analysis. For example, five compounds altered genes with a large enrichment of p53 binding sites in their promoter regions (p < 0.0001).ConclusionsTaken together, these data establish OSCs derivatized from dysoxysulfone as a novel group of compounds for development as anti-cancer agents.

Objectives: To assess the association between surgeons thyroidectomy case volume and disease‐free survival (DFS) for patients with well‐differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC). A secondary objective was to assess a surgeon volume cutoff to optimize outcomes in those with WDTC. We hypothesized that surgeon volume will be an important predictor of DFS in patients with WDTC after adjusting for hospital volume and sociodemographic and clinical factors. Methods: In this retrospective population‐based cohort study, we identified WDTC patients in Ontario, Canada, who underwent thyroidectomy confirmed by both hospital‐level and surgeon‐level administrative data between 1993 and 2017 (N = 37,233). Surgeon and hospital volumes were calculated based on number of cases performed in the year prior by the physician and at an institution performing each case, respectively and divided into quartiles. A multilevel hierarchical Cox regression model was used to estimate the effect of volume on DFS. Results: A crude model without patient or treatment characteristics demonstrated that both higher surgeon volume quartiles (p < 0.001) and higher hospital volume quartiles (p < 0.001) were associated with DFS. After controlling for clustering and patient/treatment covariates and hospital volume, moderately low (18–39/year) and low (0–17/year) volume surgeons (hazard ratios [HR]: 1.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09–1.39 and HR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.17–1.53 respectively) remained an independent statistically significant negative predictor of DFS. Conclusion: Both high‐volume surgeons and hospitals are predictors of better DFS in patients with WDTC. DFS is higher among surgeons performing more than 40 thyroidectomies a year. Level of Evidence: 3 Laryngoscope, 133:S1–S15, 2023 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: School-aged children with persisting speech sound disorders (SSDs) may show little improvement in speech accuracy following phonological or articulation therapy. Aims: To determine the effects of establishing consonant production in facilitative vowel contexts for a 7-year-old boy (CD) with persisting post-alveolar fronting. CD had received phonological awareness therapy and traditional articulation therapy as part of a community caseload. However, his post-alveolar fronting showed resistance to therapy. Methods & Procedures: CD received individual therapy for nine 45-55-min sessions. A checklist of quality indicators for single-subject research was used to explore the likelihood that a community clinic could meet quality indicators. Fifteen test words in each of target, generalization and control sets were measured at five times pre-, during and post-therapy. A trend analysis was used to measure the statistical significance of the results and to demonstrate the efficacy of therapy. Outcomes & Results: Therapy was successful. Gains on treatment and generalization test items were rapid and significantly higher than gains on control test items. Only three of 21 single-subject research quality indicators were not met in this research. Conclusions & Implications: Targeting facilitative vowel contexts was successful for this 7-year-old boy with persisting post-alveolar fronting which had been resistant to other therapy techniques. Speech and language therapists are encouraged to ensure that quality indicators for single-subject interventions are built into regular practice. (Contains 1 figure.)