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Learning assistants (LAs) play an important role in inquiry-oriented physics instruction in large classrooms. LAs increase the teacher-student ratio and provide timely support to student exploration. Questioning is believed to be an advantageous strategy for LAs to scaffold student learning and maintain students as the agent of knowledge construction. Unfortunately, there are few instruments for the measurement and preparation of LAs' competency of questioning. It remains obscure how LAs use questioning in their interaction with students and how their questioning contributes to students' conceptual understanding. In this study, we developed two instruments that included a coding scheme to assess LAs' practice of questioning from class videos and written questions to assess LAs' knowledge of analyzing various situations that they may encounter while teaching introductory physics. We used the two instruments to measure performed and narrated pedagogical content knowledge of questioning (PCK-Q) of four LAs in two inquiry-based physics courses taught online. We examined the validity and reliability of both instruments, gauged LA-student interaction in online settings, delineated the LAs' PCK-Q, and suggested how the LAs' questioning contributed to students' physics learning. We also discussed the use of the two instruments for the purposes of both LA assessment and preparation.

Objectives The goal of this study was to assess hospital compliance with federal price transparency mandates and barriers to pricing information in Tennessee. Methods All hospitals websites were queried for gross, cash, and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee prices for 8 high-frequency laboratory tests in 2 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services–mandated pricing sources: (1) a machine-readable file of all available services and (2) a consumer-friendly display of 300 shoppable services. Barriers, including click counts, data availability, and intrahospital price discrepancies, were noted. Results Of the 145 Tennessee hospitals assessed, 97.2% were noncompliant with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final rule. Subanalysis of available machine-readable files, price estimators, and shoppable services files demonstrated 49.6%, 95.1%, and 78.6% noncompliance, respectively. Barriers to pricing information included requiring protected health information (55.9%), missing at least 1 pricing source (7.6%), having no pricing sources available (6.2%), and involving more than 3 clicks to access the cash price in machine-readable files (54.1%) and price estimators (68.6%.) Average intrahospital discrepancy for basic metabolic panel cash prices across pricing sources was $101.30 (range, $0-1012.40). Conclusions Our study showed high levels of noncompliance with price transparency laws, inconsistent and inaccessible pricing, and continued challenges facing patients in Tennessee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent to which peer mediation increased, maintained, and generalized social initiations and responses of elementary students with autism spectrum disorder as compared to their typically developing peers. A multiple-baseline across participants design was used to determine the impact of intervention. Results indicated that peer mediation increased, maintained, and generalized responses for all participants, and initiations remained stable. Additionally, all participants increased responses to levels within the range of responses demonstrated by their peer groups. Probes to assess the persistence of generalization effects were collected and analyzed.

The authors conducted this study to decrease disruptive vocalizations in a 3rd-grade student with high-functioning autism across 3 general education classrooms. They used direct and indirect approaches of functional behavior assessment to determine the function of the disruptive behavior. Results indicated that the behavior was maintained by attention from the teachers. To reduce the disruptive vocalizations, the teachers implemented noncontingent attention, which was tracked across 3 content areas with 3 different teachers in 3 settings using an AB design. Results showed decreased disruptive vocalizations across all 3 environments. Results and implications for practice and research are discussed. (Contains 3 figures.)

This study was conducted to increase peer-to-peer social skills using direct instruction of two elementary students diagnosed with autism. Two participants and a peer were trained to initiate, share and respond to each other and to the peer. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to determine the effects of the direct instruction strategy. Results indicated increased social initiations in both participants and sharing behaviours in one of the participants, but no increases in responses in both participants. Implications for practitioners and for future researchers are discussed.

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a picture-based communication strategy used to teach communication skills to persons with developmental disabilities including autism. This article systematically reviews 13 published single-subject studies to examine the effectiveness of PECS, the effects of PECS on speech and problem behaviors, generalization beyond training conditions, and social validity of the intervention. The authors also calculated percentage of nonoverlapping data points for all participants to quantify, compare, and analyze results. Results indicate that PECS yielded increases in functional communication in all but 1 participant. Additionally, PECS decreased problem behaviors and increased speech in some individuals. A theoretical framework, analyses of methodologies, and implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study was conducted to increase peer-to-peer social skills using direct instruction and peer training in two elementary students with autism spectrum disorders in inclusion settings. The participants and their non-disabled peers were trained to initiate and respond to each other during center time, academic activities. We used a multiple-baseline design across participants to determine the effects of the intervention. Increased initiations and responses in all participants were noted. Implications for practice and research are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

"Activity schedules" are a promising educational strategy to support transitions for students with autism. An activity schedule is a visual support system that combines photographs, images, or drawings in a sequential format to represent a targeted sequence of the student's day. Activity schedules provide predictability throughout the student's day and allow a student to anticipate changes in the daily routine. Providing the student with increased time to process upcoming changes enhances the opportunity for increased participation in existing routines and transitions. Best of all, activity schedules are easy to construct and can be applied to existing routines in general education classrooms with minimal effort. Although activity schedules are frequently used by special education teachers, general education teachers can also develop and use activity schedules with students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in inclusive settings. In this article, the authors describe steps to build activity schedules for use in general education classrooms and provide examples and resources for general education teachers. By following these steps and consulting with special education professionals, general education teachers will have the skills to use activity schedules to decrease transition issues in their classrooms. (Contains 2 figures.)

This case study was conducted with a student diagnosed with autism and Tourette syndrome who displayed severe self-injurious behavior (SIB). We conducted a functional behavioral assessment which indicated that SIB was maintained by multiple functions using an ABAC design to determine the effect of positive social attention and extinction. Results show a considerable decrease in SIB incidents, particularly when session duration was reduced from 10 minutes to 5 minutes during the second intervention phase. Thus, the combination of contingent social attention formulated from the functional assessment and extinction was successful in bringing about significant decreases in SIB. This combination holds great promise as a nonintrusive positive strategy for SIB. (Contains 2 figures.)

In photosynthesis, absorbed light energy transfers through a network of antenna proteins with near-unity quantum efficiency to reach the reaction center, which initiates the downstream biochemical reactions. While the energy transfer dynamics within individual antenna proteins have been extensively studied over the past decades, the dynamics between the proteins are poorly understood due to the heterogeneous organization of the network. Previously reported timescales averaged over such heterogeneity, obscuring individual interprotein energy transfer steps. Here, we isolated and interrogated interprotein energy transfer by embedding two variants of the primary antenna protein from purple bacteria, light-harvesting complex 2 (LH2), together into a near-native membrane disc, known as a nanodisc. We integrated ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, quantum dynamics simulations, and cryogenic electron microscopy to determine interprotein energy transfer timescales. By varying the diameter of the nanodiscs, we replicated a range of distances between the proteins. The closest distance possible between neighboring LH2, which is the most common in native membranes, is 25 Å and resulted in a timescale of 5.7 ps. Larger distances of 28 to 31 Å resulted in timescales of 10 to 14 ps. Corresponding simulations showed that the fast energy transfer steps between closely spaced LH2 increase transport distances by ∼15%. Overall, our results introduce a framework for well-controlled studies of interprotein energy transfer dynamics and suggest that protein pairs serve as the primary pathway for the efficient transport of solar energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]