Analysis of recurrently protected genomic regions in cell-free DNA found in urine.

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in urine is a promising analyte for noninvasive diagnostics. However, urine cfDNA is highly fragmented. Whether characteristics of these fragments reflect underlying genomic architecture is unknown.

Call on me! Undergraduates' perceptions of voluntarily asking and answering questions in front of large-enrollment science classes.

Allowing students to voluntarily ask and answer questions in front of the whole class are common teaching practices used in college science courses. However, few studies have examined college science students' perceptions of these practices, the extent to which students choose to engage in these practices, and what discourages students from participating. In this study, we surveyed 417 undergraduates at a research-intensive institution about their experiences asking and answering questions in large-enrollment college science courses.

To be funny or not to be funny: Gender differences in student perceptions of instructor humor in college science courses.

For over 50 years instructor humor has been recognized as a way to positively impact student cognitive and affective learning. However, no study has explored humor exclusively in the context of college science courses, which have the reputation of being difficult and boring. The majority of studies that explore humor have assumed that students perceive instructor humor to be funny, yet students likely perceive some instructor humor as unfunny or offensive.

A Course-Embedded Comparison of Instructor-Generated Videos of Either an Instructor Alone or an Instructor and a Student.

Instructor-generated videos have become a popular way to engage students with material before a class, yet this is a relatively unexplored area of research. There is support for the use of videos in which instructors tutor students, but few studies have been conducted within the context of a classroom. In this study, conducted in a large-enrollment college physiology course, we used a randomized crossover design to compare the impact of two types of instructor-generated videos that students watched as part of their preclass assignments.