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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 16
tuftsdaily.com
Thursday, October 7, 2021
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Some courses continue virtual class format for fall, majority include in-person component by Coco Arcand News Editor
Despite most classes returning to an in-person modality this semester, some courses have opted to remain fully remote this fall. Other faculty have adopted a hybrid format, with some class components being held in person while other parts remain online. According to Samuel Thomas, professor of chemistry and dean of academic affairs for the School of Arts and Sciences, 86% of classes in the School of Arts and Sciences include some in-person component. Faculty have been extended the flexibility in determining their own course modalities. Thomas said that the threat of COVID-19 transmission within the classroom — particularly the highly contagious delta variant — could influence faculty members to adopt online formats. “There are numerous factors that could influence how a faculty member teaches,” Thomas wrote in an email to the Daily. “One could be their personal health or family circumstances … Another
is that from the perspective of their pedagogical approach and the nature of the course, virtual teaching can be an advantageous way of engaging with students.” This concern is especially prevalent for faculty members at higher risk of developing serious complications if they do catch COVID19. Sibyl Johnston, part-time lecturer in the English department, told the Daily in an email that her vulnerability to COVID-19 was just one consideration in deciding to offer her course virtually. “I have a hearing impairment that would make teaching in a masked and distanced classroom very difficult,” Johnston said. “While I have difficulty hearing my students in the classroom because of distance, soft voices, ambient noise, and the limitations of hearing aids in group settings, none of this is a problem on Zoom. It’s amazing to be able to hear my students with no difficulty.” Thomas added that online classes make unique collaborative opportunities possible and have been beneficial for students who are unable to come back to campus this fall.
MICHELLE LI / THE TUFTS DAILY
Though many classes are returning to an in-person model, some continue to be taught in remotely. “Virtual classes can also offer very flexible opportunities for group work and collaboration through the use [of] features such as Zoom breakout rooms,” he said. Junior Grace Laber, who is
currently enrolled in a virtual organic chemistry class, said she benefits from the course’s online modality, as recorded lectures help her better absorb class material.
“I think the ability to record lectures is a pro,” Laber said. “I really appreciated that over the last year: being able to go back see ONLINE, page 2
SCIENCE
Like humans, this species of songbird can understand rhythm, Tufts study finds
JAMIE DAVIS VIA FLICKR
A zebra finch, the most common estrildid finch of Central Australia that ranges over most of the continent, is pictured. by Yanqing Huang Staff Writer
Imagine two metronomes: one ticking with each beat equally spaced apart and the other clicking with a messy, inconsistent rhythm. Most people would
Zebra finches, like humans, can recognize a frequently repeated rhythm over time, according to the study published in August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Aniruddh Patel, a cognitive psychologist at Tufts University and co-author of the study, explained how this phenomenon works in humans. “If you feel a beat in music, it is very natural to — without even meaning to or planning to — implicitly start to predict when the next beat is going to come,” Patel said. “That’s actually what allows you to move and dance to music.” The researchers predicted that vocal learning species are more flexible than vocal non-learners in distinguishing rhythmic patterns. In vocal learners, areas of the brain that perceive rhythm and control movement are strongly tied. “Species [that] have learned their songs have to listen and mimic, so they have these tight connections between hearing and complex movement[s] that are learned,” Patel said. Mimi Kao, a neurobiologist at Tufts and co-author of the study,
find that the second metronome sounds out of place. But would an animal be able to tell the same? A recent study shows that the ability to recognize rhythm may be intrinsic to not only humans, but also other vocal
learning species. The study suggests that male zebra finches could serve as an ideal animal model for understanding rhythm perception, which may ultimately provide insights into related speech and movement disorders in people.
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said that songbirds share similar traits to humans in pathways for learning and processing vocalizations. “[The] key is that songbirds have specialized areas in their brains for learning songs and producing them,” Kao said. “Like humans, they have high level[s] of cortical control over their vocalizations, which is something that I think so far has not been found in monkeys.” In the experiments, the researchers first trained the male zebra finches to recognize easy songs so that the finches could learn to distinguish between “isochronous” and “arrhythmic” patterns. Isochronous sounds have equal time separating them, whereas arrhythmic sounds are projected at irregular intervals. An isochronous sound would be like the ticking of a metronome, while arrhythmic sounds can be heard in unpredictable patterns. In the training phase, the finches were rewarded when they pecked a switch after hearing an isochronous pattern. If the stimsee SONGBIRD, page 2 NEWS
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