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This document presents the proceedings of the 28th Annual Research Forum held June 27, 2024, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following eight action research papers: (1) College Athletics and the High School Athlete: Perspectives of High School Coaches (Michael Goehrig); (2) The Influence of Blogging on Self-Efficacy in Students' Writing (Jayna Palumbo); (3) Impacts of Environmental Justice Topics on Student Perception of their Identity in STEM (Samantha G. Reese); (4) Historical Thinking in Small Group Cooperative Learning (Sam Schectman); (5) The Effect of Adaptation on Student Engagement with Shakespeare (Savannah Smith); (6) Story Maps and Reading Comprehension in Second Grade Students (Emma Stein); (7) Poetic Composition's Influence on Student Attitudes Toward Poetry (Rachel Thomas); and (8) Student Engagement with Graphic Novels (Taylor Whitman). Individual papers contain references, tables, and figures.

In numerous studies, intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) have proven effective in helping students learn mathematics. Prior work posits that their effectiveness derives from efficiently providing eventually-correct practice opportunities. Yet, there is little empirical evidence on how learning processes with ITSs compare to other forms of instruction. The current study compares problem-solving with an ITS versus solving the same problems on paper. We analyze the learning process and pre-post gain data from N = 97 middle school students practicing linear graphs in three curricular units. We find that (i) working with the ITS, students had more than twice the number of eventually-correct practice opportunities than when working on paper and (ii) omission errors on paper were associated with lower learning gains. Yet, contrary to our hypothesis, tutor practice did not yield greater learning gains, with tutor and paper comparing differently across curricular units. These findings align with tutoring allowing students to grapple with challenging steps through tutor assistance but not with eventually-correct opportunities driving learning gains. Gaming-the-system, lack of transfer to an unfamiliar test format, potentially ineffective tutor design, and learning affordances of paper can help explain this gap. This study provides first-of-its-kind quantitative evidence that ITSs yield more learning "opportunities" than equivalent paper-and-pencil practice and reveals that the relation between opportunities and learning gains emerges only when the instruction is effective.

For the forty-fourth time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online and onsite during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the practice of instructional technology including instruction and training issues are contained in Volume 2. [For volume 2, see ED617429.]

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the practice of instructional technology including instruction and training issues are contained in Volume 2. [For Volume 2, see ED617422.]

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 2 contains 15 papers dealing the practice of instructional technology including instruction and training issues. Papers dealing primarily with research and development are contained in Volume 1. [For Volume 1, see ED617421.]

This conceptual paper proposes a model to describe the quality of student dialogue during participative collaborative problem solving. Drawing on the participation metaphor of learning, we argue that the construct of mathematical sophistication is useful to describe the quality. We then present two frameworks, mathematical competencies and mathematical practices, as ways to operationalise the construct in the collaborative problem-solving setting. We argue that by using a networking theories approach, the two frameworks will provide nuances of levels of mathematical sophistication that can be observed in student interaction. In addition, they could provide an analysis of both individual and group contributions to mathematical sophistication in a collaborative task setting. Implications of using two approaches for conceptualizing mathematical sophistication for future mathematics education research and teaching practices are provided.

Students in secondary school often find mathematics abstract and irrelevant, frequently questioning its usefulness and purpose. The discourse around STEM education has encouraged secondary teachers to attempt connecting mathematics with other STEM disciplines, most commonly with science. By making connections between content and skills through applications, it is anticipated that secondary school students will engage more in class that may result in improved mathematics achievement. This paper explores the rationale for making connections with science, examines the impact on student achievement in mathematics from previous research and discusses challenges for schools and teachers.

For the forty-second time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Twenty-three papers dealing with the practice of instructional technology including instruction and training issues are contained in Volume 2. [For Volume 1, see ED609416.]

The 2019 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (CSCTFL), held in conjunction with the Ohio Foreign Language Association (OFLA), was held at the Hilton Downtown Columbus from March 14-16, 2019. In accordance with the goals set forth by the founders of CSCTFL, the 2019 conference endeavored "to support language teachers and to advance the study of foreign languages." The conference theme "Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges, Promoting Performance" inspired presenters of 27 workshops and over 200 sessions to focus on three areas: breaking barriers to learning languages, building bridges to new teaching practices and cultures, and promoting and improving student and teacher performance both within and beyond classrooms. A wide variety of sessions and workshop topics offered ideas for infusing world language instruction with music, art, film, literature, technology, current events and much more. Participants explored innovative techniques that integrated technology to enhance student learning. World language educators discovered strategies to engage students to help them take control of their learning. The authors of this year's volume focus on making the U.S. exceptional through language immersion programs, interactive digital technology tools, cross-district and multi-grade collaboration, task-based integrative curriculum and instruction, and more careful mentoring of pre-service teachers during their student teaching practicum.

For the forty-first time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains twenty-seven papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Twenty-one papers dealing with the practice of instructional technology including instruction and training issues are contained in Volume 2. [For Volume 2, see ED600552.]

This study reports initial findings from a small-scale qualitative study aimed at gaining insights into English language teachers' assessment practices in Turkey by examining the formal exam papers. Based on the technique of content analysis, formal exam papers were analyzed in terms of assessment items, language skills tested as well as the feedback provided to the students. The findings indicate that traditional ways of assessment such as multiple-choice and gap filling are the most preferred assessment items. The results also indicate that listening and speaking appear to be the ignored skills on the examinations.

For the past two and one-half years I have been a practitioner participant in the National Center on Scaling Up Effective School's (NCSU's) work with Fort Worth Independent School District. I have a unique vantage point, being one of the few members remaining who has been involved since the very beginning. In addition, my work with NCSU has straddled two campuses and two positions (teacher/administrator), which has afforded me several different lenses on the work of this project. My experience with this innovation design has led to three observations in the areas of (1) constraints, (2) leverage, and (3) processes. While these themes do not fit neatly under a single umbrella, they authentically reflect the variety of challenges and successes I have experienced. Firstly, I suggest that constraints are equally as important as thinking outside the box when the innovation design process is being undertaken by practitioners. Secondly, I think the most successful elements of innovation arise from areas of leverage within the system. We simply cannot add more stress to the system, without providing immediate relief somewhere else. Third, building a process for implementation and change is possibly more important than the actual change that will be implemented. This parallels the idea that we must build the capacity of teachers to design and lead before we expect them to be able to do so. [This paper was developed with assistance from Education Development Center, Inc.]

During the 2013-14 school year, I became involved in the National Center for Scaling Up Effective Schools (NCSU) project, a partnership of the Broward County Public School District with Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Florida State University, and Education Development Center. The purpose of NCSU is to help schools and districts develop homegrown innovations and to scale these innovations within the district. In Broward County, the innovation we were working to develop and scale was Personalization of Academic and Social Emotional Learning (PASL). Our district has been involved in a number of initiatives but PASL was close to my heart because I believe in what PASL advances: "Learning happens best when we have positive relationships among students and adults." The NCSU project provided me with a road map to build teacher leadership through intentional communication. Our selection of PASL as an innovation demonstrated the power of looking within rather than reaching for a canned program. Teachers learned that they were the architects of innovation, not a program. The Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) process provided a manageable and timely way for teachers to study the impact of their practice and to take ownership of the solutions that they developed. I was able to leverage structures such as School and District Innovation Design Team meetings, PASL PLCs, and PASL Pals to help deepen the implementation of PASL and PDSA. I accomplished this through constant communication with my teachers using e-mails, quarterly student data, and in-person meetings. [This paper was developed with assistance from Education Development Center, Inc.]

This paper reports findings from a multi-year study of the scale-up of Reading Apprenticeship (RA), an approach to improve academic literacy by helping teachers provide the support students need to be successful readers in the content areas. WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative (SLI), began developing the program in 1995 and has since reached over 100,000 teachers in schools across the country, at the middle school, high school and college levels. In 2010, WestEd received a "Validation" grant from the Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) competition to scale-up and study the "Reading Apprenticeship Improving Secondary Education" (RAISE) project. For this five-year project, SLI focused on three secondary school content areas: English Language Arts, History, and Biology. From the grant, SLI not only funded an independent randomized control trial, but also a parallel effort to study the schools outside of the RCT that were to receive the same professional development and other supports in implementing RA. This scale-up study was intended to provide formative feedback to the SLI developers to help them achieve their goal to build local education agency capacity to disseminate, support, and sustain academic literacy improvement in high school subject areas within their regions. Whereas, the i3 and similar funding can "prime the pump," the project must build the capacity to disseminate, support, and sustain the innovation. Ultimately, adoption at the state-level, driven by local adoption and evidence of success, will keep it going. Appended to the report are: (1) Detailed Data Collection Activities; and (2) Results From GL Analysis.

Understanding key concepts in molecular biology requires reasoning about molecular processes that are not directly observable and, as such, presents a challenge to students and teachers. We ask whether novel interactive physical models and activities can help students understand key processes in viral replication. Our 3D tangible models are embedded with magnets that accurately represent chemical attractions and, in a study of 492 students, structured model use led to improved understanding of viral replication and self-assembly from pre- to posttest.

The place of practical cookery within school subjects in England has, in recent years, been debated as part of concerns about the nation's health and obesity. Cookery has been a school subject for over a century, but has only ever held a minority place in the curriculum. In 2017 we surveyed teachers of practical cookery in schools, in a repeat of a survey first carried out in 2007. We asked them about the ingredients used and the skills taught in practical cookery lessons at school and also about the issues they faced delivering practical cookery teaching and assessment through the school food curriculum. We have found that the nature of the products being taught in schools has changed, with less emphasis on sugary baked items than previously, which is consistent with the development of healthy eating initiatives and awareness. However, many of the issues surrounding the teaching of cookery skills in schools identified in 2007, such as insufficient equipment, lesson time and parental support, remain unchanged. In this paper we will present the results of our study in full and discuss the implications of this research and the role of practical cookery teaching and assessment in schools in the future.

This paper reports on a study of choices about the use of a computer algebra system (CAS) or pen-and-paper (p&p) by a class of seven Year 11 Mathematical Methods (CAS) students as they completed a calculus worksheet. Factors that influenced students' choices are highlighted by comparing and contrasting the use of CAS and p&p between students. Teacher expectation of students' use of CAS and p&p reveals that, even in a small class, the students' use of CAS and p&p sometimes differed from what was expected. The analysis here indicates that there are a variety of factors that influence students' decisions, including speed of calculation and accuracy of p&p work.

What do citizens of the United States and Germany think about their schools and school policies? This paper offers the first broad comparison of public thinking on education in the two countries. We carried out opinion surveys of representative samples of the German and American adult populations in 2014 that included experiments in which we provided additional information to randomly selected subgroups. The paper first describes key characteristics of the U.S. and German education systems and then analyzes how information and institutional context affect public beliefs in the two countries. Results indicate both similarities and differences in the structure of American and German public opinion on schools and school policies. Contains a Methodological Appendix. [Paper prepared for the conference on Public Opinion and the Political Economy of Education, Munich, May 9, 2015. Financial support was provided by the Leibniz Association.]

For the thirty-fourth year, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, FL. A limited quantity of these Proceedings were printed and sold in both hardcopy and electronic versions. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume #1 contains papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the practice of instructional technology including instruction and training issues are contained in Volume #2. This year, both volumes are included in one document. (Individual papers contain references, tables, and figures.) [For Volumes 1 and 2 of the 2010 proceedings, see ED514646 and ED514647.]

This paper examines the problem of modernization of the national education model, based on the program documents "Mangilik El" and "Rukhani Zhangyru," the project "New humanitarian knowledge: 100 new textbooks in the Kazakh language," "Daryn" programs, etc., aimed at the spiritual development of the nation. One of the ways to internationalize education in Kazakhstan is the participation in "QS World University Rankings," which highlights the top five universities: Asfandiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Satbayev University, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Gumilev Eurasian National University, and Nazarbayev University. In addition to the five universities described, nine more, highlighted in the QS subject rankings, deserve attention. Among these universities is Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, which implements educational programs in teaching professions developed jointly with foreign partners. The review also covers the following path of modernization of education in Kazakhstan, which takes place in preschool and school education. Since 2009, Kazakhstan has been actively participating in international PISA studies, the results of which have contributed to the implementation of important educational initiatives implemented in the country. The study of such experience contributed to the design of a scientific study on the topic "Theory and technology of a comprehensive psychological and pedagogical assessment of the developing potential of the school s educational environment using the international SAKERS (modified version)." The quality of school life and educational outcomes of students directly depend on the comfort of the school educational environment, in addition, the problem is aggravated by the risks and threats of globalization and changes in the modern world. The international SACERS (School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale) tool allows for the assessment and measurement of the educational environment according to 7 criteria: the internal space and furniture of the school; health and safety; active activity and pastime; interaction; educational process; staff development; special needs for students with disabilities. At this stage, according to the project on measuring the educational environment using international scales, SAKERS (this term is used in Kazakhstan for SACERS) is conducted in 7 Kazakhstani schools, different in structure and location. The paper ends with strategies for solving problems regarding the orientation of the educational system of Kazakhstan to international cooperation. [For the complete Volume 22 proceedings, see ED656158.]

This paper investigates the challenges, mitigation strategies and transformative approaches in educational programme delivery in South African education amidst the adverse influence of the pandemic in schools' Further Education and Training phase with a focus on the integration of technology-enhanced effective teaching and learning; using data obtained from interviews of a data-rich sample of the school management team and teachers of five schools. The noteworthy contribution of this paper to knowledge in the context of Comparative and International Education pertains to transformative strategies for technology-enhanced programme delivery in education. This paper's final objective is to link the explored findings of challenges, trends and innovations in the South African education system to the theme of this book focusing on the different worlds common education challenges. Furthermore, the findings emphasised the need for innovation and transformation toward a technology-enhanced education environment, especially in the Fifth Industrial Revolution milieu. In addition, this paper presented noteworthy recommendations for educational stakeholders and future research. [For the complete Volume 22 proceedings, see ED656158.]

From 2011-2013 the VCAA conducted a trial aligning the use of computers in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment culminating in a group of 62 volunteer students sitting their end of Year 12 technology-active Mathematical Methods (CAS) Examination 2 as a computer-based examination. This paper reports on statistical modelling undertaken to compare the distribution of results for this group with the standard cohort, and any differences in student response between the two groups at the item level.

This publication is comprised of 12 position papers from the National Equity Workshop held at the University of Technology Sidney (Australia) at which participants summarized their positions on the way equity should be understood, their views on the strengths and weaknesses of current vocational education and training (VET) policy, and what they saw as the priorities for future research. The papers are prefaced with a summary of the conclusions of the workshop--strengths of current research, weaknesses, and new directions--and participant biographies. The papers are: "Using Statistical Methodologies to Interrogate Large Data-Bases" (Katrina Ball); "Managing Diversity" (Kate Barnett); "Aborginal and Torres Strait Islander Strategic Policy and Research Priorities for VET, 1999" (Tony Dreise); "Equity Outcomes" (Tom Dumbrell); "Equity and VET: An Antilogous Project? A Personal Story of Equity Work in VET" (Elaine Butler); "Regrouping Equity" (Barry Golding, Veronica Volkoff); "Equity: VET for the Good of the Nation" (Ian Falk); "An Overview of Current Equity Research in the National Program" (Jennifer Gibb); "Locality and Community Agency in VET Research" (John McIntyre); "Equity for Training and Employment: Research Questions from a Policy Perspective" (Marion Norton); "Position Paper" (Rachel Robertson); and "Some Observations on Equity in VET" (Kaye Schofield). (YLB)

For the thirty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division and the Division of Instructional Design of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) sponsored the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. This year's Proceedings is presented in two volumes--Volume 1 includes twenty-seven research and development papers. Volume 2 includes thirty-one papers on the practice of educational communications and technology. The 27 papers with respective authors included in Volume 1 are: (1) Information Visualization in Students Eye: An Eye Tracking Study of Rising Sea Levels (Dalia Alyahya, Suzan Alyahya); (2) Interactive eBooks as a Tool of Mobile Learning for Digital-Natives in Higher Education: Interactivity, Preferences and Ownership (Aadil Askar); (3) Recognition of Prior Learning Occurring in Online Informal and Non-Formal Learning Environments: The Case of Higher Education in Turkey (Mesut Aydemir); (4) Open Dialogue: A Content Analysis of the #OpenEducation Twitter Hashtag (Fredrick W. Baker); (5) Enhancing Online Courses with Digital Storytelling (Sally Baldwin, Yu-Hui Ching); (6) Visualizing Learning for the Next Generation: Visual and Media Literacy Research, 2000-2014 (Danilo M. Baylen, Kendal Lucas); (7) Examining the Role of Emotion in Public Health Education Using Multimedia (Sungwon Chung, Kwangwoo Lee, Jongpil Cheon); (8) Students' Online Learning Experiences in Collectivist Cultures (Ana-Paula Correia); (9) Emphasis on Standards: What Do the Interns Report? (Lana Kaye B. Dotson); (10) A Comparison of Learner Self-Regulation in Online and Face-to-Face Problem-Based Learning Courses (Christopher Andrew Glenn); (11) Exploring the Influence of Academic Technology Professionals in Higher Education (Stephanie Glick); (12) Educational Technologies Working in Today's Classrooms: Tech Tools And Apps for Teaching in the Real World (V. Paige Hale); (13) Modeling the Processes of Diagramming Arguments that Support and Inhibit Students' Understanding of Complex Arguments (Allan Jeong, Haeyoung Kim); (14) A Review of Research on Collaboration via Blogs in Online Learning (Habibah Khan, Trey Martindale); (15) Competency of Teachers in Using Technology Based on ISTE NETS.T In Tatweer Schools-Saudi Arabia (Abdulrahman A Kamal); (16) Middle School Teachers' Perspective: The Benefits, Challenges, and Suggestion When Using the iPad (Jeungah Kim); (17) Concept Centrality: A Useful and Usable Analysis Method to Reveal Mental Representation of Bilingual Readers (Kyung Kim, Roy B. Clariana); (18) Adolescents' Internet Use and Usage in a Family Context: Implications for Family Learning (Wilfred W. F. Lau, Allan H. K. Yuen); (19) Leveraging Technology: Facilitating Preservice Teachers TPACK Through Video Self Analysis (James E. Jang, Jing Lei); (20) Use of the Flipped Instructional Model in Higher Education: Instructors' Perspectives (Taotao Long, John Cummins, Michael Waugh); (21) Evaluation of the "Let's Talk: Finding Reliable Mental Health Information and Resources" Pilot Program for Grades 7 and 8 Students in Three Ontarian School Boards and One Independent School in Quebec (Cameron Montgomery, Natalie Montgomery, Christine Potra); (22) Touching Our Way to Better Conversations: How Tablets Impact Cognitive Load and Collaborative Learning Discourses (Christopher Ostrowski); (23) The Effect of Self-Assessment on Achievement in an Online Course (Yasin Özarslan, Ozlem Ozan); (24) Perceptions of the Role and Value of Interactive Videoconferencing and Chat Rooms in Supporting Goals of Cross-Cultural Understanding among Three Educational Nonprofit Organizations (Shilpa Sahay, Pavlo Antonenko); (25) Pre-Service English Teachers' Achievement Goal Orientations: A Study of a Distance English Language Teacher Education Program (Hasan Uçar, Müjgan Bozkaya); (26) Perceptions of Online Program Graduates: A 3-Year Follow-up Study (Michael L. Waugh, Jian Su Searle); and (27) Course Structure Design Decision to Solve Academic Procrastination in Online Course (Yufei Wu, Tiffany A. Koszalka, Lina Souid, Jacob A. Hall). (Individual papers contain references.) [For Volume 2, see ED562048.]

The 22nd Annual Graduate Student Conference of the College of Languages, Linguistics & Literature (LLL) at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa was held on Saturday, April 7th, 2018. As in past years, this conference offered the students in the six departments across the college, East Asian Languages and Literatures, English, Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures, Languages and Literatures of Europe and the Americas, Linguistics, and Second Language Studies, the opportunity to come together and build a stronger community across the college by sharing their work with one another. This annual conference provides an opportunity for students to become socialized into academic practices, such as presenting at a conference and producing a paper for publication in these proceedings. It also allows students to take on various roles in the academic community, as all conference chairs, proceedings editors, coordinators, and volunteers for the conference are themselves graduate students. As the twenty-second iteration of this conference, it was the perfect opportunity to celebrate all the outstanding achievements of LLL graduate students. This year's conference theme, "L[superscript 4] : Languages, Linguistics & Literature for Life," well attests to the importance of all the creative and intellectual work done at the University of Hawai'i that contributes toward lifelong learning and enrichment. Following a preface (Mitsuko Suzuki) and plenary highlights (Gary Holton), papers in these proceedings include: (1) Taking a Knee: Colin Kaepernick's Pursuit of Stasis (Justin Clapp); (2) The Significance of Queer Specificity in Kim Sa-Ryang's "Into the Light" (1939) (Yijun Ding); (3) Learner Self-Evaluation for Developing English Communicative Competence: A Pilot Study (Hoa T. V. Le); (4) Yamben: A Previously Undocumented Language of Papua New Guinea (Andrew Pick); and (5) Examining the Validity of Conversation Tasks in the AP Japanese Exam: A Discourse Analytic Perspective (Nana Suzumura). [Cover title varies: "L[superscript 4]: Languages, Linguistics & Literature for Life. 22nd Annual Graduate Student Conference College of Languages, Linguistics & Literature. 2018 Proceedings."]

"Proceedings of International Conference on Research in Education and Science" includes full papers presented at the International Conference on Research in Education and Science (ICRES) which took place on April 1-4, 2021 in Antalya, Turkey. The aim of the conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, to discuss theoretical and practical issues and to connect with the leaders in the fields of education and science. The conference is organized annually by the International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (ISTES). The ICRES invites submissions which address the theory, research or applications in all disciplines of education and science. The ICRES is organized for: faculty members in all disciplines of education and science, graduate students, K-12 administrators, teachers, principals and all interested in education and science. After peer-reviewing process, all full papers are published in the Conference Proceedings. [Individual papers are indexed in ERIC.]

"Proceedings of International Conference on Research in Education and Science" includes full papers presented at the International Conference on Research in Education and Science (ICRES) which took place on April 1-4, 2021 in Antalya, Turkey. The aim of the conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, to discuss theoretical and practical issues and to connect with the leaders in the fields of education and science. The conference is organized annually by the International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (ISTES). The ICRES invites submissions which address the theory, research or applications in all disciplines of education and science. The ICRES is organized for: faculty members in all disciplines of education and science, graduate students, K-12 administrators, teachers, principals and all interested in education and science. After peer-reviewing process, all full papers are published in the Conference Proceedings.

The 2014 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages took place in St. Louis, Missouri with the cooperation of the Foreign Language Association of Missouri. The 2014 conference focused on ways in which foreign language teachers, "unlock" or help to open up lines of communication between their students and people who speak a language other than the native language of their students. Foreign language teachers do so not only by helping students to learn how to express themselves through oral and written communication, but also through cultural knowledge of the target culture. For students to become globally competent citizens, they need to know not only how to communicate through oral and written communication; they must also understand the nuances of a culture. An understanding of the products, practices, and perspectives of a culture are equally important to function in a given culture. The CSCTFL 2014 conference featured 28 workshops and more than 170 sessions. Nine of the 17 central states were represented by "Best of…" sessions. Several presenters from the 2013 conference returned to re-present their session as an "All-Star." The sessions and workshop topics represented at the 2014 conference included the connection to Common Core in the foreign language classroom, the use of technology, teaching for communicative competency, lesson planning, assessment, the integration of culture in the curriculum, and the use of literature, art, music, and film in language classes. The articles in this report pertain to developing communicative competency and cultural competency. By focusing on developing communicative competency and cultural competency, foreign language teachers are able to shape their students into citizens who will be globally competent and be able to communicate and interact effectively in a global society. The authors explain how to achieve these goals through the use of technology in teaching, studying abroad, the use of target language in the classroom, and the role of a textbook in the classroom while promoting communication.