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Food waste is an important issue in the global warming debate. In this study, a virtual reality (VR) application was built from the insights and requirements of a focus group. The VR prototype was then validated using A/B-testing in an online experiment due to COVID-19 restrictions. VR is considered suitable for transferring information and building awareness regarding the topic of food waste. However, it is necessary to maintain the right balance between an informative and a serious gaming application. VR scenarios that people enjoy using have positive learning effects. Furthermore, scenarios that feature gamification elements are rated more highly regarding intention to use, which, in turn, benefits learning. [For the complete proceedings, see ED639262.]

Past applications of virtual reality (VR) and related research have provided evidence that VR technology is helpful for educational and training purposes and that it can be used as a therapeutic measure. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) may, therefore, be beneficial in reducing public speaking anxiety (PSA), which is a very common phenomenon. In this preliminary study, we conducted an experiment to investigate the psychological and physiological response to stressors experienced when speaking in public by creating a virtual audience displaying worst-case-scenario behavior (gossiping, shaking their heads, pointing at the speaker, standing up, and even leaving the room). In addition, other potential stressors were introduced (standing on an elevated platform, jumping off the platform, blocking someone's path, approaching a door that opens automatically, and throwing objects). To measure the responses of participants to these stimuli, we asked them to complete a questionnaire and monitored their heart rate. Our findings suggest that people's anxiety increases when they interact with other people in a virtual world, and when they are exposed to certain stimuli, which may be reduced with the repeated application of VRET. [For the full proceedings, see ED639633.]

In the learning sciences, heterogeneity among students usually leads to different learning strategies or patterns and may require different types of instructional interventions. Therefore, it is important to investigate student subtyping, which is to group students into subtypes based on their learning patterns. Subtyping from complex student learning processes is often challenging because of the information heterogeneity and temporal dynamics. Various inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) algorithms have been successfully employed in many domains for inducing policies from the trajectories and recently has been applied for analyzing students' temporal logs to identify their domain knowledge patterns. IRL was originally designed to model the data by assuming that all trajectories have a "single" pattern or strategy. Due to the heterogeneity among students, their strategies can vary greatly and the design of traditional IRL may lead to suboptimal performance. In this paper, we applied a novel expectation-maximization IRL (EM-IRL) to extract heterogeneous learning strategies from sequential data collected from three simulation environments and real-world longitudinal students' logs. Experiments on simulation environments showed that EM-IRL can successfully identify different policies from the heterogeneous sequences with different strategies. Furthermore, experimental results from our educational dataset showed that EM-IRL can be used to obtain different student subtypes: a "learning-oriented" subtype who learned the material as much as possible regardless of the time in that they spent significantly more time than the other two subtypes and learned significantly; an "efficient-oriented" subtype who learned efficiently in that they not only learned significantly but also spent less time than the first subtype; a "no learning" subtype who spent less amount of time than first subtype and failed to learn. [For the full proceedings, see ED607784.]

The purpose of this study was to identify, analyze, synthesize and evaluate research papers aimed at the application of metacognitive strategies to improve the quality of learning in secondary school students. This document is a systematic mapping (SM) which offers a comprehensive overview of the methods, indicators, strategies, techniques and instruments used in those research. A literature review was conducted in seven widely recognized databases in the educational and scientific community worldwide; 722 documents were found and from these 19 were relevant to the search objective. 57.89% applied metacognitive strategies as follows: 15.78% to learning quality 42.10% to learning processes or skills; 31.57% on learning quality, and 10.5% on learning processes without the intervention of metacognitive strategies. The results confirmed the application of metacognitive strategies such as: planning, monitoring, evaluation, underlining, self-evaluation, modeling, thinking aloud, consciously choosing, reflection and reflecting on learners 'ideas, keeping journals, predictions, among others. Learning processes such as: motivation, understanding, transferring, evaluation, selective attention, knowledge association and advanced organization were intervened. Indicators of the learning quality were also used: potential, processes, results, the academic performance, peer evaluation, intrinsic motivation, understanding, knowledge construction indicator, teacher's expectation indicator, the Students' growth indicator, the superficial level of learning, and the deep level of learning , the level of learning achievement. There was a knowledge gap in the application of metacognitive strategies to improve the learning quality of secondary school students, which confirms the need to conduct studies with this type of classroom interventions. [For full proceedings, see ED621941.]

Research on automated affect detection in educational software using play log data has shown promising results. Yet most studies use classroom-based software designed for adolescents or adults. In this paper, we aim to detect affection in an online educational platform primarily aimed at home use by young children. This presents two challenges: we have to rely on a self-report instrument of affect that users can utilize at home, and we have to make sure that this instrument is properly understood by children. To this end, we developed and validated an emoticon-based self-report instrument to derive ground-truth labels of four emotions: Joy, frustration, confusion, and boredom. Training a number of different classifiers for automated affect detection yields promising results, in particular for detecting joy and frustration. [For the full proceedings, see ED599096.]

The 12th iteration of the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2019) is organized under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society in Montreal, Canada. The theme of this year's conference is EDM in Open-Ended Domains. As EDM has matured it has increasingly been applied to open-ended and ill-defined tasks such as writing, design, and collaborative problem solving, and it has been used in new informal contexts where student actions are at best semi-structured. This iteration of the conference includes a range of work in these and other areas. This year's conference features three invited talks: Julita Vassileva, Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Canada; Steve Ritter, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist, Carnegie Learning Inc., Pittsburgh; and Michael Mozer, Professor Department of Computer Science and Institute of Cognitive Science University of Colorado. The number of accepted papers include 22 full papers and 42 short papers. An additional 47 papers were accepted to the poster track. The poster and demo track itself accepted 14 contributions out of 34 submissions. Together with the "Journal of Educational Data Mining" ("JEDM"), the EDM 2019 conference held a "JEDM" Track that provides researchers a venue to deliver more substantial mature work than is possible in a conference proceeding and to present their work to a live audience. The papers submitted to this track followed the "JEDM" peer review process. Two such papers are featured in the conference's program. Additionally this year, papers that were regularly published in the journal in 2018 were invited for presentation at the conference. Two authors accepted this invitation. The main conference invited contributions to an Industry Track in addition to the main track. The EDM 2019 Industry Track received eleven submissions of which six were accepted. The EDM conference continues its tradition of providing opportunities for young researchers to present their work and receive feedback from their peers and senior researchers. The doctoral consortium this year features eight such presentations. This year's conference includes also an invited talk by the authors of the 2018 winner of the EDM Test of Time Award. This year's talk is delivered by Mykola Pechenizkiy. In addition to the main program, there are three workshops: (1) Learning Analytics: Building bridges between the Education and the Computing communities; (2) Reinforcement Learning for Educational Data Mining; and (3) Workshop on EDM & Games: Leveling Up Engaged Learning with Data-Rich Analytics. Three tutorials were presented as well: (1) Sharing and Reusing Data and Analytic Methods with LearnSphere; (2) Causal Discovery with Tetrad in LearnSphere's Tigris and Designing and Developing Open; and (3) Pedagogically-Based Predictive Models using the Moodle Analytics API.

Student interactions with game-based learning environments produce a wide range of in-game problem-solving sequences. These sequences can be viewed as trajectories through a game's problem-solving space. In this paper, we present a general framework for analyzing students' problem-solving behavior in game-based learning environments by filtering their gameplay action sequences into time series representing trajectories through the game's problem-solving space. This framework was investigated with data from a laboratory study conducted with 68 college students tasked with solving the problem scenario in a game-based learning environment for microbiology education, CRYSTAL ISLAND. Using this representation of student problem solving, we derive the slope of the problem-solving trajectories and lock-step Euclidean distance to an expert problem-solving trajectory. Analyses indicate that the trajectory slope and temporal distance to an expert path are both correlated with students' normalized learning gains, as well as a complementary measure of in-game problem-solving performance. The results suggest that the filtered time series framework for analyzing student problem-solving behavior shows significant promise for assessing the temporal nature of student problem solving during game-based learning. [For the full proceedings, see ED593090.]

In this paper, we investigate the relationship between students' learning gains and their compliance with prompts fostering self-regulated learning (SRL) during interaction with MetaTutor, a hypermedia-based intelligent tutoring systems (ITS). When possible, we evaluate compliance from student explicit answers on whether they want to follow the prompts, When such answers are not available, "we mine" several student behaviors related to prompt compliance. These behaviors are derived from students' eye-tracking and interaction data (e.g., time spent on a learning page, number of gaze fixations on that page). Our results reveal that compliance with some, but not all SRL prompts provided by MetaTutor do influence learning. These results contribute to gain a better understanding of how students benefit from SRL prompts, and provides insights on how to further improve their effectiveness. For instance, prompts that do improve learning when followed could be the focus of adaptation designed to foster compliance for those students who would disregard them otherwise. Conversely, prompts that do not improve learning when followed could be improved based on further investigations to understand the reason for their lack of effectiveness. [For the full proceedings, see ED596512.]

This paper outlines the important role that Henry Carmichael played in the foundation of adult education in Australia. He was the driving force in the foundation and early success of the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. He also played a very significant role in the establishment of public schooling. His wide interest in educational thought is also canvassed. Finally, his considerable achievements as a government surveyor and as a pioneer of the wine industry are considered. [For the full proceedings, see ED581791.]

This paper outlines the important role that School of Arts and Mechanics' Institutes played in the story of Australian adult education and highlights their significance in acknowledging those members of their local communities who had served in World War I, in honoring who had fallen, and in stressing the great cost of war to the community. [For full proceedings, see ED570489.]

Using rehearsals and in-the-moment coaching is being explored in mathematics teacher education courses at two New Zealand universities. This paper describes the perceptions of students, gathered using questionnaires, from two classes at our institution using different approaches for incorporating rehearsals and coaching. Students believed rehearsals and coaching enabled their development as teachers and mathematical understanding by providing relevant practice, discussions, and feedback. Implications include that realistic teaching opportunities with empowering coaching interruptions are useful components of teacher education.

Universities in Australia and worldwide, are building a new generation of learning and teaching spaces which are designed to encourage and support active and collaborative modes of learning and teaching. However, there is little evidence to show that students will recognise the contribution these spaces make to their learning. Temple (2008) argued that spaces may become more salient to students once they are satisfied with the quality of learning and teaching that occurs within them. In the present study, ten teachers worked collaboratively to develop and implement active and collaborative approaches to learning and teaching in their respective units. These approaches drew upon the affordances of one of these new generation spaces at Macquarie University, namely, the Collaborative Learning Forum. Evidence from a student evaluation survey (n = 279) confirms Temple's (2008) proposition and also suggests ways to encourage students to adopt a deeper approach to learning and to increase their satisfaction with the value and quality of their learning experience. (Contains 1 figure.)

Environmental education (EE) is now clearly specified in educational standards in many parts of the world, and at the same time the view of language learning is moving towards a content and language integrated learning (CLIL) strategy, to make English lessons more relevant and attractive for students (Eurydice, 2006). In this respect, environmental and English instruction can be merged to benefit both purposes and to offer learning experiences that go beyond the school walls. Einztein, the social learning network for the education community, collaborates with the environmental project Inquiry-to-Insight (http://i2i.stanford.edu/) inviting high school students around the world to participate in the International Student Carbon Footprint Challenge (ISCFC), challenging students to learn about the environmental impact of their lifestyle choices on their carbon footprints. In the ISCFC, students use an online carbon footprint calculator to measure the amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide) released by their everyday choices (food, transportation, etc). Teachers then share student data with other classrooms around the globe and use Einztein to engage students in several environmental discussions online using English as the lingua franca. Students use Einztein to reflect upon their own carbon footprint, envision global and local solutions and share knowledge about environmental issues. For this study we focused on a specific discussion and investigated the discourse structure of students from six different countries (USA, Croatia, Switzerland, Iceland, Greece and Bulgaria) reflecting upon their very own CO2 emissions. Preliminary results indicate that the students' presumptions about their own impact are crucial and whether they are English natives or not is not as important when it comes to developing an understanding of their own responsibilities regarding carbon footprint. Thus, in relation to a motivating content, the students' English is productive and sufficient enough for communication and collaboration. [For the complete volume, see ED574893.]

This proceedings contains papers from a symposium conducted to promote the professional sharing of scholarly accomplishments of Black Hills State University (South Dakota) faculty and students. The symposium also provided a forum for discussion of current issues related to the presentations. The papers, representing a variety of disciplines, are as follows: "Native American Children in 'White' Schools" (Gloria Satterlee and John Glover); "History: Western Approach vs. Oral Tradition" (Jenny Beslanowitch and John Glover); "Thirty Years of American Indian Activism: From Alcatraz to the Mohawk Wars, 1964-1994" (Amy Dobson and John Glover); "The Indian Gaming Issue: A Perspective on the Future" (Gene M. Meier, and John Glover); "An Examination of the Correlation between Alcohol Use and Rape" (Adrienne B. Clayton); "Women and Mental Health: Issues of Diagnosis and Causation" (Cheryl Anagnopoulos); "Thermodynamic Stability of a Model RNA Hairpin with an Internal Loop" (Peter deLannoy, Joseph Howell, and Stanley Smith); "Writers at Risk: An Experiment with Supplemental Instruction in Freshmen Writing Classrooms" (Roger Ochse); "Methods in Estimating VFR Expenditures" (Norma Polovitz Nickerson); "Gambling in Deadwood, South Dakota: Past, Present, and Future" (Roger Miller); "How to Improve Time-On-Task with Students Who Are At-Risk" (Dean Myers, Perry Passaro, and Gale Zahn); and "Educating for Character and Crook County" (Carol L. Farver). (SW)

This proceedings contains papers from a symposium conducted to promote the professional sharing of scholarly accomplishments of Black Hills State University faculty and students. The symposium also provided a forum for discussion of current issues related to the presentations. The papers, representing a variety of disciplines, are as follows: "The Internationalization of Geography Departments in American Colleges and Universities" (Roger Miller); "Increasing Teaching Effectiveness with the Physical Education Assertive Teaching Instrument" (Betsy Torrence); "An Investigation of the Student Journal as a Tool for Identifying and Resolving Writing Problems of Undergraduate Students" (Roger Ochse); "Effect of Patriarchal Structuring on Diagnosis of Mental Illness" (Elanor Pearson-Mizel); "Choosing the Snake Husband: Moskogee Watersnake Mythology in Joy Harjo's 'Flood'" (Alice Bedard Voorhees); "Raman Spectroscopic Investigations of Alkali Silicate Glasses at Ultra-High Pressures" (Dan Durben); "The Status of Native American Hunting and Fishing Rights as a Product of Historical Use and Judicial Interpretation" (Cheryl Cosenza-Weiand and John Glover); "South Dakota Principals' Perceptions About, Attitudes Toward, and Knowledge of Law-Related and Civic Education Practices in Their Schools" (Roger Wolff); "Reader Response: The Affective Side of Critical Thinking" (Carol Hess); "Using Qualitative Research in Education (Kristi Pearce); "Modified Oligonucleotide Viability Assays Through the Use of Flanked Homopolymer Sequences" (Doug Dellinger, Peter deLannoy, and Joseph Howell); "Working Memory Limitations on Older Adults' Sentence Production" (Cheryl Anagnopoulos); and "Death, Taxes and Change: A Look at Life Transitions from a Counseling Perspective" (Mimi Tschida). (SW)

This publication seeks to enhance the availability of best practices and ideas in career development. The papers included are derived from program presentations that were given at the July 2002 Careers across America conference. Chapters include: (1) Career Tracks: A Collaborative Approach between a University Career Center and a College of Education in Building a Career Counseling Paraprofessional Program (Marilyn Albert, Christye Peper, David C. McVey, and Martha K. Schuster); (2) Stepping Out: New Directions in Internship Programming (Melissa Barnes); (3) Career as Story: An Introduction to the Haldene Idiographic Method of Career Assessment for Multicultural Populations (Ernest F. Biller); (4) Career Development Classroom Money System (Charmaine Boston-Hall); (5) Working Ahead: The National One-Stop Workforce System and Career Development Facilitator Curriculum Training for Instructors (Kay Brawley); (6) Employer Perspectives on Disability Nondiscrimination Practices (Susanne M. Bruyere); (7) From Classroom to Careers: The Senior Mastery Process at Henry Ford Academy (Deborah Parizek and Sandy Kesavan); (8) Working with Undecided College Students (Aneneosa A. Okocha); (9) Using the Self-Directed Search Career Explorer with Middle School Students: The Practicality of Hollands RIASEC Theory (Debra S. Osborn); (10) Granite School Districts Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance Program in Action (Judy Petersen); (11) Holland-Based Career Materials: A Resource List for Educators (Robert C. Reardon and Jill A. Lumsden); (12) Using Hollands Theory To Analyze Labor Market Data (Corey Reed); (13) Developing a Career Resource for College Students in Saudi Arabia (Laurence Shatkin and Naim Atiyeh); (14) Map Your Future through ASAs New and Transfer Student Web Site (Beverly Shelton and Fred Isberner); (15) The Application of Hollands Career Theory in Modern Day Career Services: Integrating the Self-Directed Search and the Career Thoughts Inventory (Stacie Vernick); (16) Career Development and Adults with Moderate to Severe Mental Retardation (John Wadsworth and Karen Cocco); and (17) The Senior Experience: A Transition to the World of Work (Jack Walls). (Each chapter contains references.) (GCP)

A forum was conducted to give workplace education practitioners (WEPs) from across Canada the opportunity to have an initial discussion on WEP development and recognition. The forum included presentations by forum participants, forum discussions, and brainstorming sessions on the following and other topics: roles and working contexts of WEPs in different regions of Canada; the basic competencies required of WEPs; different methods of professional development and expertise building; common needs and interests in training and recognition; potential models for more comprehensive training and recognition; and a national communication infrastructure for WEPs. Most participants considered the forum a valuable chance to network and review the current state of workplace education. Although no decisive steps were taken, a general consensus emerged on several points. (The following items are among those appended: a list of 17 introductory readings; summaries of selected brainstorming sessions; selected definitions of workplace education; a glossary; definitions of workplace educator roles; differences and similarities between competencies of trainers and WEPs; a list of 17 ways of developing competencies; descriptions of 4 practitioner development models; a list of 6 next steps in WEP development; a list of forum participants; and selected comments from the forum evaluation questionnaire. English and French translations of all materials are included.) (MN)

This collection of papers for both the 1996 and 1997 Research and Scholarly Work Symposium includes: "Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon in Older Adults" (Cheryl Anagnopoulos and Robert Johnson); "Beyond Being a Tool: Using Computer Technology in Secondary Schools to Create Meaning via Nonlinear Forms of Communication" (Mary-Ann Pomerleau); "Personal Values and Environmental Attitudes Effect on Pleasure Trip Preferences" (Claudia Jurowski and Gordon Walker) "Class Letters and the Pedagogy of Disclosure" (Roger Ochse); "Geographical Education: A Curriculum Analysis" (Roger P. Miller); "Using Hypercard to Create Classroom Management Case" (Roger Wolff and Perry Passaro); "Effects of an Explicit Reflective Writing Strategy on Students' Concept Development and Attitudes Toward Science" (Derrick R. Lavoie); "Sports in Australia: A Reflection of Culture" (Roger Miller); "2+2=5: Using Critical Thinking to Transform Individual Term Papers into Collaborative Research Projects" (Roger Ochse); "From Plato to Cyberspace: An Introductory Interdisciplinary Internet Course" (William J. Bogard); and "Middle Level Teacher Beliefs and Middle Level Reform" (Sandee Schamber). (All papers contain references.) (SM)

Begun in 1992, the Selborne Project helps teachers, primarily in middle schools, to use the square kilometer around their school as a theme to integrate nature study into the curriculum. The inspiration for the project stemmed from the 18th-century book, "The Natural History of Selborne," in which Gilbert White detailed nature's presence in the daily life of an English village. In 1996, the project came to the attention of the Annenberg Rural Challenge, which supports placed-based education and community connections in rural schools. This proceedings includes presentations and summaries from a 1997 conference on the Selborne Project and place-based education. An introduction by William L. Sharpe gives a brief history of the development of the Selborne Project by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. Presentations are: (1) "What Education Can and Must Be: A Challenge to Us All" (Walter Cooper); (2) "Place-Based Education: Two Views from the Past" (Jenny Streeter, Helen Bowdoin); (3) "Place Value: Experiences from the Rural Challenge" (Paul Nachtigal); (4) "Summary Remarks" (about sense of place, sustainable communities, and the role of education) (Marty Strange); (5) "Sense of Place Education for the Elementary Years" (David Sobel); and (6) "Summary Remarks" (observations by a Rural Challenge scout of innovative rural school projects) (Barbara J. Poore). Also included are a summary of breakout sessions, description of conference field trips, profiles of conference speakers, list of conference participants, and photographs. (SV)

This paper details the introduction of trauma interview instruction to the journalism classroom. The paper begins by summarizing what has been learned from the academic and trade literature, followed by a detailed explanation of the role play exercise, the principal method of investigation in the paper. The paper also discusses the reactions of the three graduate students chosen to play the bereaved individuals in the role-play and the responses of the undergraduate students who played the reporters sent to interview the victims. The findings support the value of role play in classroom instruction and suggest the need for careful training in preparation for the trauma victim interview. Contains 2 unnumbered tables of data and 25 notes. Appendixes present role-playing information for the victims and for the reporters. (Author/RS)

Schools often face a conflict between placing an emphasis on the pursuit of academic excellence (academic press) and creating a positive school community. This paper examines the separate and joint achievement effects of both academic press and communality across a sample of American public and private high schools. The hypothesis holds that when academic press is weak, efforts to strengthen school sense of community may actually constrain student achievement, especially among low-socioeconomic (SES) schools. Indices of academic press and communality were used to analyze data from a subsample of the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS): 88 First Follow-Up Survey. The final subsample included an average of 20 students and 11 teachers across each of the 398 schools. The overall pattern of findings supported the major arguments. First, academic press was significantly linked to achievement across all schools. Second, although low-SES schools tended to have the lowest levels of academic press, they also had the strongest achievement effect. Third, communality was negatively associated with achievement in low-SES schools with weak academic press. Fourth, for low- and middle-SES schools, the combination of academic press and communal organization constituted the strongest package of achievement effects. Finally, the strongest effects for high-SES schools were predicted for combinations of high communality and low academic press. The implications are that: (1) schools do their students no service by diluting their academic mission; (2) exposing students to mainstream academic subjects can help to translate higher expectations into a meaningful academic drama; and (3) educational equity is advanced as low-SES schools marshal their human and social capital in more academically focused ways. The major conclusion was that the most effective schools were those where a sense of community emerged as a positive result of a strong sense of academic purpose. One figure and eight tables are included. Appendices contain statistical data. (Contains 38 references.) (LMI)

This paper reviews the conduct of United States-based businesses and their executives in foreign countries, and views Americans as ill-prepared to integrate their business with Mexican culture. The economic importance of Mexico is analyzed in view of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and expansion of Japanese and European companies in this area is noted. An overview of Mexican culture is then presented, to help American firms and their executives avoid problems and maximize their chances for success. It discusses the roles of men and women, the Mexican home, education, sports, family names, social invitations and their importance, humor, time, friendship and affection, the work week, individuality versus individualism, giving commands, nonverbal communication, when yes means no, and exchanging pleasantries. Anxieties about working with Mexico, such as government corruption and Mexico's precarious financial situation, are dispelled as obsolete. Seven recommendations are offered to American companies intending to enter the Mexican market. (Contains 15 references.) (JDD)

Selected papers are as follows: "Member Perceptions of the Association for International Agricultural & Extension Education" (Eaton et al.); "Historical Review of U.S. Involvement in International Agricultural Education between World War II and Enactment of Title XII" (Thuemmel, Meaders); "Educational Needs of International Graduate Students as Perceived by Graduate Faculty" (Miller, Ng); "Rethinking the Landscape" (Beilin); "Personal Networks and Agricultural Extension" (Armonia); "Extension Staff Development Program" (Trail, Malindi); "Learning Styles of Extension Personnel and the Implications for Designing Inservice Computer Training Programs" (Park, Gamon); "Agricultural Education and Global Sustainability" (Vahoviak, Etling); "Importance of Extension Education in the Post Harvest Activities of Soybean in Nigeria" (Osho); "Perceptions Regarding Agricultural Extension Education in Swaziland" (Dube, Martin); "Philosophy, Mission, and Focus of Agricultural Extension in Africa, Asia, and Latin America" (Mohamed et al.); "Educational Needs for Enhancing Non-Farm Activities and Entrepreneurship" (Singh, Comer); "Assessment of the Use of Contact Farmers in Training and Visit Extension System in Nigeria" (Omotayo, Arokoyo); "Village Extension Workers (VEWs), Agricultural Extension Officers, and Contact Farmers Perceptions of VEW Visits under the Training and Visit (T&V) System" (Radhakrishna, Yoder); "Expert Identification of Inservice Training Needs of Field Agents Working in T&V Systems of Extension" (Alawy, Safrit); "Creating a Stronger Model for International Youth Exchange" (Etling); "Perceptions Held by Secondary School Agricultural Educators in Iowa Regarding Adding a Global Perspective to the Agriculture Curriculum" (Perez-Morales, Miller); "Development of Vocational Agriculture in Swaziland" (Mndebele, Crunkilton); "Extension Serving Women Farmers" (Morrone); "Nonformal Education for Empowerment" (Nti, Etling); "Factors Influencing Rural Women Cassava Processors' Intended Participation in an Agricultural Extension Education Program" (Ojomo, McCaslin); "Cooperative Efforts for Agricultural Extension and Rural Development" (Brewer, Meaders); "Need for U.S. and International Collaborative Rural Leadership Education for the 21st Century" (Dhanakumar et al.); "University's Role in Agricultural Development" (Cristovao, Koehnen); "Educational Needs of International Graduate Students of Extension Education" (Mohamed et al.); "Review and Synthesis of Extension Problems in Africa and Asia" (Ukaga et al.); "Development of Rural Youths through Farmers' Training and Education" (Auta, Akpoko); and "Mobilizing Rural Youths for a Career in Farming" (Arokoyo, Omotayo). (YLB)

A study examines qualitatively the extent to which college students indicate that cocurricular theater activities impact on psychodynamic development in J. Katz's five areas--separation anxiety, peer influence, adult role models, personality development, and occupational choice. Subjects, 15 male and 15 female students involved in the theater program of a midwestern university, were interviewed, and transcripts of the interviews were analyzed. Results indicated that theater does have an effect upon students involved in theater at the collegiate level: (1) with "separation from home," theater tended to provide a surrogate family and a support group; (2) in "peer influence," theater participation provided a large group of friends for those involved; (3) in "adult role models," theater participation instilled a stronger sense of direction and a greater sense of maturity; (4) within "personality development," students realized improvements in their self-worth, self-esteem, and confidence level; and (5) within the area of "occupational goals and values," theater trained students in valuable skills which they could use in their chosen careers. Further research might examine any one of Katz' development areas singularly, compare different schools where theater programs are well established, examine family relations, and examine students over a period of time. (Contains 15 references, a table of data, and a figure illustrating Katz' five areas of psychodynamic development.) (RS)

This paper, written from a British perspective, looks at "new" methods of learning that are transforming higher education teaching and learning and at some issues in quality control that arise from these rapid changes. The author notes that in the past new methods have often mistakenly been hailed as the panacea of current educational problems but have been applied on a relatively small scale. However, now though the innovations are not "new," they are possible on a much larger scale and combine with many pressures on higher education to create a significantly different learning environment on an unprecedented scale. The pressures raise issues of quality and set the agenda for a new kind of delivery in which consistency is particularly important. In examining how changes will be made on such a large scale the paper suggests that departments and institutions, rather than individual teachers, will take greater control of teaching methods. The new learning environment will require seven specific components and seven specific changes outlined in the paper. Regarding the question of funding, the paper suggests that a public, coherent strategy must exist on which to make judgements about the effectiveness of change. Established processes are being challenged and new validation methods may be required. (JB)

This report examines an attempt to use cooperative learning in two sections of a college chemistry course and focuses specifically on male and female student attitudes and achievement in the course. A total of 46 students participated. One lab section used cooperative structures throughout an entire 16-week semester while the other section used independent lab structures until week 8 at which time cooperative learning was employed. While cooperative learning did not produce differences in achievement along gender lines, there were discernible differences in male and female attitudes toward cooperative learning and in the effects that cooperative learning might have on attitudes and beliefs toward chemistry. Cooperative learning reduced the negative slide on self-perception of ability, interest, and effort among females. Furthermore, the preference for this mode of learning was heightened among females. A major adverse effect was that females expressed a disproportionate feeling that their individual performance might have negative effects on others in such practices as group grading and jig sawing information for student presentation. The survey form is appended. (GLR)

In a time of continually shrinking budgets, first year composition programs in Canadian universities, particularly the University of Waterloo, Ontario, have proven to be vulnerable to budget cuts. In 1980, each teaching assistant had one class of about 22 students and there were over 20 tutors in the writing center. In 1992, each teaching assistant had two classes of 22 students, and there were only 9 tutors in the writing center. Of the mandated cuts in undergraduate enrollments through the Arts faculty, 54% of the decreases came from cutting composition enrollments. Composition is often not recognized as part of the English department but as a "service" course for other departments. Similar discussions of narrow definitions given to writing appear in writing across the curriculum literature. At the University of Waterloo, the establishment of a rhetoric and professional writing program occurred simultaneously with the emaciation of a large, traditional composition program. Large composition programs may well be rolled back to one course, and writing instruction particularly appropriate for the advanced literacies demanded by the information economy may fill the void. Twenty-first-century solutions to the problems include bringing together representatives of existing organizations to form a national group similar to the National Council of Teachers of English. Members of such a group could use electronic mail, journals, and newsletters to communicate; hold biennial meetings; and publish research. (RS)

Findings of a study that examined the implementation of school-based management in an elementary and a secondary school are presented in this paper. The study attempted to identify certain phenomena that might be directly linked to attitudes or perceptions generated specifically by the differences inherent in elementary-secondary school settings. Over a 6-year period, data were collected through interviews with personnel at the two sites, document analysis, surveys, and observations. Findings indicate that although there were considerable organizational differences, few, if any, factors distinguished the adaptation of school-based management in an elementary setting from that of a secondary setting. However, the factors that influenced contrasting attributes appeared to lie outside the realm of elementary-secondary school differences. (Contains 38 references.) (LMI)

Given the frequency with which teachers use self-developed tests to evaluate students, and given the paucity of requirements related to developing measurement competencies, some educators and measurement specialists question the adequacy of teachers' training in and knowledge of measurement principles. This study assesses teachers' measurement training and the extent to which their measurement knowledge is adequate to develop quality classroom tests. Forty-one 7th- and 8th-grade science and mathematics teachers were assessed using a 65-item multiple-choice test and an interview protocol. Participants were asked to identify violations of item writing principles in 32 multiple-choice and completion items. Three questions were addressed: (1) What was the nature and extent of measurement training? (2) What measurement knowledge and skills did these teachers possess? and (3) What teacher characteristics are related to their measurement knowledge? Results indicated that teachers' knowledge of measurement was insufficient, probably at least partially due to inadequate training; and that teachers frequently tested students with their own tests and placed more weight on students' scores on these tests when assigning end-of-course grades than on other forms of assessment. (LL)

The use of a foreign language as part of the managerial context rather than as a technical tool was examined. Eighteen people in nine companies, primarily from the manufacturing sector, were interviewed to raise a set of issues pertaining to the use of a foreign employer's language (FEL). All of the companies in the sample were within a day's drive of Burlington, Vermont, a region with a culture of its own where more than a third of the inhabitants claim French-Canadian ancestry. Three FELs were chosen: French, German, and Japanese. The interviews were conducted using a list of questions as a point of departure rather than as a protocol. It was found that American managers in the greater Vermont area make very little use of their FEL, and English is often specified by policy as the operating language for the company. English is also the language of most high-tech work. Findings are reported in the following areas: rules about the use of FEL; differences in the use of the FEL; feelings about the use of the FEL; difficulty of using the FEL; desire to use the FEL; the difficulty of relating desire to policy; language training; company policy; special issues like relations with the head office and the changing organizational culture. It is noted that language classes don't work, especially if they take up blocks of work time, and that to be effective, language learning must be integrated into the change of organizational culture. (LB)

This document reports on a conference about the use of existing resources to teach nature education to urban children. The conference was organized around the question of how to encourage more positive use of parklands for outdoor nature education. The conference was held in New York City's Central Park and over 80 leaders representing city schools and nature resources participated. The report includes the keynote addresses by New York City's Commissioner of Environmental Protection, Albert Appleton, who chose "cities as part of our natural environment" as his theme, and renowned naturalist, Roger Tory Peterson, who in discussing the role of nature study in environmental education, described how his lifetime devotion to the study and interpretation of nature originated in a fascination with birds fostered by his seventh grade teacher in Jamestown, New York. The document also presents a paper by educator Maritza MacDonald who spoke about different perspectives on urban nature education and nature education resources. Small group discussions between conference participants resulted in the following recommendations: (1) to improve teacher training with respect to nature education; (2) to develop school-community partnerships; (3) to encourage families to use parks; and (4) to acknowledge the importance of camping, outdoor experiences, and individualized curriculum in nature education. A summary of the conference, a list of the names and addresses of participants, and a brief list of urban nature education resources are included. (LP)

This report was written to extend the findings of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute's 1990 forum on early-childhood environmental education. The report begins with an overview of Peterson's own childhood experiences that influenced his career as a naturalist. Peterson developed a hands-on interest in nature as a very young boy. His case is not uncommon. Educators have long realized the value of experiential education for elementary students. Nature education helps children gain a respect for life, stimulates their curiosity, and provides them with meaningful life experiences. Nature study is defined as a platform for engaging the whole child in experiences that provide a basis for understanding environmental relationships. It can take place in any location where the natural world is observed. Participants in the Peterson forum agreed that nature-education activities for young children should differ from those planned for older children. Foremost among guidelines for selecting young children's nature activities is the goal of providing them with firsthand experiences. It is important to keep nature experiences developmentally appropriate in terms of both age and individuality. Developmental appropriateness provides a framework for selecting learning experiences that are compatible with predictable sequences of growth and change within young children. The document offers goals and guidelines for selecting nature-study activities, and discusses bird-watching and nature walks, two activities teachers can choose. (TES)

This report describes a 1989 leadership round-table discussion at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in New York, which promotes emotional and intellectual linkages between people, especially children, to nature. The document includes the keynote remarks of three speakers along with some administrative guidelines for nature centers. Conservation teacher William Hammond's address deals with architectural considerations for facility construction, focusing on finding and working with an architect. Identifying the program's purpose, goals, and building requirements are key parts to the design process. It is also important to remember that different architects have different values. Mike Templeton, director of the National Science Foundation's Informal Science Education Program (ISE), offers tips on how to work with potential funding agencies. Templeton uses a simulation game to explain, in great detail, the process of communicating with local and federal foundations like ISE. Donald Cook, director of the Tiorati Workshop for Environmental Learning, describes the value of environmental education for children, with his New York workshop as an alternative-model nature center. The Tiorati work, meeting, and research areas are well-designed and equipped for environmental study. The center hosts day-long environmental education programs for elementary students, who set up their own research projects. At the same time, the center trains teachers to become independent learners themselves, cultivating them as leaders of children. The final sections of the report lists goals, guidelines, and evaluation criteria for nature-center architecture, funding, and educational programs. (TES)

Robotics is conducive to STEM learning. However, teachers are not prepared to integrate robotics into teaching STEM. Additionally, technology in general is used to transmit knowledge to support student learning from technology. To achieve meaningful learning outcomes, students need to use technology as a cognitive tool and learn with technology. This study examined how and why elementary education pre-service teachers integrate robotics into their lesson design. We analyzed pre-service teachers' lesson plans and conducted interviews. Our findings suggested that, in general, pre-service teachers designed lesson plans for student learning with technology. Pre-service teachers reported a lack of STEM knowledge and knowledge on integrating robotics into their lessons. Their classroom experience as students seemed to have affected their design.

This special issue is a compilation of documents from the seminar organized by ICSTI (International Council for Scientific and Technical Information), ICSU (International Council for Science), and CODATA (ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology). Focuses on preserving and archiving digital scientific data and discusses electronic publications, digital object identifiers, and metadata. (LRW)

To prepare teachers for working with diverse student populations, teacher education reform must advance from a course in multicultural education to the level of an organized and integrated component of the teacher education curriculum. This roundtable discussion identifies the major principles at issue in bringing about such a change in the teacher education model. The roundtable participants were educators from colleges, universities, and school districts representing Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. The report follows the structure of the roundtable itself in which leaders made a presentation and then led discussion on three key topics: (1) "Cultural Patterns Affecting Teacher and Student Expectations" (A. Anderson and E. Diaz); (2) "Matching Instructional Strategies with Purposes for Diverse Settings" (M. Berg); and (3) "Effective Teachers of Diverse Students" (A. Watkins). A conclusion drawn from the roundtable is that three principles must underscore the teacher education program: teacher preparation is an all-university responsibility; to function effectively, teachers must exhibit willingness to select instructional materials and methods that are free of racial, sexual, and ethnic bias; and the commitment to educating minority youth must be unequivocal. (AMH)

In two experiments, visual and auditory memory were tested for good and for poor readers from the upper elementary grades. Under experimenter-blind conditions, no reading group differences existed for single-mode presentation in recognition frequency or recognition latency. With a multimodal presentation, latencies for poor readers were similar to those for the single-mode presentation. Good readers, however, had significantly faster latencies with multiple input. Generally, results supported dual encoding and self-terminating memory search hypotheses for previously encoded stimuli. Implications of the latency differences between reader groups are discussed with respect to the reading process and reading theory. (Author)

To provide an adequate base of knowledge to use in developing a state-mandated master plan for New Hampshire Supervisory Union No. 30, subjective and objective data were obtained from the citizens, teachers, and students of the union. The following opinion surveys and needs assessments were conducted: community, teacher, and student opinion survey; teacher needs assessment; and student needs assessment. The opinionnaire was used to find out if the surveyed groups felt the Union's schools were successful in teaching 12 educational goals and if teaching toward the goals was a responsibility of the local public schools, the home, or both. The teacher needs assessment was used to determine the priorities of teachers' professional needs in respect to 18 innovations, techniques, and needs. Only objective test or diagnostic data were used in the student needs survey that covered academic and physical and mental health areas. The instruments and results are presented in appendixes. (Author/IRT)

This paper reports a study carried out with 14 children (ranging in age from 2.8 to 3.5 years) which investigated children's concepts of difference. Pairs of small objects differing on a number of dimensions were presented to the children. As each pair of objects was presented, children were asked to select the object that was "big,""little,""fat,""thin,""tall,""short." They were also asked to pick one of two index cards with "more" or "less" buttons painted on it and to choose one of a pair of identical objects "before" or "after" a transformation had been performed on it (such as a pair of sneakers, one of which had been tied). The overall performance of the younger and older children was not very different. They were fairly successful with all concepts except "thin,""less," and "before." In follow-up questions with the choice object it came out that the children appear to make more choices in terms of big or little. The data on size adjectives suggest that the children were answering all of the questions with reference to some sort of general or undifferentiated size dimension that they marked as "big" to "little." (MS)

Issues concerned with the certification of continuing education are addressed in this report. Topics of the keynote addresses are (1) Compulsory Continuing Education for Professionals, or The Gold Rush of '76, and (2) The Mystique of Certification, Education and Professionalism: In the Service of Whom? Panel presentation topics include: (1) Continuing Education and Licensure in the Health Professions, (2) A Proposal for Relicensing Physicians in Washington, (3) Accreditation Process in Higher Education, and (4) The Need for Continuing Education and Skill Upgrading in the Electrical Trades. Each of the addresses and presentations contains an abstract. Questions, answers, and reflections related to certification are presented under the conference theme topic. The annotated bibliography on Certification, Credentialing, Licensing and the Renewal Process, constituting approximately half of the document, reflects the needs of the conference and the larger audience of adult educators. Information about additional conference sessions and other professional areas, and a postscript are included. (WL)

This paper outlines the seventh-grade developmental reading program at Finn Hill Junior High School in Kirkland, Washington. The program format is discussed, as well as the operation of the program, the directed reading and follow-up activities, library and free reading time, the reading laboratory, record keeping and grading, and advantages and disadvantages of the program. The results of the 1975-1976 program are considered, and graphs which indicate pretest and posttest reading levels are included. Among the attachments are a weekly schedule, a list of instructional content areas and activities, course evaluation results, a list of frequently used instructional materials, and a floor plan. (LL)

Educational games have received increasing attention as one teaching technique for individualizing instruction. The use of games for education was borrowed from the business community, which in turn had borrowed the idea from the military. Educational games include several distinct types--simulations, role playing, games and simulation games. Two general classes of classroom games have been developed. The first teaches specific skills and subject content; the second presents moral and social concepts. Games generate student enthusiasm and involvement. They encourage interaction among students. Disadvantages include their high cost and limited availability and their simplistic structuring of reality. The design of educational games involves several distinct steps. The first and most important is the specification of the game's objectives. The determination of a model appropriate to the objectives follows. Evaluation of games should test the game's validity and coverage and two aspects of comprehension--the students' understanding of both the game and the real world subject of the game. A 16 item reference bibliography is appended. (KB)

A study of participation in training had as subjects black and white employees who were 17-24 years of age, not enrolled in school from 1966 to 1969, and who received company-sponsored training. Most of the employees were in lower socio-economic status jobs. Some 19% of the black youths received some pretraining, while approximately 10% of the white youths were pretrained. The sample consisted of 905 white youths and 342 black youths drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of the labor force, a project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. Comparisons were made between those who did not receive training during that interval. The study concluded that: (1) employers play an important part in helping with upward mobility of the labor force; (2) the type of training received relates to the occupational opportunities of the youths; and (3) broader opportunities for training for black and white youths will help reduce the economic differentials. (Author/WCM)

In an investigation of the "shaping" function of postquestions in prose and of a new methodological approach, fifth-grade children read forty text cards, each consisting of four attributive statements. Each card was followed by an experimental question, which during training tested information related to specified concepts or positions, or randomly tested recall. In subsequent test trials, all questioning was random. Learning curves developed for all four nonrandom groups, and same-type item performance was disrupted for three during random questioning. The single concept group was superior to the random on shared items and showed marked latency increases with the onset of random questioning. Implications of the methodological paradigm and appropriateness of the "shaping" descriptor for such learning were considered. (Author)

Sociolinguistics is characterized by a concern for viewing language variation and for seeing language in real social contexts. It has a high potential for relationship and application to other fields such as education, sociology, and psychology. Sociolinguistics try to study the speech of a community, and instead of studying the presence or absence of given features in the community, they feel that much can be learned by seeing such features on a continuum. This continuum does not distinguish between right language and wrong language. Each item of the continuum has the potential for appropriateness and accuracy if the proper context is discovered. The point is also made that a speaker may intentionally select forms which, in some other context, would be considered stigmatized. An example is cited of a young boy who deliberately chose to read orally in a monotonous, mechanical way, because he felt that reading with expression would label him a "sissy." It is noted that speakers also make unintentional selection of stigmatized language, as in the use of hypercorrections. Sociolinguistics also study the subject reactions of people to language produced by others. The results of these studies should prove to be important for language teaching and planning. (Author/PM)

As a result of its isolative pattern of development, linguistics is now beginning to suffer from not having a natural apprenticeship domain, making it difficult for new graduates to find work. The field has been lacking in entrepreneurial tendencies and unimaginative in developing either a potential clientele or a repertoire of uses. Linguistics can be developed within the university by infiltrating other disciplines such as English, education, and speech, where with careful management (e.g., small pilot programs initially) and a cooperative attitude on the part of the linguist, all the disciplines involved linguistics outside the university, the linguist must also overcome his attitude of elitism and discover methods of breaking into such areas as information processing and retrieval, medicine, psychiatry, lexicography, publishing, the communications industry, and educational consulting. Finally, if linguists are to expand territorial imperative, several commitments are necessary: (1) a dramatic change in attitudes, (2) the development of an active information office and placement service, and (3) the orientation of training programs to develop new perspectives. (LG)

The assumptions of sociolinguistics are contrasted with those of its more static predecessors in light of their potential for bearing on educational problems. The focus on variability with regard to sex, age, style, socioeconomic status, race, education is more akin to the dynamics of the linguistic and educational setting in which a child finds himself than structural or generative grammar were. This focus on variability gets to the heart of many school problems involving writing, reading, and talking. It bears on perplexing questions about how to delimit styles, how to effect acceptability in the language of others, how people set themselves off from each other through language, and how subtle variation between spoken and written language forms can cause problems in composition or reading. In the past, native language teaching has had to deal with these issues, but it has never before had the tools to do so. Sociolinguistic information can be used to rethink the education of teachers and the development of realistic instructional materials and techniques. Yet the effort is likely to be stymied unless careful attention is given to the lack of credibility of linguistics which past crimes have fostered, to the dynamics of educational change, and to developing less hostile attitudes toward education among sociolinguists. (Author)

The study of language is an interdisciplinary field, since language can be seen to embody characteristics of psychology, linguistics, literature, sociology, anthropology, education, and the sciences. Teachers of language can no longer afford to ignore useful information from any of the underlying disciplines. If language teaching is to be assisted by these disciplines, the following conditions must be met: (1) the various fields involved must admit that they all have something to learn from each other; (2) these several fields must be willing to communicate their knowledge in such a way that it sees life from the learner's viewpoint; (3) they must meet other disciplines halfway; (4) they must be less concerned with internal orthodoxy and more about the long range success of their clients; and (5) they must realize they are all in a constant state of change. There is now evidence that the various academic fields are opening up to fresh ideas from allied disciplines. Thus, the task of joining linguistics with other fields in the service of foreign language instruction no longer seems farfetched. The advent of sociolinguistics has helped crystalize this interdisciplinary trend. Because of its focus on variability, sociolinguistics makes educators more aware of the importance of the setting and the lifestyle from which a student comes. (Author/PM)

A study to discover why a significant void exists in the area of death education reports on the following objectives: (1) to design a conceptual framework for planning and evaluating death education: (2) to determine existence of a legitimate need to incorporate death education into elementary and secondary curricula; (3) to evaluate the feasibility of designing curricula on death and dying; and (4) to derive recommendations from this investigation for planning, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating death curricula. A theoretical rationale is represented graphically by a conceptual framework to assess curricular potentialities of death and dying. Procedures utilized to collect, analyze, and evaluate data are outlined in relation to foundations of the curriculum, curricular organizing centers, and teaching-learning interaction. Findings and recommendations report that the conceptual framework is a useful analytic tool for systematically researching the complexities of curriculum development and that the issue of death is a useful vehicle to develop, study, and improve strategies for introducing controversial and innovative curricula. (Author/KSM)