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Objective: Sexual assault is prevalent among undergraduates in Greek-letter organizations (GLO). Prevention efforts promote sexual consent, though few explicitly employ theoretical constructs known to positively influence behavior. This study evaluated theory-informed educational posters promoting sexual consent seeking. Participants: Forty undergraduate GLO students (20 female, 20 male) were recruited through in-person, email, and social media solicitation. Data collection was completed March-November 2019 during the spring and fall semesters. Methods: A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted. Intervention participants viewed theory-informed educational posters promoting sexual consent. Results: The intervention group demonstrated more favorable consent intention (p = 0.024; ?2 = 0.131) and consent subjective norms (p = 0.040; ?2 = 0.109). Intervention group males showed a greater improvement in one of four consent attitudes (p = 0.045; ?2 = 0.211). Conclusions: Brief exposures to theory-informed messaging may help to improve subjective norms and behavioral intent to seek sexual consent among undergraduate GLO members.

Scientist-led K-12 outreach offers many benefits to scientists, teachers, and students; however, many of these programs are top down rather than collaborative. Our team facilitated a museum-based scientist-teacher partnership to co-design a lesson on shark biology for middle school students. Following the implementation of the lesson, we conducted interviews with the scientist and teacher participants. The participants described several benefits for the students including contextualizing science in the real world, providing exposure to new careers, and humanizing scientists. Teacher benefits included increased content knowledge and feeling reenergized to teach their subject. The scientist gained knowledge about science standards and classroom pedagogy. The challenges to the partnership included time constraints and restrictions enforced by the school districts. Using the findings from our study, we describe how other organizations can facilitate similar scientist-teacher partnerships to help improve science literacy and career aspirations. Scientist-teacher partnerships are highly effective for improving scientists' communication skills, increasing teachers' content knowledge, and contextualizing science for students.

We describe two established STEM camps that went virtual following the outbreak of COVID-19 during the summer of 2020. Our Summer Research Opportunity (SRO) camp engages middle school science fair winners in a forensic research opportunity, while The Immokalee Foundation (TIF) camp introduces middle school students from historically underrepresented groups to STEM topics. Home kits were carefully prepared and delivered to all participants to enhance their engagement with our faculty facilitators. Modifications to accommodate the virtual experience are discussed. Our program assessment used a retrospective pretest-posttest design delivering a modified STEM Semantics survey to measure interest in STEM topics and STEM careers. While the programming and the population was different for each camp, both programs achieved positive outcomes in the virtual environment enhancing participant interest in, excitement for, and importance of STEM topics and STEM careers. The local TV news even broadcasted a short video of one of the camps.

Academic conferences are integral to the dissemination of novel research findings and discussion of pioneering ideas across all postsecondary disciplines. For some participants, these environments are spaces to develop new collaborations, research projects, and social bonds; however, for others, conferences can be a place of marginalization and outright hostility. To assess how diverse individuals experience conference spaces, we interpreted results from a conference climate survey filled out by 198 of 482 registrants of the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) West 2021 conference. Analysis of the survey data was conducted by six biology education researchers, who in addition to raising conference participant voices, provide insights, and next steps whose implementation can promote greater participant equity, representation, and engagement in future science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education conferences specifically and potentially all academic conference spaces more broadly.

We describe a long-standing weeklong K-12 STEM teacher workshop that shifted to a virtual platform in 2020. We re-engaged former participants during this STEM Institute with goals of (1) modeling ways to connect best practices for STEM education gained in previous workshops to a virtual environment, (2) providing space for teacher reflection on their virtual learning implementation during Spring 2020 without sufficient planning time, (3) offering collaborative planning time as they prepared for the Fall 2020 semester, and (4) supporting Southwest Florida STEM teachers through community building during the institute. We continued to focus our delivery (previously in person now virtually) on the 5E model (BSCS, 1987). Drawing upon past participant surveys and anecdotal data from previous years, facilitators addressed teachers' need for tools and lessons they could implement in their own virtual classes in the fall with plenty of time to listen and learn from each other. Here we discuss our virtual STEM Institute structure in contrast to previous years, virtual tools demonstrated by facilitators and teacher participants, and facilitator experiences and outcomes during the virtual workshop. We provide both qualitative and quantitative summary data from participant surveys on satisfaction with STEM Institute components related to the goals described.

A common rationale for offering online courses in K-12 schools is that they allow students to take courses not offered at their schools; however, there has been little research on how online courses are used to expand curricular options when operating at scale. We assess the extent to which students and schools use online courses for this purpose by analyzing statewide, student-course level data from high school students in Florida, which has the largest virtual sector in the nation. We introduce a "novel course" framework to address this question. We define a virtual course as "novel" if it is only available to a student virtually, not face-to-face through their own home high school. We find that 7% of high school students in 2013-14 enrolled in novel online courses. Novel courses were more commonly used by higher-achieving students, in rural schools, and in schools with relatively few Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate offerings.

Throughout the 21st century, the discipline of developmental education has come under fire for low success rates and has created a great deal of controversy. This has especially been the case for developmental math. Over the years, there have been many initiatives to improve student success and completion in developmental math. Some have succeeded while some have failed. Over the past decade, many colleges have achieved success with alternative math pathways for non-STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) students. Such pathways still ensure that students are prepared for their math classes; however, they also shorten the math pathways for students while providing them with varying options. Nonetheless, over the last few years, various organizations and state legislators have advocated for the removal of stand-alone developmental education and to allow students to place directly into a college-level class while concurrently receiving help for remedial topics. These kinds of sweeping changes could severely impact community college students and higher education overall. Consequently, advocates of these changes must address key questions that focus on serving moderately to severely underprepared students, possible financial aid concerns, equity issues, and protecting the integrity of mathematics standards.

Principals have traditionally served as the instructional leader in a school, significantly impacting school culture and effectiveness. Despite this importance, little work has been conducted to examine how administrators view and impact school-based agricultural education programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the leadership practices of principals support the culture of exemplary school-based agricultural education programs in Florida. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five principals who supported SBAE teachers in exemplary programs in Florida. Thematic analysis of the transcripts yielded several emergent themes. The principals relayed value in agricultural education and found that school-based agricultural education programs helped meet their school's overall goals. The principals saw their role as helping the teacher find ways to grow without micromanaging their work. The principals expressed interest in the prospect of professional development to help them support agriculture teachers in their programs. Based on these findings, the authors recommend state and national agricultural education leaders implement professional development opportunities for teachers and principals so they can work in concert to find areas where their goals intersect and focus on strengthening those areas. A model for examining principal support in SBAE is presented based on the findings.

In order to fill the need in the agriscience teacher shortage, preservice agriscience teacher education needs to seek preservice teachers who may not have had a traditional school-based agriculture background. The influx of new teachers without a school-based agricultural education background brings both opportunities and challenges. Gaps in needs between those teachers who had and those teachers who did not have school-based agricultural education and FFA membership have different teacher professional development needs. This study investigated the professional development need areas based on a needs assessment that investigated knowledge, relevance, and mean weighted discrepancy scores of agriscience teachers who were or were not FFA members. Participants across both groups indicated professional development needs for FFA chapter management. Teachers who were not previously FFA members identified stronger needs across 11 of 13 items. There was a significant difference found between the two groups for four of the 13 chapter management items. Recommendations for future research and programmatic development consisted of the consideration of specific sessions of a basic FFA knowledge with a second session that focuses on technical skill attainment.

"Castañeda v. Pickard" (648 F.2d 989, [5th Cir. 1981]) was a significant legal case in the history of educational policy for non-native English-speaking students in the United States. The case established a three prong 'test' for programs for those students, including the right for students to have an educational program based on sound educational theory; resources and personnel to properly implement the program; and evaluation of the effectiveness of the program. After 40 years of interpretation of the "Castañeda" case, the issue of language rights for non-native English speakers in United States public schools continues to be debated by scholars and interpreted through various legal statutes and case holdings. This article examines the "Castañeda" case and its recent interpretations in the literature as applied to non-native English-speaking students. We use a theoretical lens of orientations in language planning (Ruíz 1984) and language policy text as reported by Lo Bianco and Aliani (Language planning and student experiences: Intention, rhetoric, and implementation, Multilingual Matters, 2013). We then discuss the socio-historical context of the case and position it with respect to the 1974 seminal case of "Lau v. Nichols." Using the state of Florida as an example, we next describe the complex language ecology of local and state language policies and how those relate to "Castañeda" and inhibit progress for bilingual students in Florida. We conclude with caution to academics and advocates who work on behalf of language minoritized students in the United States, with implications for international scholars.

Advancing Social-Communication and Play (ASAP) is a classroom-based intervention targeting the social-communication and play development of preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorder. We used a multimethod approach to measuring intervention fidelity, including adherence, exposure, treatment differentiation, and quality of treatment delivery. Overall, teachers in the ASAP classrooms increased their adherence to the ASAP intervention compared with business-as-usual teachers. Teacher characteristics did not affect the ability to implement ASAP with fidelity. There were no group differences in coded video instructional quality scores. Differences in child engagement between the ASAP and business-as-usual groups were not mediated by fidelity adherence scores, contrary to our hypothesis. Finally, end-of-year summary of treatment delivery ratings did not align with adherence scores. Continued research regarding fidelity of school-based interventions should focus on distinguishing active ingredients from general instructional practices and learning from teachers about the child-level factors they consider when implementing an intervention.

This article uses fixed effects models to estimate differences in contemporaneous and downstream academic outcomes for students who take courses virtually and face-to-face--both for initial attempts and for credit recovery. We find that while contemporaneous outcomes are positive for virtual students in both settings, downstream outcomes vary by attempt type. For first-time course takers, virtual course taking is associated with decreases in the likelihood of taking and passing follow-on courses and in graduation readiness (based on a proxy measure). For credit recovery students, virtual course taking is associated with an increased likelihood of taking and passing follow-on courses and being in line for graduation. Supplemental analyses suggest that selection on unobservables would have to be substantial to render these results null.

Teachers should possess a set of professional commitments, which includes active participation in professional development that leads to student learning. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between professional development engagement and career satisfaction. This study used a quantitative descriptive correlational research design. A purposive stratified sample of states and a census of teachers in those states were used. The Tailored-Design Method, using multiple points of contact with various modes was used to collect data with minimal survey error. There was a response rate of 72.5% (n = 892). The mean score for the professional development engagement was 118.3 (SD = 13.4; n = 858) on a 150 point scale. Agriscience teachers participated in workshops at a higher rate than any other type of professional development. Levels of implementation varied among types of professional development. The mean score for career satisfaction was 19.9 (SD = 4.4; n = 878) on a 25 point scale. Professional development engagement and career satisfaction had a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.34). These findings showed a high level of participation in professional development, especially workshops and a high level of career satisfaction. Recommendations for practice and future inquiry are provided.

Falls are a significant medical and economical concern worldwide. Younger individuals with visual impairment (VI) may be more susceptible to falling and fall-related injuries when compared to peers without a VI. Self-perceived balance confidence is a psychological construct that may predict and/or mediate fall- or other health-related outcomes in youth with VI. However, extensive psychometric vetting of falls-related self-efficacy self-report inventories (such as the Activity-specific Balance Confidence Scale [ABC]) have not occurred in youth with VI. In line with classical test theory, the purposes of this study were to examine the immediate measurement properties of ABC scores in youth with VI and to derive and analyze a short version of the ABC in youth with VI (N=101). Total and item-level ABC (and the newly developed ABC-6VI) scores presented with strong-to-acceptable forms/levels of reliability and validity. ABC-6VI scores appear to have certain psychometric limitations (i.e., increased variability; decreased stability).

The profession of teaching is inherently stressful. Resilience, or the ability to adapt and develop competence despite exposure to disruptive change, has been shown to be beneficial for teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine if personal resilience is a predictor of professional development engagement and career satisfaction of agriscience teachers. A census of agriscience teachers in four purposefully selected states was taken. Data were collected using the Tailored-Design Method, using multiple points of contact with multiple modes to minimize survey error. The overall response rate was 72.5% (n = 892). The linear combination of independent variables in a stepwise backwards regression model explained 13.7% of the variance of professional development engagement and 21.4% of the variance of career satisfaction. These findings suggested that increasing the resilience of agriscience teachers, specifically in the areas of positive: world and focused, could lead to increased engagement in professional development and career satisfaction, which has been shown to be a factor that increases teacher efficacy. Additional research is needed to explore how to increase the resilience of agriscience teachers and the relationship between teacher resilience and student outcome variables.

This research study was designed to explore the results of the Florida U.S. History EOC Assessment, and understand the potential demographic disparity amongst social studies standardized testing. To examine if there were trends in disparity, researchers examined countywide data from the Florida U.S. History EOC from 2012-2016. By using population data for 11th grade students, researchers were able to examine proficiency rates from 2012-2016 for comparative statistical measures. Emerging trends were identified via descriptive statistics and regression analyses which indicated disparity within race, gender, and socioeconomic status. (R[superscript 2] = 0.566 (2012-13), R[superscript 2] = 0.559 (2013-14), 0.579 (2014-15) & 0.495 (2015-16)). Upon discussion of the findings, the conclusion and implications address the influence of standardized testing in U.S. History social studies education.

A phenomenological case study by Counsell (2007) explored and investigated the phenomenon of what happened as Florida's A+ Plan intersected with the life histories of one beginning African American female third grade teacher and one veteran White female third grade teacher at demographically different school communities in one Florida school district. Habermas' theory of communicative action served as an instructive framework used to examine and contemplate two key emerging trends based on lived experiences of the various social (communicative) actors. In addition to the beginning and veteran third grade teachers, other participating social actors included third graders, their parents, other third grade teachers and school principals at the beginning and veteran teachers' schools as well as urban school teachers and personnel at urban schools in the same school district. Across the different social actors at each respective middle-income, low-income, and high-poverty school community, the emerging trends and patterns revealed: (a) a continuum of moral and ethical dilemmas specifically and (b) an overall continuum of fear in general. Social actors' varied lived experiences with fear in relation to high-stakes testing illuminated the following: (a) a fear of speaking out; (b) a fear regarding children's emotional welfare; (c) fear as it intersects with race; and (d) a fear of taking the test. From these testimonials, the continuum of fear toward the FCAT (according to third grade student reflections), proved to be the most serious (if not detrimental) consequence of Florida's high-stakes accountability system. These insights can help guide and inform future accountability decisions under the new Every Student Succeeds Act.

Joint attention, or the shared focus of attention between objects or events and a social partner, is a crucial milestone in the development of social communication and a notable area of deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder. While valid parent-report screening measures of social communication are available, the majority of these measures are designed to assess a wide range of behaviors. Targeted assessment of joint attention and related skills is primarily limited to semi-structured, examiner-led interactions, which are time-consuming and laborious to score. The Pictorial Infant Communication Scale is an efficient parent-report measure of joint attention that can be used as a complement to structured assessments in fully characterizing early social communication development. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale. Results revealed a high degree of internal consistency and strong intercorrelations between subscales. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model of joint attention. Furthermore, significant correlations between the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale and direct clinical measures of child joint attention, language skills, and autism spectrum disorder symptom severity were suggestive of concurrent validity. Findings suggest that the Pictorial Infant Communication Scale is a promising tool for measuring joint attention skills in preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.

Desimone's core features of professional development (PD) guides the PD for teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the PD practice of School-Based Agricultural Education (SBAE) teachers in the enthusiastic and growing career stage. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with five teachers from five different states. The transcriptions of the interviews were coded using content analysis to determine if Desimone's core features were evident in the PD practice of enthusiastic and growing teachers. The codes for four teachers indicated that they were in the enthusiastic and growing career stage and were included in the content analysis. The respondents indicated PD for SBAE teachers included collective participation, content focus, and active learning. Discrepancy was found between Desimone's core features of PD of coherence and duration. PD should be designed in SBAE to include the core features of PD. A Team Ag Ed. approach to planning and implementing PD is recommended to increase coherence and promote participation in PD offerings. Efforts should also be made to incorporate school district and subject-specific initiatives. Further investigation is needed to explore Desimone's full model of PD for SBAE teachers.

Introduction: Few studies have examined the psychological and mental health effects of visual impairments (i.e., blindness and low vision) on youths. Our objectives were to describe the behavioral and emotional profile of students with visual impairments, compare the BASC-2 composite scores for youths with visual impairments with the normative data to determine if significant differences exist, and compare the BASC-2 scores of students categorized as having low vision with students categorized as being totally blind. Methods: A total of 63 students with visual impairments entering a state school for the deaf and blind between 2012 and 2017 had a parent complete the BASC-2 Parent Rating Scale as part of the intake procedure. A retrospective study was conducted to determine patterns of emotional and behavioral strengths and weaknesses in students with low vision and blindness. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and Wilcoxon Rank Sums test were performed to test for differences between children who are blind and children with low vision. Results: Students with visual impairments showed higher levels of clinical symptoms such as anxiety and withdrawal. Statistically significant higher deficits were detected for the students with visual impairments on the Behavioral Symptoms Index and Internalizing Problems composites and significant lower differences for the Adaptive Skills and Externalizing Problems composites compared to the BASC-2 normative sample. When compared with youths with low vision, students who are blind had statistically significant scores (i.e., deficits) for adaptive skills and resiliency. Discussion: Our results suggest that a substantial proportion of students with visual impairments may experience more emotional and behavioral difficulties than the average youth while lacking the adaptive skills to manage their conduct adequately. Implications for practitioners: Professionals working with youths with visual impairments face a number of daunting challenges, since the conditions under the visually impaired umbrella are heterogeneous, and variation exists within a statistically low-incidence disability category. Therefore, those who work with youths with visual impairments have to apply various and unique methods to understand, train, teach, rehabilitate, or counsel these youths.

As the global population grows, concern for a food shortage may be looming. As the next generations of agricultural and natural resource leaders are prepared to address this challenge, input throughout multiple disciplines is required to solve this dilemma. Undergraduates must be prepared to engage in problem solving and entrepreneurial thinking if our society hopes to conquer this shortage. Opportunities to engage in interdisciplinary education can offer learning experiences focused on bridging research and policy, exploring real world problems, and developing solutions for socio-environmental issues. As interdisciplinary education in academia gains momentum, exploration is needed to understand the factors and influences affecting student attitude towards enrollment in interdisciplinary courses. This research examined the relationships between undergraduate goal orientation and attitude towards participation in interdisciplinary education specifically addressing, "How do we sustainably feed nine billion people by 2050?" Data was collected from a convenience sample of undergraduates who responded to Vandewalle's (1997) goal orientation and a researcher-developed instrument. Findings indicated undergraduates were most interested in nutrition followed by human disease management and water issues and least interested in economic concerns and plant disease management issues. Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation--prove were found to influence attitude toward interdisciplinary education.

This chapter assesses the potential for several prominent technological innovations to promote equality of educational opportunities. We review the history of technological innovations in education and describe several prominent innovations, including intelligent tutoring, blended learning, and virtual schooling.

The current study provides foundational research on the extent to which Florida Title 1 middle schools (schools including grades 7 and/or 8) have policies and practices that align with core components of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). Principals from 197 (42.73%) of all FL Title 1 schools that included at least grades seven and/or eight responded to a survey that focused on the existence and characteristics of: (1) a continuum of evidence-based interventions; (2) leadership team implementation and coordination; (3) content expertise and fluency; (4) process integrity; (5) continuous progress monitoring; and (6) crisis intervention. Results based on an analytic sample of 36.69% of schools indicate that, while schools predominantly identify using a PBIS framework to guide behavioral policies and practices, important features are lacking that would indicate a comprehensive, coordinated implementation approach. The use of multi-tiered programs and supports, planning for continuous improvement and training, and assessment of fidelity and ecological validity of selected practices in high-poverty schools are issues requiring a greater understanding and implementation support. Additional results, as well as recommendations for research and practice are provided.

The following paper describes the rationale for creating an online therapy program of cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, for students at the University of Florida who are struggling with stress and anxiety. In addition, the paper discusses the unique challenges of the instructional design process of creating psychoeducational materials through cognitive task analysis and heuristics. Preliminary evidence suggests that higher education institutions may wish to implement similar programs in order to increase efficiency and serve both on-campus and distance students.

Momentary time sampling, partial-interval recording, and event coding are observational coding methods commonly used to examine the social and challenging behaviors of children at risk for or with developmental delays or disabilities. Yet there is limited research comparing the accuracy of and relationship between these three coding methods. By coding the low-frequency social behaviors of 100 preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder, the current study examines the associations among the three methodologies. Results indicated a strong relationship among all three coding methodologies. The findings provide information to researchers and practitioners considering the benefits and drawbacks of each coding methodology.

This multiple case study investigated the integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in three Florida high school agriculture programs. Observations, interviews, documents, and artifacts provided qualitative data that indicated the types of STEM knowledge taught. Variables of interest included student and teacher perceptions, teacher education, demographics, STEM integration, STEM knowledge, and student achievement and engagement. Each program taught students about a variety of STEM disciplines and careers. This study has added to the body of literature indicating student achievement in STEM can be increased by agricultural education. Science and technology were reliably integrated at high levels, but engineering and mathematics concepts were less consistently integrated across cases. Five case study propositions regarding the integration of STEM and the other variables of interest were accepted. Areas for further research within AG-STEM teacher education, teaching methods, and curriculum resources were suggested.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of additional revenues for safe school programs and services on the incidences of violent behaviors in the educational environment of a rural and urban school retrieving data from the fourth and final calculation of the Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) for the 2001 to 2002, 2002 to 2003, 2003 to 2004, school years through the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). The data for the independent variables were abstracted from the Division of K-12 Public Schools. The dependent variable and primary unit of analysis in the study were the mean revenues per pupil for each of the two school districts under examination. The variables examined were the district crime rates for various categories of offense (personal property; harassment; alcohol; tobacco and other drugs; fighting; disorderly conduct; and weapons). This study used descriptive statistics to determine the impact of additional monies on two south Florida school districts in an urban and rural school district. Comparisons were made to determine the effectiveness of state funding to combat violent behaviors in these schools. From this analysis, it was concluded that while the report of specific violent activities decreased; others increased based on the funding received; while still others had no appreciable difference. An additional finding was that money from the FEFP did not appear to cure the problem of school violence and more attention should be placed on creating strategies and building community support systems for support of schools, parents and students.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Leader in Me schools teachers' perceptions of culture, climate, and discipline referrals during the 2010-11 school year. Primary data were obtained from 172 teacher-reported surveys, from nine schools in three districts in Florida and Mississippi. A MANOVA analysis was used to determine whether a relationship existed between the dependent variable, discipline referrals, and the independent variables using The School Culture Survey and The Revised School Level Environment Questionnaire. Results indicated Leader in Me schools had teachers that perceived culture as high in a number of factors including professional development, unity of purpose, and collegial support. In Leader in Me schools there was a statistically significant difference in school climate: F (5,166) = 2.655, p = 0.024 and with discipline referrals F (11, 88) = 6.825, p<0.001, R[superscript 2] = 0.460.

Despite the familiar American scene of lined-up students being ushered out of school buildings while their classmates lay wounded or dead inside, and despite repeated calls for restrictions on the guns used in such shootings, nearly twenty years after Columbine, the gun lobby retains a powerful grip on the nation's politicians - using money and political pressure to maintain the status quo. After Parkland, however, a unique revolution unfolded. Led by the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, adolescents challenged the powerful gun lobby and special interest groups through their advocacy for new legislation related to gun ownership. This article examines ways three students from Parkland, Florida, who survived the massacre, used their experiences as witnesses to gun violence in their school community to write their way into our nation's consciousness and how English teachers can bring their writing into the classroom. Through the authors' examinations of these texts, they show "English Journal" readers how to examine the rhetorical possibilities that exist within present-day persuasive texts and how these texts could be used to teach about persuasive writing. Teachers have the potential to add a relevant tool of citizenship, scholarship, and productive resistance. Teachers can draw from texts that offer a pedagogy of persuasion that invites students to use language to help shape a better world.

Objective: Angler complaints regarding perceived declines in angling quality prompted research to examine the home range, movement, water depth use, and structural habitat use and selection of the Largemouth Bass complex (LBC; Largemouth Bass Micropterus nigricans, Florida Bass M. salmoides, and Largemouth Bass × Florida Bass hybrids) in Toledo Bend and Lake Fork reservoirs, Texas. Methods: A total of 21 LBC individuals at Toledo Bend Reservoir (386–604 mm total length [TL]) and 22 LBC fish at Lake Fork Reservoir (364–545 mm TL) were implanted with radio transmitters and tracked over a 2‐year period. Result: At both reservoirs, LBC home range areas were small (<50 ha) and overall movement was low (~40–100 m/week). Fish primarily occupied water column depths of less than 2 m in both reservoirs and were found in the shallowest depths during the spring. Although overall structural habitat occurrence and selection of LBC fish varied between reservoirs, primarily due to differences at shorelines and creeks (two times higher in Toledo Bend Reservoir) and drops (three times higher in Lake Fork Reservoir), fish selected for the shoreline, drops, points, and creeks in both reservoirs, while drains and flats reflected avoidance. Seasonally, habitat occurrence of LBC fish varied at Toledo Bend Reservoir, primarily due to differences in shoreline use, and flats had the highest fish occurrences during all seasons. At Lake Fork Reservoir, LBC occurrences at flats and drops were high and similar during all seasons. Conclusion: Our estimates of small LBC home ranges and low movement in these large reservoirs were generally similar to those reported in previous studies, regardless of reservoir size. Fish preferred structural habitat types with abrupt slopes, were primarily located offshore, and occupied water column depths that are commonly targeted by LBC anglers. Impact statementThis study is the first to examine structural habitat use and selection by the Largemouth Bass complex (LBC). These results, coupled with estimates of home range and movement, increase the understanding of LBC behavior in larger reservoirs, have applied management implications, and provide information that is directly communicable to LBC anglers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous researchers in science education have reported student improvement in areas of scientific literacy resulting from socioscientific issues (SSI)-based instruction. The purpose of this study was to describe student agriscience content knowledge following a six-week SSI-based instructional unit focusing on the introduction of cultured meat into the nation's food supply, taking into account students' grade level, socioeconomic status (SES), and experiences in agricultural education. Results indicated that students improved their content knowledge scores from pretest to posttest both proximally and distally; however, the degree of improvement varied based on grade level, SES, number of completed agriculture classes, and FFA involvement.

In spite of national initiatives such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, American students continue to be struggling readers. Research on content area reading strategies (CARS) has shown that such strategies increase students' ability to read and comprehend text. The purpose of this research was to assess agricultural educators' implementation of content area reading strategies in their classroom. A tailored-design, web-based questionnaire was distributed to 371 Florida agriscience educators to complete this descriptive, census survey. The results indicated the total number of hours of CARS professional development was not related to progression through the stages of concern. This study also underscored the lack of consistency in the professional development programs these teachers completed. In order to better understand the differences of the professional development programs, research should be conducted to determine the characteristics of various CARS professional development programs. Practitioners should provide a consistent, in depth professional development program to provide ongoing training and support throughout a several year process.

There has been a call for faculty at academic institutions to improve the quality of their educational programs. Previous research findings have found that the size and focus of the institution impacts the quality and resources given to instructional activities. However, it has been noted that traditionally research-focused institutions now are beginning to appreciate the role and importance of their academic programs. Researchers designed this study to describe the differences existing among faculty's self-perceived knowledge and relevance of teaching competencies to deliver academic programs. A web-based questionnaire designed with three distinct set of questions regarding instructional and teaching needs was administered to a convenience sample of College of Agricultural and Life Sciences faculty at the University of Florida. Faculty reported low self-perceptions in the area of distance delivery. Characteristics such as faculty appointment and rank were found to impact perceptions toward teaching as well. Recommendations for further research and programmatic development were provided. (Contains 1 table.)