Search

Building occupant behavior drives significant differences in building energy use, even in automated buildings. Users' distrust in the automation causes them to override settings. This results in responses that fail to satisfy both the occupants' and/or the building automation's objectives. The transition toward grid-interactive efficient buildings will make this evermore important as complex building control systems optimize not only for comfort, but also changing electricity costs. This paper presents a data-driven approach to study thermal comfort behavior dynamics which are not captured by standard steady-state comfort models such as predicted mean vote. The proposed model captures the time it takes for a user to override a thermostat setpoint change as a function of the manual setpoint change magnitude. The model was trained with the ecobee Donate Your Data dataset of 5 min. resolution data from 27,764 smart thermostats and occupancy sensors. The resulting population-level model shows that, on average, a 2{\deg}F override will occur after ~30 mins. and an 8{\deg}F override will occur in only ~15 mins., indicating the magnitude of discomfort as a key driver to the swiftness of an override. Such models could improve demand response programs through personalized controls.

In an effort to help shape a research agenda for rural education, this document reviews the research on rural education and at-risk students to determine the relative influence on student outcomes of poverty and community location. Sections of this review address: methodological considerations (definitions of "rural" and "at-risk," inadequate controls and comparisons, philosophical orientation of rural literature); the context of rural education (student distribution by rurality and poverty concentration); rural-urban differences in poor students' academic achievement, high school completion rates, and college aspirations; community and student characteristics (poverty, income sources, cultural milieu, ethnicity, single-parent households, limited English proficiency, parental educational attainment, substance abuse, absenteeism, student employment, teen pregnancy); and school characteristics (size, location, expenditures, courses and programs, staff qualifications, technology resources, school-community connections, parent involvement, social capital). Preliminary findings suggest that: (1) poor rural students' academic achievement is quite low but better than that of poor urban students; (2) the magnitude of the problem of low achievement is smaller in poor rural areas than in poor urban areas; (3) rural communities are quite diverse; (4) the characteristics of rural students differ from those of urban students overall, but the profile of poor rural students is similar to that of poor urban students; and (5) rural students attend smaller schools with community connections but a smaller breadth of course offerings than urban schools. Five main research recommendations are outlined. Appendices include participants at a rural education issues meeting, referenced journals, and definitions. (Contains 69 references.) (SV)

This report combines syntheses of prior research with new analyses of previously collected data to address trends for minority group participation in higher education over the past 25 years. Two chapters focus on the aggregate impact of individual choices and behaviors in college attendance. Chapter 1 describes trends in minority enrollment and degree attainment at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Chapter 2 deals with two types of institutions of higher education that together enroll a substantial portion of the minorities who pursue a college education--the historically black colleges and universities. and urban community colleges. The next two chapters look at institutional practices related to the participation of minority students. Chapter 3 reviews data associated with factors that have been hypothesized to account for the relatively lower college participation rates of minority groups as compared to whites. Chapter 4 concludes the report with a review of various programs that institutions have developed to enhance minority student preparation, enrollment, and continuation in college. Twenty-eight tables and a brief description of the High School and Beyond Study are appended. Includes 62 references. (DB)

Covering the first 3 years of the Experimental Schools (ES) 6-year program (begun in 1971), this interim report presents: the conceptual design of the ES program; the 10 rural project sites and the 18 comparative school districts; the educational changes proposed by the ES projects; and the comprehensive evaluation design. Data presented on the research progress suggest: (1) the ES districts are indicative of a changing rural America that is less dependent upon farming and more economically diverse; (2) factors contributing to program readiness are social forces external to the school system, recognition in the system of unmet needs, experience in Federal programs, and administrative commitment to change; (3) factors contributing to project initiation are broad-based participation and influence, independence from extensive ES influence, school district acceptance of the project, and congruence between locally identified problems and project goals; (4) factors influencing quick implementation are expanding economy; high median family income; large, homogeneous, and geographically concentrated population; easy access to urban areas; and community satisfaction with community life; (5) influential organizational characteristics are experienced faculty, strong administrative leadership, teacher/administrator readiness for change, access to new educational ideas, coordination of teacher planning activities, and past experience with systematic educational change. (JC)

Summarizes the status of assessment reform, based on visits to 14 schools. Documents key characteristics of various performance assessments (portfolios, on-demand tasks, projects, exhibitions, and teachers' structured observations); determines which factors influence their development, implementation, and effectiveness; and analyzes interactions between performance assessments and other reform strategies. (MLH)

An abundance of research on principals as instructional leaders reveals their confusion about their job descriptions and suggests means of improving their instructional leadership. Recent literature addresses three questions about principal roles: (1) how a principal determines his or her relationship to teachers and students; (2) how principals manage their time, compared to managers in industry; and (3) what characteristics are shared by effective principals. Research shows that principals' job descriptions are vague, leaving their instructional leadership duties to their own discretion. Furthermore, principals' time is generally managed more sporadically than the smooth schedules of executives. Effective principals, though, seem to exhibit effective organizational qualities and vision in establishing and maintaining high instructional standards in a confident educational environment. Thus, principals' instructional leadership can best be improved by better defining their roles, developing fair evaluation and incentive systems for them, and developing on a districtwide basis plans for leadership improvement that specify leadership objectives, activities, resources, and timelines. (JW)

Research on educational standards and school discipline shows that curriculum reform may also improve discipline by engaging students in a challenging environment. The widespread decline in high school standards seems to have come from diluting both the high school and college liberal arts curricula of the past, with students abandoning careers in technology development for those in technology application. With diversity among schools in their curricula, there has been a corresponding diversity of standards; school boards and state departments of education must specify standards that clarify public expectations of schools, provide guidelines for their use of resources, and develop accurate tests of school effectiveness. Diversity also affects the application of disciplinary guidelines in schools. Although research shows discipline being critical to student achievement, changing social standards have eroded the traditional authority structure in public schools. Rather than imposing more extrinsic controls on students to try to improve learning, however, schools can establish an orderly environment through academic challenges and self-discipline. Thus, to raise educational standards and improve discipline, curriculum improvement--including more demanding courses in elementary schools, specified competencies statewide, and an upgrading of textbooks--would challenge students and satisfy public demand for better educational quality. (JW)