Academic literature on the topic 'Site-based teacher education'

Using a broad-based assessment for understanding what teachers learn in historic site-based professional development (HSBPD), this study follows 29 teachers from a HSBPD at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to see how their work at historic sites affected their practice upon return to their classrooms. Influenced by the Interconnected Model of Teacher Growth and Complexity theory, this study considers the complex outcomes of teachers as individuals, professionals, and learners in communities of practice. Results explore a range of outcomes related to content, pedagogical content knowledge, working with peers, interactions with the historic site, and a willingness to reconsider historical information. The discussion offers a consideration of the network of HSBPDs as a cumulative system and the ways in which teachers’ on-site work can deepen our understanding of working with complex historical sources and make larger curricular changes.

Case studies of site-based governance councils in Salt Lake City, Utah, provided the basis for testing whether building-based councils with broad jurisdiction, formal policymaking authority, parity protections, and training provisions actually enable teachers and parents to exert substantial influence on school policy. Despite the existence of these highly favorable arrangements, teachers and parents did not wield significant influence on significant issues in these decision arenas. Other factors, notably the composition of the councils, the relative power and role orientations of principals and professionals, norms of propriety and civility, the nature of district oversight and support, a congenial culture, and stable environment intervened to transform policymaking bodies into auxiliary units, convert teacher-parent parity to principal-professional control, and maintain rather than alter the influence relationships typically and traditionally found in schools. The implications of this research for those who advocate site-based governance as a potent reform strategy are discussed.

Objectives This study explores how the teacher agency of adapted physical education teachers is expressed in their subject, and what contextual factors affect the teacher agency in various special education settings. Methods A qualitative case study method was used for six adapted physical education teachers working at special education sites in various regions. Educational data of research participants were collected through in-depth interviews. Data analysis was conducted inductively by harnessing Priestley et al.’s (2015) ecological perspective as a theoretical framework. Results Adapted physical education teachers proactively practiced physical education when they understood the context of the situation and formed their own firm belief, while endeavouring to teach their subject consistently in any environment. The manifestation of teacher agency was promoted when the belief and values of physical education formed from teachers’ previous life experience matched with any one of the cultural, structural, and social contexts. In addition, factors that facilitated the manifestation of teacher agency include the school culture that is permissive for major subjects, the support from fellow teachers and important people, and the proper physical environment for physical education classes. On the other hand, barriers to the manifestation of teacher agency were the discourse taking adapted physical education as an integrated subject and stressing individualised education for students subject to special education as opposed to school curriculum, on-site atmosphere that does not recognise adapted physical education, the absence of physical environment support, limited emphasis on their role as special teachers, and lack of reflection on their major subject. In addition, despite the agreement between the repetitive and evaluative dimensions, fear of the projective dimensions also acted as a barrier. Conclusions Based on the findings, this study suggested the possibility that adapted physical education teachers proactively manifest teacher agency, the need for incumbent teacher education for adapted physical education, and the atmosphere to recognise special education as a school curriculum and institutional measures to improve this.

Recent research on teacher thinking and on the changing role of early childhood teachers has emphasised the importance of gaining insights into how practitioners themselves view their professional world. This article reports on a study which sought to express the voices of practising teachers who have the responsibility for student teachers during their field placement or practicum experience. The practicum is said to have a powerful influence on developing professionals, yet little is known about the experiences of the cooperating teachers who are responsible for student teachers at the field placement site. What is revealed are issues critical to the enhancement of university-based field experience programs. These issues warrant attention both within university-based field experience programs and within the context of increasing demands being placed on early childhood teachers.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose a real-time lecture supporting system. The target of this study is on-site classrooms where teachers give lectures and a lot of students listen to teachers’ explanations, conduct exercises, etc. Design/methodology/approach The proposed system uses an e-learning system and an e-book system to collect teaching and learning activities from a teacher and students in real time. The collected data are immediately analyzed to provide feedback to the teacher just before the lecture starts and during the lecture. For example, the teacher can check which pages were well previewed and which pages were not previewed by students using the preview achievement graph. During the lecture, real-time analytics graphs are shown on the teacher’s PC. The teacher can easily grasp students’ status and whether or not students are following the teacher’s explanation. Findings Through the case study, the authors first confirmed the effectiveness of each tool developed in this study. Then, the authors conducted a large-scale experiment using a real-time analytics graph and investigated whether the proposed system could improve the teaching and learning in on-site classrooms. The results indicated that teachers could adjust the speed of their lecture based on the real-time feedback system, which also resulted in encouraging students to put bookmarks and highlights on keywords and sentences. Originality/value Real-time learning analytics enables teachers and students to enhance their teaching and learning during lectures. Teachers should start considering this new strategy to improve their lectures immediately.

Site-based decision making has been the focus of considerable research. However, the study of perceived teacher influence in schools utilizing site-based decision making has been neglected as applied to specific sites. Much of the research on participatory decision making has focused primarily on the effective group behaviors of decision making bodies, the structural components of programs, descriptive case studies of programs, or on general themes such as school restructuring. Much of the literature on decision making has been remiss in describing the process from a human orientation, as opposed to a product orientation. This study examines the perception of teachers in a school with a decision making council. The focus of the study is on the perceived degree of teacher influence found in one school utilizing a site-based decision making council. The focus of this analysis was on the perceived degree of teacher influence in relation to the structural factors found at the school site. This study employed the techniques of qualitative methodology. Data were obtained through document review, observation, interview, and questionnaire. The concern was for insight into the perceived degree of influence from the viewpoint of individual perspectives which were examined. The subjects included members of a decision making council and the teachers represented by the council. The data revealed two distinct structures which were influential in the perceived degree of teacher influence. These structures were referred to as formal and informal impact agents. Sub-groupings of the formal structure were referred to as historical and novel. The formal structural variables are described as historical (hierarchical systems entrenched by tradition or role authority) and novel (hierarchical systems which impact the implementation phase of decisions). Informal structures are characterized as collegial and deal with traditional and nontraditional interaction patterns among school personnel. A consistent theme was the belief that the novel structural system accommodated more teacher influence at the school site. Collegial interactions, which were observed and described, reflected this belief. Data suggest that there are implications for focusing on the degree of influence perceived by teachers when introducing a system of governance involving site-based decision making.

Driven 2 Teach is a privately funded program for history teachers in the state of Utah. The program emphasizes the importance of teacher travel to educate history teachers in the places where history happened. This study investigated the program’s influence on participant gains in learning about history and how to best teach about the past, social studies professional development, teacher beliefs, and changes in instructional practices. This study utilized a case study methodology, autoethnography, and six interconnected frameworks: Professional development, experiential education, site-based learning, pedagogical content knowledge, teacher beliefs, and professional learning communities. This study helps demonstrate the effectiveness of travel as a teaching method. Data from this study were used to answer the following questions: How do history teachers perceive their pedagogical content knowledge as changing as a result of participating in the Driven 2 Teach program? How do the experiences with Driven 2 Teach differ from other professional development experiences? How do history teacher beliefs about social studies education contribute to the changes in pedagogical content knowledge and instructional practice? How do these history teachers plan on changing instructional practices based on their new pedagogical content knowledge? The results of this study show that participants’ knowledge of historical content and how to best teach that content increased significantly. This study also found that more social studies professional development is needed in the state of Utah. Teachers’ confidence levels increased because of their experience with this program in regard to teaching history and social studies skills to their students. Participants, as a result of participation with Driven 2 Teach, are more likely to teach students’ skills using social studies content rather than merely teaching social studies through rote memorization. Participants want to incorporate more hands-on learning experiences for students, and use more primary source documents in their lessons. Traveling together to historical sites and other important places with other social studies teachers enhanced the learning of all involved and increased the retention of what was learned. Participants benefited from both planned and unplanned events, and had experiences that made them realize even more, the importance of social studies education and incorporating multiple perspectives when learning about the past.

Over a decade after the regulation change in Virginia allowing individuals without teaching experience to pursue school counseling careers, no known study had focused exclusively on differences site supervisors observe when training school counselors from different professional backgrounds and the extent to which those counselors employ a tailored supervision approach in the clinical setting. While site supervisor training has been an area of interest in recent articles (e.g., Dollarhide & Miller, 2006), its relationship to supervision philosophies and technique differentiation has not been previously addressed. The researcher investigated those topics using a mixed-method research design shaped by suggestions from recent literature (e.g., Better-Fitzhugh, 2010; DeKruyf, 2007; Luke, Ellis, & Bernard, 2011; Miller & Dollarhide, 2006; Peterson & Deuschle, 2006; Stephens, 2008). This study analyzed site supervisors’ perspectives on supervision, the role training can play in developing site supervisors’ confidence and philosophical orientation, and the beliefs and practices site supervisors employ when supervising former teachers and non-teachers. Observed differences between former teachers and non-teachers in the clinical setting existed, yet 7 out of 12 site supervisors did not differentiate their supervision approach in order to close this gap. Findings from both Phase I (survey) and Phase II (interview) of this study indicated that practice is linked to training. Site supervisors who reported receiving supervision training were more likely to work from a philosophy of site supervision, feel more confident about their ability to supervise, and believe that differences between former teachers and non-teachers were slight and could be overcome with supportive, intentional supervision.

The introduction of site-based management has had an impact on the operation of school systems in Tennessee; however no one seems to know for certain what that impact was. Findings from this study revealed that there is a basic understanding of the impact of site-based management as perceived by superintendents, board chairpersons, principals, personnel, budget, curriculum, and staff development administrators. Findings also revealed that central office staff and principals, for the most part, perceive that the superintendents and board chairpersons were supportive of site-based management programs. One hundred and eighty-one educators, including board chairpersons, responded to a fifty-four item questionnaire. This questionnaire focused on the following areas: impact, roles, system-wide policies, personnel, relationships, staff development, morale, position authority, curriculum, policy making, budget and support. Using the F-test for analysis of variance, it was determined that significant differences in perceptions existed in the area of understanding the impact, sharing decisions at the school site, boards of education relinquishing policy making authority to the school site, and principals and faculties having control of the curriculum. The remaining eight (roles, system-wide policies, personnel, staff development, morale, position authority, budget, support) had no significant differences in the perceptions of the respondents. Conclusions of the study emphasize that in order for site-based management programs to be successful there must be a dramatic change in the traditional administrative role. Recommendations were extensive training, retraining, and education be provided so that all school and central office personnel and community members understand and have a sense of ownership of site-based management.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 1999.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 250 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-221).

Abstract My objective with this master's thesis is to contribute development both to the education for art-teachers and to art education primary and secondary school.     This master thesis discusses three students’ different art-based processes in a visual project about sustainable site-specific design. The project is based on ethnographic documentation of a “non-place” chosen by students themselves. The students are working with visual ethnographic documentation, making pictures in different materials, process-documentations, process-dairy, reception-calls, portfolio-analysis and digital presentation. The project aims reflections over how students can transform their experiences and knowledge, and later, in their role as art teachers, using the visual methods learnt, and using the unexpected and uncertain as a potential, to organize education with primary school pupils. ‘     The purpose of the thesis is to study students learning in, about, and through visual processes in an art-project, where the design of the teaching includes risk-taking elements. To delineate the purpose, I will work on the following issues:  1. What is made visible in students' digital presentations regarding different learning processes, sub-results and final results at the denotative and connotative level?  2. What does the design of the teaching mean for the students’ learning, in relation to the following four problem areas: - Image production with materials, techniques and tools - Image, reception talk and image theory - Documentation, evaluation and assessment - The location, the drawing room and other conditions for picture teaching.  3. Will the unexpected and uncertain as a potential for learning, be made visible in the students' processes, partial and final results? If so, how?     This is a qualitative study of three teacher - students' digital presentations. The material in the study includes three teacher students' digital presentations from an exam in an art project; research notes from observations in four course elements; informal interviews with two of the students. All of the three students’ digital presentations start with ethnographic inspired documentations from their chosen “non-places”. These pictures is first analysed, through visual-semiotic analyse. With this result in mind the individual visual processes through different tasks combined with materials analyses with a semiotic gaze and results in three cases followed up with a process-analysis of the three cases.      The theoretical context of the study is based on constructionistic theoretical perspective and semiotics as a theory of analysis, problematising the four aspects of the learning-field of art-education, identified in the thesis’ systematic research overview. The aim is to discuss design of education and three students’ experiences of their process-oriented investigative artwork. A work based on divergent thinking, where processes and results are not predetermined and where neither students nor teachers can anticipate them and thus have to dare to let go, which is why the study wants to highlight the unexpected and uncertain potential in image education. The result shows three students’ different visual processes, both in what drove and inspired them, and how they worked in visual materials. It shows that the concept in the design of the task challenged the students to explore the unsecure and the unexpected.  Through their artwork and the studies four aspects design of education in teacher education and compulsory school were problematised and several new questions about education in art were raised.

This project was developed to address the complex issue of disseminating information to high school students via the World Wide Web. Topics include: the need for greater communication among instructors, students and parents, the need to utilize instructional design techniques, the backwards design process in the development of web based projects; and the need to integrate internet technology for promoting instruction and learning.

The aims of this project hope to trace the factors affecting teachers' use of technology, with a concentration on Internet usage, and offer steps in helping teachers move toward integrating the Internet into their curriculum.

The author investigates how a school–university partnership involving pre-service teachers (PSTs), mentors, teacher educators and students impacts the learning and engagement of participant stakeholders. The examination considers the purpose of an educational partnership in the context of a school’s transformation and improvement. The study is premised on an assumption that an effective partnership between a school and university in site-based teacher education, has the potential to improve the learning of students; enhance the quality of the practicum experience for PSTs; and promote opportunities in professional learning and growth for practising teachers, school leaders and teacher educators. The partnership raises questions about what learning looks like in a contemporary school setting; by enhancing a culture of continuous learning and new knowledge, through sustained collaboration, practitioner research and inquiry, innovation, and change. The author demonstrates that a school–university partnership can enable all stakeholders who participate to learn: primarily, the students through the developing contributions of PSTs; the PSTs as they work in authentically demanding practice; school leaders and teacher educators as they work together to achieve common goals; and the teachers, whose professional understandings and practices are developed through taking on the primary responsibility of mentoring the PSTs. The research draws on Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger’s (1991) theory of situated learning and Etienne Wenger’s (1998) theory of communities of practice. The study acknowledges the social nature of schools and a view of knowledge being socially generated through participant engagement in communities of practice. An exploration of the social and situated dimensions of learning offers insights into those elements of partnership-based teacher education that enhance PST professional knowledge, practice, and agency through ongoing contact with students and their learning. The selection of a case study methodology is a means through which to explore situated learning within communities of practice. This methodology provides an exploration of the way in which the culture, structures, and processes within the school–university partnership facilitated professional agency—creating the conditions for effective teaching and learning. The research uses quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis to obtain a rich spectrum of views. The case study methodology combining quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis allows concepts to be wholly explored, ensuring all aspects of the phenomenon (school–university partnership) are reflected on and understood. The research explores the potential for a school–university partnership to create an alternative discourse and pathway to raise school and student outcomes. The study reveals how a school–university partnership can produce adaptive and discursive practices, countering the normalising influence of a system regime’s focus on compliance, performance, and accountability. This study explores how a partnership with a university provides the school with a vehicle to create a unique school culture, catering for local challenges within Departmental accountabilities.

At a large, urban university, the clinically based preparation of undergraduate elementary education teacher candidates has been transformed. Following the Blue Ribbon Panel Report (NCATE, 2010), faculty created a more intense, integrated, and rigorous clinical experience for teacher candidates, which required more engagement, monitoring, and collaboration among methods faculty and PDS PK-6 schools, while immersing the candidates in a more realistic setting. This chapter describes how (a) methods curricula were reconfigured to include integrated clinical assignments, (b) opportunities were created for candidates to experience extended time in clinical classrooms, (c) university faculty liaisons were present at each PDS clinical school to provide on-site support, feedback, seminar instruction, accountability, and increased communication between the university and the school, (d) new evaluation instruments were implemented to gather and report teacher candidate knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and (e) technology was utilized, allowing teacher candidates opportunity to present and reflect on experiences.

This qualitative inquiry described the nature of paired placements within a revolutionary new teacher education program designed to prepare undergraduate teacher education candidates for employment in inclusive early childhood learning environments. The focus of this project, reflecting a Vygotskian lens, has emerged into a five-fold examination: to document the ways that pairs work together, to articulate the outcomes of pairings as contrasted with single arrangements, to identify the practices that make pairings successful or not, to examine the practice of pairing students from the mentor teachers' perspective, and to explore how collaboration between student teachers and mentor teachers lead to critical reflection about teaching. Data sources included semi-structured interviews with teacher candidates and cooperating mentors and teachers, observations and field notes. The site for this study was a university-based early childhood center.

This study emerged from the concerns experienced by the last-year English language trainee teachers during their school practicum. An increasing number of trainees complained that their existing beliefs conflicted, in many ways, with the school-based mentor's teaching practice. A collaborative action research (CAR) professional development programme (PDP) was established to help prospective teachers resolve many of the dilemmas and improve their classroom practices in a 10-week practicum course. It was found that CAR has a powerful impact upon teacher candidates as it solves many of the dilemmas and concerns. Belief changes of one trainee teacher are presented as an exemplary case. While such findings can improve our understandings of pre-service teachers' cognitive learning and problem solving skills at the practicum site, they also generate useful insights into designing a PDP to promote trainee teachers' school-based professional development in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematic) education.

The development of Internet-based school networks, facilitating the creation of virtual classes, has implications for the professional education of teachers who are increasingly likely to teach both face-to-face and online. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, pre-service teachers are being prepared for networked school environments within which on-site and online teaching and learning are required. Teachers are provided with a structure within which to manage collaboration that includes learning circles and cybercells. Within networked school environments, virtual classes have been developed for teaching an expanding range of subjects at high school level.

A project by James Cook University’s School of Education created an online learning environment targeted at rural and regional schools in Far North Queensland. Pre-service teachers worked with practising teachers and children to develop learning activities which were shared through the BirdNet website. The site hosts a wide range of learning activities for bird identification, building school gardens, as well as professional learning tools such as lesson plans and integrated units of work. Project successes indicate that innovation, creativity and place-based learning can support high levels of both ICT and scientific literacy in all participants. The challenges faced included those resulting from technical issues, effects of distance, child-safety provisions for an on-line environment, and entry level of skills for participants. The value of informal learning by pre-service teachers, freed from the formal learning assessment regime, is endorsed as a valid sustainable, strategy which can be adopted by teacher educators.

The majority of this text has been built around the concept of teaching students with special needs in an inclusive, label-free, environment built around the five areas of music teaching and learning. As mentioned in chapter 1, music teachers must also learn about the challenges a student might be facing in their general or self-contained classroom. This is equally important in learning to teach a student who might be faced with the challenge of a disability. This chapter will consist of three sections. Section 1 is a comprehensive list (as of the publication date) of the standard Internet-based resources for students with a variety of special needs. Section 2 is an up-to-date resource list of practitioner articles, books, and research in the field of teaching students with special needs. The following web-based resources follow the IDEA (2004) categorization of disabilities. Each URL has been tested and reviewed by the authors and editors. http://www.ability.org.uk/autism.html This site has over 150 links to other autism-related resources. The Internet resources are wide in scope and include sites from countries all over the world. This site is a great resource for learning more about autism. http://www.autismone.org/ This site contains many media images and links regarding various aspects of autism. You will also find current articles on related topics including research, treatments, awareness, and social networking for parents and teachers. Links to several notable autism sites are included as part of the A+ Autism Collaboration. http://www.autism.com/ari/ Although this site cites current autism research as the main topic, it also includes concise information about autism, treatment options, and frequently asked questions. Triggers for autism and dietary treatment as well as several links to articles on many topics related to autism treatment and recovery are embedded in this interactive site. http://www.autism-society.org/ This site offers basic information about autism and signs for early identification. Treatment options, education laws, family issues, and links to the autism community are also provided. This site offers access to current research on autism, resources for parents, and a link to a very large database called Autism-source, which contains sources for autism-related services and support.

The objective of the NSF RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) site program hosted by the University of Central Florida is to provide K-12 teachers with a hands-on engineering design experience covering all aspects of the Internet of Things, from the manufacturing of a sensor, to the hardware and software that allows it to connect to the Internet. This program gives teachers learning opportunities to explore the practical use of science for engineering applications, and provide a context in which students in their classroom can test their own scientific knowledge as they recognize the interplay among science, engineering and technology. The uniqueness of this site program lies in the engagement of teachers in various facets of scientific, engineering, and educational methods based on Train-the-Trainer model with rotation in multiple research labs. In order to support the STEM educational services for teachers and students in middle and high schools, our site program aims at creating competent teacher trainers who ensure quality pre-service and in-service teacher education, by providing multidisciplinary experiences that are relevant to the current technical development. Teachers in the adjacent public school districts are primary participants in this site program. Significant efforts have been made to recruit teachers serving underrepresented student populations, and female and minority teachers who can reach out to them. In our RET site program, the participants rotated to four different laboratories with a 1.5–3 week residency in each, where they learned about the practice of engineering in various disciplines at the research laboratories on the university campus under the guidance of faculty and graduate mentors. The teachers presented their learning outcomes in the final week and were invited back to share their educational implementation experiences in their classes. This site program provided teachers with interdisciplinary engineering design experiences relevant to innovative technical development, and helped them develop teacher-driven teaching modules that can be deployed in the classroom.

The Institute for Educational Technologies (ITD) in Genoa, part of Italy’s National Research Council (CNR) has long held high-quality on-site training and refresher courses for teachers that are recognized by Italy’s Ministry of Education and Research (MIUR). In addition to participating in face-to-face initiatives, Italy’s teachers are increasingly exploiting opportunities to participate in certified online training initiatives. These are especially popular as they permit teachers a high degree of autonomy and flexibility in managing their learning. Since September 2014, ITD-CNR has been testing and implementing innovative training methods (mostly on behalf of a large Italian public research organization). These include webinars, which make it possible to reach large numbers of participants. ITD-CNR has also designed and made available a series of open courses designed to help teachers develop the skills needed to enhance classroom integration of students with disabilities, specific learning disabilities, and other special educational needs. These courses also address the use of technologies and strategies for more effective school inclusion. To ensure these training proposals remain usable over time and continue to provide relevant content, in 2016 ITD-CNR created an online platform called Essediquadro Training (https://sd2.itd.cnr.it/corsiformazione). This aggregates and makes available five open courses that are free of charge, totalling 130 hours of high-quality, certified training.In the past two years, the platform has attracted over 9000 registered users (pre- and in-service teachers), and has become a focal point for similar training initiatives launched by schools and universities, who are integrating their own training courses with those on offer from Essediquadro Training. In this contribution, we illustrate the characteristics and contents of the Essediquadro Training platform, examine the use of webinars for teacher training, and offer some considerations based on results of satisfaction questionnaires compiled by platform users.

The paper presents the two perspectives of IT in the Palestinian schools. The basic IT literacy - based courses have been introduced in most of private schools since 1985, and formally started in all public as well private schools in 1999. This covers eight grades from the fifth up to the twelfth. An additional two classes per week have been introduced to the weekly school program. The main objective is to create a new technological-mentality generation that understand, use, explore, and involve in the highly demanded field. Students will be facilitated with the basic IT skills to understand, use, and promote their studies in effectively understanding, searching, reporting, and documenting. Teachers badly need IT paradigms to boost their instructional materials and teaching aids. In addition to the workshops, an Arabic language-based web site will be constructed to assist schoolteachers, administrators, and students etc. in learning technology online an offline. Further more, a collaborative Palestinian School Teachers

Abstract RoboCamp provides an innovative experience in the area of robotics for educators. This fun, hands-on experience strengthens the teachers’ knowledge and skills in science, mathematics, engineering, and telecommunications and prepares them to effectively transfer the experience to students in the classroom. RoboCamp is supported with a grant from the Tennessee State Department of Education and is a collaborative effort involving the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), area school systems, industry supporting robotics, and the Universities of Tennessee and Memphis. RoboCamp is held on-site at the ORNL and gives the teachers firsthand look at research in action. The teachers work side-by-side with scientists and engineers on robotics-related topics. These topics include the following: • history and future of robotics; • science, mathematics, and engineering as they relate to robotics; • national standards and state and local curriculum frameworks; • classroom implementation of robotics education utilizing national standards; • current thinking on pedagogy and assessment; and • fun, innovative ways to answer the age-old question, “But how do we use it in real life!?!” RoboCamp participants tour a variety of sites that use robots. These tours include production plants, research facilities, and public schools involved in robotics education. Participants build several kinds of robots based on different operating principles, use computers and the Internet for robotics-related research, and work on a design problem using robotic solutions. Finally, participants work in teams to develop plans to transfer the experience to their schools. Approximately twenty teachers are selected for participation in RoboCamp. Participants apply, and are selected, as members of a school team. A team is comprised of 3–5 members and may include teachers of the same grade or educators teaching different grades but within a school; teams are encouraged to include administrators and guidance counselors. Participants are paid a stipend and expenses. Teams are solicited statewide.

Abstract This article describes a National Science Foundation sponsored project to promote technological education with a focus on composites manufacturing. This project has four components: (1)the promotion of careers in Technology to students in grades 7–11; (2) summer camps for students grades 7–11; (3) short courses for high school teachers; (4) developing new courses at the undergraduate level. For each component of the project, a rationale, detailed content, delivery methods, and assessment methods will be discussed. Experience indicates a need to reach secondary school students to make them aware of careers in Technology and related educational opportunities at two-year and four-year institutions and to present a positive and attractive image of the field. Our efforts are directed towards students in grades 7–11. To reach a maximum of students in a large geographic area using several approaches: 1. Presentations using distance learning facilities that allow interactive audio/video presentations at different sites. Faculty members on campus can communicate with six or more sites simultaneously and present computer-based materials, videos, and conduct live demonstrations. 2. School visits. Many schools do not have access to site for interactive video presentations. 3. A web site developed for the project contains regularly updated information about the project, information about composite materials, and the field of technology. Interested parties can register for various programs by filling out the appropriate forms on the web. 4. Special events such as National Engineers Week and Open House Days are used to establish personal contacts. This paper describes how the presentations are delivered, their contents, and how effective they are in promoting a positive image of technology. Another important component of this project is that each institution offers summer camps for students in grades 7–11 and short courses for high school teachers. Each of these activities concentrate on one specific technical area and offer both a general view of that area and how it can lead to rewarding careers in industry, and direct hands-on experiences.

This paper presents an information-client strategy for an academic department’s use of the web. The goals of this strategy are to maintain the department’s range of course offerings in the face of low enrollments and budget constraints, serve different student constituencies, and engage faculty who have diverse web-capabilities and interests in web-sites and web courses. The paper illustrates web-delivery technology that is currently available rather than develop advances in web course or web site methods. Our discussion is based on our experience as accounting educators at a state-supported, commuter campus. We explain the intent of our academic department’s web pages and assess their effectiveness. The paper is developed from the perspective of a Business School’s Accounting Department that primarily teaches Accounting students. It deals with issues and IT capabilities representative of a non-information-technology faculty and non-IT-focused students.

If there is an issue that is particularly hard to understand for students in statistical inference that is the concept of the distribution of a combination of random variables: an estimator. In a massive, 300 or more students’ classroom, the challenge is even greater. This situation is common at the Faculty of Economics of the National University of Córdoba (FCE- UNC), Argentina, with more than 12,000 students. The purpose of this work is to show how to take advantage from the production of Scorm materials that facilitate the integration of resources available on the web to improve the study of statistical issues in mass classrooms through the interaction with Moodle platform. Based on Exe Learning, an SCORM was developed. This is an interactive material to complement the study of Sampling Distributions. Includes sections designed to ensure understanding of the concepts, based on the use of simulators from the Rice University and auto evaluation questions. You may visit the site at: http://aulas.eco.unc.edu.ar/course/view.php?id=7 Implemented in a course of statistical inference at FCE-UNC it seems to be a very good alternative in the search for high degree of personalization in the interaction with the students, despite the massiveness of the number of attendees. A personal score is assigned on the base of the student interaction with the Scorm and registered in Moodle. Feedback is automatically generated while using the app (correct answers are stimulated with Genial! Well done!, etc. and those wrong with clues to get to the correct answer and an expression of encouragement: Try again! It is important to remark that this kind of materials also seem to be an excellent tool to motivate teachers (materials production) and students (Statistics education in the age of social networking and distance education). Also are intended to close the gap in advancing Statistical education using technology and mobile devices.

Plastics are found everywhere, mainly because of their convenient and versatile characteristics and affordability, often surpassing traditional materials. However, these extraordinary features are also responsible for the emergence of a massive, persistent, and ever-growing amount of plastic waste, disrupting the health of our planet. This project, highlighting discourses about design education for sustainable development, offers students the opportunity to investigate the plastic waste problem in a hands-on and empowering way. Our university’s city campus alone uses around 60,000 milk bottles a year, close to 2.5 tonnes of HDPE plastic, just from milk used in the cafes, schools, and staff rooms. This valuable resource is currently shipped off-campus to be recycled into lower value products (downcycled). In the circular economy project presented here, we ask 3rd-year industrial design students to design desirable, feasible and viable products made from the university’s waste material, the plastic milk bottles. Students use the design process and design and sustainability tools to gain theoretical knowledge through their creative practice. They first research the problem and its context, after which they start generating (product) ideas while simultaneously exploring the HDPE material and possible solutions to reuse it on site. Students are encouraged to experiment extensively with the milk bottle plastic. The aim is to subsequently design innovative products taking advantage of the discovered properties and qualities of the material while also considering user needs and viable manufacturing methods. The design outcomes are envisaged to be used by university staff and students, to be recycled again at the end of their lives. Tertiary design education for sustainability is more efficient if it is experiential, and raising environmental awareness in students increases through practical learning experiences involving open-ended enquiry. This assignment engages students through project-based learning using an iterative design process, encouraging them to pursue meaningful issues. It focuses on promoting curiosity and exploration, experimentation and intuitive making, problem-solving and change-making, within the themes of recycling and circular economies. The assignment requests students to implement their knowledge and thinking into practice, creating a critical awareness of the impact of plastics on our lives and the environment, and also its value. Students extensively explore the technical, sensorial, and expressive qualities of the material at hand, with ‘making’ and intuition as the driving forces, which later informs their design proposals. They are encouraged to create innovative change-making solutions, turning the assignment into a positive and memorable experience, aiming for long-lasting behavioural change. This brief aims to teach sustainability in an empowering way to arrive at better learning outcomes and design solutions while promoting a circular economy at the university. The assignment raises awareness about the harms of plastic in a community that lives immersed in it and brings about creative and innovative solutions. The relevance of this project lies in promoting environmental consciousness in students and making the impact of actions tangible by using a project-based and hands-on design approach. Education is used to move towards a more sustainable world by raising awareness in those envisaged to help shape it.

Attention to safety and health are of ever-increasing priority to industrial organizations. Good Safety is demanded by stockholders, employees, and the community while increasing injury costs provide additional motivation for safety and health excellence. Safety has always been a strong corporate value of DuPont and a vital part of its culture. As a result, DuPont has become a benchmark in safety and health performance. Since 1990, DuPont has re-engineered itself to meet global competition and address future vision. In the new re-engineered organizational structures, DuPont has also had to re-engineer its safety management systems. A special Discovery Team was chartered by DuPont senior management to determine the “best practices’ for safety and health being used in DuPont best-performing sites. A summary of the findings is presented, and five of the practices are discussed. Excellence in safety and health management is more important today than ever. Public awareness, federal and state regulations, and enlightened management have resulted in a widespread conviction that all employees have the right to work in an environment that will not adversely affect their safety and health. In DuPont, we believe that excellence in safety and health is necessary to achieve global competitiveness, maintain employee loyalty, and be an accepted member of the communities in which we make, handle, use, and transport products. Safety can also be the “catalyst” to achieving excellence in other important business parameters. The organizational and communication skills developed by management, individuals, and teams in safety can be directly applied to other company initiatives. As we look into the 21st Century, we must also recognize that new organizational structures (flatter with empowered teams) will require new safety management techniques and systems in order to maintain continuous improvement in safety performance. Injury costs, which have risen dramatically in the past twenty years, provide another incentive for safety and health excellence. Shown in the Figure 1, injury costs have increased even after correcting for inflation. Many companies have found these costs to be an “invisible drain” on earnings and profitability. In some organizations, significant initiatives have been launched to better manage the workers’ compensation systems. We have found that the ultimate solution is to prevent injuries and incidents before they occur. A globally-respected company, DuPont is regarded as a well-managed, extremely ethical firm that is the benchmark in industrial safety performance. Like many other companies, DuPont has re-engineered itself and downsized its operations since 1985. Through these changes, we have maintained dedication to our principles and developed new techniques to manage in these organizational environments. As a diversified company, our operations involve chemical process facilities, production line operations, field activities, and sales and distribution of materials. Our customer base is almost entirely industrial and yet we still maintain a high level of consumer awareness and positive perception. The DuPont concern for safety dates back to the early 1800s and the first days of the company. In 1802 E.I. DuPont, a Frenchman, began manufacturing quality grade explosives to fill America’s growing need to build roads, clear fields, increase mining output, and protect its recently won independence. Because explosives production is such a hazardous industry, DuPont recognized and accepted the need for an effective safety effort. The building walls of the first powder mill near Wilmington, Delaware, were built three stones thick on three sides. The back remained open to the Brandywine River to direct any explosive forces away from other buildings and employees. To set the safety example, DuPont also built his home and the homes of his managers next to the powder yard. An effective safety program was a necessity. It represented the first defense against instant corporate liquidation. Safety needs more than a well-designed plant, however. In 1811, work rules were posted in the mill to guide employee work habits. Though not nearly as sophisticated as the safety standards of today, they did introduce an important basic concept — that safety must be a line management responsibility. Later, DuPont introduced an employee health program and hired a company doctor. An early step taken in 1912 was the keeping of safety statistics, approximately 60 years before the federal requirement to do so. We had a visible measure of our safety performance and were determined that we were going to improve it. When the nation entered World War I, the DuPont Company supplied 40 percent of the explosives used by the Allied Forces, more than 1.5 billion pounds. To accomplish this task, over 30,000 new employees were hired and trained to build and operate many plants. Among these facilities was the largest smokeless powder plant the world had ever seen. The new plant was producing granulated powder in a record 116 days after ground breaking. The trends on the safety performance chart reflect the problems that a large new work force can pose until the employees fully accept the company’s safety philosophy. The first arrow reflects the World War I scale-up, and the second arrow represents rapid diversification into new businesses during the 1920s. These instances of significant deterioration in safety performance reinforced DuPont’s commitment to reduce the unsafe acts that were causing 96 percent of our injuries. Only 4 percent of injuries result from unsafe conditions or equipment — the remainder result from the unsafe acts of people. This is an important concept if we are to focus our attention on reducing injuries and incidents within the work environment. World War II brought on a similar set of demands. The story was similar to World War I but the numbers were even more astonishing: one billion dollars in capital expenditures, 54 new plants, 75,000 additional employees, and 4.5 billion pounds of explosives produced — 20 percent of the volume used by the Allied Forces. Yet, the performance during the war years showed no significant deviation from the pre-war years. In 1941, the DuPont Company was 10 times safer than all industry and 9 times safer than the Chemical Industry. Management and the line organization were finally working as they should to control the real causes of injuries. Today, DuPont is about 50 times safer than US industrial safety performance averages. Comparing performance to other industries, it is interesting to note that seemingly “hazard-free” industries seem to have extraordinarily high injury rates. This is because, as DuPont has found out, performance is a function of injury prevention and safety management systems, not hazard exposure. Our success in safety results from a sound safety management philosophy. Each of the 125 DuPont facilities is responsible for its own safety program, progress, and performance. However, management at each of these facilities approaches safety from the same fundamental and sound philosophy. This philosophy can be expressed in eleven straightforward principles. The first principle is that all injuries can be prevented. That statement may seem a bit optimistic. In fact, we believe that this is a realistic goal and not just a theoretical objective. Our safety performance proves that the objective is achievable. We have plants with over 2,000 employees that have operated for over 10 years without a lost time injury. As injuries and incidents are investigated, we can always identify actions that could have prevented that incident. If we manage safety in a proactive — rather than reactive — manner, we will eliminate injuries by reducing the acts and conditions that cause them. The second principle is that management, which includes all levels through first-line supervisors, is responsible and accountable for preventing injuries. Only when senior management exerts sustained and consistent leadership in establishing safety goals, demanding accountability for safety performance and providing the necessary resources, can a safety program be effective in an industrial environment. The third principle states that, while recognizing management responsibility, it takes the combined energy of the entire organization to reach sustained, continuous improvement in safety and health performance. Creating an environment in which employees feel ownership for the safety effort and make significant contributions is an essential task for management, and one that needs deliberate and ongoing attention. The fourth principle is a corollary to the first principle that all injuries are preventable. It holds that all operating exposures that may result in injuries or illnesses can be controlled. No matter what the exposure, an effective safeguard can be provided. It is preferable, of course, to eliminate sources of danger, but when this is not reasonable or practical, supervision must specify measures such as special training, safety devices, and protective clothing. Our fifth safety principle states that safety is a condition of employment. Conscientious assumption of safety responsibility is required from all employees from their first day on the job. Each employee must be convinced that he or she has a responsibility for working safely. The sixth safety principle: Employees must be trained to work safely. We have found that an awareness for safety does not come naturally and that people have to be trained to work safely. With effective training programs to teach, motivate, and sustain safety knowledge, all injuries and illnesses can be eliminated. Our seventh principle holds that management must audit performance on the workplace to assess safety program success. Comprehensive inspections of both facilities and programs not only confirm their effectiveness in achieving the desired performance, but also detect specific problems and help to identify weaknesses in the safety effort. The Company’s eighth principle states that all deficiencies must be corrected promptly. Without prompt action, risk of injuries will increase and, even more important, the credibility of management’s safety efforts will suffer. Our ninth principle is a statement that off-the-job safety is an important part of the overall safety effort. We do not expect nor want employees to “turn safety on” as they come to work and “turn it off” when they go home. The company safety culture truly becomes of the individual employee’s way of thinking. The tenth principle recognizes that it’s good business to prevent injuries. Injuries cost money. However, hidden or indirect costs usually exceed the direct cost. Our last principle is the most important. Safety must be integrated as core business and personal value. There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve learned from almost 200 years of experience that 96 percent of safety incidents are directly caused by the action of people, not by faulty equipment or inadequate safety standards. But conversely, it is our people who provide the solutions to our safety problems. They are the one essential ingredient in the recipe for a safe workplace. Intelligent, trained, and motivated employees are any company’s greatest resource. Our success in safety depends upon the men and women in our plants following procedures, participating actively in training, and identifying and alerting each other and management to potential hazards. By demonstrating a real concern for each employee, management helps establish a mutual respect, and the foundation is laid for a solid safety program. This, of course, is also the foundation for good employee relations. An important lesson learned in DuPont is that the majority of injuries are caused by unsafe acts and at-risk behaviors rather than unsafe equipment or conditions. In fact, in several DuPont studies it was estimated that 96 percent of injuries are caused by unsafe acts. This was particularly revealing when considering safety audits — if audits were only focused on conditions, at best we could only prevent four percent of our injuries. By establishing management systems for safety auditing that focus on people, including audit training, techniques, and plans, all incidents are preventable. Of course, employee contribution and involvement in auditing leads to sustainability through stakeholdership in the system. Management safety audits help to make manage the “behavioral balance.” Every job and task performed at a site can do be done at-risk or safely. The essence of a good safety system ensures that safe behavior is the accepted norm amongst employees, and that it is the expected and respected way of doing things. Shifting employees norms contributes mightily to changing culture. The management safety audit provides a way to quantify these norms. DuPont safety performance has continued to improve since we began keeping records in 1911 until about 1990. In the 1990–1994 time frame, performance deteriorated as shown in the chart that follows: This increase in injuries caused great concern to senior DuPont management as well as employees. It occurred while the corporation was undergoing changes in organization. In order to sustain our technological, competitive, and business leadership positions, DuPont began re-engineering itself beginning in about 1990. New streamlined organizational structures and collaborative work processes eliminated many positions and levels of management and supervision. The total employment of the company was reduced about 25 percent during these four years. In our traditional hierarchical organization structures, every level of supervision and management knew exactly what they were expected to do with safety, and all had important roles. As many of these levels were eliminated, new systems needed to be identified for these new organizations. In early 1995, Edgar S. Woolard, DuPont Chairman, chartered a Corporate Discovery Team to look for processes that will put DuPont on a consistent path toward a goal of zero injuries and occupational illnesses. The cross-functional team used a mode of “discovery through learning” from as many DuPont employees and sites around the world. The Discovery Team fostered the rapid sharing and leveraging of “best practices” and innovative approaches being pursued at DuPont’s plants, field sites, laboratories, and office locations. In short, the team examined the company’s current state, described the future state, identified barriers between the two, and recommended key ways to overcome these barriers. After reporting back to executive management in April, 1995, the Discovery Team was realigned to help organizations implement their recommendations. The Discovery Team reconfirmed key values in DuPont — in short, that all injuries, incidents, and occupational illnesses are preventable and that safety is a source of competitive advantage. As such, the steps taken to improve safety performance also improve overall competitiveness. Senior management made this belief clear: “We will strengthen our business by making safety excellence an integral part of all business activities.” One of the key findings of the Discovery Team was the identification of the best practices used within the company, which are listed below: ▪ Felt Leadership – Management Commitment ▪ Business Integration ▪ Responsibility and Accountability ▪ Individual/Team Involvement and Influence ▪ Contractor Safety ▪ Metrics and Measurements ▪ Communications ▪ Rewards and Recognition ▪ Caring Interdependent Culture; Team-Based Work Process and Systems ▪ Performance Standards and Operating Discipline ▪ Training/Capability ▪ Technology ▪ Safety and Health Resources ▪ Management and Team Audits ▪ Deviation Investigation ▪ Risk Management and Emergency Response ▪ Process Safety ▪ Off-the-Job Safety and Health Education Attention to each of these best practices is essential to achieve sustained improvements in safety and health. The Discovery Implementation in conjunction with DuPont Safety and Environmental Management Services has developed a Safety Self-Assessment around these systems. In this presentation, we will discuss a few of these practices and learn what they mean. Paper published with permission.

Now the whole life of a person has switched to online mode. These changes also affected the education system. This means the need to introduce new technologies into the educational process. Books, manuals, printed publications are being replaced by electronic educational resources. Providing up-to-date, verified information to students has always been and remains one of the most important functions of the teacher. Unfortunately, with the transition of training to the online mode, the teacher cannot use his literature when conducting classes. In this regard, there is a need to use electronic resources. On the one hand, the development of the global network implies the presence of a large number of a wide variety of sites, which cannot but be a positive aspect, because both the teacher and the student can independently choose a resource that will be most understandable. But on the other hand, the variety of Internet resources implies the presence of unverified, false information, which can negatively affect the quality of education. That is why it is necessary to analyze new information systems. The problem is the presence of a large number of information technologies and resources used in education. Purpose. The goal is to conduct a comparative analysis of educational electronic publications and resources most often used by teachers of the natural science cycle in terms of their fullness, accessibility and use in the educational process. Method or methodology of the work. The requirements for the organization of a comprehensive examination suggest an approach that includes an examination of technical and technological, psychological, pedagogical and design-ergonomic aspects of the creation and use of educational electronic publications and resources, in our work we were based precisely on generalized research methods: 1) Technical and technological expertise (technical component of the site, its position in the network). 2) Psychological and pedagogical expertise (component by the type of educational electronic publication or resource, level of education, type and form of the educational process, assessment of the content and scenario of the informatization tool). 3) Design-ergonomic expertise (assessment of the quality of interface components of educational electronic publications and resources, their compliance with uniform ergonomic, aesthetic and health-saving requirements; assessment of the quality of interface components of educational electronic editions and resources, their compliance with uniform ergonomic, aesthetic and health-saving requirements). Results. The main sites that are frequently used by teachers of the natural science cycle of disciplines are the Russian Textbook corporation, the Enlightenment group of companies, the Binom publishing house, the Digital Age School, the practical significance of the study is determined by the high level of readiness of the results obtained, during the study it was found that it is advisable to introduce an information-electronic educational site - the Russian textbook corporation - into the pedagogical practice of the implementation of natural science subjects. The advantages of this server were established and recommendations for its use in the educational process were developed. Practical implications: the results obtained are expedient to be applied in educational institutions of the Russian Federation.

Adolescents, who make up about 25 percent of the population of Bangladesh, have limited access to reproductive health (RH) information and services. With age at marriage increasing, young people are vulnerable to a variety of RH risks, including unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In 1999, FRONTIERS tested the feasibility, impact, and cost of several interventions to improve the RH of adolescents. The intervention took place in two experimental urban sites, while a third control site received prevailing services. Both sites received the community intervention, which involved sensitization and outreach to community stakeholders to encourage local support. Out-of-school adolescents were offered a 20-session “life skills” curriculum that included RH, and peer educators organized community events with RH themes. The experimental sites also received a clinical component, in which providers offered a variety of affordable, adolescent-friendly services. One site also received a school-based intervention, in which trained teachers provided the life-skills curriculum to eighth- and ninth-level students. As noted in this brief, school and community education schemes increased young people’s understanding of RH, and the establishment of links between schools and adolescent-friendly clinics increased the use of RH services.

Senegal is undergoing rapid urbanization, leading to changes in traditional social and family structure. With these changes there is a rise in early sexual activity among young adults, and increased exposure to unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In Senegal, where 28 percent of the population is 10–19 years of age, a renewed focus on reproductive health (RH) services appears timely. In 1999, FRONTIERS began testing the feasibility, effectiveness, and cost of several interventions to improve the RH of youth. The study took place in three urban communities in northern Senegal. Two served as intervention sites where community- and clinic-based interventions were offered (and in one a school-based intervention was included). One served as a control site. The community intervention included sensitization on adolescent RH for community and religious leaders, communication with parents, and education sessions. As part of the clinic-based intervention, providers and peer educators were trained to offer youth-friendly services. The school-based intervention trained teachers and peer educators to provide RH information to in-school and out-of-school youth. As noted in this brief, the intervention increased community awareness and improved young people’s knowledge.