Demographic data show an increasingly diverse student population in all urban settings. On the other hand, there continues to be a discrepancy about the student population and the teacher force, as the majority of the US teachers are predominately middle class, female, monolingual, and of European ancestry. This discrepancy adds complexity to an…

Summer brings to mind the joys of vacation and spending time outdoors. The author looks forward to the summer months, particularly June--that's when they hold Junior Naturalist Camp at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida. While she enjoys each day of camp, one in particular really brings out her inner student--Solar…

Utilizing an energy-as-substance conceptual metaphor as a central feature of the introductory physics curriculum affords students a wealth of conceptual resources for reasoning about energy conservation, storage, and transfer. This paper first establishes the utility and function of a conceptual metaphor in developing student understanding of…

This is the first in a series of Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) playbooks intended to assist companies, higher education institutions, private philanthropies, membership associations, professional societies, government agencies, and other stakeholders seeking to understand the potential value of investing in coordinated strategic,…

Fossil fuels, upon which we now depend almost exclusively, are finite resources. Because the environmental problems inherent in large scale fossil fuel consumption are increasingly apparent, the reality of developing alternative energy sources must be faced. Solar energy is the obvious solution to the problem. It is a renewable, clean source that…

In a time of expensive energy and concerns about climate change, land may be a major asset for colleges, providing a vastly different opportunity than it did in the past, when it was merely a place to set down new buildings, new campuses, or research parks. Since new alternative-energy technologies like wind and solar demand a lot of land--along…

This unit examines the earth's processes and systems from an energy perspective. A technical language for discussion of energy systems is developed. Objectives include the ability of students to discuss earth's carbon/oxygen cycle, hydrological cycle, and heat patterns and the functioning of producers, consumers and decomposers in the environment.…

This Sunny Side Up activities book is a coupling of science and language arts materials that will assist middle school teachers in developing energy awareness while they are teaching language arts skills. The majority of exercises and activities are keyed to the basic reading and writing skills stated in the "Minimum Performance Standards for…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…

After reviewing (1) the causes of the energy crisis, (2) the goals of the National energy plan developed by ERDA, and (3) three routes to bring about energy conservation; the authors present the fundamental concepts (MAIN IDEAS) from a conservation-oriented energy education curriculum developed at Florida State University. (BT)

Exponential growth is a mega-concept which has many applications. It is fundamental to understanding how and why systems work and fail, be they natural or man-made systems. Lessons/activities in this booklet are designed for Florida teachers to help provide their students with an understanding of the nature and implications of exponential growth.…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This April 2, 2004 issue of "Chronicle for Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Black Colleges and the Politics of Race" (Samuels, Albert L.); (2)…