This paper describes an interdisciplinary investigation of students' usage of ideas about energy from physics in the context of introductory chemistry. We focus on student understanding of the idea that potential energy is a function of distance between interacting objects, a concept relevant to understanding potential energy in both physical and…

Objective: To examine how parents' beliefs about beverage attributes and exposure to sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) advertising are associated with parents' and their children's SSB consumption. Design: Cross-sectional representative telephone survey of Philadelphia parents in households with children between the ages of 3 and 16 years.…

We investigated implementation fidelity of programmatic activities of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) among 2,022 teachers, 88.5% female, from 88 elementary schools located in Pennsylvania. Results indicated that the majority of respondents had attended the school kick-off event, posted the rules in the classroom, and explained the…

This paper presents findings of a Mellon Foundation-funded study conducted at Penn State University in University Park during Fall 2012 that explored scholars' information practices across disciplines encompassing the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Drawing on results of the Web-based survey and ethnographic interviews, we present…

This report is intended to help governors, legislators, department secretaries, and advocates find information on ways to strengthen the structure and function of their existing cabinets, or create a new cabinet. The survey in this report is the nation's only survey of state child and youth policy coordinating bodies. The biennial survey assesses…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are being used as a form of teacher professional development in schools across the world. The concept has been present in the educational literature for over thirty years. While many educators are familiar with the term, some schools have not yet implemented PLCs. Hord (1997) determined that all true PLCs…

Experiential learning is incorporated into the National 4-H curriculum. However, the state 4-H staff in Pennsylvania is unsure of the current knowledge and use of experiential learning within the local 4-H clubs. An online survey was distributed to Extension educators and volunteer leaders within Pennsylvania to assess the current knowledge and…

The purpose of this research was to: (a) explore graduate students' perceptions of and preferences for online credit courses; (b) analyze and compare this study's findings to those from previous research; and (c), based on findings, recommend further improvements to graduate online courses. Analysis of survey data from graduate students enrolled…

This study examines state- and county-level data on population, age, race and ethnicity, housing occupancy and housing tenure, education, labor force, employment and unemployment, income and poverty, health insurance coverage, disability status, migration patterns, and veteran status from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) for the 13…

This research explores solutions and challenges pertaining to a child's development of self-efficacy. After working with fifth grade students in a public education setting, Inoticed an increased reliance on teachers for both creative and procedural directions. This paper explores research of educators who examine the internal and external factors…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between mathematics teachers' self-efficacy and the use of technology and the Internet in secondary education classrooms. The focus was on the Internet as a tool to promote mathematics communication and literacy in the online environment. A total of 100 mathematics teachers…

This study is an exploratory study of faculty members' knowledge and perceptions toward of with academically vulnerable college students who are specifically experiencing reading and writing difficulties. Data were gathered from 174 college faculty at six higher education institutions throughout northwestern Pennsylvania via an online electronic…

More and more modern academic libraries are turning to student engagement activities designed to welcome students into Academia, join a community of scholars, and avail themselves of the full range of resources and services that a university library can provide. One unusual, but inexpensive and highly effective method of engaging students is…

This article describes the design and implementation of a dog therapy outreach program through the counseling center at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Two main goals were identified for this program: (a) provide stress relief and comfort to students across campus, and (b) increase potential access to counseling services and improve…

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical approach that moves course content from the classroom to homework, and uses class time for engaging activities and instructor-guided problem solving. The course content in a sophomore level Organic Chemistry I course was assigned as homework using video lectures, followed by a short online quiz. In class,…