Preservice teacher candidates in agricultural education have expressed concerns with teaching agricultural mechanics content yet the number of required courses in agricultural mechanics has dwindled. To determine the root of current teachers' perceptions, it is important to look at the developmental experiences that have led to those perceptions.…

In the United States with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)'s emphasis on learning science while doing science, laboratory activities in the secondary school chemistry continues to be an important component of a strong curriculum. Laboratory equipment and consumable materials create a unique expense which chemistry teachers and schools…

As eXtension unveils its new membership model, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach must determine how best to support professionals and clientele using the technology. This article reports on a study that used the diffusion of innovations and disruptive innovation theories to assess Iowa Extension professionals' adoption and perceptions…

Developing a global mind-set in college students is a goal of many colleges and universities. Most often this goal is met by encouraging students to study abroad. This article explains how a service learning student engagement program at home achieves this goal by pairing Introduction to Sociology students with young immigrant children in a weekly…

Research suggests that student loan borrowing has increased at the community college level. This trend is worrisome to many, as research is inconclusive regarding whether loans are positively correlated with achieving a college degree. Many also contend that choosing not to borrow a student loan due to loan aversion can negatively impact a…

Reward has been shown to change behavior as a result of incentive learning (by motivating the individual to increase their effort) and instrumental learning (by increasing the frequency of a particular behavior). However, Palminteri et al. (2011) demonstrated that reward can also improve the incidental learning of a motor skill even when…

With over 14,000 schools implementing Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS), it is important to consider factors that contribute to effective implementation--which may affect student outcomes. Social validity is one factor that may influence implementation. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which…

Flipped learning is an innovative approach to teaching at the post-secondary level. Traditional methods of initial delivery of curricular content occur before a face-to-face class session. Students must prepare before attending class, as the majority of face-to-face class sessions are utilized for applying curricular content to complex problems. A…

Undergraduate introductory biology courses are changing based on our growing understanding of how students learn and rapid scientific advancement in the biological sciences. At Iowa State University, faculty instructors are transforming a second-semester large-enrollment introductory biology course to include active learning within the lecture…

This study examined the relationship between extracurricular involvement and leadership outcomes among traditional-age college seniors in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. We collected data related to quantitative (i.e., how much time a student spends on an activity) and qualitative (i.e., how focused the…

This quantitative study investigated the relationship between teacher dispositions, subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and reasons that school principals recommend non-renewal of teachers' contracts. Nearly 2,000 school principals in 13 states completed an emailed survey. In deciding whether to non-renew a teacher contract,…