Presenting Food Science Effectively

While the need to present food science information effectively is viewed as a critical competency for food scientists by the Institute of Food Technologists, most food scientists may not receive adequate training in this area. Effective presentations combine both scientific content and delivery mechanisms that demonstrate presenter enthusiasm for the topic and generate audience interest. This paper provides food science presentation “best practices” based upon the results of the author's 10 y of experience teaching communication skills to 1st‐year graduate students. Topics include development of a “Presentation Inventory” that encourages presenters to consider why they are presenting, who they are presenting to, what information they plan to present, and how they plan to present the information. More specific sections of the paper address presentation introductions and conclusions, developing visual aids, responding to audience questions, flow, pacing, and time management, technological competency, and tips on how to practice a presentation. Such information should be applicable to all types of food science practitioners including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, teaching and research academics, and government, industrial, and consulting food scientists. An awareness of such “best practices” among presenters of food science information can help raise the bar to improve the quality of contemporary food science presentations.     

The Relationship Between Retention and College Counseling for High‐Risk Students

The author used an archival study to explore the relationship between college counseling and retention. The cohort for this study was a college's 2006 class of full‐time, 1st‐year students (N = 429). The results of chi‐square analyses and regression analyses indicated (a) a significant difference in retention between high‐risk and low‐risk students who used counseling services (CS) and (b) that a student's risk for dropout did not vary significantly over time based on risk level or CS use.     

Theory and Practice in Mathematics Teaching Development: Critical Inquiry as a Mode of Learning in Teaching

In this paper I address the challenge of developing theory in relation to the practices of mathematics teaching and its development. I do this by exploring a notion of ‘teaching as learning in practice’ through overt use of ‘inquiry’ in mathematics learning, mathematics teaching and the development of practices of teaching in communities involving teachers and educators. The roles and goals of mathematics teachers and educators in such communities are both distinct and deeply intertwined. I see an aim of inquiry in teaching to be the ‘critical alignment’ (Wenger, 1998) of teaching within the communities in which teaching takes place. Inquiry ‘as a tool’ and inquiry ‘as a way of being’ are important concepts in reflexive developmental processes in which inquiry practice leads to better understandings and development of theory.     

The development of research-oriented learning in five european countries

The demand of research-oriented learning in higher education which was raised in various European countries at the end of the 1960s focused above all on institutional feasibilities. In this article a broader view on the subject is given. Research-oriented learning is examined both as part of students’ abilities and as a special learning style. The empirical data were gathered by means of a scale developed within an international longitudinal study on student socialisation. The findings show effects of selection as well as of socialisation. They indicate heterogeneity between main fields at the beginning of study and continuous development, throughout the course of time spent attending university. This trend is similar for four of the five countries studied — Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. The fifth country Yugoslavia proved to be an exception. But in all five countries the level reached by students remains unsatisfactory in view of the university’s objectives. The factors determining the development of a research-oriented learning style, in addition to the field of study, are motivation and gender. Throughout their studies women in all countries remain at a lower average level. This in particular, would have to be considered in a renewed discussion of the topic.     

The interactive effect of language and question format on accounting students' performance

This article reports the results of research to determine if a significant interactive effect exists between students' lingual background (English as a primary language [EPL] versus English as a secondary language [ESL]) and question format on students' examination scores. Students were administered examinations made up of four subtests covering the same subject matter. The subtests were composed of four question formats: multiple choice quantitative, multiple choice theoretical, open-ended quantitative, and open-ended essay questions. Based on analysis of variance and analysis of covariance, significant differences were observed between EPL and ESL students depending on the type of question on the examination.     

Effects of conflict resolution training integrated into a kindergarten curriculum

The effectiveness of a conflict resolution training program was examined in an American midwestern suburban elementary school. Participants were 80 kindergartners randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition in morning or afternoon time blocks. Children in the experimental condition received 9 hr of conflict resolution training integrated into a curriculum unit on friendship taught daily for 4 consecutive weeks. Children in the control condition were taught the identical friendship unit for the same period of time without conflict resolution training. Teachers rotated equally across conditions. Significant differences between trained and untrained children occurred in their knowledge and retention of the conflict resolution procedure, willingness and ability to use the procedure in conflict situations, and conceptual understanding of friendship.