George Washington Carver,A Modern Pioneer

One of the most difficult problems that educators face today is dealing with bullying. This pervasive issue occurs in classrooms, lunch rooms, unsupervised areas, on playgrounds, and through electronic media. Based on the principles of protecting the child and establishing a safe environment for all students, this paper investigates the causes and consequences of bullying, and provides information on essentials needed by schools and teachers for effectively dealing with bullying in schools.     

A Review of: “Seeing Beyond Blindness Shelley Kinash”

This project addresses the challenge of preparing educational leaders for future roles in administration in K–12 schools. Through a project-based learning scenario set in a 3-D virtual world, graduate students in school administration and instructional technology worked together in simulated school teams to develop proposals for integrating technology into a fictitious school. The scenario provided parameters within which each team developed a proposal to a superintendent for the use of iPads, which included developing plans for professional development, collaboration among faculty and staff, infrastructure to support the technology, alignment with curriculum, and budgets. Teams worked independently of classes to develop proposals that were then posted in the virtual world for review by instructors and other students. The simulation offered opportunities to develop shared leadership and skills in collaboration outside the usual comfort zone of graduate school classes. Student perception of the value of participation provided insight into the design of the project, which will inform future such collaborative efforts among faculty. Results of student surveys and written reflections are shared as examples of the types of data collected for this project.     

The validity of the commercially-available,low-cost,wrist-worn Movband accelerometer during treadmill exercise and free-living physical activity

Low-cost physical activity monitors may provide a more accurate measure of physical activity than subjective methods (e.g., self-report) while being less costly than research-grade accelerometers. The present study assessed the validity of a low-cost monitor (Movband 2) to estimate physical activity behavior/intensity. Participants (N = 23, n = 16 female, BMI = 22.9 ± 4.0 kg/m², age = 21.9 ± 1.6 years) completed four, five-minute treadmill stages (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 MPH) while wearing both the Movband and the previously-validated Actigraph monitor. Oxygen consumption (VO₂) was recorded during each stage (Laboratory assessment). A subset (n = 15, n = 10 female, BMI = 22.2 ± 3.2 kg/m², age = 21.5 ± 0.8 years) of these participants then wore the two accelerometers for three days (Free-living assessment). During the Laboratory assessment there were strong, significant (r = 0.94, p ≤ 0.001) relationships between Movband and Actigraph counts and VO₂. During Free-living assessment there was also a strong, significant (r = 0.97, p < 0.001) correlation between Movband and Actigraph counts. The low-cost, Movband accelerometer appears to provide a valid assessment of physical activity behavior/intensity.     

The relationship of ethnic identity and ego identity status among adolescents and young adults

A multi-ethnic sample of 248, ages 13–26, was used to examine the effects of age, gender, and ethnic group membership on ethnic identity and ego identity scores. Subjects were recruited from college and public schools in a large northeastern metropolitan area. The multigroup ethnic identity measure (MEIM) was used to assess ethnic identity and ego identity status was measured by the extended objective measure of ego identity status (EOMEIS). An age by ethnic group design was employed. Consistent findings of significant ethnic group differences in levels of ethnic identity were observed. Age and ethnic group were found to contribute differently to ethnic identity and ego identity status. The relationship between ethnic identity and ego identity status was found to be pronounced among subjects of color but not as dramatic as hypothesized.