Education for sustainable agriculture: a typology of the role of teaching farms in achieving learning goals and objectives

Teaching farms have recently gained popularity, but they are often expensive venues per student credit hour. It is therefore important they are used effectively. This research explored why faculty members use teaching farms, their goals and objectives with regard to the farm, and how they integrate teaching farms into curriculum. Twenty interviews were completed with faculty representing 15 institutions. A combined inductive and deductive approach was used to analyze data. The result was a typology of the roles of teaching farms in achieving educational goals and objectives. Four types of roles emerged: enhancement, competency, exploration, and foundation. Three of the four types reflect one of three models of higher education prevalent in the US. Our research suggests a better understanding of educational theory and pedagogy, combined with a firm appreciation of the different models of higher education could significantly enhance the quality of the learning experience provided on teaching farms.     

Content and alignment of state writing standards and assessments as predictors of student writing achievement: an analysis of 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress data

We examined the degree to which content of states’ writing standards and assessments (using measures of content range, frequency, balance, and cognitive complexity) and their alignment were related to student writing achievement on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), while controlling for student, school, and state characteristics. We found student demographic characteristics had the largest effect on between-state differences in writing performance, followed by state policy-related variables, then state and school covariates. States with writing tests that exhibited greater alignment with the NAEP writing assessment demonstrated significantly higher writing scores. We discuss plausible implications of these findings.     

Get Your Head into the Clouds: Using Word Clouds for Analyzing Qualitative Assessment Data

Word clouds (or tag clouds) are popular, fun ways to display text data in graphical form; however, we contend that they can also be useful tools in assessment. Using word clouds, instructors can quickly and easily produce graphical depictions of text representing student knowledge. By investigating the patterns of words or phrases, or lack thereof, in textual student responses, instructors can evaluate if students, as a whole, have grasped or missed key concepts or have made common mistakes. Word clouds can be used to provide formative assessment feedback to students, and to identify common themes in student reflection papers. They can also be useful as a starting point or screening tool for large amounts of text data, whether related to assessment or not.     

Getting Under the Hood: How and for Whom Does Increasing Course Structure Work?

At the college level, the effectiveness of active-learning interventions is typically measured at the broadest scales: the achievement or retention of all students in a course. Coarse-grained measures like these cannot inform instructors about an intervention''s relative effectiveness for the different student populations in their classrooms or about the proximate factors responsible for the observed changes in student achievement. In this study, we disaggregate student data by racial/ethnic groups and first-generation status to identify whether a particular intervention—increased course structure—works better for particular populations of students. We also explore possible factors that may mediate the observed changes in student achievement. We found that a “moderate-structure” intervention increased course performance for all student populations, but worked disproportionately well for black students—halving the black–white achievement gap—and first-generation students—closing the achievement gap with continuing-generation students. We also found that students consistently reported completing the assigned readings more frequently, spending more time studying for class, and feeling an increased sense of community in the moderate-structure course. These changes imply that increased course structure improves student achievement at least partially through increasing student use of distributed learning and creating a more interdependent classroom community.     

Applying the Tiers of Assessment: A Holistic and Systematic Approach to Assessing Library Collections

Collection assessment is a key component of collection development, budget allocation, and justification of library collections. Unfortunately, comprehensive collection assessment is daunting, subject to the weaknesses of individual tools and the overwhelming number of subject areas to assess. Few studies have attempted systematic assessment projects using multiple tools or methods, nor have many attempted to assess an entire collection subject-by-subject. This study implements an alternative to the single-tool model, combining multi-tool analysis with a systematic, subject-by-subject approach to the collection. The goal was to determine whether such a model of collection assessment was feasible in an academic library setting, providing usable data without overinvestment of manpower and resources. To this end, the method was tested in a pilot program at George Mason University (Mason), assessing three subjects at varying levels of depth. While there was concern that the methodology would prove too ambitious for full-scale implementation, the pilot yielded valuable, tangible results in a timely manner and provides a solid model for future assessment efforts at Mason and elsewhere.     

Zero-Waste Supermarket Set to Open in Germany

Paper or plastic？ Nein!
With our World Cup wounds still raw, this probably isn＇t the best time to write about how,great Germany is. But too bad： We＇re doing it, anyway.     

Librarians,Renounce the Research Paper! Using Rhetoric to Improve Assignment Design

The general research paper, despite its prevalence in higher education, has had limited success in the classroom for decades. Although academic librarians recognize the value of source-based writing and have continually partnered with faculty on this type of assignment, we are equally aware of the inherent limitations and difficulties of this traditional writing requirement. This column argues for an alternative vision to the general research paper, one that embraces a rhetorical context and offers academic librarians a more prominent role in assignment design on their campuses.     

On-chip microelectrode impedance analysis of mammalian cell viability during biomanufacturing

The characterization of cell viability is a challenging task in applied biotechnology, as no clear definition of cell death exists. Cell death is accompanied with a change in the electrical properties of the membrane as well as the cell interior. Therefore, changes in the physiology of cells can be characterized by monitoring of their dielectric properties. We correlated the dielectric properties of industrially used mammalian cells, sedimented over interdigitated microelectrodes, to the AC signal response across the chip. The voltage waveforms across the electrodes were processed to obtain the circuit impedance, which was used to quantify the changes in cell viability. We observed an initial decrease in impedance, after which it remained nearly constant. The results were compared with data from the dye exclusion viability test, the cell specific oxygen uptake rate, and the online viable cell density data from capacitance probes. The microelectrode technique was found to be sensitive to physiological changes taking place inside the cells before their membrane integrity is compromised. Such accurate determination of the metabolic status during this initial period, which turned out to be less well captured in the dye exclusion tests, may be essential for several biotechnology operations.