Making Space for Social and Emotional Learning in Science Education

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is known to improve student outcomes but is rarely combined with STEM. In this paper we present an action research study to examine the impact of a STEM + SEL curriculum intervention to address a real-world school conflict. One hundred sixth–eighth graders and four teachers participated in an in-person facilitation of a SEL Arthropod curriculum, DIFFERENT. After the intervention, students completed open-ended couplet statements about arthropod behavior, tarantulas, and humans designed to measure sentiment change. Answers were manually coded using inductive coding on a scale of negative (1) to positive (5). Statement sentiments significantly shifted from negative to neutral and negative to positive for all three questions. Neutral to positive shifts were only significant for the couplet statements about arthropod behavior. This study reports the first confirmed instance of successful use of arthropods for SEL within a curriculum that integrates students’ social-emotional skills within a science classroom.

Development of Culinary and Self-Care Programs in Diverse Settings: Theoretical Considerations and Available Evidence

Culinary-based self-care programs are innovative and increasingly utilized models for catalyzing behavior change and improving health and well-being. The content, duration, and delivery of existing programs vary considerably. Between January and August 2019, we developed a teaching kitchen and self-care curriculum, which was administered as part of a year-long worksite well-being program to employees at an academic healthcare system. The curriculum domains included culinary skills, nutrition, physical activity, yoga, stress management, mindful eating, and ethnobotany. An informal systematic literature search was performed to assemble and evaluate key principles and practices related to self-care domains, learning methodologies, and programmatic design considerations. Here, we provide a qualitative summary of the evidence-informed development of the curriculum intervention.

Debunking the Apartheid Spatial Grid: Developing a Socially Just Architecture Curriculum at a University of Technology

Traditional universities are often interrogated on their pedagogic underpinnings, while universities of technology are often left unchallenged on knowledge production. Universities of technology are often assumed to be transformed because they are a post-apartheid creation, with a mainly black, working-class student body. This assumption has led to little interrogation of the university of technology and its relationship with knowledge production. This paper explores the nature of curriculum contestation and reform at a university of technology. It outlines the historical context of a university of technology and its approach to curriculum development, which has implications for current curriculum transformation efforts. Using autoethnographic research methodology, the paper tracks a multi-year journey towards the development of a transformative, socially just curriculum intervention in the extended curriculum programme for the Architecture and Interior Design programme at a university of technology. The paper concludes that curriculum change does not happen in a vacuum, that it is political, difficult and emotionally taxing, and that it is best done in collaboration with different education stakeholders.

Personal Viewpoints Pedagogy and counterfactual thinking: Year 7 students’ development of agency, resilience, critical thinking and fourth-person perspective

Agentic orientation, critical thinking (CrT) and taking the fourth-person perspective (4PP) are described as teachable attainments. A Personal Viewpoints (PVs) Biblical Studies curriculum challenged Year 7 students to resolve socially problematic situations through group discussion and perspective-taking. A life-issue scenario was used to pre- and post-test. Students’ PVs were coded. Responses were more personally agentic following the curriculum intervention, suggesting a strengthened resilience when faced with the threat of an oppressor. Increased perspective-taking and CrT, encouraged by counterfactual thinking, fostered students’ reliance on personal Bible-based judgements and led to greater other-focused, personally agentic resilience in socially problematic situations.

Main and Moderating Effects of an Online Transition Curriculum on Career Readiness

In this study, students with and without disabilities ( n = 816) in general and special education settings in Grades 9 through 12 were participants in a quasi-experimental design to examine the main effects of an online curriculum intervention with transition-related content on career readiness. Setting and teacher characteristics were examined for moderating effects. Results showed a main effect across settings (general and special education, self-contained, resource rooms) as well as differentiating effects based on teacher fidelity and the number of lessons taught. Implications are discussed with regard to the need for further examination of these contextual factors in high schools so all students, with and without disabilities, are provided career readiness opportunities.

Integrating Intercultural Competencies Into the Professional Skills Curriculum

Intercultural competence is increasingly seen by employers as a desirable graduate capability needed in today's diverse and intercultural workplace. This chapter reports on a curriculum intervention - a 20-hour online intercultural skills course - aimed at introducing a large number of undergraduate students enrolled in a co-operative education program to fundamental intercultural concepts and ideas. The chapter seeks to contribute to the literature on intercultural skill development by discussing the course model and its implementation, student perceptions of their level of intercultural competence prior to and after the course, and the challenges involved in the delivery of the course. The main purpose of the chapter is to discuss how courses and programs that aim to develop professional skills may offer a promising vehicle for fostering students' intercultural competence, particularly when these courses utilize online learning tools to enable greater access to intercultural learning.

Children’s Physical Activity Levels Following Participation in a Classroom-Based Physical Activity Curriculum

A classroom-based physical activity curriculum offers an opportunity for students to be active during the school day to combat declining physical activity levels among this population. The effects of classroom-based physical activity curriculum on children of different weight categories is relatively unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the differences in physical activity levels between male and female students, and between students of different weight categories following participation in a classroom-based physical activity curriculum intervention. A total of 210 3rd to 5th grade (age = 9.1 ± 0.1) students from one U.S. elementary school participated in a 4-week intervention. Students’ physical activity levels were measured using pedometers, quantified by step counts pre- and post-intervention. Results from the study indicated that students’ physical activity levels increased after participation in the intervention; male students’ physical activity levels were higher than female students. Additionally, there was an increase in physical activity levels regardless of weight categories, with students of healthy weight exhibiting the most increase following participation in the intervention. In view of the improvement of children’s physical activity levels following their participation in a classroom-based physical activity curriculum, it is recommended that training and resources be provided for teachers to easily implement the curriculum during the school day.

Combating Vaccine Hesitancy with Vaccine-Preventable Disease Familiarization: An Interview and Curriculum Intervention for College Students

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed vaccine hesitancy in its top ten threats to global health. Vaccine hesitancy is a “delay in acceptance or refusal to vaccinate despite availability of vaccination services”. Urban areas with large amounts of vaccine hesitancy are at risk for the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs). Many vaccine-hesitant (VH) parents may be unfamiliar with the consequences of VPDs, and thus might be swayed when confronted with the symptoms and dangers of VPDs. As such, we sought to educate college students (future parents) in an urban vaccine-hesitant hotspot by assigning them to interview family or community members who had experienced a VPD. Student vaccine attitudes were assessed by surveys before and after the interviews. Vaccine-hesitant students who conducted a VPD interview but received no additional vaccine educational materials were significantly more likely (interaction term p < 0.001) to become pro-vaccine (PV) (68%) than students who conducted an autoimmune interview and received no additional educational materials. Additionally, students whose interviewees experienced intense physical suffering or physical limitations or students who were enrolled in a course with intensive VPD and vaccine curriculum had significantly increased vaccine attitudes. This suggests that introducing students to VPDs can decrease vaccine hesitancy.

Optimal Timing of Entry-Level Otolaryngology Simulation

Objective Appropriate timing of subspecialty simulation is critical to maximize learner benefit and guide resource utilization. We aimed to determine optimal timing of a simulation-based curriculum designed to teach entry-level procedural skills for otolaryngology residency. Study Design Simulation curriculum intervention tested among 3 comparison groups of varying clinical levels. Setting Academic otolaryngology training program and medical school. Subjects and Methods We developed a simulation-based technical skills curriculum incorporating the following task trainers: flexible laryngoscopy, peritonsillar abscess drainage, and myringotomy and tube insertion. Preclinical medical students (n = 40), subintern rotators (n = 35), and midyear interns (n = 8) completed the simulation-based curriculum. Pre- and postintervention knowledge/confidence and “level appropriateness” were rated on a 5-point Likert scale, and effect size was calculated. Results Overall self-reported knowledge/confidence levels improved in all 3 groups preintervention (1.05, 2.15, 3.17) to postintervention (2.79, 3.45, 4.38, respectively; all P < .01). Preclinical medical students uniformly reported very little to no familiarity with the procedures prior to the curriculum, while interns approached independence following the intervention. Large effect sizes were seen in all tasks for preclinical students ( d = 3.13), subinterns ( d = 1.46), and interns ( d = 2.14). Five-point Likert scale measures of level appropriateness (1 = too challenging, 5 = too easy) for preclinical students, subinterns, and interns were 2.70 (95% CI, 2.56-2.84), 3.11 (95% CI, 2.97-3.25), and 3.75 (95% CI, 3.35-4.15), respectively. Conclusion Subinternship may represent the optimal timing for entry-level skills simulation training. The proposed curriculum shows utility for clinical levels ranging from medical students to postgraduate year 1 resident levels, with large effect sizes for all tested groups.

An Evaluation of Behavioral Intent in Appalachian Youth Participating in a CROPS Curriculum

In an effort to change unsafe tractor operating behaviors among Appalachian youth resulting from practices and habits learned through a socialization process (termed an “apprenticeship of observation”), this study implemented a four-part intervention in high school agricultural education classes that included implementation of a cost-effective rollover protective structure (CROPS) curriculum. The curriculum included farm safety information, specific NIOSH plans for CROPS construction, and procedures for CROPS installation on unprotected tractors. In this exploratory study, pre- and post-assessments were conducted using theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs to measure changes in four factors that influence changes in learner behavior: learner attitude, perceived social norms, behavioral control, and perceived behavioral intention. Students’ perceived knowledge and skills gained through the intervention were also measured because they are integral components in assessing the effectiveness of a curriculum intervention. Participants (N = 83) were high school students from seven schools in three states in the Appalachian region. Findings revealed statistically significant differences in student attitudes toward the use of life-saving CROPS and in perceived knowledge and skills gained through the curriculum implementation. The CROPS curriculum can be an effective intervention effort for addressing the social and behavioral effects of farm youths’ apprenticeships of observation by creating more positive attitudes and learning outcomes among youth at risk for tractor rollover fatalities. Recommendations are provided for expanding the applications of the curriculum intervention and the TPB constructs. Keywords: Agricultural education, Appalachia, Behavior, Rollover protection, Tractor fatality, Youth.