Children require access to high-quality statistics education to develop the skills to participate in a technological and data-reliant workforce. This study consisted of a five-lesson integrated STEM unit designed to develop the statistical literacy of 62 6th-grade (11-12 years old) emerging bilingual (EB) learners. Learning was situated in the…

An increasing number of MOOCs use learning videos featuring an instructor and slides, but there are few specific guidelines for the design of instructor images for these videos. A pedagogical agent (PA) is a kind of virtual instructor image in a learning video, and its image design is mostly guided by anthropomorphism. Our research attempts to…

What are the origins of object permanence? Despite widespread interest in this question, methodological barriers have prevented detailed analysis of how experience shapes the development of object permanence in newborn organisms. Here, we introduce an automated controlled-rearing method for studying the emergence of object permanence in strictly…

When people judge the duration of stimuli, judgments are influenced by the physical size of these stimuli. Specifically, people tend to judge the duration of large stimuli longer than the duration of small stimuli. However, some authors (Bottini & Casasanto, 2010; Ma, Yang, & Zhang, 2012) have reported that even implicit size can affect…

Beta-adrenergic receptor (ß-AR) activation by norepinephrine (NE) enhances memory and stabilizes long-term potentiation (LTP), a form of synaptic plasticity believed to underlie some forms of hippocampal memory. LTP can occur at multiple synaptic pathways as a result of strong stimulation to one pathway preceding milder stimulation of an adjacent,…

Emotion is a central aspect for protecting the environment in environmental and sustainability education (ESE). As such, positive emotions toward nature can increase motivation to learn and take environmental action. This qualitative case study explored the complex interrelationship among place-based education, emotions and values related to ESE,…

Autism-Assistance Dogs (AADs) are highly-skilled service animals trained primarily to ensure the safety of an autistic child by preventing elopement and mitigating 'meltdowns'. Although anecdotal accounts and case-studies have indicated that AADs confer benefits above and beyond safety, empirical support anchored in validated clinical, behavioral,…

Learners with autism are affected by different challenges during learning. There is a growing focus on education to facilitate learners to become more self-resilient by involving animals in learning spaces. This qualitative study explored the impact of animal involvement on the learning experiences of learners with autism. Twenty diaries, 32…

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized clinically by progressive motor dysfunction; overt parkinsonism is often preceded by prodromal symptoms including disturbances in the sleep-wake cycle. Up to 80% of patients with PD also develop dementia. In humans, there are three major apolipoprotein E isoforms: E2, E3, and E4. Increased rate of dementia…

Effective treatments of highly prevalent stress-related outcomes such as depression and anxiety are understudied in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A randomized controlled trial with baseline, post-intervention, and 10-week follow-up, that explores the effects of animal assisted therapy (AAT) was conducted. In total, 53 adults with ASD…

The study goal was to explore companion animal (CA) ownership in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including parents' beliefs about benefits and burdens of CAs, as well as parent stress. Participants (N = 764) completed online survey instruments anonymously. Findings revealed that parents with lower incomes perceived more…

During the first ten postnatal days (P), infant rodents can learn olfactory preferences for novel odors if they are paired with thermo-tactile stimuli that mimic components of maternal care. After P10, the thermo-tactile pairing becomes ineffective for conditioning. The current explanation for this change in associative learning is the alteration…

Plant clinics have been used as a tool to help Extension professionals diagnose crop production problems; however, limited resources have made it difficult to continue to offer in-person clinics. Using distance-learning technology, University of Maryland Extension initiated and offered to Extension professionals "virtual" plant clinics…

Our multistate group of state horse specialists produced and evaluated impacts from six webinars and online short courses (webinar plus additional content) addressing current industry issues: pasture-associated laminitis, equine herpesvirus-1, disaster preparedness, sales fraud, rescues/rehoming, and manure management. We identified no differences…

If we are to attain a sustainable future, humanity will need to make drastic changes towards a life based on sustainability in all areas, especially in the economic sector, including food production. The task of educating for sustainability needs to include food producers (farmers and livestock breeders). This article describes an educational…