This GEM describes the "Freshman 15 Jeopardy" workshop, a 30-minute nutrition education session aimed to expose incoming college freshmen to the college food environment, to increase their awareness of factors that cause weight gain, and to instruct them on lifestyle choices they could employ to prevent weight gain. This short workshop has not…

This article focuses on a blended learning curriculum development project, in which a student was "prospectively" engaged with teacher educators in developing resources designed to increase support for academic reading. Curriculum development took place at the University of Hertfordshire School of Education through the Change Academy for…

With a growing movement to re-connect children to nature, an understanding of the ability of environmental education (EE) programs to foster connectedness to nature is needed. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative study is to determine the effect of seven EE programs on participants' connectedness to nature. Results from the 385 children…

The European Master's Program in Gerontology (EuMaG) started in September 2003 with support from the European Commission. The EuMaG is a modular, 2-year, part-time international training program about the aging process and its societal implications. The multidisciplinary curriculum comprises four domains of gerontology (i.e., social gerontology,…

As more schools turn to positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) to address students' academic and behavioral problems, there is an increased need to adequately evaluate these programs for social relevance. The present study used social validation measures to evaluate a statewide PBIS initiative. Active consumers of the program were…

Deakin University's RuralLife alcohol and other drug (AOD) research initiative was commissioned by St John of God Hospital and Barwon Youth to evaluate their Youth Engagement Program (YEP), which is an AOD harm-reduction program intended to engage young people with AOD problems in a region that has a higher-than-state-average proportion of young…

To determine the impact of an assignment and workshop intended to increase students' information literacy skills, we conducted a quasi-experiment using a pretest-posttest assessment with undergraduate students in four sections of an introduction to developmental psychology course. Two sections (N = 81) received the assignment and instructions…

This study examines the differences in the portfolio of institutional scholarships and the marketing of these awards between flagship campuses with and without state merit aid programs. Using content analysis techniques to analyze institutional websites of the 16 Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) flagship campuses, three thematic responses…

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of a one-time sexual assault prevention theatre performance against a similar content video performance and a non-intervention control group. Methods: Using the College Date Rape Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, four-hundred ninety-seven students provided matched pairs data for analysis. Results: At a…

To ensure optimal standards for AAFCS program accreditation, the Council for Accreditation (CFA) conducted a review and revision of the "2001 AAFCS Standards for Accreditation." The CFA took a three-pronged approach including (a) a review of academic accreditations that had relationships to the FCS disciplines, (b) concept, content, and process…

Documenting impact is becoming increasingly important as funding becomes tighter for Extension programs. An exit survey for interns conducted via an online survey tool is an opportunity to collect information on knowledge and skill gains, as well as document changes in intentions and attitudes about future career paths. An exit survey conducted…

Background: Return on investment (ROI) is one of the most popular evaluation metrics. ROI analysis (when applied correctly) is a powerful tool of evaluating existing information systems and making informed decisions on the acquisitions. However, practical use of the ROI is complicated by a number of uncertainties and controversies. The article…

This study evaluated whether engagement (i.e., attendance and quality of participation) in the Parenting our Children to Excellence (PACE) program predicted positive child and parent outcomes. PACE in an 8-week preventive intervention aimed at parents of preschool children. The study investigated the relation of engagement to outcomes in an…

This research note is based on the evaluation of the Comenius project Teacher-IN-SErvice-Training-for-Roma-inclusion ("INSETRom"). The project represented an international effort that was undertaken to bridge the gap between Roma and non-Roma communities and to improve the educational attainment of Roma children in the mainstream…

Traditional approaches to character education have been viewed by many educators as an attempt to establish self control within students to habituate them to prescribed behaviour and as nothing more than a "bits-and-pieces" approach to moral education. While this is accurate for many character education programmes, integrated…