<p>    </p> <p>The first article presents a study that measured exhibit visitors' reported attitudes as measured by an early iteration of the attitudinal learning inventory (ALI) (Watson et al., 2018). The study, which was conducted at the Indiana State Fair and measured visitors’ self-reported attitude changes after visiting an exhibit about hellbender salamanders, found that 73% of survey respondents claimed they would change their behavior and 70% claimed they would tell others what they learned by visiting the exhibit. The second article presents a study that measured visitors' time spent at the exhibit to calculate holding power. Holding power was calculated by dividing the amount of time spent at the exhibit by the minimum amount of time it takes to read the text and interact with the exhibit. The holding power for the <em>What's Bugging Belva? </em>exhibit was favorable at .67 and is compared with exhibits with holding powers of .47 (Boisvert et al, 1995) and .69 (Peart, 1984). The third study gathered visitor data using the validated ALI and analyzed the data using the FREQ procedure (SAS 9.4). The study was conducted at the Indiana State Fair and Purdue Springfest and measured visitors’ responses to an exhibit about animal welfare. At both events, visitors had positive perceptions in the categories of cognitive and general learning, affective learning, behavioral learning, and social learning.  </p>

Homeschooling has become a viable educational choice for families; however, limited research has been conducted on the instructional strategies homeschooling parents use to instruct their children and whether these reflect a learner-centered teaching approach. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the learner-centered instructional strategies homeschooling parents use to teach their children mathematics. The conceptual framework for this single-case study was based on Weimer's learner-centered teaching model. Participants included 4 parents who homeschooled students in Grades 6-12 in a Western state and who received instructional support from a private school. Data were collected from interviews with homeschooling parents, online reflective journals maintained by homeschooling parents, and documents related to the homeschooling mathematics program. Data analysis included coding and examining emerging themes and patterns and discrepant data. The results indicated that the homeschooling parents aligned only a small amount of their instructional strategies with Weimer's learner-centered teaching model by trying to make mathematics fun, interesting, and relevant to their children's lives. They also differentiated instruction and chose curriculum that included some critical-thinking problems. The homeschooling parents taught using more traditional methods in which they were the primary instructors and made most of the decisions about the instructional content. The results of this study can contribute to positive social change by aiding curriculum designers and educators in their exploration of learner-centered and other instructional strategies they can use to design curriculum and instruct their students.

Millions of people, young and old, participate in sporting events in the roles of athlete or spectator or both. Sportsmanship affects the experience of both groups of participants. There is an absence of evidence showing that software that is designed using a set of research-based rules, can make a lasting, or even short-term difference in (a) the acquisition of sportsmanship knowledge and attitudes, and (b) the way children respond when placed in sporting situations, either as athletes or as spectators. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, determine whether schoolchildren, grades three through five, who use STAR Sportsmanship, a computer-based software program that was designed using a set of research-based rules and is rich with visual/ auditory examples and nonexamples, will (a) acquire more sportsmanship knowledge and attitudes, and (b) exhibit more sportsmanlike behaviors than those who do not use the software. Second, determine how those two outcomes would be impacted if all visual/ auditory examples (modeling based) were removed and replaced with auditory-only examples (lecture based). Through the use of a pre-post questionnaire of attitudes, and then with observations of behavior while youngsters were engaged in athletic events, changes in sportsmanship knowledge and attitudes were measured. This study compared questionnaire response levels and observation data of participants who either received no treatment or were assigned to use either a modeling-based or a lecture-based version of software that was developed to teach sportsmanship attitudes and behaviors to children. In regards to sportsmanship attitude and understanding, there was no measurable difference when comparing the pooled treatment group scores with the control group. The modeling treatment appeared to have a small effect when compared to both the lecture group and the control group. Furthermore, the findings showed some differences in measured attitudes and understanding between the grades, with the highest levels of sportsmanship understanding in those at the fourth grade. In regards to behavior, placement in either treatment group of the control group did not make a statistically significant impact. Grade placement, however, did however appear to make a significant impact.

One method for improving the appeal of instruction is found in Christopher Alexander’s work on architectural design patterns. In this qualitative research study, student comments on teacher/course evaluation forms were analyzed to generate six instructional design patterns. The teacher enthusiasm pattern encourages teachers to show (a) increased scholarship and enthusiasm towards the subject matter, (b) genuine concern and enthusiasm towards the students, and (c) mastery of and enthusiasm towards the act of teaching. The balanced curriculum pattern recommends that teachers (a) determine the appropriate depth or breadth of subject matter and communicate it to the students, (b) create a balanced schedule of activities, assignments, and tests, and (c) provide a variety of subject matter topics, instructional strategies, and media delivery technologies. The clear and appropriate assessments pattern directs teachers to (a) communicate the learning objectives related to each assessment, (b) ensure assessment methods are appropriate measures of the objectives, and (c) use fair criteria in grading and administering the assessments. The authentic connections pattern asks teachers to (a) help students understand the connections between the subject matter content and the world of work, (b) promote interpersonal connections between students through instruction and group work, as well as facilitate teacher-student connections by dealing with students honestly and fairly, and (c) encourage students to look at connections that go beyond workplace application and help students become better people. The flow of time pattern recommends that teachers (a) help students plan out their schedules for various time periods, and (b) synchronize the flow of instructional events with the flow of events occurring in the students’ personal lives. Finally, the negotiation and cooperation pattern encourages teachers to apply the processes of negotiation and cooperation to solve problems related to (a) the students’ lack of a sense of freedom, power, or control, (b) the conflict within the students or within the social order of the class, and (c) the general absence of a self-supporting, self-maintaining, and generating quality in the instruction. These six instructional design patterns may be used by teachers to increase the appeal of instruction in higher education settings.

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