Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons^™

The Human Dimension Of Systemic Department-Level Change: A Change Agent’S Retrospective On A Case Of Reform, Linda Vanasupa

Materials Engineering

This paper represents a narrative of the process of department-level reform through the eyes of the initiating agent of change. Over the course of reform, our program has grown by 40%, primarily through retaining students. We exhibit a 10% net important rate of engineering students in the first two years of the curriculum relative to the college’s 5% mean export rate. Student freshmen SAT scores also indicate that we are attracting students with more balanced learning interests. The design of our Department Level Reform grant was to advance the knowledge of how to design engineering learning experiences that accomplish two …

Rfid Classroom Management System, Andrew W. Wright

Master's Theses

Professors who manage large classes are unrealistically expected to grade each student fairly and accurately.  Even with all of the technological advancements that have occurred in the past thirty years, very little progress has been made in classroom management, and as a result, professors are not equipped with enough tools to successfully manage large class sizes.  Because radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is making its way into student issued identification cards, there is an opportunity to use it as a tool to aid professors in the classroom.  The focus of this paper is to discover the most effective system that …

The Implementation Of A Conceptually Coherent Curriculum Within A Constructivist Preschool Environment, Heather Jones, Sarah Post

Psychology and Child Development

Creating a learning environment that enchants children’s curiosity and sparks exploration, discovery, and thought does not require a great amount of financial resources. Rather, one must concentrate on observation and focus on building on children’s existing interests in the natural world. The research and theories of Swiss psychologist and philosopher, Jean Piaget, and Russian Psychologist, Lev Vygotsky provide a concrete look into a child’s cognitive and social development and can be informative in creating such environments. Using the developmental knowledge presented in these theories, programs such as the Reggio Emilia program, the Preschool Pathways to Science program (PrePS), and the …

Student Sample Perceptions Of Organic Food Products And Buying Habits, Alycia M. Deus

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purposes of this senior project were to identify college students’ perceptions and knowledge of organic food. This study also focuses on the respondents’ purchasing and budgeting of organic food. This information is essential to inform farmers and ranchers because it serves as an indicator of future market’s demands.

A thirteen item questionnaire was distributed to sixty-five students attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, enrolled in either Agricultural Education and Communication courses or Agricultural Business courses. Both upper and lower division classes were surveyed. The questionnaires were distributed and collected from June 2, 2009 to June 4, 2009. …