URBANA, Ill. – Careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are one of the fastest-growing areas of work in the United States, yet racial and gender disparities remain in STEM occupations.
URBANA, Ill. – The transition to middle school is undeniably tough for many sixth-graders, even in the best of times. Mounting academic demands, along with changes in peer dynamics and the onset of puberty, result in a predictable and sometimes irreversible slump in academic performance.
A new University of Illinois study suggests an unexpected but potentially potent remedy: trees.
URBANA, Ill. – Amid one of the strangest back-to-school seasons in modern history, many teachers, parents, and caregivers are struggling to enrich their students’ experiences beyond screen-based learning. A new study from University of Illinois researchers suggests daily outdoor lessons in green spaces could boost self-regulation in young children, setting them up for greater academic and social-emotional success.
URBANA, Ill. – Debra Korte has been named the first director for learning innovation and e-learning in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at University of Illinois.
Korte, previously a teaching assistant professor in the Agricultural Leadership Education and Communication program in ACES, assumed the new role in ACES’ Office of Academic Programs June 22.
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK—While Kate Owen prefers teaching face to face, reaching young students online from Yellowstone National Park during the COVID-19 pandemic still produces the rewarding moments that drive her passion and career.
Besides, who wouldn’t want to learn the history of human/bison interaction or the importance of water quality at the Grand Canyon from Owen? You can see the sparkle in the education technician’s eyes just as clearly on Zoom.
URBANA, Ill. – Twice a week, Ming Kuo’s cheerful face completes a checkerboard of about 30 undergraduate students in an online classroom. They’re meeting for a University of Illinois course called Environmental Social Science Research Methods, but Kuo calls it “Detecting Bad Science.”
The course isn’t normally online, but six weeks into the university's switch to distance learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this year is decidedly different. And the course material is, too.
URBANA, Ill. – Affirmative action policies (AAP) such as quota systems based on racial or socio-economic criteria are often recommended as a way to increase enrollment of underrepresented students in higher education. But those policies can be controversial and their results are sometimes questioned.
URBANA, Ill. – School test scores often show gaps in performance between white and non-white students. Understanding the complex reasons behind this can help reduce those gaps and promote social equality, explains Mary Paula Arends-Kuenning, associate professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois.
Arends-Kuenning is co-author of a study that analyzes math test scores for 9th-grade students in Brazil and breaks down the characteristics associated with performance gaps between different racial groups.
URBANA, Ill. – Children are losing their connection to nature.
It’s more than an unfortunate abstraction. Scientists say our increasingly indoor lifestyle negatively affects our health and well-being, not to mention our drive to protect the natural world. And it may be hampering kids’ ability to learn and thrive. A new e-book, published by Frontiers in Psychology, examines the many ways putting children back in contact with nature could make them more successful in school and in life.
URBANA, Ill. – This month, the Illinois State Board of Higher Education voted to officially approve the merger of the agricultural education and agricultural communications programs in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. The new program, Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications (ALEC), went into effect immediately following the decision.
The merged program will host agricultural education, agricultural communications, and organizational and community leadership.