The Poor Little Rich District: The Effects of Suburbanization on a Rural School and Community.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Aimee Howley, Educational Studies Department, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701. (howley@ohio.edu) Citation: Howley, A. (with Carnes, M., Eldridge, A., Huber, D., Lado, L. M., Kotler, R., & Turner, M.). (2005, July 18). The poor little rich district: The effects of suburbanization on a rural school and community. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 20(9). Retrieved [date] from http://jrre.psu.edu/articles /20-9.pdf
How rural America sees its future
How does rural America see its future? To answer that question, the Center partnered with the Bank’s Community Affairs staff to host seven roundtables throughout the nation last summer. The roundtables revealed an across-the-board sense that Main Streets are at risk, with economic challenges rapidly mounting. Out-migration, limited leadership capacity, and a daunting rural business environment were all cited as key challenges. Rural groups also agreed that rural policies must change if those and many other challenges are to be met. But there was little consensus on what policy changes hold the greatest promise. That lack of agreement contributes to an overall sense of frustration about where rural policy is headed. Still, in the end virtually all participants were convinced that rural America has strengths on which to build a better future, none more important than a resilient rural spirit and an abiding commitment to rural places. CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RURAL AMERICA Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Science fairs as learning tool for teaching excellence
Science fairs are usually considered to be a pedagogical and cultural activity that involves the students actively. Gifted students need challenges to further develop their skills while maintaining the motivation level. Science fairs may provide the informal environment that will request and allow these students of excellence to challenge themselves by developing a scientific research project. Despite being well known in different countries, in Portugal first steps are being made on the use and implementation of science fairs as effective pedagogical tool. In this work, we will present a 4 years study that was developed on a Portuguese school with the main goal of evaluating the advantages of this informal way of teaching. The study includes an analysis of the evolution of the students’ knowledge that have participated, or visited, the different science fairs. Some advices for the implementation of these projects will be given. The motivation of the students was monitored as well as the knowledge and skills effectively improved by this activity.