Education & Society

In the mid-1980s, Lawrence J. "Larry" Polivka began thinking of research pioneer Carter Osterbind as a mentor while working with him on former Gov. Bob Graham’s Florida Committee on Aging. This past August, Polivka received the Dr. Carter Osterbind Outstanding FCOA Member Award from the Florida Council on Aging during its 2011 annual conference. Polivka […]

Math skills are increasingly critical to Florida’s economy, yet many of the state’s students struggle with the subject. Their problems begin early: More than one-fifth of Florida third-graders struggle in math, according to this year’s state assessment, and in upper grades, the statistics only grow grimmer. But with a new, $2.8 million grant, researchers at […]

When playing digital games, children hone skills such as persistence, creative problem solving, and conceptual physics that traditional pen-and-paper assessment methods may not measure. That’s why Florida State University College of Education Professor Valerie Shute is designing, developing and evaluating "stealth" assessments and well-disguised educational content that can be embedded in digital games to surreptitiously […]

Since 1997, the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program has provided academic scholarships to thousands of the state’s highest-achieving high school seniors. Now, a Florida State University professor has received a major grant that will enable him to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Shouping Hu, a professor of higher education in FSU’s College of Education, […]

A new, $3.64 million professional development program designed and implemented by the Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology Engineering and Math (FCR-STEM) at Florida State University will help middle- and high-school teachers cope with the ever-growing body of science knowledge and evolving educational standards and assessments. Focusing on life and Earth sciences, the project […]

The Center for Higher Education Research, Teaching and Innovation (CHERTI) at Florida State University is initiating a study to examine the factors that limit the ability of community college students to transfer to four-year universities and to successfully earn a bachelor’s degree. David A. Tandberg, assistant professor of higher education at Florida State, will serve […]

Florida State University experts in medicine, exercise science, nutrition, sports psychology and athletic training have partnered with one of the nation’s premier sports medicine and orthopedic treatment centers to establish the Institute of Sports Sciences and Medicine (ISSM), a public-private collaboration that spells good news for millions of athletes of all ages. Based at Florida […]

Florida State University’s internationally recognized faculty researchers are sharing their expertise with national and international media on a variety of topics related to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In outlets ranging from CNN to The New York Times, these experts are discussing the potential dangers at Japan’s nuclear facilities, the physical processes that underlie […]

It’s a frustrating problem for many of today’s parents: Little Jacob or Isabella is utterly indifferent to schoolwork during the day but then happily spends all evening engrossed in the latest video game. The solution isn’t to banish the games, says one Florida State University researcher. A far better approach, advises Valerie J. Shute, is […]

As the number of older Floridians grows, aging road users — unlike previous generations — are expected to drive more and for a longer period of time. Keeping them safe and mobile is the goal of a grant awarded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Safety Office to the Pepper Institute on Aging and […]

When it comes to teaching space and Earth sciences, there’s a world of information out there, and two Florida State University researchers are helping K-12 teachers to bring it into the classroom. The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) has awarded a $37,500 grant to professors Paul Ruscher and Alejandro Gallard for a two-year project […]