Inquiry Into Which Area of the Life Extension Debate is Most Effective in Changing Attitudes Towards it Among 16 to 17 Year-Olds

Existing research extension has yielded varying results about whether the public’s attitudes towards life extension are positive or negative. Such differences could be accounted for by factors such as general attitudes towards developments in science and technology and exposure to fiction (such as books or movies) which generally portray life extension in an unfavorable light. This study revealed that, at least among 16 to 17 year-old High School Juniors, there was a correlation between a favorable orientation towards scientific and technological developments and positive attitudes towards life extension. Additionally, participants who had witnessed representation of life extension in fiction were less likely to hold positive attitudes towards it. The specification of the physical state in which people would live an extended lifespan in was also found to be significant in forming attitudes towards life extension. The main positive arguments about life extension were cited to be having more time, being able to be with loved ones longer, and it being beneficial towards society and humanity. However, the most significant negative arguments were that overpopulation would become a severe issue, outliving loved ones would be distressing, and abuse of power. In an attempt to change attitudes towards life extension from negative to positive, a 15-minute presentation about either the social and personal, ethical, or scientific aspect was generally ineffective in doing so. However, out of the favorable change that did occur, the presentation on the scientific feasibility of life extension was found to be the most effective.

Moonshot: Redesigning NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars Experience at Johnson Space Center for Online Delivery

Moonshot is the redesign of NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which traditionally engaged Texas high school juniors in a 16-week online course for credit and an intense week-long onsite experience working in teams with experts at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), our challenge was to design, develop, and deliver an online virtual experience to replace the all-expenses-paid six-day residential summer experience at JSC where HAS participants traditionally work with like-minded peers and NASA experts on authentic design challenges.

Adolescents Voice Preference in Auditory Advertisements

This study aimed to gauge if adolescents' bias or prejudice towards a particular gender could be observed through narrator preference in auditory advertisements to ascertain if the perception of gender and its stereotypes has changed among younger generations. Prior research shows that when adult subjects are presented with multiple advertisements that they demonstrate a preference towards male narrated advertisements; however, these previous studies were performed on adults; therefore, narrator preference remains unknown for most teenagers. For this study, research data were collected through a mixed media survey in which a descriptive research process was completed. Participants in this study included 135 high school juniors and seniors both male and female. Initial results showed that statistically there was no preference for either male or female narration. From this data, one can conclude that today's teenagers do not show an overt bias for a narrator of a specific gender. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that the perception of gender and gender stereotypes have changed towards more egalitarian views in today's younger generations. However, this study was limited to high school-aged teenagers and did not encompass youth of all age groups. Future research should compare perceived gender stereotypes among various age groups to identify a more precise pattern of generational change of gender perception.

73 Engaging youth through bovine reproductive practices

Two programs have been established at Virginia Tech with the purpose of engaging youth and showcasing agriculture. The Governor’s School for Agriculture (GSA) program began in 2001, and has over 1,850 graduates. High school juniors and seniors from different areas of the Commonwealth’s schools spend time on campus exploring the life sciences. The Virginia 4-H State Congress (4HC) is the premier, statewide annual 4-H event for outstanding teens, providing educational experiences to Virginia teens and helping them develop life skills and leadership abilities. Our extension group has focused on exposing teens enrolled in the GSA and 4HC to beef production, particularly bovine reproduction and reproductive biotechnologies. The 4-hr workshop, titled “Do it yourself cows”, consists of a mixture of in-class presentations and hands-on laboratories relating to bovine reproductive anatomy and physiology and reproductive biotechnologies. The wet-laboratory consists of bovine female reproductive tracts anatomy dissection and artificial insemination and rectal palpation simulation with a mannequin, as well as demonstrations of equipment used in the field including, nitrogen tank for semen storage, ultrasound and microscope visualization of bovine embryos. The GSA “Bovine Reproduction” course is 4 days long and allows for in-depth discussion of factors influencing fertility and case discussions on beef reproductive management. The hands-on portion of this course is similar to the 4HC workshop, however students are able to perform rectal palpation and ultrasonography in cattle. So far, 40 students from the GSA and 80 students from the 4HC (2 GSA, and 4 4HC programs) have graduated in the course. At the completion of both programs, a survey was performed and 100% of the students considered the program positive and gained knowledge and interest in bovine reproduction. Furthermore, 20% of students from the GSA program developed a desire to pursue a career in livestock production, and 92% of 4HC students claimed to have learned information they can apply in their communities. Our data indicate that we were successful in engaging youth in animal agriculture, specifically beef production.

Doodle Away: Exploring the Effects of Doodling on Recall Ability of High School Students

Doodling is often misinterpreted as a distraction to students in an academic setting– a hindrance to learning. However, recent research has shown that doodling may be beneficial to learning and memory retention. The current study expands upon previous research by investigating the impact of structured and unstructured doodling on auditory recall. This experiment was designed using a multi-method quantitative approach with an experiment that consisted of a control, structured doodling, and unstructured doodling group, and a questionnaire to assess students’ doodling experience. A group of 39 high school juniors were chosen for this study. In all three conditions, students listened to a history lecture in their normal classroom circumstances and took a quiz over the information afterward. Students doodled in both experimental conditions– they shaded a structured doodling sheet in the first condition and doodled in a blank, white A4 sheet in the second condition. The results indicated that those in the structured and unstructured doodling group performed significantly better than those in the control group, with structured doodling scoring the highest out of the three. The Post Doodling Questionnaire indicated that the majority of students experienced less daydreaming and increased recall while doodling; furthermore, the majority of students reported doodling naturalistically.

Students’ Perceptions of a Special Program for Developing Exceptional Talent in STEM

This investigation was to explore perceptions of students who participated in the Cultivating Diverse Talents in STEM project in an R1 university through (a) university-based summer internship program, (b) subsequent school-year research internships, and (c) successive summer workshops or internships. Thirteen high school juniors from diverse backgrounds and low-income families were selected using a series of identification and assessment methods. Both the performance-based and paper-and-pencil assessments were measures of creative problem solving and application of conceptual understandings. A questionnaire was administered after students’ participation in the summer internship. The core theme, active involvement in problem solving inspired and motivated students with exceptional talent, was identified, including three categories: (a) academic initiative and engagement, (b) transition preparation, and (c) practical skill development. Strengths of diverse, underrepresented students with exceptional talent in STEM (spatial analytical skills, high academic resilience, and persistence) and critical elements of a quality STEM program (focusing on individual research interests and real-world problems, providing enriched and varied experiences, and creating supportive mentoring relationships) are included in the research implications.

Shared Vulnerability, Collaborative Composition, and the Interrogation and Reification of Oppressive Values in a High School LGBTQ-Themed Literature Course

With recent decades showing an increase in educational literacy scholarship attending to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ) people and texts with LGBTQ themes, we sought to extend this scholarship through examining collaborative composition for public audiences beyond a classroom and school. We explored these composing practices through our ethnographically informed qualitative study of a semester-long LGBTQ-themed literature course for high school juniors and seniors, which we cotaught and coresearched. Ultimately, we found, through collaborative composing for public audiences, students and teachers in the LGBTQ-themed literature course had opportunities for interrogating oppressive values. When students and teachers shared vulnerability in that they shared responsibility for oppressive values, they embraced these opportunities. However, when students and teachers failed to share vulnerability but, instead, imposed it on a single individual, they squandered these opportunities. These findings underscore the importance of sharing vulnerability when working to interrogate oppressive values through collaborative composition for public audiences.

The "Draw-A-Religious Jew" Test and Students’ Religious Identities

A quantitative arts-based study was conducted with high school juniors and seniors at a community Jewish school in Toronto. This group represented a diverse mixture of students who populate the school in relation to gender, involvement in school life and religious denominations. Students were prompted to draw a religious Jew and the images were scored based on five different markers. Of the 35 drawings, only one female was drawn. Additionally, the majority of students drew charedi Orthodox Jews, despite none being present in the study group. The article concludes by addressing the problem with how students understand the word religious and offers suggestions for how to reframe religious identity in a way that reflects pluralism and denominational diversity.