A large portion of the work of CRAE this quarter has been to disseminate information on the final results of the CognitiveGenesis study. While much of the work is in the form of communication: personal appearances, printed material, videos, TV programs, and web site conversations—research is on-going as is the continuing effort for funding. The following report is the 2012 First Quarter summary of CognitiveGenesis and CRAE activities.

DISSEMINATION AND MARKETING PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

Video Projects. Ten of the set of 20 short videos being produced for use with churches and parents will be available on the NAD web site in May. The series is targeted for church and school audiences and addresses the relationships between academic achievement and student, parent/home, and school factors. Dick Duerksen is the narrator.

Bookazine. Moving Hearts and Minds Upward: The CognitiveGenesis Study, a bookazine of 16 pages, is ready for the printers. Ten thousand copies will be printed with 6,550 of these distributed in August at the Teachers’ Conference in Nashville.

Book Project: Articles Submitted to the National Education Summit. Twenty-one of the best papers out of the nearly 50 submitted have been selected for the book– Crossroads of Perils and Promise: Selected Papers from the National Summit on Adventist Education, 2010. The articles are written by teachers, administrators, pastors, and researchers and cover issues of mission, governance, curriculum, marketing, and funding. The many diverse and sometimes controversial viewpoints included make the book a launching pad for action at the grassroots level. It is scheduled for distribution in the summer.

PBS Documentary Film. The filming for the documentary telling the story of Adventist education has begun. A variety of sites have been chosen including large and small schools employing both traditional and innovative educational practices. Contact has been made and permission granted to use historical film segments and information from the Archives of Andrews University and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.The process of telling the story is complex, involving interviews, visits, delving into archives, as well as actual filming. The complexity of the Adventist school system makes the work harder, but the finished product much more interesting.

FUNDING

In March the Versacare Foundation awarded CRAE a grant of $12,000 to assist with division-wide marketing and distribution.

RESEARCH AND CONTINUING ANALYSES

The CognitiveGenesis database has become the springboard for several additional investigations.

  • The latest is a project being undertaken by CRAE and a collaborative group of researchers from Claremont Graduate University and Loma Linda University to examine the role of pastors in the future of Adventist education and investigate strategies to develop support for Adventist education and boost enrollment.
  • Another project in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame and Andrews University studies the achievement of students from various ethnic backgrounds to determine if and how “the achievement gap” is being closed.

E-MAIL AND TELEPHONE CONTACTS OF NOTE

E-mails continue to arrive from educators asking for help in their local areas using CognitiveGenesis resources. A sampling of representative queries include the following:

  • A request from a pastor for a power point presentation that he can use at his local church for promoting Adventist education
  • A challenge to show that the CognitiveGenesis results are based on solid empirical evidence and a request for answers pertaining to perceived differences between students in Adventist schools and the general school population. Many of these questions are easily answered by referring the person to the wealth of information posted on the CognitiveGenesis web site.
  • A request from Jamaica asking how the findings can improve Adventist schools in that country.  Thanks to the Adventist education global network and social networking, educators from all over the world are asking about the CognitiveGenesis Project.

PRESENTATIONS/PERSONAL APPEARANCES

Based on research showing that pastors are the critical group that can mobilize support for or create opposition to Adventist education, many of this quarter’s presentations have been focused on this group, sharing with pastors and leadership the latest information on Adventist education. A growing number of pastors, in turn, are contacting the office to request a speaker for their local churches and camp meetings. The work of CognitiveGenesis has become a division-wide interest, as evidenced by the invitation from the NAD President, Dan Jackson, to Elissa Kido to speak at the NAD Annual Conference Presidents’ Council. Other presentations include the following:

January 8-11. Iowa-Missouri Conference Pastors Workshop

“How does Adventist Education Measure up: Results from the CognitiveGenesis Study.”

“Predicting the Future: Students, Home, Church, and School Factors that Predict Student Academic Success.”

January 29-30. Indiana Conference Pastors, Teachers, and Conference Leadership Workshop

“How does Adventist Education Measure Up?”

“Predicting the Future.”

February 2. Teacher Cohort group from Korea National University at Stokoe Elementary School, Riverside, California

“Adventist Wholistic Education and Its Benefits”

February 6-9. NAD Annual Conference Presidents’ Council

“Predicting the Future”

February 19-25. Southern India Youth Evangelism Seminar (150 Youth Leaders) and the Gospel Workers Outreach Conference (500 Laity)

“Educating for Eternity”

“The Adventist Advantage”

March 2. Versacare Annual Board Meeting: Final Report on CognitiveGenesis

March 7. Southeastern California Conference Pastors Meetings A, Loma Linda, CA

March 8. Southeastern California Conference Pastors Meetings B, Riverside, CA

March 10. Federation of Adventist Hispanic Youth (FEJA), Southeastern California Conference. Ontario: Hispanic pastors, parents, youth

“Educando para La Eternidad “ (Education for Eternity)

March 20. Southeastern California Conference Pastors Meetings C, Fallbrook, CA

Upcoming. Presentations scheduled for the near future

April 7. Chula Vista SDA Church

April 16. AERA (American Educational Research Association) Joint presentation with Dr. Jerome Thayer of Andrews University: “A National Study Examining the Relationships between Achievement and Student, Home, Teacher, and School Factors”

May 5. San Marcos SDA Church

May 12. Colton SDA Church

May 19-21. Omaha Education Summit

May 30-31. Iowa-Missouri Conference Camp Meeting

June 2. South Central Conference Camp Meeting

June 3. South Central Conference Pastors’ meeting