DISSEMINATION AND MARKETING PROJECTS IN PROGRESS

Film on Adventist Education. Teach the Children Well is the working title of a feature-length film produced by Martin Doblmeier of Journey Films. The Adventists, which features the health work of the church, was produced by the same company. The new film will focus on the education component of the Adventist denomination and will be shot primarily on K-12 Adventist school campuses. It will be shown on Public Television with a possible viewing audience of 20-40 million and also available for churches and schools to use. Funding was independently raised.

Bookazine. A 16-page bookazine (book format, magazine length) intended for parents and church members is nearing completion and due for release in the near future. Titled The CognitiveGenesis Study: Numbers that Matter enumerates the advantages of an Adventist education, the publication reports the CognitiveGenesis findings that show that students in Adventist schools academically outperform their peers in other school settings. It also shares information that suggests what parents and other adults can do to raise the academic achievement of their children. Furthermore, it highlights current experiences of real parents and real students from across the country.

Moving Minds and Hearts Upward Videos. New ventures add new words and phrases to one’s vocabulary. “B-roll footage” is one such term. In layperson’s language, that means that they are taping schools, students, and locations to accompany Dick Duerksen’s narration of the 20 two-minute videos for the set, Moving Minds and Hearts Upward. The set is targeted at parents, giving them suggestions to improve their child’s school achievement, using information gleaned from the CognitiveGenesis research. A videographer went to Orcas Island recently to film time-lapse footage of the beautiful scenery. It rained for two days. Instead of filming beauty, he spent his time productively shooting action – shots of the Orcas Christian School and its students. The videos are soon to be released.

What’s in a Name. We could call it what it is, Selected Papers from the Summit: Crossroads of Peril and Promise, or we can continue looking for a more interesting name. The contents are certainly interesting. Seventeen of the papers submitted to the 2010 summit have been selected along with transcripts of the two keynote addresses to form a book addressing the challenges facing Adventist education, suggesting creative solutions, and describing innovative practices that are working in specific locations. Revisions and editing are underway. The target for distribution is the quinquennial NAD Teachers’ Convention, held in Nashville, Tennessee August 3-5, 2012.

CONTINUING RESEARCH PROJECTS

Continued analysis of CG data is focusing on the voluminous student, parent, teacher, and administrative questionnaire data. Some of the findings are already being used in two-minute videos to inform home, school, and church of conditions that nurture achievement and practices that are counterproductive to student achievement.

PLOT. One of the new projects is PLOT, a joint research project of La Sierra University and Loma Linda University. The project is developing a survey instrument to gather life style and personality information that will be used to determine the influence of those two variables on life decisions.

Adventist Education Stakeholders Project. One of the issues being investigated by this study is identifying the sources and strength of support for Adventist education and what future support will be if current conditions remain stable or change.

PRESENTATIONS/PERSONAL APPEARANCES

June 25. Dr. Kido spoke at the Southeastern California Conference camp meeting (hosted by Black Ministries) held in Riverside, California. The title of her presentation was “Educating for Eternity.”

July 11-14. For the third year in a row Elissa Kido was invited to present a paper on the CognitiveGenesis project at the Riverside Leadership Summit in Chicago, Illinois. The title of the paper was “Repeated Testing: Estimating the Degree of Practice Effect on CogATĀ® Scores.” The audience consisted of administrators from public and private school systems across the United States.

July 31-August 1. Dr. Elissa Kido spoke about the results of the CognitiveGenesis research and their meaning and application to a group of Mid-America teachers. They were from the Central States Regional, Iowa-Missouri, and Kansas-Nebraska conferences.

August 27. “The Adventist Advantage” was the topic of Dr. Kido’s discourse on Adventist education at the divine worship service at the Valley Crossroad Church in Pacoima, California.

September 9. Held at Walla Walla University, Dr. Kido spoke at the Northwest Adventist Leadership Convention. The attendees were pastors and leaders from North Pacific Union. Besides, her presentation to the entire group, “Predicting the Future: Students, Home, Church, School Factors in Students’ Success,” she gave two break-out talks: “Predicting the Future” and “Educating for Eternity.”

September 14-16. The NAD Directors meeting in Victoria, BC, featured the issue of diversity in the schools and how best to meet the needs of all students. Dr. Kido participated in the discussions of the relation of diversity, achievement, and ability. In addition, the Directors explored future projects for CRAE.