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As environmental education and sustainability education play a fundamental role in training citizens who are more aware of global change and more environmentally responsible, organic learning is a recommended alternative learning experience for young children. This article describes how one kindergarten class in South Korea applied organic learning to their curriculum and illustrates its effectiveness and practicality via the example of cotton planting. Geographically, this school is surrounded by forests and rivers within walking distance. Therefore, nature, ecology, and the environment are well integrated into their curriculum. The kindergarten facilities include 15 small gardens where students and teachers plant a wide variety of flowers, trees, and plants. Students have unlimited access to the gardens for observation and exploration. As a result, children remain engaged in active interactions with nature throughout the year.

Following recipes, adding ingredients, creating something unique, and seeing the finished products are the cooking processes that children can get actively involved with. This paper presents a quantitative study exploring the effectiveness of an inquiry-based cooking project to improve children's scientific process skills and health eating habits. This research was conducted with 67 experimental and 58 control group students for nine months in South Korea. Based on the t-test results, significant improvements were found in children's scientific process skills: specifically, prediction, observation, classification, measurement, and discussion, as well as healthy eating habits. These results confirm that the cooking projects reinforce the academic experiences of children, helping them to develop scientific processing skills, and providing children with the opportunity for the joy of food preparation and cooking, and experiencing different foods and tastes, and promoting healthy eating habits. The critical role of the teacher in this study is being addressed to provide a scientifically and nutritionally purposeful classroom environment.

Among various benefits of art for young children, this article highlights the emotional development aspect, specifically boosting self-confidence through art activities. The definition of self-confidence as having trust in one's self, clear knowledge of one's strengths and limitations, and assurance of one's ability to handle a variety of situations (Kostelnik, Stein, Whiren, & Soderman, 2006) was used for purposes of this paper and research project. Self-esteem and self-confidence come from having a sense of belonging, believing that oneself is capable, and knowing that contributions are valued and worthwhile. Lack of self-esteem has been shown to lead to a multitude of physical, mental, and emotional problems (Kernis, 2005), eventually resulting in overall academic and social under-performance, as well as behavior problems. Thus, it is vital for early childhood educators to provide an environment in which children are nurtured in a positive sense of self (Mayesky, 2003). This article presents a case study that illustrates how a 10-week art intervention program helped to increase children's self-confidence. This research acknowledged the importance of teacher's emotional support, specific feedback and open-ended questions, and use of open-ended materials.

This Reflection on Practice is based upon a change in the undergraduate course "Family and Community Relations." Historically, this course has been taught on campus in a lecture format, as well as small and large group activities. However, during a spring semester at a midsized Midwestern University, it was altered to provide more direct experiences for preservice teachers (PSTs) with families in a local child care program. This change was grounded in the belief that PSTS need "authentic experiences with families"(Pedro, Miller, & Bray, 2012, p.13). In addition to being in classrooms at the end of the child care day to interact with parents and participating in parent/teacher conferences, the PSTs planned and implemented two family events as well as created a space for families in the child care program's entry area. Reflections from the instructor's journal and feedback from parents and administrators following the events indicated a change in the PSTs behavior resulting in increased professionalism and a desire to do their best for the families of the early childhood program. This outcome suggests that providing PSTs opportunities to work directly with families as part of their educational program holds promise for the possibility of transformative learning to occur.

This study was to design and explore the effects of an enrichment program on the leadership, attitude, and motivation of ethnic minority gifted and talented students who want to be scientists and engineers in the future. Ten gifted and talented students participated in this study, Youth Science and Technology Leadership Camp (YSTLC). A leadership test was developed and implemented to the participants as a pre-test and post-test. The daily reports and interviews at the end of the camp examined their understanding of personal openness and attitudes toward being scientists and engineers. The enrichment program YSTLC improved their leadership and their knowledge of and attitude toward science and engineering for their future careers. This research highlights the importance of developing enrichment programs with a framework of effective methodologies that can be used to educate gifted and talented students, including minority students, to develop strong leadership skills, scientific knowledge, and perspicuous visions for their future.

Growing plants is a popular and easy method to facilitate preschoolers' scientific exploration and positive attitude toward the environment, as it creates an awareness that nature is a magical place to be explored. This study examines a year-long garden-based curriculum in South Korea, specifically a cotton project, and its effects on 4- to 6-year-old children's (n = 165) scientific and nature-friendly attitudes. Classroom observations and teacher interviews were obtained for qualitative data and scientific attitudes and nature-friendly attitudes were collected for quantitative data. The results indicated that planting cotton and observing the process of its growth provided opportunities for developing a scientific attitude of curiosity and inquiry. In addition, the meaningful direct and concrete experience with the natural environment opened the children's eyes to the significance of nature and the value of harmony with the natural world, resulting in increased nature-friendly attitudes. The critical roles of the teacher are addressed in implications.

Importance Osteoporosis-related fractures are associated with increased mortality risk among postmenopausal women, yet the impact of antiosteoporotic medications on mortality is not fully understood. Objective This study evaluates the effect of antiresorptive agents (ARs) on mortality risk in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. Design This is a nationwide cohort study using data from the National Screening Program for Transitional Ages (2008-2017). Setting Data were derived from a national cohort of postmenopausal women in South Korea. Participants This study included 117 871 postmenopausal women diagnosed with osteoporosis. Of them, 15 895 patients who used ARs, such as bisphosphonates or selective estrogen receptor modulators, for at least 1 year were matched 1:1 with nonusers using propensity scores. Exposures Exposure to ARs for at least 1 year was compared with no AR use. Main Outcomes and Measure Mortality outcomes were assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression models, focusing on all-cause mortality and cause-specific mortality, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD) and injury-/fracture-related deaths. Results In AR users, there were 102 deaths (mortality rate 1.41 per 1000 person-years), compared with 221 deaths in non-users (mortality rate 3.14 per 1000 person-years), yielding a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.43 (95% CI, 0.34-0.54). Antiresorptive agent users showed a 52% reduction in CVD mortality risk (HR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.34-0.69) and a 54% reduction in injury-/fracture-related mortality risk (HR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.27-0.76). The analysis indicated a consistent decrease in all-cause and CVD mortality risks with longer durations of AR use. Conclusions and Relevance The use of ARs in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis is associated with significantly lower risks of all-cause mortality, especially from cardiovascular events and fractures. The mortality reduction benefits appear to be enhanced with prolonged AR therapy, highlighting the potential importance of sustained treatment in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]