Page 10 - Abacoa Community News - August '22
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Page 10, Abacoa

      FAU Features from page 9                              Elementary school children spend most of their days in   vice president of institutional advancement and CEO of
                                                         assigned seats, in the company of classmates. In most elementary   FAUF. “This last fiscal year shows just how committed
       policies, launched more flexible curricula, and provided   school classrooms, teachers decide who sits next to whom and,   our friends, alumni and partners are to the mission and
       targeted financial assistance. By ensuring that actionable data   by extension, who interacts with whom.  vision of the university.”
       made it directly into the hands of those who could make a      “Taken together, our findings highlight the enormous      During  this  record-setting  year,  FAU  received  the
       difference for students, FAU overcame the obstacle of silos   influence that teachers wield over the interpersonal lives of   largest scholarship gift in its history. Announced in May,
       forming in terms of competing unit priorities and goals, as   children. With great power comes great responsibility,” said   the university received an estate pledge of $28 million
       well as decentralized data centers.               Laursen. “We urge teachers to exercise their power judiciously.   from  John  and Ann Wood  to  support  scholarships  for
          “It is a great honor for Florida Atlantic to be nationally   Unintended social consequences have been known to arise when   students enrolled in the Charles E. Schmidt College of
       recognized for our innovative approach to delivering success   adults meddle in the social lives of children.”  Medicine. This is the largest known scholarship gift to a
       for all students – regardless of background,” said FAU      Study co-author is Sharon Faur, a developmental psychology   Florida public university’s medical school.
       Interim Provost Michele Hawkins. “We are proactive and   doctoral student in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.     “At  the  university’s  dedication  ceremony  in  1964,
       use evidence to keep a record number of students on track      The study was supported by the United States National   former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared that
       for timely graduation, so  that they can drive our regional   Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National   our goal must be to open the doors of higher education
       and state workforce.”                             Institutes of Health (HD096457).                  to all who can qualify,” said FAU President John Kelly.
          Judges select winners from written applications and, if                                          “Thanks  to  generous  gifts  from  our  many  supporters,
       needed, follow-up interviews. Entries are scored on value to   FAU Foundation Raises                Florida Atlantic  is  able  to  provide  opportunities  for
       the institution, innovation, and relevance to the mission of the                                    talented, hardworking students to earn degrees, regardless
       school and are announced in conjunction with Eduventures  $81.24 Million In Record-                 of their background.”
       Annual Summit.                                                                                         FAU currently serves more than 30,000 undergraduate
                                                         Setting Year                                      and graduate students across six campuses. In recent
       Seat Assignments Drive                            By Kristine Gobbo                                 years, the university has doubled its research expenditures
                                                                                                           and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates.
       Friendships Among                                    The  Florida Atlantic                          FAU is highly ranked by U.S. News & World Report for

       Elementary School Children                        University  Foundation                            “Social Mobility” and a top degree producer for black
                                                         (FAUF)  raised  more  than
                                                                                                           and Hispanic students. FAU is also consistently ranked
                                                         $81.24 million from more than 5,332 donors at the end   as the most ethnically and culturally diverse institution
       By Gisele Galoustian                              of  the  2022  fiscal  year  –  the  largest  amount  raised  in   in Florida’s state university system.
          Most teachers focus on academic considerations when   the university’s history. This total breaks the record of      “FAU’s  ever-increasing  success  is  fueled  by  the
       assigning seats. A new study by Florida Atlantic University   $57 million from the previous year and demonstrates a   generosity of our supporters,” said Steven Schmidt, FAUF
       psychology  researchers  is  the  first  to  show  that  these   continued trajectory for growth.   board chair. “It is thanks to their philanthropy that the
       classroom seat assignments also have important implications      “FAU was founded on philanthropy, and that tradition   university is able to add and expand exciting experiences
       for children’s friendships.                       has continued for more than 60 years,” said Chris Delisio,   for learning, research, athletics and the arts and more.”
          Results of the study, published in the journal Frontiers in
       Psychology, revealed that friendships reflect classroom seat
       assignments. Students sitting next to or nearby one another
       were more likely to be friends with one another than students
       seated elsewhere in the classroom. Moreover, longitudinal
       analyses showed that classroom seating proximity was                                                     You’re Retired
       associated with the formation of new friendships. After seat
       assignments changed, students were more likely to become                                                 Your Money Isn’t.
       friends with newly near-seated classmates than with those
       who remained or became seated farther away.
          “The students in our study spent most of every day with                                                To learn why consolidating your
       the same 15 or so classmates. By the middle of the school year,                                           retirement accounts to Edward Jones
       there were no unfamiliar peers,” said Brett Laursen, Ph.D.,
       senior author and a professor of psychology in FAU’s Charles                                              makes sense, contact your Edward
       E. Schmidt College of Science. “Yet when seat assignments                                                 Jones  nancial advisor today.
       changed, new seatmates were apt to become new friends,
       consistent with claims that exposure alone is not a sufficient
       condition for friendship. Apparently, proximity transcends
       familiarity by providing new opportunities for the kind of      Sally S Stahl, AAMS®                       www.edwardjones.com
       exchanges that form the basis of a friendship.”                 Financial Advisor                            M e m b  P I S   r e  C
          Participants in the study included 235 students (129 boys,   1851 W Indiantown Rd Ste 106
       106 girls) in grades 3 to 5 (ages 8 to 11) who nominated friends   Jupiter, FL 33458
       at two time points (13 to 14 weeks apart). Children attended a   561-748-7600
       public primary school in south Florida that reflected public school
       students in the state in terms of ethnicity and family income.
          For the study, teacher seating charts were used to calculate
       three forms of proximity for each pair of students in a classroom.
       Neighbor proximity described classmates seated directly beside
       one another in a row or at a table, and those seated directly across   Susan Has Moved To A
       from one another at a table. Group proximity included classmates
       identified as neighbors as well as those who were near neighbors;
       the latter were either one seat away in the same row or diagonal          New Location!
       to one another at the same table. Findings for group proximity
       were the most robust, suggesting that children are willing (and
       able) to overlook their nearest neighbors in favor of those seated   Androcles Hair Salon
       close enough for sustained communication.
          “Of course, students were not glued to their seats; interactions   4031 Hood Rd., Suite C-108
       with far-seated peers undoubtedly occurred during lunch, recess   Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
       and (in some classes) free time activities,” said Laursen. “The fact
       that new friends tended to emerge among the newly near-seated
       – despite opportunities for engagement with other classmates –             Susan
       underscores the power of proximity in friendship formation.”
          Classroom proximity assumes outsized importance during the
       elementary school years because children this age have few other        Swafford
       sustained opportunities to meet (and engage with) friends and
       because companionship is central to the definition of friendship.
       It has long been known that most children report that most of   561-312-0457
       their friends are in the same classroom. We now know that they
       are probably seated nearby.
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