Micronesian Educator Vol. 16, 2012 Cover, TOC and Editor's Introduction

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A Journal of Research & Practice on Education in Guam and Micronesia

COVER Heiwa: Heiwa is the pushing of the canoe on the unfolded mat to demonstrate how a canoe will actually sail in the ocean from the departure island to the destination island. The navigator uses one or more stars or constellations and uses the faunan etak (primary reference island and possibly a fauan yatil (secondary reference island) in tracking the course.

Heiwa is also used to explain the feeling of the canoe's movement caused by the waves and swells hitting the canoe.

Cover Design: Lawrence J. Cunningham and Manny Sikau

Š2012 By the School of Education, University of Guam All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984.

Views expressed by the authors are their own. They do not necessarily reflect those of the College ofProfessional Studies (the School of Education), the editor, or printer. Reprints of articles may be ordered directly through the Micronesian Educator Editorial Office.

Volume 16,2012

Micronesian Educator A Journal of Research and Practice on Education in Guam and Micronesia -A publication of the School of Education at the University of Guam-

Editor Yukiko Inoue-Smith School of Education, University of Guam

Editorial Committee Unaisi Nabobo-Baba School of Education, University of Guam Kelle Murphy College of Natural and Applied Science, University of Guam Donald Rubinstein Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam Velma Sablan School of Education, University of Guam Christopher Schreiner College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Guam

Mazy Spencer Micronesian Area Research Center, University of Guam Jason Vest College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of Guam

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Micronesian Educator Volume 16, 2012

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Editor's Introduction Yukiko Inoue -Smith

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Facilitating Program Improvement for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Baseline Documentation of Instructional Programs in Six Pacific Entities Mary L. Spencer, Michael Burdge, June De Leon, Jean Clayton, June Quitugua, Asuncion Guerrero, Heidi San Nicolas, and Jonas Macapinlac

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A Pilot Analysis of the Role of Learning Styles in Online Learning Environments Yukiko Inoue -Smith

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Potential Effects of Obesity on Health and Learning in Children Mary Jane Miller

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About the Contributors

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Guidelines for Submission

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Editor's Introduction Welcome to Micronesian Educator, a journal reporting on educational research and practice in Guam and the Micronesian region. We have three articles in this issue.

The first article, entitled "Facilitating Program Improvement for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities: Baseline Documentation of Instructional Programs in Six Pacific Entities," summarizes an important research project. Education is extremely complex, and that teaching, like parenting, is among the most difficult endeavors in human society. Teaching in general, and curriculum development and academic assessment in particular, are even harder in the six American-affiliated Pacific island entities considered in this article. Language proficiency in English is an essential part of schooling in the American educational system. However, culturally derived differences in how students interact with teachers, including in Guam, can make teaching schoolchildren with cognitive disabilities even more challenging than is normally the case when teaching in a student's second language. In response to these realities, the article outlines five best practice themes derived from the sample data. This research article therefore offers some important innovations.

The second article, entitled "A Pilot Analysis of the Role of Learning Styles in Online Learning Environments," presents the findings from an online learning/distance education inventory. Based on the fact that online education is becoming an important long-term strategy for universities around the world, it is important to analyze the ways in which different learning styles guide responses to online learning environments. As discussed in this article, teaching and learning in today's college classrooms are heavily visually oriented. The fact that almost all students in this study were visual learners suggests a "chicken or the egg" question. Were they visual learners by nature, or did they become visual learners because the educational materials they engaged in college were so visual? The analysis reported in the article provides a first step in addressing this intriguing question.

The third article, entitled "Potential Effects of Obesity on Health and Learning in Children," focuses on the universal issues of obesity in children. Based on the fact that today nearly one in three children in the United States is overweight (Guam is not an exception), Let's Move!, a comprehensive initiative, was launched on February 9, 2010, by the First Lady. This movement is dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation in the United States. A review of this literature indicates the value of providing parents with helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. This is not an issue for children but for adults as well. The author's arguments indicate that both physical health and mental health issues related to obesity can be linked directly or indirectly to lowered academic achievement. Because patterns for adult behaviors and lifestyle are established in childhood, the alarming rise in obesity even among the very youngest children is very troubling.

We welcome active responses from our readers, and hope they will be encouraged to submit their work for future issues, so that this publication continues to provide an important medium for sharing empirical research, literature reviews, theoretical perspectives, opinion papers, and practical applications. Finally, I would like to thank all of the authors who contributed to this issue; and all of the reviewers, for their enthusiasm and dedication: without which this journal could not exist.

Yukiko Inoue-Smith, Ph.D. Editor

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