Zoe Hansen-DiBello has never built a garden before. But the UMass Dartmouth Educational Leadership and Policy Ph.D. student is creating two new garden spaces at area elementary schools. Hansen-DiBello, the Grow Education coordinator from the Marion Institute, sees New Bedford as the perfect community to introduce this sustainability initiative. "We are creating a safe space for families," she said. "It allows a diverse group of people to bring something to the table."

Two New Bedford elementary schools, Elizabeth C. Brooks elementary school and the John Hannigan elementary school, will plant their first gardens. Hansen-DiBello's role is to connect the dots throughout the schools and community. She sought funding, consulted with local farmers, and even contacted a local carpentry class to craft original benches for the gardens. Once all the supplies are gathered, the teachers incorporate the planting and gardening into their curriculum.

The Grow program celebrates all of New Bedford's various ethnicities, especially those with big food cultures. The Brooks school hopes to grow kale to use in the school lunches and to bring home to their families. "This garden program becomes a way to use food as a vehicle to reengage families and excite teachers," said Hansen-DiBello.  "We have the opportunity to reengage a community."

The basement classrooms of 800 Purchase Street in New Bedford are filled with nervous, but inspiring adult learners. They are learning to speak English, improving their job skills, and even earning their high school equivalency. "The students are afraid to be back in school for so many reasons," said Lisa Jochim, director of the Worker's Education Program. "Maybe it was hard for them before or maybe they never really had a good experience with education before."

The Worker's Education Program (WEP) provides area residents with free classes and training that prepare them for the high school equivalency test, the HiSET (formerly known as the GED). The program also provides classes (ESOL) that teach English to speakers of other languages. "The Workers' Education Program at UMass Dartmouth is a life changing opportunity," said Jochim.

Funded by grants and contracts, the Worker's Education Program transforms lives, families, and communities. According to MassINC, a non-partisan research organization, 21.7% of families headed by high school dropouts are poor. With no out-of-pocket expenses for its students, the WEP creates a lifeline out of poverty for individuals and families. And that lifeline extends to the community. "This program is so important for the community," Jochim said. "It provides adult learners with the language, literacy, numeracy, and technology skills they need get a job or go on to college, so they can support themselves and their families."

Among academics, the debate continues. Is online learning more effective than face-to-face learning? Online learning may be more cost effective, but how does it affect student learning? Dr. Neal Olitsky and Dr. Sarah Cosgrove, UMass Dartmouth economics professors, weighed in on the debate by performing their own research. In 2013, Olitsky and Cosgrove published their research in the International Review of Economics Education.

Olitsky and Cosgrove's article, "The effect of blended learning on student learning: Evidence from introductory economics courses," sought to determine the effects of online learning on student learning. They utilized a "blended" component in some of their principles of economics classes (micro and macro), while their other classes remained face-to-face. For the first five weeks of classes, Olitsky and Cosgrove's classes were identical. They used the same textbook, online homework manager, course management system, and exam. After five weeks, the professors evaluated the students with an exam. The exam results helped to determine if there were any differences in student learning.

Surprisingly, the results revealed that blended learning did not significantly affect student learning. Controlling for demographics and individual academic achievement, Olitsky and Cosgrove found that there were no differences in learning between the blended courses and the traditional classes. The professors acknowledge that the results cannot be generalized, but they are a starting point for further research, especially in the area of economics pedagogy.