Closing in on Ten Years of JFSE

Abstract

Soon we will close the books on Volume 10 of JFSE. If you haven't published something in this series, it is time to get writing. Our readership continues to grow. In addition to the “likely suspects”, we have a very significant group of readers outside of the U.S. and a number of readers from the K-12 community. In 2010, JFSE had slightly more than 20,000 full-text downloads. This was an increase of 63% over the previous year. For those of you who need a quality indicator for your article, we can provide the download information. We will be recognizing 2 papers published in 2008 at the IFT Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The most-cited paper published in 2008 is: “Implementing Experiential Learning Activities in a Large Enrollment Introductory Food Science and Human Nutrition Course” by Dawn M Bohn and Shelly J. Schmidt (JFSE Vol. 7, Issue 1, p. 5–13). The 2nd-most-cited paper is: “Classroom Discussions with Student-Led Feedback: a Useful Activity to Enhance Development of Critical Thinking Skills” by Kirby D Hayes and Amy A Devitt (JFSE Vol. 7, Issue 4, p. 65–68). Why don't you get busy and submit that future “Download Classic” that has been sitting on your desk? In this issue you will find the winning essay from the Education Division's Undergraduate Technical Writing Competition (http://www.ift.org/divisions/education/student.htm). I am sure that one of your undergraduate students could produce a competitive essay. Why don't you encourage one of them to submit? While the cash prizes aren't large, the opportunity to get published in JFSE is quite a plum. In addition to Jim Bird's column identifying gems you should read, we have 2 book reviews. Prof. Karim provides comments on Ambrose and others’“How Learning Works: 7 Research-based Principles for Smart Teaching” which should be useful reading for all of us. The other book reviewed is “Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration” by R. Keith Sawyer.