Education Commons^™

Overcoming The Barriers To Teaching Teamwork To Undergraduates In Stem, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Miranda L. Aiken, Hector M. Camarillo-Abad, Kamal Diki, Daniel L. Gardner, Mario Stipčić, Javier F. Espeleta

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

There is widespread recognition that undergraduate students in the life sciences must learn how to work in teams. However, instructors who wish to incorporate teamwork into their classrooms rarely have formal training in how to teach teamwork. This is further complicated by the application of synonymous and often ambiguous terminology regarding teamwork that is found in literature spread among many different disciplines. There are significant barriers for instructors wishing to identify and implement best practices. We synthesize key concepts in teamwork by considering the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) necessary for success, the pedagogies and curricula for teaching those KSAs, …

Variations In Student Approaches To Problem Solving In Undergraduate Biology Education, Jeremy L. Hsu, Rou-Jia Sung, Su L. Swarat, Alexandra J. Gore, Stephanie Kim, Stanley M. Lo

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Existing research has investigated student problem-solving strategies across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; however, there is limited work in undergraduate biology education on how various aspects that influence learning combine to generate holistic approaches to problem solving. Through the lens of situated cognition, we consider problem solving as a learning phenomenon that involves the interactions between internal cognition of the learner and the external learning environment. Using phenomenography as a methodology, we investigated undergraduate student approaches to problem solving in biology through interviews. We identified five aspects of problem solving (including knowledge, strategy, intention, metacognition, and mindset) that define three …

A Multi-Year Longitudinal Study Exploring The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Students’ Familiarity And Perceptions Of Active Learning, Briana Craig, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The COVID-19 pandemic caused nearly ubiquitous emergency remote teaching in both secondary and post-secondary education. While there has been a plethora of work examining how instructors adjusted classes to incorporate active learning during emergency remote teaching, there has only been minimal work examining how such emergency remote teaching may have influenced students’ perceptions of active learning. Here, we conduct a longitudinal multi-cohort study at one institution across nine semesters before, during, and after emergency remote teaching due to the pandemic to explore how college students’ familiarity and perceptions of active learning have shifted over time because of the pandemic. Our …

The Santa Ana Youth Media Project: Ypar And Media Advocacy, Jorge F. Rodriguez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The Santa Ana Youth Media Project (SAYMP) was born during the summer of 2019 and grew from a need, expressed by youth, for more critical media literacy that could further amplify and focus on narratives that reflect how youth navigate their personal, cultural-social, and economic environments. Our media projects consist of intentional participative research and journalistic designs that document stories using tools such as narrative inquiry, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and video/media production to visually capture the narratives of youth and community within the city of Santa Ana and its larger Orange County context. Our goal is to develop …

Short Report: Initial Pilot Of A Brief Career Development Program For Autistic Young Adults, Samantha Cadondon, Meghan Dawson, Jeanne Anne Carriere, Amy Jane Griffiths, Jean-G. Gehricke

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Many autistic young adults may struggle to progress to further education or employment after high school, highlighting the need for tailored career development programs. If provided with the proper resources and support, the obstacles faced by autistic youth in pursuing post-secondary activities may decrease.

Aims

This pilot study aimed to examine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a brief career development program consisting of a strengths and challenges intervention paired with a 12-week workshop intervention.

Methods and procedures

We studied the participants' changes in confidence and participation in pursuing post-secondary activities using a series of questionnaires in 20 participants, …

Noticing Instructional Challenges In Artifacts Of Teaching, Tara Barnhart, Elizabeth A. Van Es

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study investigates challenges of enactment teachers notice when analyzing artifacts of teaching in a professional development focused on supporting the enactment of NGSS-aligned modeling instruction. Five secondary science teachers participated in a semester-long video club. Transcripts of the segments of their meetings in which they analyzed artifacts of practice were coded to characterize what they noticed in videos and student work samples from their own and others’ classrooms of students engaging in sensemaking. Through an inductive and iterative approach, three main linguistic challenges were identified related to the teachers’ noticing of students’ disciplinary thinking: learning how to communicate with …

Trigger Warnings And A Pedagogy Of Trust, Morgan Read-Davidson

English Faculty Articles and Research

"As the director of both the creative writing and rhetoric and composition programs at Chapman University, a mid-sized private university serving 150+ majors as well as 1000+ general education students, it has now become a common and expected occurrence to have both students and contingent faculty come to my office expressing anxiety over course content. While the larger conversation about difficult content and trigger warnings is not new, the sudden need for urgently scheduled meetings with me did not begin until the COVID-19 Pandemic and our move to remote instruction. This seems to coincide with the increase of online and …

Insight From Biology Program Learning Outcomes: Implications For Teaching, Learning, And Assessment, Noelle Clark, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Learning goals and objectives are a key part of instruction, informing curricular design, assessment, and learning. These goals and objectives are also applied at the programmatic level, with program learning outcomes (PLOs) providing insight into the skills that undergraduate biology programs intend for their students to master. PLOs are mandated by all major higher education accreditation agencies and play integral roles in programmatic assessment. Despite their importance, however, there have not been any prior attempts to characterize PLOs across undergraduate biology programs in the United States. Our study reveals that many programs may not be using PLOs to communicate learning …

Pushing Boundaries: Peter Mclaren On The Importance Of Critical Pedagogy Inside And Outside The Classroom, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Peter McLaren is Distinguished Professor in Critical Studies and Co-Director and International Ambassador for Global Ethics and Social Justice of the Paulo Freire Democratic Project at Chapman University in the USA. Regarded as one of the leading architects of critical pedagogy, McLaren re-envisions the philosophy of Freire in the context of contemporary issues, including the struggle of the LGBTQ community, racism, and economic inequalities. Research Outreach spoke with McLaren about how critical pedagogy evolved and what he imagines its future to be.

Revolutionary Critical Pedagogy And Critical Global Citizenship Education: A Conversation With Peter Mclaren, Peter Mclaren, Emiliano Bosio

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article presents a remarkable conversation on revolutionary critical pedagogy and critical global citizenship education between Peter McLaren, one of the leading scholars of contemporary critical pedagogy, and Emiliano Bosio, guest editor of Citizenship Teaching & Learning. McLaren’s copious work as a distinguished professor in critical studies at the Donna Ford Attallah College of Educational Studies (Chapman University), as co-director and international ambassador for Global Ethics and Social Justice (Paulo Freire Democratic Project), as co-founder of the Instituto McLaren de Pedagogía Crítica, Ensenada, and as Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) offers insights, perspectives, concerns …

Thinkmed: Inspiring The Future Of Stem, One Project At A Time, Steven Trinh, Lauren Dudley

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

ThinkMED is a nonprofit initiative offering a four-week curriculum specifically designed to develop critical thinking and encourage evidence-based decision making. Each week’s content material revolves around the use of a ThinkBOX science kit containing four (4) wet-lab experiments designed to supplement the curriculum. Each experiment is formulated to be inclusive of all California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) K-5. At the end of each week, students get the opportunity to speak with university professors & scientists from a multitude of subject areas including chemistry, anatomy, computer science, physiology, and bioengineering. ThinkBOXes are donated to children and families who do not …

Reflections On Contemporary Challenges And Possibilities For Democracy And Education, Michael W. Apple, Gert Biesta, Henry A. Giroux, Amanda Heffernan, Peter Mclaren, Stewart Riddle, Anna Yeatman

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This paper is one of two which bring together leading educational researchers to consider some of the key challenges facing democracy and education during the twenty-first century, including rising social and economic inequality, political instability, and the existential threats of global pandemics and climate change. In this paper, key educational scholar–activists respond to the challenges and possibilities for democracy and education, with consideration of the importance of reimagining education as being for democracy. The questions asked in this paper have particular salience for educational leaders, who must be at the centre of any commitment to democratic education.

Nurturing Cultural Humility And Responsiveness Through Restorative Pedagogy In Graduate Education, Annmary S. Abdou, Kris T. De Pedro, Arantxa De Anda, Ivette Merced, Karen Mao

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In an increasingly diverse world that is characterized by significant social and educational inequities, the development of educators and leaders who embody cultural humility and culturally responsive practices is necessary and transformational. Moving beyond individual and deficit-centered models of student support systems towards ecological and relational paradigms of education are critical to the goals of equity and justice. In order to make progress on these goals, training programs must prioritize and embed the values of cultural humility and culturally responsive practice as foundational constructs for future educators. This multi-authored reflective paper describes the use of Restorative Pedagogy, an approach grounded …

Thinkmed: Providing An Environment For Disadvantaged Students To Explore Stem, Steven Trinh, Lauren Dudley, Peter Chang

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

ThinkMED is a nonprofit initiative offering a four-week curriculum specifically designed to develop critical thinking and encourage evidence-based decision making. Each week’s content material revolves around the use of a ThinkMED Science Kit containing a wet lab experiment designed to supplement the content curriculum. Each experiment is formulated to be inclusive of all California Next Generation Science Standards K through 5. Contained within each week’s ThinkMED Science Kit is a unique QR code that directs the student to an interactive simulation of the experiment created by our team of computer scientists and graphic designers. At the end of each week, …

Using Sociological Images To Develop The Sociological Imagination, Georgiana Bostean, Lisa A. Leitz

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

We present a two-assignment series that developed students’ sociological imaginations and that could be done in a face-to-face or online course. The series used the Sociological Images blog and students’ own visual images (e.g., photographs) to meet course learning goals: (1) link sociological theories and concepts to social events/trends, (2) apply these ideas to real life by identifying sociologically relevant images in daily life, and (3) communicate sociological analysis in academic and popular written forms. The use of a blog encourages students to embrace public sociology. We present faculty and student assessment data (pretest from nonequivalent comparisons group) from six …

Induction Coaches’ Experiences With Video-Augmented Coaching In A Video Club Model, Tara Barnhart, Victor Vega

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines the results of the first phase of a multi-year programme to integrate the use of video to support induction coaches in a suburban school district. Seven coaches participated in a video club in which they analysed videos of both their coaching conversations and mentees’ classrooms. A typological analysis of interview and video club meeting transcripts revealed perceived benefits of participation in the video club on the coaches’ sense of professional community and the quality of coaching conversations. Coaches also noted reviewing video with mentees stimulated changes in their mentees’ classroom practice. Positioning themselves as learners learning from …

My Good Deed This Year? A Wikipedia Assignment, Shira Klein

History Faculty News Articles and Blogs

"Wikipedia assignments can double as social justice opportunities, a handy thing for faculty with young kids and any other instructors pressed for time.

For nine years now, I’ve been assigning Wiki-editing projects in my History classes. Normally, I have students find a reliable secondary source, summarize it, and incorporate it into a Wikipedia article of their choice.

This semester, I made a little tweak: I told students about some of the inequalities on Wikipedia."

Faculty Attitudes Toward Technology-Driven Instruction In Developmental Mathematics, Jenna W. Kramer, Stephany Cuevas, Angela Boatman

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Innovation in instructional technology has contributed to the rapid implementation of technology-driven instructional platforms, particularly in developmental math coursework (Bickerstaff et al., 2016). In this phenomenological study, we investigate how faculty perceive and respond to a mandated, technology-driven instructional model for developmental math coursework at public colleges in Tennessee. Through interviews with faculty members across four colleges, we find that many faculty agreed that technology helped them to better track student performance, provide more targeted assistance, and communicate directly with students. Faculty also expressed concerns that technology provides the opportunity or temptation to game the system, interfering with true learning, …

Critical Intellectuals In Postdigital Times, Petar Jandrić, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article starts with a brief analysis of what it means to be an intellectual within the US tradition of critical pedagogy. Pointing toward important socio-technological transformations which have taken place in the past few decades, the article situates the concept of the intellectual into the contemporary postdigital context. The article looks into two main areas of intellectual work which seem to have undergone significant transformations—automation and post-truth. It develops possible responses to recent challenges in these areas and shows that contemporary intellectuals working in the tradition of critical pedagogy need to take technology seriously. Heading toward the conclusion, the …

Covid-19 On Route Of The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Luis Bonilla-Molina, Jorge Rodriguez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"

Since 2015 I have been talking about an imminent Global Pedagogical Blackout (GPB) as part of a transitional frame between the Third and Fourth Industrial Revolution (Bonilla-Molina 2016, 2017). The Global Pedagogical Blackout was progressively realized with (a) the de-pedagogization of the reality of education; (b) the construction of an evaluative culture (PISA,^{Footnote 1} PIAAC,^{Footnote 2} LLECE^{Footnote 3}-UNESCO tests, TIMMS,^{Footnote 4} assessments of the national institutes for the assessment of educational quality, among others) justified by notions of quality and relevance; (c) the construction of a paradigm based on the ‘crisis …

Using Primary Literature On Sars‐Cov‐2 To Promote Student Learning About Evolution, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 has caused widespread deaths, illnesses, and societal disruption. I describe here how I pivoted a discussion‐based senior biology capstone course to include a multiweek module surrounding one primary literature paper on the evolution of SARS‐CoV‐2 and the subsequent scientific discourse about the paper. Using a gradual reveal of the paper following the CREATE method (consider, read, elucidate, and think of the next experiment), I challenged students to learn new evolutionary principles and critically analyze the data surrounding the evolution and transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 presented in the paper. I also provide general advice for …

Reflections I And Ii: Reflexiones Desde La Educación Y Las Artes En La Era Covid-19 | Reflexões Da Educação E Das Artes Na Era Da Covid-19 | Reflections From Education And The Arts In The Covid-19 Era, Peter Mclaren, Wang Yan, Petar Jandrić

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Reflection I comes from the North American context, from Chapman University (USA). Peter McLaren is a professor at Chapman University, a researcher of reference in the international field of critical pedagogy. Wang Yan is a researcher in the Faculty of Educational Studies at Chapman University, her current research interest include Culture and Curricular Studies. Reflection II is developed by Petar Jandrić, professor at University of Applied Sciences of Zagreb (Croatia), researcher and expertise in understanding the intersections between critical pedagogy and information and communication technologies.

Edustream, Jon Le, Moises Lopez, Koby Yoshida

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

After getting a glimpse into a world where we are unable to leave our houses, we realize the level of in-class education has been a difficult one to uphold. Many people are currently struggling to keep up with class material due to the new online format. However, there have been people experiencing these problems with education long before 2020. EduStream aims to provide tutoring sessions through live-stream and recordings to anyone looking to improve their education. During early versions of EduStream, user testing was collected through paper prototyping and the testing revealed EduStream is a program that university students would …

Together We Can Do So Much: A Systematic Review And Conceptual Framework Of Collaboration In Schools, Amy-Jane Griffiths

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Effective collaboration is associated with positive outcomes for students and is a key component of equitable educational opportunities. There are challenges to effective collaboration, however, as our understanding of it differs based on the various definitions in the literature. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify the common constructs across definitions of collaboration as a means to develop a universal model that can be used in the schools. Through the development of a “building blocks” framework, we provide a common definition and identify the steps that must be taken before true collaboration can occur. This model highlights the …

Voices Of Mixed-Race Asian Students On College Campuses, Amy Sara Lim

Honors Papers and Posters

Research suggests that there are a growing number of people who identify as mixed-race Asian Americans, and thus there is a growing need to understand and document their experiences (Literte,2009; Sims 2010; Tamai, Nakashima, Williams, 2017). The central question of this study is: how do mixed-race Asian students’ racial identities affect their identities as learners within social, emotional, academic and physical contexts? The goal of this research project is to explore the educational experiences of mixed-race Asian students at a Southern California university with the intention of developing a critical mixed-race pedagogy for educators and scholars. Through mixed methodologies involving …

Increasing Inclusive Education Through A Learning Center Model: A California Approach, Aja Mckee, Audri Sandoval Gomez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Learning center models offer students with disabilities learning experiences in general education classrooms, while retaining support and services from special education personnel. The learning center approach examines existing educational perspectives, practices and structures, surrounding access to general education for students with disabilities. This study used a document analysis, a qualitative data method, to examine how two California school districts developed a learning center model to transform special education programming from segregated special education classrooms and practices to placement and access to general education. The findings inform educational programming for students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment, to comply with …

The Voices Of Typers: Examining The Educational Experiences Of Individuals Who Use Facilitated Communication, Aja Mckee, Audri Sandoval Gomez

Education Faculty Articles and Research

As the number of students with autism grows, professionals must find ways to understand how to best educate this student population. Although current research addresses teaching students with autism, studies on educating autistic students with limited or unreliable verbal speech is nominal. In this qualitative study, interviews with eight autistics who type using the method facilitated communication are analyzed in relation to their educational experiences. The study resulted in a number of key findings that play significant roles in the participants' educational experiences, including (a) the notion of disability hierarchy and the presumption of competence, (b) the importance of building …

Exploring The Implementation Of Lesson-Level Udl Principles Through An Observation Protocol, Joanne M. Van Boxtel, Trisha Sugita

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The researchers piloted an observational protocol to examine the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and checkpoint strategies used during daily instruction with a small sample of general and special education teachers. Observational research on UDL has been recommended within the literature. Researchers used the high-leverage practice of explicit instruction as the anchor for the design of the observation protocol. Findings indicate there is alignment between observed UDL principles and strategies employed at the lesson level and teachers’ self-reports of the UDL principles and strategies employed. Findings also suggest that teachers are using several UDL principles within their daily instruction …

Fail Forward! Perspectives On Failure In The Writing Classroom, Brandie Bohney, Missy Springsteen-Haupt, Stacy Stosich, Nora K. Rivera

English Faculty Articles and Research

"In this inaugural Teacher-to-Teacher column, three classroom teachers discuss how they approach failure to normalize it and help students work toward problem solving rather than answer getting in their own classrooms. Missy Springsteen-Haupt explains how sharing her own authentic writing failures helps students see the natural emotional connection to their writing as normal and also to prove to them, as Shirley Rose notes, that 'all writers always have more to learn about writing' (59). Framing student writing in terms of growth mindsets, Stacy Stosich discusses a practical strategy for allowing for ugly drafts and redefining success and failure. Finally, Nora …

Concept Inventories As A Resource For Teaching Evolution, Robert E. Furrow, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Understanding evolution is critical to learning biology, but few college instructors take advantage of the body of peer-reviewed literature that can inform evolution teaching and assessment. Here we summarize the peer-reviewed papers on tools to assess student learning of evolutionary concepts. These published concept inventories provide a resource for instructors to design courses, gauge student preparation, identify key misconceptions in their student population, and measure the impact of a lesson, course, or broader curriculum on student learning. Because these inventories vary in their format, target audience, and degree of validation, we outline and explain these features. In addition to summarizing …