Education Commons^™

Supporting Native Indian Preschoolers And Their Families Family–School–Community Partnerships, M. Susan Mcwilliams, Tami Maldonado-Mancebo, Paula S. Szczepaniak, Jacqueline Jones

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

In this urban midwestern public school district, families of Native Indian students, pre-K through grade 12, attend four multigenerational gatherings like this one during the school year—one of a number of events orchestrated by the Native Indian Centered Education (NICE) program. NICE is a program in the school district that partners with families to provide Native-centric educational opportunities for preschool children. Family events such as the storytelling activity in the opening vignette represent trends in early childhood education: building family-school-community partnerships to enhance learning and build family resources. The all- Native-Indian preschool program is unusual and rare in urban areas. …

The Impact Of Revisionist History On Pre-Service And In-Service Teacher Worldviews, Franklin Titus Thompson, William P. Austin

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Students sometimes find the study of history to be boring and irrelevant. Many question the accuracy of accounts given. The introduction of revisionist history to a convenience sample of students (A^ =164) from a college of education program located at a Midwestern university made a positive difference in historical learner perspective. Students gained a greater appreciation for the study of the past, as well as a better understanding of how the melodramatic hyping of events and heroes discourages the formulation of a balanced and accurate view of history and its leaders. Pretest-to-posttest changes in mean scores were found to be …

Robots, Gps/Gis, And Programming Technologies: The Power Of "Digital Manipulatives" In Youth Extension Experiences, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Gwen Nugent, Viacheslav I. Adamchuk

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The study reported here examined the effectiveness of educational robotics combined with GPS/GIS technologies used as "digital manipulatives" in the teaching of concepts in science, engineering, and technology. Based on the success of previous summer camps, the study also examined a scaling-up of the intervention from 38 participants to 147. The 147 youth (ages 10-15) participated in one of six summer camps held in Nebraska during 2008. Results indicate that participants scored higher on the content posttest than the pretest. The study further examined the differential results. The article makes recommendations for further studies, while acknowledging the potential power of …

Mentoring Teacher's Stories: Caring Mentors Help Novice Teachers Stick With Teaching And Develop Expertise, Jarene Fluckiger, Sheryl Mcglamery, Nancy Edick

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The article describes the challenges being faced by novice teachers and the role of mentors for novice teachers to stay in the profession and develop expertise. Educators have gathered evidence showing the need for mentors to help novice teachers stay in teaching and develop into master teachers. Longitudinal quantitative studies have indicated that novice teachers participating in this comprehensive induction program improved their effectiveness faster than their peers not in such a program. A frequently cited reason for attrition is teacher isolation.

Bridging The Gap: Connecting School And Community With Service Learning, Sarah K. Edwards

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Why do I even look for teaching ideas in the education catalogs that fill my mailbox? I know that these offerings of prefabricated units and generic novel activities will not satisfy the desires of my students. Looking around my orderly classroom, I confess that I am probably the only one who adores the posters with colorful scenes from my favorite poems. During my past ten years as an English teacher, I have found myself in a mental tug-of-war as to how to connect my students with the state curriculum standards. Finally, in the abyss of Internet lessons and teaching seminars, …

A Comparison Of Interaction In Av-Based And Internet-Based Distance Courses, Melodee Landis

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

At the center of the debate over the viability of distance education is whether the newer electronic technologies can offer enough interaction to maintain quality learner outcomes and critical mass. Two of the most commonly used forms of distance education are 1) two-way, fully interactive audio-video classrooms and 2) on-line instruction through the Internet or Worldwide Web. This study used qualitative methods to compare and contrast the interaction that occurred in distance learning courses offered via each medium. The research process confirmed findings that there were fundamental differences in the interaction that occurred in the two environments. On-line interaction is …

Mcmillan Magnet School: A Case History Of A School Acquiring A Critical Mass Of Computer Technology And Internet Connectivity, Neal Grandgenett, Neal Topp, Bob Pawloski, Pamy Mooney, Kerry Newman, Robert Goeman, Wayne Fisher

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

McMillan Magnet Center is located in urban Omaha, Nebraska, and specializes in math, computers, and communications. Once a junior high school, it was converted to a magnet center for seventh and eighth graders in the 1983-84 school year as part of Omaha's voluntary desegregation plan. Now 'the ethnic makeup of the student population is about 50% black and 50% white, with a few other minorities. This document seeks to archive McMillan's success in its mission to become a technology magnet school, including nationally recognized achievements in ~ethnology integration and Internet connectivity. McMillan's technological leadership came about thanks in large part …

In The Classroom: Poetry In Motion (May '91), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Presents a look at several special projects designed by various teachers to foster learning in young children. Includes using a body movement to respond to poetry, creating a `Book-a-Mania' week of instructional and entertaining events, and using logos and street signs to teach reading awareness.

In The Classroom: Building Self-Esteem Through Poetry (April '91), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Describes the instruction programs devised by various teachers across the nation and the benefits of the programs. Includes building self-esteem through poetry, fostering the connection between art and poetry, and using Caldecott Medal books to motivate independent reading and creative writing.

In The Classroom: Creating A Writing-Rich Environment In The Preschool Classroom (Mar. '91), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Describes the special teaching strategies developed by various teachers across the nation, including preschool journal writing, creating big books, and teaching comprehension through reading and writing editorials.

In The Classroom: The Winter Tradition Project (Feb. '91), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

In an effort to involve all students and to educate them about the cultures of other countries, I developed a "winter tradition" project. The project required that students write brief descriptions of things their families do during the holidays or winter months. These were compiled into a class booklet. The winter tradition project proved to an excellent activity for middle school students because it allowed them to learn about each other while increasing their writing, computer, and interpersonal skills. I introduced this five-day project to five language arts classes of 20-25 students each.

In The Classroom: Details, Details, Details (Nov. '90), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Recounts how several teachers came up with their own solutions to teaching problems involving diverse areas like reading diagnosis, writing workshops, and peer conferencing.

In The Classroom: Vocabulary (April '90), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson, Maureen Conn, Willa Gale, Charlene Lueck, Mona Manley

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Vocabulary knowledge is one of the most critical elements of comprehension. Helping students to expand their own vocabularies and to become more interested in words is a challenge for all teachers. The following techniques provide teachers various ways to enhance students' vocabulary development. To read more about vocabulary instruction, see: Heimlich, J.E., & Pittelman, S.D. (1986). Semantic mapping: Classroom applications. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Johnson, D.D. (Ed.) (1986). Vocabulary [Special issuel. Journal of Reading, 29 (7). Johnson, D.D., & Pearson, PD. (1984). Teaching reading vocabulary (2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Marzano, R.J., & Marzano, J.S. (1988). …

In The Classroom: Strategies For Poor Readers (Mar. '90), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson, Maureen Conn, Willa Gale, Charlene Lueck, Mona Manley

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

All readers need successful learning experiences. Recent research suggests that poor readers benefit from using the same whole language reading and writing strategies as more successful readers. In her introduction to the April 1988 themed issue of Vie Reading Teacher on what works with poor readers.

Irene West Gaskins stated: The research I was doing supported the current view that reading is a process in which an active and strategic reader gains meaning through an interaction between background knowledge and information in a text. Since I have adopted this definition, the way I teach has changed and students in the …

In The Classroom: Reading And Writing In The Content Areas (Dec. '89), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson, Maureen Conn, Willa Gale, Charlene Lueck, Mona Manley

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Students comprehend content material by reading, discussing, writing, questioning, investigating, exploring, and organizing. Reading and writing in the content areas relates prior knowledge, classroom interaction, cooperative learning, vocabulary instruction, and questioning techniques. Children practice research skills by organizing information in a meaningful and practical manner. This month's In the Classroom column presents ways in which teachers can enhance their students' comprehension of content area topics by involving them in various classroom activities. Additional resources for content area reading and writing activities follow :

Dupuis, M.M. (1983). Reading in the content areas: Research for teachers. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Graves, …

In The Classroom: Using Children's Literature (Oct. '89), Michael P. French, Kathy Everts Danielson, Maureen Conn, Willa Gale, Charlene Lueck, Mona Manley

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Lists children's literature in reading instruction. "Children's Literature in the Reading Program"; "Literature-based Reading Programs at Work"; "Children's Choices: Teaching With Books Children Like"; "Transitions: From Literature to Literacy".