Education Commons^™

Native Knowledge 360° Essential Understandings Framework: Reflections Using The Five Level Evaluation Model, Ashlyn Lafleur

Undergraduate Research Conference

Native Knowledge 360o (NK360o) is a program designed by the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) to “provide educators and students with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures” (NMAI, 2022). This initiative provides educational materials, student programming and teacher development. For the purpose of this reflection, the authors will focus on a professional development session offered in January 2022.

Examining Student Performance Using Statistical Data To Inform Instruction: A New Way To Ensure Teaching Effectiveness While Building On A Student's Cultural Capital & Funds Of Knowledge, Esther Hernandez, Ava Green

Undergraduate Research Conference

Teaching is a dynamic process and therefore demands deep and critical thinking, not just in regards to lesson planning but in terms of the specific needs of each student. In this project, we embarked on a lesson that required deep analysis of our context, ourselves, and our students.

Impact Of Covid-19 On Course Presentation & The Efficacy, Madison Gartman

Undergraduate Research Conference

With the appearance of COVID-19 in March of 2020, classes on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University’s (SFASU) were forced to move online out of concern for the health and safety of the faculty and students. Due to this fact, the modality of many courses was forced to change. With the change of modality, some students and faculty- who had limited experience with online classes- were forced to conquer the entirety of their course load and instruction online. However, with this abrupt change arose some creative teaching techniques that aided students’ remote academic success for the remainder of …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Building Excellence Conference, Jordan Stanford

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy In English Language Arts With A Focus On How To Make American Literature Culturally Sustaining And Relevant To Students Of Color, Erica Pinkham

Undergraduate Research Conference

This project analyzes the literature that is usually chosen in an English III classroom, which focuses on American literature, and specifically how these choices affect a classroom in a rural area. The literature that is chosen tends to lean towards authors that are white, middle-aged, and middle-class. This lens that teachers are using is limited to students with those experiences and those that can relate to being white, middle-aged, or middle-class. Rural areas often do not relate to this lens, and thus cannot relate to the literature that is provided in their English classrooms.

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, which is a …

A Multiple Perspective Journal Through The Texas Revolution Via Graphic Design, Kelly Tatum

Undergraduate Research Conference

Our ELED 3330 course charged us with being critical of our promotion of the hegemonic narrative. This inspired me to analyze 4 4th grade social studies TEKS to identify an opportunity for representation.

After a brief review of the literature, I used my skills in graphic design to develop a story utilizing primary sources that shares the Mexican perspective during the time immediately leading up to the Battle of San Jacinto.

Selected images from this graphic design will be shown. A lesson plan was also developed for implementation in a fourth grade classroom.

Teaching Inquiry-Based Science Through The Critical Lens Of Social Justice, Tonya D. Jeffery, Isaac Aldrich, Jordan Anderson, Bailey Bettencourt, Lucy Castillo, Lily Carriger, Tosha Hawkins

Diversity Conference

In this session, the first presenter who is a teacher educator from a historically marginalized group, share their own experiences about what led them to teach their science methods course through the critical lens of social justice and through the theoretical frameworks of culturally responsive education. In addition, the presenter will discuss the tools and strategies utilized for teaching this course and for creating a safe space for preservice teachers’ dialogue and critical reflections about their own lives and experiences, identity, racism, biases, and the systemic and structural oppression among various groups in K-12 education.

Six (6) preservice teachers participated …

Revising The Fcs Teacher Standards: Aligning For The 21st Century, Nancy Shepherd

School of Human Sciences Research Showcase

The national standards for teachers of Family and Consumers Sciences (FCS) represent a model of what a new teacher in FCS should know and be able to do. The recent revision process and rationale for expansion of the standards is outlined including validation for the addition of lab management and a stand-alone wellness standards. Members of the National Association of Teacher Educators for Family and Consumer Sciences (NATEFACS) considered implications for the educator and the classroom such as curriculum revisions in teacher preparation programs, better prepared professionals and improved messaging to those outside the profession.

Mathematics Career Carnival: Integration Of Content, Pedagogy, & Authentic Learning, Mark S. Montgomery, Paula Griffin

Symposium on Arts and Research

This project is the result of the integration of online methods and field experience to give students a unique opportunity in field experience that we can control and assess rather than “assume” that mentors and placements around the state are modeling the way we believe mathematics should be taught and assessed.

Giving Voice To Our Lakota People, Gina Fe Causin, Shelby Gull Laird, Chay Runnels, Judy A. Abbott, Sara Ross

School of Human Sciences Research Showcase

Researchers at two universities worked with project partners to develop indigenous interpretive curriculum that provided the tools for indigenous students to tell their own stories and market their own heritage to visitors seeking an authentic experience. Project partners sought to identify elements that exemplify a culturally grounded approach to indigenous interpretation. It is assumed that indigenous interpretation will provide opportunities for non-native visitors to have meaningful experiences of native culture. It is also assumed that indigenous interpretation will foster a deeper understanding of the sacredness of native homelands, the resiliency and vulnerability of natural and cultural systems, and the beauty …

Impacts Of Student Financial Education Outcomes, Jennifer Newquist, Nancy Shepherd

School of Human Sciences Research Showcase

Many young people are worried about financial matters and want more knowledge about personal finance. States who mandate financial education suggest students exhibit positive behaviors and are more likely to save and manage money. The study (N=606) showed that college students who completed high school in Texas did not recall courses they learned about financial education, but were very confident (27%) or somewhat confident (43%) when managing finances. Of the 30% who completed courses, 97% wanted to know more about personal financial management. Economics (74%), Government (64%), U.S. History (43%), and Social Studies (30%) were the primary courses where these …

D.R.I.V.E.N. School System: A Reformed Education Model, Dannika Blackhurst

Undergraduate Research Conference

We believe there is a lack of individualized and effective learning experience in the majority of education systems in the status quo. This leads to a disdain for everyday school life, indecisiveness in selecting a field of study post-high school, and the absence of passion for attaining knowledge that extends throughout a lifetime. After conducting research regarding alternative teaching methods and school structures through this joint project, we have developed D.R.I.V.E.N. School System in order to satisfy this need. In 5th grade, we will test students for emerging qualities that indicate they will excel in a certain area. Their education …

D.R.I.V.E.N. School System: A Reformed Education Model, Shelby Click

Undergraduate Research Conference

We believe there is a lack of an individualized and effective learning experience in the majority of education systems in the status quo. This leads to a disdain for everyday school life, indecisiveness in selecting a field of study post-high school, and the absence of passion for attaining knowledge that extends throughout a lifetime. After conducting research regarding alternative teaching methods and school structures through this joint project, we have developed D.R.I.V.E.N. School System. In 5th grade, we will test students for emerging qualities that indicate they will excel in a certain area. Their education in our schooling system will …

Using Janus Vr With Oculus Rift To Enhance Second Language Learning: Analyze The Correlation Between The Sense Of Immersion And Learning Second Languages, Yoshinobu Nakada

Undergraduate Research Conference

I created a Virtual Reality (VR) website in Janus VR, a VR web browser, to enhance second language learnings. By using Skype and this VR website in Janus VR, it is possible to create a business to teach second languages, by which students do not need to make an appointment to meet up with teachers, and while students taking a lesson they can see teacher’s avatars. This research is to find the correlation between the sense of immersion and learning second languages. In order to analyze the actual effect of learning second languages in a virtual reality setting, specifically Janus …

How Visualization Can Improve The Understanding Of Mathematics, Mariah Martin

Undergraduate Research Conference

High school students have a difficult time taking the new End-Of-Course exams in math. Why are students having this difficulty? This could be because students lack the understanding of visualization in mathematics. Visualization can be helpful to certain students who think this way, while also confusing to those same students, and others as well. However, to what extent do high stakes tests, such as the End-Of-Course exams in Algebra I and II, incorporate mathematical visualization? How can visualization help improve the understanding of mathematics? This review will explain the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating visualization in these exams, how students …