Education Commons^™

Student Self-Grading Form, Brett Whysel

Open Educational Resources

This is a word document that students use at the beginning, midpoint, and end of a semester to set relevant goals, measure progress towards goals, and self-grade. It is intended to build motivation, metacognition, and accountability. Instructors may use it on its own or to supplement other assessment tools, and improve the accuracy, validity, and fairness of final grades.

Diversity And Equity During Covid 19: An Analysis Of Student Attitude And Understanding In Pathophysiology, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

To increase student engagement and reduce frustration over grades, data is being collected in my Pathophysiology classes on specific assessment questions which require students to think and apply what they have learned to answer assessment questions (“transfer” questions). These questions are being administered both before and after students have completed specific modules to assess their attitude and understanding of the material. Data is also being collected on student study habits before and after specific assessments for correlation with their scores on “transfer” questions. It is hoped to reduce student frustration over grades by analyzing their behavior and improving their understanding.

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 …

Ne Stem 4u Afterschool Intervention Leads To Gains In Stem Content Knowledge For Middle School Youth, Christine E. Cutucache, Taylor Boham, Jamie Luhr, Amie Sommers, Nikolaus Stevenson, Erkko Sointu, Kati Mäkitalo‐Siegl, Sirpa Kärkkäinen, Teemu Valtonen, Neal Grandgenett, William Tapprich

Biology Faculty Publications

Afterschool interventions in STEM are linked to learning gains during the school day. These opportunities engage and excite students about STEM concepts since they observe a more hands-on, project-oriented approach. Often these opportunities for afterschool interventions are infrequent in nature and leave gaps for students in their maturation and understanding. Herein we describe the first report of an afterschool intervention, named NE STEM 4U, targeting socioeconomically disadvantaged middle school youth via a twice weekly, year-long intervention, studied across two years. We assessed the impact of this program on i.) short-term, individual student gains in STEM content knowledge and ii.) delivery …

Multiple–True–False Questions Reveal The Limits Of The Multiple–Choice Format For Detecting Students With Incomplete Understandings, Brian Couch, Joanna K. Hubbard, Chad Brassil

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

By having students select one answer among several plausible options, multiple–choice (MC) questions capture a student’s preferred answer but provide little information regarding a student’s thinking on the remaining options. We conducted a crossover design experiment in which similar groups of introductory biology students were assigned verbatim questions in the MC format or multiple–true–false (MTF) format, which requires students to separately evaluate each option as either true or false. Our data reveal that nearly half of the students who select the correct MC answer likely hold incorrect understandings of the other options and that the selection rates for individual MC …

The Acceptance And Action Questionnaire – Ii: An Item Response Theory Analysis, Clarissa W. Ong, Benjamin G. Pierce, Douglas W. Woods, Michael P. Twohig, Michael E. Levin

Psychology Faculty Publications

Psychological flexibility is the act of being open to internal experiences while pursuing valued life directions and has been implicated in positive mental health. A lack of psychological flexibility has been implicated in a wide range of mental health problems. In most research, assessment of psychological (in)flexibility has been done with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – II (AAQ-II), yet researchers have noted that items on the AAQ-II may not adequately discriminate between responses to experiences and the experiences themselves. Furthermore, little research has examined whether items on the AAQ-II function as intended in terms of assessing psychological (in)flexibility, and …

Exposing Problems Teaching Students Morphological Species Identification, Trevor Stamper, Lauren Weidner, Gregory Nigoghosian, Ludmila D. Nunes

IMPACT Presentations

When dealing with physical remains, morphological assessment for species is a traditional approach to entomological specimen identification. A dichotomous key guides the user through taxa determination for a specimen by providing a series of dual-choice nodes that center around morphological differences. Each nodal choice leads to either a new set of dichotomous choices or a taxa decision. We evaluated student’s ability to utilize a dichotomous key down to species for a limited set of taxa, by reviewing their nodal decisions along with their confidence level using a Likert scale (1-5).

Along with individual decision recording, students conducted a post-decision group …

Assessing Student Comprehension In Introductory Biology: A Comparison Of Free-Response And Multiple-True/False Exam Formats, Macy A. Potts, Brian Couch, Joanna K. Hubbard

UCARE Research Products

Question format is an important consideration when designing instruments to gauge student comprehension. In many lecture-style courses, instructors must decide how to effectively test a large group of students. Two common types of question formats used for introductory biology exams are free-response (FR) and multiple-true/false (MTF). FR questions include a question prompt which students respond to with essay-style answers. Conversely, MTF questions include an opening question stem with accompanying statements to be marked as either true or false. The goal of this study was to determine the advantages and disadvantages of FR and MTF question formats for assessing student comprehension …

Stem Gateway Course Redesign Teaching Professional Development: Resources For Teaching And Learning, Gary Smith, Audriana Stark

STEM Gateway

The learning object is a collection of teaching professional development presentations and workbooks for guiding faculty in the re-design of lower-division college science and mathematics courses. The materials were designed and implemented during the University of New Mexico STEM Gateway Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education Title V program during 2012-2016. The teaching professional development curriculum consisted of a 2.5-day course redesign institute followed by roughly monthly sessions on topics that include teaching diverse students; building learning strategies for students; obtaining student buy-in for active learning; evaluating alignment of learning objectives, activities, and assessment; peer observation of teaching, …

Msym 109: Physical Principles In Agriculture And Life Sciences—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, David Mabie

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark course portfolio was developed for MSYM 109 - Physical Principles in Agriculture and Life Sciences. The class is a general service course taken by majors as a prerequisite for future coursework along with several other CASNR majors to fulfill their physics course requirement. MSYM 109 is a high enrollment course, with 115 students in lecture, along with four separate 30 person recitation sections. This portfolio was developed to assess the following objectives: 1. Identify, evaluate, and justify the course objectives 2. Assess and evaluate the course pedagogy and assessment methodology 3. Analyze the historical students assessment results against …

A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change With Increased Investment In Instructional Time, Christopher D. Shaffer, Consuelo J. Alvarez, April E. Bednarski, David Dunbar, Anya L. Goodman, Catherine Reinke, Anne G. Rosenwald, Michael J. Wolyniak, Cheryl Bailey, Daron Barnard, Christopher Bazinet, Dale L. Beach, James E.J. Bedard, Satish Bhalla, John Braverman, Martin Burg, Vidya Chandrasekaran, Hui-Min Chung, Kari Clase, Randall J. Dejong, Justin R. Diangelo, Chunguang Du, Todd T. Eckdahl, Heather Eisler, Julia A. Emerson, Amy Frary, Donald Frohlich, Yuying Gosser, Shubha Govind, Adam Haberman, Amy T. Hark, Charles Hauser, Arlene Hoogewerf, Laura L.M. Hoopes, Carina E. Howell, Diana Johnson, Christopher J. Jones, Lisa Kadlec, Marian Kaehler, S. Catherine Silver Key, Adam Kleinschmit, Nighat P. Kokan, Olga Kopp, Gary Kuleck, Judith Leatherman, Jane Lopilato, Christy Mackinnon, Juan Carlos Martinez-Cruzado, Gerard Mcneil, Stephanie Mel, Hemlata Mistry, Alexis Nagengast, Paul Overvoorde, Don W. Paetkau, Susan Parrish, Celeste N. Peterson, Mary Preuss, Laura K. Reed, Dennis Revie, Srebrenka Robic, Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield, Michael R. Rubin, Kenneth Saville, Stephanie Schroeder, Karim Sharif, Mary Shaw, Gary Skuse, Christopher D. Smith, Mary A. Smith, Sheryl T. Smith, Eric Spana, Mary Spratt, Aparna Sreenivasan, Joyce Stamm, Paul Szauter, Jeffrey S. Thompson, Matthew Wawersik, James Youngblom, Leming Zhou, Elaine R. Mardis, Jeremy Buhler, Wilson Leung, David Lopatto, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Faculty Publications

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant …

Using The Pace Eportfolio To Assess Core Values, Beth Klingner, Linda Anstendig, Sarah Burns-Feyl

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

Teaching Physiology Online: Successful Use Of Case Studies In A Graduate Course, Giovanni Casotti, John T. Beneski, Maureen T. Knabb

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Line Up, Line Up: Using Technology To Align And Enhance Peer Learning And Assessment In A Student Centred Foundation Organic Chemistry Module., Barry Ryan

Articles

This paper describes how three technologies were utilised in combination to align student learning and assessment as part of a case study. Multiple choice questions (MCQs) were central to all these 10 technologies. The peer learning technologies; Personal Response Devices (a.k.a. Clickers) and PeerWise (http://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz), were implemented to achieve scaffolded, self-directed independent learning by the students which aligned to the assessment methodology through creating, analysing, answering and discussing multiple choice questions. Personal response devices enhanced in-class activity involvement, whilst PeerWise provided structure and support for independent student learning through 15 defined outside class activities. An associated technology, online MCQs hosted …

The Pace Eportfolio As Educational Passport: Enhancing Students' Interdisciplinary, Co-Curricular And Experiential Learning, Beth Klingner, Linda Anstendig

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

No abstract provided.

New England Faculty And College Students Differ In Their Views About Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design, And Religiosity, Guillermo Paz-Y-Miño C, Avelina Espinosa

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Public acceptance of evolution in Northeastern U.S. is the highest nationwide, only 59%. Here, we compare perspectives about evolution, creationism, intelligent design (ID), and religiosity between highly educated New England faculty (n = 244; 90% Ph.D. holders in 40 disciplines at 35 colleges/universities) and college students from public secular (n = 161), private secular (n = 298), and religious (n = 185) institutions: 94/3% of the faculty vs. 64/14% of the students admitted to accepting evolution openly and/or privately, and 82/18% of the faculty vs. 58/42% of the students thought that evolution is definitely true or probably true, respectively. Only …

Assessment Of Biology Majors’ Versus Nonmajors’ Views On Evolution, Creationism, And Intelligent Design, Guillermo Paz-Y-Mino C., Avelina Espinosa

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The controversy around evolution, creationism, and intelligent design resides in a historical struggle between scientific knowledge and popular belief. Four hundred seventy-six students (biology majors n=237, nonmajors n=239) at a secular liberal arts private university in Northeastern United States responded to a five-question survey to assess their views about: (1) evolution, creationism, and intelligent design in the science class; (2) students’ attitudes toward evolution; (3) students’ position about the teaching of human evolution; (4) evolution in science exams; and (5) students’ willingness to discuss evolution openly. There were 60.6% of biology majors and 42% of nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching …

Acceptance Of Evolution Increases With Student Academic Level: A Comparison Between A Secular And A Religious College, Guillermo Paz-Y-Mino C., Avelina Espinosa

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Acceptance of evolution among the general public, high schools, teachers, and scientists has been documented in the USA; little is known about college students’ views on evolution; this population is relevant since it transits from a high-school/parent-protective environment to an independent role in societal decisions. Here we compare perspectives about evolution, creationism, and intelligent design (ID) between a secular (S) and a religious (R) college in the Northeastern USA. Interinstitutional comparisons showed that 64% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 42/62% (S/R) nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching of evolution in science classes; 24/29% (S/R) biology majors vs. 26/38% (S/R) …

Measuring Knowledge Of Natural Selection: A Comparison Of The C.I.N.S., An Open-Response Instrument, And An Oral Interview, Ross Nehm, Irvin Sam Schonfeld

Publications and Research

Growing recognition of the central importance of fostering an in-depth understanding of natural selection has, surprisingly, failed to stimulate work on the development and rigorous evaluation of instruments that measure knowledge of it. We used three different methodological tools, the Conceptual Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS), a modified version of Bishop and Anderson's (Bishop and Anderson [1990] Journal of Research in Science Teaching 27: 415-427) open-response test that we call the Open Response Instrument (ORI), and an oral interview derived from both instruments, to measure biology majors' understanding of and alternative conceptions about natural selection. We explored how these instruments …

Ec95-745 Managing Livestock Odors: Principles, Assessment And Planning, Richard K. Koelsch

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Odors associated with livestock manure represent a growing challenge for livestock producers. Livestock production trends such as more animals per farm and expanded reliance upon manure storage have added to the odor muisance. Implementing other environmentally friendly practices such as manure nutrient management and maintenance of surface crop residues for soil conservation also have resulted in additional odor challenges.

Odors originating from livestock wastes are a common source of irritation between producers and neighbors. Confrontations may lead to more stringent local zoning regulations, greater scrutiny of other farm environmental issues, and litigation.

This publication summarizes the underlying causes of livestock …

Ec89-119 Hail Damage Assessment And Replant Decisions, Charles A. Shapiro, Timothy A. Powell

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Hail is one of the many hazards that can damage a growing crop. Early in the growing season a producer has the option to replant a field seriously damaged by hail. The question is, how do you decide if it is worthwhile to replant, and what information do you need to make an informed decision? Factors to consider when deciding to replant are the expected yield reduction due to hail, the cost of replanting, and the yield potential of the replanted crop. Other information needed to make a rational decision is included in this publication, and several examples are given.

G84-732 Property Taxes In Nebraska (Revised September 1992), A.L. (Roy) Frederick

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This is one of a series of NebGuides on financing state and local government. This publication describes how property taxes support local government functions.

The property tax is the primary source of revenue for more than 3,000 units of local government in Nebraska, including school districts, counties and municipalities. In 1991, statewide property tax levies totalled $1.257 billion, a sum that approximated the combined revenues from state income and sales taxes.