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College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2019, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Exploring Mathematics Anxiety Of Students At-Risk For Mathematics Difficulties, Sarah Mccarthy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Students in mathematics classrooms are found to experience various levels of stress and anxiety during instructional time. Negative feelings associated with participation in math activities can lead to both physical and emotional manifestations, affecting performance, achievement, and even confidence with the academic subject. Students found to be at-risk for mathematics difficulties have greater risks when it comes to the possible experience of mathematics anxiety. Students with learning disabilities, students needing supplemental interventions, and students who are English learners can experience potential bouts of anxiety and stress, magnifying academic struggles in the math classroom. In addition, academic deficits can intensify levels …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2019, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

The Experience Of Students With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder During The Transition To Middle School, Hannah M. Berry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The transition to the middle school setting from elementary school has been the subject of research for decades as data shows a decline in academic success, socio-emotional health and motivation for students. There is a lack of research based transitional programs to support the needs of students at this time, specifically those with special needs. Though the name and specific criteria for students with ADHD has shifted, the impact this neurological disability has on students and learning is comprehensive. Symptoms of this disorder reach and affect each part of the student and their school experience, as well as those around …

Implications Of An Iterative Design Experiment In Transcendental And Polynomial Functions Within A Flipped Classroom, Aaron Boyd Harris

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study explores an iterative design research experiment of a flipped mathematics classroom over the span of five curricular units involving big ideas of transcendental and polynomial functions. Transcendental and polynomial functions involve an algebraic, analytic, and graphical approach to the concepts and procedures of exponential, logarithmic, power, cubic, quadratic, linear, and rational functions. The Compleat design research methodology (Middleton, Gorard, Taylor, & Bannan-Ritland, 2008) was used to explore a series of instructional sequences that an instructor implemented in a flipped classroom while teaching big ideas of transcendental and polynomial functions.

The experiment occurred over the course of a sixteen-week …

Implementing A Heart Failure Education Program For Bedside Nurses In The Acute Care Setting, David L. Morrow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Heart failure is a chronic disease in which a weakened heart is no longer able to deliver adequate blood flow to supply the body with needed oxygen and nutrients. Heart failure is the most common reason for hospitalization in the United States for patients age 65 and over, accounting for over 1,000,000 hospital admissions annually. Due to the chronic nature of this debilitating condition and associated symptoms, patients discharged from the hospital with a diagnosis of heart failure are at high risk for readmission. Effective self-care behaviors have been shown to reduce readmissions and improve quality of life for these …

Fostering Student Engagement: Four Strategies, Erica Marti, Ryan Sherman, Haroon Stephen

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

In response to studies demonstrating that poor teaching was the cause of many students leaving math, science, and engineering programs, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) developed the ExCEEd(Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Workshop. Several faculty from the UNLV Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Construction have attended the highly intensive five-day workshop. To evaluate the impact on student engagement, four basic instructional strategies from the ExCEEdworkshop, applicable to all fields, were tested and assessed during the Fall 2018 semester: Questioning techniques, physical models, instructor involvement, and group work.

Active Learning And Transparency In Teaching Gateway Mathematics Courses, Viktoria Savatorova

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

The need: we concentrate our attention on the gateway courses (for example, PreCalculus ) which have had traditionally low passing scores and retention. Objectives: in our teaching practice we aim to be consistent assuring: Active participation in the class work based on understanding the concepts and ability to implement them; Clear understanding of the requirements and the grading system (what should be done, when it needs to be done, and how to do that?)

Dynamic Lightboard Videos, Kristina Schmid, Peter Mccandless, Eddie Gomez

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

STEM content in online courses can be difficult to convey. Instructional videos are often limited to voiced-over, handwritten examples which can limit the quality of dynamic presentation. The need is for a technological medium that facilitates a personal connection. The Office of Online Education’s new lightboard technology enhances video presentation. This solution supports online learning and student engagement to promote student success.

Pre-Tests Improve Students’ Critical Thinking, Alison Sloat

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

First-year students’ critical thinking and analysis in science is rudimentary in SCI 101, the College of Sciences First Year Seminar. I tested whether the use of Pretests (Figures 1 and 2) can improve students’ inquiry, critical thinking, and analysis skills.

A Strategy To Increase Formative Assessment And Student Engagement During Labs, Jennifer C. Utz, Angela Hammond

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

In a 200-level biology laboratory course, we developed learning objectives (LO) for each lab. We also developed practice activities that directly corresponded to each LO. Students earned participation credit through completing the practice activities. As students progressed through their lab work and felt ready, they would request that the lab instructor come check their progress towards mastering a particular LO. If students were successful with the practice, the instructor would mark completion for that LO on the students’ lab handout. If students were not successful, the instructor would provide feedback and recommend additional learning approaches. Since the purpose of the …

Aligning Best Practices In Student Success And Career Preparedness: An Exploratory Study To Establish Pathways To Stem Careers For Undergraduate Minority Students, Kimberly D. Kendricks, Anthony A. Arment, K. V. Nedunuri, Cadance A. Lowell

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Undergraduate minority retention and graduation rates in STEM disciplines is a nationally recognized challenge for workforce growth and diversification. The Benjamin Banneker Scholars Program (BBSP) was a five-year undergraduate study developed to increase minority student retention and graduation rates at an HBCU. The program structure utilized a family model as a vehicle to orient students to the demands of college. Program activities integrated best K-12 practices and workforce skillsets to increase academic preparedness and career readiness. Findings revealed that a familial atmosphere improved academic performance, increased undergraduate research, and generated positive perceptions of faculty mentoring. Retention rates among BBSP participants …