Education Commons^™

Raise Awareness--Raise Confidence: Culturally Responsive Instruction For School Library Candidates, Bridget Kratt, Courtney Pentland

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

As the number of diverse and underserved student populations in our schools increases, it is imperative that school librarians create an environment where all students, regardless of cultural and linguistic background, are welcomed, feel supported, and are afforded authentic opportunities for learning.

In the library science education programs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, we recognize the need to include a formal culturally responsive teaching component in our coursework, and have made a concerted effort to raise our candidates· confidence levels as culturally responsive educators by raising their awareness of culturally responsive teaching practices. In the UNO library …

Using Robotics To Equip K-12 Teachers: Silicon Prairie Initiative For Robotics In Information Technology (Spirit), Alisa Gilmore, Bing Chen, Neal Grandgenett

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in Information Technology (SPIRIT) is a unique collaborative effort between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Engineering, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Education, and the local Omaha Public Schools (OPS) system. With funding from an NSF ITEST grant, from 2006 – 2008 the initiative recruited and trained 97 math and science middle school teachers through summer workshops and follow-up sessions during the school year, with the goal of equipping teachers in hands-on engineering design principles and providing curriculum development support for STEM instruction. The centerpiece of the training was …

A New Model Of 4-H Volunteer Development In Science, Engineering, And Technology Programs, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Gwen Nugent

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

New initiatives centered on science, engineering, and technology (SET) in 4-H may be moving away from the long-established adult volunteer delivery model. This shift in delivery may be due to a lack of availability of adult volunteers who possess the necessary SET competencies to effectively lead 4-H clubs. One way to offset this trend may be to blend traditional face-to-face training with continuous training efforts that include asynchronous on-line training modules, synchronous Web-based meetings, and self-directed learning. This new 4-H SET Volunteer Competencies Training Model is being tested in the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program.