Education Commons^™

Housing As A Community Asset, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Slides of a presentation, Housing as a Community Asset, presented by Milan Wall, Co-Director of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, created December 19, 2007.

How Would You Describe Housing in Your Community?

Specialized Accreditation In Collegiate Aviation: An Analysis Of The Perceived Value Of Specialized Accreditation By The Aviation Accreditation Board International, Charles Daniel Prather

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Council on Aviation Accreditation (CAA) was established in 1988 in response to the need for formal, specialized accreditation of aviation academic programs. The first aviation programs were accredited by the CAA in 1992, and as of November 2007, the newly renamed Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) recognized a total 78 accredited programs at 26 institutions worldwide. Although the number of aviation academic programs accredited by the AABI has steadily grown, there are currently only 26 percent of UAA member institutions with AABI accredited programs.

In an effort to understand the current status of specialized accreditation in collegiate aviation and …

Examining The Role Of Reciprocity Within The Formative Assessment Process Alongside Prospective Teachers, Juliann M. Kaftan

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This self-study examines the role of reciprocity within the formative assessment process in order to explore preservice teacher understandings of the complexities of the teaching/learning/assessment process. I study myself in relation to my practice in order to provide an account of how my knowledge of teaching is lived out in practice. Through the various chapters, I give the reader glimpses of my background and the particular situations that draw out theory/practice relations. The conceptual framework gives the reader an idea of the assumptions that frame my thinking. In particular, I articulate knowledge as experiential and perception as multi-layered. Self-study methodology …

Reading Comprehension By People With Chronic Aphasia: A Comparison Of Three Levels Of Visuographic Contextual Support, Aimee R. Dietz

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This repeated measures investigation evaluated the impact of three levels of visuographic context—(a) photos of high-context scenes, (b) photos of low-context scenes, and (c) no-context—on the reading comprehension of narratives by people with chronic aphasia. The researcher defined high-context scenes as photographs in which people interact with each other, the natural environment, and the central action of the scene and low-context scenes as photographs with no central action and limited-to-no interaction between the people and the natural environment. Participants included 10 medically-stable adults with chronic aphasia and concomitant reading comprehension deficits. The participants read three different narratives, each presented with …

Acuta Enews December 2007, Vol.36, No. 12

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

From the President............. Walt Magnussen, Texas A&M Univ., ACUTA President

Check lt Out: RFls/RFPs, Job Postings, Press Releases

Tech Talk: Mash Up Your Data and Serve lt with Gravy................ Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

Board Report.................... Riny Ledgerwood, Son Diego State Univ., ACUTA, Sec../Treasurer

DC Update............ Jeanne Jansenius, Sewanee, The University of the South

lnfo Links............... Randy Hayes, Univ, of Northern lowa

Why Do We Do What We Do?...................... Bill Farris, Univ. of Kansas

FYI: Useful Information from Campus............. Eric Weil, Student Monitor

Nominations Open for Institutional Excellence Awards............... Carmine Piscopo, Providence College

Thanks to 2007 Sponsors

PAETEC …

The Polygon Game, Kyla Hall

Department of Mathematics: Master's of Arts in Teaching, Exam Expository Papers

The Polygon Game ‐ Take a regular, n‐sided polygon (i.e. a regular n‐gon) and the set of numbers, {1, 2, 3, …, (2n‐2), (2n‐1), 2n}. Place a dot at each vertex of the polygon and at the midpoint of each side of the polygon. Take the numbers and place one number beside each dot. A side sum is the sum of the number assigned to any midpoint plus the numbers assigned to the vertex on either side of the midpoint. A solution to the game is any polygon with numbers assigned to each dot for which all side sums are …

The Identification Of Factors Influencing The Diffusion Of An Assessment Innovation On A University Campus, Ann Louise Mccann

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the extent of and reasons for the adoption of an innovation (REAL) on a university campus (MSU). REAL was an assessment system to improve teaching, student learning and accountability. A mixed methods approach was used, with an electronic survey of faculty (n = 568) and telephone interviews with adopters (n = 9). Using a stratified random sample from all eight colleges, the survey measured perceptions of REAL related to: relative advantage, trialability, result demonstrability, visibility, compatibility, complexity, image and voluntariness. The interview questions also explored the strategies of senior administrative support, collaborative leadership, flexible vision, staff development, …

Nebraska Reading First Fall 2007 Report, Emily Hayden, Guy Trainin, Malinda M. Murphy

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

The Nebraska Reading First Fall 2007 Report presents an analysis of the progress and assessment results for Nebraska Reading First schools in the 4th year of implementation.

Acuta Enews November 2007, Vol.36, No. 11

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From ACUTA Headquarters.................. Jeri A. Semer, CAE, ACUTA Executive Director

Tech Talk: There Are Lots of Zeroes Behind a Yottabit............ Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR.

DC Update............... Jeanne Jansenius, Sewanee, The University of the South

lnfo Links ............... Randy Hayes, Univ. of Northern lowa

Board Report............... Riny Ledgerwood, San Diego State Univ., ACUTA Sec./Treasurer

ls Your lP Phone Counterfeit?..................... Gary Audin, Delphi

FYI: Useful lnformation from Campus.................. Eric Weil, Student Monitor

Thanks to 2007 Exhibitors

Welcome New Members

Check lt Out: RFls/RFPs, Job Postings, Press Releases

Graduate Connections- November 2007

Graduate Connections: A Newsletter for UNL Graduate Students

In This Issue:

Click on links to navigate the newsletter

Navigating Graduate School........... 1

Staying On Track

We <3 Doctoral Forms

Essential Connections...................... 3

Academic Integrity Quiz

Graduate Studies Web Site

Professional Development............... 5

Letters of Recommendation

CV Formatting Tips

Preparing Future Faculty Program

Teaching Tip: ..................................... 5

Assessing Teaching Innovations

Interactions........................................10

Fellowship Winners

Grad Student Association News

Funding Opportunities.....................11

Announcements................................13

Graduate Studies Bulletin Online

Applications for 08-09 Fellowships

Conversation Partners Program

Calendar.............................................14

Degree Deadlines

Readers’ Corner................................14

How to Write a Lot

Board Of Directors Training, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Board of Directors Development

Roles and Responsibilities

Time Devoted to Six Basic Elements

Obstacles

Strategies

Ethics

Recruitment

Nebraska Reading First Evaluation Newsletter, Emily Hayden, Malinda M. Murphy, Guy Trainin

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Volume 3 issue 1 of the newsletter of Nebraska Reading First evaluation team. Updates on spring assessments and demographics for 2006-07 school year, contact information for the evaluation team.

Reading First Annual Report Year 3, Malinda Mary Murphy, Guy Trainin, Oren Yagil, Kristin Javorsky, Emily H. Hayden

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Reading First is a Federal grant program aimed at improving basic literacy skills in kindergarten through third grade in schools identified as underachieving. In the third year of implementation we find that achievement in second and third grade is improving. Round two schools are moving faster than round one schools did in their first year. Gaps for most at-risk populations are decreasing, however, gaps for students in special education are actually growing. There is clear change in teacher beliefs and teacher practice that is strongly associated with changes in student achievement. Finally Reading First is having an impact beyond Reading …

Module 11: Implementation And Suggested Readings

Module 11: Implementation and Suggested Readings

How useful are the ideas of stages of development and self-regulation in teaching? You are encouraged to try the concepts presented in this workshop in your teaching. Are they useful for you and yours students?

Module 9: The Learning Cycle

Module 9: The Learning Cycle

It is quite clear in the research related to the work of Piaget that persons need many years of practice in meaningful understanding and manipulating relationships with the aid of concrete-empirical props. Gradually they develop greater facility in performing these operations and they are able to perform the same operations without relying upon props. In other words, "hands-on", "eyes-on" experiences are essential prerequisites for the development of advanced reasoning abilities.

On the basis of this developmental theory, classroom activities may play a central role in the improvement of student reasoning. Given the possible importance of classroom experiences , does it …

Module 8: Self-Regulation

Module 8: Self-Regulation

How can students be made more aware of their own reasoning? This question identifies one aspect of formal thought. It must be answered if students are to proceed to formal operational thought by self-regulation, the process whereby an individual advances from one stage of development to the next. We have alluded to self-regulation in several of the earlier modules but concentrated on the characteristic reasoning patterns associated with each stage. In this module we shall describe self-regulation in detail.

Module 7: Analysis Of Textbooks

Module 7: Analysis of Textbooks

Probably you have had many students at the end of the semester tell you they could not read the text or else they read it and got nothing out of it. One cause of this could be a mismatch between the reasoning skills the student normally uses and the skills the textbook requires. As you read the text excerpts selected for your review, keep in mind the characteristics of concrete and formal reasoning as explained in Module 2. Also, remember that even students using formal reasoning find it easier and probably understand in a more broadly-based way if they can …

Module 6: Analysis Of Test Questions

Module 6: Analysis of Test Questions

You may be wondering how to apply the concept of developmental stages in your college teaching. To help you with this, we have prepared modules dealing with different aspects of instruction. Module 6 concentrates on the analysis and writing of test questions. As you read the examples we have selected, keep in mind the characteristics of concrete and formal reasoning described in Module 2. A matter that we find difficult to resolve concerns how to give all students, those using concrete reasoning and those formal reasoning practice in appropriate levels of problem solving. At the same time, evaluation through tests …

Module 10: Teaching Goals And Strategies

Module 10: Teaching Goals and Strategies

At this time in the workshop you may be wondering how you can begin to use the ideas of stages of reasoning and self-regulation immediately, without writing your own textbook or developing all new laboratory activities. Even though the teaching materials have a strong influence on your course, your own personal actions and approaches to the students can be very important as well. In this module we shall describe procedures that will enable you to make your teaching more effective in stimulating your students to use their existing reasoning patterns and to develop new ones by self-regulation. We shall also …

Module 5: College Student Research Findings

Module 5: College Student Research Findings

What is the level of college student performance on Piagetian tasks? You may not have noticed any of the investigations into the reasoning patterns of college students. These investigations tend to support what you have already discovered in this workshop.

Module 4: Interviews Of College Students

Module 4: Interviews of College Students

In Piaget's theory, concrete operational thought is characterized by serial ordering, simple classification, and conservation logic applied directly to objects. A person using concrete reasoning doing a Piagetian task must be able to observe objects and/or manipulate them. Formal operational thought involves proportional reasoning, separations or variables, elimination of contradictions, and class inclusion of exclusion operations. A person using formal reasoning is able to work in situations where one does not deal directly with tangible objects. A person using formal reasoning can apply concrete operations and can go beyond these operating when solving problems.

The Islands Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

The puzzle is about Islands A, B, C and D in the ocean. People have been traveling among these islands by boat for many years, but recently an airline started in business. Carefully read the clues about possible plane trips at present. The trips maybe direct or include stops and plane changes on an island. When a trip is possible, it can be made in either direction between the islands. You may make notes or marks on the map to help use the clues.

The Mealworm Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

Some experimenters wanted to test the response of mealworms to light and moisture. To do this they set up four boxes as shown in the diagram below. They used lamps for light sources and constantly watered pieces of paper in the boxes for moisture. In the center of each box they placed 20 mealworms. One day later they returned to count the number of mealworms that had crawled to the different ends of the boxes.

The Treasure Hunt Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

At the beginning of his novel The Hamlet, William Falconer mentions a legend of a treasure buried on an old plantation. Readers expect, naturally, that before the novel ends there will be a search for the treasure, and and Faulkner does not disappoint them.

Four major characters are soon introduced: Will, who is chief landowner thereabouts; Jody, Will's son and heir-apparent; Flem, a shrewd fellow working for Will; and Ratliff, an itinerant sewing machine salesman.

Faulkner had to decide who among these four characters would be "in on" the hunt for the buried treasure. Someday you may read the novel …

The Mr. Short / Mr. Tall Puzzle

Module 1: How People Reason

The figure below is called Mr. Short. We used large round buttons laid side-by-side to measure Mr. Short's height, starting from the floor between his feet and going to the top of his head. His height was four buttons. Then we took a similar figure called Mr. Tall and measured it in the same way with the same buttons. Mr. Tall was six buttons high.

Module 2 - Concrete And Formal Reasoning: Introduction

Module 2: Concrete and Formal Reasoning

You have just responded to a few puzzles and examined responses of students answering these same puzzles. Observations of many children and adolescents attempting to perform similar tasks have led Jean Piaget and other psychologists to formulate theories concerning the mental processes individuals use to deal with problem situations. In this module, we shall introduce you to the idea of concrete and formal reasoning, a feature of Piaget's theory we consider important for college teachers. Modules 3 and 4 will give you more details and examples to illustrate what we say here. The later modules will introduce you to other …

The Frog Puzzle

Module 2: Concrete and Formal Reasoning

Professor Thistlebush catches 55 frogs and bands the left hind leg before releasing them back into the pond. The next week he captures 72 frogs, of whom 12 have been banded from the previous capture. Estimate how many frogs are in the pond.

Puzzle Analysis Handout

Module 2: Concrete and Formal Reasoning

To give you some specific illustrations of how the reasoning patterns used by students can be related to Piaget's Theory we have prepared the following general analysis of responses to the puzzles in Module 1 and to the Frog Puzzle.

Module 3 - Formal Reasoning Patterns: Introduction

Module 3: Formal Reasoning Patterns

In Piaget's theory, concrete operational reasoning is characterized by patterns of serial ordering, simple classification, conservation reasoning, and other operations applied to objects that a person is able to observe or manipulate directly. Formal reasoning patterns include these operations but go beyond them to utilize other processes in situations where one does not deal with tangible objects. Formal patterns often involve proportional reasoning, separation of variables, and combinatorial reasoning.

The film "Formal Reasoning Patterns" Davidson Films, 1976) will enable you to watch two interviews (Dr. Karplus and Dr. Peterson) working with several secondary school students who exhibit concrete or formal …

Module 1 - How People Reason - Overview

Module 1: How People Reason

You have probably been puzzled at various times in your teaching career by the thinking strategies that students appear to use to solve problems. It is difficult for most of us to understand that many students do not use reasoning patterns that seem obvious to us. Many students substitute numbers into a formula they remember even though the formulas may not be applicable to the problem at hand. This situation quite naturally leads us to wonder about the reasoning that students utilize when we would employ mental operations such as separating variables, excluding an irrelevant factor, or applying a mathematical …