Education Commons^™

Data From: National Identity In The British Volunteer Sermons, 1794-1802, Duane Coltharp

Academic Affairs

No abstract provided.

¿Qué Es Un Código?: Supporting Emerging Multilingual Learners In Digital Literacy, Ellen Barnett, Karina Mèndez Pèrez, Rocìo Delgado

Education Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Stepping Down? Theorizing The Process Of Returning To The Faculty After Senior Academic Leadership, Lisa Jasinski

Academic Affairs

While scholars have devoted considerable attention to identifying and developing future academic leaders, scant empirical research has considered the firsthand experiences of senior leaders who returned to the faculty. This grounded theory study developed a theoretical understanding of the process of returning to the faculty after serving as a senior campus administrator. This research examined a common academic rite of passage using the analysis of interviews with 43 former college presidents, provosts, deans, and “other senior leaders” from a variety of postsecondary institutions. Academic leaders in the study characterized the process of returning to the faculty as mostly positive and …

Taking The Mentoring Of New Teacher Educators Seriously: Lessons From A Clinically-Intensive Teacher Preparation Program, Patricia J. Norman, Sara A S Sherwood, Rocio Delgado, Melissa Siller

Education Faculty Research

The challenges facing teacher educators entering their first faculty position in a clinically intensive teacher preparation program reflect similar difficulties that novice teachers encounter upon entry to their own classroom. Just as new teachers must learn the ropes while performing the work of teaching (Feiman-Nemser, 2001; Wildman, Niles, Magliaro, & McLaughlin, 1989), so, too, must novice teacher educators learn to create clinically based learning opportunities for teacher candidates (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2018; Grossman, Hammerness & McDonald, 2009) while learning to navigate the university system, establish their practice as field-based practitioners, earn strong student/course evaluations (Ramsden, 2003) …

5th Grade Adaptation, Michael Carroll

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

A 10 day lesson plan for teaching students in the 5th grade about Biology; specifically on adaptation, inherited traits, and learned behaviors.

Our Roots, Our Branches: Listening And Writing To Tell A School's Story, Michael Shay

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In this unit, students will explore the identity of their school community through story. Students will examine why we tell stories, how stories are told, whose stories are told, and how the storyteller's identity and perspective shapes the story.

Students will engage with stories in print, artifacts, school data, and visuals to examine the history of their school. They will then explore how various stakeholders in the school's past and present give different perspectives about the school and important moments in its life.

The unit culminates with a performance task in which students prepare for and conduct interviews of multiple …

Ap United States History: Period 4 (1800-1848), Kelsey Toms

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed for Advanced Placement United States History. It is based on the Fall 2019 update of the course description by College Board. This unit covers Period 4 (1800-1848) and focuses on opposing perspectives, political parties, and identity as core themes. The download includes the Understanding by Design outline as well as the lesson plans for each learning activity.

La Frontera Y La Comunicación: How Language Influences Our Identity, Josie Hammons, Claudia Fernanda Ramirez

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed for IB Spanish B Standard level year 1 and year 2 and it is aligned to the core topic Identidades although it can also be used in AP Spanish language or other higher level Spanish classes. Students must have completed at least 2 years of Spanish prior to taking the class. The purpose of this unit is to begin the year by demonstrating the relevance and importance of language as part of our identity as human beings. In this unit, we will incorporate history, theory of knowledge, linguistics, and composition in a variety of assessments. The …

Understanding Poetry: 5th Grade Introduction To Writing Poetry, Samantha Bos, Jackie Jaramillo

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit introduces 5th grade students to 5 primary poetic forms: haiku, limerick, cinquain, narrative poetry, and free verse. This unit includes a brief review of similes and metaphors and can likely be adapted for younger or older students. This poetry unit is projected to take 13-14 class days, but it can be extended or reduced depending on the needs of the class. The final performance task is writing a poem that will be performed in a poetry slam.

Culture And Identity In Novels Centered Around Women Of Color, Blake R. Keeling

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Designed to actually utilize the summer reading for rising sophomores, this unit focuses on culture and identity in the novels White Teeth by Zadie Smith, The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, and Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo. Students chose which of these books they wanted to read during the summer and the unit focuses on marrying the themes and characters of these books together. Students will be able to make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections through a persuasive one-pager and a creative final project where students will make connections from the novels to their world history class. Can …

Thinking Geographically Mapping Portfolio, Dalynn Robinson, Blake R. Keeling

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit is designed to introduce the students to the foundations of thinking geographically. Students will create a map portfolio that applies to the big ideas of AP Human Geography. Students will critically analyze and reflect on the “why of where” to understand geographic perspective by utilizing quantitative and qualitative data. Students will turn in a map portfolio that will address purpose, patterns, and spatial relationships among places.

Early Civilizations: Create Your Own, Waynne Warren

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit explores Early Man, the Neolithic Revolution, the development of the River Valley Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley and China), as well as Ancient Greece, Persia, and Rome. The unit ends with a performance task where the students use what they have learned in this unit to create their own civilization.

The Untold Stories Project, Zachary Wilson, Sarah Hudson

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Students will learn the stories that have been left out of the dominant narrative of history. In 6th grade, students will study the experiences of Native Americans, African-Americans, and women to discover how these groups have been left out of the story of how America began. In 7th grade, students will discover how Native Americans and Tejanos were the first Texans, and explore the enduring legacy of segregation in San Antonio today.

Students will demonstrate meaning-making and transfer by creating an exhibit for a living history museum which would take place at an off-campus venue (such as a museum, a …

Sharing Stories: An Introduction To Literary Writing And Analysis (9th Grade), Talia Howard

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

The purpose and intent of this unit is to provide 9th grade English students (in either Pre-AP or Grade-Level placements) with the foundational skills and understandings needed for English, particularly for literary analysis, at the high school level as well as to help students build an appreciation for literature and narrative forms. The framework and context in which the unit is designed is based on longer, ~9-week-long learning blocks based on skills-development in reading and writing, and the unit is intended to be implemented either at the beginning of the year or as the students’ introduction to literary analysis, to …

Greek Mythology: Understanding The Allusions, Heather M. Patillo

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit focuses on basic Greek myths beginning with the 12 Olympians. It includes myths about creation and stories about heroes. Students explore the elements of myths as well as the purpose of myths. This exploration leads students into the study of Greek mythical allusions, what they are and how they impact literature and everyday life. By the end of the unit, students should understand how Greek myths impact literature and everyday life.

Evaluating Functions And Their Domain And Range - 8th/9th Grade Algebra, Melanie R. Webb

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

The goal of this algebra unit is to solidify student understanding of functions and ensure they can express domain and range for discrete and continuous functions. Students will also be expected to evaluate functions. The unit includes lesson plans for 10 class days along with many supplemental materials including activities, pre-test, data tracker, and quiz. The function unit culminates with a performance assessment (rubric included) where students create their own function machine and complete an accompanying document to show the depth of their understanding.

Community Helpers (Pre-Kindergarten), Michele Saenz, Leslie Davenport

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit addresses the Texas Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines “VII.B.3. Child discusses the roles and responsibilities of community workers. VII.C.2. Child explores geography tools and resources.” At the conclusion of this unit, students will understand that community helpers have a variety of roles and responsibilities including different uniforms, tools, vehicles, places and jobs. Students will understand how community helpers help our community thrive and the places in our community where we can find community helpers. Students will demonstrate understanding by role playing and engaging in play with a peer.

Fiction/ Nonfiction Writing, Grades 1-2, Lisa Schmidt, Samara Sance

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

No abstract provided.

Survey Says: Graphing And Data Analysis (3rd Grade), Shayna Rosenthal, Courtney Gold

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit focuses on how we can better understand and address real-world questions through data analysis and inquiry. Students will learn to identify and use graphical representations in order to help them create their own graphing project. This unit is intended to be used in a 3rd grade classroom. It will take approximately 7 days to complete.

The Story Of Periodicity: An Exploration Of Sam Kean’S The Disappearing Spoon For Chemistry And English, Elizabeth Muire, Kay Newsome

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This unit incorporates knowledge of chemistry and English. Students will read and analyze, write persuasively, and explore the possibilities of storytelling to convey scientific ideas. They explore how the form and function of the periodic table is organized by the form and function of the elements on it, and extrapolate how the table could be continued. Students will design the potential next row of the table, once they have a clear understanding of how the current rows were discovered.

First Week Intro: Growth And Vulnerability (10th Grade Ap World History And English Ii), Ileana Sherry

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In the Growth and Vulnerability Unit, we hope to introduce to students concepts, skills, and assignments that will be recurring throughout the year. The interdisciplinary unit is meant for tenth graders taking a combined class of AP World History and English II, but it can be applied to any grade or content area with some adaptations. The unit concentrates on foundational writing skills: in the properly formatted paragraph (A.P.E.), citing scholarly sources (APA), using evidence to support a persuasive argument, and collaboration and presentation skills. Students will be able to independently recognize different perspectives, begin to develop a growth mindset …

Educator Perceptions Of A Schoolwide Writing Intervention Implementation: Implications For Practice, Heather Haynes Smith, Courtney Crim, Samantha Bos

Education Faculty Research

Students with disabilities continue to perform below peers without disabilities in writing. To address the need for improving written expression for students with learning differences, schools are implementing instructional strategies. This study investigated teacher perceptions of a four-year, schoolwide, K–12 implementation of strategic instruction model (SIM) learning strategies addressing written expression. A survey (n = 22) and semistructured interviews (n = 16) were administered to examine the perceptions of educators on schoolwide supports to strengthen writing skills across all grades and content areas. The analysis of these data can provide insight to faculty knowledge and attitudes toward implementation …

Using Learning Express-Ways In Special Education Teacher Preparation: Developing Student-Faculty Relationships As A Path To Partnership, Heather Haynes Smith, Anthony Sanchez, M. Peterson-Ahmad, C. Woodbury, B. B. Mitchell

Education Faculty Research

This paper explores the effects of implementing Learning Express-Ways as an instructional communication tool between students and faculty in courses that are part of a special education teacher preparation program and apprenticeship. Findings suggest that using Learning Express-Ways contributed to the development of learning relationships with faculty and this instructional communication tool may be helpful in creating a partnership-focused approach in special education teacher preparation program.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Pd: Revising Pds Leaders' Roles In Support Of Children's Learning Directly, Patricia J. Norman, B. Sparks

Education Faculty Research

School leaders typically encounter district policies and procedures that make it difficult to facilitate school improvement efforts effectively (Bottoms & Fry, 2009; Bottoms & Schmidt-Davis, 2010). When the San Antonio Independent School District earned a state level distinction as a District of Innovation, the PDS principal and university faculty liaison took advantage of this opportunity to develop innovative curricular initiatives, including the implementation of a bi-weekly half-day of planning and professional development for elementary teachers while students take field trips and participate in Curiosity Corner, an 80-minute block for engineering challenges. When the PDS leaders' plan to garner enough parent …

Epic Natural And Anthropogenic Disasters (Grade 9), Marisa C. Cavin

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

Physical location and human decisions affect the severity, impacts, and responses to natural and manmade disasters. In this 9-week unit, Grade 9 MYP I&S students will be exploring the impact that many different types of disasters have on communities, and how we respond (locally, nationally, internationally, in media, and on government levels). The students will conduct research into underreported disasters, critically analyze and evaluate sources of information, and create a media product that brings awareness to underserved communities affected by disaster.

Truss Bridge Construction Project, High School Geometry, Dayton King

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

In this unit, students will apply their knowledge of transversal/parallel relationships to the construction of a truss bridge. This bridge will be constructed out of popsicle sticks and hot glue and will need to support as much weight as possible. Students will also need to sketch cross sections of the bridge; identifying special angles created by a transversal intersecting a pair of parallel lines and similar triangles.

Analyzing Financial Markets, Raphael Macapinlac

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

A 10 day unit that guides students in examining the financial markets (loanable funds, money market, and foreign exchange market) by examining real world current events and situations. The unit allows students to achieve mastery of modeling and analyzing the three graphs, and then challenges them to tie in what they have learned to current events.

Who Is Texas? Exploring Dominant And Overlooked Stories About The Lone Star State, Zachary Wilson

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

The state of Texas has an image problem. For some reason, Hollywood and the news media are telling one dominant story about Texas, and leaving out other stories about our state -- important ones! In this 7th grade humanities unit, students will brush up on social studies skills, and develop in such areas as: reading maps, making graphs, detecting bias, analyzing primary sources, and identifying different perspectives. In order to answer the question, "Who is Texas, really?" students will engage in research and use an expository organizational structure of their choice (compare & contrast, problem-solution, etc.) to communicate their findings. …

The State Of Education Savings Account Programs In The United States, Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, W. J. Mathis, K. G. Welner

Education Faculty Research

Arguably the most strongly promoted approach by voucher advocates is a new form of government subsidy for private education, Education Savings Accounts (ESAs). Parents are provided a set sum which they can use for a variety of educational services including private school tuition and fees, online courses, extracurricular activities and private tutoring. Students enrolled in an ESA program are not allowed to concurrently attend a public school. This policy brief examines this emerging policy, considering similarities and differences with conventional voucher approaches, and examining the legal issues that the policy raises.

Market Pbl: A Cross-Curricular Exploration Of Technological Innovation In Pre-Modern Civilizations, Elizabeth Muire, M. Melendy Jacobie, Kay Newsome, Lisa Stuckey, Blake Keeling

Understanding by Design: Complete Collection

This project-based learning unit incorporates knowledge from history, English, math and science courses. Students explore how geography and available resources, coupled with technological advancements, shape a civilization’s industry and therefore the quality of life of the inhabitants. Students design a product that could be made from the natural resources of their civilization and attempt to sell their product in a simulated market.