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University of Nebraska at Omaha

Teacher Education and Professional Development

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Administrators As Math Leaders: Professional Learning Strategies Through Change, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Tamara Williams, Matthew Scott Dec 2020

Administrators As Math Leaders: Professional Learning Strategies Through Change, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Tamara Williams, Matthew Scott

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


What’S The Value? Measuring Value In Complex Social Learning Environments With Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula M. Jakopovic Oct 2020

What’S The Value? Measuring Value In Complex Social Learning Environments With Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula M. Jakopovic

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

At the national level, undergraduate mathematics teacher preparation programs are shifting to develop teachers who not only understand current research-informed instructional practices but also have firsthand experiences learning, teaching, and collaborating in student-centered environments (CBMS, 2016). Understanding the degree to which these experiences impact pre-service teachers’ learning is challenging to measure. This paper describes the efforts of a Track 1 National Science Foundation (NSF) Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship grant to recruit and provide wider professional experiences to develop high-quality secondary mathematics teacher candidates and how the research team utilizes a value framework (Wenger, Traynor, & de Laat, 2014) to study …


Supporting Teacher Retention In Diverse Educational Settings (Strides), Lisa Amick, James Martinez, Paula M. Jakopovic Oct 2020

Supporting Teacher Retention In Diverse Educational Settings (Strides), Lisa Amick, James Martinez, Paula M. Jakopovic

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The United States faces a continuing shortage of well-prepared secondary mathematics teachers, among the worst of any subject (Malkus, Hoyer, & Sparks, 2015). To address this issue, schools often rely on both inservice professional development, which not all teachers may opt to participate in, as well as initial teacher preparation programs, to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. The quality of teacher preparation, particularly related to pedagogical practice, significantly impacts new teacher attrition (Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2014). Studies find that 50% of all teachers leave the profession within the first five years (Foster, 2010), and the rate of departure …


Learning To Lesson Plan: A Mentor’S Impact On Pre-Service Teachers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Connie L. Schaffer, Lela E. Nix, H. Emily Hayden Oct 2020

Learning To Lesson Plan: A Mentor’S Impact On Pre-Service Teachers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Connie L. Schaffer, Lela E. Nix, H. Emily Hayden

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Lesson planning is considered an essential skill of teachers. As pre-service teachers first encounter the fundamental principles of planning for instruction, the complexity of planning to support the rigorous learning goals of content, curriculum, and individual student needs could be daunting. The mixed methods study explored how mentoring influenced early-program pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997) and progression through stages of concerns (Fuller, 1969) in relation to lesson planning. Participants, secondary early-program pre-service teachers enrolled in a Midwestern teacher preparation program, included a target group who received mentoring and a comparison group who did not. Using constant comparison techniques guided by …


William Frantz Public School: A Case Study In The Politics Of Education, Martha Graham Viator, Connie Schaffer, Meg White Sep 2020

William Frantz Public School: A Case Study In The Politics Of Education, Martha Graham Viator, Connie Schaffer, Meg White

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

No abstract provided.


Conceptualizing Culture How Preservice Teachers In The Rural Midwest Confront Subjectivities, Anne Karabon, Kelly Gomez Johnson Jul 2020

Conceptualizing Culture How Preservice Teachers In The Rural Midwest Confront Subjectivities, Anne Karabon, Kelly Gomez Johnson

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

This qualitative study examined how elementary and secondary preservice teachers in the rural Midwest conceptualize “culture” and how preservice teachers’ subjectivities and conceptions of culture shape their pedagogical practices. Thirty-six preservice teachers participated in a course on effective planning designed to address topics such as special education, English language learners, race, those living in difficult circumstances, and gender representation. Results reveal that despite exposure to reflections and discussions on privilege and hegemony to confront biases and deficit perspectives, ethnocentrism persisted.


More Than An Anniversary - A Preview Of William Frantz Public School: A Story Of Race, Resistance, Resiliency, And Recovery In New Orleans, Connie Schaffer, Meg White, Martha Graham Viator Apr 2020

More Than An Anniversary - A Preview Of William Frantz Public School: A Story Of Race, Resistance, Resiliency, And Recovery In New Orleans, Connie Schaffer, Meg White, Martha Graham Viator

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

William Frantz Public School: A Story of Race, Resistance, Resiliency, and Recovery in New Orleans will be released by Peter Lang in 2020. The book examines issues related to public education through events at the iconic William Frantz Public School, one of the first New Orleans public schools to be desegregated in 1960. The book covers important topics such as the resegregation of public schools, systemic racism, poverty, school accountability movements, and proliferatoin of charter schools.


How Teachers Understand The Curriculum And Frameworks They Use, Kristin Vanwyngaarden, Michelle Friend Mar 2020

How Teachers Understand The Curriculum And Frameworks They Use, Kristin Vanwyngaarden, Michelle Friend

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This qualitative study investigates and compares teachers’ understanding of two curricular frameworks: Next Generation Science Storylines and the 5E Model. Teachers (grades K-6) participated in a three-week summer workshop designed to introduce elementary teachers to biomechanics, the study of the body in motion and help them develop inquiry-based biomechanics lessons using the NGSS Storyline framework in order to enhance their implementation of interdisciplinary, culturally responsive, and technology-enhanced STEM education. During a follow-up session to the workshop, eleven teachers read an article about implementing biomechanics into school science (Trauth-Nare, Pavilonis, Paganucci, Ciabattoni, & Buckley, 2016); this article used the 5E framework, …


Habitus And Imagined Ideals: Attending To (Un)Consciousness In Discourses Of (Non)Nativeness, Madina Djuraeva, Lydia Catedral Jan 2020

Habitus And Imagined Ideals: Attending To (Un)Consciousness In Discourses Of (Non)Nativeness, Madina Djuraeva, Lydia Catedral

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

This study responds to scholarship that has examined “folk concepts” of (non)nativeness through the lens of imagined ideals of the native speaker, by proposing a framework that integrates both ideals and habits. We operationalize these concepts by drawing from the theoretical notions of chronotope, scale, and habitus. Using data from interviews with Central Asian transnational migrants, we demonstrate how attending to both the habitual and idealized aspects of speakers’ metalinguistic commentary offers a more holistic approach to the study of multilingual repertoires and speakers’ social positionings in relationship to (non)nativeness. Our findings demonstrate how identification as a “(non)native” speaker may …


The Design And Implementation Of An Intervention To Support And Retain Early Career Mathematics Teachers, Lisa Amick, Maria Campitelli, Paula M. Jakopovic, Judy Kysh, Dawn Parker, April Pforts, Travis Weiland, Laura J. Wilding Jan 2020

The Design And Implementation Of An Intervention To Support And Retain Early Career Mathematics Teachers, Lisa Amick, Maria Campitelli, Paula M. Jakopovic, Judy Kysh, Dawn Parker, April Pforts, Travis Weiland, Laura J. Wilding

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

This study reports on efforts over several years to design and implement a yearlong intervention intended to support secondary mathematics teachers in their early years of teaching. The intervention is designed to support these teachers’ development of meaningful professional relationships with a school-based mentor and to create an online community of practice for support with other professionals. The intervention itself consists of early career teachers and their mentors participating in monthly professional development sessions such as online meetings, Zoom panels with experts, and collaboratively reading and discussing timely, purposeful, and relevant content. The intervention is designed to not over burden …


The Legacy Of William Frantz Public School: Commemoration Vs. Celebration, Connie L. Schaffer, Martha Graham Viator, Meg White Jan 2020

The Legacy Of William Frantz Public School: Commemoration Vs. Celebration, Connie L. Schaffer, Martha Graham Viator, Meg White

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Sixty years ago, Ruby Bridges, a Black first-grade student, entered the all-White William Frantz Public School (WFPS). Her entry into WFPS represented a massive transformation in public education in the United States and embedded the school in the U.S. civil rights movement. Fifteen years ago, following Hurricane Katrina, the rapid increase in charter schools in New Orleans centered WFPS in a second transformation, the movement to reform public education. In addition to these two seminal events, a more complete history of WFPS provides justification that these landmark transformations be commemorated rather than celebrated.


Politicizing Early Childhood Education And Care In Ontario: Race, Identity And Belonging, Zuhra E. Abawi, Rachel Berman Dr. Dec 2019

Politicizing Early Childhood Education And Care In Ontario: Race, Identity And Belonging, Zuhra E. Abawi, Rachel Berman Dr.

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) landscape, much like the K-12 education system in Ontario, is largely encompassed by bias-free, neutral and colourblind narratives of identity and social location (Author 1, 2018). These discursive practices portray young children and early learning settings as raceless and equal spaces that engage children in interactions and discussions of race and identity are inappropriate. Education in Ontario and Canada as an entity is marked by myth of the Canadian nation-state (Thobani, 2007) through celebratory, themed, recognition-based initiatives that mark differences, while leaving the status quo of whiteness unchallenged and intact (DiAngelo, 2018). The …


Finding Their Voice: Support Mechanisms To Engage And Empower Future Mathematics Teachers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula M. Jakopovic, Angie Hodge, Neal Grandgenett, Michael Matthews, Janice Rech Oct 2019

Finding Their Voice: Support Mechanisms To Engage And Empower Future Mathematics Teachers, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula M. Jakopovic, Angie Hodge, Neal Grandgenett, Michael Matthews, Janice Rech

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The NebraskaMATH Omaha Noyce Partnership Scholarship awards scholarships funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to undergraduate students interested in mathematics education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). Scholars, who are dual mathematics and secondary education majors, are engaged and supported by Noyce faculty to not only excel in their college coursework and career preparation, but also to serve the university and community through teaching assistantships and STEM community outreach. The main goal of this program is to strengthen and expand the pipeline for preparing high-quality teachers of mathematics to better meet the responsibilities and demands of local …


Mentoring Future Mathematics Teachers: Lessons Learned From Four Mentoring Partnerships, Angie Hodge, Janice Rech, Michael Matthews, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula Jakopovic Oct 2019

Mentoring Future Mathematics Teachers: Lessons Learned From Four Mentoring Partnerships, Angie Hodge, Janice Rech, Michael Matthews, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Paula Jakopovic

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Mentoring is an important aspect of mathematics teacher education, and in particular, pre-service teacher education. Faculty at a large Midwestern university developed and refined a mentoring program designed to help pre-service secondary mathematics teachers, called Scholars, become future leaders in mathematics education. This paper describes how faculty mentors leveraged challenges in the mentoring program’s early stages based on their reflections and initial mentee outcomes to create a more effective mentoring program. Recommendations based on research and practice are provided for other university programs interested in mentoring future mathematics teachers.


Keeping Teachers Of Color: Recruitment Is Not The Problem, Ferial Pearson, Monica Fuglei Aug 2019

Keeping Teachers Of Color: Recruitment Is Not The Problem, Ferial Pearson, Monica Fuglei

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

This article reviews some of the recent literature on teacher recruitment and retention published in the United States. It describes the merits of having a diverse teaching force, and explains that the issue of a lack of representation of teachers of color in American schools is not a result of recruitment; rather, it is the retention of these teachers that is the problem at hand. The article uncovers the reasons teachers of color leave the profession, and makes suggestions about changes that would make it possible for these teachers to stay.


District-University Collaborations To Support Reform-Based Mathematics Curriculum Implementation, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Amy L. Nebesniak, Theodore J. Rupnow Apr 2019

District-University Collaborations To Support Reform-Based Mathematics Curriculum Implementation, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Amy L. Nebesniak, Theodore J. Rupnow

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Curriculum change is inevitable in schooling. For content areas such as mathematics that are already under the national spotlight, transitioning to new curriculum materials while concurrently enacting instructional reform creates both a challenge and an opportunity. This paper discusses how partnerships between two state universities and respective neighboring school districts resulted in the creation and implementation of graduate courses for teachers targeted at curricular and instructional reform specific to each district. Common course components between both university-district partnerships were identified in the areas of mathematics research, practice, and leadership advocacy and found to be instrumental in supporting instructional reform and …


Perceptions Of District Curriculum Administrators Regarding K-12 Engineering Education, Derrick A. Nero Mar 2019

Perceptions Of District Curriculum Administrators Regarding K-12 Engineering Education, Derrick A. Nero

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The state of Nebraska recently adopted and implemented a set of Science standards that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards which include engineering practices such as engineering design and the use of technology. Curriculum administrators throughout the state are responsible for the implementation of these standards including training for engineering teaching and learning. This exploratory study investigated curriculum administrators’ (n = 43) perceptions of Engineering Education in four areas: Importance of Engineering Education, District Familiarity with Engineering Education, Characteristics of Engineering, and Barriers to Integrating Engineering Education. This exploratory study used one instrument to collect data: a modified Design, …


Can Education Change Society? Michael Apple’S Simple Question And Complex Answer, Connie Schaffer Jan 2019

Can Education Change Society? Michael Apple’S Simple Question And Complex Answer, Connie Schaffer

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Can education change society? The question is simple, and Michael W. Apple’s response is an irrefutable, yes. However, a broader exegesis is needed because the issues confounding this question are steeped in powerful political forces from both the right and left. Within the pages of Can Education Change Society?, Apple continues his long-time professional exposition regarding education’s role in challenging these and other hegemonic systems.


Witness: The Art Of Samuel Bak, Resources For Teachers, Connie Schaffer, Julie Bell Jan 2019

Witness: The Art Of Samuel Bak, Resources For Teachers, Connie Schaffer, Julie Bell

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Extend the experience: Teachers, we are pleased to provide educational resources to accompany Witness: The Art of Samuel Bak. These resources will allow you to extend the discussion of Samuel Bak’s art beyond the exhibit tour. The materials are designed to be used with students who attended the exhibit and can also be used to introduce Samuel Bak’s art to students who could not visit the gallery and with your future classes.


Exploring Secondary Science Teachers' Use Of Classroom Physical Activity, Shane Warehime, Kailey Snyder, Connie L. Schaffer, Matthew Bice, Megan Adkins-Bollwit, Danae Dinkel Jan 2019

Exploring Secondary Science Teachers' Use Of Classroom Physical Activity, Shane Warehime, Kailey Snyder, Connie L. Schaffer, Matthew Bice, Megan Adkins-Bollwit, Danae Dinkel

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

This study explored the use of classroom physical activity (PA) in secondary science rooms. To accomplish this, semistructured interviews were conducted with secondary science teachers (n = 11). Interviews were based on the constructs of the social-ecological model. Most teachers reported using classroom PA in some form—in-class breaks, outdoor activities, and curriculum support. Teachers used classroom PA to improve academic and behavioral outcomes of students. They had varied perceptions regarding collegial support of classroom PA, but mostly felt supported by administrators. Teachers reported being unaware of their district’s and the state department of education’s beliefs about classroom PA. Overall, factors …


The Nebraska Mathematics Readiness Project: Year 1 Evaluation Report, N. Grandgenett, E. Ostler, K. Gomez Johnson, T. E. Reding, M. Flesch, C. Hatt, W. Boyer Jan 2019

The Nebraska Mathematics Readiness Project: Year 1 Evaluation Report, N. Grandgenett, E. Ostler, K. Gomez Johnson, T. E. Reding, M. Flesch, C. Hatt, W. Boyer

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The Nebraska Math Readiness Project (NMRP) is a targeted curriculum designed for seniors who have plans of attending college, yet lack the foundational math skills needed for college-level courses. They are given a fourth-year mathematics class to help them improve their mathematical skills and prepare for required college math courses. The project is a collaboration between community colleges across the state and high schools within the Nebraska school districts.


Toward Diversity In Texts: Using Global Literature To Cultivate Critical Perspectives, Rick Marlatt Dec 2018

Toward Diversity In Texts: Using Global Literature To Cultivate Critical Perspectives, Rick Marlatt

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Abstract Literature study in the 21st Century should be characterized by the inclusion of global texts that afford diverse students the opportunity to engage in their literacy development through and alongside authors, characters, and storylines that represent their own linguistic and cultural traditions. In this narrative analysis, I reflect on the importance of equity-driven literature study from my perspective as a teacher educator at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Southwestern United States. Following an introduction to the political and institutional contexts surrounding text selection in schools and a brief review of the literature, I situate myself and my students as …


Collection Development Tips And Tricks, Melissa Cast-Brede Aug 2018

Collection Development Tips And Tricks, Melissa Cast-Brede

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Finding the best works for your library doesn’t have to involve expensive subscriptions to book review journals. This presentation will focus on strategies to hunt and find quality works without breaking the bank or monopolizing your time.


Review Of What Do You Think, Mr. Ramirez? The American Revolution In Education, Connie Schaffer Apr 2018

Review Of What Do You Think, Mr. Ramirez? The American Revolution In Education, Connie Schaffer

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Developing Stragic Competence In The Service Of Inquiry Teaching: Assisting Pre-Service Elementary Teachers To Use Inquiry To Achieve Strategic Competence In Science Learning, Sheryl Mcglamery, Victoria Lentfer Mar 2018

Developing Stragic Competence In The Service Of Inquiry Teaching: Assisting Pre-Service Elementary Teachers To Use Inquiry To Achieve Strategic Competence In Science Learning, Sheryl Mcglamery, Victoria Lentfer

Journal of Curriculum, Teaching, Learning and Leadership in Education

Abstract: This paper describes the efforts of researchers to examine the understandings of pre-service elementary teachers regarding the role and use of inquiry and strategic competence in science teaching and learning. The pre-service elementary teachers were given multiple exposures to inquiry activities, and field teaching opportunities using inquiry with opportunities to pursue strategic competence in experimentation and problem solving. The findings support the use of inquiry labs and shows how field experience is valuable in helping build an understanding of inquiry and strategic competence.


Language Ideologies And (Im)Moral Images Of Personhood In Multilingual Family Language Planning, Lydia Catedral, Madina Djuraeva Feb 2018

Language Ideologies And (Im)Moral Images Of Personhood In Multilingual Family Language Planning, Lydia Catedral, Madina Djuraeva

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Scholars have demonstrated that small-scale relatively private family decisions about language are intertwined with parental language ideologies. Using data from the context of multilingual Central Asian families—including those living in Central Asia and those living abroad—this study employs socially situated analysis of discourse and narrative inquiry to show how parents invoke language ideologies in justifying their decisions about their children’s education and linguistic exposure. The notion of “chronotope” is used to demonstrate how parental ideologies are embedded in images of space, time and moral personhood. Focusing on these images, rather than only on language ideologies, allows an incorporation of …


Bricklayer: Elementary Students Learn Math Through Programming And Art, Michelle Friend Feb 2018

Bricklayer: Elementary Students Learn Math Through Programming And Art, Michelle Friend

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

As computer science becomes more prevalent in the K-12 world, elementary schools are increasingly adopting computing curricula. Computer scientists have recognized the connection between math and computer science, but little work has demonstrated how and whether computer science can support improved learning in math. This paper reports on a project in which elementary students in a gifted program used Bricklayer, a functional programming environment that supports artistic and mathematical expression. A pre- and post-test design demonstrates significant learning gains in coordinate graphing and visual-spatial skills.


Building Automation And The Contextualization Of Information Technology: The Journey Of A Midwestern Community College In The U.S., Neal Grandgenett, Pam Perry, Thomas Pensabene, Karen Wegner, Robert Nirenberg, Phil Pilcher, Candi Otterpohl Jan 2018

Building Automation And The Contextualization Of Information Technology: The Journey Of A Midwestern Community College In The U.S., Neal Grandgenett, Pam Perry, Thomas Pensabene, Karen Wegner, Robert Nirenberg, Phil Pilcher, Candi Otterpohl

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

The buildings in which people work, live, and spend their leisure time are increasingly embedded with sophisticated information technology (IT). This article describes the approach of Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in Omaha, Nebraska of the United States to provide an occupational context to some of their IT coursework by organizing IT instruction around the context of building automation systems (BAS). This contextualization allows IT students not only to study IT as a standalone discipline but also to study its integrated use within a specific occupational context. The article also describes MCC’s focused curriculum design efforts funded by the National Science …


Genuine Faculty-Mentored Research Experiences For In-Service Science Teachers: Increases In Science Knowledge, Perception, And Confidence Levels, Christine E. Cutucache, Heather D. Leas, Neal F. Grandgenett, Kari L. Nelson, Steven N. Rodie, Robert Duncan Shuster, Chris Schaben, William E. Tapprich Jan 2018

Genuine Faculty-Mentored Research Experiences For In-Service Science Teachers: Increases In Science Knowledge, Perception, And Confidence Levels, Christine E. Cutucache, Heather D. Leas, Neal F. Grandgenett, Kari L. Nelson, Steven N. Rodie, Robert Duncan Shuster, Chris Schaben, William E. Tapprich

Biology Faculty Publications

The overall purpose of this multifocused study was to explore how participation in genuine mentored scientific research experiences impacts in-service science teachers and the knowledge and skills needed for their own science teaching. The research experiences resulted from a partnership between the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Omaha Public School District. This Teacher- Researcher Partnership Program facilitated opportunities in inquiry, science content, interaction with laboratory instrumentation and technologies, critical discussion of literature, and dissemination of findings for participating in-service science teacher professional development utilizing an inquiry-based theoretical framework wherein we examined science teacher preparation via inquiry-based methods in …


Summary Report Of The 2018 Educator Focus Groups On The Nebraska Social Studies Standards, Connie Schaffer Jan 2018

Summary Report Of The 2018 Educator Focus Groups On The Nebraska Social Studies Standards, Connie Schaffer

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

In June and July, 2018, the Nebraska Department of Education invited teachers and administrators to provide feedback on the Nebraska Social Studies Standards. Nebraska educators provided input by participating in eight focus groups intended to complement a previous survey of Nebraska’s elementary and secondary social studies teachers. Individuals submitted written input if they were not able to participate in a scheduled focus group. The information gathered from the focus group participants offered opportunity to: 1) develop insights and a deeper understanding regarding K-12 educator perceptions of the current Nebraska Social Studies Standards and 2) solicit input for the upcoming review …