Education Commons^™

Review: Educational Psychology, 2nd Ed. (University Of Manitoba), Cassie Bergstrom

Open Textbooks & Reviews

Review of the textbook Educational Psychology - Second Edition originally published on Open Textbook Library (https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/educational-psychology).

The Ripple Effects When A Refugee Camp Becomes A University Town: University Teacher Education In Dadaab, Kenya, Lorrie Miller, Abdi O. Aden, Jama A. Mohamed, Zainab B. Hussein, Abulogn O. Okello

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Dadaab, Kenya is the site of the first university teacher education program created by a consortium of institutions (UBC, York, Moi, Kenyatta) within the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees. Dadaab is also the host town to what has been described as the largest protracted refugee camp, at its peek nearly a half million residents. Here, four program graduates, who are secondary school teachers in Daddab tell their stories of the impact that their education diploma and degrees have had on them and their communities. Their stories are of leadership, resilience, and hope.

Book Review: Beyond Test Scores: A Better Way To Measure School Accountability. Jack Schneider. Ma: Harvard University Press, 2017. 336 Pages., Seth Yocum, Derek Gottlieb

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Jack Schneider's Beyond Test Scores shows the way forward in accountability for scholars and practitioners alike.

Using Video Clips To Identify And Promote Children's Rights As Mathematics Learners, Crystal Kalinec-Craig

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

The Rights of the Learner state that children have four rights they can exercise in the classroom: 1) the right to be confused; 2) the right to claim a mistake; 3) the right to speak, listen, and be heard; and 4) the right to write, do and represent what makes sense to you. In this paper, the author discusses how she uses a video clip of Gretchen solving a multi-digit subtraction problem as a way of helping elementary teacher candidates learn how to attend to children’s mathematical thinking and moments when they exercise their rights as learners. Implications for equity …

Collaborating On Flipped Library Sessions: 8 Best Practices For Faculty & Librarians, Nicole R. Webber, Stephanie Wiegand

University Libraries Publications

Library instruction varies in format but often manifests in the librarian teaching a single, isolated class session—what librarians refer to as a “one-shot.” Many challenges accompany this traditional format, including time-constraints, disengaged audiences, and little understanding on the part of the student as to how the library instruction integrates with course content. Flipped Learning methods can help counter these challenges even when the overall course is not based on a flipped model. They liberate librarians and faculty from the one-shot model and expand opportunities for library instruction to occur at multiple times in a course, to be delivered virtually or …

A Productive Math Struggle: Questions And Assessment, Jenni Harding

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

The focus is on productive math struggle questions. Questions given to pose during instruction, to have mathematical conversations, and to evaluate learning. A rubric is provided to evaluate student math conversations. An effective and efficient structure is created where students can delve deeper into mathematics through group discussions.

Pre-Service Teachers: Reflections On Observed Practice, Carolyn Casale, Adrainne Thomas

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Reflective practice serves as a powerful pedagogical strategy for teachers—especially those in low-resource, rural areas. This qualitative case study looked at secondary education pre-service teachers in their first education course. Analysis of focus observation essays data indicated that pre-service teachers were incorporating reflective practice in their field observations, but were not addressing issues of diversity – specifically race and socio-economic status. This study is significant for understanding how pre-service teachers engage in reflective practices with respect to diversity.

Pre-Service Teachers' Implicit Bias: Impacts Of Confrontation, Reflection, And Discussion, Katherine E. Batchelor, Kendra Dewater, Kennedy Thompson

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Abstract: Although there is much research regarding implicit bias in numerous fields, such as criminal justice, psychology, and health, little research has examined pre-service teachers’ attitudes and beliefs regarding implicit biases they carry, especially when it comes to race. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to fill the gap in qualitative research regarding how pre-service teachers address, confront, and talk about biases. We begin by defining implicit bias. Next, we situate our research within sociocultural theory with an emphasis on critical literacy practices. Then, we share our findings, which centered on the course environment, students’ reactions to their results …

Faculty Members’ Experiences With The Implementation Of Flipped Classroom Environments In Higher Education, Fatimah Alebrahim, Heng-Yu Ku

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

Active learning is an instructional strategy that focuses on the active learning process by involving students with engaging materials and activities in the class which leads to higher order thinking and increases students’ performance. The flipped classroom is one of the latest models that allows more time in class for applying active learning strategies. This model focuses on providing a media lesson to the students that must be completed outside of the classroom and prior to the class after which the teacher demonstrates different activities related to the media lesson during class time. The purpose of this qualitative study was …

Adapting An Instructional Routine: Stronger & Clearer Each Time, Dylan Kane

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

How can math teachers help students take notes that are useful and also promote thinking and reasoning? In this article, the instructional routing Stronger and Clearer Each Time facilitates student discourse around a learning goal, helps students to create meaningful notes, and allows the teacher to better understand student thinking.

Maximizing Cross-Cultural Opportunities: Pre-Service Teachers And Pakistani Teachers Writing Together, Margaret Berg, Courtney Luce

Journal of Educational Research and Innovation

This qualitative and quantitative study examines a cross-cultural writing workshop between undergraduate pre-service teachers and Pakistani in-service teachers. The 27 undergraduate students were in their junior year in the teacher education program, and had focused majors in a variety of content areas including history, science, music, and language arts. The 17 visiting scholars from Pakistan were all secondary level classroom teachers, also from a variety of disciplines. The undergraduates completed a questionnaire before and after the workshop, and the Pakistanis participated in a focus group following the workshop. Findings demonstrate a shift in the undergraduates’ thinking of genre to forms …

Undergraduate Elementary Teacher Candidates’ Perceived Preparedness And Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Jewel Mahoe

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The aim of this research is to recognize teacher candidates’ attitudes towards inclusion and perceived preparedness regarding special education. Research was conducted using a survey. The survey was administered to students by paper or online via Qualtrics. Over 100 responses were collected from undergraduate students. Data from the surveys were compiled to analyze correlations. It is anticipated that data correlations will display a trend of neutral or low confidence levels in individuals’ abilities. The results of this research will ultimately provide key information to target skills that elementary education teacher candidates feel they are lacking within the existing special education …

Perceived Confidence Ability In Nutrition Counselors, Ryanne Hill

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The field of nutrition education and counseling is continually expanding. It is important for individuals who practice within this field to have confidence in their ability to relay nutritional advice. The University of Northern Colorado's ROTC program paired with dietetics and nutrition, seeking students to provide nutrition education and support. The goal of the ROTC Nutrition Program is to improve the nutritional knowledge of cadets as well as improve the interviewing and counseling ability of the nutrition or dietetic student involved. This program is beneficial to nutrition and dietetics students because most careers in their field include counseling or education. …

Themes For Participation In Physical Activity Breaks In College Classrooms, Taylor Polson

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

It is well known that physical activity has many physiological benefits to the human body, but more recently the psychological effects have been examined. Research on the psychological effects of exercise has shown that physical activity can decrease depression. Specifically, the effects of physical activity in classrooms on the psychological health and academic performance of students has become a major area of focus, both in and out of the United States. Physical activity has recently been implemented into the class room in the form of physical activity breaks (P.A.B.s), in which students participate in short bouts of exercise during class. …

Black & White Response In A Gray Area: Faculty And Predatory Publishing, Nicole R. Webber, Stephanie Wiegand

University Libraries Publications

This study focuses on faculty knowledge, experiences, and attitudes regarding fraudulent journal operations. Many definitions presented to researchers contain two primary aspects to describe these intentional perpetra­tors: 1) the chief motivation to profit monetarily, and 2) the misleading promise of and failure to deliver on indicators of quality, such as peer review. While this definition is simple on its surface, when put into practice it often expands into discussions of poor or unethical practices by journal publishers. It is common to find lists of grievances clarifying acts that signal predatory or unethical practices, which are used to broadly classify jour­nals …

Investing Under Uncertainty: Mathematical Models And Computer Simulations, Alfinio Flores

Colorado Mathematics Teacher

Students do probabilistic models for investment strategies and bankroll management. Students develop a better understanding for the Kelly criterion as a function of paying odds using an interactive graph. Then students conduct computer simulations to compare two investment strategies, first investing a fixed amount, and then using the Kelly criterion.

Working Session To Align Learning Outcomes, Class Assignments, And Final Assessments, Wendi Flynn, Aaron Haberman

Teaching, Learning & Assessment

Ready to improve course assignments you’ve already created? Join us for a two-hour working session where you will evaluate and revise your existing course assignments using your course learning outcomes and best practices provided by the session facilitators. This session is structured to have plenty of time for discussion and feedback. You’ll leave this session with revised assignments that are better aligned with your course-level outcomes and assessment best practices.

To maximize the effectiveness of this working session, please bring: 1) a summative assignment (for example, a final exam or term project); 2) a formative assignment (for example, a homework …

How Learning Happens & What It Means For Effective Teaching, Molly Jameson

Teaching, Learning & Assessment

Faculty can be passionate about educating their students, but may not have been trained in how learning actually happens. In this workshop, we will discuss 1) research-based techniques for how students learn, and 2) how to implement those techniques in your classroom. These techniques can increase student motivation and learning; therefore, there is great value in learning about and applying these techniques. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to modify their own class unit/lesson, assignment, or activity to incorporate the research-based techniques for how students learn. Please bring a class unit/lesson, assignment, or activity you would like to …

First-Generation Students’ Information Literacy In Everyday Contexts, Darren Ilett

University Libraries Publications

Historically, much of the Library and Information Science (LIS) literature on first-generation students (FGS) framed them using deficit thinking, emphasising what they lacked to be successful in higher education. In contrast, recent scholarship has turned to asset-based pedagogies, shifting the focus onto the strengths that FGS bring to college. Further, LIS research on FGS has examined how students engage with information solely in academic contexts, such as completing research papers or navigating higher education procedures. The current study contributes to the discussion of asset-based pedagogies by using a funds of knowledge approach to explore the ways in which FGS at …