Education Commons^™

Improving Student Engagement And Verbal Behavior Through Cooperative Learning, Daniel Schaben

Action Research Projects

In this action research study of my classroom of 10th grade Algebra II students, I investigated three related areas. First, I looked at how heterogeneous cooperative groups, where students in the group are responsible to present material, increase the number of students on task and the time on task when compared to individual practice. I noticed that their time on task might have been about the same, but they were communicating with each other mathematically. The second area I examined was the effect heterogeneous cooperative groups had on the teacher’s and the students’ verbal and nonverbal problem solving skills and …

Writing For Understanding In Math Class, Linda Moore

Action Research Projects

In this action research study of my classroom of 10th grade geometry students, I investigated how students learn to communicate mathematics in a written form. The purpose of the study is to encourage students to express their mathematical thinking clearly by developing their communication skills.

I discovered that although students struggled with the writing assignments, they were more comfortable with making comments, writing questions and offering suggestions through their journal rather than vocally in class. I have utilized teaching strategies for English Language Learners, but I had never asked the students if these strategies actually improved their learning. I have …

The Importance Of Vocabulary Instruction In Everyday Mathematics, Chad Larson

Action Research Projects

In this action research study of my 6th grade math students I try to answer the question of how mathematical vocabulary plays an integral role in the understanding and learning of middle level mathematics. It is my belief that mathematics is a language, and to be fluent in that language one must be able to use and understand vocabulary. With the use of vocabulary quizzes and mathematically-centered vocabulary activities, student scores and understanding of math concepts can be increased. I discovered that many of the students had never been exposed to consistent mathematical terminology in their elementary education, which led …

Cooperative Learning As An Effective Way To Interact, Gary Eisenhauer

Action Research Projects

In this action research study of my classroom of 8th grade mathematics, I investigated the effects of students’ interactions while cooperatively learning in groups. I discovered that in order to be cooperative, a lesson must be well-defined, open for discussion, and have positive face-toface interaction. The cooperative learning groups should be teacher generated rather than student-selected. When done correctly, cooperative learning tends to promote student relationships, more positive attitudes toward mathematics and the teacher, and greater self-confidence in a student’s mathematics abilities. As a result of this research, I plan to better incorporate cooperative learning into the classroom. Students will …

Convergence Or Divergence: Technology Policies And User Expectations

ACUTA: Other Publications

The Forum

Since 1997, the annual ACUTA Forum for Strategic Leadership in Communications Technology has provided a unique opportunity for campus leaders to exchange ideas and discuss issues relevant to the use of technology in meeting the goals of higher education. Held in conjunction with ACUTA's Annual Conference and Exhibtion, this forum brings together men and women of vision, foresight, and authority to discuss strategic directions for the campus of the future.

Goals

• To provide a venue for the examination of issue and challenges facing the higher education community as we grapple with planning, financing, and implementing technology on our …

Algebraic Geometric Codes On Anticanonical Surfaces, Jennifer A. Davis

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Algebraic geometric codes (or AG codes) provide a way to correct errors that occur during the transmission of digital information. AG codes on curves have been studied extensively, but much less work has been done for AG codes on higher dimensional varieties. In particular, we seek good bounds for the minimum distance.

We study AG codes on anticanonical surfaces coming from blow-ups of P² at points on a line and points on a conic. We can compute the dimension of such codes exactly due to known results. For certain families of these codes, we prove an exact result on …

Acuta Enews June 2007, Vol. 36, No. 6

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

From the President Carmine Piscopo, RCDD, ACUTA President

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

Tech Talk: Waiting for TechTalk 2.0, the New, lmproved Version................. Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

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

Another Hit to the Cabling Budget: Electrician Shortage = Higher Cabling Costs............. Gary Audin

FYI: Useful lnformation from the Campus.................. Student Monitor

Web Tip: What's New at acuta.org?............. Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA lnformation Technology Manager

Sign Up Today for Preconference Seminars

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

ACUTA Web Seminar: lP Video …

Learning How To Make Inquiry Into Electricity And Magnetism Discernible To Middle Level Teachers , Gayle A. Buck, Margaret A. Macintyre Latta, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

As university professors we sought to disrupt the practice of giving our students the actions we felt they should imitate in their teaching practice. Instead, we sought to actively engage teachers in the creation of workable solutions to real-life problems. We accomplished this by conducting a participatory action research project. This paper illustrates our action research project focused on preparing middle level science teachers to foster inquiry-based learning in their classrooms. The findings of this study not only lead to a revised professional development opportunity for science teachers, but also provided an example of university faculty engaging in pragmatic research …

Retrieving Meaning In Teacher Education: The Question Of Being, Karl Hostetler, Margaret A. Macintyre Latta, Loukia K. Sarroub

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In this article we examine “meaning” and “action” within the “good” work of teaching and learning. One premise of our argument is that teachers and students deserve to experience this good. The second premise is that meaning is part and parcel of Being; the debate about meaning must include attention to meaning as a question/project of Being. We offer our experiences as an educational anthropologist, educational philosopher, and teacher educator who strive to retrieve and pursue meaning and Being as common resources and aspirations.

Acuta Enews May 2007, Vol. 36, No. 5

ACUTA Newsletters

ln This lssue

Nominees for ACUTA Board of Directors 07-08

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

Staff Changes at ACUTA Headquarters

Tech Talk: Med Center Keeps Legacy Equipment Alive in New Network............ Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

Overheard on the Listserv: Panic Button Quick Fix ...... Rob McCray, Delaware Tech.& Comm. College

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

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

ATlS Releases Standard on Surveillance

Dues Notices Mailed May 1

Technology Policies and User Expectations Focus of 2007 Strategic Leadership Forum

Web Tip: …

Gamma Sigma Delta Newsletter - Nebraska Chapter, Issue #33, May 2007

Gamma Sigma Delta, Nebraska Chapter: Newsletters

CONTENTS:
President’s Message
2007 Major Activities Calendar
GAMMA SIGMA DELTA COMMITTEES 2007
The 2006 Initiation and Awards Banquet
Award of Merit for Distinguished Achievement in Agriculture
Excellence in Teaching Award
Excellence in Research Award
Excellence in Extension Award
2006 Gamma Sigma Delta New Members
In Memoriam
2007 ANNUAL DUES NOTICE FOR NEBRASKA CHAPTER
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM

The Kugeria Women Water Project: A Mixed-Methods Evalutation Of A Women’S Micro-Initiative Project, Malinda Nanetté Hill-Schmidtke

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

Advisor: John DeFrain

The Kugeria Women Group (KWG) of Murinduko, Kenya, founded in 1989, built an 11- kilometer water pipeline to provide potable water. Almost 20 years later, the pipeline is still providing water to over 300 families and is considered an example of a successful women’s micro-initiative. The two major goals of this dissertation were: 1) to investigate the organizational structures to determine which elements aided KWG in its successfully maintaining a water pipeline, and 2) to analyze KWG’s water consumption to ascertain if KWG stayed within its own pre-described regulations.

Result Mapping found the KWG’s success is an …

Two Problems In Extremal Set Theory, Joshua Brown Kramer

Department of Mathematics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The focus of this dissertation is on two problems in extremal set theory, which is a branch of extremal combinatorics. The general problem in extremal set theory is to start with all collections of subsets of an underlying ground set, apply restrictions, and then ask how large or small some property can be under those restrictions. We give a brief introduction to extremal combinatorics and consider two open questions.

One open question we consider is an extremal problem under “dimension constraints.” We give a brief account of the history of this subject and we consider the open problem of determining …

Developmental/Remedial Sciences At Community Colleges In Five States In The Central Part Of The United States, Tricia L. Paramore

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

DEVELOPMENTAL/REMEDIAL SCIENCES AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN FIVE STATES IN THE CENTRAL PART OF THE UNITED STATES

Tricia L. Paramore, Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 2007 Adviser: Alan T. Seagren

Phipps (1998) emphasized interinstitutional collaboration among colleges to share and replicate best practices and ideas as a strategy to improve the effectiveness of developmental/remedial education, but Johnson (2001) noted a lack of communication between science educators and developmental educators. The purposes of this mixed methods study were (a) to identify and examine the characteristics of developmental/remedial sciences as it existed in the 2006-2007 academic year in terms of organization, structure, instructional practices, …

Garbage In, Garbage Out: The Effect Of Library Instruction On The Quality Of Students’ Term Papers, Susan Hirst, Joseph Leonard

E-JASL 1999-2009 (Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

The authors report the results of a study which used citation analysis of students’ term papers to determine the effectiveness of a library instruction session. The research was conducted during the 2004-2005 school year. In each semester, two sections of the same class received a library instruction session, while the third section of the class did not. Bibliographies of the students’ term papers were then examined to determine if the numbers and types of sources cited differed between the two groups. Library instruction was determined to be effective, in that students receiving library instruction were significantly more likely to …

Multiple Roles Of Academic Librarians, Justine Alsop, Karen Bordonaro

E-JASL 1999-2009 (Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This exploratory research study seeks to investigate the phenomenon of academic librarians working in other paid roles on university campuses in addition to working as librarians. Its purpose is to explore how prevalent this phenomenon might be, to discover what other types of paid positions librarians are engaged in, and to ascertain what the perceived advantages and disadvantages could be of working in dual roles on campus. An online survey was administered and results point out that some academic librarians are engaged in working in multiple roles on campus. Furthermore, a majority of those surveyed saw a number of …

First Things First: Writing Strategies--Writing Gaffes, Marilyn L. Grady

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

One way to improve your writing skills is to serve as an editor or reviewer. When you read a variety of manuscripts, you increase your knowledge of the subject as well as enrich your knowledge of writing. In practitioner fields, one learns side-by-side with seasoned professionals. Just as medical professionals learn their craft knowledge through practicing on patients, educational administrators learn their craft knowledge by practicing on educational organizations. Writers, too, learn their craft knowledge by practicing on the prose of others and crafting their own prose. We learn from both positive examples and from negative examples. As an editor …

Race, Class, Access, And Equity, Marilyn L. Grady

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

These are issues that have become prominent in our discussions of educational administration. In travel throughout the United States, the changing face of schools reflects the importance of these issues to education leaders. In two recent trips to educational leadership conferences held in Las Vegas, Nevada, I was struck by the variety of language groups represented by the service workers of the city. My trips in early 2007 were 30 days apart. In that brief time span, it sounded as though the number of languages and accents I heard on the second trip had doubled since the first trip. Disney …

Juvenile Delinquents' Views Of Teachers' Language, Classroom Instruction And Listening Behaviors, Dixie Sanger, Dannie Deschene, Karen Stokely, Don Belau

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

The purposes of this study were to survey the views of female adolescents about: (a) their classroom teachers' language used during instruction, (b) their attitudes toward the language of classroom instruction, and (c) views about listening behaviors. A survey design was used with 31 participants ranging in age from 15 to 18 with a mean age of 17.12 years. Three questionnaires addressing classroom instruction and listening behaviors were read to each student. Two open-ended questions on learning in school were included in the study. Descriptive findings revealed the language load of the curriculum was too difficult and not sufficiently understood …

Women In History - Dorothy Day, Barbara L. Brock

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

Dorothy Day challenged generations of social and political orthodoxies. She was a pacifist, a champion of the rights of women, the poor, and the oppressed at a time when it was neither politically or fashionably correct. She believed in a social revolution that did not begin with government programs, but from the bottom up. She asked everyday people to open their hearts and embrace voluntary poverty. Dorothy Day was born on November 8,1897, in New York City, where she died 83 years later. She was born into a middle class family but was introduced to poverty when her journalist father …

Mcnair News, Volume 1, Number 2, Spring 2007

McNair News: Newsletter of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln McNair Scholars Program

Scholars Gearing Up for Summer Research Experience
McNair by the Numbers: as of March 2007
Meet the 2006-2007 McNair Junior Scholars
Senior Scholars Scene
McNair Faculty Mentor Profile: Dr. Mark Wilson
McNair Spring Event Calendar
Kudos to McNair Scholars
Scholar Spotlight on Melissa Tehee
McNair Tip: Test-Taking Strategies for the GRE
McNair Alumnus Nathan Palmer Wins TRIO Award
Senior Scholar Amy Castro Heads to Arizona for the Summer
Words from the Wise: Natasha Luepke

Journal Of The National Collegiate Honors Council -- Volume 8, No. 1 -- Complete Issue

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

CONTENTS

Call for Papers
Submission Guidelines
Dedication to Jeffrey A. Portnoy
Editor’s Introduction -- Ada Long

HONORING VIRGINIA TECH
“To Honors People Everywhere” and “All Have Seen the Treasure of the University: Its People” -- Charles (Jack) Dudley, Virginia Tech University

FORUM ON “GRADES, SCORES, AND HONORS”
“Grades, Scores, and Honors: A Numbers Game?” -- Larry Andrews
Evaluation vs. Grading in Honors Composition, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Grades and Love Teaching -- Annmarie Guzy
To Speak or Not to Speak: That is the Question -- Joyce W. Fields
Grades, Scores, and Honors Education -- Ryan Brown …

2007 Survey Of Summer Sessions Students At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Paul Savory

Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

During Summer 2007, UNL Summer Sessions (FlexEd) surveyed summer students to learn about their experience in taking a summer course(s). The survey results will offer confirmation of what we are doing well and will provide guidance on areas of improvement and better strategies for marketing UNL summer opportunities. A total of 227 students completed the survey. Fifteen summer classes were selected to complete a paper-based or electronic version of the survey. The classes were from three different summer sessions and used different delivery mechanisms (on-campus, studio, distance education).

Acuta Enews April 2007, Vol. 36, No. 4

ACUTA Newsletters

In This Issue

From the President.................... Carmine Piscopo, RCDD, ACUTA President

Nominate for ACUTA Ruth A. Michalecki Award

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

Tech Talk: CMDB ls a Step Toward Seeing All, Knowing All.................. Kevin Tanzillo, Dux PR

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

National LambdaRail and lnternet2 Renew Merger Discussions

FYI: Useful lnformation from the Campus............... Student Monitor

Web Tip: RSS Feed Technology............ Aaron Fuehrer, ACUTA lnformation Technology Manager

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

Grants to Higher Ed from Microsemi

Welcome New Members

The Effects On Outcomes Of Financing Undergraduate Thesis Research At Butler University, Anne Wilson, Robert Holm

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Financial support of undergraduate thesis work is assumed, both by the administrators who provide it and the faculty members who oversee it, to provide an incentive for undergraduates to complete their theses. At Butler University two different academic units supervise this process: the Honors Program for thesis oversight and the Butler Institute for Research and Scholarship for funding oversight. We have seen that the effect of financial support for undergraduate thesis work can become obscured when two separate programs are involved in the process. Thesis support at our University was examined by and from the perspective of both programs over …

The Virgin Mary: A Paradoxical Model For Roman Catholic Immigrant Women Of The Nineteenth Century, Darris Catherine Saylors

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

This paper identifies and discusses several examples of Marian paradoxes to better understand how constructions of Mary as the primary model of feminine religiosity affected Roman Catholic immigrant women. Such paradoxes include Mary’s perpetual virginity juxtaposed with earthly women’s commitment to family (and the sexual relationship implicit in marriage) and the classist elements inherent in the True Womanhood model related to Mary. The four cardinal virtues of the nineteenth-century American model of True Womanhood—piety, purity, submission, and domesticity—parallel nicely those emphasized in the figure of Mary. For this paper, I shall focus on the virtue of purity particularly as related …

Balancing On The Edge Of Honors: A Meditation, Jeffrey Portnoy

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

In thinking about Larry Andrews’ two recent offerings in JNCHC, his Forum piece featured in this issue and his “At Play on the Fields of Honor(s)” in the last issue, I am struck by a central motif connecting these essays. That motif is not particularly surprising as I reflect on my years of knowing Larry and working with him on the Publications Board. He is smart, witty, hardworking, and humane. His sense of language is sharp and graceful. That he runs the first-rate Honors College at Kent State University is well known throughout the honors universe. In many respects …

Grades, Marks, And Scores, Oh My!, Rosalie Otero

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

My granddaughter, Ema, a kindergartner, came to my house the other day to show me her homework. She proudly pointed to a colorful butterfly sticker that she had received. Naturally, I oohed and aahed at the paper with the requisite big hug. We also found an empty spot on my refrigerator to display her work.
From the very beginning students are constantly assessed and graded according to their performance and the particular standard of the teacher. Some schools use letter grades, others use numbers, and still others use E for excellent, S for satisfactory, and so on.
I read Larry …

Honoring Virginia Tech: Letter From Charles (Jack) Dudley, Charles (Jack) Dudley

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Your cards, letters, emails, and phone calls helped sustain us in the most terrible moments of our lives and for that we are forever in your debt. For the period Monday through today (April 16–25th), we have lived through periods of uncertainty, grief, intense emotions, and a profound sense of loss. We lost thirty-three students, our sense of security, and sense of direction. Your concern, as evidenced by more than two hundred communications, provided islands of comfort in a sea of horror. For your thoughtfulness we say a humble thank you.

Grades, Scores, And Honors Education, Ryan Brown

Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council Online Archive

Awhile ago, I had a conversation with a fellow who was, shall we say, “quantitatively disinclined.” He complained vehemently about the use of numbers and grades as a sorting mechanism in higher education, and, given my affiliation with honors, he decided to focus his attacks in that direction. “It’s all about SATs, ACTs, and GPAs,” he claimed, “but education is so much more than that!” After quickly agreeing with him, I asked him to describe honors without referencing any grade or scoring system at all. Within minutes, he had a beautiful description of honors as a learning environment where a …