Education Commons^™

Learn Languages, Explore Cultures, Transform Lives, Aleidine Kramer Moeller

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

Selected Papers from the 2015 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

Aleidine J. Moeller, Editor

1. Creating a Culture-driven Classroom One Activity at a Time — Sharon Wilkinson, Patricia Calkins, & Tracy Dinesen

2. The Flipped German Classroom — Theresa R. Bell

3. Engaging Learners in Culturally Authentic Virtual Interactions —Diane Ceo-Francesco

4. Jouney to Global Competence: Learning Languages, Exploring Cultures, Transforming Lives — J. S. Orozco-Domoe

5. Strangers in a Strange Land: Perceptions of Culture in a First-year French Class — Rebecca L. Chism

6. 21st Century World Language Classrooms: Technology to Support Cultural Competence — …

Leadership And Its Ripple Effect On Research, Aleidine Kramer Moeller, Sheri Hurlbut

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

In this chapter we would like to address the impact visionary leadership can have on a field of research. Through forward-looking ideas and projects, an organizational leader’s influence on those who test, research, and inquire into issues that build and deepen the knowledge base in second language acquisition and foreign language education is illustrated through an innovative professional development program that was developed during Helene Zimmer-Loew’s tenure as executive director of the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG). The ripple effect of progressive leadership that inspires others to contribute actively to the well-being of a profession, or an organization, …

Ncssfl-Actfl Can-Do Statements: An Effective Tool For Improving Language Learning Within And Outside The Classroom, Aleidine Kramer Moeller, Fei Yu

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

This article explores the theoretical foundation of the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, developed by the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), describes why and how to use these progress indicators in language education and reveals the value and impact on student learning when effectively integrated in the language classroom. These Can-Do statements serve as learning targets to document what learners “can do” with languages and can provide teachers and language programs with learning objectives for curriculum and unit design that are user-friendly, learner-centered and promote reflection and self-regulation …

Going To A Home You’Ve Never Been To: The Return Migration Of Mexican And American-Mexican Children, Víctor Zúñiga, Edmund T. Hamann

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

The paper has two goals. The first is to present the main quantitative findings drawn from four surveys we conducted in Nuevo León (2004, n=14,473), Zacatecas (2005, n=11,258), Puebla (2009, n=18,829) and Jalisco (2010, n=11,479) using representative samples of children aged 7 to 16. We classified children in the following categories: (a) children who are returnees (who were born in Mexico), (b) international migrant children (born in the U.S.), and (c) mononational Mexicans. Among the second group, we distinguish children who had school experiences in the U.S. and those younger transnationals who came to Mexico before enrolling in school. The …

Education Policy Implementation In The New Latino Diaspora, Jennifer Stacy, Edmund T. Hamann, Enrique G. Murillo Jr.

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

Villages, towns, and cities throughout the United States, including the 41 states of the New Latino Diaspora (NLD), continue to host/receive heterogeneous populations of Latinos who transform the physical and cultural landscape in ways that require social institutions, like schools and universities, to respond. Increasingly, this transformation includes newcomer parents starting families. Thirty-three percent of the U.S. Hispanic population is age 18 or younger, while that age profile is true of slightly below 20% of non-Hispanic Whites (Pew Hispanic Center, 2012). While voter rolls and retirement community residents may remain much Whiter than the U.S. population as a whole for …

Skirting Around Critical Feminist Rationales For Teaching Women In Social Studies, Mardi Schmeichel

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

Feminist practices can provide firm theoretical grounding for the kind of social studies that scholars promote, especially in relation to efforts to include women in the curriculum. However, in P–12 social studies education, neither women nor feminism receive much attention. The study described in this article was a discourse analysis of 16 recently published lesson plans that did include women. Through this examination of the rationales and language used to promote teaching about women, the author sheds light on some discursive obstacles inhibiting attention to gender issues in critical feminist ways and argues that by shifting norms in the field, …

Motivating Reluctant Writers: A Cumulative Research Project Aimed To Improve Student Motivation And Writing Outcomes, Ashley R. Turner

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

No abstract provided.

Learning Biology Through Innovative Curricula: A Comparison Of Game- And Nongame-Based Approaches, Troy D. Sadler, William L. Romine, Deepika Menon, Richard E. Ferdig, Leonard Annetta

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

This study explored student learning in the context of innovative biotechnology curricula and the effects of gaming as a central element of the learning experience. The quasi-experimentally designed study compared learning outcomes between two curricular approaches: one built around a computer-based game and the other built around a narrative case. The research questions addressed student learning of basic biological principles, development of interest in learning science, and how a game-based approach compared to a nongame-based approach in terms of supporting learning. The study employed a pre-post design with 1,888 high school students nested within the classes of 36 biology teachers. …

Critical Discourse Analysis: Definition, Approaches, Relation To Pragmatics, Critique, And Trends, Linda R. Waugh, Theresa Catalano, Khaled Al Masaeed, Tom Hong Do, Paul G. Renigar

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

This chapter introduces the transdisciplinary research movement of critical discourse analysis (CDA) beginning with its definition and recent examples of CDA work. In addition, approaches to CDA such as the dialectical relational (Fairclough), sociocognitive (van Dijk), discourse historical (Wodak), social actors (van Leeuwen), and the Foucauldian dispositive analysis (Jager and Maier) are outlined, as well as the complex relation of CDA to pragmatics. Next, the chapter provides a brief mention of the extensive critique of CDA, the creation of critical discourse studies (CDS), and new trends in CDA, including positive discourse analysis (PDA), CDA with multimodality, CDA and cognitive linguistics, …

“An Interesting Time In My Childhood”: Thinking About Storied Experience To Understand Complexities Of Curriculum Making And Diversity, Elaine Chan

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

This paper highlights ways in which examining the storied experience of students may enhance our understanding of the complexities of curriculum making and diversity. Teachers, administrators, and other members of a diverse urban school implemented curriculum, practices, and policies that suggested a commitment to acknowledging the home cultures, languages, and religions that students brought to school. Examination of one Chinese student’s “stories of experience” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990), however, revealed nuances and unexpected complexities of balancing integration into mainstream peer groups in school while growing up in an immigrant home. The nuances highlight ways in which schooling may contribute to …

Early Contexts Of Learning: Family And Community Socialization During Infancy And Toddlerhood, Carolyn P. Edwards, Lixin Ren, Jill Brown

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The contexts of early learning and socialization are diverse and complex but not without some predictability. The tension between predictability and variation fascinates researchers interested in childhood and culture and motivates careful exploration of different developmental niches to better understand socialization during infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood. Contexts of early socialization vary in the people and activities present, and the beliefs and norms of caregivers and daily companions. The chapter utilizes anthropological constructs (household structure and composition, settlement patterns and subsistence level, mothers’ workload, gender division of labor, intimacy levels between husbands and wives, and cultural roles and norms pertaining …

Pathways Of Influence: Chinese Parents’ Expectations, Parenting Styles, And Child Social Competence., Lixin Ren, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examines relations among parental expectations for children’s development of social-emotional skills, parenting styles, and child social competence. A total of 154 parents with preschool-aged children from mainland China completed questionnaires measuring their timing of expectations for children’s mastery of social-emotional skills, values placed on social-emotional skills, parenting styles, and child social competence. Parenting styles were found to mediate the effects of parental expectations on child social competence. Parents with earlier expectations reported higher levels of authoritative parenting,which in turn related to better parent-reported child social competence. Parents who placed more values on social-emotional skills were more likely to …

What Is Equity? Ways Of Seeing, Christa Jackson, Cynthia Taylor, Kelley Buchheister

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Prospective teachers must be prepared for their role in providing equitable access for learning high quality mathematics. Therefore, it is imperative that mathematics teacher educators provide opportunities to develop an equity-centered orientation in teacher preparation courses. In this study, we begin to address this issue by identifying what prospective teachers attend to in a classroom vignette of an African American male student who is above grade level in mathematics and exhibits disruptive behavior during instruction. The results of the study indicate that while participants are beginning to attend to cultural influences, most responses are focused on classroom management strategies

Fors 401: Forensic Biochemistry—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Inquiry Portfolio, Ashley Hall

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Students who participate in active and experiential learning activities develop a better understanding of basic scientific principles and are also more likely to be retained in a STEM discipline. Developing such activities, however, can be difficult. In the present study, we sought to develop classroom activities to engage university students and increase understanding of the theory and practice of forensic science. One common accessory amongst the target audience was the ever-present media, both social and popular (entertainment). In fact, a majority of students report watching at least one of the many popular forensic science shows on TV. Therefore, we hypothesized …

Span 202: Intermediate Spanish Ii (Focus On Literature & Culture)—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Kelly Kingsbury Brunetto

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

During Spring 2015 I undertook a curricular revision of UNL's fourth-semester Spanish course (SPAN202) with the objective of improving the materials to help the course better achieve its stated goal of moving students "away from knowledge about the language and expertise in using isolated skills into a practical and fluid use of the language in which [they] synthesize [their] isolated skills." As it existed at the time, in theory SPAN202 focuses on synthesis and helping students negotiate higher levels of discourse, but in practice it tended to get bogged down in a comprehensive grammar review. In reality, some grammar topics …

Edps 859: Statistical Methods—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Matthew S. Fritz

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The key goal of creating this benchmark teaching portfolio is identifying what my course objectives for EDPS 859 really are and to revise my current course materials, activities, and evaluations to emphasize what I consider to be important in the class in order to better meet the course objectives. I would like this portfolio to serve primarily as a way for me to identify and address issues with my particular section of EDPS 859. The secondary purpose of this portfolio is to provide information regarding the purpose and placement of EDPS 859 as a service course within CEHS and the …

Teac 921b: Seminar In Literacy Studies (Special Topics: Schooling And The Multilingual Mind)—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Theresa Catalano

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio will document the creation and implementation of a new doctoral seminar in my department. This introductory course to multilingualism and schooling (TEAC 921B) will cover topics related to teaching and learning in the multilingual classroom. The key goals for creating this portfolio are to aid me in creating this new doctoral seminar that reflects and builds on departmental goals for graduate students. In particular I would like to document and address the implementation of two new activities to my teaching ; a language study/journal, and the creation of a documentary film. I foresee using this course portfolio as …

Naeop Judging Sheets For Unopa Website And Unopa Notes

UNOPA Documents and Publications

No abstract provided.

We The Students: Surveying Spaces And Envisioning The Future, Tatiana Cody, Rachael Poe

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

To apprehend the panoply of spaces that house honors on a national scale requires input from administrators and faculty. Nevertheless, one of the most important and often overlooked perspectives is that of honors students themselves. Admittedly, students are transient. After four or five years, most complete their undergraduate degrees, leaving their campuses, clubs, and honors programs behind after graduation. Despite their relatively brief time on campus, however, no one has more firsthand experience concerning housing honors students than honors students themselves, and some current honors students will certainly become honors administrators and faculty in the future. In the fall of …

“In An Old Nave’S Grime”: The Spencer Honors House, Rusty Rushton

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The University Honors Program (UHP) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), its 200 or so students, and its four full-time staff members (Director, Associate Director, Program Coordinator, and Program Manager), all have the good fortune to call home a beautiful old church on the south side of UAB and Birmingham. The Spencer Honors House is where the UHP holds its classes and conducts its business and where the program’s students convene for the myriad reasons honors students convene: committee meetings, late-night study sessions, general recreation especially of the pool and ping pong sort, hanging out, or spending private …

Higher Education: Opinions And Participation Among Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans: 2015 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Rural Futures Institute: Publications

Includes

Executive Summary

Introduction

Education or Training Taken

Participation in Education or Training Activities during Past Two Years

Types of Education or Training Taken in Past Two Years

Satisfaction with Types of Education or Training

Satisfaction with Types of Education or Training

Opinions about Education

2015 Acuta/Nacubo/Acuho-1 Report

ACUTA: Other Publications

In This Issue

Introduction

Methodology

Executive Summary

Findings

Bandwidth Management

Wireless Coverage and Capacity

ResNet Service and Support

Planning and Measurement

Funding and Technology Costs

Outsourcing

Nice White Men Or Social Justice Allies?: Using Critical Race Theory To Examine How White Male Faculty And Administrators Engage In Ally Work, Lori D. Patton, Stephanie Bondi

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Numerous scholars have offered definitions and perspectives for White people to be or become social justice allies. The purpose of this study was to examine the complicated realities that social justice allies in higher education face when working on campus. Using a critical interpretivist approach grounded in critical race theory, the authors interpret participants constructions of allies and ally work and draw larger implications for these constructions and their capacity to disrupt and uphold systems of oppression and injustice. In examining the experiences of White male faculty and administrators who shared how they constructed and made meaning of the complexities …

The Scope And Design Of Structured Group Learning Experiences At Community Colleges, Deryl K. Hatch, E. Michael Bohlig

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This study explores through descriptive analysis the similarities of structured group learning experiences such as first-year seminars, learning communities, orientation, success courses, and accelerated developmental education programs, in terms of their design features and implementation at community colleges. The study takes as its conceptual starting point the hypothesis put forth by Hatch and Bohlig (2013) that such cohort- or group-structured programs designed to equip students with skills, knowledge, and support networks for successful college-going, and which often go by different names, may be in fact better characterized as variations or instances of a more general type of program due to …

Sense Of Belonging In International Students: Making The Case Against Integration To Us Institutions Of Higher Education, Christina W. Yao

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

International student mobility is at an all-time high in recent years, with the United States (US) as the top destination of choice (Institute of International Education 2015). In 2014-2015, the US welcomed 974,926 students at institutions of higher education (Institute of International Education 2015). In that year alone, student mobility to the US increased by 10 percent over the prior year, which is a significant rate of growth. All signs indicate the trend of international student mobility to the US will not abate in upcoming years.

As a result of high student mobility, many US institutions are concerned with how …

Encouraging Faculty Attendance At Professional Development Events, Dakin Burdick, Tim Doherty, Naomi Schoenfeld

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

For faculty development events to have the greatest impact on campus practice, faculty developers need to attract and include as many faculty members as possible at their events. This article describes the testing of a checklist regarding faculty attendance at professional development events through a survey of 238 faculty members at small colleges in the United States. The results demonstrate the influence of social relationships upon faculty attendance at teaching and learning events, the difficulties of scheduling such events, and motivational differences between full-time and adjunct faculty. The use of food as a motivator for attendance is also appraised. The …

A View From The Margins: Situating Ctl Staff In Organizational Development, Emily O. Gravett, Lindsay Bernhagen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The authors explore assumptions that underlie work on organizational development in their field, which reveal hierarchical and homogenizing tendencies, despite commitments to inclusivity. Given that the aim of recent literature, such as Schroeder and Associates’ Coming in from the Margins, is to situate educational developers in relation to organizational development, and given the field’s values, then both staff and directors must be considered. The authors examine how the margins can be valuable sites of knowledge production, highlighting the ways staff might contribute to organizational development. The authors hope that readers will gain several ideas for how to incorporate staff into …

A Teaching Conference Of One’S Own: Inviting Faculty Into The Scholarly Work Of Teaching, Julie Sievers

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This essay examines the value of creating a peer-reviewed conference on teaching at one’s own campus. A conference created by faculty and for faculty is an effective way to address several challenges faced by many teaching centers, especially the challenge of involving a wide range of faculty in scholarly approaches to teaching. I cite experience and data from my center’s work in this area over the past six years and contextualize it amidst the literature on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Flipping The Mindset: Reframing Fear And Failure To Catalyze Development, Diane E. Boyd, Josie Baudier, Traci Stromie

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Despite the attempts to target success and predisposition to taking risks to promote innovation, sometimes educational developers encounter moments where they fail to meet expectations set forth—by their institutions, colleagues, or themselves. Attempts to avoid potential failures can stymie the creative process, preventing them from meeting difficult challenges. What can be done to catalyze useful responses to failure when events and interactions do not go according to plan? Most researchers suggest reflecting on the failure in order to grow. To assist, a field tested reflective process (the IDeAS process) that helps flip the approach to failure and move toward the …

Teaching Renewal For Midcareer Faculty: Attending To The Whole Person, Catherine Ross

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In light of the research on the distinct needs of mid-career faculty and the pressures faced by this group in the academy, we offer here an example of an educational development effort that looks at the renewal of teaching through the lens of renewing the whole person in his/her academic roles.Opportunities for mid-career faculty to focus on renewal in a holistic way are few, so this model, The Graylyn Teaching Renewal Retreat, was designed and developed as an annual opportunity for faculty from diverse institutions and disciplines.