Education Commons^™

Engaging Fyc Students With Quality Work Design, Candace Deal

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Students learn at deeper levels when engaged with their work; however, engaging students in writing is one of the biggest challenges all composition teachers face. This qualitative study asked Kennesaw State University students to describe the work in English 1101 and English 1102 that they found meaningful and engaging. The data collected was then aligned with research about engaging students in grades K-12 based on the work of Phillip Schlechty. Results from this study reveal that many of the same engagement qualities identified by Schlechty have application in the FYC classroom for engaging students and improving learning.

The History And Future Of Professional Development Schools In Kansas, Debbie K. Mercer, Scott Myers

Educational Considerations

Quality clinical experiences are an integral component of effective teacher preparation programs. Evidence clearly indicates that experiences in classrooms, under the mentorship of effective teachers and mentors, greatly enhance the preservice teacher’s growth and development.

3d Technologies At Brockport. What's Next?, Gregory Toth, Kim Myers, Ken Wierzbowski, Wendy Prince

Kim Myers

Presentation on 3D printing and related technologies made at The College at Brockport's Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT). Provides a broad overview of 3D technologies and applications, describes implementation and initial reception of 3D printing in The College's Drake Memorial Library as well as programs at Cornell University and SUNY New Paltz. Reviews potential applications of these technologies in the teaching/learning environment and expansion to a yearlong Faculty Learning Community focus and/or a campus makerspace.

Allies In Learning: Critical Insights Into The Importance Of Staff-Student Interactions In University Education, Sarah Richardson, Ali Radloff

Ali Radloff

Discussions of the quality of learning in university education often focus on curricula. Less attention is paid to the role of student–staff interactions. In a context in which a host of factors place pressure on the opportunities for students and staff to interact, it is important to use empirical insights to inform decisions about how to optimise learning. This paper uses data from a large survey of students and teaching staff in Australia to suggest that students and staff should be regarded as allies in learning. It investigates student reports to suggest that frequent interactions with those who teach them …

Students Participate In Global Learning Course In Mexico, Sarah Gardner, Dave Albee

Press Releases

The Global Learning program offered Dominican students opportunities to observe and experience Mexican health care from a clinical perspective. It also included lectures five days per week from leading medical researchers in the areas of Public Health, Gerontology, Epidemiology/HIV-AIDS and Rehabilitation

Understanding Student Motivation: A Key To Effective Curriculum Design, Jonathan Stolk

Jonathan Stolk

This chapter explores student motivation as a potential key to the success of today's college curricula. It argues that curriculum designers and instructors could benefit from developing a more nuanced view of motivation - one that extends beyond the labeling of individuals as "motivated" or "unmotivated." Designing curricula that help students develop self-motivation for learning is an achievable goal, but one that involves several steps. First, instructors need to change their thinking about motivation and develop the knowledge to more accurately characterize student motivational responses. Second, instructors need to develop the ability to explain how classroom variables link to specific …

Alumna Engages In Leadershape At Dominican, Sarah Gardner, Dave Albee

Press Releases

Dominican welcomed 51 students from eight Bay Area colleges to the six-day learning curriculum. “To be back to a place that did so much for my growth and my development is so rewarding. It means so much to be back to a place that molded me into the individual I am … It feels good to be home.”

Unlv Libraries: Partners In Student Learning, Melissa Bowles-Terry

Lied Library Open House for the 2014 American Library Association Conference

The University Libraries play a central educational role at UNLV. Librarians offer workshops for faculty on assignment design and research on student learning. The workshops emphasize learning outcomes, active learning, and assessment of student learning. Institutes leverage UNLV Librarians’ expertise with facilitation and information literacy learning outcomes.

Learning Outcomes for Faculty Institutes:

• To understand how research-based learning approaches support student success.
• To articulate goals and learning outcomes for research assignments in order to communicate expectations to students and form the basis for assessment of student work.
• To investigate research-based learning activities that integrate library and information resources.
• To discover technology …

Redefining Pedagogy: Dialogues On Transformative Immersion, Praxis, And Reflection, William H. Robertson, Judith Munter

William H. Robertson

This article examines transformative teaching and learning in higher education today, with a focus on faculty member as change agent. Developed from fourteen months of ongoing, critical dialogue, the article describes and deconstructs faculty members’ lived experiences as scholars-practitioners in three nations and their corresponding roles in institutions of higher learning in the U.S. As multi-culturally situated practitioners, each one describes the role of diverse international/intercultural lived experiences, including Fulbright exchanges, community based research, and service-learning in and with diverse communities. The voice of an emerging scholar, (graduate student) as discussant is interspersed throughout the dialogue, connecting faculty members’ experiences …

Project Using Problem Based Learning, Ita Coghlan

Assessment & Feedback Cases

This is a project which is done in groups and submitted at the end of week 6 of the semester. Approximately 30minutes of each lecture during these 6 weeks is spent working on the project and reporting on the group’s progress and getting feedback and guidance from the lecturer. In addition each week the students in each group agree moderation marks for each other. This discussion develops negotiation skills and ensures that students evaluate theirs and others contribution. These are skills that will benefit them in other modules where there are group assignments. At the end of the assignment a …

Aecn 399: Commodity Market Analysis—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Fabio Mattos

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

I have been teaching for a few years, in different universities and different courses. I have taught large classes (over 100 students) and small classes (approximately 10 students), introductory courses and advanced courses, and in 4-year programs as well as 2-year programs. Although I believe that principles of good teaching can be applied to any course, I feel that teaching methods may need to be adjusted to different courses, different student population and distinct class size. So I welcomed the opportunity to participate in the “2013-2014 Peer Review of Teaching Program” because it gave me a chance to join a …

Ento 403/803: Management Of Horticultural Crop Pests—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Thomas J. Weissling

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

ENTO 403/803, management of horticultural crop pests, is an important class for many students. It is required by undergraduate horticulture majors at UNL, but because it is offered online, it is also of interest to entomology and horticulture graduate students across the U.S. and globally. I chose this class for the peer review process because I find it challenging due to online course delivery, and the breadth of knowledge of students that are enrolled. I feel I need to take this course to a higher level where I can engage students of all backgrounds, and ensure that each of them …

Ento 401: Insect Physiology—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Nicholas Miller

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Insect Physiology (ENTO 401) is a required course for majors in Insect Science. This portfolio documents my efforts to improve the course as I teach it for the second time. My intention was to use the development of a portfolio as a vehicle to modify the course so that the methods I use are better aligned to my overall goals for the course. Consequently, I have produced a portfolio that is directed toward my efforts to develop a more varied approach that improves integrated understanding and scientific thinking and to better document that the development of integrated understanding and scientific …

Metr 341: Synoptic Meteorology—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Inquiry Project, Matthew S. Van Den Broeke

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Synoptic meteorology is foundational to atmospheric science, and it is critical that students strengthen their ability to think critically and independently in this course. Anecdotal evidence from teaching similar courses, and from education literature in the physical sciences, has pointed to the value of problem solving using data from real events. This inquiry project allowed further investigation of optimal instructional methods for this particular course, and led to the qualitative and partially quantified conclusion that hands-on in-class activities seem to support the most significant learning gains. In addition, this project led to the conclusion that a high degree of peer …

Geog 140: Human Geography—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Inquiry Portfolio, Katherine Nashleanas

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Large lecture classes, often of 100 students or more, present unique challenges to both teaching and learning. The common method of “delivery” by instructors is lecture, often augmented by a set of Power Point slides while the research literature shows that this more traditional way of teaching does not reach students in the way we hope and often assume. At the same time, most of the current students populating these classes are born of the Digital Age and have different expectations for learning, requiring new approaches in the classroom. Faculty are exhorted to incorporate more critical thinking in their classes …

Helping Students Gain A Better Understanding Of Writing, Jessica L. Ulmer

Master's Theses, Dissertations, Graduate Research and Major Papers Overview

The primary purpose of this study is to develop a curriculum for first-year writing that can be taught at the two-year college to help students transfer writing skills to courses taken afterwards. The second chapter aims to define what transfer is and identify a few different approaches to teach for transfer, which led to the discovery of the Writing about Writing pedagogy as developed by Douglas Downs and Elizabeth Wardle. This research was influenced heavily by Anne Beaufort’s College Writing and Beyond as well. Following this, the third chapter examines the nature of the two-year college that makes it uniquely …