Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

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

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Large lecture classes 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; and, while the research literature shows that this is the more traditional way of teaching, increasingly it is becoming apparent that this method of instruction often does not reach students in the way we hope and often assume (Harvard Magazine 2015). Most of the students populating these classes are born of the Digital Age and have different expectations for learning, requiring new approaches in the classroom …

Arab 102: First-Year Arabic Language—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Abla Hasan

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Goals of the class are derived from goals nationally recognized and agreed upon for low intermediate Arabic learners .This systematic consistency with the nationally recognized standards -albeit can be more challenging- insures students' ability to pursue national major programs in Arabic or their ability to compete for national grants, scholarships and study abroad programs. The standers adopted by ACTFL and STARTALK equally consider the linguistic as well as the cultural content of teaching Arabic. These standers known as the five C's are: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Community. The cultural content of learning Arabic is part of the international and …

Adpr 450/850: Public Relations Theory And Strategy—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Ming Wang

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

I decided to join the Peer Review of Teaching program to achieve the following three objectives: to better align course objectives with course content, to improve ways of documenting and assessing student learning, and to fit the course into the broader curriculum.

Participation in the Peer Review of Teaching program has been most illuminating and beneficial. I got to focus on tackling three tangible objectives for my ADPR 450/850 Public Relations Theory and Strategy class. Then I got to apply many ideas introduced in this program, such as backward design principle and assessment methods, in my teaching. I had the …

Msym 109: Physical Principles In Agriculture And Life Sciences—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, David Mabie

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark course portfolio was developed for MSYM 109 - Physical Principles in Agriculture and Life Sciences. The class is a general service course taken by majors as a prerequisite for future coursework along with several other CASNR majors to fulfill their physics course requirement. MSYM 109 is a high enrollment course, with 115 students in lecture, along with four separate 30 person recitation sections. This portfolio was developed to assess the following objectives: 1. Identify, evaluate, and justify the course objectives 2. Assess and evaluate the course pedagogy and assessment methodology 3. Analyze the historical students assessment results against …

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 …

Phys 231: Electric And Electronic Circuits—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Xiaoshan Xu

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

In this portfolio, I employed a backward design teaching approach on the course PHY231 (Electric and Electronic circuit). I first decide the course objectives and choose the teaching strategies and activities emphasizing student engagement and feedbacks. The effectiveness of the teaching strategies and activities are assessed throughout the course; the adjustments are made accordingly. The results are analyzed at the end of the semester. The assessments indicate that the course objectives are fundamentally achieved and the teaching strategies are effective.

The objectives of the course are:

1. Students will reinforce their understanding in electricity and magnetism.
2. Students will learn theory of …

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 …

Teac 315: Teaching Science In The Elementary School—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Krista Adams

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Teaching Science in the Elementary School (TEAC 315) is an upper-division course taken by elementary education majors as a requirement for the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Education. The peer review of teaching project had me identify concerns for teaching the elementary methods course. The concerns I wanted to address focused on eliciting teacher candidate’s views and experiences with teaching science as well as my ability to identify evidence of growth. The first area focuses on my needing to understand if I need to develop more instructional strategies to support teacher candidate growth. This involves both in terms of specific …

Teac 451p: Learning And Teaching Principles And Practices (Secondary Mathematics)—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Lorraine Males

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The goal of my peer review portfolio was to better understand how to improve students' learning of how to teach secondary mathematics in reform-oriented ways. Most students that pursue admission into the Secondary Mathematics Teacher Education Program have little to no experience learning mathematics in reform-oriented ways. These preservice teachers (PSTs) were “successful” in mathematics courses in middle and high school, most of them taking honors or accelerated courses. However, many of these PSTs did not have opportunities to engage as active participants in their own learning and develop complex cognitive skills and processes, the focus of reform-oriented instruction. This …

Role Tension In The Academy: A Philosophical Inquiry Into Faculty Teaching And Research, Nicolas Michaud

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to understand the conjunction of faculty roles as teachers and as researchers. This understanding is pursued through philosophical analysis. Discourse ethics, in particular, is used as a framework by which to best understand the roles played by faculty and if the roles of teacher and researcher are, in fact, commensurable. The purpose of the work is two-fold: 1) to develop a construct that may be used by future researchers to better understand the roles played by faculty, and 2) to suggest a best-construct that enables future researchers to propose how actual lived roles should be instantiated in …

Challenges In Assessing College Students' Conception Of Duality: The Case Of Infinity, Grace Olutayo Babarinsa-Ochiedike

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Interpreting students' views of infinity posits a challenge for researchers due to the dynamic nature of the conception. There is diversity and variation among students' process-object perceptions. The fluctuations between studentsâ?? views however reveal an undeveloped duality conception. This study examined college students' conception of duality in understanding and representing infinity with the intent to design strategies that could guide researchers in categorizing students' views of infinity into different levels.

Data for the study were collected from N=238 college students enrolled in Calculus sequence courses (Pre-Calculus, Calculus I through Calculus III) at one of the southwestern universities in the U.S. …

Health And Stress Symptoms In University Professors And Their Relationship With The Process Of Obtaining A Permanent Position, Irene Concepcion Carrillo-Saucedo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research study used a quantitative, correlational method to examine health and stress symptoms in university professors and their relationship with the process of obtaining a permanent position and participation in a merit pay program. The Stress Profile Inventory (PEN) was used to measure professors’ health habits, social support network, Type A behavior, cognitive hardiness, coping styles and psychological well-being. An original measure with a Likert-type scale was used to measure health status. The questionnaires were distributed to 104 professors from the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ) who provided voluntary participation. Based on the results of the study, certain …

Adapting To A Virtual Learning Environment, Winston H. Maddox

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This participatory action research (PAR) dissertation examines the experiences of five experienced faculty transitioning from teaching in a traditional classroom to a virtual learning environment. The research participants used technology to deliver course material and reflected on the changes in their pedagogical practice. Data were collected using four phased sessions, including the completion of interview questions, individual interview video sessions, and group video sessions and the review of participant video validation postings. Research participants used journaling to reflect on their values, beliefs, assumptions, and experiences associated with teaching and learning. Research participants teaching in virtual learning environments were provided an …

In Defence Of The Lecture, R. Scott Webster

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In response to the lecture format coming under ‘attack’ and being replaced by online materials and smaller tutorials, this paper attempts to offer not only a defence but also to assert that the potential value of the lecture is difficult to replicate through other learning formats. In this paper some of the criticisms against lectures will be challenged, in particular that they are monological and promote a banking concept to learning. To make this argument I shall be drawing upon Freire’s ‘banking concept’ and Vygotsky’s notion of ‘inner speech’ and shall claim that listening is a virtue to be encouraged …

Early Childhood Pre-Service Students’ Transitioning Into Discourses Of Professional Practice, Gloria Quinones, Avis Ridgway

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The focus of this study is to investigate early childhood students’ discourses of play – based curriculum. In this paper we focus on how students made implicit and explicit links to the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). Twenty-six early childhood students had volunteered their de-identified play and pedagogy assignments. We analysed their assignments and selected quotes that focused on their role as educators and related to the VEYLDF. We theorized the concept of conceptual reciprocity as students’ understanding of their role in being sensitive and reciprocal with children and families. Our findings indicated that early childhood pre-service …

Students’ Attitudes Towards Individual Musical Instrument Courses In Music Education Graduate Programs In Turkey, Gülten Cüceoğlu Önder

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Individual Musical Instrument course is a compulsory part of the curriculum, in the Music Education Departments of universities in Turkey. The main purpose of the course is to ensure that each student is able to play a musical instrument and, use the instrument once they become music teachers. This study aims to determine the attitudes of students enrolled in the Music Education Department towards the course within the program. Participants included 334 students studying Music Education at four different Universities in Turkey. The study adopted the “Attitudes towards Individual Musical Instrument Course Scale” (Topoğlu & Erden,2012). No statistically significant …

Preparedness Of Pre-Service Teachers For Inclusive Education In The Solomon Islands, Umesh Sharma, Janine Simi, Chris Forlin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Recent policy changes in the Pacific Islands have seen a strong emphasis on implementing inclusive education. Preparing teachers for this change in education will be essential if they are to have the knowledge, skills and understandings so that they can become inclusive practitioners. Pre-service teacher education will play a critical role in supporting this process. This paper considers the perceptions of pre-service teachers undertaking the first year of the Diploma of Teaching in the one university in the Solomon Islands. This is the only university that prepares teachers to work across the entire archipelago. Data are collected pre and post …

The Relationship Between University Learning Experiences And English Teaching Self-Efficacy: Perspectives Of Five Final-Year Pre-Service English Teachers, Ksenia Filatov, Shane Pill

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

No literature exists on English teaching efficacy or self-efficacy or on pre-service teachers’ English teaching self-efficacy and its relationship to pre-service teacher education. This project addressed this conceptual and methodological gap in current teacher efficacy research literature. Five pre-service English teachers in their final year of double degree Bachelor of Education/Bachelor of Arts teacher education programmes at an Australian university were interviewed about their self-efficacy for specific English teaching skills. Results suggest that the pre-service teachers see a significant relationship between their self-efficacy to teach English and their degree. The data suggests that the relationship between university learning experiences and …

Teacher-Based Scaffolding As A Teacher Professional Development Program In Indonesia, Bujang Rahman, Abdurrahman Abdurrahman, Budi Kadaryanto, Nurlaksana Eko Rusminto

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Improvement of teachers’ content knowledge has long been regarded as a priority in Indonesian school systems, and has been the goal for many teacher professional development programs. In this paper we report the evaluation of a professional development program to improve content knowledge for 147 Indonesian teachers. The teachers were divided into three experimental groups, and each group was treated to one of the three professional development models frequently used in developing countries. The results showed that all three models led to improvement in the teachers’ content knowledge; however, the teacher-based scaffolding model proved to be the most effective. In …