Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Strengthening Graduate Student Teaching Through The Basic Course: Comm 101: Communication In The 21st Century, Allison Ronnau Bonander

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Basic course instruction receives significant attention in relation to pedagogical practices and application. While this examination is very worthy, it often neglects to understand how Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) are trained, taught, and how their learning as teachers is examined. This portfolio examines COMM 101: Communication in the 21st Century, a large lecture basic course with recitations led by GTAs, as a means of understanding how GTAs are trained and taught to meet the “learning objectives” of teaching pedagogy of a basic course. A qualitative analysis of GTA training meetings transcripts as well as emails from GTAs – and select …

Enabling Conceptual Learning To Prepare Students For The New World Of Nutrition Communication, Sabine Zempleni

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

During the last decades, the flow of nutrition information between nutrition professionals and consumer has changed profoundly. Newest scientific findings are freely available from public data bases and often make it prematurely into the media and social media. Therefore, students need to require a precise knowledge of nutrition concepts, be able to explain the concepts to the consumer, and apply those concepts to eating decisions. Many students have not made the transition from memorizing individual facts to conceptual learning. Students will need appropriate learning tools and instructions to help them make this transition successfully. The goal of this Peer Review …

Course Portfolio For Cive 378 Materials Of Construction, Spring 2021, Congrui Grace Jin

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

CIVE 378 Materials of Construction is a required three-credit course for junior students at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Nebraska Lincoln, which is taught every spring semester. Every spring about seventy undergraduate students register CIVE 378, most of whom are junior students and sophomore students majoring in civil engineering. Teaching quality of this course is very important for students’ learning of the fundamentals of construction materials. The aim of this course portfolio is threefold: (1) to demonstrate the intellectual work of teaching taking place inside and outside of the classroom of CIVE 378; (2) to …

Vbms 403: Integrated Principles And Prevention Of Livestock Diseases, Christina L. Topliff

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio documents the teaching objectives, strategies, assessments, and changes implemented for VBMS 403: Integrated Principles and Prevention of Livestock Diseases, an Achievement-Centered Education (ACE) 10 Capstone course taught during the Spring Semester through the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Teaching methods and course activities included traditional lecturing with quizzes and examinations, in-class discussions, short reading assignments, and the generation of a scholarly term paper demonstrating broad knowledge, technical proficiency, information collection, synthesis, interpretation, and presentation. This portfolio documents the qualitative and quantitative methods used to assess the course learning objectives (goals). My …

Czec 361/Hist 361: Czech History And Culture, Hana Waisserova

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The Benchmark Portfolio traces the process of rethinking my interdisciplinary course CZEC 361/HIST 361 “CZECH HISTORY AND CULTURE” taught for the first time in Spring 2021. The primary goal of the course was to provide students with understanding of the cultural history of the Czech(oslovak) and Central European region of the last two centuries. It explores the question of creating cultural history as a narrative to understand how the modern Czech national identity has been constructed since the times of national awakening, via the formation of Czechoslovakia, and in the course of the turbulent 20th century. In addition to main …

Investigating Student Learning Outcomes In Visual Merchandising: A Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio Of Tmfd 314 Textile And Apparel Merchandising And Promotion, Jennifer Johnson Jorgensen

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Students in TMFD 314 learn how to attract consumers to products found in brick-and-mortar stores and online, which leads to heightened sales for brands and retailers. However, based on shifting instruction of the course, it was anticipated that updates were needed. A pre-and post-test was employed to determine how updates should be approached, which helped to determine the students’ perceived level of knowledge on different topic areas. In addition, an investigation of student grades for the first and final project was also assessed to determine areas of possible improvement in the future. Overall, it became clear that a few key …

Measuring Student Success In Jour200a: Fundamentals Of Editing & Reporting I: A Beginning Writing, Editing And Reporting Class, Jessica Fargen Walsh

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

A grammar error or typo on a resume can mean the difference between getting the job or having your resume deleted. Factual errors and inconsistencies can also affect a writer’s credibility. Accuracy, style, word choice and consistency matter for these reasons and more. Journalism students in particular should come to internships, classes and jobs with the skills they need to succeed. The course Jour200A: The Fundamentals of Reporting & Editing I attempts to meet this demand by providing all majors in the College of Journalism and Mass Communications with a strong foundation in editing and writing. This project sought to …

Acct 301: Using Accounting Information — A Peer Review Of Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Jill Trucke

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark course portfolio documents my process to evaluate and improve student learning in ACCT301, Using Accounting Information. This course is designed for non-accounting majors who desire to have a better understanding of different aspects of accounting that goes beyond the introductory financial and managerial accounting courses. It covers income taxes, financial statement analysis and internal controls. I had four objectives for this benchmark portfolio project:

1. To evaluate the quantity and quality of my assessments and course activities to ensure they are in line with the goals that I have for this course.

2. To ensure my goals are …

A Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio — Stat 822: Statistical Methods Ii, Reka Howard

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The peer review of teaching program gave me the opportunity to reflect on my teaching in terms of pedagogical goals and methods for the course Stat 822: Statistical Methods II which is offered to MS level students in the Department of Statistics. Even though the course is part of the list of required courses for MS students in the department, typically about a third of the students are from other departments. The portfolio describes details about how the course fits into the MS program in the Department of Statistics, the context of the course, the learning objectives, expectations from students, …

Course Portfolio For Mech 300: Thermal Systems And Design, Spring 2021, Mohammad Ghashami

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Thermal Systems and Design (MECH 300) is a three-credit course for junior students at the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is taught every fall and spring semester. The usual enrollment in this course is about 40 undergraduate students most of whom are junior or sophomore students from the MME department. This course plays a significant role in completing students’ learning from MECH-200 and linking that to more advanced systems and real-life applications. There are two purposes for this portfolio. The first aim is that this portfolio serves to collect and document the …

Fdst 403/803 – Food Quality Assurance, Byron D. Chaves

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Food Science and Technology (FDST) 403: Food Quality Assurance is an upper level required course for FDST undergraduate majors at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The course covers food safety regulations, food safety management systems, and statistical process control applied to food safety and quality in food manufacturing. This Peer Review of Teaching Portfolio documents the course analysis and reflection for spring 2021. Two mid-semester student course evaluations were performed on March 1 and April 5, the lecture immediately after the midterm exams. Anonymous paper and online surveys were filled out during class time asking students to reflect on the course …

Exploring The Benefits Of Asynchronous Online Learning In Mngt 360: Foundations Of Organizational Behavior, Amy L. Bartels

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This peer review course portfolio describes the shift from in-person teaching to an online, asynchronous format for MNGT 360: Foundations of Organizational Behavior. This course is offered in the Department of Management within the College of Business at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My goal was to embrace the opportunities and tackle the challenges associated with online learning to generate learning opportunities outside the traditional classroom setting while concurrently creating an interactive environment to allow the students to learn from each other. I redesigned the group project to ease the challenges with online group dynamics and communication as well as the …

An In-Depth Review Of Alec 305: Presentation Strategies For Agricultural Audiences, Ruth K. Taylor

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio reviews the class, ALEC 305: Presentation Strategies for Agricultural Audiences. This is junior-level class required for students majoring in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Communication (AESC) and is an elective for students minoring in AESC or in Leadership and Communication. The class was also approved as a required class for the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication (ALEC) major that is anticipated to launch in Fall 2022. As a core requirement for ALEC, the enrollment is anticipated to increase from 25 students to 50 students a year. This class focuses on practical presentations strategies that connect to students’ careers. Learning …

A Hybridized Class Format For Apparel Product Development Ll Studio Course: Tmfd 212 Peer Review Of Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Sandra Starkey

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The benchmark portfolio for TMFD 212, Apparel Product Development ll, provides a broad overview of a studio course in Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design as well as a platform to document and evaluate the transition to a partially on-line hybrid course delivery format. In the past, TMFD 212 had been offered as a studio based in-person course. Due to the University’s restrictions in response to the pandemic, the hybrid format was adopted to accommodate students for classroom participation on one of two scheduled days a week and in response to guidelines for social distancing in the classroom. Three key components …

Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio - Sped 990: Intervention Design Lll, Susan J. Loveall

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio documents the development of SPED 990: Intervention Design III, a doctoral course being taught for the first time in the Spring of 2021 in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. The primary goals motivating my creation of this benchmark portfolio included: 1) deciding what to teach and how to teach it for the course’s first iteration, 2) understanding how this course fits into my department’s broader curriculum and doctoral training program, 3) upon completion of the course, reflecting on what worked and what didn’t to improve the course for future semesters, and 4) continuing my professional …

Fdst205 Food Composition Analysis — A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Mei Lu

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

The purpose of this peer review of the teaching portfolio was to document and evaluate the course activities that are aimed at improving student learning in FDST205 Food Composition Analysis. This FDST205 is unique that it is offered exclusively to the students in the 3+1 International Food Science Dual Degrees Program established between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Northwest Agricultural & Forestry University (NWAFU) in China. Students that enrolled in this course were a cohort of 55 sophomores in the 3+1 Food Science Dual Degrees Program. In spring 2021, the lecture part of FDST205 was offered online synchronously, while …

Peer Review Of Teaching Portfolio: Learning & Motivation (Psyc 368), Jacquelyn Omelian

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This portfolio is a reflection and report on the peer review process undertaken during the Spring 2021 semester at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. The work presented here provides a description of the PSYC 368: Learning and Motivation course as it was delivered in an asynchronous, 14-week format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This large (150 student) lecture-style course is open to any student who has completed Introduction to Psychology and attracts students from across multiple colleges and majors. This portfolio has a particular emphasis on a series of major assignments in the course and how they …

A Benchmark Portfolio Evaluating The Fluency Disorders Components Of Slpa 967: Motor Aspects Of Verbal Communication, Naomi H. Rodgers

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

In Spring 2021, the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders deployed the first iteration of a co-taught course titled “Motor Aspects of Verbal Communication” (SLPA 967). The students enrolled in this course were graduate students working towards a master’s degree in speech-language pathology. Historically, the topics in this course were taught in three standalone courses: fluency disorders, voice disorders, and motor speech disorders. In this newly developed course, the three instructors of those courses combined their expertise to engage students in an integrated course to promote critical thinking and clinical problem-solving. This portfolio documents the teaching and learning that …

Geog 181: Global Environmental Issues – A Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective And Scholarly Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Patrick Bitterman

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark portfolio is an examination of the structure of Global Environmental Issues (GEOG 181) and how the course materials facilitate student learning. The primary goal of this course is to investigate the nature of – and connections among - urgent global environmental issues in the context of geographic concepts and methods. As a large survey course, there are varied assessments that are punctuated with three summative exams. This portfolio assesses the current state of student learning prior to the addition of recitation sections. In doing so, it assesses exam performance over the course of the semester and by student …

Development & Evolution Of A Computer Science I Course, Chris Bourke

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

CSCE 155E is the flagship Computer Science I course in the School of Computing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A high-enrollment course with multiple sections in multiple delivery modes, this course serves as an introduction to problem solving using computers. This course is the first computing course for Computer Science and Computer Engineering majors and is a service course for a variety of other (mostly engineering) majors. The course was redesigned in fall 2018 with the goal of making it more scalable and improving rigor, student outcomes, and the learning experience. Though it has been a slow process, the course …