Digital Commons Network^™

August 27, 2024 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Defining Evolution: Exploring Students’ Conceptions Of Evolution In Introductory Biology Courses, Jeremy L. Hsu, Meredith A. Dorner, Kate M. Hill

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Background

Understanding evolution is an important part of undergraduate biology education. Despite its importance, however, students often struggle to understand evolution, often holding preconceived notions of what evolution is. Here, we investigate how students in both majors and non-majors introductory biology define and conceive of evolution at the start of the semester for a two-year college and a four-year university near each other. We analyze open-ended responses to an in-class activity on the first day of the semester that asked students to define evolution, generating insight into how students are thinking of evolution prior to any formal instruction on evolution …

Finding Common (Moral) Ground In Critical Service Learning: Promoting Balance And Civil Discourse Through Moral Foundations Theory, James Morgan Lewing

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Critical approaches to service learning courses may not innately maximize student engagement, civil discourse, and the confrontation of stereotypes. The purpose of this article is to propose the utilization of Moral Foundations Theory as a complimentary framework for service learning courses seeking to critically analyze systems and policies. Recommendations for practice and future research are included.

Graduate And Undergraduate Student Development As A Result Of Participation In A Grief Education Service Learning Course, Laura S. Wheat, Arden Szepe, Nathan B. West, Melinda M. Gibbons

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Limited research exists on the role service learning can play in helping students understand loss and grief. Through semi-structured interviews with students and instructors, online surveys, and course feedback, this qualitative case study examined the experiences of 15 university students in an outreach course working with grieving K-12 students. Students self-reported gaining greater intra- and interpersonal understanding and grief processing self-efficacy. Instructors emphasized intentionality and the intertwined nature of course experiences influencing meaning making.

Pursuing Reciprocity In Engaged Scholarship Partnerships Using Community Sustainability Certification Programs, Elyzabeth W. Engle, Michele W. Halsell

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of sustainability certification programs at the local, state, and national level to highlight the use of policies, programs, and infrastructure to achieve sustainable development outcomes within communities. In this paper, we use examples from Penn State’s Sustainable Communities Collaborative to demonstrate how institutions with community-engaged scholarship programs can use these certification programs to enhance program operation and reciprocity by identifying projects, engaging new disciplines, and improving relevance.

Social And Cognitive Outcomes Of Service Learning: Results From A Pre-Post And Control Group Comparison, Rebecca G. Ryan

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Students in an undergraduate course opted to either complete a service-learning project or write article summary papers over the course of a semester. Analyses revealed a significant increase in aspects of empathy, social responsibility, and community and personal involvement in the service-learning group, but not in the control group. The findings are discussed in terms of the social and cognitive benefits of service learning and considerations for incorporating service learning into a gerontology-related course.

Service Learning For The Port Jefferson History And Nature Center: Senior Capstone Forestry Course, David L. Kulhavy, Daniel Unger, Ryan Grisham, Gary Endlsey

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

A community partnership between the Collins Academy, Jefferson, Texas, and the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, developed a plan to manage the 38-acre Port Jefferson History and Nature Center, located on Big Cypress Bayou. Students used knowledge of the resources, GPS (global positioning systems), ArcGIS 10.4, presentations, and posters to complete the project. The reflection and feedback with the community partners continued throughout the project and as guidance for future work. This partnership instilled in participating students the value of incorporating service learning into development of professional relationships for continued cooperation …

Enhancing Learning, Changing The World: How Service-Learning Influences The Brain, Tracey Honeycutt Sigler, Kristi Lewis Tyran

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Service-learning helps students learn about course concepts through applying them in a setting outside the classroom. The experiences provided by service-learning create conditions that can lead to changes in the learner’s brain. In this paper, we provide support for this assertion from research in brain-based learning with suggestions of how to explicitly apply concepts from these areas of study to service-learning pedagogy so that we might increase learning.

Maintaining Engaged Scholarship In Challenging Times: Experiences Working With Veteran Medical Providers In Greater Los Angeles, Angela Chalé, Elizabeth Avila, Yvette Avila, Christina Chalé

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

This paper describes the challenges experienced in a study premised on scholarly engagement that consisted of a partnership between the nutritional science program and medical providers at the Veterans Administration, Greater Los Angeles, following allegations of systemic misconduct in the delivery of health care by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Since the VHA is a primary provider of medical training in the United States, we were interested in obtaining their opinion about and knowledge of vitamin D nutriture in relation to cognitive and physical functioning. We were unable to overcome challenges that undermined collaboration and propose incentivization, partnering with grounded …

Faculty Feel It Too: The Emotions Of Teaching Through Service‐Learning, Carrie W. Lecrom, Lynn Pelco, Jill W. Lassiter

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

The authors used Coles’ (1993) framework of emotional satisfactions and hazards to examine the experiences of faculty members teaching service-learning classes for the first time. Seven faculty from two institutions completed monthly reflections and focus groups for one year. Qualitative analysis indicated that faculty experienced several of Coles’ emotional satisfactions and hazards, were prone to emotional contagion, and depended on colleague mentoring to navigate the experiences of using service-learning pedagogy for the first time.

Use Of Improvement Science To Build The Instructional Capacity Of Faculty In A Community College, Marianne Yohannan

Theses and Dissertations

Up to 78% of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students experience poor academic achievement as defined by course grades of D, F and W in college. Students entering these fields are often not prepared (Chen & Soldner, 2013) and struggle to succeed in gateway STEM courses, with one-third of them possibly failing (Freeman et al., 2011). The success rates are lower among first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented minoritized groups (Doerschuk et al., 2016). At Tri-County Technical College, 30-40% of introductory biology students are unsuccessful and receive low grades (Institutional Research, n.d.). Low academic achievement has a huge impact on our …

Therapy Use And Self-Stigma Of Seeking Help Among College Students Of Color, Rawle David Sookwah Ragoonath

Theses and Dissertations

Amidst rapid diversification of higher education student bodies, discrepancies in help-seeking relative to endorsed psychological distress have been noted among college students of color. The treatment utilization disparity exhibited by minoritized racial and ethnic groups attending college necessitates analysis of factors that impact help-seeking. Colleges have increasingly implemented multi-systemic interventions to address rising mental illness prevalence rates across college student demographics. Addressing treatment use disparities and implementing culturally competent services are foci of updated college mental health models. Empowering help-seeking is vital to promoting campus community health. Saint Arnault’s (2009) cultural determinants of help-seeking model (CDHS) posits the interplay of …

Exploring School Of Education Faculty Emotion, Attitudes, And Experiences Related To Student Mental Health, Jesse Mossholder

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

Student mental health concerns among adolescents and young adults are continuing to rise (Reis et al., 2023, Ashoorian, 2018; Burns et al., 2017; Davies et al., 2016). The purpose of the present study was to explore teacher preparation faculty perceptions of student mental health concerns. The author adapted Stine Ekorne’s (2016) Perceived Competence Scale to score each participant's perceived competence, responsibility, and emotions related to addressing student mental health concerns. The 27-item Qualtrics questionnaire was distributed to faculty and academic staff in the School of Education at a midwestern public university. Participants were recruited through email. Participants included tenured and …

The Current - Volume 35 Issue 1 (Including Special Section On Sports), Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study Of First-Year Christian Student Success In Theological Studies During The Pandemic, Philip Lamar Nash

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the journeys of first-year undergraduate theological students during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to figure out what, if anything, aided the students in completing their coursework with passing grades. COVID-19 has impacted organizations and individuals around the world, prompting changes to ensure that things kept moving forward safely. The research was conducted to discover what, if anything, brought about achievement for students in a COVID-19 collegiate environment. The research was guided through a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative approach by conducting interviews with students about their first year in a residential secondary educational setting that moved to being online because …

August 9, 2024 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Syllabus: Workplace Motivation, Alice M. Brawley Newlin

Open Syllabus Collection

This syllabus is for an upper-level undergraduate class in workplace motivation that utilizes a combination of open, free, and library-licensed material. The course is designed to provide students with a “toolbox” of work motivation theories to critically select from and use well. This open syllabus also includes an annotated reading list with stable links to materials and availability notes.

2024 Annual Report Of The Nominating Committee, University Of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate.

Documents - Faculty Senate

University Nominating Committee report including committee memberships, produced by the Faculty Senate of the University of Northern Iowa.

Bearing The Woken Bear: Kazakhstani Educators Making Sense Of The Russian Invasion In Ukraine And Its Consequences For Internationalization Of Higher Education In Kazakhstan

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

University Of Central Florida Undergraduate Catalog, 2024 - 2025, University Of Central Florida

UCF Catalogs

No abstract provided.

The Game Is The Game: Othermothering And Hbcu Student Affairs Job Burnout: A Quantitative Study, Adolphus A. Mcdonald Iii

All Dissertations

This study investigated the use of othermothering as a relationship building approach in student affairs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and its association with job burnout outcomes in HBCU student affairs professionals. Job burnout outcomes affect job turnover intention decisions (Michaels & Spector, 1982); therefore, this quantitative study investigated whether othermothering and additional demographic factors were a root cause to job burnout and job turnover intention among HBCU SAPs. The review of literature provides knowledge on the foundation of othermothering which began as a term to describe Black slave women caring for children displaced and separated due to …

Exploring Equity In Introductory Biology Genetics Education, Sandy G. Phillips-Long

All Dissertations

The dissertation “Exploring Equity in Introductory Biology Genetics Education” delved into the critical examination of equity within undergraduate genetics education. Chapter One outlined the background, significance, research framework, and manuscripts included in this study. Chapter Two was a scoping review that provided an overview of the current pedagogical approaches in undergraduate genetics education. It identified six active learning pedagogies: Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE); group work; case-based learning; inquiry-based learning; Virtual Reality (VR); and Consider, Read, Elucidate the hypothesis, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment (CREATE). Chapter Three was a systematic literature review investigating pedagogical …

Lab To Leadership: How Do Women College Stem Students’ Classroom Experiences Inform Their Leader Identity Development?, Meredith Mcdevitt

All Dissertations

This dissertation is an exploration of leader identity development and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college academic classrooms. While there continues to be research promoting diversity in STEM professions, women remain underrepresented in STEM disciplines, leadership positions, and for this specific study, the college academic classroom. This dissertation represents an opportunity for women in STEM college students to reflect on their experiences in STEM academic spaces and communities, while self-exploring factors that shape their leader identity development. The research utilized a basic qualitative research design to understand the participant’s authentic experiences within the academic environment. Conducting semi-structured …

No Longer Unseen Or Unheard: Exploring The Connectedness Of Campus Climate With Multiracial Students’ Experiences At Historically White Institutions In The United States, Christian Barrientos

All Dissertations

This qualitative research study will illustrate the link(s) between Multiracial students and their perceptions of campus climate at historically White institutions and how that impacts their sense of belonging. Existing bodies of literature and research have focused more extensively on monoracial students of color than Multiracial students. As a result, there is a formidable gap in the literature about how Multiracial students navigate their racial identity at historically White institutions and how multiracial students perceive campus climate based on their experienced sense of belonging. The use of Kellogg and Liddell (2012) will serve as a guide for this research study. …

Antiracism In Higher Education: An Integrated Psychological Perspective, Rhea E. Nesbitt

Dissertations, 2020-current

Antiracism is a complicated and important term with prominent, influential voices claiming that systemic equity and the reconfiguration of white identity are the central solutions to eradicating American racism. Within the profound sociocultural effects of the existing antiracist rhetoric, there is vagueness, conflict, and incoherence. Language serves as a fundamental aspect of human experience, facilitating individual meaning-making and comprehension. Effective communication hinges on the ability to articulate subjective experiences and justifications clearly, a challenge evident in discussions surrounding antiracism. Despite advocating for antiracism as crucial and unending work, scholars recognize significant hurdles, including unclear responsibilities for implementation and entrenched structures …

Stem Students’ International Mobility In Kazakhstan In The Context Of The Russia-Ukraine War Conflict

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

Special Issue

2024 August, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for August of 2024.

July 30, 2024 Ereporter, University Of Alabama At Birmingham

eReporter (campus newsletter)

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Reasoning: What’S Math Got To Do With It?, Pamela Burdman

Numeracy

This keynote address explores the history and role of college math requirements with a focus on ensuring math courses serve to expand students’ horizons, rather than serve as gatekeepers. It discusses the advent of general education math courses, which brought more students into math departments, which ultimately contributed to broadening the scope of the courses to align with more students’ interests and majors, since their purpose was to advance quantitative reasoning, not mathematics skill per se. It also examines several practices to address calculus’ gatekeeping role: revising placement practices and prerequisites, redesigning courses, and updating instruction and assessment practices. Lastly, …

(Arise) Achievements In Research, Inquiry And Scholarship Exhibition 2024, Office Of Undergraduate Research

(ARISE) Achievements in Research, Inquiry and Scholarship Exhibition

No abstract provided.