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Toward A Debugging Pedagogy: Helping Students Learn To Get Unstuck With Physical Computing Systems, Colin Hennessy Elliott, Alexandra Gendreau Chakarov, Jeffrey B. Bush, Jessie Nixon, Mimi Recker

Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how a middle school science teacher, new to programming, supports students in learning to debug physical computing systems consisting of programmable sensors and data displays.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study draws on data collected during an inquiry-oriented instructional unit in which students learn to collect, display, and interpret data from their surrounding environment by wiring and programming a physical computing system. Using interaction analysis, we analyzed video recordings of one teacher’s (Gabrielle) pedagogical moves as she supported students in debugging their systems and drew upon a variety of embodied, material, and social …

Faculty Senate Agenda, January 9, 2023, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - November 28, 2022
• University Business
• Information
• Educational Policies Committee - December 1, 2022
• Reports
• Council on Teacher Education Annual Report
• Scholarship Advisory Board Annual Report
• USUSA Annual Report
• Old Business
• Athletic Spending
• New Business
• Divestment Proposal

Educational Policies Committee Agenda, January 5, 2023, Utah State University

Educational Policies Committee

• Approval of Minutes - December 1, 2022
• Subcommittee Reports
• Curriculum Subcommittee (Chad Simon)
• Academic Standards Subcommittee (Renee Galliher)
• General Education Subcommittee (Matt Sanders)
• Other Business
• Adjourn: 4:00 pm

A Case Study Comparing The Life Skills Development And Knowledge In Youth Participants Of Horseless And Traditional Horse Programs In Utah, Haley M. Johnson, Kelsey L. Hall, Benjamin Scow

Applied Sciences, Technology and Education Faculty Publications

This study compared four horseless and seven traditional horse participants from Washington County 4-H in Utah for horse knowledge gained and for the development of 10 life skills from Hendricks's Targeting Life Skills Model: leadership, teamwork, self-responsibility, personal safety, problem-solving, decision-making, critical thinking, goal setting, communication, and concern for others. This study's mixed methods design employed interviews to learn about life skill development and quantitative data from a 20-item horse knowledge quiz and demographic survey. The traditional horse youth showed greater development of leadership, self-responsibility, decision-making, goal setting, and communication than the horseless youth. Roughly half of the participants in …

Dos And Don'ts For Teaching Communicatively, María Luisa Spicer-Escalante

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Publications

The short guide for language instructors offers practical advice on what steps instructors can take to facilitate learning, what behaviors should be avoided, as well as a lesson plan checklist to help instructors put this advice into action.

2023 Report To The Governor And Legislature On Utah's Land, Water & Air, Janet Quinney Lawson Institute For Land, Water & Air

Reports

This report serves as a 2023 snapshot of key issues and concerns with Utah’s shared resources. It highlights gathered data that is available to provide context to these issues, as well as identifies areas where more study is needed. Addressing these challenges will enable Utah policymakers to make informed decisions for the future. Under the authorship of 43 researchers and experts and the general guidance of 49 advisory committee members, the report outlines 32 issues and trends to pay attention to in the coming months and years.

Upep 2023 Overview, Jessica Schad, Elizabeth Brunner

Utah People and Environment Poll (UPEP)

Utah's people and environment are currently experiencing significant changes as the population continues to grow, droughts and flooding pose threats to agriculture, air quality leads to health concerns, energy needs rise, and public lands see increased use. Action is needed to address these changes, especially given how rapidly they are occurring. Political leaders, environmental organizations, Tribal Nations, and universities play a critical role in ensuring Utah’s environment, economy, workforce, and underserved communities have a sustainable path forward. Understanding residents’ views, values, and concerns can help better craft the policy, inform infrastructure, and identify the services needed to do so. With …

Habits Of Mind: Designing Courses For Student Success, Julia M. Gossard, Chris Babits, Jennifer Grewe, Cree Taylor, Doris Mcgonagill, Missy Kofoed, Leonard Henderson, Travis Thurston, Mehmet Soyer, Gonca Soyer, Josie Tollefson, Nichelle Frank, Matthew D. Laplante, Jessie Koltz, Jenifer Evers, Kimberly Hiatt, Kelsey Bushman, Heather Lyman, Sarah Gosney, Melanie Chambers, Sharon Lyman, Antje R. H. Graul, Ayse Sapci, Raymond Veon, Jason Twede, Rachel Robison-Greene, Sarah Tulane, Joyce Kinkead, John Draeger, Jill K. Singer, Ekaterina Arshavskaya, Rachel Turner, Karin Dejonge-Kannan

Habits of Mind

Although content knowledge remains at the heart of college teaching and learning, forward-thinking instructors recognize that we must also provide 21st-century college students with transferable skills (sometimes called portable intellectual abilities) to prepare them for their futures (Vazquez, 2020; Ritchhart, 2015; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013; Hazard, 2012). To “grow their capacity as efficacious thinkers to navigate and thrive in the face of unprecedented change” (Costa et al., 2023), students must learn and improve important study skills and academic dispositions throughout their educational careers. If we do not focus on skills-building in college courses, students will not be prepared for the …

Chapter 1- The Irresponsibility Of Doing Nothing: Using Habits Of Mind To Reduce Dfwi Rates In A Gateway History Course, Chris Babits

Habits of Mind

My first teaching job, which I started in 2007, was as an on-campus boarding schoolteacher near the shores of Long Island Sound. Though my high school students came from affluent backgrounds, few of them had found success in formal learning environments. Some faced learning challenges. Many had been expelled from—or failed at—prestigious private schools because of drug dependency. Somewhere along the way, they had all missed some of the basic strategies needed to succeed academically. Much of my job, then, revolved around teaching these students the skills needed for academic and career success.

Chapter 4- With Sustainability In Mind: Twelve Habits Of Mind For A Successful Learning Experience In The Second-Language Classroom And Beyond, Doris Mcgonagill

Habits of Mind

When Art Costa and Bena Kallick first developed their Habits of Mind framework, they conceived of their approach as a contribution to sustainable and ethical learning. The dedication opening in all four volumes of Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series is explicit about this trajectory: “Native peoples teach that the ultimate norm for morality is the impact our choices have on persons living seven generations from now. If the results appear good for them, then our choices are moral ones; if not, they are immoral. We therefore dedicate Habits of Mind: A Developmental Series to our children, our grandchildren, and …

Chapter 16- If At First You Don't Succeed: Promoting A Growth Mindset By Quelling Student Fear Of Failure, Jason Twede

Habits of Mind

In response to a colleague’s dismay over failing to successfully design their invention, Thomas Edison famously replied that their efforts were not a failure, but an opportunity to learn. Edison said:

I recall that after we had conducted thousands of experiments on a certain project without solving the problem, one of my associates, after we had conducted the crowning experiment and it had proved a failure, expressed discouragement and disgust over our having failed “to find out anything.” I cheerily assured him that we had learned something. For we had learned for a certainty that the thing couldn’t be done …

Chapter 20- Service-Learning And Community-Engaged Projects For International And Domestic Students, Ekaterina Arshavskaya

Habits of Mind

It’s a good idea to help the local community by sharing something from our cultures and support each other as well. It really makes a big difference for all.

An anonymous student comment, spring 2020

Reflecting on my years of teaching, one of my most gratifying and powerful memories as an educator deals with developing a sense of community and belonging in my students. More generally, higher education instructors have come to understand the value of community building and creating a sense of belonging in various areas of our lives and for different populations in diverse teaching contexts (Hoffman et …

Chapter 14- How Instructors Can Help Students Embrace A Growth Mindset: The Importance Of Applying Theory To Practice, Antje R. H. Graul, Ayse Sapci

Habits of Mind

In today’s educational system, it is more important than ever to set students up for success in their future careers and professional development. “I really liked how the classes were more than lectures,” wrote one student in a recent course evaluation. But how can classes be more than “just” lectures? And how can a growth mindset be implemented to prepare students for their future careers? While many courses lend themselves well to teaching applicable skills, instructors assigned to theory-based courses often feel challenged to convey the importance of understanding the theory—or the usefulness of theoretical frameworks—to their students.

Chapter 5- Structure For Success: Incorporating Habits Of Mind Into Online Courses, Missy Kofoed

Habits of Mind

Interest and participation in online courses in higher education has grown significantly over the past decade (Palvia et al., 2018). This growth was further amplified due to the increased online course options offered during the years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System indicates that about 73% of students were enrolled in a distance education course in the fall of 2020 as compared to about 36% in 2019. Even as pandemic restrictions eased, student enrollment in online courses remained high, with 59% of students enrolled in at least one distance education course in the fall …

Red Wolf Multispecies Justice Publication 2023, Eskar, Elizabeth Bennett, Finley Schad, Alex Baldwin, Oluwaseyifunmi Adejugbe, Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed, Maisie Schad, Sadie Braddock, Azra Soyer, Melih Soyer, Anne-Laure Blanche, Zubair Barkat, Amol K, Sarah Ann Woodbury, Kirsten Vinyeta

Publications

Our understanding of multispecies justice is still solidifying. In spring 2023, a group of Utah State University undergraduate and graduate students attended a course by Dr.Kirsten Vinyeta on Multispecies Justice and Indigenous Approaches to the Environment. Throughout this course, we studied the works of scholars and writers from a variety of social locations and identities who challenge Western theoretical frameworks in social science.

This publication celebrates our intellectual struggle with this emerging field and opens a forum for conversations about justice for humans and additional species. This issue features various writings, reflections, and photos from students taking the Multispecies Justice …

Model Predictive Control Switching Strategy For Safe Cluster Formation Flying, Tyson Smith, John Akagi, Greg Droge

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

This paper presents a Model Predictive Control (MPC) based control scheme that is used in conjunction with a sphere polytope boundary constraint and the Hill-Clohessey-Whiltshire (HCW) equations to maintain a desired trajectory of a cluster of spacecraft while also allowing freedom to maneuver within the allowable bounds. The operational polytope boundaries enable the predictive framework of the MPC to be used to make small maneuvers to avoid debris or achieve mission objectives. The boundaries are designed such that no two agents have overlapping regions, allowing the vehicles to execute avoidance strategies without continually maintaining the trajectories of other agents. The …

Model Predictive Control For Formation Flying Based On D’Amico Relative Orbital Elements, Tyson K. Smith, John Akagi, Greg Droge

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The desire to fly small spacecraft close together has been a topic of increasing interest over the past several years. This paper presents the development and analysis of a model predictive control based framework that is used with the D’Amico relative orbital elements (ROEs) to maintain the desired trajectories of a cluster of spacecraft while also allowing freedom to maneuver within some allowable bounds. Switching surfaces based on the ROE constraints contain the full state of the system, allowing for fuel reduction over other approaches that use the Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire equations. The formation and boundary constraints are designed such that no …

Chapter 6- #Digitalpowerups: Creating Safe And Brave Spaces In Online Discussions To Support Student Choice And Voice, Leonard A. Henderson, Travis N. Thurston, Mehmet Soyer, Gonca Soyer, Josie Tollefson

Habits of Mind

When structured effectively, online discussions can create safe and brave spaces (Murphy et al., 2020) for students to engage in meaningful dialogue surrounding traditionally difficult topics, like gender and sexuality. Yet it can be challenging to motivate students to participate in online discussions (Moore, 2021). In this chapter, we show how the #digitalpowerups strategy provides an innovative and effective way for instructors to engage students in higher-order online discussion by developing Habits of Mind skills, such as applying past knowledge to new situations, thinking about your thinking (metacognition), listening and understanding with empathy, thinking interdependently, responding with wonder and awe, …

Chapter 7- Learning Beyond Content: Using Weekly Reflection To Promote Student Confidence And Lifelong Learning, Nichelle Frank

Habits of Mind

During an intake survey in my introductory-level history courses, my students select from a series of answers to respond to the question, “What do YOU believe are the goals of a college-level history class (select ALL that apply)?” The possible answers are “teach information about people, places, and events in the past,” “teach critical thinking skills,” “practice oral communication,” “practice written communication,” “memorize lists of dates and facts,” and “expose students to diverse points of view.” I have used this question as part of a pre-course assessment since fall 2021. The top three answers, which 70% (or more) of the …

Chapter 8- Making Asynchronous Online Discussions Meaningful: An Introduction To The Pioneer Method With Robust Scaffolding, Matthew D. Laplante

Habits of Mind

The students in my graduate cohort were motivated. Most were teachers with years of experience. Some had won national awards. Several were experts on working with at-risk learners. These were people who knew how to learn. Yet we were all struggling with our online classes.

Chapter 10- Mindful Teaching, Leadership, And Reflection Practices, Jessie Koltz

Habits of Mind

Feeling confident and excelling personally or professionally may come off as a challenge for educators and students who do not have stress-reducing skills to fall back on. Negative academic or professional stress could then have effects on many aspects of an individual’s life, such as mental health, substance use, sleep, physical health, lackluster achievement in academics and/or personal success, and even school dropout or professional burnout (Proctor, Guttman-Lapin, & Kendrick-Dunn, 2020). How can we engage our students in pedagogical practices focused on how to support mindfulness-based learning, leadership strategies, and reflection practices within higher education settings? How can educators integrate …

Chapter 12- Weaving Purposeful Worlds Of Discovery: Merging Cliftonstrengths® With Habits Of Mind For Low-Income, First-Generation Students, Kimberly Hiatt, Kelsey Bushman, Heather Lyman, Sarah Gosney

Habits of Mind

Utah State University (USU) Blanding is a non-tribal institution with close to 70% of its student population originating from the Navajo Nation, Dinétah. Located 388 miles southeast of the main campus in Logan, Utah, USU Blanding serves a population of students living in geographically remote areas, including the largest Native American–populated region in the United States. This vast territory—encompassing some 13,300 square miles, which exceeds the combined area of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and Rhode Island—is classified as “frontier.” With a population density of 2.0 persons per square mile and a poverty rate of 33% (as compared to the …

Chapter 19- "I See Research Questions Everywhere": Developing Metacognitive Skills In An English-Major Research Methods Course, Joyce Kinkead, John Draeger, Jill K. Singer

Habits of Mind

How many ways can sticky notes—branded as Post-it Notes and introduced in 1980 by 3M—be used by college students? According to the undergraduate who investigated this topic, 31. In the report she produced as a result of a study conducted in English 3470: Approaches to Research in English Studies, the researcher found that “many stationery products have died with advancements in technology, but the Post-it Note has thrived and continues to play a role in productivity in the workplace, continuing at the top of the supply list” (Eralie, 2019). To come to this magic number of 31, Megan conducted a …

Introduction And References, Julia M. Gossard, Chris Babits

Habits of Mind

Although content knowledge remains at the heart of college teaching and learning, forward-thinking instructors recognize that we must also provide 21st-century college students with transferable skills (sometimes called portable intellectual abilities) to prepare them for their futures (Vazquez, 2020; Ritchhart, 2015; Venezia & Jaeger, 2013; Hazard, 2012). To “grow their capacity as efficacious thinkers to navigate and thrive in the face of unprecedented change” (Costa et al., 2023), students must learn and improve important study skills and academic dispositions throughout their educational careers. If we do not focus on skills-building in college courses, students will not be prepared for the …

Examining Spaces For Integrating Physics And Computing Through Classroom Inquiry, Colby Tofel-Grehl, Kristin Searle, Douglas Ball, Soojeong Jeong

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

As computing becomes an essential component of professional practice across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, integration of computing across content areas in K-12 classrooms is also becoming important. Particularly within science classrooms, computer science and computational thinking (CS/CT) are novel and necessary skills for modeling, working with data, and other foundational science skills. Finding ways to engage students in practicing and learning CT within authentic science learning is challenging for most teachers. In this article, the authors report on one teacher’s efforts to engage high school students in maker-based physics education, integrating computational thinking by designing and building …

On-Boarding Experienced Teachers In A New School, Emma Mecham, Joseph Kozlowski, Felicia Messervy, Cami Player, Joel Lopez, Laura Reina, Nathan Justis

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Each year school administrators find themselves in the position of hiring new teachers and onboarding them to the unique expectations and context of the school. Such work most often happens while these new teachers are actively doing the work of teaching, with few contracted hours of training available. Limited research has focused on the experience of onboarding for teachers who are experienced in the field, but new to a particular school. Recognizing this challenge, this team of researchers and participants set out to examine the flow of information in one school for four teachers in their first year of teaching …

Seas The Day! By Supporting Non-Traditional Students In Distance Teacher Preparation, Kristen R. Rolf

Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling Faculty Publications

The persistent shortage of special education teachers, as well as increased demand for distance education, has led to an increase in online teacher preparation programs (Bonk et al., 2006; McLeskey et al., 2004; Rosenberg et al., 2007). Students who enroll in online distance teacher preparation programs tend to be non-traditional; they often work, have family responsibilities, and are older than traditional students (Childre, 2014). The Online Practical Teacher Training (OPTT) program is an online teacher preparation program resulting in a bachelor's degree and licensure in special education. In this presentation, I describe OPTT, discuss strategies for supporting …

Chapter 3- Improving The General Education Experience Through Equitable And Inclusive Pedagogical Practices, Cree Phillips Taylor

Habits of Mind

General education courses sometimes have the reputation among students of being obstacles to overcome, wastes of time, and a squander of tuition. In my opinion, student dislike of general education courses is fueled by two factors: 1) students’ misunderstanding of the purpose of general education and 2) general education instructors designing courses with a gatekeeping mentality. Traditionally, general education courses have served as the gatekeepers of the university experience by—intentionally or unintentionally—funneling out students who “don’t belong” through poor course design. Racially minoritized students, women, and first-generation college students are disproportionately affected by the gatekeeping mentality of general education instructors.

Chapter 2- Preparing Students With Habits Of Mind For The First Day Of Class, Jennifer Grewe

Habits of Mind

Students often come to university with preconceived but in many cases inaccurate notions of what the university experience is like. They have been told that they need to go to college to get a good job; that their professors do not care about how they do; and that they are now on their own. This can be an overwhelming perspective to have when starting a new chapter in life. College students, including those who may not have experienced even minor academic failures to this point in their lives, are particularly impacted by this mentality. It should come as no surprise, …

Chapter 15- Leap And The Net Will Appear: Risk-Taking And Creative Flexibility In The Face Of The Unknown, Raymond Veon

Habits of Mind

Risk-taking is a leap into a space that has not been mapped. Who knows where or how you will land? Consider the following:

• A student completes a portrait drawing, then cuts it into strips and weaves it into another drawing. The result is an intricate yet beautiful image that addresses the complexity of identity that viewers can reassemble in multiple ways, beyond the control of the artist. The art student had never attempted such a work before.
• A wall of torn-out book pages that are pinned and collaged together. Most of the words on the pages are redacted by marker, …