Digital Commons Network^™

Techniques Adopted In Teaching Students Organic Chemistry Course For Several Years, Wati Sukmawati

Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan IPA

Organic chemistry is a compulsory course for both science and science education students. Therefore a proper course design is needed to ease the understanding of the concepts considered difficult in terms of learning activities, application of technology, and innovation in the curriculum structure. Various studies have been carried out to solve problems in organic chemistry courses, with the majority focused on concept mastery due to students' difficulty. Furthermore, their thinking skills need to be improved after graduating from the university in accordance with the 21^st century, which is associated with the application of technology and curriculum modification. The results …

Curricular Changes Proposed For 2021-2023 Morris Catalog Division Of Education And Division Of Social Sciences, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

Developing A Common Language Of Ethical Engagement In Teaching: Lessons For And From A Time Of Crisis, Richard D. Sawyer

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article explores how educators may develop and contribute to a common language of ethical engagement, a language that rises above specific actions but is grounded in ethical practice and scholarship. Questions are raised about how online education may further the patterns educational inequities in the United States. An ethics framework is explored through a comparison. The author explores the educational principles--not standards—that educators can surface in their teaching practice. A discussion is included of recent dilemmas and problems with online teaching environments, underscoring the need for ethical principles helping to frame practice.

Does The Mathematics Level Affect Student Success In High School Physics?, Kassandra Surma

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

The research question addressed in this study was: does the mathematics class level affect student success in high school physics? Topics explored in the literature review include the context of science course sequencing, the history of physics education in the United States, the disconnect between mathematics and physics in education, the mindsets of parents, students, and teachers about mathematics and science curriculum, and educational policies that affect state standards for curriculum, and graduation. Participants’ previous mathematics class level and success in their high school physics course were studied to find any correlation. To accomplish this, participants’ previous mathematics course and …

The Importance Of Social And Emotional Learning In The Classroom, Kayla Bilotta

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Life changes on a daily basis and that includes the lives of students in the classrooms. Many students seem to be struggling with social and emotional skills that help them be successful in learning and in life. I created this capstone with the purpose of learning how the implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) can benefit and impact students, with an end focus on students at the elementary school level. I created a professional development presentation for elementary educators that provided the same information I collected during my research stage. My project also includes an example of ten free-standing …

Inquiry-Based Learning And Growth Mindset In Third Grade Mathematics, Katherine Klein

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

The research question investigated in this project was: How can inquiry-based learning in Elementary mathematics help create a growth mindset? The negative experiences with learning and teaching mathematics led her to research teaching strategies to help students and teachers have a growth mindset in the math classroom. The research showed how inquiry-based learning can be successful in math classrooms, and have an impact on student’s math mindsets. It also showed that teachers have an impact on students' growth versus fixed mindsets, therefore it is important to teach in ways that help students have a positive relationship with math. The author …

Writing In The Math Classroom In Order To Increase The Academic Proficiency In English Language Learners, Daniel Bahnaman

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

learners. These students specifically struggle with mathematics, as it relies heavily on specific academic language that is constantly being scaffolded. Research has shown that writing in the mathematics classroom can assist English language learners develop academic vocabulary and therefore increase proficiency. This capstone project focuses on the research question: How can writing in the math classroom increase the academic language and proficiency in a classroom of 80% English language learners? The project gives an introduction into implementing writing in the middle school math classroom by providing a one-week introduction to journaling, a two-week eighth-grade curriculum with added writing pieces, and …

Climate Literacy: Designing A Syllabus For A Graduate Level Climate Literacy Foundations Course, Jana Graczyk

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Climate change is a large and multifaceted topic, connected to science, social studies, economics, politics, and more. It cannot simply be approached through one single lens. Climate literacy acknowledges the interdisciplinary nature of climate change by addressing the scientific process of climate change, the human influence on climate, and the influence of climate on society as well as helping develop pro-environmental behaviors. The syllabus designed for this project focuses on teaching climate literacy to graduate-level students. The approach is based on research about general academic motivation, as well as motivation for pro-environmental behavior. The course involves building strong relationships, creating …

Curricular Changes Proposed For 2021-2023 Morris Catalog Division Of Science And Mathematics, Curriculum Committee

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

The Necessity Of Foreign Language Curriculum Revision, Mukhamadavas Irisqulov Associate Professor

Philology Matters

The article deals with the effect of the curriculum objectives on the most important factors to meet the language learning goals. Implementing the goals of the curriculum, teachers will have opportunities to share successful classroom activities, guide the trainers, obtain good knowledge of the language theory and practice, maintain high expectation in the classrooms, encourage students, motivate them, foresee the ways to overcome setbacks. The overall aim of curriculum is - to improve the effective communicative competence in different life situations. The article presents a practical overview of the different activities for developing an effective national language program. Both teachers …

2020-2021 Ursinus College Course Catalogue, Office Of The Registrar

Ursinus College Catalogues, 1869-Present

A digital copy of the 2020-2021 Ursinus College Catalog. It contains details of the curriculum, departmental requirements and courses of instruction as well as the Open Questions core requirements, experiential learning and the Common Intellectual Experience (CIE). Academic policies, special opportunities and scholarships, off-campus programs and graduation requirements are also outlined.

The Case For Coordinating Efforts To Establish Program Guidelines And Strengthen Physiology Undergraduate Degree Programs, Erica A. Wehrwein, Lisa C. Anderson, Anne R. Crecelius, Claudia I. Stanescu, James M. Poteracki, John R. Halliwill, Nancy M. Aguilar-Roca, Jennifer Rogers

Health and Sport Science Faculty Publications

Undergraduate degree programs named “Physiology” have existed for over 50 yr. The number of programs and enrolled students have been growing since ~2005 (5, 9). There are many thousands of students currently enrolled in physiology pro- grams across the United States and indeed across the world. Despite the long history and current popularity of the physiol- ogy major, there is no coordinated plan articulated for the design, administration, or assessment of degree programs in physiology at the undergraduate level.

Although several professional societies have invested in under- graduate physiology education in various ways, none has under- taken the task of …

A Community Of Learning In An Elementary School Mathematics Classroom, Megan Louise Roeder

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The goal of this study was to investigate opportunities for cultivating a community of learning in an elementary school mathematics classroom using four guiding principles for productive disciplinary engagement. A community of learning involves teachers and students participating equally in negotiating, sharing, and producing knowledge as co-learners, coteachers, and co-collaborators in the classroom. Characteristics of a community of learning align with effective teaching and learning practices described by national governing bodies and researchers in the field of mathematics education. The essence of a community of learning is beneficial in an elementary mathematics classroom because it invokes deep learning about disciplinary …

Stem Crisis Teaching: Curriculum Design With E-Learning Tools, Sonya E. Van Nuland, Elissa Hall, Natalie R. Langley

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing protocols have accelerated the shift to online teaching across the globe. In Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs this means a shift from face-to-face laboratory instruction to self-directed learning with e-learning tools. Unfortunately, selecting and integrating an e-learning tool into a curriculum can be daunting. This article highlights key questions and practical suggestions instructors should consider in choosing the most effective option for their course and learners.

Flipped Ophthalmology Classroom: A Better Way To Teach Medical Students, Ryan J. Diel, Armin Avdic, Pavlina S. Kemp

Journal of Academic Ophthalmology

Abstract

Objective While medical education has generally progressed, advancements in ophthalmic education have been minimal. The flipped classroom technique is a research-supported approach to adult learning that encourages active participation. The effectiveness of widely implementing the flipped classroom modality in ophthalmology had not been studied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a flipped classroom, primary care-focused curriculum for medical students in their ophthalmology clerkship.

Methods The ophthalmology clerkship curriculum was changed from a traditional, diagnosis-focused, lecture-based system to a chief complaint-based, flipped classroom structure. The study was performed over a 3-year period from 2016 (full traditional lecture-based system) …

Making The Language Of Secondary Math Classrooms More Comprehensible For English Learners, Anna Olivia Zieske

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Zieske, A. Making the Language of Secondary Math Classrooms More Comprehensible for English Learners (2020) English Learners (ELs) typically score lower than native English speakers on standardized tests in mathematics partially because many math teachers are not equipped to provide language scaffolds for ELs in mainstream math classes. This project is a supplemental curriculum covering the topic of linear equations and graphing lines that can be used in any mainstream algebra 1 class. It is aligned with the 2007 Minnesota Academic Standards for Mathematics. The project consists of eight activities, both teacher and student versions, that provide language supports for …

A Framework For Pre-Laboratory Instructional Design To Support Student Inquiry In High School Chemistry, Naomi Golden

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

High school chemistry laboratory experiments offer a context-rich environment for learning chemistry. However, the complexity of the lab environment can also complicate the learning experience. This capstone explores the question: How can a pre-laboratory instructional framework help high school chemistry students independently design experiment procedures in order to transform inquiry experiments into an effective tool for content learning? The literature review explores how four instructional approaches (science writing heuristic, writing-to-learn strategies, pre-laboratory instruction, and demonstrations) impact learning outcomes. Using that research as a foundation, the capstone proposes an instructional framework utilizing a teacher-led demonstration to engage prior knowledge and teach …

Improving Writing Skills Through The Use Of Morning Work In The Second-Grade Classroom, Catherine Nelson-Dittmann

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

In an effort to impact second-grade student writing, the vehicle of morning work was utilized as a pre-existing opportunity to incorporate research-based best practices in writing. To frame this project, the capstone question was asked, “How can morning work be used to improve second-grade student writing skills?” This capstone set out to identify the practices that would yield the best results in a small amount of time and found that authentic, contextual writing experiences would support this goal. While explicit skill instruction is important, authentic writing experiences allow students to, not only practice writing, but also understand and use grammar, …

Play-Based Curriculum During Literacy Instruction In Kindergarten, Kayla Mertes

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

Research has shown that play-based learning can be beneficial on students' academic and social growth when incorporated into a classroom. The curriculum designed for this project is designed using Wiggins and McTighe’s Understanding By Design framework (UbD) to create a play-based learning curriculum for literacy instruction in a kindergarten classroom. Research has shown that when incorporating play-based learning in a classroom environment it is developmentally appropriate for students. This project is a week long made up of 5 individual literacy lessons that are play-based and can be used in a kindergarten classroom. The goal of this project is to give …

Benefits Of Using Play-Based Learning In A Kindergarten Classroom, Courtney Kjoberg

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This capstone project titled, Benefits of Using Play-Based Learning in a Kindergarten Classroom, covers research from Vygotsky, Montessori, and Gardner, as well as a comparison of learning in kindergarten aged classrooms around the world. Research from several theorists and other countries have shown that play-based learning is a developmentally appropriate way to teach the academic standards to kindergarten students. Different models of learning, child-initiated and teacher directed, are examined. Benefits for students, who were engaged in this type of learning, were found in the areas of reading, math, and social-emotional. A play-based, teacher-directed, multiple intelligences curriculum was developed to help …

Implementing Student-Centered Learning Strategies For Multilingual Learners Through A Social Justice Lens, Erik Reynolds

School of Education and Leadership Student Capstone Projects

This project answers the question, How can we create an equitable student-centered environment through project and problem based learning? The research focuses on student centered learning, specifically project and problem based instruction, while creating an equitable learning environment, along with supporting learnings through differentiated instruction. The project creates a curriculum for a 7th grade Social Studies unit of study of the Foundations of Systems of Power in the United States from 1787 - 1800. Application of this curriculum is a tool that teachers can use to create a safe and equitable learning environment for all of their students.

Visualizing Interdisciplinary Collaborations Within Exercise Science: A Pilot Study, Elizabeth Bjornsen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Exercise science is a growing field with sub-disciplines exploring various aspects of physical activity. Diverse perspectives allow the field to answer complex research questions, but little is known about the collaborative nature of exercise science today. Research practices have implications on undergraduate curriculum, likely incorporating experiential knowledge into course subject matter and providing diverse experiences for students entering the workforce. Therefore, the purpose of the pilot study is to visualize and quantify interdisciplinary collaborations within exercise science. Journal citation analysis and an adaptation of social networking theory were utilized to examine collaborative practices of exercise science faculty at the University …

Are We Producing Society-Ready Foresters? A Quantitative Content Analysis Of Graduate-Level Forestry Curriculum, Jacqueline Meyer

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Forestry education in the United States has been hailed for its ability to provide students with the scientific and technical skills needed for a career in forestry as much as it has been criticized for ignoring social dimensions of the discipline. Its inability to adapt curriculum to the increasingly multidisciplinary nature of the forestry profession has led to stagnant or decreasing enrollment and lack of student diversity in recent years. While forestry education and curriculum has been thoroughly analyzed at the undergraduate level, no such analysis exists for graduate curriculum. This study analyzes the course content of 40 graduate-level forestry …

A Musically Embedded Curriculum For Rural Elementary Schools, Rachael Marie Dubay

Masters Theses

Rural school districts across the nation have been at a crossroads for decades. The amount of funding and resources provided to these small towns is often meager and falls short to provide the schools and students with the proper education, teacher training, curriculum, building maintenance, and other necessary educational materials. School officials and board members in these areas across the nation each year have had to make the hard decisions of what to prioritize and what will have to fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, cuts in budgetary and educational reform have regularly faced music education programs and it has become …

Learning To Survive: Wicked Problem Education For The Anthropocene Age, William J. F. Keenan

Journal of Global Education and Research

This article addresses major lacunae in higher education from the standpoint of Anthropocenic survival. Wicked problems transcend national, cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Eco-survival, international migration, destabilized global markets, shifts in the balance of strategic power, population pressures, cultural imperialism, post-secular quests for meaning-in-life, ambivalence of bio-scientific progress, to name a selection, are global. The case is put that features of a postmodern orientation to the academic curriculum—transdisciplinarity, transnationalism, wicked problem engagement—are better equipped to meet the fuzzy knowledge interests of tomorrow’s world than traditional mono-disciplinary curricula. However, both subject-based and transdisciplinary approaches can coexist with profit in the education …

From Degree To Chief Information Security Officer (Ciso): A Framework For Consideration, Wendi M. Kappers, Martha Nanette Harrell,

Publications

Educational entities are establishing program degree content designed to ensure cybersecurity and information security assurance skills are adequate and efficient for preparing students to be successful in this very important field. Many Master’s level programs include courses that address these skills in an attempt to provide a well-rounded program of study. However, undergraduates who are in the practitioner’s world have other alternatives to gain these skills. These individuals can gain various certifications, such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). Due to a perceived gap between academics and field knowledge, it appears …

Revision Of Introductory Chemistry Lab Curriculum To Incorporate Inquiry-Based Experiments To Enhance Student Learning, Christian Santos

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The Chemistry Department at BSU is restructuring its curriculum to integrate and scaffold research into the four-year curriculum as part of a CUR-NSF grant. The overall goal of this Honors Thesis was to contribute to the Introductory Chemistry laboratory (CHEM 141L) curriculum development by selecting experiments that move away from traditional “cookbook” laboratory experiments to inquiry-based labs to better engage students and maximize their learning. Three skills identified by chemistry faculty as essential for the restructured CHEM 141L are: preparation of solutions; use of standard curves in quantitative analysis; and graphical analysis of data using Excel. The specific goals of …

Effects Of Participation In The Summit Learning Platform By Gender On Student Academic Achievement, Taryn Enjoli Echols

College of Education Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the effects by gender of the Summit Learning Platform on student achievement in mathematics, English, reading, and Science measured by the ACT Aspire Summative Assessment for ninth-grade students in four schools in Arkansas. This study provides an in-depth study of mastery learning versus personalized learning through the Summit Learning Platform. The theoretical framework is centered on the comparisons of the mastery mode of learning. Schools A and D participated in the Summit Learning Platform for 2 years. Schools B and C did not participate in the personalized learning platform. Scores from 120 …

Critical Thinking In Curriculum: Designing An Instrument To Measure Identified Features, Claire Gershon

Honors Theses

Critical thinking is an increasingly important skill in our society and should be cultivated through education. Therefore, the curricula used in our schools should support students in developing critical thinking skills. This study aims to understand what aspects of curricula promote critical thinking, how to measure it, and whether or not current curricula meet these standards. After reviewing the literature, elements of curricula were identified as beneficial in promoting critical thinking. In teacher curricula materials, these are educative features such as identifying misconceptions, explanations of how to use formative assessment, and explanations of pedagogy. In student curricula materials, these educative …

A High School Curriculum That Will Help Prepare Students For A Life Outside Of Academics, Kaitlyn Witt

Honors Projects

Current high school curriculums are detailed to push students towards a college education. However, the curriculum does not prepare students for a life outside of academics. After creating a survey, the results showed that individuals that have completed their high school education do not feel prepared to enter the adult world. The individuals that took the survey responded that they did not feel comfortable managing their finances or cooking a meal on their own. In order to help prepare students for a life outside of the education, individuals in charge of creating a curriculum need to make revisions. After conducting …