Education Commons^™

Fireflies At Rpa Natural Area Final Report, Olivia H. Bush, Sydney M. Shea, Sofia J. Gordon, Nick S. Wiebke

Final Reports in ENST 411: Environmental Community Projects

Our group worked alongside community partners Shaunna Barnhart and Jim Dunn during the Spring 2024 semester to assist with their annual event Fireflies at RPA Natural Area. RPA Natural Area is a local park in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania that was recently acquired by Southside Recreational Authority. Since taking over the park, the organization has begun hosting an event each July to educate the general public about firefly biology and conservation by showing a film and guiding attendees through a firefly tour through the park. Our goals for this project included creating physical educational materials to be used at the park …

Comparing Time Allocation For Teaching Science As Inquiry In Two Educator Preparation Science Methods Courses, Lori A. Dira

Faculty Journal Articles

How much time an institution allocates to content can indicate its overall importance and intended value to the educator preparation program. For decades there have been calls to integrate more authentic science inquiry experiences into not only undergraduate elementary science courses, but into all elementary educator preparation courses. Many elementary educators do not receive training on effective methods for teaching science, they will not feel comfortable and will likely have low self-efficacy. This study investigated the amount of time allocated to teaching science as inquiry and the knowledge participants had prior to and after taking an elementary teaching science methods …

Trauma-Informed Practices: A Whole School Policy Framework, Nicole C. Reddig, Janet Vanlone

Faculty Journal Articles

State leaders should take action to ensure that teachers are prepared to address the needs of children who have experienced traumatic events.

Strengthening The Partnership Between Academic And Student Affairs, Jacqueline Cetera, Adrienne Jensen-Doray, Katherine Furlong

Staff Scholarship

Why is this partnership and collaboration so hard? The idea of bridging the gap between academic and student affairs is not a new concept. Working to bridge the gap can help strengthen partnerships and shared responsibilities that contribute to both a student’s academic success and life outside the classroom. By attending this session, individuals will take away tangible ideas to partner and focus on academic and out of the classroom partnerships. Presenters will share findings and best practices from Bucknell University.

Cultivating Collaborative Synergy To Promote Equity, Diversity, Inclusion And Justice In The Psychology Curriculum, Jasmine Mena, Milton A. Fuentes, Jose A. Soto

Faculty Journal Articles

Transforming the psychology curriculum to incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) will necessitate department-wide and coordinated efforts; however, most EDI transformations emphasize changes to individual instructors and courses. Cultivating collaborative synergy to advance EDI transformations will foster and protect the relevance and trustworthiness of psychology and respond to the numerous calls for equity and justice. Collaborative synergy involves forming a community with a common goal, learning from one another, and sharing teaching-related resources. In this paper, we present the EDI Collaborative Curricular Transformation in Psychology (EDI-CCTP) model and discuss the benefits of collaboration amongst psychology departments and programs on EDI …

An Introductory Module In Medical Image Segmentation For Bme Students, Christine Buffinton, Donna Ebenstein, James W. Baish

Faculty Journal Articles

To support recent trends toward the use of patient-specific anatomical models from medical imaging data, we present a learning module for use in the undergraduate BME curriculum that introduces image segmentation, the process of partitioning digital images to isolate specific anatomical features. Five commercially available software packages were evaluated based on their perceived learning curve, ease of use, tools for segmentation and rendering, special tools, and cost: ITK-SNAP, 3D Slicer, OsiriX, Mimics, and Amira. After selecting the package best suited for a stand-alone course module on medical image segmentation, instructional materials were developed that included a general introduction to imaging, …

Successful Post-Covid Theatre Recruitment And Retention Practices, Biliana Stoytcheva-Horissian, Kevork Horissian, Aaron Scully, Shawna Mefferd Kelty

Faculty Conference Papers and Presentations

In the past several years and especially after the COVID-19 outbreak, recruiting and retaining students has become more challenging than ever before. Even before the pandemic, there has been an increased pressure for colleges and universities to be able to demonstrate tangible educational benefits. This has been especially valid for liberal arts institutions and theatre programs since they are considered to be “less practical and useful.” Often students and their parents focus more on securing jobs rather than exploring interests and passions and seem unable to see the connection between theatre education and other careers.

The panel of presenters brings …

Pre-Service Teacher Preparation In Trauma-Informed Pedagogy: A Review Of State Competencies, Nicole C. Reddig, Janet Vanlone

Faculty Journal Articles

Trauma-informed pedagogy recognizes childhood trauma and its influence on students’ behavior, health, and ability to learn. By utilizing trauma- informed pedagogy, teachers can help children who have experienced trauma build resiliency. To determine if pre-service teachers are being trained in trauma-informed pedagogy, a systematic review of state-level teacher competency policies from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. was conducted. These teacher competencies were coded for the presence of elements of trauma-informed pedagogy. The review has shown that five states require teacher training in trauma-informed pedagogy and far more require training in individual elements, including social-emotional learning and cultural responsiveness.

The Promise Of Labor-Based Grading Contracts For The Teaching Of Psychology And Neuroscience, Jasmine Mena, Jennie Stevenson

Faculty Journal Articles

Introduction: Instructors assign grades to communicate to students how well they are learning the course content. However, students and instructors are often displeased with the process and outcome of grading. Statement of the Problem: We contend that conventional grading inadvertently detracts from student learning and simultaneously replicates systems of oppression in academia. We discuss Labor Based Grading Contracts (LBGC) as an alternative to conventional grading. Literature Review: We review the conceptual and empirical literature on LBGCs as an alternative method of assessing student work and extend its application to psychology and neuroscience courses. Teaching Implications: We present recommendations for implementing …

I Know You Are Trying To Help Me, But …”: Complexity In Supporting Immigrant Youth And Communities Through Schooling, Ramona Fruja, Evelyn Baca

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Integrating L1 In L2 Classrooms: The Case Of Arabic As A Foreign Language In Us Universities, Martin Isleem

Faculty Journal Articles

For many years, instructors and scholars of the Arabic language in American high- er education schools have debated two pedagogical questions: (1) whether or not non-standardized Arabic varieties, Spoken Arabic, should be integrated with Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) in the foreign Arabic classroom, and if so, (2) what that integration should look like (see Al-Batal, 2017). One of the prominent claims of those favoring MSA in the classroom is that MSA is the more prestigious language variety and therefore better represents Arabic literature, religious tradition and culture (Ryding, 1995:226) However, in the last two decades there has been an evolving …

Predicting Students' Mathematical Thinking In A Technology-Mediated Environment, Lara Dick, Jennifer Lovett, Allison Mcculloch, Cynthia Edgington, Stephanie Casey

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Helping Student Success And Student Retention, Xiaoyan Liu, Kevork Horissian

Faculty Conference Papers and Presentations

While the idea of predicting student success and student retention is not new, our approach is slightly different. This presentation shares how to aggregate multiple pieces of information to create a holistic picture of first-year retention and student success. We illustrate four stages of this process, which include Aggregation, Inquiry, Results, and Action. Two tools for generating actionable information are demonstrated. The Dashboard of Student Retention includes interactive calculations of retention rates and attrition rates for the last six years. Clearinghouse data are included to show where our students transferred. The Dashboard of Identified At-Risk Students is a tool that …

Two-Way Cultural Transmission In Study-Abroad: U.S. Host Families And Japanese College Students In Short-Term Homestay Programs, Ramona Fruja, Joseph L. Murray, Junko Torii

Faculty Journal Articles

This study addresses a gap in the study-abroad literature, examining both student and host family experiences of two-way cultural transmission. Interviews, participant observation and reflective journals revealed both parties sought authentic cultural experiences, but implicit forms of cultural transmission in homestay rendered preconceived notions of authenticity elusive. This discrepancy held potential for growth in cultural understanding. The authors explore implications for program design and interpretation of outcomes.

Teacher Education And Refugee Students, Ramona Fruja, Kevin Roxas

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

Strategic Planning And Democracy, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Ellen Herman, associate professor of Geology at Bucknell, and two anonymous guests about the strategic planning process underway at Bucknell, 2018-2019. The group discusses the lack of transparency in the identification of priorities and the top-down approach to governance. Guests also identify labor issues and the feeling of being strategically beleaguered by meetings and electronic communication. They express concern over references to sustainability concepts, which are specific only to economic sustainability, and they analyzed the way the strategic plan addresses problems with the Greek system and its impact on student …

When Assessment Is Surveillance, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Steve Jordan, professor of Biology at Bucknell University. The pair discuss administrative decisions on campus that contribute to feelings of powerlessness, of automation, and of surveillance.

Anchoring Number Talks, K. Biro, Lara Dick

Faculty Journal Articles

Number Talks (Parrish, 2010) have become a popular strategy for many teachers interested in establishing a culture of classroom discourse for developing number sense in their mathematics classrooms. Number Talks are traditionally a five- to fifteen-minute classroom discussion that follows a problem that children are asked to solve mentally. According to Berger (2017), when students are engaged in Number Talks, teachers “facilitate discourse among students about their thinking, help students build connections among strategies, and present students with opportunities to put their knowledge into practice as they solve problems” (p. 6). While it is known that Number Talks are a …

The Top 500 Mathematics Pins: Analysis Of Elementary Mathematics Activities On Pinterest, A G. Sawyer, Lara Dick, E J. Shapiro, T A. Wismer

Faculty Journal Articles

A 2017 study found that 87% of elementary teachers reported consulting Pinterest when planning mathematical lessons (Hertel & Wessman-Enzinger, 2017). When searching for resources on Pinterest, preservice teachers identified looking at the number of pins to determine their quality (Sawyer & Meyers, 2018). This leaves teacher educators wondering, what is the quality of materials that preservice and inservice teachers are finding on Pinterest? We conducted a document analysis on the top 500 elementary mathematics pins found on Pinterest to determine what kinds of elementary mathematics materials are available, what mathematics topics are represented, the level of cognitive demand of the …

Preservice Mathematics Teachers’ Professional Noticing Of Students’ Mathematical Thinking With Technology, Jennifer N. Lovett, Lara Dick, Allison W. Mcculloch, Milan F. Sherman

Faculty Contributions to Books

The purpose of this study is to examine the ways in which preservice secondary mathematics teachers (PSMT) professionally notice middle school students’ mathematical thinking on a technology enhanced mathematical task. The middle school students’ work was captured as a videocase for PSMTs to examine. Findings show that every PSMT included a discussion of the middle school students’ interaction with the technology in their noticing prompts, demonstrating that PSMTs recognized that the middle school students’ mathematical understanding was tied to their interactions with the technology. Additionally, results from PSMTs’ justifications for their predictions of middle school students’ responses to the task, …

Movement Rhythms, Motley Knowledges, D. Bret Leraul

Faculty Journal Articles

This article introduces a special issue of LÁPIZ, The Pedagogies of Social Justice Movements in the Americas which contains articles by Bruno Baronnet on the politico-pedagogical practices of the Zapatistas; Vanessa Andreotti on radical education as a practice of collective ontogenesis that subverts the abstract domination of colonial, capitalist modernity; and Lia Barabosa Pinheiro on the sentipensante (feeling-thinking) pedagogies of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), Vía Campesina Internacional, and other struggles. I frame the intervention of the issue as an inquiry into the possibility of an equal encounter between colonial, university knowledges and the knowledges authored by social …

Bridging Distances: Professional Development For Higher Education Faculty Through Technology-Facilitated Lesson Study., Melissa Soto, Dittika Gupta, Lara Dick, Mollie Appelgate

Faculty Journal Articles

Higher education faculty benefit from participating in communities of practice focused on developing and improving their own instruction. However, collaborators with common interests are not always located at the same physical location. In this article, we share how participation in a technology-facilitated lesson study provided the means for five higher education faculty across the U.S. to engage in professional development and evolve into a virtual community of practice. Through the use of synchronous and asynchronous communication technology, we formulated goals, planned a common lesson, conducted research on our students’ learning, and reflected on our own teaching practice. For this paper, …

Decomposing Practice In Teacher Professional Development, Paola Sztjan, Daniel Heck, Kristen Malhazan, Lara Dick

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Sustainability And Carbon Neutrality, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Amanda Wooden, professor of Environmental Studies at Bucknell University and a second anonymous guest. Wooden and Thomson discuss the history and future of sustainability and carbon neutrality on campus. The audio quality is very poor. The anonymous guest discussed the October 31, 2018 Sustainability Forum.

Wokenell Interview, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews a representative of the campus group Wokenell. Thomson and the representative discuss the activities and goals of the group. The representative described what they perceive as cultural factors that result in students feeling marginalized on campus and the lack of campus support in addressing the manifestations of rape culture -- harassment, belittlement, assault, and anxiety. The representative discussed the way this issue intersects with issues which affect students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and other students who are not broadly represented.

Maya Mckeever And Ralph Corbelle Interview, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews two Bucknell students about their experience with and perspective about food insecurity. McKeever and Corbelle describe the challenges of securing food on a limited budget while in a university regulated market.

Rosalie Rodriguez Interview, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Rosalie Rodriguez, Director of Multicultural Student Services. Thomson and Rodriguez discuss the issue of food insecurity on college campuses. Rodriguez discusses the factors which lead to campuses which do not support student dietary needs, as well as the cultural conceptions which contribute to food insecurity. She offered examples of policy and cultural changes that support food security for all students, and she mentioned the launch of a food pantry at Bucknell to support students. Guest Kelsey Hicks, Director of the Women's Resource Center, discussed the disproportionate impact of food insecurity …

People Like Me: Providing Relatable And Realistic Role Models For Underrepresented Minorities In Stem To Increase Their Motivation And Likelihood Of Success, Nir Aish, Philip Asare, Elif Eda Miskioglu

Faculty Conference Papers and Presentations

Despite efforts to increase participation of racial and ethnic minorities (excluding Asians) in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the United States, this group remains underrepresented in these fields. Many efforts to increase minority participation focus on support structures to help this group “get through” the pipeline. However, less attention has been paid to increasing their intrinsic motivation to pursue careers in STEM. Our work is focused on increasing this intrinsic motivation, looking at role models as external influences. Underrepresented minorities are faced with a limited role model pool and in many cases with role models (who we call …

Investigating The Relationship Between Professional Noticing And Specialized Content Knowledge, Lara Dick

Faculty Contributions to Books

Professional noticing of children's mathematical thinking as conceptu­alized by Jacobs et al. (J Res Math Educ 41(2):169-202, 2010) includes attention to and interpretation of children's mathematical thinking, and deciding how to respond instructionally. In order to interpret a child's mathematical thinking, a teacher draws on her or his mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) (Ball et al. in J Teach Educ 59(5):389-407, 2008). This research study focuses on the relationship between elementary preservice interns' development of MKT and their engagement with professionally noticing their students' mathematical thinking through analysis of their students' work samples. An integrated professional noticing and MKT framework …

An Empirical Assessment Of Administration & Planning Activity And Their Impact On The Realization Of Sustainability Related Initiatives And Programs In Higher Education, Elizabeth Semeraro, Neil Boyd

Faculty Journal Articles

Administrators in higher-education settings routinely create planning documents that help steer the organization in mission-centric ways. In the area of sustainability planning, strategic plans, sustainability plans, climate action plans are the most common methods used. However, the academic literature contains relatively few empirical studies that demonstrate the capacity of planning on the realization of sustainability outcomes. The present study was designed to evaluate if specific forms of planning predict sustainability outcomes. This question was evaluated via an empirical archival study of the AASHE STARS database in relation to Planning, Administration, and Governance credits and criteria to determine if specific …