Education Commons^™

Table Of Contents And Introduction, Peter Dorhout

Seek

Table of Contents and an Introductory message from Vice President for Research Peter Dorhout for the Seek Magazine Fall 2017 issue.

Michelle Ann Abate And Gwen Athene Tarbox. Graphic Novels For Children And Young Adults. Up Of Mississippi, 2017., Carlos G. Kelly

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Michelle Ann Abate and Gwen Athene Tarbox. Graphic Novels for Children and Young Adults. UP of Mississippi, 2017.

Craig Hill. Teaching Comics Through Multiple Lenses: Critical Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2017., Jacinta Yanders

Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature

Review of Craig Hill. Teaching Comics Through Multiple Lenses: Critical Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2017.

Meaningful Reviews: Reframing Evaluation To Yield Positive Change, Sharon Decker

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This session will focus on how to reframe the culture of evaluation in order to encourage active and engaged faculty participation. The discussion will center on objectives, forms, and outcomes in order to create a process that will ultimately improve pedagogical techniques and philosophies.

Positive Academic Leadership: Stop Putting Out Fires; Start Making A Difference, Jeff Buller

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

A highly interactive workshop on strategies that can help chairs move towards positive outcomes in even the most negative of situations, making their leadership more effective, effortless, and enjoyable.

2.0 Academic Management: "Disruptive Innovation" For The 21st Century, Don Chu

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This workshop will focus on assisting educational leaders to re-imagine academic departments and how they are managed in the 21st Century. Re-imagining the academic department will strengthen them as the foundation upon which college and university change may be built. Led by the chair and the faculty-administrative leadership team, departments will be primarily responsible to set and reach their goals, as well as manage their own resources and professional development. Themes that will be discussed include curriculum development, course schedules, student services, personnel and ‘political’ issues, department resources and more.

Department Leadership In Action: Enhancing Your Leadership And Academic Team, Dr. Walter H. Gmelch

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

This workshop will explore four key leadership questions: what is an academic leader and why should you serve; how to develop as a leader; how long is long enough to serve; and what legacy will you leave? Participants will develop strategies for effectively developing your team through shared leadership, consensual decision-making, constructive conflict, collegiality and more. The workshop also includes a discussion of exploring the “road less traveled,” managing transitions to and from academic leadership.

Above & Beyond: Celebrating Outstanding Employees And Undergraduate Research, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

K-State Libraries recognizes outstanding employee contributions and undergraduate scholarship.

Editorial Introduction, Suzanne Porath

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

At the heart of action research and teacher inquiry is a deep desire to improve one’s practice. This issue of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research highlights educators at a variety of levels reflecting on their work, asking hard questions, examining data, drawing conclusions, and making improvements to their practice.

A Teacher's Inquiry Into Bringing In Biliteracy In A Fifth-Grade English-Only Classroom, Stephanie Lynn Abraham

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This teacher inquiry project explored how I, a non-Spanish speaking teacher at the time, implemented critical, bilingual pedagogies to foster biliteracy development among my fifth-grade students. One, the project showed that students could further their biliteracy by incorporating their funds of knowledge through a family stories writing project. Two, many students were anxious about reading in Spanish, and dual poetry alleviated this due to its compactness and linguistic scaffolding. Finally, the project showed the continual issues of unequal power relations concerning bilingualism and biliteracy in US classrooms by showing how I failed to include languages other than Spanish in this …

An Action Research Project By Teacher Candidates And Their Instructor Into Using Math Inquiry: Learning About Relations Between Theory And Practice, Paul Betts, Michelle Mclarty, Krysta Dickson

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This paper reports on what two teacher candidates and their instructor learned from an action research project into the use of inquiry to teach mathematics. We use a model of the relation between theory and practice in teacher education to interpret what we learned about inquiry. This model describes three modes for teacher candidates to learn about teaching: (1) applying theory to practice; (2) interpreting theory and practice, and (3) building/refining personal, practical and professional theories. We learned to (1) apply the 4D-Cycle Model of inquiry, (2) interpret what it means for inquiry to be flexible, and (3) build a …

Self-Reflections On Differentiation: Understanding How We Teach In Higher Education, Nykela Jackson, Lesley Evans

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Teachers are called to accommodate the individualized learning needs of a wide range of students. To support prospective and current teachers with this challenge, it is imperative to help them not only understand the theory of differentiated instruction, but how to implement it into practice. Building upon past research in the realm of higher education, this study sought to identify the past teaching experiences and expectations of two former K-12 teachers that formed the philosophy and practices that they bring to teacher preparation courses. Framed by interview questions used in past research with faculty, the two researchers self-reflected on their …

Fifth Graders’ Interpretations Of The Red Tree, Diane Barone, Rebecca Barone

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Fifth graders responded to a video of a picturebook, The Red Tree by Shaun Tan. They had not experienced explicit instruction in visual literacy and their responses served as a foundation for basic understanding of their analysis. We learned that they focused on four major areas: emotional aspects; visual qualities, summaries of the story; and a text focus. They understood the character’s emotions and were able to interpret many of Tan’s images.

Reflective Written Pieces: Inquiry Into The Practices Of Pre-Service Literacy Teachers, Janet Mcintosh

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

The purpose of this action research project was to explore whether a reflective writing strategy, developed and used with pre-service teachers in a literacy methods course, assisted them with integrating theory and practice. The teacher educator analyzed the written reflective pieces and determined common categories. Study findings revealed some themes: meeting student needs, classroom strategies, field link experiences, personal student experiences, and growth statements. Pre-service teachers explored what their current knowledge was and how it had changed through the time spent reading and writing in the course; imbedded within the reflection pieces were references to practicum experiences with students in …

Puzzling Pieces And Spiders' Webs: A Narrative About My Personal Journey To Teaching, Stephanie Burns

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

I wrote the following paper upon completing my semester as a Student Teacher at an elementary school in a mid-size Midwestern university town. The goal in writing and presenting this paper was to select a focus area of growth throughout my time in the education program, considering how I’ve developed, what I’ve learned and where I hope to go as I continue forward on my journey of teaching and learning.

Redefining Teaching Itself: A Book Review Of The Reflective Educator's Guide To Classroom Research 3rd Edition., Suzanne Porath

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

The journey metaphor is a typical representation of teacher research and the authors of The Reflective Educator’s Guide to Classroom Research evoke the metaphor, with images of paths, maps and compasses, because it visibly represents the feeling of starting an action research project. The authors make a point to favor the term “inquiry” over “research” to negate the typical associations with the term research.

Engaging Secondary Students In Collaborative Action-Oriented Inquiry: Challenges And Opportunities, J. Spencer Clark

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

I recently helped facilitate a collaborative problem-based inquiry project with eighty-three secondary students. The students attended a large high school situated in a medium size town, surrounded by farmland and smaller rural towns. Demographically, nearly half of the students identified as Latina/o, while the slight majority of the students were White. The two groups of students also identified with the two dominant religious communities in the area: Catholic and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The students were all seniors in an advanced American Government course.

Contents And Editorial Information For Kansas State University Libraries, Issue 5, Summer 2017, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries Magazine gives friends, funders, students, and alumni an inside look at library successes, stories, and collections.

In this issue, learn about K-State Libraries history, the 150th anniversary of KSAC’s first graduating class, the Textbook Affordability Project, and more.

Then & Now: A Look At K-State Libraries’ Evolution, 1863-2017, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

Happy birthday! In 2017, Farrell Library turns 90 and Hale Library turns 20— along with about 3,000 K-State sophomores. Over the decades, when students, faculty and researchers have a need, the K-State Libraries respond. We adapt and improve our spaces and services, just as we have for more than a century. So in honor of nine decades of Farrell Library and two decades of Hale Library, we present a look at the evolution of K-State Libraries’ flagship building, past and present.

Loyal Friends: Insights From A Few Of The Libraries’ Two-Decade Donors, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

In honor of Hale’s 20th anniversary, we’d like to recognize a few generous friends who have given every year for the last two decades—or more! We are deeply grateful for their unwavering, steadfast support. Meet some of our devoted donors: Jolene Hill, Verlyn Richards and Eugene Laughlin.

Driven By Teamwork Prof. Greg Spaulding’S Students Take On A Prodigious Group Project, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

For six years, Greg Spaulding, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, has assigned a unique challenge to teams of Intro to Mechanical Engineering students: They must design and build a working vehicle that one person can drive and ride. In addition, it must be powered solely by a cordless drill. A lot has to happen between the day the students receive their assignment and the end of the semester when they present their final project in an Olympic-style competition. The groups meet over and over again, fueled by a common goal and the power of teamwork. That's where the K-State Libraries …

K-State Keepsakes: The 150th Anniversary Of Ksac’S First Graduating Class

Kansas State University Libraries

On June 26, 1867, Kansas State Agricultural College held commencement ceremonies for its first five graduates: Henry L. Denison, Belle M. Haines, L. Emma Haines, John J. Points, and Martha A. White. This year is the sesquicentennial of that inaugural graduating class. Their journey began when K-State’s doors first opened in September 1863 to 52 students, equally divided between men and women.

Textbook Affordability Project: Chipping Away At The Cost Of A University Education, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

Seven out of ten students say that they have not purchased a required text because of its price tag. In fact, The College Board, an organization that works to expand access to higher education, estimates a full-time undergraduate student at a public four-year university will pay $1,298 per year for books and supplies. So in order to fill students’ backpacks without emptying their wallets, K-State Libraries launched the Textbook Affordability Project.

Chisholm Trail: History & Legacy Exhibit, Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

In 2017, K-State Libraries joins organizations across the region in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail. “Chisholm Trail: History & Legacy,” which features items from the Richard L.D. & Marjorie J. Morse Department of Special Collections and other regional history organizations, is on view through mid-October.

Kansas State University Libraries, Issue 5 (Summer 2017), Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries

Kansas State University Libraries Magazine gives friends, funders, students, and alumni an inside look at library successes, stories, and collections. In this issue, learn about K-State Libraries history, the 150th anniversary of KSAC’s first graduating class, the Textbook Affordability Project, and more.

Increasing Active Participation And Engagement Of Students In Circle Formations, Justin St. Onge, Karla Eitel

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Participation and engagement are important factors in students’ academic achievement and in increasing interest and motivation in the learning process. This study evaluates participation and engagement in circle formations in both outdoor and indoor education settings. Over a four-week study period, four instructors collected data on different circle formations. The four circle formations tested are: instructor and students standing (allstanding); instructor and students sitting (all-sitting); instructor standing with students sitting; instructor sitting with students standing. Results from 86 observation forms show that students had the greatest active participation and engagement in the all-sitting circle formation. The traditional learning arrangement, with …

Doctoral Education As A Practice Of Adult Education, Dianne Ramdeholl, Tom Heaney

Adult Education Research Conference

This presentation features chapter authors from the recently published New Directions of Adult and Continuing Education "Reimaging Doctoral Education as a Practice of Adult Education."

Dialogues In Promoting Knowledge Construction, Bo Chang

Adult Education Research Conference

This study examined how different types of dialogues promoted knowledge construction in an online course. Findings show that instructor designed the online discussion questions which balanced the grounding dialogue, critical dialogue and reflective dialogues. Three types of dialogues were interwoven together to help students understand the topics from various dimensions. Giving students freedom to select readings and discussion questions, creating a safe environment, and providing practical and controversial materials give space for different types of dialogues to flourish, and are crucial for stimulating the active and proactive knowledge sharing and creation.

Learning Lives And Reconstructing Identities Of Young Adult North Korean Defectors, Hyewon Park Park

Adult Education Research Conference

This study is to explore young adult North Korean defectors’ learning and identity reconstruction process within daily activities in South Korea based on Cultural-historical activity theory as a theoretical framework.

Keeping Community Stakeholders Informed About The Rationale For Program Changes, Kirsten Limpert, John Morton

The Advocate

Communication is the key element in much of education. Gathering input and utilizing the information to help educators understand community perceptions is a vehicle that has long been underutilized in schools. This article will examine the historical perspectives of involvement and communication and provide concrete suggestions for keeping all stakeholders informed about the continually changing landscape of education. The authors use communication about Common Core State Standards as an example for keeping stakeholders informed about school change.