Education Commons^™

Why Would They Try? Motivation And Motivating In Low-Stakes Information Skills Testing, Jeanne M. Brown, Carrie A. Gaxiola

Library Faculty Publications

In 2008 the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) University Libraries piloted the Educational Testing Service’s standardised test of information, communication, and technology (ICT) skills (iSkills) in spring and autumn 2008. In the course of administering the test we explored motivational strategies, a critical component in low-stakes, low-personal-consequences testing. Motivational strategies included providing feedback on test performance, highlighting the value of the test for the individual student, and appealing to the student’s willingness to improve the overall performance of the institution. We addressed ways to motivate students in order to enhance their level of participation in and performance …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2010, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge.

The senior design competition helps to focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects …

Education In The Environment: A Strategy For Continued Interagency Outdoor Education Programming: Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending November 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Reports (PLI Education)

Highlights of the university’s focused efforts during the past three months include the following:

• Two Families in Nature events were held, benefitting approximately 100 people.
• The Nevada Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights was officially launched on October 9, 2010.
• A total of 18 people are finishing capstone projects and homework to complete requirements for the Nevada State Certification in Environmental Education and Interpretation.
• Forever Earth was scheduled for 35 days serving 965 people.
• Discover Mojave Outdoor World events were conducted for 253 people.

Education In The Environment: A Strategy For Continued Interagency Outdoor Education Programming: Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending November 30, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Reports (PLI Education)

Highlights of the university’s focused efforts during the past three months include the following:

• Two Families in Nature events were held, benefitting approximately 100 people.
• The Nevada Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights was officially launched on October 9, 2010.
• A total of 18 people are finishing capstone projects and homework to complete requirements for the Nevada State Certification in Environmental Education and Interpretation.
• Forever Earth was scheduled for 35 days serving 965 people.
• Discover Mojave Outdoor World events were conducted for 253 people.

Do Students Have Too Much Homework?, Thomas Loveless

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The popular press and best-selling books frequently decry the heavy homework burden of American students. But do students really have too much homework? Has the homework load changed much over the past two decades? Data from several sources are examined to explore the amount of homework assigned to American students and to place that burden in an historical context.

Research-Based Learning From The Start: Developing Undergraduate Researchers, Anne E. Zald, Jennifer L. Fabbi

Library Faculty Presentations

This presentation will:

- Describe the Faculty Institute for Research-Based Learning in High Impact Classes at UNLV –Goals and curriculum –Examples of impact to date

- Rough assessment of need to intentionally integrate research skills into curriculum at your institutions

- Action plan focusing on potential collaborators at your institutions

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending October 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV Public Safety is assisting in identifying security methods needed to guarantee safety and security at the ranch after project completion. This effort will involve the assistance of Metro CPTED program officers as design proceeds.
• UNLV IT is determining the extent to which they can assist with networking and technology issues as project design moves forward. They may assist in identifying consultants to hire to assist with technology.
• We have solicited research/education proposals from UNLV faculty for projects to be initiated in the coming year. The goal is to provide seed funding for projects that will expand as the facilities …

Take Pride In America In Southern Nevada: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering October 5, 2010 – January 4, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Anti-littering Programs

• The Hector’s Helpers program with the Clark County School District continued curriculum development.
• The team was selected to serve on the litter and recycling work group for Keep Las Vegas Beautiful.
• The team continued to develop the GIS database.
• A total of 12 clean-up events were conducted this quarter.

The Intermountain West Today: A Regional Survey, Ruy Teixeira, Karlyn Bowman

Brookings Mountain West Publications

What does it mean to live in the Intermountain West today? What issues are most and least important to the region’s residents? Do Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah have a collective identity or are state-level differences too great? Is there an identifiable Intermountain West personality? Today we will present the results of a unique survey that attempts to answer these questions.

Hrc Enews — 2010 Fall, Megan K. Svarz

Publications (HRC)

This issue contains staff accomplishments and announcements, event listings, and a "new faces" listing for new staff, affiliates, and researchers.

Contemporary Children’S Literature Recommendations For Working With Preadolescent Children Of Divorce, P. S. Mcmillen, Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson

Library Faculty Publications

Bibliotherapy, defined most basically, is helping with books (Hynes & Hynes-Berry, 1994). Derived from the Greek words meaning book and therapy, bibliotherapy goals fall usefully into two categories. Clinical bibliotherapy, using books to facilitate specified therapeutic goals with those experiencing significant emotional or behavioral problems, involves trained health and mental health professionals such as psychologists, counselors, psychiatric nurses, or social workers. Developmental bibliotherapy, using books to address situational, transitional, and normal developmental issues, can be implemented by others, like educators or librarians, who work in helping roles. Books provide solace, reassurance, and even escape; they also provide new ideas for …

Unlv Magazine, Tony Allen, Shane Bevell, Donna Mcaleer, Ched Whitney, Cate Weeks

UNLV Magazine

No abstract provided.

Unlv / Brookings West: Intermountain West Region Regional Survey, University Of Nevada Las Vegas, Brookings Institute

Brookings Mountain West Publications

The 2010 Intermountain West Public Opinion Survey documents responses from 2,000 residents of the Intermountain West (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications conducted the survey from August 23 – September 1, 2010. A minimum of 250 respondents for each state are included in the results for this survey. Respondents included 1,700 landline interviews and 300 cell phone interviews. Gerstein | Agne Strategic Communications provides strategic planning, communications, project management, and research services to a wide range of non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and candidates for elected office.

The survey includes an extensive series …

Asc Newsletter, Academic Success Center, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Academic Success Center Newsletter

This issue includes a message from the dean, articles about faculty, tutoring, coaching and student outreach.

Police Blotter, Unlv Department Of Police Services

Police Blotter

No abstract provided.

Envisioning Nevada’S Future: Goals & Strategies For Advancing Our Quality Of Life, Nevada Vision Stakeholder Group, Moody’S Analytics

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Nevada’s severe downturn has brought to light many of the long-term challenges facing the state. Not only is its economy subject to painful swings, but Nevada’s primary drivers— consumer services (primarily gaming, hospitality and housing) and resource extraction—will provide less support than they have in past business cycles. Less economic vitality will make it harder to offer Nevadans the quality of life they expect.

The importance of the economy to quality of life is equally clear—quality of life is a hollow promise without a healthy and supportive economy. Similarly, a proper fiscal structure—both in terms of spending and revenues—is critical …

Education In The Environment: A Strategy For Continued Interagency Outdoor Education Programming Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending August 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Reports (PLI Education)

Highlights of the university’s focused efforts during the past three months include the following:

• One Families in Nature event was held, benefiting approximately 40 people.
• A media campaign has been developed for the Nevada Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.
• A total of 18 people are participating in the fourth cohort of the Nevada State Certification in Environmental Education and Interpretation.
• An RV has been purchased for the SNAP Mobile Exhibit and is in process of being retrofitted.
• Forever Earth was scheduled for 16 days and benefited 425 individuals.
• The National Park Service used Forever Earth as a mobile visitor center …

The Greenprint: Nevada’S Environmental Literacy Plan, Part 1, Education About The Environment

Education about the Environment

President Obama’s “Blueprint for Reform” includes environmental education in part because research has demonstrated significant benefits from environmental education, including impacting student test scores in science, reading, math, and social studies. Additionally, studies have shown that environmental education can reduce discipline problems, increase attendance, and develop leadership and other social skills. Other important benefits include increased engagement, motivation, and enthusiasm for learning. The National Science Board of the National Science Foundation recognizes the importance of environmental education to student learning in their 2000 report, Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century.

The need for environmental literacy arises from the …

Hrc Enews — 2010 Summer, Megan K. Svarz

Publications (HRC)

This issue contains staff accomplishments and announcements, event listings, and a "new faces" listing for new staff, affiliates, and researchers.

Building Faculty Capacity For Better Teaching And Learning, L Dee Fink, Patricia A. Iannuzzi

Library Faculty Presentations

Enhancing faculty capacity for teaching in ways that promote greater levels of student engagement and significant learning is an essential part of all other institutional changes designed to advance higher quality student learning. In this session, participants will lay out a general strategy for campus leaders to cultivate that faculty capability and then identify specific actions needed to implement such a strategy. Participants will also identify key elements of effective teaching and learning centers and brainstorm ways to build a teaching- and learning-centered institutional culture.

Mapping Information Literacy Outcomes And Other Intellectual Skills Into Students' Educational Experiences, Patricia A. Iannuzzi, L Dee Fink

Library Faculty Presentations

The 2007 report, College Learning for the New Global Century, outlines a cluster of intellectual and practical skills that are critical components of a liberal education: inquiry and analysis; critical and creative thinking; written and oral communication; quantitative literacy; information literacy; and teamwork and problem solving. The learning outcomes associated with information literacy relate to and incorporate many of the learning outcomes in all of these skill clusters. Participants in this session will address how these information literacy and related learning outcomes can be mapped into student learning experiences at three levels: in an individual course, in an academic sequence …

Delta Project On Postsecondary Costs, Productivity, And Accountability: A Campus Perspective – University Of Nevada, Las Vegas, Patricia A. Iannuzzi

Library Faculty Presentations

I will start by pointing out that I don’t completely agree with Director Wellman’s conclusions that it’s a horrible state of affairs when investments from tuition and state sources are misdirected to support non‐instruction infrastructure. As a research university with aspirations of enhancing its research agenda, in a state that desperately needs that research UNLV expects to grow those support services in order to grow its research initiatives, and thereby contribute in meaningful ways to the reinvention of the Nevada economy – one sorely hampered by its single industry focus. The Delta Project data calls into question the relationship of …

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending June 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV has purchased weather equipment, established a weather station at the ranch, and has begun collecting weather data and conducting preliminary research. The station collects hourly data on temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, and insolation that is transmitted wirelessly to UNLV and captured and projected on the PLI WBR website. A database of weather information will be maintained for further analysis. Research quantifying solar insolation at the ranch will be conducted.
• UNLV has begun preparing informational brochures that will be available to the public at the ranch in the future and will provide information on biology, geology, anthropology, and …

Graduate Programming For Working Professionals: What Makes A Difference?, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Presentations

Education: A Graduate Degree Designed for New and Working Professionals

Mission: To provide a well-rounded graduate learning experience to current and future crisis and emergency management leaders for effectively addressing natural, intentional and technical disasters

Education In The Environment: A Strategy For Continued Interagency Outdoor Education Programming: Fourth Quarter Progress Report With Annual Report: Period Ending May 31, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Reports (PLI Education)

Highlights of the university’s focused efforts during the past three months include the following:

• An Evaluation Report was produced for the Families in Nature program.
• The report “Reaching SNAP Audiences: Documenting the number of people reached through environmental education and interpretation programs and activities has been produced.
• Two Families in Nature field trips benefitted 85 people.
• Exhibit IQ, an exhibit design company, has been retained to develop an exhibit design plan, prepare the RV, and fabricate and install exhibits.
• Forever Earth was scheduled on 49 days involving 1639 individuals.
• Discover Mojave Outdoor World conducted 16 events for 333 participants.

Wind Energy Workforce Development: A Roadmap To A Sustainable Wind Industry, Ian Baring-Gould, Marguerite Kelly

Publications (E)

As the United States moves toward greatly expanded wind energy use, the need for skilled workers at all industry levels has been repeatedly identified as a critical issue. Additionally, if the industry and nation wish to capitalize on this rapid industry growth by becoming a major international green technology exporter, reversing current educational trends away from science, engineering, and technical skills must be achieved.

This poster provides an overview of the educational infrastructure and expected industry needs through a discussion of the activities to train workers while addressing issues for each of the education sectors, leading to the development of …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2010, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Each student in his or her senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. The senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real-world solution to an engineering challenge.

A highlight of the year-long senior design project is the senior design competition. This competition, which usually takes place the week before finals each semester, helps focus the senior students on increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects.

Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on innovation, commercial …

Youth Initiative Hector’S Helpers: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Covering February 11, 2010 – April 15, 2011, Hector's Helpers

Anti-littering Programs

The third quarter has progressed with the Hector’s Helpers program. We took action with hands-on classroom activities and lead three clean-up field trips. Students learned how to protect public lands in Southern Nevada through our anti-litter and desert dumping initiative. West Career Technical Academy students completed various GIS projects and finished the Adopt-A-Block Handbook. The Hector’s Helpers staff also submitted a formal proposal to study pre- and post-program surveys of students participating in the Hector's Helpers program.

Walking Box Ranch Planning And Design Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending April 10, 2010, Margaret N. Rees

Walking Box Ranch

• UNLV and Dornbusch and Associates have signed a contract for Dornbusch to conduct a “Visitor Services Feasibility, Compatibility, Market Study, and Business Plan” at the ranch, including all future museum and research center activities. This effort is kicking off in April 2010.
• UNLV is in the process of purchasing and installing a weather station at the ranch, and will conduct preliminary research using this equipment. Funding for a dual axis solar tracker was obtained from the UNLV sustainability initiative.
• Bill Wood, UNLV Real Estate Management, is continuing to work with Rex Bell to create an inventory of items that Rex …

Hrc Enews — 2010 Spring, Megan K. Svarz

Publications (HRC)

This issue contains staff accomplishments and announcements, event listings, a "new faces" listing for new staff, affiliates, and researchers, and an "of interest" section.