Education Commons^™

Community And University Building Partner Work-Study Program, Barbara A. Pickering, Robyn Long, Lucy Garza Westbrook, Jermaine Jones

Presentations

1. The UNO Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center 2. Community Partners: Avenue Scholars Foundation and Metropolitan Community College 3. Placement Organization: Service Learning Academy 4. Evaluation Model: Institutional Commitment to Service (Holland, 1997)

Outsourcing Learning: Is The Statecraft Simulation An Effective Pedagogical Alternative?, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Although rising costs have been a general trend in higher education since the early 20th century, a fundamental restructuring of the higher education marketplace is currently underway. In recent decades students and their parents have been forced to finance college education through greater and greater debt. As a result, students and their families are increasingly demanding that institutions of higher learning provide evidence of value. Universities must now ask what methods of instruction most efficiently expand a student's knowledge base. Can instruction that has been traditionally supplied in a physical classroom be delivered more effectively at lower cost through digital …

Food Fish Identification From Dna Extraction Through Sequence Analysis, Heather E. Hallen-Adams

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

This experiment exposed third and fourth year undergraduates and graduate students taking a course in advanced food analysis to DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and DNA sequence analysis. Students provided their own fish sample, purchased from local grocery stores, and the class as a whole extracted DNA, which was then subjected to PCR, gel electrophoresis and Sanger sequencing. Students retrieved their sequences and identified their fish using the NCBI BLAST nucleotide database. Slightly more than half of the samples yielded sequences identical or close to expected (based on the identification of the fish on the packaging); some other samples …

A Comparison Of Two Low-Stakes Methods For Administering A Program-Level Biology Concept Assessment, Brian A. Couch, Jennifer K. Knight

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Concept assessments are used commonly in undergraduate science courses to assess student learning and diagnose areas of student difficulty. While most concept assessments align with the content of individual courses or course topics, some concept assessments have been developed for use at the programmatic level to gauge student progress and achievement over a series of courses or an entire major. The broad scope of a program-level assessment, which exceeds the content of any single course, creates several test administration issues, including finding a suitable time for students to take the assessment and adequately incentivizing student participation. These logistical considerations must …

Validation Of The Symptoms And Functioning Severity Scale In Residential Group Care, Matthew C. Lambert, Kristin Duppong-Hurley, Thomas J. Gross, Michael Epstein, Amy L. Stevens

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Tests that measure the emotional and behavioral problems of children and youth are typically not normed and standardized on youth diagnosed with disruptive behavior, particularly those youth in residential care. Yet professional standards mandate that before instruments are used with a specific population the psychometric properties need to be studied and re-established: specifically, psychometric properties, including validity, need to be evaluated (AERA, APA, & NCME, 1999). The purpose of the present study was to assess the validity characteristics of the Symptoms and Functioning Severity Scale (SFSS; Bickman, et al., 2010), a widely used test developed for use in outpatient clinics, …

Formative Assessment And Writing: A Meta-Analysis, Steve Graham, Michael Hebert, Karen R. Harris

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

To determine whether formative writing assessments that are directly tied to everyday classroom teaching and learn- ing enhance students’ writing performance, we conducted a meta-analysis of true and quasi-experiments conducted with students in grades 1 to 8. We found that feedback to students about writing from adults, peers, self, and com- puters statistically enhanced writing quality, yielding average weighted effect sizes of 0.87, 0.58, 0.62, and 0.38, respectively. We did not find, however, that teachers’ monitoring of students’ writing progress or implemen- tation of the 6 􏰑+ 1 Trait Writing model meaningfully enhanced students’ writing. The findings from this meta-analysis …

School Smart, Katherine Tozer 15

Honor Scholar Theses

In School Smart, I cap off my career as a student asking questions many do when childhood grows distant: What happened to us and how did we get here? Fed up with a society that gives individuals all the credit (or blame) for their education outcomes, the following essays crack open the stiff binding on “education stories” with hindsight, history, and a whole bunch of data. School Smart gives six examples of different women at different schools who put faces to murky concepts like “the achievement gap,” “the accountability movement,” and “special needs education.” To reform education, we need to …

Project Spraoi: A Strategy To Improve Nutrition And Increase Physical Activity In Primary School Children, Lisa Delaney

Masters

Introduction: Paediatric obesity has become a global epidemic with many countries developing strategies to help tackle its prevalence. School based physical activity (PA) and nutrition interventions have proven to play a promising role in tackling childhood obesity.

Background: Project Spraoi is an Irish primary school based intervention. The intervention was delivered to an intervention school to help enhance PA and nutritional behaviour amongst pupils. The intervention school was assigned an ‘Energizer’; a trained PA and nutrition change agent who worked with the school to achieve the objectives. For evaluation purposes a control school was recruited.

Methodology: Pupils from the intervention …

Leadership Development Of Faculty In Academia - The Impacts Of The Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Michael S. Carriger

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

A fairly recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (April 12, 2013), by Barden and Curry asked the question, “Faculty members Can Lead, but Will They?” Barden and Curry suggest that, “every professor has the intellectual capacity to understand and embrace the elements of modem leadership necessary to guide institutions in today’s higher-education marketplace.” But... is there a dearth of leadership and leadership development opportunities among faculty in the academy? The current research used a survey approach to look at the landscape of leadership development in academia among Catholic, Lutheran, and Secular institutions. The general hypothesis was that Catholic …

The Challenges Of Being Chair In 2015: A 28 Year Perspective, Domenick Pinto

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

For 28 years as chair, I have witnessed the evolution of the role of chairperson as entrepreneurial skills, conflict resolution and time management have become increasingly vital to the success of the chair. My session will summarize the challenges that chairs must now face and overcome in 2015. The session will help relatively new and new chairs face scenarios and how to problem solve them.

The Subjective Warrant For Teaching Physical Education In South Carolina, Matthew Blake Lineberger

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to: (1) identify the warrant for teaching physical education held by future professionals, (2) identify the influencing attractors and facilitators for future professionals, and (3) explore for any possible influence the South Carolina Physical Education Assessment Program (SCPEAP) may have had on students’ decision to enter physical education teacher education (PETE) programs. Data were collected by questionnaire (Appendix A) which was piloted on master’s level students at the University of South Carolina. Participants were 103 undergraduate PETE students from 14 institutions in South Carolina. Simple descriptive statistics and independent ttests were used to analyze …

Exploring Culturally Relevant Teaching: Lessons From A Middle School Classroom, Kristen H. Gillaspy

Theses and Dissertations

In the public school setting and beyond, African American males are often positioned as a problem. Educators have implemented and studied the use of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) in an effort to shift this deficit perspective of African American male students, as well as other students of color. CRP positions all students as knowledgeable and capable of learning while valuing their cultural backgrounds and experiences. CRP also provides an opportunity to explore issues around race and culture. Though some research has been done in the area of CRP, very little focuses on the students’ experiences in culturally relevant classrooms, and …

The Impact Of Singing-Integrated Reading Instruction On The Oral Reading Fluency And Motivation Of Elementary Students In An Out-Of-School Time Program, Yvette M. Moorehead-Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of singing-integrated reading instruction on the oral reading fluency and motivation of elementary students in an after school program. Participants were third graders (n = 29) who attended the singing-integrated oral reading fluency (SI ORF) intervention twice a week for eight weeks. Components of the intervention included teacher-modeling of fluent oral reading, oral support, repeated reading and singing activities from a variety of children’s literature, and individual free-time.

The adapted Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (ERAS; McKenna & Kear, 1990) measured recreational, academic, and composite reading attitudes. The Qualitative …

High School Teacher And Administrator Perceptions Of Student Health Promotion: An Exploratory Study, Sarah B. Conklin

Theses and Dissertations

The current study explored the high school health promotion environment with regards to physical activity, nutrition, and sedentary behaviors from the perspective of high school health and physical education teachers and administrators. Specifically, potential strategies for a prevention program to promote student physical activity participation and healthy eating, and decrease student sedentary time were explored.

Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with physical education teachers to explore potential strategies to promote student health behaviors. Next, interviews were conducted with high school administrators to determine the feasibility of recommended strategies. Teachers and administrators in the current study expressed a need for strategies …

A Case Study Examining Formative Assessment In A Postsecondary English Language Program, Divya Varier

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the formative assessment practices of three teachers in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms using a sociocultural theoretical framework. The study was conducted in a postsecondary ESL setting at a large public university in the southeastern United States. Using an embedded mixed methods design, this study employed teacher interviews and classroom observations to address the overarching question: What individual and contextual factors are present in the formative assessment practices of participant ESL teachers? The study also explored the relationship between student metacognitive judgments of learning (JOL) and performance with the purpose of informing formative assessment practice. …

Tweeting And Blogging: Moving Towards Education 2.0, Tian Luo, Teresa Franklin

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper reports on an exploratory study that employed Twitter and blogs as instructional Web 2.0 tools to support student learning in an undergraduate-level class. Case study methodology entailing a usage survey, an exit survey, and 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews was sought to examine patterns and characteristics of students' usage of social media and to elicit their perceptions on how the incorporation of Twitter and blogs facilitated their learning. Findings demonstrate that as advanced users of social media, the students highly embraced the incorporation of Twitter and blogs in the class. Not only were the students motivated to utilize social …

An Exploration Of Student Experiences With Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies, Jill E. Stefaniak, Monica W. Tracey

STEMPS Faculty Publications

In this exploratory study, we examined how undergraduate students experience learning in a learner-centered teaching environment and their perceptions of motivation towards learning material in an introductory public speaking communications course. Six faculty members participated in a semester-long study where their teaching strategies were observed. Three faculty members participated in a cognitive apprenticeship where they were taught how to implement learner-centered instructional strategies into their coursework. Participants were 109 students who were enrolled in an introductory public speaking course. Data was collected by means of classroom observations, interviews, and the administration of a survey. Our findings indicated that students who …

The Landwarnet School, The Army Learning Model, And Appreciative Inquiry: How Is A Centralized Training Organization Improved By Introducing Decentralization?, Lisa Jayne Stamper

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory, qualitative case study describes how a centralized training organization (LandWarNet School) was improved by introducing decentralization (Army Learning Model) toward “the best competitive position” or "sweet spot," defined by Brafman and Beckstrom (2006) as “enough decentralization for creativity, but sufficient structure and controls to ensure consistency” (pp. 189, 191). Any presence of the six chaordic elements of a decentralized organization, as described by Hock (1999), was also considered.

LandWarNet School (LWNS) trains approximately 6000 US Army Soldiers annually and is centrally organized. The new Army Learning Model (ALM) is a vision for a more decentralized training approach where …

Jamming As A Curriculum Of Resistance: Popular Music, Shared Intuitive Headspaces, And Rocking In The "Free" World, Mike Czech

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This project opens space for looking at the world in a musical way where “jamming” with music through playing and listening to it helps one resist a more standardized and dualistic way of seeing the world. Instead of having a traditional dissertation, this project is organized like a record album where each chapter is a Track that contains an original song that parallels and plays off the subject matter being discussed to make a more encompassing, multidimensional, holistic, improvisational, and critical statement as the songs and riffs move along together to tell why an arts-based musical way of being can …

Perception Of The School Experiences Of Five Generations Of Deaf Students, Charles Depew

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate deaf participants’ perspectives of their educational experiences within the last 50 years. The study was comprised of five deaf participants educated in the public school setting, and four deaf participants educated in the residential setting. The qualitative study utilized three in-depth interviews, a survey, and the researcher’s reflections/notes. The findings suggest deaf students’ educational experiences are impacted by low academic expectations. Sign language can be a powerful learning tool or a barrier for deaf students as deaf students depend on sign language and visuals to support their learning. Both spoken and written …

African-American Males, African-American Female Principals, & The Opportunity Gap, Jennifer N. Dunbar

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Over the past decade, research has been devoted to bridging the gap in academics and opportunity among African-American males. Missing from the dialogue however, are the voices of African-American female leaders. This voice will not only play an instrumental part in mediating cultural misunderstandings that occur in the classroom, but it will also facilitate a much needed conversation in understanding gender and race by displaying different views on educational leadership. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of the opportunity gap among African-American female principals in Title I schools to raise the presence of their voice …

A Retracing In Praise Of The Unretraceable: Jazz Improvisation, Theatre Games And Curriculum, Barry E. Krakovsky

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This work is an attempt to analyze some of the conditions and activities that surround improvisation. I will argue that the process of improvisation and even the attempt at improvisation can offer the curriculum scholar an important pedagogical model. Importantly, this model will offer no direct solutions which might improve one’s pedagogical stance. Instead, these models are best interpreted as a provocation, or an invitation to think of a better relationship, for example, of teacher and student. I interrogate jazz improvisation, theatrical improvisation, and popular culture. I also examine a version of performativity that could provide a degree of agency …

African American Women’S Perceptions Of Hiv Prevention Communication With Their Reproductive Health Providers, Valerie Burge-Hall

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of a decline in HIV incidence rates among African American women, they still bear the most significant disease burden among U.S. women. Findings from numerous studies indicate probable explanations for the disparity, such as the impact of poverty, limited healthcare access, low literacy, and living in areas with high HIV rates. Additionally, many study results provide insight regarding prevention strategies. However, the aim of this study is to explore African American women’s perceptions regarding what HIV prevention communication, if any, occurred with their reproductive health providers (RHPs). In this study, 20 African American women with unknown HIV status …

Determinants Of Turnover Intent In Higher Education: The Case Of International And U.S. Faculty, Jaehee Park

Theses and Dissertations

In spite of the increase in the number of the international academic workforce and their potential benefits, international status has been relatively under-studied in Public Management and Higher Education literature in comparison with studies of age, gender, and race. Given these realities, the present study identifies characteristics of internal and external variables that influence international and U.S. faculty turnover intentions in a large public South Eastern research university.

To understand the variations in short-term and long-term turnover levels while controlling for various demographic, structural, and external variables, eight Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis were performed using turnover intentions as …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of A Truancy Reduction Program For Middle And High School Students, Jan R. Parrish

Theses and Dissertations

This study utilized a mixed methods design. The study was carried out in two phases. In the first phase of the study, a secondary data analysis of data were collected from a sample (n = 390) of middle and high school students who participated in a truancy pilot program launched during the 2012-2013 school year with follow-up services provided through June 2014. The sample was divided into two groups (treatment and control). The treatment group was diverted from court referral and participated in an intervention consisting of in-home counseling and case management services. The control group was referred to …

A Case Study In Teacher Education: The University Of Canterbury, Nelson Campus, Nelson, New Zealand, Jan Byres, Nicole Day, Jim Parsons

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

Teaching is far from straightforward. People argue over its classification - is it science or art? Educators and experts often palaver with certitude, but no definitive answer exists. This case study explores the complexity of teacher education programs in terms of epistemology.

Achievement Gap, Robert W. Spires

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

The achievement gap is a concept that has been prevalent in educational discourse in the United States since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, though the concept has its beginnings in the post-Civil War era, the Great Migration, and the growth in immigration in the early 20^th century.

Use Of Mobile Phones For Interaction In Distance Education, Tayyaba Batool, Ginger Watson, Saul Carliner (Ed.), Catherine Fulford (Ed.), Nathaniel Ostashewski (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Distance education is a widely adopted technology in many developed parts of the world where educational agencies are constantly considering new technologies that can serve as a medium for instructional delivery and interaction. Mobile phones are one of the most recent technologies to gain much consideration and use. This brief paper outlines the current state of distance education, delivery mediums, and instructional approaches that foster interaction to promote effective learning. Particular emphasis is given to the potential for mobile devices to be used as effective instructional tools in distance education in Pakistan and other underdeveloped countries. The proposed study will …

Undergraduate Range Management Exam: 1999-2014, Justin D. Derner, Jessica Crowder, Mae Smith, Tami Plechaty

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) has been administered to undergraduate students at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management since 1983, with students demonstrating their higher order learning skills and synthesis knowledge of the art and science of rangeland management.

• The multiple-choice exam is composed of six subject categories:1) Range Ecology; 2) Grazing Management; 3) Range Improvements; 4) Range Regions; 5) Range Inventory and Analysis; and 6) Multiple-use Relationships on Rangelands.

• Topics of changing climate and weather variability (including extreme events), and the associated adaptive management strategies employed by land managers to reduce risk and …

Divergent Summers: Measuring The Effect-Size Of Summer Vacation On Reading And Mathematics Achievement Scores For Different Populations Of Maine Students, Brian I. Mazjanis Phd

All Student Scholarship

This quantitative study of summer learning for Maine students in grades three through grades eight analyzed changes in academic achievement level in mathematics and reading that occurred during the summer recess of 2009. The patterns of learning exposed in this study have meaningful implications for policymakers attempting to close the achievement gap.