Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Systems Thinking In A Second Grade Curriculum: Students Engaged To Address A Statewide Drought, Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Amy Ardell, Laurie Macgillivray, Rachel Lambert

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Faced with issues, such as drought and climate change, educators around the world acknowledge the need for developing students’ ability to solve problems within and across contexts. A systems thinking pedagogy, which recognizes interdependence and interconnected relationships among concrete elements and abstract concepts (Meadows, 2008; Senge et al., 2012), has potential to transform the classroom into a space of observing, theorizing, discovering, and analyzing, thus linking academic learning to the real world. In a qualitative case study in one school located in a major metropolitan area in California, USA teachers and their 7- and 8-year-old students used systems thinking in …

“College Material” Structural Care At A New York City Transfer School, C. Ray Borck

Publications and Research

Based on ethnographic research at Brooklyn Community High School (BCHS), a transfer high school in New York City I demonstrate that students narrate their educational histories in terms of their experience of care, or lack of care, from teachers. Contributing to research on student-teacher relationships, care, resilience and retention, I develop the concept structural care, arguing that teachers’ ability to demonstrate care for their students, and students’ ability to perceive that care, is enabled or constrained by larger, socio-structural forces such as the national educational policy landscape, widespread cultural beliefs about schools and students, and processes of racialization, criminalization, and …

Meeting Minutes, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting minutes.

Book Review: Towards Inclusion Of All Learners Through Science Teacher Education, Greg Stefanich

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

It is a pleasure to receive an invitation to submit a review for the book titled Towards Inclusion of All Learners through Science Teacher Education. The contributors include four wellknown leaders in inclusive science education complemented by a spectrum of authors American and international, in pre-service and graduate science education, pre-service and graduate special education, science research, special education practitioners, classroom teachers, graduate students, and students through case studies and interviews.

The book presents an excellent overview of current practices in schools, descriptions of individual and team efforts to improve practice, and emerging innovations such as the application of Universal …

Leadership Education And Development In Stem High Schools, Andrea Stuiber, Katie Berger

Staff Publications & Research

Leadership. Education. Development. How are we inspiring young adults to grow as good and ethical leaders? Leadership should not be defined by a title or label. It’s about developing the perspective, skills and personal style of the whole individual. Through the LEAD program at IMSA, we believe that leadership can be learned through discussion and application. Thus, we have designed a year long course that takes an intricate look at various definitions, theories, models, and conceptualizations of leadership. Students are challenged to think critically about leadership during peer-to-peer facilitated class discussions, hands-on exercises, and group work.

Engaging Students In Fundamental Biological Concepts Through Un Sustainability Goals, Sowmya Anjur, Donald Dosch

Faculty Publications & Research

Advanced Biological Systems is year-long introductory biology course for Juniors at IMSA. It is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, the use of which has been identified as an initiative for curriculum development. These goals help to bring purpose to students’ learning. We have identified three of the seventeen goals as guideposts for our curriculum. These are clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, and good health and well-being. In this presentation, we will share our curriculum development process and examples of instruction linked to these UN goals.

The Critical Need For Mental Health Education To Be Mandated In New Mexico's Public Schools, Bonnie L. Murphy

Shared Knowledge Conference

Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. …

A Brain-Friendly Approach To Music Literacy, Taylor Davis

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The purpose of this study was to explore how the brain processes information, stores it in long-term memory and then applies that knowledge to teaching music in a classroom/rehearsal setting. We observed how the working memory, the system responsible for processing information from short-term and long-term memory can function with greater efficiency. We observed how the number of items available for processing in the working memory may be increased through a process identified as “chunking.” Chunking is when short patterns, or bits of information, are combined to form longer sequences. When applying these brain-friendly learning concepts to music, the instructor …

Language And Literacy: Politics Of Language, Brittany A. Zayas, Missy Watson

Open Educational Resources

This syllabus is for a Freshmen Inquiry Writing Seminar, which is a two-section, collaboratively taught course wherein one of the two courses engages students in critical thinking, reading, and writing about the issue of language and literacy, while the other introduces students to conventions of academic writing and mentors them in social and rhetorical writing processes. Thus, this course draws on the topic of language and literacy as a vehicle for critically analyzing students' own languages and literacies and developing especially their academic and information literacies.

Drop In Or Drop Out: A Case Study On The Effects Of Academic Track Placement, And Levels Of Student Skill And Will, On Successful Ninth-Grade Completion, Channell M. Wilson-Segura

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The ninth grade is a transition year from middle school to high school where many students struggle to successfully navigate a new environment, new teachers and peers, new academic and behavioral expectations, and the concept of graduation requirements. This qualitative study examined the effects of academic track placement, and student levels of skill and will, on successful ninth-grade completion in one New Mexico Title I high school. It also provided insight into their perceptions of the success factors and challenges that they felt impacted their ability to successfully promote to the tenth-grade, and thus, remain on-track for graduation.

This study …

Preparing Educational Leaders For Social Justice: Reimagining One Educational Leadership Program From The Ground Up, Holly M. Manaseri, Christopher B. Manaseri

School Leadership Review

Thirty years after the report that started the latest round of educational reform, A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Education Excellence, 1983), the Wallace Foundation began funding a series of studies examining the preparation of school and district leaders. Bringing together findings from four reports, one each by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), The School Superintendents Association (AASA), the American Institutes for Research (AIR), and the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), the Wallace Foundation issued five key recommendations for university preparation of school leaders. This call to action was sounded at a time when …

Digital Badges: A Focus On Skill Acquisition, Ben Malczyk

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Statement of the issue: There has been a trend in higher education to focus less on content coverage and to instead focus on student skill development. Digital badges represent one approach to focus on student demonstration of skill. Badges provide students with opportunities to learn, practice and ultimately be assessed on demonstration of a skill.

Description of the project: Social work faculty designed two social work courses to incorporate badging exercise. The course required students to complete badges in areas such as self-care, utilization of APA citations, uploading videos into Canvas, and other skills necessary for students to succeed. Rather …

Five Generations: Preparing Multiple Generations Of Learners For A Multi-Generational Workforce, Olimpia Leite‐Trambly, Sharon N. Obasi

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

First Name: Toni

Last Name: Hill

Department: Family Studies

Campus: UNK

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 3088658232

Track: Pedagogy and Instructional Design

Title: Associate Professor

Session Type: Formal Presentation

Session Title: Five Generations: Preparing Multiple Generations of Learners for a Multi-generational

Workforce

Availability: Anytime

Presenters:

1. Olimpia Leite-Trambly, Instructional Design Specialist,

University of Nebraska at Kearney, eCampus, Communications Center, Room #213, Kearney NE 68849 308.865.8503 office, 308.865.8090 fax, [email protected]

2. Sharon Obasi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Family Studies, Assistant Program Director, Early Childhood and Family Advocacy, University of Nebraska Kearney

West Center 153, Kearney 68849-2130, Office:(308) 865-8225, email: [email protected]

3. Toni Hill, Ph.D., …

Schedule Nu! Schedule Sc!, Jean Padrnos, Corrie Svehla, Cheri Polenske

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Schedule NU! Schedule SC!

Lancaster V-VI

Cheri Polenske (NU ITS), Jean Padrnos (NU ITS), Corrie Svehla (NU ITS - UNL)

One of the goals of OneIT is to maximize the purchasing power by consolidating contracts and utilizing common systems. UNK, UNL and UNO utilized a product called EMS for event scheduling. CSC, UNL and UNO used R25/S25 for academic scheduling. The University was able to license the EMS scheduling solution for all of the Universities and State Colleges for both academic scheduling/optimization and event scheduling in one contract. The implementation of the shared EMS system is underway and will go-live …

Learning How To Learn: Powerful Mental Tools To Help You Master Tough Subject, Barbara Oakley

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

Barbara Oakley didn’t begin learning remedial high school algebra until age 26. Now she’s a professor of engineering, a New York Times best-selling author, and instructor of the world’s largest massive open online course, with nearly two million registered students. How did this happen? She learned how to learn, and she now teaches others these practical insights. In this fun-filled keynote, you’ll hear true stories of remarkable transformation and discover intriguing insights from science about how you can change and grow, no matter your age or stage of life.

Using metaphor and analogy, which primes neural circuits for difficult topics, …

Fostering Quality By Identifying And Evaluating Effective Practices Through Rigorous Research, Tanya Joosten

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

In redesigning digital education courses, special attention is paid to sound instructional approaches and ensuring practices foster success for all students. In this session attendees will learn how to better provide support to faculty and staff in informing their instructional practices based on previous research and conducting rigorous research on their new innovations.

Synchronous Online And Inperson Classrooms: Challenges And Rewards Five Years Into Practice, Elsbeth Magilton

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

First Name: Elsbeth

Last Name: Magilton

Department: College of Law UNL

Campus: UNL

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 4024721662

Track: Leadership and Strategy in Online Education

Title: Exec Dir - Space & Telecommunication Pgm

Session Type: Formal Presentation

Availability: Anytim

e Presenters:

Elsbeth Magilton, University of Nebraska College of Law

Presentation Abstract:

Nebraska Law’s online Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law program is a part-time online option for industry professionals. The online LL.M. (a post-law degree masters level program) was created in 2012 to address the growing demand for the program by experienced practitioners who want to obtain an LL.M. degree while maintaining …

Improved Grade Outcomes With An E-Mailed ‘Grade Nudge.’, Ben Smith, Dustin White, Patricia Kuzyk, James Tierney

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

First Name: Ben

Last Name: Smith

Department: Economics

UNO Campus: UNO

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 4025544816

Track: Emerging Technology

Title: Assistant Professor

Session Type: Formal Presentation

Availability: Anytime

Presenters: Ben Smith, UNO

Presentation Abstract: Near the end of the semester, students who've placed little importance in your course will wonder: "what's my grade?" This realization often happens so late that no amount of effort will result in an acceptable grade.

What if students cared as much about their grade at the beginning of the semester as they do at the end? This is the idea behind 'Grade Nudge.'

'Grade Nudge' is …

It Takes A System To Build An Affordable Content Program, Brad Severa, Jane Petersen, Kimberly A. Carlson, Betty Jacques, Brian Moore, Andrew Cano, Michael Jolley

Innovation in Pedagogy and Technology Symposium

First Name: Bradley

Last Name: Severa

Department: Information Technology Services UNL

Campus: UNL

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 4024720606

Track: Emerging Technology

Title: Academic Tech Support Spec

Session Type: Panel Discussion

Session Title: It Takes a System to Build an Affordable Content Program

Availability: Anytime

Presenters:

Brad Severa, M.A., Academic Technology Specialist, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Jane L. Petersen, Director, Academic Technology and Client Services, University of Nebraska-Kearney

Dr. Kimberly Carlson, Professor & Assistant Chair, Department of Biology, University of Nebraska-Kearney

Mrs. Betty Jacques, Senior Lecturer, Department of Biology, University of Nebraska-Kearney

Dr. Brian Moore, Professor of Music Education and Music Technology, Glenn …

Research For Non-Profits, A Service Learning Class In Grantseeking Research, Alyssa Wright

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This chapter describes Research for Non-Profits a 300/500 level service-learning course that introduces non-profits and grantseeking while teaching research and information literacy skills. Students in the course create a funder research portfolio for a non-profit client with a funding need. As students draft, revise, and polish the portfolios, they hone their research skills as well as engage with larger information literacy concepts, particularly the value of information, information creation as a process, and how authority is constructed and contextual. The chapter describes the course’s long development road as well as how partnerships were built, not only with the campus center …

Using Problems Of Practice To Leverage Clinical Learning, Maika Yeigh

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teacher preparation is a complex endeavor. Preparation programs are designed to transform regular humans into adept teachers through carefully constructed coursework and clinical experiences. University programs and the K-12 school systems both play important roles in the process; however, tensions have persisted between university coursework and clinical field work—a divide between "theoretical" and "clinical". The 2010 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel Report issued a call to action, and asked teacher preparation programs to reconceptualize approaches to pre-service teacher learning by placing clinical experiences at the heart of the work in an effort to bridge traditional theoretical and clinical divides. This article …

Building A Culture Of Collegiality Through Transformative Faculty Support, Rowanna L. Carpenter, Celine Fitzmaurice, Maurice Hamington, Annie Knepler, Vicki Reitenauer

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland State University’s (PSU) motto Let Knowledge Serve the City identifies a key piece of the University’s DNA as a community-engaged institution. As educators in PSU’s signature general education program, University Studies, we work intentionally as colleagues to catalyze transformative teaching and learning to build--with our students--a just world.

In AY 2016-17, through an iterative process involving faculty, administrators, staff, and students, University Studies adopted vision and mission statements to reflect and ground our efforts:

Vision: Challenging us to think holistically, care deeply, and engage courageously in imagining and co-creating a just world.

Mission: University Studies’ inclusive pedagogy

• provokes students …

An Alternative To Violence In Education, Michelle Savard

Peace and Conflict Studies

It is imperative that transformative educators understand how education can be manipulated to serve political and authoritarian agendas and to recognize its subtle manifestations in order to reshape education for the purposes of fostering peace, cooperation and acceptance. Bush and Saltarelli (2000) assert that in its extremes, education can have “two faces”. It can be used as a tool to stimulate political unrest, foster hatred, justify violence and promote inequities; or in the case of peace education, facilitate the reconstruction of fragile states. Yet peace education programs continue to be criticized for their lack of rigorous evaluations largely by those …

The Impact Of A Poverty Simulation On Baccalaureate Nursing Students’ Attitudes, Kristen Smith

Doctor of Nursing Practice Scholarly Projects

Poverty is an ongoing issue in the United States, with major implications for the health of U.S. citizens. In order to provide compassionate care, nurses must understand their own attitudes towards those living in poverty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate for possible changes in attitudes towards poverty in junior level BSN students after a poverty simulation intervention. Participants were surveyed using the Yun and Weaver’s Short Form Attitudes towards Poverty (SFATP) tool, which looks three factors of poverty attitudes: personal deficiency, stigma, and structural perspective.

The Adult Learning Theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. This …

The Ouroboros Of Rubrics: A Conundrum, A Case, And A Call, Anita Bright

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this think piece, the author explores a conundrum and tension related to using rubrics to evaluate doctoral work. She ponders whether the use of rubrics provides beneficial ways for students to “crack the code” of academia, and/or whether the use of rubrics is perhaps a tool to engender conformity. With these competing ideas in mind, the author considers in what ways one might press for means to provide this on-ramp of access for students to the existing power structures, while at the same time seeking to change academia, to more equitably provide spaces for a range in ways of …

Micro-Credentialing Strategies For 21st Century Food & Agriculture, Ian D. Kanski, Lauren Edgell Ed.D.

Center for Advanced Agriculture and Sustainability (CAA)

This piece was commissioned via grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture through Integrated Agriculture Systems, Inc. The purpose of this project was to establish a working definition and framework for micro-credentialing and proficiency-oriented educational designs capable of addressing growing skills gaps in the important industry sectors of Food, Agriculture, Renewable Resources and Environment. An example application of the micro-credentialing framework and multi-stakeholder engagement methods is focused on the growing industry of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), while the overall model is designed for portability across diverse industry sectors.

Unlocking The Potential For Every Teacher To Lead: A Phenomenological Study Of Informal Teacher Leadership, Jennifer M. Martin

Educational Studies Dissertations

This qualitative study of informal teacher leaders used a phenomenological method of research to investigate the lived experiences of teachers who have led in schools without a formal title or position of leadership. The study used a mixed methods approach to gathering data including a survey of 111 secondary educators in Eastern Massachusetts and 10 interviews with informal teacher leaders at the high school and middle school levels. The study inquired about how informal teacher leaders understand the concept of teacher leadership, what motivates and prepares them for leadership, the factors and conditions that encourage or discourage engagement in informal …

Teachers’ Beliefs Concerning Teaching Multilingual Learners: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Between The Us And Germany, Svenja Hammer, Kara Viesca, Timo Ehmke, Brandon Ernest Heinz

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

We analysed the beliefs about multilingualism in school of in-service teachers from the US (n = 60) and Germany (n = 65), utilising a survey originally developed in German that was translated and adapted into English. Results show that teachers from both samples, on average, strongly agree that a person’s identity is connected to their language and culture. However, we found significant differences in scale mean values between US teachers and German teachers concerning their beliefs about (1) the interconnected nature of language with culture and identity, (2) language demand in content classrooms, (3) responsibility for language teaching, and (4) …

Christian High School Science Teachers' Perspective Transformation: The Journey From Evolution To Creation, Paul Leslie Thorpe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenology study was to explore and describe the perspective transformations of 11 science instructors teaching at Christian high schools. These science teachers previously believed the evolutionary paradigm of origins. However, they have all experienced a transformation and now hold a young-earth creation perspective and believe the literal six-day creation event in the book of Genesis is accurate and true. Transformation of perspective regarding origins is defined as a phenomenon of transformative faith accompanied by assimilation and accommodation of new knowledge as seen through the lens of Jack Mezirow’s (1991) transformative adult learning theory, and James …

Art Studio As Thinking Lab: Fostering Metacognition In Art Classrooms, Julia Marshall, Kimberley D'Adamo

Kimberley D'Adamo: Art, Curriculum, Publications, and Other Scholarly Works

What can high school art classes offer to both aspiring artists and students who have other interests and goals? Here’s an answer: thinking skills. Thinking skills are essential for all learners, and both art creation and encoun-tering art provide opportunities for complex thinking and, therefore, for honing conceptual skills. Beyond that, art experiences can spur students to reflect on how they think and to expand and refine their thinking. That is to say, art classes can cultivate metacognition.

This article pursues both trains of thought and describes how an art class can be an art thinking lab—a site for everyone …