Secondary Education Commons^™

Women In History: Virginia Roth – Innovative Educator, Barbara Shousha

Journal of Women in Educational Leadership

“There has to be a better way.” In 1964, Virginia Roth, then known as Sr. Pacis principal at Ryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska, set out to devise a new system of education. Her goal, as expressed in her essay, “A Model for an Alternate High School” was to, “realize those objectives we defined as essential for education.” The “we” referred to the School Sisters of St. Francis, the religious order to which she belonged at that time. Roth described the period from 1964 to 1966 as a “two year experimentation program of brainstorming, trying new methods, committee work for …

Why Domain-Specific Science Knowledge Matters In Teacher Certification: Focusing On Evidence For Effective Science Teaching, Elizabeth B. Lewis, Lyrica L. Lucas, Amy Tankersley, Elizabeth Hasseler

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

The landscape of teacher preparation is complex. From a research perspective, how to prepare teachers presents as a multilevel, multivariable puzzle. For decades, federal and state policymakers, educational researchers, and administrators, along with teacher education institutions, school districts, and other stakeholders have tried to determine and measure the key malleable factors that result in effective teaching (NRC, 2010).

Periodically, state departments of education review secondary science teaching endorsement policy guidelines. As revisions occur, teacher educators in higher education and district administrators need to engage in a multidisciplinary discussion about:

1. the ways in which strong domain-specific science content knowledge contributes …

The Insensible Dependency - Addiction, Clarissa Orona

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Addiction is the desire for the intake of a certain substance. All people have an addiction to something whether that is a substance, an item, or an act of doing something. Specific to this topic, it was found that alcohol and drugs are the most common substances to become addicted. Two key factors influencing this are easy accessibility and cost. A human’s whole life can change just after they make the choice of using a substance.

● These substances change a human’s bodily function and cognitive abilities. ● Dopamine is a person’s reward and pleasure hormone meaning once an addict …

Teens And Sleep, Henry Buscher

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Sleep is a very important part of the day for everyone. There are many reasons why people should be striving to get the sleep they need. However, many people are skipping out on an hour or two of the recommended time. This presentation is focused on teenage students, how their loss of sleep affects them and why they aren’t getting the amount of sleep they need.

● Teens aged 13–18 should sleep 8–10 hours per day, and 72.7% of high school students don’t get this amount. ● Many negative effects of sleep deprivation. ● Having a normal sleep schedule is …

Male Rape, Tyler Murphy

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

This research explores the ideologies behind male rape and why it isn’t a larger topic of discussion through means of examining the predators and misconceptions, the victims, and the effects and counseling techniques used to help the victims. The predators and misconceptions includes the types of people who commit the act of male rape and explains what kinds of fallacies the populus believes in about male rape. The victims are men of any race, age, ethnicity, and sexuality. The effects and counseling techniques include depression, anxiety, and other negative mental disorders and counselors use a multitude of techniques to treat …

Electronic Field Trips For Science Engagement: The Streaming Science Model, Jamie Loizzo, Mary J. Harner, Deborah J. Weitzenkamp, Kevin Kent

Southeast Research and Extension Center: Reports and Administration

While institutions of higher education work to engage PK-12 youth in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts and careers via in-person programming, PK-12 teachers and students face many logistical and access constraints for physically traveling to sites off of school grounds during the school day. Throughout the years, electronic field trips (EFTs) have offered a digital way for schools to engage in meaningful ways with museums, parks, laboratories, and field research sites. In order for EFTs to be effective, they should be cost effective and created collaboratively with teachers, students, subject matter experts, and instructional design and communication professionals. …

Global Poverty And The Effects, Antonio Sanchez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The project explores the global epidemic of poverty and how it creates issues among all groups of society. This issue includes demographics in the United States and other countries as well. Poverty affects all of society in one way or another and research provides insight on economical and societal effects as a result. Economically, in the United States, programs like Welfare, TANF, and Food Stamps that were designed to lift people out of poverty, actually kept them in poverty due to qualifications among other reasons. Societally, the poor are viewed in a bad light and are separated from the higher …

Successful Psychopaths, Amber Magallon

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

In the modern world, psychopaths are seen as nothing more than murderers or criminals. Psychopaths are those without empathy and emotions. They are callous, manipulative, and reckless. People may see these people as one thing, but they are actually many psychopaths who are thriving in the corporate world. They are business leaders, CEO’s, and politicians. There is that slight possibility that they are actually helping not hurting the world of work. Is this really true? The question remains unanswered, but there is proof to prove both sides of the argument.

● Around 1% of the population are psychopaths ● The …

Corruption Within The U.S. Justice System, Aleida Montanez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The U.S. criminal justice system has let down the American people when it comes to justice, and those failures not only impact the victims but the society as a whole. The judicial system was implemented around the 17th century, and corruption quickly followed it not long after. Although the justice system maintains some order in our society, it is not very effective when it comes to preventing any form of corruption within the justice system itself. The criminal justice system has empowered corporations and authoritative people to break the law and get away with it.

- Throughout this research, it …

Why Does He Abuse/ Why Does She Stay?, Esmeralda Ramirez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Domestic violence is generally defined as the use or threat of physical, sexual or emotional force by a partner. This research examines when a partner starts to physically or mentally abuse their significant other. Often the abuser assures their victim “they won’t do it again” yet continues to abuse their partner. Many factors contribute to the reasons a victim stays in an abusive relationship. One of the reasons a victim stays is because they want their partner to change. Although the exact reason as to why an abuser starts to abuse cannot be determined, there are signs in a person’s …

Exploring How Sleep Affects Teens, Hope Jensen

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Teens need sleep, but it can be compromised as a result of busy daily schedules, technology, and sleep disorders that can affect sleep cycles. Sleep is vital to the human body and the mind. Without it, there can be problems. Technology can greatly impact a teen’s sleep schedule. The busy daily life of a teen can also impact sleep. Sleep is very important to a maturing teen’s body and brain, but research proved that it can be compromised during adolescent years. It is important for teens to understand what sleep is and how sleep works for the mind and the …

Nicotine: Electronic Cigarettes Use Among Adolescents, Jaden Melgoza

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

This research examines the chemical known as nicotine. Specifically, the popularity of electronic cigarettes, use of nicotine in adolescents, the possible e!ects of nicotine use among adolescents, and the possible negative outcomes that can derive from vaping and use of electronic cigarettes. This research also establishes the popularity of e-cigs and the epidemic of teen use in the current day. The shocking reality is that many kids are hooked on nicotine and it is a growing problem across the country.

Surgeon General Jerome Adams` ● More than 3.6 million U.S. youth have or use electronic cigarettes ● Believes nicotine should …

Child Abuse And Neglect, Gladys Martinez Cruz

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

This research focuses specifically on informing on one of the most problematic issues around the country: child abuse and neglect. In depth, it examines the types of child abuses, the risk factors, the signs and symptoms, and the consequences this issue brings to the victims. Seen in various forms such as neglect, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, child abuse is the intentional act of a parent/caretaker which results, or is likely to result, in physical injury to a child. This issue is important because several children are losing their lives, losing the opportunity of having a future.

● Young children …

The Discovery Of A Lifetime: Gravitational-Waves, Maria I Dominguez Barraza

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

This presentation offers an insight to one of the biggest discoveries made in science. The discovery of gravitational-waves had been a long journey to achieve for physicists and scientist. Now gravitational-waves are helping scientists study the universe in a more efficient way never seen before. The discovery of gravitational-waves is a sign that a new era of astronomy and physics is about to open doors for many scientists and astrophysicists.

● Gravitational-waves are energycarrying waves propagating through a gravitational field, produced when a massive body is accelerated or otherwise disturbed. ● Gravitational-waves prove the existence of Black Holes. ● Laser …

A Balance In Classroom Technology, Osvaldo Palma Vargas

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Looking through a historical, social, and psychological manner over the use of technology, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World envision the benefits and dangers of technology in society, the parallels to technology’s role in the classroom, and what the overall role technology in schools should be when it comes to how much power devices and tools should be given in a classroom. While both novels provide two sides of the argument over the endorsement or rejection of technology, it will be shown in Enhancing the Art & Science of Teaching with Technology by Sonny Magana & …

Effects Of Racial Oppression, Joana Reyes

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

During influential African-American movements, such as the Harlem Renaissance and Civil Rights, texts were created to illustrate oppression and one’s search for identity within that oppression. This is most notably presented in works such as Invisible Man and A Raisin in the Sun; they accurately depict racial and social-economical differences and the struggle of the characters to find both their place and society as well as their confidence as defined by their race. Through both literary works, each was able to describe and show how these individuals faced oppression. Therefore these two individuals were able to break away from the …

Opioids: The Epidemic, Jocelyn Covarrubias

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The new epidemic in the United States is a storm of the most powerful classification of drugs: opioids. Opioids are one of the most helpful yet dangerously addictive painkillers in the world. Illegal prescriptions and street drugs like heroin have plummeted the United States into the worst drug epidemic in the last decade.

● Heroin is an illicit drug but Hydrocode, Codeine, Fentanyl, etc., are not. They all require a prescription written from a doctor. ● Illegal prescriptions have played a big part in this epidemic. In 2012 alone, 259 million prescriptions were written, That is more than enough for …

Low Income Families: The Struggles Of Living In America, Rianne Rodriguez

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Living in America can be difficult at times. The amount of low income families is rising as years go on and no one seems to notice. Parents who have no college degree, low paying jobs with no benefits, or no job at all can make it difficult to provide for a family. Children also experience challenges of their own that their parents may not be aware of. Together a family can endure the hardship of being evicted from their home.

● Parents will often do odd jobs in order to make more money (Hill & Kauff, 2002, p. 3) ● …

Reality Check, Diego Almanza Zavala

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

There is much to discover when it comes to the development, process, and uses for augmented and virtual reality. This research analyzes a similar augmented reality device to a fictional counterpart called Augma. The investigation proceeds to examine the problems and challenges of augmented reality. Findings go in depth on the critical uses for virtual reality: medicine, games, empathy and fulfilling dreams. However, just like every other invention, there are challenges concerning the development of full-dive virtual reality. This project investigates how some experiments could be used to complete full-dive reality.

❏ Empathy is the ability to understand others and …

Supporting Representation-Rich Problem-Solving In High School Physics, Lyrica L. Lucas, Elizabeth B. Lewis

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

Findings from physics education research strongly point to the critical need for teachers’ use of multiple representations in their instructional practices such as pictures, diagrams, written explanations, and mathematical expressions to enhance students' problem‐solving ability. In this study, we explored use of problem‐solving tasks for generating multiple representations as a scaffolding strategy in a high school modeling physics class. Through problem‐solving cognitive interviews with students, we investigated how a group of students responded to the tasks and how their use of such strategies affected their problem‐solving performance and use of representations as compared to students who did not receive explicit, …

“I Don't Read No Books”: How Teachers Can Use Students' Literacy Stories To Change Literacy Lives, Stephanie J. Malone

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Theses and Other Student Research

Practitioner knowledge, as the center for change in teacher education, is the heart of The Carnegie Project of the Educational Doctorate (CPED) program. Margaret Lata and Susan Wunder explain a key principle of CPED is to grow practitioners as change agents, through the development of a Problem of Practice. In their article, Investing in the Formative Nature of Professional Learning: Redirecting, Mediating, and Generating Education Practice-as-Policy (2012), they discuss how the capstone product that evolves from this Problem of Practice should impact the professional field by producing knowledge that informs and changes professional practice.

This Dissertation in Practice, “I …

Developing Serious Games In Engineering Education: Innovation At The Nexus Of Food, Energy, And Water Systems, Nathan Rice

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At a time when food, energy, and water (FEW) are of the utmost concern to the security and health of the world, an initiative has begun to understand the interactions between these systems. The goal of Innovation at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS) is to bring together research fields that typically work in their own silos to solve complex problems increasing the resiliency and sustainability of the FEW system. Stemming from this initiative was a project to produce an educational immersive simulation game to teach youth about how their food is produced, systems thinking, and sustainable …

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 …

Beginning Science Teachers' Subject Matter Knowledge, Misconceptions, And Emerging Inquiry-Based Teaching Practices (Poster), Elizabeth B. Lewis, Ana Rivero, Lyrica Lucas, Aaron Musson, Amy Tankersley

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Presentations

When we investigated the relationship of science subject matter knowledge with subsequent inquiry-based instruction, we found on average that over the induction period the MAT teachers taught lessons using more inquiry-based instruction at twice the rate of the average teacher prepared in the undergraduate program without an undergraduate degree in science. Specifically, new science teachers from the MAT program with an undergraduate degree in chemistry were better prepared to use an inquiry-based approach to teaching chemistry. Our research of our two teacher preparation programs contribute a reliable design for producing highly-qualified teachers who can provide active, engaging, constructivist learning opportunities …

Sharing Identity: Indexing Cultural Perspectives Through Writing Responses To Graphic Novels, Alex Romagnoli

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

Indexing identity through writing responses among ELL students in response to a graphic novel helps provide insight into how writing responses represent people and how graphic novels can aid in that process of self-discovery through their inherent multimodalities. This study takes looks at four students in an ELL class at an urban high school in southern Pennsylvania as they responded in writing to a portion of Will Eisner's New York: Life in the Big City (2006). All of the participants took events from the portion of the graphic novel provided to them and indexed their urban, cultural perspectives through their …

Supporting English Language Learners Inside The Mathematics Classroom: One Teacher’S Unique Perspective Working With Students During Their First Years In America, Amy Marie Fendrick

Research and Evaluation in Education, Technology, Art, and Design

Reflecting upon my personal experiences teaching mathematics to English Language Learners (ELL) in a public high school in Lincoln, Nebraska, this essay largely focuses on the time I spent as the only Accelerated Math teacher in my school building. From 2012 – 2017, I taught three different subjects at this high school: Advanced Algebra, Algebra, and Accelerated Math. This essay highlights why I chose to become a math and ELL teacher, as well as the challenges, issues, struggles, and successes I experienced during my time teaching. I focus on the challenges I faced teaching students who did not share my …

Civil Discourse In The Classroom: Preparing Students For Academic And Civic Participation, Melissa J. Legate

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis will explore the importance of civil discourse education. I assert that there is a tremendous need for productive means of disagreement in today’s society, and I propose that the classroom is an ideal setting in which to foster the skills needed for civil discourse. This document features arguments for the need for civil discourse, a detailed definition of it, multiple pedagogical approaches to civil discourse education, and an explanation of the ways in which civil discourse aligns with national- and state-level educational standards. Among this research are also examples of the work of Pierce High School’s English 9 …

Lumos Literacy: Utilizing Harry Potter As A Guide For English Language Learners, Kayla Punt

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This research paper and project looks at teaching literacy in a 9^th grade Standard English classroom with accommodations for high-level English Language Learners through JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It explores three schools of thought surrounding ESL education: transitional bilingual education, developmental bilingual education, and two-way immersion, and then uses this information to guide a full unit plan, complete with assessments, a lesson map for 20 days, and two appendixes of lesson plans. Drawing inspiration from Parker Palmer (1997), Lourdes Ortega (2013), and Kylene Beers (2003), the unit focuses on the engaging elements of Harry Potter …

Music Education For Mental Health: Creating A Participatory Music After School Program, Nicole A. Shively

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This thesis project, titled “Music Education for Mental Health: Creating a Participatory Music After School Program,” consists of a research paper and curriculum guide for the creation of a nonprofit after school program that will use music education to help youth with depression and anxiety. This program provides participatory music experiences to students in a supportive, cathartic environment. The paper details the research behind the psychological benefits of music, the activities that would be done with the students, and why there is a need for this program in current society. The curriculum guide consists of the addressed national music education …

“There’S Nothing Wrong With Fun”: Unpacking The Tensions And Challenges Of Human Centered Design For Learning With Pre-Service Teachers, Zoe Falls, Justin Olmanson

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

Research into practices of making within formalized education has primarily focused on K12 settings, inservice teachers in professional development, and pre-service teachers facilitating a maker experience for K12 students. Less is known about the professionalizing impact making and human centered design can have on pre-service teachers, especially in relation to how or if the experience deepens their understanding of content, pedagogy and human centered design. This study traces a group of pre-service social science teachers’ development of a meme generator to support learning history. By studying their process from inception to conclusion, we found students were less inclined to engage …