Secondary Education and Teaching Commons^™

Gaps In Teacher Professional Development For Technology-Supported Learning: Implications For School Leaders And Policymakers, Steven Bingham

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

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to develop an understanding of mobile technology integration in K-12 classrooms from the teacher’s perspective. This research was intended to help understand how mobile devices are being integrated into the classroom, including recommendations for teachers, school administrators, policymakers, and future researchers

Exploration Of The Lived Experiences Of Native American Science Teachers Of The Great Plains: A Narrative Inquiry, Uma Ganesan

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

The complicated history of the education of Native American children through U.S. government-sponsored practices has led to the elimination of the Native children’s sense of Indian identity, culture, and language (Noel, 2002). In addition, increased emphasis on standardization and high-stakes accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has resulted in less culturally responsive educational efforts and more Indigenous students left behind in school systems (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008). This has led to Indigenous students being underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields where they account for only 3% of STEM workers (Fry, Kennedy, & Funk, …

Influence Of Multimedia Resources On Social Studies: Exploring Teachers And Students Experiences In Delta State, South South Nigeria., Favour O. Atubi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

ABSTRACT

Considerable effort in providing students especially those of social studies a practical and efficient learning environment through proper instructional methodology, strategies and technological resources have been attempted by researchers. Research on educational technology like Multimedia Resources have also been receiving great attention by researchers, but studies on Multimedia Resources that explores the experiences of Social Studies teachers and students in Nigeria is scarce. Therefore, this research was carried out to examine the influence of Multimedia Resources on Upper Basic Social Studies education in Delta State, as perceived by Upper Basic social studies students and teachers, teachers’ level of usage …

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 …

High School Scholastic Journalism: An Empowering Force In Our Polarized Democracy And Democratic Empowerment - Scholastic Journalism Curriculum, Shelby Schmidt

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Consisting of two parts, this thesis explores the way a journalism classroom can create a democratic space for students that allows them to practice social life while developing more skills in tolerance and more confidence in their agency. The second portion consists of a sample curriculum to allow more democratic empowerment in our classrooms.

Advisor: Stacey Waite

“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 …

Blue The Bee Learns To Be Happy, Connie Reimers-Hild, Deborah J. Weitzenkamp, Connie Reimers-Hild, Kim Wellsandt

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

Do you sometimes feel sad or blue and don't know what to do? If so, this book was written just for you!

Join Blue the Bee as she travels through Happy Orchard meeting her friends (Flutter, Buzz, Bonita and Ernie) to learn the 7 Happiness Habits. When happiness is a habit, it comes without thinking. You can choose how to spend your day and use your time. You choose how to live your life and what is on your mind.

Each page was designed to enjoy at any age. People can become pollinators of happiness in any life stage!

This …

Pedagogía De Hablantes De Herencia: Implicaciones Para El Entrenamiento De Instructores Al Nivel Universitario, Lina M. Reznicek-Parrado

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study researches the differences in pedagogical needs between learners of Spanish as a Foreign Language (FL learners) and learners of Spanish as a Heritage Language (HL learners) at the university level. By using the UNL Modern Languages and Literatures Department as an illustrative case and based on an analysis of the Heritage Language student profile in the context of the United States, this study seeks to explore arguments in favor of providing training for university-level instructors of Spanish that responds to the specific pedagogical needs of Heritage Language Learners.

The relevancy of this study is not only based on …

A Mixed Methods Case Study: Understanding The Experience Of Nebraska 4-H Participants Relative To Their Transition And Adaptation To College, Jill Walahoski

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed methods case study was designed to assess the preparedness of former Nebraska 4-H participants to successfully transition and adjust to college. The study also sought to understand the way that students’ experiences in Nebraska 4-H may have influenced their readiness to transition to college. The initial quantitative stage of this case study administered the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire to former 4-H participants who were recent high school graduates. Latter qualitative stages included interviews with staff regarding the practices and strategies they employed related to preparing young people for college and interviews with former 4-H participants selected from …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Creative Work, and Performance

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

Exploring Student Perceptions To Explain The Relationship Between Physical Activity And Academic Achievement In Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study, Megan J. Hylok

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A nationwide survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control in 2007 reported 65% of high school students did not meet the recommendation that youth participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week (CDC, 2008). While research has focused its attention primarily on bodily health, growing evidence supports the benefits of physical activity on brain health (Ratey & Hagerman, 2008). Physical activity is important and many adolescents are not meeting the recommendation, therefore, it is important to explore the adolescent perceptions to understand which factors influence physical activity participation. The significance of this study …

Defining Teaching Excellence: A Phenomenological Study Of Seven Nationally Recognized Secondary Educators, Rosalee A. Swartz

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

Change has been an integral part of the American education system since the 1830s (Lucas, 1999) when universities began preparing students to teach. Over the past 20 years, changes including federal mandates (Disabilities Education Act, 1990; No Child Left Behind, 2003) and increasing diversity in school populations require a responding sensitivity from classroom teachers. In the midst of challenges that these changes present, teachers are increasingly asked to do more.

Research shows that nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave within the first five years of teaching, citing issues such as lack of preparation and mentorship, working conditions, pay, and …

Student Perceptions Of Digital Textbooks In A College Nursing Program, Alan D. Eno

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

The purpose of this research was to study the use of digital textbooks in a small liberal arts college. The research was a mixed methods descriptive study using a pre and post survey to determine student perceptions of the technology. Findings indicated that students needed training in the installation and use of digital textbooks. Findings also indicated the need for further research into what students understand about using digital textbooks. Recommendations are for the college to institute training sessions to teach students how to use the digital textbooks.

Exploring The Complexities Of Learning Motivation In Pre-Service Teacher Education Students: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kristin K. Grosskopf

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students’ motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those …

Multi-Party Mobilization For Adolescent Literacy In A Rural Area: A Case Study Of Policy Development And Collaboration, Edmund T. Hamann, Julie Meltzer

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

Between 2001 and 2005, the state of Maine shifted the focus of its statewide high school improvement efforts to include an explicit focus on adolescent literacy. One trigger for that change in focus was a 5-school adolescent literacy initiative previously launched in a rural county under the federal Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory contract. This monograph describes the multi-party mobilization that led to the creation and implementation of the adolescent literacy project and explains the link between the modest rural effort and the change in state-level reform efforts.