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- Creators: Oliver, Jill
- Creators: School of Life Sciences
- Creators: Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs
Description
The civil engineering curriculum includes the engineering fields of environmental, geotechnical, hydrology, structural, and transportation. A particular focus on the structural engineering curriculum outline involves courses in mathematics, engineering mechanics, structural analysis, and structural design. The core structural analysis and design course at Arizona State University (CEE 321) is a transition course to connect realistic structural design and analysis concepts to an engineering foundation created by the first and second year mathematics and mechanics courses. CEE 321 is styled after a flipped classroom model and students are assessed through quizzes, midterms, design projects, and a final exam. Student performance was evaluated for the Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 semesters through an error analysis technique designed to categorize student mistakes based on type of error and related topic. This analysis revealed that student's basic engineering mechanics skills improved throughout the course as well as identified the areas that students struggle in. The slope-deflection and direct stiffness methods of analysis and calculating cross-sectional properties are the primary areas of concern. Using appropriate technology in the engineering classroom has the potential to enhance the learning environment and address the areas of inadequacy identified by the performance analysis. A survey of CEE 321 students demonstrated that technology is a highly integrated and useful portion of student's lives. Therefore, the engineering classroom should reflect this. Through the use of analysis and design software, students are able to begin to develop design intuition and understanding while completing realistic engineering projects in their third year of undergraduate studies. Additionally, incorporating internet resources into and outside of the classroom allows students to be connected to course content from any web-enabled device of their choice. Lecture videos posted online covering the course content were requested by many CEE 321 students and are an emerging resource that supplements the flipped classroom model. The availability of such a tool allows students to revisit concepts that they do not understand or pause, rewind, and replay the lectures when necessary. An expansion of the structural analysis and design online lecture videos for CEE 321 are expected to address and improve the areas that students struggle in as identified by the error analysis.
ContributorsMika, Krista Nicole (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam (Thesis director) / Mamlouk, Michael (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Abstract As we move forward in education reform in the globalized 21st century, the United States must visit new ways to teach science in high school classrooms. The goal of this investigation is to analyze the current research literature for the best and most promising teaching strategies and techniques in secondary education biology classrooms that promote academic excellence for all students. Looking at policy and school reform literature in science education to establish the context of the current system, the paper will not focus on the political as or systematic changes needed to ground an overall successful system. However, because of their inherent effect on the education system, the political aspects of education reform will be briefly addressed. The primary focus, by addressing the emphasis on standardization, inflexibility of instruction and lack of creativity specifically in high school biology classrooms, seeks to clarify small changes that can influence students' academic outcomes. The United States is performing on such a poor level in science and math proficiency that it cannot match students abroad and this is seen through test scores and the production of competent graduates. This investigation serves to organize literature from education researchers and showcase best and promising teaching and learning practices that catalyze academic excellence for all students in our pluralistic, democratic and complex schooling and societal contexts.
ContributorsHildebrandt, Kevin Andrew (Author) / Ovando, Carlos (Thesis director) / Schugurensky, Daniel, 1958- (Committee member) / Fischman, Gustavo (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
American youth are not well exposed to animal- and nature-related careers. This is especially important to consider due to the recent push to be more environmentally conscious. In addition, youth are spending less time outside and more time in front of screens. This is driving down biophilia strength. The combination of a weaker connection with nature and more screen time has been connected to a new condition named Nature-Deficit Disorder. In order to expose youth to animal- and nature-related careers while attempting to combat the growing presence of Nature-Deficit Disorder, a three day teaching program named Wild Careers was created. This program was presented to teens in December 2015 through a partnership with the education department of Arizona Animal Welfare League. The curriculum was centered on highlighting relevant careers and background information. Topics such as animal welfare and conservation were taught as cornerstones during the program due to their encompassing importance to the career fields in question. It was felt to be important to inform participants about the context of these fields through specially planned activities and guest speakers. Participants were challenged to conduct online research, think critically, and get hands-on during this program. Wild Careers also exposed the participants to animals and the relevant species management stories. The surveys given before and after the presentation of the created curriculum provided evidence that supported an increased understanding of careers and enjoyment of participants. I propose that other non-formal teaching environments should be created that target exposing youth to animals, nature, and related careers.
ContributorsTaubel, Samantha Kay (Author) / Smith, Andrew (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Arthur, Emilie (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
For the past few decades, the education system in the United States has failed many students because of its inability to increase student achievement. While there are many layers to this problem that cannot be solved with one simple solution, a curriculum change that provides students with more engaging and hands on learning opportunities along with teaching them to be advocates for their own education and community betterment offers a great start to the momentum for change. Service-learning is an ideal way to accomplish this because it incorporates civic engagement and community service into lesson plans that directly align with academic standards. Through service-learning, students are given the opportunity to apply their knowledge in direct and hands on ways meanwhile witnessing the difference that they can make in their community with their knowledge and abilities. Service-learning is a type of instruction typically employed in high school or junior high grades because it requires the course content to coincide with a service project of some kind. In this essay, we look into the research behind service-learning as well as several issues within the community that could be addressed with this kind of curriculum. The aim of this research is to adapt the models of service-learning intended for more advanced grades to align with the standards of a first grade curriculum and also consider the critical thinking skills, self-examination abilities, and social awareness of students at this age when making these adaptations. We believe that service-learning can benefit young students just as much, if not more than older students because it can help them to see the value in their education from early on and demonstrates real life uses for what they are learning. The curriculum created from this research is intended for use at schools within low-income communities in order to empower the students to actively fight against the challenges they face that prevent them from succeeding. However, this curriculum can easily be used in any school setting and adapted to various different age levels.
ContributorsBayer, Kendall Rose (Author) / Oliver, Jill (Thesis director) / White-Taylor, Janel (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This creative project cites research on the benefits of multi-age education and thematic units to raise awareness and to promote the use of these educational strategies. Research shows that multi-age education can be beneficial to students by allowing students to work at their own pace in each subject. In a multi-age classroom, students are grouped by ability rather than age, which allows all students to excel in areas they are gifted in and to receive additional help in weaker subjects. This setting allows students to collaborate with learners of various ages and abilities, which promotes pro-social behaviors and reinforces learning. While multi-age met its peak in the American education system in the 1980s-1990s, in recent decades, multi-age learning has lost its momentum due to poorly implemented programs and improperly trained teachers (Grant, et al., 1996, p. 31). Through this creative project, a curriculum based on thematic units for a multi-age classroom comprised of 4th-6th grades was actualized. This project provides a basic structure of a daily schedule and various teaching strategies to organize a multi-age classroom. However, the main focus of this project is on the development of one thematic unit to exemplify how a teacher can implement a thematic unit in a multi-age classroom and scaffold the learning effectively depending on each student's level and ability. The unit was centered on the theme of Ancient Greece and Rome, which was implemented into three content areas: social studies, language arts, and science. The ultimate goal of this creative project is to publish the curriculum and make it available to teachers who are interested in implementing a multi-age curriculum in their classrooms. This curriculum will provide them with a model of a classroom structure and a sample unit, paired with research to support the benefits of multi-age and thematic unit approaches.
ContributorsSlater, Sarah Jane (Author) / Ludlow, Carlyn (Thesis director) / Oliver, Jill (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12