Enhancing Science Education through Extracurricular Activities: A Retrospective Study of Suzy Science and the Whiz Kids©

Extracurricular activities (ECA) are informal settings offering free-choice experiences that are generally voluntary, open-ended, non-sequential, self-directed, hands-on, and evaluation-free. This mixed methods study investigates participation in a high school science ECA by collecting the memories of former student members for their perceptions of engagement as well as social positioning. First, this study examines the levels in which the science club engaged these members, particularly females, in science and teaching. Second, the study also ascertains how participation in the club allowed members to explore new identities and fostered the development of new skills, actions and behaviors, expanding possible future trajectories of identification, specifically in science- and education-related career fields. Based on a review of the related literature regarding engagement and identity formation and the reconstructed reality from the memories of these students and sponsor, a theoretical framework has been constructed, based on seven essential elements of informal learning for an engaging as well as a socially constructive high school science ECA. The most significant findings are 1) the high correlation between engagement, specifically, cognitive engagement with social positioning, 2) the important role of emotional engagement in science ECA, 3) the major perception roadblocks to science learning that can be overcome, particularly for females in physical science, and 4) the importance of the teacher-student interactions in science ECA. Articulating a theoretical framework to legitimate the power of informal learning structures may help other educators to understand the potential benefits of science ECA and thus, increase opportunities for such experiential activities in order to enhance engagement and expand positioning of their students in science. More engaging, socially constructive science ECA have the potential to enhance science education

Student Research Colloquium Proceedings 2011

2011 Student Research Colloquium proceedings include the following: explanation of the Student Research Colloquium passport , a schedule of the day\u27s events, acknowledgement of research sponsors, the day\u27s program, formal paper competition participants; poster presentation participants; conference presentation abstracts, student presenter index, research sponsor index, planning committee, poster and paper presentation judges, registration desk, sponsors, and donors, map of Atwood Memorial Center. Keynote Address: Brianda Cediel, Executive Director, Hands Across the World: Research with an International Flair : In this talk, Cediel takes the lessons she has learned during her remarkable 28 year teaching career with people of different countries and diverse ethnicities. She came back to SCSU in 2000 to finish her studies in ESL (English as a Second Language). Journey with her through those years and learn how she became the founder of Hands Across the World , a very successful program for immigrants here in St. Cloud, MN. The program is recognized at a national level as one of the best for refugees and immigrants. She serves her students with compassion, love, empathy, and humility. Her commitment to the program\u27s vision is to empower and enable those around her while pulling them to thrive in the global community. We are proud to welcome Brianda Cediel to her alma mater

Program and Book of Abstracts: 2019 Undergraduate Research Celebration

The Ramaley Celebration is a highly anticipated event that features student presentations of their research accomplishments. At Winona State, undergraduate research is highly valued as an integral part of the educational process and the Ramaley Celebration is one way we recognize and affirm this. Furthermore, the wonderful diversity of the student presenters, the research projects, and the disciplines represented all provide a strong reminder of the distinctiveness and breadth of research across the entire WSU community. For our purposes, we define “research” very broadly as “an inquiry or investigation that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline” (Council on Undergraduate Research).https://openriver.winona.edu/urc2019/1000/thumbnail.jp

2017 Minnesota Undergraduate Scholars Posters at St. Paul Abstract Booklet

Abstract booklet from the fourth Minnesota Undergraduate Scholars Posters at St. Paul event. The multi-disciplinary poster presentation was held on March 2, 2017 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the State Capitol rotunda. Participating campuses included: Bemidji State University, Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota State University, Moorhead, Rochester Community and Technical College, Southwest Minnesota State University, St. Cloud State University, and Winona State University

A Meta-Analytic Review of Cooperative Learning Practices in Higher Education: A Human Communication Perspective

The phrase cooperative learning refers to a pedagogical learning and teaching technique in use in schools from kindergarten through higher education. The technique involves the structuring of an active classroom environment with students working in groups to discover, solve, and at its basic, provide a framework for dialogue and conversation. Cooperative learning is grounded in the development of a theory of social interdependence (Morton Deutsch) which states that individuals, working in groups, can in most cases provide for greater productivity and ideas than individuals working alone. The development of cooperative learning was greatly expanded in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s with the invention of specific group learning techniques led by researchers David and Robert Johnson (Learning Together), Elliot Aronson (Jigsaw), and Robert Slavin (STAD). These researchers established guidelines (rules) and taxonomies that provided a basis for research in the area of cooperative learning. At the center of all of these techniques is an element of human communication, most often through the oral/aural communication channel, where group learning and discovery takes place. Cooperative learning and collaborative learning techniques differ in the amount and implementation of teaching guidelines required in the methodology. This study (a metaanalysis) weaves through more than 14-hundred published pieces of literature in a variety of disciplines, narrowing it down to 19 published articles which investigate (through experiments) the effectiveness through learning outcomes of cooperative learning in higher education (college and university level). With studies including more than 2-thousand student-participants in the research, data indicates no significant difference between those classrooms utilizing a cooperative learning format, and those using a traditional lecture/discussion format (d =0.05, 95%, C1:-05 to .14, p\u3e.05, k = 21, N = 2,052). Though there is no statistical difference between the two teaching techniques, researchers do offer a list of positive classroom observations/variables, which provides a launching point for future research into the use of cooperative learning techniques in higher education

Network governance and climate change adaptation: collaborative responses to the Queensland floods

Abstract This research examines ways to build adaptive capacity to climate change, through a case study of organisations that participated in the response to Queensland’s major flood disaster in Queensland in 2010/11. The research applied a network governance approach, including social network analysis and qualitative investigations, to the communities of Rockhampton, Emerald and Brisbane. The study was designed to compare social networks across a range of different geographical; functional; and institutional and regulatory contexts.Primary data were obtained from organisations involved in disaster management and water management, through a telephone survey conducted March – September 2012. The network analyses examined collaboration and communication patterns; changes in the network structure from routine management to flood operations; similarities and differences between the geographic regions, and whether collaboration was correlated with trust. A cultural values analysis was then performed to identify the key values of the network actors in each region. Two workshops were conducted in Rockhampton and Brisbane to disseminate the findings to stakeholders, as well as to obtain feedback through group activities.A total of 63 organisations participated in the study. As the network analyses and visualisations indicated that the Rockhampton and Emerald networks were tightly interconnected, a single ‘Central Queensland’ (CQ) network was used for all subsequent analyses. In both Brisbane and CQ, slightly higher levels of collaboration amongst organisations were recorded during flood periods compared with routine operations; and organisations tended to provide, as well as receive, information and/or resources from their collaborators. Overall, both networks appeared to feature high trust, with only a low level of difficult ties (problematic relationships) being reported.The cultural analyses identified patterns of common values amongst participating organisations. In Brisbane, respondents placed a high value on shared information systems and resources; shared communication and language; as well as on collaboration and flexibility. In the CQ network, there was a greater emphasis on local solutions, community wellbeing and longitudinal issues (such as post-disaster supply chains for recovery). The workshop activities suggested that the current structure of Local Disaster Management Groups was heavily influential on broader network participation; and that defining an ‘effective’ disaster response was a complex issue.This study has demonstrated that a network governance approach can provide new ways of understanding the core elements of adaptive capacity, in areas such as enablers and barriers to adaptation, and translating capacity into adaptation. The key implications for policy and practice include the need for stakeholders to drive adaptation to climate change through collaboration and communication; the need for stakeholders to share a common goal and language; the need for better engagement with community, diversity and Indigenous organisations; the need to establish collaboration outside of disaster events; and the need for network governance systems to play an important role in helping to facilitate climate change adaptation. The areas identified for future research included further methodological development and longitudinal studies of social networks, understanding effective modes of communication, and the influence of the changing nature of regional Australian communities on climate change adaptation.Please cite this report as:Kinnear, S, Patison, K, Mann, J, Malone, E, Ross, V 2013, Network governance and climate change adaptation: collaborative responses to the Queensland floods, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Gold Coast, pp. 113.This research examines ways to build adaptive capacity to climate change, through a case study of organisations that participated in the response to Queensland’s major flood disaster in Queensland in 2010/11. The research applied a network governance approach, including social network analysis and qualitative investigations, to the communities of Rockhampton, Emerald and Brisbane. The study was designed to compare social networks across a range of different geographical; functional; and institutional and regulatory contexts.Primary data were obtained from organisations involved in disaster management and water management, through a telephone survey conducted March – September 2012. The network analyses examined collaboration and communication patterns; changes in the network structure from routine management to flood operations; similarities and differences between the geographic regions, and whether collaboration was correlated with trust. A cultural values analysis was then performed to identify the key values of the network actors in each region. Two workshops were conducted in Rockhampton and Brisbane to disseminate the findings to stakeholders, as well as to obtain feedback through group activities.A total of 63 organisations participated in the study. As the network analyses and visualisations indicated that the Rockhampton and Emerald networks were tightly interconnected, a single ‘Central Queensland’ (CQ) network was used for all subsequent analyses. In both Brisbane and CQ, slightly higher levels of collaboration amongst organisations were recorded during flood periods compared with routine operations; and organisations tended to provide, as well as receive, information and/or resources from their collaborators. Overall, both networks appeared to feature high trust, with only a low level of difficult ties (problematic relationships) being reported.The cultural analyses identified patterns of common values amongst participating organisations. In Brisbane, respondents placed a high value on shared information systems and resources; shared communication and language; as well as on collaboration and flexibility. In the CQ network, there was a greater emphasis on local solutions, community wellbeing and longitudinal issues (such as post-disaster supply chains for recovery). The workshop activities suggested that the current structure of Local Disaster Management Groups was heavily influential on broader network participation; and that defining an ‘effective’ disaster response was a complex issue.This study has demonstrated that a network governance approach can provide new ways of understanding the core elements of adaptive capacity, in areas such as enablers and barriers to adaptation, and translating capacity into adaptation. The key implications for policy and practice include the need for stakeholders to drive adaptation to climate change through collaboration and communication; the need for stakeholders to share a common goal and language; the need for better engagement with community, diversity and Indigenous organisations; the need to establish collaboration outside of disaster events; and the need for network governance systems to play an important role in helping to facilitate climate change adaptation. The areas identified for future research included further methodological development and longitudinal studies of social networks, understanding effective modes of communication, and the influence of the changing nature of regional Australian communities on climate change adaptation