Creating Children’s Literature TEAC 854: Fall 2019 Tuesday 5 – 7:50 pm

Participate in the experience of becoming a published children’s book author. What are the elements to writing a successful children’s book? Class members will develop and evaluate original stories targeted to a particular young audience. The stories can be written for print or digital formats, and they can be text-based and/or illustrated, including comics. The class will access appropriate print and digital publishing venues, and stories will be submitted for publication by the end of the semester. Instructor: Judy Diamond PhD, Professor and Curator, University of Nebraska State Museu

Population Estimates of Kea in Arthur\u27s Pass National Park

The population dynamics of a local group of Kea (Nestor notabilis) was studied at a refuse dump in Arthur\u27s Pass National Park over the course of three successive summers. The mean number of buds that foraged at the dump during the summer was estimated as 20 juveniles, 10 subadults, and 36 adults. An average of 11% of these birds were females. The number of adults was quite stable across years. The total population of Kea in this area was estimated to be between 88 and 119, or in the order of 0.018 to 0.040 buds per hectare. Mortality did not exceed 16-20% per year for adult and subadult buds, but it was probably higher for younger buds. Male juveniles all appeared to disperse from the area within the first two years; female juveniles, on the other hand, were frequently resighted in subsequent seasons. This difference in behaviour was statistically significant. The abundance of fledglings suggested that as few as 10% of adult males may breed in any given year

A Crash in the Night

The illustrations in this book describe a wildlife encounter. Wild animals, like people, have challenges in life. They are adaptable and inventive, and they find new ways of solving problems to help them survive. As you turn the pages, describe what you see. How would you solve this wildlife challenge? Mary Ann Steiner: Working on this story was exciting to me because I believe at any age, we can notice what is happening around us and make decisions to protect and enjoy nature! In this story, the kids see an exciting new character in the community. Once they figure out who it is, they look to understand more about the coyote. Sure, coyotes could eat a pet, but more often they are eating other wild animals like mice. If we can do things to make our yards less interesting to coyotes (and mice), they’d likely stay at a distance where we can listen to them and occasionally see them in action. This story connects curiosity, creativity, and enjoyment and respect for our role in nature. Sam Taylor: What are the different ways to know nature? In my own experience as a marine biology researcher and museum director, I know there are many ways to connect with nature: whether through a scientific process or through personal experience. I grew up in Montana, but I was entranced by the ocean – stories about Jacques Cousteau and family vacations to Vancouver Island led me to want to discover as much as I could about the natural world. And then books gave me a portal to worlds both familiar and exotic and the realization that discovery and understanding can happen in settings as familiar as my backyard or as remote as the open seas. Judy Diamond: I work in a natural history museum and study the behavior of animals like coyotes. I watch them in the wild to learn how they share and learn things. How do young coyotes learn to hunt? Do their parents teach them? Why do coyotes play? When they play, do they also learn how to get along with each other? Maybe playing helps them not fight so much. Coyotes are wonderful animals to study because they are very flexible. If one kind of food is not available, they can find others, since they eat plants and other animals. Coyotes can live in all sorts of places, even in large cities. They are champions at being adaptable. Just like people.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/1075/thumbnail.jp

How Do Teachers Use Comics to Promote Engagement, Equity, and Diversity in Science Classrooms?

Equitable learning opportunities are critical to the goals of science education. However, major curriculum standards are vague on how to achieve equity goals, and educators must often develop their own resources and strategies to achieve equity goals. This study examines how educators used a comic book series designed to interest youth in virology as a way to make science more broadly appealing to their diverse students. We begin with the notion of Pedagogical Design Capacity, which describes a dynamic relationship between teachers and their tools and the ability for teachers to perceive and leverage affordances of artifacts as tools in their curriculum design. In a qualitative analysis of 18 interviews with educators, survey responses, instructional artifacts, and classroom observations, we describe the potential that educators saw in the comics and the strategies they used to take advantage of that potential to promote equitable science teaching. Notably, we observed how the comics enabled educators to incorporate multiple literacies and disciplinary lenses into their lessons, thereby expanding traditional views of science literacy. We documented the range of techniques by which they used comics and fictional narratives to support specific scientific practices, such as modeling. We also observed challenges that participants encountered in using comics, which included overcoming their own and their students’ attitudes and beliefs regarding the role of informal reading materials in science education

Parasites: The Inside Scoop

Parasites are organisms that live inside or on another species, called the host. Parasites depend on their hosts for food and a place to live. They may harm the host in small or large ways. Parasitism is the most common mode of life on Earth. Humans, other animals, and all plants have parasites, usually two or more kinds. Even parasites can have parasites. There are millions of species of parasites, and scientists discover new ones every day. Parasite specimens are stored in museums all around the world. One of the world’s largest collections is in the H. W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Nebraska State Museum.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/1106/thumbnail.jp

Discovery Orientation, Cognitive Schemas, and Disparities in Science Identity in Early Adolescence

Why are some youth more likely to think of themselves as a science kind of person than others? In this paper, we use a cognitive social-theoretical framework to assess disparities in science identity among middle school–age youth in the United States. We investigate how discovery orientation is associated with science interest, perceived ability, importance, and reflected appraisal, and how they are related to whether youth see themselves, and perceive that others see them, as a science kind of person. We surveyed 441 students in an ethnically diverse, low-income middle school. Gender and race/ethnicity are associated with science identity but not with discovery orientation. Structural equation model results show that the positive association between discovery orientation and science identity is mediated by science interest, importance, and reflected appraisal. These findings advance understanding of how science attitudes and recognition may contribute to the underrepresentation of girls and/or minorities in science

Vaccinate: Posters from the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2022 we are living through a global pandemic, and vaccines are one of the most effective strategies for slowing the spread of infectious disease, minimizing symptoms, and lowering healthcare demands. In short, vaccines save lives and can reduce the risk of contagion from social interaction. In the United States in late 2021, after the vaccines had been broadly available for almost a year, one in five adults still chose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Art can disrupt what is embedded in our minds and open us up to new perspectives and insights. We hope to offer access to images, insights, and knowledge that help people have the freedom to consider their role in the pandemic and the role of vaccines. We hope that experiencing the creativity, humor, and sentiments of artists will encourage those who have avoided the COVID-19 vaccine to reconsider and take advantage of a way to prepare their immune system should they be exposed to the virus. We are thrilled to provide the posters for those who want to enjoy, reflect, and share them with others who are inspired by the power of vaccines and who want to help stop the spread of deadly viruses. CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS include: Rachel Claire Balter, Thane Benson, Randy Bish, Katie Bradshaw, Heinzy Cruz, Hector Curriel, Ben Darling, Nicholas Deason, Kerry Eddy, Margaret Elsener, Paul Fell, David L. Felley, Bob Hall, Hayley Jurek, Justin Kemerling, Abbey Krienke, Stephen Lahey, Anna Lindstrom, Malia McCreight, Yihang Meng, Eric Morris, Katie Nieland, Henry Payer, Natalie Pulte, Nikolaus Stevenson, Pawl Tisdale, Janet Walters, William Wells, & Jave Yoshimoto DOI:10.32873/unl.dc.zea.1334https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/1132/thumbnail.jp

Feminist Reflections on the Scope of Labour Law: Domestic Work, Social Reproduction and Jurisdiction

Drawing on feminist labour law and political economy literature, I argue that it is crucial to interrogate the personal and territorial scope of labour. After discussing the “commodification” of care, global care chains, and body work, I claim that the territorial scope of labour law must be expanded beyond that nation state to include transnational processes. I use the idea of social reproduction both to illustrate and to examine some of the recurring regulatory dilemmas that plague labour markets. I argue that unpaid care and domestic work performed in the household, typically by women, troubles the personal scope of labour law. I use the example of this specific type of personal service relation to illustrate my claim that the jurisdiction of labour law is historical and contingent, rather than conceptual and universal. I conclude by identifying some of the implications of redrawing the territorial and personal scope of labour law in light of feminist understandings of social reproduction

Informal Science Experiences among Urban and Rural Youth: Exploring Differences at the Intersections of Socioeconomic Status, Gender and Ethnicity

The current study explores patterns of informal science experiences among youth in urban and rural middle schools by gender and socioeconomic status. Data come from surveys in two Midwestern middle schools, one in a mid-sized city, and the other in a rural-remote town. We asked about participation in informal science activities (e.g. visiting zoos or museums, or watching shows about science) and if youth had participated in science-focused clubs in the last 12 months (e.g. after-school science clubs, 4-H, scouts). Rural youth reported lower rates of participation in after-school science clubs and a greater desire to participate in after-school science programming than urban youth. Latino/a youth tend to have fewer informal science experiences than non- Latino/a youth, particularly in urban areas. There were few differences in informal science experiences between boys and girls, but in urban areas, girls report more science experiences than boys. Reported science experiences are overall higher in urban areas, yet youth with fewer resources (i.e. books in the home) have fewer informal science experiences overall. This study sheds new light on how socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and geography interact with one another to shape youth science exposure and interest

Accuracy of COVID-19 Relevant Knowledge among Youth: Number of Information Sources Matters

Can comics effectively convey scientific knowledge about COVID-19 to youth? What types and how many sources of information did youth have about COVID-19 during the pandemic? How are sources of information associated with accurate COVID-19 knowledge? To answer these questions, we surveyed youth in grades 5–9 in a Midwestern United States school district in the winter of 2020–2021. The online survey used measures of COVID-19 knowledge and sources, with an embedded experiment on COVID-19 relevant comics. Guided by an integrated science capital and just-in-time health and science information acquisition model, we also measured level of science capital, science identity, and utility of science for health and society. The school district protocol required parental consent for participation; 264 of ~15,000 youth participated. Youth were randomly assigned one of four comic conditions before receiving an online survey. Results indicate that, similar to knowledge gains in comic studies on other science topics, reading the comics was associated with 7 to 29% higher accuracy about COVID-19. We found that youth reported getting information about COVID-19 from between 0–6 sources including media, family, friends, school, and experts. The bivariate positive association of news versus other sources with accuracy of knowledge did not persist in the full model, yet the positive association of a higher number of sources and accuracy did persist in the multivariate models. The degree of valuing the utility of science for their health moderated the number of sources to accuracy association. Those with less value on science for health had a stronger positive association of number of sources and accuracy in COVID-19 knowledge. We conclude that during a pandemic, even with health and science information ubiquitous in the news media, increasing youth access to a variety of accurate sources of information about science and health can increase youth knowledge