4,552 research outputs found
Supporting Students With Disabilities And Addressing Challenging Behaviors (And Navigating ALC's)
No full textLocation: JC Room A
Disability Services is actively serving over 5% of the Mason student population at any given time. The number of students that we serve continues to grow relative to overall enrollment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report estimating that 26% of the US adult population currently lives with a disability. As Mason targets total student enrollment to exceed 40,000+ students within the next 5 yearsâcoupled with a greater focus to increase access for all students through initiatives like ADVANCE and other initiatives targeting non-traditional college-age populations (e.g., early- and mid-career adults who left college before completing their degree)âit will become increasingly important for all members of the Mason community to deliver educational opportunities, programs, and support services while addressing disability-related needs and behavioral challenges appropriately. The number of students with disabilities who request accommodations at Mason continues to rise and there will always be a need to appropriately evaluate these requests while adhering to relevant federal laws (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973). When we work with faculty and staff through unique situations and accommodations for specific students, it does provide us with an opportunity to speak more broadly about the Disability Services Mission and to share general strategies about addressing potentially challenging behaviors in the academic environment. We view this session as an opportunity to be proactive in that approach and to spark dialogue about how instructors have managed these interactions in the past and ways to improve the support for students with disabilities. Our goal is to provide a Disability Services snapshot and to describe disability-related trends at Mason and across the nation more broadlyâthis information will be used to set the foundation for the remainder of the session. A majority of the session will be spent encouraging dialogue around ways that instructors have addressed challenging behaviors in the past, current questions they may have about disabilities more broadly, and to share tips and strategies around disability etiquette
Community, solidarity and belonging: levels of community and their normative significance
No full textDespite the frequency with which the term 'community' is used, it is hard to find any comprehensive exploration of the nature and value of community. This book tries to remedy this omission whilst taking seriously the idea that community can be of different kinds and can exist at different levels, and that these levels and kinds may come into conflict with one another. It focuses on the question of what kind of community is valuable at the level of the state. It then explores the limits that ideals of political community place upon cultural diversity within the state, and the limits that, in turn, ideals of global community place upon the self-determination of political communities. This book will be of interest to students of political theory, philosophy and international relation
Powerful Learning Strategies For Student Success
No full textLocation: JC Room E
According to CAART website, only 87.5% of freshmen return for their sophomore year. While this retention rate is better than the 81% average rate of 4-year degree granting institutions (NCES, 2018), George Mason University could be doing a better job at supporting students. In addition, over 2500 undergraduate students who responded to the Fall 2018 Patriot Success survey indicated that they wanted more information on better study habits. This session will present an overview of learning strategies that any staff or faculty member may share with students to support their learning. While this is the mission of Learning Services, the more people on campus who know about these strategies, the more students we can support and ultimately retain until degree completion. We will present information on a distributed learning model called the Study Cycle which provides students with a better understanding of the out-of-class learning activities in which professors expect students to be engaged. Next, we will engage participants in a discussion of the importance of self-testing (Brown, 2014) and present three study strategies designed to help students practice self-testing to improve memory retention. In addition, we will discuss how to incorporate discipline-specific learning strategy instruction into courses
Tools For impacting Student Well-Being In The Classroom
No full textLocation: JC Room B
Navigating a fast-paced and complex world can strain student well-being given many of our studentsâ multifaceted lives (working, parenting, managing full course loads). This session is an opportunity for faculty to learn how to utilize evidence-based tools to make in-class time a valuable driver for student well-being. This highly interactive session will offer lessons on how to structure courses to incorporate well-being. The presenter will offer well-being resources such as guidelines, recommendations, and lessons learned from faculty at Mason and elsewhere. Data from a pre-post well-being competency used in academic courses that indicates studentsâ learning gains will be shared. This session will foster teaching collaboration as attendees will be encouraged to discuss their curricula and identify opportunities to embed well-being practices and/or content. The presenter will facilitate a dialogue on the realistic challenges to incorporating well-being into the classroom with the goal of helping faculty strategize ways to navigate those challenges
Enacting Pedagogical And Organizational Change Through Course-Based Communities Of Transformation
No full textLocation: JC Room E
Supported by existing infrastructure and the university's strategic plan, Mason is poised to scale up its implementation of active and inquiry-based learning by engaging faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in changing the culture of teaching. Literature shows that student engagement through active and inquiry-based learning improves student attitudes, retention, and understanding at all levels of curriculum (e.g., Fry, 2014; Freeman et al., 2014; National Research Council, 2012; and references therein) with an outsized impact on women and previously low-achieving students (Kogan & Laursen, 2014; Laursen et al., 2014). However, motivating faculty to make significant changes to their teaching practices is often challenging, and active learning methods are used only sporadically on college campuses, including Mason, despite a long history of research showing that these techniques improve student learning. The literature on change within academic departments is sparse and often touts the success of centralized units in promoting pedagogy reform (e.g., Fairweather, 2008 and references therein). At the same time, research shows that departmental norms and institutional barriers have a large impact on the way STEM faculty teach (Austin, 2011; D'Avanzo, 2013; Brownell & Tanner, 2012; Henderson et al., 2012; Sunal et al., 2001; Fairweather, 2008). Peer-to-peer learning communities have been shown to provide support for organizational learning (Kezar & Lester, 2011; Mittendorf et al., 2006), to assist in the development of new pedagogical interventions, and to shift faculty values surrounding teaching and learning (Davis & Sumara, 1997; Gallucci, 2003; Sanchez-Cardona et al., 2012; Snyder et al., 2003; Viskovic, 2006). The purpose of this panel is to showcase work being done to leverage learning communities to enact pedagogical and organizational change. The panelists, members of a cross-disciplinary team of researchers, are working alongside members of a course-based community of transformation (CCT) in Mathematics at Mason, with CCTs in Physics, Biology, and Computer Science to follow. These researchers, with members of the Math CCT, will share empirical evidence, lessons learned, and practical implications related to their National Science Foundation funded project to create department and institution-level change that supports the adoption of active learning pedagogy at Mason. As a part of this work, multi-generational teams of faculty, graduate apprentice instructors, and undergraduate learning assistants receive training on active learning techniques, learning communities, grassroots leadership, and change in higher education, as well as continued support through a network of CCTs. This project is designed to develop a university culture that values the incorporation of active learning practices in undergraduate STEM courses and programs. Attendees will leave the session with a better sense of how to employ changes in pedagogy within their own classrooms and how to facilitate change more broadly across their departments and the campus community. Specific attention will be given to effective change strategies, factors that influence change, and steps in the process of change. Attendees will also be given time to consider the needs, strategies, resources, and partnerships necessary for change in their communities
Improving STEM Teaching And Learning Through Active Learning
No full textLocation: JC Room A
Studies across the STEM disciplines have shown that student engagement and active learning improve student attitudes, retention, and understanding (e.g., Fry, 2014; Freeman et al., 2014; National Research Council, 2012; and references therein), with greater impact on women and previously low-achieving students (Kogan & Laursen, 2014; Laursen et al., 2014). A recent meta-analysis of 225 studies has shown that active learning improves student performance on examinations and concept inventories (Freeman et al., 2014). Numerous pedagogical strategies fall under the active learning umbrella, including peer instruction (Mazur, 1997), conceptual clicker questions (e.g., Miller et al., 2006), flipped classrooms, student blogs, Treismanâs emerging scholar program (Treisman, 1992), and oral reviews (Nelson, 2010). The implementation and degree of active engagement vary greatly from class to class and instructor to instructor. Nevertheless, studies have consistently shown improvements in student learning when these techniques are used (Laursen et al., 2012). Given the evidence of active learningâs efficacy for all students, and especially non-traditional populations, the need to engage in active learning at Mason is particularly relevant. Further, as a part of the university's strategic plan and its ongoing infrastructure improvements, Mason is poised to scale its implementation of active and inquiry-based learning by engaging faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates in changing the culture of teaching and learning. The purpose of this workshop is to actively engage attendees in various active learning strategies that can be employed in a variety of classroom settings to improve student learning, retention, and engagement. Based on the work of a National Science Foundation funded grant to leverage active learning pedagogy across STEM curriculum, workshop leaders will share evidence-based approaches for developing, implementing, and assessing active learning techniques. Although the expertise of the panelists lies primarily in the STEM fields, the active learning techniques shared are applicable across a variety of disciplines and can be implemented in small seminars or large lecture halls. Active learning techniques presented and discussed will range from ânoviceâ to more advanced, and facilitators will describe how techniques can be tailored to various active learning comfort levels. As a part of the workshop, attendees will engage in student-centered learning activities, hear from leaders about their implementation of and experiences with active learning, and map out ways to integrate active learning in their own teaching practices. This this workshop provides an opportunity for participants, whether new to active learning or highly skilled in its implementation, to learn and share strategies for integrating this innovative pedagogical approach into practice
Misconception-Based Learning To Cement Learning
No full textLocation: JC Room G
Every class has purpose but CLIM 102, Introduction to Global Climate Change Science, in particular because it serves to combat rife misinformation and misconceptions concerning climate change and provide America, and the world, with climate literate citizens. CLIM 102 is a 100-level Mason CORE class typically attended by students from a range of backgrounds, including non-science majors, interested in understanding global climate change, climate modeling, and meeting their natural science lab requirements. In order to cement the students understanding of the physical processes taught to them throughout the semester, we have introduced a climate change myth-busting theme and the culmination of the class with group myth-busting presentations. Students need to use the physical concepts they have been taught to effectively debunk a given climate change myth afflicting societal discourse. This activity is a misconception-based learning activity, an educational approach that teaches scientific concepts through the refutation of scientific misconceptions. This teaching approach has been tested across a range of disciplines and is regarded as one of the most powerful methods of teaching science, resulting in stronger student engagement, longer-lasting learning gains, and increased critical thinking skills. We will present this CLIM 102 myth-busting approach as a template that those from other disciplines could adapt within their classes. To further investigate the effectiveness of this approach we have begun evaluating it this semester (Spring 2019) with an IRB approved research study led by Dr. Cook. Our research will enable us to add to the body of knowledge on misconception-based learning, as well as explore different ways of introducing students to misconceptions. Our plan is to yield further theoretical insights, raise awareness of this approach in the education community, and develop best-practices recommendations. Participants will be able to use the example of its application to a climate change class as a template/starting point/inspiration for developing a similar activity in their own science class
Using Artifacts In Teaching: The Little Box Project
No full textLocation: JC Room E
In this interactive workshop, attendees will learn about different adaptations of the "Cajitas" or "little box" project in courses in the Spanish program at George Mason University. This project, originally created by Alberto Lopez Pulido to use with his students of Chican@ Studies at the University of San Diego, asks students to prepare a container of artifacts that reflect their culture, heritage, and personal experiences for Day of the Dead celebrations. Using a feminist pedagogical approach, the little box project was adapted for students at GMU to address the following challenges: How can we help students apply critical theories from a specific academic discipline to their own lives and experiences? And how can instructors embrace authenticity, particularly when they are from a different cultural background than the discipline in which they teach? The little box project was used as a midterm assignment for students in the course Introduction to Latinx Studies (Fall 2018) in order to engage students in applying critical approaches to understanding representation and the concept of intersectionality in identity. The little boxes also had a significant impact on the student's sense of community in the course and their appreciation for one another's diverse backgrounds. We will also discuss how the project was adapted again in the spring to address the needs of different learners- students in intermediate Spanish courses (Spanish 202, SPRING 2019). By creating their own "cajitas", students were required to become active curators of cultural content. Additionally, they were asked to reflect on and research examples of marginalized representations in art from the Spanish-speaking world. Overall, the project's approach encouraged students to engage more actively with cultures from the Spanish-speaking world while at the same time sharing information about their own culture(s) and backgrounds
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