Mental health challenges for youth continue to be a growing concern. Youth-serving organizations have the potential to play a significant role in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges in youth. The Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training course is widely used to equip adults working with youth with skills to support…

Background: Designed in 2012 with a first implementation in 2013, NE STEM 4U is a professional development program for post-secondary students/undergraduates, and serves as a source of outreach, content knowledge generation, and STEM literacy for youth in grades kindergarten through 8th grade (ages 5-14). The model empowers post-secondary students…

What does it take to cultivate a campus culture that reflects a commitment to worldview diversity? As religious and philosophical diversity grows, administrators are seeking ways to positively influence worldview-related experiences on campus. Interfaith capacity-building trainings are an important way for colleges and universities to proactively…

STEM faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) have partnered with teachers and administrators in the Omaha Public Schools (OPS) to implement a Teacher-Researcher Partnership Program. This program establishes resources and infrastructure that engage K-12 science teachers in scientific research experiences. In the first implementation of…

Strong collaborative partnerships are critical to the ongoing success of any urban or metropolitan university in its efforts to build the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career pathways so critical to our nation. At the University of Nebraska at Omaha, we have established a faculty leadership structure of "community…

This paper justifies the need for, and offers some suggestions on, the selection and implementation of mathematical problems known as dynamic solution exercises (DSEs). The intent of this article is to help provide insight into how mathematics teachers can go about making "vertical articulation" a cooperative and tangible part of the…

In 2004, Central Community College (CCC) established the Mechatronics Education Center (MEC), a regional center of excellence, to help the state address the shortage of skilled technicians in the area of industrial automation. The MEC addresses the needs of the current and future workforce through the implementation of its three main components:…

General education reform provides strategic opportunities for departments. This article analyzes reform at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, illustrating how departments could use the reform process to clarify their strategic planning, align with institutional goals, and steer the university closer to departmental objectives. (Contains 1 table.)

In November, 2008, Colorado and Nebraska voted on amendments that sought to end race-based affirmative action at public universities. In anticipation of the vote, Colorado's flagship public institution--The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU)--explored statistical approaches to support class-based affirmative action. This paper details CU's…

In November, 2008, Colorado and Nebraska voted on amendments that sought to end race-based affirmative action at public universities in those states. In anticipation of the vote, the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) explored statistical approaches to support class-based (i.e., socioeconomic) affirmative action. This dissertation introduces…

Recent years have seen a surge in the use of intelligent computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) tools for improving student learning in traditional classrooms. However, adopting such a CSCL tool in a classroom still requires the teacher to develop (or decide on which to adopt) the CSCL tool and the CSCL script, design the relevant…

The purpose of this study was to develop a theory for institutional change that explains the process and implementation of "Achievement-Centered Education" (ACE) from the faculty perspective. ACE is a new general education program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a public, doctoral/research-extensive institution. A constant…

Libraries today face an increasing challenge: to provide relevant information to diverse populations with differing needs while competing with Web search engines like Google. In 2009, a large group of libraries, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, joined with Innovative Interfaces as development partners to design a new type of…

A case study was conducted in 2006-07 to explore how one US campus implemented a centralised e-assessment system. The study specifically measured the extent of adoption by faculty members, identified their reasons for adoption and evaluated the impact on teaching and learning. The purposes of the system, entitled researching learning (REAL, a…

An introductory CS1 course presents problems for educators and students due to students' diverse background in programming knowledge and exposure. Students who enroll in CS1 also have different expectations and motivations. Prompted by the curricular guidelines for undergraduate programmes in computer science released in 2001 by the ACM/IEEE, and…