CEHHS Faculty Present Research at International Conference

AUSTIN, TX. - Dr. Stein Brunvand and Dr. David Hill, Associate Professors from the UM-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS), presented research on the gamification of learning at the 28th Society for Informational Technology in Teacher Education (SITE) annual conference held this year in Austin, Texas from March 5-9, 2017.

Dr. Stein Brunvand

Dr. Brunvand and Dr. Hill have been using GradeCraft in their undergraduate courses since the 2015 winter semester to create gameful learning experiences for their students.  GradeCraft is a gamified learning management system (LMS) that was created on the Ann Arbor campus. 

In a gamified course, students have the freedom to choose what assignments they will complete in order to earn the points they need to “level up” to the overall grade they want.  This is much like a video game environment where players earn points in order to move through the different levels of the game.  In addition, in a gamified course there are locks/unlocks with different assignments and tasks that students need to complete in order to access more difficult assignments.  This is also similar to a video game that requires the player to find hidden treasure, secret keys and other items in order to unlock other challenges and levels. 

The use of gamified learning has increased within the educational community over the last decade in an attempt to enhance student learning in multiple ways. 

Dr. David Hill

In particular, researchers have started to examine gamified learning and the potential impact on student motivation and engagement within educational settings. However, few studies have examined the relationship between specific tools embedded within a LMS and student outcomes at the postsecondary level.

The purpose of this study conducted by Dr. Brunvand and Dr. Hill was to investigate the impact of a grade predictor tool embedded within GradeCraft on 75 college students’ ability to accurately predict their final grades. You can view their presentation slides online if you are interested in learning more about their work.

CEHHS Faculty on International Endeavors

 Dearborn, MI - Two faculty members of the UM-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services traveled internationally this summer to conduct research or teach. Dr. Kim Killu traveled to East Africa as visiting lecturer and Dr. Dara Hill went to Germany for research. 

Dr. Kim Killu traveled this summer to Tanzania
as visiting lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam.

  “Karibu sana!” were the warm words of welcome Dr. Kim Killu, professor of special education, heard frequently this summer during her five week tour of East Africa.  In addition to having opportunities to meet and speak with governmental leaders and advocates for individuals with disabilities in Kenya and Tanzania, she also had the opportunity to work closely with faculty, staff, and students as a visiting lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Dr. Killu taught classes on concepts and strategies in special education and applied behavior analysis, worked with masters and doctoral students on the development of their theses and dissertations, and met with university faculty and administrators on ways to develop a collaborative relationship between the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Dar es Salaam.  The School of Education at the University of Dar es Salaam is especially interested in establishing a relationship with CEHHS on research collaboration, program and course development, and a student exchange program.

Dr. Killu with students, faculty, and administrators at the University of Dar es Salaam

 “I was struck by not only how welcoming, interested, gracious, and engaged everyone in the university community was during my visit, but also by the lack of current research, knowledge, and information within a university setting.   There is a sincere interest to develop a relationship with us, because the opportunity to make a profound difference in the lives of so many people is there” said Dr. Killu.

 

Dr. Dara Hill

Another faculty member who also traveled abroad on a research endeavor is Dr. Dara Hill, associate professor of reading and language arts, who spent three weeks this summer in the Baden-Wuerttemberg region in Germany. Dr. Hill wanted to investigate the phenomenon of high performing immigrant youth in a German college preparatory school (locally known as Gymnasium). More specifically, she wanted to investigate teachers' perspectives and expectations for the students, in a region where the current body of research informs that few immigrant youth make it to the Gymnasium, and instead struggle in low performing schools, and thus experience limited opportunities in school and society. Out of 1300 students in this school, there are 140 immigrant students representing 23 nations including Turkey, Vietnam, Pakistan, the US, and India. Hill mentioned that "Although this might seem small, it's significant--30 years ago when I attended school with my cousin in Gymnasium, there were no immigrant students, with the exception of me, and I was just visiting!". 

Preparatory School in Germany

 For her research, she interviewed seven teachers and the headmaster seeking to identify the perspectives and identities of participants who represented caring and culturally responsive teachers of immigrant youth. Preliminary findings include teachers whose experiences and identities led them to overwhelmingly maintain high expectations for immigrant youth who were well assimilated into school and society.  During the time of the study, Syrian refugees emerged in the community, but not in the school context.  Participants indicated an uncertain future in the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis and encouraged Hill to return in a few years to examine the school landscape as the school demography changes.

"I would say the biggest take away for me was the welcoming atmosphere where the students were proud of their heritage and were embraced by their teachers, against the grain of the literature that suggested otherwise.  So it was an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to have access to the school site.", said Dr. Hill.

CEHHS Faculty receive grants for research and projects

During the winter 2016 semester, several College of Education, Health, and Human Services faculty were awarded with 10 campus grants.

The grants awarded by the Faculty Senate Research Support Committee were:

• Faculty Research Initiation and Seed Grant
  to Dara Hill

• Faculty Research Support and Maintenance Grant
  to Julie Taylor

• Faculty Professional Development Grant
  to Paul Fossum

The grants awarded by the Advancement of Teaching and Learning fund were:

• Development of PRE Modules
  to Martha Adler, Danielle DeFauw and Dara Hill

• Sensory Deficit Simulators
  to David Hill

• 3D Printer
  to Gail Luera

The grants awarded by MCubed were:

• Food Insecurity and the role of Food Pantries on College campuses
  to Natalie Sampson, Karen Thomas-Brown, Harmony Reppond, and Carmel Price

• Coding Instruction for Students with Disabilities
  to David Hill, Stein Brunvand and Mahesh Agarwal

A  grant awarded by the Office of Metropolitan Impact was:

• Community-Based Research: iGenVoices Project
  to Christopher Burke

A  grant awarded by the Office of Metropolitan Impact, the HUB, and the Commission for Women was:

• Inside-Out Training
  to Gail Luera

The College of Education, Health, and Human Services congratulates its faculty members for these important achievements.

CEHHS Professor participates on Bioretention Gardens project

Bioretention Gardens in Detroit's Cody Rouge neighborhood

UM-Dearborn’s Assistant Professor Natalie Sampson is part of the team working on the project Bioretention Gardens. This project contributes to efforts to use green infrastructure to manage storm water and reduce combined sewer overflows throughout Detroit. On the site of former vacant homes in Detroit’ Cody Rouge neighborhood, four new innovative gardens have arrived.

Professor Sampson brings her public health lens to the interdisciplinary team of scholars examining the benefits and limits of these gardens. With her colleague Noah Webster at U-M Ann Arbor’s Institute of Social Research, Sampson led a recent household survey to better understand the perceptions and preferences of residents living near the gardens.

Landscape architect professor in U-M Ann Arbor’s School of Natural Resources and Environment Joan Nassauer led the pilot project, which was funded by $285,000 from the U-M Water Center with support from the Erb Family Foundation. An additional $500,000 investment was made by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to construct the gardens and instrumentation for them to gather data.

Natalie Sampson

Sampson and Webster are already beginning plans for the next round of surveys. Sampson knows that this is only the first phase, but she’s glad to see the gardens—once only a concept in their multi-year project.

"There is still a lot to be done to understand the potential impacts of these gardens for residents, for the environment, and for the city. And we need to keep gathering and sharing information to do that, and do it well, Sampson said. 

View the full article in The Report

CEHHS Science-Ed Research from Detroit Community Reaches National Conferences

CEHHS faculty member Dr. Chris Burke's partnership with Ms. Lazarowicz, an elementary science teacher at Neinas Elementary School, started in Fall 2012. Dr. Burke met Ms. Lazarowicz while she was presenting about her use of the outdoor classroom and school garden at the South East Michigan Stewardship (SEMIS) Community Forum. Following this visit Dr. Burke arranged for his EXPS 220 class to come to the school and work with her students to do experiments in the outdoor classroom.  

Neinas Elementary School is a community-centered school located in South West Detroit. The student body reflects the local community and is 78% Hispanic 10% White and 10% African American. The school has multiple strong community partnerships including E & L SuperMercado (the local supermarket) & Greening of Detroit. These partnerships helped support the development of the school’s outdoor classroom. Since this initial visit in Fall 2012, eight of Burke's EXPS classes (five sections of EXPS 220 and three sections of EDD 485) have collaborated with Ms. Lazarowicz’s students. Burke's students have studied native Michigan plants, and rain gardens culminating in the installation of a rain garden at Neinas in the outdoor classroom. They have also studied irrigation systems and structures culminating in the building of roof top garden planters. This past year Dr. Burke's EXPS 220 / EDD 485 students started studying structures that will help inform the planning and building of an Earthship.  

Dr. Burke's work at Neinas has been a productive and valuable part of his teaching at the College of Education, Health, and Human Services by providing a place for UM- Dearborn students to engage in Academic Service Learning and collaborate with elementary students on long term school projects. It has also been a valuable part of Dr. Burke's scholarship in that this community-based research helps him examine the process of developing students' sense of science agency and connection to the process of scientific investigation with the community. Dr. Burke's partnership with Ms. Lazarowicz has resulted in presentations at the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative Place-Based Education Conference, the National Association of Multicultural Education Annual Conference, The Ecojustice and Activism Conference and most recently the SEMIS Community Forum.  

 Dr. Chris Burke believes that this work is important as it provides CEHHS students with an opportunity to see and work with a highly effective teacher in Detroit who is actively working to cultivate community connections and implement place-based education. As Burke says, "This opportunity helps CEHHS students develop an understanding of the importance of cultivating relationships with K-12 students, their parents, and the community. It also provides them a chance to engage in community-based science where they learn how to balance the formal rigors of science with the complexity of authentic questions that emerge from students engaging with the community". 

Burke's three year collaboration with Neinas has also provided him with a space to conduct scholarship related to the facilitation of students’ science agency, developing and sustaining school community partnerships, and place-based education. For more information on Dr. Chris Burke and his research please visit his faculty profile page.

Dr. Karen Thomas-Brown's Research Highlighted in Relational Poverty Network

The Relational Poverty Network convenes a community of scholars, working within and beyond academia, to develop conceptual frameworks, research methodologies, and pedagogies for the study of relational poverty. Launched at a historical moment of dramatic income inequality and enforced austerity in the global North, the RPN thinks across geographical boundaries to foster a transnational and comparative approach to poverty research.  In doing so, it pays attention to new global geographies of development, new forms of regulating poverty, and analyses from those often marginalized by poverty debates.  Building on a long tradition of critical work on poverty, it shifts from thinking about ‘the poor and poor others’ to thinking about relationships of power and privilege. 

Narrating the lived experiences of migrant Jamaica teachers in the U.S.

"This research is a part of an active ongoing investigation into the notions of citizenships and the migration experiences of Jamaican teachers living in the United States. These teachers work mainly in inner city schools and are also participants in the historically globalized nature of the islands of the Caribbean. They are products of an education system in Jamaica that has historically adopted and readopted to societal needs as the political and economic fortunes of the island wax and wane. This research examines the impacts of and responses to the accelerated out migration of teachers in response to recruitment drives that originate in United States, Canada, and the UK as well as efforts by the Jamaican government to have Jamaican-trained teachers participate in international talent transfer." 


Read full article HERE.