Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Mary Fry, professor of educational psychology at KU, has co-written two studies that examined mentoring programs. One found that the Strong Girls program benefited those providing the guidance to young girls 10 years after their experience, and another found “sideways mentoring” among peers helped scholars for as long as 20 years.

Ten secondary school science teachers from Kansas will converge this week at the University of Kansas Field Station, just north of Lawrence. They’ll take part in the Ecosystems of Kansas Summer Institute, an annual immersive program that gives secondary educators the chance to work with KU scientists to explore resources and gain new ideas for their classrooms.

In a new book, Deborah Elizabeth Whaley, a professor of American Studies and English at the University of Kansas, introduces compelling creative techniques from multiple disciples that enhance learning and support professional development experiences for college students and faculty alike.

University of Kansas professor Michael Orosco led a study that found an intervention designed to improve students' reading comprehension boosted math achievement. Additionally, his research tied strong working memory to word problem-solving abilities.

A study led by a University of Kansas researcher has analyzed the environmental effects of air travel to academic conferences. The study does not call for an end to academic travel but rather to rethink how such gatherings are arranged and held, especially in fields like social welfare, that are dedicated to environmental justice.

In a new article, Erik Scott, the John P. Black Professor of History at the University of Kansas, challenges the traditional focus on immigration to look at how restrictions on emigration have helped define the borders of Central and Eastern Europe since the 19th century.

"Classroom Assessment in the Real World" guides teachers in the best methods of gauging what their students have learned by balancing best practices with examples on how different approaches work, helping to select the best method for each unique classroom.

Journalism classes usually are not paired with business lessons. While there have been calls for increasing business knowledge in journalism, research from the University of Kansas has found that high school journalists are learning business skills even though they are not a core part of the curriculum.

In a new book chapter, Jason Raibley, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas, proposes a new theory of personal well-being in which the most essential building block is having and then realizing personal values through one’s own agency.

Lisa Dieker, Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education at KU, is co-editor of a new book that proposes adopting a whole-systems approach to recruit, train, support and retain quality special educators. The book focuses on the rights and needs of vulnerable students who are most affected by the special education workforce crisis.