Teaching, Learning and Behavior

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.

Stephen Jackson, education scholar at the University of Kansas, writes in a new article that history education standards are prone to politicization and only stoke the culture wars without improving what students learn. He instead proposes "standards minimalism” and points to Kansas and Maine as two states with exemplary standards.

Research from the University of Kansas has shown that when people found “Easter eggs” — hidden objects, characters or references to another story in their entertainment — they reported enjoying the movie or entertainment more and that they were more likely to engage in fan behavior, like posting about it online.

Research from the University of Kansas has found that college students with lower self-control and who use short-form video to escape tend to procrastinate more with apps like TikTok, Instagram reels and YouTube shorts. And while students had lower-quality sleep if they procrastinated with short-form video, it did not show to negatively affect their academics.

A research project among educators, students, journalists and communities in six states has found that pairing student journalists with communities through structured conversation can help to rebuild trust while also teaching future reporters how to listen to and investigate on the needs of overlooked populations. A KU journalism faculty member is co-author of the new study, published in Journalism Practice.