Teaching Sustainability Competencies to High School Students using Small-Scale Community-Based Construction Projects

2014 ◽  
pp. 270-327
Author(s):  
Mehmet E. Ozbek ◽  
Caroline M. Clevenger
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Musical Instrument ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
School Students ◽  
Community Based

This chapter provides case studies for teaching sustainability concepts to high school students, by implementing the service-learning model by way of small-scale, sustainable hands-on construction projects that can be built in a high school shop class. It presents two curriculum tools to assist high school shop teachers develop similar projects. These curriculum tools contain general instructions, as well as suggested “discussion points” to highlight the inherent complexity of sustainability and engage high school students in discussions surrounding sustainability. These tools, entitled “Constructing a Sustainable Great Dane Dog House,” and “Constructing Musical Instrument Stands Utilizing Sustainable Materials,” serve as reference documents for dissemination and distribution to support the development of similar future small-scale community-based sustainable construction projects. By providing case studies, this chapter supports future efforts to integrate sustainability into high school education, encourages further and similar activity development and documentation, and provides a model for promoting leadership and community engagement through service-learning for high school students and beyond. The service-learning activities outlined in the case studies have the potential to meaningfully engage high school students to increase their interest in and knowledge of sustainability.

Service Learning Partnership Between University And School Students: Experiential Learning Inspired Through Community Research

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Nandan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Corporate Philanthropy ◽  
Community Research ◽  
School Students ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Community Based Research

This article describes a service learning project implemented jointly by undergraduate and high school students during summer.  The service learning project was designed through a Summer Research Institute hosted at a Midwestern University; the institute encouraged faculty to recruit undergraduate students who would partner with area high school students to conduct a community-based research project in their field of interest.  The article describes the partnership between students, as well as the experiential learning that occurred during: research topic identification, literature analysis, planning and implementing a mixed-methodology community-based research project, and during the qualitative and quantitative data analysis, by students.  Using a mosaic theory, the students inferred relationships between three apparently unrelated spheres of their research: challenges faced by youth in the community, financial health of social services for youth, and corporate philanthropy for youth services.  Recommendations for designing creative academic, experiential and service learning projects are offered for all educators. 

Five Portraits of Teachers’ Experiences Teaching Writing: Negotiating Knowledge, Student Need, and Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-60
Author(s):  
Juliet Michelsen Wahleithner
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Teaching Writing ◽  
School Students ◽  
High School English ◽  
High Stakes

Background Numerous reports have highlighted problems with writing instruction in American schools, yet few examine the interplay of teachers’ preparation to teach writing, the instructional policies they must navigate, and the writing development of the students in their classrooms. Purpose This study examines high school English teachers’ instruction of writing while taking into account their preparation for teaching writing—both preservice and inservice, the instructional policies in place, and the learners in their classrooms. Setting Data used come from public high school English teachers teaching in Northern California. These data were collected in 2011–2012, when teachers were sill complying with the mandates of the No Child Left Behind legislation. Research Design I use year-long qualitative case studies of five high school English teachers to highlight various ways teachers used their knowledge of writing instruction to negotiate the pressures of accountability policies and their students’ needs as writers to teach writing. Data collected include beginning- and end-of-year interviews with each teacher, four sets of 1- to 2-day observations of each teacher's instruction of writing, and instructional documents related to each teacher's writing instruction. These data were analyzed using the constant comparative method to look for themes within the data collected from each teacher and then make comparisons across teachers. Findings from the case studies are supported by findings from a survey of 171 high school teachers who taught a representative sample of California high school students at 21 schools in 20 districts. The survey included 41 multiple-choice items that asked about teachers’ instructional practices and their perceptions of high-stakes accountability pressures and their students as writers. Survey data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and principal components analysis. Findings Findings illustrate that significant differences existed in how the five teachers approached their writing instruction. These differences were due to both the teachers’ varied preparations to teach writing and the contextual factors in place where each taught. Those teachers with more developed knowledge of writing instruction were better able to navigate the policies in place at their sites and more equipped to plan appropriate instruction to develop their students as writers. Recommendations Findings indicate teachers would be better served by opportunities to develop their knowledge of writing instruction both prior to and once they begin their teaching careers. Additionally, the findings add to an existing body of research that demonstrates the limiting effect high-stakes assessments can have on teachers’ instruction of writing.

scholarly journals Your Voice Counts: Listening to the Voice of High School Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Saggers ◽  
Yoon-Suk Hwang ◽  
K. Louise Mercer
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Student Perspective ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
School Students ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Students With Autism

AbstractSupporting students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in inclusive settings presents both opportunities and significant challenges to school communities. This study, which explored the lived experience of nine students with ASD in an inclusive high school in Australia, is based on the belief that by listening to the voices of students, school communities will be in a better position to collaboratively create supportive learning and social environments. The findings of this small-scale study deepen our knowledge from the student perspective of the inclusive educational practices that facilitate and constrain the learning and participation of students with ASD. The students' perspectives were examined in relation to the characteristics of successful inclusive schools identified by Kluth (2003). Implications for inclusive educational practice that meets the needs of students with ASD are presented.

scholarly journals Evaluating the influence of anxiety and depression on academic performance in high school students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleed Ahmed Shahzad
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Mean

The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether anxiety and depression have a negative effect on academic performance. This small-scale study assessed the relationship between these factors. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out. A randomized sample of 52 high school students based in various schools across Lahore participated in the survey. Of the participants, 32 were males and 20 were females. As a measure of anxiety and depression 14 questions from the DASS-21 were utilized (The 7 questions pertaining to the measure of stress were not included in this study). Based on the DASS-21 score obtained by the respondents they were classified under categories of normal, mild, moderate, severe and extremely severe levels of anxiety and depression. As a measure of academic performance, the Grade Point Average (GPA) of the students was obtained via the survey. The mean average GPA was calculated for all the students falling under the aforementioned categories pertaining to anxiety and depression separately and these averages were compared. It was found that the mean average GPA was highest in students falling under the categories of normal and mild levels of anxiety and depression. Whereas, mean average GPA was lower in students suffering from severe levels of anxiety and depression. These findings suggest the need to come up with methods to combat anxiety and depression in high school students as these factors impede academic performance.

scholarly journals Towards Sustainable Development and Green Economy in European Union

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. p27
Author(s):  
Evangelos C. Papakitsos ◽  
Konstantinos Karakiozis ◽  
Anastasios Mavrakis
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
School Students ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Senior High School Students

Sustainable development is suggested by environmentalists as the solution for confronting the intense environmental, social and economic problems that emerge globally in the last decades. This study presents the recent features and trends of the associated concepts, like the green economy, green entrepreneurship, green professions and labour-market, with a particular reference to European Union countries. In the course of transforming the current economic model towards a green direction, vocational education appears as a fundamental prerequisite that will prepare the future workforce of green economy. In this respect, a small-scale research is also presented, recording the relevant opinions of senior high-school students in Western Attica (Greece), being an area of acute environmental, social and economic problems.

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