Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication, Department of

 

First Advisor

Bradley Barker

Date of this Version

Summer 7-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Applied Science

Major: Applied Science

Under the supervision of Professor Bradley Barker

Lincoln, Nebraska, July 2016

Comments

Copyright 2016, Dagen L. Valentine

Abstract

The purpose of this sequential mixed method study was to identify schools implementing a technology-based engineering design intervention in a way that connects or bridges formal learning environments of the school-day to informal learning environments such as afterschool programs. Further, this study investigated educators’ decisions that enabled or facilitated bridging between formal and informal learning environments. This cooperation and/or linking between informal and formal learning time is bridging. Participants included public schools (n=16) in Eastern Nebraska that incorporated the Nebraska Wearables Technology (WearTec) program at their school, club or Out-of-School-Time program during the 2015-2016 school year. Three of the schools bridged formal and informal environments. For this study descriptive statistics were used to analyze the implementation of the WearTec curriculum and as a means to select schools which bridged the formal and informal learning environments. Interviews with a priori codes and thematic analysis were analyzed in a matching/exploratory case study of the schools that bridged formal and informal learning environments (n=3). Thematic and descriptive analysis of interviews suggests a pair of educators can create a bridge due to the WearTec curriculum, state standards, and interpersonal communication. Also, a single formal day teacher can create a bridge by creating informal learning opportunities in out-of-school time.

Advisor: Bradley Barker

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