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Interdisciplinary study leverages technology to assess preschool teachers’ resilience

In a typical preschool classroom with as many as two-dozen children, there are bound to be times of elevated stress for the teacher — and sometimes the students.

Along with meeting the needs of several children, teachers juggle many emotional and physical demands in their daily work, often with limited resources. Following an early childhood curriculum or philosophy, engaging families, maintaining a safe environment and dealing with interpersonal conflicts are just some of their daily classroom tasks. Full Article

NAECR Early Childhood Measures Exchange now available

A new tool from the Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research is now available to help researchers collaborate on early childhood assessments.

NAECR’s Early Childhood Measures Exchange is designed to help researchers find, explore and access early childhood assessments available from other NAECR researchers. Full Article

Welcome to the team, Tina Horan

Name: Tina Horan

Title: Assistant Director for Research Operations

Hometown:  Nebraska City

Where did you work prior to joining CYFS? What was your role there, and what did it entail?

Before joining CYFS, I worked 12 years at the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office as budget director. My responsibilities included developing and controlling the department’s multi-million-dollar agency budget, obtaining and managing federal grants to expand the operating budget, and preparing written and oral presentations to the governor and Legislature to justify appropriations requests. I also oversaw project management between agencies and administration, monitored and audited monthly revenue and expenditures, took part in strategic planning for budgeting and staffing operations, and various other things such as benefit enrollment, human resources, payroll, accounts payable and deposits. Full Article

CYFS events postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 concerns

event updates covid-19

The CYFS team has been closely monitoring the situation around COVID-19, and while the immediate risk of infection for most Americans remains low, recent events have raised the risk in some communities.

In an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of the university community and its many partners, and to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on large in-person gatherings, the following CYFS events have been canceled and may be rescheduled at a later date: Full Article

Video available for HyeonJin Yoon’s MAP Academy presentation

HyeonJin Yoon, CYFS research assistant professor, leads a March 13 presentation in the Spring 2020 Methodology Applications Series at the Nebraska Union.

HyeonJin Yoon, CYFS research assistant professor, led a March 13 presentation in the Spring 2020 Methodology Applications Series at the Nebraska Union. Her presentation, “Regression Discontinuity Designs in Social Science Research: Causal Inference of Cutoff-Based Programs,” is now available on video. Full Article

Project VIEW aims to sharpen writing instruction for the visually impaired

Using a Braille writing machine, a student writes a paper at the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired in Nebraska City.

Nebraska researchers are exploring ways to better understand how students with visual impairments are being taught to write, and how that instruction can be enhanced and tailored to each individual student’s needs.

Michael Hebert, associate professor of special education and communication disorders, and Mackenzie Savaiano, assistant professor of practice of special education and communication disorders, are the principal investigators in Project VIEW — Visual Impairments Education in Writing. The four-year study focuses on identifying factors that influence teachers’ writing instruction practices in an effort to improve outcomes among visually impaired students. Full Article

NAECR Knowledge: Best practices, considerations for using publicly available data sets

Lorey Wheeler, CYFS research associate professor, answers a question during the Feb. 27 NAECR Knowledge event examining how to access and use publicly available data sets for early childhood research.

A wide range of data sets is publicly available to researchers in all fields. But some are easier to access than others.

More than 20 early childhood researchers gathered in person and via videoconference Feb. 27 for the NAECR Knowledge event, “Accessing and Using Publicly Available Data Sets.” Natalie Koziol and Lorey Wheeler of the MAP Academy discussed the best ways to access and use publicly available data sets. They particularly emphasized how to effectively utilize early childhood data sets. Full Article

Video available for MAP Academy presentation featuring Natalie Koziol

Natalie Koziol, CYFS research assistant professor, leads a Methodology Applications Series presentation Feb. 7 in the Nebraska Union.

Natalie Koziol, CYFS research assistant professor, led a Feb. 7 presentation in the Spring 2020 Methodology Applications Series. Her presentation, “Pursuing Causal Inferences in the Absence (or Failure) of Random Assignment: An Introduction to Propensity Score Analysis,” is now available on video. Full Article