CYFS | Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools

Study reveals benefits of UNL robotics program

Robots are inspiring the middle school students who may one day engineer them, while also benefitting those who pursue other career paths, according to a new University of Nebraska-Lincoln study.

Led by CYFS faculty affiliate Brad Barker and Gwen Nugent, CYFS research professor, the study examined findings from a student robotics project developed at UNL and implemented across the country—including one site in Cuba. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the project delivered robotics and geospatial mapping curriculum to after-school clubs and summer camps. The curriculum also supported youth robotics competitions. Full Article

Methodologists discuss cross-cultural measurement

Leslie Hawley, Betty-Jean Usher-Tate and Sara Gonzalez.

The Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics continued its Methodology Applications Series on Friday, April 15. The series is free and open to the public.

The April 15 presentation, titled “Evaluating Measurement Invariance with Cross-Cultural Sensitivity,” was led by Leslie Hawley, CYFS research assistant professor, and doctoral students Betty-Jean Usher-Tate and Sara Gonzalez. Full Article

Local, global research shared at early childhood summit

University of Nebraska president Hank Bounds delivers opening remarks at the 2016 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood on April 7.

The 2016 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood highlighted the power of partnerships, both local and global. Service providers, educators, administrators and researchers converged in Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 7 to learn the latest science in early childhood—and its implications for practice and policy. Full Article

Undergraduate Q&A with Morgan Holmen

Name: Morgan Holmen

Hometown: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Major: Speech Language Pathology in the College of Education and Human Sciences

Graduation Date: May 2016

CYFS Affiliation: Undergraduate research assistant

What is your role as a CYFS undergraduate research assistant? Full Article

Registration open for early childhood bullying prevention conference

Registration is open for the June 13 Bullying Prevention Conference: Identifying and Intervening in Early Childhood at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Innovation Campus. The conference is free and open to the public, but space is limited. Full Article

Fritz invited to Penn State for methodology presentation

CYFS faculty affiliate Matt Fritz was invited to give a presentation at The Pennsylvania State University on March 23 as part of the Prevention and Methodology Training colloquia series. He shared a presentation titled “The mediated effect is significant, so I’m done, right? Thinking critically about testing and interpreting mediated effects in prevention interventions.” Full Article

Graduate Student Q&A with Benjamin Baumfalk

Name: Benjamin Baumfalk

Hometown: Lincoln, Nebraska

Major/program: Quantitative, Qualitative and Psychometric Methods in the Department of Educational Psychology

CYFS graduate assistantship: CYFS’ Bureau for Education Research, Evaluation and Policy, and the Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics Full Article

Faculty affiliates earn professorships, teaching awards

From top left: Martha Mamo, Kathleen Rudasill, Kimberly Tyler, Edward Daly, Jody Koenig Kellas, Scott Napolitano, Jordan Soliz

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has awarded professorships to three CYFS faculty affiliates:

Martha Mamo was named Aaron Douglas/John E. Weaver Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture. The professorship recognizes faculty members with the rank of full professor who demonstrate sustained levels of teaching excellence and national visibility for instructional activities and/or practice. Full Article