Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons^™

Students Engaging Students: A Model For Remote Peer-To-Peer Learning For Xr Tools And Methods, Sebastian Jakymiw, Meaghan Moody

Frameless

No abstract provided.

Use Of Standardized Test Results By Faculty And Students For Advanced Practice Nurse Certification Success, Dinorah Martinez-Anderson

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

The utilization of standardized testing as a recognized educational strategy to measure pre-professional readiness in Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) graduate programs has increased. Research supports such use for predicting licensure success for undergraduate education, however when related to the use in graduate nursing education, it is limited. Teaching and learning practices of APN faculty and students have not been comprehensively explored. This study examined the use of standardized testing results by faculty and students in APN graduate education that contributes to student national certification success. The Reconceptualization of Vygotsky’s Theory of Zone of Proximal Development (RVZPD) underpins the study. An …

Preparing Students For Civic Engagement In The Era Of `Fake News’, Nathan J. Combes

Perspectives In Learning

I recommend that instructors allow students to determine the content for Introduction to American Government. I also recommend that instructors assign students to conduct independent research on each unit of American Government rather than assigning a textbook. There are numerous benefits to implementing these practices. Students take ownership of their education and feel empowered to fill gaps in knowledge. Students are more prepared for class. It allows course content to match current events in real time. Students learn how to analyze the credibility of various sources. Class conversations are more dynamic. Students develop a better understanding of opinions that …

A Mathematics Teacher's Learning Through Reflection-In-Action, Theodore J. Rupnow, David Barker

Perspectives In Learning

In this study, I investigated the learning of one secondary mathematics teacher through observations in two class periods. I analyzed his learning in relation to the communities of practice framework and found reflection-in-action was instrumental in his learning. I characterized the teacher’s reflection-in-action with the descriptors: developmental, hypothetical, and experimental. Developmental reflection-in-action involved the development of new understandings or practices. Hypothetical reflection-in-action involved imagined future situations. Experimental reflection-in-action involved repeated trials. I propose that the use of a cycle of reflection-in-action in professional communities may have a positive impact on teacher learning.

Analogy Co-Construction As A Learning Strategy In Life-Span Development Classes, Joseph A. Mayo

Perspectives In Learning

Analogies are commonplace heuristic tools in classrooms across all educational levels and content areas. In the present investigation, analogy-enhanced learning was examined in relation to conceptual applications of major developmental theories in undergraduate life-span development classes. To this end, systematic comparisons were undertaken between a learning condition in which individual students created their own analogies and a learning condition involving analogy co-construction as generated by small groups of students working cooperatively. On all quantitative and qualitative measures, results favored group co-construction of analogies over self-generated analogy creation. Findings are discussed in terms of social-constructivist and transformative-learning principles.

Volume 19 Issue 1 Preliminary Pages, Jennifer Brown

Perspectives In Learning

n/a

Tools That Facilitate The Reflective Process: Supporting The Learning And Development Of College Educators, Rachel Wlodarsky

Perspectives In Learning

The author discusses an ongoing study that focuses on one particular concept, personal and professional reflection, as a means toward learning and development for educators working within the system of higher education. The purpose of this paper is to give greater attention to the tools component within the Event Path model, a reflective process that emerged from the data. Faculty members were asked to define reflection and discuss tools they use to facilitate their reflection. A thorough description of those tools and the characteristics associated with them is detailed. The author argues that faculty members and other professionals must realize …

Stand And Deliver: An Epistemologically-Driven Perspective Of College Lecture, Bonnie Bost Laster, Matthew Davis

Perspectives In Learning

Current pedagogical trends reveal lecture is steadily losing favor as contemporary techniques (e.g., constructivist, experiential, and flipped) gain popularity in higher education. While these techniques have merit and evidence for their use is compelling, we contend that lecture need not be abandoned entirely. With support from personal epistemological theories, as well as research on student preference, we purport that there is still a place for lecture in the modern academy. We consider students’ personal epistemological maturation during the college years; namely, the ways in which students view and construct their knowledge and beliefs. We posit that active lecture may be …

Teacher Impact On Student Growth Mindset, Cassandra Jennings, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

The main goals of this study were to determine if student growth mindset impacted achievement and motivation and to see if gender and ethnicity made a difference in the type of mindset a student possesses. The study was conducted in a suburban middle school in Georgia with a predominantly white population and above-average socio-economic status. Ninety-five students from four 7th grade social studies classes took part in the eight-week study. The results from the study showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between mindset gains and academic gains; however, there was a strong positive, statistically significant relationship between mindset …

Review Of Collaborative Learning Communities In Middle School Literacy Education: Increasing Student Engagement With Authentic Literacy By Jolene T. Malavasic, Maryann Dunn

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

School Administrators’ Perceptions Of Critical Teacher Skills, Vance L. Austin, Stephen Caldas, Micheline Malow, Andrew J. Ecker

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Forty school administrators in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York State were surveyed about the characteristics of preservice and novice teachers believed most critical. These administrators represented a broad and socio-demographically diverse cross-section of rural, suburban and urban school districts. The administrators collectively rated establishing rapport with students and behavior management as the most critical skills for preservice and new teachers to possess. Examining roles separately, assistant principals valued rapport with students and creating effective lessons as most important, whereas principals rated effectively communicating with parents and guardians, and reflecting on teaching performance as being most important. The most …

Which Came First: Literacy Or Social Studies? How Primary Sources Can Bridge The Divide, Elise Langan, Salika A. Lawrence

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Due to the implementation of No Child Left Behind and the Common Core State Standards, disciplinary literacy has become a vital component of social studies instruction in middle and secondary classrooms. This paper determines the degree to which nine middle and high school social studies teachers were successful in designing integrated learning experiences for their students after attending professional development. Data from semi-structured interviews, teachers’ instructional units, workshop surveys and field notes were collected and analyzed for the qualitative study. The study considers how teachers’ instructional units incorporated primary sources to support students’ foundational literacy skills, scaffolded disciplinary understanding, historical …

Letter From The Editors, Christine E. Ashby, Julia White

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Message From The President, Andrea Lachance

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, 13.3, Excelsior Editors

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

From Interpreting Student To Deaf Interpreter: A Case Study Of Vocational Identity Development, Margie English, Brenda Nicodemus, Danielle I. J. Hunt, Stephan Kennedy, Mckenna Mcgough

Journal of Interpretation

Research indicates that the development of a vocational identity is critical to the process of adult maturation and for creating a sense of purpose in one’s life. Deaf individuals in the United States are increasingly interested in establishing a vocation in signed language interpreting, despite workplace obstacles experienced by other oppressed and marginalized populations. Career identity has been examined in several professions, but little is known about the factors underlying the vocational identity development of Deaf interpreters. To address this gap, the researchers adopted a case study approach to explore the experiences of two Deaf students during their first semester …

Better Together: The Effect Of Learning Communities On Business Student Retention And Performance, Lynn Murray, Alexander Binder, Gail Yarick, Mary K. Wachter

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

College student performance and retention have been areas of concern for higher education for decades, and increasingly so over the last quarter century. This study explores how creating a learning community comprised of a first-year seminar and two disciplinary gateway courses across two semesters affected student performance in the gateway classes and in student retention. The study found three things of interest: 1) participation in a learning community and in a residential learning community each slightly improve the likelihood that a student will enroll in the second semester; 2) performance in Introduction to Business, a disciplinary gateway course, is highly …

Getting Started In Sotl Research: Working As A Team, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Getting started in SoTL research can seem daunting. Working with a team can increase support and productivity. This article explores roles in SoTL research teams, how to identify research projects, and pacing projects to maintain a pipeline. Teamwork will divide the workload and develop a community for support in navigating hurdles and celebrating successes.

The Experiencing Scale: An Experiential Learning Gauge Of Engagement In Learning, Karen L. Stock, David Kolb

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

A major premise of experiential learning practices is that experience is necessary for learning, yet our understanding of the concept of experience and its role in learning remains unclear. This study examines the experiencing process in experiential learning and formulates a conceptual foundation for the experiencing concept that integrates insights from four contemporary traditions of experiencing research: Focusing, Flow, Mindfulness and Absorption. Empirical validation is tested with the construction of The Experiencing Scale, a self-reported gauge of one’s level of experiencing in a given context. The Experiencing Scale instrument was distributed to undergraduate students following participation in an experiential classroom …

Building Cultural Competency Among Emerging Public Health Professionals: Student Experiences In Panama, Matthew Fifolt, Meena Nabavi, Erika L. Austin, Lisa C. Mccormick

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

One of the prerequisite skills of effective public health and health practitioners is cultural competency. Cultural competency, however, requires a deep and profound understanding of individuals who are shaped by different life experiences than one’s own. Previous authors have described study abroad and service-learning as established strategies for enhancing cultural competency among emerging health professionals. This article describes how students made meaning of an international study abroad experience in Panama through analysis of student-produced work including reflective journal entries, blog posts, and photo journaling.

In summer 2019, 13 undergraduate and graduate students participated in a four-week travel course to explore …