Higher Education and Teaching Commons^™

Learning Content / Teaching Language, Emily Purser, Alisa Percy

Alisa Percy, PhD

English language teaching in universities is shaped in complex ways by the internationalization of higher education, student mobility and technological development. Within and around English medium universities, educational programs have to respond to changing national, institutional and departmental level understandings of students’ learning needs. In Australia, lecturers across the academic disciplines face, in classrooms and online, a high proportion of students who enter into disciplinary studies before they are quite proficient in the language of instruction – and institutions are required to demonstrate to the national education quality and standards agency (TEQSA) that they are helping international students to develop …

Bringing Online Peer Review Into Blended Teaching, Susan White

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

Motivated by my experience as a student in a MOOC, I have incorporated online peer review of writing assignments into my advanced undergraduate biochemistry courses. Each student submits her review of a course reading or report online, then evaluates work submitted by two or three of her classmates based on a rubric I provide. As peer reviewers, students anonymously assign low-stakes grades and receive credit for their reviews, but they also get an opportunity to write for each other and read their classmate's responses to course topics. Moodle’s Workshop activity was used to manage the submission and review process. I …

Using Blended Learning To Take Advantage Of Learning Science Research, Jennifer Spohrer

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

Why does blended learning work? Some observers have suggested that students simply spend more time with the material in a blended course, but evidence from studies of blended courses is mixed. Learning science research suggests that how learners study also matters, and a blended learning approaches incorporate many tactics shown to be effective, such as formative assessment, repetition at intervals, and metacognitive prompting.

Keynote: Nglc Blended Learning Study Report And Where Do We Go From Here?, Kimberly Cassidy, Jennifer Spohrer

Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference

Drs. Cassidy and Spohrer will give an update on the Next Generation Learning Challenges Wave I grant-funded study of blended learning, including an overview of preliminary findings from courses taught at our partner colleges over the 2012-2013 academic year. We will also present and discuss possible next steps for 2013-2014.

Quasi-Experiment Examining Cafeteria-Style Grading In Social Work Education, Brandon Youker, Lyza Ingraham

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Cafeteria-style grading system is an individualized student assessment method whereby students choose their assignments from an expansive and diverse pool of assignments. In this study, students are non-randomly assigned to two sections of the same social work course. The first section received cafeteria-style assignments and grading system (i.e., experimental group) while the comparison section received the traditional method of grading. Students in both sections video record a demonstration exercise; the recordings are reviewed and scored by experts from a panel of social work professors. Preliminary results show an effect on student attendance but no effect on GPA or student performance.

Quad-Blogging: Promoting Peer To Peer Learning In A Mooc, Emily Purser, Angela Towndrow, Ary Aranguiz, Madhura Pradhan

Emily R Purser

We present the concept of quad-blogging, and its potential for facilitating and enhancing peer-to-peer learning in higher education, specifically in a massive open online course (MOOC) by increasing peer engagement, promoting the practice of blogging and fostering the formation of professional learning networks through social media.

Oraib Mango Tssa Fall 2012, Oraib Mango

Teaching Skills Study Awards (TSSA) Reports

Enhances faculty's teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice.

Undergraduate Perception Of Introductory Lecture And Laboratory Biology Instructors At The University Of Tennessee Knoxville, Katharina Denise Kendall

Doctoral Dissertations

Undergraduate students entering the higher education system are often unaware of the diverse teaching and learning community they will encounter, including the different instructor types who will teach their classes. In order to accommodate the growing numbers of enrolled students, the higher education system is increasingly reliant on contingent instructors such as non-tenure track faculty members and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). This dissertation explores undergraduate student perspective of the different instructor types who teach introductory biology courses, with a focus on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). The goal of this work is to provide insight regarding how perceived differences …

Developing Designer Identity Through Reflection, Monica W. Tracey, Alisa Hutchinson

Administrative and Organizational Studies

As designers utilize design thinking while moving through a design space between problem and solution, they must rely on design intelligence, precedents, and intuition in order to arrive at meaningful and inventive outcomes. Thus, instructional designers must constantly re-conceptualize their own identities and what it means to be a designer. Within instructional design, professional identity development is intimately linked to the concept of design precedents. Reflective practice appears to be a natural avenue for supporting identity development in student designers, as it challenges them to think deeply about concepts and experiences through interpretation, evaluation, and revision. The authors conducted a …

Editorial: The Long View, Jeff Sommers

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Student-Teacher Relationships And Impacts Of Goal Orientation, Personality, Socio-Economic Status, And Performance: An Examination Of Those Served By Project Grad Knoxville, Kensey Ruth Parker

Masters Theses

This study seeks to understand the importance of teacher student relationships and the impacts of goal orientation, personality, socio-economic status, and student achievement. The study used a sample of students served by Project GRAD Knoxville, a non-profit organization that serves students in the heart of the city. The sample consisted of 110 college students who have received a scholarship from the organization. The results show that learning goal orientation is a significant predictor of student-teacher relationships. Knowing a student’s LGO and time spent discussing social topics can predict whether or not students will end up on academic probation 64% of …

“Miss, I Am Not Being Fully Prepared”: Student - Teachers’ Concerns About Their Preparation At A Teacher Training Institution In Jamaica, Carmel G. Roofe, Paul Miller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The issue of teacher preparation continues to occupy academic discourse relating to student outcomes and student achievement (Stronge, Ward & Grant, 2011). Research has supported the view that there is an inextricable connection between student outcomes, quality of teaching and teachers, and teacher preparation (Darling-Hammond 2005; Grover 2002). Similarly, theories about students’ self efficacy beliefs (e.g. Bandura, 1977; Dweck, 2000) and Institutional Habitus (Bourdieu, 1977) have been advanced in relation to students’ study experience, motivation and coping mechanisms. Using data from a focus group comprising 30 third year students enrolled in a four year teacher training pogramme in Jamaica, this …

How Can Technology Make This Work? Preservice Teachers, Off-Campus Learning And Digital Portfolios, Wendy Moran, Les Vozzo, Jo-Anne Reid, Marilyn Pietsch, Caroline Hatton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Utilising appropriate Information Communication Technologies (ICT) as instructional tools in teacher education can be a challenging yet worthwhile endeavour. This paper reports the difficulties and benefits of a recent inter-university project requiring preservice primary teachers to construct professional digital portfolios using the support of ICT. Challenges with regard to communication and learning were numerous as 34 preservice teachers (PSTs) from three universities in NSW (situated in country towns, and in Sydney) worked together as a collaborative learning community. Meeting regularly face-to-face during the 12-month process was not always possible and so ICT resources were employed to facilitate instruction and communication. …

Underrepresented Students' Perception Of Their Second-Year In College: A Phenomenological Study, Dena Kniess

All Dissertations

The majority of retention efforts have focused on the first-year of college, however just as many students leave college after their second-year (Berkner, He, & Forest, 2002; Lipka, 2006). Experiences of second-year students have been appearing in publications. These studies have identified the broad concerns of the second-year experience, but little is known about how the second-year experience is similar or different for underrepresented students.
This study sought to describe the experiences of underrepresented college students in their second-year of study at a predominantly White institution (PWI). The study was qualitative in nature, and used phenomenological research methods to form …

Stop The Madness! College Faculty And Student Perceptions Of Classroom Incivility, Christina M. Nutt

Ed.D. Dissertations

Classroom incivility is causing major concern, nation-wide, to college administrators, faculty, and students. The damage caused by student incivility has been associated with a decrease in student learning, the deterioration of the classroom learning environment, lower faculty morale, and reduced student retention rates. The purpose of this quantitative non-experimental fixed research design was to explore and compare college faculty and student perceptions of type and frequency of classroom incivilities at a private college in order to provide a foundation for the development of strategies to reduce uncivil behaviors and increase student success. Study results demonstrated that faculty members and students, …

S.M.I.L.E. (Success Means Initiating Life Everyday), Charisma C. Dupree

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Abstract:

Motivation exists as an important aspect of our lives. Motivation comes in two main forms, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. No matter the type motivation employed, at some point we all experience motivation to help achieve our goals and in order to reach success in any capacity. The use of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) can also help in the process of motivation and succeeding. When the going gets tough, it is imperative to SMILE – Success Means Initiating Life Everyday.

Culturally Proficient Teachers, Lori R. Piowlski

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Action needs to be taken by teacher preparation programs to prepare culturally proficient educators who are able to deliver equitable instruction and inspire all students to strive for greatness if the achievement gap is to be closed. Existing literature mainly describes the importance and urgency to prepare future teachers for the changing demographics with classrooms across the United States. There is not significant literature on how it is being done. Therefore the purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how university teacher education programs are preparing teachers to be culturally proficient. A cross-reference of data collected from Adequate Yearly …

Cooking Up A Course: Food Education At Pomona College, Christina A. Cyr

Pomona Senior Theses

Cooking skills are important but declining, with significant health, social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental implications. Food and cooking education can begin to address some of the negative effects of the cooking skills decline. This thesis makes the case for cooking classes in the education system, especially in higher education. The paper begins with a history of cooking education and skills, outlines the implications of the decline in skills, and discusses the potential for cooking education in higher education. The second part consists of a course syllabus, designed for Pomona College. The third section includes a discussion of the implementation …

Student Motivation For Pursuing A Minor In Environmental Sustainability, Luanne Woods Lewis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Environmental sustainability dominates the global conversation seeking to increase awareness and change the culture of thinking concerning the relationship between humans and the Earth. Because many universities offer programs relative to environmental sustainability, a need exists to understand why students pursue these programs. This study examined student motivation for pursuing an environmental sustainability minor in one institution of higher education. Career, learning, monetary, and Social responsibility were the motivational factors considered in this study. The results of this study indicated significant differences among the motivational factors for pursuing a minor in sustainability among those students surveyed. Significant differences existed for …

University Public Relations: A Survey Of University Communicators' Efforts To Influence U.S. News & World Report Peer Survey Respondents, Heidi Stambuck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined what differences exist between the work of public relations professionals (also called communicators) who are members of CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, at colleges and universities ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report and CASE-member communicators at colleges and universities that are ranked between 21 and 200 in their behavior in four areas: (1) communication goals they consider top priorities, (2) types of communication tasks they perform, (3) types of media in which they purchase advertising, and (4) their rating of audience importance. A survey completed by CASE-member …