Digital Commons Network^™

Teachers’ Intention To Use Digital Resources In Classroom Teaching: The Role Of Teacher Competence, Peer Influence, And Perceived Image, Attiya Baddar, Mahmood A. Khan

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: Rapid advancements in information processing and technology are causing transformations in education at an unprecedented pace. The use of digital resources is becoming essential for educators to ensure the effectiveness of their teaching. There is thus a need to transform ways and means of educating teachers to meet the new challenges. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that determine teacher intention to use digital resources in classroom teaching.

Method: The study adopted a single cross-sectional design, in which questionnaires with pre-established scales were completed by 276 university teachers from three major public universities in the …

Students’ Perceptions Of Threats To Their World' Future: An Introduction To Iccs And Global Lesson Plan, James A. Duplass, Reinis Alksnis, Ireta Čekse,

The Councilor: A National Journal of the Social Studies

This article explains the scope and value of the only international assessment (IEA The International Civic and Citizen Education Study, IEA ICCS) of “Civic Understanding” and a uses data from the international comparative study to create a global education lesson plan for U.S. social studies teachers to have their students consider their perceptions of threats to their world as compared to students in other countries. The lesson would most likely be used with middle and high school students.

How Honors Advising Is Different, Philip L. Frana

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

Section headings:

How honors advising is different

Institutional motivations

Philosophical approaches

Actual practices

How honors students are different

How honors goals and outcomes are different

Last paragraph:

We must guide students into experiences that enable them to develop their potentialities. The emphasis must be on the new and changing nature of life as lived in the twenty-first century. Advisors are fellow travelers with students in the pursuit of lifelong learning and communities of interest, practice, and commitment. Together we struggle to find meaningful, relevant work; to achieve autonomy and intellectual independence; and to develop empathy, humility, and gratitude. Advising as …

Mentoring In The Mix: Building Mentoring Capacity Intentionally In A New Honors College, Kathryn Butler-Valdez, Hailey Silver Rodis, Audrey Cerfoglio

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs: Chapters

The University of Nevada, Reno Honors College’s approach to mentorship capitalizes on guiding students through a variety of directed activities and experiential discussions to promote critical thinking and the adoption of new, transferable knowledge. Enhancing traditional advising activities such as course selection and discovery of co-curricular opportunities, programming around mentorship additionally provides another avenue for keeping students engaged, encouraging full participation in the honors college, and improving student retention and persistence rates. Because oversight of these common metrics for success in higher education very often falls to advising staff, and because formal academic advising is a kind of mentorship, it …

The New Palestinian Science And Math Curricula In Light Of The 21st Century Skills: A Critical And Enlightening Study, Mousa M. M. Khaldi, Wael M. I. Kishek

International Journal for Research in Education

The purpose of this study was to analyze the new Palestinian science and math curricula in light of the skills for the 21^st Century to investigate the extent to which these curricula are able to prepare citizens who have a balanced degree of skills they need to live effectively in the 21^st Century. The researchers developed a rubric and then used as a general framework for content analysis of the curricula. The rubric consisted of twelve main themes; creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, information literacy, media literacy, information and communications technology literacy, flexibility …

A Perturbed System: How Tenured Faculty Responded To The Covid-19 Shift To Remote Instruction, Rachel L. Rupnow, Nicole D. Ladue, Nicole M. James, Heather E. Bergan-Roller

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

This study investigates six university professors' reflections on the shift to remote instruction during the Spring 2020 semester in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The rapid shift in instructional platform presents an opportunity to learn from unresolved challenges that persisted through the semester. Here we present a qualitative study of how experienced (i.e., associate or full) chemistry professors report their teaching practices in light of the COVID-19 disruptions. We observed four major themes: personal factors, contextual factors of the structure and culture, teacher thinking, and teachers' practice. These themes revealed that the professors in this study adapted quickly using …

The Effectiveness Of Library Instruction For Graduate/Professional Students: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Adelia B. Grabowsky, Liza J. Weisbrod

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Library instruction to improve information literacy (IL) is often considered essential only for undergraduates. However, students in graduate/professional programs do not always have the requisite skills needed for graduate level study and research, which suggests they may also benefit from library instruction targeted specifically to graduate students. This study used a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of library instruction for increasing IL skills and/or knowledge among graduate and professional students. The authors searched seven databases to identify studies published in English between 2000 and 2019 that reported on library instruction for graduate or professional students, and objectively …

“Do We Teach Subjects Or Students?” Analyzing Science And Mathematics Teacher Conversations About Issues Of Equity In The Classroom, David M. Sparks, Kathryn Pole

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Teachers involved in a Master's level course in diversity participated in virtual, synchronous, anonymized discussions around issues of ethnic and racial diversity, gender, and stereotypes that could impact their students’ participation in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Guided by theoretical frameworks from Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), a convenience sample of 14 science and mathematics teachers participated in a series of virtual chats using open‐ended questioning and facilitated by two university instructors. Using conversation and critical discourse analyses, three primary themes emerged: understanding of issues related to stereotypes, encouragement of females …

Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation, And Feedback In The Context Of Cross-Cultural Language Acquisition In Higher Education: A Conceptual Approach, Papia Bawa

Journal of Research Initiatives

Given the exponential growth in international student populations in the United States, supporting cross cultural language learners (CCLL) in developing their self and co-regulated learning is highly important. This paper presents a conceptual framework on the value of feedback within self-regulated versus co-regulated environments, in the context of cross- cultural language learning. We use the term cross cultural language learners (CCLL) to refer to international learners, in particular from Asia. When exploring the issues of cross cultural language acquisition relating to logographic (Chinese) and alphabetic (English) languages, we examine the literature that support self and co-regulated learning within the frame …

Library Publishing Curriculum Sustainability Module: Preservation (Unit 4), Instructor's Guide, Brian W. Keith, Laurie N. Taylor

Library Publishing Curriculum

Preservation anchors the socio-technical concerns of library publishing in relation to sustainability—including existing supports within libraries for digital preservation. This unit uses a case study to provide a contextualized example of digital preservation terms and concerns.

Are You African Or African-American? Exploring The Identity Experiences Of Female Stem Students Born In Africa Now Living In America, David M. Sparks

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Amongst the participants of a qualitative study of Black female students in Science,Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) were two individuals who were born on the African continent. These students moved to the United States at a young age and are now United States citizens—one pursuing a graduate degree and the other an undergraduate degree, both in a STEM field. This brief case study will explore the thoughts of the two students with regard to how they, despite being typically underrepresented in STEM in the United States, (1) describe their experiences as college students; (2) come to view themselves in the …

A Phenomenological Study Of Graduate Chinese Students’ English Writing Challenges, Papia Bawa, Sunnie Lee Watson

The Qualitative Report

More students from China are looking to the United States for learning opportunities. However, such students have serious English writing deficiencies. This is due to significant differences between the two languages. This phenomenological study of five Chinese, graduate level students in the United States, informs us of these issues and provides a basis upon which we can explore viable instructional strategies to deal with such issues. The key findings suggest that the participants feel marginalized due to English language deficiencies, which is complicated by a deficiently structured English language instructional system. Based on these findings, several themes are presented that …

The Evaluation Of Implicit And Explicit Instruction In Chinese Refusals: A Case Of A Japanese Learner, Bo Zhan

Purdue Linguistics, Literature, and Second Language Studies Conference

No abstract provided.

Navigating Stem-Worlds: Applying A Lens Of Intersectionality To The Career Identity Development Of Underrepresented Female Students Of Color, David M. Sparks

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Knowing that female students of color are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is not enough. This paper will discuss the need for an intersectionality lens when considering how to retain talented female students of color in university STEM programs. Researchers and practitioners must focus on how students develop their social, academic, and intellectual identities as they become a scientist, doctor, or engineer. This includes the development of their core identity-- perceptions they have of themselves as well as perceptions of those with whom they work and interact. One of the main obstacles researchers and practitioners face includes …

Promoting Global Empathy And Engagement Through Real-Time Problem-Based Simulations: Outcomes From A Policymaking Simulation Set In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Chad Raymond, Tina Zappile, Daniel J. Beers

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

We introduce a real-time problem-based simulation in which students are tasked with drafting policy to address the challenge of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in post-earthquake Haiti from a variety of stakeholder perspectives. Students who participated in the simulation completed a quantitative survey as a pretest/posttest on global empathy, political awareness, and civic engagement, and provided qualitative data through post-simulation focus groups. The simulation was run in four courses across three campuses in a variety of instructional settings from 2013 to 2015. An analysis of the data reveals that scores on several survey items measuring global empathy and political/civic engagement increased …

Using Sign Language In The Infant Room, Sara Paar

Graduate Research Papers

Trying to figure out what an infant needs can be frustrating for the child's parents and caregivers. Around eight months of age, infants can start pointing at things they want and start to mimic hand motions from simple finger plays like Pat-a-Cake. In this study, Early Head Start teachers in one classroom went from using four sign language signs in the classroom to using 12 signs for five weeks. The teachers recorded how many times they used each of the 12 signs during interactions with the infants. They also recorded whether an infant repeated the sign when the teacher showed …

Exploring Seventh Graders’ Perceptions Of The Picture-Word Inductive Model To Their English Narrative Writing In China, Xuan Jiang

South Florida Education Research Conference

In this exploratory study, the researcher interviewed 30 seventh graders in China about their perceptions of the newly tried method, Picture-word Inductive Model (PWIM), to their English narrative writing. Many student participants listed and exemplified positive influence of PWIM on their narrative writing in and from the PWIM trial.

An Exploration Of The Connections Between Institution Type And Perceived Levels Of Stereotype Threat In African American Engineering Students, David M. Sparks

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

To distinguish the similarities and differences in coping strategies of African American engineering students, a quantitative study was conducted which examined their perceptions of stereotype threat at three academic institution types: predominantly White institutions, ethnically diverse, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The researcher collected demographic information as well as survey data using the Stereotype Vulnerability Scale (SVS). Results were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlational statistical analyses. Findings revealed that no statistical differences exist between students’ scores on an assessment of stereotype vulnerability at the three university types, nor did the percentage of African American students …

Publishing And Archiving Trends In Open Access: Preliminary Results, Jenny Oleen, Diana Farmer, Livia Olsen

Kansas Library Association College and University Libraries Section Proceedings

Agricultural researchers are engaged in the growing open access (OA) movement, either publishing in OA journals or archiving in OA repositories. The latter is reflected in the use of the institutional repository (IR) at Kansas State University (K-State), a land grant institution. K-State library faculty are analyzing faculty publications to determine the publishing and archiving habits of selected researchers. Reviewing copyright agreements from journals reveals those with policies for archiving post-prints in an IR; articles by these authors are compared to their total three-year article output to determine the efficacy of the current IR program at K-State. Chosen for analysis …

The Supporting Effects Of High Luminous Conditions On Grade 3 Oral Reading Fluency Scores, Michael S. Mott, Daniel H. Robinson, Thea H. Williams-Black, Susan S. Mcclelland

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

The universality of the impact of daylight is a common thread that defines humanity. Day light affects us in a variety of ways –visually, psychologically and biologically. Artificial lighting research has explored ways in which artificial lighting may substitute for daylight and enhance human health and wellbeing. Recently, a study by Mott et al. 2011 found that the usage of high intensity, yet glare free lighting, (referred to as Focus light setting) during reading instruction increased grade 3 students’ oral reading fluency (ORF) scores, a key index of reading comprehension. The current study further explored the effect of Focus lighting …

The Paradox Of Increasing Both Enrollment And Graduation Rates : Acknowledging Elephants In The Ivory Tower, Sean W. Mulvenon, Daniel H. Robinson

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

The argument is made that increasing enrollments and graduation rates cannot occur while maintaining academic standards. Several U.S. universities are attempting to increase their enrollments to counter the financial difficulties created by a reduction in state support. These same universities are also under growing pressure from their state legislatures to increase four-year graduation rates and make degrees more affordable. In this essay, we describe how some universities and programs are attempting to meet both of these goals by lowering academic standards.

Implementing A Successful Collaborative Learning Environment, Andrea P. Beasley

Masters of Arts in Education Action Research Papers

This action research report summarizes a study of 65 diverse student learners in a 10^th grade AP US History class. This research investigates the implementation of a collaborative learning environment to elicit positive effects on student attitudes toward learning and their achievement. To gain pre-intervention data, students were surveyed on their attitudes and took multiple-choice assessments. During the intervention period, students completed surveys regarding the effectiveness of the collaborative learning implementation and completed multiple-choice assessments. After the interventions, students were surveyed again on their attitudes toward learning. The results demonstrated insignificant effects on student attitudes but improvements in student …

Illuminating The Effects Of Dynamic Lighting On Student Learning, Michael S. Mott, Daniel H. Robinson, Ashley Walden, Jodie Burnette, Angela S. Rutherford

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Light is universally understood as essential to the human condition. Yet light quality varies substantially in nature and in controlled environments leading to questions of which artificial light characteristics facilitate maximum learning. Recent research has examined lighting variables of color temperature, and illumination for affecting sleep, mood, focus, motivation, concentration, and work and school performance. This has resulted in artificial light systems intended to support human beings in their actualization through dynamic lighting technology allowing for different lighting conditions per task. A total of 84 third graders were exposed to either focus (6000K-100fc average maintained) or normal lighting. Focus lighting …

Around The World With Geospatial Technologies, Andrew J. Milson, Joseph J. Kerski

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Visualizing Economic Development With Arcgis Explorer, Andrew J. Milson, Megan L. Webster

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sig En La Nube: Websig Para La Enseñanza De La Geografía, Andrew J. Milson

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

There is no doubt among most geography educators that GIS is an important tool for teaching and learning, but its use has been slowed by issues such as the cost of the software and the management of large spatial data files. The move to cloud computing is one trend that is promising for GIS in education. The "cloud" refers to a virtual network that provides many users with access to files, services, and applications. In this article I argue that cloud computing and WebGIS have the potential to transform geography education. I will describe three case studies that make use …

The Not-So-Quiet Revolution: Cautionary Comments On The Rejection Of Hypothesis Testing In Favor Of A “Causal” Modeling Alternative, Daniel H. Robinson, Joel R. Levin

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Rodgers (2010) recently applauded a revolution involving the increased use of statistical modeling techniques. It is argued that such use may have a downside, citing empirical evidence in educational psychology that modeling techniques are often applied in cross-sectional, correlational studies to produce unjustified causal conclusions and prescriptive statements.

Research In Technology Education, Philip A. Reed (Editor), James E. Laporte (Editor)

STEMPS Faculty Books

Due to the laboratory-based nature of technology and engineering education programs, professionals in our field have often focused on the resources in our classrooms and laboratories and the instructional methodologies used to address specific concepts. Formal research into content and practice has often given way to “what seems right”. New curriculum is constantly being introduced (based on what is occurring in business and industry), yet the inclusion for those evolving concepts in courses and programs is typically not verified.

Hence, the importance of the 2010 CTTE yearbook and its focus on the dire need for an aggressive research agenda in …

On The Roles Of External Knowledge Representations In Assessment Design, Robert J. Mislevy, John T. Behrens, Randy E. Bennett, Sarah F. Demark, Dennis C. Frezzo, Roy Levy, Daniel H. Robinson, Daisy Wise Rutstein, Valerie J. Shute, Ken Stanley, Fielding I. Winters

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

People use external knowledge representations (KRs) to create, identify, depict, transform, store, share, and archive information. Learning to work with KRs is central to becoming proficient in virtually every discipline. As such, KRs play central roles in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. We describe five key roles of KRs in assessment: 1. An assessment is itself a KR, which makes explicit the knowledge that is valued, ways it is used, and standards of good work. 2. The analysis of any domain in which learning is to be assessed must include the identification and analysis of the KRs in that domain. 3. …

Success Factors And Strategic Planning: Rebuilding An Academic Library Digitization Program, Cory K. Lampert, Jason Vaughan

Library Faculty Publications

This paper discusses a dual approach of case study and research survey to investigate the complex factors in sustaining academic library digitization programs. The case study involves the background of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Libraries’ digitization program and elaborates on the authors’ efforts to gain staff support for this program. A related survey was administered to all Association of Research Libraries (ARL) members, seeking to collect baseline data on their digital collections, understand their respective administrative frameworks, and to gather feedback on both negative obstacles and positive inputs affecting their success. Results from the survey, combined with …