Digital Commons Network^™

Holistic Responses To Campus Violence In The United States: Understanding The Needs Of Campus And Community - Based Service Providers--Research, Jennifer R. Wies, Caroline Reid, David C. May

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Campus violence is a significant social and public health problem in the United States and poses a unique situation for service provision. Victims often have access to both campus-based and community-based services, as they are simultaneously students and citizens of a larger community. Therefore, understanding the needs of campus violence service providers is essential for enhancing responses to campus violence. This research identifies knowledge and service delivery needs among service providers to support a comprehensive approach to ending campus violence. Situated in the social-ecological model, this article discusses the results of a survey to identify knowledge and service delivery needs …

Evaluating Co - Teaching In Performance Incentive Systems: Implications For Teacher Education--Commentary, Theresa Quigney

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

One of the most controversial areas of focus in the reform movement relates to the appraisal of K-12 level teachers’ instructional effectiveness, particularly as measured by the achievement levels of their students. While one would expect teachers to be accountable for student learning and be evaluated for their instructional efficacy, the discussion has now expanded into the domain of performance-based pay for teachers—directly based, at least in part, on student growth factors. This issue is critically relevant not only to the K-12 educational workforce, but also to teacher educators involved in preparing these teachers to be effective and successful in …

Using Critical Self - Reflection And Resistance Strategies In Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers--Research, Winston Vaughan

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

As our country becomes more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse, pre-service teachers must be fully prepared to deal with these changes. As the demographics change, the majority of teachers continue to be white, middle-class females having to teach students who are different from themselves. Ladson-Billings (1995) suggests that schools of education must prepare teachers with the knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to be culturally competent in the classroom so as to meet the challenges of a pluralistic society. According to Brown(2004) and Sleeter (2001), many pre-service teachers simply lack cross-cultural competence and attitudes regarding diversity that would …

Promoting Excellence Within Early Care And Education Providers: A Teacher Education Program Story--Research, Jaesook L. Gilbert, Helene Arbouet Harte

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

This paper shares the process and experience of a university community partnership to improve the quality of care and education in the region by enhancing teachers’ early childhood knowledge. A hybrid course for both university students and childcare providers, The Academy for Early Childhood Excellence sought to provide intense and supportive professional development for early care and education providers as well as access and an introduction to the university setting. The hybrid format necessitated some level of competence with technology and more emphasis on writing as a mode of communication. Some of the Academy participants, especially the more experienced and …

Pre - Service Teachers’ Perceptions Of Disability As Represented In Children’S Television Programs--Research, Laura S. Clarke, Dusty Columbia Embury, Anna Epperly, Jennifer Christensen

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

As colleges and universities prepare pre-service teachers to teach in inclusive classrooms, it is important to understand college students’ schema of diversity. Part of creating an inclusive classroom culture is to understand how children view similarities and differences in others, and how to create a culture of acceptance. One way to create a culture of understanding is to use media representations and popular children’s television shows as a springboard for conversation and acceptance, but before pre-service teachers can use media, they have to first understand the characteristics and qualification criteria for students with disabilities, and also how the community at …

Using The Depth Of Knowledge Model To Create High School Mathematics Assessments--Research, Lynne Gannon Patterson, Meagan Musselman, Joel Rowlett

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

This study examined the midterm exams of six high school math teachers and sought to (a) determine if teachers could accurately identify which level of Norman Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) model their test items aligned to, and (b) compare the actual percentage of test items at each DOK level to the targeted percentage based off Webb’s research. The study revealed that teachers were not accurate with their alignment of test items with Webb’s DOK model. They also came up short in comparison to the targeted percentages of test items at each level. Comprehensively, they were asking more questions at …

Collaborating To Meet Challenges Of Co - Teaching Common Core Standards--Research, Dottie Willis

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Kentucky has led the nation in adopting Common Core Standards to revitalize education for next-generation learners and schools. To improve preparation of the state’s next-generation teachers, Kentucky has also mandated reform in training student teachers. This article reviews experiences of teacher educators from four Kentucky universities that are collaborating to ensure both quality and consistency in Co-Teaching Training, a new state requirement for all P-12 cooperating teachers and university supervisors who mentor student teachers. The author reports cooperating teachers’ responses to their initial Co-Teaching Training; analyzes educators’ perceptions about a complementary relationship between Co-Teaching strategies and achievement of Common Core …

Success And The Balance Of Commitment And Time: Effects Of Perceived Time Management Control On College Student Performance, Ashley Twehues

Honors Theses

This study explores how time management and the perception of control over time contribute to undergraduates success in college. Although students have good grades in college, they may not be able to achieve the desirable combination of a high GPA, extracurricular involvement and a career-related employment history. Students often become overwhelmed with the pressure to achieve this success, but lack the time management skills to balance everything. This paper explores how students best use their time in order to gain college success. Extant literature suggests that students who are more involved on-campus with academics, extracurricular activities and employment opportunities achieve …

How Well Are Mathematics Common Core Standards Reflected In Mathematics College Readiness Expectations?--Research, Lisa Conn

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

On February 10, 2010, Kentucky made history by being the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS were designed to be more rigorous, focused, and applicable (Holiday, 2010) than previous standards. The adoption of these standards was predicated by Senate Bill 1, Unbridled Learning. This bill required legislative bodies to develop a unified strategy to reduce the high college remediation rates of recent high school graduates by at least fifty percent before 2014. Along with high schools being required to address underprepared college students, state universities were to align their remediation courses with the new …

Middle Level Teacher Preparation: Principals’ Perceptions Of New Teacher Preparedness--Research, Chris M. Cook, Penny B. Howell, Shawn A. Faulkner

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Drawing on the Framework for Effective Middle Level Teaching(Faulkner, Howell, &Cook, 2012; Howell, Cook, Faulkner, 2013), this interpretive, exploratory study utilized survey methodology to analyze 38 middle level principals’ perceptions of effective teaching practices and the preparedness of newly hired middle level teachers. The findings suggest there is difference in perceptions of new teacher preparedness between principals with middle level teacher certification and principals that were prepared to teach at other grade levels. While both groups acknowledged the need for better teacher preparation, principals with middle level teacher certification reported that newly hired teachers were less prepared for effective middle …

Essential Elements For Preparing Future Teachers In Early Childhood Education Using Common Core Standards--Research, Jaesook L. Gilbert, Susan Griebling

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this paper is to discuss suggestions on what pre-service teachers need to know in order to be ready to teach in today’s kindergartens where the implementation of the Common Core State Standards reflects best practice. The introduction of the Common Core State Standards in Kentucky has ushered a new culture in kindergarten. Kindergarten used to be seen as a preparation year in which children could be equipped in listening, walking in lines, getting along with others and learning letters. Today, children in kindergarten are expected to

begin reading, writing, adding and subtracting. Rigor begins early in the …

Developing A Short-Term International Study-Abroad Program: From Beginning To End, Paula A. Delpech Phd

PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement

TOPIC: Short-term international immersion experiences have proven to be an excellent strategy for nursing programs to use as a way for students to develop cultural competence.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe a faculty led short-term nursing study abroad program for undergraduate nursing students to Grenada. A two week study abroad program for seven undergraduate nursing students and two faculty member was organized in partnership with St. Georges University School of Nursing in Grenada.

SOURCES OF INFORMATION: The author describes the process of program development that includes the selection of the host country to post …

Location As Vocation: An Urban College's Engagement With Their Somali Neighbors, Matthew Maruggi, Annette Gerten

PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement

This article focuses on the significance of an urban college’s location and mission in guiding disciplines within the college to engage with its immigrant neighbors through service-learning.The authors describe how social connectedness theory and transformational learning theory were used to facilitate learning and increase students’ awareness of their sense of vocation.Student reflections on the service learning experience in both disciplines, religion and social work, are used to illustrate the application of each theory.

Understanding Community Engagement Motives: A "Functional" Approach, Richard J. Harnish, Kevin J. Snider

PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement

Current theoretical lenses do not fully explain the motives of those involved in community engagement activities. This article introduces a needed additional lens, functionalism, that emphasizes how underlying personal goals explain involvement in community engagement activities. To illustrate this perspective, an administrator’s and a faculty member’s motives for becoming involved in community engagement activities are presented and analyzed. We conclude by suggesting the functional approach to motivation may be integrated within an organizational behavior framework to better illuminate the interaction between individual goals and organizational practices, policies, and norms.

Cooperative Extension Nutrition Education Program: Outreach To Southeast Kentucky Families In Poverty, S. Brooke Jenkins-Howard, Laura Stephenson, Mark Mains

PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement

The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service provides community engagement and outreach efforts for Kentucky families living in poverty as part of the land grant mission. Food security is a primary concern for those with limited resources and income. To address food availability and nutrition concerns of these families, Cooperative Extension delivers researched-based educational programming through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). EFNEP is a federally funded program that works to improve the quality of life of families living in poverty through education and behavior modifi cation. The EFNEP program uses a community-based outreach approach where food and …

Assessing The Community Partner In Academic Service-Learning: A Strategy For Capacity-Building, Susan E. Waters, Joanna J. Cemore Brigden

PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement

Service-learning is an instructional method used by an ever increasing number of schools in the academic community. This paper describes surveys of community partners found on the websites of Campus Compact members and analyzes the content of these surveys. Eight themes emerged that embody the online community partner assessment surveys for service-learning courses: Agency Voice, Agency Resources, Students’ Work Skills, Students’ Service Skills, Agency Benefit, Communication and Coordination with University Service-Learning, Sustainability of Partnership, and Satisfaction with the Service-Learning Experience. The theme of Community-University Partnership established in extant literature was absent from the online surveys, so this theme was added …

Comparison Of Odonata Populations In Natural And Constructed Emergent Wetlands In The Bluegrass Region Of Kentucky, Brittany Ann Brookshire Miss

Honors Theses

With the degradation and destruction of many natural wetlands in Kentucky, there are high incentives to look at the remaining natural wetlands and the new artificial wetlands that are beginning to become prevalent among biologists. Wetlands are important to dragonfly populations just as dragonflies are vital to wetland function. In my study I looked at the fluctuation in Odonata (dragonfly and damselfly) populations at ten artificial wetlands and ten natural wetlands in the Inner Bluegrass region of Kentucky. In my study the dragonfly populations were monitored based on Shannon and Simpson's diversity, Species richness, and number of individual and species …

Transgender Representation In The Media, Jessica N. Jobe

Honors Theses

The media is pervasive in American society – more people have television sets than college degrees. For this reason, media is crucial in the spread of information. The way groups of people are represented in the media can be both reflective of and influential on society's (possibly stereotypical) perceptions of these groups. The transgender community often gets misrepresented in the media. As a whole, the transgender community faces a lot of prejudice in American society, and current transgender representation in the media has the power to reinforce negative stereotypes. Twelve examples of news, television, and movies from as early as …

Much Work Still To Be Done To Prevent Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections, Kevin T. Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Central Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) are all too common and often fatal events. To estimate the number of preventable CLABSIs, the authors analyzed SIR (Standardized Infection Ratio) and the number of CLABSI data from Hospital Com-pare. Several studies have suggested that an SIR of 0.35 may be achievable. If all institutions were able to perform at this level, then almost 50% of CLABSI would be prevented.

First In Reform: The Adoption Of Common Core State Standards In Kentucky, Richard Day

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Kentucky first drew national attention when its Supreme Court declared the entire system of schools to be unconstitutional in Rose v Council for Better Education, 790 S. W. 2d 186 (1989). The Rose case, argued by former Kentucky Governor Bert Combs, launched a third wave of school reform litigation based on both equity and adequacy as expressed in state constitutions (Day 2011, 2-4). On February 11, 2010, in an unprecedented joint meeting, the chairs of the Kentucky Board of Educat ion, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Education Professional Standards Board signed a resolution directing their respective agencies to …

Creativity To The Core: How The Ky Core Academic Standards Can Enhance Creativity--Research, Dorie Combs

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association in response to concerns about the poor performance of US students in comparison to students in other industrialized nations. A lack of understanding of the standards has led some to assume that any standards-based curriculum is going to focus on lower-level thinking skills and therefore impede critical and creative thinking. While Kentucky’s English language arts and mathematics standards are derived from the CCSS, Kentucky’s learning targets and standards are not limited to the CCSS standards. That is, there …

“Without Contraries”: Casting A Critical Eye On The Common Core--Commentary, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

A year ago we, as members of the Executive Committee at a Kentucky state institution charged with aligning college academics to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), created a report for KJECTL (Summer 2012) about our progress in complying with Senate Bill 1 (SB1), even detailing a website we jointly created with the state. Interestingly, our institution has a current Quality Enhancement Plan that it “will graduate informed critical and creative thinkers who communicate effectively.” This year we want to demonstrate some of that critical thinking by evaluating the CCSS argument both through our experience and with what various commentators …

Changing Landscapes And Paradigm Shifts: Integrating The Common Core With Educator Preparation--Commentary, Verna Lowe

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Educator preparation and P-12 education are on a trajectory of changing landscapes and shifting paradigms to meet the needs of providing a world-class education to our children and youth who will be prepared to thrive in their personal and professional lives in this century. This shift moves from the “yesterday of schooling and educator preparation” involving a system of good intentions that worked for a percentage of learners to a holistic structure designed for all students and stakeholders.

Editorial Note From The Guest Editor, Terry Holiday

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Not that long ago, K-12 education and postsecondary education were mutually exclusive clubs. Each set their own agenda, strategies and goals – without input from the other and at times in direct conflict. Occasionally, they blamed one another for failures, yet most of the time they kept to themselves.

Are We Helping? A Discussion Of The Effects Of Trio Program Intervention On K - 12 Appalachian Seniors: Research, William D. Bowling, Sherwood Thompson

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty and Staff Research

Postsecondary education is quickly becoming a requirement for many flourishing and emerging career fields. Because of this, an increased focused on postsecondary enrollment and attainment has been seen in the education community, particularly in K-12 education systems. To that end, a large number of programs and organizations have begun to provide academic and college preparation assistance to these students in the form of academic advising, college coaching, and personal enrichment. Since the enactment of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, there has been a burgeoning population of such programs like the TRIO family. This article focuses on a group of …

Critical Factors That Contribute To Youth At Risk, Norman Powell

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty and Staff Research

There has been much written about youth at risk. The focus of this writing has been on the challenges that this population continues to create for school systems and teachers in the classroom. This student at risk population is one that has been historically overlooked and traditionally underserved.

Science, 7th Graders, And A Stream: An Integrated, Experience-Based Science Course For Honors Students, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie, Tara Shepperson, Linda Frost

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We report pedagogical results from a novel, integrated, experience-based science course for honors students funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The course seeks to improve science instruction and attitudes toward STEM disciplines for both honors students and underprivileged seventh-grade students by using honors students as learning mentors.

Sources Of Nutrient And Fecal Microbe Pollution In Otter Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Kandice L. Smith, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measured nutrient (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate) and fecal microbe concentrations in surface waters of the Otter Creek watershed, Madison County, Kentucky to access sources of these contaminants. The watershed is approximately 12.5 miles long covering ~169 km² (41,832 acres). The watershed includes East Fork, West Fork, and Dreaming Creek, all tributaries to the main trunk of Otter Creek. The upper portion of the main trunk and Dreaming Creek drain urban areas of Richmond, but 85% of total watershed area is agricultural land, used mainly for grazing cattle. Rural residential areas and woodlands also occur.

The principle contaminants are nutrients …

Modelling Emergent Patterns Of Dynamic Desert Ecosystems, J. Stewart, A. J. Parson, J. Wainwright, G. S. Okin, B. T. Bestelmeyer, E. L. Frederickson, W. H. Schlesinger

Agriculture Faculty and Staff Scholarship

In many desert ecosystems vegetation is both patchy and dynamic: vegetated areas are interspersed with patches of bare ground, and both the positioning and the species composition of the vegetated areas exhibit change through time. These characteristics lead to the emergence of multi-scale patterns in vegetation that arise from complex relationships between plants, soils and transport processes. Previous attempts to probe the causes of spatial complexity and predict responses of desert ecosystems tend to be limited in their focus: models of dynamics have been developed with no consideration of the inherent patchiness in the vegetation, or else models have been …

Project-Oriented Science Instruction Involving General-Education Undergraduates Serving As Mentors To Underprivileged Middle-Students Students, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie, Tara Shepperson, Linda Frost

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We report results from a novel, project-based science course funded by the NSF for general-education students in the EKU Honors Program and for middle school students. Key aspects of the course are: (1) instruction in the natural sciences adopting a regional context; (2) investigation of the water quality of a local stream involving all portions of a scientific study from planning to data collection and analysis to presentation; and (3) direct mentoring of underprivileged, seventh-grade students by honors students in project activities, including trips to campus for laboratory work and presentations. The course is meant to provide high-quality scientific instruction …