Digital Commons Network^™

Deep Change Theory: Implications For Educational Development Leaders, Caitlin Martin, Elizabeth Wardle

Publications

While chapters 1 and 2 explore the promise of theoretical frameworks for making conceptual change that leads to innovative action around teaching and learning in higher education, they also point out the challenges to this kind of work as teams of faculty strive to lead change in their programs and departments after completing the program. To summarize our claims thus far: one of the goals for the HCWE Faculty Writing Fellows Program is to empower faculty who participate to return to their departments to make programmatic changes—changes they identify as central to their work and values and program culture. The …

Introduction To Bioaerosols Assessment And Control, 2nd Edition, Cheri Marcham, John (Jack) Springston

Publications

• Risk Assessment
• Assessment for the Presence of Bioaerosols
• Sampling
• Purpose/ Necessity
• Interpretation Controls
  • Ventilation
  • Other Controls

Online Prehealth Advising: Impact Analysis Spring 2017 To Fall 2020, Alasdair Ekpenyong, Mykel Beorchia

Publications

At Utah State University, various online, Canvas-based advising programs complement the traditional in-person advising program. The online prehealth advising service assists students who are considering health professions graduate school.

This report explored the association between online prehealth advising participation and student persistence to the next term at Utah State University.

Does Instructor Quality Affect Student Grades?, Emily Faulconer, John C. Griffith, Bobby Mcmasters

Publications

High quality instructors positively influence student outcomes.

• Course design with strong organization
• Feedback
• Community of inquiry presences
• Cultural responsiveness

Assessment As A Learning Opportunity: Feedforward With Multiple Attempts, Emily Faulconer

Publications

High quality feedback is well-known to provide multiple student benefits, especially if students are provided the opportunity to apply the feedback. It reasons, then, that we can support student success on summative assessments by combining multiple attempts with high-quality immediate feedback. This study explores student behaviors, performance, and perspectives regarding this strategy.

Quick And Easy Notes: Practical Strategies For Busy Teachers, C. C. Bates, Stephanie Madison Schenck, Hayley J. Hoover

Publications

Teachers’ knowledge of each child helps them to plan appropriately challenging environments and activities that are tailored to the children’s strengths and needs. Assessing children regularly is essential to build that individualized knowledge—and to identify children who may benefit from more specialized supports. This article offers practical tips for you to engage in systematic, observation-based assessment by keeping anecdotal records on each child.

Transforming The Professional Flight Program Curriculum: Justification, Process, And Future Development, Julius Keller, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Brian G. Dillman, Michael Suckow

Publications

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), by 2036 the aviation sector will need 620,000 new pilots, 125,000 new air traffic controllers, and 1.3 million aircraft maintenance personnel (ICAO, 2018);

Pilots seeking a first officer position (a common entry-level position at Part 121 air carriers) are required to possess an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) Certificate and 1,500 hours of total flight time;

There are some exceptions!

Support from administration

Quantity vs Quality;

How can flight faculty improve student learning and job readiness?

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Instructional Technology Tools In Online Business Programs, Denise Bollenback, Wendi M. Kappers

Publications

An evaluation rubric was developed to assess instructional technology tools used within online business programs to enhance learner engagement and content presentation skills. The evaluation was designed to determine if the instructional technology within the lesson helped to engage the learner, impact the assessment of outcomes, and improve the ability to present the content of the learning material. In this case study example, an instructional lesson was developed to instruct learners in creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) using a project management software tool. This lesson was designed to be completed in 30 minutes or less. Step-by-step guides for obtaining …

Multi-Choice Questions And Their Problems When Used For Assessment Of Aircraft Engineers Education, Ian R. Mcandrew, Ken L. Witcher, Elena Navarro, Peter Foreman

Publications

Licensed aircraft engineers under the European Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, undertake academic training to complement their practical and type specific studies. These exams are mainly Multi-Choice Questions, MCQ, and four 20-minute essays. The MCQ exams are as few as 16 questions to a maximum of 140 questions. A score of 75% is needed to pass each exam, and each question has three possible answers. This authors of this paper reviews the theory and design of the MCQ and asks if the assumptions are valid and that it achieves the academic level assumed for engineers who will be maintaining some of …

Real Data Is Messy... And Manageable, Beverly Wood, Carl Clark

Publications

Using real data in an introductory statistics course is a delicate balance between reality and manageability. The internet is awash with data that is useful for students to answer questions of interest to them but it is not always formatted as neatly as textbook data. The ASA's recently endorsed GAISE College Report 2016 points to the plausibility of considering multivariable thinking even if only at a rudimentary level. With both messy and multivariable data in mind, we present some activities/projects and sources for data to give introductory students the opportunity to engage with real data.

Evaluating The State Of The Adjunct Faculty Relationship To The College Of Aeronautics, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, Narcrisha Norman, Federica Robinson-Bryant

Publications

The research outlined in this report evaluated the current state of adjunct faculty within the College of Aeronautics, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide as 0f 10/22/2015. The approach was to streamline complex challenges as they relate to adjunct faculty population through three strategic goals:

• Goal 1 – Clearly state and understand COA challenges
• Goal 2 – Consider current practices, universal challenges, and best practices
• Goal 3 – Create tailored strategies for those challenges unique to Worldwide

This research will demonstrate five specific steps outlined in Goal 3 to ensure that the college hires and retains quality adjunct faculty as part …

Casco Bay Climate Change Vulnerability Summary Report, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Natural Choices, Waterview Consulting

Publications

The Casco Bay region is vulnerable to seven important climate stressors highlighted by the US Environmental Protection Agency: warmer summers; warmer winters; warmer waters; increased drought; increased storminess (evident in higher total precipitation, frequency and intensity); sea level rise; and ocean acidification (US EPA 2014). These climate stressors do not operate in isolation. Compounding their impacts are factors such as population growth, habitat fragmentation and destruction, and resource depletion that can further tax ecosystems and species.

Casco Bay’S Vulnerability To Climate Change (Fact Sheet), Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Natural Choices, Waterview Consulting

Publications

From day to day, the weather is always changing—sometimes cooler, sometimes warmer, sometimes wetter, sometimes drier. However, long-term data on conditions over the past century reveal clear trends in Casco Bay’s climate, and these trends are expected to continue far into the future. With climate change increasingly affecting the Casco Bay ecosystem and people who live and work around the Bay, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP) carried out a vulnerability assessment to identify the most important climate-related risks. The assessment also determined the most effective ways for CBEP and local communities to respond to the changes in order to ensure …

Casco Bay Climate Change Vulnerability Report, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, Natural Choices, Waterview Consulting

Publications

The Casco Bay region is vulnerable to all seven of the climate stressors identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA): warmer summers; warmer winters; warmer waters; increased drought; increased storminess (evident in higher total precipitation, frequency and intensity); sea level rise; and ocean acidification (US EPA 2014). These climate stressors do not operate in isolation. Compounding their impacts are factors such as population growth, habitat fragmentation and destruction, and resource depletion that can further tax ecosystems and species.

Guidelines For Assessment And Instruction In Statistics Education (Gaise) College Report 2016, Robert Carver, Michelle Everson, John Gabrosek, Nicholas Horton, Robin Lock, Megan Mocko, Allan Rossman, Ginger Holmes Roswell, Paul Velleman, Jeffrey Witmer, Beverly Wood

Publications

In 2005 the American Statistical Association (ASA) endorsed the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) College Report. This report has had a profound impact on the teaching of introductory statistics in two- and four-year institutions, and the six recommendations put forward in the report have stood the test of time. Much has happened within the statistics education community and beyond in the intervening 10 years, making it critical to re-evaluate and update this important report. For readers who are unfamiliar with the original GAISE College Report or who are new to the statistics education community, the full …

Gaiseing Into The New Guidelines, Robert Carver, Megan Mocko, Jeffrey Witmer, Beverly Wood

Publications

The first GAISE College Report came out in 2005. Over the past ten years our discipline has changed in many ways, including but not limited to what type of data is easily available, the technology that we use, as well as how we teach students. In this presentation we will briefly start with how the new GAISE 2016 guidelines and goals have changed, including the two new emphases of statistical thinking: giving students experience with multivariable thinking and with the investigative process. So how do you start to implement these new ideas? In this presentation, we will demonstrate an activity …

Multivariate Thinking In An Intro Stats Course – Is It Possible?, Beverly Wood

Publications

Many of our students have an intuitive sense that there is more to the story than univariate or bivariate data can tell us. We can acknowledge and encourage that habit of digging deeper by demonstrating some ways to look at additional variables. Simpson’s paradox and side-by-side scatter plots are ways to provide a glimpse of more complex analysis that are accessible to students in an introductory course with or without strong quantitative skills.

Multiple Perspectives Community Engagement Assessment Model, Sally Blomstrom, Barbara Hayford, Lori A. Mumpower, Andrelle Bobinsky

Publications

We propose a multiple perspectives assessment model for community engagement. The assessment model was developed for a service-learning project. The multiple perspectives included in the model were those from the community partner, the faculty member, students, and the associate director from the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE). The model assessed the effectiveness of the service-learning project using qualitative reflections and quantitative data. Assessment from each perspective produced positive results in the improvement areas of assignment instructions, pedagogy, process, and deliverables. Generalizability may be limited because this project is ongoing with the same representatives from the community partner, CTLE, …

Making The Case For Lending Assessment: Or, Why Do They Keep Putting My Symbol In Their Lending String?, Elizabeth Sterthaus

Publications

Why do libraries choose one library over another to send interlibrary loan requests to? The answer to one survey is freely available here.

Teaching And Assessing Engineering Design Thinking With Virtual Internships And Epistemic Network Analysis, Golnaz Arastoopour Irgens, David Williamson Shaffer, Zachari Swiecki, A. R. Ruis, Naomi C. Chesler

Publications

An engineering workforce of sufficient size and quality is essential for addressing significant global challenges such as climate change, world hunger, and energy demand. Future generations of engineers will need to identify challenging issues and design innovative solutions. To prepare young people to solve big and increasingly global problems, researchers and educators need to understand how we can best educate young people to use engineering design thinking. In this paper, we explore virtual internships, online simulations of 21st-century engineering design practice, as one method for teaching engineering design thinking. To assess the engineering design thinking, we use epistemic network analysis …

Gaise Into The Future: Updating A Landmark Report For An Increasingly Data-Centric World, Michelle Everson, Paul Velleman, Beverly Wood, John Gabrosek, Megan Mocko, Robert Carver

Publications

Ever since its official endorsement by the American Statistical Association in 2005, the Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) College Report has had a profound impact on the teaching of statistics. Now, a decade later, it is important to recognize the changing nature in what and how we teach our introductory statistics students. Changes in technology and assessment practices, just over the past 10 years, have made it possible to do new and exciting things in our courses, in very different ways than were envisioned by the authors of the original GAISE College Report. Further, our world …

Research Analysis And Planning: The Undervalued Skill In Legal Research Instruction, Robert M. Linz

Publications

This article describes a method of research analysis and planning for legal problems. It introduces the framework of research plan, log, and product and provides a detailed research plan and log that students can use as a template for learning research. The article suggests how to teach the method in legal research classes, shares some of the author's experiences in teaching the method, and addresses some possible criticisms of this approach.

Sustain Southern Maine Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment, Greater Portland Council Of Governments

Publications

This document presents a compilation of work to assess vulnerability to coastal flooding for the Sustain Southern Maine (SSM) region. The SSM Region (Figure 1) extends from Brunswick to Kittery along the coast, and inland to Raymond, Standish, and Acton. This assessment is based on information provided by organizations including the Maine Geological Survey, Southern Maine Planning and Development Commission (SMPDC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Casco Bay Estuary Partnership (CBEP), the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG), and various other municipal and federal entities.

Gaise In Discipline-Specific Courses, Beverly Wood

Publications

While acknowledging the diverse setting, audience, and purpose of introductory courses, existing research assumes that courses offered by different disciplines share the same goals and teaching practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the objectives for student outcomes and pedagogical delivery of introductory statistics courses designed for students in a specific major, providing explicit evidence for this assumption.

The American Statistical Association’s Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) are meant to apply to all introductory courses. The College Report’s Goals for Students and Recommendations for Teaching are used as a framework for a qualitative study …

Involving Families In The Assessment Process, Julie Rutland, Anna H. Hall

Publications

Although grounded in theory and philosophy, and mandated by federal legislation, there is often a gap in research to practice when it comes to involving families in the assessment process. As family involvement through the continuum of early childhood education is recognized as “best practice”in the field, the assessment process must not be excluded. However, teachers in early childhood programs may need additional strategies to invite families to join in the process. Strategies for parent participation as consumers,informants, team members, and advocates are discussed as well as outcomes for children and families.

Application Essays As An Effective Tool For Assessing Instruction In The Basic Communication Course: A Follow-Up Study, Joseph P. Mazer, Cheri J. Simonds, Stephen K. Hunt

Publications

The assessment of student learning in general education courses is of critical importance in higher education. This study examines the utility of a writing assignment (application essays) in a basic communication course as an effective assessment tool. The authors conducted a content analysis of student portfolios to determine the extent to which application essays provide evidence of student learning in the basic course. The present study extends the findings from recent assessment efforts (Jones, Simonds, & Hunt, 2005) to explore types of mass media events students address in application essays and assess the revisions made to the assignment based on …

The Gaise College Report: The American Statistical Association Meets Sound Pedagogy In Central Virginia, Beverly Wood

Publications

Research in undergraduate statistics education often centers on the introductory course required for a large percentage of college students. While acknowledging the diverse setting, audience, and purpose of introductory courses, existing research assumes that courses offered by different disciplines share the same goals and teaching practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the objectives for student outcomes and pedagogical delivery of introductory statistics courses in various academic departments to provide explicit evidence for this assumption. The American Statistical Association’s Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) are meant to apply to all introductory courses. The College …

Assessing Service-Learning To Improve Instruction, Sally Blomstrom, Hak Tam

Publications

Experiential learning has been an area of interest for over 30 years within the field of communication. Service-learning has gained popularity (Oster-Aaland, Sellnow, Nelson, & Pearson, 2004) particularly in public relations (Panici & Lasky, 2002). This paper presents a discipline-defined framework for service-learning in public relations, suggestions for implementing the assessment measure, and reflection on its use.

Innovative Public Engagement Practices And Partnerships: Lifting Stakeholder Voices In Education Accountability Policy, Monica Wills, Curtis Brewer, Robert Knoeppel, James Witte, Roy Pargas, Jane Clark Lindle

Publications

In 2008, due to increasing stakeholder dissatisfaction with assessment results and school report cards, South Carolina revised its 1998 Educational Accountability Act and required public engagement with stakeholders including parents/guardians, educators, business and community leaders, and taxpayers. The legislation created partnerships between SC‟s Education Oversight Committee (EOC) and Clemson University. The project also brought together within the university the fields of Applied Sociology, Computer Science, and Educational Leadership. The project involved mixed methods using phone/web surveys with focus groups eliciting perceptions from key stakeholders and under-represented voices in the surveys.

Fish Assemblage And Habitat Assessment Of The Presumpscot River, Mbi Technical Report, Chris O. Yoder, Lon E. Hersha, Edward T. Rankin

Publications

The Midwest Biodiversity Institute received a grant from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership in 2006 to conduct an assessment of the fish assemblage of the Presumpscot River between the outlet of Sebago Lake and Casco Bay. The overall goal of this project is to assess the current status of the fish assemblages as it is related to both historical and contemporary biological, chemical, and physical characteristics and stressors. With the exception of a prior study focused on anadromous fishes in the lower mainstem in 2003 (Normandeau Associates 2004), comparatively little is known about the relative abundance, distribution, and composition of …