Education Commons^™

Needs Assessment – National Repository For Nsf Agep Deliverables, Christie Sahley, Megan Sapp-Nelson, Donna Ferullo, Linda Mason, Hanzi Xie

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This white paper proposes the establishment of a National Repository for NSF Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Deliverables to address the critical need for preserving and sharing a wide array of materials generated from the AGEP program. Recognizing the challenges of ephemeral storage solutions and the absence of a unified collection mechanism, the paper underscores the repository's role in promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) research. It emphasizes the importance of accommodating diverse data types, enhancing discoverability, and ensuring long-term access to educational materials, policy documents, and research outcomes. Through a comprehensive approach, the proposed repository …

Solving Geospatial Problems Under Extreme Time Constraints: A Call For Inclusive Geocomputational Education, Coline C. Dony

I-GUIDE Forum

To prepare our next generation to face geospatial problems that have extreme time constraints (e.g., disasters, climate change) we need to create educational pathways that help students develop their geocomputational thinking skills. First, educators are central in helping us create those pathways, therefore, we need to clearly convey to them why and in which contexts this thinking is necessary. For that purpose, a new definition for geocomputational thinking is suggested that makes it clear that this thinking is needed for geospatial problems that have extreme time constraints. Secondly, we can not further burden educators with more demands, rather we should …

Recognition Of Design Failure By Fourth-Grade Students During An Engineering Design Challenge, Ron K. Skinner, Danielle B. Harlow

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The practice of persisting and learning from design failures is essential to engineering design and offers unique ways of knowing and learning for K-12 students. To understand how students engage in the practice of persisting and learning from design failures, we must first understand how, if at all, they recognize that a design failure has occurred. We studied a classroom of fourth-grade students engaged in an engineering design challenge and examined the ways in which design failure occurred and how students recognized, neglected to recognize, or misinterpreted design failure. We found that, in addition to anticipating failure, conducting fair tests, …

Investigating Influences On Intercultural Sensitivity Through Undergraduate And Graduate Students’ Reflections On Identities, Daphne Fauber, Kathryn Mueller

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Due to a shifting global environment and unique personal circumstances, traditional in-person learning experiences that foster cross-cultural interactions and learning, including study abroad programs, have become unavailable to many. In light of this issue, we investigated how a virtual cross-cultural course, such as Global Social Justice in Education (GSJE), could allow undergraduate and graduate students to explore their cultural identities and enhance their intercultural sensitivity. Data for this study was collected via three distinct GSJE reflections completed by a single cohort of 11 Purdue graduate and undergraduate students who interacted with international participants. Purdue participant reflections were analyzed and coded …

A Note From The Co-Editors, Jada C. Johnson

Ideas: Exhibit Catalog for the Honors College Visiting Scholars Series

An introduction to the second issue of the third volume of Ideas Magazine, concerning the research and work of M. Adam Howard.

Diversity, Equity And Inclusion In Human-Animal Interaction, Nira N. Grynheim, Clare E. Jensen, Marguerite L. O'Haire

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) is a growing field investigating the complex relationships humans have with animals. Human diversity in HAI, or lack thereof, may have a direct influence on the way HAI data is interpreted and presented. Previous research has studied how apparent disability, racial, sexual or other diversifying identities might affect how humans interact with the world and their pets. However, thus far, there has been little research published on how inequitable barriers towards underrepresented minorities (URM) might play a role in how HAI is studied, interpreted and presented. The present study investigated human diversity among leaders in the HAI …

Insights From Two Decades Of P-12 Engineering Education Research, Cary I. Sneider, Mihir K. Ravel

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

The 21st century has seen a growing movement in the United States towards the adoption of engineering and technology as a complement to science education. Motivated by this shift, this article offers insights into engineering education for grades P-12, based on a landscape review of 263 empirical research studies spanning the two decades from January 2000 to June 2021. These insights are organized around three core themes: (1) students’ understandings, skills, and attitudes about engineering and technology; (2) effective methods of P-12 engineering education; and (3) benefits of P-12 engineering education. The insights are captured in the form of evidence-based …

Profile Interview With Faculty Mentor Dr. Jason Ware, C. Max Otterbacher

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Dr. Jason Ware is a clinical assistant professor in the Honors College with a courtesy appointment in the College of Education.

When You Don’T Know What You Don’T Know: How Two New Collections Librarians Right-Sized A Collections Budget, Cara M. Cadena, Marcia Lee

Charleston Library Conference

Due to impending campus-wide downsizing, the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Libraries projected that a worst-case scenario would result in a 14% cut to the library’s collections budget for fiscal year 2020. In the same year, GVSU Libraries welcomed several new members of its leadership team, including the dean, two associate deans, head of systems, head of collections, business administrator, and a vacancy after the long-time acquisitions manager retired. Budget cuts and staff turnover are tough, but they prompted a much-needed reassessment of roles, culture, and priorities in the library. Different approaches to spending and curating the library’s collections were …

Examining The Factor Structure Of A Middle School Stem Occupational Values Scale, Jessica Harlan, James Van Haneghan

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

As part of a longitudinal study of the development and implementation of a middle school engineering design curriculum, we have used an occupational values subscale of the Assessing Men and Women in Engineering (AWE) project’s Engineering version of the Core Survey for Middle School-Aged Participants to measure student occupational interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). According to the developers, this set of tools is intended to measure factors related to STEM careers, including occupational interests. While the AWE tools have been widely used, there have been no formal examinations of the psychometric properties of the middle school tools. …

The Representation Of Majors In Purdue University Study Abroad Programs, Melanie Martinez

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Engineering Technology Students: Comparing Recent Survey Responses, Liza Russell

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

A Fork In The Road: Exploring Undecided Student Success, Joseph Ching

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Student Enrollment In Pre-College Engineering Courses On Their Interest In Engineering Careers, Kelly A. Miller, Gerhard Sonnert, Philip M. Sadler

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Pre-college student enrollment in engineering courses increases every year in the United States, yet little is known about the relationship between taking these courses and subsequent science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career interest. Through multinomial logistic regressions, and while controlling for student background variables and prior STEM career interest, this study addresses two research questions: (1) Does completing a pre-college engineering course increase the likelihood of an engineering career interest at the end of high school? (2) Does completing a pre-college engineering course have a different influence on career interest in engineering than on career interest in other STEM …

Does The Use Of Simulation Significantly Impact Students’ Perceptions Of Their Air Traffic Control Knowledge And Skill?, Meron Lindenfeld, Jeanne Radigan, Michael Figuccio

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Simulation has served as an instructional supplement in education and training within various fields such as nursing, business, and flight training. Prior research studies have documented its usefulness. Simulation-based lessons have also been used for air traffic control (ATC) training, but little research has been conducted on the usefulness of simulation in this application. This study measured the level of influence that ATC simulation had on students’ perception of their ATC knowledge and skill level and their commitment to a career in ATC.

Data were collected by surveying students at four institutions of higher education after they completed ATC courses …

Beyond Circulation: Assessing Collections In The Age Of Student Success, Alicia Willson-Metzger

Charleston Library Conference

In a time of decreasing collections budgets and expectations of increased fiscal accountability in libraries, collection management librarians are increasingly expected to justify expenditures through the provision of usage data to their stakeholders. Yet traditional methods of collection assessment, often focused upon summary circulation statistics, are only marginally useful in demonstrating collection strength to patrons. To paint a more complete picture of a library’s successful collection development program, librarians need to identify and verify a relationship between circulation statistics and improved student outcomes, as well as support of faculty scholarship and teaching. While this task can seem daunting, many methods …

Mastery Learning In Action: One District's Journey Toward The Continuous Improvement Of Assessment Practices To Positively Impact Student Learning, Michael Carpenter, Justin Rentschler, Stephanie Zee

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

In the last year, Southwest Allen County Schools (SACS) instituted a “Portrait of a Graduate” vision in their community. This vision provides all stakeholders with information on the skills graduates from SACS will possess at the end of their senior year of high school. To accomplish this, SACS wanted to examine how well the teaching, learning, and reporting of learning aligned. One aspect of this process was to examine how well report cards were communicating student learning and progress to parents and students. To achieve this goal, SACS collected survey data from a variety of community members that evaluated their …

The Impact Of Pbl As A Stem School Reform Model, Michael R. L. Odell, Teresa J. Kennedy, Eric Stocks

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Project/problem-based learning (PBL) can provide an effective model for school reform when implemented with fidelity. In the report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, it was recommended that if the U.S. is to remain competitive in the 21st-century economy, there must be a serious effort to “enlarge the pipeline of students who are prepared to enter college and graduate with a degree in STEM” (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, & Institute of Medicine, 2007, p. 6). The report included the recommendation that states develop statewide specialty STEM high schools (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, …

Recursive Reflective Reports: Embedded Assessment In Pbl Courses For Second Language Teacher Education, Cynthia A. Caswell

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

This conceptual article begins with a general definition of reflection and the soft skills of PBL: collaboration, agency, and metacognition. Then it presents theoretical frameworks for reflection from second language teacher education (SLTE) (Farrell, 2015; Pennington & Richards, 2016) and illustrates six types of reflection with examples from the field of SLTE. The article features a reflective self- and peer-assessment instrument, utilized in a graduate SLTE program. The standard yet flexible template of the reflective teaching report (RTR) allows these teacher educators to interact with their students’ development in the soft skills and the content of the SLTE knowledge base. …

Performance Assessment Practice As Professional Learning, Vanessa Svihla, Tim Kubik, Tori Stevens-Shauger

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

While performance assessment (PA) is well aligned to project-based learning (PjBL), teachers find it challenging to design and implement PA that is faithful to the authentic context of their projects and viewed externally as rigorous. In contrast to standardizing PA tasks — thereby diminishing authenticity — we formed a research-practice partnership (Coburn, Penuel, & Geil, 2013) that developed and used a “shell” to guide teachers in planning, implementing, and engaging in rigorous dialogues that evaluate and elevate PA practice across four PjBL schools. Drawing from analysis of artifacts and audio-recorded professional development sessions, we highlight how the effort to standardize …

Tracking Life Skill Development Of Indiana 4-H Members, Kayla Groen

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Technical Standards Literacy In Management Education, Heather A. Howard, Margaret Phillips

Midwest Business Librarian Summit (MBLS)

Industry standards have a significant impact on business as a means to eliminate waste, reduce costs, market products (e.g., for quality, safety, interoperability) and lessen liability (Thompson, 2011). Consequently, an understanding of and ability to use standards, agreed upon practices among interested or vested parties, is a critical workplace competency for those engaged in business and industry. To have a workforce competent in the use of standards, higher education curricula must be developed to integrate standards education at appropriate points within the curriculum. Despite the importance of standards, they are not universally integrated into the college and university curricula. Given …

The Potential Of Industry Standards In Undergraduate Education, Heather A. Howard, Margaret Phillips, Alyson Vaaler, David Hubbard

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Industry standards have a significant impact on business as a means to eliminate waste, reduce costs, market products (e.g., for quality, safety, interoperability) and lessen liability (Thompson, 2011). Consequently, an understanding and the ability to use standards, agreed upon practices among interested or vested parties, is a critical workplace competency for those engaged in business and industry. To have a workforce competent in the use of standards, higher education curricula must be developed to integrate standards education at appropriate points within the curriculum. Despite the importance of standards, they are not universally integrated into the college and university curricula. Given …

Assessing Mechanistic Reasoning: Supporting Systems Tracing, Paul J. Weinberg

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Reasoning about mechanism is central to disciplined inquiry in science and engineering and should thus be one of the foundations of a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. In addition, mechanistic reasoning is one of the core competencies listed in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Engineering Concepts and Practices (NGSS Lead States, 2013). Mechanistic explanations focus on the processes that underlie cause–effect relationships and consider how the activities of system components affect one another.

While some assessment work has been accomplished in engineering education, to date mechanistic reasoning is an area where limited assessment development has been accomplished for …

They Choose To Attend Academic Summer Camps? A Mixed Methods Study Exploring The Impact Of A Nasa Academic Summer Pre-Engineering Camp On Middle School Students In A Latino Community, Araceli Martinez Ortiz, Laura Rodriguez Amaya, Hiroko Kawaguchi Warshauer, Sara Garcia Torres, Erin Scanlon, Michelle Pruett

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Early exposure to engineering and mathematics career opportunities has been indicated to influence students’ decisions regarding their academic majors and career goals. This study utilized mixed methods to analyze how changes in middle school students’ affective characteristics might be linked to their future career decision-making, following participation in an integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics summer camp. As part of the summer camp, rising sixth- through eighth-grade students attended a weeklong learning experience based on a specific engineering context. Each grade level cohort participated with their same grade peers in a 36-hour, 6-day event focused on sparking their interest in …

Crushing Curiosity: How Information Literacy Can Hinder Or Foster Student Engagement, Rachel Fundator, Clarence Maybee, Michael Flierl

IMPACT Presentations

Cultivating a motivating classroom environment brings a host of benefits to students. By recognizing how information literacy practices can motivate (or demotivate) students, academic librarians can target their information literacy instruction to foster curiosity, creativity, or action within the classroom. In this session, we will present findings from a recent study about the information literacy practices used by disciplinary instructors that can hinder or foster undergraduate student engagement in their classes. Participants will work in small groups to brainstorm ways to redesign information literacy instructional scenarios to promote student engagement, while drawing out student curiosity, creativity, or action.

On The Removal Of Motivation And Structural Barriers In The Classroom And Across The Mathematics Curriculum, Benjamin Wiles, Chantal Levesque-Bristol

IMPACT Presentations

Presentation at the research roundtable discussion at the 2018 Critical Issues in Math Education Workshop, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, in Berkeley, CA.

Presents data on the ability of active learning methods to impact motivation and promote learning outcomes in mathematics courses.

Service Learning Course Has Purdue Students Design Curricula To Teach Indiana Elementary Students About Food Waste, Rebecca Busse

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

No abstract provided.

Supporting Mechanistic Reasoning In Domain-Specific Contexts, Paul J. Weinberg

Journal of Pre-College Engineering Education Research (J-PEER)

Mechanistic reasoning is an epistemic practice central within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. Although there has been some work on mechanistic reasoning in the research literature and standards documents, much of this work targets domain-general characterizations of mechanistic reasoning; this study provides domain-specific illustrations of mechanistic reasoning. The data in this study comes from the Assessment of Mechanistic Reasoning Project (AMRP) (Weinberg, 2012), designed using item response theory modeling to diagnose individuals’ mechanistic reasoning about systems of levers. Such a characterization of mechanistic reasoning illuminates what is easy and difficult about this form of reasoning, within the subdomain of …

Housing Diversity In Children’S Literature, Carla Earhart

Charleston Library Conference

Previous studies have examined diversity in children’s literature: Gender diversity, racial diversity, religious diversity, and diversity in family composition. This project examines an often overlooked diversity issue in children’s literature: Housing diversity. In the stories they read and the accompanying images, children need to see a variety of housing environments and need to see the settings and the people portrayed in a positive manner.

Renting an apartment is an increasingly popular housing option for many families. However, many children’s books glamorize living in a traditional house. Using a rubric designed by the course instructor, students in a university immersive learning …