Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Selected Works

2016

Higher Education

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Education

Professional Networks For Educational Change: An Evaluation Of The Mathematician And Education Reform Forum, Carolyn A. Haug, Scott F. Marion May 2016

Professional Networks For Educational Change: An Evaluation Of The Mathematician And Education Reform Forum, Carolyn A. Haug, Scott F. Marion

Carolyn Haug

This document contains findings of a year-long evaluation of the Mathematics and Education Reform (MER) Forum, a voluntary association targeting the academic mathematics community in four-year colleges and universities. Specifically, the evaluation sought to assess the extent to which MER influenced its members' involvement in mathematics-education reform at both postsecondary and K-12 levels. Since its inception in 1988, MER has expanded from a network targeted at individuals to include a departmental network directed toward mathematics departments of research universities. Data were obtained through a survey of the entire national population of MER participants (n=730), which elicited a 32 percent response …


The Learning Analytics Readiness Instrument, Meghan Oster, Steven Lonn, Matthew D. Pistilli, Michael G. Brown Apr 2016

The Learning Analytics Readiness Instrument, Meghan Oster, Steven Lonn, Matthew D. Pistilli, Michael G. Brown

Matthew Pistilli

Little is known about the processes institutions use when discerning their readiness to implement learning analytics. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by using survey data from the beta version of the Learning Analytics Readiness Instrument (LARI) [1]. Twenty-four institutions were surveyed and 560 respondents participated. Five distinct factors were identified from a factor analysis of the results: Culture; Data Management Expertise; Data Analysis Expertise; Communication and Policy Application; and, Training. Data were analyzed using both the role of those completing the survey and the Carnegie classification of the institutions as lenses. Generally, information technology professionals …


Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson Mar 2016

Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson

Brent Wilson

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if constructivism is recognized as a philosophy rather than a strategy. To better fit the needs of practitioners, instructional design theories need to be better grounded in a broad understanding of learning and instructional processes. Generic principles and specific heuristics are needed for dealing with recurring problems and situations in instructional design …


Friendships And Retention At A Historically Black University: A Quantitative Case Studyno Title, Mondrail Myrick, John Gipson, Donald Mitchell Jan 2016

Friendships And Retention At A Historically Black University: A Quantitative Case Studyno Title, Mondrail Myrick, John Gipson, Donald Mitchell


The retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minority, first-generation and low-income college students persist as problems in U.S. higher education. While researchers have documented the ways in which minority-serving institutions have been successful in serving these students, little is known about how friendships influence retention at these institutions. This study examines retention factors of first-year students who began college with close friends at a historically Black university. The researchers used exploratory factor analysis and binary logistic regressions to determine the factors and significance. In addition, the researchers used linear structural relations to estimate hypothesized causal models. Results of the study …