Education Commons^™

Transforming Academic Practice: Human Resources Challenges, Ellen Hazelkorn, Amanda Moynihan

Books/Book chapters

No abstract provided.

Weedsin The Flower Garden: An Exploration Of Plagiarism In Graduate Students' Research Proposalsand Its Connection To Enculturation, Esl, And Contextual Factors, Joanna Gilmore, Denise Strickland, Briana Timmerman, Michelle Maher, David F. Feldon

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Existing literature provides insight into the nature and extent of plagiarism amongst undergraduate students (e.g., Ellery, 2008; Parameswaran & Devi, 2006; Selwyn, 2008). Plagiarism amongst graduate students is relatively unstudied, however, and the existing data are largely based on self-reports. This study investigated the rates and potential causes of plagiarism amongst graduate students in master’s and doctoral programmes in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and science or mathematics education by examining actual research proposals written by graduate students. Results indicate that plagiarism is a prevalent issue at each of the three university sites sampled and across all of the investigated disciplines. …

Adaptations And Continuities In The Use And Design Of Visual Representations In Us Middle School Science Textbooks, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Visual representations are ubiquitous in modern‐day science textbooks and have in recent years become an object of criticism and scrutiny. This article examines the extent to which changes in representations in textbooks published in the USA over the past six decades have invited those critiques. Drawing from a correlational analysis of a corpus of 34 US middle school physical science textbooks, continuities are established with respect to the purposes that most textbook images serve and the numbers of schematic representations that are used. Changes are observed in the overall total number of representations in textbooks and in the proportion of …

Ia Quality Guide, Sarah Giersch, Heather Leary, Mimi Recker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Research

This is a quality guide geared for the projects in the Instructional Architect. It is used for assessing the quality of the projects created.

Linking Opencoursewares And Open Education Resources: Creating An Effective Search And Recommendation System, Brett E. Shelton, J. Duffin, Y. Wang, J. Ball

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

With a growing number of digital libraries and other open education repositories being made available throughout the world, effective search and retrieval tools are necessary to access the desired materials that surpass the effectiveness of traditional, all inclusive search engines. This paper discusses the design and use of Folksemantic, a platform that integrates OpenCourseWare search, Open Educational Resource recommendations, and social network functionality into a single open source project. The paper describes how the system was originally envisioned, its goals for users, and data that provides insight into how it is actually being used. Data sources include website click-through data, …

Stealing From Grandma Or Generating Knowledge? Constestations And Effects Of Cheating In Whyville, Deborah A. Fields, Y. B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Much research has described the various practices needed of gaining access and participation in multi-user game communities. Cheat sites are a continuation of game communities where players engage in knowledge building about game related challenges. In this paper we analyze the cheat sites created by players for a tween virtual world called Whyville.net, which encourages youth to participate in a range of social activities and play casual science games. Through analysis we created typologies for both the cheats and sites related to science content. Further, a case study of an exemplary cheat site elaborates on how some player generated sites …

Your Second Selves: Avatar Designs And Identity Play, Y. B. Kafai, Deborah A. Fields, M. S. Cook

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Avatars in online games and worlds are seen as players’ key representations in interactions with each other. In this article, we investigate the avatar design and identity play within a large-scale tween virtual world called Whyville.net, with more than 1.5 million registered players of ages 816. One unique feature of Whyville is the players’ ability to customize their avatars with various face parts and accessories, all designed and sold by other players in Whyville. Our findings report on the expressive resources available for avatar construction, individual tween players’ choices and rationales in creating their avatars, and online postings about avatar …

Learning By Doing: An Experience With Outcomes Assessment, Mary Crossley, Lu-In Wang

Articles

An emphasis on assessment and outcomes measures is a drum beat that is growing louder in American legal education. Prompted initially by the demands of regional university accreditation bodies, the attention paid to outcomes assessment is now growing with the forecast that the ABA will revise its accreditation standards to incorporate outcomes measures. For the past three years, the University of Pittsburgh School of Law has been developing a system for assessing the learning outcomes of its students. By describing our experience here at Pitt Law, with both its high and low points, we hope to suggest some helpful pointers …

Strengthening The Culture Of Assessment Through Faculty Development And Shared Governance, Philip I. Kramer, Rita Knuesel

Office of Academic Review and Curricular Advancement Staff Publications

This 75-minute interactive workshop engages participants in a case study of two colleges and their efforts to expand and strengthen faculty assessment activities. A grant from the Teagle Foundation and on-campus conversations between faculty members and the administration have lead to dramatic improvements in the policies, procedures, and practices of assessment.

Institutional Characteristics 2010-11, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

IPEDS Institutional Characteristics

IPEDS Institutional Characteristics Annual report contains the following information:

• Admissions requirements
• Institutional price/cost data for full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students
• Tuition and required fees by level or program
• Room and board charges

Engaging Students, Assessing Learning: Just A Click Away, Linda C. Hodges

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Three ongoing challenges for those of us teaching today’s college students, especially in large lecture classes, are: getting students engaged in their learning, assessing what learning is actually taking place, and competing with students’ technology in keeping their attention. One teaching innovation that holds great promise for addressing these concerns is the use of personal response systems, also known as clickers. Clickers allow you to determine the level of student understanding at any given time with relatively little effort, and in the process encourage students to engage with class material by using the hook of technology. In this paper I …

Diversity Awareness Among A Diverse Business Student Population: Insights And Curriculum Implications From An Hispanic-American Serving University, Marvin Lovett, Irma S. Jones, Gerald Hollier, Dianna Blankenship

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper addresses insights gathered from business students enrolled in an Hispanic Serving University and resulting curriculum implications related to the continued heritage of the United States to embrace cultures of others. Although awareness of the realities regarding past, current and future diversity within the United States is important for all citizens, such awareness is especially necessary for individuals planning to participate in the United States marketplace: business students. A historical perspective regarding the evolution and promotion of diversity within the United States is provided. Secondly, the current degree of diversity in the United States is presented through a descriptive …

Appreciating The “A” Word Putting A Plan In Action, Maira Bundza, Laura Darrah, Brad Dennis

Assessment in Action Conference

Non-degree awarding units are actively engaged in assessments like surveys, focus groups and individual conversations. Framing those in an assessment plan is a chance to add intentionality to the process. A plan provides guidance, connects assessment to your goals, identifies missing areas, and outlines how the results will be used and more. Join us to see two different approaches to starting a plan and have some in-session work time to draft something to take back to your department. Examples of each approach will be shared.

The Great Dilemma Of Improving Teacher Quality In Adult Learning And Literacy, Cristine Smith

Center for International Education Faculty Publications

Recent research from the K-12 field indicates that professional development (PD) is a necessary (although not sufficient) factor in improving teacher quality. The research also clearly identifies ways to make professional learning activities for teachers effective. Yet the adult basic education and literacy (ABEL) field is not, for the most part, making use of this evidence in the design and support of PD for its teachers. The dilemma is that evidence-based teacher preparation practice can contribute to improved teacher quality, but it requires restructuring the way PD services are offered to the wide range of ABEL teachers. In this paper, …

Introduction To This Special Issue: Faculty Intellectual Property In The Digital Age, Gary R. Morrison, Gary J. Anglin, Jennifer M. Maddrell

STEMPS Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) Prior to the third generation of distance education that is described as telelearning (Taylor 1995) or teleconferencing (Moore and Kearsley 1996), there were few questions about the ownership of a faculty member’s intellectual property. It was extremely rare for an institution to claim ownership of a professor’s class materials whether lecture notes, flip charts, overhead transparencies, audio and video recording, monographs, handouts or tests. With the advent of Internet-based distance education delivery systems including 2-way audio and video as well as online courses, the issue of intellectual property ownership has grown complex.

Assessment For Improvement: Closing The Loop, Joni Jones, Kim Searing

Assessment in Action Conference

Join the WMU Bronson of School Nursing and the History Department in this session where they will share an overview of their assessment efforts and lessons learned. The importance of using assessment results to make changes to classes, programs and curriculum will be the focus. Having a plan and collecting the data is a great beginning, but using the results of your assessments is the key to making the assessment useful.

Does A Linked First-Year Seminar And Undergraduate Career Exploration Course Influence The Career Decision Making Self-Efficacy And Transitional Success Of Undecided Traditional First-Year Students At Western Michigan University, Glinda Rawls, Toni Woolfork-Barnes, Lauren Frye

Assessment in Action Conference

No abstract provided.

Creating Clear Pathways: Assessing And Enhancing The First Year Experience At Wmu, Jillian Kinzie

Assessment in Action Conference

First-year student success is no accident. Student engagement in a variety of intentionally designed educationally-purposeful activities is necessary to achieve desirable learning outcomes. A common feature of institutions with strong undergraduate programs is the creation of clear pathways for student success via enrollment materials, supportive resources, rituals, and in-and-out of class experiences that heighten students’ commitment to academic success. This presentation will highlight these practices and their implications for promoting student success. We will also consider WMU's results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) as a tool for reflecting on practices related to first year student achievement and …

Tool Time: Assessment Tools Presentation, Sarah Summy

Assessment in Action Conference

In this hands on work group session, we will show you some samples of exemplary rubrics and provide you with the basics for how to create your own rubric. Time will be spent working on providing suggestions to those who brought in rubrics for feedback as well as time to work on creating a rubric from scratch with the assistance of the facilitator(s) if requested.

Extreme Makeover: Assessment Plans Edition, Katharine Cummings

Assessment in Action Conference

In this hands on work group session, an overview of how to write a simple but effective assessment plan will be provided. Examples will be shown and time will be built in to the session to work on writing outcome statements and to answer specific questions.

Participation In Positive Youth Development Programs And 4-H: Assessing The Impact On Self-Image In Young People, Karen Bloomquist

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to identify relationships between youth involvement in 4-H and self-image. The study also explored whether there were relations between self-image and development of the 5 C’s (confidence, competence, caring, connection and character) of Positive Youth Development. The study focused specifically on the differences in self-image between youth who participate in 4-H and youth who do not.

Participants included 180 youth from grades eight through twelve in the state of Nebraska. Demographic responses indicated that 47% of respondents were male and 53% were female. Approximately 72% of the respondents were not participants in a 4-H …

Increasing Teachers' Metacognition Develops Students' Higher Learning During Content Area Literacy Instruction: Findings From The Read-Write Cycle Project, Margaret Sauceda Curwen, Roxanne Greitz Miller, Kimberly A. White-Smith, Robert C. Calfee

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Success in the 21st century, for individuals and societies, requires competence in comprehending and communicating in the academic disciplines--the natural sciences, history, geography, and more. The Read-Write Cycle (RWC) Project, a three year longitudinal research study conducted from 2005-2008 in ten public elementary schools in southern California, explored the effectiveness of curriculum and instructional strategies that integrate literacy with disciplinary knowledge with the simultaneous goals of: (1) enhancing students' literacy outcomes; and (2) broadening and deepening knowledge of the content area. Funded by the U.S. Institute of Education Sciences, the RWC Project concentrated over years one and two on 1,024 …

Teaching And Learning School Improvement Framework, Geoff N. Masters

Monitoring Learning

The Teaching and Learning School Improvement Framework brings together findings from research into the practices of highly effective school leaders. The focus of the Framework is not on everything that effective leaders do, but on those leadership practices that appear to be most directly related to school-wide improvements in teaching and learning. The Framework was developed initially in collaboration with the Queensland Department of Education and Training and was used as the basis for a teaching and learning ‘audit’ of every government school in that state during the 2010 school year. The Framework consists of eight interrelated ‘domains’. Each domain …

Knowing And Throwing Mudballs, Hearts, Pies, And Flowers: A Connective Ethnography Of Gaming Practices, Deborah A. Fields, Y. B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Little is known concerning how young players learn to participate in various activities in virtual worlds. We use a new integrative approach called connective ethnography that focuses on how a gaming practice spread across a network of youth at an after school club that simultaneously participated in a virtual world, Whyville.net. To trace youth participation in online and offline social contexts, we draw on multiple sources of information: observations, interviews, videos, online tracking and chat data, and hundreds of hours of play in Whyville ourselves. One gaming practice – the throwing of projectiles and its social uses and nuances – …

Research-Based Strategies To Promote Academic Integrity, Michele Dipietro

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

A cursory glance at the literature on cheating paints a bleak picture. In the past decades, the prevalence of cheating has hovered at discouragingly high level, with about 75% of students admitting to some sort of cheating, and with peaks of over 90% in some prevalence studies. Given these figures, where does a wellintentioned instructor start? A good place to start untangling this complex problem is to understand it better. Academic dishonest behaviors vary in their frequency, seriousness, and motivations behind them, but they have been extensively researched, and we can abstract general principles to conceptualize this problem. Once we …

Deep/Surface Approaches To Learning In Higher Education: A Research Update, James Rhem

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Instead of looking at and trying to adjust to differences, the deep/surface researchers concentrated on observing commonalities. How did actual students actually study and what were the environmental cues that prompted them to take the approach (“deep” or “surface”) they chose? This research and renewed awareness of it here have had a powerful influence on thinking about teaching and learning in higher education in the United States especially with regard to assessment. Why? Because the research has found that students’ intention in studying/learning relates strongly to their perceptions of what they will be assessed on and how they will be …

The Value Of The Narrative Teaching Observation, Niki Young

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Narrative teaching observations allow educational developers to document a variety of teaching behaviors and, by framing these behaviors with the appropriate vocabulary, to highlight their pedagogical functions. We use the vocabulary not to obfuscate good teaching in educational jargon but to illuminate effective teaching behaviors using an agreed upon professional vocabulary and to make the teaching process more transparent (Hatzipanagos ND Lygo-Baker, 2006). Similarly, through its examples of narrative teaching observations, this essay adds to the literature by making our contribution as faculty developers more evident and making our professional practice more explicit.

Lessons Learned While Conducting Educational Program Assessment, Olivia Rivas, Irma S. Jones, Eli E. Pena

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Assessment, accountability, and strategic planning are all processes that are included in accreditation for colleges and universities. For most colleges and universities, starting the reaffirmation process means identifying current assessment practices and reports from academic units and programs. This paper discusses the lessons learned during a successful completion of the reaffirmation process with a regional accreditation entity. The authors will present a model that includes an understanding of strategic planning, inclusion of faculty at all levels and affirms continuous learning and involvement in a dynamic process. Also included in the paper are additional tips and observations found useful by the …

Kidsmatter Primary Evaluation: Technical Report And User Guide, Katherine Dix, John P. Keeves, Phillip T. Slee, Michael J. Lawson, Alan Russell, Helen Askell-Williams, Grace Skrzypiec, Laurence Owens, Barbara Spears

Student learning processes

This Technical Report and User Guide is the culmination of an evaluation investigating the effectiveness of KidsMatter Primary, involving over 5000 participants in 100 Australian primary schools over a two year period. It brings together an extensive data gathering exercise and presents technical aspects of the statistical and thematic analyses used in the KidsMatter Evaluation Final. The series of data files and the analysis in which the files have been used, are from the KidsMatter Evaluation Whole Cohort Longitudinal Study (predominantly quantitative data) and the Stakeholder and Student Voice Studies (qualitative data), in addition to data obtained from Project Officers …

Ua56/1 Institutional Research Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Publications created by the department of Institutional Research. The series includes an annual publication, The Fact Book which provides a statistical and demographic profile of WKU. The most recent Fact Book is available online at: https://www.wku.edu/instres/fact_book.php

Table of Contents:

1. General Information
2. Student Profile
3. Faculty & Staff
4. Departmental Information
5. University Resources
6. Institutional Advancement
7. Athletics & Student Affairs
8. Data Sources