Education Commons^™

Gifted Education In Ireland: Parents' Beliefs And Experiences, Jennifer R. Cross, Tracy L. Cross, Colm O'Reilly, Eamonn Carroll, Colin T. Vaughn, Nancy Chae, Center For Gifted Education, William & Mary

Center for Gifted Education Reports

In an effort to expand the knowledge base about gifted education in Ireland, the Centre for Talented Youth – Ireland (CTYI) and the William & Mary Centre for Gifted Education collaborated on a study of parents of children who had attended CTYI programmes. The purpose of the study was to explore this population of stakeholders, in particular, their attitudes toward gifted education and their perceptions of the educational experiences of their children. The 1,440 parents who completed the survey reported on the experiences of 1,914 of their children who had attended CTYI programmes.

Integrating Technology Into Science Field Investigations, Sarah Nuss

VIMS Articles

One of the most valuable results of environmental education is the clear association between understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts after participation in outdoor programs, as outlined in the National Science Foundation’s Environmental Science and Engineering for the 21st Century report (NSF, 2000). One component of STEM is technology. Technology can assist in “problem solving, consensus building, information management, communication, and critical and creative thinking”, the main goals and missions of environmental education as stated by the NSF report. These tools allow students to participate in science as a scientist would. By using appropriate technology, and developing …

Technology-Rich Activities: One Type Does Not Motivate All, Jason A. Chen, Jon R. Star, Chris Dede, M. Shane Tutwiler

School of Education Articles

We report on data collected at three time points during a four-day intervention designed to explore the value added of technology-rich activities within an inquiry mathematics curriculum. Two of the activities were computer-based, whereas the third involved a professionally created movie. Using latent profile analysis we explored (a) the profiles of experiences (indicated by self-reports of immersion, interest, usefulness, and relatedness of the technology activity) that students in Grades 5–8 (n = 7774) reported regarding their participation in one of three different activities; (b) the motivational and achievement outcomes in mathematics that were evident by being a member of one …

Psychological Heterogeneity Among Honors College Students, Tracy L. Cross, Jennifer Riedl Cross, Sakhavat Mammadov, Thomas J. Ward, Kristie Speirs Neumeister, Lori Anderson

School of Education Articles

Greater knowledge of the psychology of honors college students will help to inform program administrators, counselors, residence life assistants, and faculty about how they may provide support to those with the greatest need. Via an online survey, personality, perfectionism, and suicidal ideation data were collected from honors college students (N = 410, 73% female). Using latent profile analysis, students were classified by their responses to the Big Five Inventory personality measure into five profiles. Risk factors of high perfectionism and suicidal ideation scores were found in two of the profiles, suggesting students with these personality characteristics may need enhanced …

Watershed Activity Set, Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve In Virginia

Reports

Grade level: 2-5

Subject Area: Life Science

This lesson plan contains 3 activities which can be used together or separately. The first activity demonstrates the overall concept of a watershed by having students build a simple model, the second connects watersheds with habitats and pollution - asking students to design their own watershed. The third module examines more closely human activities and their impacts on watersheds using an Enviroscape(TM) model.

The Knowledge Base For Geography Teaching (Geokbt): A Preliminary Model, Jung Eun Hong, Judi Harris, Injeong Jo, Kenneth H. Keller

School of Education Articles

Funded by the National Center for Research in Geography Education, this study investigated the nature of the knowledge needed for geography teaching. Informed by existing research about science and mathematics teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), the research group developed a conceptual model of the knowledge base for geography teaching, identifying six key components: (a) orientations toward teaching geography, (b) knowledge of geography curricula, (c) knowledge of students’ understanding of geography and responses to geography learning, (d) knowledge of instructional strategies appropriate to learning geography, (e) knowledge of assessment of geography learning, and (f) knowledge of educational contexts. The conceptual model …

A Survey Of School Counselor Multicultural Education Behaviors And The Obstacles That Impede Them, Clare Merlin-Knoblich, Jason A. Chen

School of Education Articles

In this study, researchers examined the frequency with which school counselors enact multicultural education behaviors and the obstacles preventing those behaviors. Using theoretical dimensions and approaches to multicultural education, they developed an instrument measuring school counseling multicultural education behavior. After pilot testing the instrument (n = 114), they distributed a refined instrument to a state school counselor database, and 594 school counselors participated in the primary data collection. Researchers used exploratory factor analysis to determine five factors comprising 72% combined variance of school counselor multicultural education behaviors. Participants enacted behaviors in two factors (Classroom Guidance with Multicultural Education Emphases and …

Attitudes About Gifted Education Among Irish Educators, Tracy L. Cross, Jennifer Riedl Cross, Colm O'Reilly

School of Education Articles

In 2018, gifted education has not been formalized in the Irish education system. To better advocate for the needs of high-ability students in Ireland, a survey was distributed to educators across the country (N = 837) regarding gifted education. A majority of respondents indicated their schools had systems in place to identify gifted students. Respondents were moderately supportive of special services for gifted students, but they were also moderately opposed to grade acceleration, a service option that has significant research support for its effectiveness. More school leaders than teachers believed teachers have the support they need to differentiate instruction, …

Squaring The Circle And Saving The Phenomena: Reading Science In The Greek Language Classroom, Georgia L. Irby

Arts & Sciences Articles

Our students live in a world where scientific achievement and knowledge are profoundly significant, just as they were to the Greeks, and it becomes increasingly important to ensure that the language requirement is as enriching an experience as possible for all students, not only for students in the humanities, but also for those pursuing STEM tracks. Here we explore the significance of science in Greek culture together with the incorporation of Greek scientific texts in the beginning and intermediate Greek language classroom. Science (knowledge) was a seminal component of the Greek intellectual experience, and approachable “scientific” texts can be found …

Investigating The Effectiveness Of A Motivational Interviewing Group Intervention On Academic Motivation, Daniel Gutierrez, Sejal P. Foxx, Elvita Kondili

Arts & Sciences Articles

This randomized controlled trial examines the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing (MI) group on the academic motivation of students at an alternative school (N = 43). Findings demonstrated that MI groups are effective in increasing extrinsic motivation, whereas both the waiting list control and study skills comparison group did not demonstrate statistical significance. The findings of this study have several implications for school-based motivation enhancement interventions.