Education Commons^™

The Long-Term Impact Of First-Year Seminars, Qin Zhang, Suhua Dong

Institutional Analysis Staff Publications

This study examined the net effects of participating in a residential first-year seminar (FYS) program by comparing the outcomes of participants with those of non-participants at the point of graduation, while controlling for background and pre-college variables. Outcome variables focused on student academic performance and self-reported gains as a result of their undergraduate education; they included: cumulative GPA; intellectual development; development of problem solving; development of social and civic engagement; institutional preparation for career path, graduate school, and interpersonal relationships and family living/personal development; and participation in faculty-mentored research. The study was based on a sample of 853 graduating seniors …

Lifting Achievement Levels And Improving The Return On Australia’S Investment In Schooling : Submission To The Review To Achieve Educational Excellence In Australian Schools (Chair: Mr David Gonski), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

Many students in our schools are not learning as well as they could because they are not being given learning opportunities at an appropriate level of challenge. Instead, students are grouped by year level (age) and teachers deliver curricula assumed to be appropriate for all students in the same year of school. However, the most advanced ten per cent of students in any year of school are five to six years ahead of the least advanced ten per cent. For less advanced students, the year-level curriculum is often too far ahead. Many are judged to be underperforming year after year, …

Future Goals And Actions Of Faculty Development, Catherine Haras, Margery Ginsberg, Eva Fernández, Emily Daniell Magruder

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Institutional Investment In Teaching Excellence, Steven C. Taylor, Catherine Haras, Emily Daniell Magruder, Eva Fernández, Margery Ginsberg, Jake Glover

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Assessing Career Planning Courses Without Using Test Scores: Another Neglected Issue?, Alison Holmes Phd, Loren Collins Ma

Career and Curriculum Connections: integrating career education across the disciplines

Twenty years ago, in an article entitled “Assigning Grades in Career Planning Courses: A Neglected issue”[1], Rex Filer posed several important questions in terms of the practicalities of how we design and grade career planning courses. The challenge, he suggested, is that while teaching pedagogy often relies on Bloom’s traditional taxonomy where information and understanding act as an ‘anchor’ while synthesis and evaluation are goals achieved later, career course activities are naturally geared to the top of the pyramid – regardless of when the class is taught. This, he argues, poses particular issues in terms of career course …

Improving Performance On Task Three Assessment: Strategies And Supports, Terryl Rock, Norma Hogan

ETSU Faculty Works

In this session presenters will demonstrate specific strategies and supports that have helped our teacher candidates
improve their performance on Task Three: Assessment. Topics include helping teacher candidates:

• Identify and state objectives clearly and effectively.
• Align standards/objectives, instruction, and assessment.
• Develop deeper understandings of evaluative criteria, cognitive feedback, and helping their students to use feedback.
• Organize and display assessment data.
• Conduct meaningful analysis of assessment data
• Use assessment data to modify instruction and to plan next steps

Examples of strategies/activities/supports, as well as guidance for others to develop their own will be provided.

Introduction: History And Conceptual Basis Of Assessment In Higher Education, Peter Ewell, Tammie Cumming

Publications and Research

Assessment and accountability are now inescapable features of the landscape of higher education, and ensuring that these assessments are psychometrically sound has become a high priority for accrediting agencies and therefore also for higher education institutions. Bringing together the higher education assessment literature with the psychometric literature, this book focuses on how to practice sound assessment.

This volume provides comprehensive and detailed descriptions of tools for and approaches to assessing student learning outcomes in higher education. The book is guided by the core purpose of assessment, which is to enable faculty, administrators, and student affairs professionals with the information they …

Shifting The Focus Of Naplan, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

The decision to move NAPLAN online provides an opportunity to place less emphasis on comparing the performances of schools and more emphasis on supporting student learning, according to Professor Geoff Masters AO.

An Exploration Of Alternative Scoring Methods Using Curriculum-Based Measurement In Early Writing, Abigail A. Allen, Apryl L. Poch, Erica S. Lembke

Special Education and Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

This manuscript describes two empirical studies of alternative scoring procedures used with curriculum-based measurement in writing (CBM-W). Study 1 explored the technical adequacy of a trait-based rubric in first grade. Study 2 explored the technical adequacy of a trait-based rubric, production-dependent, and production-independent scores in third grade. Results of Study 1 suggest that the rubric holds promise as a valid measure of sentence writing ability in first grade and has utility as a supplemental scoring procedure when using CBM-W as a screening tool. Results of Study 2 show that correct word sequences maintained the highest correlation coefficients across time with …

But Can We Measure It?, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

It’s often asserted that some things can’t be measured, Professor Geoff Masters AO writes in his latest column. But how true is this? And if we can’t measure something, should we stop pretending we can teach or develop it?

The Greenbook, Faculty Handbook, 2017-2018, Marshall University Academic Affairs

The Greenbook

This book has been published for the faculty of Marshall University for the specified period of time. This book was created by what is now known as Academic Affairs and is for the period of 2017-2018.

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 …

Design And Assessment Of Deep And Active Learning In Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Education, Juhong Christie Liu Ph.D., Elizabeth Johnson Ph.D., Jin Joy Mao Ph.D.

Libraries

This presentation draws academic significance from a focused literature review and initial data for learning design in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. The presenters will discuss strategies of fostering deep, active learning, alignment with assessment, and development of assessment instruments and methods. The presenters will share the design and development of an assessment kit to measure learning outcomes that matter in the 21st century STEM education. Through shared evidence and interactive reflection, the audience will take away up-to-date design strategies for deep and active learning as well as assessment in STEM education. The project is sponsored by National …

Assessment-Orientated Instructional Design Using Dream Approach, Juhong Christie Liu Ph.D., Andrea H. Adams, Wei Wang

Libraries

This presentation proposes an assessment-oriented instructional design approach to enhancing student learning with blended learning environments and report its pilot implementation. Students gain significant learning experience through understanding the relationship between learning outcomes and learning process, connecting acquired knowledge, being able to tackle problems individually or on teams, and learning how to learn (Entwistle, Tait, & McCune, 2000; Fink, 2013; Suskie, 2010; Wiggins, 1998). These components ought to be designed in learning activities to educate learners through formative assessment such as self-reflection, peer evaluation, and constructive feedback from instructor (Angelo & Cross,1993; Wiggins, 1998). In blended learning with online environments, …

Assessment Online: Informing Teaching And Learning, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

Online assessments are capable of providing significantly improved feedback to teaching and learning. Experience in schools is demonstrating the potential of online assessment – provided the foundations are right.

Assessment Online: Informing Teaching And Learning, Geoff N. Masters

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

Online assessments are capable of providing significantly improved feedback to teaching and learning. Experience in schools is demonstrating the potential of online assessment – provided the foundations are right.

The advantages of online assessment are often described in terms of its administrative convenience, efficiency and lower costs. However, well-constructed online assessments also are capable of providing more timely, more instructionally useful feedback to teaching and learning. For a number of years ACER has been investigating ways to enhance the educational value of online assessments.

Exposing Problems Teaching Students Morphological Species Identification, Trevor Stamper, Lauren Weidner, Gregory Nigoghosian, Ludmila D. Nunes

IMPACT Presentations

When dealing with physical remains, morphological assessment for species is a traditional approach to entomological specimen identification. A dichotomous key guides the user through taxa determination for a specimen by providing a series of dual-choice nodes that center around morphological differences. Each nodal choice leads to either a new set of dichotomous choices or a taxa decision. We evaluated student’s ability to utilize a dichotomous key down to species for a limited set of taxa, by reviewing their nodal decisions along with their confidence level using a Likert scale (1-5).

Along with individual decision recording, students conducted a post-decision group …

The Introduction Of Informal Cooperative Learning Into Our Programming Laboratories, Guity Ravai, Ludmila Nunes, Ronald Erdei

IMPACT Presentations

Presented at the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Change Leader Forum: Creating a Mindset for Action in Westminster, CO, USA

Evaluation Instruments And Good Practices In Online Education, Sally J. Baldwin, Jesús Trespalacios

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education offers extensively researched and validated tenets for best practices in higher education. After a review of the literature, twenty-eight evaluation instruments currently used to design and review online courses in higher education institutions were collected and divided into categories, based on geographical reach and the type of institution for which they were developed. This study investigates how evaluation instruments used in higher education assess the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, and what other items are addressed in the evaluation of courses. Findings show that national …

What Impacts Do Oer Have On Students? Students Share Their Experiences With A Health Psychology Oer At New York City College Of Technology, Cailean Cooney

Publications and Research

This article reports findings from a study conducted with students in three sections of a Health Psychology course that replaced a traditional textbook with open educational resources (OER) as the primary course material. The purpose of the study was to learn how OER impacted students. Data were collected in Fall 2015 with students from New York City College of Technology (City Tech), of the City University of New York (CUNY), a comprehensive college located in Brooklyn. Students were assigned the OER by their course instructor, who developed it as part of a library funded OER pilot initiative. Two research instruments …

Predicting Teacher Value-Added Results In Non-Tested Subjects Based On Confounding Variables: A Multinomial Logistic Regression, Nathan Street

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Teacher value-added measures (VAM) are designed to provide information regarding teachers’ causal impact on the academic growth of students while controlling for exogenous variables. While some researchers contend VAMs successfully and authentically measure teacher causality on learning, others suggest VAMs cannot adequately control for exogenous influences on the classroom. Furthermore, because VAMs are primarily connected to student performance on standardized, high-stakes exams and those exams are resoundingly considered to be inadequate measures of true student learning, educators and educational leaders assert VAM results are moot. The purpose of this study was to consider the potential for student background, teacher preparation, …

Stitching Codeable Circuits: High School Students' Learning About Circuitry And Coding With Electronic Textiles, Breanne Krystine Litts, Yasmin B. Kafai, Debora A. Lui, Justice T. Walker, Sari A. Widman

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Learning about circuitry by connecting a battery, light bulb, and wires is a common activity in many science classrooms. In this paper, we expand students’ learning about circuitry with electronic textiles, which use conductive thread instead of wires and sewable LEDs instead of lightbulbs, by integrating programming sensor inputs and light outputs and examining how the two domains interact.We implemented an electronic textiles unit with 23 high school students ages 16–17 years who learned how to craft and code circuits with the LilyPad Arduino, an electronic textile construction kit. Our analyses not only confirm significant increases in students’ understanding of …

Pisa 2015: Financial Literacy In Australia, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

The main focus of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) financial literacy assessment is on measuring the proficiency of 15-year-old students in demonstrating and applying the knowledge and skill that they have learned in and out of school. Like other PISA domains, financial literacy is assessed using an instrument designed to provide data that are valid, reliable and interpretable. PISA is an international comparative assessment of student achievement directed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). PISA measures how well 15-year-olds, who are nearing the end of their compulsory schooling in most participating educational systems, are prepared …

How Well Are We Learning From Naplan?, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

Some Australian schools and school systems have seen greater improvements in NAPLAN results than others. How well do we understand where improvements are occurring and why? Professor Geoff Masters AO discusses.

The Introduction Of Informal Cooperative Learning Into Our Programming Laboratories, Guity Ravai, Ronald Erdei, Ludmila Nunes, Sahithya Kodam

IMPACT Presentations

Presentation given at the Midwest SoTL Conference. Discusses the effects of implementing informal cooperative learning techniques in an introductory programming course.

Reframing Readiness: Through The Cracked Looking Glass: The Framework For Success In Postsecondary Writing As Assessment Model, David Hyman

Publications and Research

The Framework for Success in Postsecondary Writing (Council of Writing Program Administrators, National Council of Teachers of English, and National Writing Project) describes experiences and habits of mind that will equip students for success in college writing. This column highlights examples of the values espoused by the Framework and aims to increase understanding of this statement, advocating for its rich conception of writing.

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.

Spring, Summer, Fall 2017 Graduation Survey Responses, Uno Office Of Institutional Effectiveness

Graduation

Spring, Summer, Fall 2017 Graduation survey responses master file without identifiers.

Using A Collaborative Assessment Design To Support Student Learning, S Kennedy-Clark, S Kearney, V Galstaun

Education Papers and Journal Articles

The purpose of the study was to try to develop an understanding of how groups of pre-service teachers organised, planned and built two information and communication technologies (ICT) resources using a learn-technology-by-design framework. The benefits for students in using a learn-by-design approach have been well researched, and the research has covered a broad range of research streams. A design-based research approach underpins the research. This paper presents the observational data, which was collected in an ICT in the Education unit of study. The collaborative design assessment provided pre-service teachers with the opportunity to collaboratively build an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) resources …

Informed And Uninformed Naïve Assessment Constructors’ Strategies For Item Selection, Helenrose Fives, Nicole Barnes

Department of Educational Foundations Scholarship and Creative Works

We present a descriptive analysis of 53 naïve assessment constructors’ explanations for selecting test items to include on a summative assessment. We randomly assigned participants to an informed and uninformed condition (i.e., informed participants read an article describing a Table of Specifications). Through recursive thematic analyses of participants’ explanations, we identified 14 distinct strategies that coalesced into three families of strategies: Alignment, Item Evaluation, and Affective Evaluation. We describe the nature of the strategies and the degree to which participants used strategies with frequency and effect size analysis. Results can inform teacher education on assessment construction through explicit instruction in …