Education Commons^™

Holistic Responses To Campus Violence In The United States: Understanding The Needs Of Campus And Community - Based Service Providers--Research, Jennifer R. Wies, Caroline Reid, David C. May

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Campus violence is a significant social and public health problem in the United States and poses a unique situation for service provision. Victims often have access to both campus-based and community-based services, as they are simultaneously students and citizens of a larger community. Therefore, understanding the needs of campus violence service providers is essential for enhancing responses to campus violence. This research identifies knowledge and service delivery needs among service providers to support a comprehensive approach to ending campus violence. Situated in the social-ecological model, this article discusses the results of a survey to identify knowledge and service delivery needs …

Evaluating Co - Teaching In Performance Incentive Systems: Implications For Teacher Education--Commentary, Theresa Quigney

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

One of the most controversial areas of focus in the reform movement relates to the appraisal of K-12 level teachers’ instructional effectiveness, particularly as measured by the achievement levels of their students. While one would expect teachers to be accountable for student learning and be evaluated for their instructional efficacy, the discussion has now expanded into the domain of performance-based pay for teachers—directly based, at least in part, on student growth factors. This issue is critically relevant not only to the K-12 educational workforce, but also to teacher educators involved in preparing these teachers to be effective and successful in …

Using Critical Self - Reflection And Resistance Strategies In Preparing Culturally Responsive Teachers--Research, Winston Vaughan

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

As our country becomes more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse, pre-service teachers must be fully prepared to deal with these changes. As the demographics change, the majority of teachers continue to be white, middle-class females having to teach students who are different from themselves. Ladson-Billings (1995) suggests that schools of education must prepare teachers with the knowledge, skills and values that will enable them to be culturally competent in the classroom so as to meet the challenges of a pluralistic society. According to Brown(2004) and Sleeter (2001), many pre-service teachers simply lack cross-cultural competence and attitudes regarding diversity that would …

Promoting Excellence Within Early Care And Education Providers: A Teacher Education Program Story--Research, Jaesook L. Gilbert, Helene Arbouet Harte

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

This paper shares the process and experience of a university community partnership to improve the quality of care and education in the region by enhancing teachers’ early childhood knowledge. A hybrid course for both university students and childcare providers, The Academy for Early Childhood Excellence sought to provide intense and supportive professional development for early care and education providers as well as access and an introduction to the university setting. The hybrid format necessitated some level of competence with technology and more emphasis on writing as a mode of communication. Some of the Academy participants, especially the more experienced and …

Pre - Service Teachers’ Perceptions Of Disability As Represented In Children’S Television Programs--Research, Laura S. Clarke, Dusty Columbia Embury, Anna Epperly, Jennifer Christensen

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

As colleges and universities prepare pre-service teachers to teach in inclusive classrooms, it is important to understand college students’ schema of diversity. Part of creating an inclusive classroom culture is to understand how children view similarities and differences in others, and how to create a culture of acceptance. One way to create a culture of understanding is to use media representations and popular children’s television shows as a springboard for conversation and acceptance, but before pre-service teachers can use media, they have to first understand the characteristics and qualification criteria for students with disabilities, and also how the community at …

Using The Depth Of Knowledge Model To Create High School Mathematics Assessments--Research, Lynne Gannon Patterson, Meagan Musselman, Joel Rowlett

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

This study examined the midterm exams of six high school math teachers and sought to (a) determine if teachers could accurately identify which level of Norman Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) model their test items aligned to, and (b) compare the actual percentage of test items at each DOK level to the targeted percentage based off Webb’s research. The study revealed that teachers were not accurate with their alignment of test items with Webb’s DOK model. They also came up short in comparison to the targeted percentages of test items at each level. Comprehensively, they were asking more questions at …

Collaborating To Meet Challenges Of Co - Teaching Common Core Standards--Research, Dottie Willis

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Kentucky has led the nation in adopting Common Core Standards to revitalize education for next-generation learners and schools. To improve preparation of the state’s next-generation teachers, Kentucky has also mandated reform in training student teachers. This article reviews experiences of teacher educators from four Kentucky universities that are collaborating to ensure both quality and consistency in Co-Teaching Training, a new state requirement for all P-12 cooperating teachers and university supervisors who mentor student teachers. The author reports cooperating teachers’ responses to their initial Co-Teaching Training; analyzes educators’ perceptions about a complementary relationship between Co-Teaching strategies and achievement of Common Core …

How Well Are Mathematics Common Core Standards Reflected In Mathematics College Readiness Expectations?--Research, Lisa Conn

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

On February 10, 2010, Kentucky made history by being the first state to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The CCSS were designed to be more rigorous, focused, and applicable (Holiday, 2010) than previous standards. The adoption of these standards was predicated by Senate Bill 1, Unbridled Learning. This bill required legislative bodies to develop a unified strategy to reduce the high college remediation rates of recent high school graduates by at least fifty percent before 2014. Along with high schools being required to address underprepared college students, state universities were to align their remediation courses with the new …

Middle Level Teacher Preparation: Principals’ Perceptions Of New Teacher Preparedness--Research, Chris M. Cook, Penny B. Howell, Shawn A. Faulkner

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Drawing on the Framework for Effective Middle Level Teaching(Faulkner, Howell, &Cook, 2012; Howell, Cook, Faulkner, 2013), this interpretive, exploratory study utilized survey methodology to analyze 38 middle level principals’ perceptions of effective teaching practices and the preparedness of newly hired middle level teachers. The findings suggest there is difference in perceptions of new teacher preparedness between principals with middle level teacher certification and principals that were prepared to teach at other grade levels. While both groups acknowledged the need for better teacher preparation, principals with middle level teacher certification reported that newly hired teachers were less prepared for effective middle …

Essential Elements For Preparing Future Teachers In Early Childhood Education Using Common Core Standards--Research, Jaesook L. Gilbert, Susan Griebling

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The purpose of this paper is to discuss suggestions on what pre-service teachers need to know in order to be ready to teach in today’s kindergartens where the implementation of the Common Core State Standards reflects best practice. The introduction of the Common Core State Standards in Kentucky has ushered a new culture in kindergarten. Kindergarten used to be seen as a preparation year in which children could be equipped in listening, walking in lines, getting along with others and learning letters. Today, children in kindergarten are expected to

begin reading, writing, adding and subtracting. Rigor begins early in the …

First In Reform: The Adoption Of Common Core State Standards In Kentucky, Richard Day

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Kentucky first drew national attention when its Supreme Court declared the entire system of schools to be unconstitutional in Rose v Council for Better Education, 790 S. W. 2d 186 (1989). The Rose case, argued by former Kentucky Governor Bert Combs, launched a third wave of school reform litigation based on both equity and adequacy as expressed in state constitutions (Day 2011, 2-4). On February 11, 2010, in an unprecedented joint meeting, the chairs of the Kentucky Board of Educat ion, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Education Professional Standards Board signed a resolution directing their respective agencies to …

Creativity To The Core: How The Ky Core Academic Standards Can Enhance Creativity--Research, Dorie Combs

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor’s Association in response to concerns about the poor performance of US students in comparison to students in other industrialized nations. A lack of understanding of the standards has led some to assume that any standards-based curriculum is going to focus on lower-level thinking skills and therefore impede critical and creative thinking. While Kentucky’s English language arts and mathematics standards are derived from the CCSS, Kentucky’s learning targets and standards are not limited to the CCSS standards. That is, there …

“Without Contraries”: Casting A Critical Eye On The Common Core--Commentary, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

A year ago we, as members of the Executive Committee at a Kentucky state institution charged with aligning college academics to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), created a report for KJECTL (Summer 2012) about our progress in complying with Senate Bill 1 (SB1), even detailing a website we jointly created with the state. Interestingly, our institution has a current Quality Enhancement Plan that it “will graduate informed critical and creative thinkers who communicate effectively.” This year we want to demonstrate some of that critical thinking by evaluating the CCSS argument both through our experience and with what various commentators …

Changing Landscapes And Paradigm Shifts: Integrating The Common Core With Educator Preparation--Commentary, Verna Lowe

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Educator preparation and P-12 education are on a trajectory of changing landscapes and shifting paradigms to meet the needs of providing a world-class education to our children and youth who will be prepared to thrive in their personal and professional lives in this century. This shift moves from the “yesterday of schooling and educator preparation” involving a system of good intentions that worked for a percentage of learners to a holistic structure designed for all students and stakeholders.

Editorial Note From The Guest Editor, Terry Holiday

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Not that long ago, K-12 education and postsecondary education were mutually exclusive clubs. Each set their own agenda, strategies and goals – without input from the other and at times in direct conflict. Occasionally, they blamed one another for failures, yet most of the time they kept to themselves.

Are We Helping? A Discussion Of The Effects Of Trio Program Intervention On K - 12 Appalachian Seniors: Research, William D. Bowling, Sherwood Thompson

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty and Staff Research

Postsecondary education is quickly becoming a requirement for many flourishing and emerging career fields. Because of this, an increased focused on postsecondary enrollment and attainment has been seen in the education community, particularly in K-12 education systems. To that end, a large number of programs and organizations have begun to provide academic and college preparation assistance to these students in the form of academic advising, college coaching, and personal enrichment. Since the enactment of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, there has been a burgeoning population of such programs like the TRIO family. This article focuses on a group of …

Critical Factors That Contribute To Youth At Risk, Norman Powell

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty and Staff Research

There has been much written about youth at risk. The focus of this writing has been on the challenges that this population continues to create for school systems and teachers in the classroom. This student at risk population is one that has been historically overlooked and traditionally underserved.

Science, 7th Graders, And A Stream: An Integrated, Experience-Based Science Course For Honors Students, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie, Tara Shepperson, Linda Frost

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We report pedagogical results from a novel, integrated, experience-based science course for honors students funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The course seeks to improve science instruction and attitudes toward STEM disciplines for both honors students and underprivileged seventh-grade students by using honors students as learning mentors.

Project-Oriented Science Instruction Involving General-Education Undergraduates Serving As Mentors To Underprivileged Middle-Students Students, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie, Tara Shepperson, Linda Frost

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We report results from a novel, project-based science course funded by the NSF for general-education students in the EKU Honors Program and for middle school students. Key aspects of the course are: (1) instruction in the natural sciences adopting a regional context; (2) investigation of the water quality of a local stream involving all portions of a scientific study from planning to data collection and analysis to presentation; and (3) direct mentoring of underprivileged, seventh-grade students by honors students in project activities, including trips to campus for laboratory work and presentations. The course is meant to provide high-quality scientific instruction …

Using The-Math-You-Need Modules In A General Education, Oceanography Course, Walter S. Borowski, E. Baer, J. Wenner

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The Math You Need (TMYN) is a series of on-line tutorials designed for students to increase their mathematical abilities while taking geology and other science courses. The aim of the program is to increase the quantitative abilities of students while demonstrating mathematical applications in an effort to make students more comfortable with and aware of the utility of mathematics. Over two semesters, we implemented targeted-TMYN modules into a general-education oceanography course that is typically populated by non-science majors with a wide variety of mathematical skills before calculus. Students participate voluntarily in TMYN modules with extra credit given for their successful …

First In Reform: The Adoption Of Common Core State Standards In Kentucky, Richard E. Day

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty and Staff Scholarship

On February 11, 2010, in an unprecedented joint meeting, the chairs of the Kentucky Board of Education, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Education Professional Standards Board signed a resolution directing their respective agencies to implement the Common Core State Standards in English/language arts and mathematics. This act formalized Kentucky’s commitment to integrate the nascent standards into the state’s public education system – the first state to do so. This article will trace the antecedents to Kentucky’s adoption of the standards as one expression of the late 20th century/early 21st century “corporate school reform movement” as manifested in the …

Outsized Profit Expectations Harm Education News, Richard E. Day

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

It appears that former Herald-Leader and Los Angeles Times editor John Carroll was on to something when he predicted, in 2006, that outsized profit expectations in the newspaper industry would have a destructive effect on journalism. Seven years and several rounds of newsroom layoffs later — all in the service of maximized profits — its effects can be seen in education reporting on the [pages of the Herald-Leader].

Outsized Profit Expectations Harm Education News, Richard E. Day

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty and Staff Scholarship

It appears that former Herald-Leader and Los Angeles Times editor John Carroll was on to something when he predicted, in 2006, that outsized profit expectations in the newspaper industry would have a destructive effect on journalism. Seven years and several rounds of newsroom layoffs later — all in the service of maximized profits — its effects can be seen in education reporting on the [pages of the Herald-Leader].

An Innovative Approach To Cultural Competence Organizational Leadership: The Intercultural Personal Development, Sherwood Thompson

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty and Staff Research

Leaders are called upon in today's society to be sensitive to and aware of the needs of their workforce. In many instances, these needs transcend the professional requirements of getting the job done. Oftentimes, the employees are dealing with needs that involve personal relationships between and among co-workers based on cultural difference.

Private Institutions Collaborate In Implementing Senate Bill 1 Initiatives, Linda P. Young, Brenda Priddy, Jan Lantz

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Funds were made available to each of our institutions, Campbellsville University, Lindsey Wilson College, and St. Catherine College through the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities for faculty training for the implementation of Senate Bill 1. By pooling the funds available to each of our institutions, we designed a Senate Bill 1 Symposium, an initial six-hour workshop to introduce Senate Bill 1, tailored to the needs of our institutions that provided rich resources and a quality experience. From the core of faculty trained at the initial workshop, each institution was able to build additional training for faculty and to …

Reflection On Carte As Eastern Kentucky University’S Response To Senate Bill 1, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, Dorie Combs, Ginni Fair, Jessica Hearn

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Using a grant from the Council on Postsecondary Education to respond to specific mandates of Senate Bill 1, Eastern Kentucky University created the Curriculum Alignment for Retention and Transition at Eastern initiative (CARTE). In its first phase, CARTE developed a hybrid professional learning community, an organizational network of embedded professional learning communities whose major task consisted of aligning sixty-four syllabi identified as key University courses in General Education and Teacher Preparation with the Kentucky Common Core Standards, and a chart for insuring deep learning on the part of the faculty. In addition to meeting 100% of our major goal, the …

A Commentary On Senate Bill 1: Kentucky’S Architecture Of Implementation, John Deatley, Sue Cain

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

In 2009, a coalition of states began moving toward fewer, clearer, and higher standards for P-12 education and entry-level courses in postsecondary education. Spurred by the evidence that most state standards were not consistently providing students with the knowledge and skills to be ready for college and careers, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State Schools Officers (CCSSO) began a process of developing standards that would align with college and work expectations; be clear, understandable, and consistent; include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills; build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards; …

Incorporating Best Practices Of Highly Effective Teaching Into Common Core-Aligned College Courses, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

While aligning the Common Core Standards with Eastern Kentucky University’s General Education and Teacher Preparation courses has been the main focus of Curriculum Alignment for Retention and Transition at Eastern (CARTE), another way we responded to Senate Bill 1 was to identify ways in which to teach this new alignment at the college level. Our solution was to partner with Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education to create a website on best teaching practices and to task each of our Professional Learning Communities with adapting the best teaching practices to its specific discipline (e.g., teacher prep). The result was the creation …

Hidden Strength: Encouraging Spiritual Leadership Attributes Among School Leaders, Sherwood Thompson

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Today, district and school leaders are being recognized for their contributions to improving schools and enhancing student achievement, and this recognition is coming at a pivotal time in the evolution of education in the United States. The need to educate a new generation of learners that are capable of transforming the United States is paramount. Each state has a responsibility to provide the best education it can to its population. Kentucky has made great strides with its education reforms. The state’s alignment of Senate Bill 1 Core Academic Standards with the national Common Core Standards offers great promise (Holliday, 2012). …

Grandchildren In The Classroom: Student Teaching For The Next Generation, Linda Neuzil, J. Michael King

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) released the Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) report on clinical preparation and partnerships for improved student learning, in November 2010. The report stresses the need for candidates to “blend practitioner knowledge with academic knowledge as they learn by doing” (NCATE, 2010, p. ii), stressing the importance of clinical preparation and P-12 partnerships in teacher preparation. The NCATE BRP Report calls for the transformation of teacher education through the application of clinical practice. Teacher candidates must have additional opportunities to “blend practitioner knowledge with academic knowledge as they learn by doing” (NCATE, 2010, …