Education Commons^™

Special Education Professional Standards: How Important Are They In The Context Of Teacher Performance Evaluation?, Sara B. Woolf

Publications and Research

Teacher performance evaluation represents a high stakes issue as evidenced by its pivotal emphasis in national and local education reform initiatives and federal policy levers. National, state, and local education leaders continue to experience unprecedented pressure to adopt standardized benchmarks to reflect and link student achievement data to formal teacher performance evaluations. No teacher performance evaluation measures have been developed for use with special education teachers or the settings in which they teach. Dedicated focus is needed to ensure that adopted evaluation measures are sensitive to the specific expertise reflected in the practices of specialty teachers and valid for use. …

A Comparative Study Of Competency-Based Courses Demonstrating A Potential Measure Of Course Quality And Student Success, Jackie Krause, Laura Portolese, Christopher Schedler

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

While competency-based education is growing, standardized tools for evaluating the unique characteristics of course design in this domain are still under development. This preliminary research study evaluated the effectiveness of a rubric developed for assessing course design of competency-based courses in an undergraduate Information Technology and Administrative Management program. The rubric, which consisted of twenty-six individual measures, was used to evaluate twelve new courses. Additionally, the final assessment scores of nine students who completed nine courses in the program were evaluated to determine if a correlation exists between student success and specific indicators of quality in the course design. The …

Increasing Student Outcomes Through Effective Feedback, Julie Conn, Michelle Bennett, Cari Maneen, Terree Andrew

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This module explores descriptive purposeful feedback and its use as a strategy for differentiation and as a formative assessment tool. This module explores in detail research integral to understanding what effective and purposeful feedback is and the importance of providing specific and descriptive feedback. This module provides an evaluator the understanding and tools for how to use purposeful feedback to determine if a student is meeting the established performance criteria or if more intensive intervention is needed.

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Selected Student Research - Ignite: Research The Sea, Kelly Whealan-George, Aaron D. Clevenger

Publications

Selected Student Research - Ignite: Research the SEA is an introduction to selected undergraduate research articles that focus on the Southeast Asian aviation community. This section of the text also introduces readers to the concept of short-term undergraduate research abroad and the methodologies that were taught to students doing rapid research during one such program.

Examination Of The Internal Structure Of The Academic Competence Evaluation Scale - Teacher (Aces-T), Stephanie A. Zegadlo

Masters Theses

The present study investigated the factor structure of the Academic Competence Evaluation Scale-Teacher Form (ACES-T; DiPerna & Elliott, 2000) Academic Skills (AS) and Academic Enablers (AE) scales with a convenience sample. Analyses included item-based exploratory factor analyses (higher-order EFA with Schmid-Leiman transformation; Schmid & Leiman, 1957) for subjects with complete data (AS N = 433; AE N= 466), and omega reliability estimates (Reise, 2012). For the AS scales, EPA identified an oblique (correlated) three-factor model. A second-order EFA was completed along with a Schmid-Leiman transformation and found the majority of the apportioned variance was associated with the general Academic Skills …

The Impact Of Homework On The Achievement Of Students With Varying Science Aptitudes In High School Physics, Matthew Deets

Masters Theses

When students in a high school physics class are separated into high, middle, and low aptitude levels, it was discovered that they do not all show the same benefits from completing homework assignments. The focus of this study was to analyze the relationship between the amount of homework that students complete and their performance on quizzes and exams. The results indicate that middle and high aptitude students benefit from completing greater amounts of homework, however, low aptitude students show no improvement by completing a greater number of problems.

Review Of Children's Rights 0-8: Promoting Participation In Education And Care By M. Kanyal, Lori Imasiku

Faculty Publications

The book Children’s Right’s 0-8 discusses the right to participate in education and decision making for young children. The title itself was somewhat unclear as the book limited the discussion of children’s rights to participation and one must only assume that the 0- 8 is in reference to the age of children. Though the title itself is unclear, the contents of the book are well developed and can be a useful tool for those who work with young children as caregivers or educators. The theoretical development of child participation makes this a book suitable resource for researchers and scholars.

Implementing An Extensive Reading Program In An Intensive University Eap Curriculum, Matthew Peel

MA TESOL Collection

The goal of this project was to integrate an extensive reading (ER) program within an existing 8-week intensive reading curriculum in a university English for academic purposes (EAP) program. The merits of both intensive and extensive reading approaches were examined and used to develop the methodology for the ER program. Additionally, implementation parameters, as agreed upon by the EAP program director and academic coordinator, were used to determine the design and implementation of the ER program that was piloted on a low-intermediate level reading class. A method of anonymous student feedback, via questionnaires and reading logs, were developed and applied …

Our Collaborative Team, Roberta Callaway, Laverne Chestnut, Jeffery Waters

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This module is designed to help you recharge your knowledge about PLCs and refine your understanding of how a PLC team can function more effectively. As teachers collaborate in PLC meetings, a culture of commitment, willingness to change, and accountability emerges as instructional leaders develop common assessments, study data, and create opportunities for higher levels of student achievement. An effectively functioning team can lay the groundwork for tackling challenges and embracing the rewards of student learning success.

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Increasing The High School Graduation Rate Of Native American Students In Public Schools, Sierra M. Gibson

CMC Senior Theses

Native American students obtain the lowest on-time high school graduation rate among all races and ethnicities in the United States. Through an analysis of previously published literature and seven interviews conducted by the author, this paper sets out to identify the key barriers Native students face when working toward their high school diploma. This paper will argue that, together, a history of abusive educational tactics and an institutionally racist policies and practices adopted by the U.S. Department of Education have made it challenging for Native students to complete high school on time.

Monitoring Trends In Educational Growth: A Partnership Service To Monitor The Educational Growth Of Students In The Early To Middle Years Of Schooling, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG)

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) offers a flexible, collaborative approach to developing and implementing an assessment of learning outcomes that yields high-quality, nationally relevant data. MTEG is a service that involves ACER staff working closely with each country to develop an assessment program that meets the country’s monitoring needs while being based as closely as possible on a set of defined design principles and quality standards.

The Southern And Eastern Africa Consortium For Monitoring Educational Quality (Superseded Version), Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) carries out large-scale cross-national research studies in member countries in the Southern and Eastern Africa region. It aims to assess the conditions of schooling and performance levels of learners and teachers in the areas of literacy and numeracy. SACMEQ has completed three cross-national educational research projects so far at five- to six-year intervals (SACMEQ I, 1995-1999, SACMEQ II, 1998-2004 and SACMEQ III, 2005-2010). It is currently implementing the fourth project.

Literacy And Numeracy Test For Initial Teacher Education Students. Assessment Framework, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Assessment and Reporting

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) was contracted by the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) to develop the assessment framework and the pools of assessment items for the first two years of implementation of an assessment of aspects of literacy and numeracy for students enrolled in initial teacher education courses. The program is known as the literacy and numeracy test of initial teacher education students (LANTITE). The framework begins by giving some background and context to the development of a literacy and numeracy test for students enrolled in initial teacher education courses. Following this are separate …

Monitoring Trends In Educational Growth : Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG)

This publication provides a summary of initial findings of the Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) study in Afghanistan. Class 6 students in 13 provinces in Afghanistan were assessed in the domains of mathematical, reading and writing literacy. In total, 5,979 students, 42% girls and 58% boys, took the test and completed a student background questionnaire in either Dari or Pashto. The principal from each assessed school also completed a school background questionnaire. The initial results on gender differences show some promising outcomes as well as highlighting areas that require attention. The results of MTEG 2013 Class 6 indicate that …

Within-Level Group Factorial Invariance With Multilevel Data: Multilevel Factor Mixture And Multilevel Mimic Models, Eun Sook Kim, Myeongsun Yoon, Yao Wen, Wen Luo, Oi-Man Kwok

Educational Measurement and Research Faculty Publications

This study suggests two approaches to factorial invariance testing with multilevel data when the groups are at the within level: multilevel factor mixture model for known classes (ML FMM) and multilevel multiple indicators multiple causes model (ML MIMIC). The adequacy of the proposed approaches was investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. Additionally, the performance of different types of model selection criteria for determining factorial invariance or in detecting item noninvariance was examined. Generally, both ML FMM and ML MIMIC demonstrated acceptable performance with high true positive and low false positive rates, but the performance depended on the fit statistics used for …

Complete Issue, Volume 34, Issue 2

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 34, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Tyranny Of The Meritocracy?: A Disputation Over Testing With Professor Lani Guinier, Dan Subotnik

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Transforming The Legal Studies Classroom: Clickers And Engagement, Susan Park, Denise Farag

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teaching is not just delivering lectures but anything we might do that helps and encourages students to learn.

Envision your typical business law or legal environment of business classroom, filled with students. As class begins, most students are alert and attentive to the instructor. However, after class is under way, some students have diverted their attention elsewhere. A few are looking intently at their laptop screens, which contain material that may (or may not) be related to business law. Others are looking at their phones. While many are still listening to the instructor, a few might be whispering to neighbors, …

Summer Learning Loss For Maine Public School Elementary Students, David L. Silvernail Phd, Brian I. Mazjanis

School Improvement

The goal of this research was to determine if there are statistically significant differences in learning between different categories of students apart from the influences of school. The foundational assumption is that student academic achievement is a product of both in-school and out-of-school factors. While there are many breaks from schooling during the calendar year, the largest by far is the summer recess. This study examined student achievement data measured at the end of one school year and then again at the beginning of the next school year. The study took advantage of the natural experiment that arose when the …

Generational Differences In Transfer Student Capital Among Community College Students, Michael J. Rosenberg

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

“Transfer student capital” refers to the learned ability of a student to successfully navigate the process of transferring from a community college to a four-year school. Transfer student capital is accumulated by gathering information about potential destination schools and programs, gaining an understanding of requisite academic skills, campus engagement, and weighing personal concerns surrounding eventual transfer. The more transfer student capital an individual accumulates, the more likely they are to be academically successful and persist to graduation.

This quantitative study examines whether a student’s age cohort may affect the transfer process from community college to a four-year school. The study …

Parent Involvement And Science Achievement During Students’ Transition Years From Elementary School To Middle School: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis Using Ecls-K, Letao Sun

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Transitioning from elementary school to middle school can be a difficult time for many adolescents. It is a period often correlated with a decline in students’ academic achievement, perceptions of performance, potential, and value in schooling. Research has shown evidence that parents’ involvement in their children’s education significantly influences children’s academic achievement. However, there are many conflicting findings regarding this relationship.

The primary purpose of this study is to extend existing research on academic achievement by examining the causal relationship between parent involvement and science achievement during the transition years, using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class …

The Use Of Contrastive Analysis In Code-Switching From Appalachian English Dialect To Standard English Dialect, Shayla D. Mettille

Theses and Dissertations--Curriculum and Instruction

This study examined the use of an intervention, Contrastive Analysis (CA), with fourth-graders’ writing in a Central Appalachian elementary school. The purpose was to improve the use of Standard English in students’ writing in Appalachia by decreasing the number of vernacular features typically used in the writing. The researcher collected data through Consent and Assent Forms, interviews with the fourth-grade teacher, classroom observations and an accompanying CA observation evaluation rubric, pre- and post-writing prompts, selected writings and Writer Self-Perception Scale (WSPS), as well as communication data. Data analysis was accomplished for both the prompts, writing pieces and the WSPS scores. …

The Short Grit Scale: A Dimensionality Analysis, Caihong Li

Theses and Dissertations--Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology

This study aimed to examine the internal structure, score reliability, scoring, and interpretation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009) using a sample of engineering students (N = 610) from one large southeastern university located in the United States. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to compare four competing theoretical models: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a two-factor model, (c) a second-order model, and (d) a bi-factor model. Given that researchers have used Grit-S as a single factor, a unidimensional model was examined. Two-factor and second-order models were considered based upon the work done by Duckworth, Peterson, …

Advisor And Student Experiences Of Summer Support For College-Intending, Low-Income High School Graduates, Karen D. Arnold, Alexandra Chewning, Benjamin Castleman, Lindsay Page

Journal of College Access

Summer melt occurs when students who have been accepted to college and intend to enroll fail to matriculate in college in the fall semester after high school. A high rate of summer melt contributes to the lower postsecondary attainment rates of low-income students, in particular. This article presents qualitative findings from two interventions intended to reduce summer melt among low-income, urban high school graduates who had been accepted to college and indicated their intention to enroll. Results from student and counselor surveys, interviews, and focus groups point to a web of personal and contextual factors that collectively influence students’ college …

Assessment Of Phonological And Orthographic Differences In Adults With Reading Disabilities, Christina P. Hyers Mrs.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There is debate surrounding how to effectively identify and distinguish reading disabilities from other deficits in college populations. Although several theories have proposed a positive relationship between nonword decoding weaknesses and higher intelligence levels, currently there is no conclusive evidence supporting these claims. The primary purpose of the current study was to determine if individuals of diverging levels of verbal intellectual functioning display profile differences with regard to accuracy for spelling and single word reading of regular words and nonwords. Identifying the specific deficits displayed in populations with reading disabilities assists in formulating interventions targeted at areas of weakness and …

Building Communities Through Literacy, Corinne Brion

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

On the Caribbean island of Haiti, when friends meet, one generally asks: “Ki jan ou ye?” (How are you?) and often times the other person responds: “ M’pa pi mal.” (I am not worse), ([2], p. 29). This common greeting indicates that life in Haiti is not stress-free. Haiti has openly battled political chaos, economic dependence, and high illiteracy rates since its independence from France in 1804. Many attempts to address these issues have been made by the international community. Scholars and theorists suggest that solutions should be rooted in building robust communities, using social empathy as a tool, in …

Intentional Recruiting: Using Business Intelligence, Data Mining, And Predictive Analytics To Identify Characteristics Of Those Students Who Enroll, And Graduate; In Support Of University Enrollment Management, Stephanie L. Harris

All Master's Theses

Using business intelligence (BI) and archival data from a division II, public comprehensive, university in Washington State, the researcher identified specific characteristics of those students who enrolled, persisted and completed to undergraduate degree attainment. These characteristics created an applicant profile to be used in future enrollment management activities for intentional recruiting, while the predictive models for enrollment and completion inform administration to improve tuition revenue planning and budgeting, and to forecast future enrollment yield.

Examining The Relationship Between Student Engagement And Stem Persistence At An Hbcu, Saundra Yates Evans

Dissertations

A growing imbalance in the demand for a science and technology workforce and the declining availability of a science and technology talent pool is challenging America’s world dominance in research and innovation, economic performance, and quality of life. Contributing to this imbalance is flatness in the trend of students selecting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors coupled with decreasing rates of retention in STEM disciplines. Many research studies and reports emphasize that incorporating the untapped talents of Americans who are underrepresented in STEM disciplines--African-Americans, Hispanics, and women--is necessary to increase the pipeline of STEM graduates. A synthesis of college …

Outsourcing Learning: Is The Statecraft Simulation An Effective Pedagogical Alternative?, Chad Raymond

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Although rising costs have been a general trend in higher education since the early 20th century, a fundamental restructuring of the higher education marketplace is currently underway. In recent decades students and their parents have been forced to finance college education through greater and greater debt. As a result, students and their families are increasingly demanding that institutions of higher learning provide evidence of value. Universities must now ask what methods of instruction most efficiently expand a student's knowledge base. Can instruction that has been traditionally supplied in a physical classroom be delivered more effectively at lower cost through digital …

A Case Study Of Mastery Learning Activities In Kindergarten Literacy Centers, Crystal Bateman Cowen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study examined the problem of below-grade-level reading scores among kindergarten students despite the use of literacy centers in a large Title 1 public elementary school in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether application of the literacy center model might be connected to student performance. Specifically, the research question concerned whether implementation of literacy centers was consistent with principles of mastery learning based on differentiation by ability. This study was guided by Bloom's theory of mastery learning, which suggests that higher levels of learning may be achieved if each child is …