Education Commons^™

Learning Considered: Emergent Design In Student Affairs, Carl F. Ericson

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper is an argument for how Student Affairs practitioners in Higher Education can do a better job pursuing and living up to the profession’s stated goals for student learning. It is not a balanced or thorough presentation of facts and theories and it makes no attempt to review all of the pertinent literature. It does use extensive quotations from key documents and authorities in relevant fields and those excerpts are intended not only to support the argument and display the ideas and language necessary to develop a learning centered culture, but to also point out that people working in …

Critical Thinking And High-Level Discourse In A 1:1 Environment, Ryan G. Zonnefeld, Valorie L. Zonnefeld

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Learn about our experiences co-teaching a K–8 methods course using 1:1 tablets in a high-tech lab. This innovative course included a move away from a textbook to a dynamic research-based curriculum supported by NCTM resources and CCSSM as well as integral utilization of apps, web 2.0 tools, and professional learning networks.

Criticism – The Thing We Hate The Most Makes Us The Strongest, Michael Preston

UCF Forum

I’m not much of a crier, but when a colleague critiqued a draft of my dissertation years ago, I cried like a baby.

A Program For Persistent Integration Of Faith And Learning In A Christian University Online Environment, John Norris

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia has expanded since 1971 to become the largest Christian university in the world. Liberty will be used in this paper as a contemporary example of a Christian university that has maintained its Christian commitment. Liberty will be contrasted with numerous Christian colleges and universities that had similar missions but have eventually lost their religious affiliations and their Christian-oriented focus. This paper will explore how and why other universities have drifted from their original religious affiliations and doctrines. The reasons and processes will be examined and used to develop a program for online Christian education that …

The Impact Of Pictorial Representations In Teaching Math Word Problems To A Child With Autism, Hossein Shirvani

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

The study used a single subject A-B-A research design because it used one subject, an 18-year old boy participant who was diagnosed with having higher spectrum Autism (Asperger). The investigator examined the effect of pictorial representations of math word problems on the participant’s performance in solving one step, two steps, and three steps math word problems. The investigator found that the use pictorial representations improved the participant’s math achievement in solving math word problems. The investigator also found that the participant had difficulty understanding words with mathematical connotations.

Want To Make It In This World? Better Learn To Collaborate, Michael Preston

UCF Forum

Is there any greater struggle between instructor and student than the dreaded “group assignment”?

Model Of The Use Of Evolutionary Trees (Muet), Yi Kong, Trevor Anderson, Nancy Pelaez

PIBERG Instructional Innovation Materials

This Glossary is intended for both teachers and their students who are learning about evolutionary trees. To improve K-14 teachers’ and students’ as well as non-biology major undergraduate students’ understanding of trees, the Model of the Use of Evolutionary Trees (MUET) was developed based on professional biologists’ use of evolutionary trees in their scientific publications in 2012-2013. Definitions of terminology in this Glossary are referenced to published literature listed at the end of this Glossary. In addition to the Glossary and the MUET in html format, below as an additional link to a file giving you the Glossary in MSWord …

Embracing Multiple Definitions Of Learning, Andrew B. Barron, Eileen A. Hebets, Thomas A. Cleland, Courtney L. Fitzpatrick, Mark E. Hauber, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Eileen Hebets Publications

Definitions of learning vary widely across disciplines, driven largely by different approaches used to assess its occurrence. These definitions can be better reconciled with each other if each is recognized as coherent with a common conceptualization of learning, while appreciating the practical utility of different learning definitions in different contexts.

Learning is a major focus of research in psychology, neuro- science, behavioral ecology, evolutionary theory, and computer science, as well as in many other disciplines. Despite its conceptual prevalence, definitions of learning differ enormously both within and between these disciplines, and new definitions continue to be proposed [1]. Ongoing disputes …

Extensibility - Validation Of Workplace Learning In Higher Education - Examples And Considerations, Deirdre Goggin, Stephen Cassidy, Irene Sheridan, Phil O'Leary

Conference Papers

The importance of effective curriculum design and development in structuring and supporting learners in their knowledge attainment has been outlined in the writings of Tyler (1949) [1] which supports the approach adopted in European Higher Education stemming from the 1999 Bologna Declaration (European Commission, 2009). These structures are assisted in part by national and European qualification frameworks and the Dublin descriptors which are explicit of the variances in knowledge, skill and competence as one progresses in higher education and training. In addition, the inclusion of learning outcomes and programme objectives in the development of comprehensive curricula has been linked to …

Imagination: Active In Teaching And Learning, Christopher Cunningham

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This autoethnography tells the story of the author’s endeavor to examine my teaching during a sculpture lesson in three 2^nd grade art classes in a mid-western suburban Title I elementary school. I analyze my planning, teaching, reflecting through the lens of Stuart Richmond’s Characteristics of Imaginative Teaching as well as noted educational theorists’ conceptions of imagination and imaginative teaching and learning. These theorists include but are not limited to Maxine Greene, Kieran Egan, John Dewey, and The Lincoln Center Institute’s Capacities for Imaginative Learning. I conclude that imaginative teaching is an intentional act and that there is no …

Syllable Circles For Pronunciation Learning And Teaching, Charlie Cullen, Keith Gardiner, John B. Whipple

Articles

Syllable Circles is an interactive visualization representing prominence as a feature in short phrases or multi-syllable words. They were designed for Computer Aided Pronunciation Teaching as a part of English Language Teaching. This study explores the question of if and how interactive visualizations can affect English Language Learners’ awareness of prominence, or stress, in English pronunciation. The study followed seven learners and three teachers. Think-aloud protocols, notes from direct observation and interviews of two groups allowed for six streams of data. It was found that interactive visualizations of syllable circles facilitate noticing prominence. Learners and teachers believed interactive visualizations were …

Meditation In The Classroom: Cultivating Attention And Insight, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Goals: Care must be taken by the instructor not to overemphasize achieving the goal(s) of meditation. Often, when there is too much emphasis on trying to reach the goal, the benefits of meditating can be hindered. On the other hand, when the goal of meditation is held loosely, then the goal is more easily approached. For this class meditation activity, the instructor might loosely hold several interrelated goals for their students: cultivate experiences of first person attention, concentration, and awareness while simultaneously developing capacities for insight, imagination, exploration, and discernment of ideas related to class content and applications to everyday …

Digital Games For 21st–Century Learning: Teacher Librarians' Beliefs And Practices, Amanda S. Hovious, Richard Van Eck

Teaching, Leadership & Professional Practice Faculty Publications

Video games as tools for learning in K-12 have been a topic of intense discussion over the past fifteen years. One area of focus has been on the integration of commercial off-the-shelf games in lesson plans. A predictive factor for the adoption and diffusion of this innovation is the attitudes or readiness of teachers. Yet while many studies have examined this with teachers themselves, teacher librarians (TLs) have largely been ignored, despite their key role in education and technology adoption in schools. This study examines the beliefs and practices of TLs concerning digital games as learning tools to determine if …

Group Retesting To Promote Learning Self-Awareness And Individual Accountability, Robbin Eppinga, Kayt E. Frisch, Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Allowing students to retake tests in groups provides them with the immediate opportunity to learn from their mistakes while improving their perceptions of a course. We explore Group Review Advancing Content/Concept Essentials (aka GRACE), a variation on group retesting, which creates a peer learning environment and emphasizes individual metacognition, concept articulation, and accountability. Through an interactive demonstration, we introduce the process, relate some of the literature-reported benefits of group retesting, and share our experiences using GRACE in a variety of disciplines at different course levels.

Reflection On Integrative Project-Based Learning In Business And Information Technology Programs, Andrew Hogue, Jennifer Percival, Khalil El-Khatib, Garrett Hayes

Stream 2: Curriculum

Recently there has been an increase in demand for interdisciplinary programs that enable graduates to demonstrate a blend of technical and ‘soft skills’. As a result, many higher education organizations are developing programs that integrate areas such as management and information technology or entrepreneurship and engineering. The wide range of topics covered in these programs and the need for graduate to be able to integrate and apply of core concepts. Since 2010 we have used integrative project-based learning as a core element of our game development and entrepreneurship program. In this model, students work in project teams to create a …

Geographical Literacy, Attitudes, And Experiences Of Freshman Students: A Qualitative Study At Florida International University, Daniela F. Ottati

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to explore the geography literacy, attitudes and experiences of Florida International University (FIU) freshman students scoring at the low and high ends of a geography literacy survey. The Geography Literacy and ABC Models formed the conceptual framework. Participants were freshman students enrolled in the Finite Math course at FIU. Since it is assumed that students who perform poorly on geography assessments do not have an interest in the subject, testing and interviewing students allowed the researcher to explore the assumption.

In Phase I, participants completed the Geography Literacy Survey (GLS) with items taken from …

Research Briefs: Assessing Our Students Assessing Their Students: Support And Impact Of Preservice Teachers On P-5 Student Learning, Georgia Southern University

Research Briefs (2012-2019)

• Assessing Our Students Assessing Their Students: Support and Impact of Preservice Teachers on P–5 Student Learning

An Exploration Of Rpl In Higher Education In Ireland With Particular Focus On Quality Assurance, Deirdre Goggin, Irene Sheridan, Phil O'Leary

Conference Papers

This paper focuses on examining the practice of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) a provision which allows a learner present previously acquired relevant learning for assessment for credit. In general all forms of learning are formally recognised within an RPL system which includes informal, non formal and formal learning. The key misconception within higher education can be that RPL requires a different quality assurance system than that of conventional assessment methods.

This paper explores current assessment policies and practices in Ireland with a particular focus on the structural realities required to deliver good practice with RPL provision for summative purposes. …

Isalt: A Campus-Wide Support System To Evaluate Technology-Based Instructional Innovations, Qijie (Vicky) Cai, Jude Higdon

iSALT Outcomes: Publications, Presentations, and Other Scholarly Works

The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a campus-wide support system called iSALT that we've created to promote evaluation research around technology and teaching innovations at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The system was successfully piloted in spring 2014 with eight participants who completed evaluations for their instructional innovations and disseminated their findings through at least five journal publications and/or conference presentations. We will discuss the steps we've gone through to develop iSALT and the strategies we've used to engage faculty participants. Additionally, we will present the evaluation projects completed by the iSALT participants and discuss their findings.

Social Media In Secondary School Settings, Michael K. Barbour

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC Graduate School of Education

From Conclusion:

The rise of social media gives schools another opportunity to use a real world connection with their students. The benefits are plentiful, allowing for collaboration and communication opportunities both in and out of the classroom. Depending on the social media tool selected, students can share videos, writing, and photos while allowing others to comment and interact. While the socialization aspects are powerful, educators should strongly consider the online safety of young teens before venturing into social media. If not supervised properly, social media can open students up to cyberbullying and leaving a negative digital footprint, both of which …

The Effects Of Reading Mode On Recall And Comprehension, Anne M. Niccoli

NERA Conference Proceedings 2014

This study explored students' differences in reading comprehension between digital and paper reading modes. This quasi-experiment consisted of adult students enrolled in military leadership courses. Each randomly selected group read the same leadership article, either digital or paper. Students completed an assessment to determine differences in recall accuracy and comprehension between digital and paper readers. While there were no significant differences in group means of recall between reading versions, a persistent pattern in differences of score ranges and frequencies was evident for recall accuracy and comprehension. The implications and considerations of individual differences in score frequencies are discussed.

Sola Gratia: Grace In The Engineering Curriculum And Profession, Ethan Brue

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Integral Christian higher education is in vogue. Most Christian institutions of higher education who take their mission seriously make the claim that the education offered to students is one where faith and learning are not separate. It is a belief that their entire educational enterprise is inexorably tied in some way, shape, or form to our new life in Christ. Most engineering programs on Christian campuses are the outgrowth of this perspective. Over the last fifty years, numerous philosophers, writers, scientists, and engineers have developed a solid foundation from which engineering can be understood as an essential calling in the …

Learning Vocabulary With Apps: From Theory To Practice, Qizhen Deng, Guy Trainin

The Nebraska Educator: A Student-Led Journal

English vocabulary acquisition is a major challenge for English as a second or foreign language learners to become proficient in English. It is also a major challenge for English speakers who are at risk. With the increasing use of various mobile devices (e.g., iPad) for educational purposes, we have a new opportunity to support vocabulary learning. Mobile devices have considerable potential for enhancing vocabulary acquisition and English learning among English learners. This article focuses on how mobile devices can be used to facilitate vocabulary learning for English learners. While there is a paucity of research on mobile platforms that enhance …

Enhancing Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning Through Micro-Level Collaboration Across Two Disciplines, Nancy M. Arrington, Adrienne L. Cohen

Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Two professors from two disciplines—education and sociology—analyzed the commonalities, differences, successes, and challenges of conducting cross-disciplinary Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research at the course level (micro-level). This case study of their collaboration resulted in a series of lessons learned which add to the literature base on the process of SoTL collaboration. The results of their professional collaboration at this level provide a validation for increased communication and alignment during the development and implementation of the projects developed to enhance teaching and learning in their respective courses. This erudition illuminates the potential of increased SoTL collaborations across disciplines at …

“My Life As A Family Therapist”: A Journaling Method For Teaching Systems-Based Family Therapy Theories To Undergraduates, Paul A. Johns, Rachel L. Kreiger, Caroline M. Hurff

HDFS Educator Scholarship

This paper describes Process Journal: “My Life as a Family Therapist,” an assignment used in an undergraduate marriage and family therapy survey course to facilitate learning of systems-based marriage and family therapy theories. After starting with brief discussion of the value of teaching systems-based marriage and family therapy theories to undergraduates, the authors share detailed information about course content and objectives, following with explication of assignment objectives, procedure, and rationale. The paper concludes with reflections on the assignment that include student thoughts about the task and excerpts from their journal entries.

Let's Spread The Word About The Wisdom Of Transformative Learning, Sabra Brock

Graduate School of Business Publications and Research

The author argues for the discussion of the findings of transformative learning research in more mainstream platforms.

Preparing Future Faculty As Service-Learning Instructors: A Proposal To Integrate Instruction In Service-Learning Pedagogy Into The Vcu Preparing Future Faculty Program, Amanda Hall, Lynn E. Pelco

Division of Community Engagement Resources

This proposal provides a detailed plan for incorporating service-learning pedagogy into the VCU Preparing Future Faculty Program (http://graduate.vcu.edu/development/faculty.html). The VCU Preparing Future Faculty Program (PFF Program) is an optional training program offered by the VCU Graduate School to all graduate students enrolled at the university. The PFF Program involves a series of courses and professional development opportunities aimed at preparing doctoral students for the professoriate.

Students In Action Initiative, Theresa Ryan, Ziene Mottiar, Bernadette Quinn, Catherine Gorman, Kevin Griffin, Ruth Craggs, Deirdre Quinn

Teaching Fellowships

The Students in Action Project in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism was established in 2012 as a way of engaging students and working with stakeholders in a destination. The overall aim of the project was to immerse students in an active collaborative learning environment within the destination to identify ways in which tourism could be enhanced. In the 2014/2015 academic year the project involved over 300 students from a variety of programmes and modules working with local stakeholders in Wexford Town. To date the project has been successful in its aims to develop staff, student and community engagement …

Technology-Enhanced Learning: Towards Providing Supports For Phd Students And Researchers In Higher Education., Eileen O'Donnell, Liam O'Donnell

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Students In Action: A Destination Based Learning Approach To Student Engagement, Ruth Craggs, Catherine Gorman, Kevin A. Griffin, Ziene Mottiar, Bernadette Quinn, Theresa Ryan

Books / Book chapters

No abstract provided.