Education Commons^™

Course Difficulty And Its Association With Student Perceptions Of Teaching And Learning--Research, Amanda Joyce

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Grade inflation has long been an issue in academia, and with this comes the concern that instructors will feel pressured to inflate grades in order to improve student evaluations of their teaching. Many historical studies have demonstrated associations between higher grades and higher teaching evaluations. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the relationship between high grades and high teaching evaluations, and their association with other indicators of course difficulty. Anonymous, end-of-semester, teaching evaluations were collected from 156 studentsin 6 sections of 3 unique courses in the Psychology department of a large Southeastern University between 2011 and 2014. Students …

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions Of Mathematics Through Drawings--Research, Adam Akerson

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

Research indicates that mathematics anxiety is particularly high in pre-service teachers (Bekdemir, 2010; Gresham, 2007; Hembree, 1990). These future teachers will soon be entering classrooms of their own, responsible for teaching mathematics to young children, who need strong teachers. A 2013 report from The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), found that 42% fourth-graders performed at or above the proficient level in math (NCES, 2013. The purpose of this study was to examine elementary pre-service teacher candidates (PSTCs) perceptions of mathematics, through drawings. Drawings were analyzed before and after a semester-long field experience in a constructivist mathematics environment. The participants …

Measuring Student Satisfaction In Online Mathematics Courses -- Research, Antoinette Davis

Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning

For many years, various colleges and universities have found it difficult to measure student satisfaction in online courses. This study examined the growth of math courses that are delivered in the online format. This study looks to address the gaps in the research literature concerning online, hybrid, and traditional education. In particular, it is the intention of this study to investigate satisfaction and its effect on the performance of students as a result of enrolling in online mathematics courses. Many researchers have sought to find ways to determine student satisfaction in online courses. Satisfaction and performance in distance education have …

Improving Student Effort On A Learning Outcome Assessment: Benchmarks, Options, And Results, Michael T. Roberson, Thomas Erekson

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Mission-driven accreditation standards were established by AACSB in 2003 and updated in 2013, and these standards required accredited business and accounting programs to establish and assess student learning outcomes. This approach was a major change for AACSB accreditation, so beginning in 2003 universities were given a few years to design and implement their Assurance of Learning (AoL) programs. The result has been an array of measures to assess student learning outcomes. All too often, however, the AoL programs were stand-alone efforts to comply with the standards for assessment and were not linked to meaningful continuous improvement processes.

Assessing basic business …

Turning Teachers Into Action Researchers In Their Classrooms, Dusty Columbia Embury, Laura S. Clarke

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Action research is often called the teacher’s research and often feels like a common sense approach to solving problems, but not all pre-service teachers begin careers knowing how to use this methodology to improve their own practice. This article offers a rationale for teaching pre-service teachers the skills and action research methodology as a tool for professional improvement based on the experiences of the authors engaging in a reflective process for teaching. While not generalizable, it is hoped that lessons learned may be applied by other faculty in teacher education programs.

Student Perceptions Of The Honors Program At An Appalachian Community College, Melissa Renee Helton

Online Theses and Dissertations

Gifted students in the United States are often underserved. Collegiate honors programs are a proven way to provide for gifted students' special needs. Many gifted students attend community colleges, and these institutions have a set of challenges to starting and maintaining thriving honors programs, including accusations of elitism and lack of resources. Community colleges in Appalachia have an additional set of challenges to face, including high proportions of first generation students, rurality, and poverty. Efforts for thriving honors programs need to be effective and efficient at meeting gifted students' needs, but there is little research on the programs at these …

Self-Regulated Learning In A Rural, South-Central Kentucky Middle School, Tammy Dungan Board

Online Theses and Dissertations

Self-regulated learning is a phenomenon recognized in nations with positive results on international assessments, such as the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment; IES, 2012). This qualitative, non-evaluative study sought to determine the presence of self-regulated learning in a rural middle school in the south-central United States by utilizing a phenomenological approach.

Self-regulated learning is a practice based upon the constructivist learning theories championed by theorists such as Bandura (1995) and Vygotsky (1978). Zimmerman (1990) coined the term self-regulated learning, which reflects a method by which students are responsible for their own learning through four stages: pre-planning, monitoring for progress, …

Teacher Thoughts On Infographics As Alternative Assessment: A Post-Secondary Educational Exploration, Glen Bruce Gover

Online Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological case study is designed to investigate the learning outcomes, lived experiences, and perceptions of eight post-secondary teachers participating in a sketch-based infographic development training program. This research is designed to assess the viability of infographics as a learning and assessment strategy, providing insight into the application of infographics to the post-secondary education environment, and informing the development of an instructional and assessment model with prescriptive conditions for usage and training. This research provides much needed empirical support for specific applications of visualization tools in the post-secondary learning environment with a specific focus on teacher perspectives providing additional …

The Relationship Between Advanced Academic Services And College Readiness Among Public High School Students In Rural Remote Appalachian Kentucky, Franklin Brian Thomas

Online Theses and Dissertations

The importance of college to the individual and society has prompted recent policies and accountability systems to emphasize college readiness as the primary benchmark for high school success. Advanced/honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP)/dual credit courses, and gifted programs are the most common advanced academic service options available in public schools to ensure college readiness. This study investigated 2014-2015 school year data associated with 2,792 students in five high schools in five different school districts in rural remote Appalachian Kentucky. The goal was to see which advanced academic service was most associated with college ready students. College readiness was measured in …

Black Minds Matter: Black Student Perceptions Of Three Kentucky Regional Comprehensive Predominantly White Institutions And The Role Of Campus Support Initiatives In Reducing The Frequence Of Stop-Out And Drop-Out, Christopher W. Blakely

Online Theses and Dissertations

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2015), between 1996 and 2008, Black (African-American may be used interchangeably with Black, as defined through this study) college students had the lowest graduation rates among racial groups at four-year public institutions. Furthermore, more recent provisional data from the National Center for Education Statistics for 2008-2013, further support continued disproportional retention and graduation rates of Black college students. Therefore, given this, the present study examined the relationship between academic achievement and an increase in Black students' satisfaction with their college experience at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) and institutionally funded supportive associations for …

Effectiveness Of A Corequisite Delivery Model For Developmental Mathematics, Katherine E. Fair

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study is to determine the effectiveness of a corequisite delivery model for developmental math students at a 4-year public institution. Nationally, close to fifty percent of incoming college students are placed in non-credit bearing remedial courses (Complete College America, 2012). Students must pass the remedial course before they can take the gateway college-level course. Data show that the traditional delivery of a non-credit-bearing remedial course before taking a credit-bearing course appears to help only a small percentage of students (Complete College America, 2012). The low pass rate of remedial courses supports the current trend …