Education Commons^™

Understanding Motivational Differences Through The Lens Of Gamification User Types, Heather J. S. Birch

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

In the context of an educational technology course, teacher candidates completed Marczewski’s User Types Hexad Test, a questionnaire based on a typology for classifying both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational tendencies. The test results showed teacher candidates' motivational tendencies, through indicating their resonance with six different User Types, including Socializers, Free Spirits, Achievers, Philanthropists, Players, and Disruptors. Knowing their User Type allowed teacher candidates to reflect on their own personal motivations to use various types of digital tools, as well as to consider how their peers and their students with different user profiles may be motivated differently than themselves. The …

A Case Study Of English As Foreign Language Chinese Teachers' Use Of Computer-Based Technology, Lingao Li

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of four Chinese university teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) on the effectiveness of implementing computer-based technologies in their classes. Specifically, this case study sought to document the participants’ views on 1) the types of computer-based technology used in their classes; 2) the role of computer-based educational technology in teaching EFL pedagogy; 3) the potential benefits in using computer-based instructional technologies in EFL; 4) the challenges and/or barriers to the effective use of computer-based instructional technologies in EFL instruction. Using both within case and cross-case analyses, the findings …

Using Visual Journals As A Reflective Worldview Window Into Educator Identity, Christina Belcher, Terry Loerts

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This ethnographic case study research and content analysis presents the conclusion of a three-year study involving 37 teacher candidate participants across a three-year study within a two year (2 semester program) Bachelor of Education program at a university in Ontario, Canada. Each academic year participants were intentionally given time over two semesters of literacy courses to engage in literacy practices and knowledge of self through the use of multimodal visual journals. Candidates reflect on their conceptions of literacy, teaching, identity and worldview within an institution grounded in the Christian faith. Findings, philosophical ponderings and content analysis suggest that the identity …

An "Integrality" Model For Teaching, Geoff Beech Dr, Elizabeth Beech Dr

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

For Christian educators working in secular institutions, or for those who are required to teach curricula based on secularist philosophy, it can be confusing as to how to faithfully integrate faith and learning. This essay suggests an appropriate and biblically-grounded way to regard this problem and effectively use knowledge from secular sources. This process starts with a reconsideration of the definitions for integration, faith, and knowledge. It also entails the purposing of all truth, which belongs to God, within the classroom.

"This Is New To Me": The Importance Of Coaching For First- Time Technology Use In Primary Grades, Randall J. King

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This exploratory, qualitative case study conducted in an urban elementary school examined a second-grade teacher’s experience of first-time Chromebook use. The teacher implemented Chromebooks with the support of a technology coach, using them with her students for reading responses during guided reading. Students comprised a mixed group of twenty-five students from four second-grade classrooms. This study explored the teacher’s perspective as to possible advantages and disadvantages of Chromebook use through teacher interviews, lesson observations and debriefs, and classroom observations. Findings included: a) Despite her limited experience with Chromebooks, the teacher was willing to implement new technology, b) The technology coach …

Logistics Of Mathematical Modeling-Focused Projects, R. Corban Harwood

Faculty Publications - Department of Mathematics

Projects provide tangible connections to course content and can motivate students to learn at a deeper level. This article focuses on the implementation of projects in both lower and upper division math courses which develop and analyze mathematical models of a problem based upon known data and real-life situations. Logistical pitfalls and insights are highlighted as well as several key implementation resources. Student feedback demonstrate a positive correlation between the use of projects and an enhanced understanding of the course topics when the impact of logistics is reduced. Best practices learned over the years are given along with example project …

Using Student-Led Discussion Strategies To Motivate, Increase Thinking, Create Ownership, And Teach Citizenship, Matthew Brisbin

Selected Master of Education Action Research Projects

This study aimed to see how teacher implementation of a student-led discussion process influenced intrinsic motivation of students in a high school Language Arts classroom. There was a specific focus on how these discussions impacted the students’ critical thinking. A pre and post-survey, student journals, videos of discussions, and interviews were used to collect data regarding motivation and critical thought. The study verified prior research regarding student discussions as a useful tool in classrooms if implemented in an effective way. However, there were no new conclusions reached. With that said, student-reported intrinsic motivation and critical thinking showed an increase from …

Blab: Changing The Way That We Look At Students, Robert Bonner

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Educational labels frequently impede student success rather than empower student success, as the labels become the defining attributes of each student and define the expectations of student failure or success. The classroom teacher must adopt a new paradigm that focuses on the whole child rather than on an educational label. The BLAB paradigm emphasizes that each child must be considered on the basis of social, educational, familial, & cultural heritages (B); proficiencies in English language and academic language recognizing that all students are on a continuum of language development in both dimensions (L); academic abilities that can differ from one …

Bridging The Research-To-Practice Gap: Factors Affecting Teachers' Efficacy About Instruction, Tiana J. Tucker

Doctor of Education (EdD)

No abstract provided.

Creating Epub Ebooks To Enhance Student Learning, Caitlin Corning

Digital Teaching and Learning -- Case Studies

For the past decade or so, I have created primary document readers for my class using copyright-permitted documents or documents where the author has granted permission for educational purposes. These would usually be about 200-300 pages. I would send them to the copy center for binding and then these would be sold in the bookstore to the students. The cost to the student was about $15-20.

There were three issues that were of concern. First, these books were not too expensive, but I was exploring ways to move the sourcebooks online so the students did not have this cost. Also, …

Preservice Teachers' Temperature Stories For Integer Addition And Subtraction, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Jennifer M. Tobias

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Ninety-eight elementary and middle school preservice teachers posed eight stories for integer addition and subtraction number sentences. Stories that were posed about temperature were analysed using a modified Marthe‘s (1979) framework for integer problem types. This framework was modified based on the stories provided by the preservice teachers. This paper reports on the problem types utilized by the preservice teachers. Results highlight that preservice teachers do not frequently use some problem types. Also, results may indicate that some number sentence types (e.g., -23 – -5=☐) support different problem types (e.g., State-State-Translation).

International Integer Curriculum Comparison, Laura Bofferding, Nicole Enzinger

Faculty Publications - College of Education

A discussion group met and discussed the current state of research in the domain of integers at the joint PME 38 and PME-NA 36 meetings (Bofferding, Wessman- Enzinger, Gallardo, Salinas, & Peled, 2014). During these meetings productive discussion revolved around what it meant to understand integers. Additionally, the organisers presented a literature review of the research on integers from all of the PME and PME-NA proceedings, which the group discussed. At the conclusion of this meeting, the group expressed interest in investigating integers further together by pursuing an international curriculum comparison study. This working group aims to begin this curriculum …

Leveraging Different Perspectives To Explore Student Thinking About Integer Addition And Subtraction, Nicole Enzinger, Laura Bofferding

Faculty Publications - College of Education

This is the third meeting of a working group on student thinking about integers. The main goal of this working group includes utilizing different theoretical perspectives and methodologies in small groups to design complementary studies, where student thinking about integer addition and subtraction will be explored. This working group aims to provide a space for participants to capitalize on their differences in theoretical perspectives and methodologies to promote productive scholarly discussion about the same research topic, student thinking about integer addition and subtraction. Participants will actively engage in work that progresses towards these studies, with the intent to develop a …

Alice's Drawings For Integer Addition And Subtraction Open Number Sentences, Nicole Enzinger

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Alice, a fifth grader who participated in twelve weeks of a teaching experiment on integer addition and subtraction, produced drawings as part of her strategy for solving integer addition and subtraction open number sentences. The drawings she created during the twelve weeks of the teaching experiment were analyzed and grouped into the following categories: Single Set of Objects, Double Set of Objects, Number Paths & Number Lines, and Number Sentences. These drawings provide insight into how children may directly model or count when solving integer addition and subtraction problems.

Believe And Achieve: An Examination Of Predictors Of Mathematical Achievement In Secondary Mathematics Students, Malia L. Hite

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This research addressed the following research question: which specific variable has the greatest predictive power of mathematical literacy and problem solving competency while controlling for socioeconomic status (SES)? The variables that were studied were categorized as follows: demographic and personal history variables, attitudinal variables, behavioral variables, and school organization and structure variables. Much of the existing literature cites SES as the most powerful predictor of math achievement. Using multiple linear regression modeling, this study found that many variables studied were determined to be significant predictors of mathematical literacy and/or problem solving competency while controlling for SES. Every category of variables …

Investigating The Use Of Mobile Technology For Classroom Instruction: A Case Study Of Two K-12 Christian Schools, Matt Gehrett

Doctor of Education (EdD)

How useful is the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model in analyzing and explaining teacher effectiveness in the use of technological tools for teaching and learning? One way a researcher can answer this question is to apply the TPACK model to specific cases such as the Christian school environment. As a result, the purpose of this case study was to explore the connections between the use of mobile computing technology, system wide factors that promote successful implementation, and a teacher's technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) on classroom instruction in two K-12 Christian schools in the Central Valley of California. Specifically, …

Fractions Fall From The Sky, Nicole Wessman-Enzinger, Rachel Sipes

Faculty Publications - College of Education

No abstract provided.

Developing Presence In Online Undergraduate Courses, Rae L. Casey

Faculty Publications - Department of Professional Studies

The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study (Merriam, 2009) was to understand the factors that excellent online faculty perceived as important to the development of presence in their online courses. Eight faculty members at two institutions in the northwest region of the United States participated in the study. Data were collected through interviews, syllabus reviews, and field notes. The data were coded and categorized, resulting in seven categories that described the findings. The seven categories were: Course Development, Course Facilitation, Assessment, Student Self Direction, Teachers as Learners, Learning Relationships, and Teacher Workload Management.

Paperless Subjective Programming Assignment Assessment: A First Step, David Hansen

Faculty Publications - Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

A significant component of student evaluation includes the objective and subjective assessment of programming assignments. We describe bits and pieces of a paperless electronic workflow we’ve recently used to provide objective and subjective feedback to students, emphasizing the tools and process used to provide subjective programming assignment assessment. We identify opportunities for future work to complete an end-to-end paperless electronic workflow that incorporates subjective assessment.

Life (Online) Together: Practicing Presence In Social Media Spaces, Anderson Campbell

Faculty Publications - George Fox School of Theology

No abstract provided.

Differentiated Instruction In The Work Sample: A Study Of Preservice Teacher Practice, Amy Lynn Dee

Faculty Publications - College of Education

Successfully implementing the practice of inclusion by differentiating instruction is dependent upon both the skills and attitudes of general education teachers. New general education teachers who are entering the field are particularly vulnerable to the demands and stress of the profession, and exemplary preservice teacher education programs must prepare pre service teachers to meet the needs of all students by giving them the skills to make appropriate lesson adaptations, accommodations and modifications. This study investigates the manifestation of differentiation for special education students in work sample lesson plans written by preservice teachers working toward an elementary school credential. The research …

The Effects Of The Fast Start Program On The Reading Achievement Of Emergent And Beginning Readers: A Replication And Extension, Pamela R. Mears

Doctor of Education (EdD)

This study replicated the Stevenson (2001) study to determine the effectiveness of the Fast Start parent tutoring program on student success in reading achievement. The current study attempted to enlarge the original study's sample size, include kindergarten students in the program, and determine the optimal length of training time for parents needed. Additionally, data gathered from the parent participants were analyzed including parent's perceptions of the program, their confidence level in tutoring their child, and the parents' level of mastery of the concepts of tutoring before working with their child. At the beginning of the school year, 36 kindergarten parent-student …

Metacognitive Systematic Inquiry Utilizing Individualized Cognitive Profiles Causes Reading Comprehension Achievement, Kathleen D. Allen

Doctor of Education (EdD)

The positive effects of systematic metacognitive instruction on reading achievement have been demonstrated, but that research has generally not been translated into classroom practice. This mixed methods research study sought to facilitate reading comprehension by involving subjects metacognitively with profiles of their own cognitive strengths and weaknesses. The study was conducted with 196 intermediate elementary students in the naturalized setting of 10 classrooms. Student scores from Woodcock-Johnson III cognitive clusters were utilized to generate individual cognitive profiles. In each classroom there were three experimental levels: 1. cognitive assessment only (control group) vs. 2. cognitive assessment+ profile awareness (profile awareness group) …

Teaching Systems Theory In The Communication Classroom, Kevin Jones

Faculty Publications - Department of Communication and Cinematic Arts

No abstract provided.

The Small Christian College - Best Hope For The Liberal Arts?, Patrick Allen

Faculty Publications - College of Education

As a faculty member in the College of Business, one of my favorite activities is advising new students during registration time. After looking over the course schedule book and deflecting questions concerning the identity of the easiest professor in Writing I, I like to talk with students about their personal goals and dreams for the future.