Education Commons^™

Building A Community Of Practice: Strategies Developed By Librarians In The Sparc Opened Leadership Program, Amanda Larson, Abbey Elder, Elaine Thornton, Grace Atkins, Talea Anderson

OER From Vision to Action

Do you want to know how other universities develop their OER initiatives? This panel of five librarians will discuss their participation in the SPARC Open Education Leadership Program, a two-semester professional development experience aimed at building expertise and capacity to advance open education in academic libraries, and how it helped shape the development of OER initiatives at their institutions. Over two semesters, the program blends online, peer-to-peer, and project-based learning opportunities to develop participants into subject matter experts with the practical know-how to advance open education initiatives on their campuses.

The panelists will discuss how their participation in the SPARC …

State And Legislative Oer Panel, Margaret Brown-Sica, Lily Todorinova

OER From Vision to Action

Discussion of Colorado and National OER Legislation

Many state governments are supporting or considering supporting OER though related legislation, funding or other significant action. These actions, if executed well, have the power to substantially increase use and production of OER in the given state. Some examples of state supported initiatives are Open Oregon and BCcampus. States have many options for action such as providing funding, creating centralized programs, and requiring certain actions on the part of public institutions such as identifying courses as using OER or having a plan related to OER or the cost of course materials. This …

Oer Incentive Programs: Reflection And Learning As You Go To Establish Approaches And Tactics For Campus Success, Elaine Thornton, Stephanie Pierce

OER From Vision to Action

The University of Arkansas Libraries along with campus partner, Global Campus, initiated their OER Incentive Program in the 2017 spring semester. The program provides faculty with structured financial awards to create, adapt, or adopt open education textbooks and other learning resources, publish these resources with open licenses, and use them in University of Arkansas courses in lieu of traditional textbooks. This presentation will provide an overview of the inception of the program, its structure, and management, as well as lessons learned by the OER team through reflection processes. Changes that have been implemented post-reflection will also be discussed. Audience members …

Engaging Graduate Students In The Online Learning Environment: A Universal Design For Learning (Udl) Approach To Teacher Preparation, Marla J. Lohmann, Kathleen A. Boothe, Andrea R. Hathcote, Amy Turpin

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Today’s classroom is more diverse than ever; it is imperative that universities find solutions for meeting these diverse learning needs. One potential solution is Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which is a promising practice in the K-12 classroom. UDL is based on the idea that diversity among students is predictable and systematic adjustments to the curriculum should be made based on that predictability. While there is strong research supporting the use of UDL for traditional K-12 classrooms, there is little research regarding its implementation in the online university teacher preparation classroom. This study explores the use of UDL for increasing …

Shuffle Lit!: Using Ipod Shuffles To Encourage Literacy Experiences At Home, Ashlee B. Hover

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

A kindergarten teacher used action research to examine how literature, audio books, homework, and Apple iPod Shuffles can be combined to encourage and improve literacy at home. The research participants consisted of 16 kindergarten students in Middle Tennessee and their parents. The kindergarten students took home a tote bag with the following contents: an Apple iPod Shuffle loaded with many audio stories, six books, two types of headphones, and an iPod listening/reading log. The students took the project materials home for a week to enjoy with their parents and other family members. The parents or siblings recorded the students’ experiences …

A Scaffolding Approach Using Interviews And Narrative Inquiry, Sharon Heilmann

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This article examines how educational scaffolding was used in a graduate research methods course to encourage student mastery of two qualitative research concepts, interviews and narrative inquiry. Findings suggest that scaffolding resulted in students’ mastery of both concepts as well as students’ increased attention to quality of interview questions and outcomes. Further implications suggest scaffolding would be useful in combining other qualitative topics such as integrating content analysis skills with research designs such as phenomenology, grounded theory, and case studies.

Una Destinatio, Viae Diversae – One Destination, Many Paths: An Invitation To Design Curriculum, Aviva B. Dorfman

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

One goal of early childhood teacher educators is to teach in ways that model teaching young children. What better way to study curriculum than to design it? This article describes a graduate early childhood curriculum course in which the students participate in the process of designing the syllabus. They receive a syllabus empty of topics, schedule, and readings. Together, we design the course according to their interests and needs. By semester’s end there is a full reading list and schedule. The invitation to co-design curriculum provides opportunities for investigation, representation and reflection as does constructivist teaching for children, and demonstrates …

An Alternative Pathway To Elementary Teaching, Lotta Larson, Tom Vontz

Educational Considerations

This article describes an alternative pathway to elementary teaching through the MAT online program at Kansas State University.

Teaching As A Political Act: Critical Pedagogy In Library Instruction, Melia Erin Fritch

Educational Considerations

This article establishes a theoretical framework for critical library instruction (and thereby critical information literacy) that is built upon critical feminist theory, critical race theory, and engaged pedagogy, among others. Using the ideas and work of theorists to create a path linking the ideas of critical analyses together, the author demonstrates the importance and need for critical information literacy within library instruction to empower students, creating opportunities for lifelong learning. Noted within the article are the obstacles for librarians who focus on feminist engaged pedagogy in their teaching; however, the author shares with readers that the challenge is in fact …

Interpreting Audit Data In Program Assessment, Jacqueline Kress

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Academic programs are multidimensional and operate in a distributed decision-making environment. Assessment that focuses solely on student learning outcomes may overlook context factors contributing to or detracting from program success. This session introduces program audits and guides participants’ practice interpreting sample audit data and relating them to program outcomes.

What Your Faculty Need To Known About Open Access Publishing, Jacqueline Kress

Academic Chairpersons Conference Proceedings

Scholarly publication is a factor in faculty evaluation. Online journals--open access (OA) and traditional—are now available. Views about OA journals are often controversial, and have even affected tenure and promotion decisions. This session reviews facts about OA and provides exemplar materials to use to review/revise your publication policies.

Experiences And Perceptions Of University Students And General And Special Educator Teacher Preparation Faculty Engaged In Collaboration And Co-Teaching Practices, Leila A. Ricci, Joan Fingon

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

General and special education faculty modeling co-teaching practices in teacher preparation programs can promote collaboration among future K-12 teachers serving children with diverse needs. This article describes the experiences and perceptions of 59 university students enrolled in teacher preparation reading courses with sessions co-taught by general education and special education faculty members at a large, Hispanic serving public urban university in Southern California. The courses included lessons on co-planning, co-instructing, and co-assessing in reading jointly taught by the general education and special education professors; class readings and activities on collaboration and co-teaching; and the opportunity for university students to co-plan …

Revisiting A Classic: A Book Review Of Understanding Reading: A Psycholinguistic Analysis Of Reading And Learning, Chris Sclafani

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Often, the teaching profession spends a great deal of time looking towards the future, or considering what might be the next big trend that will help students. However, it is sometimes important to reflect back upon the texts and ideas that set the tone for the profession. Understanding Reading: A Psycholinguistic Analysis of Reading and Learning by Frank Smith is a classic text that laid the foundation for teachers of literacy to move from an existence of teaching rules and exceptions to becoming an actively involved participant in the process of building and facilitating comprehension in students of all ages. …

Editorial Introduction, Suzanne Porath

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

No abstract provided.

Move Over, Descartes! Neuroscience Says You’Re Wrong., Kathleen Taylor, Catherine Marienau

Adult Education Research Conference

Recent discoveries in neuroscience—“we feel, therefore we learn”—contradict Descartes’ rejection of the body’s role in thinking. This presentation examines implications for adult learning.

Resisting The Pressures Of Academia: The Importance Of Including Care In Doctoral Study, Carol Rogers-Shaw, Davin Carr-Chellman

Adult Education Research Conference

This study examines the effects of caring relationships in doctoral study. An exploration of the experiences of first year female students showed care facilitated learning.

Facilitating Discussion Of Theory And Practice In Education Seminars, Bailey Herrmann, Jessica R. Gallo

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Field experience seminars, discussion-based courses paired with school-based practicum experiences, provide a space for teacher candidates to discuss the theories they study in their university classes and the practices they observe and implement in their school placements. This article describes an action research study that examines teaching techniques that promote discussion in English education seminar courses. The purpose of this research was to collaboratively develop teaching approaches that would help teacher candidates bridge ideas about theory and practice in their development as aspiring teachers. The conversations that challenged the teacher candidates to think critically and theoretically about their classrooms were …

Making The Case For Doctoral Student Success Through Group Advising And Dissertations, Diane D. Chapman, Michelle Bartlett

Adult Education Research Conference

Many adult doctoral students at dissertation stage are isolated and unable to focus. Group advising and group dissertation work may combat barriers to completion and lead to greater student success.

Finding Opportunity In Change: Community Empowerment & Metagogy, Gabriele Strohschen

Adult Education Research Conference

This paper shares the lessons learned about university-level adult education program development in the context of a Cross-Sector Collaborative in Chicago that developed the "Metagogy Theorem"

Editorial Introduction To Pedagogy & (Im)Possibilities Across Education Research, J. Spencer Clark

Pedagogy & (Im)Possibilities across Education Research (PIPER)

The editorial board is excited to publish our first issue of Pedagogy & (Im)Possibilities across Education Research. We have spent nearly a year conceptualizing, shaping, and producing the journal and this first issue. We hope you find it engaging and thought provoking. We, therefore, formally welcome submissions to the journal and look forward to facilitating the advancement of research in education.

An Integrated English Language Program: Supporting University Internationalization, Ketty Reppert, Smoky Kelly, Leena Chakrabarti

International Symposium for Innovative Teaching and Learning

Intensive English Programs (IEP) are organized in a variety of ways as they seek to prepare students for study or work in an English-medium environment. This poster highlights how an IEP that is integrated into a state university can support campus internationalization efforts while preparing non-native English speakers for their future studies and careers.

2025: 2011-2016 Progress Report, Kansas State University, Office Of The President

Special Publications

2025 Progress Report is an annual publication highlighting key activities and accomplishments for the year at Kansas State University. The report reflects progress towards K-State 2025, the visionary plan for the university, and covers the seven themes set in 2025 strategic planning: research, scholarly, creative activities and discovery, undergraduate educational experience, graduate scholarly experience, engagement, extension, outreach, and service, faculty and staff, facilities and infrastructure, and athletics.

Using An Experiential Learning Design To Teach Photography In Agricultural Communications, Lindsay W. Kennedy, Cindy Akers, Rachel B. Jackson

Journal of Applied Communications

Photography is an important competency of agricultural communications graduates and is a core skill taught in the discipline’s curriculum. The [department] at [university] offers an undergraduate photography course twice yearly in two semester formats: a traditional spring semester where photography principles are taught in the classroom and a 12-day experiential intersession semester that allows for flexibility in how and where the course is taught. Both semesters utilize the same instructor, assignments, and grading rubric. While much agricultural communications research has focused on photography as a needed skill, few studies examine photography teaching methods. The purpose of this study was to …

Theorizing From The Literature: Rural Nc African American Males Who Fail To Complete Early College, Joyce B. Valentine

Adult Education Research Conference

The African American male dropout rate remains horrific. Educational institutions need to revise their curriculum design and retention strategies. This study examines rural African American males who fail to complete high school using intersectionality and ecological systems theory.

Building Online Learning Communities Utilizing Adult Learning Andragogical Principles, Yaxin Zheng, Susan J. Barcinas

Adult Education Research Conference

This exploratory practice-based project considers how current online pedagogical practices centered on creating a learning community (Palloff & Pratt, 2007) integrate with principles of designing and implementing adult learner friendly learning experiences (Knowles, 1984) in online courses.