Education Commons^™

Explicating Factors That Foster Civic Engagement Among Students, Masami Nishishiba, Hal T. Nelson, Craig Shinn

Center for Public Service Publications and Reports

This paper investigates many facets of civic engagement by analyzing how college undergraduate students conceptualize civic engagement and by examining factors that predict greater student involvement in political, social, and community affairs.We administered a survey to college students at the beginning of fall, winter, and spring terms, 2001-02.We analyzed survey responses using a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The analysis examines how expectations of community and political efficacy, attitudes regarding citizen control of government, and attitudes toward diversity relate to the students’ civic engagement behaviors such as monthly volunteer hours, organizational participation, advocacy, voting, direct political action, and action to …

Best In Class: Self-Determined College Students With Learning Disabilities, Tina M. Anctil Peterman, Michele E. Ishikawa, Amy L. Tao, Susan Schaeffer

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This presentations asks the following questions:

• What are the factors that supported the development of self-determination during secondary education?
• What are the factors that supported the transition from high school to college?

Assessing The Quality And Quantity Of Student Discourse In Mathematics Classrooms, Dave Weaver, Tom Dick, Nicole R. Rigelman

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper will discuss the study design, observation protocol, efforts to increase inter-rater reliability, challenges to data collection, and findings from baseline data collection efforts. The paper will also summarize the types of analyses that will be performed with the data and will present other research questions that can be addressed through these analyses.

Communicating In A Group, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Student-centered learning requires teachers to provide students with opportunities to learn from and with each other, but most students come to group-work ill-equipped to handle the responsibility of cleanly communicating with each other. This paper provides one set of group-communication tools that helps students to become conscious molders of their own communication styles in relation to those of their peers.

"Varying Realities Of The Human Experience": University Studies Program At Portland State University, Charles Ryan Brown, Grace L. Dillon, Celine Fitzmaurice, Greg Jacob, Yves P. Labissiere, Antonia Levi, Cherry Muhanji, Candyce Reynolds, Jack C. Straton

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Like many institutions of higher education, Portland State University (PSU) has engaged in initiatives to promote a more equitable and democratic society, from curricular changes to institutional policy implementation. In the late 1980s, PSU required students to complete a certain number of “diversity” credits as part of its general education requirements. During the 1990s, PSU radically revised its approach to general education, creating the University Studies Program that places diversity awareness among its core goals. Most recently, current President Daniel O. Bernstine has instituted a comprehensive “Diversity Initiative” as part of a series of initiatives aimed at improving the quality …

The Functions Of Centers And Institutes In Academic Biomedical Research, William T. Mallon, Sarah A. Bunton

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this Analysis in Brief, we report on the findings from a 2004 survey of directors of research centers and institutes located at research-intensive medical schools and their parent universities, who identified their unit’s primary mission as basic, clinical, or other type of research. While many assertions have been made about the functions that centers and institutes perform, or do not perform, our findings indicate that their missions and roles are varied, complex, and nuanced. The 604 research centers and institutes in the study conduct a variety of tasks. For the purposes of this analysis, we define “some effort” to …

Activism Through Music, Cherry Muhanji, Jack C. Straton

Physics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article discuses the pedagogy behind a University Studies freshman inquiry class taught at Portland State University. Portland State University has been engaged in a 10-year revolution in general education (Journal of General Education, 1999) that has inculcated activist education as central to instruction. In addition to the Critical Thinking and Communication instruction that any general education program must provide, Portland State’s University Studies Program promotes Social Responsibility and Diversity as central goals of its efforts.

University Studies Annual Assessment 2004-2005, Portland State University. University Studies Program

University Studies Annual Assessment Reports

No abstract provided.

Preparing The Way For Reform In Higher Education: Drawing Upon The Resources Of The Community-At-Large, Judith A. Ramaley

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Higher education is being asked to pay more attention to student learning and to contribute to the enhancement of the social and economic conditions of the community it serves. As a result, educational institutions will no longer be self-contained. Community members and organizations have become not only critical partners in framing the goals and intentions of the educational reform movement, but they also have assets that must be tapped by educational institutions that wish to implement change and respond to social needs.

Highly Qualified Minority Teachers: Do High-Stakes Teacher Tests Weed Out Those We Need Most?, Julie Esparza Brown

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of standardized teacher tests as demonstration of licensure competencies for diverse candidates in Oregon and nationally. The following four areas and their accompanying questions guide the development of this paper: (1) Why would a diverse teacher workforce help close the achievement gap?; (2) What are the barriers that exist to meeting the need for diverse educators?; (3) What type of research will be needed to validate alternative assessments as viable options?; and (4) What qualities in leaders produce policies for equity? At the conclusion of this paper, the author provides …

Identifying And Managing University Assets: A Campus Study Of Portland State University, John Rueter, Talya N. Bauer

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Between 1994 and 1996, Portland State University (PSU) expanded the definition of scholarship used to assess and reward faculty. Three conditions facilitated this change. The first related to PSU's urban history, culture and values. This context allowed faculty to approach their teaching, learning, and community engagement in scholarly ways. The second condition involved external forces, which challenged PSU faculty to identify and use their intangible assets in the scholarship of teaching, integration, and application. The third condition was, and continues to be, university leadership. Leadership at PSU encourages the faculty to engage in institutional reflection and strategic planning from a …

The Real Versus The Possible: Closing The Gaps In Engagement And Learning, Judith A. Ramaley, Lee Zia

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Leveling The Field: Using Rubrics To Achieve Greater Equity In Teaching And Grading, Dannelle D. Stevens, Antonia Levi

Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rubrics can be used to assure greater consistency in grading and as a teaching tool to promote greater equity, especially with students who are first generation and /or non-native speakers of English.