Education Commons^™

Educational Genocide: Examining The Impact Of National Education Policy On African American Communities, Christopher Knaus, Rachelle Rogers-Ard

Christopher Knaus

Abstract This paper clarifies the cumulative impact of the current national education policy on African-American children, which ultimately aims to limit local control of urban schools. The authors argue that urban schools in the United States are increasingly required to rely upon temporary teachers who are trained to implement a curriculum focused on standardized testing. The No Child Left Behind Act and the current Duncan administration’s approach to closing (and re-opening) schools combines to further exclude low-income community involvement in local schools. These efforts to control the development, hiring, and evaluation of local educators further expands educational racism that silences …

The Mind-Body Connection: The Association Between Adolescent Locus Of Control And Indicators Of Physical Health, C. Brahler, James Cropper

C. Jayne Brahler

Locus of control (LOC) describes an individual’s generalized beliefs or expectancies that their reinforcements are under internal versus external control (1). An individual exhibits either an internal or external LOC. This study examines the link between LOC and selected health risk factors in adolescents. A convenience sample of 167 high school physical education students completed a 13-item LOC questionnaire based on Rotter’s 1966 instrument. Various anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and body fat were recorded on all subjects. A subsample of 61 female students received blood chemistry analysis that included a lipid profile, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), Apo …

Leveraging Resources Across Units And Universities To Address Academic Literacies And Research Skills In Ontario Graduate Students, Melanie Mills, Elan Paulson

Melanie Mills

Adventures In Assessment: Lib100 @ Clemson University, Anne Grant

Anne Grant

See presentation description.

Emerging Issues And Trends In International Curriculum Discourse: Theoretical, Philosophical, And Pedagogical Positions, Issaou Gado, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

Internationalization of curriculum discourse (ICD), one of the most important issues in the curriculum field, can mean different things to different scholars. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe curriculum scholars' perception of the internationalization of curriculum discourse and investigate emerging issues and trends. Participants were eight curriculum scholars selected from Africa, Europe, and the United States of America. Data were collected through e-mail conversations and interviews. The findings showed that ICD might not only bring opportunities to collaborate, openness to diversity, inclusion of multiple voices, expansions of knowledge, and collaboration on various projects, but also concerns …

Three International Commentaries [Book Chapter], I. Macpherson, I. Gado, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

No abstract provided.

Dean's Desk: Legal Clinics Cultivate Essential Lawyering Skills, Andrea Lyon

Andrea D. Lyon

No abstract provided.

Cohesion In Spoken And Written Dialogue: An Investigation Of Cultural And Textual Constraints, Johanna Destefano, Rebecca Kantor

Rebecca Kantor

Interactions of language, culture, minority group membership, and literacy instruction in schools have evidently spelled success for some children but not for others. The purpose of this study was to explore an area of intersection among language use, ethnolinguistic group membership, and literacy learning materials to provide additional insight into the higher rates of literacy problems in urban black and Appalachian cultures. Specifically, it investigated how the informal discourse modes, exemplified by mother-child dialogue in a child's home environment, compared and contrasted with more formal discourse modes, exemplified by dialogue among characters in basal reader stories and in children's storybooks. …

Examining Variations In Divergent Thinking Within Norwegian And Canadian Communities, Catharine Dishke Hondzel, Marte Sørebø Gulliksen

Catharine Dishke Hondzel

Creativity and divergent thinking are components of learning in childhood that often go unmeasured in favor of standardized subject assessments. To better understand the ways in which creativity develops and is related to environmental and cross-cultural factors, this study reports on the scores obtained by 8-year-old students living in differently sized communities in Norway and Canada measured using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Results of multivariate analyses indicate statistically significant differences between Norwegian and Canadian children on several Torrance Test subscales as well as surprising relationships between the size of the community in which the children lived and …

A Developing Story: The Literacy Demands Of The Curriculum, Marion Meiers

Marion Meiers

The need for explicit teaching of the literacy demands of the curriculum has been and remains a significant area of interest for all teachers. An example of how this interest has evolved can be seen in Nea Stewart-Dore's careerlong interest in literacy learning. This was a key aspect of her major contribution to professional knowledge and understanding of literacy learning. Nea's story provides a useful retrospective insight into the shaping of the strong current focus of the literacy of the disciplines.

Cultural Vibrancy: Exploring The Preferences Of African American Children Toward Culturally Relevant And Non-Culturally Relevant Lessons, Darlene Sampson, Dorothy Garrison-Wade

Dorothy Garrison-Wade

Despite the laudable intent of various educational initiatives in raising the achievement level of all children, limited progress has been made. In an effort to diminish the achievement gap of students of color, some researchers have examined the cultural relevancy of the curriculum in promoting student achievement. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the preferences of African American children toward culturally relevant and non-culturally relevant lessons, through a six-week series of lessons in an American History classroom. Critical Race Theory and Racial Identity Development provided the theoretical underpinnings of this study. This study takes place in …

Session B: Assessing Young Children's Literacy And Mathematics Understandings, Collette Taylor, Joanne Mulligan, Maurice Walker, Prue Anderson, Marion Meiers

Prue Anderson

Current research indicates that young children are capable of developing mathematical concepts and reasoning much earlier than previously considered. Moderated by Professor Collette Tayler, this symposium on assessing young children's literacy and mathematics understandings is in three parts. Firstly the authors explore the Pattern and Structure Assessment (PASA). PASA is an early mathematical assessment interview which focuses on a range of concepts and processes and is linked with mathematical attainment in the ACER Progressive Achievement Tests in Maths (PATMaths). Secondly, the authors report on the piloting of an early-years technology-based tool called the Digital Early Reading and Mathematics Assessment (DERMA). …

Urban Education Reform- Case Study: North Forest Independent School District, Jay Aiyer, Michael Adams, Subria Lapps

Jay K Aiyer

Education reformers and advocates have conducted extensive studies and produced significant research around various models of school turnaround and reform. As a case study for policy in relation to models for school district turnaround, we will explore Houston’s North Forest Independent School District (NFISD). The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, as a study of policy we will retroactively explore the key factors that led to the proposed closure of NFISD. Second, using existing strategies of school turnaround, we will explore potential models of reform that may be applied to NFISD. Third, we will discuss biases and recommendations concerning …

Do Proper Accommodation Assignments Make A Difference? Examining The Impact Of Improved Decision Making On Scores For English Language Learners., Rebecca J. Kopriva, Jessica E. Emick, Carlos P. Hipolitio-Delgado, Catherine A. Cameron

Carlos P. Hipolito-Delgado

Does it matter if students are appropriately assigned to test accommodations? Using a randomized method, this study found that individual students assigned accommodations keyed to their particular needs were significantly more efficacious for English language learners (ELLs) and that little difference was reported between students receiving incomplete or not recommended accommodations and no accommodations whatsoever. A sample of third and fourth grade ELLs in South Carolina (N = 272) were randomly assigned to various types of test accommodations on a mathematics assessment. Results indicated that those students who received the appropriate test accommodations, as recommended by a version of a …

Archives Alive!: Librarian-Faculty Collaboration And An Alternative To The Five-Page Paper, Tom Keegan, Kelly Mcelroy

Tom Keegan

Session B: Assessing Young Children's Literacy And Mathematics Understandings, Collette Taylor, Joanne Mulligan, Maurice Walker, Prue Anderson, Marion Meiers

Maurice Walker

Current research indicates that young children are capable of developing mathematical concepts and reasoning much earlier than previously considered. Moderated by Professor Collette Tayler, this symposium on assessing young children's literacy and mathematics understandings is in three parts. Firstly the authors explore the Pattern and Structure Assessment (PASA). PASA is an early mathematical assessment interview which focuses on a range of concepts and processes and is linked with mathematical attainment in the ACER Progressive Achievement Tests in Maths (PATMaths). Secondly, the authors report on the piloting of an early-years technology-based tool called the Digital Early Reading and Mathematics Assessment (DERMA). …

Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013 : Comparing Outcomes Of Girls And Boys From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Alla Routitsky, Rachel Stanyon, Maurice Walker

Maurice Walker

This report presents the results of an assessment of reading, writing and mathematical literacy of Class 6 students in 13 provinces in Afghanistan in relation to the gender of students. The data were collected in late 2013. The purpose of Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) is to provide information to education policy makers on the quality of education outcomes in Afghanistan. In addition MTEG will inform educational practitioners by clearly demonstrating what students at Class 6 can and cannot do in an assessment situation. One of the policy areas that MTEG aims to inform is gender equality. It is …

Class 6 Girls And Boys In Afghanistan 2013 : Comparing Outcomes Of Girls And Boys From A Learning Assessment Of Mathematical, Reading And Writing Literacy, Alla Routitsky, Rachel Stanyon, Maurice Walker

Dr Alla Routitsky

This report presents the results of an assessment of reading, writing and mathematical literacy of Class 6 students in 13 provinces in Afghanistan in relation to the gender of students. The data were collected in late 2013. The purpose of Monitoring Trends in Educational Growth (MTEG) is to provide information to education policy makers on the quality of education outcomes in Afghanistan. In addition MTEG will inform educational practitioners by clearly demonstrating what students at Class 6 can and cannot do in an assessment situation. One of the policy areas that MTEG aims to inform is gender equality. It is …

Project-Based Collaborative Innovation For The Igeneration, James Gerry, Carl Heine

Carl Heine

Social media provides powerful opportunities to create new learning communities. Online, project-based activities reach today's iGen students in ways they learn best, maximizing interaction and individualization through the use of free Web technologies such as CoolHub.IMSA. Discover ways to use networing tools to transform teaching and learning at your school.

Career Changers As First-Year High School Teachers, Holly Anderson, Sara Fry, Jack Hourcade

Jack Hourcade

Individuals who change careers to assume teaching roles in secondary schools are more likely to struggle in the classroom than those without such backgrounds. In this investigation, we identified three such career-changing teachers who were beginning their education careers in rural schools, and observed and interviewed them throughout their first year of teaching to understand their unique challenges and to identify the types of supports that they found to be most helpful. Three primary themes emerged: (1) adjustment to the unique culture of a school, (2) the importance of mentoring, and (3) adaptation of previous work experiences to teaching. Recommendations …

Engineering A Dynamic Science Learning Environment For K-12 Teachers, Patricia Hardré, Mark Nanny, Hazem Refai, Chen Ling, Janis Slater

Dr. Chen Ling

The present study follows a cohort of 17 K-12 teachers through a six-week resident learning experience in science and engineering, and on into the planning and implementation of applications for their classrooms. This Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) program was examined using the strategic approach of design-based research, with its fluid, adaptive management of the complexity of authentic learning "in situ" and its attentive documentation of expected and unexpected events, in process and products, to capture the richness of teachers' and mentors' experiences. Research on effective teacher professional development, adult learning, situated cognition, and learning transfer were utilized to inform …

Community-Based Teaching In A Wicked World: Preparing Students For Messy Inquiry, Danielle Lake, Anna Sluka

Danielle L Lake

The 'Literacy' Idea, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

A central reason why researchers and practitioners refer to domain literacy is to draw attention to the kinds of things students learn in the domain. In a traditional learning domain the focus might be on the acquisition of discrete facts, skills and procedures that have little obvious connection or utility. In a learning domain with a literacy orientation, the focus is on applying the domain’s facts, skills and procedures to support creativity and inventiveness, to solve novel problems and to deal with the kinds of challenges that life presents outside the classroom. In the case of mathematics, for example, a …

Pedagogy For A Wicked World: The Value And Hazards Of A Transdisciplinary, Dialogue-Driven, Community Engagged Classroom Model, Danielle Lake

Danielle L Lake

Symbol Mastery And The Retention Of Dolch Spelling Words, Reesa Sorin, Patricia Carson

Reesa S Sorin

While the majority of students are verbal, conceptual thinkers, some students have a different learning style. Three Dimensional Visual Thinkers (3DVT) think “with the mental picture of concepts and ideas” (Davis; 1994). “Symbol Mastery” is a process of creating a three dimensional visual picture definition of a word or concept in clay; including how it is actually spelled. This paper is based on a study into the effect of Symbol Mastery on students’ learning and recall of common sight spelling words.

The Wingman Project: An Exploratory Study Of School-Based Communication With Grandparents, Meghan Eliason

Meghan Eliason

In this paper, I explain the design and implementation of an e-newsletter created to engage grandparents with public schools. A brief literature review, the process for creating the e-newsletter, and my data collection methods are explained. The conclusions and implementations offered provide insight into how public schools can engage grandparents as important members of their school communities.

Archives Alive!: Adding Scalability To Digital Humanities Scholarship, Undergraduate Engagement, And Librarian/Faculty Collaboration, Tom Keegan, Jennifer Wolfe

Tom Keegan

This presentation includes the results of a collaboration between library staff and IDEAL (Iowa Digital Engagement and Learning) faculty that extends a manuscript transcription crowd-sourcing project, DIY History, into the undergraduate classroom. Archives Alive!, a month-long curriculum module for freshmen Rhetoric students, uses DIY History to teach research, writing, and presentation skills through a series of digitally-engaged tasks. Students not only work with primary source materials, but become part of the collaborative effort to build and enhance them. Piloted in 2013 with two courses, the project has grown to nearly 20 classes totaling 400 students. Scalable, interdisciplinary, and open access, …

Getting To The Essence Of Assessment, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Assessments in education can be made, interpreted and used in different ways, but all serve the same fundamental purpose, as Geoff Masters explains.

How Games Work: Exploring The Instructional Design Of Diablo Iii, Carly Finseth

Carly Finseth

This paper describes a portion of a three-part case study designed to research the instructional patterns that occur within role-playing games (RPGs). It presents a set of nine heuristics for learning in RPGs and analyzes how and where those heuristics occur within the game Diablo III. The findings from the study include an overview of a cyclical learning pattern that occurs with RPGs, as well as theoretical and practical implication for both industry and academic contexts.

How Service-Learning In Spanish Speaks To The Crisis In The Humanities, Terri Carney

Terri M. Carney

Service-learning is a transformational pedagogy with timely application to the teaching and learning of foreign languages. In our current climate of assessment outcomes, language study and the humanities more generally tend to be devalued and rendered invisible by utilitarian models of evaluation. Incorporating service-learning courses and experiences into the foreign language classroom provides real- world immersion for students in their local linguistic and cultural communities, satisfies teachers’ desires to connect teaching and research to local community issues, and allows departments to meet institutional and educational goals. Indeed, service-learning points us to new definitions of old concepts—such as the role of …