Education Commons^™

Globalising The Class Size Debate: Myths And Realities, Kevin Watson, Boris Handal, Marguerite Maher, Erin Mcginty

Marguerite Maher

Public opinion reflects a ‘common sense’ view that smaller classes improve student academic performance. This review reveals that the ‘class size’ effect of increased academic performance, although significant for disadvantaged students and students in the very early years of schooling, does not necessarily transfer to other student groups. Moreover, the literature indicates there are other more cost-effective variables that enhance student learning outcomes such as those associated with teacher quality. Internationally, large-scale interventions concluded that systematic class size reductions were more resource intensive requiring more personnel, training and infrastructure. From the large quantitative studies of the 1980s to the more …

The 'Make Your Own Religion' Project: Design And Analysis, Chad Bauman, Brent Hege

Brent A. R. Hege

Towards Excellence In Mathematics Teaching: Forging Links Between National Curriculum And Professional Standards Initiatives, Hilary Hollingsworth, Catherine Pearn

Catherine Pearn

No abstract provided.

"Big History: The Ultimate Multidisciplinary Course" For A Panel On The Topic: The Interdisciplinary Means Of Approaching Careers In Microbiology, Cynthia Taylor

Cynthia Taylor

Thelma Perso And Colleen Hayward, Teaching Indigenous Students: Cultural Awareness And Classroom Strategies For Improving Learning Outcomes, Jacynta Krakouer, Troy Meston

Jacynta Krakouer

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

Carly Finseth

This presentation 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.

Using Games To Make Something: Of Our Students, Our Pedagogies, Our Field. A Review Essay Of Gee & Hayes (2011), Squire (2011), Steinkuehler Et Al (2012), And Thomas & Brown (2011), Carly Finseth

Carly Finseth

If there’s one thing that writing instructors are known for it’s innovation. Compositionists, because of our connection between academia and industry, the humanistic and the technical, the creative and the practical, are often some of the first to explore and adopt new technologies. In this review essay, I introduce how games and digital technologies can help our students “make” new thing. Understanding how games can link with literary practices, multimodal composition, creativity, problem solving, critical thinking, and more can help researchers in rhetoric and composition make important contributions to our field: Make games with the knowledge of what actually works …

Networking Young Citizens: Learning To Be Citizens In And With The Social Web, Suzanne Mellor, Terri Seddon

Suzanne Mellor

Many claims are made in the popular press and in professional education literature about the potential role of the social web for increasing the active civic engagement of young citizens, by either using it as a source of information or as a participatory tool. Empirical evidence supporting such claims is sparse and contested. Moreover, the impact of a young person’s general learning experience, especially that involving Web2, is rarely considered in terms of young people’s likely or actual active civic engagement. The Australian pilot research project Networking Young Citizens, supported by Monash University, examined the ways in which Web2 was …

The Place Of Imagination In Inclusive Pedagogy: Thinking With Maxine Greene & Hannah Arendt, Valerie Harwood

Valerie Harwood

Conceptualising difference is a key task for inclusive pedagogy, and vital to the politics of inclusion. My purpose in this paper is to consider the place that imagination has in helping us to conceptualise difference, and to argue that imagination has a key part to play in inclusive pedagogy. To do this I draw closely on the work of Maxine Greene and Hannah Arendt. Arendt's work provides a means to conceptualise difference whereby difference is itself at the very heart of what constitutes our humanity. Greene's work on the arts has outlined the value of the imagination, and has argued …

Presentations On Teaching Big History, Cynthia Taylor

Cynthia Taylor

Quasi-Experiment Examining Cafeteria-Style Grading In Social Work Education, Brandon Youker, Lyza Ingraham

Brandon W. Youker Ph.D

Cafeteria-style grading system is an individualized student assessment method whereby students choose their assignments from an expansive and diverse pool of assignments. In this study, students are non-randomly assigned to two sections of the same social work course. The first section received cafeteria-style assignments and grading system (i.e., experimental group) while the comparison section received the traditional method of grading. Students in both sections video record a demonstration exercise; the recordings are reviewed and scored by experts from a panel of social work professors. Preliminary results show an effect on student attendance but no effect on GPA or student performance.

Approaching 'A Rose For Emily' Through Meddler-In-The-Middle Pedagogy, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Unreliable Narrator In 'Ligeia', Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

Using Active Learning To Teach Hawthorne's 'My Kinsman, Major Molineux', Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

Creative Writing And An Overlooked Population, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

As a regional institution, our university's historic mission is to train area teachers who must operate under the auspices of the Kentucky Educational Reform Act, which mandates extensive writing portfolios i Grades 4,7, and 12. While these portfolios may include as much as 50% creative writing or work employing creative writing techniques, a recent survey of teachers responsible for guiding students revealed that not a single teacher had ever taken a course in creative writing pedagogy and only a handful had even had any formal training in creative writing. We suggested that this lack of teacher training was one reason …

Course Writing Objectives And London's 'Law Of Life', Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

Why Fiction And 'The Odour Of Chrysanthemums, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

Flaws In The Wooden Bowl: A Reaction, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

Pop Goes The Culture, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

The Evidence Doesn't Lie: An Approach To Teaching Updike's 'Flight', Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

The Early Novels Database And Undergraduate Research: A Case Study, Rachel Buurma, Anna Levine, Richard Li

Rachel S Buurma

No abstract provided.

Youth And Administrator Perspectives On Transition In Kentucky's State Agency Schools, Norman Powell, Amy Marshall, Doris Pierce, Ronnie Nolan

Norman W. Powell

Students, a large percentage with disabilities, are at high risk for poor post-secondary outcomes in nontraditional state agency schools. This mixed methods study described transition within Kentucky's state agency education programs, from the perspectives of youth and administrators. Results indicated: that transition is more narrowly defined within alternative education programs; that key strengths of transition practice are present in nontraditional schools; and that the coordination barriers within this fluid interagency transition system are most apparent in students' frequent inter-setting transitions between nontraditional and home schools.

"Both Sides Now" Ii: Some Practical Suggestions For Creative Writing Exercises In The Literature Classroom, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Outlines effective and practical creative writing assignments given to literature students. Concludes that writing short, imaginative summaries provides a change of pace from the usual lecture, discussion, and group work formats of literature classes.

Nullilfying The Barbay Effect: Connecting With Your Students, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Of course reaching students has always involved more than logistics. They always live in a newer world than those of their teachers, and speaking their language in order to wed the valuable past with the hip present remains an ongoing challenge. Barbay Effect? It’s a reference to the movie “Back to School” (1986) starring Rodney Dangerfield.

Drawing On Memory: A Technique For Making Short Fiction Come Alive, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Considers how to get today's schoolchild and college student to move from the words to the picture, then back again. Explores the teaching technique of having students draw what the piece of literature describes. Finds that drawing the visual image provides a much better chance of understanding a work's significance. Describes how to apply this idea with a homework assignment.

Using Metaphors To Build Knowledge, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, Vigs Chandra

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

"Both Sides Now" Iii: A Creative Writing Exercise In The Literature Classroom, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Details a creative writing assignment used in literature classes to help students better grasp the principles of literature from the inside out. Suggests this method should be employed more often in survey classes.

Using Professional Learning Communities For The Development Of Shared Governance, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, William Phillips

Hal Blythe

Among the many challenges of professional (faculty, administration, and staff) development is the implementation of shared governance. We propose a model involving professional learning communities that we are experimenting with in our College of Education. This new model provides faculty with decision-making power, a sense of cooperation and communication with the administration, compensation for their effort, a budget, and a large dose of satisfaction. Furthermore, this model could be effectively transferred to other university units.

Popes In The Pizza: Analyzing Activity Reports To Create And Sustain A Strategic Plan, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, E,J. Keeley, Ben Forsyth

Hal Blythe

This article presents a practical methodology for creating and sustaining strategic planning, the task analysis. Utilizing our Teaching & Learning Center Strategic Plan as a model, we demonstrate how working with a weekly status report provides a comprehensive listing of detail necessary to analyze and revise the plan. The new methodology is accurate, thorough, on-going, and flexible.

"Both Sides Now": The Evolution Of An Approach To Teaching Fiction, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

Discusses the connections between creative writing and literary criticism. Explains experience of combining a literature and creative writing class. Concludes the combination results in both groups gaining a greater understanding of each others' crafts.