Education Commons^™

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Freshmen Entering Western In The Fall, 2015, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Of Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Fall, 2015 Baseline Survey of Freshmen Entering Western (Freshmen Survey) continues the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) efforts to collect information on all students prior to the start of their academic careers at Western Washington University. This survey represents the initial contact in a longitudinal process that makes inquiries of students at the end of their sophomore year, when they graduate from the university, and one to two years after graduation.

The Freshmen Survey is designed with three purposes in mind: (1) to provide baseline observations of students prior to their Western experience which can be used to forecast …

Exit Survey Of Undergraduate Students Completing Degrees In Summer 2014, Fall 2014, Winter 2015 And Spring 2015, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Of Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Exit Survey of Undergraduate Students Completing Degrees in Summer of 2014 through Spring of 2015 is the seventh survey of graduating students conducted at Western Washington University. This survey is designed to illuminate departmental-, college-, and university-level information on student satisfaction, barriers to success, experiences in upper division courses, and post-graduation plans. The exit survey includes questions submitted to the Office of Survey Research (OSR) by the Division of Enrollment and Student Services, Western Libraries, University Residences, the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, an ad hoc committee examining General University Requirements, the Office of Sustainable Transportation, and includes a …

Music And Medicine, Thomas Zink

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Music therapy is not a new concept, although its acceptance by the medical community as a clinical modality is just beginning to grow. This newfound acceptance is the result of recently emerging empirical evidence supporting the efficacy of music in a range of applications. Using music to aid learning, either in recovery from brain damage or to overcome neurological disorders is widely accepted. For instance, music has been used to help patients learn to speak after traumatic brain injury (Schlaug, 2009). Much of these music learning programs are based off the Tomatis method that uses specifically adapted music tracks to …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring 2015 Follow-Up Survey Of Freshmen Who Entered Western In The Fall Of 2013, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Of Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Spring 2015 Follow-Up Survey of Freshmen Who Entered Western in 2013 (2nd Year Survey) is part of a longitudinal effort to survey students with a goal to improve educational programs and provide self -assessment data. Together with the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Office of Survey Research (OSR) designed this survey in an attempt to shed light on the efficacy and satisfaction with first year and GUR programs. This particular survey also received input from other campus offices which provides opportunities for these offices to address their specific needs.

The 2nd Year Survey consists of a mixture of …

Exit Survey Of Graduate Students Completing Degrees Fall 2014 Through Summer 2015, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Of Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2015 Exit Survey of Graduate Students Completing Degrees continues the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) survey of graduate students first initiated in 2009. The current survey was administered at the end of each quarter to students completing their graduate degree. This report summarizes responses from students who graduated in Fall 2014, Winter 2015, Spring 2015, and Summer 2015. Of the 257 recipients of this degree during this time, OSR received valid responses from 198, a response rate of 77.0%.

With the help of the Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, this survey was designed to elicit information on program …

Western Washington University Libraries And Learning Commons Diversity Committee Charge, Western Libraries Diversity Committee, Rebecca M. Marrall

Libraries and Learning Commons Diversity Committee Documents

Created in 2011, and revised in November 2014 and again in August 2015 by the 2014 – 2016 Diversity Committee, this document houses the charge of the Western Washington University Libraries Diversity Committee.

A Theory Of Luck Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Make My Own Career, Cole Paramore

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An overview of a set of "contingency plans" and preparations for working in the music industry using a novel conception of luck.

The World Before Calculus: Historical Approaches To The Tangent Line Problem, Lindsay Skinner

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Pierre de Fermat and René Descartes were two brilliant 17th century mathematicians who have had lasting impacts on modern mathematics. Descartes laid the groundwork for the Cartesian coordinate system that is frequently employed in modern mathematics and Fermat’s last theorem vexed the mathematics community until Wiles’ proof was published in 1995. Amidst their many ground-breaking accomplishments these two men produced solutions for another mathematical problem - developing a general method to find the tangent line to a curve.

In spite of their apparent genius, neither man’s method had the lasting impact of their other works. Descartes’ and Fermat’s methods were …

Fiberglass Composite Repairs Presentation, Brad Fenbert, Ian Saksa

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Study of factors that affected crack propagation fracture toughness of fiberglass composite repairs, or the ability of a material to resist crack growth.

Cochlear Implants: A Multi-Perspective Look At A Powerful Controversy, Ruth Tag

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Medical advancements have progressed to the point in which new organs can be printed from machines and placed in human beings giving them years more to live. Mechanical limbs are manufactured so that amputees can compete in the Olympic games. People who are born with a physical disability may be able to compensate through medical or surgical interventions, allowing for wider participation in society. These medical advancements challenge the way we define disability and more importantly how we define what is normal. For this paper, normal, or typical, will be defined as a person without a physical characteristic deviating from …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Transfer Students Entering Western In The Fall, 2014, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The WELS Baseline Survey of Transfers Entering Western in the Fall, 2014 (Transfer Survey) is the companion survey to the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) survey of incoming freshmen. Together, these surveys elicit information from students prior to the start of their Western academic careers and provide an initial contact in a longitudinal survey design that follows students through graduation and into their initial years as alumni. The Transfer Survey is designed with three purposes in mind: (1) to provide baseline observations of students prior to the Western experience that can be used to forecast and enhance student success; (2) …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Freshmen Entering Western In The Fall, 2014, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Of Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Fall, 2014 Baseline Survey of Freshmen Entering Western (Freshmen Survey) continues the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) efforts to collect information on all students prior to the start of their academic careers at Western Washington University. This survey represents the initial contact in a longitudinal process that makes inquiries of students at the end of their sophomore year, when they graduate from the university, and one to two years after graduation.

The Freshmen Survey is designed with three purposes in mind: (1) to provide baseline observations of students prior to their Western experience which can be used to forecast …

Transfer Of Learning For Health Care Workers, Sandra Ratcliff Daffron, Shelley Moore, Tasha Chicovsky

Adult & Higher Education

This study of health care workers who are nurses, medical assistants, administrators or team coordinators, demonstrates that while the workers responded positively to an optional training program, they reported they still needed additional support in order to transfer the new information into their practice. The 16 health care workers in this study are expected to continually update their skills, knowledge and abilities and then transfer or use the information in their work. Health care educators participating in this study assumed if the training program is well planned, the workers will transfer the information to their practice. Findings indicate that if …

How Accurate Are Physics Students In Evaluating Changes In Their Understanding?, Therese Claire, Tija L. Tippett, Andrew Boudreaux

Physics & Astronomy

An assessment question involving Newton’s 2nd law was administered in a physics course for preservice elementary teachers before and again after instruction. The posttest included a prompt asking students to describe the specific ways their thinking changed. Student reasoning was coded for physics content accuracy; many students exhibited changes from primitive, experientially-based reasoning to more formal reasoning. Students' self-reported reflections were then compared to the differences in the pre- and posttest codes. We find that many students do not identify substantive changes in their reasoning, while other students reflect at only a surface level. We also find that some students …

(Re)Sequencing The Research/Writing Process In The Writing Classroom, Megan Spiegel, Lee Olsen, Suzanne Paola

Writing Research Fellows

What are the outcomes of sequencing writing assignments so that students are introduced to primary sources and allowed to browse these sources prior to selecting a research topic? (This as opposed to the standard sequence by which instructors ask students to choose a topic before completing any sort of preliminary research in source material.)

Telling Stories In A Professional And Technical Writing Course, Jeremy Cushman, Kaitlyn Teer

Writing Research Fellows

Because students, arguably, entered this 400-level Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) course with some already established ideas and expectations, it was our best chance at addressing our overriding concern that students continue to approach PTW as a mere conduit for communicating knowledge made elsewhere. So if, in fact, our own assumptions about these students were legitimate, the course allowed us to begin exploring the impact storytelling research may have in an advanced PTW course. Consequently, we worked from these two guiding questions:

• What changes, if any, occur in the ways students approach Professional and Technical Writing (PTW) in terms of …

Co-Authors: Faculty-Student Collaborative Writers, Tara Perry, Jackie Heller

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question(s):

RQ1: What communication processes are involved in collaborative co-authorship between faculty and students?

RQ2: What happens when faculty and students engage in collaborative writing through co-authorship?

Valuing Mentorship: Towards Cultural Humility, Lauren Oswald, John Korsmo

Woodring Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

This article explores the beginnings of an informal faculty-student mentorship developed to support each other's quest to become increasingly competent global citizens. Through discussion of embracing global youth work as a joint objects and with first-person accounts, we attempt to encourage readers to do two things: engage in mentoring relationships, and practice cultural humility.

Exit Survey Of Graduate Students Completing Degrees Fall 2013 Through Summer 2014, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Chris Stark, Office Of Survey Research, Western Washington University

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2014 Exit Survey of Graduate Students Completing Degrees continues the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) survey of graduate students first initiated in 2009. The current survey was administered at the end of each quarter to students completing their graduate degree. This report summarizes responses from students who graduated in Fall 2013, Winter 2014, Spring 2014, and Summer 2014. Of the 290 recipients of this degree during this time, OSR received valid responses from 212, a response rate of 73.1%.

With the help of the Assistant Dean of the Graduate School, this survey was designed to elicit information on program …

Exploring A Threshold Concept In Kinesiology 306 Course, Harsh Buddhadev

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

In Fall 2015, the new 5-credit KIN 306 course was created by combining old KIN 306 and 301 classes (3-credits each). This is the first course completed by all students pursuing a major in Kinesiology. Prior to Fall 2015, all Kinesiology majors completed two separate introductory 3-credit courses KIN 301 and KIN 306. The old KIN 306 course introduced students to theories of measurement and evaluation and various health and sport related aspect of fitness. The KIN 301 course, introduced the process of conducting a systematic search of research literature on health and sport related aspect of fitness and it …

Backwards By Design Retreat And Teaching Mini-Assessment, Hilary Schwandt

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

At the Backwards by Design (BbD) retreat last fall for every topic and assignment, I focused on a class I was about to teach the coming fall that is a core class at Fairhaven college. Every student entering Fairhaven, whether a student in their first year of college or a transfer student from main campus or another college or university, must take this class in the first quarter as a Fairhaven student. The class is 201: Critical and Reflective Inquiry. At Fairhaven, professors are encouraged to select a content area of their choosing – as the focus in the class …

When Developing A Course Goal Becomes Developing Shared Norms, Brian J. Bowe

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

Having just arrived in Washington from my longtime Michigan home a few days before, the Backwards by Design retreat was the first formal activity of a new adventure on the faculty at Western Washington University. It was a great opportunity to get to know other faculty across departments. But, even more importantly, it was an open environment dedicated to fostering the creation student-centered learning environments. I learned many things — including a much more enthusiastic approach to using sticky notes to storyboard activities. I hope I was able to contribute as well.

Circling Back To Guiding Questions, Marc N. Muniz

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

My participation in the Backwards by Design workshop last Summer inspired me to think deeply about the nature of writing experiences afforded to our students in the physical sciences. One of the courses I teach is SCED 201: Matter and Energy in Physical Systems. This is a 4 credit-hour, inquiry-based, physics course for prospective primary (elementary) school educators. It utilizes a well-researched curriculum known as “Physics in Everyday Thinking,” which allows students to investigate various physical phenomena through activities.¹These activities begin by eliciting students’ initial ideas, which are often shared during whole-class whiteboarding sessions. The students then proceed …

Actionable Learning For A Living Earth: Backwards By Design 2015-16 Project Report, James Loucky

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

During the summer 2015 “Backwards by Design” working retreat, I explored the intricate pairing of knowledge and action as central to efforts to bridge anthropology and environment. The retreat initiated a focus on “actionable learning” as a threshold concept that would come to underlie my seminar on “Ecocultural Ethics” in Winter 2016.

It’S All About That Base: Persuading Learners Of Spanish As A Second Language That Verb Acquisition Is The Essence Of Communication, Sean Dwyer

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

The intended result of a series of Spanish courses is the ability to speak fluidly, if not extensively, in Spanish. The quickest way to speak quickly is to learn some set phrases. As a result of strategies that involve this learning tool, perhaps 75% of Americans can parrot “¿Dónde está el baño?” and “Dos cervezas, por favor.” However, a disappointingly high percentage of people who can say those things cannot say anything that would be useful outside a restaurant.

Working backwards from my curricular goal of creating verbal facility in my students, I start by expressing the threshold concept that …

The Value Of Refining A Threshold Concept, Michael Fraas

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

In the summer of 2012, I had the privilege of attending the Backwards By Design workshop, where I was introduced to the “threshold concept” (Cousin, 2006). I learned how the use of this approach could shift the ontological and conceptual dimensions of students’ perspectives. That fall, I implemented the threshold concept into my undergraduate CSD 401 Writing Lab. My intention was for students to gain perspective into the lives of survivors of acquired brain injuries. I hoped the assignment would help them develop empathy for the types of clients they would work with one day as burgeoning speech-language pathologists.

What A Waste! Exploring Household, Industrial, And Nuclear Waste, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Publications

What a Waste! Exploring Household, Industrial, and Nuclear Waste: An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommended for Grades 9–12

Waste is a major global sustainability issue and is deeply rooted in many facets of our lives—from the products we buy to the sources of our energy. Every year, the world generates nearly 2.4 trillion pounds of municipal solid waste; by 2025, this number is expected to double to 4.8 trillion pounds.1 In most countries with increasing population, prosperity, and urbanization, it remains a major challenge for municipalities to collect, recycle, treat, and dispose of increasing quantities of waste.2 Hazardous waste is another key …

Newspapers In Education: Global Issues And Sustainable Solutions, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Lessons

This curriculum will spark student interest in global and environmental issues and sustainable solutions through 20 thought-provoking articles that first appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Newspapers in Education series Skills for Everyday Living. This 20-article series of case studies and classroom activities can be used in full or in part to study specific topics. All articles include a student activity and "take action" idea.

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use - An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommended For Grades 3-5, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Lessons

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use begins by introducing students to foundational energy science. The lessons then shift to focus on personal energy use, energy sources and their impacts, and transportation fuels. The unit culminates with an energy conservation lesson that showcases young people from around the world implementing energy conservation strategies in their homes, schools, communities and beyond. This lesson can be used as a launching pad for a classroom action or service project. This unit was designed to contribute to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance Education Team’s goal of strengthening overall science literacy of students in areas …