Education Commons^™

The Negative Consequences Of Using Free And Reduced Lunch As A Measure Of School-Level Poverty: A Case From The State Of Georgia, Justus Randolph, Rose Prejean-Harris

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Poverty has long been known to be strongly correlated with academic achievement. In intercensal years, the National Academy of Sciences recommended using percent of free and reduced lunch (FRL) as a measure of poverty in educational systems. The Federal Government, the State of Georgia, and many other states have adopted the policy of reporting poverty levels at the school level by the percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch. However, as we will show in this presentation, there is a severe restriction of range in the upper end of the FRL variable. This restriction in range can result in …

The Educational Resilience Of Black Males: An Ecological Analysis Of Inner-City Students, Farris Muhammad

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Black males are often relegated to high poverty schools in inner-cities due to socio-economic status (Task Force on Resilience, 2008). There is a growing concern surrounding the academic achievements of Black males attending inner-city public schools. To this end, a great deal of literature highlights the poor performance of Black males and their challenges faced (Ferguson, 2003; William & Bryan, 2013). Much of the literature insufficiently provide adequate context of the trials incumbent upon these students which dims the light on their resilience. The literature on the educational resilience of Black males in inner-cities is dearth (O’Connor, 1997; Randle, 2012; …

Meta-Didactical Slippages In A Ninth Grade Mathematics Classroom: A Paradox Of Teaching, Nathan J. Wisdom

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This paper examines (a) the nature of meta-didactical slippages that occurred in a ninth grade predominantly African American mathematics classroom; and (b) how these meta-didactical slippages affect students’ conceptual understanding on a unit of ninth grade mathematics. A qualitative case study that employed ethnographic techniques of data collection and analysis was conducted. The theory of didactical situations in mathematics (Brousseau, 1997) served as the lens that grounded the interpretation of the data. The study found four themes, which illustrated the nature meta-didactical slippages: (a) over-teaching, (b) situational bypass, (c) language and symbolic representation, and (d) the design of didactical situations.

Preservice Teachers’ Impact On Student Learning, Hsiu-Lien Lu, Nancy M. Arrington

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate preservice teachers’ impact on P-5 student learning. This quantitative study included 1,640 P-5 students taught by 68 preservice teachers in three practicum tiers who responded to our request and submitted P-5 students’ pre- and post- assessment results. A t test was used to examine differences in the normalized gain scores and a set of regression tests to investigate the differences in the student learning outcomes among variables. The results indicate significant difference in P-5 student learning outcomes after the unit instruction by preservice teachers and no difference among variables, which suggests …

Today's Dream Keepers: Exploring The Personal And Professional Beliefs Of Teachers Who Successfully Provide Literacy Instruction To African American Males In Grades 3-5, Lateshia Warren

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The purpose of this study was to describe the personal and professional beliefs of teachers who were successful with providing literacy instruction to elementary school African American males in a Title I elementary school. This study examined the literacy practices of teachers and their beliefs about African American males. It also investigated their use of culturally relevant teaching practices. It was hypothesized that by exploring the beliefs and practices of successful teachers with African American males, this research could provide evidence of effective strategies, which could be used to impact the literacy achievement of African American males. A qualitative case …

Efficacy Of Reflection Journals For Student Learning In An Online Environment, Patrick J. Holladay

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Across eight online classes, students were required to write a one-page meaning-making reflection after each week of class. This was an opportunity to critically evaluate new information learned that week, tie it to course materials and analyze how the information helped in becoming a better professional. The reflections were instructed to be free of jargon and not overly technical. The aim was for the students to continually build knowledge from week to week (i.e. a living document/diary), have a record of their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and "ah-ha" moments at the end of the term, as well as to give the …

The Identification Of Variables And Factors Related To Preservice Teacher Candidates’ Passing A State Teacher Certification Examination At An Hbcu, Melanie Frizzell, Noran L. Moffett

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This study sought to examine the outcome of teacher education candidates’ performance on a state content exam. Seventeen participants from the class of 2012 were identified for the study of which 12 participants fully participated in the study. This study utilized data collected from the participants through the Teacher Quality Enhancement Subcontract Grant Summer/Fall/Spring 2011-2012 Workshop Series held at the private HBCU. The research design used a QUAN- QUAL-QUAN to triangulate the data through three methods of data collection: GACE early childhood education (ECE) data, GACE ECE survey questionnaire and class of 2012 member interviews. The findings from the survey …

Moving Toward Professional Self-Authorship: A Case Study Of Participants In A Program For Students Pursuing Faculty Careers, Dia Sekayi, Alexandra Coso

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This study in-progress explores the perspectives and practices of students enrolled in the Preparing Future Faculty program at a large, state-sponsored research university. The motivation for this study is the need to understand the impact of this program on participants’ pathways through graduate school, their experiences teaching, and their preparation for postdoctoral positions. The theory of Self-Authorship will provide a structure to consider students’ experiences within the PFF program, how they have been affected by those experiences, and the extent to which these experiences affect (or affected) their perceptions, intentions, and actions. A case study approach using a survey, asynchronous …

Indares.Com As An Instrument For Research And Educational Support, Michal Vorlicek, Lukas Rubin, Pavel Fical, Filip Kren, Josef Mitas, Jiri Stelzer

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Contemporary education and research uses information and communication technologies on a large scale. The Indares (International Database for Research and Educational Support) system (http://www.indares.com) is a purposefully developed on-line server aimed at recording, analysing and comparing physical activity of the system users.

The purpose of this internet-based project is to support education and research in the area of physical activity. Other aims are to increase the awareness of the system users about the issue of physical activity and to provide means to improve their lifestyle. The system is easily accessible to all users and is provided free of …

The Scholarship Of Teaching & Learning: Who, What, When, Where, Why, And How?, Trent W. Maurer, Diana Sturges, Nancy Arrington, Hsiu-Lien Lu

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This session will present a panel discussion of the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning [SoTL]. Panelists include: scholars new to SoTL and those with over a decade’s experience with it, the editor of a pre-eminent international SoTL journal, the chair of a pre-eminent international SoTL conference, and a University System of Georgia SoTL Award winner. The panel will discuss what SoTL is (and is not), the value of SoTL, how to get started with SoTL research projects, how to contextualize and theoretically ground SoTL research, how SoTL both informs and dovetails with teaching, and will provide examples of SoTL projects …

Gifted And At-Risk, Steven Littles, Rose Prejean-Harris Ph.D.

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

As professionals, teachers are responsible for instructing varied sets of students assembled in dissimilar classrooms. Therefore, differentiated delivery of curricula is needed in order to meet the various needs and abilities of any given population. Although gifted students are thought to be able to hold their own academically, they are in need of these differentiated curricula as well. Access to differentiated curricula provides for maximization of gifted students’ learning potential, while helping to deflect the effects of other issues which surface as a result of being academically gifted.

The purpose of this case study is to explore the social emotional, …

Educators: How Does Stress Impact Students?, Tanya M. Hudson Ed.D, Noran L. Moffet

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Stress-coping strategies are identified by researchers as conditions used suitable to a situation when adolescents have a change in their environment or a stressor that they cannot control. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the impact of stress-coping strategies on perceived stress levels, levels of intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy. According to the research, stress results from an imbalance between the requirements of the environment and one’s ability to cope with it (Aldwin, 2007). The inquiry was conducted in a high school of convenience where the researcher had access to the students available to participate in this mixed method …

When Words Inflict Harm: Documenting Sexuality And Gender Identity Microaggressions In Schools For Lgbtqq Youth, Darla Linville

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

With the adoption of anti-bullying laws and policies, it may seem that things are looking up for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or questioning (LGBTQQ) youth. We might assume that these laws and policies would better protect them from insults, harassment and violence at the hands of their peers and teachers. In fact, this is sometimes the case. But it is also the case that the insults become more covert, more implicit. Looking at microaggressions gives educational researchers and school personnel the opportunity to examine how gender nonconforming or non-heterosexual youth, or those perceived to be non-heterosexual, are assaulted, invalidated …

Cognitive Skills And Mathematics Problem-Solving Performance, Ardyth C. Foster Phd

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Geared towards teacher educators and elementary and middle-school mathematics teachers, the findings of a study that explored relationships between students’ cognitive skills and their mathematics problem-solving performance will be presented. The existing complexities within this area, along with the potential implications for collaboration among students and their teachers/peers, and for appropriate and effective pedagogical decision making, will be discussed.

By addressing possible relationships between students’ cognitive skill strengths and skill-based assessment methods, this presentation will provide opportunities for exploring and discussing potential impacts on teaching and assessment methods that are geared towards students’ learning strategies/styles, and that engage students in …

The Imperative Of The School Choice Option Of Nclb: In Whose Interest?, Teri Jones

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Since No Child Left Behind (NCLB) became law, educators have faced challenges trying to protect the common good of a public education while, at the same time, developing and/or reviewing proposals to provide for the school choice option of NCLB. In the debate over market-driven education versus traditional public education, many times, the ideologies behind each approach come into direct conflict. Educators and legislators need to be able to identify when privileged interests are at the core of reforms or if the education of each student is the primary interest being served.

This project provides a real life portrait of …

Exploring Philosophy During A Time Of Reform In Mathematics Education, Kimberly White-Fredette

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Current reforms in mathematics education, including the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, are rooted in a changing vision of school mathematics, one that includes constructivist learning, student-centered pedagogy, and the use of worthwhile tasks. This changing vision challenges not only teachers’ beliefs about mathematics instruction but their philosophies of mathematics as well. This study investigates the processes that four teachers go through as they implement a new task-based mathematics curriculum while exploring their personal philosophies of mathematics. The participants were part of a graduate-level course that examined, through the writings of various modern philosophers of mathematics …

A Case Study Of How Ninth Grade Mathematics Students Construct Knowledge During A Productive Failure Model, Amy F. Westbrook Dr.

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explain how ninth grade mathematics students at a rural high school in Georgia constructed knowledge through student talk when problem solving using Kapur’s (2012) productive failure design. An embedded case study design was used to understand how a group of students constructed knowledge through their use of talk, persistence during the task, and use of prior knowledge while working on a productive failure modeled task. Triangulation resulted from the collected data from multiple sources, which included videotaping, interviewing, and analyzing student artifacts. Utilization of the constructivist perspectives of Vygotsky (1934/1962), Piaget (1971), …

Examining The Flipped Classroom Model Through Literacy And Math Integration: Lessons Learned From A Teacher Quality Professional Development Grant Initiative, Anne Katz Ph.D., Jackie Heeyoung Kim Ed.D.

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This presentation will discuss results from a professional development initiative designed to equip primary and elementary grade educators with information and research-based practices to expand teachers’ repertoire of literacy instructional strategies and deepen their math content knowledge through a flipped classroom model. The presentation will define and describe the flipped learning model, briefly note its historical foundations, and address common misconceptions. We discuss learning theories that underlie the model and describe current research findings from our professional development initiative with teachers. We also describe concerns that have emerged as we have worked to develop the flipped learning model. An additional …

Special Educators Describe The Critical Mass Of Co-Teaching, Cynthia T. Shamberger, Kendra W. Henriques

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

Co-teaching is an instructional approach usually initiated by school administrators to help general and special education teachers who share a single classroom to ensure students with disabilities have access to the general curriculum. Although research regarding co-teaching is still in need of further development in some areas such as student achievement, co-teaching has increasingly grown in popularity as an option for addressing the multiple needs of diverse learners, including students with disabilities. Some school professionals and researchers who are proponents of this instructional delivery model believe that, "At the core of co-teaching is determining what instructional techniques will be most …

Predicting Student Adaptation To College By Learning And Study Strategies, Katharine S. Adams

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This study highlights the relationships between learning and study strategies with student adaptation to college. Postsecondary students (n = 146) completed a demographic questionnaire, the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). Students were trifurcated into low, average, and high achieving groups by GPA. Data was analyzed using multiple regression and correlational techniques. LASSI subscales significantly predicted adaptation to college as measured by the SACQ for average and high achieving students, but did not significantly predict adaptation to college for low achieving students. The unique contributions of the LASSI subtests varied in …

A Comparison Of Student Achievement In The Second Language Acquisition Of Spanish In Both Total Online And Traditional College Level Courses, Vanessa P. F. Crump

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

This quantitative, comparable study examined student achievement in online and traditional on-campus college level courses in SPAN 1001 and SPAN 1002 through an ex-post facto model of study. This area of study yielded little research and provided a unique view into course achievement. In this particular study, there were two types of final exams examined, the final oral exam and the final written exam. The study took place at a two-year college in middle Georgia. The student population included college level students that enrolled in the courses over a six-semester period. The students varied in age, previous foreign language background, …

Gera Conference Program [2014], Georgia Educational Research Association

Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

N/A