Education Commons^™

Exit Survey Of Undergraduate Students Completing Degrees In Summer 2013, Fall 2013, Winter 2014 And Spring 2014, 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 2013 through Spring of 2014 is the sixth 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 also 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 One World Strategic Team, and a …

Evaluation Of Community-Academic Partnership: Lessons From Latinos In A Network For Cancer Control, Hope Corbin, Maria E. Fernandez, Patricia D. Mullen

Woodring College of Education Faculty Publications

Established in 2002, Latinos in a Network for Cancer Control (LINCC) is a community-academic network supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. LINCC includes >130 individuals from 65 community and academic organizations committed to reducing cancer-related health disparities. Using an empirically derived systems model—the Bergen Model of Collaborative Functioning—as the analytic frame, we interviewed 19 partners to identify challenges and successful processes. Findings indicated that sustained partner interaction created “meaningful relationships” that were routinely called upon for collaboration. The leadership was regarded positively on vision, charisma, and capacity. Limitations included over-reliance on a …

Continuing The Cultural Competence Conversation – Voting Results, Western Libraries Diversity Committee, Rebecca M. Marrall

Libraries and Learning Commons Diversity Committee Documents

These recommendations – which emerged from the September 2014 “Understanding the 21^st Century Library Patron” event – were voted upon by library professionals at Western Washington University Libraries during an internal event held on Friday, October 3^rd, 2014.

Understanding The 21st Century Library Patron – Event Recommendations, Western Libraries Diversity Committee, Rebecca M. Marrall

Libraries and Learning Commons Diversity Committee Documents

These recommendations are the synopsis of an internal workshop held on Thursday, September 4^th, 2014. Titled “Understanding the 21^st Century Library Patron,” this four-hour event, composed of both educational seminar and small group workshop portions, focused upon examining the 2012 ACRL Diversity Standards for Cultural Competency for library professionals in the United States.

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring 2014 Follow-Up Survey Of Freshmen Who Entered In The Fall Of 2012: Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Chris Stark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Spring 2014 Follow-Up Survey of Freshmen Who Entered Western in 2012 (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 …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring 2014 Follow-Up Survey Of Freshmen Who Entered Western In The Fall Of 2012, Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Chris Stark, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Spring 2014 Follow-Up Survey of Freshmen Who Entered Western in 2012 (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 …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Transfer Students Entering Western In The Fall, 2013: Descriptive Statistics, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg, Chris Stark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The WELS Baseline Survey of Transfers Entering Western in the Fall, 2013 (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, 2013: Descriptive Statistics, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg, Chris Stark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Fall, 2013 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 …

What Factors Impact On Primary Students Using The Internet And Media For Learning And Entertainment At Home?, Jiangyan Lu, Qiang Hao

Computer Science Faculty and Staff Publications

With the increasing affordability of Information Communication Technology (ICT), children can now access Internet from home via multiple devices. In developed countries, earlier concerns about a ‘digital divide’ among children due to inequalities in access to ICT have been replaced by concerns on ways they use ICT in schools and at homes (Kerawalla & Crook, 2002). However, little is known about how students use Internet to learn at home. It is generally viewed that some students engage too much time in online activities, such engaging in new media, playing games, or participating social networking, we do not know to what …

The Gender Wage Gap And Child Poverty: A Statistical Analysis, Kristine Farwell

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Child poverty is an immense societal problem because of the unnecessary hardship it creates for the children who experience it, and the ways in which it negatively impacts others as well. Poor children experience malnutrition, lower academic performance, and higher death rates than children not in poverty. In addition, poverty continues to follow them throughout their life time. There are additional negative results for society as well. Higher healthcare costs and lower productivity can harm the economy. Communities with high child poverty levels also experience additional education and interaction challenges (Griggs and Walker 2008). Reducing child poverty would not only …

Stuttering Therapy Via Telepractice In Kenya: An Overview, Michaela D. Stevenson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

For this project, I decided to look into the possibility of using telepractice as a method for providing speech and language services to people in remote areas of Kenya. For information and experience regarding working in Kenya with Kenyan people, I partnered with Dr. Debra Akre, the founder of Tembo Trading Education Project (TTEP). TTEP is a non-profit organization based in Bellingham, WA that has founded self-sustaining schools and businesses in Kenya. TTEP also promotes critical-thinking based education and actively works to improve critical- thinking skills in the children they interact with.

Jodie Dallas Has Left The Closet: Television’S First Regularly Occurring Gay Male Character And What He Had To Say About His Time, Brittnie Bigelow

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An in-depth analysis of the show "Soap", and the first regularly occurring gay character on television, Jodie Dallas. The parody show has many political undertones, and Jodie says particular things about the gay rights movement in the 1970s.

The World As Seen Through Award-Winning Photos: How Photojournalism Contests Contribute To Geographical Stereotypes, Brooke Warren

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Literature confirms that most award-winning photojournalism contains violence, conflict, or suffering. This is a qualitative study of single-image first prize winners from Pictures of the Year International and World Press Photos from 2004-2014 to determine what themes were most common and how those themes relate to geographic location and the photographer's nationality.

A Comparison Of Two Statistical Tests For Interaction In Genetic Data, Clair Smith

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper focuses on statistical methods that test for the effect of a single gene in a way that accounts for interaction with other genes. Such tests of association can be difficult since there may be many genetic and environmental factors that contribute to an effect. A gene is a hereditary DNA sequence that codes for a specific protein. A locus is a gene’s location in the DNA sequence of nucleotides (A, T, G, and C) and an allele is a specific version of a gene that has multiple forms. The existence of interactions between loci makes it difficult to …

Mechanical Testing Of Artificial Muscles, Maggie Walsh

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This document focuses on the design and fabrication of a low cost instrument to measure the strain of the artificial muscles being researched and developed by Dr. Amanda Murphy and her team at Western Washington University. The instrument utilizes a laser displacement meter to measure the movement of the artificial muscles during actuation. All project objectives and goals were successfully met, and all deliverables completed. Instrument quality and strain testing results are analyzed and recommendations for future work are suggested based on the results of the project.

Toe Running: The Good, The Fad, And The Ugly, Molly Quinn-Shea

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Compared to most other animal on the planet, humans are pathetic runners. We are not graceful like the deer nor fast like the cheetah. In fact, many have wondered why the homo sapien evolved into an upright figure since that posture is less efficient for running. Christopher McDougall, in his National Bestseller Born to Run, hypothesized that early humans were distance runners that outran their prey. Born to Run, which has been linked to the rise of the popularity of barefoot running, describes how humans do not use their Achilles tendon efficiently by striking with the heel of …

A Political History Of The Kingdom Of Jerusalem 1099 To 1187 C.E., Tobias Osterhaug

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The first Crusade, a massive and unprecedented undertaking in the western world, differed from the majority of subsequent crusades into the Holy Land in an important way: it contained no royalty and was undertaken with very little direct support from the ruling families of Western Europe. This aspect of the crusade led to the development of sophisticated hierarchies and vassalages among the knights who led the crusade. These relationships culminated in the formation of the Crusader States, Latin outposts in the Levant surrounded by Muslim states, and populated primarily by non-Catholic or non-Christian peoples. Despite the difficulties engendered by this …

2013 Exit Survey Of Graduate Students Completing Degrees Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, And Summer 2013: Descriptive Statistics, Michael Barr, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2013 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 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, and Summer 2013. Of the 266 recipients of this degree during this time, OSR received valid responses from 204, a response rate of 76.7%. Interestingly, while this response rate is higher than those from the Graduate Exit Surveys in the past, Western had fewer …

Exit Survey Of Undergraduate Students Completing Degrees In Summer 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, And Spring 2013: Descriptive Statistics, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The Exit Survey of Undergraduate Students Completing Degrees in summer, 2012 through spring of 2013 (Exit Survey) is the fifth 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 also includes questions submitted to the Office of Survey Research (OSR) by the Division of Enrollment and Student Services, Western Libraries, the Equal Opportunity Office, University Residences, the Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, and a group of questions addressing online courses. The Exit …

Promoting And Assessing Student Metacognition In Physics, Alistair Mcinerny, Andrew Boudreaux, Mila Kryjevskaia, Sara Julin

Physics & Astronomy

A scaffolded metacognition activity was incorporated into the laboratory component of the introductory physics course at Western Washington University (WWU) and Whatcom Community College (WCC). Each week, students wrote reflectively to contrast their initial and current understanding of a specific physics topic, and described the "trigger" events that led them to change their thinking. Goals were to enhance conceptual understanding as well as the depth and quality of student reflection. A coding scheme was developed to evaluate student reflections. We present the scaffolded activity and coding scheme, as well as preliminary findings about changes in student reflection over time and …

Mix And Match: Promoting Interdisciplinary Teaching, Learning, And Community Through Classroom-Level Partnerships, Natalie J.K. Baloy, Joanne A. Fox, Allen Sens

Staff Scholarship

Developed at the University of British Columbia (UBC), UBC Mix creates interdisciplinary learning experiences for students by developing partnerships between existing courses, and between existing courses and other learning opportunities. UBC Mix connects faculty members interested in making their courses more interdisciplinary, and facilitates the creation of shared learning activities that "mix” students together. The UBC Mix project provides a model for facilitating interdisciplinary teaching and learning within existing courses and programs at colleges and universities.

Throwaway Youth: The Sociocultural Location Of Resistance To Schooling, Tracey Pyscher, Brian D. Lozenski

Woodring Scholarship on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

This article illuminates the ways in which resistant youth challenge attempts toward cultural homogenization within public school systems. We trace how youth from historical and lived traumatic experiences such as African American, Native American, and youth with histories of domestic violence, navigate the dominant narrative of pity and punishment in public schools. We argue that these resistive youth have been tagged with constructed identities as "broken youth." The article situates the practice of school discipline in terms of traditional and neoliberal agendas that seek to throw away noncompliant students and label them as deviant and/or disordered. Drawing from Bauman's (2009) …

Fall 2013 Survey Of Non-Returning Students: Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2013 Non-Returning Student Survey (NRS) is Western’s first large-scale survey of students who dropped or stopped out since OIART conducted a Survey of Non-Returning Students in June, 2001. The goal of the NRS was to identify reasons for students’ failure to continuously enroll, and to identify improvements Western could implement to aid at-risk students. The NRS was designed in conjunction with Western’s Office of Institutional Research and Division of Enrollment and Student Services. The sample for the NRS covers all undergraduate, degree-seeking students who were enrolled during fall, winter, or spring quarter between fall, 2011 and spring, 2013. From …

Fall 2013 Survey Of Non-Returning Students: Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2013 Non-Returning Student Survey (NRS) is Western’s first large-scale survey of students who dropped or stopped out since OIART conducted a Survey of Non-Returning Students in June, 2001. The goal of the NRS was to identify reasons for students’ failure to continuously enroll, and to identify improvements Western could implement to aid at-risk students. The NRS was designed in conjunction with Western’s Office of Institutional Research and Division of Enrollment and Student Services. The sample for the NRS covers all undergraduate, degree-seeking students who were enrolled during fall, winter, or spring quarter between fall, 2011 and spring, 2013. From …

Postcolonial Critique: A Threshold Concept In Organizational Communication Studies, James Fortney

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

In 2014, I attended the Backwards By Design professional development retreat as a way to enhance my writing instruction in the field of communication studies. The retreat workshops provided an opportunity for me to create and transform one of my courses by envisioning where I wanted to end up and working backwards on how to get there. By giving attention to design, enactment, and result, I was able to re-consider the overall learning goals of the course, with particular attention to the core concepts that potentially hold the power to transform student perception of communication studies. Below, I provide a …

Writing Instruction Report Regarding Activities Stemming From Summer 2014 Backwards By Design Retreat, Catherine Riordan

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

In the retreat I sought assistance as I developed a new course, a senior seminar in industrial/ organizational (I/O) psychology, a writing intensive course. The field is an applied one with many practitioners working as consultants. During the workshop I decided to use the consultancy relationship as the foundation for the writing assignments.

Students selected one case of many I shared with them as their focus. After doing research and interviewing professionals with knowledge of this content area, students proceeded through a series of writing assignments (Table 1), focusing on ‘business writing’ and switching back and forth between two audiences, …

Improving Student Understanding Of Writing Assignment Guidelines And Expectations: Mini-Assessment, Cat Armstrong Soule

Backward by Design Mini-Studies

As a marketing instructor, it has been challenging to find effective techniques to help my students improve their written communication skills. I have found that many students are seriously lacking skill in this area and have little recognition of its importance. Many times students have told me that other instructors “don’t care about the writing” and only grade “on the content.” This oversight could almost be humorous, since a threshold concept in marketing is the importance of effective communication between a brand and its desired audience. My personal dedication to better teaching of these critical skills led me to participate …

Government Boarding Schools And Indian Communities, Alejandro E. Barajas

American Cultural Studies Capstone Research Papers

The following research concerns the relationship between U.S-implemented boarding schools and Indian communities. Throughout this paper I’ll present the overall initial rationale creating Indian-focused boarding schools, explain how policy and physical facility placement illustrates a type of colonial mechanism, and coerced youth relocation due to government leverage. I’ll also be highlighting the importance of students’ lived experiences, power of school agents, and continuing boarding school effects. To this extent, the trauma experienced due to sexual violence and abuse is mainly rooted in boarding schools and proves to be a product of colonialism.

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use - An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommended For Grades 9-12, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Lessons

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use begins with lessons that introduce students to foundational energy concepts. The lessons then begin to focus more specifically on topics like energy access and transportation fuels. The unit culminates with an aviation-focused performance-based assessment that is integrated into the final three lessons.

This unit was designed to contribute to the educational mission of the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance to strengthen the overall scientific literacy of students with respect to biofuels. The pre and post assessment can be administered before and after this unit to measure knowledge and personal attitudes about energy consumption.

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use - An Interdisciplinary Curriculum Recommended For Grades 6-8, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Lessons

Fueling Our Future: Exploring Sustainable Energy Use begins with lessons that introduce students to foundational energy concepts. The lessons then begin to focus more specifically on topics like energy access and transportation fuels. The unit culminates with an aviation-focused performance-based assessment that is integrated into the final three lessons.

This unit was designed to contribute to the educational mission of the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance to strengthen the overall scientific literacy of students with respect to biofuels. The pre and post assessment can be administered before and after this unit to measure knowledge and personal attitudes about energy consumption.