Education Commons^™

Fall Quarter, 2008 Sch & Fte Faculty Report, Ernest Sams

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Student Credit Hours; GUR Courses; Sections; FTE Faculty Allocated and Used; Compare With One Year Ago; Measures per FTE Faculty

2007-08 (3 Quarters & Aya) Sch & Fte Faculty Report, Ernest Sams

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Student Credit Hours; GUR Courses; Sections; FTE Faculty Allocated and Used; Compare With 1 Year Ago; Measures pr FTE Faculty

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Freshmen Entering In The Fall, 2007, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Beth Hartsoch, Richard Bulcroft, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

This report presents findings from the fall, 2007, baseline survey of entering freshmen. The sample was of all entering freshmen, with or without college credit from high school, a total of 2392 students. There were 1484 online responses, and 302 phone responses, a total of 1786 (a 75% response rate). Survey topics included Summerstart, logistic confidence, motivation and expectations, academic and social engagement and challenges while in high school, a current assessment of academic skills and competencies, academic priorities and study strategies, and issues related to health, wellness and alcohol use.

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring, 2007, Follow-Up Survey Of Students Who Had Entered As Freshmen In The Fall, 2003, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Beth Hartsoch, Richard Bulcroft, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

This report presents findings from the spring, 2007, four-year follow-up survey of students who had entered as freshmen in fall, 2003.

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring, 2007, Follow-Up Survey Of Students Who Had Entered As Transfers In The Fall, 2005, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Beth Hartsoch, Richard Bulcroft, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

This report presents findings from the spring, 2007, two-year follow-up survey of students who had entered as transfers in fall, 2005.

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring, 2007, Follow-Up Survey Of Students Who Had Entered As Freshmen The Fall, 2005, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Beth Hartsoch, Richard Bulcroft, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

This report presents findings from the spring, 2007, two-year follow-up survey of students who had entered as freshmen in fall, 2005.

A Profile Of The 2006 Western Washington University Graduating Class, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Chris Stark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Summary and analysis of statistics for the 2006 Western graduating class.

Common Data Set 2007-08, Kirk England

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Common Data Set

Poetic Lives: Poetic Representation Within Spaces Of Narrative And Feminist Research, Joy L. Wiggins

Woodring College of Education Faculty Publications

This PowerPoint presentation examines two participants from different social groups and their perceptions of a sociopolitical children's text. It was conducted within spaces of narrative and feminist research in which participants' biographies, their social categories, in addition to conducting an interview to discuss a sociopolitical event through a children's text. The text, Smoky night by Eve Bunting depicts the Los Angeles Uprisings from a child's point of view. Author concludes that narrative inquiry and poetic representation are poignant methods in which to work within teacher's lives and the stories they tell.

Group 8 Freshmen Enrollment Focus Groups, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 8. Ten students participated in the eighth focus group, which was defined by low fall state support credits and assignment to the business and economics advising group. Six participants are female and four male, three are students of color, and five transferred credit from high school. None of the students participated in an FYE or FIG, and none are in the honors program. Nine students attended Summerstart, and one participated in fall athletics. All took fewer than 15 credits in the fall: five took 12 credits, three took 13, and two took 14.

Group 8 Summary Of Transcript, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 8. Ten students participated in the eighth focus group, which was defined by low fall state support credits and assignment to the business and economics advising group. Six participants are female and four male, three are students of color, and five transferred credit from high school. None of the students participated in an FYE or FIG, and none are in the honors program. Nine students attended Summerstart, and one participated in fall athletics. All took fewer than 15 credits in the fall: five took 12 credits, three took 13, and two took 14.

Group 7 Freshmen Enrollment Focus Groups, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 7. Thirteen students participated in the seventh focus group, which was defined by low fall state support credits and assignment to the math/science or health Summerstart advising groups. Seven participants are female and six male, four are students of color, and seven transferred credit from high school. One student participated in an FYE, but none participated in FIGs, and none are in the honors program or fall athletics. All took fewer than 15 credits in the fall: two took 12 credits, five took 13, and six took 14. Eleven participants attended Summerstart.

Group 7 Summary Of Transcript, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 7. Thirteen students participated in the seventh focus group, which was defined by low fall state support credits and assignment to the math/science or health Summerstart advising groups. Seven participants are female and six male, four are students of color, and seven transferred credit from high school. One student participated in an FYE, but none participated in FIGs, and none are in the honors program or fall athletics. All took fewer than 15 credits in the fall: two took 12 credits, five took 13, and six took 14. Eleven participants attended Summerstart.

Group 6 Summary Of Transcripts, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 6. Eleven students participated. All transferred credit from high school. All eleven students attended Summerstart. Three were assigned to the environmental studies, CST scholars, health or math & science Summerstart advising groups, two to the undecided group, two to the Fairhaven College, music or fine & performing arts groups, three to humanities or Fairhaven interest, and one to the education group. All took fewer than 15 credits in the fall: four took 12 credits, four took 13, and three took 14. Six participants are female and one is a student of color. None participated in either an FIG or …

Group 6 Freshmen Enrollment Focus Groups, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 6. Eleven students participated. All transferred credit from high school. All eleven students attended Summerstart. Three were assigned to the environmental studies, CST scholars, health or math & science Summerstart advising groups, two to the undecided group, two to the Fairhaven College, music or fine & performing arts groups, three to humanities or Fairhaven interest, and one to the education group. All took fewer than 15 credits in the fall: four took 12 credits, four took 13, and three took 14. Six participants are female and one is a student of color. None participated in either an FIG or …

Group 5 Summary Of Transcripts, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 5. Eleven students participated. All eleven were assigned to the “undecided” Summerstart advising group, and all took fewer than 15 credits in the fall with three taking 13 and eight taking 14. Seven participants are female, three are students of color, and six transferred credits from high school. One participated in an FIG and one in an FYE. None are honors students, all eleven attended Summerstart, and one participated in fall athletics (football).

Group 5 Freshmen Enrollment Focus Groups, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 5. Eleven students participated. All eleven were assigned to the “undecided” Summerstart advising group, and all took fewer than 15 credits in the fall with three taking 13 and eight taking 14. Seven participants are female, three are students of color, and six transferred credits from high school. One participated in an FIG and one in an FYE. None are honors students, all eleven attended Summerstart, and one participated in fall athletics (football).

Group 4 Summary Of Transcript, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 4. Thirteen students participated. All twelve took 15 or more state support credits in the fall, and all scored higher than one standard deviation above the mean verbal SAT score, except the student interested in Education, who scored higher than 600 but lower than the one standard deviation cutoff. Four of the students took 15 credits in the fall, four took 16, three took 17, and one each took 18 and 19 credits. Their interests were distributed among the colleges, as represented by Summerstart advising group assignment; with one assigned the environmental studies, CST scholars, health or math/science groups, …

Group 3 Summary Of Transcript, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 3. Twelve students participated. All twelve took 15 or more state support credits in the fall, and all scored below 1 standard deviation below the mean verbal SAT score. Half of the students took 15 credits in the fall, two took 16 credits, and the remaining four took 17 credits. Their interests were distributed among the colleges, as represented by Summerstart advising group assignment; with four assigned the environmental studies, CST scholars, health or math/science groups, two assigned to the undecided group, two to the Fairhaven College, music or fine & performing arts groups, one to the humanities or …

Group 2 Summary Of Transcript, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Ten students participated. All ten students in this group took 14 or fewer state support credits in fall quarter, and all scored higher than one standard deviation above the mean verbal SAT score for the freshmen class. One student took 12 credits in the fall, three took 13 credits, and six took 14 credits. Their interests were distributed among the colleges, as represented by Summerstart advising group assignment–Three in environmental studies, health, or math and science, three in humanities or Fairhaven, two in education, one in music or fine and performing arts, and one undecided. Five are female and five …

Group 1 Summary Of Transcripts, Western Washington University. Office Of Survey Research

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Group 1. Eleven students participated. All eleven students in this group took 14 or fewer state support credits in fall quarter, and all scored lower than one standard deviation below the mean verbal SAT score for the freshmen class. Two of the students took 12 credits in the fall, four took 13 credits, and five took 14 credits. Their interests were distributed among the colleges, as represented by Summerstart advising group assignments—environmental studies, health, or math and science, four in humanities or Fairhaven, two in music or fine and performing arts, or admitted to Fairhaven college, one undecided, and none …

Improving Metacognitive Skills, Jim Stewart, Mike Greiner, Cassandra Cook

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: Can a short, weekly email reflection from students in introductory physics courses be structured to improve students’ thinking about their own thinking?

Method: By analyzing student responses we will refine the writing prompt and scoring guidelines so that, starting fall 2008, we can begin a longitudinal study in which we follow individual students through at least two quarters of the introductory physics course.

People, Places And Ideas: A Year-Long Conversation With Rural Alaskan Students, Lauren Mcclanahan, Andrea Gabler

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: How can developing strong writing prompts elicit strong student responses concerning the evidence of climate change in a rural Alaskan fishing village?

Method: For this case study, my pre-service secondary teacher education students were paired (via e-mail) with middle school students in rural southwestern Alaska. The Alaskan students were from the small fishing village of Eek, which has a population of approximately 280. Through a process of continual refinement, my secondary education students drafted and revised writing prompts that encouraged the Alaskan students to think in terms of how climate change is changing their way of life.

Blogging As A Way Of Thinking, Julia Sapin, Robyn Rossmeisl

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: How can technology help to establish more open classrooms through writing, thereby affecting who is involved in discussion and how involvement takes place?

Method: Developed questionnaire for blog participants in a variety of Julia’s classes. We based our findings on the responses in those questionnaires, supplemented by secondary materials that helped us define terms and technology.

Making It Through: From Start To Finish… Faculty And Student Co-Authorship Process, Tara Perry, Brian Launius, Hayley Peterson

Writing Research Fellows

Research Questions: RQ1: What is the process of co-authoring a writing project between professors and students? RQ2: What are professor’s perceptions of co-authoring a writing project with college students? RQ3: What are student’s perceptions of co-authoring a writing project with a professor? RQ4: What communication processes are involved in student faculty co-authorship?

Method: The qualitative method of data collection was utilized for this study. The researchers conducted two focus groups and seven face to face interviews with different subjects, professors and students. This study was conducted at a university in the Pacific Northwest.

Integration Of Technical And Scientific Writing Into Surface-Water Hydrology (Geol 472/572), Robert J. Mitchell, Niki Thane

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: Do my practices improve students’ writing skills and their understanding of science?

Method: My primary goal is to help students develop their scientific thinking through writing. My hope is that as students advance from project-to-project, they will discover that learning the science is highly correlated to their ability to express their thinking in writing. Naturally, I also want students to learn the mechanical and style elements that define good scientific writing, such as writing concisely, using appropriate grammar, and developing proper figures and tables; conventions which are easier to learn and teach.

Journal Writing In The Classroom: Chore Or Delight?, Jennifer Karchmer, Anya Nakrokhina

Writing Research Fellows

Research Questions:

1. What are some attitudes and behavioral trends of students toward a journal writing assignment?
2. How effective is a journal writing assignment in the classroom?
3. How can a journal writing assignment be improved for both students and instructor?

Method:

Quantitative data based on 39 surveys administered during Fall 2007 quarter at WWU to COMM318 Professional Communication students. Also, this study included student journals (about 10-pages each) with qualitative comments.

Student Literacy And The Effect Of Digital Writing, Catherine Mcdonald, Amanda Hill

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question:

Our research question had three components:

• What is the effect of teaching the production of online texts?
• What is the effect of teaching the analysis of digital literacies?
• How do students assess the effect of studying self-sponsored digital literacies?

Method: Our methodology was a qualitative study using ethnographic techniques, or more specifically, ethnographic writing research. Wendy Bishop explains this research methodology (Bishop, 1999).While ethnography is a phenomenological method of participating in a culture and giving an account of it as experienced by native members, ethnographic writing research is a less intensive study of the literacy practices …

Using A Field Journal To Enhance Conceptual Understanding, Shelby L. Sheppard, Jennifer Baldwin, Gretchen Anderson

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: Is individual experience a significant factor in deepening conceptual understanding?

Method: A Field Journal Assignment was given to two classes (1 grad and 1 undergrad) each of three terms over the course of the academic year. Students in each course were provided with a seminal reading which articulated the merits of deepening conceptual understanding by means of analyzing one’s beliefs about a particular concept and one’s reasons for holding those beliefs. (Wilson, J. 1998, “Seriousness and the Foundations of Education”, Educational Theory Vol 48: #2)

Partnership Lessons From The Global Programme For Health Promotion Effectiveness: A Case Study, Hope Corbin

Woodring College of Education Faculty Publications

It is an article of faith in health promotion that health challenges cannot be confronted successfully by actors working in isolation. The synergy produced through collaboration is seen as vital. Yet, collaboration is arduous and many collaborations fade before their goals are met. Research is needed to identify factors and processes that promote as well as inhibit the production of synergistic outcomes. To this end, a case study was undertaken of the Global Programme for Health Promotion Effectiveness (GPHPE). The GPHPE reviews and disseminates evidence for the effectiveness of health pro- motion. Interviews with 20 GPHPE participants were conducted, transcribed …