Education Commons^™

Learning Effects Of Examples Applied To College Algebra Student Interests, Carrie A. Campbell

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This mixed-methods investigation studied the learning effects of example problems based on college algebra student interests. The study spanned two semesters and included three groups of students. The first group was presented with algebraic procedural examples and assessments without context. The second group was presented with algebraic class examples in contexts related to student majors and hobbies, but assessments without context. The third group was presented with class examples in contexts related to student majors and hobbies and also assessments with context.

Learning growth as measured by performance scores on examinations was analyzed quantitatively. Student comments regarding learning progress were …

Establishing A Professional Learning Community In A High School Setting, Youness Elbousty, Kirstin Bratt

NERA Conference Proceedings 2009

Although many teachers state their willingness to participate in efforts to establish a Professional Learning Community (PLC) in their schools, the reality is often that a great deal of internal resistance disrupts the creation of a collaborative effort. While teachers may understand that working in isolation, rarely collaborating or conferring about their students and teaching practices, may fall short of optimizing students' learning, and while they may be interested in collaborating with colleagues, our research demonstrates that collaborative efforts meet with a variety of challenges throughout the process.

On Democracy And Critical Citizenship, Arturo Rodriguez

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this essay I fuse narrative, social critique and critical understandings of schooling. Across the writing I argue for an increased critical awareness of print and other forms of news media. For the purposes of this paper I propose two major arguments that support critical awareness, they are: knowing what it means to be an informed citizen and practicing a critical democratic citizenship. As a springboard for discussing the major themes I review how print and other news media are used as propaganda and how a seemingly literate populace more easily accepts what are understood as social norms.

Impediments To Learning Object Reuse And Openness As A Potential Solution, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

This paper has argued that the simple act of adding an open license providing 4Rs usage rights to learning object users will significantly expand our understanding of “reuse;” that the application of open licenses will greatly increase the reach of learning objects (making them available to individuals and organizations with financial or other resource challenges), and that open licenses are easy to apply to learning objects. Because of the challenges inherent with fully copyrighted learning objects, “open learning objects” seem to be the best path forward for this very promising educational technology.

A Pedagogy Of Process: Using Arts Based Research With Community Development Co-Researchers To Explore Campus Community Dialogue, Brian Hand

Theses

This thesis will outline how I employed an arts informed participatory research process with four women members of the Southend family resource centre in Wexford town. The primary context for this research was the introduction of a module in community based learning on the BA (hons) in Art at the Wexford Campus of I.T. Carlow combined with a desire to participate more actively in the community sector outside the campus. The choice of an arts based methodology was to capture knowledge in a multifaceted way, to give depth to the many meanings of individual experiences and finally to suggest a …

Exploring The Complexities Of Learning Motivation In Pre-Service Teacher Education Students: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kristin K. Grosskopf

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students’ motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those …

Thinkfinity Grant: Interactive White Board: Status Report, Mortola Library, Center For Teaching, Learning And Technology

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

The Mortola Library and Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology are working together on a joint pilot project utilizing the technology of interactive white boards (IWBs, also known by the brand name SMART Board). The mobile IWB serves three purposes: improve faculty development and increase integration of Web 2.0 tools into faculty development sessions, improvement of Information Literacy instruction sessions, and increase availability of new technologies for members of the Pace Community, students in particular, to use within the library.

A New Model Of 4-H Volunteer Development In Science, Engineering, And Technology Programs, Bradley S. Barker, Neal Grandgenett, Gwen Nugent

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

New initiatives centered on science, engineering, and technology (SET) in 4-H may be moving away from the long-established adult volunteer delivery model. This shift in delivery may be due to a lack of availability of adult volunteers who possess the necessary SET competencies to effectively lead 4-H clubs. One way to offset this trend may be to blend traditional face-to-face training with continuous training efforts that include asynchronous on-line training modules, synchronous Web-based meetings, and self-directed learning. This new 4-H SET Volunteer Competencies Training Model is being tested in the Nebraska 4-H Robotics and GPS/GIS program.

Engaged Learning: Enabling Self-Authorship And Effective Practice, David C. Hodge, Marcia B. Baxter Magolda, Carolyn A. Haynes

Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise

There is now broad consensus that higher education must extend beyond content-based knowledge to encompass intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrative learning. The college learning outcomes needed for success in 21st century life include critical thinking, a coherent sense of self, intercultural maturity, civic engagement, and the capacity for mutual relationships. Yet, research suggests that college students are struggling to achieve these outcomes in part because skills needed to succeed in college are not those needed to succeed upon graduation. One reason for this gap is that these college learning outcomes require complex developmental capacities or …

E-Learning And Dit’S Strategic Plan, Eileen O' Donnell

Other resources

This presentation explores the question can e-learning be used to enhance the student experience and further prepare students to work in industry?

Assessment Practices: Student’S And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Classroom Assessment, Sayed Ahmad Javid Mussawy

Master's Capstone Projects

The primary aim of this study is to explore pre-service teachers’ perceptions of classroom assessment. A secondary purpose is to explore the faculty members’ perceptions of classroom assessment and their expectations of students’ learning. This study examines what assessment approaches are being used in Baghlan Higher Education Institution, School of Education. In addition, the investigator was interested in learning the extent to which assessment results were used to improve students’ learning and classroom instruction.

Italian: As/A2 Digital Listening Practice Tests 2009, Silvia Bertoni, Susanna Nocchi

Books/Book Chapters

AS/A2 Digital Listening Comprehension Practice Tests 2009 consists of a book and audio files with authentic listening material and test questions. This book is ideal for practising, improving and building up students’ confidence in listening skills in preparation for the AS Level,A2 Level, the Irish Leaving Certificate and other advanced level exams.

The Effect Of Emotional State On Inadvertent Plagiarism Memory Errors, Amanda C. Gingerich

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

We investigated inadvertent plagiarism by inducing participants into a happy or sad mood before they generated items in a puzzle task. Compared to happy mood, participants induced into a sad mood made fewer memory errors in which they claimed a previously-generated idea to be new; confidence ratings in these errors, however, was higher.

Enhancement Of Learning: Enabling Elearning And Blended Learning, Dublin Region Higher Education Alliance

Reports

No abstract provided.

Integrating Learning Technologies With Experiential Learning In A Postgraduate Teacher Education Course, Roisin Donnelly

Articles

This paper discusses how a Postgraduate Certificate Course in Third Level Learning and Teaching for academic staff in the Republic of Ireland has adopted a particular approach in teacher education. As an important aspect of the successful integration and use of learning technology is the way in which it effectively reflects and articulates a given learning model, this course has its theoretical basis on the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1983). The work illustrates that no one technology can support all types of third level learning and teaching; an effective approach is to combine a range of technologies. The self-study …

A Center For Academic Achievement: How Innovative Collaborations Between Faculty And Learning Center Administrators Built Model, Credit-Bearing, First-Year Courses With Embedded Support For At-Risk Students, Elaine Bukowiecki, Susan Miskelly, Dorie Aucoin, Heidi Burgiel, Kathryn Evans, Ruth Farrar, Julia Stakhnevich, Steven Viveiros

Elementary and Early Childhood Education Faculty Publications

Establishing a centralized learning assistance program to systematically address the academic challenges of all students was the first priority of the Academic Achievement Center (AAC) at Bridgewater State College when it was formed in 2001. This new, open, bright, comfortable, and inviting place has truly become the heart of the campus, for it is here that abundant human and material resources are available to support all students. In this learning environment, students can access services in advising, testing, disabilities resources, study, research, writing, communication, mathematics, adaptive technology, tutoring, and English as a second language. Primary responsibility for learning assistance lives …

What Spaces? Designing Authentic, Sustainable Online Learning Spaces For Children With Diabetes, Shirley Agostinho, Richard Sprod, Barry Harper

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents a work-in-progress of how social networking, Web 2.0 and emerging communication technologies might be successfully used to support authentic self-management education for children aged 11-13 years who are living with Type 1 diabetes. The study employs a mixed-method approach that has been adopted within a Design Based Research framework. This paper explains the research problem, the theoretical framework that will underpin the study and the overall research design.

Learning Or Performance: Predicting Drivers Of Student Motivation, Shane P. Dawson, Leah Macfadyen, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

There is substantial research demonstrating that a student’s motivation for learning can be largely explained in terms of their preferred achievement orientation. This paper explores a case study investigating ICT derived lead indicators of student achievement orientation, and therefore underlying motivations. The study incorporated Tan’s (2009) research on learning dispositions to quantify student achievement orientations. These findings were then correlated with student LMS data to identify if patterns of online behaviour are indicative of the observed achievement orientation scores. The results suggest that there is a significant correlation between student achievement orientation and participation in discussion forums. Students reporting a …

Simplifying Animation With "Slowmation" To Encourage Preservice Teachers' Science Learning And Teaching, Garry F. Hoban, David C. Macdonald, Brian Ferry, Sharon Hoban

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Preservice elementary teachers often lack science content knowledge which reduces their confidence to implement the subject in school classrooms. “Slowmation” (abbreviated from “Slow Animation”) is a new yet simplified form of stop-motion animation that encourages preservice teachers to engage with science content because they create their own animations to represent key concepts. This paper presents a study of 29 preservice elementary teachers in a science method class to ascertain if they improved their science knowledge when they created their own animations and whether they used the approach to teach science in classrooms on practicum. Qualitative data (three interviews, two concept …

An Examination Of Learning Design Descriptions In A Repository, Shirley Agostinho, Susan J. Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Lisa Kosta, Jennifer Jones, Barry Harper

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The past decade has seen a significant expansion of flexible learning in higher education as new communication technologies have broadened the scope and potential for online learning. With this expansion has come the need for pedagogically sound learning experiences and an interest in reusing effective pedagogical designs. The concept of a ‘learning design’ - a formalism for documenting educational practice to facilitate sharing and reuse by teachers, is being researched as one way of supporting dissemination of ‘best practice’. This paper reports an analytical study that sought to advance understanding of what constitutes an effective learning design description based on …

"Authentic" Learning Experiences: What Does This Mean And Where Is The Literacy Learning?, Jessica Mantei, Lisa K. Kervin

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Teachers are challenged to adopt practices that facilitate the development of “necessary” skills and strategies for learners. For many, however, what is required in policy and curricula is increasingly obscured and even confusing as teachers are bombarded with jargon prescribing seemingly similar (yet apparently different) approaches such as “rich tasks”, “big questions” and “fertile questions” that are to be “relevant”, “authentic” and “engaging” for the learner. Barton and Hamilton (2000) argue that literacy learning should take the learner beyond the transmission of technical skills in the classroom to an understanding of its role within a community’s cultural practices. These literacy …

One Teacher's Response To Literacy Learning And Teaching Using Technology, Lisa K. Kervin, Pauline T. Jones

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The federal government’s pledge for increased access to computers for students has been held up as “groundbreaking reform” as “digital schools” become a reality for more students. However, access to technology remains uneven across schools, student competency levels differ and teacher expertise varies considerably. Incorporating new technologies such as laptops, wireless connectivity, smartboards and mobile communication devices into interactive practices frequently requires rethinking configurations of curriculum, bodies and space.

Teachers are experts in pedagogy, but not necessarily in technology. It is vital that teachers are acknowledged for the considerable knowledge they have about their profession – what constitutes ‘good’ pedagogy, …

Establishing Design Principles For Online Synchronous Literacy Learning For Indigenous Learners, Michelle J. Eady, Anthony Herrington, Caroline Jones

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Synchronous learning has the potential to provide literacy and essential skills training to Indigenous learners living in remote and isolated communities. Although there is considerable research completed in the area of internet-based learning technologies in general, there is very little research in the area of online synchronous learning opportunities for remote Indigenous learners. This paper presents the results and theoretical framework of the first and second phases of a four phase design-based research approach that aims to establish design principles to guide the future development of synchronous online literacy services for Indigenous learners living in remote Australian communities.

Investigating Lecturers' Use Of Learning Designs To Support Technology Enhanced Course Design, Jennifer Jones, Susan J. Bennett, Lori Lockyer

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

The effective integration of technology into teaching and learning has been a focus of universities and governments for the past decade. Yet progress towards this goal has been limited to date. Knowledge of how to integrate technology has become a necessity for university lecturers and effective models of support are needed to facilitate this often challenging process. However, little is known about how the individual lecturer designs and what methods of support might best help his or her knowledge of how to integrate technology. One reason that this area has been under-researched may be the inherent challenges in investigating design …

Crocodiles And Polar Bears: Technology And Learning In Indigenous Australian And Canadian Communities, Michelle J. Eady, Alison Reedy

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Crocodile infisted, swollen rivers, Troop Carriers, light planes and red dirt typifY the landscape of remote tropical Northern Territory in Australia. In contrast, the remote landscape in for northwestern Ontario in Canada is characterised by rough terrain, snow and ice, sea planes and sometimes even polar bears. 1he traditional owners of the land in these two very dijferent locations foce similar issues in accessing adult learning and ongoing educational opportunities. 1his paper compares and contrasts the experiences of two groups of adult Indigenous students, one from the northern Australian tropics and one from for Northwestern Ontario, and examines the ways …

Community Capacity Building: Learning From The 2003 Canberra Bushfires, Gail Winkworth, Christine Healy, Merrilyn Woodward, Peter J. Camilleri

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Research into what happens to communities after disasters is one way of understanding the elements of community capacity building and the actions that help and hinder these processes. In recent years a number of large scale disasters both onshore and offshore have become the focus of Australian State and Commonwealth disaster recovery efforts. These have provided opportunities to reflect on successful elements of 'community recovery' including what 'communities' do themselves to assist 'recovery' and what governments can do to enable and actively facilitate the 'recovery' process. Through an examination of a recent study on the recovery of people affected by …

Using Brain Imaging To Explore Interactivity And Cognition In Multimedia Learning Environments, Barney Dalgarno, Gregor Kennedy, Sue Bennett

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Recent educational models of computer-based interactivity stress the important role of a learner’s cognition. It has been suggested that interactive learning tasks carried out in the context of an authentic, problembased scenario will result in deeper elaborative cognitive processing leading to greater conceptual understanding of the material presented. Research methods that have been used to investigate cognition and learning have traditionally included self-report questionnaires, focus groups, interviews and think-aloud protocols and, more recently in computer-based settings, interaction log file or ‘audit trail’ analysis. While all of these techniques help researchers understand students’ learning processes, all are limited in that they …

Validating The Slowmation Learning Design: Comparing A Learning Design With Students' Experiences Of Learning, Garry Hoban, Wendy Nielsen, David Macdonald, Brian Ferry

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

A slowmation (abbreviated from slow-motion animation) is a narrated animation designed and made by learners that is played in slow motion at 2 frames/second to explain a science concept. The purpose of this study was to compare the proposed learning design of a slowmation with the actual learning experiences of three preservice primary teachers as they created an animation about an obscure topic over a period of two hours. A range of data gathering methods were used to document the students’ learning experiences including individual interviews before and after creation to ascertain their pre and post knowledge as well as …

Reading To Serve: Service Learning For Gifted Readers, B. Bartlett, Scott L. Hunsaker

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Teaching Research To Teachers: A Self-Study Of Course Design, Student Outcomes, And Instructor Learning, Susan A. Turner

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.