Education Commons^™

Videopoetry: Collaboration As Imaginative Method, Peter Lutze, James Armstrong, Laura Woodworth-Ney

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Three Idaho professors (a poet, videographer, and historian) have been collaborating for eight years on a cross-disciplinary project called VideoPoetry, which integrates historical narration, narrative poetry, historical photographs, and videography into the video medium. To this point we've worked primarily on a specific program, Culture of Reclamation, which explores the culture of the early irrigated landscape communities in southern Idaho. In reflecting on our work-process, we’ve discovered that we’ve fundamentally changed as scholars as a result of our collaboration. This paper identifies the nature of our changes and documents instances of the ways in which we have been challenged to …

An Educational Data Mining Model For Online Teaching And Learning, Jui-Long Hung, Kerry Rice, Anthony Saba

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study contains two major parts. First, this study proposed a generic model for Educational Data Ming (EDM) studies by reviewing EDM literature and the existing data mining model. Second, the procedures of the EDM model are demonstrated with a case study approach. The case study results showed patterns and relationships discovered from the EDM model that could be applied to improve online teaching and learning and to predict students’ academic performances.

Technology-Supported Storytelling (Tsst) Strategy In Virtual World For Multicultural Education, Jie Huang, Youngkyun Baek, Jungwon Cho

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Learning culture through stories is an effective way for multicultural education, since stories are one of the most powerful and personal ways that we learn about the world. Storytelling, the process of telling stories, is a form of communication and a universal expression of culture. With the development of technology, storytelling emerges out of diverse ways. This study explores the storytelling in virtual worlds for multicultural education, and devises a Technology-Supported storytelling (TSST) strategy by examining and considering the characteristics of virtual worlds which could be incorporated into the storytelling, and then uses this strategy to teach Korean culture to …

Examining Interrater Agreement Analyses Of A Pilot Special Education Observation Tool, Evelyn S. Johnson, Carrie L. Semmelroth

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper reports the results of interrater agreement analyses on a pilot special education teacher evaluation instrument, the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) Observation Tool (OT). Using evidence-based instructional practices as the basis for the evaluation, the RESET OT is designed for the spectrum of different instructional needs found within special education classrooms. The RESET OT informs what Danielson (2011) maintains are the two features of a teacher evaluation system 1) ensuring teacher quality and 2) promoting professional development. In June 2012, six special education teachers participated in a data coding session using the pilot RESET OT to evaluate …

Which Conference Do You Attend?: A Look At The Conference Attendance Of Educational Technology Professionals, Patrick R. Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Educational technology professionals attend conferences each year. Many have funds to attend at most 1-2 conferences each year. As a result, educational technology professionals must make a decision of which conferences to attend. The following article reports on what conferences other educational technology professionals attend.

Learning Global Citizenship: Students And Teachers In Belize And The U.S. Take Action Together, Sara Fry, Shari Griffin, Jean Kirshner

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

We are a group of educators who have taken our passion for literacy and commitment to active citizenship to a global level. As part of a small, teacher-led non-profit organization called the Belize Education Project, we have made a long-term commitment to improve literacy and education in the Cayo District of Belize, Central America. For each of the past five years, we have travelled to Belize for a week in October to work with children and provide professional development for up to 40 teachers at three primary schools in the Cayo District. We also bring Belizean educators to the United …

Appropriate Social Behavior: Teaching Expectations To Young Children, Deborah Russell Carter, Juli Lull Pool

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

Young children's challenging behavior can impact all aspects of the classroom environment, including relationships (peer–peer, student–teacher), learning, and safety. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a program that focuses on supporting pro-social behaviors and preventing challenging behavior. PBIS begins with building a foundation of universal practices and creating a common language that teachers, children, and families can use to talk about behavior. The identification and defining of appropriate behavioral expectations and the systematic teaching of those behavioral expectations is paramount to preventing challenging behavior. This article describes the steps involved in identifying classroom behavioral expectations and the development of …

On Death And Disability: Reframing Educators' Perceptions Of Parental Response To Disability, Keith Allred, Christine Hancock

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This expository article critically reviews the literature from 1950-2010 regarding educators' perceptions of parental response to disability. Pre-service, practitioner, and professional literature are examined to explore the views presented to teacher candidates during the process of professional induction. As this literature relies upon the stage model of grief associated with Kübler-Ross' (1969) description of the acceptance of death, the effects on parent-professional relations and cultural understandings of disability are critiqued. The paper presents an alternative framing of parental response to disability emerging through positive psychology. Recommendations, based upon a disability studies in education perspective, are made regarding changes in the …

Mobile Microblogging: Using Twitter And Mobile Devices In An Online Course To Promote Learning In Authentic Contexts, Yu-Chang Hsu, Yu-Hui Ching

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This research applied a mixed-method design to explore how best to promote learning in authentic contexts in an online graduate course in instructional message design. The students used Twitter apps on their mobile devices to collect, share, and comment on authentic design examples found in their daily lives. The data sources included tweets (i.e., postings on Twitter), students' perceptions about mobile microblogging activities, and self-reported Twitter usage. Based on the tweet analysis, we found that the students appropriately applied the design principles and design terms in their critique of design examples. While the students were mainly engaged in assignment-relevant activities, …

Writing To Learn: Benefits And Limitations, Sara Winstead Fry, Amanda Villagomez

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Writing to learn (WTL) is the act of making a subject or topic clear to oneself by reasoning through it in writing; it is a pedagogical approach that uses writing to facilitate learning (Zinsser 1988). Some researchers have reported favorable results associated with the approach (Balgopal and Wallace 2009; Bullock 2006; Hand, Hand, Gunel, and Ulu 2009). However, others have indicated that studies supporting WTL pedagogy tend to lack comparison groups, pre/posttest data, or the rich description that contributes to a rigorous qualitative study (Hübner, Nückles, and Renkl 2010; Kieft, Rijlaarsdam, and van den Bergh 2006; Klein 1999). Thus, existing …

The Pros And Cons Of Progress In A Neoliberal World: Transforming The Lives Of Men, Women And Children, Roberto Bahruth

Literacy, Language, and Culture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Careful consideration of changes occurring in a globalized world turning on neoliberalism provides insight into the many ways, both positive and negative, that cultural foundations are affected in societies around the world. Young people today are growing up in a world changing at the speed of the microchip with clear implications regarding the ways in which humanity is transforming for men, women and children alike. It is time for women to assert their voices as equal partners in the struggle for democracy, basic human rights, and social justice.

Concept Mapping Improves Metacomprehension Accuracy Among 7Th Graders, Joshua Redford, Keith W. Thiede, Jennifer Wiley, Thomas Griffin

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Two experiments explored concept map construction as a useful intervention to improve metacomprehension accuracy among 7th grade students. In the first experiment, metacomprehension was marginally better for a concept mapping group than for a rereading group. In the second experiment, metacomprehension accuracy was significantly greater for a concept mapping group than for a control group—a group of students who were given already constructed concept maps had accuracy between these two groups. In both experiments, control groups had poor metacomprehension accuracy. That is, they performed worse on tests they predicted better performance and performed better on tests they predicted worse performance. …

Elementary School Experience With Comprehension Testing May Influence Metacomprehension Accuracy Among Seventh And Eighth Graders, Keith W. Thiede, Joshua S. Redford, Jennifer Wiley, Thomas D. Griffin

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

We explored whether exposure to different kinds of comprehension tests during elementary years influenced metacomprehension accuracy among 7^th and 8^th graders. This research was conducted in a kindergarten through eighth grade charter school with an expeditionary learning curriculum. In literacy instruction, teachers emphasize reading for meaning and inference building, and they regularly assess deep comprehension with summarization, discussion, dialogic reasoning and prediction activities throughout the elementary years. The school recently expanded, doubling enrollments in 7^th and 8^th grades. Thus, approximately half of the students had long-term exposure to the curriculum and the other half did not. …

What Value Does Service Learning Have On Introductory Engineering Students' Motivation And Abet Program Outcomes?, Carol Sevier, Seung Youn Chyung, Janet Callahan, Cheryl Schrader

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

A quasi-experimental study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of using a service learning (SL) method on influencing introductory engineering students' motivation and ABET program outcomes, compared to the effectiveness of using a conventional, non-service-learning (NSL) method. The sample used in the study was 214 students enrolled in an Introduction to Engineering course at a medium-size university in the northwestern region of the U.S. during the fall semester of 2009 and the spring semester of 2010. Sixty-nine students completed SL projects while 145 students completed NSL projects. Both SL and NSL projects were team-based. Using the ARCS model as a …

Perceptions About Women In Science And Engineering History, Heidi Reeder, Patricia A. Pyke, Lynn Lubamersky, Seung Youn Chyung, Cheryl B. Schrader

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigated college students' perceptions about the contributions of women to the history of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) (N = 1,147). Students were asked to write down as many famous or historically important scientists, inventors or engineers they could think of. After one minute, they were instructed to write down as many famous or historically important women scientists, inventors or engineers they could think of. For the first question, 95% of the responses referred to male scientists, inventors or engineers. For the second question, respondents named on average less than one woman (M=.86), and those named were …

Intentional Web Presence: 10 Seo Strategies Every Academic Needs To Know, Joanna Dunlap, Patrick Lowenthal

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

A little over a year ago The Chronicle of Higher Education published a piece titled "Creating Your Web Presence: A Primer for Academics." We were excited to see some of the strategies Miriam Posner recommended for academics wanting to create and maintain a web presence. We had been doing many of the things Posner recommended, as well as a number of others. Thus, in many ways this article builds on Posner's piece but argues that faculty should be taking even more steps to build, maintain, and ensure that others can find their presence on the web.

Community Narratives: Initiating An Arts Integrated Curriculum In Public Education, Amber R. Powers

Art Graduate Theses and Projects

Teachers have power to implement a constructive learning environment through team teaching and aligned instruction where schools can benefit from stronger bonds between students and teachers while providing a learning environment responsive to both academic and social needs. Thus, utilizing a mixed model of art education and standard core curricula can provide students with effective creative-thinking processes to support instruction, and empower students.

This project proposes a model of integrated arts curriculum into public education at the high school level. Arts integration can produce more learning possibilities while informing a community of solutions to larger problems through project-based curriculum design, …

Arts Educators Advocating For The Arts In Idaho, Heather Hanks

Art Graduate Theses and Projects

The purpose of this M.A. Art Education project is to provide Idaho’s arts educators with both a comprehensive arts education advocacy handbook and access to a professionally designed arts education advocacy marketing campaign. Global, national, and local arts advocacy research serve as a foundation for this project. This project has three major components: an arts advocacy handbook, materials for an Idaho-specific arts advocacy marketing campaign, and a social media page. The handbook, “Informed. Active. Connected. Arts Educators Advocating For The Arts in Idaho,” aims to better prepare Idaho’s arts educators to be effective, knowledgeable, and informed advocates for the arts …

Informed. Active. Connected. Arts Educators Advocating For The Arts In Idaho, Heather Hanks

Art Graduate Theses and Projects

PROJECT OVERVIEW: Create a professional marketing handbook for arts educators in Idaho to use as a tool to allow them to more effectively advocate for arts education in Idaho.

For the first time, in 1994, the Goals 2000: Education America Act identified the arts as part of the core curriculum in federal policy. Eighteen years later, available research shows that arts education contributes to critical thinking, creativity, social engagement, cultural awareness, and student achievement. However, despite this “convincing research and strong public support, the arts remain on the margin of education, often the last to be added and the first …

I-Stem Summer Institute: An Integrated Approach To Teacher Professional Development In Stem, Louis S. Nadelson, Anne Seifert, Amy J. Moll, Brad Coats

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The importance of STEM education to societal developments provides justification for assuring K–12 teachers are prepared to teach the related content. Inservice teacher professional development is critical to achieving the goal of enhanced student knowledge of STEM. Combining the need for increased capacity to teach STEM and the extant literature on teacher development, we created a four-day residential summer institute for 230 grade 4–9 teachers. The institute was designed to enhance the participants' content knowledge, use of inquiry for instruction, and efficacy for teaching STEM. A combination of content strands, plenary sessions, field trips and planning time were augmented by …

Empowering Educators With Google's Android App Inventor: An Online Workshop In Mobile App Design, Yu-Chang Hsu, Kerry Rice, Lisa Dawley

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this report, the authors describe an introductory-level mobile app design workshop developed and offered over six weeks in Summer 2011. We also discuss the challenges and instructional implications derived from our experiences with this workshop.