Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Call For Manuscripts

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

Copyright And Open Access

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.

My Experience Teaching General Chemistry To A Student Who Is Visually Impaired, Katherine M E Stewart

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This paper summarizes my experience with teaching a first-year, General Chemistry course to a visually impaired student. This includes accommodations and modifications for both the lecture material and the laboratory. Included are also examples of formats and syntax for txt-based quizzes, tests, and laboratory reports, as well as other general accommodations for both the student and the service dog.

Implications Of 3-D Printing For Teaching Geoscience Concepts To Students With Visual Impairments, Karen E. Koehler, Tiffany A. Wild, Sean Tikkun

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This article presents the results of a study on the use of 3-D printed models in a science classroom for students with visual impairments and examines whether the use of these models impacts student conceptual understanding and misconceptions related to geosciences concepts, specifically plate tectonics.

Data were collected one week prior to instruction, one week after instruction and throughout the 3-week instructional period. Results showed that students with visual impairments held many of the same misconceptions about plate tectonics as students who are typically sighted. All students in this study had fewer misconceptions after the instructional period than they held …

The Ethics Of Play And Participation In A Tween Virtual World: Cheating Practices And Perspectives In The Whyville Community, Yasmin B. Kafai, Deborah A. Fields, Estee Ellis

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Much attention has been paid to young people’s increased participation in digital publics and its potential impact on their development and learning. However, few studies have examined the ethics in online play and their interactions as a critical aspect in the development of youth digital culture. In this paper we turn to the issue of cheating, a widely accepted practice in many online communities, including Whyville.net, a virtual world with over 5.5 million registered players ages 8-16. Our analyses focused on culturally-relevant examples such as player-written articles on cheating and player-produced YouTube cheating videos associated with Whyville from 2000 to …

A Study Of Video-Mediated Opportunities For Self-Directed Learning In Required Core Curriculum, Debra T. Bourdeau, Donna Roberts, Beverly Wood, Johnelle Korioth

Beverly Wood

Improving a required course in our curriculum that has proven to be a challenge for our students was the focus of this study. Surveys of both students and instructors attempted to identify specific problem areas. Using the information from these surveys, the researchers developed a series of videos to explain vital course concepts and deployed these into the course sections. The purpose of the videos is to provide consistency across the multiple modalities in which we offer our courses (including online, classroom and via videoconferencing) and to improve overall student understanding. This project seeks to determine how supplemental content focusing …

Book Review: Towards Inclusion Of All Learners Through Science Teacher Education, Greg Stefanich

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

It is a pleasure to receive an invitation to submit a review for the book titled Towards Inclusion of All Learners through Science Teacher Education. The contributors include four wellknown leaders in inclusive science education complemented by a spectrum of authors American and international, in pre-service and graduate science education, pre-service and graduate special education, science research, special education practitioners, classroom teachers, graduate students, and students through case studies and interviews.

The book presents an excellent overview of current practices in schools, descriptions of individual and team efforts to improve practice, and emerging innovations such as the application of Universal …

An Alternative To Violence In Education, Michelle Savard

Peace and Conflict Studies

It is imperative that transformative educators understand how education can be manipulated to serve political and authoritarian agendas and to recognize its subtle manifestations in order to reshape education for the purposes of fostering peace, cooperation and acceptance. Bush and Saltarelli (2000) assert that in its extremes, education can have “two faces”. It can be used as a tool to stimulate political unrest, foster hatred, justify violence and promote inequities; or in the case of peace education, facilitate the reconstruction of fragile states. Yet peace education programs continue to be criticized for their lack of rigorous evaluations largely by those …

An Investigation Of Engineering Design Cognition And Achievement In Primary School, Greg J. Strimel, Scott R. Bartholomew, Eunhye Kim, Liwei Zhang

Faculty Publications

This study examined the design cognition and achievement results of both kindergarten and fourth grade students engaged in engineering design-based instructional activities. Relationships between design cognition and student grade level, as well as quality of student work, were investigated. 30 concurrent think-aloud protocols were collected from individual primary students as they worked in groups to design and make a solution to a design task. The concurrent think-aloud protocols were examined and coded to determine the duration of time the participants devoted to a pre-established set of mental processes for technological problem solving. Significant differences between kindergarten and fourth grade participants …

Course Design…Online: Helping Students Perform In The Digital Age, Joseph W. Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The current study sought to test the relationship between course design, as described by the rubric produced by Quality Matters, and online university student performance. Due to the link between student motivation and active learning behaviors, and thus performance, it was predicted that the better-designed courses would facilitate student motivation. It was also predicted that goal orientation would moderate this relationship. While a significant relationship was observed between student motivation and course performance, no relationship was observed between course quality, as measured by the QM Rubric, and motivation, or performance. Only slight evidence was found for a moderating effect of …

The Lifecycle Of Sustainable Analytics: From Data Collection To Change Management, Mitchell Colver

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In this age of an ever-increasing list of analytics vendors and endlessly forwarded news articles that trumpet the promises of big data in higher education, it can be easy to become distracted by data science and miss out on another opportuni­ty—supporting increased professionalism amongst university staff, faculty, and administrators. Indeed, like many technologies before it, analytics provides us with an opportunity to catalyze institutional effectiveness, but only when we resist the tenden­cy to believe that technology can replace the need for human ingenuity and judgment. This report will argue that such threats to pro­fessional flourishing can be insulated against if …

How Design Features In Digital Math Games Support Learning And Mathematics Connections, Patricia S. Moyer-Packenham, Christina W. Lommatsch, Kristy Litster, Jill Ashby, Emma P. Bullock, Allison L. Roxburgh, Jessica F. Shumway, Emily Speed, Benjamin Covington, Christine Hartmann, Jody Clarke-Midura, Joel Skaria, Arla Westenskow, Beth L. Macdonald, Jurgen Symanzik, Kerry Jordan

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

Current research shows that digital games can significantly enhance children’s learning. The purpose of this study was to examine how design features in 12 digital math games influenced children’s learning. The participants in this study were 193 children in Grades 2 through 6 (ages 8-12). During clinical interviews, children in the study completed pre-tests, interacted with digital math games, responded to questions about the digital math games, and completed post-tests. We recorded the interactions using two video perspectives that recorded children’s gameplay and responses to interviewers. We employed mixed methods to analyze the data and identify salient patterns in children’s …

Note-Taking And Science Inquiry In An Open-Ended Learning Environment, Yang Jiang, Jody Clarke-Midura, Bryan Keller, Ryan S. Baker, Luc Paquette, Jaclyn Ocumpaugh

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Note-taking is important for academic success and has been thoroughly studied in traditional classroom contexts. Recent advancements of technology have led to more students taking notes on computers, and in different situations than are common in traditional instructional contexts. However, research on computer-based note-taking is still an emerging area, and findings from these studies are mixed. In this exploratory study, we conducted multilevel analysis to comprehensively investigate the relationship between note-taking measures and subsequent student success at science inquiry among middle school students, using two scenarios of an open-ended learning environment named Virtual Performance Assessments. Analysis revealed an advantage for …

Enhancing Teaching And Learning Through Design Practice, Lori Lockyer

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Design is part of a teacher’s practice on a daily basis. Teachers are constantly designing and redesigning learning experiences for their students. However, the notions of the teacher as designer or ‘teacher design practice’ are rarely used as frameworks within teacher education or continuing professional learning. In fact, ‘teacher design thinking’, that is, how school teachers think about and engage in design practice has been an under-researched area. Design thinking has the potential to provide teachers with a scaffold to reflect upon contextual and evidence-based factors when designing learning experiences for their students. However, we need to know how teachers …

How Mother And Father Support Affect Youths’ Interest In Computer Science, Jody Clarke-Midura, Frederick J. Poole, Katarina Pantic, Chongning Sun, Vicki Allan

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Parental support is a predictor of children’s career interest and aspirations. However, mother and father support affects youth career choices differently. To understand how perceived mothers’ and fathers’ support affect career interest in computer science (CS), we developed two path models using both mother and father support gains to predict youths’ interest in CS. We hypothesized that perceived father’s and mother’s support would relate to youths’ interest in CS via youths’ perception of CS utility value as a mediator. We found that both mother and father support leads to interest in CS. However, father support was found to affect CS …

The Lost & Found Game Series: Teaching Medieval Religious Law In Context, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Presentations and other scholarship

Lost & Found is a strategy card-to-mobile game series that teaches medieval religious legal systems with attention to period accuracy and cultural and historical context. The Lost & Found project seeks to expand the discourse around religious legal systems, to enrich public conversations in a variety of communities, and to promote greater understanding of the religious traditions that build the fabric of the United States. Comparative religious literacy can build bridges between and within communities and prepare learners to be responsible citizens in our pluralist democracy. The first game in the series is a strategy game called Lost & Found …

Problems And Promises Of Using Lms Learner Analytics For Assessment, Valerie Beech, Eric A. Kowalik

Eric A. Kowalik

Designing For Online Computer-Based Clinical Simulations: Evaluation Of Instructional Approaches, Ilana Dubovi

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Online computer-based simulations are becoming more widespread in nursing education. Therefore, an understanding of when and how to implement the variety of instructional strategies related to these simulations is fundamental.

Objectives: This study compares the effectiveness of online computer-based simulations designed using two alternative instructional approaches—Productive Failure and Simple-to-Complex sequencing—on learning of clinical reasoning skills.

Participants: Participants in this study were undergraduate nursing students (n = 103, mean age = 23.4 ± 2.1) enrolled at a university in Israel.

Methods: Participants completed two online simulations designed using Productive Failure approach (emergency medicine, mental health) and two online simulations using …

Does Audience Matter? Comparing Teachers' And Non-Teachers' Application And Perception Of Quality Rubrics For Evaluating Open Educational Resources, Min Yuan, Mimi Recker

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

While many rubrics have been developed to guide people in evaluating the quality of Open Educational Resources (OER), few studies have empirically investigated how different people apply and perceive such rubrics. This study examines how participants (22 teachers and 22 non-teachers) applied three quality rubrics (comprised of a total of 17 quality indicators) to evaluate 20 OER, and how they perceived the utility of these rubrics. Results showed that both teachers and non-teachers found some indicators more difficult to apply, and displayed different response styles on different indicators. In addition, teachers gave higher overall ratings to OER, but non-teachers' ratings …

Effectiveness Of Bite-Sized Lecture On Student Learning Outcomes, Noi Sian Koh, Swapna Gottipati, Venky Shankararaman

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Bite-Sized teaching approach uses relatively small learning units with short term focused activities. The paper presents the effectiveness of Bite-Sized lecture pedagogy on learning outcomes for an analytics course offered by the School of Information Technology at Nanyang Polytechnic. The methodology involves breaking a typical 1 hour lecture into 3 to 4 short lectures followed by related tutorial / practical exercises relevant to each respective short lecture. The results from the exercises shows statistically significant improvements in the assessed learning outcomes for the Bite-Sized lecture over the traditional one hour lecture. 75% of the surveyed respondents agreed that the speed …

Putting Making Into High School Computer Science Classrooms: Promoting Equity In Teaching And Learning With Electronic Textiles In Exploring Computer Science, Deborah A. Fields, Yasmin B. Kafai, Tomoko Nakajima, Joanna Goode, Jane Margolis

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Recent discussions of making have focused on developing out-of-school makerspaces and activities to provide more equitable and enriching learning opportunities for youth. Yet school classrooms present a unique opportunity to help broaden access, diversify representation, and deepen participation in making. In turning to classrooms, we want to understand the crucial practices that teachers employ in broadening and deepening access to making. In this paper, we investigate two high school teachers’ approaches in implementing a novel eight-week, electronic textiles unit within the Exploring Computer Science curriculum, where students designed wearable electronic textile projects with microcontrollers, sensors, and LEDs. We share teachers’ …

Creating Artful Thinkers - Transforming Research Into Practice, Onsite To Online Learning, Julie A. Carmean, Sara M. Lesk

ICOT 18 - International Conference on Thinking - Cultivating Mindsets for Global Citizens

National Gallery of Art educators Julie Carmean and Sara Lesk propose presenting about their process of transforming research into practice through creating the National Gallery’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), specifically for K-12 educators, using the pedagogy of Harvard’s Artful Thinking Routines and the National Gallery’s art collection. This free, international, online learning experience aims to democratize the opportunity for teachers to bring critical thinking through art to their students around the world. Participants will experience a combined onsite/online demonstration of one of their MOOC modules by, first, engaging with a work of art, using an Artful Thinking routine; …

Video Composition, Creative Discourse, And Facilitated Freedom: A Teacher's Journey To Reveal Student Potential, Michael A. Brinkmeyer

MSU Graduate Theses

This research project was conducted in response to students’ lack of engagement in traditional modes of instruction and composition in a high school English Language Arts course. In order to better understand students as creative composers of knowledge, this research project asked students to engage in the video production process in collaborative groups. The research was conducted over the course of eight class periods in three different sections of Junior-level English Language Arts courses. Analysis of the data from this study reveals three important findings: 1) students respond well to creative and relevant performance assessments; 2) students’ collaborative conversations, or …

Iterative Design Of A Simulation-Based Module For Teaching Evolution By Natural Selection, Jody Clarke-Midura, Denise S. Pope, Susan Maruca, Joel K. Abraham, Eli Meir

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: This research builds on a previous study that looked at the effectiveness of a simulation-based module for teaching students about the process of evolution by natural selection. While the previous study showed that the module was successful in teaching how natural selection works, the research uncovered some weaknesses in the design. In this paper, we used design-based research to investigate how design changes to the module affected not only students’ understanding of the concepts but also their usage of misconceptions in the assessments. We present results from two studies. In study 1, we looked at gains in understanding …

Self-Efficacy Change Associated With A Cognitive Load-Based Intervention In An Undergraduate Biology Course, David F. Feldon, Joana Franco, Jie Chao, James Peugh, Cathy Maahs-Fladung

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Cognitive load theory (CLT) holds that discovery learning and other instructional strategies imposing high levels of extraneous load on novice learners hinder learning. Such learning conditions are also associated with significant drops in persistence, a key measure of motivation. However, research within the CLT framework typically engages motivation as a necessary precursor to learning, rather than as an outcome of instruction. In this study, we examine changes in motivational beliefs as outcomes of learners' cognitive processes through a CLT lens as they engage with instruction. Using a double-blind quasi-experimental design, we manipulate the level of cognitive load imposed on participants …

Learning To Teach: Observing And Reflecting, Nancy Nager

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

This video series, “Learning to Teach,” provides a platform for professional development in early childhood education. It introduces viewers to compelling early childhood classroom footage accompanied by facilitated discussions about observations and teaching practices. You will get a hands-on look at how beginning teachers learn to closely observe children and engage in reflective conversations about children, materials, the classroom environment and themselves.

Using Student-Produced Video To Validate Head-To-Toe Assessment Performance, Christina Purpora, Susan K. Prion

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

BACKGROUND:

This study explored third-semester baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of the value of using student-produced video as an approach for learning head-to-toe assessment, an essential clinical nursing skill taught in the classroom. METHOD:

A cognitive apprenticeship model guided the study. The researchers developed a 34-item survey. A convenience sample of 72 students enrolled in an applied assessment and nursing fundamentals course at a university in the western United States provided the data. RESULTS:

Most students reported a videotaping process that worked, supportive faculty, valuable faculty review of their work, confidence, a sense of performance independence, the ability to identify normal …

Editor’S Welcome, Abbie Brown, Jill Stefaniak

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Welcome to this special edition of the Journal of Computing in Higher Education. (First paragraph) The articles in this issue focus on the instructional design process and the preparation of instructional designers. Instructional design is traditionally closely aligned with instructional technology; so much so that many refer to the discipline as instructional design/technology. We are honored to serve as guest editors for this special issue of JCHE and hope the articles that comprise this issue help articulate critically important aspects of the instructional design process as well as issues associated with the education of instructional designers.

Using Argument-Based Science Inquiry To Improve Science Achievement For Students With Disabilities In Inclusive Classrooms, Jonte C. Taylor, Ching-Mei Tseng, Angelique Murillo, William Therrien, Brian Hand

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities have long lagged behind their non-disabled peers when it comes to science achievement. The increased emphasis on STEM related careers and the use of science in everyday life makes learning science content and concepts critical for all students especially for those with disabilities. As suggested by the National Resource Council (2012), more emphasis is being placed on being able to critically think about science concepts in and outside of the classroom. Additionally, the Next Generation Science Standards are asking teachers and students to better understand how science is connected to the everyday world through the use of …

From The Co-Editors..., Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

No abstract provided.