Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

A View From The Margins: Situating Ctl Staff In Organizational Development, Emily O. Gravett, Lindsay Bernhagen

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The authors explore assumptions that underlie work on organizational development in their field, which reveal hierarchical and homogenizing tendencies, despite commitments to inclusivity. Given that the aim of recent literature, such as Schroeder and Associates’ Coming in from the Margins, is to situate educational developers in relation to organizational development, and given the field’s values, then both staff and directors must be considered. The authors examine how the margins can be valuable sites of knowledge production, highlighting the ways staff might contribute to organizational development. The authors hope that readers will gain several ideas for how to incorporate staff into …

A Worthy Asset: The Adjunct Faculty And The Influences On Their Job Satisfaction, Telvis Rich

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

The author explored the intrinsic factors that foster job satisfaction of adjunct faculty members working in the southeastern United States. The literature concerning adjunct work experiences is limited, although adjuncts comprise the great majority of the faculty pool in many community and technical colleges. Twenty-seven adjuncts’ work experiences were examined to identify the key intrinsic workplace factors that impact their job satisfaction. Data were collected concerning the adjuncts’ work environment; professional relationships with administrators, students, and fellow adjuncts; and the overall perceptions on job satisfaction. The findings, implications of the study, limitations of the study, and recommendations for improved adjunct …

Unpacking And Communicating The Multidimensional Mission Of Educational Development: A Mission Matrix Tool For Centers Of Teaching And Learning, Connie Schroeder

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In recent decades, the work of educational developers in Centers of Teaching and Learning (CTLs) is complex and diverse. The wide range of services and programs makes it difficult understand the mission and purpose of CTLs and communicate this effectively. The Center Mission Matrix Tool enables analysis and articulation of all facets of the Center’s mission. Juxtaposing the Center mission with three levels of impact—individual, departmental, and institutional—the Matrix adapts to each Center construct and provides a visual snapshot to multiple audiences, including the field of educational development, institutional stakeholders, and to the Center staff for internal purposes.

Implementing A University Wide Change Initiative, Ronald A. Styron Jr.

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This paper provides an account of the pilot and first year of a university improvement initiative, developed in response to a reaffirmation mandate from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The initiative focused on increasing student retention and enhancing learning through the campus-wide use of team-based learning (TBL) (Michaelsen, Knight, & Fink, 2004). The strategy used in implementing the initiative was based on a conceptual framework created from the integration of E. M. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory (2003), J. P. Kotter’s Leading Change strategies (1996), and T. Littman’s Planning Principles and Practices (2013). To date, …

Overcoming Pedagogical Solitude: The Transformative Power Of Discipline Specific Faculty Learning Communities, Mariela Tovar, Rosalie Jukier, Jennie Ferris, Kristen Cardoso

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

This article describes a multiyear Faculty Learning Community (FLC) program as a strategy to overcome pedagogical solitude (Shulman, 1993) in a discipline specific context. Participant interviews shed light on their FLC experiences and perceived impact on their teaching and students’ learning. Grounded within the particularities of the disciplinary context and based on the results of interviews reflecting a highly positive experience, key factors that had a major role in the success of the FLCs are articulated, framed within V. Lee, M. Hyman, and G. Luginbuhl’s (2007) concept of readiness. The authors also suggest contextual questions to consider when transferring their …

Developmental Stages Of New Graduate Student Instructional Consultants: Implications For Professional Growth, Mary C. Wright, Laura N. Schram, Kristen S. Gorman

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Effective consulting is a key skill for educational developers. Although most educational developers are new to the field, there is limited research about how new practitioners develop consulting skills. The key research question this study explores is: How do new graduate teaching consultants develop as practitioners? This study empirically applies several “classic” models of consulting to better understand new consultants’ perceived development of expertise, preferred consulting approaches, and reflection about them. The findings are generally confirmatory of the ways that classic frameworks map onto the development of consultants. They also suggest greater attention to supporting new consultants beyond “getting started,” …

Colby College Catalogue 2015 - 2016, Colby College

Colby Catalogues

Colby College Catalogue: September 2015 - August 2016

An Exploration Of The Connections Between Institution Type And Perceived Levels Of Stereotype Threat In African American Engineering Students, David M. Sparks

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications - Archive

To distinguish the similarities and differences in coping strategies of African American engineering students, a quantitative study was conducted which examined their perceptions of stereotype threat at three academic institution types: predominantly White institutions, ethnically diverse, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The researcher collected demographic information as well as survey data using the Stereotype Vulnerability Scale (SVS). Results were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlational statistical analyses. Findings revealed that no statistical differences exist between students’ scores on an assessment of stereotype vulnerability at the three university types, nor did the percentage of African American students …

Towards Understanding When Service-Learning Fosters Efficacy Beliefs Of Preservice Teachers, Kathleen Tice, Larry Nelson

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications - Archive

This research uses a mixed methods approach in focusing upon the role service-learning can play in enhancing preservice teachers’ sense of efficacy. Results of the quantitative component reveal significant gains in efficacy beliefs of preservice teachers who engaged in a service-learning project during a course in their teacher preparation. At the completion of a service-learning project, preservice teachers shared their perceptions of their participation through written reflections. Qualitative analysis of the preservice teachers’ written reflections and the characteristics of the service-learning experience uncover sources of efficacy, providing guidance for planning service-learning in teacher education. Additionally, findings document the importance of …

Numeracy Infusion Course For Higher Education (Niche), 1: Teaching Faculty How To Improve Students' Quantitative Reasoning Skills Through Cognitive Illusions, Frank Wang, Esther I. Wilder

Publications and Research

We describe one of the eight units of a professional development program, the Numeracy Infusion Course for Higher Education (NICHE), which introduces research on cognition, including dual-processing theories, to university faculty. Under the dual-processing framework, System 1 (intuition) quickly proposes intuitive answers to judgment problems as they arise, while System 2 (deliberation) monitors the quality of these proposals, which it may endorse, correct, or override. We present several classic questions that demonstrate the pitfalls of overreliance on intuition without analytical thinking, then describe faculty participants’ responses to these questions and their ideas on how to apply cognitive illusion research to …

Children And Disaster Education: An Analysis Of Disaster Risk Reduction Within The School Curricula Of Oregon, Texas, And The Philippines, Ashley Merchant

MA IDS Thesis Projects

For the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the intensity and frequency of disasters. This has created a growing interest in the issue of disaster risk reduction among the global population. Past research has shown that proper planning and the use of protective measures can reduce the effects of a disastrous event. Preparedness is not only the responsibility of a nation’s government or relief agencies, but also of every member of the community, including the vulnerable population of children. The United Nations has called for disaster risk reduction education to be implemented in schools around the …

Point-Of-Need Resources In The Lms: Providing Performance Support To Thousands Of Online Graduate Students, Kim Read, Maureen Morasch

CUP Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Physical Activity And On-Task Behavior In Early Primary School Students, Michelle L. Thornton

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The relationship between students’ physical activity (PA) and on-task behavior in the classroom setting was examined. Given that students spend nearly half of their waking hours in school, researchers have suggested that the school environment could play a crucial role in increasing children’s PA. Physical activity of 157 first- and second-grade students was assessed using ActiGraph (GT1M) accelerometers during school hours. Momentary time sampling (MTS) tracked the on-task behaviors of 72 of the 157 participants every 30 seconds. Multiple linear regressions and paired sample t tests were run to measure students’ classroom PA steps, PA intensity levels in the classroom, …

Understanding And Creating The First-Year Seminar, Dan Gianoutsos

Academic Success Center Faculty Research

Although students in higher education are increasingly becoming more diverse, one thing that students of all types have in common is that they struggle adjusting to college life (Keup & Petschauer, 2011 ). These struggles are most prominent during their first year of college (American College Testing, 2014). While many co-curricular programs have been deemed valuable in helping address first-year student challenges, a renewed and surging interest has emerged in an over-century old practice of providing face-to-face seminars geared toward helping students transition from high school to college (Keup & Petschauer, 2011). Today, first-year seminars are very common and exist …

Influences Of Intensive Professional Development In Writing Instruction On Teachers' Dispositions And Self-Efficacy: It's A Matter Of Practice, Sherry Dismuke

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

After 20 years of nation-wide literacy reforms only one third of America's students perform at or above grade level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) writing assessment. Policies such as NCLB (2002) that focused on reading achievement have done little to raise scores on this national assessment of students writing progress (National Center for Educational Statistics, 1999, 2011). With 90% of American jobs now requiring higher level literacy skills (Darling-Hammond, Barron, Pearson, & Schoenfeld, 2008), most states have adopted new standards that are designed to ratchet up rigor in order to put American students on a trajectory to …

School Leaders’ Engagement In Curriculum Planning And Decision Making, Riaz Hussain

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Formative Feedback On Student Motivation To Write In Eighth Grade English Courses, Dayna Nielsen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study examined the impact of feedback on student motivation to write in eighth grade English courses, specifically during a persuasive essay unit. A literature review was conducted to determine the characteristics of effective feedback and when it should be delivered to students. The findings from the literature review were used to develop the experimental context for the study to find out how feedback can impact motivation. A mixed-method approach was used to gather both quantitative and qualitative data through the use of a survey administered after varying types and levels of feedback were provided to participating students. The study …

York College Library’S School Media Specialist: A New Library Model For Easing The Transition From High School To College, Christina Miller, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

In 2001, it was announced that York College, a senior college in The City University of New York, would have a high school on its campus beginning in September 2002, and the new school, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College (QHSSYC), would be using the York College Library. The York administration provided funds to the Library to hire an adjunct librarian in 2002 who would be the primary person dealing with QHSSYC. A few years later, the Chief Librarian successfully argued that the Library be allowed to recruit a full-time school library media specialist, the first position …

An Analysis Of Online And Blended Learning Environments : Measuring Approach And Learning Outcomes In Corporate Settings, Meghan B. O'Neal

Graduate Research Papers

Organizations use training as an investment with the desirable end goal of gaining a valuable employee, despite cost and time constraints on their organization. This review investigates how e-Learning and blended learning training methods are currently used in organizations. It measures the Return-On-Investment of e-Learning and blended learning training methods within corporate learning environments and examines means to improve learning outcomes for learners and the organization.

For this review, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated to analyze e-Learning and blended learning methods and outcomes. Conclusions reveal that both e-Learning and blended learning training models are being successfully used in corporate training modules. …

School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Honors Theses

School gardens have existed since the late nineteenth century and today are becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the world, including where I studied in Maine and Australia (AUS). Multiple organizations support school gardens in Maine, including the Maine School Garden Network, which has over 125 registered school gardens. In AUS, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation primarily supports the school garden movement and has over 800 registered school gardens. While many researchers have studied school gardens, few have compared two countries, focused on environmental sustainability, or investigated Maine in particular. This thesis combines information from literature reviews, and …