Educational Methods Commons^™

A Formative Process Evaluation Study Of Teacher Usage Of A Learning Management System In A K-12 Public School, Victoria Franzese

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore teacher perceptions, concerns, and integration of a Learning Management System (LMS) in a K-12 public school. With more educational institutions adopting LMSs, it is imperative to examine teachers' concerns regarding the tool as teachers have an important role in how effectively an innovation—such as an LMS—is implemented (Lochner, Conrad, & Graham, 2015). Ultimately, adoption of an innovation can be successful if teachers have an understanding of the components leading to the innovation's success, such as the innovation's value in enhancing both the curriculum and the students' learning experiences (Lochner et al., 2015). …

Incorporating Istation Into Early Childhood Classrooms To Improve Reading Comprehension, Tian Luo, Guang-Lea Lee, Cynthia Molina

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose: IStation is an adaptive computer-based reading program that adapts to the learner's academic needs. This study investigates if the Istation computer-based reading program promotes reading improvement scores as shown on the STAR Reading test and the IStation test scaled scores for elementary school thirdgrade learners on different reading levels.

Background: Prior literature provided a limited evidence base for incorporating computer-adaptive learning technologies to improve reading comprehension in the context of early childhood education.

Methodology: Using a mixed-method case study research approach, this study purports to investigate the effects of IStation and examine the perspectives of teachers and students. Supported …

The Effects Of Rubric Use On Calibration Accuracy, Katrice A. Hawthorne, Linda Bol, Shana Pribesh

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The utility of rubric-referenced calibration and the interaction between achievement and calibration accuracy were investigated. Students (N = 596) were assigned to one of three calibration conditions: (1) a global condition, (2) a general criteria condition, or (3) a detailed criteria condition. Students in all three conditions provided holistic predictions and postdictions, while students in the criteria conditions also provided criteria-based predictions and postdictions. While calibrating by condition did not affect calibration accuracy overall, significant effects were found between calibration accuracy by criteria and achievement level. Calibrating using detailed criteria lessened the difference in calibration accuracy between low and high …

Workbooks For Instruction In Diagram Comprehension: High School Biology Part I, Jennifer G. Cromley, Tony Perez, Bradley W. Bergey

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Four methods were developed for teaching high school students how to better understand the diagrams in their biology textbooks. The 4 workbooks instantiate these methods: Conventions of Diagrams, Self-Explanation in Diagrams, Student-Completed Diagrams-Visual, and Student-Completed Diagrams-Verbal.

How Mobile Learning Initiatives Can Empower Women, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The Sustainable Development Goal 5 provides a call to action to promote gender equality and to empower women. This article responds to that call by providing insight into how mobile learning initiatives have been used to support that aim. A critical analysis is conducted of studies in the past decade to review what strategies have been effective in empowering women. The analysis revealed that initiatives were targeted towards three areas: Education, health, and financial empowerment.

Findings show that in certain topics women should play an active role to further the empowerment process. This article also aligns with Objective 4 of …

A Comparison Of Verbal And Written Metacognitive Strategies Used By High School Students In A Language Arts Classroom, Jennifer Elizabeth Gannaio

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of the study was to compare verbal and written metacognitive strategies used by 10th grade students in an English Language Arts (ELA) classroom. A convenience sample of forty-seven students were divided into two equivocal treatment groups. Both groups were first pretested by completing an ACT reading passage with accompanying questions. Following the reading task, both groups completed the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategy Inventory (MARSI). The sample was divided into two treatment groups, one group receiving daily enrichment style instruction in verbal metacognitive strategies, and the other treatment group receiving instruction in both written and verbal strategies. Following …

A Model Of Effective Teaching In Arts, Humanities, And Social Sciences, Khazima Tahir, Hamid Ikram, Jennifer Economos, Elsa-Sophia Morote, Albert Inserra

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Inviting Diverse Participation: The Role Of Student-Generated Questions In Classroom Collaborative Inquiry, Ching-Ching Lin

Graduate School of Education Publications and Research

Using questioning and discussion techniques to drive instruction and meet the needs of diverse learners has been at the forefront of the current standards-based reform in the United States, where learning standards are used to determine academic expectations. The general goal of standards-based education is to ensure that students are acquiring the knowledge and skills that are deemed to be essential for their success in higher education and careers (Great Schools Partnership, 2017). From kindergarten to higher education, questioning has been viewed as a multifaceted strategy that animates learning, improves the quality of classroom instruction, and cultivates students’ higher order …

Introduction To The Student Design Case Slam, John Baaki, Colin M. Gray, Craig D. Howard, Elizabeth Boling

STEMPS Faculty Publications

At the 2016 Association for Educational Communications and Technology Convention in Las Vegas, the IJDL editorial team hosted a Student Design Case SLAM. The focus of the one-day workshop was to engage graduate students in writing a publishable design case. Nine graduate students participated in the Design Case SLAM. Each graduate student brought the beginnings of a design case. Students were assigned to groups of three and assigned to an editor. Editors provided design case prompts and students completed free writing exercises which included feedback from the editor and group members.

Media Exposure On Student Work: Spotlight On Undergraduate Research, Dominic Klyve

Mathematics Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes efforts by the author to engage and motivate students in undergraduate research by giving them a large audience and engaging the media in disseminating their work. I provide an introduction to public relations from the point of view of a mathematics professor, and describe some lessons I’ve learned in my own attempts to engage newsprint, radio, and television sources in stories about undergraduate research in mathematics. After describing some partially successful early attempts, the paper discusses a recent event in which undergraduate research in mathematics became, briefly, a “hot news item” in Central Washington. The paper concludes …

Soft(A)Ware In The English Classroom: (Re)Framing Education For Equity: Acknowledging Outputs And Inputs In Literacies Education, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

"The way that our field of English education frames what and, at times, who are problems requiring solutions is at the heart of meaningful teaching and learning. Software and digital technologies play a role in the framing that grounds current educational reform policies in and beyond our field; a framing that works both to obscure and perpetuate inequitable systems. Software and digital technologies contribute to seemingly neutral educational policies and practices that obscure issues of structural racism, opportunity and access, and the privileging of a limited understanding of what it means to be literate and educated."

Do Homework Trackers Affect Students’ Academic Performance?, Luisdaniel Barrera

All Master's Theses

With new state assessment requirements for high school graduation, teachers are focusing on different strategies to assist students to achieve those goals. Many teachers state that students who complete homework perform better academically. The current study analyzed whether homework planners (trackers) had any positive effect on the academic performance of 16 seventh grade students in a very small and rural school district. This was a mixed study (quantitative and qualitative). Students’ grades, district assessments, state assessments, and teacher surveys were analyzed. The results showed that students improved their math and English Language Arts (ELA) district assessment scores when compared from …

The Effects Of Nutrition Education On Third And Fifth Grade Students’ Fruit And Vegetable Knowledge, Preference, And Consumption, Alexandra Epstein-Solfield

All Master's Theses

Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables (F/V) may reduce the risk of obesity and obesity-related diseases, yet most American school children fail to meet recommended intakes. One proposed method for reducing childhood obesity is implementing school-based nutrition education programs aimed at increasing F/V intake. This repeated measures study examined the effectiveness of an eight-week F/V-targeted nutrition education intervention on elementary-school students’ nutrition knowledge, F/V preference, and salad bar consumption. A convenience sample of third- and fifth-grade students (n = 149) participated in the study. Surveys were administered pre- and post-intervention to assess F/V knowledge and preference. Pre- and post-plate waste …

Pedagogical Methods Used By Probationary Elementary Teachers, Ronda Scarrow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Heeding current best practice, many teachers prioritize student-centered instruction as the most effective pedagogy to achieve student learning. However, preservice teachers at a small, southeastern U.S. university have expressed reservations in executing student-centered instructional methods when they become lesson facilitators. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine whether probational elementary teachers have the knowledge and skill set to execute student-centered instruction and identify the characteristics of this method based on their preservice experiences. The conceptual framework consisted of constructivist, humanism, and social learning, theories . The four research questions focused on participants' understanding of student-centered and teacher-centered pedagogical …

Effect Of Contemplative Pedagogy On The Ecoliteracy Of Undergraduate Public State University Students, Michael Vincent Lees

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Undergraduate students lack the opportunity and environment to contemplate and develop ecoliteracy skills that serve to integrate subject matter into their everyday experiences. Ecoliteracy is grounded in Capra's web of life theoretical framework and represents students' capacities to read world systems objectively with their head, heart, hands, and spirit. Contemplative pedagogy provides educators with exercises that give students time to reflect on the integration of learning. Ecoliteracy and contemplative pedagogy research has shown little quantitative data pertaining to how contemplative pedagogy affects undergraduate student ecoliteracy. To address that gap, this causal-comparative study measured the use of contemplative pedagogy exercises relative …

Using The Frame Information Creation As A Process To Teach Career Competencies To Advertising Students, Megan Blauvelt Heuer

Central University Libraries Research

Because information source types in advertising are dynamic and numerous, teaching Information Creation as a Process represents a critical part of information literacy education for students in advertising and marketing programs. Since these programs place great emphasis on career skills, addressing this frame should be situated within an awareness of professional practice. This chapter will look at how students struggle with the concept of Information Creation as a Process, give an overview of the advertising information landscape, and present progressive lesson plans with suggestions for possible assessments.

Teaching Tuba Students To Be Complete Musicians, Brandon E. Cummings

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of music educators is to develop complete musicians who successfully learn and perform all musical concepts. One of the limitations of the band classroom is that performers are required to play a part that is specifically written with the needs of the ensemble in mind, and not the needs of the developing musician. These limitations can be seen in the bass instruments of a band which typically play the harmony or bass-line. While the bass-line and harmony are integral portions of the music, they do not often progress as far as other instrumental parts with respect to the …

Using Singing As A Teaching Tool In Brass Playing, James G. Gates

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper is an examination of three prominent brass pedagogues, Emory Remington, Arnold Jacobs, and Joseph Alessi, who each emphasized the importance of singing in rehearsals and personal practice. The purpose of this project is to gather strategies for using singing presented by these pedagogues and consolidate the findings into a resource to be used by classroom educators. The three pedagogical areas included in this resource are Tone/Timbre, Rhythm/Tempo, and Phrasing/Style. The information contained in the resource section of this paper is a collection of beliefs and concepts advocated by each pedagogue. It was gathered through the viewing and transcribing …

Creating Confident Writers: Implementing Writing Portfolios In A Secondary-Level Language Arts Classroom, Julia Smagacz

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper explores the implementation of a writing portfolio project in secondary-level English Language Arts classrooms. In addition to defining the project and describing its potential parameters, this paper describes goals and strategies that educators may use to implement this project, using research from multiple school district curricula and reputable state education resources. The paper includes testimonies from four current high school English teachers, in which each teacher details his or her experience with the writing portfolio. The teachers also provided feedback on the importance of writing and the writing process in general. Also included in this paper is a …

Educational Learning Environments, Meaghan Rooney 3287247

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The question of classroom learning environment and how it affects learning has been widely studied. The type of environment in which students learn sparks passionate debate in today’s society, since a significant amount of a child’s time is spent in a school. . Research confirms that attending school and obtaining an education will teach children to be successful citizens, but what about the environment in which they go to school? If school is what makes the next generation ready to positively contribute to society, then steps must be taken so that each child has an opportunity to thrive. Students in …