Educational Methods Commons^™

Peer Tutoring Of Junior Nursing Students: Student Experiences And Perceptions Of Self-Efficacy And Benefit, Mary Clarke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of peer tutoring in junior-level nursing students, as well as the perceptions of increased self-efficacy and overall benefit to student learning. The proposed study included 10 nursing students enrolled in the residential Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at a large private university in the Southeast United States. The theoretical framework guiding this study included both developmental constructivism (Piaget, 1953) and social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1994), as they work in a reciprocal relationship within a conceptual framework. Knowledge is constructed, and as students learn concepts from experiences, they …

Fluency: A Steady Beat In The Making, Nicole Patton

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This honors thesis explores the literacy component of fluency and its instruction in the intermediate grades through the incorporation of Brain-based learning and the arts. Because reading fluency can affect other areas of reading, such as comprehension, it is important to build fluency skills through meaningful instruction. By exploring the best practices of fluency instruction, by understanding how the brain learns, and by recognizing how the arts can meet the needs of different learners, educators can alter and create instruction that challenges students’ reading ability in a unique way. A series of fluency lessons incorporating brain-based learning and the arts …

The Effects Of Community-Building On Achievement, Motivation, And Engagement In Undergraduate Mathematics, Hannak Keith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

This 2 x 2 quasi-experimental study examined the effects of pedagogical method (i.e., direct instruction vs. 5E inquiry) and intentional community-building (i.e., absence or presence) on undergraduate student (N = 103) motivation, engagement, and achievement in mathematics. Conditions were randomly assigned to one of four different College Algebra classes with a one-time occurrence and taught by a trained expert teacher. Findings indicated that intentional community-building – regardless of pedagogical method – had the strongest effects on students’ motivation, engagement, and achievement. Although no differing pedagogical effects were discovered (most likely due to the one-time implementation of the lesson formats), …

Testing The Effects Of Professional Development On Elementary Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics Inquiry Instruction, Courtney Inabnitt

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In this study, a professional development (PD) seminar was designed and implemented with elementary pre-service teachers (n=20) enrolled in a mathematics content course at a small Midwestern university. The central focus of the PD was on bringing inquiry, specifically the 5E model, into mathematics instruction at the elementary level. The structure of the PD followed the 5E model format and participants learned about inquiry through inquiry. The study utilized a pre-post-test design and measured participants’ knowledge about the 5E model and beliefs about using inquiry in elementary mathematics instruction. Statistically significant growth from pre-test to post-test appears in …

Development Of An Associate Degree Level Course On Lean, Jeremy Espinoza

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

Lean training and education has become a focal point in both industry and the realm of academics; however, the need within the industry remains, and oftentimes companies must take on the additional and high expense of training new graduates once they enter the workforce. Often, the classes that students study in the lean methodology, if any are studied at all, are taught within other disciplines, and the instruction is in a general sense as opposed to in depth and hands on. Within the past eight years it has been referenced in different academic articles that students are not coming into …

High-Altitude Ballooning In 3rd Grade, Emily L. Mathews, Brianna Marszalek, Bernhard Beck-Winchatz

2017 Academic High Altitude Conference

In this poster presentation we report on a high altitude balloon project conducted with third-graders from Gower West Elementary School in Willowbrook, IL in spring 2016. In the weeks before the launch students used a vacuum jar to investigate the effects of pressure changes on different objects, substances and sounds in the classroom and conducted pressure, temperature and wind measurements inside and outside of their school using Vernier probeware. To learn how to use the balloon tracking equipment and how to fill a balloon and prepare it for launch, students simulated a flight with a tethered balloon outside of their …

Beyond The Lone Hero: Providing Supports For New Teachers In High-Needs Schools, Sarah Elizabeth Barrett, Donna Ford, Carl James

Occasional Paper Series

This essay examines the activities and challenges encountered in a partnership between a faculty of education and a local school board in Toronto, Canada. The goal was to address concerns over a 40% drop-out rate amongst Black students in the Toronto District School Board.

Teachers were to identify areas of concern, and to use university resources to investigate and improve work with students. Initially, findings were disappointing, teachers often felt isolated working on their own, and some administrators perceived the project as disruptive to the overall running of the school.

Faculty came to the realization that to help support their …

No Shortcuts On The Journey To Learning For Students Or Teachers, Alison Coviello, Susan Stires

Occasional Paper Series

Despite the generally held view that children in low-performing, under-served schools have "deficits" teachers in such schools often have very different experiences. Students can succeed in all areas of schooling and beyond. But for this to happen, teacher education institutions need to provide teacher candidates with background information and knowledge about instruction, so they can see and support the strengths of students in high-needs schools.

Facilitating Student Documentary Projects Toward 21-Century Literacy And Civic Engagement, Steven Goodman

Occasional Paper Series

The author describes how he uses video making as a way to engage students in high-needs schools. Goodman believes video making projects can help counter the ways minority students are made invisible by school curriculum and the culture of testing. More importantly, creating video documentaries allows students to use multiple literacies and does not exclude those who struggle with the written word.

Preparing Teachers For High-Need Schools: A Focus On Thoughtfully Adaptive Teaching, Arlene Mascarenhas, Seth Parsons, Sarah Cohen Burrowbridge

Occasional Paper Series

Differentiated instruction, or thoughtfully adaptive teaching, helps teachers successfully meet the needs of students in under-served schools. Teacher education institutions can do their part by forming partnerships with high-needs schools so teacher candidates can gain experience in a supportive environment. Along with providing a solid grounding in pedagogy, teacher education programs need to help candidates develop their own vision of teaching. Vision is seen as a way for teachers to remain true to their core values, and as a way to stay focused on how to do the best for all of their students.

The Right To Learn: Preparing Early Childhood Teachers To Work In High-Need Schools, Julie Diamond, Fretta Reitzes, Betsy Grob

Occasional Paper Series

Three teacher educators trained in the 1960's reflect on how to ensure educational equity in high-needs schools of today. The article starts with a description of the education the writers want for all children, and outline the processes and practices needed to sustain it. This is followed by a discussion on how schools of education can equip teachers with the values, understandings, and strategies they will need to achieve these goals.

The Invisible Schism: Teachers’ And Administrators’ Differing Perceptions Of Education Reforms, Sarah Melvoin Bridich

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies: Faculty Scholarship

This study examined teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of education reforms, focusing on a state legislated education bill that altered teacher evaluations. A mixed-method design, including an electronic survey, was used to gather perceptions of Colorado Senate Bill 10-191: Great Teachers and Leaders Act from teachers and administrators in the Rockies School District (RSD), as well as these two groups’ general perceptions of teacher evaluations, education reforms, and change. Results revealed that teachers collectively hold similar views of education reforms, as do administrators; however, how each group perceives these elements of education policy and reform differs significantly. Both teachers and administrators …

Finding Empathy In Historical Inquiry And Data Management Through An Educational Research Example, Bo Chang

The Qualitative Report

In historical inquiry, researchers identify the research questions, specify the domain which relates to the research questions, and familiarize themselves with how the documents are structured and managed in the host library. In collecting data, researchers don’t need to constrain themselves with how documents are labeled by the archivists. They can break the boundaries of the labeled documents and find out how seemingly unrelated documents are actually inter-related. In analyzing data, positivists and constructionists view history differently, which results in different approaches to how historical data can be analyzed. Positivists believe in transparency and universal truths across the historical data …

Raise Your Cards - A Look At Plickers In An Adult Learning Environment, Megan Taylor

SIDLIT Conference

At SIDLIT 2015, the session on the free Plickers polling system dazzled many of us. Members of the National Weather Service Training Center immediately began integrating this tool into their classes. In this session, we will review our successful integration of Plickers. We will also examine the results of using this technique with adult learners with a predominately introverted, scientific mindset. This session will also include information about what has and has not worked. Are you unfamiliar with Plickers? No worries, we will do a quick overview of this tool at the beginning of the presentation.

State Of Video In Education (An Overview: Why Should I Use Video, And How Can I Do This Practically?), Kaltura

SIDLIT Conference

75%…of students use video in their assignments (up 4% over 2015)
50%…the increase over 2015 of respondents that say they are flipping their classroom
93%…say that video has a positive impact on student satisfaction
88%…say video increases student achievement
Evidence is growing year over year that video usage within teaching and learning is the norm; cable-cutters are the digital natives that enter our colleges and universities each fall and streaming on-demand content is the language they know. Please join Kaltura in this session, where we will discuss trends in the video space. Additionally, we will discuss how Kaltura tools can …

#Dearnextpresident: Passionate Student Engagement, Terri Summey

SIDLIT Conference

Engaging students in the educational process is something that educators struggle to achieve. To increase student engagement in a course long research project, this faculty member decided to build on causes that students are passionate about. Using a hashtag / video campaign sponsored by Fusion.net, #DearNextPresident, students identified and researched causes that they want the next President to focus on. At the end of the semester, students’ findings were presented in a variety of formats, including a video asking the next President to support their cause and presenting facts about the issue. Because the research focused on a topic that …

Save The Day With Voicethread!, April Robbs

SIDLIT Conference

VoiceThread comes to the rescue to promote speaking, listening and learning in asynchronous settings and is an especially powerful tool in the Human Services and Communication online classes at Ottawa University. Its web-based platform can be used as a stand-alone tool, or can integrate many of the major LMS systems. Participants can interact with multimedia presentations by recording audio (microphone or from a phone line) comments, video (webcam) comments, and by uploading an audio file from their device. This session will explore how Ottawa University uses class debates, student presentations, persuasive appeals, and class discussions to engage students.

Minimizing Student Frustration While Maximizing Faculty Satisfaction Using Simple Course Design, David Martin, Norbert Belz, Nellie Modaress

SIDLIT Conference

AyidStudents are demanding the use of online options to receive information about courses, complete assignments, and participate in class discussions. This form of education requires different knowledge, skills, and attitudes from course instructors. The growth of these programs has inspired change in how these types of courses and programs are designed and delivered to meet quality standards. This presentation will identify ways to both meet quality standards and provide improved student experiences through the use of standardized course design features in learning management systems.

Static Course Modules? Zap! Librarians Create Interactive Online Lessons, Julie Hartwell, Heather Healy

SIDLIT Conference

Tired of voiceover PowerPoints? Looking for more than just another video link? NLA to the rescue! The New Literacies Alliance (NLA) is a project that creates interactive, online, and open access lessons addressing basic concepts of information and related literacies. Student scores on activities and assessments are captured using SoftChalk. The lessons are institution and LMS agnostic, allowing users from any organization to deploy the lessons in their online environment. Discover how librarians and instructors freely embed these lessons into their courses and collaborate remotely in the creation of new lessons. The session examines planning for initial lesson use, differing …

Going From Quality Learning Objectives To Quality Assessments, Kendra Barker

SIDLIT Conference

Great course design requires strong learning objectives that power quality formative assessments. In this session, participants will gain a deeper understanding of how to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to write learning objectives that create formative and measurable outcomes, when working with a qualified Subject Matter Expert. Participants will learn the “do’s” and “don’ts” of writing assessments, types of assessment questions to use, and how to format those questions to meet the course’s learning objectives.