Educational Methods Commons^™

The Effect Of Preschool On Reaching Achievement Among Kindergarten Students, Reisha Monique Mckinney

Dissertations

As early childhood education continues to move to the forefront of public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Strickland and Riley-Ayers (2006) indicated that early literacy and early learning opportunities play a vital role in academic achievement. This study invested whether there were statistically significant relationships between preschool attendance based on the reading and language arts scores from the Georgia Kindergarten Inventory Developing Skills test.

The study also determined if there were differences in the reading and language arts for those who attended preschool and those who did not based on free/reduced and full paid lunch. …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Experience In Middle School Honors Math And Language Arts Courses And Student And Teacher Perceptions Of Preparedness For Similar High School Honors And Advanced Placement Courses, Melissa Butler

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to investigate student and teacher perceptions concerning the impact of honors middle school language arts and mathematics courses on preparedness for similar ninth through twelfth grade classes at a high school in northwest Georgia. The questions that guided the study focused on examining the perceptions of students and teachers who had experienced this phenomenon and their notions of the impact that participation in middle school honors mathematics and language arts courses had on preparedness for non-gifted students enrolled in similar accelerated high school courses. A transcendental phenomenological design was used to discover …

Effect Of Computer-Aided Instruction On Attitude And Achievement Of Fifth Grade Math Students, Traci Shoemaker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group study was to test theories of constructivism and motivation, along with research-based teaching practices of differentiating instruction and instructing within a child's Zone of Proximal Development, in measuring the effect of computer-aided instruction on fifth grade students' attitude and achievement in math. Students in Pennsylvania completed an attitude survey at the beginning, middle, and end of the study (Pierce, Stacey & Barkatsas, 2007). Achievement was measured by the 4Sight Math assessment (Pennsylvania State Education Association, 2007) which was given at the beginning of the study, after the first seven weeks of instruction, …

Supporting Or Enabling: Developing A Sustainable Support Model For Eportfolio Initiatives, Debra D. Runshe

Teaching and Learning Technologies Presentations

As the eportfolio community has grown, as this conference celebrates, so has the use of eportfolios at Indiana University. ePortfolio use began primarily on the campus at Indianapolis, IUPUI, and has been used there for almost a decade. As eportfolio use scaled up at the university beyond the IUPUI campus, so has the need for support of these sometimes complex projects. Engage in a conversation with the presenter as strategies for successful scaling up are discussed.

Riding The Wave: Open Access, Digital Publishing, And The Undergraduate Thesis, Char Miller

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

Char Miller, W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, Claremont, CA., gave the Opening Keynote for the USETDA 2013 Conference, July 24-26, held on the Claremont McKenna College and Scripps College campuses.

In this keynote address, Dr. Miller discusses the importance of building the educational foundation to support students and then incorporate opportunities for undergraduates to share their research.

Dr. Miller draws from his experience collaborating with librarians to integrate information literacy into the curriculum and requiring that all senior theses in the program be posted on the Claremont Colleges' Open Access institutional repository, Scholarship@Claremont.

Learning To Adapt: Online Social Science Instruction In Higher Education, Patrick Steven Smith

Dissertations and Theses

Online learning is a rapidly growing phenomenon in post-secondary education. Institutions of higher learning have embraced online learning for its perceived merits, but without the consideration of how instructors deal with this different learning medium. Little is known of the extent to which different disciplines are suited to the online medium; this is pertinent to disciplines that rely on spontaneous in-person discussion. Furthermore, as colleges continue to invest heavily in online learning, instructors who only possess face-to-face teaching experience may begin teaching online. This poses a pedagogical challenge for instructors who are unfamiliar with the medium. This qualitative, in-depth interview …

An Investigation Into Teacher Support Of Science Explanation In High School Science Inquiry Units, Rebecca Sue Hoffenberg

Dissertations and Theses

The Framework for K-12 Science Education, the foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards, identifies scientific explanation as one of the eight practices "essential for learning science." In order to design professional development to help teachers implement these new standards, we need to assess students' current skill level in explanation construction, characterize current teacher practice surrounding it, and identify best practices for supporting students in explanation construction. This multiple-case study investigated teacher practice in eight high school science inquiry units in the Portland metro area and the scientific explanations the students produced in their work samples.

Teacher Instructional Portfolios (TIPs) …

About The Design Research Society, Christian Guellerin

Learn X Design Conference Series

When asked on numerous occasions to comment on design and design research, I’ve always been very careful, if not harsh, with regards to certain research projects whose content and/or approach seemed to fall short on the front of the relevant things in design. My reaction hit even closer to home in France where design is absent from academic disciplines, and design research has yet to really take off. I have to admit, nonetheless, that the strides undertaken by several universities abroad and continued by DRS have swayed me into believing that there really is an area that craves further learning …

When My Sub-Editor Is A Nit-Picking Bot: Mediating Roles Of A Tv News Scriptwriting Exercise, Andrew Deacon, Catherine Wynsculley

The African Journal of Information Systems

Online learning activities have promised new ways to engage students. This paper describes the design and use of the NewsScripts online learning exercise over a decade. This web-based television news scriptwriting exercise is used with media students at the University of Cape Town to expose them to news scriptwriting practices. Students write a script to match a video, employing a television news writing style. The more important transformational opportunity is deepening students’ own critical media analysis skills. Our focus is how the NewsScripts design evolved and changed over time to remain part of the curriculum. Underlying the curricula of university …

Ict In Education In Africa - Myth Or Reality: A Case Study Of Mozambican Higher Education Institutions, Xavier Muianga, Henrik Hansson, Anders Nilsson, Avelino Mondlane, Inocente Mutimucuio, Alsone Guambe

The African Journal of Information Systems

In the last decade, there has been a growth in Information Communication and Technology for Education (ICT4E) in sub-Saharan Africa. Through support from local and international development agencies, several Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have engaged in introducing, implementing and supporting ICT4E. This study aims at providing a description and analysis of the current state of ICT4E implementation in HEIs in Mozambique. An exploratory study of 19 HEIs was conducted using open ended questionnaires and interviews. The results show that the country has advanced greatly in terms of design and implementation of ICT policies, as well as telecommunication. Additionally, MoReNet the …

Towards A Shared Understanding Of Emerging Technologies: Experiences In A Collaborative Research Project In South Africa, Daniela Gachago, Eunice Ivala, Judy Backhouse, Jan Petrus Bosman, Vivienne Bozalek, Dick Ng’Ambi

The African Journal of Information Systems

While the practice of using educational technologies in Higher Education is increasingly common among educators, there is a paucity of research on innovative uses of emerging technologies to transform teaching and learning. This paper draws on data collected as part of a larger study aimed at investigating emerging technologies and their use in South African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to improve teaching and learning. The research employed a mixed method research design, using both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods—quantitative data from a survey of 262 respondents from 22 public HEIs in South Africa and qualitative data gathered from 16 …

Considering Two Audiences When Recording Lectures As Lecturecasts, Brandon I. Collier-Reed

The African Journal of Information Systems

This article presents the outcome of an investigation into the provision of lecturecasts to students. The objective was to ensure that both those who attended live lectures of a second-year engineering course and/or watched recorded versions of the lectures had an experience that supported their learning. A range of data was drawn on including the personal reflection of the lecturer of the course, questionnaires, and student interviews. The qualitative data were analysed through an inductive process that drew on the principles of grounded theory and the findings that emerged included the role of the “talking head” in recordings, balancing the …

Examining Historical (Mis)Representations Of Christopher Columbus Within Children’S Literature, John H. Bickford

Faculty Research and Creative Activity

Effective teaching, while supplemented by best practice methods and assessments, is rooted in accurate, age-appropriate, and engaging content. As a foundation for history content, elementary educators rely strongly on textbooks and children’s literature, both fiction and non-fiction. While many researchers have examined the historical accuracy of textbook content, few have rigorously scrutinized the historical accuracy of children’s literature. Those projects that carried out such examination were more descriptive than comprehensive due to significantly smaller data pools. I investigate how children’s non-fiction and fiction books depict and historicize a meaningful and frequently taught history topic: Christopher Columbus’s accomplishments and misdeeds. Results …

The Place Of The Arts In Early Childhood Learning And Development, Geraldine French

Reports

This paper has been commissioned by Arts Council Ireland to inform the development of a national strategy for early childhood arts in Ireland. The paper is based on contemporary thinking and knowledge of child psychology, early learning and development and childhood studies, in particular the theoretical principles and pedagogical approaches to early childhood art-based learning. It begins with an exploration of the concept of pedagogy. International research on the importance of effective pedagogy in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is then discussed setting out the evidence and rationale for public policy attention to the area of the arts in …

Fostering Blended Learning: Successful Partnerships And Faculty Development For Institutional Change, Chantal Levesque-Bristol, Tomalee Doan, Donalee Attardo

IMPACT Presentations

Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation (IMPACT ) is a successful campus-wide course redesign and faculty development program at Purdue University. This session shows how blended course redesign is a potential catalyst for institutional change and demonstrates its effects on learning gains, including critical thinking, problem solving, and information literacy. The discussion focuses on the nuts and bolts of the innovative staff development and course redesign integral to IMPACT. Also covered are the research-based redesign curriculum and strategies; the financial and personnel support offered to faculty fellows; and the many successful institutional partnerships that were necessary for IMPACT’s success. The …

The Effects Of Collaborative Strategic Reading On Informational Text Comprehension And Metacognitive Awareness Of Fifth Grade Students, Margaret Mccown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) on informational text comprehension and metacognitive awareness of fifth grade students. This study tested the theories of metacognition and social cognition with a focus on self-regulation and self-efficacy. Participating students included a heterogeneous mix of regular education students, students with disabilities, and English learners (ELs). Using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design, this study examined the effects of CSR on informational text comprehension using the Qualitative Reading Inventory-5 (QRI-5) and Georgia's Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). Metacognitive awareness was measured using the Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (MARSI). Data …

Assessment In Simulations, Chad Raymond, Simon Usherwood

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

Simulations are employed widely as teaching tools in political science, yet evidence of their pedagogical effectiveness, in comparison to other methods of instruction, is mixed. The assessment of learning outcomes is often a secondary concern in simulation design, and the qualitative and quantitative methods used to evaluate outcomes are frequently based on faulty paradigms of the learning process and inappropriate indicators. Correctly incorporating assessment into simulation design requires that an instructor identify whether a simulation should produce positive changes in students' substantive knowledge, skills, and/or affective characteristics. The simulation must then be assessed in ways that accurately measure whether these …

Professional Writing In The English Classroom: Designing A High School Or Middle School Course (Or Unit) In Professional Writing, Jonathan Bush, Leah A. Zuidema

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

The article offers information on the development of professional writing course in English middle school or high school classroom. It mentions that a good syllabus not only provide answers to basic questions, but also to questions that Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins have pertained to as the essential questions. It notes that students learn from writing activities and assessments including how to write in genres, evaluate the settings of professional tools, and manage their writing processes.

A Comparison Of Course Delivery Formats On Student Success Of Developmental English Students At California Community Colleges, Camilla Bantum

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the influence of campus-based and online-based community college developmental English courses on two student success factors: course persistence and course success. Retrospective data on all first year California community college students enrolled in developmental English courses between 2008 and 2011 were analyzed for differences between students. Descriptive statistics were used to compare differences in individual student characteristics of age, gender, and race, and the situational variables of enrollment status and eligibility for tuition fee waiver. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to examine the difference in likelihood of course success and course persistence of developmental English students in …

The Impact Of Selected Initiatives On The Reading Criterion Referenced Competency Test Scores Of African-American And Disadvantaged Students In Grades 3, 5, And 8, Eric Fuller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to examine the impact of selected research-based whole-school reading reform programs, Success for All (SFA), Core Knowledge, and Direct Instruction (DI) on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) reading scores of African-American students and students from disadvantaged subgroups in Grades 3, 5, and 8 in a large urban school system. The target sample consisted of 61 elementary schools and 16 middle schools. Student data consisted of 3,533 data points for African-American students and 7,550 data points for disadvantaged students attending reform and non reform schools respectively. A causal-comparative research design was the methodology …