Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

Reengineering Introductory Psychology For The Virtual Classroom: Qualitative Report On Initial Course Design And Preliminary Student Feedback, Scott M. Debb Phd, Jenny Dozier Ma, Linda Haugh Phd

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

For students of any academic background or vocational preference, introductory psychology is also one of the most popular social science courses. For many students in the community college setting, the introductory psychology course may be the only formal exposure to non- pseudoscience theory a student will receive. The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) has transfer agreements with many of the four-year institutions in Virginia, and there is a reengineering effort underway that, among many other things, will help ensure consistency with regards to students’ exposure to essential course and learning objectives. One component of reengineering is to create default template-style …

Teaching Scientific Writing In The Two-Year College, Arthur Schuhart Da

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

This article introduces a new course in the Virginia Community College System English Curriculum, “English 114: Scientific Writing.” The article briefly reviews the concept of “science rhetoric,” then discusses the intended audience and purpose of the course, and explains the basic goals of the course in relation to the two-year science student-writer. Next the article reviews the Course Content Summary, explaining and giving examples for each of the objectives listed, and notes one significant challenge to the success of the class in the VCCS. The article includes student responses, a sample syllabus, two sample writing assignments, and a complete Bibliography …

Revisiting Reflection: Utilizing Third Spaces In Teacher Education, Ryan Flessner

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Much has been written about the importance of reflective practice. What is missing is reflective work on the part of teacher educators to address the mismatch between university-based methods courses and the realities of classroom life. With examples from a third grade mathematics classroom as well as a university-based mathematics methods course, this article explores ways educators can employ third space theory as a way to engage in purposeful reflection into their teaching practices.

Consumer -Based Higher Education: The Uncaring Of Learning, Molly Kerby, Kristi Branham, Gayle Mallinger

Gender & Women's Studies Faculty Publications

The business model approach in higher education gained traction in the 1980s when federal and state funding for universities and colleges began to decrease. Critics of this model contend that current funding structures undermine the mission of the higher education and negatively impact retention (Rabovsky 2012). As Astin (1997) suggested, the structure of the American college and university system is more complex than the concept of customer satisfaction and efficiency. Past research indicates that we have created an institutionalized uncaring of learning. The business model is broken, lacks resilience, and is not sustainable.

The Role Of Mindful Disposition In Exploring Teacher Effectiveness In An Arts Integrated School: An Embedded Mixed Method Design, Amy Therese Turino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently there is high pressure on teachers to demonstrate effectiveness through student outcome scores and observational criteria in classrooms (CO SB 10-191, 2010; Darling-Hammond et al., 2012). What is missing from the teacher effectiveness evaluation process is a voice of the teacher as a professional about their practice. One of the emerging research fields discussing the effects of the pressures on teachers (and students) is mindfulness (Albrecht et al., 2012; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009). This study serves to bring these two fields of research: teacher effectiveness evaluation and mindfulness in education together.

Three research questions guided this embedded mixed methods …

The Effect Of Academic Coaches On Teachers' Effective Use Of Data For Instructional Decisions, Barbara Quillen Shoemaker

Online Theses and Dissertations

One of the common themes in education reform is the use of data-driven decision making. The data provides the information we use to improve our knowledge of classroom instruction. Teachers need professional development to improve their ability to enable data driven decision-making. What data are available? What information can be gleaned from the data? What instructional changes based on data occur? Professional development, the nature of coaching, and their effect on teacher use of data have not been adequately treated in educational literature. This study will be based on an evaluation of an academic coaching project in a large urban …

Child–Senior Relationship Training: Adaptation Of Cprt For Kindergarten Students, Angela Yoder, Danessa Carter, Breanna Way, Bobbi Ward, Alyssa Swan, Amy Allison

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Child–senior relationship training (CSRT) is an adaptation of child–parent relationship therapy (CPRT), a highly effective intervention for children, where trained senior citizen volunteers provide free play sessions for children whose parents are unable or unwilling to participate in CPRT. This study explored the effects of CSRT on kindergarten children and the senior volunteers’ effectiveness with children following training. The researchers propose CSRT provides benefits to busy school counselors by closing the gap between the high number of students needing services and the historically low number of providers. Although CPRT has been shown to be more effective when used with parents, …

Place Based Stem: Leveraging Local Resources To Engage K-12 Teachers In Teaching Integrated Stem And For Addressing The Local Stem Pipeline, Louis Nadelson, Anne Seifert, Meagan Mckinney

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Business, industry, parks, nature settings, government infrastructure, and people, can be invaluable resources for connecting STEM curriculum within context which results in conditions ideal for promoting purposeful learning of authentic STEM content. Thus, community-based STEM resources offer ideal context for teaching STEM content. A benefit of focusing teacher attention on these contextual, content aligned resources is that they are in every community; making place-based STEM education a possibility, regardless of the location of STEM teaching and learning. Further, associating STEM teaching and learning with local resources addresses workforce development and the STEM pipeline by exposing students to STEM careers and …

A Reflective Report On Values Informing Professional Practice In Educating The Educators, Roisin Donnelly

Papers, presentations and other resources

While a significant body of work on the practice of academic development exists, research on academic developers (those charged with supporting the education of academic staff in higher education) as professionals is limited, and few have explored the profession from the perspective of academic developers themselves [21]. Specifically, this reflective report begins to address the question of how best to prepare and support current and future academic developers for their ambiguous and complex roles and their need to function within the changing environment of higher education institutions. Since embarking on a role in an Irish Higher Education Institution in 1999 …

Ua64/2 The Challenge: Magazine For The Center For Gifted Studies (No. 33, Winter 2014), Center For Gifted Studies, Tracy Inman Editor

Gifted Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges

Kristen Kaltenberg is a Computer Arts student at Thomas Nelson Community College. Her Adventures in Wonderland is a composite piece created in Adobe Photoshop for a Computer Graphics I class. Kristen’s winning entry was selected from a competition of student submissions from throughout the Virginia Community College System.

David Rueckert is a full time Associate Professor at Thomas Nelson Community College where he has taught since 2006. Mr. Rueckert received his MFA in Art and Visual Technology from George Mason University and his Fine Arts degree from University of Mary Washington.

Factors Influencing The Selection Of An Adaptive Learning Technology Within University And K-12, John Raible, Luke Bennett, Rohan Jowallah

FDLA Journal

Technology continues to shape the landscape of higher education, universities and K-12, therefore, need to design programs that accommodate the diverse needs of their students. As universities and K-12 consider pathways for meeting these needs, it will be fundamental that consideration is given to sound pedagogical principles for teaching and learning within these changing landscapes. This position paper reports on the key principles and factors influencing the selection of an adaptive learning system within universities. An extensive literature review demonstrates the benefits when an adaptive learning system gives equal consideration to technology and pedagogical issues.

Creating Ebooks Using Open Source Tools, John Raible

FDLA Journal

The availability of digital materials has exploded with the popularity of mobile devices. Based on current trends it is a natural evolution; digital materials will be included into all levels of education . Subsequently, it will be imperative that consideration be given to the integration of digital materials. To begin the integration of digital materials, Florida State statute section 1006.282 (2011) established a pilot program for the transition to electronic and digital instructional material to facilitate the transition to instructional materials from printed to an electronic or a digital format for K-12 public schools. By the 2015-2016 school year, the …

Warp Speed Ahead! Developing A Spoc To Measure Teacher Completer Impact On K-12 Student Learning, Denise Starbek

FDLA Journal

Teacher preparation programs are charged with providing evidence of teacher completers demonstrating positive impact on K-12 students’ learning. The purpose of this paper is to share an initiative that one university is taking to meet this need. A Small Private Online Course (SPOC) is being developed this fall of 2014 for graduate teacher completers to take after receiving training on curriculum reading applications and provide data on the implementation of the K-12 student’s reading progress. Details on how to setup a similar initiative are outlined.

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Best Practices In Researching Service-Learning At Community Colleges, Amanda Taggart, Gloria Crisp

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

In recent years, an increasing number of community colleges have integrated some form of service-learning into their programs or courses with the idea that it will promote civic engagement, increase student satisfaction with their courses and college experience as a whole, and improve learning outcomes. There is a good amount of research published on service-learning programs and outcomes conducted at four-year institutions, though there is a dearth of studies available on service-learning at community colleges. Because community colleges serve a purpose unique from that of four-year colleges and universities, both in their mission and often in the students they serve, …

Men And Mustangs: From Communicative Messages Within The Wild Horse Inmate Program To A Communicative Theory Of Learning How To Teach, Kristine Larissa Reyes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to discover the communicative messages within the Wild Horse Inmate Program. This dissertation developed the communicative theory of learning how to teach, a grounded theory based on the communicative messages of the Department of Corrections' officers and Bureau of Land Manager employees who work with inmates in a western state Wild Horse Inmate Program. I approached theorizing the communicative theory of learning how to teach from the applied communication perspective that communication is the enactment and application--symbolic and physical--of communication in daily life. The applied context was the Wild Horse Inmate Program where I …

Effective Professional Development Of Teachers: A Guide To Actualizing Inclusive Schooling, Trisha Sugita

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This article examines how inclusive education activities can be facilitated through coaching as a means of professional development. A review of literature on effective professional development practices is discussed, and a recent study focused on individualized peer coaching is examined.

English Language Acquisition By Chechen Programme Refugees In Roscommon, Ireland, Liana Rose [Thesis]

Theses

This research explored the acquisition of English by Programme Chechen refugees who arrived in Ireland ten years ago. Very many of them had less than a basic level of English. To meet the language needs of the newly arrived Chechen Programme refugees an intensive English course was set up by the local Vocational Education Committee. However, refugees’ basic needs such as health care, parental care took precedence over language provision. The research found that they were unable to fully participate in and benefit from the course. The process of acquiring English happened to a large extent outside the classroom. This …

Kinder Camp Provides Reading Ramp : A Study To Examine The Effects Of Summer Learning Loss On Beginning Readers, Amy D. Huskin

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

This study was designed to determine if twenty days of reading intervention would have an impact on preventing summer learning loss for students entering first grade. Research indicates that while all students show some losses each summer, students with limited resources, commonly referred to as economically disadvantaged, suffer greater losses. This study showed evidence of reducing summer learning loss for students in the participant group at an urban school district in central Virginia. The data in this study supports the body of literature that indicates that summer quality programming is important and can have an impact on reducing summer learning …