Digital Commons Network^™

Session D-3: Discrete Mathematics: A Great Curriculum Connector, Donald Porzio

Professional Learning Day

Many topics that fall under the umbrella of Discrete Mathematics cut across the traditional high school curriculum areas of algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus. Come try some classroom-ready hands-on Discrete Mathematics activities that illustrate the true interconnectedness of mathematics.

Session B-1: The Prize: Teaching Early Illinois History To Secondary School Students, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

Professional Learning Day

This presentation will outline ways in which Illinois can be placed at the center of the story of colonial America and the events which triggered the Revolutionary War. The discussion will be accompanied by a bibliography of relevant secondary readings for instructors, lists of public domain primary sources for students, websites where these can be obtained, lists of Illinois historical sites connected to these materials, and suggestions as to how to interpret these sites for students.

Session A-1: Environmental Chemistry – Chemistry In Context, Branson Lawrence

Professional Learning Day

The use of the ACS curriculum combined with group and individual projects to teach entry level chemistry through the context of environmental chemistry.

Session C-1: What Goes Up Must Come Down – Are All Parachutes Created Equal, Mary Lou Lipscomb, Elizabeth Martinez

Professional Learning Day

Participants engage in a guided inquiry: making a parachute and investigating its falling behavior; then develop a list of questions about the behaviors and determine which are testable. Next, small groups each choose one question to test and do so. Finally participants reflect on the process skills used. Although designed as a professional development activity, the lesson may be used with students to focus on testable questions or process skills necessary for scientific investigation.

Session C-2: Putting The “E” In Learning, Tracy Miller

Professional Learning Day

Find out about web resources you can use with your class. Think creatively in designing an interactive environment to help foster collaborative teamwork. Wikis, blogs and electronic portfolios: what it all means, and how to meet students’ learning objectives.

Session A-1: The Cuban Missile Crisis: Understanding The Impact Of Personality On Leadership, Lee Eysturlid

Professional Learning Day

This session will explore the impact of the various types of personalities that were involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. These differences had a direct impact on the way each leader reacted to the stresses and demands of the crisis as well as their own political objectives. Attendees will come away with an immediately teachable topic on world leadership and the Cuban Crisis as an event.

California Crop Irrigation: An Instructional Irrigation Methods Video, Jose L. Ruiz

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to create an educational video based upon the methods of irrigation most used in California. It was created for agricultural educators, in hopes high school agricultural teachers would show it in their classes. The goal was for students to be able to see commercial style irrigation methods systems, and to understand the basic concept of operation. The video was intended to be supplemented with additional print information. It was not intended to be the sole source of information, but should instead be used to enhance the learning environment for students. The survey for local …

Self-Regulated Learning And Mathematics Achievement In A Fourth Grade Classroom, Dawn Eliserio

Master of Education Program Theses

This research examines the relationship between self-regulated learning and mathematics achievement. The sample included 10 students enrolled in fourth grade at a small, private elementary school in the Midwest. During the third quarter of the school year, students were taught methods of learning mathematics through self-regulation. The grades were recorded before the implementation at the conclusion of the second quarter and again at the conclusion of the third quarter once self-regulation was implemented. A t-test was used to compare the mathematics scores. There was no significant difference between the second and third quarter mathematics grades. This is an important result …

Disciplinary Identity Of Nanoscience And Nanotechnology Research- A Study Of Postgraduate Researchers’ Experiences, Deepa Nathamuni Chari, Robert Howard, Brian Bowe

Articles

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology research although growing at very fast rate, its disciplinary identity remains ‘ill-defined’. It is often viewed as multidisciplinary; and/or interdisciplinary science or even as a unique discipline on its own way. As a consequence, whether this growing research area requires researchers that have studied specialised undergraduate or postgraduate nanoscience and nanotechnology programmes; or traditional science and engineering disciplines is still less understood. The examination of postgraduate researchers’ experiences of nanoscience and nanotechnology research can provide a way of understanding nanoscience and nanotechnology research and the associated forms of disciplinarity, which in turn can address what the type …

An Analysis Of Factors Expected To Impact Student End-Of-Course Grades In Introductory College Science Classes, Kimberly Shaw, Pinar Gurkas, Zodiac Webster

Perspectives In Learning

Research shows brain-based learning is achieved best when the students are in an active, low-stress state (Jensen, 2008), and people have unique learning styles that facilitate the assimilation of new knowledge (Gardner, 1983). However, current testing practices hinder the creation of an optimal learning environment, because teachers feel they have to build test-taking skills and spend valuable educational time teaching in ways they believe are not best practices. Changes in the brain can be seen with highly sophisticated imaging technology such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, and positron emission tomography (PET) (Drevets & Raichle, 1998). This imaging technology …

Professional Learning Community Impacts On Student Achievement In Middle School Mathematics, Jessica Stuewe

Mathematics Graduate Theses

The development of professional learning communities in middle level education is a relatively new and trendy concept sweeping the nation. School professional development committees are training large numbers of teachers through conferences, book studies and online webinars on how to collaborate to improve student learning. This research will explore the impact of the first year of implementation of a departmental professional learning community (PLC) on student achievement at the middle school level in the content area of mathematics. Student standardized test scores from 2010 and 2011 will be compared as a measure of success of the PLC. Teacher surveys are …

Obstacles To Addressing Race And Ethnicity In The Mathematics Education Literature, Amy Noelle Parks, Mardi Schmeichel

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This Research Commentary builds on a 2-stage literature review to argue that there are 4 obstacles to making a sociopolitical turn in mathematics education that would allow researchers to talk about race and ethnicity in ways that take both identity and power seriously. The obstacles discussed are (a) the marginalization of discussions of race and ethnicity; (b) the reiteration of race and ethnicity as independent variables; (c) absence of race and ethnicity from mathematics education research; and (d) the minimizing of discussions of race and ethnicity, even within equity-oriented work.

Beginning Chemistry Teachers: A Longitudinal Study Of The Triplet Relationship, Krista Adams

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

No abstract provided.

Moving Beyond Seeing With Our Eyes Wide Shut. A Response To “There Is No Culturally Responsive Teaching Spoken Here”, Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner, Vanessa Dodo Seriki

Democracy & Education

A struggle exists to engage in culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) that authentically represents the voices and interests of all across the K–20 spectrum, from higher education institutions, to teacher preparation programs, and into U.S. classrooms. This article responds to Hayes and Juárez's piece “There Is No Culturally Responsive Teaching Spoken Here” by extending the conversation with the suggestion that one of the major problems in speaking CRP has to do with a disconnect between articulated commitments and actual practices. This response article takes a critical look at the landscape in which educators work to reveal the nature of overrepresentation of …

Differentiated Physical Learning Environment, Alisha Thiessen

Master of Education Program Theses

This research study examines the correlation between student academic growth in mathematics in a differentiated physical learning environment and whether or not a differentiated physical environment affects students’ attitudes in mathematics. Previous studies have shown that students gain a deeper connection to the curriculum and have a greater enjoyment of the subject matter when a subject is differentiated (Sondergeld &Schultz, 2008). This study looks specifically at differentiating only the physical learning environment and how this affects student academic growth and attitude towards in mathematics. This study found no statistical evidence of greater academic achievement for those students who were part …

Some Assembly Required: How Scientific Explanations Are Constructed During Clinical Interviews, Bruce L. Sherin, Moshe Krakowski, Victor R. Lee

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This article is concerned with commonsense science knowledge, the informally-gained knowledge of the natural world that students possess prior to formal instruction in a scientific discipline. Although commonsense science has been the focus of substantial study for more than two decades, there are still profound disagreements about its nature and origin, and its role in science learning. What is the reason that it has been so difficult to reach consensus? We believe that the problems run deep; there are difficulties both with how the field has framed questions and the way that it has gone about seeking answers. In order …

Concept Inventory Design For Determining Students’ Conceptual Understanding Of Oceanography, Leilani Arthurs

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Concept inventories are relatively new types of diagnostic instruments intended to measure student learning. Concept inventories exist for astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, fluid mechanics, geology, and physics. None is yet available for oceanography, and development of the Introductory Oceanography Concept Inventory Survey (IO‐CIS) serves to fill this gap. A context‐driven development strategy was designed to create this instrument. Qualitative methods utilizing grounded theory and classical test theory were used to construct it. Quantitative methods, including statistical methods associated with classical test theory and item response theory, were used to evaluate and further refine the IO‐CIS. The instrument is valid and …

Self-Made Writer: A Grounded Theory Investigation Of Writing Development Without Writing Instruction In A Charlotte Mason Home School, Jennifer C. Spencer

Education Dissertations and Projects

The aim of this study was to explore how one adult who learned at home under the holistic methods of Charlotte Mason developed as a writer when this model eschews direct instruction in composition. The participant in the study developed exemplary writing skills despite the fact that the teaching methods of the parent did not conform to state standards, nor even to techniques typically accepted as best practices by such organizations as the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). As states across the nation are adopting and implementing the Common Core, …

Southern Adventist University Undergraduate Catalog 2012-2013, Southern Adventist University

Catalog, Undergraduate

Southern Adventist University's undergraduate catalog for the academic year 2012-2013.

Factors Influencing College Decision-Making For First-Generation Appalachian Students, Kristy Lynn Wood

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This investigation determined the degree of importance for selected personal-psychological, academic, peer, financial, and family factors influencing the decision to attend college by first-generation, Appalachian (FGA) sophomore students. Outcomes were further related to the degree of academic and social integration in college and the likelihood of participants returning (persisting) to the next term or year. Participants were a purposeful group of 3,264 sophomores enrolled at three universities. Data were collected using the Transition to College Survey (TCS), which participants completed via an email invitation. Two-hundred, seventy-three responded (273) as follows: 110 (41%) first-generation status, 214 (78%); Appalachian status and 90 …

Targeted Cognitive-Based Tier Ii Interventions To Increase Student Achievement, Rachel K. Wakefield

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine whether targeted cognitive-based reading interventions are more effective than traditional evidence-based Tier II reading interventions. Ninety students who performed in the lowest third on a state reading test from a rural school district in Virginia were placed into three groups: 1) students who received traditional evidence-based reading interventions, 2) students whose teachers were trained in Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory and whose teacher chose an intervention that he/she thought would be most tailored to the student’s cognitive needs, 3) students who were tested using the Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III) and were …

Parent Expectations Linked To Parent Satisfaction In A Summer Enrichment Program Evaluation, Laura E. Saltsman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine if parent expectations were a determining factor in the level of satisfaction of the parents of students who attended the Marshall University Graduate College Summer Enrichment Program of 2011. Data of parent satisfaction was collected using a revised survey based off of parent satisfaction surveys from previous years while parent expectation data was collected from applications completed by parents prior to the start of the program. Analysis using independent samples t-test determined parental expectations was not a predictor of parent satisfaction. Further exploration of the data indicated the most common expectations were …

A Descriptive Study Of Response To Intervention (Rti) Implementation At The Elementary Level In West Virginia, Sarah L. Lee

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to describe levels of RTI implementation in West Virginia elementary schools. Little is known about the national efforts that states are collectively undertaking to scale up implementation of RTI (Hoover, Baca, Wexler-Love, & Saenz, 2008). West Virginia’s elementary schools were required by state policy to implement RTI in reading by July 1, 2009. A wide-scale implementation status check has not been conducted since that date. A cross-sectional research design using members of the school’s curriculum team to complete the RTI Implementation Inventory was used to provide a description of RTI implementation fidelity. All eight …

Best Instructional Practices In Developmental Education: Faculty Perspectives, Calisa A. Pierce

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This descriptive study employed a survey to examine the perspectives of developmental education faculty members at public community colleges regarding instructional practices that have been identified in the literature as effective for developmental education. The study focused on two major areas related to the instructional practices surveyed: the degree to which faculty members perceive the practices to be effective and the degree to which they report they employ the practices. The entire population of West Virginia full-time faculty members teaching developmental education regularly in public community and technical colleges was surveyed with an 89.6% response rate. In addition, demographic information …

The Perceived Self- Efficacy Of West Virginia Public Elementary School Teachers To Teach Character Education, Hannah R. Toney

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of West Virginia public elementary school teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching character education. Questions addressed teachers’ overall level of perceived self-efficacy for teaching character education; the levels of perceived self-efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management; and the differences between levels of perceived self-efficacy and selected school and teacher demographic/attribute variables. Teacher self-efficacy to instruct character education was measured using the Teacher Self-Efficacy to Instruct Character Education (TSICE) survey, an adaptation of the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) designed by Megan Tschannen-Moran and Anita Woolfolk Hoy (2001). The …

Evaluation Of The Relationship Of Learner-Centered Beliefs Of Seventh Grade Mathematics Teachers And Student Achievement On The Mathematics Section Of The North Carolina End-Of-Grade Assessment, Mary A. Steltz

Education Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation was designed to examine the personal domain in systemic reform. In an effort to improve student achievement, this study focused on accountability reform. The learner-centered model was based on what teachers believe about teaching and learning and how student motivation and achievement was influenced by those beliefs. Teacher practices, beliefs and behaviors had the greatest impact on student learning; therefore this study sought to establish identification of learner-centered teachers and their effectiveness on student achievement on the seventh grade mathematics section of the North Carolina End-of-Grade Assessment.

To that end, a non-experimental quantitative study design was used to …

A Southern Progressive: M. A. Cassidy And The Lexington Schools, 1886-1928, Richard E. Day, Lindsey N. Devries

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The 42-year career of M. A. Cassidy exemplifies the transition of public school leadership in Kentucky from non-educators who held religious-political ideologies to professional progressive educators who sought to make Kentucky schools more efficient through expertise and scientific management. This concept was fully adopted in Section 183 of the Kentucky Constitution (1891) which required the General Assembly to “provide for an efficient system of common schools throughout the state.” Confident that professional educators were best suited to devise solutions to social problems, and justified by the twin notions of equality of educational opportunity and meritocracy, Cassidy was part of a …

Roots Of Farm And Family, Carol Gjenvick

Graduate Student Independent Studies

The current food industry is a vast and confusing system that often generates contradicting information, new jargon and trends on how and what to eat. Most families in urban and suburban regions shop at local grocery stores, supermarkets or chains and are far removed from the origins of their food supply. Even with the growing support of farmers markets and local farmers, the average person no longer has access to an actual farm. Children in particular, are less likely to understand how a farm operates, the essential role of the farmer, the impact of seasonal changes on food supplies and …

The Process Approach As Writing Instruction In Efl (English As A Foreign Language) Classrooms, Gregory D. Vanderpyl

MA TESOL Collection

Firstly, this paper will provide a brief historical account of the process approach to writing and follow with a working definition of process approach to be utilized throughout this Independent Professional Project. At present, much evidence points to the benefits to using the process approach as writing instruction, but the reality is that more studies are still needed. Therefore, it is imperative that teachers participate in generating ideas and fortify the cache of available knowledge. The author has experimented with the process approach as writing instruction in two greatly varying contexts and has found the process approach effective on several …

Team-Based Learning In Law, Sophie M. Sparrow, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

Used for over thirty years in a wide variety of fields, Team-Based Learning is a powerful teaching strategy that improves student learning. Used effectively, it enables students to actively engage in applying legal concepts in every class -- without sacrificing coverage. Because this teaching strategy has been used in classes with over 200 students, it also provides an efficient and affordable way to provide significant learning. Based on the principles of instructional design, Team-Based Learning has built-in student accountability, promotes independent student preparation, and fosters professional skills. This article provides an overview of Team-Based Learning, reasons to adopt this teaching …