Digital Commons Network^™

Meeting Minutes, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Meeting minutes.

Digital Media's Transformative Role In Education: Beyond Potential To Essential, Ming-Tso Chien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Achieving effective learning via digital media continues to be a major concern in contemporary education. The daily use of all forms of digital media is part of our lives and therefore becomes a key component of education. Educators must consider the process of digital media curriculum as a learning model and form of experience adapted to education. This means the significance is on how to learn as well as what to learn. This study demonstrated how the implementation of digital media curriculum via the Scratch game-making project contributed to middle school students' interaction with the entire educational process. The goal …

Students’ Views Of Impact Of Textbooks On Their Achievements, Riaz Hussain

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

The history of curricula and textbooks development in Pakistan has remained contentious particularly during Zia Ul Haq era (1977- 1988) and after. There have been quite a few reviews of the curricula and textbooks undertaken both by Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan and independent researchers. These reviews have mainly employed document/textbook analysis methods and few of them explored teachers or students’ views of curricula and textbooks. This paper argues that since teachers and students are the ultimate users and beneficiaries of textbooks so their views are worth exploring before suggesting or initiating any change process including curricula and textbooks …

Using Popular Media And A Collaborative Approach To Teaching Grounded Theory Research Methods, Elizabeth G. Creamer, Michelle R. Ghoston, Tiffany Drape, Chloe Ruff, Joseph Mukuni

Education Faculty Publications

Popular movies were used in a doctoral-level qualitative research methods course as a way to help students learn about how to collect and analyze qualitative observational data in order to develop a grounded theory. The course was designed in such a way that collaboration was central to the generation of knowledge. Using media depictions had the practical advantage of enabling the group to create fieldnotes from a common set of data collected simultaneously in a short period of time. Fictional representations in popular media can provide the basis to learn about both the methods and foundational assumptions for conducting qualitative …

The Effect Of Voice Thread® Integration On High School Students' Anxiety And Oral Proficiency In The Foreign Language Classroom, Melanie Dunn

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the asynchronous voice-conferencing technology, Voice Thread ®, on the anxiety and oral proficiency of high school students in their third year of studying Spanish as a foreign language. In this quasi-experimental study students' foreign language anxiety levels and oral proficiency were examined to determine if a difference existed based on the type of practice used. The treatment group used Voice Thread ® to practice speaking. The control group used the traditional method of the language laboratory to practice speaking. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used to …

An Investigation Of English Learners' Acquisition Of Academic Language To Obtain Reading Comprehension Skills, Mishka Barnes

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This collective case study explored how third-grader English learners (ELs) acquire academic language to learn reading comprehension skills in a classroom setting. Many ELs have acquired basic interpersonal communication skills, but have not mastered cognitive academic language proficiency, or academic language. The researcher selected six third-grade ELs who functioned as developing and expanding learners. Although many of these students can read text and use problem-solving strategies to blend words and read fluently, they may experience difficulties understanding academic language. Data was collected through observation, interviews with the ELs two mainstream teachers, document anlysis, and field notes. Using open coding, the …

Movement In Learning: Revitalizing The Classroom, Marcus Van

MA TESOL Collection

Movement is a vital part of our every day lives, and it is also important for a healthy brain. The following paper examines the shift from movement based learning to a more restrictive rote format, which often has adverse effects on learning. This work discusses the ways in which teachers are under pressure to “teach to the test” instead of creating student-centered classrooms. Some of the side effects of a test-centered approach are low self-esteem (from not meeting strict academic requirements) and behavioral problems in students.

Adding more movement to lessons can provide variation and relief from the rote-only system. …

How To Produce Articulate Artists, Peter J. Barr Phd, Christine Reising

Mid-America College Art Association Conference 2012 Digital Publications

This twenty-minute Powerpoint presentation will describe the team-taught, year-long Foundations Core Concepts Program at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. It has been in place since 2006 and has successfully integrated a course previously called "Language of Art" (taught by an art historian) with hands-on studio assignments previously taught in a stand-alone design course (taught by a studio professor). We have found that this hybrid approach is extremely effective in developing sensitive and articulate art majors who are prepared to integrate design concepts into all of their artworks and to analyze and describe eloquently both personal and historical works of …

Utilizing The Interactive Reading Model In A Continuing Education Course, Shawn Mcrae

MA TESOL Collection

This paper seeks to provide an alternative method of reading instruction to female Saudi Arabian university students enrolled in a continuing education class for banking. Rather than a teacher-centered approach that relies on textbooks for materials development, a student-centered approach has been utilized in order to encourage participation, allowing the learners to have more input in the learning process. The use of student-generated materials allows for an authentic medium of communication, enabling students to practice their language learning skills using topics of social and personal relevance. From a teaching perspective, this is extremely important; it can increase students’ motivation, stepping …

Catalog, 2012-2013, Anderson University - South Carolina

Catalogs

The 2012-2013 graduate & undergraduate academic catalog and introduction to the university.

Do The Opportunities Offered During The School Day Provide The Recommended Physical Activity Levels For Children?: An Assessment Of The Upson County Pre-Kindergarten And Elementary School Physical Activity Occurrences, Cheryl Lynn Robinson Gaddis

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Problem Statement: Almost 90% of students do not meet the national recommendations for physical activity in school. The purpose of this study was to determine the need for school policy changes to incorporate classroom-based physical activity programs in an effort to increase school physical activity levels for children in grades pre-kindergarten through five by assessing the levels of and the barriers/facilitators to physical activity engagement.

Methods: This was a sequential explanatory mixed methods study utilizing school board members, principals, and teachers in the Upson County School System as participants. The online survey was adapted from the School Health …

Information Seeking Habits Of Educators, Susan Bannon, Kimberly Nunes-Bufford, Todd Shipman

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Digital News Aggregation: Legalities, Realities, Dan Trigoboff

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Barriers And Supports To Curricular Innovation, James P. Klock

College of Education Theses and Dissertations

Teachers and administrators frequently agree that curriculum is not suitably tailored to their specific students. Using paired interviews with teachers and administrators, this study explores how teacher/administrator and teacher/societal interactions support and impede teachers' ability to express curricular freedom.

Action Items, Wku Graduate Council

Graduate School

Overview of action items handled by the Graduate Council.

Academic Year 2011-2012, Bryant University

Academic Affairs Division Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Facebook As An Instructional Tool In The Secondary Classroom: A Case Study, Stephanie Hunter-Brown

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study is to describe how social media networks impact secondary students when utilized as an instructional tool . The problem this study seeks to address is exploring the roles that social media play in the lives of high school students and the experiences they encounter by utilizing these networks academically and socially. A case study approach was utilized to evaluate the impact of technology integration via social media networks in a secondary English classroom. The focus of the study was to determine the academic and social impact the social media network, more specifically Facebook, has on …

A Renewed Approach To Undergraduate Worship Leader Education, Allen Hendricks

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The church music degree program at Charleston Southern University, based on a European traditional/classical sacred music degree model, has been attracting fewer and fewer students. The last two students pursuing this degree were graduated in May, 2011. Prior to their graduation, the administration encouraged the music department to investigate current career markets and the worship leadership training strategies of other institutions. The purpose of this project is to design a suitable worship leadership degree and thus assist the university in its mission to equip churches with properly trained ministry leaders. Survey instruments will be used to discover the expectations of …

Model Pengembangan Kurikulum Siswa Cerdas Istimewa Mata Pelajaran Bahasa Indonesia, Sujinah Sujinah

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Without the provision of differentiated services for gifted students, a program would merely label them as gifted students without offering a truly gifted program. The potential risk that may arise when gifted students receive regular instructional services is underachievement; therefore, it is necessary to implement a differentiated curriculum model for gifted students. This article describes not only the curriculum model used in schools with gifted student programs or acceleration classes, but also examines the model’s validity, practicality, and effectiveness. The method employed was a combined model of RDR (research, development, research) and R2D2 (recursive, reflective, design, and development), incorporating adaptations, …

High School Horticulture Curriculum, Margaret Maratsos

Horticulture and Crop Science

Horticulture is just one of the many topics covered in a high school agriculture curriculum, and yet, there are very few lesson plans or resources available to teachers for these classes specifically. The objectives of this project were to compile a set of lesson plans, lab plans, and tests that would emphasize interactive and investigative learning. The lesson plans were written in such a way that they reflected a certain set of standards, set down by the state of California, and were meant to serve as a bare outline of topics that would be discussed within a week’s worth of …

Information Literacy Opportunities Within The Discovery Tool Environment, Nancy E. Fawley, Nikki Krysak

Library Faculty Research

Discovery tools such as Primo, EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, and WorldCat Local aim to make scholarly research more intuitive for students in part because of their single interface for searching across multiple platforms, including the library, fee-based databases, and unique digital collections. Discovery tools are in sync with the way many undergraduates look for information because they offer a more “Google-like” experience in contrast with previous methods of research that required first knowing which database to use, then searching each one differently according to its specifications. However, broad searches across multiple formats with different systems of controlled vocabulary force instructors …

A Shared Story Of Successful Spanish Learning: An Embedded Multiple Case Study, Janine M. Theiler

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Student success is on the American mind, and rightfully so, as indicators point to inequitable educational experiences in a nation that emphasizes equity and opportunity for all (NCES, 2009, 2010; Peterson, Woessmann, Hanushek, & Lastra-Anadón, 2011). The occasional story of academic success in the face of obstacles inspires a desire to make these stories of success mainstream rather than scattered occurrences. With this desire for widespread academic success, we arrive upon the challenge of fully understanding the inherently complex path to student success. One manner in which to understand the phenomenon of student success is to empirically identify situations of …

The Gaise College Report: The American Statistical Association Meets Sound Pedagogy In Central Virginia, Beverly Wood

Publications

Research in undergraduate statistics education often centers on the introductory course required for a large percentage of college students. While acknowledging the diverse setting, audience, and purpose of introductory courses, existing research assumes that courses offered by different disciplines share the same goals and teaching practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the objectives for student outcomes and pedagogical delivery of introductory statistics courses in various academic departments to provide explicit evidence for this assumption. The American Statistical Association’s Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) are meant to apply to all introductory courses. The College …

A Case Study Of Two High School English Teachers Transitioning From Arkansas Writing Standards To Common Core Writing Standards In The Secondary English Classroom, Cindy M. Williams

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of secondary English teachers' perceptions towards implementing Common Core writing standards. The study allowed me to examine how teachers' perceptions affect the level of implementation of Common Core writing standards in their English classrooms during the first year. The study focused on two research questions and two sub-questions centering on the perceptions of secondary English teachers and how they are responding to early implementation to the Common Core State Standards. Specific facets to consider in teachers' transitioning from state standards to Common Core standards are what pedagogical training opportunities teachers …

The Ipad As An Instructional Tool: An Examination Of Teacher Implementation Experiences, Brandie Kay Benton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At present, handheld devices and tablet computers are infiltrating public schools across the nation, the most popular model being the Apple iPad. Schools and teachers are attempting to integrate the devices and are using a variety of methods and models for implementation. The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of the iPad as an instructional tool through the experiences of classroom teachers.A review of related literature was conducted to inform the conceptual framework, design, data collection, analysis, and synthesis components and stages of this study. Qualitative methods, including teacher-participant interviews and classroom observations, were utilized in this …

Modes Of Presentation In The Education Of Secondary Students With Disabilities, Annie Laurie Quinn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Abstract: bold

The Prevalence, Beliefs, And Instruction Of Using Homework Materials As Reported By Physical Educators In Arkansas, Daniel Joseph Burt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to find out the prevalence of physical educators assigning homework to their classes (17.4%) and to identify factors that are related to whether physical educators assign homework. The questionnaire was completed by 144 employed physical educators from the state of Arkansas.

Logistic regression, an independent samples t test, and a chi-square test were used to analyze if specific predictors, school demographics, and the personal beliefs of physical educators affected using homework in physical education. No statistical significance was found in the demographics or predictors, but nine of the beliefs selected indicated that a physical …

Connect - June 2011

Connect

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Inciting Curiosity And Creating Meaning: Teaching Information Evaluation Through The Lens Of ‘Bad Science’, Catherine Fraser Riehle

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Ability to evaluate information is a critical component of information literacy. This article provides strategies for engaging students in learning about information evaluation in the contexts of the scientific publication cycle and communication in the digital age. Also included are recent findings regarding undergraduate student research behavior and ideas for integrating constructivist learning theory in order to develop effective learning activities that encourage curiosity and critical thinking.

Implications Of Designing Instructional Video Using Cognitive Theory Of Multimedia Learning, Mohamed Ibrahim

Faculty Publications - Curriculum & Instruction

No abstract provided.