Digital Commons Network^™

Collaborative Class Zine: Weekly Reflection Assignment With Powerpoint Template, Brett Whysel

Open Educational Resources

Abstract

This collaborative class zine assignment uses a shared PowerPoint format to deepen student learning while building community. Students contribute visual reflections (graphics, diagrams, quotes, or doodles) weekly or periodically throughout the semester. Faculty provide reflection prompts about key takeaways and unclear concepts (sample prompts included). The resource includes both sample LMS instructions and a ready-to-use PowerPoint zine template that works across all disciplines. By combining metacognitive reflection with creative expression, students consolidate learning by finding new connections and applications. The collaborative format creates community connections and joy while students learn from peers' diverse perspectives.

What Happened To The Creative In The Creative Curriculum?, Lacey Peters, Mark K. Nagasawa, Maria Mavrides Calderon, Abigail Kerlin, Helen Frazier, Beth Ferholt, Erica Clarke Yardy, Margie Brickley, Alisa Algava

Straus Institute for Thriving Children & Families

This empirically-grounded commentary questions the basis for New York City Public Schools’ (NYCPS) adoption of the Teaching Strategies products—the Creative Curriculum (CC) and Teaching Strategies GOLD—as the mandated curriculum and assessment systems for early childhood education (ECE) programs administered by the New York City Public Schools. In an analysis shaped by our hybrid positionalities as early childhood educators, parents, policy makers, and researchers, we argue that this decision is a local case of neoliberalism’s simultaneous narrowing of educational quality and a transfer of public funding into private hands under the guise of the free market. Our commentary, …

An Exploratory Analysis Of U.S. Academically Intensive Charter Schools (Aics), Robert Maranto, Jamison White, Sean Woytek

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Considerable amounts of research have discussed "No Excuses" charter schools preparing traditionally disadvantaged students for higher education. Yet, no scholarly work has identified or investigated U.S. academically intensive charter schools (AICS) that were founded to enable students to excel academically as much as their abilities and efforts allow. Here, we offer an exploratory study of AICS, defining them, describing the lived experience of an AICS principal, presenting the first national data comparing AICS campus and student characteristics to those of other charter schools, and assessing whether, nationally, AICS succeed on their own terms, with relatively high academic achievements. The data …

Improving Multilingual Competence In Higher Education: An Integrated Framework For Parallel Learning Of Two Foreign Languages, Aiym Kontek, Albina Dossanova, Galiya Kulzhanbekova

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: The study aims to create a comprehensive framework for the effective organization of parallel teaching of two foreign languages in higher education in Kazakhstan, accounting for linguistic, psychological, didactic, and technological aspects.

Methods: We used theoretical (modeling, analysis, and generalization) and empirical methods (pedagogical experiment, testing, questionnaires, and methods of mathematical statistics) in the research. An original structural and content model of parallel learning was developed, including interrelated blocks for the integrated formation of speech activity skills and a lexico–grammatical base in each of the languages. The effectiveness of the proposed model was confirmed during the pedagogical experiment, which …

A Cancer Education Needs Assessment: Informing Middle-Aged Female Patients About The Relationships Between Obesity And Women’S Health Concerns In The Reproductive System, Breast, And Endometrial Health, Batul Mirza

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Obesity significantly impacts women’s health, particularly among middle-aged women, by increasing the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers such as breast, endometrial, and reproductive system cancers. This study examines the educational needs of this demographic group regarding obesity-related cancer risks and explores effective intervention strategies. Obesity-induced mechanisms – hormonal imbalances, chronic inflammation, and insulin resistance – drive cancer susceptibility, emphasizing the need for targeted health education. The study employs a qualitative design, which includes interviews with subject matter experts (SMEs) and surveys of middle-aged women. The goal is to assess awareness, perceived barriers, and preferred learning methods. Findings suggest that with many …

Perspectives Of Childcare Center Directors Regarding Barriers To Naeyc Accreditation, Jessica Baffoe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

NAEYC accreditation is a hallmark of quality in early learning and lack of accreditation suggested a gap in practice. The problem that was the focus of this research is that only 12% of early childhood center-based programs in the United States are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the study was to explore perspectives of childcare center directors regarding NAEYC accreditation. Knowles’s adult learning provided the conceptual framework for this study and guided 3 research questions about directors’ perspectives of barriers, benefits, and the necessary support they associated with NAEYC accreditation. …

Intentional Innovation: Strategies To Increase Engagement For A Hybrid Faculty Group, Sheri Pickover, Allison Arnekrans, Pamela Sickinger, Mary Katherine Wright

Journal of Technology in Counselor Education and Supervision

The proliferation of online education has increased the need to examine how to foster an ongoing culture of community, support, and engagement for faculty, specifically remote faculty. This article describes a single case study example of how one Midwestern counselor education program leveraged online platforms and intentional community building strategies to successfully integrate remote core faculty into all aspects of departmental processes. This article describes specific strategies and provides recommendations for other remote programs to consider.

Limitations Of Using Large Language Models For Automated Essay Scoring, Thomas A. Fink

Theses

Background: Automated essay scoring (AES) is a challenging deep learning problem. The two most widely used methods for predicting essay quality scores, supervised learning-based and LLM-based, have their own limitations. Although supervised learning-based methods are more accurate, they only predict a score and do not offer descriptive feedback to students. On the other hand, LLM-based methods can offer rubric-guided feedback but are known to be less accurate.

Methods: This work focuses on improving the accuracy of state-of-the-art LLM-based AES methods. We began by thoroughly investigating why these methods were performing poorly for certain datasets and certain examples. This led us …

"...Anything My Friend Shares, I Would Want To Support Them By Clicking On It": Co-Designing Story-Based Interventions Against Clickbait For Teenagers, Ankit Shrestha, Audrey Flood, Bryson Hackler, Mahdi Nasrullah Al-Ameen

Computer Science Student Research

Teenagers' lack of digital sophistication and cyber hygiene makes them vulnerable to social engineering attacks, especially as they start using social media. Clickbait, one of such attacks, is primarily performed through social media to trick users into clicking on malicious links. With teenagers' increasing use of social media, clickbait poses a substantial threat to their online safety. The existing online safety measures for teens mainly focus on parental mediation, which can be perceived as restrictive and privacy-invasive. To this end, researchers recommended empowering teens to deal with online risks. In order to design such interventions for clickbait, we conducted co-design …

Exploring Exemplary Leadership Practices Of Elementary Principals, Latoya R. Gray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is insufficient understanding regarding the educational leadership practices that have enabled one elementary school, out of 23, to achieve continuous school improvement in ELA and mathematics in Grades 3–5 over 3 consecutive academic years. Although all schools in the district implemented a uniform curriculum, the study site consistently increased the percentage of students scoring proficient or above in both subjects during 2022, 2023, and 2024, as measured by the state end-of-grade assessment. This qualitative single-case study explored how an elementary principal in a suburban Georgia district achieved continuous improvement through distinctive leadership practices. Grounded in Kouzes and Posner’s framework …

A Comparative Case Study Of Mentoring Practices By National Board Certified And Non-Certified Teacher Mentors, Bethany Mcclure

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As preservice teacher candidates engage in field experiences that shape their development of teacher identity, it is important to examine their perceptions of the mentoring process. This study explored how preservice teacher candidates construct their own knowledge about mentoring as a process, as well as explored the perceptions of mentor teachers, both National Board Certified, and non-National Board Certified, as they facilitated the learning and growth of their mentees. Many prior studies on the mentoring process exist, however, a gap in the literature that was identified and explored through this study included the impact that National Board Certified Teachers have …

Use Of Podcasts As Emerging Technology In Occupational Therapy Education, Abbigail Kubiak, Karen Jacobs, Varsha S. Kulkarni, Maruška Vizek

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Podcasts are an emerging modality with a developing evidence base to reinforce their use in educational settings; in particular, to support knowledge retention and introduce topics. This research demonstrates the potential of podcasting in an educational context. Podcasts were used to educate occupational therapy (OT) students about emerging and innovative OT career opportunities. A series of 13 standardized 20- to 30-min podcasts featuring occupational therapists in emerging and innovative practice areas (E/IPA) globally were developed. In each podcast, the occupational therapist described implicit and explicit aspects of their career experiences. The podcasts were piloted in an entry-level OT doctoral course …

Wildlife Science Education For Grades 3–12, Natalie J. Carroll, Theodore Leuenberger, Katherine Leuenberger

Purdue University Press Books

Wildlife Science Education for Grades 3–12 guides and encourages youth to learn about the wildlife around them. The first section introduces the basic wildlife groups to youth in upper elementary school using hands-on and other activity-based learning techniques. Young learners will understand the similarities and differences between mammals, birds, fish, and herptiles. The activities for middle schoolers expand the study to interactions within and between them. The lessons for high school students are based on topics of importance to homeowners, residents of a watershed, food and fiber producers (farmers), mayors, teachers, and policy makers. This section delves deeper into the …

What Can We Learn From The High School Math Reform Efforts In California, Georgia, And Oregon? A Policy Analysis, Yanira Vazquez

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Using publicly available data sources, this policy analysis examined how three states—California, Georgia, and Oregon—approached high school mathematics reforms to address questions regarding what prompted these states to revise their high school math standards and course pathways; how their approaches to reform were similar or different; and what other states could learn from their methods.

Individual state cases were developed, focusing on content standards, course pathways, and graduation requirements. A cross-case study was created to compare reforms from the three states.

While all states aimed to reform high school mathematics to address equity issues and offer options aligned with students’ …

Exploring K-12 Teachers’ Definitions And Perspectives Of Cybersecurity, Gina Childers, Weverton Ataide Pinheiro, Oluwatosin Daramola, C Lindsay Linsky, Bryson Payne, Jack Byers, Daniel Baker

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Because K-12 teachers have access to private educational data, they are increasingly at risk of being affected by cybersecurity threats. Examining how teachers conceptualize cybersecurity is vital so that cybersecurity training can be tailored to teachers’ understanding of cybersecurity. This study examined K-12 teachers’ (n = 255) personalized definitions of cybersecurity as these perceptions may influence online behaviors. These definitions were also reviewed by teacher type (cybersecurity teacher or non-cybersecurity teacher), teacher self-identified gender, and teacher age. The cybersecurity definitions were aligned and contextualized within a modified NICE Framework Core with a specific focus on three areas: protection and monitoring, …

"Chatgpt Told Me To Say It": Ai Chatbots And Class Participation Apprehension In University Students, Daisuke Akiba

Publications and Research

The growing prevalence of AI chatbots in everyday life has prompted educators to explore their potential applications in promoting student success, including support for classroom engagement and communication. This exploratory study emerged from semester-long observations of class participation apprehensions in an introductory educational psychology course, examining how chatbots might scaffold students toward active and independent classroom contribution. Four students experiencing situational participation anxiety voluntarily participated in a pilot intervention using AI chatbots as virtual peer partners. Following comprehensive training in AI use and prompt design given to the entire class, participants employed systematic consultation frameworks for managing classroom discourse trepidations. …

Groundskeeping As A Theoretical Framework: Understanding The Experiences Of An Emerging Discipline-Based Education Researcher, Christian D. Solorio, Christopher A.F. Hass, Scott V. Franklin, Mary Bridget Kustusch, Eleanor C. Sayre

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

Groundskeeping is a supportive leadership style that combines mentorship, institutional change, and leadership to support individuals at the intersection of their personal aspirations and an organization’s needs. This paper uses a theoretical framework of groundskeeping and applies it to the experiences of Robert, an Emerging Discipline-Based Education Researcher (EDBER) who wanted to do physics education research. In this instrumental case study, we explore how the environmental, human-centered, and anti-deficit philosophical principles of groundskeeping manifest in the interpersonal and structural supports that facilitated Robert’s transition into education research. We highlight how creating a new entry-point into Discipline-Based Education Research, providing professional …

A Narrative Study Of How Secondary School Teachers Experience Generative Ai Writing Tools In The English Language Arts Classroom, Nick Brodell

Doctor of Education (EdD)

With the presence of artificial intelligence (AI) programs such as ChatGPT commonplace in secondary English language arts (ELA) classrooms, scholars and practitioners are both curious and skeptical about the technology’s ability to help students improve their ELA skills. Teachers have been using tutoring software and Web 2.0 technologies for decades, yet AI writing tools offer new functionalities. Teachers and administrators have experiences engaging with the benefits and burdens of the technology, and scholars of composition pedagogy, ITS (intelligent tutoring systems), and ML (machine learning) have theories about students using it for skills acquisition and practice. This study collected and analyzed …

Jewish Orthodox Women In Higher Education: A Case Study, Tamar Kimmel

Doctorate in Education

This qualitative case study explores the lived experiences of Orthodox Jewish women navigating higher education within the United States. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 13 participants enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, this study investigates the intersectional challenges these women faced as students, mothers, and members of a visibly religious minority. This research examines barriers related to gender expectations, religious observance, and antisemitism on college campuses. Participants reported a complex interplay of community support, institutional challenges, and personal resilience in their pursuit of academic success. The analysis reveals a pressing need for higher education institutions to implement culturally responsive policies, …

تصميم تعليمي وفق التعلم الخبراتي وأثره في التحصيل وكفاءه التعلم والذكاء الإبداعي في مادة الرياضيات عند طلبة المرحلة الاعدادية . Educational Design Based On Experiential Learning And Its Impact On Achievement, Learning Efficiency, And Creative Intelligence In Mathematics For Middle School Students, سلوى محسن العامري

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

هدف البحث الى تعرف أثر تصميم تعليمي وفق التعلم الخبراتي في التحصيل وكفاءه التعلم والذكاء الإبداعي في مادة الرياضيات عند طلبة المرحلة الاعدادية.

ولتحقيق هدف البحث وضعت الباحثة الفرضيات الصفرية الاتية:

1- لا يوجد فرق ذا دلالة احصائية عند مستوى الدلالة (0.05) بين متوسطي درجات الطلاب الذين درسوا وفق التعلم الخبراتي (المجموعة التجريبية) وبين الطلاب الذين درسوا نفس المادة بالطريقة الاعتيادية (ألمجموعة ألضابطة) في الاختبار التحصيلي.

2- لا يوجد فرق ذا دلالة إحصائية عند مستوى الدلالة (0.05)، بين متوسطي درجات الطلاب الذين درسوا وفق التعلم الخبراتي (المجموعة التجريبية)، وبين الطلاب الذين درسوا نفس المادة بالطريقة الاعتيادية (المجموعة الضابطة) في مقياس …

تحليل محتوى منهاج الرياضيات للصف الثامن من مرحلة التعليم الأساسي في سورية في ضوء معايير التمثيل الرياضي. Analysis Of The Content Of The Mathematics Curriculum For The Eighth Grade Of Basic Education In Syria In The Light Of Mathematical Representation Standards, ريتا سعيد

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

هدف البحث إلى تحليل محتوى منهاج الرياضيات للصف الثامن من مرحلة التعليم الأساسي في سورية للعام الدراسي (2024-2025) في ضوء معايير التمثيل الرياضي.

اتبعت الباحثة المنهج الوصفي، حيث استخدمت قائمة معايير التمثيل الرياضي الثلاثة الخاصة بالصفوف (6-9) وفق معايير المجلس الوطني لمعلمي الرياضيات(National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM], 2000)، بعد ترجمتها إلى اللغة العربية، وقامت الباحثة بكتابة مؤشرات هذه المعايير وبناء أداة تحليل محتوى وتحققت من خصائصها السيكومترية، شمل التحليل جميع دروس كتابي الجبر والهندسة، والذي تضمن 469 فقرة في كتاب الجبر و594 في كتاب الهندسة، وتوصل البحث إلى عدة نتائج، أهمها:

- توفر معيار "تكوين واستخدام التمثيلات لتنظيم …

Six Steps To A Successful Study Abroad Program: Case Study In Stockholm, Sweden, Bryan R. Burton

csuglobalaction

This article is meant to serve as a guide for developing a short-term (typically 2 to 3 weeks long) faculty-led study abroad program. I will focus solely on my work in Stockholm, Sweden during summer 2023. This article will be particularly helpful to faculty members who are new to developing their own study abroad programs. I have six suggested steps for developing a successful faculty-led program. These six steps include:

1. thinking about what you want for students and your own career;

2. building on-campus partnerships;

3. Recruiting and supporting students as early as possible;

4. making the program itinerary interactive and rewarding for …

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Maslow Meets Healthcare: Optimizing Cna Training And Well-Being Through Hierarchical Needs During Covid-19, Jose D. Martinez Herrera

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

This study investigates the relationship between motivation, as defined by Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and the performance of Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) on the Illinois Nurse Aide Competency Evaluation Exam (INACE), with a focus on the impact of gender and motivation during the COVID-19 pandemic. CNAs must meet stringent certification standards, but recent declines in enrollment and increased demands on healthcare workers, exacerbated by the pandemic, necessitate a deeper exploration of factors influencing their success. This research employs a quantitative, non-experimental correlational design, analyzing data from 411 CNA students sampled from community colleges in Illinois. The study examines motivation across …

The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence As An Intervening Variable Between The Digital Government Strategy And Competency Development "An Applied Study At Sharjah Police Sciences Academy ", Elsayed Kamal Risha, Abd Al-Rahman Al-Naqbi

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

The study aimed to determine the impact of the digital government strategy on competencies development, through artificial intelligence as an intervening variable, and to achieve the objectives, the study relied on the quantitative approach and the questionnaire was used as the main tool for collecting data. The study community represented officers, non-commissioned officers and individuals at the Sharjah Academy for Police Sciences, and the study sample amounted to 30 affiliates, i.e. the total number of employees in the Competency Development Department at the Academy. The study reached a set of results, the most prominent of which are:

- The existence …

Catching Them Young! A Comparative Study Of Teacher Retention Among Beginning Teachers In Egypt And The United Arab Emirates, Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Ghadah Morshedi, Negmeldin Alsheikh, Bernadette M. Guirguis, Ashraf Mustafa, Enas Mohamed Abdullah, Fatima Alrashdi, Ahmed El-Laithy

All Works

It is widely reported that teachers in their first 5 years of entering the profession are highly likely to leave their teaching positions. There have been many discussions on how to keep beginning teachers in the profession, mainly in Western countries. However, no such discourse exists on teacher retention in non-Western contexts, such as Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to extend Western literature to the Middle Eastern context by investigating the retention of beginning teachers in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. Four hundred and sixty-six novice teachers were evaluated using the Teacher Retention Scale, which was developed on the …

Artificial Intelligence In Stem Education: A Transdisciplinary Framework For Engagement And Innovation, Cristo Leon Ph.D., James Lipuma Ph.D., Xavier Oviedo Torres

STEM for Success Resources

This peer-reviewed article, Artificial Intelligence in STEM Education: A Transdisciplinary Framework for Engagement and Innovation by Cristo León, James Lipuma, and Xavier Oviedo-Torres, published in Frontiers in Education, examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming STEM education through a transdisciplinary lens. Based on a systematic review of 41 scholarly studies (2020–2025), it analyzes AI integration in STEM classrooms, focusing on learner agency, adaptive assessment, and ethical challenges such as algorithmic transparency, equity, and inclusion. Guided by a Transdisciplinary Communication (TDC) framework and grounded in PRISMA protocols, the study applies tools like Nvivo, Excel, and VOSviewer for thematic coding and …

Integrating Digital Escape Room Design Into Teacher Education: Cultivating Instructional Creativity In Preservice Teachers, Gina L. Solano, Wen Wen

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

This action research documents how a teacher education program incorporates game-based learning to engage pre-service teachers (PSTs) in developing their instructional creativity. In this project, game-based learning goes beyond playing games; Instead, it allows PSTs to design their own game-a digital escape room created using a website with embedded clues, digital locks, and online challenges. This paper showcases an impressive level of creativity through the variety and complexity of PSTs’ clues, the creative graphics and layout of their websites, and their cleverly written scenarios and context for the game. Moreover, PSTs reflect on their design processes, considering the affordances and …

The Impact Of Mental Health Support On Academic Achievement, David Ersig, Tyrone Bynoe

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

Mental health concerns are becoming more pressing in American culture. There is an increasing call for mental health issues to be prioritized in policy discussions involving need, strategy, and funding. Addressing the cultural stigma and various barriers surrounding treatment and support for mental health issues are concerns that have infiltrated our school system; these concerns have exerted increased pressure on educators to provide effective and efficient mental health support mechanisms. There is growing recognition and observation that improving students’ mental health will help to remove barriers or hinderances to learning and achievement. With the increased pressure schools already face regarding …

The Extent Of The Effectiveness Of Electronic Management In The Educational Process From The Point Of View Of Students Of Northern Border University, Tahani Al-Anazi

Al Jinan الجنان

The study aims to identify the conceptual framework of electronic management in contemporary educational thought, including the features of the educational process at the Northern Border University in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to determine the definition of the reality of the educational process in the light of the use of electronic management. The researcher used the descriptive analytical approach in order to obtain specific results, using the data collection tool (questionnaire) for a stratified random sample of university students amounting to 1343 students. The study resulted in that students can use all activities electronically, with some weaknesses …

مهارات طرح الأسئلة الصفية الشفوية وصياغتها، وتلقي المعلم للإجابات عنها وأثرها في التحصيل الدراسي لدى الطلبة. The Skills Of Asking And Formulating Oral Classroom Questions, The Teacher Receiving Answers To Them, And Their Impact On Students’ Academic Achievement, السماني عبد السلام أحمد

Association of Arab Universities Journal for Education and Psychology

يهدف هذا البحث إلى دراسة مهارتي طرح الأسئلة الصفية الشفوية وصياغتها، وتلقي المعلم للإجابات عنها وأثرها في التحصيل الدراسي لدى الطلبة، كما يهدف إلى الكشف عن مستويات طرح الأسئلة الصفية الشفوية، وقد استخدم الباحث المنهج الوصفي، وقام الباحث بجمع المعلومات المتعلقة بالدراسة من المراجع والمصادر الورقية والإلكترونية، ثم قام بتحليلها واستخراج نتائجها، وتوصلت الدراسة إلى نتائج منها: أن مهارات طرح الأسئلة الصفية الشفوية تسهم بدرجة عالية في رفع مستوى التحصيل الدراسي للطلبة، وأن أهم مهارات صوغ الأسئلة تتمثل في: سهولة لغة السؤال، وأن تكون الأسئلة غير مطولة وأن تكون الأسئلة مناسبة لقدرات الطلبة، ووثيقة الصلة بموضوع الدرس أو المقرر الدراسي، …