Digital Commons Network^™

Benefits And Costs For Chattanooga Residents Of Incorporating Training Into Economic Development Strategies, Timothy J. Bartik, Iryna V. Lendel, Sevrin Williams

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

This report evaluates the benefit-cost tradeoffs of adding a workforce training component to Chattanooga's economic development incentive packages, using the Bartik Benefit-Cost Model of Business Incentives. Focusing on hypothetical projects across seven industries, the analysis compares the present value of training costs against resulting gains in residents' per capita income over a 20-year horizon. Findings show that training, layered onto existing PILOT-based tax incentives, delivers benefits more than 25 times its costs—driven by training's greater cost-effectiveness in inducing business location decisions and its stronger tendency to direct new jobs toward local residents. While training is not self-financing from a city …

Navigating Predominantly White Institutions: A Narrative Inquiry Restorying Native American And Indigenous Students' Lived Experiences Of Higher Education, Chandra Anderson

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Previous research has examined retention rates of Native American and Indigenous students within the United States in higher education; however, there remains a significant narrative silence regarding the lived stories and personal chronologies of these students (Brayboy et al., 2015; Davidson & Lopez, 2023; Oxendine et al., 2018). The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to elicit and restory the lived narratives of Native American and Indigenous students enrolled in predominantly White institutions (PWI) of higher education. This study’s literature review themes include: (a) history of Native American and Indigenous students, (b) contemporary research on Native American and Indigenous …

Analysis Of Needs For Web-Based Mobile Learning Development Based On Universal Design For Learning For Students With Special Needs, Murni Winarsih, Mayasari Manar, Rohmah Ageng Mursita, Mita Septiani

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

Higher education institutions still have substantial challenges when it comes to accommodating students with special needs, especially those who are visually or aurally impaired. Access to learning resources is still an issue, as are the limitations of adaptive learning media and the dominance of more conventional verbal and visual methods of information transmission. Hence, not all pupils are given the same chances throughout the learning process. With its emphasis on providing a variety of representational, interactive, and expressive tools, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) aims to meet the requirements of students with a wide range of learning styles. In order …

Project-Based Conversion Versus Prototype-Based Instruction In Automotive Teacher Education, Ramdhani Ramdhani, Sriyono Sriyono, Wahid Munawar, Raafi Rizki Maulana, Apriyansah Bahrudin

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

The transition to electric and hydrogen mobility is reshaping the competencies that automotive vocational teaching requires, yet institutions with limited equipment must choose between authentic learning designs without evidence of what each produces. Indonesian research to date has built substitute learning media and reported feasibility ratings rather than measured learning. This study asks what cognitive and psychomotor gains two contrasting designs produce and how those gains compare. Two pre-experimental studies were conducted in one automotive teacher education programme in Indonesia. Study A used a time-series design across three project cycles of 200 minutes in which 15 undergraduates converted a combustion …

Evaluation Of Land Suitability In The Watu Ondo Waterfall Area Using The Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Method, Carina Nur Indah Lestari, Syamsul Bachri, Sugeng Utaya, Daudi Richard Malusu

Jurnal Pendidikan: Teori, Penelitian, dan Pengembangan

This study was motivated by the importance of utilizing land physical conditions as a basis for developing disaster mitigation education in natural tourist areas. The study aims to evaluate land suitability for disaster mitigation education in the Watu Ondo Waterfall area using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A quantitative research method was employed, involving AHP weighting analysis of the parameters topography, rainfall, dry season duration, soil type, and land cover, followed by spatial overlay to generate a land suitability map. The results indicate that topography is the dominant factor with a weight of 47%, followed …

Digital Mindset Efficacy For Human-Ai Career Readiness, Frank Lin, Conrad Shayo

Communications of the IIMA

This article develops digital mindset efficacy as a key capability for human-AI career readiness. It argues that success in AI-shaped workplaces requires not only technical tool use but also the confidence and capacity to learn with, evaluate, collaborate with, and responsibly govern digital and AI systems. Drawing on digital mindset, digital intelligence, AI proficiency, self-efficacy, and life-skills literature, the article proposes a theory-based model linking digital mindset efficacy to AI proficiency and life skills through mastery experience, vicarious learning, social persuasion, and affective regulation. It illustrates the model through a General Education course, Leadership for Global Challenges: Exploring the Digital …

Beyond Ai Literacy: Developing And Validating A Reflective Human–Ai Learning Scale In Higher Education, Alison Munsch Phd

Communications of the IIMA

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is transforming higher education, yet current AI literacy frameworks primarily assess what students know about AI and how they use it rather than how they think while learning with AI. This paper introduces Reflective Human–AI Learning (RHAL), a complementary construct that captures the quality of students' reflective cognition while collaborating with AI. Drawing upon AI literacy, metacognition, significant learning, critical thinking, and self-regulated learning, the study proposes a multidimensional instrument and outlines a rigorous psychometric validation process. The resulting scale is intended to complement—not replace—existing AI literacy measures by assessing reflective judgment, intentional inquiry, and ethical …

Read, Evaluate, Cite: Using Chatgpt To Teach Primary Source Literacy, Victoria Jones

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

For the last three years, generative artificial intelligence and its uses have been a frequent topic of conversation. In education, many of us have wondered about the impact that generative AI will have on teaching and student learning. The present study considers the benefits and challenges of using generative AI tools in archival education to improve students’ primary source literacy skills. The focus of the research project is an assignment that uses ChatGPT to remove one of the challenges of developing primary source skills: historical writing. In doing so, the students were able to focus on practicing key archival research …

People Orientation And Thing Orientation In Business Majors: Implications For Assessing The Impacts Of Cross-Functional Business Program Curricula, Todd J. Hostager, David A. Christopher, Kristy J. Lauver, Christopher Knowles

International Journal for Business Education

Background/Introduction/Purpose:  Prior research documented significant differences in people orientation and thing orientation (PTO) based on type of major and sex.  This study examines a set of measures for helping business programs to assess whether they are producing graduates equipped to consider both people and things when making decisions, regardless of their major or sex.

Methods/Design:  Students in a strategic management capstone course spent a single 75-minute session responding to a brief new venture pitch by identifying what types of additional information they would need to decide whether to invest in the business.  Three Likert-scaled options gauged the extent to participant …

Wikipedia In The Classroom: From Orientation To Application, Kristen L. Hodnett

Open Educational Resources

"Wikipedia in the Classroom: From Orientation to Application" is a flexible mini-unit designed to help early-career teachers rethink how open web tools can be used in the classroom. Built for graduate teacher preparation programs, the unit breaks learning into 15- to 45-minute micro-lessons spread across a semester. This structure gives future educators low-stakes, repeated opportunities to build digital literacy without taking time away from core course content.

The curriculum walks students through a clear, three-phase framework:

• Orientation & Exploration: Students unpack how Wikipedia actually works—from talk pages to sourcing standards—while examining missing voices, bias, and who gets to create knowledge …

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Factors Shaping The Graduate Assistantship Experience In Ncaa Division I Athletic Departments, Kelly P. Elliott, Kate Labate, Josh Tennant, Chris Espinosa

The COSMA Journal

Graduate Assistantships (GA) are a critical component of career preparation in sport management, yet little is known about how the GA experiences vary across institutions, and intercollegiate athletic departments. This exploratory study examined differences in intercollegiate athletic department GAs based on NCAA Division I subdivision, length of time the GA served in the position, and how the GA found the opportunity. Survey data were collected from GAs listed on athletic department staff directories. The instrument assessed functional areas, supervision, compensation, satisfaction, and perceived career impact. Chi-square analyses compared GA experiences across institutional and student-level variables. Overall, the findings suggest that …

Analyzing Cultural Alignment In Rwandan Sexual And Reproductive Health Education, Amit Gerstein

Journal of Critical Global Issues

Rwandan education cannot be understood outside the context of colonization. This study investigates the cultural alignment of Rwandan sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education. Using existing literature on indigenous sexuality and reflective practice from teaching in a Rwandan secondary school, this paper analyzes three SRH curricula to examine the extent to which they incorporate local knowledge versus Western scripts. The analysis focuses on four key areas: the definition of sex, contraception, consent, and female anatomy.

The findings reveal significant disconnects, where Western narratives regarding sex and sexuality appear to overwrite or displace indigenous sexual knowledge and practice. This study concludes …

Teaching Communication And Teamwork Under Pressure: An Experiential Activity Using Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, Bryan L. Rogers, Cody Logan Chullen, Brian Waterwall

International Journal for Business Education

Background/Introduction/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an experiential classroom activity designed to help students develop communication and teamwork skills under conditions of time pressure and information asymmetry.

Methods/Design: This paper presents a teaching activity rather than an empirical study; no research design, sample, instruments, or analytic procedures are reported. The paper describes and contextualizes an experiential learning activity using the cooperative video game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. Drawing on research in experiential learning, cooperative learning, and simulation-based instruction, the paper outlines learning objectives, materials, implementation procedures, observer roles, and structured debriefing strategies suitable for undergraduate and …

Wmu Board Of Trustee Board Meeting, Thursday, September 10, 2026, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

Acceptance of the Agenda

Approval of the Minutes (June 25, 2026)

Remarks by the Chair of the Board

Remarks by the President

Updates by the Faculty Senate President

Updates by the Western Student Association President

Updates by the Graduate Student Association President

AFSCME Adopt-A-Highway Project and Food Drive

WMU Particle Accelerator Lab, Physics Department

Western Michigan University Employee Graduates

Public Comments Regarding Action Items

Action Items

American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Labor Agreement

Honorary Degree Recommendation for David Dombrowski

Consent Items

• Donation of Real Estate to the City of Kalamazoo
• Personnel Report
• Curriculum Proposals
• Annuity and Life Income Funds …

Hospitality And Tourism Students’ Perceptions Of Well-Being, Belonging, And Engagement In Their Academic Endeavors And Extracurricular Activities, Cynthia S. Deale, Seung Hyun Lee

International Journal for Business Education

Background/Introduction/Purpose: This study examined hospitality and tourism college/university students’ views of their engagement, well-being, and sense of belonging in academic and extracurricular activities, based on 130 responses from students in the United States.

Methods: Descriptive analysis, analysis of variance, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the responses. Qualitative comments were also obtained.

Results:  Respondents felt positive overall about their engagement, and many participated in extracurricular activities. The relationships between class engagement and sense of belonging, and between campus engagement and sense of belonging were significant, and the sense of belonging significantly influenced student subjective …

The Role Of Generative Ai In Secondary School Business Education: Insights From Teachers’ Perceptions, Leonard Busuttil, Emanuel Mizzi

International Journal for Business Education

Background/Introduction/Purpose: Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has entered classrooms more quickly than the evidence base needed to guide its use, and that evidence base remains concentrated in higher education. Comparatively little is known about secondary school business education, a curricular area that brings together accounting, business studies, economics, financial literacy, marketing, and retail, and in which teachers move between subjects whose epistemological and procedural demands differ considerably. Existing studies also tend to treat business education as a single homogeneous domain, or to examine one of its subjects in isolation. This study addresses that gap by examining how secondary school business education …

2026-09-10 Message From The President, Morehead State University. Office Of The President.

Staff Congress Records

Message sent on September 10, 2026 by the President to the campus community regarding upcoming dates and events for the Fall Semester, personeele and academic, construction news, campus personnel recognitions and other updates, summary of the Board of Regents meeting, and honoring University Legacies.

Developing A Deep Learning-Based Artificial Intelligence System For Detecting Scientific Misinformation On Digital Platforms, Shorouq Al-Awawdeh, Ayah Al- Jafari

Middle East Journal of Communication Studies

Objectives: This study develops and evaluates an Arabic scientific misinformation detection system by fine-tuning AraBERT-base-v2. It examines the effects of early stopping and input sequence length on model performance, interprets selected linguistic characteristics associated with misleading content, and discusses the limitations of using machine-translated data.

Methodology: The study adopted a mixed-methods design, employing a systematic integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches, supported by an interpretive qualitative reading. The initial database consisted of 23,546 records, including 123 Arabic articles collected from the Akeed, Sheek, and Taqeen platforms, and 23,423 foreign-language records drawn from the GossipCop and PolitiFact collections within FakeNewsNet. After …

Reclaiming Instructional Leadership: Using Evidence-Based Tools And Conversations To Change Classroom Practice, Lyndsay Britt, Matthew Militello

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Instructional leadership is the most influential lever principals and supervisors have to improve teaching and learning, yet managerial demands often limit sustained classroom engagement. This qualitative participatory action research study explores how leaders can reclaim instructional leadership by embedding focused observation tools and instructional conversations into routine supervision without adding time burdens. 

Using Community Learning Exchange methodology, four teachers and a principal engaged in a 14-month community of practice at a rural Title I early college high school. Through three inquiry cycles, the study examined how evidence-based tools and data-informed dialogue shaped teaching and leadership practices.

Findings revealed two outcomes …

Becoming: Adult Learners In Graduate Education And The Pursuit Of A Meaningful Life, Tara Shollenberger

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Adult learners in graduate education represent a population defined by deliberate, purposeful choice. Unlike traditional-age students, these individuals advance within higher education while managing careers, families, and complex life responsibilities. This conceptual paper explores the espoused and enacted vision for a meaningful life held by adult learners in graduate education, with particular attention to doctoral students in professional education programs. Evidence is drawn from national enrollment and attrition data, relevant scholarship, and nearly two decades of direct practitioner observation. The paper argues that adult graduate learners are animated by a vision of becoming: a generational, relational, and deeply purposeful understanding …

The Gender Gap: Exploring Superintendents’ Perceptions And Experiences In Iowa, Jillian Dotson, Matt Townsley

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

Abstract

The gender gap in the superintendent role continues to plague the educational system across the nation. Female school teachers drastically outnumber female superintendents, which limits the number of women superintendents who are available to serve as mentors. Until women can access superintendent positions in an equitable manner, this gender imbalance will continue. The purpose of this study was to explore current Iowa women superintendents' perceptions and experiences with seeking and operating in the superintendency, and understand their perceptions on the strengths and weaknesses of the mentoring support available for new superintendents. The findings confirm that participants in this study …

Seeing The Line Move Up: Educator Perceptions Of Mastery Experiences As Drivers Of Student Engagement And Persistence In Rural Intervention Programs, Carter J. Baran

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study examined how educators in a rural secondary school district describe the influence of mastery experiences on student engagement and persistence within academic intervention programs. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 18 certified educators (six core content teachers, six elective teachers, and six administrators) and a subsequent focus group conducted in a single rural South Carolina school district, this qualitative analysis extends a larger dissertation study on teacher perceptions of dropout-prevention interventions. Using Bandura's (1986, 1997) social cognitive theory and Astin's (1984, 1999) theory of student involvement as a dual conceptual lens, findings indicate that educators consistently identified visible, incremental …

From Tasks To Transformation: How Coherently Sequenced Practicum Experiences Develop Collaborative Instructional Leaders, Daryl Ann Borel, Thomas Harvey

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This qualitative study examines principal preparation candidates' perceptions of a practicum designed to develop collaborative instructional leadership through coherently sequenced field-based tasks. The practicum required candidates to lead campus teams through needs assessment, strategy development, and implementation monitoring focused on instructional challenges affecting at-risk and economically disadvantaged students. Grounded in Personalized Educational Leadership Theory (PELT), the study analyzed archival written reflections from 150 randomly selected candidates enrolled in a large online principal preparation program. Using a basic interpretive qualitative approach, the analysis identified four themes: candidates' perceived growth in data-informed instructional leadership, structured collaboration as a leadership practice, leadership identity …

Leadership In Context: Examining School District Demographic And Socioeconomic Factors To Predict Superintendent Salary, Samuel F. Fancera, Lorena Valer, Ashley Mungiello

Journal of Organizational & Educational Leadership

This study examines how district‑level demographic and socioeconomic factors predict superintendent base salaries in New Jersey through the lens of context‑responsive leadership theory. Using secondary data from 529 school districts, the analysis investigates whether student racial and ethnic composition and district socioeconomic status relate to salary outcomes. Correlation and multiple regression results show that all student demographic variables along with district socioeconomic status, significantly predict superintendent salary, with the proportion of White students accounting for the largest share of explained variance. Findings reveal persistent inequities. Superintendents serving high‑poverty, diverse districts tend to earn lower salaries despite facing more complex leadership …

Free Ebook! Research And Reflections On Southeast Asian American Education And Advancement, Wayne E. Wright

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

Free eBook available:

• Purdue University Press (PDF and EPUB formats)
• Amazon (Kindle version)

Co-edited by our JSAAEA Editorial Team, this book is in commemoration of the 20^th Anniversary of the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement (JSAAEA) and the 50^th Anniversary of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement in the United States. A paperback version is also available.

This special collection celebrates the contributions of scholars whose works focus on Southeast Asian American (SEAA) issues and highlights empirical research, book reviews, and creative works from SEAA scholars and community leaders whose voices have been prominent in the journal …

Broadening The Community Of Nudibranch Enthusiasts Through Multilingual Educational Programming To Increase Climate Advocacy Engagement, Richelle Li Tanner, Cintya Felix Mendivil, Ashley Lam, Lorena Muñoz, Micah Kim, Elena G. Morales Poot, Gabrielle Keeler-May

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Environmental literacy and advocacy for environmental protections are essential components of responsible stewardship. For coastal communities, stewardship requires knowledge of ocean processes and the biological communities living within these ecosystems. While many studies highlight difficulties in engaging American audiences in environmental concern and stewardship due to hyper-individualistic societal values, tidepooling is one recreational pathway to coastal community engagement that strengthens sense of place, and therefore, responsibility to protect natural resources. We sought to broaden the tidepooling community to include more diverse voices through a participatory science program with inland city-dwelling, multilingual, and non-English speaking adults. Using nudibranchs as an environmental …

Teacher Mentoring As A National Imperative: A Multi-Paper Dissertation, Ramiro Pesina

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

This multi-paper dissertation investigates teacher mentoring as a critical intervention in human resource development designed to address the complex challenges facing the teaching profession, including high attrition rates and the need for sustained professional support. The study is organized into three connected studies: an integrative literature review on technology enhanced mentoring, a longitudinal qualitative study that devises a comprehensive mentoring model covering cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects, and a phenomenological case study in which a formally structured mentoring program in a North Texas school district is analyzed in terms of execution and outcome. Critically important findings indicate that well-crafted mentoring …

The Little Book Of Gifts: Great Ideas For Teaching, Eugene Korsunskiy, Petra Bonfert-Taylor, Emme Burgin, Jentry Campbell, Solomon G. G. Diamond, Kendall R. Farnham, Mattias W. Fitzpatrick, Rebecca Gallivan, Katherine R. Hixon, Michael Kokko, Wesley Marrero, Vicki V. May, Erin N. Mayfield, Colin R. Meyer, Emily H. Monroe, Nina Montgomery, Kofi M. Odame, Laura E. Ray, Peter J. Robbie, Rafe H. Steinhauer, Douglas W. Van Citters, Vikrant S. Vaze

Dartmouth Scholarship

We borrowed the “GIFTs” acronym from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), whose annual conference includes sessions in which educators share quick, actionable ideas for new and exciting teaching practices that they’ve developed.

In this collection, we present over thirty Great Ideas For Teaching—collected from faculty and staff at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College—that can be used in diverse labs and classrooms.

The specific theme of the GIFTs in this volume is: accessibility & inclusion. The ideas in this collection are all aimed at making our course content more understandable, our …

The Columbus Promise: Three-Year Pilot Evaluation Report, Michelle Miller-Adams, Kyle Huisman, Kevin Hollenbeck, Bridget Timmeney

Reports

The Columbus Promise is a place-based, tuition-free college program designed to expand postsecondary access and economic mobility for graduates of Columbus City Schools. Launched with the high school class of 2022, the three-year pilot provides tuition support at Columbus State Community College (CSCC), a $500-per-semester stipend, and dedicated coaching and academic services. This evaluation, conducted by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, examines outcomes for all three cohorts (2022, 2023, and 2024), using administrative data, a comparison group of Columbus City Schools graduates from 2017–2021, regression-adjusted estimates of academic outcomes, and a synthetic difference-in-differences analysis of overall college enrollment. Findings …

More Than Just Blocks: Supporting Development Through Block Play In Early Childhood, Stephanie Szanter, Carrie L. Ota

Spark! Innovations in Early Childhood Education: A Research-to-Practice Journal for Educators

Block play is much more than a classroom center; it is a place where children explore ideas, solve problems, communicate, and work together in meaningful ways. This article examines how block play supports children’s social-emotional, cognitive, physical, and language development through hands-on experiences that feel natural and engaging. Using classroom examples and current research, the article highlights how block play changes over time, how teachers can thoughtfully support and extend children’s thinking, and how simple adjustments to materials and setup can deepen learning. Rather than requiring elaborate activities, strong block play environments grow from careful observation, responsiveness, and an understanding …