Digital Commons Network^™

Testing The Tests: An Investigation Into The Effectiveness Of Alternative Assessment Methods For Bilingual Language-Impaired Children, Lena G. Caesar

The Hilltop Review

Alternative language assessment procedures are gaining in prominence as authentic alternatives to traditional measures, but scant data exist regarding the relative effectiveness of the data they provide. This paper first summarizes the criteria for effective language assessment of bilingual children as documented in the literature, and then comparatively evaluates the effectiveness of research studies employing the three most-cited alternative assessment approaches: descriptive, dynamic, and curriculum-based. Conclusions regarding the impact of appropriate assessment on issues of over- and under-representation of bilingual Hispanic students are also discussed.

Elementary Students’ Perceptions Of Teachers: Factors That Influence Achievement, Susan Hladky

Dissertations

This quantitative study a) examined third grade students’ perceptions of teachers in relation to care, respect, help, and motivation to succeed; b) examined relationships among achievement, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity and students’ perceptions of their teachers, and c) identified the relationship of students’ perceptions as they relate to higher levels of achievement. The research question that formed the basis of this study was: What is the relationship among student achievement, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and third grade students’ perceptions of their teachers? A correlational research design was used to identify relationships among students’ perceptions of teachers, gender, socioeconomic status, …

Engaging Students In The Classroom: How Can I Know What I Think Until I See What I Draw?, Paul Donnelly, John Hogan

Conference papers

Recognizing the world into which our students will emerge upon graduation, a world characterized by constant change, and our belief in the need to develop our students as “critical beings” (Barnett, 1997) and as “citizens capable of governing” (Giroux, 1997: 259), we embrace a critical pedagogy that is not just about theory (Dehler, Welsh & Lewis, 2004), but can also be implemented experientially in the classroom through the use of freehand drawing. With this as context, our aim in the classroom is to create a learning space where our students develop their capacity for critical self-reflection. As such, we use …

The Reality Of The Greene County School System Preschool Program., Kathryn E. Crumm

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

State funded preschool programs are recent phenomena in the United States and the state of Tennessee. The intent of the researcher was to explore the implementation of the preschool program in the Greene County Schools system and to develop a better understanding of the effects of this process at the classroom level. This study may provide significant information for other pre-k programs in the state of Tennessee or nationwide programs in partnership with Head Start.

The preschool program in the Greene County Schools system consisted of 16 classes with nine of the classes in partnership with Head Start and one …

Assessing Student Learning: Why Reform Is Overdue, Geoff N. Masters

Assessment and Reporting

Advances in our understanding of human learning require new approaches to assessing and monitoring student learning. Much assessment thinking has changed little over the past fifty years. The field continues to be dominated by twentieth century introductory textbook concepts, including such dichotomies as formative versus summative assessment, criterion-referenced versus norm-referenced testing, quantitative versus qualitative assessment, informal versus formal assessment – distinctions that often hamper rather than promote clear thinking about assessment. Assessment practice also has changed little over this period. Traditional, high-stakes examinations continue to dominate what is taught and learnt in many of our schools and universities. Greater use …

An Investigation Into The Attendance And Retention Of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Island Students: Research And Theory About What Works., Stephanie Armstrong, Sarah Buckley

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

This presentation is based on an Issues paper commissioned by the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse (Purdie & Buckley, 2010). This paper was designed to inform policy makers and service providers in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ school attendance and retention. During the presentation, we will highlight issues in analysing school attendance and retention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students; the gap in school attendance and retention and the causes of this gap; and the success or otherwise of the various programs and initiatives designed to reduce the gap. Issues in the quality of the data …

Indigenous Mathematics: Creating An Equitable Learning Environment., Grace Sarra

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 3

Literacy And Numeracy Learning: What Works For Young Indigenous Students? Lessons From The Longitudinal Literacy And Numeracy Study For Indigenous Children., Kate Reid

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 2

Numeracy, Mathematics And Indigenous Learners: Not The Same Old Thing., Caty Morris, Chris Matthews

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Sessions Block 1

Creative Learning For Challenging Times: The Promise And Peril Of Risk, Michele M. Welkener

Counselor Education and Human Services Faculty Publications

We are in an unprecedented time when it comes to the world’s complexity—never has the need been greater for students to be prepared to think for themselves and act creatively to solve perplexing problems. As an artist, faculty member and administrator in higher education, faculty developer, and researcher of creativity in college students, I am passionate about creating environments where students can exercise such skills. In the art culture, risk, experimentation, exploration, and even failure are expected routes that lead to finding one’s own style, voice, and signature statement. My awareness of these expectations first began to intensify as I …

Class, Race, Gender And The Elite University: A Noncognitive Assessment Of Academic Adjustment, Megan Thiele

Faculty Publications, Sociology

The most trusted mechanism of upward social mobility is education. One of the surest paths to success is an elite education. Studying class at an elite university is important because of our dependence on this site as a justification of social stratification. Are elite universities truly meritocratic? Based on non-participant observation and in-depth interviews with forty-three students at a highly selective, private university, this article addresses how class, race and gender matter for academic adjustment to an elite university. This research employs non-cognitive assessors to show how class, race and gender matter for academic adjustment at an elite university. Policy …

Teaching Mathematics: Using Research-Informed Strategies, Peter Sullivan

Australian Education Review

AER 59 reviews research into aspects of mathematics teaching, focusing on issues relevant to Australian mathematics teachers, to those who support them, and also to those who make policy decisions about mathematics teaching. It was motivated by and draws on the proceedings of the well-attended and highly successful ACER Research Conference Teaching mathematics? Make it count: What research tells us about effective mathematics teaching and learning, held in Melbourne in August 2010.

Section 2 describes the goals of teaching mathematics and argues that a practical orientation should be the focus of mathematics teaching in the compulsory years, and outlines …

Preservice Special Education Teachers' Beliefs About Effective Reading Instruction For Students With Mild/Moderate Disabilities, Nari Carter

Theses and Dissertations

No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) mandated that all students learn to read and specified that instructional practice in schools be informed by scientifically-based research. NCLB specifically aimed to improve reading achievement among struggling readers, students with disabilities, and other marginalized students. The National Reading Panel and reading experts have identified instructional practices for teaching reading to struggling readers; and yet, teachers do not always implement effective practices in their classrooms. To identify factors that influence teachers’ practice, I conducted a literature review of teachers’ beliefs about reading instruction. The results of the review were mixed in terms of whether …

Gambling And Young People In Australia, Nola Purdie, Gabrielle Matters, Kylie Hillman, Martin Murphy, Clare Ozolins, Pam Millwood

Program monitoring and evaluation

This study was undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research Ltd (ACER) and presents a number of findings related to the gambling behaviour of young people in Australia. Three surveys were developed and administered between August 2009 and May 2010. They included on-line; pencil and paper; and computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI). The CATI interviews were administered to young people in all Australian States and Territories.

The study found that overall 77% of young people have participated in a gambling activity at least once within the 12 month period preceding the study. Gambling frequency as reported by young people …

A National Research Project Revitalizes And Strengthens A Sig’S Membership, Leadership, And The Quality Of Research In The Field, Steven B. Mertens, Vincent A. Anfara Jr., Nancy Flowers, Micki M. Caskey

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

A recent moratorium has temporarily halted the creation of new Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The AERA SIG Executive Committee, the official governance body that oversees approximately 160 SIGs, requested this moratorium, which was subsequently approved by AERA Council. The purpose of the moratorium is to allow the SIG Executive Committee to gather data to facilitate a more critical examination of issues related to SIGs, including low membership numbers, leadership challenges, and specific membership needs addressed by SIGs. This article offers the Middle Level Education Research (MLER) SIG as an example of a SIG …

Enhancing The Cultural Competence Of Women’S Health Nurses Via Online Continuing Education, Ella T. Heitzler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

By 2050, current minority groups will comprise almost half of the US population further challenging healthcare providers and nurses to deliver culturally competent care. Numerous organizations have published documents supporting cultural competence and its incorporation into nursing curricula has been encouraged since 1986. However, practicing nurses, specifically those providing care to childbearing women and families, continue to acknowledge their lack of cultural competence. This is concerning as large health disparities exist between culturally diverse women and cultural competence can lead to greater health equality and better client care. Studies have shown face-to-face education increases the cultural competence of healthcare providers; …

The Development And Validation Of A Tool To Measure Self-Confidence And Anxiety In Nursing Students While Making Clinical Decisions, Krista Alaine White

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Clinical decision making (CDM) is a cornerstone skill for nurses. Self-confidence and anxiety are two affective influences that impact the learning and adeptness of CDM. Currently, no instruments exist that measure perceived self-confidence and anxiety level of undergraduate nursing students related to CDM. The purpose of this research was to develop, test, and establish psychometric properties for a quantitative instrument that measures the levels of self-confidence and anxiety experienced by undergraduate nursing students while making clinical decisions. The new tool is entitled the Nursing Anxiety and Self-Confidence with Clinical Decision Making (NASC-CDM) scale. The tool is a self-report, Likert-type instrument …

In Quest Of A Dropout Theory: Examining The Utility Of An Ecological Approach Through Survey Research, Tiffany G. Tyler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examined the utility of Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory as a metatheory of dropout. Using the NELS: 1988 dataset, the present study examined the relationship between dropout attributions and Bronfenbrenner's construct, the microsystem. Attention was given to accounting for students' attributions regarding their identity (e.g., demographic and profile characteristics) with environmental and regional contexts as possible moderators. In particular, the present study examined the responses given as reasons for dropout in view of how those responses could be categorized with Bronfenbrenner's theoretical structure and the extent to which the resulting categorization could predict dropout, considering related demographic variable.

This study …

The Power Of Expectation, Geoff N. Masters

Assessment and Reporting

Success in most fields of endeavour depends on an ability to visualise success. It has long been known that elite athletes mentally rehearse each performance prior to its execution. Advances in neuroscience show why this may be so important: the neurological processes involved in visualising a performance are almost identical to those involved in the performance itself. Indeed, simply watching somebody else perform activates ‘mirror’ neurons in the observer paralleling neuronal activity in the performer. The ability to visualise success and an accompanying belief that success is possible appear to be prerequisites for most forms of human achievement.

Small Schools And Libraries: A Combination For Success, Kathryn L. Mcgrath

Faculty Works

This article explores the importance of library access for K-12 students and offers concrete solutions for making this possible for small schools.

2010-2011 Profile, Morehead State University. Institutional Research & Analysis.

Office of Institutional Research & Analysis Publication Archive

2010-2011 issue of Profile Magazine.

Beyond Jeopardy And Lectures: Using Microsoft Powerpoint As A Game Tool To Teach Science, Jason Paul Siko, Michael K. Barbour, Sacip Toker

Education Faculty Publications

To date, research involving homemade PowerPoint games as an instructional tool has not shown statistically significant gains in student performance. This paper examines the results of a study comparing the performance of students in a high school chemistry course who created homemade PowerPoint games as a test review with the students who used a traditional study guide on two separate unit tests. Students scored significantly higher on one of the two unit tests; however, there was no difference in performance between students who created games multiple times. This was the first time a significant difference has been reported when using …

Descriptive Study Of The State Of Post-Professional Athletic Training Education Points Of Distinctiveness, Specialty Certifications, And Competencies, Taylor Stephanie Arman

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Context: As post-professional athletic training education programs (PPATEPs) continues to advance, it is crucial that it be studied and evaluated, however current research is limited. Objective: To obtain descriptive information about PPATEPs. Design: Online Survey Instrument Participants: Of the 267 graduates in population, 106 participants submitted the completed survey (39.70% response rate). Main Outcome Measure(s): Data collection occurs over a four-week period during the fall of 2010. The survey instrument was created with lnquisite 9.5 Corporate Survey Builder (Catapult System Corporation, Austin, Texas). Participants answer questions about the program's points of distinctiveness (PODs), specialty certifications, and the new competencies in …

The Status Of Students With Special Needs In The Instrumental Musical Ensemble And The Effect Of Selected Educator And Institutional Variables On Rates Of Inclusion, Edward C. Hoffman Iii

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of students with special needs in the instrumental musical ensemble and to examine the effect of selected educator and institutional variables on rates of inclusion. An online survey was designed by the researcher and distributed electronically to 600 practicing K-12 instrumental music educators in the states of Idaho, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. While 13.6% of the total school-aged population nationwide received special education services, demographic data provided by respondents revealed that students with special needs accounted for 6.8% of all students participating in bands, orchestras, …

Dropout Dna, And The Genetics Of Effective Support, Hamish Coates, Laurie Ransom

Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE)

Australia is seeking to expand participation in higher education – to get more students into the system and keep these people engaged in effective learning through to completion. In 2009 the Australian Government set attainment targets coupled with an explicit mandate to diversify the student mix, in particular by balancing the inclusion of people from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Supporting students’ engagement in higher education is fundamental to the success of these reforms. To support engagement meaningfully requires data on the effectiveness of engagement activities and conditions which goes beyond commonly collected data regarding student satisfaction with the quality of provision. …

Strictly Business: Teacher Perceptions Of Interaction In Virtual Schooling, Abigail Hawkins, Michael K. Barbour, Charles R. Graham

Education Faculty Publications

This study explored the nature of teacher-student interaction from the perspective of eight virtual school teachers in an asynchronous, self-paced, statewide, supplemental virtual high school. Teacher interviews revealed the majority of interactions were student-initiated and instructional in nature. The main procedural interactions focused on notifications sent to inactive students. Social interactions were minimal and viewed as having little pedagogical value. Institutional barriers such as class size and an absence of effective tracking mechanisms limited the amount and types of interaction teachers engaged in. Study implications and future research are discussed.

Assessment Of First Year Experiences At Sjsu, Patricia Backer, Emily Allen, Janet Sundrud

Faculty Publications

With nearly 5,000 students, the Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering (CoE) at San José State University (SJSU) is the largest provider of engineers to Silicon Valley companies and is ranked 12th among engineering programs for master’s-level institutions in the 2009 U.S. News &World Report's listing of "America’s Best Colleges. “Our overarching theoretical model for student retention is based on Tinto’s model. We adapted this model, based on additional research, to address the needs of students at SJSU. According to this model, effective and positive interactions in college should increase the student’s commitment and effort in college, and thereby, increase …

Writing To Learn: Can Reflection Journals Be Used To Promote Self-Reflection And Learning?, Duan Ning, Magdeleine Lew, Henk G. Schmidt

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether there is evidence of reflection in student-written journals and to investigate whether students show improvements in their reflective skills through journal keeping. To that end, the reflection journals of 3460 first-year students enrolled in a polytechnic were studied by means of an automated coding procedure. Data used in the analyses were students' journals for an entire week, collected once at the beginning and again at the end of an academic year. Outcomes of the content analyses suggest that there is evidence of reflection in students' journals and that students reflected …

Teacher Self-Efficacy And Student Achievement As Measured By North Carolina Reading And Math End-Of-Grade Tests., Wayne M. Eberle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Teachers continue to experience an increased sense of responsibility as it relates to job performance while still being required to produce at the same level with relation to student performance. This can cause an increase in personal stress and result in lowered feelings of self- worth, having a negative impact on service delivery to children and overall job performance.

Bandura (1997) defined self-efficacy as a judgment of one's ability to organize and execute given types of performances. Furthermore, he suggests that the outcomes people anticipate depend largely upon their judgments of how well they will be able to perform in …

Comparative Study Of Reading First Schools Reading Achievement To Non-Reading First Schools., Wandaleen Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was any significant increase in the reading achievement of Reading First third grade students compared to the reading achievement of the third grade reading students in Non-Reading First schools located in southwest Virginia for 2004-2009. The Standards of Learning (SOLs) reading test scores were compiled from the Virginia Standards of Learning test scores that are available to the public from the Virginia Department of Education website. The elementary schools chosen for this study have a similar number of disadvantaged students and similar demographics. The reading achievement was being examined after …