Digital Commons Network^™

From Passive To Active Learning: Helping Students Make The Shift, Marilla Svinicki

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Being active and self-directed as a learner makes for better learning and retention, but what does that mean for students and for instruction?

Towards A Science Education For All: The Role Of Ideas, Evidence And Argument, Jonathan Osborne

2006 - Boosting Science Learning - What will it take?

This presentation offers a critical analysis of contemporary science education and the values on which it rests. Science education wrestles with two competing priorities: the need to educate the future citizen about science; and the need to provide the basic knowledge necessary for future scientists. It is argued that the evidence would suggest that it is the latter goal that predominates – a goal which exists at least, in part, in conflict with the needs of the majority who will not continue with science post compulsory education. The argument is advanced that there are four essential elements to any science …

Common Data Set, 2006-2007, Office Of Institutional Research And Assessment, Bridgewater State College

Common Data Sets

No abstract provided.

The Utilization Of Gender, Retention, Ses And Steep Scores To Predict Reading Mastery, Lisa Lee Adams

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores to predict reading mastery. Second grade students’ records were reviewed to obtain demographic information. SAT 9 scores were used to measure students' reading mastery. SES was measured and defined by approved applications for free or reduced lunch for the 2004-2005 school year. Retention was defined as the number of students previously retained. Logistic regression was used to determine the predictive validity of gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores dependent on SAT 9 reading mastery. Gender, retention, SES and STEEP scores were entered as …

Ua56/1 Fact Book, Wku Institutional Research

WKU Administration Documents

Statistical and demographic profile of WKU.

Ua42/1/1 Winter Term 2006 Reflections, Wku Division Of Extended Learning & Outreach

WKU Administration Documents

Review of the first Winter Session offered at WKU highlighting study abroad, enrollment, budget and recommendations for future Winter Terms.

Gender Difference And Test Anxiety, Leann Chandler

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study compared male and female students in the 4th, 6th, and 10th grades to see which sex had more test anxiety. The students are from a rural town in Southeastern Ohio. A total of 85 students filled out the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. The students were given the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) two weeks prior to, one week prior to, and one week after the Ohio Fourth and Ohio Sixth Grade Proficiency Tests and the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). The hypotheses of this study are that the 10th grade females will have greater test anxiety than …

Contextual Learning Vs. Standardized Testing : And The Winner Is ... ?, Lorinda Leedom

Graduate Research Papers

Our educational system is currently in the grips of No Child Left Behind and the stress of proving students' abilities via mandated standardized tests. This stress is changing teachers' focus from providing a contextual learning environment for students to passing tests. Six struggling middle school students participated in a summer program where contextual learning and frequent standardized assessment existed together. Through this program, the students' needs were met and data was provided that demonstrated educational gains. This data suggests that authentic real world experiences do not need to be omitted from the curriculum in order to provide measurable results on …

Anti-Ethnography?, Ian Barnard

English Faculty Articles and Research

"Many of the ongoing difficulties teachers face revolve around the 'translation' of disciplinary knowledge—especially critical theory—into pedagogical praxis. It often seems that our teaching lags behind our theoretical knowledge by about two decades, and sometimes we wonder if it will ever catch up. This sense of disjunction has been compounded by the difficulty of teaching postmodern understandings of subjectivity, truth, and epistemology in an increasingly commodified teaching context, where consumers expect to purchase a clear, identifiable, and literally usable product, and where 'knowledge' often means easily digestible and repeatable content rather than analytic skills, critical understandings, or complex world views. …

Student Success Or Student Non-Dissatisfaction?, Jerry Pattengale

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

No abstract provided.

Growth No. 6 (2006) - Full Issue

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

The full issue of the sixth edition of Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development.

Parents, Guilt, And Forgiveness: The Effects Of Divorce On College Students Attending Private Christian Colleges, Kristin Deal

Growth: The Journal of the Association for Christians in Student Development

With national divorce statistics on a rise, higher education should consider its approach to meeting the needs of students from these homes. Specifically, faith-based institutions must think about the effects divorce has had on the faith development of students from divorced families. Using individual interviews and a focus group, I researched the experiences and faith development of seven students from divorced homes attending three private Christian institutions in Southern California. The qualitative nature of the study gave voice to the unique stories of these students.

Practice Tests: A Practical Teaching Method, Margaret K. Snooks

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

Learn about the development, implementation and evaluation of short daily practice tests. Student response is overwhelmingly positive, and learning improvement is evidenced by higher semester averages.

Young People’S Perceptions Of What It Means To Be An Australian, Nola Purdie, Rhonda Craven

Student learning processes

The question “What does it mean to be an Australian?” has significant implications for understanding factors contributing to social cohesion; explaining and promoting ourselves to others; imagining and shaping Australia’s future; and shaping civics curriculum. The purpose of this study was to identify key components of Australian national identity of a sample of Australians (N = 418) comprised of primary (N=71); secondary (N=146), Technical and Further Education (TAFE) (N=59) and University (n=142) students. Participants completed a written response to the question “What does it mean to be Australian?” Responses were analysed and coded by two coders using content analysis to …

Michael Graham Moore: A Significant Contributor To The Field Of Educational Technology, Michael Barbour, Thomas C. Reeves

Education Faculty Publications

Moore’s theories related to distance education, his contributions to scholarship and practice, and his efforts to establish the venues for distance education researchers to interact with one another have influenced many educational technologists in valuable ways.

Academic Performance And Engagement Of Educational Opportunity Program Students In A College Algebra Extended Class At The State University Of New York, New Platz, Courtney Anthony Pindling

Dissertations

Problem

The purpose of this study was to describe the academic performance of a group of Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students in a College Algebra Extended Program (CAEP) at the University of New York, New Paltz. Generally, EOP students are admitted with low mathematics placement scores. In the past, they would have been required to do remedial math. However, since college remedial math is no longer available, the CAEP was implemented to remedy this problem. This study was conducted to examine how a small group of EOP students performed in this course.

Method

A descriptive research design was used to …

Challenges To Education In Tajikistan: The Need For Research-Based Solutions, Sarfaroz Niyozov, Stephen Bahry

Book Chapters / Conference Papers

Education in Tajikistan today is acknowledged by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Tajikistan and by international agencies as facing many challenges. Infrastructure and materials need replacement or repair; curriculum needs to be adapted to changing conditions; professional development for teachers is required, while means to retain experienced teachers and attract new ones need to be found. At the same time, children's' meaningful access to education has been threatened by various factors that reduce their attendance and participation in education, keeping some youth out of school altogether. This chapter argues that research in education in Tajikistan and the …

Acer 2005-2006 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Pre-School Children In Social Interaction Based On A Peace Curriculum, Jill R. Perel

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the benefits of a peace curriculum and the social interactive behavior of preschool children as measured by the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Program (DECA) and societal factors. The ultimate goal of this study was to determine under what societal conditions would a preschool child, who is exposed to a peace curriculum, display less aggressive behavior. Furthermore, this research investigation explored which personal structure factors were impacted by this type of intervention.

Methodology: The study's sample included two preschools in SE Florida. All participants came from families of moderately high to high …

Attributing Success And Failure : Attribution Theory At Work, Ellen M. Shay

Graduate Research Papers

Attribution Theory demonstrates how people can appropriately attribute success and failure. Teachers must learn how to help students handle their successes and, perhaps more importantly, their failures. If teachers are not successful in this endeavor, the students will not succeed in a traditional school setting.

A Design-Based Research Strategy To Promote Scalability For Educational Innovations, Jody Clarke-Midura, C. Dede, D. J. Ketelhut, B. Nelson, C. Bowman

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This article offers insights into how the design of innovations can enhance their “scalability”: the ability to adapt an innovation to effective usage in a wide variety of contexts, including settings where major conditions for success are absent or attenuated. We are implementing the River City MUVE curriculum, a technology-based innovation designed to enhance engagement and learning in middle school science, in a range of educational contexts. Based on our studies of these scaling up activities, we offer examples of design strategies for scalability and describe our plan to develop a “scalability index.”

Methodological Challenges For Identifying And Coding Diverse Knowledge Elements In Interview Data, Victor R. Lee, Moshe Krakowski, Bruce Sherin, Megan Bang, Gregory Dam

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper, as part of a symposium on the analysis of clinical interview data and the development of a framework for analyzing students' intuitive science knowledge, identifies and discusses methodological challenges encountered when specifying the knowledge elements and resources are invoked dynamically during a clinical interview. Drawing from interviews with middle school students about the seasons and an analysis of knowledge in terms of 'nodes', two classes of problems are identified: those associated with identification of nodes and those associated with their application as codes to a transcript-based data corpus. We posit that these challenges are common ones associated with …

Methodological Challenges For Identifying And Coding Diverse Knowledge Elements In Interview Data, Victor R. Lee, Moshe Krakowski, Bruce Sherin, Megan Bang, Gregory Dam

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper, as part of a symposium on the analysis of clinical interview data and the development of a framework for analyzing students' intuitive science knowledge, identifies and discusses methodological challenges encountered when specifying the knowledge elements and resources are invoked dynamically during a clinical interview. Drawing from interviews with middle school students about the seasons and an analysis of knowledge in terms of 'nodes', two classes of problems are identified: those associated with identification of nodes and those associated with their application as codes to a transcript-based data corpus. We posit that these challenges are common ones associated with …

Asian Students’ Perceptions Of Group Work And Group Assignments In A New Zealand Tertiary Institution, Jacqui Campbell, Mingsheng Li

EDU-COM International Conference

Globalisation, cultural diversity, and structural reconfiguration in organisations of all types, have led to academics in New Zealand tertiary institutions embracing changes in their course delivery approaches. One of these changes is the emphasis on collaborative learning, featuring group work and group assignments. This study examines Asian students‘ perceptions of the much-promulgated collaborative learning concepts in the form of group work and group assignments. The research was conducted in 2005 in a New Zealand tertiary institution. Twenty-two Asian students participated in one-hour individual semi-structured interviews. The study found that Asian students valued highly the significance of classroom group discussions where …

Empowering International And Culturally Diverse Honours And Project Students Through Mentoring Activities, L J. Armstrong, S Singh

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper reports on an initiative to develop a successful school based student mentoring program in the context of a Computer Science based school which has a high proportion of international and culturally diverse student population. A review of literature was made of three areas of research related to mentoring and peer support. This provided evidence for the role of mentoring and peer support in empowering student learning, with particular emphasis on how mentoring can provide both social and academic support; on the role of mentoring in different contexts; within the Computer Science field and within an international and culturally …

The Professional Expectations And Experiences Of Australian Postgraduate Research Students In Engineering Fields, Karen Adams, Anthony Zander, Gerald Mullins

EDU-COM International Conference

This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the beliefs and expectations about their professional socialisation of postgraduate research students, at Masters and PhD level, in two Engineering schools in an Australian university. This study is part of a larger research project exploring the views of Engineering postgraduate research candidates, engineering academics, recently employed postgraduate qualified engineers and employers of postgraduate research trained engineers.

Engaging Diversity Through Brain Hemispheric Orientation (Bho) Among College Students: Some Implications On Their Mathematics Performance., Flerida C. Alvaro

EDU-COM International Conference

This study primarily sought empirical results to be used for a more complicated future research undertaking. This study categorized the students of the College of Teacher Education according to their left, right, or confluent brain hemispheric orientation through a preference scale. Also, these college students were classified with respect to their low, average, or high level of Mathematics performance basing from the grades in Mathematics subjects. Diversity in college students‘ gender, age, and ethnicity were analysed for their effect on the brain hemispheric orientation as well as their effect on their level of Mathematics performance. Likewise, this study investigated the …

Teaching English As A Foreign Language To Grade 6 Students In Thailand: Cooperative Learning Versus Thai Communicative Method, Sutaporn Chayaratheee, Russell F. Waugh

EDU-COM International Conference

This study compared a cooperative learning method of teaching English to Prathom (grade) 6 secondary students in Thailand and a communicative method. Rasch-generated linear scales were created to measure reading comprehension (based on 28 items with 300 students) and attitude and behaviour to learning EFL (based on 24 items with 300 students). The data for both scales had a good fit to a Rasch measurement model, good separation of measures compared to the errors, good targeting, and the response categories were answered consistently and logically, so that valid inferences could be drawn. Ninety students from three secondary schools in Ratchaburi, …

Effects Of Teaching In English At Swedish Universities, Ingrid Johansson, Bosse Jonsson

EDU-COM International Conference

English plays an increasingly important role at Swedish universities but not much is known about its effects on the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, a large research project which is collaborative and interdisciplinary, crossing language studies in humanities with education, is being planned. One of several aims of the project is to study the consequences of teaching in English on learning and study achievements. A few pre-studies have been carried out in order to develop more detailed research questions. Two of the pre-studies will be presented in this paper. In one of them, ten university teachers with Swedish as …

Cultural Adaptation: A Case Study Of Asian Students’ Learning Experiences At A New Zealand University, Mingsheng Li, Jacqui Campbell

EDU-COM International Conference

More than eighty-five percent of international students in New Zealand are Asian in origin. The level of satisfaction of Asian international students with their learning experiences in New Zealand has been of enormous concern for the New Zealand export education industry. The results of this current research, based on a qualitative research approach conducted at a New Zealand tertiary institution, provide a critical summary of some important and yet challenging issues in teaching Asian students. This study found that Asian students were overall satisfied with their learning experiences at the university in terms of educational quality and programme offering. Asian …