Digital Commons Network^™

Pisa 2022. Assessing Creative Thinking For A Better Future, Lisa De Bortoli, Catherine Underwood

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

Creative thinking was assessed as an innovative domain for the first time in PISA 2022. This report presents the creative thinking results for Australia as a whole, for the Australian states and territories and for the other groups in PISA 2022. It is one of two thematic reports providing additional high-level analysis of Australia's 2022 PISA performance. Differences in results are only reported if tests of statistical significance showed that these were likely to be real differences; that is, differences were unlikely to be caused by chance.

Exploring Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences With Emerging Technologies In Secondary Education: A Phenomenological Study, Richelle M. Decuir

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research was an investigation of the role of emerging technologies in preparing pre-service teachers to engage with secondary learners effectively. A phenomenological approach was utilized to explore how instructional design models and constructivist learning theories shape technology training in two Southeastern public universities. The research was focused on pre-service teachers' experiences developing digital competencies, integrating instructional design, and utilizing emerging technologies in educational settings. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and demographic surveys to understand the participants’ perspectives comprehensively. The study findings revealed that while pre-service teachers recognize the value of technology in enhancing student engagement and supporting personalized …

Designing A Human-Centred Learning Analytics Dashboard In-Use, Riordan Alfredo, Vanessa Echeverria, Linxuan Zhao, Luettamae Lawrence, Jie Xiang Fan, Lixiang Yan, Xinyu Li, Zachari Swiecki, Dragan Gašević, Roberto Martinez-Maldonado

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Despite growing interest in applying human-centred design methods to create learning analytics (LA) systems, most efforts have concentrated on initial design phases, with limited exploration of how LA tools and practices can coevolve during the actual learning and teaching activities. This paper examines how a human-centred LA dashboard can be further refined and adapted by teachers while actively using it in a real-world scenario (i.e., design-in-use), beyond its intended design (i.e., design-for-use). We use instrumental genesis as a theoretical lens to analyze the temporary and permanent instrumentalization of design features and individual and collective instrumentation of the LA …

Nurturing A Community Of Literacy Coaches: A Comprehensive Approach To Improved Literacy Instruction, Heather Rottermond, Colleen Whalen, Laura Gabrion, Joseph L. Musial

Michigan Reading Journal

Because equitable literacy practices provide students with access and opportunity, it is essential to build strong and supportive communities for literacy educators. At the center of these communities are literacy coaches who work extensively to cultivate trusting relationships to disrupt the status quo, thereby improving literacy instruction and student success. Literacy coaches build coaching structures and learning cultures that equitably expand educators’ knowledge, skills, and capacity to increase student literacy within and beyond classrooms. This article examines Years One through Three of the Wayne County COSA (Coach on Special Assignment) Initiative. It explores the value of building and sustaining an …

Divisive Concepts Legislation: Perceptions Of Georgia Social Studies Teachers, Karen Terry, Forrest R. Parker Iii

Teaching Social Studies in the Peach State

This study examines Georgia social studies teachers' perceptions of House Bill 1084, which seeks to limit the teaching of divisive topics in K–12 classrooms. With growing concerns nationwide about how educators address controversial subjects, this bill represents Georgia's stance in the debate, potentially affecting social studies teaching in the state.

The research employs a survey-methods approach, focusing on Georgia's social studies teachers. Using a Delphi method, a pilot survey was first distributed to gather feedback and refine the survey. The study aims to understand teachers' views on House Bill 1084, its impact on their teaching practices, and its broader implications …

Student Development Of Social Capabilities And Life Skills: A Mixed-Methods Study From Pakistan, Aisha Naz Ansari

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

Holistic development of school-going students has gained momentum. Developing countries need to equip students with skills to thrive in the contemporary world, yet research on this topic in Pakistan is limited. This study, therefore, examines students’ non-cognitive skills (i.e., social capabilities and life skills) using a sequential mixed-methods approach. The sample was selected through multi-stage cluster sampling technique. The quantitative sample comprised students (n=263) from eight schools. The qualitative sample of students (n=16), teachers (n=8), and school leaders (n=4) was purposively selected. The results revealed that students are socially capable and possess basic life skills. However, schools do not explicitly …

The Effect Of Small Class Size From Kindergarten Through Third Grade On Eighth-Grade Gender Reading Achievement, Christopher Harry

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the effect of small class size intervention on student outcomes using reading achievement scores as measured by the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS), a standardized, norm-referenced test, while controlling for independent variables inclusive of students' gender, race, socioeconomic status (SES), and environment. This study included students who participated in a randomized, long-term study, the Tennessee Student Teacher Achievement Ratio (STAR) experiment from 1985 through 1989. The STAR study took place in the Tennessee public school system, encompassing two groups of students: those who received treatment, small class intervention, 657 students, and students who did not, 5,689. …

Enrollment Profile Report Fall 2024, Systems Intelligence And Data Analytics, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Enrollment Reports

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Leaders’ Emotional Intelligence And Employees’ Emotional Intelligence On Employee Engagement, Mildred D. Usher

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on employee engagement (EE) is significant. However, limited research exists on how both perceived leaders' EI and perceived employees’ EI influence EE. Identifying predictive factors that contribute to EE is crucial to organizational success. The current study examined 96 retail employees residing in the U.S. The purpose of the non-experimental, quantitative study was to examine the relationship between perceived leaders' EI and perceived employees' EI on employee engagement in U.S. Southwest region retail organizations. An online multi-sectional survey including demographic questions, the Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) …

Fall 2024 Degree Summary, Systems Intelligence And Data Analytics, University Of Nebraska At Omaha

Enrollment Reports

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Place And Game Design: The Case Of Two Classic African Board Games, Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Joseph M. Bayeck

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

The concept of game design is often associated with a computational creative task or a creation with technology. Automatically linking game design to computational activity or technology may have contributed to the scarce research on the interaction between place and game design. The focus on technology may have excluded indigenous games from game design conversation in the game design literature. This article explores design in the context of two classic African board games. We examine the influence of place on the design of these games. Building on game design and place literature, the article shows the situatedness of game design …

Hbcu Faculty Job Satisfaction: Implications For Effective Higher Education Leadership, Demissie Karorsa, Monica E. Allen

Journal of Research Initiatives

Studies show that the success of organizations typically depends on the extent to which leaders promote their employees' job satisfaction and commitment (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). As a result, employees' job satisfaction has received significant attention from business leaders and researchers (Belias & Kouestelios, 2014; Cakmak et al., 2015; Hesli & Lee, 2013; Seifert & Umbach, 2008). Most businesses recognize that enthusiastic, committed, and satisfied employees add value by enhancing customer satisfaction and retention, increasing productivity, and working toward the long-term success of their organizations (Choi, 2016; Cook, 2008). This survey sought to understand Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) …

Critical Literacy And Hip Hop, Sunni Ali

Journal of Research Initiatives

Integrating critical literacy and conscious Hip-Hop in the classroom setting offers numerous benefits. It allows students to engage more effectively in conversations about contemporary topics, enhances their ability to integrate cultural perspectives, and provides a fresh perspective on the challenges they face in school and within their communities.

Integrating critical literacy and conscious Hip-Hop in the classroom setting offers numerous benefits. It allows students to engage more effectively in conversations about contemporary topics, enhances their ability to integrate cultural perspectives, and provides a fresh perspective on the challenges they face in school and within their communities.

When teachers apply a …

Cultural Advocacy And Teachers Of Color, Torine Champion, Linda Wilson-Jones

Journal of Research Initiatives

Teachers of color face marginalization and microaggressions that their White counterparts do not have to face. African American teachers experience microaggressions pathologizing their cultural values and communication styles, cultural/ethnic insensitivity, an ascription of their intelligence, and being treated as second-class citizens) that are hurtful, undermining, and disparaging (Brown, 2019). Asian American teachers face gendered, racial, and sexualized expectations on their campuses (Endo, 2015). A study of Latina bilingual teachers revealed that they felt alienated from their colleagues, had larger workloads, and did not have access to support (Amos, 2016). Teachers of color experience inequalities, microaggressions, and marginalization that impact their …

Assessing Leadership Efficacy Of Department Heads: A Study Of Faculty Perceptions At Two Historically Black Colleges And Universities In The Southeastern United States, Demissie L. Karorsa, Monica E. Allen

Journal of Research Initiatives

Transformational leadership (TL) is a leadership approach that inspires followers and encourages their effective engagement to contribute adequately to organizational goal achievement. By inspiring followers to pursue and attain exceptional performance levels, TL accrues high follower satisfaction in their jobs and with their organizations (Asencio, 2016; Banks et al., 2016; Barnett, 2017; Bass & Riggio, 2006). This study examined faculty perceptions/ratings of transformational leadership behaviors of their department chairs at two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the southeastern United States.

A thorough examination of the data collected revealed that the faculty rated idealized attributes (IA) the highest (x̄=2.80, …

Predicting Students' Academic Performance Via Machine Learning Algorithms: An Empirical Review And Practical Application, Edmund F. Agyemang, Joseph A. Mensah, Obu-Amoah Ampomah, Louis Agyekum, Justice Akuoko-Frimpong, Amma Quansah, Oluwaferanmi M. Akinlosotu

School of Mathematical & Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications

Predicting academic outcomes is complex and influenced by factors like socioeconomic background, motivation, and learning style. Machine Learning (ML) algorithms have become increasingly important due to their ability to analyze large data volumes and identify prediction patterns. Results show ML’s success in predicting academic performance, though effectiveness varies by dataset, algorithm choice, and training features. There is no consensus on the most effective ML method for predicting student performance with broad applicability. Among the five algorithms evaluated in this study, the Random Forest Classifier emerged as the best model, achieving the highest G-Mean and accuracy of 0.9243 and 85.42% respectively. …

Assessment Design And Practices Toward Holistic Learning Of Higher Education Students: Empirical Evidence Via Path Analysis Modelling Approach, Ebenezer Arifa-Yamoah, Esther Adama, Amanda Graf, Kwadwo Adusei-Asante

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

COVID-19 has revolutionised assessment design and practices in higher education; however, there has not been a shift in the overall objective of enhancing that the association between assessments and learning promotes the holistic development of students. In this study, we provide an empirical evaluation of the perceived effects of assessment practices (invigilated examination and alternative assessments) on students’ mental wellbeing, learning processes and academic misconduct. A cross-sectional study design was employed for this study in which a self-reported survey instrument was administered to 380 social science and nursing undergraduate and postgraduate students in a public university in Australia. We explored …

Human And Sex Trafficking: A Quantitative Examination Of The Knowledge And Awareness Of The College-Aged Population, Margaret Caroline Weiker

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

It is crucial for the public and more specifically those who are a part of vulnerable populations to understand the dangers of both human and sex trafficking. One sub-group of vulnerable populations that are likely to encounter a trafficking situation are college students, as many of these students are unaware of trafficking’s prevalence. While there have been studies of specific populations with prior specialized knowledge, there is little information on the knowledge, perceptions, and awareness levels of the general college-aged population. This study will be quantitatively structured into a two-part survey, seeking to collect data from a sample size of …

In Kinship With The World: Developing A Novel Instrument To Assess Human-Nature Relational Values, Kimberly Post

Educational Studies Dissertations

In the nascent field of human-nature relational values, there is a growing body of literature suggesting their transformative potential in sustainability education. The ability to analytically distinguish relational values from other valuations can both inform pedagogical approaches and help to identify how people understand and value their relationships with the living and more-than-living biospheric inhabitants. To address this need, an overarching question was posited: Can a relational values-specific assessment instrument be designed and validated for use in post-secondary sustainability education? Through a survey of the literature, thematic analysis of validated human-nature connection instruments, and multi-method qualitative research, a pilot instrument …

أثر طرق المعالجة في الحد من الاستجابات غير الجادة للاستبانات الإلكترونية, Othman M. Bani Esaa, Nermeen Nedal Al Shraifin

Journal of the Association of Arab Universities for Research in Higher Education مجلة اتحاد الجامعات العربية للبحوث في التعليم العالي

هدفت المقال إلى الكشف عن أثر طرق المعالجة في الحد من الاستجابات غير الجادة للاستبانات الإلكترونية، ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة تم استخدام المنهج الوصفي، حيث تم بناء مقياس للرضا الوظيفي وجرى التحقق من صدقه وثباته، وتطبيقه على عينة مكونة من (1642) من معلمي ومعلمات وزارة التربية والتعليم الأردنية، وقسمت العينة إلى(8) مجموعات بتصميم دراسة (4×2) (مجموعات ضابطة دون وجود مراقب ومع التعليمات العادية، (7) مجموعات تجريبية توزعت كالتالي: تعليمات عادية مع وجود مراقب، وتعليمات التعهد بدون وجود مراقب، وتعليمات التعهد مع وجود مراقب، وتعليمات النفاق الاجتماعي بدون وجود مراقب، وتعليمات النفاق الاجتماعي مع وجود مراقب، وتعليمات التغذية الراجعة بدون وجود مراقب، …

Human Capital At Home: Evidence From A Randomized Evaluation In The Philippines, Noam Angrist, Sarah Kabay, Dean S. Karlan, Lincoln Lau, Kevin M. Wong

Education Division Scholarship

Children spend most of their time at home in their early years, yet efforts to promote human capital at home in many low- and middle-income settings remain limited. We conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate an intervention which encourages parents and caregivers to foster human capital accumulation among their children between ages 3 and 5, with a focus on math and phonics skills. Children gain 0.52 and 0.51 standard deviations relative to the control group on math and phonics tests, respectively (p<0.001). A year later effects persist, but math gains dissipate to 0.15 (p=0.06) and phonics to 0.13 (p=0.12). Effects appear to be mediated largely through instructional support by parents and not other parent investment mechanisms, such as more positive parent-child interactions or additional time spent on education at home beyond the intervention. Our results show that parents can be effective conduits of educational instruction even in low-resource settings.

Extension Impacts On Onion Ipm: Current Perspectives From The Industry, Gina Greenway, Brian Nault, Silvia Rondon, Stuart Reitz

Journal of Extension

An assessment was conducted to evaluate perceived risk from the most serious pests and diseases facing the allium industry and to identify practices that would improve adoption of integrated pest management (IPM). The survey was administered to growers attending annual onion production and management meetings in Oregon and New York. Results indicate that thrips and thrips-vectored Iris Yellow Spot Virus were perceived as a high-risk problem by 87% of respondents. Demonstrating the efficacy of IPM on a commercial scale and improving collaborative efforts between universities and growers were identified as high impact practices to improve adoption of IPM.

Program Instructional Profile (Pip): A User-Friendly Tool To Support Program Development And Implementation For Extension Professionals, Amy M. Leman, Rebecca Mott, John Tummons

Journal of Extension

Not all Extension professionals enter the workplace with knowledge and experience in program development. Some may possess extensive expertise in their subject matter but need additional training in teaching-related competencies for adult or youth audiences. Even educators with extensive skill and experience benefit from thoughtful and intentional program planning and implementation design. This article describes the Program Instructional Profile (PIP), created for Extension professionals to design and outline the program delivery processes. We explain how to use the PIP and provide insight into the benefits and challenges of the uses for program development and implementation purposes.

Acknowledgments, Matthew T. Wappett Ph.D.

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Interviewing The Interviewers: How Qualitative Professors Assess Interviews In Their Classes, Meredith C. Massey, Leia K. Cain

The Qualitative Report

When reviewing the literature relating to what instructors of qualitative research courses are teaching in their courses, we found a gap regarding qualitative faculty's motivations behind what they teach and whether they use teaching tools such as rubrics in their assessment practices. We utilized general qualitative methods to explore and describe how instructors of qualitative methodology courses conceptualize and design interview-based assessments. By conducting structured interviews with five faculty members, we embraced interpretivist descriptive traditions and sought to obtain thick, rich descriptions of each participant’s perspectives and experiences. After coding interview transcripts, we created themes to represent participant beliefs that …

Exploring The Use Of An Interprofessional Education Session For Speech-Language Pathology And Pharmacy Students, Sophia Werden Abrams, Heather Macphee, Linnea Hodge, Justine Hamilton, Ashwini Namasivayam-Macdonald

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Interprofessional education (IPE) occurs when students are provided the opportunity to learn with and from others of related professions to improve the potential for future collaboration. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of students about working with professionals from different disciplines before and after their engagement in an interprofessional learning activity and determine any changes in their willingness to work in interprofessional teams.

Doctor of Pharmacy students from the University of Manitoba and Master’s speech-language pathology students from McMaster University participated in an online inter-university and inter-provincial education module. Students were invited to complete the Interprofessional …

Andragogical Tendencies Of Excellent Extension Educators, T. Grady Roberts, Matt Benge, Amy Harder

Journal of Extension

Extension agents frequently teach adult audiences, who require a different approach than youth audiences. Andragogy has been frequently used to frame research in Extension. However, it is not clear if Extension professionals apply andragogical principles in practice when teaching programs. We used Knowles’ theory of andragogy and the Personal Adult Learning Style Inventory to investigate the andragogical tendencies of Extension agents who were nominated as exceptional teachers in [State]. Our study results suggest that the agents viewed as exceptional teachers in [State] embrace an andragogical philosophy when it does not conflict with their understanding of their job responsibilities.

The Compounding Effects Of Assessment: How Our Failure To Coordinate Formative Assessments May Impact Their Validity, Lindsey P. Gustafson

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Improving Educator Readiness To Support Student Mental Health, Anna Dabrowski, Michelle Hsien, Tamara Van Der Zant, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Amy Berry, Maya Conway, Yung Nietschke

Wellbeing

This project used a mixed-method approach to understand educator readiness to support student mental health across early childhood, school based, and tertiary settings. The study features educators and relevant support staff working with children, adolescents, and adults in formal learning settings. Relevant experts such as mental health care workers, youth wellbeing support staff, counsellors, psychologists, and other professionals involved in education settings were also invited to take part in the study. Three research questions guided the focus of the study: How does educator anxiety and worry impact on their ability to support student mental health? To what extent are educators …

Innovative Approaches To On-Demand Continuing Legal Education Ethics Training: A Case Study, Tigran W. Eldred, Molly J. Walker Wilson

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.