Digital Commons Network^™

Developing On-Line Collaborative Research Across International Boundaries: Exploring The Potential Of New Technologies, Pat Jefferies, Frances Grodzinsky

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The development of on-line research practice across international boundaries is now a viable proposition using available asynchronous technologies such as computer conferencing. As has been reported in previous papers (Grodzinsky, et al, 2002; Griffin, et al, 2002) such use has proved to be extremely valuable for supporting the teaching of computing and ethics. However, asynchronous computer conferencing not only offers new opportunities for teaching and for supporting students, it also offers a valuable resource to researchers. Taking advantage of such opportunity must, of course, address a number of issues. Prime amongst these are concerns as to how to overcome the …

Cognitive Computer Tools In The Teaching And Learning Of Undergraduate Calculus, Nathan Borchelt

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a cognitive computer tool by undergraduate calculus students as they worked cooperatively on mathematical tasks. Specific attention was given to levels of cognitive demand in which the students were engaged as they completed in-class labs with the assistance of MathCAD. Participants were assigned to eight heterogeneous working groups consisting of four students each. One group was chosen as the focus of the case study. Data included student questionnaires, individual interviews, assignments, audio transcriptions of student discussions, and video recordings. Open and axial coding was used to analyze the data. …

An Exploration Into The Use Of Manipulatives To Develop Abstract Reasoning In An Introductory Science Course, Heidi Fencl, Angie Huenink

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Classical physics has a long history of using demonstrations and experiments to develop ideas in introductory courses. The purpose of this exploration is to examine the effectiveness of a desk-top activity for helping students develop abstract reasoning. In the pilot exploration, students in three laboratory sections of a single physics course were given different supplemental instructions on development of free body diagrams: standard instruction, system schemas, and a new approach building physical models of those schemas. Students using the physical models avoided common errors made by the other two groups. More importantly, their discussion with a student researcher about developing …

Value Drivers In Business Course Design: A Student Stakeholder Perspective, John Knight, Daniel Tracy

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

As one of the important stakeholders in the academic process, students and their preferences should be considered when the instructor selects the various course design features. Although students are not the only stakeholders in the academic process, their receptiveness to classroom instruction is clearly a central focus of that process. This paper examines a large sample of business student data on their preferences with respect to fourteen controllable course design features. The preferences are examined in light of their relative ranked importance and relative intensity. Additionally, the data is examined in light of potential differences in student preferences relative to …

Portfolio Assignments In Teacher Education: A Tool For Self-Regulating The Learning Process?, Jetske Strijbos, Wil Meeus, Arno Libotton

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This study examines the effects of a portfolio programme on self-regulation – and thus among third year students of teacher education training to be secondary school teachers. Data collection was by means of self-reporting before, during and after the portfolio programme and via perception questionnaires. The study indicates a significant increase in self-regulation. The portfolio programme therefore improves students’ capacity to go through their learning process independently, although the analysis also shows that the rising score with respect to the construct ‘self-regulation’ stems from the increase of only one sub-scale (regulation). The comparison of the students’ own opinions with those …

The Impact Of The “All-Of-The-Above” Option And Student Ability On Multiple Choice Tests, Yi-Min Huang, Mike Trevisan, Andrew Storfer

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Despite the prevalence of multiple choice items in educational testing, there is a dearth of empirical evidence for multiple choice item writing rules. The purpose of this study was to expand the base of empirical evidence by examining the use of the “all-of-the-above” option in a multiple choice examination in order to assess how different student ability groups would respond to this particular alternative. Ten experimentally manipulated items were generated with “all-of-the-above” as one of the options and were incorporated into three different test formats. Test formats were randomly distributed to university students in the study. The test scores in …

Learning, Knowing, And Reflecting: Literacies For The 21st Century, Barbara Cambridge

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Excerpt: The “aha” moments in life delight us. We suddenly gain an insight, experience a profound joy, or realize something important for the first time. A second grader provided for me a crucial “aha” moment about the purposes of education. As a regular part of their learning, students in this second grader’s school throughout the year collected evidence of their learning in portfolios, pausing periodically to reflect on and explain the contents of the portfolio. On this particular day the second graders were sharing their portfolios with other students, parents, and guests, including me.

Qualitative Research On What Leads To Success In Professional Writing, Margaret Walters, Susan Hunter, Elizabeth Giddens

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This article examines the experiences of advanced students and of graduates in a non-traditional MA in professional writing program to discover how faculty may assure student success in professional writing occupations. The study investigates the knowledge domains and habits of mind that foster student success in writing. The research is the collaborative effort of three rhetoric and composition specialists. Their research discovered that successful writers (1) define success as gaining a response from readers; (2) master six knowledge domains—genre, writing process, rhetorical, subject matter, discourse community, and metacognitive knowledge; (3) put their knowledge into action through eight similar habits of …

Exploring Reflective Engagement That Promotes Understanding In College Classrooms, Franco Zengaro, Asghar Iran-Nejad

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This study investigated student engagement in class discussions in a university-level, literature-based writing class. The research questions were 1) Does multiple-source learning provide a new lens for the observation of reflective teaching and learning practices? 2) Is there evidence that shows that the practices adopted by one teacher actually relied on and fostered this kind of thinking among students, and if so, what were those practices? The participants were 22 university students and their instructor, chosen because of the instructor’s interest in improving class discussions. Data were collected over one semester through videotapes, formal and informal interviews, and class documents …

A Scholarly Teaching Adventure…, Lori Carrell

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

In this adventure essay, an educator takes two trips. First, she heads to the Amazon rainforest and is awestruck by her students’ motivation and learning. Then, with you in tow, she embarks on a scholarly journey to discover what happened and why.

Compass, Armstrong State University

Armstrong News & Publications: Compass (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Using The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning At Disciplinary, National And Institutional Levels To Strategically Improve The Quality Of Post-Secondary Education, Gary D. Poole

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

The continual improvement of post-secondary education (PSE) in Canada requires at least three important elements: (1) an understanding of the forms that good teaching takes, with a focus on how these forms differ from one academic discipline to the next; (2) the use of well-collected data to inform decisions regarding constructive change, and (3) ready access to the collective body of knowledge about post-secondary teaching and learning produced across disciplines and institutions. Here, we examine these three elements, first by applying the notion of “signature pedagogies” to help understand the ways teaching differs among disciplines. Then, from institutional and national …

Engendering The Scholarship Of Problem-Based Learning, Betsy Palmer, Claire Major

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

In this case-based research article, we describe how the implementation an instructional method, problem-based learning, across disciplines at a single institution stimulated scholarship on teaching among the faculty involved in the project. We conducted interviews with 30 participating faculty and administrators and triangulated these data with a document analysis of project documents, course portfolios, meeting minutes, and the project Web site. Our institutional-level analysis focuses on the campus environment and how it supported and/or constricted the scholarship of teaching across campus. At the faculty-level, we describe faculty perceptions about and experiences with producing scholarship on their own teaching.

Exploring Staff Perceptions: Early Childhood Teacher Educators Examine Online Teaching And Learning Challenges And Dilemmas, Julie M. Davis Aspro, Sandra Lennox, Sue Walker, Kerryann Walsh

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Early Childhood teacher educators at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) have been engaging with online teaching and learning since the mid 1990s. On campus students have lectures and tutorials supported by information and communication technologies via QUT’s home grown learning management system, Online Learning and Teaching (OLT). We surveyed academic staff to identify their perceptions of online provision. Of significance were issues around transmission, constructivism, and interactivity, especially for external students, with a perceived preference amongst all students for knowledge transmission. There are also constraints for staff, specifically the technological limitations of the learning management system and our own limitations …

Unearthing The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning In Self And Practice, Lorraine S. Gilpin

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Bringing the principles and characteristics of the scholarship of teaching and learning into my university classroom has helped me support the development of teaching as scholarly activity for my students while cementing my own commitment in this regard. These students are preservice teachers, who have the opportunity to conduct peer observations and provide feedback to one another establishing a learning commons of sort. While engaged in an initial practicum experience, preservice elementary teachers observe and provide feedback on each other’s teaching. This paper will describe and analyze this peer observation and feedback activity as part of the cycle of the …

Activating A Research Context In Art And Design Practice, Nancy De Freitas

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Practice-based research in art and design is the focus of postgraduate programmes at many universities. The term is useful when practice constitutes a critical part of the research methodology resulting in a form of research through practice. This study uses one such postgraduate programme to examine student researchers’ understanding of their practice-based research methods, organisation of their studio processes and awareness of learning. A structured interview was used to investigate: 1) how artists and designers use documentation as part of their creative practice; 2) what forms and processes constitute this activity; 3) what the artist’s or designer’s perception is of …

Teaching Ourselves: A Model To Improve, Assess And Spread The Word, Laura Levine, Carolyn R. Fallahi, Joan Nicoll-Senft, Jack Tessier, Cheryl Watson, Rebecca Wood

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

This paper presents a model for small, interdisciplinary groups of faculty to work together to improve their teaching while engaging in research that provides evidence of improved student learning. In doing so, we have developed a four-step process of faculty-driven scholarship of teaching and learning: Genesis, Organization, Implementation and Dissemination. We illustrate this model by describing our use of Fink’s (2003) concepts of course design to reshape our courses and assess the effectiveness of these changes through examination of student learning. We describe how others may follow this approach with a variety of applications.

Book Review: Enhancing Learning Through The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning: The Challenges And Joys Of Juggling By Kathleen Mckinney (Anker 2007), Nancy L. Chick

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning

Excerpt: At last, here is the book many have been asking for: a practical, concise introduction to doing the scholarship of teaching and learning. If Huber and Hutchings’s The Advancement of Learning: Building the Teaching Commons “leaves the reader wanting more,” as John Tagg wrote in the first issue of IJ-SoTL (2007), this small book answers that desire. Written as a “how to” guide, its structure is logical and user-friendly, its prose easy and accessible, and (perhaps most strikingly) its general points consistently grounded in specifics and examples. It just may be the perfect book for SoTL newbies …

Analysis Of Two-Year College Presidents' Ranking Of The American Association Of Community Colleges' Leadership Competencies, Sandra Michele Taylor

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Two-year colleges face a leadership shortage in the next decade. Those who lead two-year colleges need to be prepared to meet challenges of the 21st century and demands of the institution internally and externally, of new technology, and of curriculum. Research led by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has resulted in the identification of six leadership competencies needed for the two-year college presidency: organizational strategy; resource management; communication, collaboration, advocacy, and professionalism. To determine sitting two-year college presidents' ranking of those competencies, the researcher adapted an AACC survey that was sent to 425 two-year college presidents in the …

Summer 2007 Aasu Data Digest, Armstrong State University

Armstrong Office of Institutional Research: Armstrong Data Digests (Archived)

No abstract provided.

The Inkwell, Armstrong Atlantic State University

The Inkwell

No abstract provided.

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne

• Emergency Text Messaging Service Comes to GSU
• News
• Opinion
• Op/Ed
• Classifieds
• News Briefs
• Sports

The George-Anne, Georgia Southern University

The George-Anne

• Student Found Dead
• News
• Opinion
• Op/Ed News
• Classifieds
• News Briefs
• Sports
• Hiatus

June 6, 2007 Aasu Staff Advisory Council Minutes, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Armstrong Staff Council: Staff Advisory Council Minutes (Archived)

June 6, 2007 AASU Staff Advisory Council Minutes

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• Georgia Southern student project adds value to the Georgia healthcare system

The Effects Of The Small Business Founder’S Need For Cognition On Early Stage Performance, John Leaptrott

Management: Faculty Publications

This study assesses the relationship between the need for cognition and early stage organizational performance for a sample of small business owners who started new childcare ventures. Their need for cognition was assessed as a predictor of performance that was measured by sales growth. The data supported a significant positive relationship between need for cognition and performance as predicted. This study suggests that the cognitive characteristics of small business owners can influence the performance of their businesses.

Newsroom, Georgia Southern University

Newsroom (2006-2023)

• International collaboration develops in JiannPing Hsu College of Public Health
• Georgia Southern student awarded Fulbright Grant
• Annual Eagle Cyber Camp set for July 16-20

May 2, 2007 Aasu Staff Advisory Council Minutes, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Armstrong Staff Council: Staff Advisory Council Minutes (Archived)

May 2, 2007 AASU Staff Advisory Council Minutes

Descriptive Analysis Of Georgia High School Teachers' Perceptions Of Academic Dishonesty, Amy Manning Rowland

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This research study was conducted with the assistance of Georgia high school teachers for the purpose of examining teachers' perceptions of academic dishonesty during the 2006-2007 school year. Data were gathered to establish teachers' perceptions of academic dishonesty by exploring what behaviors teachers felt to be academically dishonest, how teachers addressed such occurrences, whether teachers felt any internal conflict regarding academic dishonesty, whether any external pressures were involved in instances of academic dishonesty, and how these experiences affected teachers attitudes toward their profession. Results of the study indicated that high school teachers in Georgia consider academic dishonesty to be a …

First-Year Teachers' Perceptions Of Mentors' And Principals' Participation In The Induction Process, Frances Vereen Young

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of first-year teachers in the state of Georgia regarding the extent to which mentors and principals participated in the induction of first-year teachers. Questionnaire data were collected from 105 first-year teachers within the Central Savannah River Area in the State of Georgia. The data were reported based on the following themes: Staff Support; Curriculum Support; Parental Communication; and Student Needs. This study found that statistically significant differences were evidenced between mentors' participation in the induction activities of first-year teachers and the degree to which principals participated in the induction activities …