Digital Commons Network^™

Open Textbook Report, Rhode Island College (March 2021), Dragan Gill

Open Textbook Initiative

No abstract provided.

All Hands On Deck, Dragan Gill, Lindsey Gumb, Daniela Fairchild

Open Textbook Initiative

No abstract provided.

Open Educational Resources Reimagining Access & Pedagogy, Dragan Gill, Lindsey Gumb

Open Textbook Initiative

No abstract provided.

Beyond Savings: Empowering Faculty To Make The Switch, Dragan Gill, Lindsey Gumb

Open Textbook Initiative

No abstract provided.

Using Object-Based And Open-Enabled Pedagogy For Authentic Learning, Amy Barlow, Dragan Gill

Open Textbook Initiative

No abstract provided.

What About Me? An Examination Of Identity Formation Among Beginning Educators, Nicholas Bernardo

Honors Projects

Over the past decade, I have been an athlete, a stage manager, an actor, a parliament member, a treasurer, a resident assistant, a tour guide, a ballroom dancer, and very involved with music, participating in marching band throughout high school as well as my college wind ensemble. Of all those roles, the only one that has stuck is my most recent—teacher. I decided that I wanted to be a teacher in fourth grade, and I have grown to be very passionate about it. But even in that regard, the question “what is right?” continued to linger. What if I am …

Voices Silenced, Voices Heard: Exploring Status, Discourse, And Learning In Middle School Discussion Groups, Laura A. Chiaravalloti

Ph.D. in Education Program

This qualitative study explores the relationship between the instructional methodologies one teacher used to foster the development of group skills in students and the way literature discussion groups actually functioned. This study was conducted under an ethnographic lens using a teacher-as-researcher approach. Issues of power and status in students' learning opportunities are explored.

Looking For Agreement Among Criteria Used To Determine Teacher Effectiveness In Two Different Evaluation Models, Charles D. Mcgair

Ph.D. in Education Program

Many theories, methods, and practices are utilized to evaluate teachers with the intention of determining teacher effectiveness to better inform decisions about retention, tenure, certification and performance-based pay. In the 21st century there has been a renewed emphasis on teacher evaluation in public schools, largely due to federal "Race to the Top" funding and the emergence of value-added models for determining teacher performance in relation to student achievement. Bearing that in mind, this study was designed to address the question: Where are the consistency and differentiation among criteria used to measure teacher effectiveness ratings when a 21st century, Race to …

Deep, Deep, Deep Inside We're All Friends: A Qualitative Study Of How Young Girls Engage, Develop, Maintain, And Assess Relationships With Peers, Sheila Mcgraw

Ph.D. in Education Program

This qualitative study examines the manner in which second grade girls engage, develop, maintain, and assess relationships with peers. Grounded theory methodology was employed to collect and analyze data. The study makes three claims: the institutional structure of the school impacted the development of friendships between and among second grade girls, the behavior patterns and common characteristics shared by seven and eight year old girls during the development of friendships were deliberate, and seven and eight year old girls used their common interests to include and exclude members in their group. Discussion of the third claim explores parallels between the …

Part-Time Faculty In Higher Education, Carla Weiss, Robert Pankin

Faculty Publications

At this writing (Fall 2011), two-thirds of the faculty in higher education are contingent part-time or full-time. Only one-third of the faculty is tenured or on the tenure-track. This selected, annotated bibliography is organized by year of publication, from 1977 to 2010. (An earlier version was published in 2008). It is the purpose of this publication to facilitate understanding of the meaning and implications of this major change in the structure of higher education. The annotations in the bibliography were written from the perspective of a part-time faculty member, unlike most of the literature, which is written from a management …

Urban Early Adolescent Narratives On Sexuality, Linda Charmaraman, Corinne Mckamey

Faculty Publications

In this paper, we examine the ways that early adolescents talked, interacted, and made references to events in their individual and collective lives during photography-based focus groups about sexuality and relationships. Twenty-three participants (10 boys and 13 girls) were recruited from three urban schools participating in a comprehensive sex education impact evaluation in the Northeast. We analyzed conversational narratives that were elicited in a group process while sharing photos of important people, contexts, and situations, showcasing participants' exploration of sexuality and relationships. Our analysis revealed four main themes: (a) Direct and indirect family communication about sexuality, (b) Accidental and intentional …

Characteristics And Predictors Associated With Teacher And Faculty Use Of Online Data Collection In Teacher Preparation Settings, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine some of the gaps in the research around the use of online surveys in teacher preparation settings by exploring the attitudes toward technology and online evaluations, as well as predictors of user assessment of online data collection methodology, among 222 College Supervisors and Cooperating Teachers. Research questions centered around the status of and relationships among College Supervisor/Cooperating Teacher demographic variables, level of computer experience, computer proficiency, attitude toward technology, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions, and overall assessment of online student teacher evaluations. Findings indicated that Cooperating Teachers experienced far …

What Do We Want Them To Want To Do? , Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

A significant body of research in psychology demonstrates how extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation of students. The conceptual weakness of the notion of intrinsic motivation makes the research findings at least suspect, and for sure excessively generalized. The research is often used to argue against compensating students for their academic work. It contributed to expansion of false beliefs about the possibility of significant increase of intrinsic learning motivation. These beliefs are grounded in several false assumptions: 1. The assumption of abundant curiosity; or a belief that children are all motivated to learn everything that is offered to them. It is …

The Face Of Society, Roger D. Clark, Alex Nunes

Faculty Publications

We have updated Ferree and Hall's (1990) study of the way gender and race are constructed through pictures in introductory sociology textbooks. Ferree and Hall looked at 33 textbooks published between 1982 and 1988. We replicated their study by examining 3,085 illustrations in a sample of 27 textbooks, most of which were published between 2002 and 2006. We found important areas of progress in the presentation of both gender and race as well as significant areas of stasis. The face of society we found depicted in contemporary textbooks was distinctly less likely to be that of a white man, very …

The Student Error, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

This essay is an analysis of what one might call the student error. The aim is to understand where the error comes from, and what truth about education and schooling can it reveal. I will also consider some implications of such a truth.

Panopticon Of The Second Kind, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Era of Excellence is a period of educational reforming in the United States from 1980 until now; in all likelihood, it will extend into the future. The name applies to a _generation of educational policies intended to enhance student learning._ This paper uses Michel Foucault_s general framework to report on an important innovation in the political economy of power, and suggest possible strategies of resistance. This is not a case of Foucault scholarship; my intentions are limited to use of his concepts and do not include a fuller understanding or a new interpretation of his work.

Student Labor And Evolution Of Education, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Schooling in its contemporary form is but one particular phase of a technology of teaching. Although most social animals can transmit significant knowledge to their young, humans have developed a process of conscious separation of important knowledge from unimportant. While human babes possess significant capacity and powerful instinct to learn, teaching is a way of channeling this ability into carefully selected sets of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Balancing Yin And Yang, Roger D. Clark, Angela Lang

Faculty Publications

The first three-quarters of the semester flew by. We learned about quantitative data analysis and I loved it. I really enjoyed the numerical manipulations and seeing how it all related to people. Everything was there in front of me. Not too much imagination on my part was really needed. Then it all ended. Professor Clark introduced qualitative methods and the anxiety began. I soon realized I had to reinvent my creative side, which is something that as an undergraduate I am not required to do very often. I was nervous that I would discover that I was not creative at …

If You Know The Way To San Jose It Helps, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Not uncommon in this country is the manner in which a location is described: "Far from the center of California, as the name implies, El Centro is the seat of the Imperial County, DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND, BOTTOM CORNER OF THE STATE AS YOU LOOK AT A MAP..." Apparently, for this local columnist describing the poorest county of the 58 in our most populous state, stating that it is located in the southeast corner of the state is something that was never learned. Oh yes, it should also be made clear that San Bernadino County is the largest in …

Rhode Island Teachers Ahead Of The Crowd, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"For teachers this is the time to enjoy the summer break to travel, stay home with their own children or just take a vacation. But for the majority there is something called professional development. Summer is the usual time when teachers go back to school to hone their skills, learn more about their subject area, work for advanced degrees or pick up some new practices for that high tech equipment sitting in the classroom. Like may other professionals who want to advance their careers and keep up with new ideas and practices, teachers also take courses during the school year …

Staff Development Strategies And Contexts Associated With Positive Impacts On Teachers_ Attitudes And Practices, Susan Gracia

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to identify staff development strategies, organizational contexts, and teacher characteristics that were associated with positive impacts on teachers_ attitudes and practices. The study focused on 89 elementary teachers in 11 schools across 5 districts, all of whom participated in a state-sponsored staff development project during the 1999/2000 academic year. This staff development initiative was designed to assist teachers in acquiring the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and implement standards-based math instruction and assessment in their classrooms.

Using surveys, interviews, and written teacher logs, data were gathered regarding the amounts and types of staff …

There's Good News From The Nation's Classrooms, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Last May at the finals of the National Geographic Bee held in Washington, DC, Alex Trebeck was getting concerned because he thought that he would be running out of questions for the ten finalists who came from throughout the country. Well, he did have enough, although it was close.

In the previous year it took just 80 questions to determine a winner of the Bee, an annual event sponsored by the National Geographic Society in which over five million kids nationwide from grades four through eight compete. In 1999, however, it took 140 questions before a winner was determined. In …

Toward A Pedagogy Of Relation, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

One of the main intellectual trends in American educational philosophy could be described as a shift from the pedagogy of behavior to the pedagogy of relation. Not a widely used term, pedagogy of relation nevertheless captures the shared intent of otherwise widely diverse group of writers. It is mainly, but not exclusively, associated with feminist thinkers like Nel Noddings, Jane R. Martin, and Carol Gilligan. Among non-feminists, one can mention a group of philosophers who support one or another form of proceduralism (often inspired by Jurgen Habermas), Gert Biesta_s communicative pedagogy, and Frank Margonis and his relational ontology.

Excellence In Geography In The Schools, Chester Smolski, Anne K. Petry

Smolski Texts

"Most people know of the National Geographic Society through its well-know magazine, nine million of which are mailed out each month and most of which now reside in attics throughout the world.

"But what many do not realize is the $80 million effort over the past 12 years that the Geographic has made in the schools of the country to make our teachers an children better understand the world around them. This it has done throuh its support of the Geography Alliances established in every state, Canada, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia."

Helping Teachers Help Students Enjoy Geography, Chester Smolski, Anne K. Petry

Smolski Texts

"The concern to improve the education of your young people, whether at the national, state or local levels, is manifesting itself in a variety of ways. One of these is the national program sponsored by the National Geographic Society.

Turned On Teachers Help Students Tune In To Geography, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"If you hear your youngster just home from school talking about some local issues related to transportation, land use, natural resources, air quality, water pollution, zoning, population growth or economic development, you can bet that she has been turned on by her geography teacher."

Teachers Make Marks In, Out Of Classroom, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Doing field work on the Northern Fur Seals of Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska; laboring in the lab at the University of Texas; examining gender and geography at Trinity College in Hartford; finding out about China at Yale; doing surveys on tourism and sustainability at the University of Maine; studying with the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. and teaching and working with other teachers at Roger Williams University and Rhode Island College, 20 Teacher Consultants (TCs) of the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance had themselves a busy and productive summer."

Authoritarianism And Education In Soviet Schools, Alexander M. Sidorkin

Faculty Publications

Here is a perfectly plausible theory, even more so as the two last American presidents seemingly supported it. Once upon a time there were two military and ideological blocks: the Western democracies and Communist totalitarianism. They fought the Cold war, which the Western block has won, and the Communist block has lost. Two main strategies greatly contributed to the fall of the Communism: an arms race that exhausted Soviet economic power, and an ideological struggle that weakened the Soviet regime from inside. If this is true, American governments may rightfully claim credit for the victory. Moreover, if this is true, …

On Students, Standards, Employers And Jobs, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent an first national census survey on hiring, training and management practices in business in this country statistically reaffirmed the complaints of business leaders made a decade ago--young people coming out of our schools are not ready nor qualified for the workplace."

Geographically, R.I. Teachers Are Among The Best, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Isn't it time that we recognize the good teachers and good work being done in the schools of this state rather than constantly harping on problems with education and how our students don't measure up to those in other countries?"