Education Commons^™

An Undergraduate Laboratory Manual For Analyzing A Crispr Mutant With A Predicted Role In Regeneration, Susan Walsh, Ashley Becker, Paxton S. Sickler, Damian G. Clarke, Erin Jimenez

Faculty Publications

Exposing students to undergraduate research has reportedly improved students’ development of knowledge and skills in the laboratory, self-efficacy, satisfaction with their research, retention, and perseverance when faced with obstacles. Furthermore, utilizing authentic course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) includes all students enrolled in the class, giving those who may not otherwise have access to an independent undergraduate research project an opportunity to engage in the scientific process in context of an original, unanswered question. In the fall of 2016, second semester introductory biology students conducted a semester-long research project on the transcription factor Lin28a to determine the effect of Lin28a on …

The Intersections Of Africana Studies And Curriculum Theory: An Exploration, Theodorea Regina Berry

Faculty Publications

There has been much critique of globalization now circulating in curriculum studies both nationally, in the United States, and internationally, helps us understand some of the lethal effects of globalization. Nevertheless, little of such critique is grounded in a strong commitment to work beyond the Western epistemological perimeter. While we, as reconceptualists in curriculum studies, acknowledge the necessity to honor the multiple sources and perspectives of knowledge, we continue to operate in spaces and with intentions embedded in globalized, traditional notions of curriculum. This problem is especially heightened for socially marginalized learners, particularly Black/African American learners.

In this article, I …

Our Home By The Sea: Critical Race Reflections On Samuel Chapman Armstrong’S Accommodationism Through William Watkins’ White Architects Of Black Education, Theodorea Regina Berry, Michael Jennings

Faculty Publications

The work and words presented are a reflection of the multidimensionality of two critical race scholars and their engagement with the work of Dr. William H. Watkins, specifically his seminal text The White Architects of Black Education: Ideology and Power, 1865-1954. This work will be framed similarly to the way Watkins framed his chapter on General Samuel Chapman Armstrong in this work. Our story, a critical auto-ethnographic narrative, will begin with a discussion of the historical context that frames the relationship we have with Watkins and the relationship we have with General Samuel Chapman Armstrong and Hampton Institute. Next, …

Promoting School Earthquake Safety Through A Classroom Education Grassroots Approach, Lelli Van Den Einde, Heidi Tremayne, Thalia Anagnos, James Mallard

Faculty Publications

The earthquake engineering community has recognized that in seismically active regions throughout the United States, hundreds of thousands of students and staff unknowingly study and work in structurally vulnerable school and university buildings. The School Earthquake Safety Initiative (SESI), spearheaded by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), is a collaborative network of diverse, expert, and impassioned professionals who are committed to creating and sharing knowledge and tools that enable broadminded, informed decision making around school earthquake safety. The Classroom Education and Outreach Subcommittee of SESI is tackling the problem of school safety from a grassroots approach, with the goal of …

Integration Of General Education Into The Senior Capstone Class In Engineering, Patricia Backer, Laura Sullivan-Green

Faculty Publications

Over the past few years, San Jose State University (SJSU) has mandated that all of the undergraduate degree programs including engineering degrees be set at 120 units. With the existing number of units for the BS engineering degrees, this mandatory requirement has led to new innovations in General Education (GE) at SJSU. We have created a two-course sequence to support the integration of upper division General Education into the engineering major. Advanced GE at SJSU is designed to help students become integrated thinkers who can see connections between and among a variety of concepts and ideas. In the College of …

¿Vera O Verra? Using Principles Of Task-Based Language Teaching To Practice Spanish Rhotics, Avizia Long

Faculty Publications

Research on task-based language teaching and learning has demonstrated that tasks may encourage second/foreign language development, specifically by facilitating conditions believed to engage processes that are important for second language acquisition to occur (Robinson, 2011; Skehan, 2014). Recent studies conducted by Solon, Long, and Gurzynski-Weiss (2014, 2015) have demonstrated that tasks designed to make pronunciation task essential do encourage learner attention to pronunciation, and increasing task complexity leads to greater accuracy in the production of the Spanish vowels [o] and [u]. This micro-teaching lesson, inspired by Solon et al., will showcase a task designed to make the pronunciation of the …

Curricular Reflections In The Usa: Teaching Teachers The Edtpa, Todd A. Price Dr.

Faculty Publications

The Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is an evaluation tool currently used across several states. The supposition is that teacher candidate performance can be measured. The express purpose of this instrument is to determine whether teacher candidates are ready to enter the classroom. Creators of the edTPA believe that this evaluation tool and the standards-based movement of which the Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) play a part is more “rigorous” then other measures and will raise the bar for teachers entering the profession. Proponents …

Oregon Reading Instructional Materials And Practices Statewide Survey Executive Summary, Sue Lenski, Dot Mcelhone, Mindy Legard Larson, Maika Yeigh, Carol Lauritzen, Amanda Villagómez, Dennis Davis, Marie Lejeune, Melanie Landon-Hays

Faculty Publications

This study reports the results of a survey of a representative sample of 1,206 K-6 classroom and 7-12 English Language Arts teachers in Oregon to learn 1) what reading instructional materials are currently being used, 2) what reading instructional materials teachers would prefer, 3) what reading instructional materials teachers wanted to have included on the state approved materials list, and 4) what instructional practices teachers use. Results indicated that in grades K-6 basal/core reading programs were the predominant material in use, but that these teachers preferred to use trade books. The majority of grades 7-12 English Language Arts teachers reported …

Examining Inclusive Programming In A Middle School Library: A Case Study Of Adolescents Who Are Differently- And Typically-Able, Clayton A. Copeland, Karen W. Gavigan Dr.

Faculty Publications

Numerous national and international studies have shown the importance of school libraries and librarians in students’ educations, including literacy skill development and academic achievement. However, published research investigating school library accessibility and services from the perspectives of students who are differently-able are extremely limited, as are studies of inclusive library programming, or programming serving both typically-able and differently-able students. This case study examines inclusive library programming with adolescents in a middle school library. Findings indicate that the impact of inclusive school library programming was meaningful and often extended beyond the library’s walls. Inclusive library programming resulted in skill development among …

A Multi-Institutional Study Of The Impact Of Open Textbook Adoption On The Learning Outcomes Of Post-Secondary Students, Lane Fischer, John Hilton Iii, T. Jared Robinson, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

In some educational settings, the cost of textbooks approaches or even exceeds the cost of tuition. Given limited resources, it is important to better understand the impacts of free open educational resources (OER) on student outcomes. Utilizing digital resources such as OER can substantially reduce costs for students. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether the adoption of no-cost open digital textbooks significantly predicted students’ completion of courses, class achievement, and enrollment intensity during and after semesters in which OER were used. This study utilized a quantitative quasi-experimental design with propensity-score matched groups to examine differences in outcomes …

Teaching Argument Writing And "Content" In Diverse Middle School History Classrooms, Chauncey Monte-Sano, Susan De La Paz, Mark Felton

Faculty Publications

Monte-Sano et al describe a program in which they worked with curriculum leaders in an academically and culturally diverse school district to develop materials and techniques that would strengthen middle school students' skills in making arguments and using evidence in historical essays. They outline the Shays' Rebellion investigation activity, which enable students to develop inquiry and literacy practices as they integrate critical reading, historical thinking, and argument writing.

Traveling Trunks: Enrich Curriculum With A Global Perspective, Nancy Shepherd

Faculty Publications

Traveling trunks as a delivery method for curricula have been associated with experiential learning and shown to increase learning (George, 2010; Shepherd, 2007; Lett, 1993). Students learn through real-life experiences, such as global social issues (Kister, 1992), and principal to the nature of learning is the relationship between experience and learning, a shaping force in the development of thoughtful, curious students (Loughran, 2006).

The embedded mixed method study showed learning gains occurred when experiential curriculum was facilitated by experienced teachers, and delivered in a traveling trunk. The study (N=58) showed that active learning about social issues engages students. Paired t-tests …

Comparing Interaction And Use Of Space In Traditional And Innovative Classrooms, Laura Gurzynski-Weiss, Avizia Long, Megan Solon

Faculty Publications

Despite myriad changes to language teaching methods over time, university-level classroom spaces have largely remained the same—until now. Recent innovations in classroom space design center on technological advances, include movable furniture and coffee-shop style rooms, and are believed to facilitate language learning in several ways. Specifically, compared to traditional classrooms, innovative spaces are designed in the hope of decreasing pre-task set up, increasing student-centered interaction, and facilitating collaborative work with multiple partners—features believed to be important for classroom learning. However, whether or not such features are present in these innovative spaces, or more so than in traditional classrooms, has yet …

Small Schools: How Effective Are The Academics?, Jerome Thayer, Martha Havens, Elissa Kido

Faculty Publications

The North American Division’s 2013 school-opening report showed that out of 838 K-12 Seventh- day Adventist schools, 490 (58.5 percent) are small schools, with only one, two, or three teachers, multigrade classrooms, and no fulltime principal. Even in schools with four or more teachers, it is common to find multigrade classrooms.

Can small schools with multigrade classrooms be as effective in fostering achievement as larger schools with single- grade classrooms? This is a concern of many parents who are considering sending their children to the small local Adventist school. To illustrate two points of view related to small schools, consider …

Towards An Assumption Responsive Information Literacy Curriculum: Lessons From Student Qualitative Data, Rob Morrison, Deana Greenfield

Faculty Publications

This chapter will describe how the collection of data on college student assumptions impacted the development and revision of credit courses in digital information literacy. Drawing on qualitative data from pretests, assignments, questionnaires, reflection journals, and student evaluations, the authors will detail their teaching experiences and the development of an assumption responsive curriculum which challenges students to draw connections between new material and prior questions, concerns, and beliefs. We will also discuss the impetus for the development of our pretest survey tool, thoughts on why student assumptions matter in the classroom, and provide excerpts from the qualitative student data that …

Cultural Norms Of Clinical Simulation In Undergraduate Nursing Education, Susan G. Mcniesh

Faculty Publications

Simulated practice of clinical skills has occurred in skills laboratories for generations, and there is strong evidence to support high-fidelity clinical simulation as an effective tool for learning performance-based skills. What are less known are the processes within clinical simulation environments that facilitate the learning of socially bound and integrated components of nursing practice. Our purpose in this study was to ethnographically describe the situated learning within a simulation laboratory for baccalaureate nursing students within the western United States. We gathered and analyzed data from observations of simulation sessions as well as interviews with students and faculty to produce a …

Best Practices For Using Global Virtual Teams, Holt Zaugg, Randy Davies, Alan Parkinson, Spencer Magleby

Faculty Publications

As global economies and interactions increase, there is a developing need for students to have a variety of cross-cultural experiences. Traditionally these experiences have occurred through study abroad experiences and internships. With the advent of virtual technologies global virtual teams are an opportunity to provide students with a cross-cultural experience. However, stakeholders need to be aware of their roles and responsibilities in such an endeavor.

This article discusses findings from a three-year study seeking to integrate global virtual teams into regular classrooms. The roles and responsibilities of institutions, faculty, and students are discussed in this article.

International Perspectives In Lis Education: Global Education, Research, And Collaboration At The Sjsu School Of Information, Sandra Hirsh, Michelle Simmons, Paul Christensen, Melanie Sellar, Cheryl Stenstrom, Christine Hagar, Anthony Bernier, Debbie Faires, Jane Fisher, Susan Alman

Faculty Publications

The IFLA Trend Report identified five trends that will impact the information environment (IFLA, 2015), such as access to information with new technologies, online education for global learning, hyper-connected communities, and the global information environment. The faculty at San José State University (SJSU) School of Information (iSchool) is engaged in a wide range of activities that focus on these trends—benefiting students, enhancing faculty professional development, and extending the school’s impact on the global information environment. The importance of incorporating global perspectives in the curriculum to reflect changes in the way that communities around the world access and share information is …

Parting Thoughts - So Much More To Discover, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Reforming High School American History Curricula: What Publicized Student Intolerance Can Teach Policymakers, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This article concerns the way public high schools teach American history under curricula and standards mandated by state law. “We’re raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate,” says David McCullough, the dean of American historians.

The article describes three recent nationally publicized incidents in which high school students belittled lynching and the Trail of Tears, evidently without appreciating the episodes’ legal and historical significance to African Americans and Native Americans respectively. Standards and textbooks typically recognize diversity and multiculturalism, but research and surveys indicate that classroom teachers frequently sanitize or avoid discomforting topics that might trigger complaints, …

Cost-Savings Achieved In Two Semesters Through The Adoption Of Open Educational Resources, John Hilton Iii, T. Jared Robinson, David Wiley, J. Dale Ackerman

Faculty Publications

Textbooks represent a significant portion of the overall cost of higher education in the United States. The burden of these costs is typically shouldered by students, those who support them, and the taxpayers who fund the grants and student loans which pay for textbooks. Open educational resources (OER) provide students a way to receive high-quality learning materials at little or no cost to students. We report on the cost savings achieved by students at eight colleges when these colleges began utilizing OER in place of traditional commercial textbooks.

Learning Outside The Rules: Lessons From The Past, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Dimensionality Of First-Grade Written Composition, Luana L. Greulich, Young-Suk Kim, Stephanie Al Otaiba, Jessica S. Folsom, Cynthia Puranik

Faculty Publications

Purpose—We examined dimensions of written composition using multiple evaluative approaches such as an adapted 6+1 trait scoring, syntactic complexity measures, and productivity measures. We further examined unique relations of oral language and literacy skills to the identified dimensions of written composition.

Method—A large sample of first grade students (N = 527) was assessed on their language, reading, spelling, letter writing automaticity, and writing in the spring. Data were analyzed using a latent variable approach including confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Results—The seven traits in the 6+1 trait system were best described as two constructs: …

A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change With Increased Investment In Instructional Time, Christopher D. Shaffer, Consuelo J. Alvarez, April E. Bednarski, David Dunbar, Anya L. Goodman, Catherine Reinke, Anne G. Rosenwald, Michael J. Wolyniak, Cheryl Bailey, Daron Barnard, Christopher Bazinet, Dale L. Beach, James E.J. Bedard, Satish Bhalla, John Braverman, Martin Burg, Vidya Chandrasekaran, Hui-Min Chung, Kari Clase, Randall J. Dejong, Justin R. Diangelo, Chunguang Du, Todd T. Eckdahl, Heather Eisler, Julia A. Emerson, Amy Frary, Donald Frohlich, Yuying Gosser, Shubha Govind, Adam Haberman, Amy T. Hark, Charles Hauser, Arlene Hoogewerf, Laura L.M. Hoopes, Carina E. Howell, Diana Johnson, Christopher J. Jones, Lisa Kadlec, Marian Kaehler, S. Catherine Silver Key, Adam Kleinschmit, Nighat P. Kokan, Olga Kopp, Gary Kuleck, Judith Leatherman, Jane Lopilato, Christy Mackinnon, Juan Carlos Martinez-Cruzado, Gerard Mcneil, Stephanie Mel, Hemlata Mistry, Alexis Nagengast, Paul Overvoorde, Don W. Paetkau, Susan Parrish, Celeste N. Peterson, Mary Preuss, Laura K. Reed, Dennis Revie, Srebrenka Robic, Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield, Michael R. Rubin, Kenneth Saville, Stephanie Schroeder, Karim Sharif, Mary Shaw, Gary Skuse, Christopher D. Smith, Mary A. Smith, Sheryl T. Smith, Eric Spana, Mary Spratt, Aparna Sreenivasan, Joyce Stamm, Paul Szauter, Jeffrey S. Thompson, Matthew Wawersik, James Youngblom, Leming Zhou, Elaine R. Mardis, Jeremy Buhler, Wilson Leung, David Lopatto, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Faculty Publications

There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant …

Producing “Society-Ready” Foresters: A Research-Based Process To Revise The Bachelor Of Science In Forestry Curriculum At Stephen F. Austin State University, Steven H. Bullard, Pat Stephens Williams, Theresa Coble, Dean W. Coble, Ray Darville, Laurie Rogers

Faculty Publications

“Society-ready” foresters are capable of dealing effectively with the complex economic, ecological, and social issues involving forestry in the 21st century. To assess the knowledge areas, skill sets, abilities, and behaviors needed by society-ready, entry-level foresters today, we surveyed 800 forestry employers and forestry alumni from Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), and we also conducted focus group sessions with a total of 58 forestry employers. Important areas of knowledge on emerging issues for society-ready Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) graduates included climate change, water availability and quality, and dealing with invasive plants, pathogens, and insects. However, the skill …

What’S Art Got To Do With Math?, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How To Lie With Statistics, Eric L. Mann

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Implementation Of School-Wide Positive Behavior Intervention And Supports And Performance On State Accountability Measures, Adriana M. Marin, Hollie Gabler Filce

Faculty Publications

This study examined data from 96 schools in a Southeastern U.S. state participating in training and/or coaching on School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) provided by the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) in their state. Schools studied either received training only (“non-intensive” sites) or training and on-site coaching (“intensive” sites). Fidelity of implementation was self-evaluated by both types of schools using the Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ). Some schools were also externally evaluated using the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET), with those scoring 80% or higher determined “model sites.” Using an independent sample t-test, analyses revealed statistically significant differences between …

The Adoption Of Open Educational Resources By One Community College Math Department, John Hilton Iii, Donna Gaudet, Phil Clark, Jared Robinson, David Wiley

Faculty Publications

The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on one community college’s adoption of a collection of open resources across five different mathematics classes. During the 2012 fall semester, 2,043 students in five different courses used these open access resources. We present a comparison between the previous two years in terms of the number of students who withdrew from the courses and the number that completed the courses with a …

One College's Use Of An Open Psychology Textbook, John Hilton Iii

Faculty Publications

The high cost of textbooks is of concern not only to college students but also to society as a whole. Open textbooks promise the same educational benefits as traditional textbooks; however, their efficacy remains largely untested. We report on one community college's adoption of a free online psychology textbook. During the fall semester, 2011, 690 students used this book. Compared to students using a traditional text in the spring of 2011, students who used the free online textbook scored higher on departmental final exams, had higher GPAs in the class and higher retention rates.