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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Education
Reducing The Constraints To School Access And Progress: Assessing The Effects Of A School Scholarship Program In Malawi, Stephen Hunsaker
Reducing The Constraints To School Access And Progress: Assessing The Effects Of A School Scholarship Program In Malawi, Stephen Hunsaker
Undergraduate Honors Theses
The study utilizes a causal-comparative research design to compare the educational experiences and outcomes of two student groups – those who did and those who did not receive a needs-based scholarship to attend secondary or tertiary school. We administered surveys to 89 scholarship recipients and 57 non-recipients in the Dowa, Kasungu and Lilongwe Districts of Malawi. Surveys included items to determine group differences across a range of short and medium-term outcomes, including: career aspirations, attendance rate, withdrawal rate, graduation rate, employment status, time unemployed since graduation, and employment quality (using the Tanzanian Standard Classification of Occupations). This study included students …
The Impact Of Gap Years On Academic Outcomes For Women: A Case Study From The Missionary Age Change, Margaret Marchant
The Impact Of Gap Years On Academic Outcomes For Women: A Case Study From The Missionary Age Change, Margaret Marchant
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Young adults throughout the United States and other countries participate in “gap years,” or time away from school, often for travel, work, or volunteering. This practice is promoted as a way to mature and refocus. However, some worry that it lowers the likelihood of college completion. Previous literature has investigated the academic, social, and personal benefits of gap years with mixed results; however selection into gap years confounds the true impact with unobservable personal characteristics. To overcome selection issues, I exploit an exogenous policy change that lowered age requirements for missionary service, a unique type of gap year, resulting in …
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
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 …
Cost-Savings Achieved In Two Semesters Through The Adoption Of Open Educational Resources, John Hilton Iii, T. Jared Robinson, David Wiley, J. Dale Ackerman
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.
The Adoption Of Open Educational Resources By One Community College Math Department, John Hilton Iii, Donna Gaudet, Phil Clark, Jared Robinson, David Wiley
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
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.
An Oer Coup: College Teacher And Student Perceptions Of Open Educational Resources, John Hilton Iii, Tj Bliss, T. Jared Robinson, David A. Wiley
An Oer Coup: College Teacher And Student Perceptions Of Open Educational Resources, John Hilton Iii, Tj Bliss, T. Jared Robinson, David A. Wiley
Faculty Publications
Despite increased development and dissemination, there has been very little empirical research on Open Educational Resources (OER). Teachers and students involved in a large-scale OER initiative at eight community colleges across the United States were given a detailed questionnaire aimed at uncovering their perceptions of the cost, outcomes, uses and perceptions of quality of the OER used in their courses. Teachers and students alike reported significant cost savings and various pedagogical and learning impacts due to the implementation of OER in the classroom. In addition, most students and teachers perceived their OER to be at least equal in quality to …
The Cost And Quality Of Open Textbooks: Perceptions Of Community College Faculty And Students, Tj Bliss, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley, Kim Thanos
The Cost And Quality Of Open Textbooks: Perceptions Of Community College Faculty And Students, Tj Bliss, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley, Kim Thanos
Faculty Publications
Proponents of open educational resources (OER) claim that significant cost savings are possible when open textbooks displace traditional textbooks in the college classroom. We investigated student and faculty perceptions of OER used in a community college context. Over 125 students and 11 faculty from seven colleges responded to an online questionnaire about the cost and quality of the open textbooks used in their classrooms. Results showed that the majority of students and faculty had a positive experience using the open textbooks, appreciated the lower costs, and perceived the texts as being of high quality. The potential implications for OER initiatives …
A Preliminary Examination Of The Cost Savings And Learning Impacts Of Using Open Textbooks In Middle And High School Science Classes, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley, Shelley Ellington, Tiffany Hall
A Preliminary Examination Of The Cost Savings And Learning Impacts Of Using Open Textbooks In Middle And High School Science Classes, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley, Shelley Ellington, Tiffany Hall
Faculty Publications
Proponents of open educational resources claim that significant cost savings are possible when open textbooks displace traditional textbooks in the classroom. Over a period of two years, we worked with 20 middle and high school science teachers (collectively teaching approximately 3,900 students) who adopted open textbooks to understand the process and determine the overall cost of such an adoption. The teachers deployed open textbooks in multiple ways. Some of these methods cost more than traditional textbooks; however, we did identify and implement a successful model of open textbook adoption that reduces costs by over 50% compared to the cost of …
Examining The Reuse Of Open Textbooks, John Hilton Iii, David A. Wiley, Neil Lutz
Examining The Reuse Of Open Textbooks, John Hilton Iii, David A. Wiley, Neil Lutz
Faculty Publications
An important element of open educational resources (OER) is the permission to use the materials in new ways, including revising and remixing them. Prior research has shown that the revision and remix rates for OER are relatively low. In this study we examined the extent to which the openly licensed Flat World Knowledge textbooks were being revised and remixed. We found that the levels of revision and remix were similar to those of other OER collections. We discuss the possible significance and implication of these findings.
Open-Access Textbooks And Financial Sustainability: A Case Study On Flat World Knowledge, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley
Open-Access Textbooks And Financial Sustainability: A Case Study On Flat World Knowledge, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley
Faculty Publications
Many college students and their families are concerned about the high costs of textbooks. A company called Flat World Knowledge both gives away and sells open-source textbooks in a way it believes to be financially sustainable. This article reports on the financial sustainability of the Flat World Knowledge open-source textbook model after one year of operation.
A Sustainable Future For Open Textbooks? The Flat World Knowledge Story, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley
A Sustainable Future For Open Textbooks? The Flat World Knowledge Story, John Hilton Iii, David Wiley
Faculty Publications
Many college students and their families are concerned about the high costs of textbooks. E–books have been proposed as one potential solution; open source textbooks have also been explored. A company called Flat World Knowledge produces and gives away open source textbooks in a way they believe to be financially sustainable. This article reports an initial study of the financial sustainability of the Flat World Knowledge open source textbook model.