Education Commons^™

Reinvigorating The Post-Covid Gen Z English Major, Gaby Bedetti

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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The decline in English majors has energized instructors to upskill for the post-COVID Gen Z student. Toward that end, this small-scale (n=20), one-semester study of an upper-division literature class identifies the preferred learning styles of English majors at a public comprehensive regional university in Kentucky. The participants represent national English major demographics. The research methods are quantitative and qualitative. Eight figures and an appendix are included. Three guidelines emerge for responding to the needs of Gen Z students: 1) keep communication brief, 2) co-create, and 3) interact in-person. The findings about …

Using An Interrupted Case Study To Engage Undergraduates’ Critical Thinking Style And Enhance Content Knowledge, Kelsey Hall, Katherine Starzec

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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The interrupted case study is a structured way to engage students in active learning. Interruptions, or pauses for reflection and discussion scheduled within the case-study presentation, provide students with a chance to collaborate and engage in critical thinking. Critical thinking style, which is a measure of how one tends to think critically, provides insight into how one tackles problem solving. This article describes a pilot project that combined critical-thinking style and an interrupted case study, delivered over a two-class-period time frame, to four college courses. The project’s goals were to assess …

Spring 2024 Introduction, Jason Olsen

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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An introduction to the Spring 2024 issue of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence.

Full Issue: Journal On Empowering Teaching Excellence, Volume 8, Issue 1, Spring 2024

Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

The full-length Spring 2024 issue (Volume 8, Issue 1) of the Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence

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The Spring 2024 issue presents research and commentary on trends and best practices in higher education, with a focus on public policy implications for literacy instruction, adjusting instructional programs to Generation Z learning preferences in English courses, and increasing students' critical thinking and self-reported ability through an interrupted case study approach.

Collective Teacher Efficacy And Effective Title I Eligible Schools: A Mixed Methods Approach, Donald R. Mendenhall

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Students living in poverty have historically scored lower than more affluent peers. However, research suggests that collective teacher efficacy (CTE) may be more strongly associated with student academic success than socioeconomic background. Therefore, this study identifies successful Title I eligible schools that also have high levels of collective teacher efficacy to identify methods for increasing CTE in schools. A mixed methods research study model is used to explain how two successful Title I schools were able to achieve academic success and high levels of CTE. The study finds some of the perceptions of school staff, and the actions and processes …

Tasks For Learning Trigonometry, Sydnee Andreasen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Many studies have been done using task-based learning within different mathematics courses. Within the field of trigonometry, task-based learning is lacking. The following research aimed to create engaging, mathematically rich tasks that meet the standards for the current trigonometry course at Utah State University and align with the State of Utah Core Standards for 7th through 12th grades. Four lessons were selected and developed based on the alignment of standards, the relevance to the remainder of the trigonometry course, and the relevance to courses beyond trigonometry. The four lessons that were chosen and developed were related to trigonometric ratios, graphing …