Education Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Leading Australia’S Schools Participation (2006-2008) On School Effectiveness, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Stephen Dinham, Clare Ozolins, Michelle Anderson, Catherine Scott

Dr Elizabeth Kleinhenz

No abstract provided.

Triple Play, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, William Phillips

Hal Blythe

“Triple Play” presents three procedural techniques nicely reduced to related mnemonics for making the most of class time by embedding three different approaches to assessing students’ learning right there in the class that day. The fruits of such exercises doubtless will give faculty who try them important information on what’s working with their students and what is not, but a point the authors don’t emphasize is that the exercises will also compel students to become conscious of where they stand in their own learning as learning rather than as a response to how they felt about the class ...

It Works For Me: Becoing A Publishing Scholar/Researcher, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

The authors’ purpose in this book is to provide “a collection of practical tips drawn from real-life experiences.” We believe this particular book is so important to share with today’s audience, we almost called it Take My Book, Please! On the other hand, does the scholarly world need another book on the importance of scholarship? Further, if the book standard for tenure is slowly disappearing because so many academic presses are closing, why would we bother to write one? And recent studies show that new faculty members consider university employment a 9:00-5:00 job, so doesn’t that ...

Integrating Ctls Into Campus Strategic Planning Through An Effective Brainstorming Process, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe

Hal Blythe

One way Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) can position themselves at the epicenter of campus activity and insert themselves into strategic planning is by transforming group work through an effective brainstorming process that the authors have developed called Ideation Development for Excellence in Academic Learning (I.D.E.A.L.). The authors explain the evolution of the process in a learning community from best practices in brainstorming through a working model. The process has been effective with actual groups both on and off campus (vs. laboratory conditions). “Collaboration drives creativity because innovation always emerges from a series of sparks ...

Using Metaphors To Build Knowledge, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, Vigs Chandra

Hal Blythe

No abstract provided.

From Bereavement To Assessment" The Transformation Of A Regional Comprehensive University, Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, Rose Perrine, Paula Kopacz, Dorie Combs, Onda Bennett, Stacey Street, E.J. Keeley

Hal Blythe

This is no conventional book about assessment. It presents the unvarnished first-person accounts of fourteen faculty and administrators about how they grappled, and engaged, with assessment and how – despite misgivings and an often-contentious process – they were able to gain the collaboration of their peers as the benefits for student learning became evident. This is a book for skeptical faculty, for those who have been tasked to spearhead their institution’s call to create a culture of assessment; and, on campuses where assessment has been widely accepted and implemented, for those who now need to ensure this commitment will endure. For ...

Learning Efforts And Experiences Of Adult Students With Disabilities In A University Setting, Deborah Sterner, Ezzard Bryant

Ezzard C Bryant Jr.

This research investigated educated adults with identified disabilities and their learning efforts. It involved structured, in-depth interviews with disabled adults in higher education related to their attempts to learn on their own. Evidence of learning projects existed for each of the participants. All reported difficulties with finding the appropriate tools to improve their learning. A listing of specific techniques to assist their learning efforts was generated from the participants.

Self-Directed Learning In Adults With Disabilities, Deborah Sterner, Ezzard Bryant

Ezzard C Bryant Jr.

This research investigated educated adults with identified disabilities and their self-directed learning efforts. It involved structured, in-depth interviews with disabled adults in higher education related to their attempts to learn on their own. Evidence of self-directed learning projects existed for each of the participants. All reported difficulties with finding the appropriate tools to improve their learning. A listing of specific techniques to assist their learning efforts was generated from the participants.

A Symposium Model For Doctoral Students Of Color Seeking Faculty Positions In Higher Education, Samuel Hinton, Sherwood Thompson

Sherwood Thompson

The purpose of this article is to share a model for motivating and mentoring students of color who are finding it difficult to complete their doctorate degree because of personal, social, and institutional challenges. Students do not pay a fee to participate in the symposium. They are motivated among other things to build relationships, and establish contacts and networks with a cohort of scholars interested in helping them complete their studies. In addition, the program prepares these students to apply for faculty positions at this university in the mid-west and other institutions of higher education when they graduate. Student populations ...

Learning In A Reggio-Inspired Reuse Center, Lauren Lantz-Helm, Will Parnell

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

What would children’s learning look like in the Child Development Center’s Re-Use Center if teachers, parents, and children could collaborate around the learning? This action research collaboration between a professor and a graduate student/teacher, examines the process the graduate student/teacher goes through as she documents the re-use center narratives of a small group of young children. A re-use center is likened to Reggio Emilia, Italy’s Remida Center as a repository for found, rescued and repurposed materials. This center finds new meanings for discarded items destined for landfills and incinerators. The findings reveal stories of language ...

Editorial Introduction, Catherine F. Compton-Lilly

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Networks has always been a place for sharing interesting and cutting edge work. This issue of Networks is no exception. Each of the articles presented in this issue presents a unique and intriguing look at the worlds of teaching, the questions educators are asking, and the ways teachers are making sense of their worlds. In this issue, both the voices of teachers and teacher educators tell powerful tales about their work and the lessons they have learned through teacher research.

Two Teachers Learn From Their Students: Examining Teaching, Learning, And The Use Of Learning Centers, Barbara Dian O'Donnell, Rebecca Hitpas

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Two teachers, a kindergarten teacher and university professor, used action research to study the use of learning centers in their respective classrooms. Becky, a kindergarten teacher, collected and analyzed qualitative data in the form of interviews, work samples, anecdotal records, checklists, videotapes, and culminating performance task documents. She found that at-risk students made progress in achievement, accountability, and motivation. Inspired by Becky’s study, her university advisor/teacher redesigned a learning center assignment that proved to be more powerful in getting teacher candidates to understand, design, and use centers.

An Exploration Into How Physical Activity Data-Recording Devices Could Be Used In Computer-Supported Data Investigations, Victor R. Lee, Maneksha Dumont

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

There is a great potential opportunity to use portable physical activity monitoring devices as data collection tools for educational purposes. Using one such device, we designed and implemented a weeklong workshop with high school students to test the utility of such technology. During that intervention, students performed data investigations of physical activity that culminated in the design and implementation of their own studies. In this paper, we explore some of the mathematical thinking that took place through a series of vignettes of a pair of students engaged in analyzing some of their own activity data. A personal connection to the ...

A Self-Study On Building Community In The Online Classroom, Derek Lee Anderson, N. Suzanne Standerford, Sandy Imdieke

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This paper portrays a year-long self-study of three teacher educators who examined their individual and collective practices in relation to teaching online. Because of its emphasis on reflection on practice, we chose a self-study method with the goal of improving our own practices (Hamilton, 1998). During the past year, we shared our course syllabi, assignments, and student work; we wrote and shared journal entries, met semi-monthly as critical friends, and revised and reanalyzed the ways we taught online. Our department’s lack of guidelines or expectations for online courses, challenges from resistant colleagues about the integrity of online courses, and ...

Book Review: Pink, D.H. (2009). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Kathleen Fite

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

This three-part, six-chapter book has taught me, an educator, more about motivation than any other resource I have used in the past. Part One encourages us to think beyond our rewardand-punishment system to a new way of thinking about motivation. Part Two presents what he refers to as Type I, “intrinsic behavior where we have an innate need to direct our lives and how we learn; and, how this type of behavior enhances performance and satisfaction.” Part Three, referred to as the Type I Toolkit, provides a variety of resources designed to support Type I behavior. Pink makes connections to ...

A Comprehensive Step: A Book Review Of Teachers Taking Action, Suzanne Porath

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

Action research, as a term, has been around for over half a century, but it has only become accepted as legitimate research within the last two decades. In education, action research both challenges and is informed by traditional scholarly research and promises to empower teachers to become active participants, and not just consumers of university-based research. Cynthia Lassonde, an assistant professor at the State University of New York College, and Susan Israel, a literacy consultant, have provided an overview of the action research process in their book Teachers Taking Action: A Comprehensive Guide to Teacher Research, a 2008 monograph of ...

The Impact Of Job-Embedded Professional Development Coaches On Teacher Practice., Donna T. Hamblin Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this qualitative study was to understand the impact of job-embedded professional development coaches on teacher practice. Coaches in this study worked with teachers to plan lessons, model lessons with feedback, and disaggregate data. This qualitative study was conducted using interviews of coaches to gain their perceptions of the work they did with teachers and how this work influenced teacher practice. Teachers were interviewed to determine their perceptions of the impact coaches' work had on their classroom practices. Analysis of the coaches and teachers' reflective journals was also conducted to establish the participants' perceptions of their work together ...

The Role Of Discriminatory Experiences On Hispanic Students’ College Choice Decisions, Amanda Taggart, Gloria Crisp

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

This study examined the impact of discriminatory experiences on Hispanic students’ decisions concerning postsecondary enrollment. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with Hispanic students’ decisions to attend either a 2- or a 4-year institution within the context of theory concerning college choice/success. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample ( n = 2,210) of Hispanic students from the ELS:2002 data set. Results indicated that Hispanic students were less likely to attend a 4-year institution if they personally experienced or perceived others being discriminated against during high school. Findings suggest that discriminatory high school experiences may contribute ...

Crisis Management: How To Stay Out Of Court, Adrianne Browing, Kimberly Kubicek, Sarah Rigsby, John Roberts

Parameters of Law in Student Affairs and Higher Education (CNS 670)

Crisis Management in higher education is often unpredictable. It requires immediate decision making and quick resolution based on the outcome of an event that has taken place. Institutions have an obligation to reduce uncertainty in the event of crisis and to mitigate the circumstances of potential volatile situations. A crisis management policy should be established and implemented in order to provide a safe and healthy environment for all. In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, a report was provided to the President of Virginia Tech that stated “a strong, vibrant and supportive community is essential in ensuring a safe ...

Defining Teaching Excellence: A Phenomenological Study Of Seven Nationally Recognized Secondary Educators, Rosalee A. Swartz

Theses, Dissertations, & Student Scholarship: Agricultural Leadership, Education & Communication Department

Change has been an integral part of the American education system since the 1830s (Lucas, 1999) when universities began preparing students to teach. Over the past 20 years, changes including federal mandates (Disabilities Education Act, 1990; No Child Left Behind, 2003) and increasing diversity in school populations require a responding sensitivity from classroom teachers. In the midst of challenges that these changes present, teachers are increasingly asked to do more.

Research shows that nearly 50 percent of new teachers leave within the first five years of teaching, citing issues such as lack of preparation and mentorship, working conditions, pay, and ...

Cloud Computing: Strategies For Cloud Computing Adoption, Faith J. Shimba

Faith Joel Shimba

The advent of cloud computing in recent years has sparked an interest from different IT stakeholders. This is a result of the new economic model for the IT department that cloud computing promises. The model promises to remove the need for heavy investment for limited IT resources towards renting IT resources and paying based on usage. Although, the adoption of cloud computing promises various benefits to organizations, a successful adoption requires an understanding of different dynamics and expertise in diverse domains. Currently there are inadequate guidelines for adoption and this book proposes a roadmap for cloud computing adoption called ROCCA ...

A Big Goal For A Better Ohio, Ohio College Access Network

Ohio College Access Network

No abstract provided.

Moving From A Predominantly Teaching Oriented Culture To A Research Productivity Mission: The Case Of Mexico And The United States, Gus Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

This study qualitatively analyzes the culture conflicts professors in the United States and Mexico are experiencing with the increasing pressures to produce more research about higher education. The first dataset was collected from 36 faculty members from 12 small and medium sized private, doctorate-granting universities. These universities are located in 11 states across the United States. The remaining data came from 44 faculty members employed at four small and medium sized private, doctoral granting universities in four states across Mexico. Results showed that universities in the US are transitioning from a predominantly teaching college culture to a more research orientation ...

Using An Audience Response System (Ars) A.K.A. “Clicker” To Do Attention Research, Roger A. Kendrick

Theses, Student Research, and Creative Activity: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

This study makes an effort to examine whether a student’s attention or engagement is increased by possession of an Audience Response System (ARS, or clicker). This experiment tested a difference in performance. This study makes an effort to examine whether a student’s attention or engagement is increased by possession of an Audience Response System (ARS, or clicker). This experiment tested a difference in performance between students who possessed an ARS and those who did not. The experiment was conducted at a small state college in the Midwest where small class size is typical. Approximately half the students in ...

Motivation For Vocabulary Learning Of College Students, Qizhen Deng

Theses, Student Research, and Creative Activity: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to construct and validate an instrument to measure motivation for vocabulary learning, opening the door to more studies on motivation for vocabulary learning in reading and listening. In the new 34-item questionnaire: Motivation for Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (MVLQ), eleven subscales were examined within two motivational constructs, namely, self-efficacy and attitude. Participants in this study were 121traditional undergraduate students from a Midwestern research university. Students responded to two self-report questionnaires: the Motivation for Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (MVLQ), and the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire (MRQ) (Wigfield & Guthrie,1997). The results suggested that MVLQ had good reliability ...

A Case Study Of The Mathematical Learning Of Two Teachers Acquiring Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching, David R. Hartman

Public Access Theses, Dissertations, and Student Research from the College of Education and Human Sciences

This study offers an analysis of the learning of practicing teachers as they acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics. While some professional developers have shifted part of their focus to helping practicing teachers acquire a deeper knowledge of mathematics (e.g., Stein & Silver, 1996), the results from studies often describe what translates from the professional development experience into classroom practice and measureable gains in student achievement (e.g., Desimone et al., 2002). Studies showing improvements in pedagogy and student learning are important. However, studying what teachers are learning and how they learn is important in developing understanding of the content and process of teachers’ learning.

This case study describes the mathematical learning of two middle level mathematics teachers while participating in a National Science Foundation-funded math professional development institute based on recommendations of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) (2001). The overarching question guiding this research is: How do teachers deepen their understanding of the mathematics content they teach? The analysis is guided, in part, by mathematical habits of mind (e.g., Cuoco et al., 1996); or ways teachers engage in mathematical practices to strengthen their understanding of mathematical content and communication to others.

Data collected from two teachers to study their learning include: teachers’ written coursework and reflections, observations of teachers’ work and interactions solving problems, and interviews and classroom observations. Qualitative data analysis (Stake, 1995) indicates three findings. First, both teachers embrace ...

Voices, Echoes, And Narratives: Multidimensional Experiences Of Three Teachers Immersed In Ethnomathematical Encounters In Morocco, Mekyah Q. Mcqueen, Stanley F. H. Shaheed, Curtis V. Goings, Iman C. Chahine

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Is It That One Particular Statement Appeared Rather Than Another?: Opening A Different Space For Different Statements About Urban Mathematics Education, David W. Stinson

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Faculty Publications

In this editorial, the author applies Michel Foucault's concept of "discursive formations" to examine fictions, fantasies, and power relationships in mathematics education research.

Winter 2010 E-Certi Newsletter, Center For Educational Research And Teaching Innovation

CAFE Faculty Newsletters

Hello S&T faculty and welcome to another edition of the CERTI newsletter, dedicated to celebrating excellence in the classroom. In this issue, you’ll find articles on a unique method for students to ask questions and how to make history a hands-on learning experience. Also, here are tips from the Curators’ Teaching Professors on working toward balance in your career.

Teachers’ Knowledge About The Nature Of Mathematics: A Survey Of Secondary School Teachers In Karachi, Pakistan, Munira Amirali, Anjum Halai

Institute for Educational Development, Karachi

This study presents the findings from a study which explored patterns in teachers’ knowledge about the nature of mathematics. A survey questionnaire was developed and distributed to 200 secondary school mathematics teachers teaching in public and private schools in Karachi, Pakistan. Exploratory factor analysis was performed which showed patterns in teachers’ view about the nature of mathematics. The analysis illustrates that teachers hold contradicting views about the nature of mathematics i.e. mathematics, both as discovered as well as invented body of knowledge. Moreover, teachers irrespective of their professional qualification, considered mathematical knowledge as ‘truth’, where mathematical rules can never ...