Education Commons^™

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Students Entering Western In The Fall, 2009, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2009 WELS survey of incoming freshmen (the Survey) continues the Office of Survey Research’s (OSR) efforts to collect information on all students prior to the start of their academic careers at Western Washington University. This survey represents the initial contact in a longitudinal process that makes additional inquiries of students at the end of their sophomore year, when they graduate from the university, and one to two years after graduation. The purpose of the incoming freshmen survey is threefold: (1) to assess student needs based upon their self-reported characteristics, perceptions, and concerns; (2) to provide data that can assist …

Exit Survey Of Undergraduate Students Completing Degrees In The Spring Of 2009: Descriptive Statistics, John M. Krieg, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

This survey was designed to elicit departmental-, college-, and university-level information on student satisfaction, barriers to success, determinants of their major choice, experiences and satisfaction in their major, and’ post-graduation plans. Of the 1,671 WWU spring graduates, OSR received valid responses from 1,166 students, a response rate of 69.8%.

Exit Survey Of Graduate Students Completing Degrees In The Spring Or Summer Of 2009: Descriptive Statistics, Michael Barr, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, John M. Krieg

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2009 Exit Survey of Graduate Students Completing Degrees in the Spring or Summer of 2009 holds particular importance as it is the first formal exit survey of graduating master’s degree recipients at Western Washington University. The survey was designed to elicit information on program satisfaction, the frequency and scope of academic interaction on and off campus, barriers to success, and plans for the future. OSR uses a mixture of online and telephone survey methodologies then, when applicable, links survey results with Western’s student records, thus expanding their usefulness to researchers. Individual survey results may be shared with interested campus …

Common Data Set 2008-09, Sharon Schmidtz

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The 2008-09 Common Data Set.

The Freshmen Interest Groups (Figs) Program Report: Course Offerings In Fall, 2008, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Chris Stark, Karen Casto, Jospeh E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

The First-year Interest Group (FIG) program at Western Washington University has been a curricular option for first-year students since 1999. In the fall, 2008, it entered its tenth iteration. Briefly described, FIG program students register for a cluster of three courses: two general education courses (usually quite large) linked with a two-credit seminar (maximum enrollment 25). The FIG program is modeled on best practices culled from first year experience literature and poses that the learning community environment created by the combination of large lecture courses and a small seminar can help students connect more quickly to university life, as well …

Culturing Our Community: A Memoir Of Life Experiences In Costa Rica, Jennifer Beckmeyer

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The first thing I noticed when I arrived in Costa Rica were the smells. As 1 set foot into the moist tropical air, I was immediately overwhelmed with humidity, the aroma of unfamiliar plants, and excitement for this unknown world. Everywhere I went for the first several weeks, I was welcomed with new sensations of something different in the air. Even now, after seven months of being back in the United States, the images, smells, flavors, and people remain ingrained in my senses and are present in my daily interactions and decisions. Due to such strong sensory, as well as …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Baseline Survey Of Students Entering As Transfers In The Fall, 2008, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, John M. Krieg, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

This report presents findings from the fall, 2008, baseline survey of entering transfers, a total of 973 students. There were 483 online responses and 297 phone responses, for an 81% response rate. Survey topics included transfers students’ previous education, attendance at Transitions (summer program for transfers), academic confidence, expectations as they enter Western, majors and minors, and personal backgrounds.

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Survey Of Students Entering As Freshmen In The Fall, 2008, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, John M. Krieg, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

College credit from high school, a total of 2693 students. There were 1533 online responses and 608 phone responses, for an 80% response rate. By design, the 2008 WELS baseline survey of freshmen was shortened from previous year’s WELS baseline surveys. Survey topics included Summerstart and summer preparation for college, high school engagement, academic self-perception, and general college preparedness.

Western Washington University 2008 Survey Of Alumni Who Graduated Between Summer, 2006, And Spring, 2007 • Technical Report, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, John M. Krieg, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Executive Summary: Since 1990, Western’s Office of Survey Research (OSR) has surveyed alumni biennially. Alumni who are one to two years past graduation are invited to participate. They reflect on their experiences at Western, and on their current situation regarding family, education, and employment. OSR uses a mixture of online and telephone survey methodologies, then, when applicable, links survey results with Western’s student records, thus expanding their usefulness to researchers. The 2008 alumni survey was administered to graduates earning their bachelor’s degrees between the summer of 2006 and spring of 2007. Of the 3,028 eligible alumni, OSR received valid responses …

Concept Maps As Tools For Assessing Students' Epistemologies Of Science, Emily J. Borda, Donald J. Burgess, Charlotte J. Plog, Natalia C. Dekalb, Morgan M. Luce

Secondary Education

The use of concept maps as instruments for assessing preservice teachers’ epistemologies of science (their ideas of the nature of scientific knowledge) was evaluated in this study. Twenty-three preservice elementary teachers’ responses to the Views of the Nature Of Science (VNOS) questionnaire were compared to concept maps created in response to the general probe, “What is science?” While VNOS responses allowed a richer analysis of the content and quality of the participants’ epistemologies, the concept maps provided information about structural changes of participants’ epistemologies as well as how those epistemologies relate to their overall conceptions of science as a field …

The Effectiveness Of Revision Activities On Improving Writing, Paul Chen, Steve Walker

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: How effective are the activities, both individually and relative to each other, on improving students’ writing skills and knowledge?

Method & Data Studied: We conducted this research in a political science senior seminar in Fall 2008. The course was for 5 credits, worth 3 Writing Proficiency points, with 11 students.

Project Title: Challenging What We Think We Know: Moving Beyond The Obstacles Of Prior Knowledge, Bidisha Biswas, Rosa Jimenez, Jessica Pemble

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: In what ways does prior knowledge affect students’ writing?

Method & Data Studied: During the final weeks of the fall 2008 quarter a survey was made available to the students in the American Foreign Policy course on Blackboard Academic Suite. The survey contained seven open-ended questions that prompted students to reflect on the assignments and evaluate, in particular, the way in which they chose to engage biases in assigned materials and their own preconceived ideas about foreign policy topics when completing writing assignments.

Student Writing And Non-Traditional Writing Media And Environments, Suzanne Paola, Lori Brock

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: What happens in students’ descriptions of their generative writing when the physical materials of or the environment for writing are de-familiarized?

Method & Data Studied: Writing exercises in English 460: Multi-Genre Creative Writing and English 101: Writing and Critical Inquiry asked students to participate in two material/environmental disruptions. The first exercise consisted of writing with non-dominant hands (brain hemisphere switch) through typing (English 460) or handwriting (English 101). In English 460, the environment was altered from the classroom norm of silence by playing atonal music during the writing exercise. The second exercise offered non-standard paper with the option …

Impact Of Written Comments On Student Writing, Margi Fox, Jeanne Killgore

Writing Research Fellows

Research Question: What is the usability of written comments on graded writing in the Introduction to Professional and Technical Writing course? What impacts the usability of the comments for readers, students in Margi Fox’s English 302 course? The framework for the project—and for the curriculum in English 302—revolved around three main rhetorical principles:

Purpose: Clarify and prioritize purposes for written comments on student work

Readers: Understand and address the needs of student readers

Context: Focus on the dynamics of different situations over the course of the quarter

Exploring Reflective Journal Writing In The Classroom, Jennifer Karchmer, Kate Bauer

Writing Research Fellows

Research Questions:

1. What are some attitudes and behavioral trends of students toward a journal writing assignment?
2. How effective is a journal writing assignment in the classroom?
3. How can a journal writing assignment be improved for both students and instructor?

Method:

Quantitative data based on 39 surveys administered during 2007 and 38 surveys administered in 2008 at WWU to COMM318 Professional Communication Fall Quarter 2008 students. Also, this study included student journals (about 10 pages each) with qualitative comments. The data reduction for quantitative portion was broken down into a year over year comparison.

An Illustration Of The Quest Genre As Spiritual Metaphor In Adventure Travel Narratives, Jasmine M. Goodnow, Edward Ruddell

Health and Human Development

Adventure travel narratives are often written within a quest genre. The quest as genre is a romantic narrative that follows a pattern of sequential steps: the call to journey, preparation, the journey, and returning home. This paper proposes that the quests in which adventure travellers embark upon are spiritual in nature. Therefore, the quest genre is a metaphorical vehicle for narrating a spiritual journey. The term “spiritual,” in this context, refers to connecting to something outside of oneself. The purpose of this paper is to describe adventure travel as spiritual questing and to illustrate this idea with three popular adventure …

Western Washington University 2008 Survey Of Alumni Who Graduated Between Summer, 2006, And Spring, 2007 • Department Report, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, John M. Krieg, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

2007 • Department Report Executive Summary: Since 1990, Western’s Office of Survey Research (OSR) has surveyed alumni every other year. Alumni who are one to two years past graduation are invited to participate. They are asked to reflect on their experiences at Western, and about their current situation regarding family, education, and employment. OSR uses a mixture of online and telephone survey methodologies, then, when applicable, links survey results with Western’s student records, thus expanding their usefulness to researchers. The 2008 alumni survey was administered to graduates earning their bachelor’s degrees between the summer of 2006 and spring of 2007. …

Western Educational Longitudinal Study (Wels) Spring, 2008, Follow-Up Survey Of Students Who Had Entered As Freshmen In The Fall, 2005, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, Beth Hartsoch, Trimble Joseph E, John M. Krieg, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Of the 2386 students who began as freshmen in the fall of 2005, 1864 enrolled at Western in the spring, 2008. This cohort was invited to participate in this report’s survey. OSR received 919 responses, for a response rate of 49%. The survey was administered both online and via telephone. There were 763 online responses and 156 telephone responses. This report presents the frequencies from that survey administration.

Western Washington University 2008 Survey Of Alumni Who Graduated Between Summer 2006 And Spring 2007 - Department Report, Beth Hartsoch, Linda D. (Linda Darlene) Clark, John M. Krieg, Gary (Gary Russell) Mckinney, Joseph E. Trimble

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Since 1990, Western’s Office of Survey Research (OSR) has surveyed alumni every other year. Alumni who are one to two years past graduation are invited to participate. They are asked to reflect on their experiences at Western, and about their current situation regarding family, education, and employment. OSR uses a mixture of online and telephone survey methodologies, then, when applicable, links survey results with Western’s student records, thus expanding their usefulness to researchers. The 2008 alumni survey was administered to graduates earning their bachelor’s degrees between the summer of 2006 and spring of 2007. Of the 3,028 eligible alumni, OSR …

Real World Math: Engaging Students Through Global Issues, Teacher Guide, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Publications

When introducing new mathematics concepts to students, you may have heard them ask, “When will I ever use this?” and “How does this affect me?” Real World Math: Engaging Students through Global Issues promotes student engagement by providing real data on global issues with a focus on practical solutions.

Foundational algebra and geometry skills are taught here within the context of global issues and sustainability. Sustainability refers to the ability of current generations to meet their needs without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Students will investigate a range of sustainability issues, including quality of life, …

Engaging Students In Conservation: Protecting The Endangered Snow Leopard, Facing The Future, Western Washington University

Facing the Future Lessons

The snow leopard is a majestic and elusive endangered species found in the remote mountains of Central Asia. Uniquely adapt- ed to one of the harshest environments in the world, these cats survive at extreme altitudes and are a keystone species. Their presence influences and regulates the balance of plants and animals within their ecosystem.

This unit of study encourages students to explore a variety of topics and activities related to snow leopard conservation. By learning about snow leopards and the threats to their survival, students will understand the pressures facing wildlife around the world and the interconnections among those …