Education Commons^™

Plas 439: Organic Farming And Food Systems Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective Scholarly Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Christian Stephenson

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Organic Farming and Food Systems is a senior and graduate level course for students in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. This course was previously offered but has been significantly modified as I have taken on responsibility for the course. Goals for the course include student comprehension of the methods of organic and regenerative farming and the impacts of those methods on economic, environmental, and social sustainability. An additional goal is to build student competency in the evaluation of primary, secondary, and tertiary information resources and critical thinking surrounding issues in food production. Assessment for the course was through diverse …

Middle School Administrator And Instrumental Music Teacher Perceptions Of The Danielson Framework For Teaching Observation Tool, Kimberly Hunt Hirschmann

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite continuous efforts to develop teacher observation and evaluation frameworks, one-size-fits-all evaluation tools may not be adequate for an instrumental music classroom. Since implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, teacher evaluation has shifted from a high-stakes accountability model to models focused on feedback and professional growth. One popular model is the Danielson Framework for Teaching (FFT), which is utilized across all disciplines, including music. The current study proposes to fill a gap in the literature regarding the utility of the FFT to contribute to teachers' professional growth. This transcendental phenomenological study examines the perceptions of middle school …

Vmed 531: Introduction To Animal Welfare A Faculty-Led Inquiry Into Reflective Scholarly Teaching Benchmark Portfolio, Amy Walton

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark portfolio documents course design, student learning, and reflection of teaching methods for VMED 531 Introduction to Animal Welfare. This one credit hour course provides an overview of animal welfare topics and assessment through a veterinary medical lens. Participants are first year veterinary students that have been accepted into Professional Program of Veterinary Medicine (PPVM). This course creates a foundational knowledge base regarding animal welfare topics and fosters critical thinking with how veterinary treatments, surgeries, and animal-use practices influence animal welfare. The ability to utilize critical thinking skills and science-based evidence to create a sound solution is essential regarding …

Exploring Non-Traditional Assessments For Use In High School Stem Courses, Gwenneth Turgeon

Honors College

Summative and Formative assessments are essential aspects of education and have been for many years (Guskey, 2005). The use of assessments helps educators check in with students to see where they fall in terms of understanding content and where they could use additional help. Formative assessments are used more to assess students' understanding as they learn the topic (Bloom et al., 1971). In contrast, summative assessments represent the student's mastery of the topic. This text explores and examines a form of summative assessment that uses something other than what has been determined to be the traditional assessment tools, such as …

Defining Best Practices And Validation For Curriculum Mapping, Hannah Smith, Jesse Chittams

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

The alignment of curriculum content with standards is a quality improvement measure used to identify gaps or overlaps in academic content. Curriculum mapping results, while commonly used, are rarely reported. Undergraduate faculty mapped 11 courses in a single timepoint using a web-based curriculum mapping tool. Quantitative results were calculated and compared to defined client needs categories. A validation analysis was performed by mapping one course in triplicate. Faculty feedback following the exercise was obtained by online survey. Three client needs categories were determined to be marginally out of range in the initial analysis of the quantitative mapping data. The curriculum …

Information Literacy Across The Curriculum: A Faculty Professional Development Program, Jaime Corris Hammond

Instructional Design Capstones Collection

Information literacy is a set of skills that encompass conducting research, evaluating sources and authority, and ethically using information. While information literacy as a concept has existed for 50 years, higher education has struggled to meaningfully incorporate it into college curricula. The concept of “across the curriculum” instruction, most notably Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC), empowers faculty to incorporate skills outside of their discipline to increase learning. This information literacy program uses the concept of “across the curriculum” instruction, an American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) High Impact Practice, to incorporate and contextualize these skills in a variety of …

The Song Of Life: Listening To Self, Others, Nature, And God (The Divine), E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

“Listening to the SONG of Life” is a pedagogical framework that conceptualizes listening as a multi-sensory experience in four contexts: Self, Others, Nature, and God/Goddess (the Divine). L-SONG (Listening-SONG) is an instrument developed to measure student learning in four contexts during a listening course.

"I’Ll Wait Zero Seconds": Faculty Perspectives On Serials Access, Sharing, And Immediacy, Rachel Elizabeth Scott, Anne Shelley, Chad E. Buckley, Cassie Thayer-Styes, Julie A. Murphy

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

This study explores how faculty across disciplines access and share scholarly serial content and what expectations they have for immediacy. The authors conducted twenty-five in-depth, semi-structured interviews with faculty of various ranks representing all Illinois State University (ISU) colleges. The findings, presented in the words of participants and triangulated with data from local sources, suggest that faculty use a variety of context-specific mechanisms to access and share serial literature. Participants discuss how they use library services such as databases, subscriptions, interlibrary loan, and document delivery, coupled with academic social networks, disciplinary repositories, author websites, and other publicly available sources to …

The Value Of Descriptive, Multi-Level Rubrics, Thomas R. Guskey, Mctighe Jay, Susan M. Brookhart

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Single-point rubrics have become popular in schools, but they may be leading teachers astray.

Assessing Writing - What Doesn't Work, But Is Used Anyway, Andrew P. Johnson

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

This is an excerpt from my book, Johnson, A. (2024). Being and becoming teachers of writing: A meaning-based approach. Routledge. It should be out in March/April of 2024.

https://www.routledge.com/Being-and-Becoming-Teachers-of-Writing-A-Meaning-Based-Approach-to-Authentic/Johnson/p/book/9781032355726

The Assessment Of The Program Theory And Processes Of Books For Keeps’ Literacy Mentoring Program, Allison Shaw

Graduate Research Showcase

The significance of reading proficiency is frequently emphasized by the time a student reaches the third grade. Third-grade reading proficiency serves as a crucial indicator of a student's potential success in high school and beyond, including college. Research indicates that a failure to attain grade-level reading proficiency by the third grade correlates with increased challenges in comprehending educational requirements and meeting the demands necessary for graduation.

This study focuses on the Books for Keeps Literacy Mentoring Program in Athens, Georgia, which is designed to cultivate supportive relationships between mentors and students, fostering enthusiasm for reading. The examination of the program …

Deep Change Theory: Implications For Educational Development Leaders, Caitlin Martin, Elizabeth Wardle

Publications

While chapters 1 and 2 explore the promise of theoretical frameworks for making conceptual change that leads to innovative action around teaching and learning in higher education, they also point out the challenges to this kind of work as teams of faculty strive to lead change in their programs and departments after completing the program. To summarize our claims thus far: one of the goals for the HCWE Faculty Writing Fellows Program is to empower faculty who participate to return to their departments to make programmatic changes—changes they identify as central to their work and values and program culture. The …

Teacher, Gatekeeper, Or Team Member: Supervisor Positioning In Programmatic Assessment, Janica Jamieson, Simone Gibson, Margaret Hay, Claire Palermo

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Competency-based assessment is undergoing an evolution with the popularisation of programmatic assessment. Fundamental to programmatic assessment are the attributes and buy-in of the people participating in the system. Our previous research revealed unspoken, yet influential, cultural and relationship dynamics that interact with programmatic assessment to influence success. Pulling at this thread, we conducted secondary analysis of focus groups and interviews (n = 44 supervisors) using the critical lens of Positioning Theory to explore how workplace supervisors experienced and perceived their positioning within programmatic assessment. We found that supervisors positioned themselves in two of three ways. First, supervisors universally positioned themselves …

Using Team Rewards And Individual Assessment To Incentivize Collaboration In Team Projects, Prasart Jongjaroenkamol

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Team projects are commonly used in higher education across different disciplines to promote cooperation among students. However, achieving this objective can be challenging. To address this issue, educators have explored various strategies, such as implementing peer evaluation or having periodic consultations with teams. In this paper, I present a novel approach to team assessment that combines team rewards with individual assessment. In this assessment, each team member independently takes a quiz, and the team's score is determined by the average performance of its members. Consequently, the team reward becomes intricately tied to the individual learning outcomes of all team members. …

Toward Cs1 Content Subscales: A Mixed-Methods Analysis Of An Introductory Computing Assessment, Miranda C. Parker, Matt J. Davidson, Yvonne S. Kao, Lauren Margulieux, Zachary Tidler, Jan Vahrenhold

Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background and Context. There is a constant, demonstrated need for valid and reliable assessments in computing education research. While there exist assessments at a course-based level (e.g., CS1, Data Structures, Discrete math, etc.), instructors and researchers would also like concept-based subscales that are more fine-grained. However, assessments designed and validated at the course level need additional work to determine whether they can reliably and validly measure individual concepts.

Objectives. In this paper, we explore the content and factor structure of an existing CS1 assessment, the Second CS1 (SCS1) assessment, which consists of nine CS1 concepts and three question types (definitional, …

Recommendations To Solve The Problem Of Low Map Growth Reading Scores For Ninth And Tenth Grade Students At Christopher Columbus High School, Luis M. Villanueva

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to provide recommendations to solve the problem of low Reading scores on the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) Growth test for ninth and tenth graders at Christopher Columbus High School (CCHS) in Florida. The problem was that 52.7% of the students at CCHS that took the MAP Growth test during the 2021-2022 school year were not at their corresponding grade level in Reading (CCHS, 2022). The rationale for this study was that it is critical to assist the first and second-year students at CCHS in improving their reading competencies – one of two sections, …

Improving Students' Assessment Performance By Reducing Stress And Anxiety In The Testing Environment, Andrew Soelter

Master's Theses & Capstone Projects

The driving focus of this action research was to better understand how teachers and school districts can help with students' anxiety and stress surrounding assessments. This better understanding of anxiety and stress is crucial to improving academic performance not only on assessments but also across their academic life. A quantitative study was conducted with 88 students spread over two unique content types. 30 students were part of the control group, and the rest of the students were split between one of four different interventions which attempted to reduce students’ assessment anxiety and stress to lead to performance increases. The results …

People, Places, & Things: Connecting The University Of North Florida Library To First Time In College Student Retention, Trina Mccowan

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Fifty Percent Minimum Grades On Student Achievement, James M. Mariani

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This causal-comparative quantitative research study aims to determine whether mandating a 50% minimum grade significantly increases student achievement. The setting for this study was one suburban Pennsylvanian high school of approximately 1,250 students. The educational process involves three integrated components: curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Evaluating methods in which schools assign grades is an inherent part of every school assessment system. The Treedale School District and Pennsylvania Department of Education collected data, which the researcher analyzed by performing multiple Mann-Whitney U tests between pre-policy 0%-100% and post policy 50%-100% grade scale groups. The independent variable is grading scale and the dependent …

Analysis Of General Nutritional Knowledge Of High School Students, Tiffany Wheat

Masters Theses

Background: High school student nutritional knowledge is an under-researched demographic in the U.S. The present study aimed to explore the general nutritional knowledge of high school students and examine if there are any differences between sex, grade level, and BMI. Methods: The General Nutritional Knowledge Questionnaire-Revised (GNKQ-R) was employed to measure the nutritional knowledge level of a sample of local high school students enrolled in a food sciences/culinary arts class. Data were analyzed using GNU PSPP and Microsoft Excel 2016. Results: The results indicated although differences existed between the groups there were no statistical differences between gender, BMI, and grade …

Chapter 13- Improving Mentoring Relationships And Programs Through Assessment And Evaluation, Laura Gail Lunsford

Making Connections

Chapter 13, Improving Mentoring Relationships and Programs Through Assessment and Evaluation, presents frameworks for deciding how to improve mentoring experiences. Assessment activities solicit feedback from or about the participants and focus on participant learning and in situ improvement opportunities. Evaluation efforts determine if the program achieved organizational goals. The chapter has four goals. First, the chapter clarifies the difference between assessment, evaluation, and research. Second, the chapter presents frameworks to guide assessment and evaluation efforts. Third, the chapter describes tools for assessment. Fourth, the chapter describes how to evaluate mentoring programs, what data to collect, when to collect it, …

Implementing Composition/Theory Model Cornerstone Assessments In The Family Christian Academy Band Program, Matthew Alan Woolsey

Masters Theses

The purpose of this applied research study was to determine how Composition/Theory Model Cornerstone Assessments (MCAs) could be adapted for a church music arranging curriculum that utilized popular music pedagogy and Nashville Numbers for notating brass, woodwind, percussion, and/or bass guitar orchestral sweetening. Orchestral sweetening referred to the addition of riffs (short repeated musical figures or melodies), pads (sustained harmonies), and punctations (rhythmic and harmonic emphases of lyrics or chord changes) to an existing rhythm and vocal arrangement. While Composition/Theory MCAs had been pilot-tested for composition tasks, the MCAs had yet to be applied to an arranging context, particularly one …

Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance: A Review Of Related Literature With Cmp Based Unit And Lesson Plans For Middle School Band, Timothy M. Pietrofere

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The concept of comprehensive musicianship has been discussed since the mid-sixties referring to the interdisciplinary study of music. Many directors focus solely on teaching performing skills such as rhythm and musical notation, limiting the student’s exposure to a well-rounded musical teaching experience. Comprehensive musicianship has shown an increase in student’s musical knowledge in history and enhanced musical theory skills, aural skills, performance skills and improvisation. Although there is significant research on high school bands and their implementation of comprehensive musicianship, there is limited research pertaining to the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) and the middle school band. This qualitative study …

Centering Equity In Assessment: Theories, Models And Practices, Anne E. Lundquist

Measures of Success Series

Assessment data can be a valuable tool to explore inequities on campus and move to remedy them. But assessment itself is not apolitical or objective and the approaches we use and the mindfulness with which we conduct assessment can advance equity in higher education or perpetuate inequities and cause harm. This session will highlight the critical role of cultivating individual awareness as assessors; discuss the context and scholarly history of equity-centered and equity-minded assessment; share frameworks for considering various approaches to centering equity in assessment; and provide some examples of practice and resources. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect …

Focused On Pedagogy: Qr Grading Rubrics For Written Arguments, Ruby Daniels, Kathryn Appenzeller Knowles, Emily Naasz, Amanda Lindner

Marketing Faculty Publications

Institutional assessments of quantitative literacy/reasoning (QL/QR) have been extensively tested and reported in the literature. While appropriate for measuring student learning at the programmatic or institutional level, such instruments were not designed for classroom grading. After modifying a widely accepted institutional rubric designed to assess QR in written arguments, the current mixed method study tested the reliability of two QR analytic grading rubrics for written arguments and explored students’ reactions to the grading tools. Undergraduate students enrolled in a business course (N = 59) participated. A total of 415 QR artifacts from 40 students were assessed; an additional 19 …

Facilitating Programme-Level Assessment Working Teams To Develop Shared Rubrics Across A Ug And Pg Programme Portfolio In Business Education, Roisin Donnelly, Colin Hughes

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter is a reflective study reporting on a College-wide common rubrics initiative in a Technological University (TU) in Ireland. Assessment and feedback are enduring issues for the higher education sector both in Ireland (as well as internationally). By addressing these priorities, we are focusing on the connected areas of marking practices and feedback processes in a College of Business. The chapter highlights the collaborative nature of an initiative on programmatic assessment design, its breadth of scope, and the high levels of support provided to staff and students through the design process. In particular, rubrics are the main focus of …

2022-2023 Annual Student Assessment Report, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

Assessment Center Reports

Annual Student Assessment Report produced by the SWOSU Assessment Center.

Giving Retakes Their Best Chance To Improve Learning., Thomas Data Guskey

Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications

Assessment retakes can improve student learning if educators clear up a few misconceptions and avoid common missteps.

Social Studies And History Curriculum Assessment In Colleges Of Education In Ghana: Reflective Practices Of Teacher Educators, Bernice Oteng, Ronald Osei Mensah, Pearl Adiza Babah, Enock Swanzy-Impraim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Assessment is a crucial and essential component of successful instruction and learning. As a result, teachers must examine their actions in the classroom through a process of reflective practices (self-observation and self-evaluation) and think about why they do it and if it works. This essay examines the reflective practices of Ghanaian teacher educators regarding the evaluation of social studies and history curricula. It made use of the sequential explanatory mixed method as a methodology drawn from questionnaires, interviews and document reviews. The findings disclosed that teacher educators in Ghana’s colleges of education have low efficacy and poor reflective practices when …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of The Feasibility Of E-Portfolio-Based Assessment Of Physical Literacy In Primary Health And Physical Education, Jaxon Hogan, Dawn Penney, Eibhlish O’Hara, Joseph Scott

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Background: Physical literacy (PL) is widely acknowledged as an integral component of high-quality physical education programmes. However, what constitutes appropriate assessment of PL remains a contested issue. This study drew on Whitehead’s conceptualisation of PL as a lifelong journey and investigated how primary school teachers can support students’ PL learning through innovative and engaging assessment methods. The study specifically examined the feasibility of using e-portfolios to facilitate quality PL learning and quality assessment in Physical Education (PE), from different stakeholder perspectives. Methods: This interpretive study employed a qualitative design and methods to investigate aspects of feasibility with three purposive participant …