Education Commons^™

The Validation Of An Instrument For Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Professional Development Program On Teaching Online, Jui-Long Hung, Dazhi Yang

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Attending professional development (PD) on teaching online is becoming popular for teachers in today’s K-12 online education. Due to the unique characteristics of the online instructional environments, surveys become the most feasible approach to evaluate the effectiveness of PD programs. However, there is no validated, open-access instrument available to satisfy the needs. Purpose of this study is to conduct construct validity, content validity, concurrent validity, and reliability tests on an open-access instrument for K–12 PD for online teaching. With the exception of a few items that have minor issues on content and construct validity, results show that the survey is, …

Currere As A Method For Critical Reflection In The Profession Of Academic Librarianship, Richard A. Stoddart

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Academic librarianship has an intimate association with narratives and stories from their traditional role in curating, caring for, and making collections accessible. Librarians also experience the intricacies and challenges of narrative inquiry through the qualitative research they undertake, oral histories they gather, reflective teaching practices they facilitate, and oral-traditions they interact with. Despite these intersections with reflection and narratives, academic librarianship, and library sciences as a whole, have not fully incorporated their own narratives within their practices. Academic librarianship has the ability but not the spaces to critically reflect in a holistic manner. Shadiow (2013) encourages us all to “recall, …

Living With Students: Lessons Learned While Pursuing Tenure, Administration, And Raising A Family, Michael Humphrey, Janet Callahan, Geoff Harrison

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This case study is centered on two faculty-in-residence: one pursuing tenure and raising a young child while living in the residence halls and one an established professor and associate dean raising two teens while living in the residence halls. This case study offers two unique perspectives of faculty-in-residence at various stages in their career, living in residence with their students, working closely with students outside a typical classroom, all while managing professional and familial obligations.

The Decision, Implementation And Assessment Of A Credit-Bearing Activity Class By Faculty In Residence: A Case Study, Janet Callahan, Geoff Harrison, Michael Humphrey, Cala Sielaff, Melissa Wintrow

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This case study reports on a programmatic decision to require a credit-bearing course that was made by Faculty in Residence (FIR), including its implementation and results over a two-year period from 2010-2012. The focus is on FIR and on the impact of their decision upon the students enrolled in their Living Learning Communities (LLCs). The credit-bearing course was a Kinesiology Activities class taken by all seven LLCs at Boise State University. Anonymous feedback from students was obtained via end of semester surveys; results were used to improve the course. Survey feedback was analyzed to assess the value students perceived to …

A Review Of Models And Frameworks For Designing Mobile Learning Experiences And Environments, Yu-Chang Hsu, Yu-Hui Ching

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mobile learning has become increasingly popular in the past decade due to the unprecedented technological affordances achieved through the advancement of mobile computing, which makes ubiquitous and situated learning possible. At the same time, there have been research and implementation projects whose efforts centered on developing mobile learning experiences for various learners’ profiles, accompanied by the development of models and frameworks for designing mobile learning experiences. This paper focuses on categorizing and synthesizing models and frameworks targeted specifically on mobile learning. A total of 17 papers were reviewed, and the models or frameworks were divided into five categories and discussed: …

How Debriefing Strategies Can Improve Student Motivation And Self-Efficacy In Game-Based Learning, Cigdem Uz Bilgin, Youngkyun Baek, Hyungsung Park

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Debriefing is an important step in game-based learning environments. In the present study, the effect of different debriefing strategies in terms of two factors, grouping (self vs. team) and timing (in-game vs. post-game), was investigated on the motivation and self-efficacy levels of students. In a 2x2 ANOVA design, 62 sixth grade students were randomly assigned into two debriefing groups: self-debriefing and team debriefing. About half of members in each group performed either one of the two debriefing: in-game debriefing or post-game debriefing. Students in the self-debriefing as well as in the team-briefing group played the game three days a week …

Exploring Effects Of Intrinsic Motivation And Prior Knowledge On Student Achievements In Game-Based Learning, Youngkyun Baek, Yan Xu, Sanghoon Han, Jungwon Cho

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates the effects of students’ intrinsic motivation and prior knowledge on student achievement in learning Chinese in a game-based learning environment. A total of 140 fourth-grade students from an elementary school in South Korea participated in this study. An instructional game called “Hanjamaru,” which is designed to teach Chinese characters, was implemented for four weeks. During the experiment, students’ prior knowledge, intrinsic motivation in gaming, and achievements learning Chinese were quantitatively measured. Findings from this study demonstrate that both students’ prior knowledge and intrinsic motivation affect their achievements in learning Chinese. Also, there students’ prior knowledge and intrinsic …

Value-Added Results For Public Virtual Schools In California, Richard Ford, Kerry Rice

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objective of this paper is to present value-added calculation methods that were applied to determine whether online schools performed at the same or different levels relative to standardized testing. This study includes information on how we approached our value added model development and the results for 32 online public high schools in California. Student level California Standards Test results in English Language Arts and Mathematics for over 5,000 online students were analyzed. Mean value added metrics for each school were calculated for 8 courses held during the 2010-2011 academic year. We found that schools of distinction existed in 7 …

Validating An Observation Protocol To Measure Special Education Teacher Effectiveness, Evelyn S. Johnson, Carrie L. Semmelroth

Early and Special Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study used Kane’s (2013) Interpretation/Use Argument (IUA) to measure validity on the Recognizing Effective Special Education Teachers (RESET) observation tool. The RESET observation tool is designed to evaluate special education teacher effectiveness using evidence-based instructional practices as the basis for evaluation. In alignment with other studies (Bell et al., 2012), we applied and interpreted Kane’s (2006) four inferences for trait observation: scoring, generalization, extrapolation, and decision rules. Results from this study show that acceptable levels of validity are promising for the RESET observation tool. Because the RESET observation tool is premised on the idea that by increasing the use …

Grit, Biography, And Dedicated Teachers Who Struggled Academically As Students, Sara Winstead Fry

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Dedicated teachers who had and overcame academic challenges in their youth offer valuable insights into how to support students who struggle. This article presents a qualitative study of 46 teachers from across the United Stated [sic] who faced academic challenges as elementary, middle, and/or secondary students. Their memories of academic struggles lead them to use teaching practices that are grounded in the professional disposition that all children can learn. The findings suggest a positive interrelationship between a biography (Knowles, 1992) that includes academic struggles, the theoretical constructs of grit (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007) and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977), and …

In Search Of Quality: Using Quality Matters To Analyze The Quality Of Massive, Open, Online Courses (Moocs), Patrick R. Lowenthal, Charles B. Hodges

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The concept of the massive, open, online course (MOOC) is not new, but high-profile initiatives have moved MOOCs into the forefront of higher education news over the past few years. Members of institutions of higher education have mixed feelings about MOOCs, ranging from those who want to offer college credit for the successful completion of MOOCs to those who fear MOOCs are the end of the university as we know it. We set forth to investigate the quality of MOOCs by using the Quality Matters quality control framework. In this article, we present the results of our inquiry, with a …

Problems Without Ceilings: How Mentors And Novices Frame And Work On Problems-Of-Practice, Jessica Thompson, Sara Hagenah, Karin Lohwasser, Kat Laxton

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Support for new forms of teaching expertise with rigorous and equitable outcomes for student learning is a particular challenge when communities of actors working together do not share a similar language or vision of teaching practice. For this project we coordinated activities in and outside of secondary science classrooms for Cooperating Teachers (CTs) and their Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) to inquire into a set of research-based teaching practices and tools. Using frame analysis we contrast three problems of practice addressed by 23 dyads: problems of developing novice teachers, problems of improving teaching, and problems of improving student learning. The last frame, …

Cultivating A Justice Orientation Toward Citizenship In Preservice Elementary Teachers, Sara W. Fry, Jason O'Brien

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teacher educators have an obligation to prepare preservice teachers with the skills and dispositions necessary to promote a socially just world. Yet the results of this study uncovered that the majority of elementary preservice teachers in a national sample (N = 846) have a simplistic perception of good citizenship consistent with what Westheimer and Kahne called a “personally responsible” model of citizenship. Follow-up interviews with 21 participants revealed a problematic trend among 14 participants: inadequate content knowledge and minimal support or even resistance to socially just action. As this trend is antithetical to a democratic government and the very …

A Structurational Approach To Organizational Change: Exploring Idaho’S Students Come First Initiative, Matthew Aaron Mccarter

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study embraces a structuration approach to explore how the staff at the Idaho State Education Agency (SEA) reacted to implementing a unique and sweeping K-12 education reform package commonly known as “Students Come First.” By embracing a communicative perspective to studying change in public education, this study provides insights to how public sector employees at an SEA who work in a field governed by a unique set of features (politically-driven policies from elected officials and outcome expectations from the electorate), and who are driven by a passion to serve children engaged in changes that challenged their everyday understandings of …

Transformative Professional Development: Unraveling The Complexities Of Knowledge, Practice, And Beliefs, Janette Smith

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the impact of a comprehensive professional development project focused on inquiry-based integrated lessons to improve the quality of science instruction for elementary teachers. Eleven teachers from three Northwest school districts participated in this quasi-experimental design study. A focus of the study was to investigate the intricate relationship between four components of a professional development model: the professional development intervention, teacher practice, student outcomes, and teachers’ self-efficacy for science instruction. Five different measures were used both before and after the intervention: The Local Systemic Change Observation Protocol, a content knowledge assessment, a self-efficacy survey, a student content test, …

Developing Multiplication Fact Fluency, Jonathan Brendefur, S. Strother, K. Thiede, S. Appleton

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using specific components of three broad learning theories—cognitive, social-interactional, and behavioral—students in 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms were given multiplication fact fluency instruction over a period of five weeks for 10-15 minutes each day. Two different approaches were utilized with two distinct groups of students for the purpose of comparing different approaches to fluency development. Results indicate that students using a strategy-based approach for fluency development by means of instructional tasks emphasizing social-interactional and cognitive theories (particularly Bruner’s theory of Modes of Representation) increased multiplication fact fluency, with a greater degree of consistency, than students …

Mobile Augmented-Reality Artifact Creation As A Component Of Mobile Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Fengfeng Ke, Yu-Chang Hsu

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This exploratory study examined the effectiveness of smartphone-based, AR artifact creation and other mobile collaborative learning activities in reinforcing the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) of pre-service teachers. Adopting a mixed-method research design, the study indicated that mobile AR artifact creation with peer discussion tended to better promote the componential competencies of technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and the integrative development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK), whereas mobile media artifact viewing with peer discussion seemed to better support the content knowledge (CK) development.

Can Teachers Accurately Predict Student Performance?, Keith W. Thiede, Jonathan L. Brendefur, Richard D. Osguthorpe, Michele B. Carney, Amanda Bremner, Sam Strother, Steven Oswalt, Jennifer L. Snow

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In two studies, we examined the effect of professional development to improve mathematics instruction on the accuracy of teachers' monitoring of student learning. Study 1 was conducted with 36 teachers participating in three years of professional development. Judgment accuracy was influenced by the fidelity with which what was learned in the professional development. Study 2 was conducted with 64 teachers from 8 schools, which were randomly assigned to receive professional development or serve as a control. Judgment accuracy was greater for teachers receiving professional development than for teachers who did not and teachers were better to predict students' computational skills.

Evolution Of A First-Year Engineering Course, Noah Salzman, Janet Callahan, Gary Leroy Hunt, Carol Sevier, Amy J. Moll

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The first-year engineering course at Boise State University has evolved significantly over the past decade as a result of continuous improvement with a particular focus on student retention. The course was originally created in 1999-2001 as an “Introduction to Engineering” course in order to recruit students to one of the fields of engineering, by introducing those fields of engineering as topics across the semester. Over the first ten years, the course continued that introductory-to-field focus while also introducing a significant design element solving openended engineering problems. As a result of a five-year grant aimed toward improving first-year retention, the first-year …

Student Perceptions Of Online Learning: An Analysis Of Online Course Evaluations, Patrick Lowenthal, Christine Bauer, Ken-Zen Chen

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Student evaluations of teaching provide a wealth of information about students’ experiences in higher education. Colleges and universities, though, as a whole, need to spend more time mining these evaluations to better understand student perceptions of their college coursework. These evaluations are especially helpful to better understand students’ experiences in online courses, which, despite continued growth, are still relatively new for most faculty and students. The analysis of seven years of student evaluations at a metropolitan research university is presented in the following article. The purpose of the analysis was to better discern students’ experiences online as well as to …

Youth Peers Put The “Invent” Into Nutribee’S Online Intervention, Ingrid C. Kohlstadt, Elizabeth T. Anderson Steeves, Kerry Rice, Joel Gittelsohn, Liane M. Summerfield, Preety Gadhoke

Educational Technology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Early adolescents perceive peers as credible and relatable. Peers therefore have a unique conduit to engage early adolescents in positive health behaviors through nutrition learning such as that recommended by the U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM).

Purpose: We developed an online, peer leader component to an existing in-person preventive nutrition intervention called NutriBee. We reasoned that youth ages 13–18 could create intervention materials that could remain engaging, credible and relatable to younger peers ages 10–12 online. Peer leaders could potentially derive health benefits from their service-learning experience.

Methods: From 2013–2014 youth could apply online to relate a personal interest …

Student Understanding Of Function And Success In Calculus, Daniel I. Drlik

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a relationship between student success in calculus and student understanding of function. Student understanding of function was measured using two questionnaires, one of which is a modification of an existing measure based on APOS theory. The other I developed with items from the concept image literature. The participants of this study were 116 high school students who were enrolled in a first-year calculus course. The results of the questionnaires were aligned to course exam scores to determine connections between function understanding and rate of success in calculus.

A major …

Recruiting For The Collegiate Marching Band: A Study Of Student Perceptions Of Recruitment And College Choice Factors In Kansas And Missouri, Alan Douglas Whitten

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The marching band is an important and iconic part of the game day atmosphere at athletic events and community functions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. At many institutions, the band is a great source of pride and considerable resources are committed in an effort to have the best band possible. A key component to having the best band possible is having effective recruiting practices.

There is a large body of research on recruiting general student populations and many other sub categories of students, including music majors. However, research regarding recruitment of students that participate in marching band …

The Relationship Between Elementary Teachers' Self-Efficacy For Teaching Mathematics And Their Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching, Meagan Mckinney

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship between elementary teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and their self-efficacy for teaching mathematics. Self-efficacy and MKT are of high importance with implications in regards to quality of instruction and the Common Core State Standards for mathematics. Using the Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics (CKT-M) instrument, data for this study were collected from thirty-five elementary school teachers participating in the Improving Teachers’ Monitoring of Learning Grant at the time. The data were concerned with these teachers’ self-efficacy with the pedagogy and content of mathematics using the Self-Efficacy for Teaching Mathematics Instrument (SETMI). Qualitative data were …

What Can I, As A Leader, Really Do? Learning To Lead Through Autoethnography, Jacob Daniel Skousen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This research study, while highly personalized, contributes in various ways to the literature on public schooling. First, this study includes a critique of the public schools and posits that while public schools are the problem, potentially public schools may also be the solution. This allows multiple and novel interpretations of the critique of public schools. Second, while reflection and reflective practice has been emphasized in the teaching profession for decades, this research study offers a reflection within the context of a practicing principal, therefore, expanding the possibility of reflection application to school leaders. Third, this study and my analysis of …

Faculty Perceptions Of The Adoption And Use Of Clickers In The Legal Studies In Business Classroom, Denise M. Farag, Susan Park, Gundars Kaupins

Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The use of clickers in the classroom can improve student engagement and motivation. However, few studies have been conducted on faculty opinions of the use of clickers. This paper measures clicker use amongst legal studies in business faculty and investigates perceptions and factors associated with adoption of clickers in the discipline. Survey results indicate that most legal studies in business faculty have either never or rarely use clickers, and very few faculty members in the discipline use clickers regularly. Instructors perceive clickers to improve teaching, but may be reluctant to adopt them because of time constraints.

Towards A Richer Understanding Of Presence In Teaching In The Elementary School Environment, Jennifer Diane Gardner

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

During the act of teaching, teachers are faced with numerous decisions on how to best meet the varied needs of their students based on their awareness of those students’ needs. This process is encapsulated in the theory of Presence in Teaching, which includes the constructs of teacher awareness, reflection-in-action, teacher decision-making, and connections to student/teacher relationships, professional identity, and pedagogical content knowledge. This qualitative study sought to deepen current understandings of this theory through exploring how experienced teachers become aware of student needs, how they use those awarenesses to inform their decisions made during instruction, the role of reflection in …

Exploring The Correlation Between Teachers’ Mindset And Judgment Accuracy To Reveal The Cues Behind Teachers’ Expectations, M. Brady Webb

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Teaching is about constantly evaluating one’s students to best situate them for learning and future progress. Based on such evaluations, the academic expectations teachers hold for their students influence their instructional practice and are mediators of student achievement. Forming accurate expectations of students’ ability and accurate predictions of performance is instrumental to effectively improving instruction and advancing student learning. Therefore, when teachers form inaccurate expectations of student academic performance, students can suffer academically and personally. When teachers’ judgments of student learning are based on accurate information reflecting students and their learning, students can benefit academically and personally. Yet, little research …

The Effect Of Worked Out Modeling In Nursing Simulation, Jayne Josephsen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study provides a research framework that incorporates cognitive load theory (CLT) into simulation design and implementation, as well as providing a pilot tool to measure cognitive load specific to nursing simulation. The pedagogy of CLT is based in an understanding of cognitive architecture, which includes working memory, long-term memory, various types of cognitive load, and schema development. A quasi-experimental quantitative design was used with a convenience sample of senior baccalaureate nursing students who participated in simulation as part of their coursework. The treatment group received a worked out modeling intervention, designed upon the CLT instructional intervention of the worked …

The Idaho Reading Indicator As A Predictor Of Subsequent Diagnosis Of Specific Learning Disabilities, Kimberly A. Ennis

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Idaho Reading Indicator (IRI) is a universal screen used to quickly assess the reading fluency of all Idaho public school students in grades kindergarten through third. The IRI is a tool that aids in the early identification of children with potential reading difficulties. Within the group of children with reading difficulties, some students have specific learning disabilities (SLD). Early identification of reading difficulties is critical to the success of all students who struggle with reading, especially students with SLD. To understand the problem, it is important to understand the nature of reading and the consequences of reading success and …