Education Commons^™

Predicting Medical Student Success On Licensure Exams, Charles A. Gullo, Michael J. Mccarthy, Joseph I. Shapiro, Bobby L. Miller

Michael McCarthy

Many schools seek to predict performance on national exams required for medical school graduation using prematriculation and medical school performance data. The need for targeted intervention strategies for at-risk students has led much of this interest. Assumptions that preadmission data and high stakes in-house medical exams correlate strongly with national standardized exam performance needs to be examined. Looking at prematriculation data for predicting USMLE Step 1 performance, we found that MCAT exam totals and math-science GPA had the best prediction from a set of prematriculation values (adjusted R 2 = 11.7 %) for step 1. The addition of scores from …

To Go Or Not To Go: Graduate Study In Psychology, Talegria Brown, Kinsey Bolinder, Eric Barlow, Matthew Genuchi, R. Eric Landrum

R. Eric Landrum

The First-Semester Student: The Legal-Problem-Solving Apprentice, Kylie Fletcher

Kylie Fletcher

Students are asked to answer hypothetical legal problems very early in their studies. They are typically introduced to legal-problem-solving processes (eg IRAC, FILAC, MIRAT and CLEO) very early in their first- semester subjects. An ability to answer hypothetical legal problems is critical to the student’s success at law school. In my role as a teacher in a firstsemester subject (Principles of Contractual Liability), I observe that some students remain confused about the process that they adopt to answer hypothetical legal problems well into their first semester. Further, many students fail to understand that the process they adopt can be applied …

Discrepant Stakeholder Perspectives On Graduate Employability Strategies, Shelley Kinash, Linda Crane, Madelaine Judd, Cecily Knight

Linda Crane

A literature review identified 12 strategies that have been empirically linked to improvements in graduate employability. A survey methodology was used to investigate self-reported use and/or perspectives on these strategies among four stakeholder groups. The following questions were asked: to students – What strategies are you using to improve your graduate employability; to graduates – What strategies did you use to improve your employability?; to higher education career development professionals and educators – Which of the following employability strategies do you provide for students?; and to employers – Which of the following strategies undertaken by students does your organisation value …

Changing Deferral Patterns : The Influence Of Growth, Changing Support And Geography, Sheldon Rothman, Daniel Edwards

Dr Sheldon Rothman

This research briefing examines changes in university deferral rates over the period from 2008 to 2012. The focus of the analysis is on Victorian school leavers, whose transitions after school completion are followed through the 'On Track' survey. The analysis explores the extent to which deferral rates for young people from rural areas have changed over this time, and the influence policy changes to financial support may have had on the decision to defer a university offer.

Dissertation To Book: Successful Open Access Outreach To Graduate Students, Diane Gurman, Marta Brunner

Marta Brunner

No abstract provided.

Using Guided Reflective Journaling Activities To Capture Students’ Changing Perceptions, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

Many professions are increasingly emphasizing the role of reflection, encouraging educators to look for appropriate ways to help students engage in reflective practice during their professional preparation. Journal writing is an insightful and powerful instructional technology utilizing strategies that foster understanding and the application of concepts, enhance critical thinking, improve achievement and attitude, encourage student reflection and capture changes in students' perception. Examples from three different professional preparation courses illustrate the power of journal-writing activities as a way of encouraging students' reflective thinking, and giving faculty a way to assess students' reflective practice and perceptual changes. Based on the author's …

From Pixel On A Screen To Real Person In Your Students' Lives: Establishing Social Presence Using Digital Storytelling, Patrick Lowenthal, Joanna Dunlap

Joanna Dunlap

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework is a comprehensive guide to the research "and" practice of online learning. One of the most challenging aspects of establishing a CoI in online courses is finding the best way to attend to each element of the CoI framework in a primarily text-based environment. In our online courses, we have examined the use of digital storytelling as a way to break down the barriers that can get in the way of achieving a healthy and productive CoI. In this paper, we describe how we use digital storytelling to establish our social presence as instructors.

The Tenure Decision: A Readers Theater On Constructivism, Brent Wilson, Stevem Smith

Brent Wilson

This script, which portrays a discussion by a five-person committee about whether to grant tenure to faculty member, is a vehicle for discussing the meanings of scholarship and standards, the nature of truth and realism, and the constructivist view of learning. The argument about the quality of the faculty member's scholarship leads into a consideration of whether she is being judged by white male standards. The discussion evolves into a consideration of realist philosophy, the meaning of truth, and the prevalence of a dialogical coherence philosophy. The construction of meaning is explored briefly before the characters adjourn to consider the …

Constructivism And Instructional Design: Some Personal Reflections, Brent Wilson

Brent Wilson

Some personal reflections on instructional design and its relation to constructivism are explored. Instructional design in its present form is out of sync with the times in that its orientation, methods, and research base are behavioristic, or positivistic. However, a constructivist theory of instructional design is possible, particularly if constructivism is recognized as a philosophy rather than a strategy. To better fit the needs of practitioners, instructional design theories need to be better grounded in a broad understanding of learning and instructional processes. Generic principles and specific heuristics are needed for dealing with recurring problems and situations in instructional design …

The Ethical Challenges Of Academic Administration, Elaine Englehardt, Michael Pritchard, Kerry Romesburg, Brian Schrag

Michael Pritchard

This book is an invitation to academic administrators, at every level, to engage in reflection on the ethical dimensions of their working lives. Academics are very good at reflecting on the ethical issues in other professions but not so interested in reflecting on those in their own, including those faced by faculty and administrators. Yet it is a topic of great importance. Academic institutions are value-driven; hence virtually every decision made by an academic administrator has an ethical component with implications for students, faculty, the institution, and the broader community. Despite this, they receive little systematic preparation for this aspect …

Confronting Domestic Violence In Higher Education, Jill Engle

Jill Engle

Panel presentation on Student Life, Relationships, and the Law. Panel presented at Pepperdine University.

Assessing Accountability In U.S. Public Education, Anne Kelly, J. Orris

Anne Kelly

Public education accountability rests almost exclusively with schools rather than governments. This paper explores its three dimensions: economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Performance indicators of these dimensions were developed which facilitated testing of significant differences in means over time using analysis of variance. Only salary and wage expenditures per instruction personnel exhibited greater economy. Instructional equipment per pupil was related to increased efficiency. Several indicators suggested enhanced effectiveness. Student/teacher ratio declined and top performers in public schools improved in achievement. Graduation rate, an indicator of achievement and participation, significantly rose in recent years. In summary, several effectiveness indicators revealed encouraging trends …

The Impact Of Group Selection On Student Performance And Satisfaction, Sakthi Mahenthiran, Pamela Rouse

Pamela J. Rouse

Investigates whether the performance and attitudes of students could be improved by giving them some control over the group selection process. Groups were formed either by randomly combining paired friends or by randomly assigning all students. Students completed a group exercise and a group case. The dependent variables were the project grades and student satisfaction. Student satisfaction was measured using a questionnaire. The results show that attitudes of students were more positive when they were allowed to choose a single friend in the group. The project grades were significantly higher when students were paired, and this result was true regardless …

Advancing Community Engaged Scholarship And Community Engagement At The University Of Massachusetts Boston: A Report Of The Working Group For An Urban Research-Based Action Initiative, Mark Warren, John Saltmarsh, Patricia Krueger-Henney, Lorna Rivera, Miren Uriarte, Donna Friedman, Richard Fleming, Diana Yadira-Salas, Luciano Ramos

Lorna Rivera

The University of Massachusetts Boston has a rich history of mission-driven commitments that engage the campus with local, state, regional, national, and global communities. In the context of a public urban research university, a mission of community engagement is most clearly expressed through community-engaged scholarship. The University is positioned to build upon its strengths in community engagement and strengthen its community-engaged scholarship to become an international model for community engagement.

Ernest L. Boyer: A Cultural Biography, Todd Ream, Drew Moser

Drew Moser PhD

No abstract provided.