Education Commons^™

Chapter 08: Designing With Disabilities In Mind, Brittney Heath

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

Instructional message designs are everywhere, and not everyone that interacts with the messages do so with ease. We need to begin thinking about those with disabilities while we are creating our designs to make understanding the importance of each message easier for everyone. Some strategies that can be used are: chunking information, using one main theme, and visual supports. This chapter focuses on a few common disabilities that can easily be accommodated: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disabilities, and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Chapter 06. Instructional Applications Of Augmented And Virtual Reality, Yolanda Montague

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

Virtual and augmented reality are two examples of message design tools in the arsenal of educators that can be employed in order to create relations between content and the real life experiences of students. Virtual reality can take many forms and augmented reality may be an option that provides more relatable hands on experience for learners. As leaders in education are on a continual journey towards more innovative means of teaching, these two choices provide opportunities for educators to be innovative, while maintaining learning as the primary focus. Within the realm of both virtual and augmented reality, there are many …

Chapter 09: Messaging For Performance - Instructional Message Design In Human Performance Technology, Bradley Sanders

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

Human performance technology (HPT) is the practice of applying systematic models and methods to uncover the causes of systemic performance issues, particularly within organizations. HPT seeks to improve human performance outcomes by placing an emphasis on the investigation of causal factors outside of training and education deficiencies; only looking for those causes after all factors outside of the individual have been exhausted. In these instances, instructional interventions are chosen to close the identified performance gap and improve performance. This chapter defines HPT as a practice and provides the professional foundation of prominent models and methods used to improve performance. In …

Chapter 13: Web Conferencing Best Practices For K-12 Online Teachers, Melissa Hatfield, Miguel Ramlatchan

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

There is no shortage of online advice on how to use web conferencing applications like Zoom, that allow for real-time audio, video, and content engagement between teachers and students. While much of this advice is based on practitioner experience, a growing number of guides are now based on applied research and theory. This is one of those later guides, presenting best practices based not only on practical experience but on applied research from instructional message design. While not meant to be an all-encompassing treatise on all things Zoom, this chapter does present and encourage the use of Zoom’s functionality to …

Chapter 14: Zoom Conferencing Best Practices For Professional Presentations, Conferences, And Events, Brian Watkins, Miguel Ramlatchan

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

The adoption and diffusion of online web conferencing has allowed for expanded access to professional seminars, workshops and webinars. However, unlike in-person, face-to-face presentations, delivering a Zoom Meeting or Webinar creates a number of new and different concerns and configuration challenges that are not present in an in-person event. This chapter summarizes instructional message design best practices for Zoom conferencing and serves as a guide for how to set up your computing environment, physical location, presentation, and how to keep your audience engaged. This section of our instructional message design book also presents a guide to planning for the delivering …

Chapter 04: Instructional Message Design In Moocs, Marissa A. Jimenez

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are appealing to higher education institutions, as they consider MOOCs a way to reach a large, varied group of students. With a completion rate of less than 10%, however, institutions struggle to maintain MOOCs (Major, 2016). While there is little to no cost for students to enroll in them, the cost for the institution to develop and maintain MOOCs can be high from a time and resource perspective. Improving student motivation and interaction in MOOCs may impact completion rates. Designers of MOOCs could leverage instructional message design strategies to improve social presence, and as a …

Chapter 10: Game Literacy And Message Design, Jim Shifflett

Instructional Message Design, Volume 2

The popularity of video games with today’s learners requires that educators and instructional designers develop game literacy , or an understanding of game mechanics and design. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss game literacy within the context of instructional message design and to illustrate how video game designers apply and adapt principles of instructional message design to manage cognitive load through an immersive experience. These techniques include customizing the screen to display only necessary information and signaling changes in gameplay through sound cues and cinematic perspective. Game mechanics that foster germane load include tutorial missions and interface design. …

Local Norms And Gifted And Talented Identification In Arkansas: Can It Help Improve Student Diversity?, Bich Tran, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Jon Wai

Arkansas Education Reports

In the past decades, the gifted and talented (G/T) community has wrestled with an important question about improving equity: How can we best use research to increase student diversity in G/T education? There are many suggestions for answering this question but using local norms, where students are selected based on comparisons with others from a similar school context using traditional measures, has attracted much attention. In some districts, using local norms and universal screening has greatly improved student diversity, whereas, in other districts, the findings have been unclear. Thus it seems useful to study local contexts. In this study, we …

Best Practices In Motivating Student Attendance And Participation, Tori Ryburn, Lauren Lambert

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Not-so-new faculty can join the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center for a free lunch and an opportunity to learn best practices in motivating student attendance and participation within the classroom. Tori Ryburn (Instructor, Mathematical Sciences) and Lauren Lambert (Instructor, Communication) will present varied approaches to boost attendance and to engage students.

Tori Ryburn brings exceptional insight and is instrumental in designing memorable activities that bring students back for more. She will share these activities and explain the process of designing them. In addition, she will discuss incentives offered to students who participate in the activities.

Lauren Lambert works …

Child Science Identity Interview Guide And Protocol, Heidi Cian, Remy Dou

Department of Teaching and Learning

While many data collection tools exist to elicit how individuals think about prototypical STEM persons (e.g., the Draw-a-Scientist assessment), such tools fail to capture the nuance of how individuals think about STEM and STEM personhood and how those perceptions change according to context and “in real life”. We designed the Child Science Identity Interview Guide and Protocol to learn about how youth see everyday experiences as “STEM” (or a particular subfield) and think of themselves and those in their social orbits as STEM persons.

September Cordes Chair: Dr. Molly Rapert, Molly Rapert

TFSC Publications and Presentations

Join the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center for an informal conversation about teaching with the September Cordes Chairperson, Dr. Molly Rapert. Molly will discuss strategies she has developed to create rapport with students, such as using in-class exercises, LinkedIn, and social media to establish and solidify connections.

Molly is the director of the Walton Center for Teaching Effectiveness, is a recipient of the Charles and Nadine Baum Excellence in Teaching Award, the Arkansas Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award, and the Marketing Management Association’s National Outstanding Teaching Award. She teaches the capstone course in the Marketing department which prepares students …

Arkansas Student Discipline Report, Kaitlin Anderson, Sarah C. Mckenzie

Arkansas Education Reports

This report examines student discipline in the Arkansas public schools. Using ten years of de-identified student- and infraction-level data from 2011-12 to 2020-21, provided by the Arkansas Department of Education, our research identifies a number of key trends and outcomes related to student discipline in the Arkansas public schools. This work builds upon prior versions of this report.1 While the data are only limited to the infractions and consequences reported by schools, and while we do not estimate causal effects of any policies or programs, this work includes some key findings relevant for educators and policymakers in the state.

An …

From Genetics To Biotechnology: Synthetic Biology As A Flexible Course-Embedded Research Experience, Kristen C. Johnson, Jamie L. Sabel, Judith Cole, Christin Pruett, Ruth Plymale, Nathan S. Reyna

Articles

The need for changing how science is taught and the expansion of undergraduate research experiences is essential to foster critical thinking in the Natural Sciences. Most faculty research programs only involve a small number of upper-level undergraduate students each semester. The course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) model enables more students to take ownership over an independent project and experience authentic research. Further, by creating projects that fit into a curriculum's learning goals and student-oriented outcomes, departments help strengthen critical thinking skills in the classroom. Here, we report on the incorporation of a synthetic biology CURE into a mid-level cellular biology …

Addressing The Poor Mathematics Performance Of Filipino Learners: Beyond Curricular And Instructional Interventions, Minie Rose C. Lapinid, Macario O. Cordell Ii, Jude Michael Teves, Sashimir A. Yap, Unisse Chua Ms., Allan B.I. Bernardo

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

This study aimed to determine predictive models that would identify the most important predictor variables for students in the lowest proficiency group in public schools and private schools. After experimenting with different machine learning approaches, the random forest classifier (SVM) models were found to perform most accurately (Lundberg & Lee, 2017). To identify the most important predictors of being a poor performer in mathematics, Shapley values were generated, which produces a ranked list of several features in descending order. To manage complexity in comparing the key variables for private and public student performance classification, the 10 most significant features for …

Supporting A Statewide Policy Consideration: Virtual Advancing Educational Leadership Training, Hamada Elfarargy, Beverly J. Irby, Nahed Abdelrahman, Gwendolyn Carol Webb, Angela Abney, Susan Holley, Elsa Villarreal, Carl Fahrenwald

Faculty Publications

COVID-19 pandemic was and continues to be a shock and a challenge to the entire world. This health and safety challenge found its way into the world of higher education, even in programs that were already delivered in online environments. In this study, we examined the perceptions of 79 developing principals enrolled in a Master of Education Degree program in Educational Administration at Texas A&M University in the United States as they processed the efficacy of a virtual professional development (VPD) leadership for a state certificate in Advancing Educational Leadership (AEL). The state agency has required AEL as a 3-day …

Circlet Guide For Facilitators: Learning Circles For Community Engaged Research And Learning, Réka Matolay, Márta Frigyik, Catherine Bates, Amalia Susana Creus, Judit Gaspar, Nadja Gmelch, Sinead Mccann, Caroline Mcgowan, Emma Mckenna, Linde Moriau, Soledad Morales Pérez, Andrea Toarniczky, Brecht Van Der Schueren

Books/Book chapters

This facilitators’ guide contains rich resources that readers can use to organize Learning Circles to support lecturers to build community engaged research and learning (CERL) into their teaching. In this guide we introduce how consortium partners in the CIRCLET project designed and facilitated their local Learning Circles for Community Engaged Research and Learning (CERL) as well as International Learning Circles across the five partner universities.

Learning Circles aim to support educators to reflect on and reimagine their courses and modules to embed CERL through peer learning and with the contribution of experts, stakeholders. In this guide we provide resources to …

Navigating The Virtual Landscape: Implementing A Pedagogical Framework In A Virtual Summer Engineering Course To Enhance Students' Academic Development, Eleazar Marquez, Samuel Garcia

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this evidence-based practice paper, the recently established CIRE educational model was incorporated, and modified, to establish an alternative pedagogical framework for a virtual, fast-paced summer engineering course in a private university in Texas. Transitioning to fully online courses in the wake of COVID-19 required a rapid modification of traditional pedagogical methods to overcome challenges such as the lack of academic resources and established campus practices, while simultaneously ensuring the academic and social development of students. In this regard, a pedagogical framework known as the CIRE model – which is the acronym for Communication, Initiation, Reduction, and Extension – was …

Could The Inclusion Of Certain Building Information And Modelling Aspects Into The Leaving Certificate Engineering Syllabus, Aid The Transition Of Students Into Third Level Education, When Choosing A Course Within The Construction Industry, Joseph Boyle, Deborah M. Brennan

Capstone Reports

The paper investigates the effects of implementing several Building Information and Modelling (BIM) aspects into the Leaving Certificate Engineering Syllabus and examines the impact this has on students choosing third level Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry courses with the desire of improving the shortage in the sector. The method and content of the study was based on academic research on second level education in other European countries through the lens of a Literature Review. A sixteen-week pilot program was trialed with over one hundred students at Senior Cycle. The outcomes of the study were critically evaluated through stakeholder interviews …

Let’S Play! The Power Of Play As A Teaching Tool In The Elementary And Early Childhood Classroom, Jessica Moore

Honors Program Theses and Projects

What play-based learning looks like depends on the subject it is being used in. Overall, it involves hands-on activities and children learning through these activities. These activities can be used to teach/introduce the lesson, or they can be used as a reinforcement. In science, it might be experimenting with cardboard and cars to understand ramps. For math, it might be using manipulatives to learn about shapes. In social studies it could be putting on a puppet show, while in English it might be playing Ispy to find words that begin with the letter p. Three research questions were created to …

The Effects Of Critical Literacy Theory On Listening Comprehension And Student Engagement, Jay Girvan

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The purpose of conducting this study is to better understand and assess the current critical literacy practices of classroom teachers and to gain a better understanding of how well these strategies increase engagement and reading comprehension of texts, especially those that address social justice issues. As outlined by the principles of critical literacy theory, teachers are encouraged to help readers understand the author’s intent. By comparing read-alouds not using critical literacy strategies and others with the preferred approach, researchers will be able to examine the differences in both student engagement and listening comprehension. Alongside anecdotal records and post reading comprehension …

Circlet Themed Resource List On Key Topics Relevant To Community Engaged Research And Learning, Catherine Bates, Sinead Mccann, Caroline Mcgowan

Books/Book chapters

This Themed Resource List was produced as part of the process of developing a postgraduate Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module for lecturers who wish to build, or enhance, Community Engaged Research and Learning (CERL) projects in the modules they teach, as part of the Higher Education curriculum. CERL (or service-learning, as it can be known) is a high-impact activity in Higher Education (Kuh, 2008), increasing student engagement and learning. CERL also supports community goals and makes teaching more interesting for lecturers. The module was designed to build capacity among lecturers for CERL, including developing relevant knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. …

Technology-Enabled Active Learning In Gen Ed Courses, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Asynchronous online courses tend to lack a true “lecture”. In STEM, when communication of content engages students, learning is more effective.

Social And Self-Concepts For Students With Idd In Relation To Inclusive Programs, Maeve Carney

Honors Program Theses and Projects

From experience and understanding, neurodivergent students are given less opportunity than neurotypical students in school-sponsored activities. With inclusive programs becoming more prevalent, students of all populations can connect and interact in the same activities rather than segregated organizations. Focusing on inclusive programs like Best Buddies and Unified Sports, this thesis will be identifying how these inclusive programs affect social and self-concepts on high school aged students with an IDD and their surrounding community. Through 25 peer-reviewed articles and self-reported data from five surrounding school districts of Southeastern Massachusetts, data and results will be illustrated and analyzed. Having a strong connection …

Exploring Bipoc Student Experiences And The Teacher’S Role In Anti-Racist Pedagogy, Elizabeth Cheesman

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Though there have been efforts to address racism in schools, there is a lack of anti-racist pedagogy discussion and its role in changing education and therefore changing the world. Teachers often are able to grasp an understanding of racism and how that may impact their students through professional development. There is a significant lack of action in working to dismantle the racism seen in schools, however. Racism in the classroom may look like a colonized curriculum and implicit biases that influence the way students are perceived and treated in the school. Anti-racist pedagogy works to actively join the fight against …

Metrics In Group Work, Emily Faulconer

Publications

Collaborative Learning, asynchronously online

• Critical Thinking
• Tech Literacy
• Communication
• Ethics
• Cultural Literacy
• Info Literacy

Digital Archival Literacy In The Classroom, Rebecca Fitzsimmons, Elliott Kuecker

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Archival literacy has become a popular mode of literacy in the last ten years, given that archival research is not the exclusive purview of historians. Given the amount of open collections and exhibits, the possibility of teaching archival literacy skills is more accessible than ever. Importantly, archival literacy asks us to critically read against the common narrative that archival objects are pure evidence and archivists are neutral agents. Our presentation describes the importance of digital archival literacy and provides examples of implementation in classes, ad hoc workshops, and community engagement. We emphasize that all knowledge is a synthesis of various …

Using A Standards Crosswalk To Adapt Resources For Teaching With Primary Sources Across K–12 And Higher Education, Jen Hoyer

Publications and Research

This article explores the work of archivists and special collections librarians in teaching with primary sources (TPS) for K–12 and higher education audiences and argues that the resources created for this work have largely targeted either audience, but not both. Building on a trend in the TPS literature toward skills-based instruction efforts, this article introduces a crosswalk between skills-based standards typically used in higher education (the SAA/RBMS Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy) and K–12 education (Common Core State Standards). This crosswalk demonstrations how resources created with one audience in mind can be adapted for use with other audiences. Examples of …

Using Texts As Mirrors: The Power Of Readers Seeing Themselves, Amy J. Heineke, Aimee Papola-Ellis, Joseph Elliott

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

In schools across the country and world, students enter classrooms with rich diversity in backgrounds, identities, and experiences. They speak hundreds of different languages, come from countries around the world, espouse nuanced cultural and gender identities, and have an array of abilities and interests. But texts in school and classroom collections continue to reflect the so-called mainstream with primarily White, English-dominant, cis-gendered characters without disabilities. Efforts have emerged on social media to encourage resources with relevance to children's lives, but teachers often struggle to make the case for their use in instruction. In this article, we provide a framework for …

How Do You Want To Do This?: Dungeons, Dragons, And Legal Research Andragogy, Savanna Nolan

Presentations

In this 30-minute session, the speaker will give a brief explanation of the cognitive science and andragogy principles behind the “lecture, exercise, review as a group, repeat” model for classes. This will be followed by a demo of how to execute this model, focusing on how to use the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons as a framework for the “review as a group” portion of the model, and how that framework can be used to successfully guide student interactions.

How Teachers' Level Of Technology Use Affects Minority Students' Map Scores: A Causal-Comparative Study, Darron Hannah

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This causal-comparative study sought to assess group differences between teachers’ level of technology usage and minority students’ (i.e., Black and Hispanic) Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) scores in grades 6-8 in Georgia public schools. This study adds to the body of literature that indicates academic gains from using digital technology in the classrooms and ensuring that digital technology interconnects with quality instruction to drive academic performance for minority students. The current study analyzed Teachers’ Attitude Towards Computers (TAC) and students’ examination scores from the 2021 to 2022 English, Reading, and Math MAP assessment to determine whether teachers’ technology usage level …