Education Commons^™

The Need For Choice And Control: Preparing The Digital Generation To Be The Next Generation Of Teachers, Brian Ferry, L. Kervin, L. Carrington, K. Prcevich

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

In this paper we describe the design of an online classroom-based simulation, ClassSim, developed to enable pre-service teachers to interact with a virtual classroom environment as they assume the role of the teacher. The project built on the research of Herrington and Oliver by investigating how the design elements of authentic learning environments they identified can be operationalised in an on-line simulation of a classroom. The aim of the simulations was to progressively develop preservice teachers' understanding of the complex decisions needed to plan and implement reading, writing and spelling lessons for lower primary children. With the support of a …

Instructional Practices That Teachers Can Use To Build Motivation In The Classroom, Sheldon S. Reynolds

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Instructional Practices that Teachers can use to Build Motivation in the Classroom All children enter school with the ability to learn but not all possess a desire to want to learn. As a result, teachers are now faced with the daunting task of creating a learning environment that fosters the development of academic motivation and achievement. Therefore, it is imperative that educators implement various strategies to increase students?Ëœ willingness to learn before this lack of motivation leads to significant academic and behavioral problems. This research project uses insights from the leading researchers in the field of motivation to develop a …

Building Quality And Capacity In Rural Areas, Nedra Atwell, Janice Ferguson, Judy Pierce

Kentucky Teacher Educator

This article will provide readers an overview of the program Western Kentucky University is using to promote quality training and promote professionalism in special education teachers. This program incorporates collaboration with local school districts, a cohort approach, field-based practitioners, online delivery of a research-based curriculum and demonstrated pedagogical knowledge with practical skills relevant to the targeted student population. The intent is to meet the demand for highly qualified special education teachers, not merely to decrease the shortage of teachers.

A Mentoring Process To Support Teachers’ Growth And Retention, David Bell, Earl Thomas

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

As educational consultants one of the pressing needs that we find administrators often recognize is the need for mentoring new and veteran teachers. Despite their concerns mentoring is often not part of the school system or it is executed in a haphazard manner. For example, when principals are asked to describe the current teacher mentoring system they often report that they just assign new teachers with veteran teachers who are willing to take on an additional responsibility. This suggests there is a lack of attention given to the importance of the quality relationship that must be established between mentor teacher …

Analyzing An Urban University's Diversity Dilemma, Melodee Landis, Angela Ferguson, Ana Carballal, Wilma Kuhlman, Sandra Squires

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Lack of diversity in the teaching force is proving to be a grievous problem for our country. Across the nation the percentage of teachers of color in our schools remains stagnant as the percentage of students of color increases (Gay, Dingus & Jackson, 2003; Gordon, 2000; Gursky, 1999). Councils have been convened and conferences held to confront the issue (National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force, 2004). This disparity between the supply and demand for a diverse teaching force not only violates our standards of equity, it also appears to have a deleterious effect on achievement of students, particularly …

Evaluation Of An Adult Education Technology Program, Iwasan D. Kejawa Ed.D

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adult education technology program at a chartered alternative adult education center in Florida. The adult education center had a low rate of students passing the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). This study examined the impact of the use of computer technology in an effort to improve student learning in mathematics, reading, and science. Computers at the institution were used by all students for tutorials to prepare them for the FCAT and to obtain a high school diploma. The research questions for this study were as follows: 1. Is the education technology …

Teacher Migration From High-Performing Middle Schools: A Case Study, Richard Conley

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

I recently conducted fieldwork to explore the dynamics of teacher migration and understand how it relates to teachers’ perceptions and attitudes. The research was conducted through the eyes of a sixth grade language arts/social studies’ teacher working in a middle school I will refer to as PLC (Professional Learning Community) Middle School. By spending extensive time and conducting multiple interviews with the teacher and other staff members, I was able to explore some of the reasons and conditions why teachers leave schools, particularly high-performing schools to teach in other high performing schools. Attending weekly meetings at all levels and content …

Gen Ms 19 Fitts Family Collection Finding Aid, Daniel Draper

Search the General Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Description:

Bertha Rice Fitts was born in 1870, in Waterford, Maine. After graduating from Gorham Normal School in 1894, she became Master’s Assistant and eighth-grade teacher in Westbrook, Maine, before accepting a similar position at a grammar school in Quincy, MA. While in Quincy, she boarded with Mrs. Calvin Fitts, and in 1899 married her son, Arthur Fitts. She was involved in the Southern Branch of the Gorham Alumni Association for many years. The Collection consists of primarily late 19th c. commercial photographs of teachers and students of Gorham Normal School, plus photos of Gorham Normal School buildings, Bertha Fitts …

The Influence Of Color On The Teaching Of Juggling To Elementary School Children, Anne C. Mccoy

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Learning to juggle is difficult for elementary school students; it involves eye-hand coordination and complex movement patterns. Recognizing and using color for figure- and-ground visual perception is a necessary skill for tracking moving objects to catch them effectively. Can juggling instruction be influenced by the color of the juggling object used? Is one color more effective than another or does a combination of three different colors provide the most effective equipment choice?

Children in third, fourth, and fifth grade physical education classes were randomly assigned to color choices for juggling objects in a month-long unit of juggling instruction. The choices, …

Conditions Of Possibility And Agency: A Qualitative Inquiry Into The Professional Lives Of Three Women In The Liberal Arts Academic Disciplines, Angelyn Hayes

Educational Policy Studies Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to research the experiences of female academicians in traditional liberal arts academic disciplines at one institution. The challenges of being a female academician are revealed in statistical data about faculty rank, tenure, and salaries as well as in descriptive accounts of the environment that women encounter in the higher education institutions. However, the intersection of women and the academic disciplines rooted in the liberal arts tradition is a neglected arena of investigation. This research involved a series of qualitative in-depth interviews with three women representing biology, psychology, and English at a small public college …

Mathematics: Always Important, Never Enough: A Christian Perspective On Mathematics And Mathematics Education, Calvin Jongsma

Pro Rege

This article is an edited version of the keynote address delivered by Dr. Jongsma at the B.J. Haan Education Conference on Teaching Math in the Christian School, held at Dordt College on March 9, 2006, for elementary and secondary school mathematics teachers, primarily in Christian schools. The article was earlier published online in the 2006 Journal of the ACMS (http://www.acmsonline.org/Jongsma.htm).

Large Visions And Complete Communities, Prexy Nesbitt

Rozell 'Prexy' Nesbitt Writings and Speeches

Prexy Nesbitt, a Chicago-based anti-apartheid activist and educator, delivered this commencement address to the College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago. 4 pages.

Formulation Of “Questions – Answers” In Teaching-Learning Process As A Way Of Improving Learning Of Students At University Level, Mdel Mar Badia Martin, Candido Roselle, Antoni Tarrida

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

One of the main things in a process of teaching-learning consists of making hierarchical contents of the programs and to determine specific and clearly which are the objectives of the course. It is not always easy for a teacher to discriminate the relative importance of the program contents. If we consider that the questions the students do are a reflection of what the teachers consider important, the exams could be considered as an adequate source to know their opinion about the contents that a student on a topic should know. Nevertheless, more important than the content itself, is the form …

We Teach It, But Do We Practice It? Challenging Our Own Ethics In Higher Education, Susan R. Madsen, James Davis, Scott C. Hammond, Bonner Ritchie

Susan R. Madsen

The purpose of this panel discussion is to provide business school faculty, administrators, and doctoral students a forum to discuss current issues and challenges related to the ethical decision-making and behavior of individuals and groups (i.e., faculty, administrators, and staff) within the higher educational arena. It will provide the attendees/participants the opportunity to challenge behaviors and practices commonly seen and held. There are a number of contexts that provide ethical/moral dilemmas in post-secondary settings. While several of these contexts have received significant attention from professional associations such as the Academy of Management, others have received little or no attention. The …

Innovative Teaching Ideas For Hrd Education (2007), Susan R. Madsen

Susan R. Madsen

This innovative session is sponsored by AHRD’s new Program Excellence Network (PEN) dedicated to strengthening HRD programs and promoting excellence in teaching HRD. The primary purpose of this session is to promote excellence in teaching HRD by providing participants with benchmarks for effective and creative teaching in higher educational settings. It will provide a forum for the discussion of teaching methodologies, activities, and assignments that will enrich classroom environments and facilitate increased student learning.

Teaching One Way And Testing Another: An Interview With Scott Howell, Scott L. Howell, James L. Morrison

Faculty Publications

I first met Scott Howell in 2005 in Jekyll Island, Georgia at the annual Distance Learning Administration (DLA) conference, which was sponsored in part by the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration (OJDLA). Scott is co-editor of the three-volume book series Online Assessment and Measurement (2005) published by IDEA group and is this year's chair of the University Continuing Education Association's (UCEA) Distance Learning Community of Practice (DLCoP). His keynote speech at the DLA conference featured a number of assessment issues and best practices. However, when I sat down to interview him, he quickly focused on one topic for which …

Talk To Antioch College Course On The Black American Contribution To World Revolutionary Processes, Prexy Nesbitt

Rozell 'Prexy' Nesbitt Writings and Speeches

Prexy Nesbitt, a Chicago-based anti-apartheid activist and educator, delivered this speech to the Antioch College course on the Black American Contribution to World Revoluntionary Processess in the spring semester. 15 pages.

Teaching Ethics And Honesty In Business Classrooms: A Study Of Changes In Student Perceptions, Susan R. Madsen, Ovilla Turnbull, Troy Nielson, Larry Hartman

Susan R. Madsen

With recent highly publicized breaches of ethics among members of the business community (e.g., Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, Global Crossing, and Tyco), there is a need to re-examine specific strategies employed in colleges and universities to influence business students toward increased ethics and honesty. The purpose of this study was to examine whether perceptions and attitudes toward ethics and honesty could be influenced during a semester-long college business course. A survey was administered to students in six human resource management classes taught by four different faculty members at Utah Valley State College. The Likert scale questionnaire utilized the 20-item Ethics Position …

Defining Academic Vision, Roger Brooks

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Don't Get Fed Up Teaching The Same Old Classes, State University Of New York, Genesco

Education/Employment

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from State University College, Genesco, New York.

Tying It All Together: Implications For Classrooms, Schools, And Districts, Ryan Flessner, Kenneth Zeichner, Kalani Eggington

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

Ryan Flessner, Kenneth Zeichner, and Kalani Eggington's contribution to "Creating Equitable Classrooms through Action Research"

The Use Of Teaching Portfolios For Academic Professional Development, Roisin Donnelly, Marian Fitzmaurice

Books/Book Chapters

This Postgraduate Certificate in Third Level Learning and Teaching is located in the Faculty of Academic Affairs in the Technological University Dublin (DIT) and is aimed at new and existing academic staff in third level institutions in the Republic of Ireland, including lecturers, librarians, and academic support staff, the latter two having responsibility for teaching in their areas. It was initially offered in 2000, and is continuing apace today, with currently over 90 academic staff having successfully graduated from the programme. The lecturers have been drawn from within DIT and a number of higher education institutions throughout the Republic of …

Technology Follows Technique: Refocusing The Observational Lens, Anton Brinckwirth, Elizabeth M. Kissling, Kathryn Murphy-Judy, Carlos Valencia

Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications

Digital video is being applied to teacher training, development, and evaluation. This chapter evokes theories and practices of performance observation and improvement. It demonstrates facilitative media used in the design and implementation of a current interinstitutional project by the authors. Simultaneously, the implications of teaching evaluation techniques caught in the lens of digital observation technologies lead to considerations of their personal and social impact on the field of world language teacher training and professional development in the 21st Century. A more communal and non-hierarchical approach, called peer coaching, is advanced with a value-added digital video and e-community twist.

Promoting Physical Activity Through Teaching Games For Understanding In Undergraduate Teacher Education, Kim Mckeen, Paul I. Webb, Philip J. Pearson

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

Physical education teachers play a significant role in influencing the likelihood that their students will engage in lifelong physical activity. However, with declining physical activity levels, particularly amongst young people, and the increased prevalence of obese and overweight children and adolescents, promoting lifelong physical activity is one of the many challenges currently facing physical education teachers. Teachers are required to engage students in quality learning opportunities to develop prescribed learning outcomes and skills, and make the experience enjoyable to enthuse young people to be physically active. This study examines whether teaching games for understanding (TGfU) and technique based pedagogy models …

Developing Quality Teaching Through Authentic Assessment And School-University Partnerships, Philip J. Pearson, Paul I. Webb, Gregory J. Forrest

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

This paper examines the development of authentic assessment tasks focusing on the dimensions of quality teaching for pre-service teachers. Assessment tasks designed for students to continually put teaching skills into practice are essential to develop quality teachers. The process involved student and teacher consultation and the establishment of additional school-university partnerships. The purpose of the research was to review the school-university partnerships and to determine whether these links have been beneficial to the students and the schools involved. Forty physical and health education students in their final year of pre-service training were surveyed (questionnaire and interviews) along with personnel from …

Technology At The Beginning Of The 21st Century: Using An Interactive Whiteboard In Elementary Art Education, Nancy G. Kocen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined whether art lessons, provided using an Interactive Whiteboard (IWB), were effective in transferring learning to a diverse student population. The descriptive investigation focused on three main areas; the impact of the IWB on student learning, the time invested in integrating the IWB, and the compatibility of the IWB with my teaching style. The research took place over fourteen weeks starting in late August, 2006, and continued in my art room during the first quarter of the school year. Data were collected through daily journal entries, video taped lessons and interviews. Although long hours were required for training …

Differentiated Educational Strategies In The Elementary Art Classroom, Mary Amber Bush

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides elementary art teachers strategies for teaching lessons in a method called "differentiation". The purpose of differentiation is to tailor lesson plans to try and meet unique needs of the students. Lessons can be differentiated through content, process, or product. A teacher may choose one of these three areas and provide different approaches to the lesson to meet different learning needs of the students. To meet different learning needs in an efficient way, students are grouped for lessons based on their readiness, interests, or their learning styles. This thesis provides greater detail on content, process, product, readiness, interests, …

Blended Learning In Higher Education: Theory And Praxis, G. Reinmann, J. Macdonald, Roisin Donnelly, J. Fransen, E. Poldner

Conference papers

Recent studies are showing that ‘blended learning’ is more than a mix between face-to-face and online education, or in other words: a mix of traditional and computer-based education. Blended learning seems to include mixtures between eLearning and other ways of learning, where the right choices have to be made in the distribution of learning content, didactical approaches, ways of communicating and characteristics of learning environments, in the perspective of the type of learning process and characteristics of students. This symposium provides evidence from qualitative studies of blended learning in practical situations, drawing on tutors’ and students’ perspectives, contrasted with theoretical …

Using Live Modeling To Train Preservice Teachers To Integrate Technology Into Their Teaching, Charles R. Graham, Richard E. West

Faculty Publications

One method underutilized in training teachers to use technology is to use live modeling sessions. This study qualitatively investigates how the use of modeling sessions impacted students. In this study we found that modeling was perceived by most students to be effective at teaching technology skills and ideas for integrating technology as teachers. However, we identified several breakdowns in the ability of students to transfer their understanding of technology integration to their own situations. We explain this difficulty of transfer of learning and describe five situations when these breakdowns were likely to occur. Implications include the benefits of using live …

Selecting Open Source Software For Use In Schools, Kathryn Moyle

Professor Kathryn Moyle

Schools are places where the choices made about computing technologies not only reflect their technical requirements but also reflect the philosophical priorities directing those choices. Schools can deploy a startling range of software (i.e., operating systems, databases, office productivity software, and applications software) for specifc teaching and learning purposes. Applications software deployed in schools must be suitable for use by students who are young and often have limited reading and fine motor skills. Back-end software must be robust enough to handle hundreds and sometimes thousands of users concurrently. One issue that faces schools interested in deploying open source software is …