Education Commons^™

Tracking Culture: The Meanings Of Community Engagement Data Collection In Higher Education, Howard Rosing

Scholarship of Engagement

The essay briefly outlines the history of community engagement at DePaul University in order to explore how and why universities and colleges are increasingly adopting data collections systems for tracking community engagement. I explore the question of why there is a growing interest in tracking engagement within the academy and suggest that dominant meanings attached to tracking behavior (e.g., recognition, marketing, budget legitimation) overshadow more critical and political rationales for documenting engagement, such as those that emerge out of aspiration to understand how higher education can play a role in promoting social justice and transforming communities. I argue that the …

Improving Educational Technology Integration In The Classroom, Nicole Elizabeth Yemothy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers' ability to integrate technology is a topic of growing concern given the importance of technology and 21st century skills readiness in both academics and the global society of 2014. This study investigated the technology integration barriers that educators faced, the training the educators received, and support needs of educators at a large, prominent, 30-year old international school located in Central America offering grades Pre-K 3 to 12. The social learning theory of Bandura, the constructivist theories of Piaget and Dewey, and the technology constructionism of Papert provided the theoretical framework. The research questions focused on understanding technology integration by …

Out-Of-The-Box Teaching Helps Students Excel

DePaul Magazine

As the education sector evolves, new strategies and teaching tools are making their way into classroom. At DePaul University, faculty are incorporating mobile technology, online lectures with comment threads, and service learning that creates a community approach to curriculum called culturally responsive teaching.

Correlates Of Knowledge-Sharing Behaviors Among Public Housing Authorities, Phat Huy Pham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the last decade, researchers and practitioners have contributed to the body of knowledge on improving business operations among public housing authorities. However, effective knowledge-sharing processes within a public housing organization remain deficient. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the correlations between employees' perceptions of trust, organizational fairness, supervisors' competency, and employees' willingness to share knowledge. Understanding the factors that predict employees' willingness to share knowledge is imperative to developing leaders' best practices. Social capital theory served as the theoretical framework for this study. Seventy full-time employees and leaders of the housing authorities in the State of …

School Principal Attitudes Toward The Inclusion Of Students With Disabilities, Taleshia Lenshell Chandler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusion is a philosophy and practice of educating students with and without disabilities in the same learning environment. Previous researchers have indicated that principals play a key role in implementing successful and effective inclusive programs. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the attitudes of principals and assistant principals toward including students with disabilities at both elementary and secondary school levels. Therefore, the purpose of this nonexperimental, quantitative study, based on transformational leadership theory, was to examine the attitudes of principals toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. An electronic version of The Principals' …

Grassroots Or Returning To One’S Roots? Unpacking The Inception Of A Youth-Focused Community Makerspace, Victor R. Lee, Whitney L. King, Ryan Cain

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

In this paper, we describe the individuals and factors contributing to the emergence of a community makerspace in a small city in the United States. As research into how makerspaces have come into existence is still in a nascent stage, this single case study is intended to describe and highlight some of the complexities involved in creating such a facility. Based on analysis of onsite observations, interviews of adults connected with the space, and electronic communications, we present a story of how two co-founders of a youth-focused makerspace went from having initial interest in extracurricular activities for their own children …

Restructuring High School Science Curriculum: A Program Evaluation, Cathy Robertson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One rural Midwestern high school discovered a discrepancy among school, state, and national science skill attainment, verified by ACT scores. If students do not acquire vital science skills, they may not perform proficiently on science tests, thus impacting future college options. Inquiry based instruction and constructivism provided the basis for the theoretical framework. This study questioned associations between ACT scores, inquiry science technique usage, and ACT standard usage (Phase 1), and teachers' views on science instruction (Phase 2). This sequential explanatory mixed methods program evaluation included 469 ACT scores, surveys sent to 9 science teachers, and 8 interviews. Phase 1 …

The Social Value Of Academic Freedom Defended, J. Peter Byrne

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay argues for the social value of academic freedom in law schools and in the university generally. It takes explicit issue with the arguments of Stanley Fish in Versions of Academic Freedom: From Professionalism to Revolution. The essay maintains that academic freedom is essential to a liberal society and deserving of constitutional protection because scholarship and teaching governed by disciplinary norms represents modernity's best secular effort at separating truth from falsehood.

Strategies To Enhance Learning In A Large Engineering Economics Course: Including Students’ Perceived Values In The Instructional Redesign Process, Kellie S. Grasman, D. Cernusca

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Purposeful implementation of technology in instructional design presents opportunities to increase institutional efficiency while simultaneously improving instructional quality. This paper presents findings from the implementation of a hybrid/buffet approach in an undergraduate Engineering Economics large course. A Design-Based Research (DBR) approach informed the instructional redesign and measured its effectiveness through multiple iterations, or macro-cycles, of implementation. Overall, pedagogical structure and specific technology solutions applied to each course component are described, as well as preliminary measures of effectiveness and student perception from a pilot offering of the hybrid/buffet course. Encouraged by positive preliminary results, a second implementation informed further study of …

Implementation Of The Environmental Issues Instruction Model By Elementary Teachers, Barbara Ann Ehlers

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teachers attend many professional development experiences throughout their professional careers. Many teachers attend because they have a personal desire for professional growth. In addition, in the state of Iowa, they are required to engage in professional development to renew teacher licensure. Professional development is offered on a myriad of topics including the latest educational research on learning, innovations in curriculum, and instructional strategies to use in the classroom. However, just attending does not guarantee improved professional practice. After these experiences teachers may or may not implement the strategies, teaching methods, or information they have learned.

This qualitative study analyzed data …

The Impact Of Student Organizations On The Development Of Core Competencies, Stanley Somtochukwu Ebede

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Higher education has a significant impact on the development of critical skills that improve students’ academic outcomes. However, academic institutions have not adequately focused more on the role of student organizations in supporting and improving student outcomes. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate students’ perception of the development of core competencies during their experiences at a comprehensive Midwestern university, specifically examining the differences of those involved in student organizations to those not involved.

The impact of student organizations on the development of core competencies was assessed using a survey that was designed around the core competencies outlined …

Reconciling The Two Cultures : A Case Study Of The University Of Northern Iowa, Elizabeth Ann Collins

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In 1959, chemist and author Charles Percy Snow gave a Rede Lecture at the University of Cambridge in which he named “Two Cultures”—the sciences and the humanities—which, according to his experience as someone who worked in both, were at odds with one another. His words elicited impassioned responses from critics who either agreed with Snow, believing this to be a detriment to society, or vehemently disagreed, believing Snow’s statements to be unfounded, and even antagonistic. This conversation, which had also found relevance in the United States, continues to be important today, and has changed over the years as institutions of …

Can Community Connection Be Learned? A Case Study, Carrie L. Karvakko

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which a sample of fifteen Michigan Technological university students who participated in civic engagement research projects enhanced their attachment to a community.

A Likert-scale survey was utilized to assess participants’ dispositions toward attachment to a place. Overall the results showed that the students agreed there was an attachment to a place and that they identified with a place. Additional methods, reflection papers and interviews, were used to assess what factors enhanced the participants attachment and the impact of the course. Through these measurements it was determined that place attachment …

Biblical Literalism And The Acceptance Of Biological Evolution In Christian University Students, Heather N. Chamberlain

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Is it possible to accept biological evolution without rejecting God? Understanding student perspectives about religious belief and biological evolution is important to effectively teach science. There are many factors in this complex relationship and this study explored three: differences in Christian denominations, interpretation of scripture, and perspectives of the relationship between religious belief with acceptance of evolution. The participants were freshman elementary education majors at a Midwest university who completed a questionnaire about religious beliefs and the Inventory of Student Evolution Acceptance (I-SEA).

The results indicated no significant difference between Christian denomination and acceptance of evolution. Participants who took the …

Pedagogical Reasoning Of Pre-Service Teachers: Juggling Priorities And Managing Resources, Jennifer Lynn Rasmussen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to examine the cognitive and motivational factors related to the development of self-regulated teaching. These factors were defined by Shulman (1986; 2006) as theoretical, practical and moral knowledge for pedagogical reasoning. This study occurred in a clinical, instructional setting specifically designed to provide pre-service teachers with the environmental factors necessary to support the development of self-regulated instructional decision making. These factors included specific modeling of teacher thinking, regular formative feedback, instructional autonomy and strategic reflection. An instructional sequence based on Schunk and Zimmerman’s (1998; 2007) Model of the Development of Self-Regulatory Skill was applied …

“...When We Fight Back”: Attempting Social Reconstructions Of The Great Industrial Class War In The United States From 1870-1930, Daniel Park

History - Master of Arts in Teaching

I. Synthesis Essay………………………………2

II. Bibliography…………………………………..29

III. Textbook Critique…………………………….30

IV. Primary Documents and Headnotes……….37

Comparing The 2013 Acc/Aha & 2014 Nla Dyslipidemia Guidelines And Their Impact On Clinical Decision Making, Alexander Forbes, Kevin Grimes, Jocelyn York, Laura Tsu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

This home-study CPE activity has been developed to educate pharmacists on the similarities and differences between the 2014 NLA Recommendations for Dyslipidemia Management and the 2013 ACC/AHA Guidelines for Treatment of Blood Cholesterol.

Students’ Perceptions And Misperceptions Of The Communication Major: Opportunities And Challenges Of Reputation, Nichole Egbert, Joy L. Daggs, Phillip R. Reed

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This study investigates undergraduate students' perceptions of the content, difficulty, and value of the Communication major. Students in majors other than Communication from two universities indicated that the content of the Communication major was valuable and, in some cases, involved difficult tasks. However, the major was perceived as easier than any other compared discipline. The students surveyed demonstrated low to moderate belief in most popular “myths” regarding Communication as an academic field. A number of potential strategies to increase awareness of the value of a degree in communication are provided, which can be adapted for use with existing departmental marketing …

Public Speaking Anxiety And Graduation: Assessing Student Progress And Institutional Need, Ronald P. Grapsy

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article is designed to accomplish two goals. First, data from six-year student cohorts are examined for patterns emerging among those who failed to graduate from a public, state-affiliated university. The data imply strongly that a significant percentage of students who did not graduate failed primarily due to an inability to pass through the basic public speaking course – part of the general education program – and that communicative anxiety may be the root cause. Also, the article discusses the design and implementation of a successful model for a basic speech course dedicated to students with debilitating levels of public …

Classroom Projects As Embodied And Embedded Outcomes Assessment, Garnet C. Butchart, Margaret Mullan

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Although educators already recognize the value in engaging student learning through classroom projects and service-learning, assessment of student learning through classroom projects may be accompanied by a shift of attention from mastery of ideas to embodied knowledge. We argue that embodiment is the basic semiotic condition of being human—of being both an expressive and perceptive (communicative) being among others. Linking this philosophy of communication principle to the topic of assessment, the article offers assessment research a focus of attention on learning settings: from embodiment as learning context, to the built environment of classrooms, as well as to group interaction. We …

Editor's Note, Janie M. H. Fritz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 34, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Examining Undergraduate Communication Degree Programs: Mission Statements, Assessment Plans, And Assessment Evaluations, Mike Allen, John Bourhis, Nancy Burrell, Arooj Mukarram, Michael G. Blight, Clare M. Gross, Megan Lambertz, Christopher J.E. Anderson

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

One hundred undergraduate communication programs listed in the NCA directory were examined in this investigation. The process involved gathering the university mission statement, departmental mission statement, program assessment plan, and program assessment evaluations. Results demonstrate that 98 institutions utilized mission statements, 81 departments provided mission statements, 18 departments made assessment plans available and the researchers obtained 4 assessment evaluations.

Embedding Arête: Core Skills, Department Culture And Whole-Student Development, Richard K. Olsen, David E. Weber

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

In this article the authors summarize how an academic department designed and now enacts the “core skills,” a template the unit operationalized to facilitate their goal of wholestudent development. First, the authors present a brief summary of contemporary literature—including Rich’s (2008) Megaskills, plus key principles and perspectives (e.g., rhetoric, arête, culture, dialectical tension, communicative construction of organization) of the communication studies discipline—relevant to the articulation of the core skills as both a heuristic and praxis. Next, we delineate concerns and critical incidents that inspired unit personnel to decide whole-student development was mission-critical. Then we describe key challenges in of cultivating …

Lobbying As A Means For Expanding The Communication Instructional Base. A View From The Outside Looking In, Craig Newburger

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Complete Issue, Volume 34, Issue 2

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 34, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

South Korean Teachers’ Perceptions Of Integrating Information And Communication Technologies Into Literacy Instruction, Sangho Pang, David Reinking, Amy Hutchison, Deanna Ramey

Publications

We investigated South Korean literacy and language arts teachers’ perceptions about integrating interactive communication technologies (ICTs) into instruction. The survey addressed their access to various applications and technologies associated with ICTs, access to technological support, frequency and importance of use, and obstacles to and conceptions of integrating ICTs. Descriptive and correlational data are reported suggesting that although classroom use of ICTs is mandated at the national level, South Korean teachers perceive access to some tools and applications, as well as the availability of technical assistance at both the school and district level, to be limited. We compare data from this …

Archetype Of Freedom : The Dialectic Of The Phantastical Imagination, Joseph David Todd

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation examines a conceptual paradox within the mounting crisis of imagination in education. I introduce the concept of phantasy (Marcuse, 1955) to, first, disrupt the dominant definitions of imagination found in educational policies such as Common Core State Standards and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives. These documents instrumentalize imagination in order to meet global economic initiatives (Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM), 2012; CoSTEM, 2011; U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012). Against such instrumentalization, I propose to reunite imagination with phantasy. The result is a philosophical groundwork for what I call “phantastic imagination” which returns imagination to its radical, …

High School Visual Art Students' Perceptions Of Creativity, Jacqueline B. Henson-Dacey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When high school art teachers do not understand how their students experience creativity, studio art programs are less effective in fostering student learning than they would otherwise be. Nevertheless, extant research does not reveal a consistent or comprehensive understanding of how adolescents experience creativity in art education. Drawing on Csikszentmihalyi's theory of creativity and flow, this study explored students' perceptions of creativity and its relationship to flow, or the state of consciousness associated with optimal pleasure. This phenomenological study investigated students' perceptions of creativity and flow by interviewing nine high school advanced placement students in a public high school in …

Soft Skills Perceived By Students And Employers As Relevant Employability Skills, Ann-Marie Claudia Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Local employers believe the lack of prerequisite soft skills is inhibiting the graduates from a local community college from securing employment. The rationale of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions of students and employers related to the soft skills needed to be successful in future employment. The theoretical framework was based on Mezirow's transformational and Daloz's mentorship theories. Individual face-to-face, semistructured interviews were used to gather data from 12 business and computer students and 7 employers (N=19) who were selected using purposeful random sampling. The typewritten transcripts of participants' responses were imported in MAXQDA 11, then were open …

Teacher Perceptions About Retention And Classroom Climate In Remote Schools In Western Canada, Chris De Feijter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In rural and remote schools in Western Canada, researchers have discovered that high teacher turnover affects school climate as well as student achievement. The purpose of this project study was to explore novice teachers' and administrators' perceptions about the influence of school-related and classroom activities on decisions to stay or leave permanent teaching positions at a large remote school in Precambrian Shield School Division. Boylan's theory of teacher retention was the conceptual framework for the study. The guiding research questions were focused on teachers' and administrators' perceptions of various aspects of school and classroom activities in remote schools that might …