Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Letter From The Editors, Christine E. Ashby, Julia M. White

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

Letter From The President, April W. Bedford

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

12.1 Table Of Contents, Julia White

Excelsior: Leadership in Teaching and Learning

No abstract provided.

The Value Of Interactive Multimodal Online Higher Education Classrooms: Examining The Impact Of Interactive Multimedia-Based Instructional Design (Imbid), Andrea Munro

Dissertations

Purpose: Despite their affordability and convenience, online courses have higher student failure and dropout rates than ground based-courses. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative single-case study was to determine if there is a difference between interactive, multimedia-based online instruction and traditional text-based online instruction as it relates to the level of student performance, engagement, and satisfaction in higher education.

Methodology: This quantitative research design used inferential statistics to analyze the research questions. The researcher selected 13 text-based courses that were redesigned to become interactive, multimedia-based courses. Archival student performance, engagement, and satisfaction data was abstracted from both the text-based and …

Explicit Inclusion Of Fun In Instruction As A Catalyst For Academic Success, Kimberly Tyskiewicz

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

Low graduation rates, rising drop-out rates, and increasing apathy and disengagement in learning has prompted the need for new strategies and interventions in education. This case study provides an analysis of the perceptions of high school teachers related to the impact of the explicit, intentional inclusion of fun in direct instruction. The participants included approximately 20% of the faculty in a semirural high school of approximately 1,325 students. The case study involved individual interviews with half of the participants and the other half participating in a focus group conversation. Six participants in each group were observed. All comments and concepts …

Volume 18 Issue 1 Preliminary Pages

Perspectives In Learning

table of contents

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

Legitimate Physical Education - Emphasis On The Education, Daniel K. Drost, John R. Todorovich, Keith Young

Perspectives In Learning

Many educators and members of the lay public have differing definitions and understandings of school physical education. Based largely on personal experience or perception, many believe that school physical education should merely be a time during the day where children and adolescents are physically active in an effort to produce healthy outcomes. However, this is not only an improbable outcome, it greatly limits opportunities for children to become proficient within the psychomotor learning domain. Because school physical education is the only subject area where the physical domain is strictly addressed, the purpose of this essay is to define, affirm, and …

Commentary: Venezuelan Democracy: Bolivar’S Shattered Dream, Juan E. Chebly

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Venezuela is one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, dating back to 1958, and has been under attack ever since.Venezuelan armies never conquered, they liberated nations. Led by Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, Venezuelans stood by their neighbors in their quest for freedom and many gave their lives to liberate six nations from oppression (Arana, 2013). Venezuela has served as a beacon of freedom in a land plagued by authoritarian rule over the centuries.

The Forgotten Few: Foreign Professional Workers & U.S. Foreign Policy, Adrian Pandev

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

U.S. foreign policy took a dramatic shift since the Trump Administration took office in 2017. The country has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, has imposed more sanctions on Russia, and has vowed to renegotiate international trade deals to “Make America Great Again.” U.S. foreign policy has an enormous impact on the lives of foreign professionals, from the ability to obtain work visas to being able to simply travel to the U.S. to pursue employment opportunities.

Corruption, Political Instability And Transnational Crime In The Country Of Guinea-Bissau, Brian K. Harte

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Internationally, Guinea-Bissau is regarded as a ‘cocaine gateway’ and transition point for narcotics trafficking from South America to West Africa, and into Europe (United Nations, 2011). Furthermore, “many esteemed experts have asserted that West Africa, and Guinea-Bissau in particular, is crumbling under the pressures posed by this drug trade which threatens to turn the region into an epicenter of lawlessness and instability” (Bybee, 2011, p. 3). We will provide an overview of transnational crime, corruption and political instability that contribute to social unrest within the country of Guinea-Bissau.

Colombian Conflict: A Sociological View Of A Gendered Society, Jorge Restrepo

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Jorge Restrepo, having lived and experienced Colombian conflict, explores how the construction of the war narrative was driven by berracos (an expression used in Colombia to identify uber-males masculinized by war). In Colombia, women, afro-Colombians, native-Colombians, LGBT, anyone over sixty (as they are not perceived useful to society), children (childsoldiers), who have no representation before the government, the voiceless minorities, were cruelly marginalized. The Colombian conflict imposed a power dynamic between men, women, and other minorities, established by the government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army) as part of their internal war.

Sisters Of The Caliphate: Media And The Women Of Isis, Kathleen German, Rosemary Pennington

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Women have long been viewed as the “weaker sex”–more peace-loving and passive than men. However, clashes in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland have shown that women are both willing and able to participate in violent conflict (Alison, 2004; Cheldelin & Eliatamby, 2011). We will specifically examine the recruitment to and roles of women in the Islamic State through an examination of the scholarship on female fighters, in order to contextualize the women of ISIS. We conclude with a suggestion that scholars and others interested in the experience of women in conflict move away from overly simplistic framings which suggest women …

Forgetting Fallujah: Covert Silence, Digital Public Memory And The Civilian Consequences Of Operation Phantom Fury In Iraq, Jason L. Jarvis

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

“Forgetting Fallujah” challenges the institutional memory of Fallujah advanced in “US Marines.” For most people, the understanding of war is based entirely on media images (Schwalbe, 2006; Sontag, 2003). This essay, like the work of Jackie Orr (2016) is a salvo in an ideological struggle to re-signify the meaning of Fallujah. The invasion of Fallujah was more severe for civilians than the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, yet Fallujah caused almost no public outcry because it lacked visual evidence and went uncovered by mainstream American media (Entman, 2006). Covert silence in “US Marines” demonstrates that digital memory is easily …

Disinformation As Warfare In The Digital Age: Dimensions, Dilemmas, And Solutions, Minna Aslama Horowitz

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Disinformation as warfare in the digital age may not be so different than any other type of warfare; wars are fought for power, and some benefit economically while the vulnerable suffer the most. The vast majority of conflicts today are not fought by nation states and their armies; increasingly, they are fought not with conventional weapons but with words. A specific sort of weaponry—“fake news” and viral disinformation—has been at the center of policy discussions, public debates, and academic analyses in recent years. Everyone who is active on digital platforms can be responsible in the simplest of ways: not lashing …

Introduction: Wars, Conflicts, And The Marginalization Of Dissent, Tuija Parikka, Basilio G. Monteiro, Sejal Singh

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

Conflicts, wars, and crisis, unfortunately, abound, transform, and become metastasized in unexpected ways. The vast majority of armed conflicts today are not fought by nation states and their armies but rather informal entities, such as gangs and warlords using small arms, improvised weapons, and media technologies. Few, usually poor resource regions, get global attention, thus deprived of political will and economic resources needed to resolve the conflicts. As women and other minorities are becoming primary targets and suffering unprecedented casualties, they are profoundly affected by practices and cultures of warring, yet often remain voiceless in the global arena.This special issue …

Toc

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Editors

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Cover

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

No abstract provided.

Tools Enabling A Student Who Is Blind In A Liberal Arts Chemistry Laboratory Course, Jessica Michael, H. David Wohlers

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Chemistry laboratories ordinarily involve a number of visual observations and require qualitative and quantitative explanations of these observations. A student with blindness at Truman State University successfully completed the laboratory portion of the nonmajors liberal arts chemistry course with the assistance of a senior undergraduate chemistry education major, the guidance of a chemistry professor with blindness, and a variety of alternative laboratory methods. Volumes were measured using a notched syringe or the graduated cylinder pipet technique. Changes in color were measured by a Color Analysis Laboratory Sensor (CALS) and a Submersible Audio Light Sensor (SALS). Balance and Vernier probe measurements …

Assessment Of Climate Science Knowledge And Perceptions Of Deaf And Hard-Of-Hearing Students, Annemarie Ross, Kyle Edenzon, Susan Smith Pagano, Randy Yerrick, Todd Pagano

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Curricula related to sustainability and climate science are being integrated into academic science courses and programs. We set out to assess the knowledge of some of these environmental concepts among a group of Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing (D/d/HH) postsecondary students. A survey that attempted to gauge student understanding and perceptions of climate science was developed, administered to D/d/HH and hearing college students, and analyzed. Preliminary results showed that there could be some gaps in related knowledge among the D/d/HH group. Rasch analysis was then used to assess the quality of the survey for the intended outcomes and improved iterations of the survey were …

Wcag 2.1 Meets Stem: Application, Interpretation, And Opportunities For Further Standard Development, Jason White

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

This paper offers an overview of changes introduced in the recent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standard that have implications for the accessibility of content in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In reviewing new provisions of WCAG 2.1, interpretive questions are raised regarding their application to mathematical and scientific materials. The paper is concluded with a brief discussion of opportunities for further enhancing accessibility of STEM materials in future revisions of the Guidelines.

Variations In Implementation Of Specifications Grading In Stem Courses, Mai Yin Tsoi, Mary E. Anzovino, Amy H. Lin Erickson, Edward R. Forringer, Emily Henary, Angela Lively, Michael S. Morton, Karen Perell-Gerson, Stan Perrine, Omar Villanueva, Marygeorge Whitney, Cynthia M. Woodbridge

Georgia Journal of Science

Specifications grading is an assessment strategy based on mastery learning, clear learning objectives, and frequent evaluations and feedback. Twelve instructors at a southeastern four-year public college implemented the specifications grading method across eight discrete courses in four STEM areas. In this modified assessment strategy, the students controlled their grades through multiple attempts, with limitations, on assessments of course objectives. The instructors designed and executed specifications grading in unique ways that aligned with their content areas, teaching beliefs, and individual teaching styles.

Preliminary observations suggest that, regardless of subject area, specifications grading can be used as an alternative to traditional assessment …

The Roundtable Of Scientific Communication: From Classroom To Course Creation, Back To Classroom And Beyond, Sean P. Hickey

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research encompasses many aspects of chemical education research including curriculum and pedagogical changes to the freshman and sophomore courses. Curriculum changes included the addition of recitations to the general chemistry and organic chemistry lectures and the creation of four new classes, CHEM 1001, 1002, 3091, and 3092. The addition of recitations was not limited to but was focused on improving DFW rates for these courses.

CHEM 3091 and 3092 are chemistry internship and undergraduate teaching assistant classes. These courses were necessary to offer outside internship opportunities and training for undergraduate teaching assistants, respectively. CHEM 1001 and 1002 are chemistry …

Enhance Student Learning With Simulations, April Robbs, Jason Williams, Suzan Rhoades

SIDLIT Conference

Have you considered using a learning simulation in your course? Three instructional designers introduce attendees to simulations used in Ottawa University programs and share processes for evaluating and selecting simulations, implementing them, and assessing the learning experience. We share examples for enhancing courses in biology, human resources, and nursing.

Teaching About Cultural Competence And Health Disparities In An Online Graduate Public Health Course, Anuli Njoku, Drph, Mph, Uchenna Baker, Phd, Med

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The growing diversity in U.S. society encourages the need for culturally competent healthcare professionals to provide optimal services to a diverse population. This increasing diversity also brings greater awareness to health disparities among distinct subgroups of the U.S. population. Addressing health disparities in the USA will require a multidimensional approach from various sectors, including the field of education. Developing health disparities curricula can help cultivate conscious future health practitioners. Faculty development programs can be integral in equipping faculty to develop curricula on and teach students about health disparities. With a growth in online learning and in the number of adult …

Alignment Between Learning Objectives And Assessments In A Quantitative Literacy Course, Younggon Bae, Samuel L. Tunstall, Kathryn S. Knowles, Rebecca L. Matz

Numeracy

In this analysis, we examine how course assessment items were aligned with learning objectives in a quantitative literacy course at Michigan State University. The alignment analysis consisted of mapping assessment items to a list of operationalized learning objectives from the course. Our analysis shows how often the learning objectives are represented in assessment items, how often they are paired with other learning objectives, and how influential they are in contributing to a student’s course grade. In addition, through comparisons across four assessment types (e.g., exams and homework), we show how each learning objective was assessed differently within each assessment type. …

A Dialectical Relational Analysis Of Tesol Quarterly 2006 Special Issue On Race: Discourse, Race, And White Supremacist Ideology, Ginger A. Looney

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

Although the field of TESOL is not racially neutral this dialectical relational analysis examined (1) what discourses did the authors use to deploy race in the articles in the 2006 TESOL Quarterly Special Issue on Race (TQSIR)? and (2) how do these discourses work to either conform to, or resist white supremacist ideology? Analysis of the texts identified four key discourse: racialization, whiteness, emotional labor of racism, and sonic and optic negation of racism. These discourses were examined in the domains of scholarship, curriculum, teachers, and students. In 21 instances, these four discourses work to resist white supremacist ideology. …

A Model For Developing Interdisciplinary Research Theoretical Frameworks, A. S. Cohenmiller, Elizabeth Pate

The Qualitative Report

Embedded in interdisciplinary research, just as in disciplinary research, are statements of purpose, theoretical frameworks, research questions, reviews of literature, methodology, findings, recommendations, and more However, one of the least understood aspects of interdisciplinary research is the interdisciplinary research (IDR) theoretical framework. This article is intended to serve as a platform for dialogue within and across disciplines about interdisciplinary research and interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks. In addition, it provides a model for developing an IDR theoretical framework through an illustrative example of how an IDR theoretical framework was created and used within a dissertation study. We conclude the article noting critical …

Cybersecurity Education: The Need For A Top-Driven, Multidisciplinary, School-Wide Approach, Lucy Tsado

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The human resource skills gap in cybersecurity has created an opportunity for educational institutions interested in cybersecurity education. The current number of schools designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Security Agency (NSA) as Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) to train cybersecurity experts are not sufficient to meet the shortfall in the industry. The DHS has clearly mapped out knowledge areas for cybersecurity education for both technical and non-technical disciplines; it is therefore possible for institutions not yet designated CAEs to generate cybersecurity experts, with the long-term goal of attaining the CAE designation. The purpose of this …